A/N: Sorry for not posting in like, forever. Finals have been kicking my butt in school. Hopefully this chapter isn't a piece of shit. ^^

Chapter 3

Shopping and Trusting

It wasn't a shock that she woke in cold sweat, trying to caught her breath, feeling her heart race a mile a minute. It was something she was used to with being terrified to be touched for the past months. Though, it took her a minute to remember were she was. It was a blurry sight to see, without her glasses that is. Until she realized where the hell she was. It was the police officer that was very nice to her, let her stay here, even sleep in his bed. It was a very nice of him, but she was just waiting for him to lay a hand on her to bruise her. Like Gamzee did…

Jade reached for her glasses so she could actually see to get out of the room. It really didn't change from the night before. Red carpet, white walls, desk where a laptop sat, the launch pad. It was pretty cool, as she thought when she pushed the red covers off her small body and stood up. Her mind when fuzzy for a moment before she was sitting back down on the bed. Her body not used to having a full 8 hours of sleep. She took a deep breath and stood, grabbing onto things that would help her towards the door. She just needed to get used to not being cooped up in that warehouse.

Once she opened the door, sweet smells entered her nose. Making her smile softly and her stomach growl loudly. She ignored the swaying of her body and followed the scent into the kitchen. She was met with Dave, cooking up a bunch of food she probably forgot the names off. But it didn't stop her from entering the kitchen, the smile widened as she scanned the food.

Flaky, perfectly cooked pancakes coated with syrup sat on a white plate. It wasn't plastic, a ceramic one. Two platefuls sat on either end of the table. 3 cakes on each. The butter seemed to be melted and spread across the top. Syrup dripped down from all sides. In the middle, there sat a small plate of bacon. There was a lot stuffed into one plate but she didn't care about that. The smell was amazing.

Next to the bacon, there sat a large mug of apple juice and coffee. She never tried coffee before but she heard from some of the other girls that it made you very hyper. She was looking forward to try it.

"Morning," his voice broke through her staring at the food. Once she figured out what she was doing, she quickly looked at him and smiled. He smiled back, "Are you drooling?"
"W-what? No!" she said, looking away from his face and back at the delicious looking food. She heard him laugh.
"Go on, I made half of that for you. So, pig out as much as you want. Just save some for me," he flashed her a half smile that made her want to just about melt. Wait what? She quickly sat down before he could do anymore damage to her.

The smell of all the food was too fucking good. She picked up her fork and cut a piece of the pancake. The soft, sweetness of the dough made her insides beg for more. So she granted their wish. In about 5 minutes, all 3 pancakes on her plate were gone. Her stomach felt full, but she wanted to try the coffee. So she casually picked up her white mug and poured herself some, taking a small sip.

This was the most grossest thing she ever tasted.

And she accidentally made a noise like "Bleeeeeh!" when she drank it. It was really bitter and hot. And the taste lingered on her tongue. Dear god, she didn't like it. She could say she hated it. How could Rose like it so much!?

Dave must have heard her noise because he was turned around. Laughing at her face. "Try to put cream into it. Maybe some sugar too," he said, sitting down across from her. He had just finished making something else. Was this guy some professional cook? "French Toast?" he asked, holding out a plate of fluffy looking bread with white powder on them. She wanted to try them, but she actually didn't trust the white powder…

"No thanks," she said softly, taking the cream he just put down. She poured it slowly, watching out the black liquid turn light brown. She then took the small white bowl of sugar and put in 3 scoops of the white stuff. She's seen sugar before, so she trusted it greatly. Once that was done, she stirred it slowly. Watching it turn a lighter brown, it was still steaming, but not as much.

"Go ahead, it's not gonna drink itself," Dave said as he watched her. He had to admit, it was kinda cute to watch this girl figure out how to make coffee. He also thought it was pretty funny when she first tasted the bitter shit. He didn't mind it, but she apparently did.

