AN/ Hi, here I am with another chapter:)

Thank you for all the reviews and support.

This chapter reveals a new piece of Jack's family. I hope you'll like it and find it interesting. This is a looong story and it's gonna continue for a while. It might seem to go kind of slow but there will be some important things in each chapter to come that will take this story forward to the big finale.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kickin' it.

Chapter 13

Mrs Brewer

I looked up from the worksheet, expecting to meet those chocolate eyes that would make me feel all warm inside…but instead my blood froze and chills went down my spine as I stared at the man standing right behind Jack. A mixture of horror and anger was shown in his face as he locked eyes with me. Paralysed with fear, I couldn't do anything but to keep staring. Jack saw my expression and frowned.

"What is it?" he wondered confused and turned around. "DAD?!" His eyes widened as he jumped back, almost tipping the chair over. Mr Brewer turned his attention to his son, making the boy cringe. Jack was scared I could tell, which caused my small bird heart to beat hard, hoping with all its might that the man wouldn't do anything rash.

Much to my surprise Mr Brewer seemed to be just as scared, looking as if he'd just witnessed something truly horrifying.

"I-I-I can explain," Jack stuttered after an intense moment of everyone just staring at each other. Mr Brewer took a deep breath and folded his arms across his chest.

"Please do," he said in a somewhat stiff way. Jack's eyes flickered uncertainly between me and the man.

"I found him today when I walked home from school," he started, obviously talking about me. It took me a moment to realize that though as I hadn't expected him to call me 'he' or 'him'. But of course the boy thought that I was a male otherwise he wouldn't have named me 'Bucky'. "He was lying next to the road," Jack continued to tell his made up story. "He was injured so I brought him home."

Jack was fiddling with his hands nervously. A habit that I'd noticed him do more than once when he was trying to talk under pressure.

"I've already fed him…"

Mr Brewer took another deep breath seeming to mentally calm down a bit. This in turn made Jack relax somewhat and he became slightly more daring than before. In a very quiet voice, almost as if he was afraid of speaking too loud, Jack asked his father;

"May I keep him?" As soon as the question was out Jack cringed, closing his eyes as if he was expecting Mr Brewer to lash out at him.

Nothing happened though and Jack hesitantly opened his eyes again.

"I-I-I'll take good care of him. I promise."

Mr Brewer smiled at that. It wasn't a friendly smile though, it was more as if he'd just come to think of something that he found amusing.

"You promise?" he raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Since when is your promise worth anything?" he asked, making Jack look rather shameful. "You always swear and promise that you're gonna do this and that…still you go do the exact opposite."

"That's not true," Jack said quietly, looking down at the floor. Mr Brewer let out a small chuckle at the comment.

"Really? Name one time when you actually did keep your promise."

The boy's hands fidgeted even more frantic and his eyes flickered back and forth as he was trying to remember. I couldn't tell if it was because it was true what Mr Brewer claimed or if it was because he was too nervous and stressed to be able to think properly, but Jack couldn't come up with an answer.

I found myself a bit disappointed in him actually, but even more I felt sorry for him. After the time I'd spent with him I'd gotten the impression that he was a good kid with good intentions, which I still believed. Things just didn't seem to work out for him…

Eventually Jack broke the silence. Knowing that his father had won this round he said the only thing that'd might help his situation.

"Please…it's just a bird…" The teen looked up at the man for a brief moment before quickly averting his gaze to the floor once more, anxiously waiting for his fathers reply. Mr Brewer seemed to soften a bit and let out a sigh.

"Jackson," he said. "I'm not really concerned about the bird itself." Both me and Jack gave him a confused look, wondering what he meant. "What's bothering me is the fact that you were talking to it…You do know that birds can't understand us?"

"Yes sir," Jack answered.

"Good, because I don't want to have raised a lunatic…which brings me to the next question; if you really do know that you can't talk to it, then why were you?" Jack shot me a nervous glance, his mind racing as he tried to come up with an answer quick.

