Hi guys, sorry its been a couple of days, i had to write a freakin essay about freakin globalisation, as if i care.

And then when i did get workin on this puppy i wrote like, seven pages going a whole other way with it, decided i hated every word and got all pretentious yelling about 'my craft' and getting all depressed and pretending i was chain smoking with my pen because i dont smoke really but wanted to be all stereotypical. But then i got a better idea and sorted it all out. Which was a fun few days over all.

Diclaimers, Language, Talk of Jacks past, I dont own any of the films characters only my own OC's, which reminds me, there are one or two im thinking of fleshing out a bit more so let me know who you do and dont like etc.

Oh, PS, some one mentioned in a review about...i said at one part of Ch2 it had been a month since Jack first came to stay then it said a week, that was my bad, i decided toward the end that i wanted it to have been a month so that Jack's emotional recovery and bonding with the Mercers had had more time to ,well, happen. But thanks for pointing it out!

Erm, ive already started on Ch 4 which will be really really emotional and all that and should hopefully be ready to post by monday so...

To my reviewers, i love you all. Seriously, there are times when i really doubt my own abilities because its always my family telling me im good and i think 'well ny family aren't going to tell me im crap' but you have really really made me feel like i might actually be ok at this whole writing thing. Seriously, thank you, so much, all of you. and please keep them coming because they really honestly drive me to work harder on these stories.

So here it is! xxxxxxxxx

Evelyn Mercer sipped at the mint tea she had made for her self and looked down at her note book. She had carefully written out a list of names, and made notes beside each one and now, pen in hand, she was working through them. In the last few weeks, Evelyn had gotten behind on her house keeping. Work, combined with errands and some things that had needed doing around the house that had taken longer than Evelyn had expected had made it difficult for her to keep up with the various problems, news and drama's, minor and major, that where going on in the lives of the kids who loved with her, her own adopted kids, and the ones she was currently fostering.

"Kerry, Lisa!" Evelyn didn't like to yell but all the kids where watching TV in the den, so Evelyn had to raise her voice to be heard.

The twin twelve year old girls walked into the dining room and took seats opposite Evelyn. She smiled at them. The girls where identical; blonde hair, brown eyes, the kind of lankiness of limb that foretold of supermodel height in their future.

Kerry though, had a small pink scar over one eyebrow, a gift from Lisa when they where three. It was the only way to tell them apart.

The twins' mother had a drinking problem. She wasn't abusive the way some drunks where, but she had, some weeks previously, drunk herself into a stupor and wrapped her car around a tree. The odd protective bubble that alcohol could induce sometimes had saved her from serious harm but it had not been the first such incident. As a result, the girls had been taken into care and their mother had been checked into rehab. It wasn't the first time that had happened either. Kerry and Lisa had picked up some of their mothers less savoury habits, drinking, smoking, but Evelyn .ad been working to free them of these vices.

"Hey girls, I'm sorry I've been so busy lately, how are you both?" Evelyn asked them, looking from girl to girl.

"We're good Evelyn, how are you?" Kerry asked sweetly.

"Oh I'm alright" Evelyn shrugged. "So, what I need to talk to you about is, we finally tracked down your Aunt Jeannie" she smiled as the girls beamed "She's on her way down from Alaska to come see you and when she gets here you and her and your mom when she gets a little more…clear headed, are gonna sit down and talk about where you guys are going to stay" she explained.

"What Alaska like?" Lisa asked excitedly.

"Well how about you two go and get the big encyclopaedia and read up, and find out? It's lovely up there you know, really beautiful" she told them.

"Do we have to go up there?" Kerry asked.

"Well that's why you're gonna get together and talk about it sweetie, if you two really don't want to go…maybe your social worker will figure out another option for you?" Evelyn nodded as she spoke.

"I guess" Kerry shrugged.

"Alright…do you two have any homework?" Evelyn asked.

"Some" Lisa told her.

"How bout you go get started on it, see if you can get halfway done before dinner?" Evelyn 'suggested'.

The twins nodded and left the room.

"Li?" Evelyn yelled.

A sour mouthed thirteen year old Asian American kid slouched into the room, slumping into his seat opposite Evelyn. Li had been in the system since he was three. He had been found abandoned, wandering the streets and had been bounced around orphanages and foster homes ever since. He was not a friendly boy, part of the reason for which was being Asian American, with no connection to his Asian culture.

"Hey, you have a good time on your field trip?" Evelyn asked.

Li shrugged.