He watched her put the mug to her lips, taking a small sip. She smiled, an actual smile that wasn't forced. Wow this girl can be happy he thought as he started to cut and eat his breakfast, reaching over to pour a glass of apple juice for himself. He had to give himself some credit for the food, it was really good. Explaining how Jade ate hers in 5 seconds. No that was over exaggerating it. Maybe it was 2 minutes? Who knows, the girl was very hungry.

Once he finished the food and drink, he leaned over and took the coffee pot from Jade's side, pouring himself coffee, tipping in about two sugars into it. The way he liked it. Black, two sugars.

"You like your coffee bitter?" Jade said, noticing his drink.
"Hell yeah, its black, like my heart," he joked, leaning back into the chair and pushing his feet up. Sipping his coffee.
"You don't have anyone you like?" she asked, which kinda caught him off guard.
"No, just friends. No one else really," he said, looking at her though his shades. He saw that she was still in those baby blue pajamas. While he was in his broken record shirt with red sleeves and black jeans. He was given the day off of work today, just had to stop by the station with this chick to get her checked and everything. Then they could go shopping. "So! Before we can go to the mall and get you a whole new wardrobe, which I'm paying for, no exceptions. We have to go down to the station. They're gonna ask you a few questions and take your blood to check if you don't have anything that's wrong with you, okay?"
"I-I uhm…" she looked away from him. He saw that she was scared to do anything right now. Considering it probably took her a lot to get into a car with him in the first place.
"Don't worry, Jade. I won't let any scary doctor or anything hurt you, I promise," he said as he pushed himself off the table and stood up, finishing his coffee. "Now, up up up! Time to get dressed, we go a big day, solider. And we gotta get shit done,"

She was in a bright green sweater. It looked knitted, but it was also store bought so the design on it was kinda stripped. It was a blinding green, but for his sake, he had his shades, so he could careless. Her legs were covered with black leggings. They didn't seem tight on her and she looked comfortable enough. On her feet, she wore black uggs that went up to half of her shin. It made her look cute, in his opinion.

Her hair was brushed out and it flowed down her back. The large round glasses sat on her nose. Falling down every time there was a bump. She didn't make any attempt to make conversation, just looking out the window. He would glance at her from time to time, having shades on definitely hid it too. Which he was thankful for. He would be driving the car in the awkward silence between them. Until he actually got sick of it.

"Scared?" he spoke softly, having one hand on the wheel and one of the windowsill. He tried to look like he was really cool doing this, but he doubt she actually saw her.
"A little…" she whispered, kinda surprising him with the answer. Not the answer itself, but that she answered.
"Don't worry, the doc won't hurt you. I know Scratch from when I first joined the force," he tried to keep the conversation going. Not liking the awkward air.
"Scratch…?" she looked over at him.
"Yeah, Doc Scratch. His first name is Able, but everyone either calls him Doc or Scratch… erm, or both," he added at the end of the sentence, knowing that some of the other officers call him that.
"Is he… evil?" she asked. What kinda question was that?
"He works in the police force, I doubt he'd be evil," Dave answered. "Look, we're here,"

His car stopped in front of a dark blue building. Typical blue because it was apparently the color of all police stations. The sign Houston Police Department printed in black letters with a yellow background. The sign hung right over the doors, glass doors. Double doors that lead into yet another set of doors. Same kind of doors. The first set open to the public and meeting with a desk on the side. Almost hidden from the outside. Once done talking to that person, the person at the desk on the side would let the visitor in by pressing a button and unlocking the next set of doors.

Dave popped open his door before swinging around to help Jade out. Once she was out of the car, he guided her to the sidewalk, up the concrete stairs into the first set of glass doors.

"Hey Mituna," he called to the guy at the front desk. "Sup man?"
"Not much!" he said, his voice was high and he had a bit of a lisp. "It's rad, have you seen Latula around?"
"Nah man, just getting in,"
"Oh, okay, lemme open the doors. Which button was that again…." The fuzzy haired man scratched his head as he looked at the wall for which one to press.
"The green one, little man," Dave said, helping him out a bit.
"Oh, right, okay. Here is it," There was a soft buzz then a click. "Have a good day, Strider,"

Dave opened the doors for Jade, which was walked into hesitantly. She was followed by Dave as he stuck close behind her, not too close to make her uncomfortable, but close enough to be protective of her. He really couldn't understand it but he had this urge to make sure she was okay. Before he was. Putting her needs in front of hers felt like the right thing to do.

