AN: Good evening everyone. Happy early Halloween; I get a feeling that I won't be writing anything around that date since the second wave of midterms are coming in. What are you planning to do for the celebration? I might be dressing up as a god of war in the morning/afternoon and then I will have to dress up into whatever my nieces and nephew want. According to my girlfriend, she wants to be "Count" Dracula (she's a math teacher and an absolute dork). Can't wait for the fun day to come.

A lot of people have been requesting for a long chapter so I will try to write as much as I can for this chapter. I got this idea last night before going to sleep. Enjoy! -IB

It had nearly been a month and a half since Jack and Elsa started to work together for the drama series. Any trace of summer had blown away by the frigid autumn wind as a storm of red, orange, and golden leaves decorated the blue skies and the dry streets. There was a wonderful sense of tranquility which arrived with the season. The change was a big welcome. However, there was more than a simple physical transformation during this month. Their relationship was changing bit by bit, not too big or too fast, but a progression nevertheless.

Besides that time when Elsa came to Jack's house for the second time, not to mention the small kiss on her cheek, the two only spent time on their work site. They would text to each other occasionally, but it was about their job as usual. Except this early Sunday morning was different. He had invited Elsa to a nice morning jog at the large central park. The route was heavily wooded with the warm sun ray peaking through the thick, tall, and ancient coniferous trees from time to time. As they lightly jogged down the empty path, they would smell the fresh air, and enjoy the quiet atmosphere.

When the trail ended, they were lead to a large, gorgeous garden. Only the sound of their heavy breaths could be heard along with the small, hidden birds chirping their melodic tunes. Jack wiped the pearls of sweat off of his forehead while he treaded further into the garden. Elsa also breathed heavily from the run, but was amazed by the scenery surrounding them. It was a scene she could have never imaged in the forest.

Deep within the woods, the grass were trimmed, there were two small ponds at the center of the garden which reflected the exotic flowers and unknown plants, and on top of the water was a miniscule wooden bridge. Then she could hear a sound of flowing water and so, she look around herself, but couldn't find the source of the sound. She breathed, "This place is so beautiful."

Jack's eyes crinkled as a small smile appeared on his face. It was indeed a beautiful place. A place where he often loved to go on his own. It was his sanctuary to think when he was overwhelmed by his stardom, work, or personal issues. He only found it when he was aimlessly driving on his black motorcycle after visiting a church to meditate and offer a small prayer. Fortunately, not a lot of people knew of the secret garden within the vast forest, except for some seniors who enjoyed taking short strolls on sunny days.

Ever since that day, they had become more open towards one another. After all, he didn't even notice the change, but the director said, "Your acting has gotten better, Mr. Pine. Your skills has always been good, but it has gotten much better lately. You express more emotions on your face, especially your eyes. It is almost like watching magic."

Of course, it was a high praise that any actor would be honored to receive from a director. However, he had sensed it was only possible because his acting partner was the woman who was stretching her limbs next to him. There was a sense that the depth of his trust in her had deepened with each scene they produced. He would act a certain way and she would reciprocate in a way that mirrored his acting abilities. Then there was a moment when she revealed her hidden pain too.

So today, he wanted to share one of his most cherished places. A place where they could be normal without people judging them. She worked so hard lately and he was certain she was equally stressed. They had their scenes filmed, they would go on more variety shows to advertise the drama series, do interviews with private journalists along with their separate jobs.

Elsa said, "You were right. There is hardly anyone here."

Jack scanned the area and noticed only one other person walking with his pet dog. He replied, "Yeah. It's nice, isn't it?"

They continued walking so their muscles wouldn't cramp and she said, "It's wonderful, but there are so many plants that I don't know about."

She liked flowers, but only knew the main varieties which were normally sold in a flower shop. She loved lilies, roses, daisies, peonies, orchids, and irises, but those were the only flower names she knew of. Here there were odd plants, beautiful- yes, but odd. For example, next to the pond, there were these clumps of gigantic sized leaves that looked very rough in texture; in fact, it looked as if somebody had gone to the prehistoric jungle, picked out the most dinosaur-like plant and buried it in this garden.

Jack chuckled as he observed her brows knit together as she sternly stared at a plant whose leaf could easily wrap her whole. When she extended her hand to touch it, he advised, "Don't touch the bottom part of that plant..."

She looked at him and he carefully flipped up the leaf to reveal it's spikes beneath. Yes, she was certain that someone used a time-portal machine and brought an ancient plant from the past. He chuckled at her horrified face and said, "But it is safe to touch the surface. Try it. It's actually pretty cool."

She hesitantly rubbed her palm on the green leaf and her eyes widened. She exclaimed, "It feels like a sandpaper!" It felt rougher than she had expected.

Then he lead her across the tiny wooden bridge over the bridge and crouched down to a much smaller plant. He replied, "I think you would like this one better. It's called a lamb-ear."

She stared at the plant, it was very green, but lined with white strips. It was another plant she was unfamiliar with. She glanced at Jack and he looked very gentle, almost child-like as he started touching the plant with his thumb. She crouched next to him and stared at his visage... yes, very gentle and his clear blue eyes looked very calm like the sea. She touched the plant and she was awed by the new sensation. It was soft and almost like a velvety texture. To her surprise, when she turned to face Jack, he had the brightest smile on his handsome face. Her mind blanked for a moment.

Then she said, "It's so soft!"

