Disclaimer: I own Carly, Justin, Austin, Mitch, Paige, and any minor characters that decide to make an appearance. All other characters belong to Mark Schwahn.

Author's Note: I'm really glad that everyone likes this series. I'm also really sorry about not updating. I know that I promised weekly updates, but I got swamped by college. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up over the next month and be back on track for the second half of the season.

Can't Go Back

Episode 2: Watch It Unfold

Jenny sat at the kitchen table, folding and unfolding the paper towel that she had used during lunch. What little of it she had eaten anyway. Jake sat across from her, just as uncomfortable as she was. After breakfast, Haley had taken Carly out for the day, leaving Jake and Jenny alone so that he could fill in the missing parts of Haley's story.

They'd had lunch together in an awkward, uncomfortable silence but now there was nothing left to do except talk and they both knew it. "Why didn't you look for me?"

"We did."

"Obviously not very well. If you really love me as much as you say you do then you would have found me."

"Jenny, it's not like that."

"Then explain it to me. Because I'm trying to understand but I don't. Why didn't you fight for me?"

"We couldn't find you because your mom changed her name and we didn't know what she changed it to know until you told Haley this morning."

"That doesn't answer my second question." She knew she was being difficult but she didn't care, she needed to hear this. Needed to hear why Jake hadn't fought for her when he claimed to love her so much.

"We did fight for you, Jenny. We spent six months in and out of court. Madeleine lied to get custody of you and then there was nothing we could do. By the time the court figured out that she had lied, she had already changed her name and no one could find her." Jenny nodded, her anger suddenly gone. She couldn't be mad at him for trying to find her. "Jenny?"

"I'm not mad. I can't be. You tried to find me, you fought to keep me, that's all I needed to hear but it's still going to take a while for us to fix things."

"I know. Tell me what you're feeling right now."

"Hurt, confused, angry. I can't believe Madeleine lied to me about you." Jenny was quiet for several minutes, trying to figure everything out. "It makes sense now."

"What does?"

"Everything. The way she talked about you, the way she made sure that I would hate you. It's like she planned this day." Jake nodded, that thought had been in his mind all along, but he hadn't wanted to say anything. He'd wanted to let Jenny come to that conclusion on her own.

"It doesn't matter anymore. When she shows up, we'll deal with it, but until then, it doesn't matter."

"Thank you." Jake looked at his daughter curiously. He hadn't been expecting that.

"For what?"

"For being so patient. I've been really difficult the last two weeks but you never once lost your temper and that means a lot to me." Jake smiled and hugged her.

"You're my daughter and you were acting on what you'd been taught, I could never be mad at you for that."

"I know and it's still going to be a while before I really trust you, but I'm willing to work on it."

"So am I." Jenny pulled back and offered Jake a watery smile.

"Promise me that you'll never leave me again. I can't do this a second time. It was hard enough this time and I can't do it again. Jake, I need you to promise me." Jenny was sobbing now, her small body shaking from the force of those sobs and Jake pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

"Shh, baby girl, it's okay. I promise I'll never leave you. I'll always be here." More sobs racked Jenny's body and Jake held her tighter as his own tears fell. In that moment, Jake knew that everything would be okay but he was also reminded of the day they had lost Jenny twelve years ago. It had been a scene very similar to this one the only difference was that this time, he didn't feel like his heart was breaking. This was a second chance and he was going to take full advantage of it.

"So, you seem like you're in a better mood," Austin commented as he and Jenny returned to their table at Cracker Barrel.

"I am."

"Feel like sharing?" Jenny smiled as they sat down and opened their menus. She hadn't told anyone about why she had really moved to Charleston but she really trusted Austin and she wanted to talk about it with someone.

"It's a long story. Are you up for it?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't. You can trust me, Jenny." She nodded, she'd known that from the first time she met him.

"I know." Before Jenny could start talking, the waitress came over to take their drink orders. When she left, Jenny took a deep breath, trying to get control of her emotions. This morning had been emotional enough and she really didn't want to make a scene in a public place. Austin reached across the table, placing his hand over hers and offering a smile.

