Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. Keep them coming. Thank you karaokediva for reviewing every chapter in one whole night and pixie for the great single review and to every other reviewer as well as the lurkers. (P.S. I'm watching you lurkers on my "stats" page, lol) Also to Beth who REFUSES to review on paper chapter by chapter but nevertheless drops in my office with her comic ridden feedback so I guess that will do for now...lol! You guys rock.

The idea had come to Peyton out of nowhere. It had been after a particularly long day at school that commenced with the blonde teacher eating a silent and tense lasagna dinner with her stepdaughter. Jenny had picked at her meal until the cuisine had turned cold and finally the annoying scrape of her fork against the plate had prompted Peyton to give the child what she wanted…and that was to be excused to retreat to the sanctity of the private hole called a bedroom.

Peyton sighed as she struggled to remember the good old days. She thought about the first time she had ever babysat Jenny. A nervous Jake had gone off to a cousin's wedding more than an hour away and the curly haired one found herself alone in the Jegielski home with a screaming infant. On the verge of panic and giving up, Peyton had the bright idea of letting the little girl play with her keys. She hadn't been around kids much but they all seemed to enjoy kids and Jenny Jagielski turned out to be no exception. And that's where Jake had found them hours later, Peyton bent over the crib smiling at the content child.

Jenny had been a legitimate part of her life before Jake was. She often took care of the baby at her home, his home and sometimes even basketball practice. Subconsciously she jumped to join the ready made family that filled the empty void in her own home and heart. From then on the three of them had been a little unit. Peyton fell in love with both of them. As far as she was concerned, biology didn't make a family. In her heart, Jenny was her daughter and when Nikki had cruelly snatched her away, once again she had been filled with indescribable pain and a tremendous sense of loss.

In good days and bad, not one had gone by that she didn't miss or think of Jenny. Where was she? How was she? Was she warm enough? Did she have enough food to eat? Was she happy? And did she know they would never stop looking for her?

Now the only thing that remained were those beautiful hazel eyes. When Peyton looked into them, it was a sweet and instant reminder of baby Jenny. Then reality would quickly rear its ugly head. And when she least expected it, the angelic looking child with the long blonde hair would give her an icy glare or make a hurtful comment, a cold reminder that so much had changed.

Peyton still loved Jenny. She really did. She always had and always would. But it was harder and harder by the day to like her. Even taking into consideration her dyslexia, obvious emotional problems, and assumed horrible life with Nikki, it was becoming more and more difficult to bear. It was as of Jenny hated her and didn't mind showing it. And nothing she did, being nice, reaching out, being a friend, being a disciplinarian, seemed to help. If anything, things were worse and it was beginning to take an ominous toll on the Jagielski marriage.

And Jake was a whole other story. His main focus, as it should have been, was his daughter. But Peyton couldn't help but feel he was going about it the wrong way. He was too soft on her. His guilt from not being there was eating him alive after so many years and he was determined to make it up to Jenny. She opened up just enough to tolerate him and for the loving, young father, any interaction was enough. In turn, he played the role of the good guy. He was Jenny's "yes man". He was the one ace card able to veto any of Peyton's rules and decisions and Jenny not only knew that, she used it to her advantage.

He was gone again on another long road trip. Things had been so awkward after his party. Peyton had felt awful enough about losing control and striking Jenny and it seemed her husband was there to rub salt in an already painful open wound. He didn't look at his wife the same or talk to her the same. Peyton felt all alone.

She had Brooke and she had Haley but she also had something else. Two classrooms full of kids who after a short period of time had come to adore her. The feeling was mutual. Each was unique and gifted in their own way. Each had their own personality. All came from broken homes and nearly impoverished backgrounds. They initially came across as the tough kids on the block but Peyton saw through that. She saw their well hidden vulnerability.

So the idea struck her at the kitchen table and Peyton scrambled to the room she called an office and began typing away on the computer. She drew up permission slips for the parents to allow their children to go on a field trip. The next day she brought her idea to Dr. Adams who reluctantly approved. She rented a large tour bus with her own money and begged, then bribed Brooke with a pair of shoes to be the other chaperone. And off they had gone to Tampa to tour one of Florida's largest art museums. Aside from the relentless heat and Brooke's non stop complaining, it was the perfect trip.

Peyton felt immediately at home among all the paintings and the sculptures. She loved art. Her eyes lit up as they completed the tour. What was even more impressive was the students' enthusiasm. Peyton had initially feared they would be bored or restless but in truth, they seemed to be having as good of a time as she was. Not only were they actually learning, they were having a good time doing it. Peyton had promised them fun and she had more than delivered. Sometimes it paid to be away from the stuffy compounds of the classroom.

"Thank you for coming", Peyton nudged Brooke with a smile as the bus was turning back into the school's parking lot.

"You owe me."

"I know."

"This was horrible."

Peyton playfully rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't that bad."

"Speak for yourself. A whole precious day of my life wasted when I could have been doing something really productive…like getting a facial."

"You suck", Peyton stuck her tongue out.

"I know but can I say one thing, Pey? I really don't like kids or teenagers and I'm really not into art and they were kind of loud today and my nerves could use a serious dosage of Valium right about now, but I see what you're doing with them…and it's pretty amazing. I mean that. I could never do what you're doing but I get why you're doing it. It does make a difference and I really respect you for it."

"Thanks", Peyton smiled, feeling good about herself.

"Hey, Peyton, Miss Brooke?" Amanda leaned over the seat.

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to say thanks. This was really fun today. I know the school can't afford to do stuff like this and it was all you but we just really appreciate it. It was cool."

