A/N - This story is dedicated to one of my very good friends CastleRockGirl. She has been there helping me and guiding me to make this story come alive and I can't thank her enough for inspiring me. Megan, this is for you. Reviews are much appreciated.

The trees rustled softly in the cool breeze, the sun setting over the hills in an array of pinks and oranges. She looked up towards the sky, and sighed deeply. She was going to miss this place, she was going to miss it more than words. Jen let her eyes scan the garden around her, reminiscing her childhood when she was happy and everything was good. She sat silently, drinking in the happy thoughts of when she was a child, the cool crisp autumn air filling her nose. Her toes digging softly into the green grass below her feet.

"Jen!"

Her thoughts were soon broken by the sound of her mothers voice calling her from the porch.

"Come on! We're going to be late! The new tenants will be here soon!" She called. "I'll be waiting in the car!"

Jen didn't turn to look over her shoulder, but took one more longing glance at the garden surrounding her, capturing it in her mind like a snapshot. She finally found the strength to lift herself up and picked up her feet, turning towards the back porch. She pulled her feet along and up the steps, before heading inside. She slipped on her shoes and lifted the small duffle bag from the end of the stairs, her eyes following each step till they reached the top. She pulled her free hand from beside her and let it rest gently on the railing.

"Jen!" Her mother called again, whining from the car. "Come on! I'll be growing daisies by the time you come out of there!"

Jen sighed again, and pulled herself away from the steps to head outside where her mother was waiting. She opened the passenger side door and slipped inside, glancing over at her mother in the front seat. "Oh honey, you can't be sad and sullen forever. It's just a house. Just imagine the new things waiting for you, it's a good thing you're going to live with your father."

Jen sighed again, her mothers words of 'encouragement' were far from encouraging to her. She scoffed softly. "Sure."

Her mother turned to her and chuckled. "It'll all work out."

"Jen."

Her eyes opened, and she looked at her mothers face peering down at her. She sat up slightly, and put her hands up to rub her eyes, yawning softly before taking a glance out the window. It was dark outside, and the only light came from the various Windows sitting pretty against the houses. "Are we here? How long did I sleep for?"

Her mother smiled. "We arrived about twenty minutes ago. You slept basically the whole way here." She told her before glancing behind her and back to look at Jen again. "Your fathers waiting for you."

Jen turned towards the window of the car to look at the light streaming through the door of one of the houses, and saw her father leaning on the door frame. She glanced back at her mum and sighed, letting her hand rest on the door handle. It won't be that bad. She told herself mentally, only hoping that what she had told herself would be true. Her hand lingered on the car door longer than she intended, willing herself to have a positive mindset on her new home life. It would be hard, but she wanted to keep telling herself that she could do it.

"I'll get your bags honey."

Jen looked up at her mother and smiled slightly, watching as her lips smiled back. "I'm going to miss you." She said before latching her arms around her mothers tall frame, and digging her head into the crook of her neck.

"I'm going to miss you too."

Jen pulled away slightly and saw the glint of a tear roll down the side of her mothers cheek. She smiled again and squeezed her mother tightly, wishing she didn't have to leave. "I want you to call me every week, okay? Let me know how things are going."

Jen turned back and waved one last time, watching her mother smile, before blowing her a kiss goodbye and mouthing the words 'I love you' as the headlights of her car blinked as she drove off down the street. Jen took a deep breath and kept her eyes focused on the dark street for a moment more. She could feel her fathers eyes stabbing into her and turned on her heels to meet him face to face. His warm brown eyes were fixated on her intently, and Jen tilted her head to the side awkwardly. "Hi dad." She mumbled slowly, waiting for him to return the gesture, but to her surprise, he stood there and looked at her for a while longer before taking her into his arms and squeezing her tightly.

"I've missed you so much Jen." He spoke softly. "I'm so happy you're here."

Jen lifted her hand and gave him an awkward pat on the back. It had been years since she had seen her father in person, he would call for her birthday and Christmas, and the odd gift was sent here and there, but other than that, their relationship had been pretty mute. "I've...missed you too." She uttered, finding it hard to give the same kind of affection he was giving her. She was stiff in his arms and when he pulled away, she bit her lip slightly and looked at her feet.

"You've grown up so much."

Jen couldn't find her tongue, and stifled a small chuckle. "Well it has been a few years since you've seen me." She said, looking up and sighing again as she reached for her bags, only to stop her hand short.

"I'll get those, you go inside and make yourself comfortable." He father chimed.

Jen nodded softly and stepped inside the house. Her eyes scanned the room, she was impressed. The house was lovely inside, warm and cosy, but nothing like her childhood home. The living room was filled with stylish furniture and a big fireplace, and smelt of cinnamon spice. Her eyes then made their way over to the kitchen, which opened into the living room, with a large granite bench accompanied by silver stools. A large wooden staircase descended into the middle of both rooms, she willed herself over to it and her eyes caught sight of the various pictures hanging on the wall. They were family pictures, of her mother and father standing together, smiling joyfully, and in her mothers arms, a little baby. It was her. Jen smiled slightly, before her fathers footsteps were heard from behind her. She turned to look at him. "You still have the pictures of mum hanging up?"

He looked down slightly, and cleared his throat. "Yeah. I couldn't bring myself to put them away, they're too special. There's just something about them."

