Hey, I'd really love it if you guys would review and give me your honest opinion. Tell me what I do wrong so I can fix it. Special shout out to s-burman. Helped me out by pointing out a lot of mistakes I made that made no sense whatsoever. So please, read, review and be honest.

Chapter 3: Trust

'Dreams,' Layla O'Shea thought, 'Are pointless and stupid, nothing more than a wish or a fear that you make a fantasy when you're asleep. They do not come true and I refuse to let myself get scared by a foolish dream.' she berated herself for even paying a second thought to the horror story her mind had dredged up. That was it. There was no more thinking and definitely not any talking about that and if Jamie decided he was going to ask her about it she was simply and plainly going to tell him to shut up and move on. Okay, maybe not like that because this was Jamie but- when did she start worrying about someone's feelings?

"What's the matter, Layla?" she set her green eyes on the little boy standing next to her and couldn't help but smile at Freedom. He was such an energetic ball of fire, she had to struggle to keep up with him.

"Nothing's the matter, baby. I was just thinking about something. Don't you want to go back to your mommy?" he nodded and waved before he bolted out the room, almost bumping into Jamie as he strolled into the kitchen. The little boy muttered his apology as he dashed out the door and Jamie rolled his eyes, smiling at Layla. Oh great, now she was back to feeling mushy inside.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" She sighed loudly. Even though she was annoyed by the nagging, she secretly enjoyed having Jamie around. When she was little she'd always had nightmares and no one had asked her if she was okay. On the contrary, they beat her for waking them up at night. So seeing the concerned look in his eyes and knowing he cared whether she was alright or not made her feel so much better about herself. But she still didn't like the hovering and that was what Jamie was doing. Every hour or so he'd come into the room and ask if she was okay and it was starting to bug her just a little.

"James, you're annoying me." she only called him that when she was angry with him but he didn't mind it as much when she said it. She made his name sound-God he was such a sap- beautiful. He walked up to her and placed his hands around her waist, pulling her towards him until her head was on his chest. She gave up and put her slender arms around his long neck. Their faces were a breath apart but Jamie didn't kiss her like she wanted him to.

"I don't care how annoying you find me. I am going to check on you because you woke up screaming bloody murder and you won't tell me what's wrong. Shutting me out is just going to make me bug you until you tell me what it was about." his voice was soft and calm when he said this and she found it hard to be angry at him. It was always hard for her to be angry at him. Everyone else except Wanda and the children was cake. She couldn't help herself from giving him a small smile and threading her fingers through his hair.

"It was nothing. I get nightmares all the time. I told you that. If you're going to get worried every time I wake up screaming then I should have my own room." his hold tightened on her and she marvelled at the strength in those arms. It was something she'd always thought about: having someone wrap their strong arms around her for comfort. And here he was, holding her. Could anyone be this perfect?

"You are not leaving me to sleep by myself in there and when you wake up screaming you are going to tell me about it so you'll feel better, okay?" she contemplated it for a minute. She wouldn't move out of their room, where in the hell would she sleep? But she wasn't sure she could tell him that the nightmares she had all stemmed from something that happened years ago. She shuddered in his arms and he pulled her closer again. "Promise me, Laylie."

"Oh, fine, I promise I'll tell you about it but when you're disgusted with my stupidity and throw me out of the room I'm still going to blame you." he smiled at her and- finally,finally, FINALLY- kissed her. Layla's heart sped up and her eyes fluttered closed. This time she was the one pulling herself closer to Jamie and he smiled before pulling away; smirking down at her when he did.

"Well, who knew kissing you would get me that response." she rolled her eyes and tried valiantly not to blush.

"With your ego you could date yourself and be perfectly happy." he shrugged and reached up to unlock her hands from his neck. He kissed her fingers before letting go of her hands and that small action started her thinking. In movies, when people did that unconsciously, didn't it mean they loved them? Of course she would know if Jamie loved her or not, lovely sixth sense and all.

"Nah, I like dating you too much." why did that make her want to fly? Damn it, the boy was a charmer and she was definitely being charmed. And that was bad.

"Get out of here, Jay. Don't you have work to do?" she stepped away from him and went back to cooking. She loved to cook. It was one of the only tasks that had been forced on her when she was little that she enjoyed. She used to stay up late watching Food Network, much to her father's chagrin. She had been allowed to watch television but only because they thought it would occupy her, which it did, for a while. But it didn't stop her from hearing her parents' arguments; hearing her mother cry every time her stupid dickhead of a father told her that it was her fault they'd had a monster; a freak...

