I showed up at Jane's house with no warning. My heart was pounding, my palms were sweating, I felt sick. Xo answered the door.

"Hey, what's going on? Are you okay?" She looked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to see Mateo." My voice rasped. My smile was feeble at best. I wanted a drink, but I needed to see my son.

"They're back in her room." Xiomara said softly. "And whatever it is, it's going to be okay."

I nodded and went back to Jane's room. She was sitting on the bed, playing with our son's tiny feet. It warmed my heart. Jane would never sell our son. She looked up. Her face split into a huge grin. "Look, Mateo! It's Daddy!" She looked at my expression and her face clouded. "Rafael? What's wrong? Did everything go okay with your sister?"

I walked over to the bed and sat down with them, lovingly lifting Mateo into my arms, inhaling his sweet baby scalp. "My mother was there. She said she wanted to talk to me, tell me things I didn't know."

Jane gently placed her hand on my shoulder. "What did you say?"

I shook my head. "I told her the truth. I have a son and I would never sell him, not for any reason, not for any amount of money." I looked down at our now sleeping six month old. It amazed me how much he could sleep. Everything about him amazed me. "I can't imagine doing what she did. There's no reason, no excuse. She doesn't deserve the chance to explain herself." I said, bitterly.

Jane looked at me with a little frown, obviously thinking. She lifted Mateo from my arms, put him in his crib, then grabbed my hand and led me to the living room. We sat together on the couch.

"First off, Ma left for Rogelio's and Abuela is at work, so you don't need to worry about anyone listening in. Second, you know how I generally feel about forgiveness. Especially about forgiving family. But this, I think, is different. On the other hand, you and Luisa are so close, you and a half brother could be, in time. As important as family is to you, I can't imagine you choosing to live the rest of your life not knowing him. And if you want to meet him, your mother is going to be part of the equation. I don't have the answers. I know that I'm not qualified to handle issues this big. Maybe this is something that needs a counselor."

She looked contrite. I gently put my hand on her face, rubbed her cheek with my thumb. "You're right. Will you come with me?"

She looked surprised. "Of course." She murmured, then stopped. Slowly, she raised her head to mine, kissing me on the cheek. Her hands came up to my face, turning my head so she could kiss me on the lips. They were warm, comforting. Slowly my hands reached for her waist.

Our kisses were gentle at first, tentative. It had been so long since our last kiss, but it felt to natural, so right, so familiar. Warmth spread through me as Jane made a small humming sound and deepened the kiss. Her hands ran through my hair, tugging softly. I couldn't control myself, I had to touch her. I ran my hands up and down her sides, glorying in the feel of her soft body. It was better than I remembered, better than my imagination. She leaned harder against me, pushing her body closer to mine.

As we continued our kisses became frantic, frenetic. Our tongues touched and I effortlessly lifted her onto my lap. Her arms wrapped around my neck, my hands rubbed up and down her thighs, before finally daring to firmly grab her incredible behind. She moaned, loudly.

"Ah, Rafael." It was unimaginably sexy. I took the break from her mouth to trail kisses down her throat, on her collarbones. Her fingers clutched my shoulders, her hips grinded against mine. The air was hot, thick with our desire. I couldn't think of anything past her skin, her moans, her body writhing against me. I pulled her harder to my groin, reveled in the friction. I moved my hands to her face, looked at her. Her half lidded eyes, her flushed cheeks, her rosy and swollen lips. I crushed our mouths together again. I felt her hands at the collar of my shirt, tugging at the buttons.

She pulled her mouth from mine, looked at me, then started kissing and nibbling on my neck. Her hands were in my shirt, her nails raking over my chest, my abs, my back. I could barely think with lust crowding my head. Her mouth was slowly descending to my chest. My hands slid from her face to her neck, trailing over the sides of her breasts, caressing her waist, back to her rear.

"Mm, Rafael!" Jane's voice was pleading as she rocked her hips against mine. The juncture of her thighs was hot against my erection, her wonton movements sending flames through my body. She felt exquisite, and there were still my pants and her panties between us.

"You're so incredible." I said hoarsely. "I love you."

Shit. She froze. I froze. Then there came a bellow from the door.

"What do you think you are doing to my daughter? In her grandmother's home?" Rogelio and Xo stood in the doorway, and I knew exactly why we hadn't heard them walk in. I took stock of our situation. Jane was straddling me, half buried in my shirt. Her skirt was pulled up almost to her waist. At least my erection was gone.

