The bags under Jason’s eyes had gotten even puffier, had gotten worse in color even. Things were moving so fast for us, I only could suspect that he was about to pass out from how tired he was. All that working, staying late after his shifts, barely getting enough sleep, and now we were moving into the new home. To say it was just an upgrade from our previous home was an understatement. This house had to be at least four thousand square feet, with tall ceilings and beautiful bay windows in the front. It was everything a home in a magazine would show as the ideal. And now it was ours.

But I didn’t want Jason to work to death just to make this dream a reality for us. I would have been fine simply moving into an apartment with two rooms, much less a house in the downtown area. Thankfully, my pack was here to help us out as we proceeded to move.

“Are you going to help or just watch us?” Lucas panted, carrying two large boxes stacked on top of each other out of the moving van we had rented. They were barely short enough for him to peek over the top as he walked, but one small step out of line would have sent him tumbling down, and our belongings with him.

“Leave Forest alone; he’s holding a baby, asshole,” Jude said, holding a mattress up horizontally as he followed right behind Lucas.

“Yeah, you heard him,” I teased, sticking my tongue out at Lucas while he continued to gripe. I was nursing Willow at the moment, in fact, and wouldn’t be able to set him down and help until he was done feeding and burped. Though I didn’t mind getting to take my time, even at the sake of my sore nipples. Willow hadn’t taken too kindly to being switched to formula, so when he refused to take a bottle, it was up to me to keep him well fed.

The two of them entered into the house while I sat outside on a small bench. While the past few weeks had been freezing, today was nice and sunny, a mild seventy degrees or so, and I wanted to enjoy the sunlight while it was still here. And the breeze, while even more cool, was just as welcome.

“Jason, you okay?” I asked as he came around from the other side of the van, carrying one large box that had the words “clothing” written on the side in black sharpie. He gave me a look and an obviously forced smile, treading across the grass before he reached the sidewalk.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, approaching the house and walking past me. Jude exited the home, taking the box from him before entering once more. As Jason walked down the front steps, I patted the open area of the bench next to me, signaling for him to sit down. To my surprise, he seemed almost unwilling at first, looking at the seat before looking at Willow and I. With a heavy sigh, he finally plopped down after I gave him a frown.

“What’s wrong with you lately?” I asked him, leaning closer towards him. Willow didn’t like the shift in my movement, unlatching from my chest with a pitiful cry. “Oh, come on Willow, it’s okay,” I whispered to him to get him to calm down.

“Me or the baby?” Jason asked with a lackluster tone of voice. His eyes focused ahead on the moving van.

“You. Ever since you first came back late the other night, you’ve been so different. You’ve barely been eating and sleeping.”

“It’s not like I was doing much of either before then.” Jason leaned back onto the bench, stretching his arms out across the back as he closed his eyes. I swear if he sat there just like that, he’d be asleep in a matter of minutes.

“I know, but I’m worried about you. Willow and I need you to keep yourself healthy so you’ll be around for a long time. Is it the house? Is it too expensive? You don’t need to work yourself to death just to give this house.” I moved even closer to him, until our knees were touching. I couldn’t stand the distance that was growing between us that came out of the blue.

Before Jason could even reply, Lucas popped his head from around the corner of the entryway, looking at us outside with a smirk. “Say, how much is this house, anyway? I bet even I couldn’t afford it.”

“Of course you couldn’t; you’re a freeloader,” Jude said from inside the home, his hand coming into frame enough for me to see him grab Lucas by the collar of his t-shirt and drag him back inside.

Jason ran a hand over his face, his eyes opening again with that same careless look. “Don’t worry about it. The price is high, but I can’t say that it’s not worth it.”

“If you think dying is worth it, I guess that’s true.”

“It’s not me who’s supposed to die.”

“What was that?” My head snapped over towards him, giving him a harsh glare. Jason seemed to realize his slip of the tongue, blinking before giving me a wild look.

“Oh, no. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just... I’m just really tired, okay? I don’t know what I’m talking about.”

I sighed, not willing to press on the issue any further. He genuinely was exhausted, and needed a break from life.

“How about you take a day off, then? We’ll finish the moving if it’s not done already, and you can take a whole day to just relax with Willow and I? It’d be nice for you to have some time to play daddy.” I smiled at him. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was too tired to argue about the point further or if he genuinely needed a day off or both. But Jason finally subsided, looking at me directly in the eyes with a tiresome, tight-lipped grin.

“Okay. One day. It won’t be for another week or two, since I need to ask off ahead of time. But when I’m finally able to get off, we’ll spend the day together. Alright?”

“Alright, I won’t push on the issue any more.”

Jason stood up and immediately went back to work with the other two members of our pack, moving the remainder of our things so that we could stay here for the evening. Our first night in our new home. And I knew just the surprise to cheer Jason up.