Hello :P It is Wednesday and I am back with a new chapter of this story. After writing a lot about Justin Morgan lately, this one is about another of Jessie and James' sons. It's about Jayden and it's about Katie too and I haven't written about them in a while it feels. It was fun to write. It was nice to show Katie's almost maternal side that she gets from Misty and her and Jayden's little budding romance. I hope you enjoy :3

Ages:

Katie: 12

Jorgie: 1 Month Old

Jayden: 15

Disclaimer: I own the story and all the OCs with AAML-TAML :3

I breathed out contentedly and I could feel my heart swelling with love as the orange haired Ketchum daughter smiled down at the little baby kicking her legs on her bed while she clasped a fresh nappy over her stomach. I couldn't stop myself from feeling adoration. I couldn't stop myself from feeling love. I couldn't stop myself from feeling pride. I shook my head to myself, my blushing with love cheek resting against my paw.

It felt like just yesterday that I had witnessed Misty being so tender and naturally maternal with little Katie as a baby and in that moment, I was watching pre-teen Katie being the same way with another ginger haired little girl. Granted, the infant baby wasn't her own child and her own flesh and blood but still, they were family. And she was just as naturally good with her as if she was her own little bundle.

The orange haired female that was Katie continued to smile down at little Jorgie while she started to take hold of her soft and chubby arms to put back into her sleep suit and get her dressed properly again after a nappy changed. Jorgie looked up at her fellow ginger relative and she gurgled, gazing at her with wondrous eyes. It was lucky that the older female was a good multitasker. She was able to talk with the smaller child and interact with her while she got her dressed.

Katie playfully wrinkled her nose and pretended to poke Jorgie's one back, speaking to her in light and soothing tones as her fingers moved to place her little toes in the foot of her sleeping suit. She noticed the crusted paint on her tiny toes but she'd have to inquire about that later!

"You are a smelly little thing for such a small girl, aren't you?" Katie asked the little infant teasingly and with a serious expression before that melted away and she smirked down at little Jorgie after she tilted her head at her. The older orange haired female brushed her tiny relative's feathery locks before reassuring her of her teasing. "But… But you are rather cute."

Jorgie seemed to like that very much. She seemed to like that compliment very much indeed. Her head stopped tilting slightly on one side and her lips seemed to pucker as if she was trying to smile but was not yet old enough. She didn't mind. Katie didn't mind either. She knew what she was trying to do without her having to properly do it. She gave the tiny child a smile back, one that was genuine enough for the both of them.

"Okay, y-you're not just r-rather cute. You are very cute." Katie told Jorgie and with that, she planted a little kiss to her nose to reaffirm to the little girl that her words were correct before, after doing up the buttons of her onesie, she propped her up while supporting her head properly.

Katie gazed down at her little ginger haired relative with all the love in the world and the same look of wonder that Jorgie had shared for her before. And then upon feeling Katie's loving expression and glance, the little half-angel child soon gave it back to her. Both the ginger haired sweet girls were having a moment together and it made my heart melt.

There was such love. There was such acceptance. It was so pure and it was so genuine. I couldn't stop myself from tearing up and holding a hand over my heart. When it started to be known that Lynne was pregnant with James' baby and they were going to be having a little girl, lots of emotions ran through the entirety of our group. Most of the reactions and feelings were genuine, of course, but some people had some questions.

How would it work out? Would it work out okay? Was it for the best? Was it for the best of the parents? Was it for the best of the child? Would it be okay? They didn't need to worry. They didn't need to worry at all. Although it wasn't likely to be smooth sailing for always, apart from a few moments here and there, it had been simply wonderful since little Jorgie arrived.

Misty had a little half-sister for the first time. For the first time in her life, she was a big sister and to a little girl. The three Morgan sons had their first little sister for the first time as well. Jazmyn had a little sibling of the same gender for the first time. Jordan and Jessie had a 'niece' or a 'step child' – whatever they liked to call the little angel. And of course, both James and Lynne had their wonderful little girl together.

They all gained something when Jorgie Rose Morgan-Williams arrive. But somehow, I believe, that it was Katie who gained that most. She was one of the people who was unsure when she found out that her beloved Uncle was having a baby with her Nanny and had been away on her Pokémon Journey with her twin brother for most of the pregnancy. But she got back for when the little child was due and as soon as she met her properly, she was enamoured.

As soon as her little fist held onto her finger, she knew. She knew that she had found a friend. She knew that she had found a companion. She knew that she had found a solace. And since that precious little moment, she wanted to help out with her as much as she could. And in turn, it gave her a confidence boost that she very much needed.

