Summary: Abby Carter comes to town and Jack and Zoe fear losing their family. Set around Season 2 episode "Unpredictable".

AN: For Trope_Bingo Round 12: Fill for prompt "Curtain Fic". According to : "Curtainfic is a term used to describe fan fiction that focuses on ordinary domestic situations." According to 5 seasons of Eureka, something so simple as picking out curtains is going to mean something else entirely.

Also- I mainly post my work on Archive of Our Own under the same penname, especially fics that exceed the rating of M. I have a bit of a catch up time to get things transferred over here.

"C.U.R.T.A.I.N"

Jack sat in Cafe Diem barely containing his rage as his ex-wife sat across from him. He wasn't sure if it was smart to drag Abby out in public versus having it out in his office in front of Jo, but part of him knew it was in his best interests to not talk about his failings as a father while standing in a police station. The charming and friendly atmosphere of Cafe Diem would likely lower her aggression a little, even if it wasn't doing much to curb his own. "I can't believe you just showed up here."

"Yes, you can." Abby replied.

"You, I can believe." Jack sat back in his seat and unclenched his fists and set his hands on the table and watched them shake. "I just thought we had better security."

"We had an agreement." She reminded him.

He reacted to the firm tone of voice and was back to leaning over the table and being angry. He spat, "Try looking beyond a deal we made a year ago after our daughter ran away from you to be here. Look around at the life she has now. A great school. A small town that adores her. Friends who aren't criminals. A family."

"I am looking..." Abby humored him and looked around the cafe. Everyone was giving them looks and she ignored them. Then her eyes fell on a couple who walked in the door. "At a beautiful couple."

Jack turned and looked to see who she was talking about and closed his eyes. Nathan and Allison just arrived. The last thing he wanted was his husband coming over and telling his ex-wife exactly what he thought of her. Not now, not here.

Abby was thrilled when the couple came over to introduce themselves. They looked picture perfect. "I was just telling Jack that you are a beautiful couple."

Allison faked a smile as Nathan sat down on the table behind him and grinned; grinned like a shark ready to devour it's meal. When he insisted they come down here she warned him to tread lightly and not get protective over Jack as he worked out his issues. Jack and Abby Carter had been here for half an hour, Nathan smiled at her and said he was concerned about Jack's blood pressure and it was absolutely necessary they report to the scene immediately.

"Dr Abby Carter." Abby held out her hand in introduction. "Zoe's Mom."

"I know, I've heard so much about you." Nathan seized the opportunity and gave Jack a 'don't worry I won't verbally eviscerate her until you say so' look. "So sorry, I forgot my manners. This is my ex-wife, Dr. Allison Blake and I'm Dr. Nathan Stark."

"Dr...Stark?"

"Yes, that one."

Jack could hear the edge to Nathan's words and Abby did too from the way the color drained from her face. Yes, that one..the one he married. God Nathan. "I told you I got remarried."

"Yes, you did." Abby said suddenly caught off guard.

"Well, just wanted to be polite." Nathan said cheerfully and stood up. "I'll let you get back to your discussion."

Jack rolled his eyes as he heard that phony tone Nathan loved using when he completely destroyed someone. It wasn't outright laughing in their face, but it was pretty close. He also found it pretty hot and he didn't want to get flustered in front of Abby, especially when they were still arguing about Zoe. "Like I said, Zoe has a family."

"If you married him, who the hell is Sarah?" Abby asked.

It was his turn to be surprised. He hadn't considered that she would just assume S.A.R.A.H. was his new spouse since she answered the phone all the time. "Uh...my house."

Nathan was sure to be home early knowing that all hell was going to break loose when Zoe got home. It was different being the one to come to the source of the recent disaster than call Jack and have him come to him. Allison spent half the afternoon reminding him to 'be careful' and 'let him sort this out himself' but he couldn't sit this out. Finally, he was going to be able to give Abby Carter a piece of his mind. He looked to the door as it opened and Zoe stormed in looking ready to cry.