"You don't have to tell me."

"No, I want to. It's just kind of . . . emotional." Austin smiled and gave her hand a squeeze before pulling it back to his side of the table.

"I promise I won't laugh if you cry." Jenny laughed and it relieved some of the tension that she was feeling.

"Thanks, that makes me feel good."

"It was supposed to." Jenny laughed and began explaining, pausing only when their waitress took their orders and then delivered them. "Wow."

"Tell me about it. Jake and I finally got everything out in the open this morning and he told me the truth about Madeleine and what really happened twelve years ago."

"You've been through a lot in the last two weeks. I'm not sure I could have lived through that without going crazy." Jenny laughed and took a drink of her iced tea. It felt really good to talk about this with someone who wasn't directly involved.

"There were times that I thought I was going to, believe me, but I had a lot of help. Jake and Haley have been really great and so have all of their friends."

"Sounds like you've got a new family."

"I do and I love it. I never had that when I lived with my mom. She wasn't a bad mom, she just wasn't always the best mom that she could have been. Lying was a big theme."

"So, how long are you staying?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't really thought about it. It kind of depends on my mom and what she does." Jenny didn't admit that she really wanted to stay in Charleston. She wasn't sure yet that she would go through with it. If she decided to, they'd have to go to court and Jenny wasn't sure that she wanted to put everyone through that. She wasn't sure she wanted to go through that.

"You said Jake and all of his friends were from Tree Hill, right?"

"Yeah, we actually went last weekend and I got to meet Karen, Keith, and Deb."

"We'll have to go one weekend. You can show me around and introduce me to everyone." Jenny smiled, glad that Austin had changed the subject.

"Maybe fall break if I'm still here." That one sentence told Austin everything that Jenny was feeling and he wished that there was something he could do.

"Hey, let's get out of here."

"And go where?" Austin shrugged, he hadn't really thought about it, he just wanted Jenny to be happy.

"You choose. Anywhere you want to go, we'll go." Jenny laughed as they stood up and Austin put money on the table.

"Do you do this for all of your friends?"

"Only the ones that need cheering up. And you definitely need cheering up."

"I'll agree with that. These last two weeks have been an emotional roller coaster and I know it's only going to get worse when my mom enters the picture."

"That's why you're not going to think about any of that today."

"I'm not?"

"No, you're not. Now, where do you want to go?" Austin's attempt at being serious failed when he smiled and Jenny giggled.

"Let's go bowling."

"Okay, bowling it is."

"You and Jenny got things worked out?" Lucas asked as he, Nathan, and Jake set up for a game in Nathan's backyard.

"I wouldn't say worked out but she knows the truth."

"Well, that's something. At least she doesn't hate you anymore," Nathan said.

"No, but she doesn't trust me. I almost prefer her hating me again if that's the trade-off." Jake passed the ball to Lucas as he thought back to his conversation with Jenny that morning.

"Give her some time, man. She'll come around. She's fourteen. You remember how hard things were when you were that age. Besides, she's been through more than most kids her age and it's not over yet," Nathan said.

"Thanks for reminding me," Jake laughed. He really wasn't looking forward to dealing with Madeleine but then, none of them really were.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I'll have to face it eventually. We all will. I just don't want to think about it right now."

"Understandable. Are you and Haley doing anything this weekend?" Lucas asked.

"No, Jenny and I made plans."

"That's cool. What are you doing?" Nathan asked.

"We're not sure yet. When she gets back, we're going to figure something out."

"Where is she?"

"She met up with a friend for lunch."

"A friend? You didn't get any more details?" Nathan questioned.

"Hey, I'm just glad she's talking to me. I'm not going to let her run wild but if she wants to have lunch, I'm not going to stop her."

"I was talking about a boyfriend."

"Nate, she's been here for two weeks. I doubt she already has a boyfriend and if she did, she would have mentioned something about one. If not to me then to Haley." Lucas shook his head, laughing as he passed the ball to Nathan.

