A Second Chance at Happiness (7/22?)
Title: 
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Team Tardis, Team Torchwood, Lacey, Tessa, Devon, Mere, Tony, Tavish, Jack/Ianto, Master/Ten/Rose, Gwen/Rhys, Mickey/Jake, Jackie/Pete
Summary: Lacey and Owen are stuck in the their childhood again, will this time be better?
Jack needed the walk to clear his head as headed back to the manor. Coming up the walk, he could see Owen, sitting on the stoop, his knees curled up to his chest. He stopped in front of the boy. “Shouldn’t you be inside, getting ready for bed? It’s after ten.”
“You can’t fix this, can you, Jack?” Owen looked up at him.
Jack sighed. “I don’t know, Owen. It’s too early to say. Could be it will wear off on it’s own in twenty four hours but, on the other hand, no, there may be no way to fix this, not without the device. And if that’s the case…” He shrugged, trailing off.
Owen picked up the meaning. “If that’s the case, it’s awkwardness, gangliness and Pimple Street all over again.” He rested his chin on his knees.
Jack put his hand out to Owen, waiting for the boy to look up at him. “Come on, time to go inside and get ready for bed. Like it or not, you’re a kid again, which means bed before three am.”
Owen looked at Jack, and at the offered hand. He sighed, reaching up to take it. “This sucks,” he echoed Lacey’s earlier sentiment, standing up with Jack’s help.
“Yep, so I’ve heard.” He led the young man inside, where he was greeted by the familiar yet strange sound of the two sisters fighting. “Lacey! Tessa! It’s after ten, stop arguing and get ready for bed!”
“I’m not tired!” They both yelled. “And I’m never letting Rose shop for me ever again. I’m not wearing these!” Lacey added.
“That’s the reason I was outside, by the way. They’ve been at it since they came home.”
Jack smirked down at the boy. “This is normal, you’ll get used to this.” He called up the stairs, “Lacey! Get into the Pajamas now! Don’t make me come up there!”
“I’m not wearing My Little Pony Pajamas! I want to maintain some dignity!”
Jack was torn between laughing and marching up the stairs and sticking her in the pajamas. He was about to call up to her again when a chuckle from the couch got his attention. “Gray, I thought you were staying at John’s?”
The younger Harkness shook his head. “John is off on some kind of job off planet. It can get lonely in the apartment, and you did say I could stay here any time I wanted. And by the sounds of it,” he nodded upstairs as the girls went at it again, “You might need the extra pair of hands. Want me to go deal with Lacey?”
Jack nodded. “Yes, I think Ianto can handle Tessa. He usually does. I’ll get this one here,” he pulled a mildly protesting Owen close. Gray nodded with a smile and headed up the stairs, Jack and Owen following behind him. “Did they happen to get you a toothbrush?”
Owen shrugged. “Wasn’t something I was worried about. I didn’t even check. Lace and Tessa started fighting and it was giving me a headache, so I went outside. They are really screechy.”
Jack nodded. “She’s always cranky when she’s tired.” He went into the room that Owen motioned to as his, going through the things the girls had bought. “Well, I hope you like Transformers, cause that’s your pajamas for the time being.” He chuckled as the medic groaned. “Come on, it could have been worse. Aha! Toothbrush. Look, SpongeBob squarepants.” He tossed the brush at Owen.
He caught the toothbrush, stared at it, turning to give Jack his trade mark, ‘you cannot be serious’ look. “I’m supposed to brush my teeth with this?”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, you are, now hop to it, and don’t think I won’t do it for you if you don’t get a move on.” He tossed the Pjs at him. “Bathroom’s third door on your right. Take a shower, brush your teeth, then straight to bed, got it? I’ll be checking so don’t think I won’t know.”
“What? No bedtime stories or glass of water?” Jack fixed the boy with a look, and Owen rolled his eyes and left the room. He stood in the door for a moment, biting his lip not to laugh, knowing if he did, she’d slap him.
