A man answered the door.

All words got stuck in John's throat and his only logical move was to look down at the paper in his hand. Was he in the right house? He glanced at the numbers nailed next to the door and confirmed that it matched what was written. He turned his head and confirmed the street he was in, too, matched what was written. He returned his sights back to the man. He tried to swallow but his throat was dry.

"Can I help you?" the man spoke up. He was dressed in a button up and slacks.

John glanced at the paper again. It was nicely written for a five year old but was it reliable? Remy barely managed to scrawl her address before she heard her mom calling her. Maybe she got her address wrong. Maybe she misspelled her street name, her city, or even forgot or mixed up number.

How formidable was this piece of paper? Surely, John knew this was a long shot. It'd taken him a week to conjure enough guts to travel all the way over there. He'd been too busy contemplating how to woo Roxanne back that he missed the single most important step. How would he get to her in the first place?

Her daughter, her beautiful precious daughter, had helped him out and gave him their address. Sure, it worried him that she willingly gave it to a stranger. But as his eyes studied the masculine features in front of him, he realized that she might've given him the wrong one.

But what if it wasn't the wrong one? A man was at the door. What could that mean? Was this Remy's father? No, that wasn't likely. He had brown eyes and so did Roxanne. Remy had blue. Was he playing Remy's father? Was he Roxanne's lover? Boyfriend? Fiancée? Husband?

John stood there, immobilized by the relentless implications that came through his head.

"Can I help you?" the man repeated with an underlining tone of annoyance. He was fixing the cuffs on his sleeves now.

Before John could answer, or even come up with an answer, a familiar voice erupted from the background. "Mommy, I'm all dressed now!"

The man at the door looked behind him and smiled, allowing John a view into the house.

Remy had just gotten to the bottom of the stairs when she caught his eye and jumped up in excitement. "John!"

She ran to him in full force. Her little frame was wrapped into his arms within seconds. "Hey Remy!"

"Where have you been?" she let go of him, resting her tiny fingers on his biceps.

He was crouched down to her level. "I've been working. Sorry it took me awhile to visit."

"Well I'm glad you're here. You should come to school with me!" she suggested, jumping in her place. She looked behind her and yelled, "Mommy, can he go to school with me?"

John looked up and saw no traces of Roxanne. She must've been in another room. The kitchen, maybe; fixing up Remy's lunch, John imagined. He waited for a response and when he heard none, he stood up.

"Mommy! Can he?"

"What?"

"Can he go to school with me?"

"Sweetie, Matt has to-" Roxanne's mouth stopped moving, as did her heart, when she walked into the room. She rallied her sights between the three people there.

She was forced to settle on Remy, who was the first to speak up. "Can John come?"

"He's not even supposed to be here," she muttered.

Apparently, it was only audible to her. She didn't have enough time to decide if that was a good thing before Remy quickly ran up to her. "Pretty please?"

Roxanne shook her head. "Remy, you can't just bring whoever you want to school. Especially him."

"Mommmmmy!" Remy stomped her foot and crossed her arms. "What is that supposed to mean: especially him?"

"Well, John's been on TV and that'd be a little crazy for school, don't you think?"

"But mommy, I'm gonna be on TV someday too! Does that mean I shouldn't go to school?"

That forced a laugh out of Roxanne. And the two men. "No, silly. You're still young and you need to be in school."

"So John can't come?" Remy's made a pout.

"I'm sorry, sweetie."

The little girl bit her lip and looked at John. "I'm sorry."

John chuckled. It wasn't genuine but it sure helped him ease into the situation. A little bit, at least. "It's okay. Your mom has a point."

Roxanne opened her mouth but before she managed to get a word out, Remy left her side and ran to John. "You're gonna be here when I get back from school right?"

John smiled. He looked at Roxanne for confirmation, but all he got was an apprehensive stare.

"Pleeeease, John, pretty please?" Remy jumped, throwing herself closer to him. Her neck was bent all the way back as she looked up at the taller figure in front of her.