"Layla?" her head snapped up to him and she saw the immediate horror in his eyes. What had she done? Had she given herself away? "Baby what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." she snapped, turning away from him and to the stew she was cooking. She needed to occupy herself or she was going to go mental.

"Layla, you're crying." So that was what the horror was for. He hated to see her cry and she hated to cry. Stupid, useless salt water.

"Oh. I'm sorry." she wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand and Jamie just stared at her. She felt the shift in his mood before she noticed the fury in his eyes. "What?"

"When you get tired of playing the strong girl that can't lean on anyone, you can come find me." he turned and stomped out the kitchen and Layla sighed.

"I just can't tell you what you want me to Jamie. Not now when everything's going so well."

Melanie's shrewd brown eyes followed her brother as he kicked the football. His obvious anger caused him to miss the goal and he let out a loud, rude expletive that she'd never heard him use before. There was only one explanation for this type of behaviour.

"What did she do?" he looked across at her and the rage in his eyes sparked her curiosity. What could Layla have done that had upset Jamie so much?

"What did she do? It isn't what she did do, it's what she doesn't do. She doesn't trust me. I thought she did and I have no idea why I'm so worked up over it." neither did Mel. It was possible that he was...but no they'd only known each other for a month...but then she and Jared had only known each otherfor two weeks before she fell... "What's so hard about telling someone a bad dream? She wakes up at freaking three in the morning screaming and then she tells me to go back to sleep, it's nothing. It sure as hell wasn't nothing. Nothing doesn't make you stay up the rest of the night rocking and crying, not that she knows I know that. And she isn't going to know I know that."

"I didn't hear anyone screaming." it amazed her just how upset he was over this. He'd never wanted anyone to trust him this badly. He'd never wanted anyone to do anything this badly.

"Her face was buried in my neck, of course you didn't hear her screaming. You have no idea how weird it is to feel someone's glass breaking voice vibrating against you skin. Actually, scratch that thought, I so do not want to know what you and Jared do at night." she rolled her eyes and walked over to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. As the years had passed he'd grown taller than she was and he got a kick out of her having to look up at him.

"Layla does trust you Jamie, more than anyone. She just isn't ready to tell you what's wrong yet. It must be something really bad because she's very honest about her past. All you have to do is be there for her and when she's ready, she'll tell you."

"Has there been any luck in finding the girl, Scorch?" the redhead looked up from his book and over at Sings, who was leaning on his doorpost. It was amazing how much lethal power there was in a body so lean. Sure Sings was tall for a fourteen year old at 5'9 but he was so skinny he didn't look like much of a threat. Until you came into contact with his fists. As a soul he had an aversion to fighting and only did so when necessary.

"No, we don't have any leads at the moment. I was wondering if you got any more information out of the body?" he had, but he didn't think it was relevant. He was still obligated to tell his superior though.

"All I managed to find out is that she's this host's older half sister. I don't see how that's-" he stopped at the devious light that came on in Scorch's eyes.

"Come along, Sings. I may have some use for you." Scorch placed a hand on his shoulder and lead him out of the room.

'If my sister dies because of you.' a voice said viciously in Sings's head. 'I will make sure you never, ever get a good nights' sleep. You will see her every time you close your eyes. You will see how that bastard we had for a father hurt her and you will know by ratting her out you have made her life and yours miserable.'

"Ian, will you stop it? I'm fine. I can lift a bag of rice without you hovering." Wanda set the bag down on the counter and looked at Ian. He was smiling down at her.

"You're really sexy when you're angry at me, Wanda." she giggled, damn Pet's body, and blushed. He thought it was cute and kissed her cheek.

"I hear Jamie's pissed at Layla." he couldn't keep the satisfaction out of his voice. No matter how much he wanted Layla to be happy, he didn't want her to be happy with a boy. He wanted her to be happy with friends and family and as much normalcy as there could be in a world overrun by parasitic aliens.

"Ian." Wanda shook her head. "Why does every conversation we have always turn to Layla?"

"Our conversations do not centre around Layla." Ian replied. "I was just saying. Anyway, when next are you going on a raid?"

"In a few months at least. Do you want to come with us?" he nodded and smiled, happy that his plan was working out perfectly.

Melanie's words had calmed him down a little but now as he walked into his room and remembered Layla crying and rocking herself his anger flared up again. He knew she trusted him; she'd never be with him if she didn't trust him, but she didn't trust him enough and that bugged him. He wanted her to lean on him, to let him hold her so that he could drive the fear away and God he sounded sappy again. He was angry at them both when he walked into the room and saw her standing, backing him. Damn it, but she was beautiful.

