Light in the Shadows: An Unexpected Visit

"And then, Robin Hood and Little John ran off to Sherwood Forest, having won the battle that day and swore to be back again to continue helping the poor."

Wendy and Abigail giggled, huddling closer together under the blankets of their bed as William went on. It had been awhile since they got to hear stories from their uncle. It was just like old times.

"And that will be it for now." William smiled, tucking them in. "You two need to sleep and I need to go for my nightly walk to stretch my legs."

"Aww…" Wendy pouted. "But we're not sleepy yet, Uncle Will."

William chuckled.

"I know Wendy Bird but your father said you need to be resting now. It's your bedtime."

"B-But, but.." Wendy pouted sitting up a little. "You'll be all alone."

"Yeah!" Abigail pouted as well, the two leaning their heads together, giving a kicked look.

William cringed. He loved his nieces but oh how they could pull at his heart strings with ease drove him crazy.

"Girls…"

"And we know Aunt Charlie is busy right now."

"So pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaase?"

William sighed, shaking his head.

"Alright, alright but if your father asks… it was Chester."

The girls giggled, nodding.

"Ahuh."

"We'll be good."

William got up, grabbing his lantern and cane, the twins standing on either side of him. He hoped Wilson wouldn't catch them out of bed at this hour.

But they just want time together… and time with me, surprisingly.

William walked down as quietly as he could down the stairs, the twins doing the same. They took note that Wilson was busy at work some project and had his back turned towards them. The three nodded to each other and swiftly made their way out the door. Soon as they were far away enough from the house they let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright, a few loops around the lake then straight to bed, deal?" William said as they walked towards the location in question.

"Deal. And we get tucked in again."

"Deal."

The twins giggled, skipping a bit.

"Just don't get dirty."

"We won't!"

William chuckled, keeping up his pace with them, mainly relying on his cane to help.

"Hey, Uncle Will?" Abigail asked.

"Hm?"

"You're gonna get married soon, right?" Abigail tilted her head. "I mean, Charlie's got her ring so it's gonna be soon right?"

William rubbed the back of his neck.

"Just depends on my health. I can barely get anywhere without this cane and I just want to give it a little time so Charlie is sure about all this since the last two years weren't exactly positive."

Wendy crossed her arms.

"So? You still love her lots. She stayed with you every day when you were sleeping."

"W-Well…" He stammered a bit.

"And she even fell asleep a few times cuddled up to you."

"Girls…"

Both huddled up close to him.

"We're sure she loves you Uncle Will. She wouldn't be keeping the ring if she didn't."

"True…"

The girls nodded, William chuckling a bit.

"You two really want to see me happy, huh?"

Wendy and Abigail smiled hugging him tightly on both sides.

"You're our uncle. Our only uncle."

"And we love you lots. Sure, there were some bad times but a lot of good ones too."

"And I want to be able to make things right however I can."

"And you're already doing that now, Uncle."

William gave a small smile.

"Thank you."

Splash!

The three jumped, looking to the source of the sound. Not too far from them down the path they could see someone sitting by the lake, skipping rocks.

The twins had confusion in their eyes as William narrowed his.

"Who is that?" Abigail whispered. Wendy hugged her twin's arm, whimpering a bit.

"No one back home is up right now."

William looked to the twins, giving a stern look.

"Stay here. Both of you. Okay?"

"O-Okay."

"Careful."

The girls stayed in the general area, finding a tree to hide behind as William headed over to the mysterious person. As he got closer he could start to make out some details. They appeared to be male from what he could tell by their stature. They had messy blond hair and were wearing a collar shirt, a red bow tie, suspenders and reddish brown slacks. He couldn't see much of their face as they were more focused on the lake in front of them, aiming the next rock they were about to throw.

As they were about skip the next rock, William cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Excuse me, sir?"

The man jumped, holding up the rock in a battle ready stance as they looked to William. They froze completely as their eyes locked with William's, surprise in the man's eyes and shock in William's as he realized who was standing before him.

They stood in silence, staring at each other before William spoke, his voice trembling.

"J… Jack?"

Jack gave a sheepish look, rubbing the back of his neck, lowering his and that held the rock.

"Yeah… Um… Hey there. Long time no see?"

William was quiet, looking him over feeling tears sting his eyes as he took in his brother's form. He looked just like how he remembered him. Minus all the injuries he remembered.

Jack… It's really him.

William set down his lantern and hurried up to him, stumbling a bit with his cane.

"YOU BIG IDIOT DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!"

Jack's arms went out as William hugged him tightly, surprise in his eyes.

"Will…"

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD YOU BLOODY IDIOT AND ALL YOU CAN SAY IS LONG TIME NO SEE!?" William sobbed a bit. "I… I…"

Jack shook his head, bringing his arms around him, stroking his back.

"Usually I'm pretty good with introductions but to be fair I wasn't thinking I'd see you again tonight during one of my visits here. This was… not exactly what I had planned."

William took a shaky breath, looking up.

"I didn't plan this either. I was just doing my therapy after tucking the girls in-Oh gosh the girls…" William ran a hand through his hair. "They wouldn't go to sleep they wanted to walk with me."

"The girls are here too-?"

"D-Daddy?"

Jack froze, looking over William to see the girls had left their hiding spot, the two staring at him, tears brimming in their eyes.

Jack's heart broke seeing them so distraught.

"Girls…" Jack whispered.

