Through It All

Aftermath

Jack couldn't contain his emotions any longer. He couldn't pretend that he didn't feel guilt for the circumstances surrounding Arabella's birth and death; he couldn't hide the fact that Tom had told him that he and Irene had lost a baby during the Bay of Pigs; and he couldn't hide the fact that he had wanted this baby to live more for Jackie's sake than his own. He began to sob to the point that he nearly fell into the chair in Patrick's room. Clint and Paul tried to contain their own emotions, but Irene noticed them wiping away their tears as well and before Irene knew it she was sitting on Jack's lap sobbing with him.
While crying so hard he was gasping for air, he asked, "How are we going to tell Jackie?"
Irene shook her head, "She told me to take care of her baby."
"We couldn't have done anything more," Jack reasoned, "I wish we could've, but-"
"Mr. President, the plane is ready," Clint said quietly.
Jack nodded as they walked out of the room. They boarded the plane first and then a few moments later a tiny blue casket was brought aboard. The flight was short, but it felt like an eternity. When the plane touched down, Patrick was taken to the local mortician's and Irene and Jack went to the hospital.
"I told Bobby that he needs to-" Ethel said as Irene and Jack walked into the room. It was obvious that Jack and Irene had been crying from Irene's bloodshot eyes to the bags under Jack's eyes.
"No," Jackie said quietly.
Jack couldn't speak. He walked over to Jackie's bedside and hugged her and kissed her while they cried together. Irene stepped out of the room for a moment and saw Tom walking in, "How's..." he wrapped Irene in his arms and kissed her head.
"How are our babies?"
"They miss you. You need to go home and rest anyways."
Over the course of the next few days, a small service was held for Patrick. Afterwards, Jackie, Jack, Irene, Tom, and the children boarded Air Force One and the press, for the first time, caught a picture of Jack being affectionate with Jackie.
Once they were back at the White House, a gloom fell over the whole family.