Disclaimer: Much as I wish Rob was mine, he was created by the wonderful Meg Cabot, and so were the rest of these characters.

Chapter One

I gave it another chance. I figured, since others did it and were happy about it, that maybe it wasn't that bad. Did I make the right choice? I'm still not sure.

When Dr. Krantz invited me in his little "group", I told him I'd think about it. I decided to give it a try. They were overjoyed to have me. Well, sort of.

The thing was, when I was with them, I felt kind of energized. I had a purpose, and I didn't have to run away anymore. Not from the press, not from the FBI. And not from my own powers.

It was a total relief, that's what it was.

There were some major changes in my life. For one, Rob was now known to my parents, and even though they aren't necessarily happy about it, it was great knowing that I could go on a date with him (if he ever asked me) and he could come to the door, and when he dropped me off, it wouldn't have to be on the next street corner.

A few hours each week I would go to the Blue Building. That's what they called it. It was this oldish looking building, you know, the kind where the paint was kind of chipping off and sort of outdated. It was painted this green color. It beats me why they call it the Blue Building, when it's green.

When I called Dr. Krantz to tell him I would give it a try, he told me how much I wouldn't regret it, and how much I would like it. He gave me the address to the building, and told me when we met, which was on the Thursday of every week. He said we weren't having it in the next week, though, on account of it being so close to a national holiday. It was the day before Christmas Eve. And I, for one, had plans. Which included Rob.

My parents said that it would be good to get to know Rob better. I figured they wouldn't stop annoying the heck out of me until I complied. Everyone who knows me knows that I am not one to back down. I'm extremely stubborn. But in this case, I wanted to be on their good side. Because I wanted Rob to ask them something.

And don't get your panties in a wad, he didn't want to ask for my hand in marriage or anything. But, I thought, it might as well be that. Because my parents were not exactly the type to let their daughter go to his uncle's wedding with her motorcycle-owning-gritt-boyfriend. Hott boyfriend.

But if they knew how much Rob was a good little boy, they would totally change their minds. For one, he won't barely even kiss me. Only because I'm two measly years younger than him. Two years! And yet he insists he's robbing the cradle with me! The other reason is because whenever I'm in life-threatening situations, and I go planning on blowing things up, or going after psychos, he always tries to convince me not to. It doesn't work, of course, but it's as close as anybody has gotten.

So about a week before Christmas (on Friday), my parents were making dinner, I was wearing a skirt, and the doorbell rang at 6:30 sharp. I opened the door to see Rob looking… well, you know. He had showered right before he came, and he was wearing a black sweater, and loose-ish jeans.

He stood there looking shy, and I looked shy, and we were both standing there not saying anything, when Douglas swings open the door and says, "Come on in."

Of course I have to give him an annoyed look, even though I was totally glad he had intervened when he had.

So, we went in and sat on the couch. My dad was in the kitchen making dinner, and so that left me, my mom, Rob, and Douglas to sit in awkward silence in the family room. Which we did.

My mom looked him over. You could tell she was really trying as she said, "So. How's your mother?"

And you could tell Rob was trying, too. " She's good."

We sat there for a while. Douglas made a comment about the excellent weather (one point I would be sure to bring up when I begged by parents to let me go with Rob to his uncle's wedding), and then I guess he figured he had done his duty for the night, because after that, he shut his mouth.

This is going well, I thought as I inwardly rolled my eyes.

My mom looked determined. And that wasn't a good thing. She took a breath and opened her mouth to say something, and I intervened. "I'm going to go to the kitchen and see if dad needs any help." I said, quickly. "Rob, you want to help?"

He got up immediately. "Good idea."

I sauntered into the kitchen, Rob trailing behind me.

I leaned over the counter and looked at my dad, who was looking into the oven to see if the lasagna was done. Wonderful smells wafted out. "Hey, do you need any help?"

He looked up.

Now, I had started to get ready for this dinner hours before. I had taken a long, hot shower, and gotten a dress on and made an effort. I had helped my dad set the table, and I hovered around the kitchen until he yelled that he had everything under control, and that if I wanted to help, I could start by getting out of his way.

Now, though, when he looked up and saw my tense face, I think he realized that some of us were not ready for civilized conversation. "Well, I think this food is almost done." He looked past me to Rob. "But if you two want to, you can take it out in about three minutes, and then we'll have dinner."

I gave him an adoring look as I said, "Okay. Why don't you go out to the family room and relax?"

He took his apron off and left, nodding to us as he passed Rob and I.

We watched as the door shut.

I immediately turned to Rob. Before I could say anything, though, he put his arm around me and said, "Hey, don't worry. I'll smooth it over." He rubbed my arm.

"Well, if you really think you could…" I trailed off, thinking of the possibilities. I could see my mother starting in on him. I shook me head.

So we chatted for a few minutes, until the timer went off. Rob grabbed a towel and opened the oven and took out the pan. "Don't worry." He repeated.

When dinner began, things were more than awkward. I think everyone was afraid to chew too loudly.

Rob shocked me, though, when he asked Douglas something about some comic. Apparently Doug was shocked too, because his jaw dropped, and we were all awarded with a look at the food in his mouth.

After that, things went better. My parents asked Rob questions, and I think he did well at answering them.

As we were eating dessert, Rob looked over at me. I knew he was going to ask them.

So he did. He explained everything to them, saying I would totally be safe, and all that. The church the wedding was going to be was only about four hours away. I would be back in time for Christmas.

My parents listened; I'll give them that.

When Rob was through, my dad looked at my mom. He looked then over at me. "Would you like to go, Jess?"

"Yeah, that would be okay." I said, shrugging my shoulders a little.

SCORE!!