A/N: I'm really losing interest in this story myself, even though I've finished writing everything now. Hope you still have enough interest to keep on reading!

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

'The Great Mr. Jane'

Chapter Five

Barely a day later, I saw the situation escalating already – Walter's focus was on Christina, which in itself was a good move, considering the little girl was very dear for Teresa. Jane's focus was more on Teresa herself, and neither of the men cared about their actions anymore. They both fought to have Teresa and Christina for themselves and nothing was wrong any longer.

In their eyes. Because I saw Teresa didn't enjoy one second of this all.

She waved it away though with a brisk flick of her hand and didn't comment on it, but I saw it hurt. She chose to focus on Walter's party instead, and that was a good idea.

Walter's party. I knew that there was a possibility that a greater part of this problem could be solved by then, and I was therefore greatly looking forward to that night. So long as everybody was happy you couldn't hear me complain.

Walter and Teresa had once again decided that moving around the subject for Christina's sake was better, but I wasn't so sure about this decision. Obviously, I couldn't question their motives, it wasn't my call, but nevertheless I couldn't help but pick up on the subtle signs that she wanted to know. But I wasn't the one to tell her so I wasn't about to do it.

It didn't go unnoticed that Jane threw every accord he might have had with the Mashburns into the wind. He dropped by their mansion, claiming he wanted to see Christina but secretly, he just came to talk to Teresa. Poor fellow, though. Even though he was more or less allowed to see Christina now, he still had to watch how Walter slowly won the fight – and the girl. In this case the girl being Teresa. I hoped he would hang in there a little longer because I knew that Teresa would budge eventually. He merely had to have a bit more patience.

Speaking of Jane, I heard a knock on the front door and when nobody went to open it – I only noticed now that Johanna and Teresa must be in the city again – I skipped to the door and turned it.

Jane was standing on the porch with an anxious expression but that disappeared when he saw me. He sighed.

"Teresa isn't in, is she?"

I bit my lower lip and shook my head.

"I'm afraid not. She said she needed some more things for the party."

He nodded. "Okay."

He wandered a bit more, and now that the sole reason that he wanted to get into the house was gone, I wasn't sure why he was still here. He turned to leave, but as I almost closed the door, he stopped me.

"Is Mashburn home?"

I smiled faintly and stepped aside to let him in. I immediately heard small feet on the stairs and when my smile widened, so did Jane's.

"Chrissie!" he exclaimed and the little girl chuckled.

"Hi Patrick! My Mommy isn't here."

"I know, Chrissie, Auntie Grace told me. But I'm actually here to talk to... to your father." The last words were stammered and I swallowed as I realized it must be tough to utter these words while you knew you were a child's father.

Christina frowned. "Why do you wanna talk to my Daddy?"

"I need to discuss a few things with him about the party."

"Are you coming to the party too, Patrick?"

He smiled, and nodded. Christina let out a small shriek and Jane chuckled. She snatched his wrist and mine and pulled us into the direction of the stairs, causing me and Jane to bump into each other.

Ouch. Christina didn't seem to be interested in our pain though, but simply chuckled and skipped up the stairs.

Jane rubbed the sore spot on his head while I did the same, my face probably a deep shade of red.

"You okay?" he asked gently, and I nodded.

"At least I can't get a concussion, I need a brain for that," I murmured, not aiming to be funny, but Jane's eyes twinkled and then he laughed, throwing his head back and that was when I noticed why Teresa was still fighting for him. He had this humane vibe, something I hadn't felt around Walter yet. Jane was a real person.

His laughter died down after a few seconds and I was left light-headed. Despite how much I wanted to be objective and not pick a side, I believed I just had.

-YulianaHenderson-

It turned out Christina had wanted to show Jane and me the clothes her mother had gotten the day prior. I wasn't sure whether Teresa had really picked that dress or if it had been Johanna but for now, I was okay with believing Christina.

She had put on the dress while Jane and I were talking a bit about nothing important, and when the little girl had exited the small dressing room linked to her bedroom, I had felt my smile widen.

She was wearing a light pink dress. It covered her shoulders with sleeves that well reached her elbows, not tight but a bit loose hanging. The dress ended beneath her knees, a little lace ribbon sewn onto the edges. The same kind of ribbon was wrapped around her small waist, tied on her back in a rather messy matter but she probably couldn't do that properly on her own. Tiny glimmers were sewn onto the dress in the shapes of beautiful flowers.

When I was done examining the dress, I quickly looked to my left to see what Jane thought. I didn't know what I was expecting but miniscule tears in his eyes was not one of them, I was sure. I swallowed, and apparently it could be heard, as Jane turned his head to look at me.

