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Chapter Five

'You look nice honey,' he'd just finished fixing his hair in front of the bathroom mirror when his mother walked in, he knew he should have closed the door, now he was going to get grilled. 'So what are you doing today?'

'Oh I'm just meeting up with some friends for dinner, I probably won't be back till tonight,' living with his parents had its good points and its bad points, constant questions about where he was going and what he would be doing definitely belonged on the negative list. 'I'll see you later mom,' he gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and tried to make a quick exit before anymore questions were asked but of course his mother pulled him back.

'Jake I know things are difficult right now and it's been so hard on you, I just…..I don't want you going back to your old ways again, if you're meeting some of your old friends….'

'Mom no,' he shook his head before walking back towards his mother so he could give her a hug, 'I promise you that I am not slipping back to the person I was back then, I wouldn't do that to you, not at a time like this.'

He could see from the expression on his mother's face that she wasn't convinced by what he had to say, the only way he could give her any comfort was by telling her who he was going to meet, he didn't want to do it but he didn't really have any other choice. Lying to his mother was something he'd done in the past and he didn't want to start doing it again.

'Do you remember Edgar's oldest daughter, you met her when I came home, her name's Maddie,' his mother nodded and looked at him quizzically. 'I've met up with her a couple of times, not because we're dating or anything like that, I just….I just feel like I can talk to her about everything that's going on right now you know?'

'I don't understand Jake, why didn't you tell me about this before?'

'She's a friend, I didn't see any reason to tell you, plus I know how your mind works mom,' he replied as his mother raised her eyebrows.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'You're constantly trying to set me up with dates, dropping hints about me getting married and having my own kids, I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want you to think that there was anything going on between us when there's not.'

'Well if you're so adamant that nothing is going on why all the sneaking around, I don't like being lied to Jake…'

'I know and that's why I've decided to tell you the truth! She's my bosses daughter and my boss just happens to be fucking crazy, he's so protective of her mom, if he found out that I was spending time with his daughter even as a friend he would go nuts. I can't lose this job, you know that as well as I do, if I do how are we gonna pay the bills that keep flooding through the door huh?' He instantly regretted his decision to mention their financial situation when he saw the tears pool in his mom's eyes.

'You shouldn't have to be the one worrying about that Jake, I know we're relying on you too much…..'

'Mom stop, don't get upset,' he held her hands and kept looking at her, 'I don't care about the bills, I don't care if I have to work every day to make sure we get through this because I love you all. I just need some space every now then so I can get things off my chest, just please, don't say anything about Maddie, if word gets back….'

'I won't say anything, why would I say anything if she's just your friend? And she is just your friend, right?' She stared at him, he was sure that she could sense that his feelings for Maddie were a lot stronger than he would admit but he'd said all he needed to say, he wasn't going to confess just how much he wanted her.

'Right,' he smiled, 'I'd better go, Maddie's expecting me, I don't wanna be late.' He hadn't actually agreed a time to go to her place but his mother didn't know that, he needed to leave before she could ask anymore awkward questions.

He gave her another kiss on the cheek before he quickly made his way out of the bathroom and down the stairs to leave the house. On his way to the car he sent a quick message to Maddie telling her he was on his way, just as he sat down in his car his phone beeped with a reply from her.

'Cool! See you in a few!'

Starting up the car he proceeded to drive to Maddie's place as memories of last night replayed in his mind.

He'd noticed Edgar going over to Maddie straight after he'd left to join a conversation Nick was having with Matt and Sig. He'd glanced over a couple of times and Maddie hadn't looked too happy with her father, he felt guilty because he was sure Edgar had approached her because he'd talked to her but what was he meant to do? If he completely ignored her that wouldn't look too good but then if he spoke to her for even more than a minute that didn't look good either! He knew that the Hansen's were tough and sure he could understand a father wanting to protect his daughter but she wasn't a young child anymore, Maddie had a mind of her own. He would never say anything out loud but he was kinda pissed at the whole situation. He didn't think for one minute that Edgar and her Uncle's would be so overprotective of Michael and Logan when they started to date, in fact they'd probably be encouraging them! But because she was a woman it was different and he didn't think that was fair, no doubt she thought the exact same thing.

After driving for half an hour he finally pulled up outside her apartment block and went through the same routine as last time, he checked that no one familiar was lurking nearby and when he saw that everything was clear he got out of his car and made his way into the building and up to her apartment. Taking the elevator meant that he wasn't breathless and sweaty this time so unlike the previous week he didn't wait to knock on her door.

He heard the chain being unlocked a minute after he'd knocked and a huge smile crept on his face as he came face to face with her once again.

'Hi there! My flat iron's and I did not have a fight this week so you don't have to play doctor,' she smirked as she stood back to let him in.

'How's your hand feeling now? Better I hope,' he replied to her comment.

'Much better thank you, I've made the coffees already and I've put a chicken in the oven for dinner, I hope that's okay?' Jake nodded.

'You didn't need to go to any trouble you know,' he followed her over to the kitchen counter where she handed him his cup of coffee.

'Oh it's no trouble, I love to cook,' she smiled before walking over to the couch to take a seat, he followed and sat down next to her.

'I um, I hope I didn't get you into any trouble with your dad last night, I saw him talking to you,' he had to ask what had happened.

'You didn't get me into any trouble, I just wish that he would stop interfering with my life, was your dad like this with your sister's?' Jake shook his head before setting his coffee down on the table in front of them.