Jen pursed her lips together and looked at the picture again. "Do you still...love her?" She asked, her eyes shooting back over to her fathers. She watched as his warm eyes glanced over to the picture, before he sighed and pushed past her slightly to walk up the stairs.

"Come on, let me show you your room." He spoke, changing the subject quickly.

Jen's eyebrows twisted slightly and she turned to follow him, surprised by the way her father had looked at the picture of her mother. She could tell that it was a fragile subject, and couldn't help but wonder if he still loved her. After all, only time would tell. Jen reached the top of the stairs in no time and followed her father down the hallway and to the last door, which was already opened. She stepped into the room, past her father and looked around slightly. The walls were bathed in a light blue, and a small chandelier draped down in the centre of the ceiling. There was a double bed against the right side of the room, covered in a white duvet, with matching pillows. A built in wardrobe with mirrored doors sat against the left side of the room, and a small desk with shelves above. But what caught her attention most, was the window positioned directly across from where she was standing at the door. Jen pushed past her father softly and stopped to look out the window, darkness engulfing the outside world. She reached up with her hand and let it rest gently on the glass, watching it fog up as she breathed softly.

"So...what do you think?"

Jen turned to look at her father over her shoulder, a small smile twisting onto her features. "It's great." She said clearing her throat, as an unbearable silence filled the room. Jen pursed her lips together and pushed a stray strand of hair that had fallen behind her ear. "Well...I think I might get some sleep." Silence. She wasn't sure how long it would be before things were normal again. "I'm a little tired from the trip."

Her father nodded quickly, and his hand let go of the bags he was holding, gently putting them onto the floor. "Sure thing...um, I guess I'll see you in the morning."

Jen raised her eyebrows and faked a quick smile. "Yeah."

"Well...goodnight."

"Night."

Her lips parted, and she let out a small sigh as the door was closed softly. "It'll be better tomorrow." She whispered, as her body flopped onto the double bed with another sigh. Things will be better tomorrow.

Sunlight streamed through the open window, radiating off the walls, and bouncing onto Jen's sleepy face. It warmed her skin, and she kept her eyes closed for a few more moments, bathing in the suns warmth. She rolled onto her side to face the wall and pryed her eyes open slightly, a yawn slipping from her lips. Mornings were a bitch. Especially mornings where you have to wake up to a totally different life, in a totally different town with totally different people. Jen was trying hard to keep herself positive, but part of her didn't want to be positive. She wasn't ready to face her father. Part of her wanted to scream, she wanted to stay in bed without facing the day and what it would bring for her, but without thinking twice, she willed herself to stand. She needed to take her new life and face it, head on. Jen yawned again, and her eyes caught sight of the view from her window, and that was when she gasped. There was a beautifully lush green garden staring straight back up at her, complete with trimmed hedges and white picketed fences. The garden was filled with roses, tulips, and sunflowers, and a big jacaranda tree shaded half of the garden with its enormous flowering branches. She knew her father had always taken gardening up as a hobby, but this was just astounding to her. It was almost magical.

Jen crept quietly down the stairs, being as soft footed as she could but something alerted her senses and forced her mind to reminisce with memories. She could smell hot pancakes, their delicious scent wafting up to where she was standing on the staircase. She could see her, her mother and her father sitting together at the table, laughing and she remembered her mothers homemade sweet maple syrup, sitting in a jug, ready to be doused generously over the pancakes. The memory was so vivid in her mind, that she almost had to stop and pinch herself to snap out of it, but her fathers voice bellowing gently from the kitchen caused her mind to flash back to reality.

"Jen? Are you awake?"

Jen cleared her throat and let go of the railing she was gripping onto to answer. "Yeah. I'll be down in a minute." She called, tiptoeing her way down the stair case and into the kitchen, where she caught sight of her father pilling a generous amount of pancakes onto two plates. Jen smiled softly and made her way to one of the silver stools poking out from underneath the bench. "Dad..." She said, chuckling under her breath. "You didn't have to do this."

She watched silently, the smile still on her lips, as her father made his way over to sit beside her, juggling some maple syrup in his hand. He looked up and smiled back, a chuckle slipping from the back of his own throat. "Not as good as your mothers but it does the trick." He told her, before pouring a generous amount on top of the stack. "How'd you sleep?" He asked and Jen looked up at him, chewing a mouthful of food.

"Good." She smiled, as she swallowed her mouthful. "I didn't notice how beautiful the garden was before this morning when I looked out the window."

Her father cocked an eyebrow at her slowly. "You like it?"

"It's amazing."

Her father smiled, and the two of them went back to eating. The air was still tense and awkward between them, but somehow, it had become a bit more comfortable to bare. "I have another thing to show you...an early birthday present." He said, breaking the air and Jen turned to look at him out of the corner of her eye. She'd almost forgotten that she'd be turning eighteen in a few weeks. Funnily enough, with all the things going on in her life, it must have all but slipped her mind. "I was going to wait until your actual birthday, but I thought you'd need it, seeming that you'll need a way to school and back.." He chirped, giving her a small smile.

Jen cocked an eyebrow at him and opened her mouth to speak. "W-what? What do you mean?"

"You'll see. I don't want to ruin the surprise."

Jen's eyes flickered back over to her half eaten stack of pancakes, her mind whirling with thoughts. Could it be a car? No way.