"Do you remember being in high school? She won't talk about anything like that with her dad and she and Haley aren't that close yet. Besides, Haley said you and Jenny were having lunch together."

"She didn't eat much. Maybe not but I know she doesn't have a boyfriend. She told me she didn't want one yet especially not right now with everything that's going on."

"Now that's believable." Jake laughed and stole the ball from Nathan.

"Come on. Let's play."

Jenny giggled as Jake's ball missed the center hole on his Skee-ball lane. He turned and glared at his daughter. "Let's see you do better." Jenny smiled and picked up one of the brown balls that was in her lane.

"Easy." She rolled the ball and went straight into the center hole.

"I'm impressed."

"Mitch taught me how to play."

"Who's Mitch?"

"This guy that Mom dated when I was nine. He's the only that ever treated me like I was an actual person. Even after they broke up, he'd still come over several times a week and take me out. We'd go to the movies, or the arcade, it was something different every time."

"He sounds like a nice guy."

"He is. We still talk and he's the only one of Mom's boyfriends that I've ever liked."

"I'm glad he took care of you." Jenny smiled, she was too. Madeleine had never been great at being a mom and while Jenny had always been able to take of herself and her mom, she'd needed someone to look to for guidance and Mitch Collins had fit that role perfectly. In a sense, he'd been her dad for the last five years.

"So am I, but I'm glad I have you. When I left to find you, Mitch was planning to propose to his girlfriend. It wouldn't have been fair for him to put his life on hold for me."

"He would have done that for you?" Jake was amazed that this man would have forgone his own happiness for Jenny. Not that he wouldn't have, but he was actually Jenny's father, it was completely different.

"Yeah, he would have. The first time he met Paige it was obvious that they like each other, but he wasn't going to ask her out until I convinced him too."

"You know, you're the reason your- Haley and I started dating." He had almost called Haley Jenny's mom and they both knew it. As far as Jake was concerned Haley was Jenny's mom, but Jenny wasn't ready to hear it yet and Jake didn't want to push anything on her, especially since they'd finally gotten everything worked out.

"It's okay for you to call her my mom. I may not be ready to yet, but that doesn't mean you have to stop doing it." Jake smiled and kissed the top of his daughter's head. She'd lived with Nicki for twelve years and had by some miracle turned out to be an amazing kid.

"So, who's Austin?"

"This guy I met at school. He helped me find all of my classes my first day there and we just kind of clicked. He's a junior."

"No boyfriends?"

"No boyfriends. I'm not looking and I don't want one right now." Jake breathed a sigh of relief and Jenny giggled. "Jake, I'm fourteen not four. I may not want a boyfriend but that doesn't mean I don't like looking at boys."

"New subject please." Jenny laughed and decided give her dad a break.

"Tell me about you and Haley."

"How was the rest of your weekend?" Austin asked Monday morning as he and Jenny walked to their next class.

"It was really nice. Jake and I have a lot in common."

"Well, he is your dad."

"Yeah, but we don't know each other and I grew up with Madeleine, who isn't exactly a model parent."

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah. So, what did you do with the rest of your weekend?"

"I met up with some friends and we went to the batting cages."

"That sounds like fun." Austin looked at her curiously and she blushed.

"What?"

"I've never met a girl like you. It's like you're not afraid to be yourself."

"I'm not."

"Then maybe you can come with us next time. They already like you."

"Maybe I will come with you." Austin smiled and handed Jenny's books to her as they reached her class. "Thank you. You know, you don't have to do this every day.

"I know, but I like it. Besides my third period class is two rooms down from your's."

"Oh, I see. It's all about convenience. I feel so special."

"You should. You are special, Jenny."

"Okay, I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment." Austin laughed and pulled her against his side.

"It's a compliment. Trust me. I know that we've only known each other for three weeks and we're just friends, but your friendship is special to me and more than that, you're special to me." Jenny smiled and hugged Austin before stepping back.

"That means a lot to me. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll see you after this class?"

"As usual."