"I…I was pretending." Jack scrunched his nose slightly at the excuse, probably finding it pretty bad.

"You were pretending?"

"Yes," The boy nodded. "I was just fooling around…" Mr Brewer studied him for a moment, before looking over at me.

"Isn't it pretty odd that the bird just sits there? It almost seems domestic…" he said.

"He can't fly," Jack lied. "His wing's broken."

The man nodded, thinking.

"Okay, son," he turned to Jack again. "You may keep it. Maybe it will do you good to care for it. It might teach you some responsibility…"

"Really?" Jack brightened up.

"Yes, but only until he's good enough to go. You can't keep a wild animal permanently. You understand that, right?"

"Yes," Jack nodded excitedly; still it looked as if he couldn't really believe that his father had allowed him to keep me. "I promise, I'll take care of him. He's not gonna be any trouble."
"I sure hope so. Any funny business and he is out immediately. Are we clear?"

"Yes"
"Good." Mr Brewer seemed to be satisfied, the anger and fear completely erased from his features as he turned to leave. "Supper's ready downstairs."

Jack stood up and followed him.

I finally let myself relax, relieved that Mr Brewer had taken it as well as he'd done. The man who'd just shown up was more like the man I'd met as a human, not like the vicious monster I'd seen as a bird.

"I have a couple of important calls I need to do, to sort some things out." Mr Brewer said on their way out. "It'll probably take me most of the evening, so you'll have to feed Dani…"

~~~~Wings of Love~~~~

I was waiting in my uniquely designed bed when Jack came back from supper. In the time I'd spent alone I had tried to come up with a plan to get Jack and me inside the headquarters, which turned out to be tricky. It seemed as if every idea I got was too risky.

First I would have to let Jack know the truth about me though. Something that I planned to do tonight, but unfortunately for me; Jack had some plans on his own on how we would spend the evening…

The boy had brought with him a bowl of soup -for some reason-, which he placed on a nearby chair.

Sitting down on his bed, Jack held out his hand. In his open palm lay some bread crumbs that were obviously meant for me. I chirped and jumped right up onto his hand, starting to eat the small pieces of bread. Jack watched me in silence from above with a smile on his face.

When I was done the teen got up and grabbed his guitar and the bowl of soup. The dish had cooled off slightly and I was confused by the fact that he hadn't started to eat it yet.

"Now that you're gonna stay here for a while," he said. "…there's someone I'd like you to meet."

He gestured for me to get up on his shoulder. Slightly confused, I flew over to him, wondering who he would introduce me to. Was it a friend of his, or maybe another pet?

My curiosity started to grow as Jack left his room and walked down the hallway to the door he'd disappeared through yesterday. Judging by the sound of the footsteps I'd heard every now and then, I knew that Mr Brewer had visited the room a few times too.

Jack stopped right in front of the door.

"Now Bucky, be the calm gentle bird you use to be and everything will be fine." He said, keeping his voice down. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what he meant by that. "Oh and don't do any too noisy sounds…" Jack had turned his head, looking at me where I sat on his shoulder. I nodded, showing him that I understood. "Okay Bucky…" he put his guitar down, leaning it against the wall so that he could grab the doorknob and turn it around.

The teen pushed the door open revealing the room inside.

It looked like an average bedroom. To the right was a window with a view over their beautiful garden and next to it was a cupboard, decorated with figurines and several photos. One of the photos was a wedding picture of a stunning and somewhat familiar couple. It stood out from the rest of the photos which were all of a boy with chocolate coloured hair and a characteristic mole on each of his cheeks. I sure would have found the pictures of Jack as a child most interesting if it hadn't been for the fact that there was a bed in the middle of the room. A bed that was occupied by a woman.

Her ghost like form- pale and worn even though she wasn't that old caught my attention immediately. I recognized her from the picture in Jack's room despite the condition she was in. She was sitting up against the headboard with multiple fluffed pillows to support her as her eyes were staring at the TV screen hanging on the wall in front of her. There was a heavy atmosphere in the room and Jack seemed almost reverent as he stepped inside.

You didn't exactly need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that something was badly wrong with her.

"Hey mum," Jack said, walking up to her. The woman slowly moved her gaze to look at us. She didn't say anything nor did she seem alert at all.

A knot formed in my stomach and I threw a glance at Jack, wondering what he was thinking. I would've been devastated if it were my mum lying like that, looking as if she were dying.

"I brought you some soup," Jack said with a smile, holding up the bowl to show it to her before putting it down on the bedside table. "What are you watching?" he wondered and turned to look at the TV where National Geographic was on; a pack of wolves out hunting shown on the screen. "Looks pretty interesting," he said and grabbed the remote to turn it off. "Sorry for interrupting..."