Dave looked down at her, she glanced back at him with a questioning look. He answered quietly. "Mituna Captor. He was a police officer in my unit before I became a detective. It was a simple mission, really. A kid that did some weird shit and was gonna get arrested for it. He was scared, as all small little shits are and he set a bomb. NO ONE knew how he had fucking gun powder but it exploded and Mituna took some of it. Getting brain damage in the process. I felt so bad because, he was the best we had. I mean, literally the best. But now, he's just… broken..

"Latula, Terezi's sister, was with him at the time. Like, relationship. They still are. They live together and she takes care of him. The force was going to throw him out because he now had brain damage, but then the chick couldn't look after him. So they gave him this job. It was something very easy that he wouldn't fuck up. And Latula could still look after him," Dave finished explaining as they walked into his office.

"That's… kinda sweet," Jade whispered as she watched him unlock the door. He walked in as she followed behind. She looked around the room. It was a small little place. With a desk filled with different papers everywhere. A lamp sat on the edge of the desk as he flipped on the light on the ceiling. The desk was dark brown with a black cushiony chair tucked into it. In front of the desk sat two black, sitting chairs. They looked really comfy and soft. Probably for people who need his help.

Dave gestured to either the front chairs or the desk chair for her to sit in. He probably could careless about where he sat. Considering he saw himself as a cool guy and it was his office. So, he should have the privilege to sit anywhere he wanted.

"Yeah, it is kinda sweet. How Tulip takes care of him and all that shit," he said, glancing at her though his shades. Thank god he had them on. The dark glass was the perfect cover for checking girls out. Not that he did that. Considering he had a job to do half the time. And the fucking blind girl always caught him. Ironic.

"So, anyway, sit somewhere while I'll go get the Doc. Be back in a flash," he said as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Leaving Jade alone.

He dashed around the cubicles where others sat and worked. Dealing with people who needed help in the town. Dave, racing in between people, asking around where the Doc was. They all pointed to the break room, as he ran there, he bumped into a familiar set of glasses.

"Oh hey Strider," Vriska said with her usual sinister smile. "What are you doing dashing about?"
"Trying to get to Scratch, move please," he tried getting passed her, but she stood in his way each time.
"You know, I've wanted to ask you something," oh here we go "You know John, right? John Egbert?"
"Yes, he's my best friend, why wouldn't I know him," Dave said eagerly as he tried to get passed her again. "Look, can we talk la-"
"I want to ask him out but I don't know what he likes. What are some of his interests?"
"Nic Cage, now MOVE" he pushed passed her finally and broke to the break room. Ignoring the growls from Vriska.

He opened the door to the coffee room to see no one but the doctor, sitting at the small table, sipping a small cup of coffee. "Scratch!" Dave called a little too loudly as the man turned. He was a middle aged man. With sandy blonde hair that swept to one side of his forehead. His skin was a pale white. Only the skin on his face showed because, he was covered from head to toe in a white suit. White dress shoes and white gloves. Like he was trying to hide something on his skin. He held a cane as he walked. Having a limp on his left leg.

"Yes? How can I help you, detective?" he asked in a formal tone, still sitting down but now facing the blonde boy.
"I have a girl you should check out. The one from Gamzee's scandal. I took her home by accident… uh, just go check her out, make sure she's okay,"
"So that's where the last girl went," the doctor muttered, taking his cup and finishing his coffee. "Alright, take me to her,"
"Sweet, follow me," Dave said as he pushed his shades up his nose. Turning on his heel and walking out of the break room. Doc behind him.

Dave and Scratch moved through the cubicles yet again to stop at the office of Dave's, where sat the small girl for about 10 minutes now. "She's in here," he said as he opened the door. Doc Scratch walked inside.

