Thank you, from the bottom of my heart to EVERYONE who has messaged, reviewed, followed and favorited this story. I know it has been WAY too long and I sincerely apologize. I have had some minor health issues to deal with lately. Nothing too serious to be concerned about but enough to prevent me from looking at a computer screen for longer than a few minutes.

Rest assured, the next few chapters are already complete. Just have to finish tying up some lose ends in the next chapter before posting. I now also have internet access outside of work so the next few chapters should be up sometime within the next week.

Thank you to my "Bulgarian Bon-Bon Beta Reader". ;-) You know who you are and thank you for staying on me to get this posted.

Chapter Twenty Five - Your Sad Eyes Take And Own Me

By the time Jake and Mandy had returned to Claudia's, the temperature was starting to drop. Raven and Gellar had both fallen asleep while the adults got all caught up on the last two years of their lives. Since Jason had a rare couple of days home to review some new business opportunities with Jake, it was agreed that Gellar would go home and spend the night with him.

After Jason left with Gellar, Jake went outside to start the 4Runner and allow it to warm up. After starting the engine, she got out and ran up to wait on the porch under the warmth of the light. Jake blew puffs of warm air into her hands and rubbed them vigorously back and forth against each other before blowing on them again. She had just started bouncing from one foot to the other when the front door opened.

Jake stopped bouncing and stepped towards the porch railing as Alan walked out and offered a smile to her, which she returned, in kind. Alan stepped further out on the porch and removed a half empty cigarette pack from inside his coat. He removed one from the crumpled pack, placed the filter between his lips and lit the other end. Jake glanced over at him briefly before turning her attention back to her truck.

"I told Amanda how much I really like your truck, Jake. It seems very practical for the four of you." Jake's head snapped back in Alan's direction. She noticed that they were about the same height. Alan looked back at her as he exhaled from the side of his mouth; the smoke moving quickly away from the porch with the help of the breeze. "Why do you look so surprised, Jake? I may be married to her but it doesn't mean I agree with Victoria on everything."

Alan took another drag from his cigarette and flicked the ashes over the rail in the bush. He shook his head and motioned towards the cigarette between his fingers. "See this?" Jake looked down at the cigarette and then back up in Alan's eyes as the older man motioned with his head towards the inside of the house. "It's all her fault. She may not drive me to drink, but the woman damn sure drives me to smoke." He exhaled again. "You seem like a good woman, Jake. I can see why my daughter and granddaughter are so taken with you."

Jake cleared her throat before answering, "I'm more than taken with them, sir. I don't want us to get off on the wrong foot but I feel you should know of my intentions with your only daughter. Sir, I love Mandy and Gellar... with everything I am..."

Alan laughed. "I'm sorry, Jake. I'm not laughing at you. Well... I am... but I'm 't act so serious. I am not going to judge my daughter. Amanda is a grown woman and can make her own decisions." Alan took another drag from his cigarette. "Just... take care of her and Gellar. That's all I'm asking. That's all any father should ask for his daughter; to be taken care of by someone who loves her."

Alan took one last pull on his cigarette before smashing the butt out on the bottom of his shoe. Once he was sure there were no more hot embers, he placed the butt in the cigarette pack. He grabbed a piece of gum from his opposite pocket and popped it in his mouth as he glanced at the pack in his hand. "I'm sure they will smell it on me but how's about we keep this between us?" he motioned towards the pack in his hand before returning it to his jacket.

Jake smiled and nodded her head. "Absolutely. It was a pleasure meeting you this evening, Mr. O'Riley."

Alan shook the offered hand and smiled as he clasped his left hand against Jake's shoulder. "It was great meeting you as well, Jake. I'm sure we will see each other sooner rather than later." He winked at the brunette as the door opened and Victoria stepped out as well.