Lacey was standing on a box, leaning on the counter, brushing her teeth, while her Uncle brushed out her wet hair, braiding it into two pigtails. She was actually in My Little Pony pajamas, horrid purple things with the little ponies all over it, the top having lickety-split large on the front. Rose definitely had to pick that out. He cleared his throat and she half turned her head, rolling her eyes, “Don’t laugh. Don’t say that I look adorable.” She mumbled around her toothbrush. “I already got that from Uncle Gray and Tad.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, though you do look really cute in pigtails.” He smirked at her, watching her roll her eyes again as she finished up brushing her teeth. He watched as Gray tied off the last of the Pigtails, and they walked out of the bathroom, leaving it to him. “Night, Lace,” he called out to her.
“Night, Owen,” she called back with a little wave.
He set the pajamas on the counter next to the sink, placing his toothbrush next to Lacey’s Barbie one. Oh, he’d have to pick on her about that in the morning. Seriously, he and Lacey should demand to go and get clothes for themselves. He realized as he turned the shower on and got in that he’d just resigned them to the fact that it wasn’t reversible. Owen stood there, the hot water beating against him, and he cried, sliding down the back wall to curl up again. He didn’t want to go through this again. He knew, on some level, that just because he and Lace were stuck like this again, that it wouldn’t be the same. Jack wasn’t just gonna start not liking them just because they were children. The part of his mind that had all his adult memories and knowledge knew that it wouldn’t be as bad, even if they had to grow up again. But the childhood memories and feelings were closer to the surface right now, and all he could remember was the fear of the beatings, the yelling, everything. And he certainly didn’t like the idea that Lace kept looking to him, expecting him to be the brave one, just because when she was a child she could look to the Doctor for that. She could go right back to looking at the Doctor for her guidance, or Jack, or Ianto, or even Tessa for all he cared. He didn’t want to be her protector, didn’t want to be her savior.
There was knock on the door, and he sat up, startled. “Everything ok, Owen? You’re taking longer than Tessa does, and she takes forever.”
“Yeah, fine, Jack,” he answered quickly, standing up to actually wash in the now cooling water, scrubbing at his face to rid himself of the tear stains. He knew he wouldn’t fool Jack. Bastard had probably been standing outside the door for a while, and Owen was not a quiet crier. He turned the water off and toweled off. He had gotten into the pajamas, at least it was Optimus Prime, and not Bumblebee or Jazz. He always did like Optimus Prime. He was brushing his teeth when Jack knocked again. “Brushing!”
Jack pushed open the door, looking at Owen with a smirk. “Cute,” he said, chuckling when he rolled his eyes. He crossed his arms as he leaned in the doorway. “There’s a glass of water on the nightstand, and book that Lacey absolutely insisted you would want. I can read it to you if still want that bedtime story,” he chuckled again. “Hey, you’re the one who asked for it.”
Owen finished rinsing and putting his toothbrush away, running his hand through his still damp hair. “I was joking, Jack.” He paused, thinking. “What book would she think I’d want?”
Jack shook his head. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy. She told me it had to be a surprise.”
“Figures,” he said, walking past Jack with a mumbled night. He got to the room, rolling his eyes as sure enough there was a glass of water on the nightstand, along with a thin children’s book. He got into the bed, reaching for the book, probably some stupid gag…he stopped as he stared at the book. “Leave it to her to remember.” He laid back, burrowing into the pillow and flipped open Where the Wild Things Are, a smile on his face.
Lacey sat on the bed, knees pulled up to her chest. She felt so lost. At least Owen was on his home planet, if not home country. He could easily return there. Her home was burning in a sea of fire, all the places in her childhood, all the things that made it more bearable, faded from age or the War. And she was scared that nothing would be different. She was still a half breed, and it would be even worse here if the wrong people found out about her biology. She knew they were stuck like this, until they grew up all over again. And if something happened to her, and Dad couldn’t get there before they took her to the hospital, she’d end up in some horrid government test facility, she was sure of it. There was nowhere she could run where she wouldn’t be a freak. Everyone was going to know she was freak. She didn’t fit in on Gallifrey, she wouldn’t fit in here on earth.
There was a soft knock on the door, and she looked up as her father walked in, smiling softly, “Thought you’d be asleep by now, honey.” He sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Not tired,” she said, her body rebelling against her claim as she yawned. “And it’s too strange. I’m not used to it. Everything’s odd.”
He nodded. “Do you need anything?”
“To be normal again?” He gave her a look and she sighed, “Can I have a glass of milk, oh and the mouse fairies book?”