Jade turned to the two men walking into the room. She looked at the sandy haired man and then back at Dave. Raising an eyebrow at him through her big round glasses.

"Jade, meet Doc Scratch. He's gonna ask you some questions and take a small blood test," Dave said, gesturing to the man.
"Yes, if you'd follow me to my office, please," Scratch said as he turned on his heel and walked out. Dave motioned for her to follow, which she did, very hesitantly. She didn't trust him, not even for a second. She wanted Dave to be there when he asked the questions and took her blood. She was starting to trust Dave more and more.
"Please don't leave me alone with him…" she whispered to the blonde. Which pretty much caught him off guard."What? You don't have to worry, he's har-" Dave started
"Dave, please," Jade was now begging. She looked at him with pleading eyes.
"Okay okay, I'll be there," he said, trying to reassure her. "Nothing gonna happen, Jade,"

They stopped walking when they saw Doc Scratch stop next to the door. "All I need is the girl, Dave. You are not needed," Scratch said, shooing him away.
"No way, I'm not leaving her," he noticed he said that a bit too eagerly. But the doctor paid no attention to it.
"If you must, just don't distract her while I question her," Doc said as he opened the door to his office, slipping inside. Dave followed with Jade close behind.

"Now, first, I would think we should do the blood test. It would get it out of the way. Make you more comfortable?" Doc asked her, leaning on his cane with both hands. The last time I had a needle stick me, it was to get me asleep. she thought to herself as she moved to sit down in front of the doctor. Dave standing behind the chair she chose. "It won't hurt at all. It will only be a minute. It is to check if you have anything that is… deadly to anyone," he turned around to his table. There sat about a million different things that Jade wanted to fiddle with. But she didn't, she just sat and waiting as he pulled out a needle. Connecting it to another part. He then turned back to the girl.

"You will only feel a prick," he muttered as he walked towards her. Holding the needle out for her to see. She though it was a very big needle and that if it touched her, she was going to die. Her breath started to increase as she reached for Dave's hand. She did this unconsciously, but she sure as hell didn't let go.

Doc Scratch knelt beside her and grabbed her arm, tying a rubber band over her forearm. A few seconds later, a dark blue vein popped up as the doctor acted quickly. Sticking the needle into the skin. Ignoring the sounds of protest from the girl. "Jade, shhh, it'll be over in a minute," Dave said soothingly to her, squeezing her hand tightly. Trying to distract her from the pain.

The doctor pulled up the syringe as it filled with blood. Dark crimson that made her just want to faint. She's seen enough blood from being locked away. But she didn't fall over at the sight of it now. She only held Dave's hand tighter. "Almost over," he whispered to her.

There must have been a pint of blood in that syringe because when Doc Scratch stopped taking blood, she felt somewhat light headed. Her grip on Dave's hand loosened slightly, but she didn't want to let go. She was actually happy she was sitting down, for she would've tripped over something to sit down.

"I shall test it tonight, now, questions. Tell me, girl, what do you remember on Gamzee,"
"He… he raped me…" she muttered, probably the only sentence she was able to say at the moment.
"Did he do anything else to you?"
"Hit me… repeatedly… called me names…" she felt herself get weaker as tears flowed down her cheeks. "I… tried to stop him…" she sniffed.
"Jade, you do-" he started
"Silence boy!" Doc Scratch yelled at him. "Sorry, Jade, continue please,"
"H-he… hit the others… more then me… said that I… I was his favorite…" more tears fell as she thought of the times he punished all of them. Even her.
"Okay, that's enough," Dave stepped in, seeing how she wasn't ready to be talking about this shit right now. "Give her sometime. She needs to relax and get over it before she can talk freely about it," he snapped at Scratch.
Doc Scratch looked disapproving at the blonde, but backed off of Jade. "If you are feeling in the need to speak with a human, then come to me, I can help," Scratch said as he stood up by the help of his cane. "You are dismissed," he gestured to the door as Dave helped the girl up, leading her out of the room.
"Come on, lets hit the mall and go shopping, ey? A whole new wardrobe sounds cool," he said as he walked out of the station, waving goodbye to Mituna and walked to his car.