He chuckled. "If it's okay with your mom."

"Of course it is! Right mommy?"

Roxanne tried her best to suppress a groan. She opened her mouth but no words came out.

Remy didn't wait for her. "See, John. It is okay. So you'll be here after school, right?"

John smiled. The sight of Roxanne speechless was cute and God did he want to kiss her. Right then and there. But he couldn't. Not yet, anyway. "Yes, I'll definitely be here."

"Yay!" Remy cheered. "After school's going to be the best!"

"Speaking of school," the man, who John now knew was named Matt, spoke up. "I should probably drive you there now or else you'll be late."

Remy frowned. "Aw man. Okay...fine. I'll see you later John!"

Roxanne watched as her daughter walked out of the door without looking back. She couldn't believe this. Somehow, John managed to get some time with Remy when he should've been kicked out at first sight. And she, well, she stood there like a dumb mute. Or maybe she just didn't have any objections. She shook her head. Of course she had objections! Remy left for school without saying bye and to make things worse, she'd be with a stranger after school. All this, because of John.

God. She hated this. She was flustered. She was all choked up.

She forced her lips to form a formidable smile as Matt excused himself and said bye.

Within a second, only John and her were in the room. Alone. Together.

Oh. Oh.

Her heart was beating profusely out of her chest. She didn't know what to say. Damn it, what was wrong with her? He wasn't supposed to be there yet she couldn't bring herself to make sure of it.

John gladly, but nervously, picked up from there. "I wanted to see you."

Roxanne laughed with sarcasm. Her perplexity was replaced by an overwhelming wave of aggression. "And what'd you end up doing? You meddled your way into my daughter's life."

"That wasn't my intention coming here but it turned out that way. What's so bad about that?"

"What's so bad? What's so bad?" Roxanne's voice was just as murderous as her glare. She crossed her arms and brought herself closer to him. "You think you can just show up at my house, fix to spend time with my daughter - like you know her, and think that's okay?"

"Well, you never really gave me a reason why it's not." John's voice was casual and it only heightened her frustration.

"This is ridiculous, John. Why are you here?"

John was ready to answer but she wasn't done talking.

"Why are you even here, John? I asked you to leave us alone. My daughter is better off without any ties with you but you can't respect that, can you?"

"I didn't come here for Remy. I came here for you. It just so happens that she likes me and-" he paused when Roxanne averted her eyes. She began shaking her head but he was determined to get through to her. Damn it, he was gonna get through to her. "What's wrong? I don't understand."

"You're not supposed to be here. How is that so hard to understand?"

"Why not?"

"Because Remy-"

"Remy's gonna be alright. I'm not gonna harm her. This whole thing isn't even about her. It's about us."

"There is no us, John, there never was."

John tried to laugh. He got even closer to her. "There never was? You and me both know that's a lie."

Roxanne held her stare but didn't say a word. John stepped closer, causing her to back up. He kept taking steps until he got her against a wall. He placed a hand against it, causing the corners of his lips to perk up.

He saw right through her tough facade and he was determined to shred off that veneer. He'd get to her. He would.

"Wipe that smirk off your face," Roxanne scoffed.

"Aw. I called it my smile and I thought it was cute."

She shot him a sarcastic smile. "I thought it was cute, meh, meh, meh."

John laughed and backed up a step. "Mature, Roxanne, very mature. Why are you so mad? Why are you so angry, huh? What's wrong?"

"You not listening to me when say leave me alone is wrong."

"Why should I? If we ever meet again right?"

She rolled her eyes. "That was just a saying five years ago, John."

"Just a saying?" John narrowed his eyes at her. "So you're saying what it meant five years ago, means nothing now?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

John's eyes buckled as he watched Roxanne walk past him. The comic relief he was desperately trying to reel them into didn't work. He stared at the wall for a few seconds before he quickly tried to recuperate. Damn, this was harder than he thought. Not only did she have her defenses up for Remy, who to his dismay still had a nameless father, but she had her defenses up for herself too.

