"Alright, the number to my hotel is on the fridge with Jin's favorite meals and snacks. Formula is on the counter and we're pretty stocked up on diapers, so you shouldn't need to buy them while I'm gone. Am I forgetting anything?" Night walked around the living room and kitchen with her husband in tow, counting things on her fingers. "All of my bags, wallet, phone, keys... I think that's everything for me."
    "There's no need to worry, honey! I'll be fine by myself with the kids, have a wonderful time!" Hartz smiled, kissing her before pulling back. Night smiled back and kissed his cheek, kissing her daughter's head gently.
    "No, you're right, everything will be fine. I just, I've never been away from the kids for so long, I'm kind of nervous..."
    "And for good reason, baby! But this is a much deserved break and you're the maid of honor for your best friend's wedding! It's exciting."

Night slipped her shoes on and zipped her coat, looking over to her son who was trying not to cry. Seeing how sad he was made tears fill Night's eyes, going over and hugging him tightly.
    "Don't cry, baby boy, you're going to make me cry..." She told him jokingly, sniffling softly and pulling back. She watched a tear roll down his cheek as he smiled sadly, brushing it away.
    "S-sorry, I-I'm just sad you're leaving..." He mumbled, sniffling softly while trying to rub his tears away.
    "I'll only be gone a couple weeks, it'll fly by." They shared another hug before Hartz walked over, joining the hug with Serenity in his arm. The family pulled back and Night kissed her husband and kids goodbye, waving to them as she opened the door. "I'll call when I land, okay?"
    "Okay."
    "Okay, mama..."

She walked out of the house and made her way to the taxi, getting in and closing the door. The mother buckled and waved to her boys, the driver backing out and driving off. Jin whimpered as she faded further and further away, another round of tears in his eyes.
    "Don't worry, buddy! You and I are gonna have some fun while mama's away, promise!" Hartz tried, trying to cheer him up. Jin looked at him and took in a breath, rushing inside in tears. The lavender-haired man frowned and looked down at baby Serenity, sighing and walking back inside.

He'll give him some space to calm down...

~~~

    "Jin! You're gonna be late, hurry!" Hartz called out as he fed the baby, trying to zip up the teen's lunchbox.
    "I'm coming, sorry...!" He heard, picking up the box and walking to the living room. Jin quickly pulled his boots on and grabbed his coat and bag, grabbing the lunchbox from his dad. "Love you, bye dad...!"
    "Bye buddy, I'll pick you up after school, love you!"

The door closed and the man sighed, collapsing on the couch. It's only been a couple days since Night left and he was finally realizing all she did for the family, forever grateful to have such an amazing wife. He burped his baby girl and flicked on the tv, deciding to put something on to calm his racing mind. The next couple hours dragged on for the young dad, from taking care of his daughter and playing with her to just watching anything on the tv.

Serenity snoozed against his shirt as he watched a random show on at eleven in the morning, the father sighing. It was weird being alone... His phone went off with a familiar jingle, the young father smiling.
    "Hi honey! How's Cali?" He greeted when he answered, rubbing his daughter's back.
    "It's so beautiful here. I wish we could move out here. How's everything back in Beigoma? How are the kids?" Her sweet voice filled his ears, a soft blush flitting across his cheeks.
    "Everything is going pretty smooth back here and the kids are doing great. Jin's at school and Serenity just fell asleep against my chest." He smiled softly, his eyebrows furrowing. "Baby, have I ever told you how much I love and cherish you?"

Night raised an eyebrow at the tone shift, looking confused.
   "Of course you have, honey bun. What's going on? You're not the serious type..."
    "Because I never realized how much you do for this family. I broke a sweat trying to feed the baby and zip up Jin's lunchbox. I feel like I don't help you enough with the chores."
   "Hartz, honey, you help plenty! You're the love of my life, I only make it look easy since I've been doing this since I was eighteen." Night honestly couldn't believe what she was hearing from her husband, eyebrows furrowed in concern.
    "Jin isn't sleeping again, babe..." Hartz frowned, the tone of his voice digging the concern deeper in his wife's chest. "He's been avoiding me since you left and it's killing me. I don't know what to do."
   "Honey, he just needs time to adjust by himself. He's a teenager, let him have his space..."
    "I'm trying but I feel like I'm failing as a father to our kids."
    "You're not failing as a father, stop."

Hartz sighed and brushed his bangs away from his eyes, looking at the TV for a second.
     "I'm sorry, I haven't slept the best since you left either." He laughed softly, leaning his head back against the couch. "I miss having you in my arms each night..." Night's beautiful laughter filled his ear, making him laugh softly as well.
     "You're so cute... I promise these next couple weeks will fly, it'll be like I never left." She smiled, glancing at the time. "I need to get going though, baby. The girls and I are getting ready to have breakfast then we're looking for some last minute things for the wedding."
    "Alright honey, well, be safe and text me when you're back at the hotel."
   "I will. Love you, honey bunny!"
    "Love you too, Nightlight."

The couple finished up their phone call and Hartz felt a little better, yawning and standing to put his daughter in her crib.
     "Maybe I need a nap too..." He mumbled to himself, walking off towards the nursery. He laid Serenity in her crib after giving her a tender kiss to her head, taking in a deep breath and shutting the light off before going into his room. He collapsed on the bed and sighed, eyes closing to get a little bit of sleep.

