Shorts Series: Alternate Universe - Kai’s What If - 2037/2038
Jessica’s stomach twisted the moment the words left her lips. She hated herself for saying them, for… potentially reopening wounds she knew hadn’t even begun to heal. The last thing she wanted was to pile more weight onto Kai’s already burdened shoulders. But he needed to hear it. And he needed to know she was there—not just to shoulder some of the weight but to understand it with him.
His silence felt deafening. The way his gaze dropped, his hands tightening slightly in his lap—it told her everything before he even opened his mouth. And then his voice, quiet and heavy with grief, confirmed what she already knew. “Skye… she didn’t even get to meet Scarlet.”
Jessica’s heart clenched, the pain in his voice cutting straight through her. She didn’t hesitate. She slid closer to him, wrapping her arms around his hunched frame, holding him tightly as if she could physically keep him from shattering. Her voice was barely a whisper as she said, “I know this doesn’t change anything… but I’m so sorry, Kai. I’m so, so sorry for your loss.”
For a long moment, she didn’t let go. She just held him, her cheek resting against his shoulder, trying to anchor them both in the moment. She felt him tremble slightly beneath her touch, and her own chest ached with an emotion she couldn’t quite name. Grief? Guilt? A mix of it all.
Eventually, her voice came again, softer now, almost as if the words weren’t meant to be heard. “No mother should have the chance to meet their child taken away…” Her hand drifted instinctively to her stomach, fingers brushing against the fabric of her shirt as a ghost of a memory surfaced—her own loss, the child she never got to meet. But she removed her hand as quickly as she held it… she couldn’t go there. That was a memory she didn’t want to relive… not now… not when it was so close… It didn’t matter. Right now he did.
She let the silence linger, giving them both time to sit in it, to feel the weight of everything that had been said. But then, slowly, Jessica pulled away, brushing her fingers lightly against Kai’s shoulder before standing. Without a word, she left the room, her mind already made up about what she needed to do.
When she returned minutes later, Scarlet was nestled in her arms, her tiny features peaceful in sleep. Jessica moved quietly, sitting back down beside Kai and gently transferring the baby into his lap. “But hey,” she said softly, her tone tinged with warmth as she smiled faintly, “look how perfect of a daughter you have. And guess what, Kai? She needs her dad. And I know you… I know you’re going to be an amazing dad to her, darling.”
She watched him as his arms adjusted automatically to hold Scarlet securely. There was something different in his expression—fragile, but a flicker of something beyond the grief. Maybe hope? She hoped it was… Either way, whatever it was, it made her chest ache in a way she couldn’t explain.
“But to be a good dad, you can’t fade away right now, Kai,” she continued, her voice gentle but firm. “You need to eat… sleep… all of the above. And I’ll be here until you’re okay enough to do it alone. I promise. My home is your home, but I have a set of rules here.”
She leaned back slightly, nudging his arm lightly as if to make her point. “Rule number one: you have to eat every day.”
Her gaze softened as she watched Scarlet shift slightly in Kai’s arms, her tiny hands curling into fists. “We’ll figure this out together,” she added, her voice steady but filled with quiet determination. “One step at a time.”
For the first time, as she looked at the two of them together, she felt a glimmer of hope. Small, but real. And for now, maybe that was enough?
@Littlefeets - maybe time skip for the next post?