Fated

Summary: Jessie finds herself in exile, forced into captivity with a mysterious stranger. With nowhere to go and seemingly no hope of escape, they share the stories behind their miserable fates. Hers is filled with questions. His is filled with answers.

Chapter 21: A Princess

You've got wires, going in
You've got wires, coming out of your skin
You've got tears, making tracks
I've got tears, that are scared of the facts

Running down corridors through automatic doors,
Got to get to you. Got to see this through.
I see hope is here, in a plastic box
I've seen Christmas lights reflect in your eyes

Running down corridors through automatic doors,
Got to get to you. Got to see this through.
First night of your life, curled up on your own.
Looking at you now, you would never know.
…Athlete - Wires

Jessie paused in her attempts to chip away at her bonds and looked over at Jack, who was rummaging in his cabinet for something.

"What are you looking for?" she asked. Jack didn't answer her for a moment. It was only when he emerged with a tall bottle of whiskey did he show any indication of having heard her.

"Hello alcohol!" Jessie whistled.

"Care for a shot before dinner?" he asked.

"Hell yes!" Jessie said, reaching out and rattling her chains, "You've been hiding that sucker the whole time?"

"I have to ration it and only drink when I have an excuse," he said, pouring a cupful each, "It was hard to get and I'm pretty sure the grunt who gave it to me got fired…or worse knowing Gio."

"Appreciated," Jessie said, taking her cup and meeting his in a toast. Neither of them bothered adding anything to it and they both cringed at the harsh taste.

"What are we toasting to?" Jessie asked.

"I dunno. Some positive thing. Hope? Faith? Escape? Death to little pink cats?" Jack listed.

"You know, when I first met you, I thought you were pretty sane for a guy who lived in alone in a shack for twenty-some years. Now I'm not so sure," Jessie admitted, taking another sip. Jack chuckled.

"I think I've earned a little insanity," he shrugged, "Actually, you wanna know something? My life's been a little insane ever since the Morgan's party."

"I'd say it was a little insane before that," Jessie commented. Jack shook his head, taking a sip from his cup.

"No. All the stuff before…that was just relationships and drama…all the ordinary things that lead up to all the insanity that would dominate my life for the next four years," he admitted.

"What was the insane thing that happened after you left headquarters?" Jessie asked, "When you ran to see Miya in the hospital?"

Jack smiled softly and glanced down at the amber liquid, almost seeing the events of that night unfold right there in the coffee cup half-full of whiskey.

I ran.

I excused myself from Amy and I ran through the corridors of Team Rocket headquarters towards the exit, only one destination in mind. I ran as fast as my legs would take me, towards the garage where my car was parked, muttering under my breath, asking for help from every god and deceased relative I could think of.

I hopped into the front seat of the car and stepped on the gas. My knuckles were white as I clenched the steering wheel and my mouth was still moving, still praying.

Dad.

Dad, please.

Help me.

Help her.

Please.

Dad.

Miya fell. The due date couldn't be more than a couple months away. There was blood, Amy said. Blood. Not good. Never good.

Please, Dad. I'll never ask for another thing, just let her be okay.

I parked illegally, sliding on the thin sheet of ice and climbing up on the snow-covered curb. I was out of the car in an instant, skidding and slipping as I ran for the automatic doors. The lady at the reception desk glared at me as I slammed into the desk.

"Maternity," I gasped.

"Third floor," she directed me, a little less hostile. Maybe she got this a lot, expectant fathers rushing to attend to their spouses and unborn children.

"Mr. S?" I heard a familiar voice call out. Reluctantly, I stopped and turned around, taking in Ted "Motorcycle" Oak's appearance. His left arm was in a sling, but otherwise he looked fine. A little stoned, but fine.

"Are you alright?" I asked, looking anxiously at the stairs.

"Sure, Sir. How are the others?" he asked.

"They're working back at headquarters trying to fix the place up. They were really worried about you," I told him. He nodded.

"Think I should go to them?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Only if you feel up to it, Motorcycle…now, I…uh…" How do I excuse myself without sounding like a jerk?

"Miyamoto?" he asked, "I was just gonna try to head there…I haven't heard…"

"I'll do it," I said firmly, "You go on."

He nodded and wobbled towards the door. I lunged for the stairs, taking them two at a time, ignoring the elevator. I was only vaguely aware of the pain in my side. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered except for me to get to Miyamoto. I pictured her alone, scared, and injured…possibly dead for all I knew. My stomach gave an unpleasant lurch.