"I don't like being told what to say." she snipped out. How did she always know someone was behind her? She turned to him with fire in her eyes, the same fire that was in his.

"I don't like not being trusted." he took one step closer to her and suddenly she was in his arms kissing the life out of him. They moved together until Layla's back was pressed against the wall and her arms braced on his shoulders. When they finally pulled away they were breathing like they'd just run a marathon.

"I do trust you, Jamie." their faces were inches apart and Layla desperately wanted to kiss him again.

"But not enough to tell me what's wrong. Layla, you woke up screaming into my neck, then you told me to go back to sleep but I saw you rocking yourself and crying. Tell me why." she didn't. She just leaned forward and joined their lips again. He knew she was trying to distract him but he didn't care. In seconds they were lying on the mattress and Jamie was on top of her, kissing her neck. And then she went rigid in his arms and he stopped and looked up at her.

"Get off, Jamie." he did, instantly, then sat up and looked down at her. He wasn't angry, like she'd expected, just concerned and God if that didn't make her heart leap.

"If I ask you a question, will you answer?" he whispered, his thumb rubbing circles on her cheek. She sighed.

"It depends on what the question is." he looked at her, shook his head and lay back down, backing her. She didn't want to hurt him and she knew that by not telling him, she was making him think she didn't trust him. She wrapped an arm around his waist and laid her cheek next to his.

"I'm only going to say this once, so don't interrupt me." she took a deep breath for confidence and began her story. "When I was five, my father brought two of his friends home. He brought me to them and had them look at me and I saw them smiling and grinning at my father. 'You've got a pretty one there' one of them said. He had red hair and blue eyes. My father said I was all his. I didn't understand what he was talking about and when he left I tried to go after him but they held me back." Jamie's eyes widened as he realized what she was saying.

"Layla..." she shook her head, the tears already welled up in her eyes.

"They...well you know what they did to me. And I dreamed that the red haired man, he was coming back for me. I dreamed he was going to..." she broke down, her tears wetting Jamie's cheeks. He turned to her and held her while she cried, rubbing her back and kissing her forehead. He felt like such an idiot. She'd just proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that she trusted him and he was a fool. There was no wonder she didn't want to tell him about her dream. He was livid with himself and her father and he knew he was going to tell Ian about this.

"I'm sorry I made you tell me." he wiped her tears away and kissed her cheeks, looking into her eyes when he pulled back. He didn't like what he saw there. "Don't be sad, don't cry over them Laylie. They're not worth it."

"I know. I try so hard not to let it get to me. But he was my father, Jamie. Whether he liked it or not he was my father. How could he let them do that to me?" God if that man wasn't already dead he'd kill him himself.

"I don't know, baby. I don't know how anyone could do that to their daughter. But I would never hurt you like that, okay?" she saw the sincerity in his eyes and smiled, knowing she could trust him with her life.

"You were right, Jamie." he looked at her expectantly. "I do feel better." he leaned down and kissed her, holding her while they both fell asleep.

"WHAT?" Ian's roar had Jamie stepping back a bit. They were in the storage room, away from everyone else because Jamie knew Layla didn't want anyone to know. "He did WHAT? I am going to MURDER HIM!"

"Ian, keep your voice down. Layla'd kill me if she knew I was telling you this." he stepped back again because of the vicious, murderous look that came into Ian's eyes.

"Kill YOU? I'm going to kill HER! Twelve years, TWELVE BLOODY YEARS and she never told anyone what they did to her. I am going to kill her and then her worthless father." Jamie agreed with the sentiment but not the part about killing Layla.

"She was ashamed." it was a quiet revelation that came to him and then he started to agree with Ian. "She was ashamed of what they did to her. You know what, I agree with you. Let's both kill her."

"Is she okay, Jamie? Is she sad or anything? I mean, you're with her more than anyone else. She isn't...depressed, right?" Ian's furious tone had calmed and he now sounded worried and concerned. He was more Layla's brother than her cousin.

"She had a nightmare two nights ago. It was about the man that raped her and she had one again last night. I don't know what to do." neither did Ian. He didn't know what to say to his strong willed little cousin who'd been hurt so much by people that should have loved and protected her. He didn't know if he should comfort her or let her be. He didn't know anything at the moment and it was seriously pissing him off.

"Just...be there for her, Jamie. She obviously trusts you more than anyone else." which extremely annoyed him. She'd known Jamie for what, a month? Ian had been her blood from the day she was born and he'd looked out for her when he could. He'd never understood why his uncle Johnathan hadn't let her ask him questions and had told her to go away when she asked for a hug. Or why his aunt Leah had never paid attention to her. He just knew that she was his baby cousin and he had to protect her. She'd been such an innocent little girl, or he'd thought she was. Obviously Layla O'Shea was an award winning actress.