"Did you know too?" She demanded as Nathan stood to say something parental and intercept her. She just wanted to be alone but she felt betrayed and she couldn't let the opportunity slide to lash out at one more adult. "Did you know that Dad made a deal to send me back to L.A. in a year?"

Nathan looked at her surprised. Oh, Jack fucked up. "No, or I would have told him he was an idiot."

"Well, you'll get your chance." She said and went to stomp up the stairs.

Nathan countered with his own question. "Hold on one second. You didn't tell your Mom about me. She was pretty surprised when I introduced myself at Cafe Diem. Your Dad, I get that he wants to keep her out of his life, but you...makes me wonder why you don't want to tell your Mom about me."

"I told her a lot about you." Zoe said knowing she was falling into his trap, but Nathan didn't do anything wrong and she had always been honest with him. He treated her like an adult, thankfully not like an adult that worked for him, and she appreciated that. "I only referred to you only as Dr. Stark because I didn't want my Mom using it against Dad that he married a guy."

"Fair."

"Nothing about this is fair."

Nathan watched her run upstairs and grudgingly followed. If Jack and Abby were outside yelling then he should defuse this situation as best he could. He walked in just as Zoe was about to put on her ATS from Beverly and grabbed that out of her hand and tossed it on the desk. "We made a promise to be honest with each other when I married your Dad."

"Maybe I should have made him make that promise." Zoe then added. "Nevermind, he likes breaking those."

"I doubt your Mother would have agreed to let you stay without him making that bargain with her."

"Well I'm not some property to be bargained with and he should have told me."

"Legally, she had full custody with him only having select weekends with you." Nathan explained. "And you know damned well this past year has been good to all of us. Did you want this deadline hanging over your head?"

"Nathan, I don't want to lose my family." She started crying. "I'm so scared of losing this family I never had growing up. I love it here. It's not easy but you've helped make it easy."

"I'm still not doing your homework for you." He replied slyly.

"Shut up. You know what I mean." She said and the tears stopped falling as he sat on the bed. "You make Dad happy and he's never been happy. This home is a real home. You have no idea what it was like before we came to Eureka."

"Eh...I've heard stories and your Dad came with a lot of baggage."

"I know you think my Mom is a bitch."

"That's putting it mildly."

"But she's my Mom."

"And Jack is my husband and I'm not going to rip her apart like I want to. " Nathan looked at her. "And I really want to."

"I've talked about it in therapy with Beverly." Zoe looked at the headset the shrink had sent home with her. Nathan was right though, talking was making her feel less isolated and alone. Even if he was admitting he really wanted to be that terrifying guy who showed up at her parent teacher conference who sent the staff home in tears, she was glad he was involved in this. "I see now that my parents were not in a healthy relationship and it didn't have to do with me. I just fueled already underlying issues. I acted out for attention. Blah Blah. But she's still my Mom."

"I'm an emotionally unavailable husband, according to Beverly." Nathan said and Zoe looked surprised. "Yeah, people change and maybe they weren't in the best situation to begin with. It's like a chemical reaction where the environment is a factor."

"I never saw you and Allison fight. You're still friends. You are still Kevin's Dad."

"We had our explosions, trust me." Nathan said. "And no matter how hard I tried I never felt like we were a family. Not in the way that you and Jack have welcomed me into your lives. Ally was so focused on Kevin, in controlling his environment and fixing him, that our difference in approaches made us stay separate in our parenting of him. He is, and always will be, her son. She wanted schedules kept, because that was best for Kevin, which started us down the road of fighting about work. Then next thing you know I'm taking a job in D.C. and don't talk to her for a year. Real healthy. Avoidance of admission of failure, is what I'm told, difficult for an egomaniac control-freak like myself."

"Yet you and Dad work." Zoe said. "You're like oil and water but you guys make me believe that love is actually real."

"Well I still want to drop your bitch of a Mom down a hole in Section 14 and nuke her." Nathan huffed. "Physically and figuratively."

"Why are you willing to fight for our family and he won't?" Zoe asked. "Why is he letting her take me?"