"Hey, what are you doing after practice?" David asked as he took Jenny's place walking beside Austin.

"Some of us are going out for pizza."

"So, you're not hanging out with the new girl?"

"Her name's Jenny and no. She has to baby-sit and she has a test to study for. Why?"

"Some of the guys on the basketball team are starting to think you two are dating."

"Jenny and I are friends. Neither one of us is looking for a relationship right now."

"Are you sure? Because that's not what it looks like."

"Yes, I'm sure. Now let's get to class before we're late." Austin smiled to himself as they entered the classroom. It still amazed him how quickly rumors started and circulated in high school. He and Jenny walked to her classes together and hung out together after school two or three days a week, but they'd never given any indication that they were anything more than friends.

"Apparently Austin and I are dating," Jenny said as she joined her friends at their usual lunch table. She took a sip of her lemonade and rolled her eyes when she saw her friends smile.

"You do spend a lot of time together," Valerie pointed out.

"That doesn't mean we're dating. We're just friends hanging out together."

"It does look like the two of you are dating. I mean, you've been here three weeks and Austin's the only guy you spend time with," Natalie said.

"I met him my first day here and we just clicked. There's nothing between us except friendship. Now can we please talk about something else. I've had people asking me about my supposed relationship with Austin all morning."

"I was talking to Michael Summers and he said that he wants to go out with you," Kim said. Jenny groaned and shook her head.

"I don't want a boyfriend right now. I've got too much going on."

"You wouldn't even go on one date with him?" Valerie questioned.

"No. Look, I'm just not interested in having a boyfriend right now. I just moved here and like I said, I've got a lot going on right now."

"What do you have going on?" Shane asked, sitting down beside Valerie.

"I don't want to talk about it here. Can we meet somewhere this weekend?"

"What's going on this weekend?" Evan asked as he and Sam sat down beside their girlfriends.

"We're all meeting somewhere Saturday morning and Jenny's finally going to tell us what's going on," Natalie explained, laying her head on Sam's shoulder.

"We can meet at my house. My room is big enough for all of us," Valerie offered. Jenny nodded and took a bite of her pizza. She'd met Val and Natalie about three days after she'd met Austin and they had introduced her to Kim, Evan, Shane, and Sam. Much like she had with Austin, she'd instantly clicked with all of them and they'd quickly formed their own group.

"Val's room it is," Shane said, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend. Although the seven of them were only fourteen, Valerie, Natalie, Kim, Shane, Sam, and Evan seemed to content to be with their respective others and Jenny couldn't see any of the three couples breaking up.

"So, I heard that you and Austin were dating," Sam said.

"The next person that says something about me and Austin dating is getting their tongue cut out." Sam winced and offered Jenny a bright smile.

"I'm guessing that's a sore subject."

"It's not a subject because we're not dating. I'm not saying that again."

"Val, what time should we be at your house Saturday?" Natalie asked.

"Is ten good with you guys?" When she received six nods in response, she smiled.

"Ten it is."

"Mommy!" Carly ran to Haley and wrapped her little arms around her neck.

"Hey, sweet girl. Were you good for Jenny?"

"Yes! We paint. Jenny taught colors." Haley smiled at Jenny as she joined them in the hall. She couldn't believe how great Jenny was with Carly.

"Haley, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah, is something wrong?" Haley asked, putting Carly down.

"No, I just need some advice about something. It's one of those teenage girl things."

"Okay. Carly, will you go in your room and color while Mommy talks to Jenny?"

"Kay."

"Don't paint. Just use your crayons."

"Kay," Carly agreed, walking down the hall toward her room. Haley and Jenny made their way to Jenny's room and sat down on her bed.

"Tell me what's going on."

"There's a rumor going around school that Austin and I are dating."

"Jenny, you know you can't believe rumors. They aren't always true."

"I know and the rumor isn't what bothers me. What bothers me is that Austin might think that I like him as more than a friend."

"Do you?"

"No, but I haven't had a chance to talk to him since our last class and I don't know if he's heard anything about this or not. He didn't say anything about it, but that doesn't mean that he hasn't heard it."