I tumbled into the maternity ward and slammed into the desk. A doctor raised an eyebrow at me.

"Miyamoto Lillis," I wheezed, "Please…"

Jessie's head jerked up and her eyes widened at the all-too familiar surname, but the reaction was lost on Jack. Surely…no…it was a common name…

"You the father?" the doctor asked before the reception lady could say a word.

"Something like that," I got out, "Where is she? Please…"

"Good. She's a tough woman, but no woman should have to do this alone. Follow me, Son," the doc said, leading me down a corridor, "You're just in time."

"In time for what?" I gasped as he stopped at a cart and threw a pair of scrubs at me.

"Put those on," he directed, "In time for the birth."

I stopped dead, "Birth?" I squeaked, "But…but…it's too soon!"

"The fetus is in distress. We'll have the best chance if we can get it out," he explained, "In there," he pointed before he turned on a faucet to scrub up.

I looked at him and then at the door. I was about to be a father. Nothing terrified me more…well, almost nothing. There was still one thing I feared above all else: losing the woman inside that room.

I hesitated.

And then I pushed into the room.

There was nurses bustling around, but I took no notice. Miya was on the bed, curled over her large stomach, trying to reign back the screams as tears and sweat slid down her face. Her legs were propped open and there were wires everywhere, on her stomach, on her arms…

Those weren't the things that stood out when I entered that room. What really stood out was that for the first time, I could see very real fear on her face and in her eyes. And for the first time, her fear sobered me. I suddenly knew where I needed to be. She was alone. There was no one there except for the medical staff. She had no one to lean on or to support her. There was no one in the position that I had vacated all those months ago. That was the position I needed to be in now.

I approached the bed, "Miya."

She jerked her head to look at me and there was surprise on her face, "Jack?" she gasped, "What the hell…"

"Amy told me," I replied, my voice automatically going soft. She opened her mouth to say something back, but all that came out was an anguished, painful gasp. I grabbed her arm on instinct, "I've got you, Miya. I'm here," I whispered. The pain subsided and she was shaking as she looked at me.

"What part of that is supposed to reassure me?" she quipped. I blinked. Even in the middle of labour she found time for sarcasm.

"This part," I told her, pulling her face to mine with my free hand and kissing her hard and passionately.

She blinked in surprise and we stared at each other for a moment, all the hospital noise fading into the background.

"I love you," I stated seriously, "and I'm sorry I've been such an ass."

She opened her mouth again, but this time a scream erupted from her lips.

"Are you okay?" I asked automatically. She glared at me.

"Do I LOOK okay?" she growled.

"Stupid question," I amended. Then the doctor entered the room again, all prepared.

"Okay, Miyamoto, I'm going to need you to start pushing. This baby is really impatient to enter the world," he directed.

"Sounds like you," I muttered, smirking at her. She tried to glare at me, but then she was squeezing my hand and her head was against my shoulder.

"Don't leave, Jack," she begged.

"Never," I whispered back, kissing her sweaty forehead.

"Push, Miyamoto," the doctor directed. A scream from Miya and I lost feeling in my fingers. Minor compared to Miya's pain.

"Oh, God, let it be over!" she ejected.

"Afraid not," the doc said, "Miya, you need to push harder. The baby is in a difficult position."

"Fuck, your kid would have to be difficult!" she gasped. I chuckled and kissed her temple.

"You can do it. I know you can," I whispered as she screamed in pain.

"Push again, Miya," the doc ordered.

"F-fuck!" she gasped.

"One more big one," the doc encouraged.

"Dammit!" Miya cried. My hand was completely numb.

Then, there was silence. Then there was a high-pitched cry, strong and loud. Miya and I both stopped moving and looked towards the foot of the bed. The doctor held up the baby for us to see. It's face was scrunched up as it wailed and a helpful nurse began to unwrap the umbilical cord from the baby's neck. No wonder it was in distress, I thought as I watched the nurse unwrap the cord three times from the baby's neck, it almost got strangled. Then the doc to held the baby a little higher.

"A girl," he stated the obvious. My eyes were wide and my mouth gaping as I stared at the gooey, screaming baby girl that was my daughter. My daughter. Strange. The doc cut the cord and a nurse swaddled the baby into a clean, white blanket.

"You did it," I got out, looking back at Miya, who managed a weak smile. I kissed her again, "You did it."

"You have a daughter?" Jessie asked. Jack only just looked up at her. She could see a proud smile on his face.

