The days that followed their brief conversation via text message moved by quickly and uneventfully for the two women. Jade's time was spent mostly at Blackhawk studios and working closely with Jenna Alarie as they approved the final touches of the preproduction phase and began to put the word out through Hollywood that auditions would be held in the weeks to come. Through the existing connections Blackhawk had, Jade was able to have her script sent out to a large number of A-list actors and actresses. The thought of having someone so high up in the entertainment industry work for her on her first feature film astounded her but also fueled her ambitious attitude to make something truly stupefying. Most days out of the week, Jade would be one of the first ones on the lot and one of the very last to leave as well. Once or twice the security guards had to come and encourage her to go home and rest so that they could lock up everything and go home for the evening.

Back in her isolated homestead, Tori spent most of her days on the property with her animals. She had no reason to leave since she had stocked up on groceries at the start of the week so she spent her time getting a jump start on her summer coursework. Most of it was busywork anyway which consisted of returning and sending emails, checking assignments turned in by her students and making sure her exams were open at the correct time. The work itself took her very little time, at most, a couple of hours since it was all online for the summer so she was able to wrap up her tasks before lunch. Her afternoons were spent lounging about and playing with her pack of dogs or reading the various books she had accumulated. As Friday morning came about, Tori's nerves were at an all-time high as she awaited Jade's arrival but with so much free time and no distractions, she found herself dipping into her herbal stash to find some comfort. Once she did, the day drifted by quickly as she listened to music on the back porch on her hammock while the dogs all rested and relaxed with her. Tori had always found that listening to music while high made it far more impactful and intensified the songs. Every note, every melody seemed to come alive and envelope her in their warmth as they took her to a different place altogether. Some of the best highs of her life had been when she listened to albums of older artists and bands but in exchange for relieving her crippling panic attacks and anxieties, Tori often ended up falling asleep. Today was no different as she set the joint in the ashtray next to the hammock and drifted in the breeze on the back porch while her laptop played some music from one of her numerous playlists. There she remained with her cluster of dogs for the rest of the day until Jade finally arrived at her home.

Jade rushed from the studio after changing her clothes in one of the restrooms of the office building into some casual workout attire and pulled out her phone and plugged in the address Tori had given her in their previous conversation. "Wait…that can't be right," Jade mumbled to herself as she pulled up the directions.

The course that the map was recommending would take her outside of the city and out into the middle of nowhere, which just had to be a mistake in Jade's mind. She sat in her car and pulled up the short text exchange she had with Tori and carefully read over the address again and double-checked, then triple-checked that she had typed it correctly. After getting the same result each time, Jade started her car and pulled out of the parking lot, still confused and uncertain if she was going to the right place. Part of her surmised that this may be some sort of revenge for her stunt back in high school where she drove Tori through the desert as a joke. As the security guard opened the gate for Jade to pass, she set the phone on its stand and selected Tori's number and called it, but instead of hearing the phone ring, the call went straight to voicemail as Jade heard the automated voice instruct her to leave a message.

"Vega? Hey, it's me," Jade said after the phone beeped, informing her to start leaving a message. "I just got off of work, it's a little earlier than I thought it would be so I'm heading over now if that's okay. If it's not, just give me a callback. Also, this had better not be some payback for that stunt I pulled with the shovel, not cool Vega. Call me back if you get a second."

She reached over and ended the call and followed the directions that were displayed on the screen as she got on the highway and rode for a long time until exiting onto some obscure street that went directly out of the city limits. The drive itself didn't take too long once thankfully, but as Jade drove further and further into the wilderness, her mind wandered as to how Tori ended up living out here instead of some apartment in the city. The afternoon breeze felt soothing on her skin as she pulled onto a series of dirt roads that went uphill and brought her closer to her destination. After nearly getting lost once or twice on the dirt roads, Jade finally managed to find the lone path that led to the Vega cabin.

As she pulled onto the small dirt driveway, very slowly, she took in every detail of Tori's home. It was a chink styled cabin with two stories nestled on the side of a steep decline. As she drove closer she could see there was a back porch supported by tall structural beams and appeared to have quite the view of the forest behind the homestead. There appeared to be no garage as Jade spotted Tori's beat-up van parked in front of the house. Jade was also able to notice that there were worn grooves in the grass, lined up next to Tori's van that stretched the entire length of her front porch, indicating to the former goth that her friends came here quite often. She parked her car next to Tori's and got out after she grabbed her phone and keys and slowly approached the front porch as she took in every detail of the cabin. As she walked up a couple of steps to the front porch and passed the swing that was in front of a large window, she saw that there were two doors, a heavy wood door, and a screen door. Just like when they were in school, the Vega house was not locked as Jade grabbed the handle to the screen door and walked inside to a living room. When she entered, she immediately picked up the smell of wet fur and weed which confused her…but only for a moment as she heard the sounds of barking and heavy paws charging her direction.

