Jake winced as the bright sun shined in his eyes. He attached the bait to the pole and cast his line in the water. It was a good day so far although it was still fairly early morning. Time off was few and far between and he liked to take advantage of those rare moments. He had gone out on a limb and asked Jenny if she wanted to join him for a day of deep sea fishing. He was surprised when she agreed without protest. Of course that consisted of a shrug and "whatever" but he would take whatever he could get.

"You okay, Jen?"

"Yeah."

"Did you remember to put on sunscreen?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Yes."

"Do you need help with your line?"

"It's not like I haven't done this before."

Jake was surprised.

"You go fishing a lot?"

She shrugged.

"With my Grandma and Grandpa mostly."

Nikki's parents. Jake cringed. The same parents who had insisted their daughter get an abortion or put the baby up for adoption. Jenny referred to them as grandparents. What about his parents? The ones who had lovingly and selflessly sacrificed so much to take care of her. Grandparents she didn't even know, all thanks to Nikki.

"You spent a lot of time with them?"

"Sometimes."

"Did you like North Carolina?"

"It was okay."

Jake nodded. His curiosity was getting the best of him. He had been dying to ask about her cloudy past but he didn't want to push. Still he longed to know the kind of life his little girl had led all those lost years.

"So you lived a lot of places with your mom, huh?"

"I guess."

"Why did you guys move around so much?"

Jenny shrugged, staring out at the water.

"Nikki gets bored a lot."

"You call her Nikki and not Mom?"

"She lets me."

"Oh", he sighed. "You can call me Jake…or Dad. Whichever. I don't mind."

"I know", she said.

He took another deep breath.

"So…"

"So what?"

"How was it?"

"I don't know. We lived a lot of different places."

"Nikki had a lot of different jobs?"

Jenny laughed bitterly out loud.

"Yeah right. She mooched off Grandma and Grandpa when her stupid boyfriends weren't taking care of her."

"She had a lot of boyfriends?"

"Yeah. We basically shacked up with them until they dumped her and she'd just move right along."

Jake bit his lip. He worried about the kind of company his ex had kept. He hoped his child hadn't been exposed to too much.

"Were they good guys? Nice to you, I mean?"

"They were grease balls, most of them. No doctors or lawyers if that's what you're getting at."

"But no one…you know, hurt you?"

"Look they were jack offs but no one touched my private parts if that's what you're trying to say."

"No, no. I mean, good. I'm glad that didn't happen. I was just curious, that's all."

"Whatever."

Jake looked right at Jenny.

"I've said it before but I never wanted you to leave. I'm sorry you did. But I never stopped looking for you."

"Okay."

"Just okay?"

"Yeah. What do you want from me? Shit happens."

"Jen…"

"Sorry", she rolled her eyes. "Stuff happens."

"Just believe that, okay? And no how much I love you and I'm happy that you're here. You're safe now, Jenny. I'll always protect you."

"Okay. Whatever."

"You know, Peyton loves you too."

"Yeah right."

"She does."

"I don't care."

"I wish you'd give her a chance."

"I don't want to. I don't like her."

"You used to. A long time ago. You used to fall asleep in her arms."

"Whoopty freaking do. That was a long time ago. I don't remember. Who cares if she changed my diaper?"

Jake sighed.

"Okay. But I want you to be happy. School's going better, right?"

"It sucks."

"I'll take that as a yes", he chuckled. "And everything else?"

"Okay, I guess."

"What about Amy? She seems nice."

"She's cool."

"I'm glad you made a friend. Having friends and being involved in activities and stuff definitely makes school better. It passes the time."

"I guess."

"Peyton says you're an artist."

"Peyton is nosy."

"She thinks you're good. Maybe you could sign up for a class or something. Maybe you guys could work together?"

"No thanks."

"Why not?"

"Because it's stupid and I don't want to. Besides, she does enough art stuff with her class and that Amanda chick."

"Who? The blonde?"

"Yep. Peyton's little Mini Me."

Jake narrowed his eyes.

"They spend a lot of time together, huh?"

"I guess. I'm not all up in Peyton's business. As long as she stays away from me, I'm happy. But she likes hanging with her classes."

"That's nice. Those kids need her, you know? It helps. She has a beautiful heart. She's really good with them. That's part of the reason I love her so much."

"Mary Kay Letourneau…Pam Smart…Debra Lafave…"

"Who?"

"All cases of teachers gone bad. They took their caring a little too far. Letourneau ended up marrying her student after seven years in the can and two babies. Smart convinced four numbskulls to off her hubby for the insurance money and Lafave seduced her student too."

Jake laughed in spite of himself.

"Okay but I don't have to worry about that with Peyton."

"Whatever. Just watch your back."

"You're not even 12 yet. How do you know all that stuff?"

"I watch the news a lot. Lizzie McGuire and Rugrats: The Teen Years can only take you so far, Jake."

"I think we're okay."

Jenny looked at him for the first time and gave him a piercing, soulful stare.

"DTA", she said.

"What does that mean?"

Her voice quivered as she spoke.

"Don't trust anyone."

It unnevered Jake, sending chills up and down his spine. He struggled to find his voice as he changed the subject.

"So, um…what about sports? Do you like sports?"

Jenny nodded.

"I guess. Some of them are okay."

"You ever think about playing? What about softball or volleyball?"

"Those are dumb."

"I should have known…"

"But I like Field Hockey", she said quietly.

"Field Hockey?"

"Yeah. It's pretty cool. They have a team at school. The girls all suck though."

"You should try out. It might be fun."

"I did. The coach said I could come play if I want."

Jake's eyes widened as his face broke out into a full fledged proud grin.

"Jenny, that's awesome! You should play."

"Maybe."

"I'll come to your games when I'm home and I know Peyton would be excited."

"You don't have to."

"But we want to."

She shrugged.

"Whatever. It's no big deal. I played a little bit at my other school."

"Did Nikki ever come?"

"A few times. It was a pretty convenient place to get piss drunk and make out with her loser of the week."

Jake closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, that you had to go through that, I mean."

"Why? I'm not. Like I said, shi…I mean, stuff happens."

"Well, it won't happen again. You should play and Peyton and I will be there to cheer you on. It'll be fun and normal and great. I promise."

She nodded a bit before readjusting the position of her pole.

"I guess. Whatever."

Jake looked at his little girl and felt warm all over. Slowly but surely he was getting through. Maybe they would be a family again after all. Maybe he would get his baby back after all those years apart.