Jack chuckled, “Yes, you can have the mouse fairies book. I’ll be right back, why don’t you get under the covers?” When he returned she had in fact crawled under the duvet, though her knees were still pulled up to her chest. He set the milk down, holding the book in his hands. “Do you want me to read it to you?” She shook her head, and he smiled. He leaned forward, kissing the top of her head. “Try and get some sleep, Lacey.” He stopped just as he was closing the door, “Sweet dreams, honey.”
“Sweet dreams, daddy.” She picked up the book, holding it in her hands, flipping through and pulling out the little notes, reading them each in turn, hoping to capture the same feeling she got when Dad read it to her and Tessa when they’d been sick a few weeks earlier. It did help a bit, but it give her that feeling it did before. Maybe she should have let him read it to her. She sipped at the milk, staring at the frog she’d run into her Tardis to grab. It was well worn, one eye had fallen off. Truth be told, the girl was surprised it was intact at all, considering it was well over seven centuries old. Then again, her old boy knew how important that frog was to her. She finished off her milk, grabbed the frog and her mouse fairies book, and climbed out of bed.
She carefully opened the door, looking down the hall to make sure no one heard her as she padded down to the room she’d seen her Tad give Owen.
Owen was really wishing he’d grabbed his damn DS from the Hub before letting Ianto herd him out with Tess and Lace. At least all of Lacey’s crap was here. His was in a flat across town and there was no way he could get there. He’d already flipped through the book a dozen times, and he really was trying to fall asleep. He was exhausted, but his mind kept running in a million different places. He tried lying on his side, then on his stomach, and now he was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He was still staring at it when he heard a knock on the door. “What, now Jack?” He groaned at the door, trying to sound like he was half asleep so the man would leave him alone.
“S’not Dad, Owen,” Lacey called in softly, “can I come in?”
He wanted to tell her no, and sat there for a few minutes, hoping that if he were quiet, she’d give up and go back to her room. He sighed, “Yeah, come on.” It’s not like he hadn’t actually been expecting it. He sat up in the bed, watching as she walked into the room, holding what looked like it used to be a frog in one hand, a tiny book tucked under her arm. She closed the door, and then just stood there. “Couldn’t sleep?” She shook her head. “Yeah, me neither, come on.” He patted the bed next to him, and she all but ran to climb in next to him. He rolled his eyes fondly. “What is that?”
She held up the falling about stuffy, “It’s Michigan J. Frog. The Doctor got it for me when I was like six.”
“Six?! And it’s still in one piece? What did he get made it in plushie titanium?”
She giggled, “more that the Tardis kept him in one piece. Well,” She looked at the missing eye, the furless parts where it had rubbed way, “how he was when I first put him in my Tardis.”
“Why Michigan J?”
"I named him after that Frog from the cartoon? The Looney Tunes one with the Frog that would only perform for like one guy and the guy got greedy and tried to exploit it but it wouldn’t sing in front of anyone else and you really don’t care, do you?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Not for every last detail, but it is cute when you ramble like that. Been kinda worried about that, you hadn’t had a good ramble all day.”
She shrugged, resting her head on his shoulder as they both lay back down on the bed. He wrapped his arm around her, thinking how often lately they’d found themselves in this position, though before it was after mind-blowing sex. That wouldn’t be happening for a few years at least. She yawned, and he couldn’t stifle one of his own.
Jack went to check on the kids later after going through some personal files, trying to see if anywhere in them he could find something about the device. Tessa was asleep, he smiled as he realized she’d fallen asleep blaring her music at the highest volume. He went in and took the earbuds out and turning off the Ipod before setting it on the nightstand.
He went next door, and frowned. Lacey was gone. The glass was empty, and the frog that she’d dragged out of her Tardis wasn’t there either. He went in, checking the mattress. It was cool. This hadn’t been just a quick trip to the loo. He nodded. He knew where she was.
Sure enough, as he quietly opened the door to Owen’s room, he found both children curled up asleep in the twin bed, the frog between them. She was curled up on her side, using the boy as her pillow. He was half on his back, half turned into Lacey. The arm she was laying on wrapped around her shoulders, the other one sharing a hold of the stuffy. Jack smiled, shutting the door quietly as he left to go to bed himself.
