A man sat before a desk calmly, his brown eyes skirting over its contents with an air of the unimpressed.

The owner had three framed pictures. One picture was of the owner, a short young woman with mid length brown hair and gray eyes, being hugged around the neck by a man. The man was a tall man with long black hair tied back and in FF uniform. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be kissing her cheek.

The next was a picture of the same young woman with another woman, though both appeared to be about twelve. They were holding hands with large smiles stretched across their faces. The other girl was a redhead who's eyes were like emeralds.

The last was of a baby. The baby was laying on a silk blanket with tiny overalls on. The baby had large blue-gray eyes and a tiny fluff of stark green hair that wisped on top of its head.

He stared at all of these pictures in turn until he heard the voice. His whole body lurched at its sound and an old anger filled him to the vary brim. A single question popped up in his head.

Why did the map specialist have to be this trash.

The man sighed and got to his feet in an attempt to act as civilised as he could in front of so many people. He gathered his briefcase and took out a small pastel pink slip of paper from it; it smelled like citrus.

"Thanks again, Jak. I know that it's last minute and you didn't…"

A small growl escaped the man. If only the owner of the desk had been born mute, his life would have been much easier, for all he had seen her three times previously in his life.

"Don't worry about it. I'm happy to take Kade for the day."

"Yes but still, you had plans."

The man glanced over and was surprised to see that the lost prince was standing before the woman. He had once seen a picture of him. In the picture he looked angry with long hair that probably reached his shoulder blades. Now, the prince looked joyful and had a haircut. The price also had an infant balanced on his hip, both had green hair.

Putting the picture and the price holding the same baby together, the man felt pity for the prince. Hopefully, the filth hadn't ruined his life like she had the man's father's and his own mothers life.

He sighed again, he also hopped that the baby would be nothing like the woman and her mother. The man thought this as he had himself known.

I jumped at the sound of his voice. It sent perils of anxiety into my stomach that sat like heavy rocks.

Then, I silently berated myself for it. I had been able to hide my fear for this long in front of Jak and now, it was all for not. One might wonder why I chose to hide my fears from him.

I wanted to tell him when Lucas left for wherever he lived because Jak was a man of action. After all, he was very protective of his friends and with all of the time we've spent together raising our son, I don't think we could be anything other than friends.

As if to prove my thoughts, Jak looked up at Lucas and then sent me a questioning stare. I only shook my head and stood on my tiptoes to give him a tiny peck on the check; my promise to talk to him later. I then stroked Kade's head and kissed him.

"Mama has to work now, honey. I'll see you later."

My response was a small gurgle and coo.

After our good-bye's, I turned to Lucas and tried to give him a smile but I think it was more of a grimace. He simply kept a cold glare.

"Hi, Lucas. How has your week been?"

He continued his ice like stare but answered my question.

"It has been good. New Haven is nice to stay for my client. I would like to start there in the most secure areas that your Governess can provide."

I gulped down the sickening fear and was able to produce a smile with a gesture towards the door leading outside.

"Of course. I'll take you to the main military base in the center of New Haven. It is relatively close by and is only accessible to the Governess and those of high ranking. I believe that it will be the most ideal place to keep your client protected."

He gave me a curt nod and lead the way outside. Once his eyes were no longer on me, I couldn't help but breath in relief. I could do business talk.

Jak glared at the door while holding his almost sleeping son in his arms. Kade made a tiny nose of protest and Jak patted his back and hummed to him while bouncing his arms to help lull him to sleep.

It was agreed that Tamantha was going to pick Kade up from Daxter's after work. Jak had to go out on a MH hunt with some of Torn's solders the next few days and he wanted to stay at Daxter's bar so he could get a move on early in the morning.

Now, he had a problem with leaving. He seen it, the way Tamantha jumped when that man spoke, the way she looked at him, the almost pleading look she gave him. She was terrified of the man.

He instantly felt a blume of protection appear in his stomach and anger on the tip of his tongue. Tamantha was a friend, and furthermore, the mother of his child. If she felt fear then he had to be on guard.

On guard for what, he didn't really know. The man seemed to be harmless if not a bit cold. He also smelled an odd resemblance between him and Tamantha. Jak had to talk to Tamantha to know who the man was.

If only she came earlier and not in the dead of night.

As if the precursors herd his unspoken complaints, Tamantha stepped into the room with a heavy sigh. She shut the door and leaned against it while cupping her face with both hands.

"I need a pay raise." She mumbled into her fingers.

Jak let loose a small chuckle and looked down at Kade. The boy was now fast asleep. Jak shifted and stood up to place Kade into the collapsible crib that he kept for moments just like this.

When he had his son tucked in, he turned to Tamantha who was watching him silently. He gestured to the kitchen and she followed.

Jak sat down. Tamantha stayed standing.

"Who was that man?"

She groaned.

"He's my brother, Lucas."

Jak briefly remembered talking about him.

"Why are you afraid of him?"

She looked like she was about to fall. Her eyes darting everywhere for a place to look but at him. Her bottom lip was pinched between her teeth. She was freaking out.

"I don't know. I just am."

"That's not an answer."