"Yeah. A little girl."

I stared at the little baby, enthralled as she kicked and squirmed, bloody, but strong, despite the circumstances of her birth.

"Jack…" Miya trailed off, blinking slowly as her head drooped into my shoulder, stealing my attention away from our child.

"Miya!" I shouted in alarm, catching the attention of the doctor at the same time as a bunch of machines began going off.

"Miya!" I shouted again.

"Nurse, get Dad and baby to the NICU," the doctor ordered as he listened to Miya's chest.

"What? Hey! That's-"

"Sir, the doctors are going to help her," the nurse said softly as she cradled my daughter to her, "The best thing you can do is stay with the baby," she told me, moving towards the door. I was suddenly torn between the woman lying unconscious in the bed and the little girl lying in the nurse's arms.

I closed my eyes and began to pray again as I followed the nurse out of the room.

The baby didn't stop crying. She carried on all the way to the NICU and as I walked beside the nurse, my eyes automatically scanned the new, fragile little being for any injury that would make her cry like that. She was still too gooey from the birth for me to make out anything definitive.

"Is she okay?" I finally asked the nurse, not taking my eyes off the baby.

"She's doing great," the nurse assured me, "The fact that she can cry like that means that her lungs are more developed than we thought."

"That's good?" I asked as we passed through a set of automatic doors. She nodded and then she and another nurse set to work cleaning up the baby. I watched from the sidelines, every so often looking back towards the doors and hoping that Miya was alright. The only way I could distract myself was to look at the baby, who was pale and a little yellow now that the blood and stuff had been washed away. She was tiny, much smaller than Silver and Jessiebelle had been as newborns, but then both of them had a full nine months in the womb. I heard words like "jaundice" and "incubator", but I was too distracted to ask what they meant. I followed the nurses like a zombie as they moved the clean and diapered baby to a plastic box and attached little suction-cup wire things to her chest. They said some things to me, but I don't remember them.

One of them wisely got me a chair and then they left me alone with the baby, who was staring up at me with wide blue eyes. It was like she was saying, 'Who the hell are you? Get me out of here.'

I sank into the chair and buried my face in my hands for a moment before I lifted my head again to look at her.

"You look like her," I told her in a voice that didn't sound like my own, "You look like your mom. She was the one in there…you know…the one you came out of. You have her lips and her face…and your eyes are the same shape as hers, but they're the same colour as mine," I told her, "And your nose is like mine. Your hair looks curly. That could come from either of us. It looks dark, but that could be just because it's wet," I yammered away, "You're actually pretty cute. I thought all babies looked the same, but…you're different. You don't look like Silver and Jessiebelle did when they were born. They're your cousins…maybe…" I winced and took a shaky breath, "My brother…your uncle…he said that you'd ruin me. He said that if I said that you were mine, then I wouldn't get my inheritance," I explained to my daughter, who blinked slowly at me, "I don't know what to do," I croaked, tears leaking down my cheeks, "I love your mother so much and I wanna be there for her, but…the money…"

She whimpered.

"I'm sorry!" I said quickly, putting my hand against the plastic that separated us, "I didn't mean to upset you…as if you can even understand any of this…damn, I suck. I shouldn't…you deserve a better dad…"

"Tell me you didn't leave her," Jessie begged, thinking of that little baby girl that had once laid in that plastic box.

"I couldn't," Jack replied looking down at his hands, "I even stood up and tried to walk away, but I had to turn around. I couldn't leave her all alone like that. I figured if Miya couldn't be there, then I should.

I sat there for hours, just watching as the baby's chest rose and fell with each breath. She had fallen asleep awhile ago, her little eyelids fluttering as she dreamt. It bothered me a lot that she was in that little box, even if it was warm for her. She should have been with Miya. Miya should have been holding her. I closed my eyes and silently prayed some more.

"You look like Hell," a familiar voice commented. I looked back and found myself staring at my older brother.

"Joe?" I croaked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"Figured you'd be here," he said standing behind me, "What'd she have?"

"A girl," I replied, "There were problems…I don't even know…"

"Jackie, remember what I told you-"

"Joe, please," I said through clenched teeth, "I know what you said, but…Miya…I love her," and to my intense shame, more tears came. I heard Joseph sigh heavily.

"Jackie-"

"Joe, please…"

"Let me think, Jack," he said. I could feel him grip the back of my chair.