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Team Tardis, Team Torchwood, Lacey, Tessa, Devon, Mere, Tony, Tavish, Jack/Ianto, Master/Ten/Rose, Gwen/Rhys, Mickey/Jake, Jackie/Pete
Summary: Lacey and Owen are stuck in the their childhood again, will this time be better?
Jack needed the walk to clear his head as headed back to the manor. Coming up the walk, he could see Owen, sitting on the stoop, his knees curled up to his chest. He stopped in front of the boy. “Shouldn’t you be inside, getting ready for bed? It’s after ten.”
“You can’t fix this, can you, Jack?” Owen looked up at him.
Jack sighed. “I don’t know, Owen. It’s too early to say. Could be it will wear off on it’s own in twenty four hours but, on the other hand, no, there may be no way to fix this, not without the device. And if that’s the case…” He shrugged, trailing off.
Owen picked up the meaning. “If that’s the case, it’s awkwardness, gangliness and Pimple Street all over again.” He rested his chin on his knees.
Jack put his hand out to Owen, waiting for the boy to look up at him. “Come on, time to go inside and get ready for bed. Like it or not, you’re a kid again, which means bed before three am.”
Owen looked at Jack, and at the offered hand. He sighed, reaching up to take it. “This sucks,” he echoed Lacey’s earlier sentiment, standing up with Jack’s help.
“Yep, so I’ve heard.” He led the young man inside, where he was greeted by the familiar yet strange sound of the two sisters fighting. “Lacey! Tessa! It’s after ten, stop arguing and get ready for bed!”
“I’m not tired!” They both yelled. “And I’m never letting Rose shop for me ever again. I’m not wearing these!” Lacey added.
“That’s the reason I was outside, by the way. They’ve been at it since they came home.”
Jack smirked down at the boy. “This is normal, you’ll get used to this.” He called up the stairs, “Lacey! Get into the Pajamas now! Don’t make me come up there!”
“I’m not wearing My Little Pony Pajamas! I want to maintain some dignity!”
Jack was torn between laughing and marching up the stairs and sticking her in the pajamas. He was about to call up to her again when a chuckle from the couch got his attention. “Gray, I thought you were staying at John’s?”
The younger Harkness shook his head. “John is off on some kind of job off planet. It can get lonely in the apartment, and you did say I could stay here any time I wanted. And by the sounds of it,” he nodded upstairs as the girls went at it again, “You might need the extra pair of hands. Want me to go deal with Lacey?”
Jack nodded. “Yes, I think Ianto can handle Tessa. He usually does. I’ll get this one here,” he pulled a mildly protesting Owen close. Gray nodded with a smile and headed up the stairs, Jack and Owen following behind him. “Did they happen to get you a toothbrush?”
Owen shrugged. “Wasn’t something I was worried about. I didn’t even check. Lace and Tessa started fighting and it was giving me a headache, so I went outside. They are really screechy.”
Jack nodded. “She’s always cranky when she’s tired.” He went into the room that Owen motioned to as his, going through the things the girls had bought. “Well, I hope you like Transformers, cause that’s your pajamas for the time being.” He chuckled as the medic groaned. “Come on, it could have been worse. Aha! Toothbrush. Look, SpongeBob squarepants.” He tossed the brush at Owen.
He caught the toothbrush, stared at it, turning to give Jack his trade mark, ‘you cannot be serious’ look. “I’m supposed to brush my teeth with this?”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, you are, now hop to it, and don’t think I won’t do it for you if you don’t get a move on.” He tossed the Pjs at him. “Bathroom’s third door on your right. Take a shower, brush your teeth, then straight to bed, got it? I’ll be checking so don’t think I won’t know.”
“What? No bedtime stories or glass of water?” Jack fixed the boy with a look, and Owen rolled his eyes and left the room. He stood in the door for a moment, biting his lip not to laugh, knowing if he did, she’d slap him.