"You need to talk to him."

"I know, but I don't know when I'll be able to. He's got practice every afternoon this weeks and we've both got plans for the weekend. I'd rather not do it at school because it will only give people more to talk about."

"Talk to him after school on Monday. Jenny, you need to do this as soon as possible. If you don't, it could make things really awkward."

"I know and I don't want that, but how do you start a conversation like that with a guy? Especially one that you've only known for three weeks." Haley smiled, she'd never had to deal with a rumor like this while she was in high school, but she had dealt with rumors and it wasn't easy. She still dealt with rumors and it hadn't gotten any easier. It came with the territory of being married to a pro basketball player and Peyton and Brooke had to deal with it too.

"Just tell him that you're not interested in having a boyfriend right now and that you don't feel anything toward him except friendship and hopefully he'll tell you that he feels the same way."

"What if he doesn't?"

"Then you say that you need some time to think and that he should really think about he feels. After a few weeks, you call him and agree on a place to meet so you can talk about where you are in your relationship. If you're lucky, he'll agree that the two of you should be just friends. It might be a little awkward at first, but you'll get things worked out and it'll be almost like it was before."

"You sound like you've been through this before."

"No, I haven't but Peyton and Nathan did. They did fall in love but that doesn't you and Austin will. Everyone's different. When Nathan told Peyton how he felt, she got scared and she lied to herself and Nathan about how she felt. If you and Austin do get together, I don't see the two of you going through that."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetie."

"I wish you could have been my mom." Haley sighed and pulled Jenny into a hug. She'd hoped this wouldn't happen but it had and now they had to deal with it. She hadn't wanted to get too close to Jenny in case she ended up having to live with Madeleine again, but now that she thought about it, getting close to Jenny again was inevitable. Haley still considered Jenny to be her daughter and that would never change.

"I was for a little while. Even when Madeleine left with you, I still thought of you as my daughter." Jenny looked up at Haley, her eyes full of hope, and Haley's heart broke. She knew what was coming but she couldn't stop Jenny from asking.

"Can I be?"

"Jenny, don't do this. I don't want to see you get hurt and that's what's going to happen if you let yourself believe this can happen."

"I'm going to get hurt anyway. I never thought I would get so close to Jake so fast, but I did and I got close to you and Carly too. I know that we still have to deal with my mom but I don't want it to change my relationships with everyone here."

"It won't. Not if you don't let it. Madeleine doesn't have to ruin everything you have here. I know it seems impossible, but it's not. The life you have here is yours. Not hers, not anyone else's. It's yours and no one can take that away from you."

"I wish that was true but I know it's not. If Madeleine wins when we go to court I won't have this life anymore." Haley didn't question how Jenny knew that they would go to court. Now that she and Jake had Jenny back, they were going to fight like hell to keep her. They weren't going to let her get away again.

"They can't take away what you already have, that will always be yours no matter what."

"I'm glad because I don't want to forget anything about living here." Haley smiled as they both away their tears.

"That's enough crying for one day. What do you think about having a girls night out? Just me, you, and Carly."

"I like it."

"I thought you would. Okay, you go get ready and I'll get Carly and myself ready then we'll meet downstairs in an hour and a half."

"What about Jake?"

"Jake can fend for himself for one night but we'll leave a note before we go."

"Hey, Jenny, can I talk to you?" Austin asked as they met Thursday afternoon.

"Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"Actually, this was something I was hoping we could do without the entire school around. You help Ms. Briley during this period, right?"

"Yeah, but I can tell her that I have to help someone study for a test and we can go out to the courtyard."

"Great. I'll meet you there."

"Wait, don't you have practice?"

"It was cancelled today." Jenny nodded and turned to head up the stairs. She had an idea of what Austin wanted to talk about she just hoped he didn't want to take their friendship any farther.

Ten minutes later Jenny and Austin were sitting in the courtyard. "So, I'm guessing that we've both heard about the rumor that we're dating," she said. She was hoping that if she opened the conversation he would take it from there because she had no idea what to say.