Walking over to a corner, he grabbed an over bed table and moved it over to his mother, placing it in front of her. He then put the bowl of soup on it as he took a seat on the edge of the bed. The entire time the woman had been following his every move without uttering a sound. When she finally met his gaze, he gave her another smile.

"It's broccoli soup; your favourite." Jack took the spoon and brought it to her lips. She opened her mouth almost like a robot to let him feed her. I watched from Jack's shoulder, beginning to understand how seriously ill she really was. Worry stirred inside of me. What if she really was dying?

The thought about Jack becoming motherless weighed down like a heavy rock to my chest. Imagining how sad he would be, I instinctively moved closer to his neck, leaning against him as to comfort him even though he wasn't upset at the moment. My movements caught Mrs Brewer's attention. She let out a grunt and looked at me with wide eyes. Jack immediately brought the spoon back down and reached up to me, holding his hand in a way so that I could climb up on it.

Once I was sitting safely on the backside of it, my claws wrapt around one of his fingers, he moved his hand to in between them so that she could take a closer look at me.

"Say 'hello' to my mum; Danielle," he said to me.

"Tsip," Danielle looked at me with interest.

"This is Bucky, mum, my new friend," Jack introduced. "I know he's just a bird…but he's special…" He made a short pause, pondering before flashing a big smile. "I think he's my best friend ever."

I had mixed feelings about what he said. I was happy and felt honoured that he would call me his best friend. Although the fact that he called a bird his best friend was just sad. Could it really be true that he'd had no other relationship that had been stronger than the one we shared?

If so, it was pretty tragic… And worse yet; the thing that made the rock on my chest feel even heavier; was the knowledge of me having to leave him soon. I couldn't stay. That would be impossible. In just a few days I would hopefully return to my body and he would be left all alone again…

"Cute, isn't he?" Jack said proudly, making me blush and to my surprise I found myself wishing that he would think the same about my human form too.

When the woman was done inspecting me, Jack put me back on his shoulder and continued to feed her. With only a few spoons of soup left in the bowl she suddenly jerked her head away, turning it sideways. Jack who was just about to give her another mouthful accidentally spilled the soup on her chin and neck. The woman whimpered and made a bunch of other incomprehensible sounds.

"Oobs," Jack mumbled and quickly grabbed a tissue from the tissue box placed on the bed side table. "Sorry about that…" He swiftly but carefully wiped the soup off her. "There we go…"

As soon as it was all cleaned up the woman calmed down again and Jack picked the spoon up once more. But just like before she turned her head away when the spoon was only an inch from her mouth.

"You don't want more?" Jack said more as statement than a question before putting the spoon back down into the bowl. "That's okay."

He got off the bed and moved the table away, putting it in the same corner he'd taken it from. The boy then walked out of the room to get his guitar. He brought it back and climbed up in the bed again.

"I've got a new one for you today," Jack said as he placed the guitar in his lap and held down the first chord with his left hand, ready to start. Smiling, he looked up at his mother who was waiting. "Okay here goes…"

He started strumming on the guitar, letting the music fill the room. Mrs Brewer began to move her head back and forth, following the beat. The smile on Jack's lips increased at the sight of her. It was no doubt that she enjoyed listening to it and I could tell that Jack really enjoyed playing for her too.

"It's cold outside and the moon is bright

And I'm all alone tonight." Jack suddenly began to sing. I looked at him surprised. I definitely hadn't expected him to do that. "If I was a star that shine so bright,

I'd shine my love to you"

I had no idea he could sing. His voice wasn't the best I'd heard but there was a feel to it that touched me and I found it beautiful. Just sitting there and listening to him, I wondered how many more secrets this boy had. He never seemed to stop amaze me.

When the song came to an end Jack started to play another one and then another one after that…

The melodies brought a smile to Danielle's face and I whistled cheerfully. Jack chuckled as it almost sounded like I was trying to sing along.

"Do you know this song?" he wondered. I nodded, recognizing the intro to the Beatles 'Let it be' that he was plying. "It's one of mum's favourites."

"When I find myself in times of trouble…"

"C'mon Bucky," he said interrupting his singing. "Sing with me."

Now if I'd still been a human I would've been to shy to have done it. Sure, I was an outgoing girl with a lot of confidence but when it came to singing…That was another story…

But Jack had no idea who I was nor would he expect anything other than whistles and tweets from a bird like me, so I figured it was safe to sing along.

"Tshiiiii…" Jack laughed as my attempts to whistle the melody probably ruin more than they did the song any good. But neither of us cared. We had fun, forgetting about all our troubles for a little while.

