AN: Wow, two chapters in one evening. I'm actually on a roll. To Jane and Adam, I couldn't picture Joan being an artist like Iris, Adam and her mom, but I wanted to do more of an Adam/Joan interaction. . To Admiral Lily, I love that feeling, too. I get all mushy during those moments during the show. And I love writing about it.

Anyways, let's get on with it, shall we? Please as always R&R. I love it.

Joan looked around Adam's shed, taking in the various pieces that were in various stages of completion. Her eyes fell onto his current work in progress, and her breathe caught in her throat. Out of all of the pieces that she has seen him create, this was her favorite. She wasn't quite sure what the figure was supposed to represent physically, but emotionally she understood. To her, it signified inner beauty, joy, compassion, mystery, and love. She didn't even know she was crying until Adam reached over to capture a tear on his fingertip. He looked down at it then over to her, concern in his eyes.

"Tears, Jane? You don't like it…" He couldn't disguise the disappointment in his voice when he said this, anxious to have her love his art as much as he did. He didn't know why it mattered to have her like it, out of all the people in his life, but it did.

"I don't like it… I love it. It's so beautiful, I guess I got carried away. I'm sorry." She gave a small, awkward laugh as she reached up to brush the other tears that escaped from her cheek. She felt like such a cry baby, but she really couldn't help how she reacted. She laughed again at his happy expression, grasping his hand in hers and giving it an encouraging squeeze. He returned the gesture before dragging her over to the table. He moved his new piece off the table to make room for the new project the two of them were going to work on.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, but I don't know what I'm doing."

"Cha, don't worry, Jane. It's not about technique so much as feelings and thoughts. You just take it all and shape it into something."

"Okay. What do we do first?"

They worked in silence mostly, only broken up by the few instructions on Adam's part.

"I can't believe I did that… I'm really sorry, Adam. Are you mad at me?" Joan looked anxiously at Adam, as he held a bag of ice to his left hand. She bit her lip from apologizing again for the tenth time in that many minutes.

"It's okay, Jane. No harm done- "

"No harm done?! Adam, I could have broken your hand. I'm just glad that I lost grip on the hammer before I could have done more damage than I did. I feel so bad. But I guess it is safe to say that I have no hidden art talent lurking beneath the surface."

"Unchallenged. But I enjoyed working with you…"

Joan gave him a shy smile, blushing a bit, which confused her. Adam making her blush? It couldn't be possible. She reached over and lifted the ice bag up a bit to see how bad it was and to cover the awkwardness she felt from his compliment. Except for a small lump and the beginnings of a bruise, there didn't seem to be any worries of further injury. She bent her head, her hair falling in a veil before her blocking her expression of remorse.

Adam watched her stare down at his injured hand, trying to peer through her silken hair to see her eyes. Out of everything he loved about Jane, her eyes were the best part. They were so expressive, he knew almost everything that Jane was thinking and feeling. She was still an enigma to him, but at least some of the mystery was cleared up when he met her eyes.

He had a feeling he knew what was going through her mind at that point, and he was trying some way to make her feel better about what happened. It really wasn't her fault. His hammer was a little heavier than most, but it was the best thing to shaping the metals he used. She was trying to shape a strip of metal when it slipped out of her hand and accidentally landed on the back of his while it rested on the table top. It didn't hurt as much as she apparently thought it did.

"Jane- "

"Hey, A? Your dad said you were in here?"

Iris' voice interrupted what Adam had attempted to say, making the two teens jump apart as if they were on fire. Joan gave Adam a guilty look, before sliding off the chair. Iris opened the door and stepped in, seeing the two look at each other then over to her. She frowned at their guilty look, wondering what she had interrupted, before her eyes landed on Adam's hand and the ice bag. She gasped, the looks forgotten as she rushed over to her boyfriend.

"Oh my god, A. What happened?"

"Uh… Jane and I were working on her Pageant talent, when we had an accident. It's no big deal, yo. I don't even feel it."

"I uh… should go. It's getting late, and my dad will lock me up for the rest of my life if I'm late again this week. I'll uh, see you guys tomorrow at school." Without waiting for their responses, Joan grabbed her jacket and practically ran out of the shed. Adam and Iris stood watching as she left before breaking the silence between them.

"Iris- "

"A, what was going on?"

"Nothing is going on, Iris… Jane needed to find something to do for her talent for the Pageant, and I thought maybe she could do art… You know, take after her mom or something."

"Then why were you guys looking guilty? Don't tell me that I wasn't imagining it…"

"I don't know what you're talking about… So, why are you here? I thought you had some family thing you had to do."

"I did, but my family got into a big fight as per usual and ended up getting the cops involved. Chalk it up to too much alcohol and not much common sense. Luckily the restaurant was very gracious about the whole ordeal."

"I'm sorry to hear that, yo…"

"I just wanted to come over here and get cheered up. Seeing you does that to me." Iris stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She leaned up on tip-toe to rub her lips against his. After a few minutes, Adam slid his arms awkwardly around Iris' waist before returning her kiss. As he kissed her, his mind was miles away… At the Girardi house and centered on one particular Girardi. What would have happened if Iris hadn't have shown up?

"Where were you, young lady?"

Joan gasped, pressing her hand to her chest, feeling her heart trying to escape her chest. She glanced over at her dad, nibbling on her bottom lip nervously. It was only 11pm, which wasn't too late in her opinion. But in her parents' eyes it might as well have been two in the morning. It was a school night after all, and she had spent most of the weekend and the past week out late, so it was only fair to demand she actually come in early once in awhile.

"I was over at Adam's attempting some art…. I was going to come home early, but then I accidentally dropped a hammer on Adam's hand, and I had to make sure that nothing was broken before I left. I'm really sorry, dad…"

"Joan, I understand that you want to hang out with your friends and have a good time. But you're only sixteen, and you have school… Which I might remind you, that you aren't doing all that great in. I would think you would apply yourself to the classes you are failing, instead of looking for a good time. I heard about your AP Chem test… and I want you to go to that make up lab right after school tomorrow. That is more important than this Pageant and going off to do art. If you don't start pulling in better grades, there will be no more extracurricular activities nor the free time with your friends. I hate to be stern with you, Joan, but you don't leave me much options."

Joan stood before him, her shoulders drooped in shame. She really did try to get good grades in her classes, but it was so hard to concentrate when she had so much going on. Everyone had their demands, but what about hers? It seemed hers went overlooked. God demanded her to do all these missions, and wouldn't help her out in understanding things better. Her parents demanded obedience, applying herself more to school, and being more responsible… Her friends in their own right demanded her attention.

She sighed, raising her tear-filled eyes to meet Will's stern ones. When he saw his baby girl in tears, he almost lost the ability to keep the look on his face. He didn't like to get on her case, because he knew she tried, but he didn't want to see anything happen to her. No matter how old she got, she would always be his baby and he had to protect her. Giving in to the sigh, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Joan and gave her a strong hug. He closed his eyes as he felt her embrace him back, feeling as if all was right in the world again.

"I'm sorry, daddy…"

"I know, Joan. I am too, for having to say these things. I just don't want anything to happen. Now off to bed with you. Good night, Joan."

"Night, dad."

Joan pulled back from his arms and headed upstairs to bed, knowing what she was going to do tomorrow after school. She just hoped God would forgive her.