14. Bigger

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KATHRYN'S POV

"Jack!" I try and fail to suppress a squeal, struggling to squirm out of the calloused fingers relentlessly tickling my sides. "Stop! You're gonna wake him." I half-moan, half-giggle, gesturing towards the unconscious 10-year-old snoozing away in my arms. Jamie's sweat-ridden hair clings to his forehead as tiny heaves of air bustle through his parted lips, his arms swung loosely around my neck as I trut up the hill, which I could've sworn grew and extended another mile and a half since the sunset.

Somewhere between playing matchmaker ("Wait, Jack, are you gonna take my sister on a DATE? OH MY GOD, you should take her to the moon! And let me come along, please? I'll even let you kiss her on the cheek if I see Mars on the way!") and terrorizing innocent families of geese, Jamie's sugar rush died as fast as it begun and left him sweaty, bruised-up, and exhausted.

I clench my jaw and attempt to mask the pain in my limbs as I march up the strenuous hill. Carrying Jamie used to be a much simpler task when I used to transfer his sleeping body from the raggedy couch sitting infront of the blaring TV screen - presumably playing reruns of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - to his Cars-themed bedroom and tucked him in with a kiss to the forehead, a nightly ritual we had to forego roughly 8 months and 40 pounds ago. Whether due to his five inch growth spurt or the surplus of fastfood we were forced to consume until the last few weeks, it still baffles me how quickly Jamie packed on the weight.

"Kat? Kat. Kathryn."

I blink in quick successions and pause my movements as I'm pulled out of my thoughts. We're halfway up the treacherous mountain when I turn to Jack with wide, panicked eyes, and he chuckles lowly when he reaches out for Jamie. "Lemme take him, you're tired."

"No, it's okay. I've got it." I wince as I take a step forward. 

"Kat, you can barely stand! C'mon I don't want you two to trip." He insists, reaching over and pulling Jamie from my arms with ease, his toned muscles taut and bulging against the fabric of his flannel. He grins at me as I wiggle and swing my tense arms around, groaning and moaning in relief as the soreness dwindles away. He perches Jamie against his chest like a koala, one arm wrapped securely around Jamie's back and the other pressed against the back of his shaggy hair.

He raises his perfectly-sculpted eyebrows at me in query as I shield my mouth with my hand, smothering the silent giggles escaping my lips at the sight before me. "What?" He asks, laughing along obliviously.

I scrunch my nose and smile widely, shaking my head from side to side. "You look like a dad."

His sharp jaw drops as his face contorts in a mixture of surprise, mock-anger, and...hopefulness? He gazes at me curiously before his eyes drop to the sleeping boy cuddles in his arms and he grins at the sight of a droplet of slobber forming in the corner of his mouth.

His gaze flashes to meet mine. "Well, Miss Kathryn Sawyer, I'll take that as a compliment. I hope my kids turn out half as cool as Jamie." He grins sincerely, and I feel my heart clench. Me too, I want to say, but all my body allows me to do is stare and admire. 

Our eye-contact lasts for much longer than needed, but as our grins widen and the corners of our eyes crinkle, neither of us seem to be able to look away. Or perhaps we simply don't want to.

Jack interrupts our silence after a moment, but his hazel eyes remain locked on mine. "Bet I could beat you up the hill, even with this lil piggie in my arms." He nods toward Jamie, a small smirk spread across his lips. 

I narrow my eyes as my legs pivot and prepare to launch. "Oh, you're on, Gilinsky." I say coolly before turning to the top of the hill and zooming away, my feet pounding against the Earth beneath as I faintly hear Jack's groans and whines behind as he trails along.

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