I'd like to say that I wrote this chapter in February 2013 and I would probably write something a little differently than this, but I still do kind of like it like this and I also did put in A LOT of work and brain power into this story, so here it is, raw, (hopefully) real and ready (that sounds so wrong)! I'd also like to point out that this story is set in the timeline of the show when Nolan was living with Emily, before little Carl was born and (spoiler) before Declan died too.

It was a cold but bright afternoon in the Hamptons the air filled with the salty smell of the sea and the faint smell of money lingering in the air. No one ever seemed to come to the Hamptons without knowing someone already settled in this expensive place, and this certain day was no exception.

Sofia, a tall, slender girl of twenty, her long, thick blonde hair cascading down her back in soft waves while her deep blue eyes scanned the area as she parked outside the old home of Nolan Ross, looking for this man. "Wow." she muttered to herself as she took in the sleek glass house, the whole building reeking with fortune. She got out of her car, a red Lexus before making her way down a side walkway and out towards the back yard. There was no one around which she thought was slightly strange, all except a stout, hunched over man who appeared to be a gardener. "Excuse me, but do you know when Mr. Ross will be back?" she asked him, her accent sounding quite posh but very English. The man shook his head then shrugged, before his thick Mexican accent was directed at her as he replied to her query.

"No, I'm sorry. He doesn't live here any more. You should try Miss. Thorne's house, that's where he's living now." Sofia asked him where her house was before he directed her on how to get there. She then simply nodded, giving this man a light smile before making her way back to her car.

Along the way, she thought about what she had done to get to this present moment, all the work of trying to track him down, going from place to place looking for him and now, finally Sofia had found out where he was living, but after all that, her nerves began to crack her tough exterior skin. "Right Sophie, you can do this." She repeated to herself before getting in her car and drove off as fast as she could, all the way to Miss. Thorne's, or Emily as the gardener had told Sofia she was called.

When she arrived, before getting out the car, she checked her makeup to make sure it was looking okay and then gracefully got out of the car, her long legs coming out first. She pulled down her plain white loose fitted vest top, her tanned arms on show. She wore a pair of denim hot pants and a pair of reed wedges, a hot pink flower on each shoe. Sofia then made her way up onto the porch of Emily's house before knocking on the door and awaited an answer. Emily came to the door, her blonde wavy hair hung loose as she wore a freshly ironed white shirt, tucked into a pair of black pants, a pair of black kittens heels to finish the look off. Emily's face showed a look of confusion, who was this young woman who was standing in front of her, but she simply greeted her nonetheless. "Hi. Can I help you with something?" Emily asked, her head tilted slightly to the side as a soft, but possibly fake smile hung across her lips.

Sofia gave her an equally fake smile, hoping to convey a happy exterior, her voice changing to her natural voice, a mix between English and a Northwest accent, having lived in both Billings, Montana and Southampton, England where she spent a couple of years boarding in Oasis Academy Lord's Hill but left when her mother ran out of money and also because it wasn't for her. Now, she quickly answered Miss. Thorne, or Emily as Sofia nodded softly to her question. "Actually yes, could you tell me where I could find a Mr. Nolan Ross? See, I'm lookin' for him." She finished her sentence with another smile, hoping that Emily could help.

Emily seemed to pause for a moment, almost debating whether or not to trust Sofia, but in the end she seemed to. "Yes, urmm, he'll be back later tonight. I'm sorry, but who should I say was calling?" Emily asked, crossing her arms gently as she lent a little bit forward to talk to her.

Sofia gave her an amused smile before she started to go. "Oh don't worry. Just tell him that he's found his little star." she laughed softly to herself like there was some inside joke before she was gone.

She had heard there was a bar somewhere near here, 'The Stowaway' or something like that in the borough of Montauk. In case it was a long way, she decided to drive. Anyway, she couldn't leave her car there on Miss. Thorne's property. She revved her car up once more and went on the look for this particular bar. She wasn't looking long before she found it, the web was right, it was easy to find! She then parked her car in a customer parking space before making her way inside, the faint smell of the fish from the docks lingered inside, but fortunately was disguised by the warm smell of the beer on sale.

Sofia propped herself up on a bar stool as she waited to be served. No one else was around as she guessed that was why there was a lack of service in this place. Eventually a young man, quite muscular, a sweep of thick black hair came walking down the spiral stairs which she guessed was his living quarters. She smiled over at him slightly as she started to speak before he had reached her. "Could I have a Strawberry Mojito please? I'm in the mood for something fruity!" she gave him a cheeky wink before chuckling, she loved to play with people, especially guys, they were the best.