~~~

The slam of a door is what caused him to jolt, two-colored eyes snapping open in surprise. Hartz rubbed the sleep away from his eyes as he sat up, yawning and stretching out his arms.
    "What time is it...?" He drawled, grabbing his phone from the nightstand and looking at it. Time felt like it stopped when he read the screen, about falling out of bed and opening his bedroom door.

It was almost four in the afternoon...

He rushed down the stairs and found his son's backpack thrown against an adjacent wall, flinching when he realized how angry the teen was. He walked back up the stairs and down the hall slightly, finding himself standing in front of Jin's bedroom door.
    "Jin?" Hartz called as he knocked, trying the knob. Locked, but for a good reason. "Kiddo, talk to me..."
    "Why should I...?! I just walked home because you said you would pick me up and I missed the bus...!" Jin's voice yelled behind the closed door.
    "I'm so sorry. I fell asleep and didn't wake up in time, I-"
    "No...! All it is, is an excuse, dad...! You forgot about me, you left me behind...!" The teen's voice was rough with tears, breaking the young father's heart. Hartz opened his mouth to say something yet let it fall closed, sighing as he made his way to the nursery to care for his crying daughter.

There was no possible way this was real. Had he really forgotten to pick his son up from school?

Tears filled the man's eyes as he pulled Serenity out of her crib and rocked her, rubbing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Jin had every right to be as angry as he is with, he doesn't blame him one bit. But he was trying... Right?

~~~

Jin screamed into his pillow in pure anger, his fingers clutching the cushion so tight that his knuckles turned white. His world was crashing around him, his mama wasn't here to help, and his dad forgot him at school.

Why did she leave him?

Taking in a deep breath, he slowly removed his face from the pillow, eyes red and cheeks tear-stricken. What is he to do?
    "Jin...?" His dad's voice called softly following soft knocking, dragging emotional green eyes to the door. It was a couple hours after his violent outburst towards his dad, his anger fading somewhat through the passing of time and his screeching into his pillow. "I made dinner if you're hungry..."

The teenager didn't answer for a minute, tears filling his eyes as he rushed to the door and flicked the lock. He pulled the door open to meet his dad's gaze, his lip quivering. Hartz' chest ached from the broken look he was given, Jin taking in a breath before he started crying. He rushed straight into his dad's arms and sobbed against his stomach, the man stiffening in surprise.
    "I-I don't wanna be upset anymore...!" Jin sobbed, breaking his dad's heart with every shuddering breath. Hartz wrapped the boy up in his arms tightly and held him close, nuzzling his nose into the messy raven hair.
    "It's okay, kiddo... I-I'm so sorry..." The young father's voice cracked, trying to fight back his own tears. Jin whimpered against his dad, sniffling as he finally was able to shake the last of his haunting emotions.

The two pulled away and Hartz brushed away the teen's remaining tears with a gentle smile, ruffling his hair before brushing away his own tears.
    "Come on, let's go eat. Can you grab Serenity from her pack-n-play for me?"
Hartz asked gently, petting his son's head gently.
    "Yes dad..." Jin nodded, smiling softly as the two walked down the stairs, Jin breaking in the living room to grab his baby sister from her pack-n-play. Serenity cooed happily when he picked her up, the teen smothering her in kisses as he walked into the kitchen, passing her to their dad in exchange for his dinner.
    "Thank you kiddo."
    "You're welcome... And... I'm sorry..."
    "You have no reason to apologize, honey. I know we both have been on edge since your mother left, but let's take the time for us to do a little bit of bonding. How does that sound?" Hartz asked, shaking the baby bottle he pulled from the microwave.
    "Better than how it's been..." Jin told him, taking a bite of his dinner. Hartz chuckled as he fumbled with the bottle, getting along to feeding his daughter.
    "Agreed."