"Do you like my dress, Patrick?" Christina asked. Jane lurched his head back to the girl and nodded frantically.

"It's beautiful, Chrissie. You're like a princess."

She blushed and turned to take off the dress but Jane stopped her, jumping up and wrapping his arms around her. She let out a tiny shriek and started squirming in his arms violently. As Jane lifted her into the air, spinning her around a few times, I sighed quietly.

I granted Jane this little girl. Whatever Teresa chose, she couldn't possibly choose to refrain Jane from seeing this beautiful girl again. His beautiful girl. Because that couldn't be changed – she was Jane's and not Walter's.

It didn't surprise me that Walter had to be the person to ruin the perfect moment.

"Oh, hi Jane."

"Walter."

Jane slowly put Christina down, but she didn't release him, wrapping her arms tightly around his body instead. Walter and Jane's eyes crossed, and the blonde man swallowed, gently pushed Christina away from him.

"I wanted to speak with you about the party," Jane said, calmly, but his voice didn't lie. I heard the panic, even though it wasn't easily heard for other people.

Walter nodded, and his eyes flashed to Christina for just a hundredth of a second – enough though for me to pick up on it.

"Christina, do you know how you want your hair for the party?" I asked, in a futile attempt to ease the tension. The men noticed, though, and so did Christina. She reluctantly moved away from Jane, and I wondered why that was. Well, actually I didn't. Jane was much friendlier to her than Walter was and that was the only thing that counted for children her age.

She shook her head and walked into my direction, and the two men got the hint. They walked out of the room and I heard them walking down the stairs. In my offense, the sigh of relieve I let out was legit. They looked as though they could kill each other.

I understood why Jane wanted to talk to Walter, though. He wanted to come back into his good graces for as much that was possible. They would never like each other much, after all, they basically shared one woman but that didn't mean they couldn't try. And they did want to try. Because they wanted to impress Teresa as well.

I sighed again and looked at Christina, who was watching herself in the four foot high mirror. She was making a few spins and turns, then bowed down as though she was a princess. After a minute or two, she turned towards me with a 1000-watt smile.

"Patrick thought I was a princess," she said, then chuckled and turned back to the mirror. The smile that crept into my features in that moment was completely involuntarily.

"Yes he did."

Christina was too happy with Jane's opinion for my liking. She bonded really well with him and they had gotten close in a mere few days, up to the point that Jane now knew some things about her that I didn't. It gave me a double feeling, really. On one side, I was happy for him. He got to spend more time with his daughter and he got to impress her mother as he went along. But it was dangerous to bond with her. If Teresa would choose for Walter, I was sure they would want to have full disclosure and the probability of them cutting all ties that connected Jane with Christina was high. Perhaps that was why it was of top priority that Teresa chose Jane instead of Walter – just for the sake of Christina. Because now she cared about Jane as much as he did about her, which would hurt her feelings if they were to be split up. I refused to let that happen.

"So honey, what do you think about Patrick?" I asked as I went about to braid her long dark hair. She squirmed a bit on the low chair, obviously she wasn't used to sitting still for such a long time but she had to be prepared for it either way. Now it was just for fun but if she really wanted someone to do her hair for the party, she genuinely had to sit still for so long.

She shrugged, one strand of curls sliding over her shoulder to the front.

"He's sweet."

I nodded, crossing one strand of hair while keeping the other two in place.

"He thought I was a princess."

I chuckled. Christina's expression was a picture.

We were quiet again after a while, Christina attempting to get comfortable in the chair but knowing it was completely futile.

"Christina?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you... mind, spending more time with Patrick?"

She was quiet, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Then, her eyes shot up to mine.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, would you mind spending nights at his house?"

She stared at me. I realized in that moment I had pushed it too far. She was just seven, she couldn't decide over such things yet. For goodness sake, she couldn't even possibly know what 'cheating' meant.

"Patrick isn't just Mommy's friend, is he?"

I startled almost violently. How could she know? Did I reveal Teresa's biggest secret to her daughter on a whim?

"I'm not stupid, you know."

I sighed and pulled up a chair, sitting down beside her and turning her chair so she was facing me.

"I know you're not stupid, Chrissie." I took my time choosing my next words. It was possible I was now going to reveal more than Teresa wanted me to.

Well, in for the penny, in for the pound. Christina was going to find out anyway and knowing Teresa, it would be too awkward if she told her own daughter. Frankly, I was simply doing her a favor. In a few days, she would understand why I had acted the way I had. Sometimes, you had to be a bitch to accomplice things, where you also sometimes had to be too nice. A little bit of bitch inside of the nice, a little bit of nice inside of the bitch.

"You know that Wayne has a girlfriend, right?"

"Yes. Sarah."