She glanced towards one of the archways and from that direction came two massive dogs barreling towards her with a menacing glare in their eyes as they bore their fangs. One was a massive German Sheperd with a series of scars along its side, all the way up to its neck which made it appear badass to Jade…but at the moment it was far more intimidating as the dog charged her. The other one was a truly massive Great Dane that looked like it was about even with her waist! Both of them charged and backed her into a corner at the front door, barking and growling at her as she looked between the two of them and held her hands up, showing she meant no harm as she tried to think of a way out of the situation.

"Axel! Duke! ¡Los dos! ¡Aléjaos! Es amiga!" Tori shouted as she rushed into view. Her hair was slightly unruly and tied back in a loose ponytail and she wore a worn-out t-shirt with a faded logo underneath an oversized hoodie and a pair of baggy running pants. As Jade looked her up and down, she noticed that from behind Tori, another large dog came around the corner followed by three smaller ones. Before she could try to recall what breeds they were, her attention was brought back to Tori as she sternly looked at the two guard dogs and crossed her arms when they refused to back off, their barking stopped but they growled a little as they looked back towards Jade which made Tori call out sternly, "¡Eh! ¿Qué he dicho? Ven aquí. Ahora."

Jade was surprised to see Tori act so stern and commanding with these beasts, it reminded her of their days in school when they argued but what astounded her, even more, was that the two of them listened. Axel and Duke both backed away and approached Tori, their heads slightly lowered in shame as Tori knelt and ran her hands along their sides and scratched their chins as she said, "Thank you for guarding the house, you did a good job."

She gave them each a kiss on the head and stood before snapping her fingers and told all of the dogs to stay where they were as she stepped in front of them. Her eyes met Jade's as she gave a timid smile and said, "I'm sorry. I was going to warn you not to come in but I kind of fell asleep."

"It's fine, they didn't hurt me," Jade said as she took a couple of steps closer to Tori, slightly closing the gap but giving her enough space to be comfortable in her presence. "I wasn't expecting it, that's for sure. You never seemed like a dog person."

She nervously scratched the back of her neck as she placed one of her hands in the hoodie pocket and said, "Yeah…it started with just the one but I ended up taking in another, and well…I just went from there. They needed a home; I needed some company and I guess the rest is history."

There was a mournful tone in her voice as Tori looked over her dogs but she smiled sweetly as she knelt and offered them a warm, motherly smile and looked back to Jade and said, "Would you like to officially meet them? I promise, they're total sweethearts, they just need to be introduced to you. The rest of the gang loves them!"

"Yeah, I'd love to," Jade said as she mimicked Tori's stance and got low to the ground as Tori smiled and motioned for a very old Basset Hound to approach. The rest of the pack stayed in their spots as Lola came forward, which amazed Jade as she thought, "How the hell did Tori manage to train them so well? And they understand her Spanish too?! She's incredible!"

Tori giggled as Lola licked her hand as she scratched behind her ears and said, "This old girl is Lola, she's one of the best cuddle buddies you could ask for and she is absolutely in love with Beck."

Jade extended her hand and watched as Lola's tired eyes looked her over and approached and licked her hand after taking a moment to sniff her. Tori smiled softly and motioned for the next one and repeated the process with each dog and shared some details about them with Jade. After Lola came Kona who according to Tori was the wildcard of the bunch since she could be quiet and cuddly one moment then race about the house in the next moment and she seemed to favor both Andre and Beck the most. Zippy was next and Jade already could tell who favored and had the strongest bond with this dog as he raced around her as soon as Tori called his name. He didn't even take the time to warm up to her, he just dashed around her and happily barked and licked her face a couple of times as he jumped into her lap which made Jade laugh a little. After calming him down and getting him to go play with a toy, Tori called Nyx over, the newest member of the family and the most curious out of all of them. Jade watched her as the Border Collie circled her multiple times, sniffing every inch of her and looked at her with hypnotic dark eyes that seemed to take in her every detail. She eventually seemed satisfied with her investigation and licked Jade before walking over to the couch and curling up on one of the cushions.

"Axel, come here boy," Tori said as she motioned for the scarred animal to approach. Jade wasn't exactly afraid of him but he had an intimidating aura enveloping him as he glared towards Jade and slowly circled her much as Nyx did, but this search was thorough and rehearsed while Nyx's was out of pure curiosity. What shocked her the most, was when he came in front of her again and changed his attitude completely! Instead of acting like a fierce guard dog, he instead started to act like an overexcited puppy as he leaped forward, his paws resting on Jade's shoulders as he repeatedly licked Jade's face which made Tori laugh as Jade fell back onto the floor. "Haha! Sorry, Jade! I should have warned you, Axel sometimes thinks he's still a puppy and doesn't know his strength."

Tori pulled Axel off of her and rubbed his sides as Jade sat up and wiped the slobber off of her face and chuckled a little and said, "That would have been nice! Ugh, he slobbered all over me Vega!"