"I know it's not but it's the best you're going to get."

Jak growled in anger.

"Why are you afraid of your own brother? What's wrong with him that you are scared? Did he hurt you, touch you, what?

Tamantha growled right back and glared at Jak with confusion swimming in her gray eyes.

"I don't know, Jak. I'm scared because he hates me I guess."

"Why would that make you fear him?"

She only shook her head. This caused Jak to roll his eyes. There was no way he'd get anything out of her this way.

"Why does your brother hate you?"

"My mom."

"What?"

Tamantha hugged herself and sat down on one of the separate seats.

"Lucas hated my mom for breaking up his mom and our dad. After she died giving birth to me, all of that hate transferred to me."

This caught him by surprise. That just seemed wrong.

"I don't know, Jak. Ever since I was little, I was just so scared of him. The way he looked at me as if I were nothing but shit on his shoe, I guess something happened to me that made scared. I hate it too, just hate it."

Jak chose that moment to tell her that she should stay the night and go home in the morning. She looked like she was about to pass out or cry her eyes out of there sockets, whichever one was first.

She didn't listen to him though, just sat there as if shocked. Then, in a tiny and hoarse voice, she whispered, "I have to see him again to show him around the main headquarters next week."

Tamantha then groaned and slumped against the table. Her head hit it with a loud thunk.

"Why am I so scared? Not just of him either. I use to be afraid of you too. What's wrong with me?"

Jak got up and stepped behind her. He placed a hand on her back and leaned over to her ear.

"Nothing. Its human nature to fear others."

He latched his arm under her legs and picked her up. She squeaked.

Jak carried her to the only bed in the house and dropped her on it. "Now sleep. I'll be gone when you wake up."

After my second day with Lucas I had come home to a son and Ashelin, who had agreed to baby set on her day off, and plopped on my couch without a single word. I then watched my little Kade, who was setting beside the couch, as he threw whatever he had in his hand at the wall.

He then stopped and looked back at me. I smiled and waved at the tiny, bubbling baby.

"Hi honey, how's moma's baby?"

Kade stared for a few moments and then broke into a smiling, babbling cutie. Drool dripped from his lips and, with each smile, small white bumps shone. When he stopped, he held out the plush ball he was playing with to me.

I took it and dropped back in his lap.

He looked at it in wonder as he took hold of it. He held it back up for me to take again.

To took it and dropped it back in his lap.

Kade squealed in delight and repeated his actions twenty times. Each time I dropped it in his lap, he would giggle and hold it back up.

Around the twenty fifth, I placed the plush ball beside me and picked Kade up instead. I planted a kiss on his cheek and laid him in my lap.

"It's time to eat hun, are you hungry?"

He garbled his answer and I grinned.

"That's good 'cause mama has a special treat for you."

I kissed him on the other cheek and then on the chin and then on the jaw and then on his neck. Soon, the little boy was getting bunchel of kisses. It left him and myself in peals of laughter.

When I realised that neither of us could take anymore laughs, I pulled Kade up in my arms. I then took him to his highchair. I got him a bottle and gave it to him. He grabbed it and held it up himself. It was a perfect picture that I actually had pinned to the fridge.

"You have drool on your face."

I jumped with a squeak and whirled around to see the red head. I gaped and nearly fell on my ass.

"You scared me! Don't sneak up on people!"

The red head threw back her head and leaned back on my table. She had on a loose white shirt with ruffles and a pair of my pants, though on her they seemed like caprice since she was about eight inches taller than me.

"I'll remember that. You have fun at work?"

I groaned and slouched into a chair.

"No. I was too scared to have fun."

She only hummed and, thankfully, changed the subject.

"Torn and I are getting married in three months."

I gasped and grabbed her hands in joy. "Really? Why the sudden change?"

She smirked and shrugged. "I won't be able to fit in my dress."

"Oh, I guess that makes since."

I bet that she was counting down from three for my reaction because at that moment, Kade threw his bottle at me. It hit my shoulder.

Three.

I leaned down and picked it up.

Two.

I placed in back in Kade's hand. He took it and popped it back in his mouth.

One.

I froze and felt like my breath had been knocked out of me. What did she say.

I whipped around and looked at her with mystified eyes. She was practically glowing with pride as she looked back at me.

"You, but, when?"

She chuckled lightly. "About a week ago. My doctor believes it has been about a month."

I kept gaping at her like a fish out of water.

"But, but…"

Everything stilled.

I then jumped her and kissed her smack dab on the lips and picked her up to spin her around while laughing in the utmost joy. She laughed with me and eventually smacked my shoulder to force me to put her down.

"By the precursors, you are pregnant! I can't believe it! I thought that you were waiting for a while after your marriage."

"We were but I saw you with Kade and couldn't help it. I wanted a baby so bad. Torn agreed and we started to try. Two months later, I'm pregnant."

I squealed again and fell onto the table. There I crossed my legs and pulled Kade and the highchair closer. The boy threw his bottle at me again so I picked it back up and handed it to him again.

"I am going to plan the best Bachelorette party ever! You just wait and see, you'll be sick of me by the end of it all!"

Ashelin shook her head and tried to say something but I cut her off.

