Author's Note- So this is sort of Amian with me hating on Jake a little. (I really don't like him, and I already know that his and Amy's relationship will fail, just by the things he said.) But, while discussing the 39 Clues with a friend, I realized that for Ian to somehow get back into the picture, he'd have to somehow cough up an apology. And I also think there's a lot more to Ian that we don't really see. So, yeah, I just wrote this. Good? Bad? Things to be changed? Review to let me know!

Oh, yeah. And spoilers for Day of Doom!

I don't own the 39 Clues! (Although I probably could have written the last book better if I did! Does anyone else feel that way?!)

oooOOOooo

Amy's POV

The phone rang. I reached over, grabbed it, and read the caller ID.

Kabra, it read.

One of the last times I answered the phone with Kabra written on it ended in tears. (And the start of relationship with Evan.)

It rang four times, and there being no one else home besides me, it went unanswered.

I imagined he would think that no one was home and he would eventually stop calling. However, he didn't just call once. Or twice to make sure. The phone rang for five cycles before I picked it up. Before I pressed the talk button, I sighed and braced myself for whatever he might have to say. He had already knocked me down once. At least I had Jake this time to (although our relationship at the moment was a little rocky) lean back on.

Then again, what if Ian actually needed something? Natalie's death had impacted him. And I could see that, although he probably wished no one could.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hello, Amy. This is Ian." said the male voice from over the phone.

"I know, Ian, we have caller ID." Probably not the most polite thing to say, but he wasn't exactly polite on the last phone call either.

"Oh, yes. I should have known that. Just thought it was best to say so... Just in case... Anyway..." It was a tone of his that I had never heard before. And he never droned on. He was so sure of himself, but today he sounded almost... Unsure? Or maybe it was the phone.

This changed my tone into a more polite one. "Do you need anything? I can leave a message for Uncle Fiske, if you'd like."

"Thank you, Amy, but... Um..." And this shocked me even more. Where was Mr. Smooth? Mr. Confident? Mr. Know-it-All?

"Are you alright, Ian?" I asked, now feeling rather concerned, although I didn't like the idea of having any sort of feelings towards him at the moment.

"Actually, Amy, no, I'm not."

I had no response to that. He sounded so sincere, but I didn't know what to think. He didn't carry on, which forced me to ask, "Well, are you hurt? We can send Cahill help if you need it." His voice was too calm to need any help like that, but I had nothing else to ask.

"No, no. Physically, I'm well. All's safe and well here in London. Rather lonely in the manor, so I decided to get out today."

"Well, that's understandable." My voice fell a little, and I felt the need to ask, "Are you doing OK? Without Natalie?"

The phone line was silent for a few seconds, then he replied, "I'm actually at her grave now."

"Oh," was the only thing I could think of. I had lost Evan, and that hurt. He was a close, close friend. (Although I may have had a little guilt left for not telling him about me and Jake.) But I had family left. And good friends. Ian had no one. It was almost unfair in a sense for Natalie to have been killed. Ian needed her the most.

"And while I was sitting here, I just wanted to tell you something that came to mind."

It was almost quite scary how truthful he was being. Or, he at least sounded like it. I couldn't help but to be a little critical. Wouldn't anyone in my place?

"Losing Natalie," he continued, "was very hard. And I know normal sixteen year old boys don't confess their thoughts to others, but I needed to tell someone. And I think you'd do the least bit of judging. Natalie, before she was captured by the Vespers, told me I needed to live without weights or grudges. And, now here she is, dead. And, I've realized that I have some weights I need to get rid of."

I stayed silent, completely unsure of what to say.

"Amy, I am truly sorry."

"Ian, you don't have to-"

"No, I've needed to say this for a while. And sitting here, right now, I realized death could be at any moment, so it's now or possibly never. I'm sorry for being a," he sighed, as it was almost hard to say, but it needed to be, "jerk. For being arrogant and uncaring. Truth is, I did care, but I didn't want anyone to see that. Forgive me of how I acted before the clue hunt. Forgive me of Korea, as I shouldn't have played in that way. Forgive me of participating in my mother's plans, for almost killing both you and Dan. Forgive me of being unthankful, and arrogant. Forgive me of the phone call almost- was it a year ago? - And how I was as arrogant as I could have been."

"Ian, its fine, no one holds you to those things-" which was a lie, since I did before picking up the phone. I almost started to feel a little guilty for thinking this way towards him. I had labeled him as something, and in learning I was wrong, I wanted to forget everything I had thought.

"Amy, I just need go let you know that. I've made plenty of mistakes, and I can't take them with me to the grave without forgiveness."

"Of course, Ian. We all go through hard times, we just have to make it through." I felt terrible for him. He was so alone…

"Tell Dan I said the same. I almost love him in a brotherly way. No matter how much he gets on my nerves-" I could almost hear him smirking though the phone "-I really do view him as family."

"I-I sure will."

"And Amy?"

"Yes?" I said with uncertainty.

"Thank you for being my family right now. I only hope you can trust me fully at some point in your life."

"Ian, we are always here for you. We all need to work on forgiving each other's past and our own."

"Thank you. I just wanted to let you know this. It has been weighing on my mind recently. With Natalie gone and not a whole lot of happening in London right now, I've been doing a lot of thinking. Thank you for putting up with me all these years. I can't promise I won't be arrogant, but I will try to humble myself more. I only hope that we could be friends."

"It'd be nice to see the non-arrogant Ian, I'm not going to lie." I said, playfully, trying to ease the mood.

"If you don't mind me coming to Boston, I may visit you, Dan, and Mr. Fiske. It's quite lonely here."

"Of course, Ian. I understand. You'll definitely have to come over. It'll be good to get your mind off of some things. Dan could help you with that!" I said with a smile.

"Yes, that would be great," he said in a happier voice. Then he paused before saying, "Thanks for listening, Amy. I know I can be a little unnerving to talk to at times. You've been a great friend."

I found myself smiling, surprisingly. I heard the outside door open from the living room. Uncle Fiske was probably back. "Thanks, Ian. Let us know when you'd like to come to Boston."

"Will do, Amy. I will let you all know."

"Bye, Ian."

"Bye, Amy."

"Who was that?" said a voice from behind. I turned around from the sofa not to see Uncle Fiske, but Jake. "That wasn't Ian, was it?"

"What are you doing here? You didn't call or anything."

"I know your code so I'd thought I'd just stop by. Glad I did," he said, with a scowl on his face. "What was he calling for? Probably making all of our lives miserable. He's such a boring person."

Funny, the only person who was "miserable" right now was Jake. "He was just calling to give us an update." I told him, not caring to give him the whole story. "His sister died and his family is gone. I don't see why we can't make sure he's okay. He's still family."

"Whatever. I came over to ask if you wanted to hang out with my friends. Do you want to come?"

I had met his friends before and they weren't especially nice. "Why don't you ever tag along with my friends?"

"Your friends are idiots. They're no fun," he said. My anger flared a little, but I kept it under control.

"Not tonight, I have a headache." I lied.

"No problem. I'll just go out anyway," Jake said. "See you later."

"Bye," I said with no feeling. Did Ian's calls always have to bring me some sort of relationship problem? Suddenly, I was rather excited at him coming. Better than Jake at the moment, anyway. And Ian seemed changed. He was somehow better inside. I couldn't help but think that next time I saw him, he'd be a much better person. I couldn't wait.