Yeah I know... forgive me.

Jake all but skipped back to his house, engulfed in a cloud of happy and peppiness

Jake all but skipped back to his house, engulfed in a cloud of happy and peppiness. He was going to get to see Trixie, after all these years. Sure, she looked different and was killing creatures but she was still Trixie, his best friend.

As he turned down the sidewalk to his house he began to fantasize about what would happen when Trixie saw him and Spud standing there waiting to take her back home. He imagined that she would cry, he's never seen her cry before. She would run into his arms and there he would hold her until she stopped sobbing into his jacket. He imagined the feeling of her soft hair beneath his fingers, the feeling of her skin on his. After he was done hiding the fact that he to had been crying he would bring her back to his grandfathers shop where she could get a good nights and comfortable sleep. She wouldn't have to sleep in a dungeon, how degrading for her. She wouldn't be tortured anymore. She would be safe with him—and Spud.

Haley was sitting on the stairs of their townhouse talking with Sun. They were sitting with perfect posture, as usual, no doubt talking about Haley's training and future. Her future was so bright, so filled with opportunity. Jake often spent hours wondering why she wanted to be an American Dragon like him when she could live a normal life with many privileges.

He approached the stairs with a lilt in his step, "Haley, Sun," he greeted them both with a nod and a smile.

Haley was shocked. Earlier today he scorned her and kicked her out of his room after thoughtfully expressing her worry and now he was smiling at her. Weird, she thought. "Hey Jake," she smiled back, "Dinner is almost ready."

Jake headed up the stairs between the path Haley and Sun's legs made and smiled back at them before heading inside, "Thanks, I'll see you at the table."

The second the door closed behind Jake Haley turned to Sun, genuine worry spread across her face. Sun seemed just as surprised. Even before the accident three years ago Jake barely ate with the rest of the family and suddenly he was going to be there. It wasn't so much not wanting him there as she just wasn't used to seeing him happy or skipping up stairs and into the house with a smile on his usually angst ridden teenage face.

"The sun shines on even the cloudiest of days, Haley," Sun recited in her sing-song voice as though she had been reading Haley's thoughts.

Haley nodded to show Sun that she understood the saying. Internally, however, she wondered what was up with her brother.

"I'll be going now, Haley." Sun stood up and brushed the tiny pieces of gravel that stuck to her long dress.

"Oh, right," Haley snapped out of thought and quickly stood up. She curtly bowed to her mentor and then turned to head up the steps.

Sun's warm energy reached her before she grip the doorknob and go into her home, "Relax," it told her. She couldn't help but feel the muscles in her body loosen and silently she cursed Sun's magical ability.

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Jake ate his food happily, completely oblivious that his mom, dad, and little sister were so thrown off by his presence that they couldn't eat their food. He shoved a fork full of mashed potatoes into his mouth and hummed softly to himself a song that Trixie taught him so long ago.

The clatter of his fork hitting his plate every time he went for another piece of steak was the only thing that could be heard until his dad cleared his throat. "Well Jakery-doo you seem… happy." He said, turning his attention towards his chilling plate of food.

Jake looked up, wipping a spot of steak sauce from the side of his mouth, and smiled goofily, "I'm just having a really good day is all," he told his parents. For the first time in a long while he saw them smile—at him—they were smiling at him.

"That's great honey. Glad to see you happy." His mother said.

In response he smiled and gave a small nod before going back to devouring his food. In just a few hours he and Spud would be bringing Trixie home. Bringing her home, he had to repeat it to himself.

Not ten minutes later Jake was done, licking his plate clean like a dog He kissed his parents on the cheeks, put his plate away in the sink and then gleefully ran out of the kitchen, "Be home late." He said to his parents as the front door closed behind him.

Spud was pacing nervously in the glow of a street lamp a few blocks away from Jake's house. The conversation with Lao Shi had been on his mind since he left the shop, slowly repeating itself, growing in intensity as the time passed. As a friend, he should have told Jake what Lao Shi had said but he didn't need his genius to tell him that was a bad idea.

He bit down on his thumbnail, looking around nervously. The last part of the conversation cut him deep, love Trixie? Do I love Trixie? He questioned himself. Does Jake love Trixie? No he can't, he loves Rose.

