Amelia quietly approached Jade, smiling sadly when she saw what her fiancée was looking at. With her forearms leaning on the backrest of the sofa, she took a good look over Jade's shoulder, her eyes scanning over the picture of the younger versions of Jade and Aiden and their mother. "Is everything okay?"

Lia's quiet voice seemed to startle Jade, her body tensing up before she relaxed again. "Yeah. I'm fine." She frowned and shot a glance at the blonde behind her before sighing and turning back to the photo in her hands. "I wish she was still here. I would have loved to have her at our wedding."

Lia smiled and nodded her head, placing her hand on Jade's arm and softly beginning to stroke her sweater clad skin. "I wish I could have met her."

"Yeah, well," Jade sighed and put the picture down, turning her head and tightly smiling at Amelia, "You came two years too late for that."

A silence fell over them as Jade turned back to look at the picture, her smile falling. It's been over eight years but the memory of her mother was still as fresh as it could be. She remembered the time shortly after her father had left and nightmares started to plague her sleep, the only cure for them being the soothing sound of her mother's singing. And she remembered her mother getting weaker and weaker until the deadly disease finally succeeded and all she was able to do was stop fighting.

"She's still here though. She will be at our wedding."

Jade snorted and craned her head to look at an encouragingly smiling Lia. "Oh really? You believe that?"

"Sure." Her arms wrapped around Jade's neck, chin coming to rest on her shoulder. "People we care about… they don't just completely disappear. Not even after death. They always linger around, protecting and looking out for the people they love. You can't see or hear them but sometimes… you can feel them with you. You never completely lose them."

Amelia placed her hand flatly over the spot on Jade's chest where her heart laid, her voice quietening down to just above a whisper. "They're in here," her fingers gently drummed on Jade's chest in perfect harmony with her heartbeat. Jade sucked in a deep breath and placed her own hand on top of Amelia's. "They stay there. Forever."

Jade frowned at the memory, her fingers absentmindedly running over the skin where her heart laid underneath strong and shielding bones. When Lia died, in that sterile, white hospital room, Jade had felt her heart painfully accelerating, only for it to slow down to an almost complete stop when it finally sunk in that she wouldn't see Amelia ever again. She would never touch her again, never hear her speak or laugh again. It had felt as if Jade herself was dying too, and it still felt like that sometimes, even three years later. But she survived. How… she had no idea. It still hurt, every day, every minute she was separated from Amelia. She still remembered every little detail about her. It didn't matter that she was gone, something of her lingered and Jade could feel her everywhere she went. Lia was right. People you care about don't just… fade away completely.

But Jade didn't want her like that. She wanted to hold her, she wanted to kiss her, to hear her voice. She just wanted her to come back. Especially now, with the entire situation with Cat poisoning her brain. Guilt gnawed at her when she thought back to that awful Tuesday, Cat's scared and sad face burning into her mind and not leaving her alone. She hated the fact that she frightened Cat so much. It didn't matter how mad she was. Cat was her best friend and having had four days to cool off, ignoring every text and every phone call from Cat and Robbie, Jade realized how bad she really acted.

That's why she found herself sitting in the safe confines of her car, her eyes trained on Cat and Robbie's home across the street. She took a deep breath, unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of her car, gently closing the door and locking it. The thin layer of snow that covered the asphalt softly crunched under her feet, the little snowflakes that fell from the sky glittering in Jade's dark hair. Biting her lip, Jade lifted her finger and quickly pushed the button next to the plate that said Valentine/Shapiro, then waited with baited breath until Robbie's voice filtered through the intercom. "Hello?"

"Hey, um, it's Jade." She paused when Robbie confusedly repeated her name. "Yeah. Will you let me in?"

"Uh, yeah, of course."

Immediately after the words left his mouth the door buzzed and Jade pushed it open, silently walking up to Cat and Robbie's apartment. The door was already open when Jade got to the top of the stairs, Robbie standing in the doorway with a frown on his face. "Hey," he quietly said but his face stayed in its neutral state. Jade cracked a small smile as he stepped aside and held the door open for her, stamping off the snow of her boots before slowly walking into the warm home. "Before you get mad again," Robbie said and quietly closed the door, "Tori is here. We didn't think you'd-"

"I'm not mad," she assured him, shaking her head. It was Sunday and Tori usually came by ever since she moved to New Jersey, to join them in their 'weekly cooking tradition'. Jade already expected to see her here. A sigh left her lips. "I came here to… apologize. To Cat especially but… to you too, of course."