Peyton just nodded as she thought about what Amanda said. It was a few miles on a crowded bus to a fancy museum. To some it was nothing but to those kids, it was everything. Experiences like that weren't the norm.

"We're all set, Mrs. Jagielski", the driver said as he turned into the lot.

Peyton bit her lip.

"On second thought, we're not."

"What are you doing?" Brooke asked.

Before anyone knew it, Peyton was giving the driver directions to her house. The bus pulled up and stopped on her street.

"Damn, Peyton, you living like this?" Jamal asked, impressed.

"What are we doing here?" Arianna asked.

Peyton stood.

"Okay, guys, if you haven't figured it out, this is my house. Um, we had such a good time today and it's still early and everyone was having fun so why end the party now, right? So welcome to my humble abode. Make yourselves comfortable out by the pool. There's also a basketball court. And downstairs by the laundry room is the game room where there are some arcade games and a pool table. I'll put some tunes on and we'll fire up the grill. Steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs and barbecue chicken for everyone."

The kids cheered loudly and filed happily from the bus. Brooke shot her a skeptical look but dove right in with the helping and planning. The important thing was, everyone was having fun.

"Yo, Shorty", Terrell looked at her. "Jake pimps all this?"

"Yep", Peyton smiled.

"No wonder you wouldn't leave him. All I got to offer is a one bedroom apartment, a couple of pet cockroaches and two sisters."

She grinned and kicked him a soccer ball.

"Go play", she commanded with a laugh as she and Brooke began pulling out and sorting the food.

"Can I help?" Amanda asked.

"No, sweetie. It's okay. Go out and be with your friends."

"I don't mind", the younger blonde offered.

"Here", Brooke shrugged, not willing to turn down help and create more work for herself. "Wash that head of lettuce and chop up all the veggies for the salad. After you're done, you can put those potato chips in a bowl."

Amanda washed her hands and got right to work.

"This is a beautiful home you have."

"Thank you."

"I love the red kitchen."

Peyton grinned at Brooke.

"See? Someone likes my red kitchen."

"Amanda, are you sure you aren't blind in one eye?" Brooke teased.

Small footsteps walked down the stairwell and Jenny appeared.

"Hey", Peyton smiled, in a good mood.

"I don't have any homework", Jenny stated flatly.

"Okay. Why don't you put on your suit and join us by the pool?"

"Who are these people?" the girl asked, looking around.

"I invited the students from my art class over for a party."

Jenny said nothing.

"Hi. I'm Amanda. It's nice to meet you", she extended her hand.

"Whatever, bitch", Jenny rolled her eyes.

Peyton pinched her arm.

"This is my daughter, Jenny", she forced a smile.

Jenny looked at her like she was crazy.

"Stepdaughter", she quickly corrected.

"Well, aren't we all just getting along?" Brooke chirped sarcastically.

"Jenny, would you like to meet everyone else?"

Jenny grabbed an apple.

"No", she said, already half way back up to her room.

"She seems nice", Amanda shrugged.

"A regular bundle of joy", Peyton rolled her eyes. "Sorry about that. She gets that way sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Brooke asked.

"It's okay."

Determined not to let Jenny ruin her mood or her get together, Peyton prepared the meal and joined the kids outside. It was a fun celebration that lasted into early evening as Peyton began calling each parent and guardian to let them know where the kids were and that she would be sending them each home in a paid taxi. Peyton didn't even hear the front door open or see her tired husband walk inside.

"Peyton!" he called.

She looked up and greeted him in the living room.

"Hey you. How was your trip?"

"Good", he frowned. "What's all this?"

"These are the kids from my school."

"I get that but what are they doing here?"

Peyton shrugged.

"We had a field trip and everyone was having so much fun we just brought the party here. I hope you don't mind but these kids don't get to do stuff like this very often. I thought it would be nice."

Jake nodded.

"That's cool, babe. Um, where's Jenny?"

Peyton sighed.

"Upstairs. I invited her down but she wasn't feeling very festive."

"I see."

"Come on. Let me introduce you to everybody…"

One by one Peyton introduced Jake to her students.

"How's it going, guys?"

"Is it true you know Shaq?" a freshman named Victor asked.

"We work together, man. He's pretty cool."

That had the kids' attention. They stared at him with awe and excitement asking a million questions as one by one the cabs pulled up and soon no one was left but a yawning Brooke who quickly made a mad dash to get home to her husband.

"You want some chicken or anything?" Peyton asked.

"No. I already ate. Thanks. I'm just gonna check on Jen and hop in the shower."

"Okay", Peyton nodded. "I'll finish cleaning and then I'll be up in a bit."

Jake undressed, quickly showered and got ready for bed. He knocked on his daughter's door.

"What?"

"It's me", he called out.

"Enter", she finally sighed as he did. "What do you want?"

"To check on you and to say good night."

"Fine. I'm all in one piece. Your wife managed to get that right while you were gone. Good night."

Jake smiled.

"Can you ever just be quiet…or nice?"

Jenny thought for a second.

"Nope. Sorry. It's not in me."

He nodded.

"Well, I just wanted to come see you and see how things were going. I missed you, Jen and I love you. Okay?"

"You called me Jen again."

Jake winced.

"Sorry. I forgot. It's Just Jenny, right?"

She continued scribbling on her pad and didn't look up but her voice did soften noticeably.

"It's okay. You can call me Jen, if you want."

Jake smiled.

"Good night", he closed the door.

Progress. Not much but any little bit would suffice.