"That's not happening." Nathan shook his head. "I promise you that."

Zoe looked up as her Dad arrived, red faced and clearly still worked up from arguing. The face she remembered from so much of her childhood. "I'm not going back to L.A."

"Zoe." Jack said and watched Nathan pat her leg and stand up, giving them the space to talk. He got an encouraging pat as he passed by too. God he loved the guy more and more each day. He looked at Nathan adoringly, "Thanks for not telling Abby what you thought of her."

"It's killing me." Nathan moaned. "I deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for not going after her. Resurrect the man from the dead so he can hand it to me himself for keeping the peace like that."

"Please tell me you shut down that necromancy project from last week." Jack said and felt his anger start to slip away as Nathan gave a casual shrug and smiled at him.

"Zoe made me watch Fullmetal Alchemist to warn me against the horrors of forgetting to add water to the appallingly simplified formula for human composition." Nathan said as he walked out of the room then added as he walked down the stairs . "Unless it was to ask if she could have a puppy?"

"Nathan, not funny." Zoe yelled.

"Sorry, I think it was a warning about playing God." Nathan laughed. "Like anime is going to stop me from doing that."

Jack walked over to his daughter's bed and sat down, the fact that she was willing to talk was not lost on him. Nathan had really embraced the role of parent for her and she was so much better off because of it. He knew this family was better for her, Eureka was better for her. She excelled at school even though the material was hard and it wasn't easy having everyone know she was the kid of the Sheriff and brilliant GD director Stark. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I have no excuses. I was afraid of how you'd react."

"Why do you have such a hard time talking to me?"

"God." Jack said. "You just sounded like your Mom."

"I don't want to go with her." Zoe shook her head. "The fact she wants me to leave all this behind means she's not thinking about me at all. This is just another fight of yours that I'm going to suffer for."

"Zoe, if she takes this to court I'm going to lose." Jack finally admitted. "I don't want to tell you this because it's not something you should have to worry about. I ruined enough of your childhood."

"Why are you going to lose?" She asked.

"Because I was a shit father to you for most of your life? Because the courts statistically find in favor of the mother?" Jack took a deep breath. "Because in a fight your Mom will have no qualms about unloading all her psycho-analysis about me on the judge to exemplify that I am an unfit parent and human being?"

"Then let Nathan be your lawyer and put her on the stand."

"Are you trying to start a war?." Jack gasped and then asked quietly, "He didn't go out and get another degree for the hell of it, did he?"

"Dad..."

"I'm not putting you though that. It would be horrible. I'll sacrifice myself but I know it won't work. Let her tell everyone all my issues, I don't care, but it will be nasty and in the end you're going to have to go through it. No." Jack rubbed his face.

"So you'll just hand me over?" Zoe asked. "Because the odds are against you?"

"This isn't about winning or losing, its about the casualties and you being hurt again isn't acceptable." Jack said and saw that damned ATS and pointed at it. "That thing and all your sessions with Beverly tell me I did enough damage already."

"Then we convince her without going to court." Zoe said. "How could any parent willing take a kid away from here? Great schools. Great benefits. I'm living in the most advanced house in the world. I have an amazing family and I am happy. Why take me from this so I go back to L.A.? I'll run away again."

Jack wanted to say because your Mom is a selfish bitch but that was not the right thing to say. It wasn't fair. Abby loved Zoe and she wanted what was best for her and she believed it was to be with her Mom. She believed the last place this kid could be happy and cared for was with him and he knew that wasn't an unjust assumption.

"Stop being afraid to hurt me and help me." Zoe demanded. "I'm sure GD has some great lawyers, they have to. "

"I don't want a court involved. We have to appeal to her and make her see reason." Jack said. "We have to show her we've changed and the reason we've changed for the better is because of where we live."

"Fine! We'll go play ball in Copernicus Park as a family."

"You're almost 16 and you're not a golden retriever." Jack scoffed. "Exactly what do you think that's going to show her other than another virtual baseball fiasco?"