~~~~Wings of Love~~~~

We had spent several hours in Mrs Brewer's room and it was time to go to bed. Jack had given her a few pills, obviously some of her daily medication. He was now standing next to her, helping her to lie down. Tucking her in, he made sure that she wouldn't get cold.

The woman didn't say anything and she barely moved, letting her son organize her bed sheets for her.

"Night mum," he said and bent down to kiss her forehead. I blinked a few times hardly believing what I saw. The Jack Brewer- the most notorious guy on the entire Seaford High had kissed his sick mother good night. This sweet soft side he kept showing was completely unlike the Jack I'd come to know as a human…and I liked it- a lot.

Jack and I returned to his room, both instantly shivering as we stepped inside.

"Great…" Jack muttered with sarcasm and hurried over to the window to close it, stopping the cold night air from continuing to get inside. I fluffed up my feathers and was about to snuggle up in Jack's hair in search for some warmth when he started to head for the bathroom. Knowing that he would get ready for bed I jumped off his shoulder and flew over to the bed side table. He could use some privacy, besides I did definitely not need to see any more than I'd already had of him…

Jack had left the door slightly opened though, not having bothered to close it, and the noises escaping through it were telling me exactly what he was doing anyway.

I tried to make myself comfortable in the bed Jack had made for me. Still shivering from the cold, I fluffed up my feathers until I was sure I looked like a ball. The day had just seemed to have disappeared and I hadn't gotten a chance to tell him anything. It started to feel a bit hopeless. I hadn't made any progress and time was running out. What if I'd fail? Would I remain a bird forever?

A shiver went down my spine. It wasn't caused from the cold, but from the eco of Claire's words about Evelyn;

"She can't fully use the body unless your soul is destroyed." That meant that Evelyn would try to kill me if she'd get a chance. What if she'd succeed?

My thoughts were interrupted by Jack returning. He was wearing his PJs; a T-shirt and a pair of sweat pants.

"It's pretty chilly," he stated, shuddering slightly as he climbed up in his bed. Pulling the covers all the way up to his ears, he curled up into a ball trying to keep warm. His face was about level with me and I noticed to my surprise that the bruise on his cheek was back again. How could that be?

The only possible answer I could think of was; make-up.