Five stores later, Jade walked out again empty handed. She was dragging him everywhere and she felt really bad. Not finding anything for the passed 5 stores. And he was with her for most of them. Hot topic had some really nice shirts, but the store itself crept her out, she wasn't even in there for 5 minutes. But Dave seemed to have liked the store. He even bought a few shirts. With Jade standing at the entrance, looking around at the freaky store.

He walked out to her, holding a black plastic bag that read Hot Topic on the front and back. "Nothing?" he asked,

"No…" she muttered
"Damn, Hot Topic's the best store!"
"That's your opinion," she looked at him, straight into his shades.
"Well, don't worry, you'll find something," he gave her a smirk, then turned this head to the food court. "Hungry?"
"A little…"
"Well, you did wolf down those pancakes this morning, but if you are still hungry," he looked back at her as she was glaring at him. "Lets go," he motioned her to follow him into the crowd, scared he was going to lose her in the area full of people.

She stuck close to him. Bumping into some people, trying to keep up. But she ended up tripping over her feet and falling over. Dave looked behind him to see the poor girl on the ground. He didn't realize how clumsy she was. He made a note of how much cuter it made her. Whoa wait what? Strider, slow down there, you've only known the girl for two days. And she's gone through a lot, don't need some guy swooning over her.

He reached down and helped her up, telling the people around her that she was alright. She looked a bit scared to be the center of attention. So he got her out of there, fast. "You alright?" he asked, guiding her out of the crowds. He got a small nod out of her, she looked a bit hurt, maybe gotten a bruise on her leg or something. She looked fine to him, just a bit shaken up.

"Come on, lets get something to eat," he said looking at the fast food choices.
"What's KFC?" she asked softly.
"Kentucky Fried Chicken," he answered with a bit of a smile.
"We're in Texas, no where near Kentucky," she said, looking at him.
"No no, its just the name of the place,"
"Is the chicken from Kentucky?"
"No, its just a name, they make their chicken in the joint,"
"Do they use real chickens?!" she squeaked.
"I don't think so. I think they use mechanically separated shit,"
"…what,"
"Never mind,"
"Okay… Lets eat there!"
"Okay, sweet," he smiled at her before walking over to the counter.

Dave looked at her, "Watcha want?" he asked, already knowing what he was craving for. Her on the other hand, was staring at the menu, dumbfounded. He heard the soft sound escape her lips. It sounded like an extended version of "uhhh".
"I don't know…" she said softly as Dave stepped in front of her.
"We'll have a 8 piece chicken strips with 2 biscuit , a small sprite and a medium coke," he said to the lady at the register. She nodded and took down the order, then told him he had to wait a few minutes to get the food together. Making them stand with the others people waiting for their orders.
"So, maybe if you're still hungry after this, I'll get you some ice cream," he said, leaning over to talk to her closely. Considering it was a very loud place to be right now.
"What kinda ice cream?" she asked softly.
"Any kind you want," he smiled at her, and she smiled back softly.

Their food soon came quickly as Dave grabbed it and looked around for a table. Jade spotted one as she walked towards it. Dave followed. He had trouble holding the tray without it falling everywhere, but he somehow got to the empty table.

She sat down cross from him as he gave her the small drink. Then he gave her one chicken strip. "Here, try it. I'm pretty sure you'll like it," he told her as he took a chicken strip for himself. He bit into it, tasting the greasy tenderness of the white chicken. It was a bit hot but he didn't care. The chicken was fucking amazing.

And Jade thought so too. She was munching on that thing so fast, it was gone before he could even blink. Dave laughed. Watching her reach for another one. Which he happily gave to her. "This is really good," she muttered as she bit into the second piece. He looked at the box of chicken, thinking that he wasn't going to have any leftovers for tomorrow… Awe man.

She was about on her fourth when she started to slow down. She just about finished it before taking a long sip of the sprite he got her. He smiled at her as he drank his soda slowly, watching her go from shoving food in her mouth to sitting innocently in the metal chair.

