Jack sighed quietly. He understood those words, “part of the family”, all too well. When you bonded with someone like that, especially a child, sometimes there was no way to let go.
And, now that the initial shock was starting to wear off, Jack found he rather liked the idea of having a baby around again. He and Katelynn had talked about having more children after Ulric, they just hadn’t gotten around to it. They’d both been getting on in years by then, and with two rambunctious, hyper-intelligent kids already, they’d eventually decided it was better to wait and hold out for a grandchild.
Which, Jack thought dryly, was pretty much what Joey would be.
“We’ll have to talk to your mother about this,” he reminded Ulric. “And I know she wants to meet you as well,” he added to Mira. “But … yes, I think it’ll be okay.”
Bring him back to the future…they needed to talk about that someday. Something they needed to discuss, and had been on Mira’s mind for a while now. Of what would happen…if she was able to travel with him. If there was a way, well…Mira wouldn’t pass it up. She didn’t have family to leave behind anyway. Meeting Ulric’s father was a good first step.
Nodding, Mira smiled and reached out to take Joey from Ulric, carefully picking him up and setting him on her lap, holding him close. Glancing at Jack, then back down at Joey, Mira grinned and gently took his little hand, carefully making him wave at the computer screen. Chuckling, Mira crossed her legs and relaxed with the little guy in her lap.
“I know, would love to meet her too.” Mira had already met Katelynn in the past, which…didn’t go so well. She kept wondering what the future Katelynn was like. Surely wonderful of what Ulric had said about her. “I mean…from what Ulric’s said, just…wish I had parents like you two.” Mira grinned sheepishly.
His mother… of course. An apologetic smile on his face, Ulric turns to face the computer screen, keeping within view as he nods his understanding. “Yeah, I know.” It made sense, really.
When Joey’s in Mira’s lap, Ulric reaches over, gives the little guy his index finger to hold onto for a couple minutes. With him holding on, his expression softens, glancing over to the little boy sitting in Mira’s lap. “We’ll have to do that next, then?” he offers, glancing up toward Mira.
Once he lets go, Ulric scoots away, getting ready to get up. “Sorry dad, I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Of course,” Jack replied, with a small nod. “Take as long as you need.” Once Ulric had moved away from the screen, he turned his attention to baby Joey, waving back at the little boy with a playful smile. “Hello, little guy. Nice to meet you too.”
Then, as if remembering, he straightened himself up, looking slightly embarrassed. “Ah, so, Mira … Ulric says you work with motorcycles?” He would normally have asked about her family, but that line she’d said, “I wish I had parents like you”, made him feel that maybe now wasn’t the best time. Jack did want to learn more, but it could wait until a later meeting, once he’d gotten to know Mira better.
Jack Maple 