Dang, I wanted this updated for Valentine's Day, but I forgot my USB at home and I couldn't update until today. I know this chapter is kind of short, but I hope you'll like it. Please R&R!


If I never met you

Chapter 8

A stitch on time

It was a calm night. There was a soft breeze passing between the palm trees, and some birds were already getting to their little nests, while some animals of the forest were running back to their homes.

Hidden behind of the forest, there was an old house we all know very well. The only difference was that there wasn't any dome adorning the top of the house and the color of the walls was a bright yellow instead of blue. Right on the patio, there was a bright light that appeared suddenly. A distracted squirrel that walked by ran away scared as it noticed the light. As fast as the light had appeared, it faded away, and then on its place appeared Stitch riding the old time-surfboard. He reached the ground and went out flying, roughly hitting the ground.

"Grr… time-surfboard still same." He growled as he stood up and rubbed his head, and then looked around.

He noticed he was in the front yard of the Pelekai house. He hadn't been so sure about at what time he should arrive there, but he had chosen 9:00 p.m. He remembered that Lilo had mentioned once or twice that it was the time when she and Nani used to go to bed when their parents were still alive.

Then he noticed all the forest animals and birds rushing to their respective homes. He smelled the air and looked at the sky: it was cloudy, and the air had that particular smell right before rain comes, and a cold breeze surrounded the place. Maybe it would get rainy in half an hour or so, but meanwhile he had enough time to recognize the place and make up a plan. He lifted the time surfboard and hid it among some leafy ferns.

He started thinking what he should do when he looked at the house. He couldn't help smiling at the sight. It looked almost identical to the first night he had spent there. The stairs, the walls, the windows, everything was just as he remembered, and the old blue bug he had used to hit Jumba several years ago was parked by there, intact. The only difference, however, was that it wasn't blue, but it was a bright green color.

He snapped out of his remembrances, reminding himself what he was there for, so he ran up to the stairs and then approached to the closest window, which let at sight the living room. He peeked inside cautiously.

Inside, a younger, immature Nani danced with a little girl, while the voice of the King inundated the place. He almost dropped his jaw at the sight. He had never seen Nani acting like a little girl. In fact, since he had met her, she had always been too mature for her age, always acting like a grown up, due to the responsibility she had got with dealing and raising her little sister, so it was quite a show to see Nani dancing there with her sister, without worrying about paying any bill, going to work or anything for grown ups. She was just a normal girl.

Then his eyes went to the other girl he knew so well.

His Lilo.

He watched the girl laughing and smiling carefree. How much he had missed Lilo smiling like that! He forgot for some seconds that he was supposed to be hiding, so he let his whole face stick out of the darkness to get a better sight of the girl. Even if she was again the little girl he had first met, with no teenage features on her body yet, he still thought she was kind of… cute.

A loving smile crept to his face as he watched only her. Now he realized of how much she had actually changed since then… or since now, we should say. The past was now the present… or something so. Stitch didn't care anyway. He was too absorbed on the sight of the girl, remembering every detail of her as a teenage and comparing that image on his head to the one ahead of his eyes.

"Okay girls. It's time to go to your beds now."

His head moved abruptly to the place where he had heard the voice coming from. A young man approached the record player and placed apart the little silvery needle from a huge black record.

Stitch looked intently at him. He wasn't too tall, but he wasn't short either. His skin was a bit darker than the girls', and his eyes were honey-colored. His hair was straight and raven, which resembled a lot to the hair of the little girl. He watched the man and listened to the girls' attempts to convince him to let them have some more fun.

He chuckled as he watched Lilo using her beautiful brown eyes to persuade him. She was so cute… how could somebody resist those gorgeous eyes?

"Seems like if she has always been able to use her eyes to say what she can't with words" Stitch thought to himself. The man wasn't persuaded anyways, not even with those beautiful eyes staring back at him. "He must have a lot of willpower to ignore those eyes" Stitch thought amused. "I couldn't have done that if I had been him…"

"What do you mean 'too young'? I'm eighteen, dad! I'm not a little girl anymore." Nani protested after the man said no to their request.

"Yeah, she's big now, that's why she's got a boyfriend now."

"Lilo!"

Stitch nearly let out a cackle, but he controlled himself and only snickered. Now these were the sisters he knew!

Soon, he watched Nani's hand dripping wet with Lilo's saliva. Some angered shouts were heard and Nani started tossing pillows everywhere, trying to get Lilo. He remembered how many times he and Lilo had made Nani angry, and this was the exact reaction they always got from her. It always was fun to get pillows tossed around you, but it always ended with both of them being forbidden to have desserts after dinner…and however, it was still fun.