"You get anything at the gift store?" Evelyn tried.

Li shook his head petulantly.

Evelyn widened her eyes in exasperation, and looked down at her list "Well, looks like you're going to be with us for a few more months, Maria's trying to find you an Asian family but until then, I found a lady down at the youth centre who runs some classes, teaching people to speak mandarin. Which is what you asked for. So you can start on Wednesday, an hour after school everyday. And I bought you some starter books so you can start studying up on them as soon as you like" She said brightly.

Li gave a minute nod and made to leave "Hey!" Evelyn caught him "What do you say?" she asked.

"Thank you Evelyn" he mumbled, moping away.

Evelyn sighed and ticked his name off her list, taking another sip of her tea. "Diane!" she yelled.

A stunningly beautiful fifteen year old young woman strode into the room, her pale Irish skin almost glowing in the dimly lit room. She had cut her hair recently, chopping off inches of her dark red hair into a short, punky cut that left her neck and shoulders bare, making the tattoo's and numerous piercing she wore all the more obvious. Diane was one of few kids who came to Evelyn who had actually had no apparent reason to leave. Her parents where a perfectly nice middle class family who had done their best to give her everything they could. Diane had been a perfect, sweet little girl until the day of her ninth birthday when she went, as Diane her self called it, 'Bat shit crazy' and begun acting out. After two years her parents gave up and turned her over to the state. It took a few months for Diane to admit to a councillor that she had been abused by a friend of her parents.

Diane's then social worker had told Diane's parents this but they had decided that she was still too much trouble and wouldn't take her back. Diane had been living with Evelyn for four months and in that time, she had changed her hair half a dozen times, gotten at least three tattoo's and gone through a short lived but spectacularly brightly coloured 'Disco Hippy' phase.

"Hey Evie" she grinned, her plum coloured lips curling up in a way that drove the boys nuts.

"Hey Diane, good day?" Evelyn asked.

"I got my belly button pierced, wanna see?" Diane, raised the hem or her t-shirt and flashed the newest piercing.

"Oh. That's…pretty" Evelyn gave the girl a grin then dropped her gaze to her list "Um, let me see, your guidance councillor called and wanted to make sure you where working on your art project because he hasn't seen you doing any work at school" Evelyn said firmly.

"Yeah, I don't like workin there, I feel like it…smothers me, ya know?" Diane was bobbing her head as she spoke "I have been working though Evie I swear, I can show you it if you want, it's up in my room?" she smiled, her tone sincere.

Evelyn had no reason to doubt the girl who, while troubled, was a genuinely nice, hard working young woman. "Well, after dinner I'll see it and you can explain every thing to me about where you are with it and what it's about, and then tomorrow I can call the councillor for you and tell him you really are working" Evelyn smiled at her.

Diane grinned brightly "All rightie Evie. Hey you need any help with the dinner?" she asked.

"Will you lay the table for me tonight?" Evelyn asked "The boys are doing the dishes and the twins promised to take the trash out, so that can be your job" she smiled.

"Sure thing, just gimme a yell when you need me? I'm gonna go up stairs and work on this project some more, hey you know Jack gave me some of his sketches to use…he's pretty good Evie" Diane stated "And uh, he was messing with my guitar today" she chewed her lip.

"Oh Diane, I'll tell him not to, I know you don't like people messing with your things" Evelyn sighed.

"Actually…he was kinda good at that too. You know he's got a really creative streak running through him…he can use my guitar to practice on but you might want to think about getting him one of his own, he's really into music" Diane raised her eyebrows.

"Really?" Evelyn said thoughtfully "I was thinking about getting him some lessons in something…you think music? Alright, I'll see what I can do" she grinned at Diane who winked at her cheekily and skipped out of the room.

Evelyn made another tick on her list "Jeremiah!" she called.

Jeremiah Mercer was sixteen and according to Evelyn's list, he had been acting out in school again.

As the slender young black man sat down, Evelyn fixed him with a serious look. He met her eyes and held her gaze for a while. Then he broke "Aw Ma, that kid was talking shit about Angel and Bobby, he was threatening to go to the cops with lies about shit they didn't do!" he told her "I told him to back off and he started hassling me so I hit him" he stated.

"You know Jerry, none of you boys are perfect but you more than the others are the level headed one…now if this boy started it, you cant be expected not to react but it's not like you to be violent" Evelyn stated "You couldn't have spoken to him?" she asked.