He tilted his head, staring at her with creased eyebrows, before lifting his shoulders in a slow shrug. "I'm not mad at you. I can understand you on one side. You just… took it a little too far."

Jade nodded, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. Finally, Robbie smiled at her. "Cat and Tori are in the living room." He walked past Jade and turned back to look at her, motioning with his head for her to follow him. She hesitantly did, her eyes immediately taking in the brunette woman sitting on the sofa, brown eyes lighting up with hope as they fell on her. Jade returned the smile Tori was giving her, although much weaker, before she turned her attention to a surprised looking Cat. "Hey. Can we talk?"

Cat quickly scrambled to her feet, her eyes wide. "Jade, I'm sorry. I already apologized to Tori and I-"

"Slow down," Jade interrupted and glanced at Robbie and Tori, both watching her, before bringing her gaze back to Cat. "I want to talk to you alone. Is that alright?"

Cat nodded, then quickly followed Jade into the kitchen. They're quiet for a long moment, Jade nibbling at her lip and Cat looking out of the window, watching the snow fall.

"I'm… sorry."

Jade's quietly mumbled words caught Cat's attention and she turned to look at her best friend. The pale woman turned her head to the side, looking anywhere but at the redhead standing across from her. "I've been so awful to you. You're my best friend. You always will be."

"I'm sorry too, Jade." Cat waited for Jade's eyes to meet her own, then took a tentative step closer. "I know how much you still love Lia." She bit her lip as Jade's gaze dropped to the floor. "And that's okay for me. I could never be sick of you or anything you do."

Jade nodded. "I know. I really didn't want to scare you, you know. I was just… so mad and… you really disappointed me."

The redhead looked at her feet in shame and immediately, Jade felt bad for her. She meant well, she knew that now. "But let's just forget about it." Cat looked up and Jade smiled at her in reassurance, resulting Cat's face to lighten up again. "Just don't do it again. That's all that I want from you."

Cat vigorously shook her head. "I won't. I promise."

"Good. So," Jade sighed and clapped her hands together, "what are we cooking today?"

…

Sunday,

March 31st, 2013

The snow melted, flowers began to bloom and birds were chirping wildly every morning again. The winter was almost completely gone – the occasional chilly wind still blowing around the city – and New Jersey was ready to welcome spring with open arms. Wedding preparations were done, everything was perfectly planned and today would be the day. Over the course of the last two and a half months, Cat and Jade's relationship had gone back to what it was before the big fall out, much to everyone's delight. Tori and Jade however… were still a little reserved with each other. Amelia's name didn't come over Tori's lips again, the brunette way too scared of what would happen between her and Jade if she talked about her again. They've been spending less time together, which bugged Tori, but she decided to give Jade the space she needed.

"It doesn't fit, Jade!"

The exasperated voice of one Cat Valentine rang loud and clear in Jade's ears, causing the pale woman – already completely dressed in her cream colored dress – to roll her eyes and turn towards the white folding screen. Cat's head popped out from behind it, a pout on her lips and eyebrows tugged down, causing her forehead to form a crease. "Try again," Jade calmly told her, shifting her entire weight to her left foot as she waited for Cat to disappear behind the wall again. But the shock of red hair stayed where it was.

"No! It doesn't fit!" Her brown eyes widened suddenly. "Maybe that's a sign!"

Jade scoffed. "A sign for what? That you stuffed yourself with too much pasta?"

"A sign that Robbie and I aren't supposed to get married today."

Although Jade was already expecting Cat to freak on the first opportunity that was given to her, she couldn't stop her eyes from rolling. Uncrossing her arms, Jade released a sigh and trudged over to her anxious best friend, walking behind the folding screen and taking a good look at the back of Cat's dress. She raised her eyebrows when her eyes fell on the zipper, the small piece of metal not pulled all the way down and therefore resulting in the dress not getting past Cat's hips. Quickly pulling the zipper all the way down, Jade grabbed the top of the dress and pulled it over Cat's hips with ease. A sound of surprise left Cat's mouth but Jade ignored her, gently pulling the zipper up and making sure everything fit perfectly. "Huh. Would you look at that," Jade teased, "It does fit."

She heard the redhead mumble a quiet 'thank you' and crossed her arms again, raising a single eyebrow when Cat turned to face her. "Are you sure I'm doing the right thing?"

Jade took no time in answering. "I'm positive. And you are too. You just have cold feet."

"But what if it's not just cold feet? I mean," Cat sighed and walked over to sit on the bed, her eyes trained on her fingers, "What if it's a mistake? What if we start fighting, what if something bad happens to us? It happens to so many people. So many people are getting divorced nowadays and I… I don't want that. I love him too much… I don't want to lose him."