I cocked my head to the side, studying him. Had he been wearing make-up? If so that would explain why I'd never really seen any bruises on him before…

"Are you cold?" I looked down at the boy, meeting his eyes. "You look kind of funny…" he said, his mouth forming into a smile, probably from the way that I looked. I ignored his last comment and just nodded. Shaking my feathers, I attempted to fluff them up even more. It was freezing…

"You can sleep here if you want," Jack offered, lifting the cover slightly to invite me in. I hesitated. Being raised by my mother, I had a mental block that told me to not get into bed with a guy, even if it meant just lying next to him. "It's okay," Jack reassured as if he could read my thoughts, which of course he couldn't.

After debating with myself briefly, I realized that nothing could really happen; and how much difference was there between riding around on his shoulder all day and sleeping next to him, really? Besides it was very cold…

I flew over to him while convincing myself that I did this because of the chill in the air and definitely not because of the urge I felt to be close to him.

Jack smiled as I snuck in under the cover and lay down, pressing up against his warm chest. Lowering the cover back down, he placed his hand protectively around me, holding me against him.

My pulse increased in speed and butterflies filled my stomach. Confused by my own reaction and the way I felt inside, my cheeks started to burn. I was so glad that my face was covered in feathers…

"Good night Bucky," Jack mumbled and removed his hand from me to turn the light off. I instantly missed its presence and I could no longer deny that I enjoyed his touch.

His hand soon found its way back to me, gently stroking my back a few times, causing the butterflies inside me to flip, before just holding me again. I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest, listening to the soothing rhythm of his heartbeats and letting his even breaths rock me to sleep.

~~~~Wings of Love~~~~

Jack had awoken early and his warm body had left me way too soon. I knew that he had to go to school; I just wished that the night had been a little longer. Jack's bed was much more comfortable than the shoebox and together with the coziness of snuggling up against him, it had brought me the best sleep I'd had in a very long time.

I still lay in the bed, hiding beneath the covers. The spot where Jack had laid had started to cool off and the absence of him got even more distinctive.

Being in my situation, I had a lot of problems to deal with that I should be focusing on, still all I could think of was how much I missed the teenager boy who was starting to become my best friend.

I wondered what he was doing at the moment. Of course I knew he was on his way to school, walking on his own like he'd always done. I'd never cared about before, but now it all of a sudden bothered me. What if something would happen to him?

Growing restless, I left the bed to take a flight around the room in search of something to do. From the air I spotted the worksheet we'd been working on yesterday still laying on the desk. I can't explain why I felt a knot take form in my stomach at the sight of it, it just did. Maybe it was because I knew that Mr Hanson would get all mad at Jack for not handing it in. I could picture the way Mr Hanson would scold him. Jack would realize that he'd forgotten to put the homework in his bag yesterday, having been interrupted by his dad and then later too occupied hanging out with his sick mother to remember it…

I didn't like the scene playing in my head and I decided to do something about it, so I landed on the desk and grabbed the corner of the worksheet with my beak. Bringing it to the next corner, I folded the paper. I repeated the procedure a few times until it was small enough for me to handle. Using my beak I picked up the now folded worksheet and left the house through the chimney.

Once again I was risking too much for this boy. Claire would be mad for sure if she'd ever find out. I didn't care much about that though, as I was starting to feel that Jack was all worth it…

End of this chapter...which makes me really excited since I've longed to write the next chapter ever since I started this story. There are some new pieces that will add to the story, plus a very interesting dialogue...

I'm trying to get you all excited about it...I don't know if it's working though haha.

Anyway the next chapter is called 'Jack's secret'...just giving you something to look forward to;P

I'm not gonna send out sneak peeks this time, since I'm gonna try a new thing here, just for fun...(plus I want to get this chapter up asap.) So for each review I get I will write 100 words within 24 hours(from when the review is posted). which means that the more reviews the quicker it goes... I can't answer how long the chapter's gonna be though and how many words it's gonna take...but things will hopefully speed up as I will force myself to sit down and write with the same effort you'll review...haha

See you around:)

/MJ