DISCLAIMER: I do not own DC or any of the cast or crew. This is purely fictional. :)

CHAPTER SIX

Everyone piled out of the bar at closing time. Camilla hugged the guys from the Northwestern, Wizard and Time Bandit and wished them good luck. Jake slung his arm around her as they walked to her 4 Runner and headed towards Camilla's house. They went inside and she turned on the lights.

"Where's your dad and grandpa?"

"Dad's at work tonight and grandpa's in Anchorage." She told him. "What do you wanna do?"

Jake had something in mind but he didn't want to take it to that level, not yet anyways. He wanted that to be something special, because she was something special to him.

"How about we just talk." He suggested pulling her closer to him on the couch.

"Talk?" She asked with a giggled. "You want to talk?"

"Why is that so funny?" He asked with a chuckle and a smirk.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Not many guys who have girls all alone just wanna talk."

"I'm being a gentleman."

"I know." She smiled kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"I don't wanna rush it, I want us to go at a steady pace." He told her. "I wanna make sure I don't fuck this up."

"Well if I must say so, you're doing a damn fine job."

He smiled.

"You're kinda pissed at men." Jake finally said. "Why?"

"You got that vibe?"

"I've been observing." He shrugged. "Not something I do often, so you better enjoy it while it lasts."

She pushed him playfully.

"So, what happened?" Jake asked getting back serious. "Ex boyfriend?"

"We're gonna need drinks for this." She said getting up and going to the fridge for beers.

She walked back to the couch and handed him a beer. She popped the top of hers and took a huge sip and sat it on the coffee table.

"Well his name was Kyle. I met him in college and he was a nice guy. We went out a couple times and became official. I thought he was the one guy I could trust after my maternal grandfather died. For the first 6 months of us being together, he was everything I could've asked for. He treated me like a princess and then…."

"He changed." Jake said finishing her sentence.

She nodded and her eyes got misty. He pulled her into a hug and rubbed her shoulder.

"All of a sudden, he did a complete 180 on me. He started abusing me mentally and physically. He called me stupid and worthless. He made fun of me in front of his friends, he stayed out late and wouldn't let me hang out with my own friends. One night he came in late and I had enough." She said closing her eyes. "I told him that I was done, that I thought I could love him but I was wrong. I told him to get out. The next thing I knew, he picked me up throwing me against the wall. I hit my head hard and he picked me up by my hair and punched me after slapping me. I fell to the floor and he kicked me twice in the ribs."

"Damn." Was all Jake could get out of his mouth.

He wanted to meet this Kyle kid personally and beat the shit out of him.

"He left me on the floor of my apartment bleeding with a mild concussion. My next door neighbor heard the commotion and called the police. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days with a fractured rib, concussion and a sprain arm."

"Did he get charged?"

"Yes." She nodded. "He got 2 years probation, paid the hospital bill and was ordered to stay away from me."

"He only got probation?" Jake asked shocked. "I would've locked his sorry ass up under the fucking jail."

Jake was angry. How could any guy ever put their hands on a female, especially Camilla.

"But it's all over with now." She said looking up at him with a smile. "I'm far away from him."

"And you're here with me." Jake added with a smile. "You're safe with me, Cami."

Her smile got bigger and he leaned down and kissed her lips. When they broke away, she yawned.

"Tired?"

She just nodded.

"Come on, I'll put you to bed." He said getting up and pulled her up onto her feet. "I'll call Josh to come and pick me up."

He followed her down the hall to her room and looked around me with a smile. Her room was neat and tidy.

"Make yourself at home, I'm gonna go brush my teeth and change." She said grabbing her pjs and going into the bathroom.

Jake sat down on the bed and picked up a picture on the nightstand. It was obviously her maternal grandparents and a young Camilla smiling together at the beach. She was even beautiful as a little girl and he sat the picture down in the same place he found it. They had a lot in common. They both have been through a lot in their lives, losing the most important people in their lives.

She came out of the bathroom and seen Jake staring at the picture on the nightstand. She smiled and climbed into bed.

"That's me and my grandparents at the beach." She told him. "My grandmother loved the beach and it was like her safe haven."

"Where's your safe haven?" Jake asked laying down beside her placing her in his arms.

Right here in your arms. She wanted to say.

"I'm not really sure." She said with a yawn. "Can I get back to you on that?"

"Sure." He chuckled.

She snuggled up to him and his cell phone rang and he dug it out of his pocket.

"It's Josh." He said before answering it. "Hello?"

Camilla could hear Josh but couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Yeah, yeah." He said. "She lives up on the hill."

"No, Jake." Camilla said quietly. "You can stay here."

"Ok." He chuckled and went back to his conversation with his brother. "I'm gonna stay here…don't worry dude, I'll be there in the morning to help…ok bye."

He hung up and set his phone down on the nightstand.