He smirked, saying, "It's called lamb-ear, what did you expect?"

She shrugged and replied, "I don't know. Just not this. I didn't know plants could be like this... and I didn't know you liked plants."

Jack laughed, carefree, and said, "Actually, I remember all this from when I was in high school. I learned a lot about plants when I was in biology. My teacher was quite the tree-hugger and she loved taking all of the students to different places to explore and find new plants."

Elsa remarked, "I am surprised that you don't garden then."

He snorted, "I may like plants, but it does not mean I can keep one alive. I don't have a green-thumb. I actually murdered a cactus within a week."

At this comment, she started to guffaw loudly as she never heard of anyone being able to kill a cactus so skillfully. While wiping a tear from her eyes, she watched him scratch the back of his head as if he was embarrassed to have her laugh at him. She continued giggling and asked, "How do you even kill a cactus?"

Jack shrugged as he wondered how he had murdered his prickly plant. He replied, "I just watered the cactus before I had to go fly to the UK."

She frowned and asked, "How long were you gone for?"

He answered, "A week."

She replied, "A cactus does not die within a week without its owner."

Jack shrugged again and said, "I don't know, but after that, I knew that I am an enemy to plants."

They started laughing together as he feigned a serious expression. Then they leisurely enjoyed their stroll as Elsa would point to a different plant and Jack would briefly explain what he knew about the plant. As time passed by, a sudden growl grumbled from one of their stomachs.

The two stared at each other and Jack broke into laughter as he knew it came from Elsa. He teased, "If you were so hungry, you should have told me."

Embarrassed by her noisy stomach, Elsa slightly bumped him and replied, "It was your idea to go jogging at 8:30 in the morning and if you haven't noticed, we have been jogging for nearly two hours."

His eyes crinkled in amusement and replied, "No need to feel so grouchy. There is an amazing restaurant a bit further down the route and it would have opened about thirty minutes ago. We can go there and have brunch."

So they lightly jogged to the restaurant and a very friendly hostess welcomed them. Fortunately, she was professional enough not to bother them, but instead, guided them into the bright exterior. The floor was very spacious with several wooden sets of tables spread evenly across the room. There was also a lit hearth which kept the restaurant very warm. Not to mention, there were a few paintings hanging on the brick wall and befittingly, they depicted nature from different geographical areas.

Before they were seated, Jack asked, "Can we actually get a spot by the patio, please? And if any other guests come, could you please make sure that they don't take photos of us?"

The hostess smiled warmly and said, "Of course, Mr. Pine."

Then they were ushered to the open patio where the walls were built with transparent glass. He thought Elsa would enjoy this area better because he had seen how much she enjoyed the nature and his assumptions were correct as she stepped closer to see the view. From where they stood, she could see all the colourful trees, the ponds where they crossed the bridges, the majestic mountains made the scene perfect. Then he tapped her on the shoulder and pointed towards a direction where there was a small waterfall over by a the edge of a chute. The corners of her lips rose as she finally saw the waterfall that she had heard earlier.

With her cellphone she took a picture of the gracious view and set it as her background. Then she turned to Jack and asked, "Can I take a picture of you? I've had your contact for a while, but I don't have a picture to go with it."

Jack smiled sweetly and said, "Of course, if you want me to. But that is going to cost you to be in the picture with me."

Then he stood next to her and tilted his head towards hers with a big smile on his face. Afterwards they checked the picture and saw a perfect picture of them smiling together with the beautiful scenery behind them.

Soon afterwards, they ordered their meal. Given approximately twenty to thirty minutes, their brunch were carried out by their waiter. Elsa had ordered hers to be a salmon benedict while Jack's was a bowl of seafood fettuccini. Both plates looked exquisite as hot steams rose from the food. They dined in and Elsa remarked, "I cannot believe that you are eating pasta for breakfast."

Jack frowned playfully and said, "It's brunch and I am also hungry."

She wiped her mouth as she ate and asked, "Why did you run several miles if you were going to eat a bowl of pasta at 10 AM?"

He smirked and said, "That's the exact reason why I went running. I lost my calories, now I am regaining what I lost."

Her jaws dropped while he continued to happily eat his meal. She sighed, exasperated, thinking how unfair it was that Jack seemed to worry less about the food he ate. Men could lose fat more easily than women. Absolutely unfair. And almost as if he knew what she was thinking as she watched him, he smiled wickedly and extended a forkful of pasta. He cruelly asked, "Want some?"

He could be so playful and childish sometimes. So in return, she stuck her tongue and said, "No."

Then he laughed again and then finished the rest of the comestible. To her surprise, he paid for their meal while saying, "A way of me saying thank-you for being a good company this morning."

At that word: thank you, it reminded her how he had quickly kissed her cheek last time without any warning. Just the though made her feel slightly warmer and deep inside... it made her scared to be aware of the easiness to be around him. She was rather familiar with that sensation and a part of her was still scared of it.

They left the restaurant with small smiles on their faces. Then as if their happiness was being tested, her phone buzzed and when she took it out, Jack noted the caller ID: Santino. Then a deep frown began to form on Jack's face as she quickly stuffed her cellphone back into her handbag.

Surely, their relationship was changing.

Hey, I have been developing their relationships for quite a while now. I think their relationship is finally starting to take a change. Let's see what happens in the next chapter where it will commence with this last scene. :)

Please review! Big thank-you to all my fantastic fans. -IB.