"Jack," another familiar voice said. I turned around again and saw Miya being wheeled in by a nurse. She looked pale and her arm was put in a cast, which seemed odd, but there was a look of confusion and something else, something wary, on her face.

"Thank God," I breathed, getting up and approaching her, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she answered, her eyes on Joseph, "What's going on?"

"I heard about what happened," Joseph replied, "It's good to see you well, Miyamoto."

"Thanks," Miya said cautiously, "Is she alright?" she asked, now looking at the baby.

"She seems okay," I replied, "Right?" I asked the nurse.

"She's very strong," the nurse commented, "Would you like to hold her?"

"Yes," Miya didn't hesitate and the nurse gently lifted the baby and placed her in her mother's arms, careful of the cast on Miya's right arm. The baby cooed at being woken up, but then her wide blue eyes were staring up at Miya. Miya gently caressed the baby's cheek, smiling even as a tear streamed down her face.

"Hi," she said to the baby. I couldn't stop the smile that started to form on my face and I watched mother and daughter meet for the first time. It was a different side of Miya. I was so used to seeing the tough, strong woman who never backed down that I forgot that she was more than just that. She was passionate and caring and loving and…there weren't words.

I felt as Joe nudged me closer to the wheelchair, but before I could look at him, Miya looked up at me, startled by the noise. Then she relaxed and smiled at me. I smiled back and knelt down beside her, tentatively reaching out to touch the baby's tiny hand. I caught her eye and suddenly, nothing was the same. Suddenly we were different people, she and I, tied together by this one tiny being. She wasn't just Miya any more; she was also the mother of my child. My world had just gotten bigger. It was no longer just me and I was suddenly very okay with that.

"I love you," I whispered softly. She smiled and tried, unsuccessfully, to blink back tears. I reached over to wipe them away, my eyes slowly drifting back to my daughter, who squirmed and made little cooing noises.

"She have a name?" Joe asked softly, peering over my shoulder at the baby. I looked over at Miya, who blinked as if she just realized that our daughter needed a name.

"Uh…no idea," she replied.

"I thought that you'd have something picked out," I commented.

"Well, I kind of thought I had at least another month or so before this happened," Miya quipped. I frowned, remembering why we were here in the first place.

"What happened at headquarters exactly?" I asked. Miya frowned.

"I was dropping off the paperwork for my mat leave. Then these two guys I'd never seen before walked into the room. They spoke with an accent…Hoenn, maybe? One sent out a koffing and the other one started shooting up the place. It was a good thing Ketchum, Oak, and Parker were there. They really stepped up, but I got hit by a tackle attack and I fell on my wrist," she explained, frowning as she looked at her right wrist.

"You broke it?" I asked gently. Miya nodded.

"Yeah and the doctors figure that the blow caused the placenta to dislodge, which caused the bleeding and her to be born early," she explained, looking down at the baby.

"Why'd you pass out?" I asked, "I was worried…"

"Blood loss," Miya answered, "Then the doctors wanted to look me over and all that."

"Hoenn, you say?" Joseph asked. I looked up at him and saw that he was frowning.

"Yeah," Miya replied.

"What's wrong, Joe?" I asked.

"There's been talk of a crime syndicate forming in the Hoenn region," he explained, "but it's just new. They shouldn't be looking to takeover here in Kanto. It's odd."

"Mother won't be pleased," I stated. He nodded.

"Yeah," he agreed, "Think I can borrow him for a moment?" he asked Miya. She nodded, though I could feel her eyes on me as I followed my brother to the door.

"What's up?" I asked him. He sighed, the frown still on his face.

"Look, Jackie, we're going to have a whole mess of problems pretty quick," he said, "and you already know that Mother's going to be pretty foul to be around."

"Yeah, I know," I replied, "So what does that have to do with anything?"

He sighed again, "Look, I get that you care about Miya and your little one, Jack. I understand."

"Er…Thanks?"

"You have to be really careful about this, Jay," he told me, "Mother's going to be pretty steamed about this Hoenn thing and we'd best not add more stress on top of all that."

"Meaning?" I asked, not quite following.

"Meaning it would be a very bad idea to tell Mother that you fathered Miyamoto's child," he stated.

"Oh, goodie, more wisdom from the idiot," Jessie rolled her eyes, even though her mind was whirring, trying to see the connection that she knew that she had to make.

"But…" I loved Miya. I wanted to scream it from the rooftops. I wanted to be with her and not have to hide.

