Well hello there, you wonderful reader. Okay I'll be honest. This chapter had been written for awhile. It's just I didn't think it was good enough for you wonderful people. So I cleaned it up a bit and...I just hope you like it.

I own nothing except Madison, my baby

Avery woke up feeling drained, physically and emotionally. Her night was filled with tossing and turning on her part. Her fears waking her up in the middle of the night. But, she continued to reassure herself and eventually those nervous emotions took a backseat to the overall peace she had now.

Avery allowed herself to take in her surroundings and began to take in that subtle smell of pancakes.. She could have smiled but thoughts of the past clouded her mind. Nonetheless, she pulled herself out of bed. Her daughter lay next her, sleeping. She was about to wake her until she thought about it. She deserved another hour of sleep after yesterday. Kissing her forehead, she walked out of the room and left a crack open in the door.

Walking towards the kitchen, Avery saw Karl in front of a griddle flipped the fluffy cake. Her footsteps caught his attention.

"Good morning." he greeted

"Morning."

"How'd you sleep?" He turned from his position at the griddle to the cabinets and looked through them, grabbing three plates. He set them down on the table and went to the kitchen to grab the plate of pancakes.

"I've been better."

Looking around, he noticed a missing presence. "Where's Madison?"

"I decided to let her sleep a bit longer. Poor girl was so tired." She pulled her chair out at the table and sat down. She began to stare at him, obviously lost in thought. At first oblivious to this, he took notice and returned her gaze with a questioning gaze.

"What are you thinking about?" His voice shook her out of her thoughts. Her head turned back to him with that same smile from last night back.

"Thank you for everything." she declared

He chuckled. "You don't have to keep thanking me."

"Yes, I do. You have been extremely helpful to me and Madi. I have to keep thanking you." She explained

"Whatever." He dropped the plate of pancakes in the middle of table along with a bottle of syrup.

"What...no whipped cream?" she said, jokingly.

"Well, we can't forget about the whipped cream now, can we?" He shook the can, before spraying some directly into his mouth, then handing it to Avery.

"How sweet." She replied, sarcastically. He nodded his head in reply with a smirk. They continued in silence until Karl hesitantly spoke up.

"So...what's next?" Karl looked at her, a touch of worry on his face. While he didn't specify, Avery knew what he meant by the question.

"I guess I need to start looking for other places to live. It shouldn't take too long. Then I need to figure out a way to get my stuff." Avery tensed up when she thought about him again. She could feel the fear and pain already.

"Are you okay, Avery?" Karl asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah, why?" She hadn't even realized how lost she was in her own world.

"It's just that you're usually staring off into space with an ominous look on your face. Is something troubling you?"

She decided to be honest. "Actually, there is. I'm just not ready to tell. Sorry."

"Okay, that's fine. I've got some work to do. If you need anything, I'll be in the office. Or...ya know, if you would like talk, I can listen." He picked his empty plate along with himself and put the dish in the sink.

Avery was left at the table alone with her own thoughts. She crossed her arms onto it and slammed them down with a sigh. Crap.

Around noon, Karl had opted to take a break from work. He was craving a sandwich for lunch. Usually, he had certain time frames he would use to get his work done but...

'I always have tomorrow.' He reasoned to himself. He wanted to take it easy today. Picking himself up out of his chair, Karl organized his work in neat piles so that he can later pick up where he left off. He made his way downstairs to make himself a BLT for lunch.

Upon exiting the stairs into the ground level, Karl entered the living room to see Madison playing on the couch with Darcy, his cat.

A friend had offered him the feline straight from the litter. He couldn't say no. He had just gotten her a month ago, so the domestic shorthair was still a kitten and fairly small. Darcy was a perfect little companion. She usually loved being by his side, but she seem to be enjoying Madison's attention.

"Hey, Madison." He greeted as kindly as he could. She gasped and put her hands by her sides, as though she had been caught guilty of a crime.

"I..I'm sowy fow touching youw cat. I fowgot to keep my hands to myself." She kept her head down, avoiding his gaze. He was a bit surprised at her nervousness.

"It's okay. You don't have to ask. I just wanted to see how you were doing?" This evidently calmed her down because she hesitantly put her hand back on The cat and continued to pet her.

"Good. I weally like youw cat." Darcy purred as she rubbed her fur.

"Thanks. Her name is Darcy."

"That's a vewy pwetty name."

"Yeah, it think she likes it. So... are you in ballet?", Karl guessed. Madison had her hair in a bun and was in a black long-sleeved leotard and pink tights. Her face lit up.

"Yes. My teachew is awesome. Her name is Mrs. Natalie. She says I'm weally good." She showed him first positions while he observed with a smile.

"Wow. You are good." Karl continued to watch her ballet demonstration until Avery walked down the stairs.

"Come on Madi, let's go. Me and Madison are heading to ballet."

"You don't have to tell me where you're going. We are adults." He heard her mutter a 'right' before leaving. She would have to reminded herself to quit doing that, wouldn't want to give herself away. 'Old habits die hard, I guess'.

Karl provided a quick wave before the door closed completely. Returning to his original plans, he left for the kitchen. Inside the fridge, he searched for the ingredients before his eyes were drawn to the sandwich in the middle. Pulling it on to the island, he picked up the note on top reading 'Enjoy.' Karl smiled.

"Thanks, Avery." He muttered to himself, smiling

I honestly can't promise you guys anything because I'm an awful person so feel free to tell me what you'd like to happen so I don't get writer's block.

Love you guys.