Them. | The Final Installment of the Him Series | Joe Jonas Fanfiction

Eight.

"Good morning, daddy!"

"Good morning, princess," Joe smiles, kissing Willa's head and taking a seat across from the two girls.

"Dada!" Delphine giggles, pointing at him.

He grins, chuckling at the syrup all over her face. "Hi littlest princess."

She giggles, putting another piece of pancake in her mouth.

"Daddy, mama home?" Willa asks.

"No, princess, mama's not home yet," he answers, giving her a sympathetic look.

She pouts, playing with her food.

He sighs. "Princess..."

A small choke is heard, followed by a sniffle.

"Aww," Joe sighs, grabbing her and picking her up, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck as her head nuzzles into him, a few small cries escaping into the air.

Taking her into the bedroom, Joe continues to hold her, letting her cry for a few minutes before pulling her away and looking at her.

"Hey, can we talk about this for a minute, princess?"

She frowns, nodding.

"Okay," he sighs, situating himself. "let's talk about mommy for a minute, yeah?"

She nods. "I miss mommy."

"I know you miss mommy, princess. I miss mommy too, so much. But listen, mommy had to go away for a little bit. She had to go to do some really important stuff. Stuff that's going to keep you and sissy and daddy safe."

She frowns. "Mommy come home."

"Mommy will come home, princess," he tells her, caressing her cheek. "Mommy will come home but we just have to wait a little longer for her to do her important stuff so we can all be together and safe. That's what's important. We all want to be safe too."

"I miss mommy," she says, huffing a few breaths, her eyes tearing up again.

"I know, princess, I know," he says, hugging her again, letting her have another moment that she needs. "Mommy will come home as soon as she can, I promise."

After another moment or two, Joe convinces Willa to exit back to the table to finish her breakfast, although she only eats a couple more bites before she's claiming to be all done.

He respects her choice, letting her go play with her sister while he helps Jess clean up, letting out a yawn. He had found it hard to sleep these days, though the exhaustion keeps him getting some sort of sleep, it's just enough to keep him alive. He finds himself awake all night, worried about Addie, wondering if she's alright and being safe.

The girls keep him busy on his days off, which today just so happened to not be. Instead, he'll be even busier, trying to balance the girls and work. Thankfully it's not like the day shows much challenge, but when tonight comes it'll be the hardest.

Since Addie's absence, the girls have gotten a little bit of separation anxiety from Joe. He assumes they think he'll be gone too, which isn't going to happen, but it has made touring a little rough since he's on stage when they're going to bed. Jessica says it's a hell of a lot harder to get them to go down and Joe's guilt kicks in every time he says goodnight to them backstage, the tear floodgates opening on their end and ensuring he feels it.

"Did you want me to get the girls ready?" Jess asks, throwing away the last of the trash.

He sighs. "Uhm, I'll make you a deal. I'll get 'em dressed if you do their hair."