"Ma, he was flat out dumber than dirt. I coulda talked to him till I was blue in the face and he wouldn't have backed off" he told her "I'm sorry…but he was asking for it" he gave her an apologetic look and shrugged.

Evelyn sighed "Well…you're grounded for the rest of the month. And I want you to help the twins learn about Alaska, they might be living up there eventually" she told him.

"Alaska!" Jerry raised an eyebrow "Damn"

"Yeah, I know. It's not a definite thing yet but try and make em feel better about it being a possibility?" Evelyn asked him.

"Sure Ma. I really am sorry" Jerry gave her a sheepish grin.

"Go one" Evelyn squeezed his arm lovingly and sent him on his way. Before he left, Jeremiah leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Angel!" she yelled.

Angel and his ego rolled into the room, bopping his head to some internal music Evelyn couldn't hear. "Hey Ma, you know them twins? They're kind of creepy" he said matter of factly.

"You know you're not the first one to say that but if I hear you say that too them, I'll make you sorry. Now sit. What's this I'm hearing about you wanting to join the army?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Not like, right now Ma!" Angel smirked.

"Yeah not now, you're fifteen years old! Why the army, what about college?" Evelyn asked as Angel dropped into the seat opposite her.

"Ma, we both know I don't have the right kind of smarts to go to college. But I got the right kind to be a soldier. Look it aint a definite thing, it's just…something I've been thinking about…my record, most colleges aint gonna let me in any how" he gave her a slight frown.

Evelyn didn't like to admit it but Angel had a point. As intelligent as he was, his smarts where street smarts. Angel never had been the academic type but he was by no means stupid. He was right saying that he would be better off in something more practical. She looked at him. Angel, like Jeremiah had gotten much taller as he aged. Where Jeremiah had retained his slender physique and seemed too have peaked at about five feet ten inches, Angel was five nine and still growing, and had bulked up, nature doing some of the work, hours at the gym doing the rest to turn the what had been potential into reality. Angel had biffed up, toned and carved his body into something to be proud of. Even as he sat before her now wearing an oversized sweater, Evelyn could see the muscles on his arms straining the seams just a little.

"Oh and uh, no more tattoo's for a while, yeah?" she warned.

Angel looked as if he might try to lie his way out of it but she gave him a knowing smirk. "I know what goes on in this house Angel…just remember, you shouldn't just get tats because the look cool, each one should mean something special to you. Like say…a big picture of me on your back" she joked.

Angel smiled at her, running a hand over his fuzzy hair "Will you cut my hair later?" he asked her.

"All off again?" she asked.

"Yep?" he raised an eyebrow in question.

"Sure. Send Bobby in will ya, I'm sick of yellin!" she took a long swig of her tea.

Angel stood up, gave her a peck on the cheek and walked out "Bobby!" he hollered, loud enough that Evelyn winced "Ma wants you!"

Evelyn heard some one walking down the stairs and within seconds, Bobby, the oldest Mercer kid swaggered into the room.

Bobby seemed to have stopped growing at about five feet nine. He too had bulked up, but he had Angels muscles on Jeremiah's frame. He keot his dark hair long but slicked back away from his face and had finally grown into the battered old leather jacket he had owned for years.

"Hey Ma, you think my moustache is coming in yet?" he asked as he dropped into the seat opposite her.

Evelyn made a show of squinting at the faint, lightly coloured fuzz Bobby had been growing over the last few weeks. "Um…yeah" she lied.

"Fuckin A, I'm gonna grow out my side burns, have em all joined up like a biker" he grinned wickedly "It's gonna be so cool, I'll be like" he drew his fingers across his top lip and along his cheeks to meet up with sideburns "Yeah" he chuckled to himself.

"Watch your mouth for starters. And the reason you're here? You have to make a decision so I can call Martin later, do you want to do the three months at juvie or the community service?" she asked.

Bobby, again, was in trouble with the cops. He and a friend of his from the neighbourhood had been out joy riding in a stolen car and had managed to knock down a lamp post.

"Whats the community service?" Bobby tapped his fingers on the table, looking around the room distractedly.

Evelyn checked her notes "It is…six weeks working for the city, you'd have to do a few hours before and after school everyday and all day weekends, uh, garbage collecting or with the street sweepers, what ever job they gave you" she explained.

"Damn" Bobby hissed "I'll do the service, theres a jerk in juvie from the month I did last summer who'll kick my ass if I go back in there" he sniffed casually "Oh and guess what? I got a C on that history report" he grinned.

Evelyn noted his choice on her list and smiled at him "Well done! Keep studying that could improve" she told him.