While I was thinking to myself of all the wonderful things that had happened since little Jorgie's arrival, Katie had continued nattering to the tiny little girl. The orange haired small baby was more than content to be listening to her older relatives soothing tones. She loved it. In fact, she simply adored it. She liked the attention and she liked the company. Even though a moment would come when she started to miss her father, for the time being, she was more than happy listening to Katie chat away.

"And when you're old enough, m-maybe you'll go on a Pokémon Journey too? That would be great, h-huh?" the orange haired Ketchum daughter concluded her talking to the little girl and after sweet young Jorgie seemed to nod her head and let out a cooing noise, Katie nodded her head back and moved the infant so she was lying on her back against her duvet. After the older child put her dirty nappy in the bin with another playful smirk and nose wrinkle and Jorgie kicked her little legs, Katie turned her attention back to her. "W-Would you like me to read to you now before your D-Daddy comes to pick you up? I think it's good for the both of us."

Katie didn't even need to wait for a response from the little baby. She had been told that it was good stimulation for the small infant and she knew it was good for her too. She pressed another precious kiss to her nose to affirm to the both of them that a little reading session was about to take place. Of course, Jorgie was more than happy. She kicked her bendy legs even more and waited to hear wonderful words.

Needless to say, I couldn't stop myself from smiling even more with my chin resting on my paws while Katie started humming a movie theme tune to herself and the baby absentmindedly while she looked for a book to read. I breathed out, feeling even more pride thumping in my heart than when I was watching Katie being so good with little Jorgie.

Like I said before, she had received a much needed confidence boost since James and Lynne's half-angel had arrived. She had been advised often to keep reading out loud to herself and to family members to exercise combating her stutter and even though she had obliged and gone along with it before, since the arrival of Jorgie, she had become passionate about it.

Being able to read at her own pace and have a new-born baby listen and not judge when she stumbled on a word was so freeing to Katie. It was so wonderful. She enjoyed it so much. And like she felt when she was with Jorgie's lavender haired father, she didn't care if she made mistakes and errors along the way. She enjoyed the journey. She enjoyed the reading. And she was beginning to make great progress, all on her own.

After a good few minutes, the orange haired eldest Ketchum daughter stopped rummaging through her book shelves to find the perfect book to read to the little girl and crouched down next to her bed and started looking under it instead. Jorgie let out a squeak of curiosity. I did too. Katie couldn't stop herself from smirking mysteriously and somewhat excitedly as she stuck her head further under the bed to find the book she was looking for.

She soon found it. Her head popped back out from peering under the bed and she produced the little book, her smiling glowing even more than when she had been looking for it and even more than when she had been staring at the little girl.

Before Katie even looked at her, she knew that Jorgie's green eyes were sure to be wide and curious and once she hovered over her once again, she was proved to be corrected. Her little wobbly head was tilting on the side once again. Her lips were pursed with intrigue. Her eyes were wide with curiosity. The orange haired female's pale cheeks blushed a rosy pink and she smiled as she didn't hesitate to inform Jorgie what was in store for her.

"Here we are." She told her and she held the small notebook in front of her face and flicked it with her other finger before she explained to her what it was. She knelt on the floor next to the edge of the bed and rested her elbows on the mattress while Jorgie kicked her legs on it. "T-This book is one of my favourites. A-And it'll be one of your f-favourites too. Want to know why? W-Well your Daddy wrote it just for me."

Katie went on to explain that her beloved Uncle and her Grandparents and her parents and the other kids and almost everyone in our entire little group had been into playing make-believe and dressing up games since she could remember. And because he didn't want to forget them and because he knew how much his orange haired niece adored their games together, James had turned them into short stories and written them down in a notebook just for her.

That thing and that thing alone made Katie love her Uncle James more than anything and everything else that he did for her and with her made her simply adore him. He was definitely her best friend. And she was definitely one of his. His writing and his kind gestures meant more to her than Katie could ever explain. And one thing that meant more to Katie than all of that was the fact that he had had Jorgie with Lynne. She wasn't sure about it at first. But when the little girl arrived, the orange haired female Ketchum knew that she couldn't imagine – and could never want to imagine - life without her.

"T-There's definitely some great little stories in here." Katie continued to inform the little girl, both their orbs softening and glowing at the mentions of their lavender haired Uncle and Father respectively. Jorgie kicked her legs with love even harder. It was definitely a competition of who loved James the most when Katie and Jorgie were together! "I'll choose one t-that I'm i-in. I'm sure you will be one day too. You'll definitely be a part of our games one day. When you're old enough."