"I don't understand why. I mean sure I like her and I'm there for her and stuff but you were there for her for years. Why would she tell me, a guy she's known for a month about what those jackasses did to her and not you, her cousin who she's known forever? And why would she wait twelve years to...my head hurts." for the first time since Jamie had told him what had happened to Layla, Ian cracked a smile.

"You'll figure it out eventually bud."

Sometimes the thing you wanted most was the farthest thing away from you. She felt like she was going through mist, blind to everything. But she knew it was there and she knew she could get it, just a little bit more and then- there he was, standing there with a huge smile on his face. His obsidian hair curled cutely around his handsome but childish face and his sapphire eyes glowed with happiness when they met hers. She took a step toward him but he only seemed to move farther away. Everytime she took a step forward, he took a step back and when the reality set in that he was beyond her reach a feeling of despair and sorrow deeper than anything she'd ever felt before washed over her. And then the screaming started.

"Wake up Layla. Damn it, stop doing this to me." her eyes flashed open and she stopped midscream. Instead of mist and a face she'd never see anywhere except her dreams, she saw the stone walls of the room she shared with a boy that cared about her more than even he realized. Damn that stupid sixth sense of hers. It was spoiling the surprise that love was supposed to be. "Layla, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine. I just...I'm sorry I woke you up, you know screaming and stuff." she turned to him and smiled and his face set into enraged stone. Oh damn it, why was she always making him angry? Didn't he understand that talking about this stuff hurt her? Why did he always have to think that she didn't trust him? "Don't start, Jamie. I can't handle it. Don't start."

"Fine." he bit out through clenched teeth. He really needed to get past the trust issue but for some reason he didn't understand he couldn't. He needed her to trust him, more than he'd ever needed anything in his life. He needed her to be able to tell him anything, to lean on him, to let him be there for her the way no one else had. Why was that so important to him?

"Because you're in love with me you idiot." she mumbled into her pillow. Why was it taking so long for him to figure out? And how had they gotten to this point so quickly? After a month, whenever Jamie walked in the room or was anywhere near her, her heart skipped a beat and everyone else disappeared, leaving just the two of them. And it scared holy hell out of her.'Why is this so hard?'

"Will you tell me what it is? Later, when you feel okay?" he asked and she couldn't help the sigh that came.

"Go to sleep James." she'd tell him. No matter how stubborn she was acting right now she'd tell him, if only to make him happy. 'This isn't happening. I've known him for a month and I love him so much already.'

"I'm here, if you need me or want to talk or anything." there was no if about it. She did need him. She'd always needed him, she just hadn't known it was him. She sat up and looked down at him, taking in every detail of his face, his muscular chest, everything about him. It took every ounce of her self control not to reach out and touch him. But his physique wasn't what she loved most about him. It was his ability to be understanding and unjudgemental was what had made her fall for him in the first place.

"How did I get so lucky?" she whispered. He looked up at her quizzically and she reached down and cupped his right cheek in her hand. "You're so caring, Jamie. No one's ever cared this much about me before." he smiled and sat up, resting his hand on her left cheek.

"I'm the lucky one, Laylie." he said before leaning down and kissing her. She sighed happily and smiled into the kiss. 'Thank you God.' she thought. 'Thank you.'

"Think Sings." Scorch prompted. They sat in his office opposite each other. The air conditioning was freezing which was a welcome alternative to the summer heat. But the closeness made Sings uncomfortable.

"I'm trying, Scorch, but my stupid host won't comply." Scorch thought that Sings was a fool for not moving to another body but now he was glad that he'd stuck to this young yet resistant boy.

I'm not stupid, just loyal. Something you souls obviously don't grasp.

It's not like I have a choice here, Tony. I have to do what Scorch says.

You always have a choice, Sings.

Let's make a deal. Help me help Scorch and I won't bother you anymore.

You really don't understand, do you? This isn't about you, or me. This is about Layla. She's been through so much but she never took it out on me and she was always there for me. I'm not going to betray her. Besides I don't know where she would go. Our family didn't exactly like her, but you already know that.

Well that's great. Thankyou for the wealth of information. My mind is filled to capacity.

My mind, you body snatching freak. Mine.

Not anymore, Anthony. Not anymore.

"Jared." he looked up from shoveling dirt and smiled as he saw the love of his life standing there with a serious look on her face. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever known, and nothing would ever change that view. "We need to talk."