'He was pretty good to be honest, don't get me wrong he wanted to know where they were and who they were seeing but he didn't interfere. Mom was good with the girls too, she is really, really picky when it comes to my love life though,' he rolled his eyes.

'Hmm it sounds like my dad and your mom would make a pretty formidable pair. I mean don't get me wrong, I love my dad to fucking pieces but I'm so sick of him trying to tell me what I need and what sort of a man I should have. Even if I did find myself a doctor with an amazing reputation I still know that he would find some flaw to pick at, he's totally fucking impossible!' She sighed whilst shaking her head.

'In his eyes no one will ever be good enough for you, it's the same with my mom, not that it stops her from trying to set me up with her friend's daughter's, she's desperate for me to do the whole marriage and kids thing,' he moaned.

'And the whole marriage and kids thing isn't for you?' She asked.

'Oh no I want to get married and have kids one day but I'm not being forced into it, plus it's gonna be tough to find someone now that I'm gonna be out fishing for long periods of time,' he shrugged before taking a sip of his coffee.

'Oh believe me you won't find it tough now that you'll be on TV! You'll have hundreds of women queuing up to be Mrs Anderson!' She laughed as Jake shook his head and groaned.

'Man some of the fans are fucking crazy!' He laughed.

'Tell me about it! I don't know how Louise and June manage to hold back from punching some of the fuckers right in the face, so many of them have just blatantly stood there flirting with dad and Sig in front of us! I've had to bite my tongue so many times, it's just so fucking rude!'

'It must be pretty rough on them, I mean they have to deal with their husbands being away for so long and now they have to deal with fans and their guys going away to do promotional stuff for the show all the time,' he wasn't exactly looking forward to having to do media stuff, he was pretty shy and he dreaded some of the questions that he might be asked.

'It is tough on them and the kids, it's tough on dad and Sig too though, they miss out on so much stuff when they're away.' She sighed heavily and looked a little sad, deciding that it was his turn to learn more about her he took the lead in the conversation.

'You had it tough too, I'm guessing your dad missed out on a lot when you were growing up?' He asked and she nodded.

'Yeah he did. I had my grandparents and Louise to support me but there were times I really needed him, I knew that he had to work and that if he could he would have stayed at home. I think that's why he's so protective of me now, he missed out on huge chunks of my childhood and he feels guilty. He has nothing to feel guilty about though, at least he faced up to his responsibilities and didn't just fucking abandon me like my mom did.'

'I can't understand how anyone could do that, no offence but your mom sounds like a bitch,' he responded.

'Oh she was, not that I remember that much about her. She was a party girl you know? She dropped out of school when she was sixteen and left home to travel around, she met dad at some house party one night then a couple of months later she came looking for him at the docks to tell him she was pregnant, my grandparents were absolutely fucking furious with him for getting some random chick knocked up,' she began to pick at her nails as she spoke to him, he didn't know whether it was a nervous thing or just something she was doing without thinking.

'What did your dad do when he found out?'

'He wasn't sure that she was telling the truth at first but he made sure she had a place to stay and helped pay her rent, he says that when I was born and he saw me for the first time he knew that I was his for some reason,' she smiled warmly. 'He had a DNA test done though just to make absolutely sure. He worked his butt off on the boat to make sure I never went without anything and he saw me whenever he could. When dad was away she would take care of me during the week and my grandmother would have me at weekends then when dad was home he would take care of me until he had to work again, it carried on like that until I was five and she decided she'd had enough. I think she met some guy who wanted to take her to LA and make her a star, for that to happen she couldn't take me with her so she left me with my grandparents, it was the best thing she ever did for me.'

'And you haven't heard from her since?'

'Nope,' she shook her head, 'Clare never made it in Hollywood though I know that much. As far as I'm concerned Louise is my mom, I was seven when dad met her for the first time and she's always treated me as her own, I was very lucky,' she smiled.

'So if Clare ever contacted you again what would you do?' She stared at him for a few seconds before coming up with an answer.

'I don't know, I mean part of me would wanna slam the door in her fucking face and tell her to fuck off but then another part of me wants answers you know? Not that any answer she could give me would suddenly make up for abandoning me like she did. She gave birth to me and gave me a ridiculous name, that's all she ever did for me,' Jake looked at her with confusion.

'Madison isn't a ridiculous name,' he replied.

'Maddie is not short for Madison, you have to swear to me you won't laugh or make any jokes if I tell you,' he crossed his heart and tried not to smirk at her. 'It's short for Madonna.'

He bit down on his lip and fought to stifle the laugh that threatened to erupt.

'Well with a name like that you should be on the cover of Vogue but then you'd have to tell your papa not to preach,' Maddie playfully shoved him but had a smirk on her face as she did it and he let go of his laughter which he'd fought to hold back.

'You jackass! For that little quip you can peel the potatoes that we're having with this chicken!'

'Yes ma'am,' he did a mock salute as Maddie shook her head before starting to laugh herself.

He was so comfortable in her presence now, the nerves he'd felt during the previous meetings were gone and he was just happy to enjoy being in her company and to share his story with her whilst also listening to hers. The problem with the girl's he'd dated before had always been the fact that he'd never felt comfortable enough to be completely honest with them about his life and his feelings, with Maddie he could tell her anything and he somehow knew that she would understand and not judge him.

Ever since he'd got himself clean and sober a couple of years ago he'd wanted to meet someone that he could settle down with and now he'd finally found her. He wasn't going to deny what his feelings were even if they had formed so quickly, he was in love with her, he was in love with a Hansen.