"Yeah," Tori said as she giggled. "Oh you're just mommy's big goofball, aren't you?"

Axel happily barked as he licked Tori's cheek and ran around the pair before rolling over onto his back, Tori laughed as she rubbed his belly and said, "You see Jade? He's just a big baby who wants some attention. The funniest thing about him is that he adores Robbie! He always hops in his lap as soon as he sees him."

Jade laughed and reached forward and rubbed Axel's belly a little as well and said, "I can see that. Where did you get him?"

"He's from the LAPD. He got badly hurt and they retired him because they didn't think he'd make it…" her lips curled into a soft smile as she motioned for him to go lay down as she said, "I adopted him so his final days would be…more comfortable but he surprised everyone and pulled through. He's so strong."

Jade watched as Tori smiled like a proud parent towards Axel and couldn't help but say, "He's not the only strong one."

Tori quickly looked towards Jade, her cheeks turning a slight red shade as she quickly nodded and tried to brush past the intimate moment Jade was playing at and motioned for the last one with an expression Jade couldn't quite place. The largest of the pack came forward with no hesitation and stopped at Tori's side, interposing himself between the two of them as Jade knelt back down and offered her hand. She glanced up at Tori and saw that she seemed genuinely nervous about this one compared to all the others as she crossed an arm across her waist and held her free hand towards her mouth and nibbled on her nail. Her eyes darted between Jade and Duke as the Great Dane made no move towards the woman in front of him, instead he let her do all the work. Jade stretched her arm out further and offered her hand for him to sniff and waited for him to make a move. He stoically sat still, practically glued to Tori's hip until he finally yielded and inspected Jade and sniffed her hand a couple of times, looked up at Tori and then back at Jade and softly licked her hand.

When he did, Tori released a breath that she didn't know she had been holding as her oldest companion gave his silent approval. She smiled brightly as she patted his head and scratched behind his ears and said, "Well…that's everyone. What do you think?"

Jade stood up, brushed her hands off on her leggings, and said, "They're all so sweet, I can tell they really care about you. They're so lucky to have a mom like you."

"No," Tori said as she softly smiled and patted Duke's side, "I'm the lucky one."

She looked over each one of them for a moment before quickly shaking her head and said, "Sorry, sorry! Anyway, now that that's all done…did you want to take that hike?"

Jade nodded and walked towards the front door and said, "Are they all coming?"

"Is that a problem?" Tori asked curiously.

"No, no," Jade said as she held the door for Tori and her pack, "Just checking."

Each one of the well-trained animals followed Tori outside and started to roam about the yard at their own pace as Tori fixed her hair and tied the laces on her shoes, giving Jade a moment of contemplation. This version of Tori was far closer to the one she had known and fallen for all those years ago. Here at her home, she didn't stutter or hesitate, she didn't close herself off…at least not as much as she did when she went out. But Jade could sense Tori's unease and she caught her stealing glances towards the pale-skinned woman several times. "This a big step for her, she's taking a chance letting me be here…I can't mess this up," Jade thought to herself as she followed Tori off the porch and towards a small path just off to the side of her yard and down the hill into the dense treeline of the surrounding woods.

"Thanks, again for coming over…it means a lot," Tori said as she zipped up her hoodie and placed her hands in her pockets as the dogs all followed and explored the path they've trekked so many times before.

"No," Jade said, "Thank you for inviting me. I know this must have been hard for you to do."

She nodded and offered Jade a soft smile as they walked forward along the trail, falling into a comfortable silence as they watched Tori's furry children interact with each other and the world around them. Jade glanced over and her heart skipped a beat as she watched Tori smile genuinely for the first time in what felt like forever for the former goth. On and on they journeyed through the woods, the destination set in Tori's mind as they ventured for one of her favorite spots in the vast forest. Here, she hoped, they may be able to talk and open up about everything.

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone! Thank you again for checking out my story and for joining me on this little journey! Reviews are always appreciated and let me know how you guys are enjoying the story so far, plus it's just fun to see your thoughts and helps motivate me when I get in a bit of a slump.

Anyway, here we are at the hike! The first draft of this chapter I erased immediately and I went back and realized that I'd skipped over Jade meeting Tori's new little family. I started to play around with the idea and went with it since they're so crucial to Tori's emotional support system and thought it would be a cute interaction for them all. I'm currently working on the next couple of chapters, not sure when I'll post them but I'll get them out when I feel satisfied with them.

Have a good day and make sure to review if you'd like!

¡Los dos! ¡Aléjaos! Es amiga! = Both of you! Stand down! She's a friend!

¡Eh! ¿Qué he dicho? Ven aquí. Ahora. = Hey! What did I say? Come here. Now.

Songs Used for Inspiration:

1. ?

2. "She Got the Best of Me" by Luke Combs

3. "Miss Missing You" by Fall Out Boy

4. ?