Graduation

Jenny's news came over the group like a storm. Again Jenny and Elizabeth had matched their pregnancies and while one was getting ready to give birth the other was just starting to show. When they told Charlie that he could be expecting a little brother or sister, his initial reaction wasn't excitement. Unexpectedly, he had inherited another trait from his father, which was his incredible jealousy. So, the thought of having to share his beloved mother, with someone who would probably need around the clock care and therefore a big portion of her time, was something he did not look forward to. It took a lot of reassuring on Jenny's part and plenty of talks with Jason about his upcoming role as a big brother, before he was no longer upset and it would take even more time for him to have any positive feelings about the pregnancy but Jenny for one was certain that this would be sooner rather than later.

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The final weeks of Jenny's internship passed by like a storm and before she knew it, she was standing on the same stage Jason had stood two years ago. Jason had took time off from work to be there for the ceremony and waited for her to come to him with diploma in hand with a big bouquet of flowers. Jason made sure to be there on time, obtaining a good seat from where he could be close to her while she was still seated and be in clear sight for her when she would walk up the stage to receive her diploma. Because although he didn't care much about his own ceremony, there was nothing that could stop him from attending Jenny's graduation and making it a day to remember. He sat there until the very moment that she signed her name on that piece of paper and a number of pictures of that moment had been taken. After that he moved to the side of the stage and he stood there, waiting for her to come down and for him to be the first to congratulate.

When she finally stood before him, he said with a genuinely happy and cheerful smile, "Congratulations on no longer being a student. Are you ready to save some lives my dear?" Hearing her familiar chuckle, he handed her the flowers he had bought for the occasion. While she held the bouquet, Jason grabbed her waist and lifted her in the air from the final step of the stage. As he held her in his arms, he twirled her around until he slowly lowered her to the floor before placing a kiss on her lips, ignoring all other students that were there to receive their degrees and their friends and family that were present. Though the kiss didn't last long, though Jason had shielded most of what there was to see with his broad back, that covered Jenny almost entirely from the crowd, they were certainly not unnoticed. Those who had seen their little moment, which were at least all the people who had come to see Jenny receive her degree and some who were there for the other graduates, turned away to show the embarrassment that the two of them were lacking at that moment.

Once their lips parted and Jason was looking at her slightly flushed cheeks, grazing over them with his warm, large hands. After looking at her for a few seconds, he pulled her along a bit further in order to not disturb the ceremony for those who were still waiting their turn before he said, "You worked hard for this moment. How does it feel standing on that stage and looking back on those six years? Especially going back even further to the day you decided to study medicine after being unable to decide for so long. Are you glad you made this choice?" Jenny didn't get much time to answer him as the other people who had come to see Jenny mark the end of her student life, had approached the couple to congratulate her as well and to take some pictures together to commemorate. But the first person to run to them and end their moment with just the two of them was of course Jenny's biggest fan, little Charlie.

Charlie had been impatiently waiting one line of chairs behind Jenny and with Jason taking the seat right behind her, he had to make due with two chairs further down the line. Then he had to wait for her to go up the stage, sign the papers and just as she was coming down the stairs, his father had stepped in to 'steal' that moment as well. So, when she was finally at a place where he could reach her, he broke his hand free from his grandmother's grasp and ran as fast as his little legs could take him. But when he reached her, he faced another challenge. Though he wanted to hug her, to be carried by her, his father had been one step ahead of him in his ways of sabotage as the flowers he had given his mother were all that her small arms could carry, leaving no room for him yet again.

But his father, who apparently could read his mind and hear his voiceless complaints, just chuckled at his glare and lifted him up high so he could put his arms around her neck and place a kiss on her cheek like he had wanted to. Easily making all well in the conflicting world of a child who loved his father, needed him, but couldn't help but feel that he was a rival and an obstacle for his mother's attention while dreading the arrival of another one.