A/N: Wow, I haven't updated this since December, I'm really sorry guys. Well if anyone out there is still interested in this story, drop a review, thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Chapter 4- Breaking the Surface

"Let's play dress-up!" Phayllen's little voice echoed through the apartment . Pogue was glaring at his math textbook trying to reason how anyone would ever be able to figure out the answer to a problem from his homework.

"Not now, Phay. I'm busy." He didn't look up as he spoke, his words were automatic.

"You're always busy." The little girl plopped herself down next to him at the table and rested her chin on her hands, elbows on the table.

"This weekend, I promise, we'll do something fun." He still wasn't listening to himself.

"Okay, but remember, you promised." Pogue nodded absentmindedly and Phayllen left the table in search of something to occupy herself.

"Hey baby." Kate's voice startled him as she wrapped her long, smooth arms around his shoulders. She kissed his neck, just below the earlobe. He turned around to face her and she sat in his lap, not an unusual thing for her to do, and kissed him deeply, also not unusual. They were sort of known for being 'all over each other' as Caleb had once put it. Pogue didn't care what other people saw, those kind of thoughts didn't register in his brain.

They were in the library since he was trying to cram for his Chemistry test next period that he'd completely blanked about because he had been up half the night trying to find the money to pay the rent that was due next week. Kate made it hard to focus on Chemistry, or anything really except her, sitting in his lap.

"What are you doing Friday night." She said in her whisper voice, her chocolaty eyes staring deeply into his. His mind went blank.

"Nothing." He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and held her close.

"How about me?" This surprised him, they hadn't slept together since the stuff with Chase, they hadn't had a lot of alone time lately. The idea sparked the hormonal teenage boy inside of him that didn't always think with his brain.

"Really?" His grin was somewhat goofy and Kate nodded and kissed him again.

"Your place? Nine o'clock. We'll…" She tilted her head suggestively and winked at him. "Watch a movie." He nodded, his mind far from the fact that "his place" now involved his eight-year-old little sister.

"Ellie, wait up." He called after the small blonde girl as she crossed the parking lot. It had been halfway through the big test in Chemistry when he figured out that Phayllen could not be at the apartment Friday night. He had spent the rest of the day looking for Ellie, hoping she could babysit Phay some place else.

"Hey," She smiled those straight white teeth appearing when she saw him. "What's up?"

"Are you busy Friday?"

Ellie couldn't help but feel amazing every time she talked to Pogue. Of course he didn't like her, he was dating Kate Tunney, who was absolutely perfect in every way it was almost sickening. But there was something in his voice, something about the way he asked her about her plans for Friday, she knew better than to get her hopes up, but he was Pogue Parry, her personal favorite Son, the reason she came to swim meets. Oh God, she was like a little love-sick puppy. Please love me! Please love me!

She tried to hide the hope in her voice as she answered him. "Nothing, at all. 100 percent free." Shit, she was rambling. He smiled, that's a good thing, right? What if he was making fun of her, then it was bad. Just chill out, relax, she told herself. He's talking, this is the part where you need to listen.

"…babysit Phay for me?" And just like that she was back to where she'd always been and was worried she would forever be, on the sidelines of life.

"You promised!" Phayllen was angry and he truthfully had promised to play with her sometime that weekend. He hadn't specified that it would be on Friday night, but she had assumed, and everyone knows what happens when you assume.

"I know I promised but we'll play tomorrow, okay? We'll do what ever you want." This seemed to quell her anger some and she flopped down on Rosa to mope in silence.

Ellie was supposed to be there fifteen minutes ago and Kate would arrive any second, ready fro their "movie night", which he couldn't manage to feel excited about. Any teenage boy would be trilled at the promise of Kate Tunney, the catch of Spenser Academy, in their bed, but it was becoming more difficult than necessary.

"Oh no, not now, don't do this to me baby!" Ellie coaxed her 1969 Volkswagen bug, rubbing the dashboard as if to comfort the "Herbie" lookalike into action. "Okay, take two." She turned the key again, muttering under her breath like a contestant on a game show. "Big money, big money, big money….no." She bit her lip to hold in the curse that was dying to escape. She had never kept a new year's resolution before but after dropping the f-bomb in front of a teacher got her detention, it became obvious it was one habit that needed to stop.

She opened the door to her car and climbed out, slamming it shut behind her and giving it a kick for good measure. She looked at her watch, even the magical car fairy came and made her baby work she would still be late.

"Holy Frankenstein." She groaned instead of what she really wanted to say, it was much less satisfying.