"Hey Spud, ready?" Jake's voice not only shocked him but send a jolt of anger and jealousy through his body. He couldn't understand why. He turned on heel, suppressing the feeling and nodded to Jake with a smile on his face.

Jake eagerly approached boyish lilt in his step. He had been smiling the whole way, yet his face was not sore. Skipping to Spud's station wagon and hopping in, Jake buckled up and began playing with the radio dials for the perfect stakeout music. He finally settled on one of Trixie's old favorites Crazy In Love by Beyonce.

As Spud slid into the car he found that the song struck a sour note deep within him… then he heard Jake singing along and found that it was just Jake singing off key. "Uh, oh, uh oh, oh no no…" Jake sung along. With a sigh, Spud started the car and the headed straight for the Troll squatting grounds.

OOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo

It was a thirty minute drive of eager anticipation, horrible off key singing and memories slowly flooding back to the both of them to the Troll grounds. Jake sang to almost every song on the radio and Spud joined in after a while, their voices clashing with each other.

They would have to go into Troll territory on foot so Spud parked a good five miles away. Once silence settled around the car, the two hopefuls got out of the car and headed for the trunk for supplies. Spud packed his bag in silence. A rope, first aid kit, a few potions and a book of spells Fu gave him for his seventeenth birthday last year. Jake didn't need as many supplies, as he was his own weapon, but he decided to bring an offering, just in case.

"Hey, Spud," Jake started but abruptly stopped as the thoughts formed in his mind. They were so close to her now, it was like her could feel her in his arms already. He could feel Spud's confused stare on him and continued with his previous thought, "Think she'll recognize us?" he wondered.

Spud had to look away, he had asked himself that question many times on the way there. He smiled, he couldn't tell why, "I'm sure she'll recognize a red and yellow dragon no matter how long it's been, dude." He chuckled half heartedly.

Jake laughed a bit and then smiled at Spud. Once they were both stocking up he closed the trunk and patted his friend on the shoulder, "Let's do this."

"Lead the way."

They faught their way through the thick undergrowth of Troll land. Very muddy soil, thick vines and moss covered trees made very difficult obstacles for them but at the same time it gave them hope. The worse the vegetation got, the closer they were to the Trolls and Trixie.

Once they could see the Troll colony's makeshift houses they set up their scouting area. Spud stayed where their path brought them in while Jake circled around, he could cover more ground—and air than Spud. They set their talkies to the same station and the Jake took off in another direction.

Spud set his pack down, thankful that he packed a towel on account of the nasty moist bark he would have had to sit on without it. He pulled out his spell book and began to do some studying while he waited for something to happen. He started at the beginning with spells to turn any object into apples and continued from there.

The minutes passed by slowly, soon turning to an hour and still with nothing heard from Jake. Spud picked up the talkie and held it in his hand gingerly before pressing down on the button, "Jake…" there was no response, "Jake!" he said firmer.

"Wha… huh?" Jake's voice came groggily from the other side. Spud nearly flipped his lid.

"WERE YOU SLEEPING!?"

"No! Of course not… maybe a little bit. But can you blame me?"

"Jake!" Spud scorned, "She could have walked right by you and done whatever she had to do already. She could have drawn on your face for all you know. Do you have a mirror on you… Jake?" Spud wondered if Jake was even listening to his tirade. He wondered if Jake was taking this stakeout seriously at all, falling asleep on the job. He wanted to just—

"…Spud… she's here." Jake's voice whispered through the talkie.

Spud's eyes grew wide, his heart rate suddenly going up exponentially, "What? Where?!"

Jake was hiding in a thick section of forest where there was almost no visibility in the thick leaves of the thick trees from below. He was looking down from his crotched position on a branch high off the ground, his dragon eyes glowing gold in the darkness. He could barely breath as he watched the sight below him.

A girl, Trixie was right below him, closer than she's been in the last three years. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders, blowing in the wind created by her swift and cat-like walk. Jake hopped from branch to branch behind her. Her bright red jacket was easy enough to follow but her black boots gave her the appearance of floating through the forest. He noticed flashing in the moonlight around her finger, a gold ring, and a sack in her clenched fist. It was full and looked rather heavy.