The man, Jack he was called judging by his name tag started to talk, an almost amused smile on his lips. "A Strawberry Mojito? I can try." Judging by that comment, he wasn't good at cocktails. Sofia felt a bit sorry for him so decided to change her order.

"Doesn't matter. I'll have a beer...from the bottle." she smile once more, this time a little brighter. She wasn't someone who cared much about what people thought of her, and drinking beer from the bottle was one of them. Having gone to a boarding school, she had anything 'unladylike' knocked out of her, or so they thought. She hated it there at that school and she was worse than ever.

Jack gave her another amused smile before getting a beer and popped the cap before handing it to Sofia. "Well that be $2.50. Thank you." She took the beer before handing him the money, the till's ring echoed around the room as she took a decent swig of the cool beer. Something about Sofia however seemed to have caught Jack's eye as he couldn't stop looking at her. Was it what she was wearing? Did she have something on her face? Or was it simply that he liked how she looked? She always opted for it to be the third choice, but there would be times the first two would sneak into the reasons why. Eventually he walked over to her. "Excuse me, but have we met before? It's just...you look really familiar." He let a nervous laugh escape his lips as he pushed his thick fingers through his raven hair.

Sofia smirked to herself, a lopsided one before answering Jack. "No, we've never met." So he knew her father then, Sofia's mother had said that they looked alike. "So, this is your place then? You on your own?" she asked, making the last question having a double meaning. Jack was hot, she wanted to try her chances with him.

Jack pulled out a dirty glass and started to clean it as he answered her question with a subtle smile. "No, I live here with my younger brother and my girlfriend. It's just the three of us." He placed the glass under the counter, now all clean for a customer. Sofia nodded, her heart sinking ever so slightly at hearing he had a girlfriend, well there were other fish in the sea, it wasn't bad.

"So, have you lived here long? I mean in the Hamptons?" Sofia asked before taking a small sip of her beer, the icy cold liquid caused her to shiver as it slid down her throat.

Jack smiled lightly at her before leaning down, his arms crossed and rested himself on top of the bar counter, looking straight at Sofia. "Yes I have. Born and brought up right here at the docks." he replied, seeming to warm somewhat to this stranger. "So, what about you? I'm guessing you're not from here, though I might be wrong!" he teased, obviously impressed by his attempt at humour. "Where are you from?" he asked, looking right at Sofia.

She gave him a smile before briefly looking away, her gaze moving to look at the bar top before taking his gaze back up to Jack. "Oh, all over. It's complicated." she admitted, not wanting to divulge any information about herself yet to anyone. Jack simply nodded and gave a half hearted smile before picking up another dirty glass which was sitting on the bar top and started to clean it.

"Well, I wish I could travel, lucky you." he replied with a light smile before he walked off, seeming to be busy with things.

Sofia carried on nursing her beer, her gaze now drifting out of the window and towards the light bussle going on outside. Fishermen and various workers went along with their business, all seeming to have time to talk to one another even if they seemed too busy to even do so.

Sofia sat there at the bar for a good quarter of an hour before she had downed her beer and she was feeling herself to be growing ever so bored. She pushed the bottle further down the bar top before getting up and straightened herself up and then got ready to leave. As she started to make her way towards the door, not wanting to be caught by the owner, Jack, suddenly she heard his voice, the tone cheerful coming from a staircase which lead to the basement. He held a big crate of beers, almost looking effortlessly carried in his strong looking arms which he placed down on the ground at the furthest corner of the bar from Sofia before making his way down towards her behind the bar, a light smile on his face. "You leaving?" he asked before adding. "Well, hope your time in the Hamptons is okay. If you need somewhere to stay, there's a motel just a couple of miles from here, if you didn't have somewhere to stay." Jack told Sofia with a soft chuckle before taking Sofia's empty bottle and put it in the trash.

She kindly smiled at his suggestion before speaking herself. "Thanks for the help. I think I'll stay at that motel like you said. Well, bye, might see you again very soon" she gave him a wink and a playful chuckle before making her way towards the door.

Just as she placed her hand on the door to leave, Jack spoke up once more, a tone to his showing slight interest in Sofia. "By the way, I don't think I got your name." Jack wondered before Sofia turned to face him, a slightly naughty smile on her lips as she replied to him.

"I didn't give it." A brief pause went by before Sofia replied to his request. "My name's Sofia Janson, it's nice to talk to you Jack." And with that brief answer, she was gone.

It would be a while until Nolan would be back at his house like Emily said, so Sofia went back to her car before driving off towards the motel. It wouldn't hurt to get herself settled here, so off she went to get herself a room.