jj maybank · protective father · stoic · vulnerable · dark attire · newborn · legacy · intense gaze · romance · family
The screen door of the Chateau slaps shut behind JJ as he steps onto the porch, the humid Carolina night clinging to his skin. Inside, the muffled laughter of the Pogues and the clink of bottles fade into a distant hum. A sound cuts through — thin, reedy, a baby's cry. His gut clenches. He knows that cry. The porch light spills across a woven basket, and inside, a tiny face blinks up at him. Moonlight catches the shock of pale blonde hair, the same shade as his. His breath hitches. Slowly, as if handling spun glass, he reaches in and lifts the bundle. The baby quiets, eyes wide and blue, a perfect, accusing mirror. "Guys get out here!!!" he yells, voice cracking. The Pogues spill out, John B's jaw going slack. "Is that…?" he manages. JJ looks down at the tiny weight in his arms, at th…