The assignment was simple…draw something that makes you smile. The kids seemed to be excelling in the classroom and it was much easier teaching the younger students. Her freshman class had gotten a lot better and things were much easier but Peyton couldn't help but feel a slight hint of favoritism towards the younger group.

"Very nice, Sabrina", she smiled at the picture of the beach. "Excellent detail on the waves."

"Thanks", the child smiled.

"And this is…uh, very interesting, Scott. It's a nice…"

"It's my dog", the little boy grinned.

"Oh. Well, it's a very nice dog. Good job."

Scott's dog looked like a badly deformed horse from out of space. The poor kid couldn't draw a straight line to save his life but he had kept of his end of the bargain by following the four rules of having fun, showing respect, listening, and putting forth an effort. For that, she would stick to her end as well and reward the child with praise, positivity and of course an "A".

"And what do we have here?" she leaned in over a student named Terrell.

Peyton knew she wasn't supposed to have favorites but she couldn't help it. Terrell was secretly her pet. He was small for his age but made up for that with the size of his mouth. He was her class clown and class flirt. He was also a pretty talented artist for an 11 year old. The pretty blonde woman in his picture looked oddly familiar.

"This is the new lady I have my eye on", he announced proudly.

"Really?"

"That's right. She's gonna be my new Shorty soon but we have to keep it on the down low…for now", he winked.

Peyton just grinned and shook her head. Sometimes the kids really cracked her up.

"Okay guys, we only have a few minutes before the bell. Let's get cleaned up."

The kids began putting their supplies away as Peyton stacked some papers in the file behind her desk. She didn't even hear the door to her classroom burst open. The kids looked skeptically at the out of breath, red faced, and rain drenched man wearing running pants and sneakers.

"And who are you?" one little girl named Arianna put her hands on her hips. "Dr. Adams doesn't like strangers roaming around the school and I don't see a visitor's pass."

"I'm looking for Mrs. Jagielski."

"Who?"

Jake rolled his eyes, forgetting that his wife allowed her pupils to call her by her first name.

"Peyton."

Little Terrell marched up front and center. He barely came to Jake's waist but that didn't stop him from eyeing the man up and down.

"What's your business with Peyton?" he demanded.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, dog. I just want to know where we stand, you know, man to man. Because just to let you know, homey, I saw her first and I don't mind throwing hands for my love."

Jake laughed out loud.

"You must be my rival Terrell", he stuck his hand out. "I've heard a lot about you, little man. I'm Jake."

"Who?"

"Better known as Mr. Jagielski."

"Oh", Terrell said, backing off. "But she's still fine."

"Jake, what are you doing here?" Peyton asked, emerging from the file closet.

"We have to talk", he blurted out.

Just then the bell rang.

"Okay guys. Have a good day. We'll pick up where we left off on tomorrow. See you then."

The class said their good byes as they began filing out. Terrell was last to leave as he put on an oversized stocking cap in the 90 + degree Miami weather. Grabbing the "T" pendant fixed on his gold chain, he gave Jake one last nod.

"I'm watching you, dude", he warned before leaving.

Peyton put her hands on her hips and laughed.

"What was that all about?"

"One of your admirers was keeping me in check", he chuckled.

"I see you met Terrell. Hope he went easy on you."

"He's harmless."

"He's a sweetie."

"Okay, just don't promise not to go all Mary Kay Letourneau on me."

Peyton laughed.

"I think I can guarantee that. Now what's up? What brings you by?"

"Maybe you should have a seat."

Peyton frowned.

"I'll stand."

"Okay, I'll sit", he took a deep breath. "Pey, you are never going to believe what I am about to tell you."

"Try me", she folded her arms nervously.

"I saw Nikki today."

"Nikki…what? Jake! Where?"

"She was waiting for me outside the arena when I got off work."

"How'd she find you?" she asked carefully.

"I don't know."

"Well, what did she want this time?"

"Coffee."

"Coffee? With you?"

"Yeah."

"And…"

"So I went and…"

"Excuse me?"

"Peyton, relax. She wanted to talk about Jenny."

"Is Jenny okay?" Peyton's voice softened.

"Yes. She's fine."

"What all did Nikki say?"

"She apologized for taking Jenny and for all the crap she's pulled over the years."

Peyton rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

"You never can trust Nikki but maybe she is sorry."

"Tell me you didn't fall for that. And even if you did, it will take a lot more than words to fix what she's done. Her ass better start belly crawling from here to China."

"Would Kansas City be a goof enough start?"

"What?"

"She's going there next week. She'll be there for a while and either she can't or doesn't want to take Jenny."

"Figures."

"You know what that means? Pey, she's giving her back."

"What?"

Jake could barely contain his excitement.

"She asked me to take Jenny back. She's going to drop her off next week! Isn't that great?"

Peyton could barely move.

"Um, yeah", she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Um…great."

"You don't sound excited", he observed softly.

"I am."

"Peyton, I know you", he took her hand. "We've been doing this a lot of years. I hate when you try to hide your emotions from me. I see right through it. Now talk to me. Tell me how you're feeling. Don't you want to see Jenny again?"

"Of course I do", she said honestly. "I love Jenny, you know that."

"Then what's the problem?"

"There are two. First of all, what if this is another one of Nikki's tricks? Look at her track record, Jake. Obviously she can't be trusted."

"I know."

"Well, I don't want to get my hopes up and then at the last minute that bitch pulls the rug from underneath us once again."

"I know. Pey, I thought about that. And I'm scared too but this is my daughter. And for some crazy reason, I believe Nikki this time. We can't think about the bad stuff or the 'what ifs'. This is what I've been hoping and praying about for so many years now."

"Jake, the other thing is, she isn't little Jenny anymore. She isn't a baby. She's almost 12 now. She's almost a teen. And we haven't seen her in so long. Things are going to be…well, different."

"I know", he agreed in a quiet voice.

"I'm scared."

"I am too but I'm also deliriously happy."

She could see it written all over his face and finally Peyton could no longer contain herself as well. Second to her husband, she was the one person who had loved and missed Jenny the most in the world.

"So am I", she hugged with a wide smile, a big hug and her own tears of joy.

Jake held her close.

"Our baby is coming home, Peyton", he whispered over and over again. "Jenny's coming home."