"OK, then you and Nathan can go pick out curtains and make a show of being a cute domestic couple."

"Curtains?" Jack asked. "We don't have windows."

"Work with me Dad."

"I'm trying, but right now you're definitely throwing out ideas like you're the daughter of Sheriff 111."

"Wow." She said. "Father of the year material right there. Court is definitely not an option."

"Look, we'll talk about it over dinner." Jack said and took a deep breath. "I'll invite your mom to dinner."

"That's a great idea!" Zoe replied sarcastically. "Another B.R.A.D. lock-down will surely convince her I need to stay."

"Just be yourself. Just be my happy kid who talks science with her step-Dad over a home cooked meal." Jack said and hugged her. "Your Mom wants what is best for you and she doesn't know I've changed. She doesn't see you've changed. Just let her see our lives, she's not unreasonable."

"OK, we'll try."

Jack went downstairs, calling Abby as he went and asking her to turn around and come back to the bunker for dinner. When he got to the kitchen he was greeted with a kiss to the cheek and a cold beer pressed into his hand. Nathan knew what he needed and he returned the kiss and looked at the meal already being prepared on the cutting board. "Can we accommodate one more?"

"You can always accommodate more." Nathan chirped and grinned at him as he threw a carrot piece into his mouth and crunched loudly before going back to making dinner.

Jack snorted, he wasn't going to deny that and he also wasn't going to be reeled in by innuendo when he was expecting his ex-wife to show up in a matter of minutes. He slid onto a stool and watched as Nathan chopped up more ingredients for the guest; watched Nathan who never stopped looking amazing with his shirt sleeves rolled up and his forearms flexing as he executed a simple task like chopping vegetables. "So I know you and S.A.R.A.H. were listening. Any comments, concerns, suggestions?"

"I have a suggestion." S.A.R.A.H. offered.

"OK." Jack said and looked up the ceiling. "Shoot."

"Since Zoe mentioned curtains..."

"Oh," Jack grinned. "Does someone need something frilly and new to dress up her walls? Have we ignored your needs as we transitioned from Decor De Fargo to Stark's Storage container of Shit?"

Nathan shook his head as Jack referred to his extremely expensive and hand crafted furniture as 'shit'. It was why he loved him but it wasn't going to stop him from throwing a carrot at his face. He knew what S.A.R.A.H. was referencing so he said, "Go ahead S.A.R.A.H., pull up the schematics."

"For curtains!?" Jack asked and grabbed the carrot that bounced off his face and started munching on it as he looked at the screen that was embedded in the kitchen island. Designs popped up, house designs, for what looked like a log cabin. "Well, those aren't window coverings."

"C.U.R.T.A.I.N." Nathan announced in his booming 'I'm a brilliant scientist and somehow find time for these intense projects between balancing my home life, sex life, work life, sex at work life, and private research' voice. "Custom Ubiquitous Residential Transcendental Artificial Intelligence Nexus"

Jack stopped chewing and looked up at him. He knew that tone of voice. That was the voice that said he had some side-project he 'threw together' that just happened to be some cutting edge technology that never existed before. The man he married was brilliant and incredible and also an asshole. "Ubiquitous."

"Omnipresent." Nathan said without looking at him, a smile forming on his face. Vocabulary was not Jack's strength and pointing it out was kinda turning into a kink of his. "It means 'everywhere'."

"Then use the word 'everywhere'." Jack said and finished chewing so he didn't end up spitting out carrot bits as he bantered with the jackass he loved.

"Then it wouldn't fit the acronym." Nathan snorted. "C.E.R.T.A.I.N. sounds like a contraceptive."

"God forbid we can't use acronyms around here to hide the fact that everything is a death ray."

"It's still a work in progress, I'll come up with better words when the project progresses past paperwork." Nathan assured him.

"And what is the project, exactly?" Jack asked, annoyed he had to ask but Nathan got off on this shit. And he got off when Nathan was happy so...

"Our new house!" S.A.R.A.H. exclaimed and it was enough to bring Zoe running down the stairs.