The girls both sniffled, running right to him as William pulled out of the way so they could reach them.

"DADDY!" They both cried out as Jack fell to one knee, bringing them close.

"Oh, oh girls, shh… Shh.." His voice cracked. This is exactly what I was afraid of… Oh, my little girls.

The twins huddled close to him, Wendy burying her face into his shirt, while Abigail looped her arm over his shoulder, hiding her face in his neck. Both couldn't help but cry still. They really had never thought they would see their father again, let alone be able to be near him.

Jack had tears sliding down his face as held his girls closer to him.

"I… I am so sorry."

"Where've you been?" Abigail asked, looking up at him a little. "We… We thought…"

Oh girls…

Jack cringed.

He thought it would easy to at some point tell his girls and William what had become of him but… this was painful.

"Girls… Brother… I… I have no excuse for not coming to you sooner and… and telling you why I… I haven't been here with you." Jack lowered his head. "I… I am so sorry."

The girls whimpered, hiding their faces again.

"It's okay." Wendy whispered. "I-It's okay…"

William laid a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Jackie, you're here now. You're alive and well-"

Jack shook his head.

"No, I'm not alive and well. I'm well but I'm far from being alive."

The twins and William stared at him in shock.

"What!?" They exclaimed. Jack cringed, looking away from his family. Why did this hurt him so much to say it?

I swear Maxwell I'm going to cut you into ribbons when I find you for this moment alone.

"The only reason I look and feel alive is… is because of the energy of this place. I'm… I'm.." His voice quivered. "I'm sorry."

"But… I… I don't understand." William got a confused look. "You look alive and you're not… like you were when you… When I thought you…"

Jack sighed, pulling away from them, closing his eyes.

Just need to focus.

He took a deep breath as light energy gathered around him, changing his appearance for a brief moment to his reaper form, wings and all. He opened his eyes, showing his glowing pupils. He had sadden look in his features as he saw the shock from his family. He sighed as the form faded off.

"The truth is… I'm what is known as The Reaper. I became this when I died two years ago back in the Shadow World because of Maxwell. The reason William didn't know was because Maxwell blocked that out to break him and make him think I was gone for good and… I couldn't tell Wendy or Abigail I was here because they couldn't see me… I…. I'm so sorry…"

William was the first to come forward, bringing an arm around his shoulders as Jack gave him a surprised look.

"It's okay." He whispered. "It's okay, Brother."

"Will…"

William gave a sad smile.

"It was my fault you got stuck like this. I should be the one saying sorry. I'm sorry I did this to you."

Jack shook his head.

"No, Will, don't do that." Jack brought a hand to William's cheek. "It wasn't your fault I wound up like this."

William leaned into his hand.

"Yes, it was. I should never had made that deal. I… I could've stopped."

"And I could've done better to help." Jack gave a gentle look. "Will, I'm not mad at you. I forgave you for what happened. Please… forgive yourself. I can't stand seeing you like this."

William's eyes got misty as he brought his arms around his brother.

"And I hate seeing you like that too. So… So can we both forgive ourselves?"

"Of course, Will."

Jack hugged his brother tightly, his shoulders shaking a bit as a few sobs got out. William pulled back again as the twins came up, tears now fully running down their face. Jack knelt to their level, William doing the same.

"My beautiful girls." Jack gave a sad smile. "I love you both so much but I just… can't be here all the time. I have to help people in the other world. I'm sorry I can't really be a father anymore. Wilson has that covered now so… I… I just wasn't sure if you'd want me back when you've already got him."

"Don't be silly!" Wendy hugged him. "Just because Wilson became our papa doesn't mean you're not Daddy anymore!"

Jack's gaze softened. "Wendy…"

"She's right!" Abigail hugged him tightly. "You're still our daddy. Wilson's Papa. We can still have two. There's room in our hearts for both!"

Jack brought them close, kissing both of their heads.

"How in all the worlds did I get so lucky?"

"You're Daddy, that's how." Wendy kissed his cheek. "Right, Abi?"

"Ahuh."

Jack chuckled, wiping away their tears.

"My sweet little angels." He looked over to William, extending an arm to him. "Get over here."

William chuckled a bit, hugging his brother and nieces.

"Gladly. We love you Jackie. So much."

"And I love all of you." Jack smiled, keeping them close. "Wish I was a little more prepared for this but… I don't care. I can finally talk to you all again."

"Us too!" Abigail kissed his chin. "We love you Daddy!"

"A lot!"

William smiled. "I'm just glad we can talk again. So you can't be around all the time. That's okay. It's better than nothing."

Jack chuckled.

"I'm glad. I guess I'll just have to work on slowly telling everyone else… I'm going to need some help."

"We can help!" The twins grinned. "We're really good at that!"

"And I'll do what I can too." William gave a small smile.

"Thank you. For now…" Jack held his family close. "Can… it just be us? I just want to be with you three right now."

"I think that's a good idea."

The twins nodded, yawning a little as they huddled close to their father.

"Yeah. Tell us stories too..?"

"Please?"

"Alright, which ones?"

"All of them."

Jack chuckled, getting comfortable, lying on the grass with the girls between him and William.

"Very well, whatever the princesses wish, I shall obey."

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A long needed reunion. 

Next: Light in the Shadows: Solace in Silence

Previous: Light in the Shadows: What Remains

First: Light in the Shadows: The New Reign

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