"Jack, think about the kid here," Joe said slowly, "If Mother is angry, she might take drastic measures here to eliminate any disgraces. I've told you this many times, Jack. If there is a threat from Hoenn, she's gonna want to make sure that her family is unified and…politically correct. She's obsessed with the family's reputation."

"This is her grandchild…"

My mother wouldn't harm her own flesh and blood, I tried to convince myself, but even as I thought is, there was a niggling feeling in my brain.

"Are you willing to take the chance?" Joseph asked. I frowned. Was I willing to bet on my daughter's life? I thought of that little baby girl, who had my nose and eyes, who was so small and fragile, so innocent and…mine. I shook my head.

"Good," Joseph said, "Now listen, be with Miya if you want. Love the kid. She's a cutie. Looks kinda like you. But don't tell anyone you're the father. There would only be problems and I don't wanna see that baby get hurt because it would hurt Miya and it would hurt you. I don't like seeing you hurt, Jackie."

I frowned and then in a small voice, I asked him, "Do you think Dad would be proud?"

"Dad would have done anything to keep us safe, Jack," Joe said, "Even if he had to hide us to do it. Now rest up and try not to draw suspicion on you. I have to get back."

I nodded and watched him go, feeling a little confused. Then I turned and walked back to Miya and the baby. Miya looked over at me as I sat in my chair beside her. She had a look in her eyes…the best way I can describe it is that of a ninetails guarding her kits.

"What was that about?" she asked quietly.

"Joe was talking…he gave me advice…I don't know…" I stammered.

"What advice?" she asked.

"He said not to tell Mother or anyone about me being the father," I admitted. I was fully expecting her to lash out and accuse me of shirking my new responsibilities. What she said next surprised me.

"He's right."

"What?" I asked, not sure if I heard it right. She sighed.

"I've been thinking," she told me, "You're set to inherit a crime syndicate, which means you have enemies that could use anyone close to you against you, including me and her."

"I could protect you," I stated, "I have the resources-"

"Can you protect us from your own mother? Brothers?" Miya asked. I sighed.

"This is all crazy. Everyone says that Mother will eliminate disgraces and…she's my mother for crying out loud!"

"If there's one thing I know about Madam Boss, it's that she's a very proud woman and she's especially protective of her family's reputation. She would be mortified if that reputation was damaged," Miya said slowly.

"But this is her granddaughter," I said.

"Yes," Miya allowed, "and there is a chance that she would make an allowance for that, but there's an even better chance that she wouldn't. I'm not an idiot, Jack. The odds are stacked against us. You slept with a lowly agent. We had a child out of wedlock. In her terms, what we did was a disgrace and would need to be 'taken care of'. I'm not going to risk my daughter based on a maybe."

I looked down at the baby, who had fallen asleep in Miya's arms.

"I wish this was different," I said, "I don't wanna have to hide her and you away from the rest of the world."

"We screwed up, Jack," Miya said softly, "You said so yourself."

I cringed, suddenly reliving the biggest mistake of my life, the day I said those words. I wished I could take them back.

"I love you," I told her again, "and I was an idiot when I said that and let you go."

"Shit happens, Jack," she sighed.

"Yeah, but this is complete crap. I totally screwed us over because I was acting like a scared little kid. If I had actually manned up, things could be different…better. We could be married right now. We could be celebrating the birth of our daughter instead of worrying about all this shit. We wouldn't have to worry about people coming after us. We could just…be," I vented, cursing the little bit of emotion that crept into my voice.

"You mean that, don't you?" Miya asked me.

"Of course I do. I've been a complete and utter train wreck these last few months. I was so scared before and I just totally fucked up. I was so concerned with making my mother happy and I've been completely miserable. Now I know how Gio feels. I was happier…ten times happier when I was with you and I want to be with you. I don't want to have to walk away from you…or her," I said, dropping my gaze to the baby, the little person that we made. A thought occurred to me.

"I wanna be there," I said softly, "I want to hold her and rock her to sleep. I want to be up all night with you when she's teething and I want to hear her say 'Mommy' and 'Daddy'. I wanna teach her to walk and I want to read princess stories and chase away the monsters under the bed. And you know, I really want to watch her go to sleep and then sweep you off your feet and carry you to our room and attempt to give her a little brother or sister," I said, looking back up at Miya, who had tears in her eyes.

"Damn you, Jack. Don't you know I'm hormonal?" she whispered, wiping her eyes. I smirked and kissed her temple.