Jake figured the truck would be warm enough by now to bring Raven out. Alan offered to keep an eye on the truck while Jake got Raven from inside. As he and Victoria were still saying their good-byes to Rob and Claudia, Jake walked out and secured a sleeping Raven in the back seat of the warm 4Runner. Mandy walked out of the house, excusing herself as she made her way past her parents and former mother-in-law.

Just as Jake shut the back door to the truck, she felt small arms wrap tighter around her waist from behind. Jake, with a smile on her face, turned in Mandy's arms. Mandy tightened her grip and began to run her hands up and down Jake's back underneath her leather jacket. Taking advantage of the fact that they were out of view of the front porch, the shorter woman stood on the tips of her toes as she leaned up to capture Jake's lips with her own. Jake closed her eyes at the contact as she returned the kiss with much fervor.

The two women could have stayed within their embrace for hours, completely oblivious to the world around them. Unfortunately, that was not to be as a throat cleared from behind Mandy. The two women reluctantly separated but still maintained contact by holding hands. Mandy turned around to see the amused grin of her father and the scowl of disapproval from her mother.

"Sorry to interrupt but I think your mother is ready to go, Shortcake."

Mandy looked past her father and over the roof of the Mustang to see her mother now waiting impatiently at the passenger side door. Mandy could already feel her headache returning and she was anxiously dreading the impending conversation that would no doubt take place on the ride home. To prevent her mother's mood from worsening, Mandy handed her car keys to her father so he and Victoria could wait in the warmth of the car. "Daddy, would you like to drive?"

Once Alan had the keys in his hand, he looked at Mandy with a child-like expression on his face before walking towards the Mustang. "I haven't driven one of these babies in twenty years! Come on, Vicki, get in!"

Mandy could not help but smile at her father's enthusiasm. She watched as he unlocked the car and started to get in on the driver's side. When Victoria cleared her throat, Alan stopped and unlocked her door... from the driver's side. He climbed in behind the wheel while his wife rolled her eyes on the other side of the car at, what she considered to be, her husband's rudeness.

Jake laughed at Mandy's father as she tightened her hold on Mandy's hand. "He looks like a little kid," Jake continued to laugh as she turned to look at Mandy. She stopped laughing and just gazed at the woman next to her.

"Yeah. He always loved a Mustang. I remember he used to have one when I was little. I must have been a little younger than Raven. I'm sure Mom will read him the riot act for not opening her door. So the ride home should be interesting." Mandy sighed and tuned from watching her father to look at Jake when the other woman didn't reply. The moment her eyes met Jake's, Mandy felt the proverbial butterflies in her stomach. Jake's head was tilted just slightly to the side; her left eyebrow slightly arched above hooded blue, and had the brightest of smiles on her face. The look that passed between them could be best described with one word... love.

"I love you." Jake mouthed silently; the sound never leaving her lips. Mandy smiled and mouthed the same words in return. Jake squeezed Mandy's hand a final time before letting go, immediately missing the connection. She shoved her hands in her front pockets and gestured with her head towards the 4Runner. "I better get her home and in bed. Call me if you need me?"

"I was hoping we would have the chance to talk to her tonight so she's prepared in case anything happens at the school. And... I always need you, Jake. God, this is going to be so strange; not being with you. I don't know if I'm ready to do this." Mandy gave a brief shake of her head before rubbing her right hand across her forehead.

Jake removed her hands from her pockets and placed her arms around the teacher. She placed a kiss to the top of Mandy's head as the smaller woman tightened her hold. "Baby, you can do this. It's only a few days..." Mandy mumbled something incoherently into the shoulder beneath her head. Jake screwed her eyes up in thought. "Is Stu's jumping weak? Who is Stu?"

Mandy giggled as she lifted her head from Jakes shoulder and gave it a playful slap as she stepped out of their embrace. "I said... It's two fucking weeks."

Jake's eyes widened as she chastised the teacher and shoved both hands in the pockets of her leather jacket. "Such language." She smiled so Mandy would know she was only teasing. "You'll get through it; we'll all get through it. Just... you know, call me tonight if you need to." As she kicked at a rock with her boot, Jake tilted her chin down towards her chest but looked up at Mandy from the tops of her eyes. She offered a crooked smile as she whispered "I really want to kiss you but your parents are watching."