"Yeah. That's why I wanted to talk. I care about you but my feelings don't go beyond friendship. I know I probably shouldn't have just said it like that but I didn't know how else to do it." Jenny breathed a sigh of relief. She was so glad he only saw her as a friend. While she would have taken Haley's advice if she'd had too she wouldn't have liked doing it.

"That makes me feel a lot better. I was going to wait until Monday to talk about this but now I'm glad we didn't. Waiting to find out how you really felt was killing me and I'm not sure I could have waited much longer."

"So am I. It took me this long to figure out what to say and I still wasn't sure how it would sound. I really wasn't looking forward to this conversation and I was kind of hoping you would say something first but when you didn't I decided to go ahead and get it over with because waiting was killing me."

"You aren't the only one. By the way, what you said sounded fine."

"Good because the last thing I want to do is hurt your feelings." Jenny smiled and laid her head on Austin's shoulder.

"You never have to worry about that. As long as you're always honest with me you never have to worry about that."

"I'll always be honest with you. You know that. Me and a couple of guys from the team are going to the batting cages this weekend do you want to come with us?"

"I've already made plans. I'm spending Saturday at Val's with the rest of our group and then Sunday me, Val, Kim, and Natalie are going shopping. Maybe next time."

"What are you guys doing Saturday?"

"I'm telling them why I moved here. They want to know and they deserve to know. They are my best friends."

"I was wondering when you were going to tell them. Just out of curiosity, have you talked to Michael Summers lately?" Jenny lifted her head and glared at him playfully.

"You talked to Kim, didn't you?"

"Yes, but Michael talked to me during practice Tuesday and told me that he likes you. I know you don't want to go out with anyone right now, but one date isn't going to change anything. Besides, it could prevent anymore rumors about the two of us dating."

"Okay, I'll go out with him if he asks me but I'm not agreeing to anything long term."

"You don't have to, but think about this. If you do go out with him then you won't have Kim, Natalie, and Valerie bugging you about it."

"That's very true. I knew there was a reason I liked you." Austin smiled and tickled her causing her to burst into giggles.

"Hey, Jenny, how was school?" Jake asked as his daughter joined him in the gym.

"It was good. Austin and I got everything straightened out."

"Haley told me about that." Jenny smiled and sat down on the bench press.

"Did she tell you what we talked about after that?"

"No, she told me that wasn't all you two talked about but she wouldn't tell me anything else. She said it was between you and her."

"I've never been able to do that before."

"Do what?"

"Talk to someone like I did yesterday. Not only that, I've never been able to talk to someone and know that they won't tell anyone else if I don't want them to. It's nice." Jake smiled as he continued to run on the treadmill. He could tell Jenny was building up to something but he wasn't going to push her.

"You know Haley and I aren't the only ones you can talk to."

"I know. I still believe how great everyone's been about me being here."

"Well, you should. They all love you, Jenny."

"That's why I wanted to talk to you. I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I want to stay in Charleston." Jake looked at his daughter in surprise as he slowed to a walk. He hadn't been expecting that. Jenny had said she wanted to stay until they heard from Madeleine but she'd never said anything about after that.

"Jenny, are you sure?"

"Yes. I like it here. I like living with you and Haley. For the first time in my life, I feel like I have a family and I don't want to lose it."

"This is what you really want?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Looks like we're going to court."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Haley and I don't want to lose you again. We'll wait until we hear from Madeleine to start the case but we're going to fight for you, Jenny. I promise you that." He stepped off the treadmill and Jenny ran into his arms.

"I love you, Jake." He smiled and wrapped his arms around her as he kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too, baby girl."

Next week on Can't Go Back:

ONE PHONE CALL...

"Hello?"

"You're coming home. Now." Jenny rolled her eyes as soon as she heard the voice.

THREATENS EVERYTHING...

"What are you going to do?" Brooke asked. Haley ran a hand through her hair as she sat down.

"We don't have a choice. Jenny has to go back."