"Kale! Wassup out there?"

Everybody's eyes, including Stitch's, went to the entrance of the corridor. There was a young, beautiful woman. Stitch stared amazed at her, and then his eyes went back to little Lilo. He couldn't believe how much she resembled to her mom! That woman could have been the young Lilo he knew, except for the black curly hair, but everything else of Lilo was there. Now he could tell that she looked a lot like her mom. Not even Nani had that resemblance!

He observed while the man and the girls gave compliments to the woman, who went by the name of 'Lani', as he learned just a bit later. He could see the love on the man's eyes while he stared at his wife, and not so long later they kissed.

If Stitch had been younger, he would have made a disgusted grimace at this, but now instead he could only watch as the couple kissed and think. His eyes went to the girls, watching as well the couple while they kissed. He was amused to find out that this little Lilo wasn't the same who told him once that 'you gotta believe in love'.

"Ewww, now that's gross, Nani… I can stand to lick your hand, but this is real yuck!"

"That's no yuck, Lilo. Mom and Dad love each other. It's natural for them wanting to kiss."

"Well, they're supposed to love us too and they never kiss us that way. Why don't they do the same? Hugging isn't enough? Kissing is gross!"

Stitch chuckled. "Aaah, mi little Lilo… if only you knew…"

"Lilo, you shut up. You'll see when you grow older. You won't think the same way about kissing, and some day you'll find somebody special and both of you will like to kiss." Nani confirmed his thought. "You know, you gotta believe in love.

"Well, at least now I know where she learned that from…" he said to himself as Lilo's eyes grew wide with disgust and sickness, while his brightened with an unknown gleam.

"I won't EVER do THAT! What if that somebody you're talking about is actually a vampire and he tries to suck out all of my blood? I don't think that would be very nice!"

"Well, good thing I'm not a vampire," an unexpected thought crossed his mind before he could even reason what he was thinking. He shook it out of his mind

"What am I thinking about? Stitch, are you telling me that you want to kiss Lilo?"

"Well, I don't mean this Lilo, because she's way TOO young to…"

"-Do you mean you would like to kiss the older Lilo? Ack! Now I'm arguing with my own mind! I'm going crazy…

"…over Lilo, that's it."

"Gaah! Just not again…!"

"Lilo, honey, there are two points against you. For one thing, you love vampires. And two, that person would never try to hurt you if he truly loves you. Or else…" the man stated as his arm surrounded Lani's shoulders.

"Tickling her to death doesn't count as hurting, right? …Hey!" Stitch slapped his forehead in realization. He didn't like those thoughts pop out all of sudden, but somehow, someway, they made him feel a flattering sensation grow inside him… something he didn't want to admit he liked.

He still watched everybody like for ten minutes before a cold drop fell on his nose. He looked up to the sky. Clouds were now covering the whole dark night sky, and soon several drops of water were falling everywhere. He growled at the tiny drops. He had never really liked water, and that included rain.

He climbed the wall to go somewhere covered and protected from rain, but then he changed his mind. What did he care if it was rainy? He wanted to take advantage of every second he was there. He wanted to see again as much as possible that little girl he had befriended first.

He gave a look inside the living room and noticed that the family wasn't there anymore, but he still could hear some noises inside. He followed the noises and finally he was outside of the girls' room. He peeked inside and was just in time to see the young woman sitting on Lilo's bed to start singing the lullaby.

"When storm clouds grow

And I feel blue…

Your song comes drifting on the trim winds

Your bright smile shines like sun on sand

And then I will dream again…"

Stitch was awestruck by that beautiful voice. He would have fallen asleep too if it weren't for the cold drops of rain hitting his back. He stayed there, watching how his Lilo fell asleep as her mom sang a second time for her. This was why Lilo had missed so much her parents, as now he could see. They were a very united family… they were what you could call a true Ohana.

"Those two are still your babies, right?" The man whispered, not wanting to wake up his little two angels.

"I can't help to feel that way. Even when they fall in love, get married and have children, they will be my babies still." Lani said and then sighed as she looked at her little Lilo, then looked up at the man. "But well, did I hear something about going to watch a movie and having dinner or something?"

The man smiled and said something else, and then the couple went downstairs.

Stitch peeked a last time inside the room to stare at Lilo. "I promise you that they'll see that day, Lilo… I promise…" he thought and then climbed down the wall.

