Here I Am, There You Are (All Time Low Fanfiction | Jack Barakat)

Snapshot 12

A sneaky little extra chapter, the next one will probably be the last

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I walked up the stairs to wake Gracie from her afternoon nap. It had been an hour since Jack put her down and I hadn't seen him since. I figured he just decided that he deserved a nap as well. There were many days he'd fulfill his stereotypical role of being a dad when he was home by passing out on the couch.

This time, however, I spotted him at our bedroom door at the end of the hallway. He was crouching down, the door open just a little and a toolbox by his side.

I skipped Gracie's bedroom and went up to him instead. "What are you doing?"

He was screwing something into the door, his tongue sticking out just a little. "Putting a lock on the door."

"Why?"

His eyes flickered up towards me and he just stared for a second. The expression he gave was one that made it seem like I was supposed to already know the answer: lips in a straight line, eyes a little wider than normal. But I had no clue what he was implying.

"Archie walked in on us yesterday!" he finally elaborated in a hushed tone, looking around to see if the coast was clear.

I frowned and shook my head. "He saw nothing."

"You don't know that!"

"Yes, I do. There was nothing to see."

"My pants were off!" he almost shrieked.

"Jack, he's five. I doubt he even knows what he saw," I said, chuckling.

He shot me a stern look, clearly not finding the situation as amusing as I did. "Well, what if there's more to see next time? I don't want to risk it happening again. Hence, the lock."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms.

Jack nodded, his serious expression not wavering. "Better safe than sorry."

I couldn't really argue with the logic, but the idea of locking our bedroom door was a bit too extreme. "We can't do that."

"Why not?"

"What if they need us? What if one of them has a nightmare just to find out we locked them out?"

"I think them seeing me balls deep in their mother is going to traumatize them more," he asserted, tightening a screw with more determination than before.

I couldn't help but laugh, but it really didn't change my opinion. "Maybe there's a different solution we can find."

"Like what? Putting a sock on the door? Because he'll be a teenager at some point and realize what we were doing years later."

I sighed, realizing this wasn't an argument I could quickly win. "Fine, put your lock on the door, but don't blame me if one of them ends up scarred for life because they think we locked them out on purpose."

"Trust me, it's for the best." He gave me a look that showed he was not backing down.

I decided to turn away and head to Gracie's room and left Jack to continue working on his DIY home improvement project. Gracie was already stirring on her toddler bed as I entered. I reached for the dimmable light switch and slowly started turning the light brighter and brighter.

"Hello, Sunshine," I sang, approaching her bed.

Her eyes were still heavy with sleep, and her hair was sticking up in every direction. I would always smile at the sight, taking in the moment for as long as it would last. She was already growing up so fast. When her arms reached out for me, I scooped her up.

With Gracie held close to my body, I walked back out to the hallway to see Jack still working on his task, now with a curious Archie beside him.

"What are you doing?" Archie asked, fumbling around with the toy dinosaur in his hands.

Jack looked up from his work, a bit startled by Archie's sudden appearance. "Fixing the door."

"Why?"

"Well..." Jack glanced at me, a silent plea for support, but I was letting him take this one on all by himself. "Sometimes... mommies and daddies need some privacy for, um, grown-up time."

Archie's innocent face scrunched up in confusion. "Grown-up time?"

"It's a time when Mommy and Daddy need a little space to talk or, you know, be alone for a bit. With a lock, you won't accidentally walk in."

"Why a lock?"

"We don't want you accidentally seeing something you shouldn't see," Jack explained, trying to keep it as simple as possible.

Archie pondered this for a moment, then looked back at me with a mischievous grin. "Like when you kissed on the couch yesterday?"

I grinned back as he giggled loudly. Leave it up to Archie to piece things together. Jack just gave me a look that clearly said 'see, told you so.' I still thought this was an over exaggeration, but something told me not giving Jack this would only put a stop to our... grown-up time.

"Yes, something like that," Jack couldn't do anything but see the humor in it as well. "But sometimes grown-up time is more... private."

Archie processed the information and frowned. "But what if I need you at night?"

"Well, if you find it locked, you bang as hard as you possibly can, and Daddy will come to the rescue."

Archie nodded, excitement spreading across his face. "Can I have a lock for my room too?"

Jack laughed and ruffled Archie's hair, "Nice try, buddy, but your room doesn't need a lock."