"No way am I backing out of my maid of honor stance now. I told you that I would do it and by god, I am going to do it."

This earned me a hardy chuckle and Kade threw his bottle again. I picked it up but didn't give it back. Instead, I walked over to the living room and got his plush ball and, when I returned, gave it to him.

"We do not throw our food.", I said in a level voice while holding up Kade's bottle. "We throw balls for fun." I then placed my index finger on the ball.

When all of his attention was on said ball, I sat back down on the table and placed the bottle beside of me for a just in case moment. I looked back at Ashelin and saw that she looked somewhat confused.

"What?"

She shrugged. "It's just that, he can understand you."

I smiled at her and placed my hand on her shoulder.

"It doesn't matter. Babies learn from repetition. If I tell Kade the same thing over and over again, he'll eventually learn it. It's also good to talk to them normally, not baby talk."

Ashelin scoffed at me and waved me off like I just insulted her. "I know that much. You drilled it im my and everyone else's head from day one."

I laughed. "Yeah, you know, Daxter surprisingly was the one who took the longest to get threw. I thought that it'd be Tess but she understood on day one."

"Really? I'm just surprised that you knew her even. I was under the impression that you have never met her."

"I didn't until I returned from Kras with Jak. But, I kinda did too. She's one of those people that you know without even knowing… you know?"

After that, the two of us continued to talk about everything and anything we could think of. During this time, we took turns getting the ball that Kade just had to throw and handing it back to him. Each time he got the ball back, he would practically hop on his butt with joy before throwing it again.

I had to say, he really enjoyed this game we played.

"Do you remember when we were kids imagining our perfect wedding?" Ashelin asked in a dreamy sounding voice.

I did, it was hard to forget when two teen girls giggled about boys and what they think looks good on them. The conversation would always steer back to marriage.

"Yeah, I do. I also remember that you kept saying that you would find your soul mate and wouldn't need a wedding because it'd be perfect without one."

"Yeah, I still think that too. This is just to pacify the masses. They want a married couple to rule over them. If I'm correct, I remember you saying that you'd find your match and be happy with whatever."

I sighed and looked down at Ashelin's comment. I had found my match and now, he was six feet under. I wouldn't say it out loud but I couldn't stop myself from thinking it.

"You can have more that one match, Tammi."

I shrugged and pulled on a smile. There was no room for self pity when I had a friend to talk to death. She spoke again just as the front door opened from the outside. The sounds of a storm came in with heavy foot steps.

"If you look right in front of you, I'm sure you'll find them."

"Hey."

I looked up and saw Jak, standing right in front of me. His hair, which was now long enough to tickle his jaw, was completely plastered to his face. Daxter was coiled around Jak's neck.

I was vaguely aware of Ashelin standing and talking about towels. I was also vaguely aware that Daxter was complaining about being soaked. I was still vaguely aware that Jak was staring at me in confusion. I however, didn't care.

A guy right in front of me.

I suddenly got to my feet and walked straight up to Jak where I gave him a brief hug. Once it was returned, I told him where Kade was and proceeded to walk into the living room where I took out my comm. from my back pocket. Then, I scrolled down until I found the name I was looking for.

It took him five seconds to answer in a rather groggy voice.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's me, Tamantha."

"Tamantha?"

"Yeah, well, we talked a while back and you said that we should hang out later. So, I was thinking that maybe, if you're free, we could go and, you know, hang out?"

The man on the other end made a sort of strangled noise and a few coughs were heard.

"Yeah, sure. When?"

"Next week on Wednesday?"

"Sure thing. See you then Tammi."

I smiled and felt a ball of warmth grow in my belly. "Okay, see you then Michael."

I hung up and sighed. When I turned back around, I noticed that Jak was still staring at me with his mouth open as though he were going to say something. Before he could, Ashelin tossed him a towel and it landed on his head.

He sent her a Ashelin a glare but forgot about it for his son.

Hi everyone! So, I need to get something off my chest before I attempt any type of romance.

I hate romantic stuff that you often see in books and I have never been seriously romantically involved with a guy, ever.

Now that that is off my chest, one other thing. M.F, I would like to apologise for last chapter. Your name would not show up no matter what I done. I'm really sorry!

Anon: I think it's more to the point that Haven changed her. Writing about all of this really leaves me to think that she's not all bad. In the jak x game, she showed a combo of before and after too. I think that's one of the reasons why Jak likes her so much, because she intentionally showed him her spunk.

Another reason is that, though I do agree with you on the Sandover bit, she is a childhood sweetheart. From what I know, most guys like to hang on to those people.

About the high thing and what she said, it's just kinda because she thinks he is good looking and has grown to trust him deeply. Her sober mind might show this with her actions but her high mind shows it with her words. And the dream, I just thought it was funny. Glad you did too.

Jakfan: I do and will speak of nothing further. And, I got the idea for something similar to that. My sister had a friend who was high after a dentist appointment during a storm. The power went out and came back on like, five minutes later and he had disappeared. They found him under his bed later on in the night whispering, "shhhhhh, the aliens are here and they'll hear you!"

Destiny W: thanks!