"Okay. What do you want to do now?" Peyton asked.

"I don't know", Jenny shrugged as they strolled casually on the boardwalk.

"Let's see…we already went go kart racing, we played video games and we've eaten enough junk food to have our stomachs hurt for oh, say the next week or so. And the day is still young. So what's next on the agenda?"

"Whatever."

"We could get our faces painted…" Peyton suggested.

"Or not."

"We could go to the zoo."

"It stinks there and I hate animals, remember?"

Peyton nodded and smiled.

"Right. Okay. How about a movie?'

Jenny didn't object.

"Cool. Just no kiddie movies or anything with talking animals."

"Gotcha."

"Oh and no chick flicks."

Peyton smiled. It seemed oddly familiar.

"No chick flicks", she repeated with a grin. "And afterwards, we can grab dinner."

"Okay."

"Wow. No arguing or complaining. I'm trying to get used to the new Jenny. I like her but it's still kind of weird…in a good way, I guess."

"Things are cool now, I guess. I mean, Amanda or whoever the hell she was is gone. And you're not such a pain in my ass anymore."

"Hey, you were a pain in my ass once upon a time, too, you know."

Jenny managed to smile.

"I know. But I've changed. I'm trying to be better."

"I know. You're doing a great job, by the way."

"I'm not perfect, though. I mean, I'm still gonna mess up. There are times when I might do things, you know, I'm not real proud of."

She nervously stared at the ground and Peyton's heart skipped a beat.

"Anything you want to tell me about?"

Jenny took a deep breath.

"Yeah. And this is really hard for me to say but…well, the other day I was kind of accidentally nice to Brooke. And the even scarier part, is she was nice back. And before I could help myself, I…I…I smiled at her."

Peyton burst our laughing as she swatted at her beloved stepdaughter.

"Don't scare me like that", she warned. "Besides, Brooke isn't that bad. I'm glad you guys are getting along now."

"She's okay, I guess. Lucas is pretty cool. And I like Haley. And Nathan turned out not to be so bad either, although he is still a dumb jock."

"Well, all is well that ends well and everybody is happy and life is back to normal."

"Are you gonna teach again?"

"I don't know, Jen."

"You should. Don't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch. Besides, those kids need you."

Peyton nodded.

"I know. I mean, I'm gonna think about it. Who knows? But for now I'm content to be drama free and enjoy my time with you and Jake."

"Are you sure you're completely drama free?" Jenny carefully asked. "I mean, you said so yourself…you had a lot of demons."

"I'm okay. Don't worry about me, Jenny. I'm still clean. No more drugs, I promise. I started going back to those meetings and I even have a sponsor now."

"I know. I was talking about other stuff."

"Like?"

"You promise you won't get mad?"

"Okay…"

"Remember that letter that Ellie lady left you? The one you balled up and threw away."

"Yeah…"

"Well, I kind of took it. And then I kind of read it."

Peyton sighed.

"You did?"

"Hey, you promised not to get mad."

"I'm not. I guess I just want to know why you did it."

"I was curious", she said honestly.

"And…" Peyton looked out at the water.

"I don't know. Maybe you should talk to her. Ellie, I mean."

Peyton shook her head.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I'm not ready to face all that just yet."

"One day you'll have to."

"I know", Peyton sighed. "It's just hard."

"What about your dad?"

"Same", Peyton shrugged.

"If you talked to them, you might feel differently. You might feel better. You deserve an explanation."

"It's very complicated, Jenny."

"Duh. I get that. You know what it reminds me of."

"What's that?"

"Me."

"You?"

"Yeah."

"How so?"

"It's almost like history repeated herself. Nikki walked away from me and my dad. Ellie walked away from you and your dad. You took over and helped take care of me and you were like a real mom to me when I was little. And that's what that Anna lady did for you. I know it sucks you didn't know the truth but you were young when she died. Maybe they didn't think you were ready to know the truth. Or maybe they were trying to protect you."

"But…"

"Think about it for a minute. What if Nikki had waited to come back later. Wouldn't you and my dad have wanted to protect me?"

Peyton looked right at Jenny.

"Of course we would."

"Okay. Then maybe you shouldn't be so mad at them. For whatever reason, you weren't meant to be with Ellie. Your life might have sucked. She couldn't take care of you. So you should be glad in a way that she gave you up. And your time with Anna was good, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"Then it was meant for you to be happy with Anna and your dad, even if it was only for a little while. And you shouldn't regret that. I don't remember you when I was a little baby but I kind of like listening to the stories you and Dad tell me. And even if I can't remember, I'm glad now it was you taking care of me. You were my Anna."

Peyton had never thought of it like that. She was too blinded by anger and hurt and betrayal to think of all the different dimensions.

"Jenny…"

"It's cool. We can drop it if you want. It's just something to think about."

Peyton swallowed hard.

"Yeah, I guess it is."

Jenny shrugged.

"Ready to pick out that movie?"

"Yeah. Um, just one more thing…"

"What's up?"

"Thanks. I mean that. Thank you. I don't know if anyone has ever told you, but you are a really smart kid. Really. You're way wise beyond your years."

"I get that a lot", she grinned.

"You're too much, kid", Peyton hugged her.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay. Enough with the PDA already. I have a reputation to protect, you know."

Peyton planted a wet kiss on her forehead.

"You will like my hugs and kisses and other public displays of affection. And if you don't, then I will force you to watch talking animals and magical kingdoms and animated adventures and weepy scenes with women crying over their boyfriends leaving them."

Jenny winced.

"Okay, okay. Damn. You drive a tough bargain", she smiled. "All of a sudden, a hug doesn't seem so bad after all."