Terran coloured like there would be no more colouring pages left on Earth after this night while his parents spoke with the teens. They had arrived to dinner, sat at the table, and everyone started talking. Terran wasn't interesting in grown up talk. Sometimes he would repeat a few of the words he heard, or shout no when one of the boys tried to help him colour his picture, but he kept to himself.

James felt a little awkward at the table as well. He was fine with teenagers. When he had been a teacher, he had worked in a high school. Jake and Troy reminded him a lot of the boys he used to coach, and he had seen plenty of kids like Noah back in Panorama, and Gia and Emma reminded him a lot of the girls. They were also close enough in age to Emily that he knew how to speak with them.

However, Serena had told him about Gia, and he had read in the papers what had happened to her. Now, he was expected to talk to her and he wasn't sure what about. He kept looking to her for something that would spark a conversation or give him an idea of what to say, but she was quiet for most of the dinner. When she would speak up, it would mostly be a side conversation with Emma.

Then, Serena did what James was worried she would do. She held out Terran for him to take.

"He's getting sleepy. Mind taking him upstairs. Gia, why don't you tag along?"

She wasn't subtle at all, but everyone knew the purpose of the dinner. James couldn't refuse to put his son to bed. Gia did seem slightly reluctant to head upstairs alone with him.

"You don't have to tell him anything you don't want to," Emma reminded Gia. She nodded her head and slowly backed away from the table. Serena handed James her room key and they were off.

Jake nervously looked to Serena as they left, "This better be a solid plan."

"James is a great guy," Serena said, "I think he'll find something to say that'll help Gia with her confidence."

"So, you told him?" Emma seemed slightly angered, and rightfully so. Gia's situation was a sensitive one, and the last thing she needed was the people she trusted blabbing about it to everyone they knew. Serena took Emma's hand and gave her a comforting smile.

"I trust James. He's not going to repeat anything personal to anyone. And I trust this is going to work."

"We need to take a few risks," Troy reminded Emma, "We won't get anywhere if we keep playing it safe. You said you trusted Serena, so you'll need to trust her methods."

"He won't hurt her," Serena promised.

-Megaforce-

In the elevator, Gia stood as far away from James as she could. She didn't know him; she didn't want to be too close to him. Her nerves started to play up.

James cast a glance her way and smiled, "I wouldn't be wearing my wife's shirt if I didn't want to help you. Serena said we could talk."

Gia nodded her head nervously, "She… she said you were the guy she dated after her douchebag boyfriend…"

"I meet Serena when she was pregnant with Terran," James said. "She started working at the school to earn some money for this monkey and I got a good feeling from her. I'll admit, we had a few rocky times. She's not the easiest person to get along with sometimes, but she's always been worth all the drama."

"She's been great," Gia whispered. "Kind of pushy, but, you know."

James nodded his head, "What happened to you really sucks, Gia. No one should ever be treated that way. Not once and definitely not twice."

"Three… three times. Two guys at school got me drunk at a party and… yeah."

James' heart broke. He didn't know Gia very well, but he didn't like what he was hearing. He couldn't believe any guy would even think to treat any girl that way.

Gia looked up at him, "Serena… she said you proposed to her in the wheelchair."

James nodded his head as the elevator doors opened and they stepped out. They stood in the hallway to talk, "It's like I said, things between me and Serena weren't always easy. Her last boyfriend, Terran's biological father, had been a real asshole, and his wife was even worst."

"He was cheating?"

"It was complicated," James said, "And Serena's past, and her life at the time really made things a lot harder for us. She just had so much baggage, we really shouldn't have worked."

"She was pregnant when you started dating… so why did you start dating?"

"I knew there was no dad in the picture and there was just… something about her that spoke to me. Panorama High was a really troubled school before she got there, and she made it her mission, on top of everything else, to make the school a better place. In spite of everything, she had the most amazing heart I've ever seen. I didn't mind the baggage or the scars because I knew that beneath all that, she was really someone incredible."

James set Terran down on the floor and reached out to touch Gia's shoulders, "I'm not going to pretend to know how you feel, Gia, but what those guys did to you, how they treated you, that says nothing about the kind of person you are."

Gia shrugged her shoulders, "I fell for it. I let them get the best of me. Who's going to like me now that I'm… used? There, tell your wife, another word of the day. I feel used."

"One day, you're going to meet a boy who's not going to care about that," James shook his head. "You're going to meet a guy who, no matter how many times you push him away or tell him he deserves better, he's never going to leave. When I proposed to Serena, she was in the wheelchair and she turned me down. She didn't want me to have to put up with her. She didn't want my pity. She didn't want me to have to settle for her when she felt so pathetic."

Gia let a few tears slip down her cheeks. James pulled her into his arms.

"You're going to meet a guy one day who makes you feel good and safe. He'll make you laugh when you need to laugh, and he'll hold you when you cry. He'll always be there when you need him, and when you push him away, he'll know it's because you need him more than ever. There is a guy like that out there for you, Gia, I swear."

"How do you know?"

"Because I love Serena," James chuckled, "And she's probably the hardest person to love on some days."

"Most days," Gia chuckled, "She's really pushy."

"She's different, but I love her. We've gotten past the hard times. I think, talking to you, is the most Serena's thought about her boyfriend in the last year. He's a distant memory for her now. He can't hurt her. Just like that scumbag of an ass can't hurt you anymore."

Gia smiled, and then in the corner of her eye she saw Terran standing across from her in the hall. He was looking up at her and the big, joyful smile he wore on his face all through dinner had been replaced with a look that seemed very upset. As Serena pulled away from James, Terran ran over to her and hugged her legs. James chuckled.

"He's a ladies' man," he explained, "He'll do his best to make the women in his life feel better, and he's very protective."

"He doesn't know me," Gia looked down at the little boy who held her legs and was telling her it 'kay.

"He doesn't like when people cry," James said. "You have to pick him up. I doubt you like seeing kids cry."

Gia reached down. She had very little experience with kids, and couldn't remember if she had ever held one before. Slowly, she lifted Terran into her arms. He clung on to her tightly.

"It 'kay," he repeated to her and somewhat rubbed the back of her neck.

James smiled, "There, one little man who doesn't care about your scars."

"He can't see them," Gia muttered.

"Neither will the one," James took the room key from his pocket, "Want to help me put the little monster to bed? If you're lucky, Terran might read you a bedtime story."

Gia nodded her head. She kept Terran in her arms as she and James walked to Serena's hotel room. He opened the door.

"We start with bath time and then story time," James took Terran from Gia's arms, "I'll get him ready for the bath, can you go through the diaper bag and pull out his bath toys?"