~~~

For the remainder of the two weeks, things had gotten better between Hartz and Jin. After the unfortunate mind slip of forgetting him from school, Hartz made sure he made up for it in the long run by getting him small little things here and there after school. And through the nights, to help them both sleep a little better, Hartz allowed his teenager to sleep with him in his and Night's bed. It proved helpful since the two were finally able to sleep peacefully, only ever getting up when Serenity cried.

The family was on their way to the airport, Jin fidgeting happily in the passenger seat as they drove. Night was returning today, her plane coming in within the next forty-five minutes to an hour.
    "Are you excited to see mom?" Hartz asked as he glanced over, his son staring out the window.
    "So excited... I missed her so much..." Jin smiled, fiddling with his hoodie strings. He missed his mama so much the last two weeks, it'll be nice to have her home. Finally parking in the parking garage of the airport, Jin practically threw his seatbelt off, barely letting Hartz shut the car off before he opened his door.
    "Slow down, kiddo!" The young father laughed, finally turning the car off and opening his door.
    "I can't... I wanna see my mama..." Jin told him, opening the back door to grab Serenity's carrier. Hartz laughed softly and locked the car, holding his hand out. The teen took his hand and the family walked from the garage to the airport, waiting for Night's much anticipated return.

Jin scanned the gate excitedly as people poured from the door, having heard from the intercom that his mother's flight landed. She had to be coming out soon-
    "Mama...!" The teen called happily, watching as a bright smile crossed Night's features.
    "Jin, my baby ghost!" She called back, shouldering her carryon a little better as she rushed through the gate. Jin met her there, running straight into her arms as tears filled his eyes. "Oh, I missed you so much!"
    "I missed you too...!" He sniffled, clutching her tightly as Hartz walked up with Serenity's carrier.
    "Love of my life!" The man smiled, leaning in and kissing her. "We're so happy you're back home. How was Cali? How was the wedding?"
    "The wedding was great and so was California, so beautiful." Night breathed, kissing Jin's head as they both pulled away. The reunited family walked towards the baggage pick-up as the mother told them about her trip, the teenager helping her with her luggage. "Oh, the ceremony was beautiful and everything went on without a hitch. Heaven even gave her new husband a surprise."

The thought of the look on his face made Night laugh, amused at the fact she helped plan it.
    "Oh? What kind of surprise?" Hartz inquired, the family making their way toward the exit of the airport to go home.
    "Well, you know how Heaven went to LSU for college?"
    "Yeah."
    "Well, apparently her husband went to Alabama, and they just had that big loss. So, what she did was she had a special cake made just for him with Bama's colors. But on the inside, it was purple and yellow for LSU." Night gossiped, a sly smile on her features. "And I got to help with the whole thing."
    "I don't think I'll ever understand your love for football, Nightlight." Hartz shook his head with a laugh, unlocking the car as they approached. "But, I'm glad everything was a success! That's all that matters."
    "You're right, sweet pea. Well, enough about me! Tell me about your time, boys!" Night smiled, closing the trunk after getting her luggage inside. Jin and Hartz froze, both looking at each other with the same knowing look.

How were they going to explain the first half of their time away from her?

NightBear15 signing off...