Lacey was standing on a box, leaning on the counter, brushing her teeth, while her Uncle brushed out her wet hair, braiding it into two pigtails. She was actually in My Little Pony pajamas, horrid purple things with the little ponies all over it, the top having lickety-split large on the front. Rose definitely had to pick that out. He cleared his throat and she half turned her head, rolling her eyes, “Don’t laugh. Don’t say that I look adorable.” She mumbled around her toothbrush. “I already got that from Uncle Gray and Tad.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, though you do look really cute in pigtails.” He smirked at her, watching her roll her eyes again as she finished up brushing her teeth. He watched as Gray tied off the last of the Pigtails, and they walked out of the bathroom, leaving it to him. “Night, Lace,” he called out to her.
“Night, Owen,” she called back with a little wave.
He set the pajamas on the counter next to the sink, placing his toothbrush next to Lacey’s Barbie one. Oh, he’d have to pick on her about that in the morning. Seriously, he and Lacey should demand to go and get clothes for themselves. He realized as he turned the shower on and got in that he’d just resigned them to the fact that it wasn’t reversible. Owen stood there, the hot water beating against him, and he cried, sliding down the back wall to curl up again. He didn’t want to go through this again. He knew, on some level, that just because he and Lace were stuck like this again, that it wouldn’t be the same. Jack wasn’t just gonna start not liking them just because they were children. The part of his mind that had all his adult memories and knowledge knew that it wouldn’t be as bad, even if they had to grow up again. But the childhood memories and feelings were closer to the surface right now, and all he could remember was the fear of the beatings, the yelling, everything. And he certainly didn’t like the idea that Lace kept looking to him, expecting him to be the brave one, just because when she was a child she could look to the Doctor for that. She could go right back to looking at the Doctor for her guidance, or Jack, or Ianto, or even Tessa for all he cared. He didn’t want to be her protector, didn’t want to be her savior.
There was knock on the door, and he sat up, startled. “Everything ok, Owen? You’re taking longer than Tessa does, and she takes forever.”
“Yeah, fine, Jack,” he answered quickly, standing up to actually wash in the now cooling water, scrubbing at his face to rid himself of the tear stains. He knew he wouldn’t fool Jack. Bastard had probably been standing outside the door for a while, and Owen was not a quiet crier. He turned the water off and toweled off. He had gotten into the pajamas, at least it was Optimus Prime, and not Bumblebee or Jazz. He always did like Optimus Prime. He was brushing his teeth when Jack knocked again. “Brushing!”
Jack pushed open the door, looking at Owen with a smirk. “Cute,” he said, chuckling when he rolled his eyes. He crossed his arms as he leaned in the doorway. “There’s a glass of water on the nightstand, and book that Lacey absolutely insisted you would want. I can read it to you if still want that bedtime story,” he chuckled again. “Hey, you’re the one who asked for it.”
Owen finished rinsing and putting his toothbrush away, running his hand through his still damp hair. “I was joking, Jack.” He paused, thinking. “What book would she think I’d want?”
Jack shook his head. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy. She told me it had to be a surprise.”
“Figures,” he said, walking past Jack with a mumbled night. He got to the room, rolling his eyes as sure enough there was a glass of water on the nightstand, along with a thin children’s book. He got into the bed, reaching for the book, probably some stupid gag…he stopped as he stared at the book. “Leave it to her to remember.” He laid back, burrowing into the pillow and flipped open Where the Wild Things Are, a smile on his face.
Lacey sat on the bed, knees pulled up to her chest. She felt so lost. At least Owen was on his home planet, if not home country. He could easily return there. Her home was burning in a sea of fire, all the places in her childhood, all the things that made it more bearable, faded from age or the War. And she was scared that nothing would be different. She was still a half breed, and it would be even worse here if the wrong people found out about her biology. She knew they were stuck like this, until they grew up all over again. And if something happened to her, and Dad couldn’t get there before they took her to the hospital, she’d end up in some horrid government test facility, she was sure of it. There was nowhere she could run where she wouldn’t be a freak. Everyone was going to know she was freak. She didn’t fit in on Gallifrey, she wouldn’t fit in here on earth.
There was a soft knock on the door, and she looked up as her father walked in, smiling softly, “Thought you’d be asleep by now, honey.” He sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Not tired,” she said, her body rebelling against her claim as she yawned. “And it’s too strange. I’m not used to it. Everything’s odd.”
He nodded. “Do you need anything?”
“To be normal again?” He gave her a look and she sighed, “Can I have a glass of milk, oh and the mouse fairies book?”