"I don't want to have to hide forever, Miya," I told her, "For now, yeah, it'd probably be best if no one knew, but someday we'll have that. We'll be a family. A real one. A good one," I promised. She nodded.

"Yes," she said, rubbing her cheek on her shoulder to dry the tears that fell. I leaned over to kiss her, gently cupping her face and brushing the errant tears away with my thumb. A little whimper from in between us broke us apart. Miya laughed.

"Sorry, little one," she apologized lovingly.

"She looks like you," I commented, gazing down at the baby.

"I think she looks like you," Miya argued.

"She needs a name," I said, reaching over to gently touch the baby's hand. She surprised me when she wrapped her little fist around my finger. She was surprisingly strong.

"I'm open to suggestions," Miya quipped.

"What was your mother's name?" I asked. Miya looked down at our daughter.

"Middle name," she said firmly.

"Helpful," I commented. She rolled her eyes.

"I was kind of thinking something like Bonnie or Claire, but she really doesn't look like a Bonnie or Claire," Miya admitted.

"Don't name her Claire," I begged, "I know a Claire and I loathe her," I said, thinking of the jumped-up dragon tamer girlfriend of an associate in Blackthorn.

"Well, what do you think, then?" Miya asked as the baby wrapped her other fist around Miya's finger. She literally already had each of her parents in her hands.

"She has my dad's eyes. The colour, not the shape," I said, "You know, I never really prayed before, but when I was on my way here, I was praying pretty hard to him," I admitted.

"What was his name?" Miya asked.

"Jesse Sakaki," I answered, "Maybe…"

Jessie's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"Jessica," Miya whispered, looking down at the baby, "I like it."

"Me too," I agreed, and suddenly, inexplicably, I broke out into a grin. Miya looked at me for a moment.

"Do you want to hold her?" she asked. There was really nothing that I wanted more…and nothing that terrified me more.

"I…yeah…but I don't know how…"

"It's easy," she said, "Just hold her close and support her head…" she told me, correcting my arms as she placed the baby into the cradle I made. I had held older, larger infants before, but never a newborn, let alone a premature newborn. It was a new experience. I felt the comfortable weight of my daughter in my arms. She was so warm. And the way she looked at me…there was so much trust in her tiny, innocent face. In that moment, I knew that I would do anything for her and her mother. In that moment, I made a silent promise to Jessica Musashi Lillis, my baby daughter, that one day, she, Miya, and I would be a family.

Jack broke off and hastily stumbled to his feet, mumbling something about having to start supper. Jessie watched his back as he clumsily set to work, her mouth opened in shock as she registered what he had said. 'In that moment, I made a silent promise to Jessica Musashi Lillis, my baby daughter, that one day, she, Miya, and I would be a family.' The moment he had said her name, her full name, Jessie had started and stared at him with transfixed, horrified eyes as realization dawned on her.

Jack Sakaki was not just Giovanni's brother; he was Jessie's father.

She blinked rapidly and let out a shaky breath. All her life, she wondered about her parents. She was quite young when she was placed in the orphanage and could never properly remember them. After a while, she stopped trying. She often assumed that either her mother died when she was young, or, when Jessie was feeling particularly self-loathing, she thought that she had been abandoned when something better came along. She had always wondered about her mother, yet never gave her father any proper thought. When she was old enough to understand such things, she had wrote him off as a bastard who specialized in the 'hump and dump' and that she was the product of a one-night-stand.

"Soup or beans?" Jack suddenly asked, turning his head to look at her over his shoulder. Jessie focused on his face. She had his nose, she realized, and her eyes were the exact same colour as his, but the shape was a bit off.

"Jessilina?" he asked again.

"Uh…soup," she hastily picked. With that, he set to work, turning his back to her once more. She had forgotten her fake identity. She had given him a fake name and he thought she was just some random rocket.

He didn't know, didn't even suspect, that she was his long-lost daughter.

TBC

AN: Dun, dun, dun...And here it is. The big secret is out; Jack Sakaki is Jessie's father. Thoughts on this chapter? They'd really make my week, considering the past couple days I had. Or at least it would let me know that people are still interested.

Songs That Inspired This Chapter:
-Wires by Athlete. A great song that really inspired Jack's big run to the hospital. At first, he was going to arrive after the birth, but then I thought that he should really see the birth of his daughter.
-Everything I Have to Give by Stereo Fallout. It's such a sweet song about how much the singer loves his daughter and chances are, I will use this song again somewhere.