Bobby smiled at her and wriggled his shoulders in a thank you "So can I go out tonight?" he smiled hopefully.

"Ooh, let me think-no" Evelyn pulled a joking 'shocked' face as Bobby grumbled good naturedly.

"Go get Jack for me will ya?" she asked Bobby.

Bobby leaned over and gave her a kiss the way his brothers had the strutted out. A minute later he returned carrying Jack upside down by the legs.

"Ma I couldn't find Jack but this weird upside kid was there instead" he shrugged.

"I'm gonna puke on you shoes" Jack half laughed half moaned.

Bobby dropped him quickly but Jack caught himself just in time to avoid serious injury.

He stood, slugging Bobby on the arm as Bobby left again, then walked over and sat in the seat opposite Evelyn.

Evelyn took a second to just look at him. When he had first come to her, Jack had been a scared, traumatised little boy. Now, at ten, after a lot of work, he was finally starting to recover from the horrific abuses of his childhood. Jack still suffered from night terrors but where they had been a nightly occurrence two and three years ago, it was now rare for him to have an attack over a period of months. And when he did, it would no longer simply happen, it would usually be triggered by something. His shyness was gone, he could, as Evelyn had discovered, actually a pretty out going kid, making friends easily at school, fitting in well with his class mates. When he wasn't fighting with them or getting into trouble for the stuff he did with Bobby, Angel and Jerry. Five months into Jacks first year with the Mercers, it had been discovered that Jack was quite the talented pick pocket, and that he had a border line obsessive compulsion to steal. He also had a scarily good eye for loot worth taking. As with all the kids she cared for, Evelyn did her best to keep Jack on the straight and narrow, but every day that he got older, got further away from his own past, Jack became that bit more independent, and more wayward. He was a sweet, sensitive little boy but Evelyn worried sometimes that he was straying down the wrong path more and more often than she could draw him back to the right one. She also worried that as social he could be, he also spent a lot of time alone, in his room or sitting on the roof of the porch. While he had come out of the shell he had existed in when he first arrived, he could still be extremely introverted sometimes and Evelyn was concerned about what awful memories he might be dredging up when left alone with nothing to distract him.

Jack was tall for ten. He was almost lanky, enough so to hint that he would be a tall adult. His hair, as Evelyn had predicted, was lightening with every passing summer. She suspected it would and up being a sort of, muddy blonde or sandy brown. He was a handsome kid too, and Evelyn suspected it wouldn't be long before the girls in his class started to notice. That was another concern she had. Given the abuse Jack had suffered and the fact that he still had nightmares about what had been done to him, and that he had one or two intimacy issues-he didn't always like to be hugged or touched, some days more or less so than others' Evelyn wondered if he would be alright when it came to dealing with the opposite sex.

"When you gonna adopt me Ma?" Jack asked flat out, snapping her back into focus.

"You know I talk to Maria every day about that" she reminded him "And I actually have some news" she smiled warmly at him.

Jack's emergency placement had been made a fixed placement six months after he first came to Evelyn's home. As soon as it had been done, Evelyn had begun to inquire about legally adopting Jack but there had been problems in the processing and as a result, the adoption couldn't seem to carry through.

Then recently, Maria had discovered something that had fouled up the already foul works. I t was bad enough that Evelyn almost didn't want to tell him, for fear he might relapse into his old emotional ways. "Jack I have to tell you something pretty big" Evelyn said seriously.

Jacks grin dropped from his face and his eyes took on the carefully blank gaze he adopted whenever he had to hear bad news. It was as if he was cutting himself off from his emotions and Evelyn didn't like it but she figured it kept him sane, so she didn't push him about it.

"Maria went to talk to, um…to your dad again, about seeing if he would legally give you up for adoption so that I could legally adopt you and, well he was being awkward again but Zach, you know Maria's boy friend? Well he's a lawyer and he told Maria that because of how much time has passed, since your dad was imprisoned, and because there's no named birth mother in the picture and because I've had you for so long, basically all of that adds up and means that legally, the state can simply sign your dad off as your guardian" she explained.

"So you would be able to adopt me?" Jack asked, his face still grave but with the faintest hint of excitement trickling into his voice.

"I would. Except that…your dad…has a sister" Evelyn made very sure to keep her voice steady.

"So?" Jack frowned and shrugged.