The rain was now hitting hard the ground, so he rushed to the part of the house where the car was parked. As fast as he could, he opened the lock of the car with one of his sharp nails and entered the back part of the car. He had no time to close the door. The couple was already in sight, and he could only half-close the door of the car to hide beneath one of the seats and hope they didn't mind too much about the half closed door. Finally, they got there, and Stitch only could keep as quiet as possible.

"Kale, honey, the door is half closed." Lani said worried. "Don't you think that somebody got in to steal something?"

After Kale got in the car, Stitch held his breath. He could feel the man practically upon him, since he was hidden under the driver's seat. After some suspenseful seconds, Kale just shrugged it off.

"Nah, either one of the girls forgot to close it completely or the door needs a new lock. But by now, let's forget about everything and have some fun tonight, okay?"

"Okay." She smiled. They kissed briefly before Kale turned on the motor and then drove away from the little house.

Meanwhile, Stitch had been about thinking which would be the best way to prevent the soon-to-come accident that would take away their lives. Maybe he could pierce the gas container? No, it wasn't a very good idea to play with something inflammable. Then maybe he could just jump in the way of the car and stop it right before they crashed? No; he didn't want to make his presence too noticeable. He would leave handprints if he tried to stop the car. Then? Maybe he could just steal away the car and leave it in some other part of the town… nope, that wasn't a very good idea either.

Then he felt the car stopping. He waited to peek outside until the couple was gone. He could see how they got into the cinemas, the same place where he and Lilo went to watch the Wasp Mummies saga and other monster movies.

He smiled again with some nostalgia. That had been so long ago… before he started spending all of his time with Angel, they used to be very close friends. Lilo wouldn't go anywhere without Stitch, and Stitch wouldn't ever leave Lilo's side.

"Look mom, a doggie!" He heard all of sudden. Out of the window, there was a four year old girl, pointing straight to where he was while grabbing her mom's long skirt. However, the woman wasn't paying too much attention to her daughter's cries.

"Yeah, how nice, honey." She said without even looking to where the girl was pointing at. "Come on, let's go home now." And with that she lifted the girl to carry her in her arms.

"No, really, mommy, there is a doggie!" The girl insisted. Finally, the woman followed her girl's finger. There was nothing inside.

"Teresa, there's no doggie inside that car. Come on, let's go home." And then the woman walked away with the girl in her arms. Then Stitch lifted his head again to see the woman meeting a man, probably the girl's father, and then he saw them laughing together and walking away happily.

Now he could start to understand why Lilo missed so much having a mom and a dad in her family. Definitely, it wasn't the same than having an adopted family.

He sighed and then went to the front seats. He dropped on the driver's seat. What could he do? He started thinking, and after a couple of minutes, he remembered the days in which he and Lilo found out that Jumba had brought all of his illegal experiments… then he remembered how he activated the spaceship… Cobra's car too…

His face illuminated with a huge grin. Immediately, he went to the other seat and started working his paws on the several wires of the car.

About two hours later, a couple went out of the cinemas. Both of them were laughing about some joke as they went into the car, disposed to go back home. Stitch woke up and yawned lazily. He had been sleeping during these two hours. As he stretched to clear up his mind and muscles, he heard the noises of the couple, chatting happily about their night.

"Whoa, look what time is it now! 1:34 a.m. Sheesh, no more fun tonight. I'm already too tired." Kale pointed as he looked at his watch.

"Long night, huh? Well, I had a lotta fun. What about you?"

"Me too. But now we gotta go back home and get to be parents again until next year."

Lani chuckled as she thought of their night. They had had a lot of fun, just like when they had been younger.

Kale took out the keys from his pocket and started the engine, but it shut down immediately.

"Huh?" He mumbled startled and twisted the key again. The engine worked for a couple of seconds before shutting down again. "What's going on with this car?"

"What? Is everything okay?" Lani asked as she noticed the car shutting down every time Kale tried to start the engine. He frowned.

"I think this car needs to be fixed… I'd do it, but now I'm too tired. What do you think if we call a crane tomorrow to take the car home? By now, maybe we could get a taxi or something."

"Sounds like a good idea," Lani replied. Kale hooked his arm around his wife's and then they just walked away.

Stitch lifted his head once more and watched as the couple stopped a taxi. Lani entered first, and then Kale got in. Then the car turned around and disappeared behind some houses and palm trees. Stitch could finally go out, and then he ran in direction of the Pelekai house.

He ran two blocks or so before turning to the right, and then sighed in relief. The short way that Lilo and he used to go home existed, at least. This was the way they always took whenever they knew they were going to be late for dinner, which always helped them to get home in time.