She grabbed her phone from her pocket and called the number she was embarrassed to say she'd memorized. Could she help but feel a little special that Pogue Parry, yes the Pogue Parry of the Sons of Ipswich, with his amazing long hair and fall-down sexy self wanted her little nobody Ellie Michaels to babysit for his little sister. Hopeless crush? Yes. Did she care? Not in the slightest.

His voice mail picked up and she held back another curse. "Speak after the beep." His deep voice commanded his callers lazily. Ellie smoothed her hand along her hair, fisting it around her messy bun that rested at the back of her head. She left him a short message and snapped the skinny phone shut.

Turning her head to the sky she spoke to whoever happened to be listening up there. "You enjoy making my life miserable, don't you?"

"This can't be happening," Pogue whispered to the window as he watched his girlfriend step out of her car, her long legs gliding effortlessly in her heels, the dark jeans clinging just right without being too tight. She was so hot and all thoughts of no looking forward to the night left his mind. Unfortunately he still has his little sister in his apartment and Ellie was a no show. He had about two minutes, tops, to come up with some kind of plan.

It hit him like a bolt of lightning, making him feel like a genius for the first time in his life.

"Hey Phay, you wanna play a game?" She dropped her crayon, her hair flying out around her as she turned to him excitedly.

"Sure, how about beauty shop? Or restaurant? Or—" Pogue interrupted her, talking fast to save time.

"No, no, we're…spies, yeah, spies and we're on a secret mission to steal back what the bad guys stole, and your job is to be my hidden back up, in case I need you. But, you can't be seen or heard, you just have to wait until I need you, okay?" He licked his lips nervously, hoping Phayllen would just go with it, they had maybe thirty seconds until she was at his door. His little sister took time to think the new game over.

"Okay, but we code names." She decided. Pogue resisted the urge to scream.

"Okay….you'll be… Little bit, and I'll be…" He trailed off letting her finish his sentence.

"Big bear." She informed him seriously. He laughed, compared to her he was rather bear-sized.

"Okay, Little bit, it's your job to hide in your room, I mean headquarters and wait for me to call on you for help, okay?" He squatted down to her level and held out a fist for her to tap.

"You got it Big Bear." She punched her little fist against his just as Kate knocked on the door.

"That's the enemy, hurry, to headquarters." He whispered but she was already half way down the hall. Pogue crossed the floor to the door, trying to figure out something he could say to get Kate to leave, anything, where was that genius brain he had a minute ago?

He opened the door and opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly her tongue was in his way. She pushed him away from the door and kicked it shut with her foot, before flinging off her jacket.

"I thought we were going to watch a movie." He managed between borderline violent kisses he could seem to escape. She jumped up, wrapping those legs around him. She ignored him, her mouth continuing to assault his.

"Oh God, I am so sorry I'm late—ahh!" Kate replanted her feet on the ground and turned to face Ellie who was standing just inside the door in cut off jeans and a tank top, her arms twisting over themselves to cover her face in embarrassment.

Just then Phayllen came running from her hiding place, "Little bit responding for back up." She called to him before sliding to a stop when she saw the people in the room. "Ellie!" She squealed with excitement as she ran for the girl, who bent down to hug her without hesitation.

Kate turned to her boyfriend, his death written in her eyes. She spoke calmly. "Pogue, who are these people?" She turned back to Ellie, glaring directly into her eyes coldly. "And what are they doing here?"

Ellie spoke before Pogue even had a chance to think. "I'm Ellie Michaels, Phayllen's babysitter." She took a few steps forward with her hand outstretched to Kate but was ignored by the dark haired beauty.

"I'm not a baby." Phayllen interrupted the scene, her arms folded across her chest.

Pogue finally found his voice, "Kate, Phayllen is my little sister, she's living with me right now. Ellie's been helping me out,"

Kate didn't say anything, and Pogue knew from experience that it was much worse than her yelling, he decided to get those he could out while there was still time.

"Ellie, can you take Phay to get some dinner?" He reached for his wallet, but his hopes were dashed when a glance inside revealed nothing, he wouldn't have been surprised if a moth flew out, he was running out of money, quick. "Never mind, um…" He ran a hand through his unruly hair, searching his brain.

Kate quickly caught on, the human in her taking over the raging lioness underneath momentarily. She grabbed her purse and plucked out some money, thrusting it into the other girl's hand. Ellie quickly left with Phayllen in tow, leaving Pogue and Kate to… Oh God. She really didn't want to think about it.

Thanks for reading!