Summary: Five years after a broken engagement, Andros visits Tommy and his new team. What he finds there, he couldn't even imagine in his wildest dreams.
Phantom Rogue: Of course I'm stalling! I like stalling! You really think they'll be back together? Shame… Oh and name a colour, any colour, just not red, yellow or green. Green is the most out of the question of all colours, so no green! If you name green, I'll kill you.
Juzblue: Maybe…
Arwennicole: Thanks. You're stories are great too!
Mz. Daydream: Glad you like the guy talk, there'll be more of it in the future. Yeah, Jenny is cute and you're probably wrong. Andros is just sooo in love with Ashley, he sees her face everywhere. :P
Serenitylovegod: Jenny should sound like a sweet and adorable girl, cause she is. I just hope she won't turn out like her beta-reading namesake.
The real vampire: Yeah, I'm evil and I love it! And believe what you want. You'll turn out to be wrong a lot that way.
XRachX: Well, thanks for the mistake spotting. You'll probably have a lot of that in this chapter, since my beta-reader sends Jenny a pointed look couldn't send my chapter back, because she needed to sell mags and I didn't want you all to wait for tomorrow for this lovely chapter. :P You'll get to know Callie a tiny bit better in this chapter. A truly wonderful kid. coughs
DizneeDol: Thanks, no need to wait.
Anonymous: Thanks, I will always keep writing as long as I have readers.
Not Always The End
Chapter 8
Absolutely exhausted Anna pushed open the door. She was NOT happy at all. Hopefully her evening would precede a bit better. The moment she stepped into the house, the sound of tiny feet pattering on the wooden floor reached her ears and she let her bag slide of her shoulder and fall to the ground.
"Mommy!" Jenny exclaimed, launching herself into her mother's arms.
Anna immediately noticed Jenny was already dressed in her pale nightgown.
"I wanted to put her to bed, but she desperately wanted to wait up for you and I figured it would be alright, seeing it is Saturday tomorrow." Kira explained, following Jenny into the hallway. "Hi, Ms. Morgan; how was it?"
"Please, call me Anna. I'm not that much older than you. It went everything but fine, but thanks for asking. Work phoned - someone called in sick today and they need me to substitute tomorrow. Would it be too much trouble to watch Jenny? You can take her out if you want."
"No, of course not!" Kira exclaimed. "I'd be more than happy to."
"But you promised we'd go to the park tomorrow!" Jenny protested with tears shining in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I promise the moment I graduate college, I'll get a job that gives me the weekends off, so I'll have more time for you."
Jenny nodded tearfully.
"How about I'll read you a bedtime story?" Anna suggested.
Jenny nodded again, one single tear escaping her eye.
"Shall I warm the leftovers from dinner in the mean time?" Kira offered.
"That would be great. You're a real help, Kira. I'm so glad you're the one who found my offer."
Kira smiled brightly and walked into the kitchen as Anna started up the stairs with a half sleeping Jenny in her arms.
When she came back down 10 minutes later Kira was just piling the leftovers on a plate.
"Thank you." Anna said gratefully when Kira handed her the plate. "If you got a minute I'll drive you home. Jenny should be just fine on her own now she sleeps. She doesn't get nightmares before the fourth hour of sleep."
Kira smiled and nodded.
"Thanks, that would be great. So, uh, you're trying to get a college degree? How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"
Anna looked up from her food and smiled.
"No, I don't mind. I'm almost 25. Jenny interfered a bit with my college plans and I dropped out, so now I'm taking evening classes to get my degree after all and recently I picked up afternoon classes to speed things up a little, so I can finally get a decent job and support Jenny all on my own."
"That would be great. What are you planning to be?" Kira wanted to know.
"A teacher. Not my first choice, but Jenny changed my whole life and it should give me enough free time to keep her pleased."
Kira laughed.
"Jenny wasn't really planned, was she?"
Anna's face clouded a little.
"No, she wasn't, but that doesn't make her any less welcome or loved. She's worth the trouble and I'd do it all over again if it means having her."
"True mother love my mom calls it." Kira smiled.
Anna smiled back a little and glanced to the ceiling where Jenny's room was located.
"Yeah, she's all I have left." Anna sighed. "Well, that's not completely true, there's one friend helping me out, but that's it."
"Oh." Kira said quietly. "Your parents weren't happy with you having Jenny?"
Anna sighed again.
"It's complicated, Kira. I can only tell you that I hope you'll never have to go through the things I went through. Hold on to what you hold dear or you might regret letting it go one day. Now how about I give you that ride? You're parents must be wondering where you are."
"Nah, I told them I'd be staying for dinner here."
"They'll want you home, though. I know I would when Jenny turns your age."
Kira smiled and nodded.
The next day, Tommy's house
"DADDY! I'm bored!" A girl's voice rang through the house at 7 a.m.
"Go watch TV, daddy's sleeping!" A male voice called back.
"No, you're not! You can't answer me when you're sleeping!" The girl's voice retorted.
"I'm sleep talking!" The man shot back.
"Can't you both shut up!" Another male voice yelled. "Some people are actually trying to sleep!"
Andros had turned over in the bed and was now laughing into the pillow. He was still tired, but he had to admit it was funny. He was too used to be woken up in the middle of the night by Zey's cries when he spent the night on his sister's couch again because she and Zhane stayed out until a godforsaken hour of the night and left him to watch their demon kid.
"DADDY!" The girl shrieked her cries piercing the tense 'calm before the storm'.
"Alright, alright, daddy's coming already. Gee, where's your mom when you need her?"
"You knocked her up again yourself, Jase." Tommy's voice penetrated the wall again. "Now go keep that kid of yours quiet. I need my beauty-sleep."
"Beauty-sleeps don't work on you, so you might as well give up!" Jason replied.
The sound of two doors opening and closing reached his ears.
"How the hell does Andros manage to sleep through this all?" Tommy's voice was softer, but closer to the door this time.
Andros rolled back onto his bed and grinned.
"I don't but you should learn to keep quiet and listen. You can't imagine how much fun you can have that way." He called, struggling to sit up in his half-sleep state.
"And how come you know that?" Tommy's voice demanded.
"I lost count of the times I was baby-sitting Zey and was woken up by Karone's yelling at Zhane." Andros replied, grinning when he thought back of all those times.
"Well, get up, if we don't get any more sleep, you won't be getting any either or we'll sent Callie up." Jason told him through the door.
"Fine!" Andros called back. "Threaten a man, will you? God, I've seen what a two-year old can do – seven-year old is not an experience I want." He grumbled, fitfully dragging himself out of bed.
Laughter was the next thing that reached his ear, before two pair of feet made their way down the stairs. Swinging his feet off the bed and carefully putting weight on them, he decided to get dressed first. He wasn't going to get any sleep anymore and he was not about to tempt himself into trying to get some anyway by keeping on his pyjamas.
Then there was Callie. Less than a day spent with her, he already had been able to determine not to introduce her to Zey or he'd been signing his own death sentence.
A/N: Hope you liked it. A bit shorter than normal, but I had this big project for school I need to hand in this Friday and we only hear about it Tuesday! (Not too surprising since that was the first day I had the subject, but still!) I worked on most of my part today, so I hope I'll be able to write a longer chapter tomorrow. Review!