Upon hearing this, Jorgie seemed to purse her lips and frown like she believed that she was already old enough to be written about and play games with her father. But she let it go. She let it slide. She tried to smile back when Katie did to her but Katie knew what she was doing without her having to do it properly. She climbed gently on the bed next to her so she could lie with her body close to the little girl and read to her. Story time began. And it was wonderful for little Jorgie to hear. And it was wonderful for me to hear as well!

My mind was carried away. Jorgie's was too. And even Katie's was. On a very rare occasion, she didn't even care when she stuttered or stammered or couldn't pronounce a word properly. She was in good company. She was in the best company. Her Uncle James' words carried her away and they carried the little baby away too. She shut her eyes but she was listening. She was trying to smile and she was listening. She was enjoying the tales.

She was enjoying tales of the sea and the sky and pirates and sailors. It was a whole new world to her. It was a whole new foreign world to her. But the more that Katie read to her and the more that she persevered through her stammering, the more it became familiar to Jorgie. And between that and her orange haired relatives soothing tones, that world and that adventure started to feel like home for her too.

I didn't think that anything could tear any of us away from the fantastical world that a good chunk of our group had come up with together and that James had bought to life in his handwriting for Katie. But I was wrong. I was proved wrong. We were so lost in adventure and enjoyment and fantasy that we hadn't heard someone knocking on the front door of the Ketchum Residence. We hadn't acknowledged Misty going to the door to answer it. And we certainly didn't hear the footsteps making their way up the stairs and coming along the hall to Katie's room.

We were finally pulled out from our time away in a whole different land, time and place when there was a knock on the orange haired female's bedroom door. I jumped. Katie did too, and she almost dropped the book before catching it. Jorgie gurgled. Katie blinked. And then she looked at the clock. Her eyes widened. She shook her head to herself before shrugging her shoulders. She didn't smile down at Jorgie or me reassuringly but her soft and inviting eyes had the same effect on us. She then mumbled to herself, or perhaps it was to us. It didn't matter. Katie spoke.

"O-Oh, it's probably your Daddy come to pick you up. W-We really got lost in his w-writing then, huh?" Katie spoke in general but she looked down at the little girl before carefully hopping down off the bed. Before she could even make her way along her bedroom floor and answer the door after he politely knocked, the person on the other side clearly heard her mumblings and answered them.

"Wrong." The male on the other side of the door answered politely and you could tell that he was smiling even though nobody could see him at that point. He had knocked out of curtesy but he knew that he was always welcome. So after replying to Katie's mutterings airily, he moved his hand away from the wood of the door after his knocking and turned the handle to enter the room instead. "Close though. And who knows? Maybe I'll be full lavender head one day. I hope not."

The male smiled even more following his own humorous words and his grin was a mixture of shyness, genuineness and friendliness. It was Jayden. And Katie couldn't stop herself smiling happily and gladly back at the side of the teenage boy that she had known since the day that she was born. She didn't hesitate to gesture with her fingers for him to come in. He didn't hesitate to oblige. He shut her bedroom door behind him politely, running his fingers through his natural and un-straightened curly locks as he entered.

"O-Oh, I don't know. I think you'd look good with all lavender hair." Katie told Jayden airily with a genuine smile in response to his previous words before she had realised what she said. She blushed in the same way as when she was proudly holding her Uncle's notebook, but even more so. She hurriedly but collectedly moved past it to tease him instead when he shot her a playful look. "Better. I mean better. You'd l-look better."

Following Jayden shooting her a playful look, he tilted his head on one side upon hearing her words and his eyes flickered with a look that was wondering if she meant it or not. But like she had done before, he moved past it. He continued smiling. He came over to the two female's while Katie perched herself back on her bed, occupying her fingers with her Uncle and Jayden's Father's notebook by playing with the edges.

"My Dad asked me if I'd come and collect Jorgie for him and of course I said yes." Jayden informed Katie with a shy smile as he took a seat himself on her bed at the opposite side of her. When the orange haired female just nodded and assumed it was because he wanted time with his little half-sister, the curly haired teenage boy couldn't stop himself from enlightening her otherwise. He was more forward than her in some ways. But still relaxed and very considerate. "Of course I said yes. I wanted to come and see you."

Even though they had known each other for many many years and they had shared many hand holds and kisses between them when they were toddlers, Katie ducked her head and played with the edges of James' book with even more shyness. She swallowed, but she smiled. I watched. They had always had a sweet but interesting relationship, bless them.

While they were very young and they were children, they had insisted to one and other that they would end up married. They were childhood best friends. They had done everything together since they could remember. But that changed when Jayden went on his first journey. I don't really know what happened.

In my opinion, I think he assumed that Katie stopped feeling the same way about him as when they were younger. And I believed that Katie felt the same way about Jayden. She assumed that he had a whole new life of experiences and journeys and things were no longer the same between them anymore.