Mandy didn't bother to turn around and look. She knew it would be true; she just didn't care. So she did what had become the most natural thing in the world to her; she kissed Jake. Mandy ran her hand up the sides of Jake's neck and tangled her fingers in ebony tresses. Jake gave in and wrapped her arms around Mandy's waist, pulling her in as tight as possible to her own body.

Their kiss was interrupted by the roar of the Mustang's engine shortly followed by a "Damn it, Vicki" from Mandy's father. The two women stepped away from each other to what Mandy's mother would consider a more appropriate distance.

Jake placed her hand back in her jacket pockets as she whispered, "I'm gonna get Raven home and in bed. I'll miss you. I love you."

"I love you. I miss you already." Mandy sighed and offered a sad smile as she walked backwards towards the Mustang.

Alan stepped out while the car idled and shifted the driver's side seat forward to allow Mandy to climb in the back. Jake waved and waited for them to leave before climbing in on the driver's side of her truck. She waved to her father and Claudia on the porch before putting the truck in gear and heading home.

Mandy sat in the back seat and watched the scenery go by past the window. Her father really was like a child on Christmas morning and the thought made the young woman smile. He was amazed by the different gadgets and controls across the dashboard and the older man had had a smile on his face from the moment he started the engine.

The car pulled up to stoplight and Alan caught Mandy's eye through the rear view mirror. "This sure is a nice car, Shortcake! Woo-wee; she handles like a dream!"

"Thank you, Daddy; I'm glad you like it." Mandy glanced at her mother in the passenger side of the front seat. Victoria smoothed out the wrinkles in the lap of her dress. The woman had not spoken a word since leaving Claudia's but Mandy knew it was just a matter of time before her mother started in again on everything she found unacceptable about her daughter's life.

Alan watched his daughter, watching her mother, and released a quiet sigh as the light turned green. "So uh... Shortcake..." Alan waited until Mandy looked up and met his gaze in the mirror. "Jake sure does seem like a nice woman. And you were right; Gellar seems absolutely crazy about her."

"She's an amazing woman, Daddy. And you're right; Gellar loves her. And so do I."

Victoria shifted her position in the front seat, obviously not pleased with the topic of conversation. Mandy observed her mother for a few moments to see if she would say anything but the older woman remained silent for the duration of the drive home.

Tuesday wasn't shaping up to be much better than Monday. Mandy, for the most part, had been receiving the silent treatment from her mother since the drive home the night before. Upon arriving at the school early that morning, the school principal, Harold Edwards, asked that Mandy come to his office after school day for a discussion with him. He also requested that Jake be in attendance as well.

She was told that Raven would have to be removed from her class immediately. Mandy asked if there was any other alternative besides yanking Raven out of her class less than four days before the Winter break. Her only other option was to take a personal day and allow a substitute teacher to teach her class. Mandy opted to take the personal day and walked back to her classroom, stopping just outside the door. She took a moment to compose herself and fired off a quick text to Eph to give her the abridged version of the morning's events. Eph was tutoring some students from her own class that afternoon and offered for Raven to wait there during her meeting with the principal.

Mandy inhaled a deep breath to calm her nerves before opening the door. The only other student in the classroom besides Raven was her friend, Amy. The teacher observed the girls comparing their homework answers. As she looked through her briefcase for the day's lesson plan, Mandy listened to the sounds of the students arriving for the day. Feet shuffled in the halls. Locker doors opened and slammed shut. She wanted the opportunity to speak with Raven privately but did not want to alarm the girl.

"Raven?"

Raven and Amy stopped their review and looked up from their homework. "Yes, Ms. Peters?"