Jack chuckled, “Yes, you can have the mouse fairies book. I’ll be right back, why don’t you get under the covers?” When he returned she had in fact crawled under the duvet, though her knees were still pulled up to her chest. He set the milk down, holding the book in his hands. “Do you want me to read it to you?” She shook her head, and he smiled. He leaned forward, kissing the top of her head. “Try and get some sleep, Lacey.” He stopped just as he was closing the door, “Sweet dreams, honey.”
“Sweet dreams, daddy.” She picked up the book, holding it in her hands, flipping through and pulling out the little notes, reading them each in turn, hoping to capture the same feeling she got when Dad read it to her and Tessa when they’d been sick a few weeks earlier. It did help a bit, but it give her that feeling it did before. Maybe she should have let him read it to her. She sipped at the milk, staring at the frog she’d run into her Tardis to grab. It was well worn, one eye had fallen off. Truth be told, the girl was surprised it was intact at all, considering it was well over seven centuries old. Then again, her old boy knew how important that frog was to her. She finished off her milk, grabbed the frog and her mouse fairies book, and climbed out of bed.
She carefully opened the door, looking down the hall to make sure no one heard her as she padded down to the room she’d seen her Tad give Owen.
Owen was really wishing he’d grabbed his damn DS from the Hub before letting Ianto herd him out with Tess and Lace. At least all of Lacey’s crap was here. His was in a flat across town and there was no way he could get there. He’d already flipped through the book a dozen times, and he really was trying to fall asleep. He was exhausted, but his mind kept running in a million different places. He tried lying on his side, then on his stomach, and now he was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He was still staring at it when he heard a knock on the door. “What, now Jack?” He groaned at the door, trying to sound like he was half asleep so the man would leave him alone.
“S’not Dad, Owen,” Lacey called in softly, “can I come in?”
He wanted to tell her no, and sat there for a few minutes, hoping that if he were quiet, she’d give up and go back to her room. He sighed, “Yeah, come on.” It’s not like he hadn’t actually been expecting it. He sat up in the bed, watching as she walked into the room, holding what looked like it used to be a frog in one hand, a tiny book tucked under her arm. She closed the door, and then just stood there. “Couldn’t sleep?” She shook her head. “Yeah, me neither, come on.” He patted the bed next to him, and she all but ran to climb in next to him. He rolled his eyes fondly. “What is that?”
She held up the falling about stuffy, “It’s Michigan J. Frog. The Doctor got it for me when I was like six.”
“Six?! And it’s still in one piece? What did he get made it in plushie titanium?”
She giggled, “more that the Tardis kept him in one piece. Well,” She looked at the missing eye, the furless parts where it had rubbed way, “how he was when I first put him in my Tardis.”
“Why Michigan J?”
"I named him after that Frog from the cartoon? The Looney Tunes one with the Frog that would only perform for like one guy and the guy got greedy and tried to exploit it but it wouldn’t sing in front of anyone else and you really don’t care, do you?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Not for every last detail, but it is cute when you ramble like that. Been kinda worried about that, you hadn’t had a good ramble all day.”
She shrugged, resting her head on his shoulder as they both lay back down on the bed. He wrapped his arm around her, thinking how often lately they’d found themselves in this position, though before it was after mind-blowing sex. That wouldn’t be happening for a few years at least. She yawned, and he couldn’t stifle one of his own.
Jack went to check on the kids later after going through some personal files, trying to see if anywhere in them he could find something about the device. Tessa was asleep, he smiled as he realized she’d fallen asleep blaring her music at the highest volume. He went in and took the earbuds out and turning off the Ipod before setting it on the nightstand.
He went next door, and frowned. Lacey was gone. The glass was empty, and the frog that she’d dragged out of her Tardis wasn’t there either. He went in, checking the mattress. It was cool. This hadn’t been just a quick trip to the loo. He nodded. He knew where she was.
Sure enough, as he quietly opened the door to Owen’s room, he found both children curled up asleep in the twin bed, the frog between them. She was curled up on her side, using the boy as her pillow. He was half on his back, half turned into Lacey. The arm she was laying on wrapped around her shoulders, the other one sharing a hold of the stuffy. Jack smiled, shutting the door quietly as he left to go to bed himself.