He ran under the soft rain and the cold wind for five minutes before getting Lilo's house in sight. A yellow car had parked there, and he could see two silhouettes getting out of it. He turned on his night vision and saw Kale and Lani Pelekai, paying the taxi driver. Then the car turned around and drove off all the way before reaching a corner, where it turned to the right and disappeared.

He kept hidden behind the ferns until he watched the two humans getting in the house, when he could get out of his hiding place to follow them. He dashed upstairs and went to a near window.

Kale had dropped dead of tiredness on the couch, and Lani was just getting out of their room with a blanket. Neither of them worried about taking off their normal clothes and putting on a pajama. Lani put the blanket on the man, and then bent down to kiss his cheek lovingly. Then she lifted a bit the blanket and entered the couch to sleep with her husband.

"I love you, Ni." Stitch heard Kale's soft voice.

"Love you too, Kale." Lani replied, and then they said nothing else.

Stitch had to wait still a few minutes before he was sure that they both were deeply asleep. He had noticed that the entrance door had the same doggie door that he had used when he had first arrived. Now he just wanted to do something else before leaving this time and returning to his own time.

He slipped softly into the house, and then tiptoed across the living room, and then across the corridor. He went up the wooden stairs and opened the door as quietly as he could, and then he found himself in Lilo's old room.

Being careful with not waking up any of the girls, he stepped closer to Lilo's bed. There was she. His best and dearest friend, his Lilo. She looked so innocent when she was asleep, so peaceful… he couldn't stop his hand from reaching out to caress her cheek. He stayed close to the side of her bed, watching her sleep while he caressed gently her face and hair.

"I promised… they will see the day when you fall in love and have kids. Ih, they will… they will, Lilo. Stitch promises. Aloha."

He pulled himself up to reach for her nose and then kiss it. Lilo stirred a bit under his kiss, but out of that, she didn't move. He let out a sigh and then turned to leave the room. He went to the window and opened it, and after he had gone out, he closed it as quietly as he could.

He walked slowly to the place where he had hid the time surfboard. He was thinking a lot about what he had just done. Now Lilo was going to be happy. He couldn't wait to see her smiling face again. It had been so long since he had last seen her genuine, carefree smile…

Finally, he found the place. He introduced his hand and looked for it, and then took it out. His fur was still moist of the rain water, and he was very tired too. All what he wanted now was going home and sleeping on his comfortable cot. He typed a few buttons and then pulled a lever. There was a bright flash, and then Stitch was gone again from that time to return to his own.

Ten years later, in the front yard of the Pelekai house, there was a blinding flash and then Stitch appeared riding the time surfboard. We all know what happened then: the time surfboard stopped too abruptly, Stitch went out flying and then he mumbled some very bad words against the time surfboard, just like last time. He went into the house with the time surfboard under his arm, got into Jumba and Pleakley's room and kept it back in the wardrobe to then go upstairs to the dome.

He smiled weakly when he saw Lilo on her bed. He was now too tired to keep watching how she slept, so he went to his cot and got under his blanket to get some sleep, but he had just closed his eyes when he heard a gasp coming from Lilo's bed and a soft cry. He didn't know if he had heard it or if he had just imagined it, but a soft sob dissipated his doubts.

He sat up groggily and looked at Lilo's bed. He saw she was sitting as well, crying softly to herself.

"Lilo?" He called softly. Lilo gasped in surprise when she heard Stitch's voice.

"Stitch? W-what are you doing?"

"Trying to sleep. Isa oki taka? Everything okay?" He asked cautiously. Lilo shook her head.

"Not at all. I had that same nightmare… again. Well, I'll just try to get back to sleep. I shouldn't be waking up people at this time in the morning," she giggled weakly. "Well, goodnight, Stitch."

Lilo turned on her bed and closed her eyes. She had started to wander on her thoughts when she felt something slipping in with her. She opened her eyes immediately, alarmed for a split of second. Stitch was there.

"Soka… Stitch scared Lilo?" He asked. She smiled at him sweetly.

"Nah, it's okay, Stitch. I just want to know… what are you doing?"

Stitch chuckled. "Isa naga obvious? Stitch going to sleep with Lilo… so Lilo is not afraid of nightmare."

Lilo stared at him, surprised, but soon she just shrugged it off and kissed the top of his head. Stitch felt a blush coming to his cheeks, but he was glad she couldn't see it. Soon, they were asleep in the other's arms, and no nightmare scared Lilo for the rest of the night. They both slept with a peace they hadn't felt since long, long ago.