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SPOILER ALERT: WHAT I NEED IS ALWAYS HIM

QUINN

As the city street blurs into a long, winding road, my thoughts drift back to the first time I drove to Jack's house. It feels like a lifetime ago.

This time, I’m not alone.

So much has happened in such a short period. When I initially came to him and Sienna, I simply wanted to make it through until I arrived at the next thing in my life.

I gained so much more than I bargained for.

Despite all the trauma I've faced, I find myself feeling oddly at ease. Tears have been shed, and for someone who rarely cries, it’s been a lot. But Jack has been there with me through it all; he's cried too. Even though I received the brunt of all that happened, he also experienced significant loss in the process.

I can’t imagine losing my best friend in this way, and while he wasn’t who Jack thought he was, that doesn’t make it any less devastating. Thankfully, he and Ezra are above any kind of toxic masculinity bullshit, and they have leaned on each other a lot. I am thankful they have each other.

And poor Ezra… I literally cannot comprehend what he must be feeling. I am so fucking lucky that he came over when he did, and I am pretty sure I’ll spend every day for the rest of my life telling him how grateful I am that he didn’t hesitate when he realized what was happening.

Now, as Jack squeezes my thigh when we turn onto his long driveway, I’m brought back to the present. He puts the car into park and walks around the front before coming over to my side and opening the door for me.

Such a gentleman; unlike Kronk, who I can already hear going nuts in the backyard.

When I get out of the car, Jack wraps me in a bear hug, and I nuzzle into his chest, breathing in his bergamot scent. Tears form in my eyes because at one point, just a few short days ago, I thought I’d never smell him again.

Never feel this again.

His arms tighten around me as if he can sense my thoughts, pulling me closer until there’s no space left between us.

We stand like that for some time before he kisses me on the forehead and pulls away from me. He opens the back car door and unbuckles Sienna, cradling her gently in his arms. The three of us head inside, and as we step through the door, I hear familiar voices coming from the living room.

“Hey, we’re back!” I call out, my voice echoing through the space.

Kruz and Ezra are already here, having arrived just before us. They let themselves in, per usual, as they’re here more often than not lately. Kruz has been constantly at my side, acting like a mother hen even though I have been mostly fine since returning home from the hospital.

She stands up from the couch and walks over, her face softening when she sees Sienna in Jack’s arms. “There’s the little princess,” she says, reaching out to take Sienna, who goes willingly into her arms.

She never really warmed up to Ezra before, but seems surprisingly at ease around him now. As I watch them, I notice how her usual guardedness has softened; she’s more relaxed, more herself. She recognizes that Ezra’s been through his own kind of hell too, a hell maybe worse than what Jack and I have endured. She’s grateful to him for saving her best friend, and that gratitude is starting to break down the walls she had up around him.

Ezra joins them, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips as Kruz hands Sienna to him. He’s gentle with her, holding her like she’s something precious. There’s a moment when Kruz and Ezra are talking, and I hear Kruz laugh—a real laugh, the kind I haven’t heard from her in literal days because of how anxious she’s been about my wellbeing in the aftermath of all this.

Seeing them together, laughing, even if just for a moment, makes me realize how much he might actually need someone like her in his life. Kruz is a light and her friendship is a joy. Maybe, in some way, she could help him heal a little.

I know having her around helps me.

Jack and I watch from the doorway as Ezra and Kruz move to the back patio, Sienna nestled in Ezra’s arms. Jack slips his hand into mine, squeezing gently as we follow them outside. The late afternoon sun casts a warm glow over everything, and for a moment, it feels like the world has stopped spinning so fast.

Ezra and Jack settle into their usual spots on the patio, beers now in hand, talking in low voices. Kruz sits close to Ezra, her laughter occasionally drifting across the space as she plays with Sienna’s tiny hands. I lean against the doorframe, my heart swelling with a mixture of gratitude and something deeper, something I wasn’t sure I was ready to accept yet.

Something that feels like a real family.

But it’s there, undeniable, like a warmth spreading through my chest.

As I watch them, I feel a sense of peace, a rare moment of calm in the storm that has been our lives lately. Whatever comes next, I know we’ll face it together—this little makeshift family of ours, finding solace in each other’s company.

Jack must sense the same thing because he walks over to me, his presence steady and grounding like he knows exactly what I need without me having to say a word.

Spoiler alert: what I need is always him.

We stand there for a moment, wrapped up in each other, letting the world fade away. Eventually, he pulls back just enough to look down at me, his eyes soft and full of something that feels like home, like safety.

“I love you,” he says softly, though we’ve said it many times before now, it feels new every time.

“I love you too, Jack,” I reply, the words as natural as breathing.

And as our lips meet in a gentle, lingering kiss.

“Get a room,” Ezra chides, and when I look his way he’s covering Sienna’s eyes with his hand and grinning from ear to ear.

As the sun dips below the horizon, casting long shadows across the porch, I realize that even when everything goes sideways, there are moments like this—moments where things feel almost normal. It’s weird how life keeps going, how you can still laugh and find comfort with the people who matter, even after everything. Maybe that’s what gets us through—the little bits of normalcy we hold on to, even when everything else feels like it’s falling apart. And as we all sit here, talking quietly while Sienna makes those cute baby noises, I can’t help but think that, somehow, we’re all going to be okay.

I look up at Jack again.

Better than okay.

Amongst all the noise in my mind lately, there's been one constant, a whisper that’s always there, even on the hardest days. Sometimes it’s soft, other times it's more like a whisper shout , but it’s the one I trust most. The one that tells me, without a doubt, that Jack and Sienna are my forever.