"Your dad's gonna flip the fuck out when he comes in and finds me in his daughter's bed." Jake chuckled.

"He'll live." She said closing her eyes. "I didn't want to stay here alone…"

Jake looked down at her and she was out. He chuckled, kissed her forehead and reached over to turn the nightstand light out. He laid awake staring up at the ceiling. He hated that he would be leaving her in Dutch while he went fishing. He's only know her for a few weeks but he knew everything he needed to know. He woke up a few hours later to his cell ringing. He tried to answer it before it woke Camilla up, but he failed. She stirred and mumbled.

"I'm on the way." He told Josh sleepily.

He hung up and sighed.

"I'm getting up." Camilla sighed.

She got up and went into the bathroom and brushed her hair and pulled it up into a messy ponytail. She changed into some jeans, a sweater and her sneakers. She slipped on a hoodie and they piled into her SUV. She drove down the hill to the port and up beside the CM a few minutes later. Jake unbuckled his seat belt and leaned over to kiss her.

"See you later."

She smiled.

A FEW DAYS LATER

The CM was finally ready to leave port and Camilla was standing on the dock watching the boat leave the dock. She waved to all the guys and wished them all luck. She went back to the house and went inside. Her grandfather was back from his trip.

"Your mother called." He told her. "She's flying in."

"Here?" Camilla asked with a shock. "Why is she coming here?"

He shrugged.

"I told her you would pick her up at the airport at 2."

Great!

Camilla really wasn't in the mood with dealing with her mother but she missed her. She picked her up from the airport and headed to the diner to get some lunch, then they would head to back to her grandfather's when her mother would be staying.

"God, this place hasn't changed." Her mother, Stacy said turning from the window to look at her daughter. "What have you been up to since you've been here? We haven't spoken since you left."

"We haven't spoken much since you decided to move." Camilla said bitterly.

"You're grown now, Cami." The young woman's mother said. "I have to live my life too."

She glared at her mother and her mother sighed.

"Honey, I didn't come to fight with you."

"Then why are you here, mom?"

The waitress came over with their food and looked at us. Camilla gave the older waitress an apologizing smile and looked back at her mother.

"I've had it with Greg." She sighed. "I can't take him being under my ass constantly."

"Now you smarten up." Camilla told her. "But why are you in Dutch?"

"You're the only family I have left. I want to repair and rebuild our relationship. I want us to be mother and daughter again." She said a weak smile. "Is that possible?"

Camilla didn't have an answer for her. They had lunch and went to Cami's grandfather's. Stacy thanked bother Carter and Mr. Sims a million times for letting her stay. Camilla was in her room lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She missed going to the bar with the gang, but mostly she missed Jake. He'd give her some advice about dealing with her mother. Around 9 that night, Camilla came out of her room dressed to go out. She walked into the livingroom where he father, mother and grandfather was.

"Where are you going young lady?" Her father asked.

"I'm going to go down to the bar and see if Lisa needs some help." She told them. "I'll be back later."

"Be careful." Her father said.

She gave them a weak smile and walked out the door. She headed to the bar and went inside and it was mostly empty. She sat at the bar and Lisa came up to her with a smile.

"Hi, Camilla." She smiled. "What can I get you?"

"The strongest liquor you have."

"Rough day?" Lisa asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You have no idea." Camilla giggled.

Lisa poured her a drink and handed it to her.

"Wanna tell me about it?"

She looked at Lisa as someone she could talk to.

"My mother's in town." Camilla sighed taking a sip of the drink and letting the liquor burn down her throat before speaking again. "She left her husband for a few days and wants to quote 'rebuild our relationship'."

"What's the problem? She's your mother."

"Was." I said. "After her parents died, she pulled away from me, her only daughter. She met her husband and forgot about me. I was hurting just as bad as she was and she never once thought about it. She moved away and her husband became the most important thing in her life."

Camilla told her father's girlfriend the whole story and Lisa sat and listened pouring her more drinks and even drinking herself.

"Maybe she realizes the mistakes she's made in the past and wants to fix them." Lisa told the young girl.

"I think it's too late."

"It's never too late, Camilla." Lisa said. "Parents make mistakes all the time. They're only human."

"I know." She sighed. "I just think that if I was a parent, I would've done things differently. She pulled me away from my dad and grandpa when I was little and now that my maternal grandparents are gone, I'm trying to rebuild that relationship. I just don't want her to be here and fuck it up."

"Don't let her." Lisa said. "You seemed to be really warming up to this place. It's like you've never left here."

Camilla nodded.

"So, what's up with you and Jake?" Lisa said trying to turn the conversation to something happy.

"I don't know." Camilla smiled, her mood changing. "It's weird because I've only known him for a couple of weeks but it seems like I've known him my whole life. I miss him and he's only been gone a couple of hours."

"He'll be back before you know it."