"Sure, just give me a second." he said standing up and throwing the shovel to the ground then turning to face her.

"Jared...I'm pregnant." as he digested what she was saying a rush of emotion hit him at once. He felt the usual, expected jolts of shock and fear. Would he be a good father? But then there was the joy. The pure, unadulterated joy. He felt the beam on his face and put his arms around Melanie, lifting her and spinning her aorund before placing her back on the ground and kissing her until they were both out of breath.

"I thought you'd be mad." she said and his jaw dropped.

"Why in hell would I be mad that I'm having a baby with the woman I love?" he asked incredulously and Melanie shook her head.

"Because of the world we live in. How are we going to raise a baby in a cave? And how do we explain to our child that their Aunt Wanda and Aunt Sunny are aliens who came to earth and stole someone else's body from them?" he sighed and ran his fingers through her long hair.

"We'll find a way to make this work, Mel. Just know that right now you're making me the happiest man on our messed up world."

"You're pregnant? That's awesome! I'm so happy for you Mel!" Jamie said, almost running to squeeze his sister but then remembered that babies were fragile and gently placed his arms around her. She hugged him back and smiled. But then she saw Layla standing in a corner with a look of complete and total pain on her face and sighed. Why did the girl always have to ruin everything?

"What's the matter with your girlfriend, Jamie?" she whispered into her brother's ear. He pulled away and looked at Layla and sighed.

"It's not you, or the baby. At least I don't think so. I'll ask her about it, later." she nodded and moved on to her sister while Jamie walked over to Layla.

"You're spoiling her happiness, Laylie." she nodded and plastered on a smile. Jamie knew it was fake but he'd be damned if it didn't look convincing. She walked over to Melanie and touched her shoulder to get her to turn around.

"Congratulations, Melanie. I'm happy for you." she said and Melanie was shocked by the genuity of the smile on her face when she said this. She'd look so sad half a minute ago it was impossible to believe it was the same person. Ian, who'd watched Jamie walk over to her and then watched her walk over to Melanie, sighed. He'd had it right before. She was an award winning actress.

"Wow, thankyou." it was all Melanie could think of to say and Layla nodded and moved on to congratulate Jared. Here there was no forced smile or acting. She actually liked Jared and he liked her too. She was a tough kid and in his opinion, her parents should have been shoved into a woodchipper.

"Hey, Layla. What would you name a baby, if it were a girl?" the question had the smile crumbling off her face and tears gathering in her eyes. Kyle felt like kicking himself for asking the question. "Sorry Laylie. I didn't mean to make you cry." as soon as he pointed out a look of pure rage snapped onto her face and the tears disappeared. Then her face settled into the calm mask she'd perfected years ago.

"I'd name her Deirdre. It means beautiful and it sounds exotic. And you didn't make me cry Kylie." she smiled up at him but he'd seen the tears in her eyes and so had Jamie and Ian.

"That's a nice name. I like it. What do you think, Jared?" Mel asked. She wanted to move the conversation away from tears. This was a happy time. She was going to have a baby.

"Yeah, Deirdre sounds cool. What about a boy? Know any other good names, Layla?" she shrugged but on the inside she was breaking down. Why were they doing this to her?

"Aidan. It means little fire." the smile that lit of Melanie's face let everyone know exactly what she thought of that name.

"Can we stop with the baby names thing already?" she flashed Jamie a grateful smile and he just winked at her, which of course made her heart beat at the speed of light and made her hot all over. She made her way over to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him into a secluded corner of the game room.

"Thank you." she said, looking deeply into his eyes. He loved her eyes but they freaked him out sometimes. She smiled up at him and giggled and he couldn't help but lean down and kiss her. It would have been a sin not to.

"Hey, you two, stop necking and get back over here." Layla pulled away from Jamie and looked across at Ian, sending him a cheeky grin before planting her lips on Jamie's again.

"She's sending you a 'fuck-you' message without even saying anything. Girl is good." Kyle grinned at his brother who just shook his head. Kyle was right. Layla was good.

"She has two cousins. Ian and Kyle O'Shea. But no one has any idea where they are. As far as anyone knows, they could be souls or they could have died. I don't know anymore and neither does the host." well that was a helpful bit of news. Really, it amazed him

how little the stupid incompetent fool could get out of his resistant, barely teenage host.

"Get out of my office, Sings. Don't come back unless you have something useful." he saw anger flash in those brown eyes but the submissive bastard didn't even try to act on it. He just stood and walked out of the room, his average height body stiff with controlled rage. "I will find you, Layla O'Shea. And your powers will be mine."