"Our what!?" Zoe asked and looked at her parents who were in their typical locations for dinner: Nathan looking smug while cooking and her Dad smiling even if he was throwing an annoyed glare at his spouse.

"Dr. Stark has been working with me to design a new home for all of us." S.A.R.A.H. replied, bursting with excitement. "Expanding my footprint and also allowing me to experience the world beyond the bunker. The Nexus will allow me to maintain this house, in case of need for a fallout shelter as well as a home for my servers, but also giving me freedom to move into a larger home for our growing family and it's needs."

"Needs mainly being more bathrooms." Nathan said.

"Yeah, Mr. GQ, who's fault is that?" Jack asked.

"Zoe." Nathan snorted. "Damned teenagers."

"Excuse me, princess, I'm not the one who clogs the drain with beard hair." Zoe said and came over to look at the house plans with her Dad. She tapped the screen to reveal there was more to look at and of course he was surprised by that.

"Hold on..." Jack said as the house plans turned into a 3-D model and he was able to tour the house. "Where are you putting this? Is this a deck overlooking the lake?"

"I'm the director of GD, I have an existing cabin at my disposal and it's in a prime location. We never use it because your house doesn't like to share." Nathan scraped all the vegetables into a bowl to be coated with olive oil and spices. "You, Sheriff, have a cabin too if you would actually read your employment contract at some point."

"I have a cabin?" Jack asked incredulously.

Nathan mixed up the vegetables and put them on a tray for roasting, but not before Zoe came over to grab a few off the tray. "My cabin is secure and simply needs to be remodeled to accommodate S.A.R.A.H. It also is more of an executive get away than a home, so that will have to be addressed. It does overlook Lake Archimedes and has a dock. Little further of a drive but considering the amount of ground you cover during your shift, it shouldn't be an issue."

"Can you please stop tracking me?" Jack asked, though not with enough force to say it was a serious issue with him.

"Nope." Nathan replied and popped the 'p'.

"Just because there is some weird DoD rule about justifying my job and/or expenses doesn't mean you should be stalking me with some GPS I can't find on my Jeep."

"Jack, you love that damned car." Nathan said and pulled out the meat to prepare it. "I track the damned car, not you. That Jeep ends up in more places than anyone could possibly be asked to believe without empirical data to back it up. Last week it was hovering over Tesla High. The week before, caught in a giant spider web under the Da Vinci Bridge. Let's not forget it being melted, dripping into the sewer system and being reconstituted down there and blocking drainage and constipating all of Eureka. Numbers don't lie Jack, and you cost a lot of money and I need to prove it all actually happens because of your job."

"You yelled at me yesterday about taking 'the scenic route' to an offsite lab! You showed me the GPS map on your tablet while doing so!" Jack scoffed. "You abuse that privilege for personal means, Director Stark."

"It's my tax dollars paying for your gas."

"Oh my God." Jack howled and Nathan smiled at him and then the doorbell rang and he yelped, "Oh my God!"

"Abby Carter is at the door." S.A.R.A.H. announced, dryly.

"You forgot she was coming to dinner." Nathan said smugly. "That's why I track your Jeep."

"That doesn't even make sense. There is no logic to connect those two statements and you better not lie to me and say there is." Jack said and stood up. "You just want to be ubiquitous."

"Wow Dad, impressive." Zoe said as she walked towards the door to meet her Mom. She shared a glance with Nathan who was shaking his head and she rolled her eyes to commiserate with him over her Dad's dedication to misusing or creating words.

"I'm hardly commonplace, but you get points for trying." Nathan replied smugly and dipped his finger in already prepared sauce to give Jack a small treat for his efforts.

Jack pouted but leaned over to suck the offered sauce off Nathan's finger. He got a smile in return, a loving an appreciate smile that gave him the confidence to go meet Abby at the door. Yeah, what they had here was something special and not at all commonplace. This was Eureka and there was no other place in the world where he an Zoe belonged right now. Abby was going to see that tonight, because it was impossible to not how good this family was for each other in this house. "S.A.R.A.H., door."