A silence enveloped the room. Cat's eyes lifted and looked at Jade, who attentively listened to every word that came out of the redhead's mouth. Her lips were pursed, a frown on her face as she stared at Cat. Eventually, she shook her head and walked towards the bed, slowly sinking down next to Cat. "You never know what's going to happen, Cat," she softly started and patiently looked at the scared woman next to her, "It's a part of life. Bad things… can always happen and you can't do anything about it. It's just the way it is. And I can almost guarantee you… that you and Robbie will have a lot of fights." Cat's eyes widened at Jade's words, her mouth opened but Jade didn't give her a chance to say something. "But that's okay. It will be worth it, Cat."

A reassuring smile found its way on Jade's lips but the worry on Cat's face didn't vanish in the slightest bit. Sighing, the smile falling from her face, Jade decided to take a different approach. Her mind took her back to high school, a dark starry night sky and a bonfire quietly crackling in front of her.

"You don't believe in love?" Amelia's voice sounded doubtful but a smile stayed on her lips as she questioningly looked at Jade. Jade took a moment before she answered, her tongue running over her lips and teeth biting at them as she contemplated her answer. "I think it's possible to fall in love," she brought out eventually and kicked a small stone towards the bonfire, "But it's futile."

"How so?" The blonde tilted her head and when Jade looked at her, she saw little specks of green shining through her hazel eyes as the light of the fire hit her face, illuminating her white skin. "You fall in love with someone. But you don't know if they love you back. And if they don't, well… then you can't do anything but try to forget that person because he or she just… doesn't want you and you have to accept that."

"But what if they do love you back?"

"Then it's great. For a little while. But like everything else, love has a timer. A time limit. It won't last forever. Eventually you'll lose that person you love so much and everything that will be left… is a hole. A hole you just can't fill." Jade's lips formed a faint smile before she looked away from Lia and focused her gaze on the wood that slowly burned away. For a while, the only thing that was heard was the quiet crackle of the fire and the distinct call of an owl. Then, Amelia found the words she was looking for.

"I don't agree," she quietly said and saw Jade turn her head towards her out of the corner of her eye. "I think love is never futile. I think love can be timeless. Maybe you're right, love doesn't always last forever." Lia smiled and turned to look at Jade, who watched her intently. "But if you find the right person… I think it can be. It can be limitless, timeless, whatever you want. It can be beautiful. You just have to be brave enough to take the leap and… fall."

The way she said it, so resolute and with so much passion behind her words, Jade couldn't do anything but want to believe her. She wanted to believe that Lia was right, with everything she said. And in the very depth of her heart she wanted Amelia's words to be a request, a challenge. You just have to be brave enough to take the leap and… fall.

They smiled at each other and for the first time since her mother's death, Jade realized, she felt… fine. "Well, maybe you're right," Jade spoke softly and looked away again, "But how can I find that right person? How do I know?"

"You feel it," Amelia murmured and couldn't keep her eyes off of the pale girl next to her, "Believe me. You can't miss it." Jade's face took on a blank expression and when she turned her head and their eyes met, Amelia's heart began hammering in her chest, hoping Jade finally took the hint. Jade's lips parted, her eyebrows knitted and her eyes reflected everything Amelia was feeling. "I think I know what you mean," Jade muttered so quietly that Amelia would have missed it if she wouldn't be so concentrated on everything that was Jade right in that moment. Lia nodded, her eyes dropping to Jade's lips for a millisecond before she moved closer. Their eyes began to close when their breaths started to mingle and then, their lips-

"Jade!"

"Jade?"

Just like back then, Cat's voice interrupted the moment.

Jade closed her eyes, shook her head, then opened her eyes again and forced a smile to appear on her face. Her heart ached but she ignored it, for the sake of Cat.

"Robbie… he is your right person, you know? You and him… I mean, you're Cat and Robbie." She chuckled a little and felt a wave of success when the smallest of smiles appeared on Cat's lips. "You love each other. That's the only thing that matters. Sometimes all you have to do is just… be brave enough, take the leap and fall. And I know that you are brave enough."

A grin crept to Cat's lips and before Jade could comprehend what was happening, Cat swung her arms around her neck and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you," she whispered into dark hair and held on to her best friend for a couple of seconds before pulling away with a frown on her face.

"I have to pee now."

A/N: No Tori in this chapter. But next one will be the wedding and I can promise you that there will be Jori. Of course I hope you liked this one too, despite the lack of Tori.