The Vault

And Then The Rains Came - Sherrie/Jimmy Fic (requested)

April 22, 1978

"I'll be back on Monday," Sherrie smiled, kissing the top of James' head as she continued dragging her suitcase down the front hall to the door. "You'll be good for daddy while I'm away, right?"

The little boy with the long, dark and curly hair nodded softly, looking up at his mother with doe eyes. 

"But Mummy… Why do you have to go?" He sniffled.

"I'm only going for the weekend, darling," She giggled, bending down to his level and pulling him into a tight embrace. "I just need to go to Paris to help out a friend of mine… You see, my friend's an editor, just like me, and he needs to take a trip to America, so I told him I could help him by going over to Paris and running his company for the weekend."

"Can you take me with you?" He asked, his little eyes watering. 

Though he was only seven, James was smart. He was aware of the dangers that the world could inflict on everyone. He knew that his mother was taking a plane to get to Paris, and that planes crash all the time. He was going to miss her so much, worrying about her every second that she was away. 

"No, baby boy, I can't," She sighed, kissing his forehead softly. "But I promise, I'll be back as soon as I can. Maybe I'll surprise you with a little treat when I come back."

This made the little boy smile and hug his mother tightly before they pulled away from each other. Sherrie then moved onto her daughter, Scarlet. She was just four years old and as precious as ever. She, however, looked nothing like her father, where as James was a clone. No, Scarlet looked in every way like her mother. The only odd thing about her is that her hair, the same golden shade as Sherrie's was pin straight. Neither Sherrie nor Jimmy had the slightest clue where she got it from, but they loved her all the same. 

The little girl smiled up at her mother with bright, stunningly blue, tear filled eyes. She didn't know why her mother was leaving, and was too young to understand that Sherrie would be back within a matter of days. She still seemed to be in that infant stage where if you weren't in plain sight, you were just simply gone. She started whimpering as Sherrie hugged her tiny body, kissing her forehead and explaining to her that she'll be back very, very soon. 

The moment she let go of her daughter, however, Scarlet circled her arms around Sherrie's calf and refused to let go, ready to scream bloody murder if she even tried to leave. Noticing this, Sherrie bent back down and kissed her daughter's forehead again, smothering her in another big hug before the little girl realized that she would be back. 

Once Sherrie successfully detached her daughter from her, she stood up and walked towards the baby, who was cuddled up against her husband's chest, sleeping soundly. Sherrie looked as her fragile, near skeletal husband with loving eyes. Despite how pieces of him have withered away over the past few years, she loved him all the same. 

"You'll be alright with them while I'm gone, right?" She whispered, looking up into Jimmy's gorgeous green eyes. He smiled down at her with the same amount of love she looked at him with - he adored every piece of her and couldn't help but to wonder how he was lucky enough to score a girl like her to begin with. She was so unbelievable and perfect that it astonished him to no end how she still stuck around, even after all he'd put her through. 

"Yes, I think we'll be fine." He smiled down at the baby in his arms, a happy little girl, with curly dark hair just like her father's, and glowing blue eyes just like her mother's. "I do believe that Zo is going to miss you terribly though."

"And I'm going to miss her too," She sighed, taking the baby out of Jimmy's arms, careful not to wake her. She kissed her baby's forehead, trying not to get too emotional over being away from her children, even if it was only for a few days. "My sweet little baby girl."