"And you know he has a crush on me."

She nodded.

"Well..." I took in a deep breath. "It's a bit like that. See, imagine Mommy is Wayne. The girlfriend would then be your Daddy, and then I would be Patrick. Do you see that, Christina?"

She nodded, but not without hesitating. I sighed quietly. I was history.

"Sometimes, Mommies and Daddies just can't be happy together anymore, and then they want more. Because Daddy might not kiss the way Mommy wants him to kiss her, or the other way around. I know it's strange, Christina, and it shouldn't happen, but it happens sometimes."

She nodded, again reluctantly.

"So... so is Mommy kissing Patrick?"

"Yes, she is. Well..." No, that was too difficult. I was going to leave it like this. She wasn't going to comprehend why Teresa and Jane broke up then.

"But... but doesn't she love Daddy anymore?"

"Of course she still loves your Daddy, very, very much even. But..." I leaned closer, and whispered the rest of my words. "But I think that Patrick is a better kisser."

Christina chuckled completely involuntarily. Then, she stopped and took a few moments to take in what I had told her. It must be hard to fathom for a girl her age, but she was doing well so far.

"Why doesn't Mommy live with Patrick then?"

"Maybe you should ask her that yourself, honey."

She nodded, and sighed.

"I think Mommy should be with Patrick," she said, already moving to turn the chair around.

"Why is that, honey?"

"Because I think too that Patrick is a better kisser."

I rolled my eyes and got up, continuing what I had been doing minutes ago, but the nagging feeling didn't go away. I had to confront Teresa before Christina would 'betray' me.

-YulianaHenderson-

I felt like throwing up. Teresa had returned with the biggest smile I had seen on her face since I had appeared her, and now I had to destroy whatever reason she had for being so happy by telling her I couldn't keep a secret.

There was no need in telling her the words though. One look at me seemed to tell everything. Her smile faltered, and she nodded slowly. Johanna picked up on it and wanted to take Christina with her, but Teresa shook her head and grabbed her daughter's hand.

"Come Chrissie, we need to talk," she said softly. Johanna seemed thrown off guard and shot me a rather dirty look, before nodding and going off to do some other tasks that did not include Christina.

Christina knew too what was going to happen. Perhaps the conversation we had had earlier that day had made her aware of what was happening around her. When Teresa had stolen a quick kiss from her husband, Christina had looked at them in sheer wonder. I had hoped that she wouldn't tell her mother but I didn't think she had said anything.

Teresa ushered Christina into the living room and I granted them this moment. Instead, I chose to go to the room I knew was where the two men had their little conversation. They had been inside for over three hours now, so either they had killed each other or had a reasonable conversation. And although I knew that they wouldn't go as far as to bash the other's head in, somewhere I still feared they would be fighting.

I gently knocked on the door, and I waited for more than a minute, then the door opened and Walter's face showed up.

"Grace."

"Teresa sent me to ask if you were alright-"

"No, she didn't," I heard Jane saying from somewhere else in the room. "She doesn't even know I'm here."

A small smile crept on Walter's lips and I was completely confused.

Were they friends now, all of a sudden?

My confusion seemed to show on my face since Walter's smile merely increased, and he waved for me to get inside.

Jane was sitting on the sofa against the wall, teacup in his hand and a smug expression present. He did seem anxious, though.

"What... what have you been discussing in here?" I asked. Walter had in the meantime sat down behind his desk, leaning back into his lush-looking chair.

He shrugged. "There's only one thing we can discuss... without fighting much, that is."

"That's what you say," Jane added.

"Yes, that's what I say. And everybody else who knows about this."

Jane shrugged and sipped his tea. He seemed to hide himself in his tea – every time it became too difficult, he would drink tea. Like his own personal cave he retreated in when he couldn't cope with the world anymore.

Walter sighed and looked at me again. "We were discussing them."

I nodded. I could feel the awkwardness floating around in this room as a fog. I swallowed to get rid of the irritation, but it only became worse, until I felt I was choking. Walter seemed to notice, and quickly opened his drawer, only to take out his personal bottle of scotch and pouring me a glass.

I thought about denying it, but he seemed genuinely sad when I hesitated, so I just smiled and accepted it. No way I was going to face Teresa, alone, sober. Not that I was planning on getting drunk, but it was the thought that counts. At least now I had some support in the form of alcohol.

"And did you come to an agreement yet?" I asked, still wandering through the room. Walter pointed at the chairs in front of his desk, and I took a seat, rolling the chair to a spot in the room where I felt I had the right sight on both Walter and Jane.

Both men shook their heads. I sighed.

"It's not a surprise we can't come to any agreement, Grace. We've been turning around this for years. Believe me, I want it to be over but it is going to take a while."