She's worth it though, he reminded herself. Not that he needed the reminder.

He followed her into the kitchen and watched as she brought some dirty dishes to the sink. Although her back was to him, she was just as equally appealing. His eyes moved over every inch of her skin, every contour and every curve. God he missed her. He missed every single part of her.

Although missing her was always hard, it was also easy. It reminded him of the times when he did have her.

And he had her right now, right in front of him. He'd be a fool to let her slip away a second time. He brought himself closer, ready to continue their conversation. As he prepared himself to speak up, he saw some commotion through the kitchen window that peered over the front porch.

A mysterious pipe smashed through Roxanne's car window, followed by a few more that each made their way through the other windows.

"Whatta-" Roxanne dropped the plate in her hands as she heard the glass explode. She stood for a few seconds, staring absently, as her brain took the time to register. Then, she abruptly walked away and headed towards the front porch.

John instinctively followed. He forced his mind to neutral, refusing to let it register to terror.

By the time they got outside, the destruction was done, and whoever caused it was long gone. Roxanne slowly walked around her car as she studied the damages.

It wasn't too bad, she supposed.

All her windows were broken, front and rear included. Lethal shreds of glass rained over the pavement all around them. Some minor dents were visible on the driver's side but everything else looked clean.

Roxanne stepped closer, reaching inside to pull out one of the weapons hurled for damage. Her heart sunk as if she'd just identified a dead body at the morgue. This pipe looked all too familiar.

Her nightmare wasn't just a nightmare from the past anymore.

John watched wordlessly, as she tightened her grip on the metal twined between her fingers. She didn't look mad, and that's not what worried him.

She looked scared.

"Any idea who did this?" He was behind her, all along he was beside her.

"I'm gonna go to the junk yard and get these windows fixed up," she said, completely dismissing his question.

John stood there, immobilized as he watched her walk past him. Panic was writing inside of him but damn it, he needed to hold onto control. He needed to find the next steps to ensure of Roxanne's safety. As he reviewed his options, she got back to his sights and into her car.

"Are you fucking crazy?" He stepped towards her.

She answered by slamming the drivers door shut, enclosing herself into the dimensions of her car.

"There's broken glass all over the seats!"

She turned the car on before looking back at him through the naked window. "I can take a few cuts. Trust me, I've had worst."

"Roxanne-"

"Listen," she cut him off.

Obviously, there was something she wasn't telling him; something she knew that he didn't; something that seemed far more scary than he could ever imagine. She had plans and there was no way he'd be included in them. He got that impression, easily. But he wasn't going to give in that easily.

No. No way. Not at the expense of her safety. And Remy's for that matter.

"Pick Remy up at 2:15. She goes to Hillwood Academic Day School. She'll be waiting for you at the front parking lot. If you're not sure which one, just look for a mural. It takes up the whole building so you can't miss it. Alright?"

"Alright," John answered robotically. At least he was useful for something.

"2:15 sharp. Afterwards, take her somewhere… anywhere you'd think kids enjoy. But don't feed her ice cream until she's had a full meal. She'll throw up." Roxanne reached into the glove compartment and grabbed a piece of paper. She scrawled her number on it before passing it to John. "Call me if anything. I'm trusting you, John. Keep her safe and don't mention what happened, please."

John nodded stoically.

Roxanne was giving these orders as if life depended on it. Maybe it did.

John opened his mouth to plea for her safety, to tell her he still loved her, and maybe - if he had enough guts, to ask if he could come with her and that they'd pick Remy up together.

But before he picked out his choice of words, Roxanne was already long gone.

What the hell is going on? Ah. Good question! Well, there's a lot that happened in those five years that they were separated and believe me, the unraveling hasn't even begun. Thoughts? Concerns? I'd like to thank all of my wonderful reviewers. You guys are seriously amazing(: