Peyton walked into a dark and still house. Checking on Jenny, she saw the child was sleeping peacefully in her bed with Brewster the stuffed bear. She smiled as she leaned down and kissed her cheek. After watching the little girl for a while, she returned to her own room where the door was ajar. Slipping her shirt over her head and fastening her bra, she reached for the black tank she had been accustomed to sleeping in when the weather was warm.

"Hey", he said stirring when she climbed in their bed.

"I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay. I wasn't really sleeping anyway. I kind of have a lot on my mind."

"Listen, Jake, I feel so horrible. I was totally out of line and out of place and you have every right to be mad at me."

"I'm mad at Nikki, okay? You I'm just, I'm just disappointed in."

"I know you're trying to protect Jenny. I know how much you love her but you can't keep her away from her mother. It's not right, Jake and you know it."

"Peyton, what's your hard on with Nikki all of a sudden? I just don't get it. Where was I when you two became best friends?"

"It's not like that. I'm not on her side and I'm not her friend but I do think she loves her child. And she admits her past mistakes and seems to be sorry for them. I just think she deserves a second chance, that's all."

"She left us, Peyton. Nikki walked away and never looked back. She abandoned her child, her own flesh and blood. Never once did she send money or call or write even to see how we were. And now I'm supposed to pretend like none of that ever happened?"

"Jake, what Nikki did to you is not what she's done to Jenny."

"Yes, it is. She left Jenny, too."

"Then how come you say 'she left us'?"

Jake looked away.

"I'm not gonna let you turn this around on me."

"I don't want to fight with you."

"Then let's not. Let's not deal with Nikki anymore and just go back to the way things were and have been the last couple of years."

"Because we can't. Because she's here and we have to face it."

"What do you think I'm doing, Peyton? Earlier today at school I talked to a legal aid attorney and she said that Jenny's fair game and if it goes to court, that the judge usually decides with the birth mother."

"I don't think it will go that far. Nikki said she doesn't want to take Jenny away. She just wants to be in her life."

"She's lying again."

"What if she's not? You can't keep Jenny from her."

"Oh yes I can. I'm Jenny's father and I can tell her what to do until she's old enough to decide for herself."

"What are you going to do the day Jenny is a teenager and wakes up and wants to know where she came from? When she asks about the woman who gave birth to her? Are you still going to keep her away then?"

"No because by then Jenny will be old enough to make her own choices and she'll see Nikki for who she truly is and she'll end up thanking me for it, trust me."

"But what if she meets Nikki and Nikki truly has changed? No matter how much love you and I give Jenny and what we do for her, nothing can take the place of what is missing."

Jake put his head in his hands. He was mentally and emotionally exhausted. It was a time he knew would come eventually but he had hoped it would come later than sooner. Now it was here and there were decisions to be made. Decisions he had agonized over.

"I just don't understand. Why? Peyton, why are you doing this?"

"You know my dad's girlfriend, Rachel? She's a great person. She makes my dad happy and they get along and when he's in town, they're together and everything is great. And sometimes she even gets to go out on the boat with him. I really like her and I know she cares about me. Rachel has done a lot for me. One day, if it happens, I hope she and Daddy get married. But you know what, Jake? As great as that is, as great as she is, I'd give all that up in a heartbeat for my mother. Mom died when I was nine and I miss her and think about her every day of my life. Sometimes, I look at her pictures or I wear her old clothes or I read passages from her journals…just anything I can to be closer to her or learn more about her. As more time passes, I start to lose memories of her but that doesn't make me love her any less. Regardless, I am still a part of her therefore she is a part of me, too. That's why it's important to me. I want to protect Jenny too but in 20 years I don't want her sitting around wondering what could have been. Or hating us from keeping her from the truth. Protecting her doesn't mean lying to her."

Jake looked deep in Peyton's eyes, fighting back tears.

"I don't want to lose Jenny", he whispered.

"You won't."

Jake sighed. It killed him. It killed him that Peyton was right…about everything. He was afraid of losing Jenny. What if Nikki hadn't changed and was just running one of her old games? But more than that, he was angry. Angry at every time he'd had to work long hours and pay for groceries with food stamps. Angry at all the times he'd had to do it all by himself. Angry at Nikki for walking out on Jenny. At times even angrier at Nikki for walking out on him.

"Look, I still don't trust her and I'm not making any promises. I…I'll talk to her, alright? Maybe she could see Jenny for a couple of hours, supervised, once a week or something."

"Okay. Talk to her. You guys work it out."

"Trust me. The first few weeks will be fine but the minute Nikki starts feeling confined or overwhelmed, she will bail, just like always."

"Maybe so, maybe not."

"And if she does, if she screws up, then that's it, Peyton. I'm serious. There won't be third or fourth chances."

"Fair enough", Peyton said quietly. "You're doing the right thing. You're really stepping up, Jake."

"Am I?" he asked as he lay back down, facing and scooting far away from her. "Because I can't ever remember feeling more off balance."