Jane nodded his agreement. Well, they seemed to agree on this small thing.

I bit my lower lip. I wasn't supposed to be here. But just as the thought had crossed my mind, it disappeared. Ever since I had been here, things had been changing and not all of them were changing the wrong way. I had made it my goal to make these people happy, get them where they belonged, so I couldn't leave now.

"I..." I hesitated. Both men were looking at me expectantly, even Jane had given up the attention he had for his tea to listen to what I probably was going to say. Was it written on my face? "I don't mind taking in Teresa and Christina for a few days, if you want me to." I paused again, studied Walter's expression. "After all, you did say you and Teresa needed some time apart."

It was quiet then for a long time, and I swallowed the big pit of guilt that formed in my stomach away with the scotch, sinking the glass in one fluid movement. I felt the liquid burning down my gullet and welcomed it as the first summer breeze through my cold, lonely life.

"I suppose that's the best option," Walter agreed after a while. I nodded. From his corner, Jane became even quieter than he had been before. He did not move a muscle, and while Walter didn't seem to notice, I did.

I looked at him. He was staring into nowhere, stirring his tea in the cup absentmindedly. I wasn't sure what was going through his head now, but I assumed it was something along the lines of realizing that Teresa and Christina would be closer to him this way. Considering the Mashburn Mansion was at a considerable distance from his house, mine was closer since it was next to it. I sighed. Selfish, selfish Patrick Jane.

"The problem is, Grace dear, that people are going to suspect things," Jane said, and I startled a bit. I hadn't suspected that he would say anything, had actually hoped that he would stay on the background and try not to interfere that much but here he was, making me realize all the flaws of my plan.

If I hadn't thought about these myself, I would've hit him afterwards for trying to tackle my advice.

Walter stood up for me, though. "We can say that they needed more time together."

"But they can do that somewhere else too, moving to the other end of the street won't solve anything."

"Christina cares about Grace and vice versa. I think that people will believe it. There's nothing wrong with talking to your family. Why do you even care? They're closer to you like this. Isn't that all that matters to you?"

Ouch. It was time for me to leave this room – the men had found something to argue about again. I quickly put my glass on the table and got up. Honestly, I don't think it would have mattered if I had told the two where I was going because I don't think they noticed that I left. They continued fighting even when I was standing on the hallway, and I sighed.

I slowly walked into the direction of the living room and discretely listened for some words. To my surprise, it was quiet inside. And I really wanted to know how Teresa and Christina were doing. So against all my principles – I had already broken them countless of times in the past few days – I gently pushed open the door.

I found Teresa sitting on the couch. And Christina was sitting in her lap, straddling her hips, her arms wrapped around her mother. Teresa had her face buried in the crook of Christina's neck. Both of them seemed calm, their bodies weren't shuddering and they weren't shaking either – so they weren't crying.

I regretted stepping into the room immediately, this was a family moment, mother with daughter, I shouldn't be there-

"Sit down, Grace," Teresa murmured against the skin in Christina's neck, and I startled. "No need to fret, just sit down, I've seen you."

I sighed and reluctantly sat down on the couch opposite the couch the two were sitting on. I stared at them for a little while. Christina didn't lift her head, didn't move to look at me, but Teresa did, over the shoulder of her daughter. I saw in her eyes that she was grateful, and that surprised me. I had thought that she would be genuinely angry, or at least sad or disappointed, but she didn't seem to hold any of these emotions.

"What are you thinking, Grace?" Teresa asked gently, rubbing Christina's back just as softly.

"I... I'm a bit surprised. I thought you would be angry that I told Christina before you did."

Teresa shook her head. She pressed a kiss to Christina's temple.

"I know myself a little longer than just today. I would have never told her, and I would never have been able to live with myself then. She knows now, kind of. I should be thanking you for being so... so..."

"Stupid?"

She rolled her eyes, and shook her head then. "No... for being so reckless, I suppose. Now Chrissie knows why I fight to keep Jane... here. Why he lives so close. Why me and... and Walter acted so weird the past few weeks."

I nodded.

"I'm still sorry, though."

She shrugged. "It's fine. Really Grace, it is." She waved with her hand, indicating I should come closer and I did, sitting down beside her and the little girl who was still being eerily quiet. Christina lifted her head though when she felt me closer, and I saw there was a small smile sprawled across her lips. It looked almost cheeky, as though she was going to say something not very nice, and as she opened her mouth I knew that was exactly what was going to happen. I prayed to God, it wasn't going to get me into more trouble.

"I told you Patrick was a better kisser."

A/N: Please, let me know what you think. Just a simple 'I love it' can do wonders, trust me. It may help with updating faster, though, just saying.