It was funny - once upon a time, Jessica would never look at Malachi Azure the way she looked at him now. However, that time was long ago. Now, she couldn’t imagine looking at him any other way: filled with confusion, frustration, and pain. In a way, she knew he felt the same way about her - the pain likely being stronger than anything else - especially after finding out exactly why she left him. Part of her could still remember the day her sister told her she was pregnant… and those words had followed her until the moment she had told Kai that she couldn’t leave that wedding with him. No matter how much part of her wanted to leave with him that day, the thought of her sister’s pregnancy remained in her head… and she just couldn’t say yes.
She was waiting for a response… some clever fight to get information out of her: after all, if there was something she knew about Kai, it was the fact that he was good at manipulation. However, before he even had the chance, Jessica felt the trembles all around her. Sht. Her mind was instantly on her children, and - if Kai wasn’t in the room pulling her head down under a desk with his arms around her - she probably would have risked it and ran downstairs without a care in the world about her own safety.
The earthquake only lasted a minute… but with her mind on her children that were downstairs alone… it felt like forever. The second it ended, she allowed Kai to help her up - ignoring his questions about if she was okay as she made her way downstairs. The first thing she heard the instant she had made her way to the kitchen was Aidan - who was sobbing in someone’s arms. “Hey hey darling, shh, it’s okay. You’re okay darling… look, you have twooo eyes, and two ears, and a… oh where’d your nose go… did you lose your nose?.” Jess mouthed thank you to the woman who was trying to console him as she got her little boy in her arms. Placing a kiss on Aidan’s cheeks, she rubbed the boy’s back before continuing. “Ohhh there it is, let me just put that on quickly,” Jess muttered, pretending to put his nose back on and kissing it. “See there’s absolutely nothing to cry about… you have everything here,” Jess smiled, watching as her son stopped crying and started touching Jess’ face. “How about you make sure mommy has everything while we go look for your siblings okay?” With her son now calmed down, Jess quickly walked outside - though relief filled her body seeing her husband with his arms wrapped tightly around Ethan and Grayson. Shay and Zoe were sitting next to him, and it looked like Shay was hugging Zoe so she’d stop crying - though clearly, that wasn’t working. Running towards her family, Jess dropped beside Dorian - instantly wrapping her free arm around Zoe and Shay as she looked over at her husband with a confused… though thankful look that he was there. “Is everyone okay?” she looked at him, and clearly, he had the same question as she found his eyes on her with a worried expression. “I’m okay love.” Jess mumbled before looking over at Zoe who was crying the loudest… probably because her dad wasn’t holding her but hey, he was a little preoccupied with both Ethan and Grayson in his arms. “Hey darling, it’s okay,” Jess whispered, moving her hand from around Shay and Zoe so that she could wipe her tears… let’s just say her other arm was occupied by Aidan and he was clearly not going to let go anytime soon. “There’s no need to cry… I know that was scary but you and Shay were just having so much fun dancing and the world wanted to join in and show off its dance moves too. I’m sorry it scared you.” Jess whispered, kissing her daughter’s head.
“Dan…dancing?”
“Yep, just a little shake here… and a little shake there.” Jess whispered, tickling her daughter so she’d laugh a little, before wrapping her free arm around her to give her a hug. “Are you okay, baby?” Jess whispered, looking at Shay who nodded with a “Y…yes mommy” - and hugged Jess too - though she saw Shay’s eyes watering - clearly being strong for her sister while she could. After a few seconds of hugging her kids, Jess turned back towards Dori before grabbing Ethan out of his arms. The two kids were crying before - probably disrupted by the shaking, but they were quickly quieting down with their Dad’s attention.
With Ethan in her hands, Jess finally found her eyes moving towards Kai with his daughter - though, Jess had only caught the end of their interaction… and with one last look in her direction… he left… leaving his daughter standing there. “Shay, Zoe. Can you two go play with your new friend? Stay out here where I can see you okay? I’ll be right there,” And with that, Jess watched the two kids reluctantly leave their parents towards where Kai’s daughter was standing.
Turning back to face Dorian, Jess saw Aidan had now taken a seat in his dad’s lap, hugging his father. “Are you okay Dori? How… honestly I don’t even care. Thank god you’re here.” Jess whispered, bringing her hand to his cheek.
@astxrism - Dorian
@Littlefeets - Kai Mentioned