The Agent and The School Teacher

Chapter Twelve: Saving The World

Jack seemed off all day. I felt bad for him, knowing exactly how he felt. but now, being on the parental end of it, I also felt bad for Aaron. He didn't want to leave. He doesn't like letting his son down, but there's another child missing in St. Louis that needs him too.

The day ended, and all of the kids went home. Charlotte skipped up to Jack's desk at the end of the day.

"Jack, do you want to come with me to go and get Sadie?"

"Sure." He said, standing up and grabbing his backpack. They walked out of the room and I began cleaning up the day's activities when there was a knock on my open door. I looked up to see a woman, carrying a blue bag.

"Hi, can I help you?" I asked.

"Yes um, are you Elizabeth Bartlett?" She questioned.

"Yes ma'am, what can I do for you?"

"I'm Jack's Aunt. Aaron asked my to pack a bag for him, saying he's having an impromptu sleep over." I nodded.

"Oh, yes, I can take that." She handed it to me. "I didn't know Aaron had a sister."

"Oh, he doesn't. I'm Jessica, I'm his late ex-wife's sister." I stopped.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"No, it's ok." She said. "Natural assumption." I smiled.

"I just um...I figured Jack should have something to keep his mind off of his Dad being gone, so I thought he could stay over with the girls'. My dad was a profiler, so I know how complicated it can get and-"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me." She said. I stopped. "Look, if you and Aaron are dating-"

"No!" I exclaimed. "No, no, no, no, no, we're not dating. No, I'm just Jack's teacher, and our kids our friends, and we are kind of friends. No, I'm-we aren't-I am-I'm not dating Aaron." She nodded.

"I just assumed by the way he talked about you, when he told me who you were," She stated, "He um...he used to talk about my sister like that."

"I swear, I'm not trying to...intrude on your family or anything." I said, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"I didn't think you were. Plus, if you make Aaron and Jack happy, then who am I to get in the way." my jaw dropped as I searched for something else to say. "It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah um...yeah, you too." She turned, leaving the room and I leaned back against my desk, mentally slapping myself. I sounded like a basket case.

"Mommy, we're here with Jack!" Sadie exclaimed, dragging Jack into the room while Charlotte tagged along behind.

"Right um, Jack, here's your stuff." I handed him the bag. "Now, what do you guys want for dinner?"

~~~

I made the kids chicken nuggets and Macaroni and cheese. Apparently, that was the most exciting sleep-over meal they could think of. I scooped out some ice cream for them afterwards and they were all currently laying on the floor in sleeping bags watching Finding Nemo. I wasn't paying attention to the movie, and it wasn't just because I had seen it with the girls a thousand times. It was because I couldn't stop thinking about my Dad and Jessica.

"Ok, its just...I know Aaron. He's a good man and...you could use one of those for a change."

"I just assumed by the way he talked about you, when he told me who you were...He um...he used to talk about my sister like that."

Aaron is a good man. I know that for myself, but my Dad knows that too. Dad likes him, says I should pursue a relationship with him. His sister says that the way he talks about me reminds her of how he used to talk about his wife.