Mandy smiled in spite of the situation. She found it endearing that Raven could go from calling her "Mimi" on the ride in that morning to calling her "Ms. Peters" when they were in public. She thought to herself how mature Raven had been about the entire relationship between herself and Jake. "Can I speak with you please?"

Raven looked over at Amy and then back to her teacher before walking up to the desk. As Raven approached, Mandy motioned for her to walk around behind the desk.

"Yes, Ma'am?"

Mandy ran a hand down both of Raven's forearms and held each hand. "I just wanted to tell you that you're going to have a substitute today. Something has come up and I need to leave so I'm going to go home."

Raven leaned in and whispered so as not to be overheard. "Is everything okay, Mimi?"

Mandy squeezed each of the child's hands, still held within her own. "Everything will be fine. We can talk about it all this evening with your mom, okay? I'll be back after school. Your mom and I have a meeting to attend when I get back. While we're doing that, is it alright with you if we asked you to wait in Ms. Carter's room?"

Raven chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before replying with a quiet, "okay."

Mandy glanced towards Amy. She noticed the girl was still preoccupied with her homework so she took the opportunity to give Raven a quick hug and a kiss to her cheek before whispering in her ear, "Thank you, sweetie. I love you and I will see you this afternoon."

Raven nodded her head in understanding and again whispered a quiet, "okay" before making her way back to her seat.

Once all of her students had arrived, Mandy took attendance. There was a knock on the open door. Mandy looked up to see one of the regular substitute teachers and motioned for her to enter the room. The sub walked into the class and approached Mandy with a warm smile on her face.

After brief introductions, and a few moments to review the day's lesson plan with her expectations, Mandy introduced the substitute to her class. "Kids? Can I have your attention, please? I would like for you to all meet Ms. Solari. She's going to be your teacher today. I'm not feeling very well and will be leaving but I expect all of you to show Ms. Solari just as much respect as you would show me. I want you guys to listen to her and ask her any questions if you need help."

Raven did not miss the fact that her teacher had given the entire class, as well as the substitute teacher, a different reason for leaving then what she had been told. Mandy gathered her things, wished "good luck" to her students and the substitute and walked out of the door; but not before sending a reassuring smile in Raven's direction.

Mandy tried to call Jake several times as she drove away from the school. By the time she was able to reach her, Jake was over an hour away. She was at a site survey and pre-design conference for a new restaurant up on the Eastern Shore; across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. The restaurant, a very distinguished steakhouse, could mean a multi-award contract that would be extremely beneficial to PS Construction.

Jake anticipated the meeting letting out by 2:00 and assured Mandy that she should be home by 3:30 at the latest to meet her at the school for the meeting at 4:30.

Mandy disconnected the call just as she was pulling into her driveway.

Mandy walked into her home to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. She placed her keys on the small table by the door and hung up her coat. Her father had apparently lit a small fire in the fireplace to fight off the early morning winter chill.

Mandy made her way into the kitchen to see her father sitting at the small kitchen table drinking his coffee and reading through the morning paper. She made her way over to the coffee pot and fixed herself a cup of coffee. "Good morning, Daddy. Where's Mom?"

Alan looked up from his paper and smiled at his daughter. "Good morning, Shortcake! She's taking a shower. What are you doing here? I was positive you had left for the school."

Mandy took a sip from her coffee cup, savoring the warm liquid as it slid down her throat, and sat down at the table across from her father. "I did. I took a personal day. The principal wants to meet with Jake and I this afternoon about the accusations that were made yesterday morning." Mandy looked down into her coffee cup, suddenly finding its contents very interesting.

Alan's hand reached across the table and grabbed the smaller hand of his daughter. He squeezed her hand and remained silent until her eyes looked up into his own matching green. "Amanda… everything will work out just as it is meant to. Nothing you can say or do will change that. God has a plan for all of this, Shortcake. You just have to trust in Him until you know what that plan is."

Mandy softly chuckled under her breath. If truth be known, she found it humorous, and somewhat endearing, that her father was the one making the religious references this morning. "Daddy, do you believe that Jake is part of God's plan for me?"