"Well…well your Aunt, she didn't know you even existed, you see your father was estranged from his family, your grandparents, for a long time, but recently, he's reached out, made contact. He claims to be a changed man" she said, actually unable to keep the venom from her voice. "He reconnected with his family and while his own parents wont see him, his sister will. And she knows about you now…and there is a law, when it comes to foster kids that if there is any living blood relative to the child, that relative must be asked if they are…if they would be willing to take that child in…see they don't like to break families up too much" Evelyn had curled her hand into a fist and was digging her nails into the palm of her hand to keep her self calm. "If your aunt says she would be willing…there is a very real possibility that she could get custody of you" she said quietly, having to force herself to meet his eyes.

They stayed resolutely blank as he cocked his head to one side "So I would have to go with her, even if I didn't want to?" he asked.

"The state feels that fostered and orphaned kids have a better chance in life of staying on the straight and narrow, if they live with some one directly related to them, or some one who was close to their family…they think it helps the kid maintain an identity if they grow up in an environment where their family members can remind them of their parents" Evelyn paraphrased what she had been told by Maria, who was as disgusted by the situation as Evelyn was.

"But I don't want to go with her" Jack repeated slowly.

"I know that sweetie and believe you me I will fight this to the bitter end but the fact is, it's the law, Maria has got to ask this woman if she would be willing to take you in. If she says no, which I think is likely, then you're mine" Evelyn tried to reassure him.

"How can you be sure she'll say no?" Jack asked, the first thread of anger weaving into his voice.

A month after he first arrived Jack, seven at the time, had had a temper tantrum in reaction to a near miss with a local creep. It had not been the last, and while it hadn't happened in a while Evelyn knew full well the damage a raging Jack could do.

"Jackie she's never even met you" Evelyn told him "she's probably got her own life just the way she wants it…you're a charmer but can you see her dropping everything to adopt a kid she didn't know existed until just now? I love you kid but you're not that sweet" Evelyn hoped a joke would get through to him and it did, to a certain point.

He blinked and gave her a weak smile that didn't chase that blankness from his eyes. "You're right Ma, they wouldn't take me away from you, who could look after me better than you can?" he shrugged at his own question.

"Exactly" Evelyn grinned.

"I'm gonna go watch TV until dinner's ready, okay?" Jack asked.

Evelyn nodded mutely and Jack rose from his seat, gave her her kiss on the cheek and walked out without another word.

Within seconds her three adopted sons appeared from the kitchen "Ma?" Angel asked her "Could they really take him?" his face was a mask of confusion and anger.

"Yeah, they really could" Evelyn said weakly "It's a very real possibility" she looked up at her sons "They might take our Jackie away" she whispered as her voice broke.

Her sons came to her, surrounding her, hugging her and soothing her as she fought to compose herself, not wanting any of the other kids, and most importantly Jack, to se her upset.

"Is there anything we can do to fight it?" Jerry asked as he fetched her a tissue from the box on the table.

Evelyn shrugged, at a rare loss "Maria said she's going to do everything she can to help us, she said she would exaggerate Jack's problems, make it seem like he would be a difficult kid to take on but that's all she can do-she can overstate things but if she out right lies, and gets caught doing it, she could lose her job and all the cases she's ever worked could come under review-if the 'powers that be' saw fit they could undo every placement she's ever made, including you three" Evelyn wiped at her eyes with the tissue "I guess we can do the same, they'll probably send some one to talk to us about Jack, maybe even this aunt her self will come around…but there's no way of knowing it'll work. Besides if we make him look too nuts they might decide he's better off in one of those group homes where they can sedate him if he becomes too much of a handful" she slumped over the table, cradling her chin in her hands, her fingers covering her mouth as if she was going to be ill.

"We could kidnap him, hide him some where?" Angel suggested.

Evelyn fixed him with a glare but his sincere face made her smile a watered down version of her usual beaming grin.

"Some how I think that would make things worse" she told him.

Bobby ran his hands through his hair angrily "They're not putting him with his fathers sister. After what that scum fuck did to him they want to put Jack with people who are gonna remind him every fucking day of the prick who…who did all that awful shit to him!" he seethed, fighting to keep his voice low.

"Yeah, Ma, that's fucked up what are they thinking about?" Jerry agreed and Angel nodded emphatically.

"It's the new system" Evelyn shook her head.

"It's fucking twisted" Angel growled, feeding off Bobby's anger.

"If she tries to take him from us, I'll kill the bitch" Bobby snarled.