Mateo started shrieking in the other room, startled awake. Jane jumped up to grab him, smoothing her hair and skirt as she went.

Xo looked amused, like she was holding back a chuckle. "Go easy on him, okay? Jane's a big girl."

"No, Xiomara, I will not go easy on this scoundrel who puts his hands on my daughter! Our daughter." He corrected, seeing her eyes narrow. She shook her head and went to follow Jane.

"You! Cad! What do you have to say for yourself. Explain your actions!" He demanded, crossing his arms. It had been years since I'd been yelled at by a girl's angry father. I buttoned my shirt up as quickly as I could, wracking my brain for the right thing to say. At the worst possible time, I came up blank. "Well?" Rogelio demanded. "Speak!"

I looked towards Jane's room. The door appeared to be closed. I waved Rogelio near. "We need to speak privately." I murmured. "I don't want Jane finding out about my plan before it's ready."

Rogelio looked pensive, yet suspicious. "Explain further and I may be inclined to accommodate you."

I ran a hand through my hair. "I didn't plan on having this conversation under these circumstances, but I would like to ask you for permission to marry Jane."

Rogelio's eyes widened, then darted towards the door. "You're right. This isn't the time or place. Come to my house next week. We can talk then." He said quietly, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Now, I must yell at you. I don't want them getting suspicious." He gave me a small smile. "How dare you debauch my daughter like that! I ought to challenge you!"

"Challenge him to what?" Xo asked, coming out of the bedroom with Jane.

"Seriously, Dad? We've talked about this. You can't keep yelling at Rafael." Jane sighed with a little smile for him. She looked at me. Her cheeks flushed slightly. Rogelio cleared his throat.

"So, I should go." I said, kissing Jane on her forehead. "I'll text you tonight." I turned my attention to Mateo. "Goodbye, Handsome. Daddy loves you, I'll see you tomorrow." And the next day, and every day. I won't ever leave you. I promise.

"Rafael, wait." Jane stopped me. "Are you busy tonight? Doing anything?"

I shook my head. "No, why?"

She bit her lip. "I feel bad you only got to see Mateo for a few minutes. Can we come spend the night with you?"

I couldn't help the smile that broke across my face. I expected Rogelio to vehemently object, but he was surprisingly quiet. "Yeah, I would love that."

"Great! I'll go get some things." She said, before scurrying off with a little extra spring in her step.

Xo raised an eyebrow at me. "How's it going with the house?"

I grinned. "I should be closing next month, then we get to renovate. We're right on schedule."

"Good." Xiomara nodded. "If that display earlier was any indicator, you better move fast on that, or someone won't be wearing white to her potential wedding."

"You know I wouldn't do that." I softly replied. "It's important to Jane, so it's important to me."

She gave me a little smile as Jane and Mateo returned from their room. Apparently that was the right answer.

"Okay, we're good to go!" Jane said brightly, heading towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow after class, Ma."

Xiomara just waved and smiled. She could be very hard to read. We got Mateo in the car, plus the diaper and overnight bags.

"Do you want dinner before we head over?" I asked.

"We're nearing the witching hour." Jane replied. "Whatever we get, it has to be fast!"

"Done." I said, thinking of a great Italian take out place. I took us slightly out of the way so that we could drive by the house. Jane laughed when she realized where we were.

"You really love that new house of yours, don't you?"

I smiled, then evaded the question. "I love the potential. I think it's going to be a great home."

We drove in comfortable silence for a short while. I picked up the food, then drove us back to the hotel. As we were getting on the elevator, it hit me.

"Did I tell you I switched rooms? The penthouse is being rented, and I'm in another suite until the house is done."

"Oh?" Jane asked. "What's this one like?"

"Smaller." I laughed. "Two bedrooms and a living room. You should see Mateo's room. It's packed!" The bell on the elevator dinged as we hit the top floor. I opened my new apartment door to reveal an efficient fourteen hundred square feet.

"Wow! I'm impressed. Look at you, living in a reasonable amount of space." Jane teased, wandering into Mateo's room to find an activity mat. She came back out with a confused look. "Where's all the nursery furniture?"

I pretended to be consumed with plating our take out. "Mateo didn't sleep in there anyway, so I donated it. I figured we can decorate his new nursery together after I close on the house."

Jane lifted an eyebrow. "Why am I helping to renovate your house, again?"