"JAKE!" Spud's voice erupted from the talkie so suddenly that Jake dropped the it. It all happened in slow motion then. The talkie slipping from his hands, the talkie crashing to the ground not five feet away from Trixie's foot—eye contact.

Time stopped as Trixie searched the darkness for where the object came from and settled upon Jake's golden dragon eyes. She made no move, no faltered facial expression. She stood her ground, looking as majestic and graceful as she did in all the photos Jake had seen of her in the briefcase.

Jake seemed to be lost in her eyes, pitch black as the night that surrounded them both. His breath quickened and he jumped from the branch he was perched on to the ground a foot away from Trixie.

His lip quivered as he searched for something to say to her. Three years went into this moment, three long years of missing her, of feeling sorry for her, of guilt. Three years of searching, three years of threatening eighty-eight and eighty-nine. Three years of dreaming about this moment.

Spud's voice coming out of the talkie was the only thing that could be heard in stillness between the two. Jake ignored it though, he was to entranced. He studied her, from her black boots covered in moss and dirt, to her form-fitting dark denim jeans, to her black tank top with the skull on it, her red jacket and to the scar that he had given her three years ago that was auspiciously lighter than the rest of her mocha brown skin. He yearned to touch it, touch her.

"Jake?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

Her voice hit him hard. It was so soft and fluid but it still had that underlying sass in it. He smiled and nodded, "Trixie," he breathed.

A light breeze blew between them, sending Trixie's long hair circling around her head for a brief moment. Jake was in awe, she looked like an angel, the urge to hold increased. Without realizing it his hand moved from his side and was slowly closing the space between himself and Trixie. He couldn't stop it, nor did he want to.

Trixie flinched at first but once his hand was only inches from her face she found that she wanted it. He hand shot forward and pulled his hand to her face. There was a shock of electric energy that burst through them both and the bag she was holding suddenly fell from her hands. Before it could reach the ground she was engulfed in Jake's strong arms, tears pouring down her face.

Standing in at five foot five she was dwarfed by Jake's height and his muscles. She felt like a little kid against a grown up. Slowly she wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her higher.

He tangled his fingers into her hair and took in her scent, she smelled like sweet berries, he just couldn't get enough.

Trixie put her face into the crook of his neck and held on tighter and time passed. She had missed him so much while she had been gone. She had dreamed of this moment but never would have imagined him looking the way he did. It was overwhelming in the least. His muscles were so warm around her and she could feel his blood pulsing through the veins in his neck as she pressed into him harder.

Jake looked behind her the sack she had been holding, it had opening. There were gold coins spilling out of the pack. He thought about it for a good half a second before turning his full attention back to Trixie. He could still hear Spud's voice frantically calling out to him from the talkie but didn't care, Trixie was with him now, and nothing was going to ruin the moment.

"Jake," Trixie spoke, her voice still reletavly new to him, "How did you… why are you here?" she asked him.

"Shh," he told her gently, "All that matters is that you can come home now."

Trixie pulled her face from out of his neck and looked into his eyes, nearly loosing her thought, "What?" she asked.

He smiled stupidly, "You can come home. With me and Spud."

Trixie forced herself out of his arms, "I'm sorry Jake but I can't do that." She told him, a new tone in her voice that he did not recognize.

With a stupid grin still plastered on his face he took her hand and began tugging her in the direction of Spud's car, "Of course you can! You've been found!"

"Jake let me go." She tugged back.

He didn't though. He just kept ranting about how he was going to take her to Lao Shi's shop and make her something warm to eat. Trixie, once again told him to let go but he paid her no attention.

"Jake!" she said sternly.

He finally turned and stopped talking.

"Let go before I make you let go." She told him. He didn't get it until he found himself being flug twenty feet into a tree, hard. It actually hurt him, she actually hurt him.

Last time he checked Trixie couldn't fling him like he was a small rock.

As he crawled out of the hole made from the now timber he brushed himself off, "Trix?" he asked. He couldn't tell if it was her or not… because last time he checked, Trixie's eyes didn't glow red, Trixie didn't have claws and she most definitely didn't have a long, black, furry tail waving behind her.

Oh snap! WHAT THE LOW FLYING PLANE?!

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