"You'll do no such thing" Evelyn said, her voice quiet but steely "I hate this too but we have to remember, if she does take him…she isn't his father, she had nothing to do with what that man did to Jack" she whispered "But…" she took a deep, calming breath "We're getting ahead of our selves, like I told Jack, I cant see her wanting to adopt a ten year old, emotionally damaged boy wit whom she has no previous relationship" she shrugged, her tone implying that she was trying to convince her self of her statement as much as she was them. "Maria's going to call me some time over the next few days, let me know what's happening"

She sighed and stood, and gathering her things, walked wordlessly into the kitchen.

The boys watched her go in silence, the reality of what could happen weighing heavily on their minds.

Before very long, Evelyn called everyone for dinner, and they gathered around the table.

"Jack will you say grace?" Evelyn asked.

They all took hands and bowed their heads as Jack started "Thanks you god for this food, bless those who don't have any tonight, and hope that someday they find some one like Ma to help them out"

A chorus of enthusiastic 'amens' echoed around the table and Evelyn chuckled and sat down.

"Dig in!" she grinned.

The kids joined her in sitting and began reaching for the various bowls of salad, vegetables, meat and potatoes.

They talked as they served them selves and one another dinner, chatting, joking, getting along the way a family should. Everyone was included, no one would be left out of a conversation or joke, unless they where too young to hear something racy. Evelyn insisted that whether it was just her and the boys, or if they had other kids living with them, their home would be a noisy one, alive with conversation or music or just the sounds of children being as happy as they where able. She also insisted on her kids, whether they where actually hers or not, having proper manners so as the kids passed the bowls around, asked for the salad tongs, rose to reach the gravy, Evelyn reminded them of their 'pleases' and 'thank you's'. She laughed but tried to cover it as Angel gave the twins, who where finishing one anothers sentences as the spoke to Diane, a scared look and shuddered. Jack noticed Angels reaction and caught his attention, giving him an agreeing look. Evelyn chuckled quietly, then had to pretend to scratch her forehead to hide the tears that welled up in her eyes. The phone rang, startling her, and she excused her self from the table, heading into the kitchen to answer it.

"Evelyn" Maria's voice sounded on the other end.

Evelyn felt her stomach drop. "Maria?" she said by way of greeting.

"I talked to her" Maria's voice was quiet, "her name is Amelia…she uh….she wants to meet with Jack, to see what kind of kid he is"

"Oh God" Evelyn breathed.

Maria sounded sad as she continued "Apparently, she's a reformed addict, heroin, but because of the amazing progress she has made, she still counts as a potential guardian. Once she meets Jack, she'll have to decide whether she wants to take him or not and if she does…that's it, he goes with her"

Evelyn pressed her hand to her mouth "When does she want to see him?" she whispered, aware that if she spoke too loud she might be heard by the kids in the dining room.

"As soon as possible, probably by the end of the week" Maria sounded as angry about the situation as Evelyn was.

She had been the one to remove Jack from his fathers home in the first place, and she had seen him grow and mature as much as Evelyn had.

"And if she wants to take him…how long will we have before he'll have to leave?" Evelyn marvelled at her own calmness.

"Well…she's already passed the home visit, and given that she's immediate family, it wont take that long to clear her…maybe a month…at most" the words fell into Evelyn's ears like lead weights and she leaned heavily against the wall.

"A month?" Evelyn repeated "Maria I need more time than that, we all do, we can't just rush him out of here in a month!"

"Evelyn you know, if I could fight this I would but…" Maria trailed off "If she says she wants him, that's it. All I can say is maybe you should find way to scare her off, if she thinks he's-"

"I've told the boys that already" Evelyn said softly "I guess I could suggest it to Jack…he'll probably go for it" she allowed her self a tiny, sad smile "That's it, we'll scare her off" she resolved.

"Good plan. Look I'll have to go, but I thought you should know…I'll call you when I know exactly what's going to happen" Maria sounded sad, tired.

"Thanks…talk to you soon" Evelyn said, and hung up.

She pressed both hands to her mouth, feeling a resigned sadness fill her. Evelyn had been fostering kids for years, she had always known that any child who came to her could potentially leave, be placed in a new home or adopted, or even in the happier cases, be reunited with loving family. But Jack was different. Not only had Evelyn her self come to see him as one of her own, her boys had too. Angel, Jerry and Bobby had 'adopted' Jack as a sibling shortly after his arrival in the house, forging a bond with him that Evelyn knew would never be broken.

She had seen how they had reacted to the possibility that this woman might come into Jacks life. Now it was a reality. Evelyn wasn't sure what might happen. And wasn't sure she wanted to know.