I smiled a self deprecating grin. "I'm actually hopeless at decorating. I usually just hire someone. And like I said, I'm bringing your mom and grandma, too."

Jane laughed, then looked thoughtful. "Why didn't Mateo ever sleep in the nursery?"

"I didn't really like the reminder." I said quietly.

"Is that why you're moving? And why you changed apartments?" My beautiful, perceptive Jane.

"It's definitely related. But no, not entirely. I'm ready to start a new chapter, with a family. Not literally living at work." Jane nodded, then picked up her plate. We sat down at the coffee table, feeding Mateo tiny bites of our food. "He's really calm tonight." I mentioned.

"He always seems calmer when Daddy's around, right Mateo?" My soon jammed another fist full of pasta into his mouth.

"I guess we'll have to do this more often, then. I'm in a better mood with my family around, too." I looked over at Jane. She smiled a little, then slowly pressed her lips to mine.

"I'd like that." She said. Mateo starting whining just as I got a work call. "Go, take care of it. I'm just going to give him his bottle and change him for bed."

"Thank you." I said sincerely, before taking the call in my room. Ten minutes later I was done, and joined Jane in reading some books to Mateo before bed. We sang the Itsy Bitsy Spider and the Alphabet, watched his eyes droop during Old MacDonald. Then we kissed him and put him in the pack and play.

We snuck out of the room, and I pulled the last box out of the to go bag. "Chocolate baklava." I said, holding it up. "It will change your life."

"I hope not too much." Jane laughed. "I love my life. My family, Mateo, you." My heart stopped. "I know I froze when you mentioned it earlier. I don't even know if you meant it or if I'd was a heat of the moment thing. But I do. I love you."

I joined her on the couch, cupping her lovely face in my hands, melting her mouth to mine. "Of course I meant it. Of course I love you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I've loved you for more than a year now. Even when I wanted to stop I couldn't."

Jane looked almost sad. "I just don't understand how you've forgiven me. I strung you along and then picked someone else."

"You always forgive family, right? Besides, I'm not blameless. I broke up with you first. But I did something else, and I need to confess."

Her face clouded. "What?"

"Please listen to the whole thing. I know what I did was so wrong and so illegal. And it meant I had to lie to you, and I have to come clean. I heard Michael confess to letting Nadine go on the monitor. I paid one of her friends to go to the police with the information."

Jane looked shocked, then furious. She stood up. "So you lied. You got Michael fired for no reason and you lied about it."

"I lied to you, and I regret it. But it wasn't for no reason and I don't regret turning him in. Jane, Nadine had information that could have led to Rose's arrest. She killed my father. She got me to institutionalize my own sister. Her crime ring sent my hotel into free fall so badly that I lost you trying to save it."

Jane turned away. "How can I forgive you? I have to go. I'll get Mateo."

"Jane, wait. If we want this to work, we need to work on our communication. You're upset, so tell me. Tell me that I hurt you, and your trust. Tell me how to fix it. Don't run, let's fight through this. Life is hard, marriage is hard. We have to work through things." I pleaded.

"Fine. I'm furious. I'm furious you lied when I asked you if you'd reported him. I'm furious you threw money at a problem instead of manning up and doing the right thing. I'm mad at you for getting Michael fired. But I'm also mad at myself. For not thinking about how that information would affect you."

"You're completely right." I agreed. "Though Michael was apparently just suspended, not fired. He was working today. I should have gone to the police myself. I definitely shouldn't have paid that guy off. It was wrong. I don't want you to be mad at yourself, though." I said, gently taking her hand in mine. "We can't change what's done. We can only learn from it and move on. And I love you way too much to want to see you hurting."

Jane was quiet a long while. "I love you, too. But it's going to take me some time to adjust. I have a thing about lying."

I nodded. "I know."

Shortly after we said our good nights. I laid in my bed staring at the wall, imagining Jane just twenty feet away. My family was with me, but a hundred miles away and inaccessible.

My arms longed to hold her. I imagined her knocking on my door and coming to sleep with me. But when the sunlight spilled into the room the next morning, I was still alone.

A/n: Finally some action! Good lord. Next chapter Christmas. I felt like he had to address his part in the unfortunate Michael scenario. How do you guys feel about the Rogelio dialogue? He's hard to write. As always, your criticisms are always welcome! -K

PS-Mercedes88, I love you forever! Thank you for all your reviews. They really make my day!