Alan removed his hand from his daughter's. He folded his paper in half and placed it on the table as he leaned back in his chair with a smile on his face. "Absolutely; without a doubt. God doesn't make mistakes, Amanda. There's not a question in my mind that Jake was meant to be your… other half as they say. Just as your mother was meant to be mine."

Mandy took another sip from her cup. "Why are you so okay with this, Daddy? Trust me; I'm not complaining. But… Mother won't even give Jake a chance and you haven't even so much as batted an eyelash."

Alan did just that; he batted his eyelashes at his only daughter causing her to laugh. "Does that make you feel better?" He got up from the table and grabbed the coffee pot. He refilled his cup and topped off Mandy's as well. "I don't know what you want me to say or do, Shortcake. I don't see any issues with you dating another woman. If you really want to know the truth about it, and I'm warning you ahead of time that I'm going to be blunt here… if I were given the choice between knowing about some nasty, sweaty man grunting and laying on top of you naked or some nice looking woman like your Jake, no question about it, I would take Jake any time!"

Mandy's eyes opened wide as her face turned a scarlet shade of red at her father's comments. "Daddy!"

Alan's eyes opened wide to match his daughter's expression. "What? It's true! I could care less if she were a purple giraffe with chartreuse polka dots. If you're happy, and Jake treats you right, that's really all any father could ever ask for his daughter." Alan sat back in his chair.

"She does, Daddy. She treats me like a queen and Gellar like a princess."

"Well then why does it matter what I think? You're not living my life. You're not living your mother's life. You're living your own life. You're a grown woman, Amanda. I can't tell you what is best for you. All I can do is try to guide you in the right direction. Either way, the decision is yours and yours alone. Take your brother for example; we raised him. We tried to teach him the difference between right and wrong and we tried to guide him. But he made his own choices and they weren't the right ones. Now he has to answer for his mistakes."

Mandy rolled her eyes at the mention of her older brother, Alan Jr., whom was currently incarcerated. He really was a good guy underneath all of his cockiness and false bravado. He was born three years before Mandy and had been incarcerated during her junior year of college. Alan Jr. graduated at the top of his class in high school but could never seem to grasp the concept that he couldn't just take what he wanted from another person without asking.

"The point, Amanda is that your mother wants what's best for you. She just hasn't figured out yet that what's best for her isn't necessarily what's best for you. I've known that woman a long time, Shortcake. She'll come around. You'll see. She loves you, Amanda. She's not going to just not have a relationship with you because she doesn't approve of who you date."

Mandy drained the rest of her coffee from her cup and then rinsed it out in the sink before placing her cup in the dish drainer. She turned around to face her father and leaned against the counter top. "You could've fooled me. Daddy, she hasn't so much as looked at me since dinner last night."

Alan nodded his head in understanding as he finished his own cup of coffee. "I know. I think your mother got her feelings hurt when Gellar didn't want to stay on her lap and was more interested in playing with Jake."

"Well, Daddy… no offense, but Gellar has only seen you and Mom one other time her whole life. Even then, she was only a few months old and too young to remember. As far as Gellar is concerned, you and Mom are strangers. Jake is…" Mandy searched her thoughts for an accurate definition of Gellar's feelings towards Jake and vice versa. No one word seemed to describe the relationship Jake had with Gellar. There was not a doubt in Mandy's mind that Jake would do anything for Gellar; give her anything she could ever need.

Mandy stepped away from the counter and began to pace back and forth in her kitchen. She ran a hand through her hair and began to talk animatedly with her hands as she made each pass in front of the kitchen window. "She's... well, I guess... I don't know. Jake plays with her and gets up in the middle of the night with her. She bathes Gellar and dresses her. She cooks for her, for all of us actually. Well, we both cook but... She feeds Gellar. Jake reads her bedtime stories and gives her medicine when she's sick. Jake just... loves Gellar. And Gellar loves Jake. She's... she's..."