"That was the best thing I've ever tasted," she told him, which made him laugh more. "Well, next to your pancakes," she gave him a small smile before whipping her mouth on a napkin.

"My pancakes are the shit," he said with a smirk as he finished his drink. "So, wanna hit one more store, ice cream, then go back home?" he asked as he made his effort to get up.

The way he said home was like the suddenly lived together. But Jade waved it off. He was the only person she trusted. It probably was going to stay that way for a while until she found someone else to take care of her. Which she probably wouldn't. She nodded slightly and stood up. Brushing some of the crumbs off of her. Dave packed up the trash and threw it away.

They walked around for a while before Jade spotted a store that looked like her taste. She grabbed Dave's attention and pointed at the store. "Old Navy? You want to go there?" he asked out of surprise.

"Yeah, what's wrong with it?" she asked softly
"It's a good store, its just people don't like shopping in places where you can get jeans for 10 dollars, I guess," he shrugged helplessly.
"I'm going there whether you like it or not," Jade said, walking over there.
"Funny, because I have all the money," he muttered before following her into the store.

Jade was mesmerized by the different types of jeans and clothing. She ended up getting two pairs of jeans that fit her quite nicely. A few shirts that had funny logos on them and a jean skirt. She also found a really nice blue dress with the sign of a dog on it. It made her look very cute and cheery, which was the style she was going for. So, she added it to her pile.

Dave on the other hand, was practically watching all his money slip away each shirt she grabbed. He sighed with a small smile, shaking his head and walking over to the men's section. Looking at the pants there. They weren't that bad, and the deal was pretty good… He got 2 pairs of jeans as he found Jade.

"Are you done?" he asked with a smile.
"Yeah, I think so," she answered,
"Alright, lets go pay and get some ice cream," he said, walking over to the cashier and paying for all of the clothing. The total of everything was about 78 dollars. Plus tax. He almost didn't want to shot for her again, but he didn't want to just stop caring for her. He did care for her.

He paid for the clothes and walked out of the store with Jade close behind. They made their way back to the food court and went to the ice cream stand.

"Cold stone?" she said, reading the label.
"Yeah, best ice cream in my opinion," Dave answered, ordering his choice as he did for Jade, knowing she wouldn't know what to get. "One vanilla cone and one chocolate cone please," he said to the man behind the counter. The boy nodded as he started getting their order ready. "After this, we'll go home," he said, leaning against the counter. "I'm beat,"
"I'm kinda tired too," Jade confessed as she yawned. He thought that was adorable.

Minutes later, they were walking to his car, lapping at their ice creams and holding the plastic bags full of clothes. Jade, feeling absolutely bad about how he had to get everything for her, but he didn't seem to mind. She still felt bad though. Even if he did it willingly. She was starting to think she could be more trusting with him. If she just let herself love someone, she might be happy… for once.

A/N: HOLY SHIT. I'm still really sorry for making you guys wait, like, 20 days for this chapter. Tests testing test ugh I hate them! Anywaaaaaaay time for shout outs! Because I can do this now.

To Nova, my moirail I met on PARP. He helped me with human Doc Scratch so yeah, appreciate him! He's also really cool. So, yeah.

To I'm awesome and y'all know it. Ahhhhhh thank you so much XD I was a bit tired the last chapter. And you might find some more mistakes in this one. I'm not the best at grammar or spelling. Ha yeah. I was also bombarded with stress, a 6 year old, and loss of sleep getting this chapter out, soooo ha ha. Cut me some slack.

To cloudsdale, No this isn't based off of that song. Because I don't know what song goes that way. My friend gave me the title because I suck at them.

Also, heads up, there will be much more fluff and feels in this story. I'm planning on killing each and every one of you with my feels canons. O`wO hahahahaha okay. Stay tuned for the next chapter! Bye Byee

-Kitty

(P.S. I have a tumblr. It is kittycat16778 and I take requests to write short stories and what not. There is also Nova who doesn't do anything but you guys should still follow him because he's awesome. novacrusher32 you'd put the . tumblr .com along the lines yeah so bye!)