"A third parent?" Alan asked, already knowing the answer. He looked on amused as Mandy stopped her pacing dead in her tracks. She turned around and faced her father; "deer in headlights" expression planted firmly on her face. Alan threw his head back and laughed causing Mandy's expression to shift to one of confusion.

"What's with the look of bewilderment, Shortcake? You can't honestly tell me that you've never given that a thought have you? Jake is like a third parent to Gellar. At least, that's what it sounded like to me!"

Mandy had trouble coming up with a reply as she opened her mouth to speak and then promptly closed it repeatedly when no words would come out. Her father was right. She actually had not really considered it before but Jake really was a third parent to Gellar. "Wow, Daddy. You're right. I never really considered it before but... you're right." Mandy sat back down in her chair.

Alan got up from his chair. He looked out the window and into the back yard as he rinsed out his own coffee cup. He waited to see if Mandy would say anything further. When she didn't, he turned to see her strawberry blonde head bowed towards her lap while she twisted her hands together.

Alan walked over and knelt down in front of his daughter. He sat back on his heels and reached out to take her hands in his own. "Amanda, stop that. That's definitely a habit you picked up from your mother. Sweetheart, this is a good thing. A real good thing. Gellar is the luckiest little girl in the whole world to be surrounded by so much love. And Raven... well, Shortcake, that little girl probably knows for the first time in her life what it's like to have two parents." When Mandy's tear-filled eyes looked up, Alan continued. "What the four of you have, Shortcake. Well, it's like you said yesterday. The four of you are a family. It may not be what some would consider traditional, but it's a family. You are just as much a second mother to Raven as Jake is to Gellar. And no one can ever take that from you unless you let `em." Alan lifted his hand gently to caress his daughter's cheek and wiped a falling tear away with his thumb. "You have found yourself a good woman, Amanda. She may not be what your mother and I imagined for the person you share your life with but it's your choice. You hang on to her and don't let anyone, including your mother, convince you of otherwise. Your mother will come around. Don't give up on her yet, Shortcake."

Mandy threw her arms around her father's neck and hugged him tight. His hugs had always made her feel better when she was comforted as a child and even now, as an adult, they didn't let her down.

Alan squeezed his daughter and glanced up towards the kitchen door to see Victoria standing there, tears silently falling down her cheeks. Alan couldn't be sure but he suspected she had heard a good deal of the conversation. He motioned her away from the door with his eyes as he gave Mandy one final squeeze. "Okay, Shortcake. This position is killing my back so I need to stand up. I'm getting old and brittle."

Mandy laughed as she released her father. "You're not old, Daddy. You've just become more distinguished."

Alan stood up and stretched a newly formed kink out of his back. "Distinguished? Shortcake, I think you're confusing going gray with old age. And here I was under the impression you're a teacher."

Mandy groaned at the possible trouble she was in professionally. "I am a teacher. But for how long, is the question." Mandy placed her elbow on the kitchen table and laid her head against the palm of her hand. After a moment, she looked up at her father once again. "Do you really believe everything will work out, Daddy?"

His answer was immediate. "Of course I do."

Mandy released a breath and got up from the table. "Okay then. If it's okay with you, I think I may go lie down for a little bit. I didn't sleep too well last night. Guess I'm not used to..."

"Sleeping alone?" Alan asked playfully as he sat back down at the table and picked up his previously discarded paper to finish the article he had been reading on the area's new light rail.

Mandy shyly smiled and tried, unsuccessfully, to hide her blush. "Yes, I guess so." She started out the kitchen door and stopped. "Daddy? Are you sure you're okay with Jake and I being in a relationship?"

Alan glanced up from his paper. "Like I said, Shortcake. She looks better than some sweaty man!"

Thanks again for reading. Please review while I spend the next hour indulging in my other obsession (Rizzoli & Isles). Then back to completing the next chapter!

Title lyric is "Nocturnal" by Eve 6 from their album, "Horrorscope"