Even though they were young and they were still close, there were miscommunications between them. There were a lot of things that were unsaid. If they had sat down and had a chat, I knew that they would realise that their feelings for one another – whether serious or puppy-like or companionship – had never gone away. And would most likely never go away. They had known each other for so long. And they both wrongly assumed that that was a bad thing.

Jayden remained silent for a few minutes after seeing Katie blush slightly. He had seen it with his own eyes and he had noticed it but at the same time, a part of him was wondering whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. His leg started slowly and silently tapping against her floor. Despite the fact that he felt for her the way that he did, he found it easy to continue talking to her. It was always easy when it came to them both.

"So have you two had a lot of fun together?" the curly haired older teenager asked Katie and after she smiled sweetly and nodded her head, Jayden couldn't stop himself moving closer on the bed next to her. Jorgie watched. Her eyes were moving from side to side, between them both. After moving closer to Katie casually, he pointed to the book in her fingers in a friendly way. She didn't hesitate to let him see it. "Am I right in assuming you've had a little reading session? I bet she's really really loved hearing about all the stories that are older than her."

Katie nodded her head and once again, she ducked her head in a shy manner. But she soon carried on and she soon answered Jayden. After he looked down at his Father's notebook and stroked the cover carefully with his thumb and handed it back to her, the orange haired female spoke to him. She even edged closer to him on the bed himself. Jorgie watched, her eyes flickering between them both as she remained kicking her legs between them.

"Y-Yes and I told her that when she's old enough, she'll probably have a story written about her too. And she'll probably be joining in our games before she can even walk!" the orange haired female found herself exclaiming to Jayden and even though she blushed at her own outburst, she didn't seem to care. When she was with him, she didn't seem to care. And when she was with him, she hardly seemed to stutter either – or perhaps she didn't even care if she did.

Either way, she was herself with him. And that made her able to tease him like her mother often did to her father when they were that age. She edged closer to him, putting the book down to play with her own side plait. "I couldn't help but notice that she had paint crusted on her toes when I was changing her, Jayden. D-Dare I assume that you had something to do with it?"

Since talking to Katie and edging nearer to her, the curly haired older teenage boy had become distracted by the other ginger female in his life. Jorgie. Her kicking her legs on Katie's mattress had gotten his attention and he had started tickling her tummy through the material gap in her sleep suit. But even though he was giving his little half-sister attention, Katie could very easily tear him away from doing that.

He reacted right away. He listened to her words and his eyes widened. And then he tilted his head on one side, his curls moving as he did so while he couldn't stop himself from smirking. Katie smirked back and playfully folded her arms over his chest. Jayden tried to be innocent and deny it but he couldn't stop himself. Jorgie hiccupped like she was amused by the interactions between the pair.

"What? Me? No, never." He playfully tried to tell Katie even though at that point, his expression most definitely said otherwise. I smirked just as much as the orange haired female Ketchum. He was as bad at lying as his father was. In fact, he was definitely a lot worse and he showed this by relenting very quickly and laughing shyly. He scratched his own cheek as he explained. "Okay, it was definitely me, that was. I needed little feet prints for my latest painting and she was kind enough to help out. I'll show you it when it's done."

Upon hearing this, after she had laughed alongside Jayden, Katie couldn't stop herself from wrinkling her nose and smiling bashfully at him. She thought to herself for just a second. She had always liked how creative he was. And she had always liked how gentle he was. He was a gentle man. He was a gentleman – one in the right way and one not acting like he was to get what he wanted. But first and foremost, he was a gentle young man. And he had proved this with how natural he had been with Jorgie since the day she was born. He was naturally paternal with her and loved being around her – and in the exact same way that Katie was maternal.

Katie knew that she wanted to dwell on her thoughts and continue feeling that butterfly feeling brewing for the lavender and magenta haired male but she stopped herself before it got too far. She frowned at herself briefly. He was a friend. He just wanted to be friends. She shook her thoughts away and went back to laughing alongside him instead. They both laughed together while Jorgie cooed. She was trying to laugh along with them. I smiled.

"Poor Jorgie having her little foot covered with your paint. I can't imagine that she liked it that much?" she continued laughing in between wrinkling her nose playfully at Jayden and the curly haired teenage boy of course didn't stop smiling for a second while Katie was laughing. Even though he didn't move towards her physically, he could feel himself emotionally doing so. He loved it when she laughed. He was lucky enough to have her often very smiley when they were together. He was glad about it.

"She loved it." Jayden's laughter began to die down for him to insist stubbornly to Katie but after she didn't stop her giggles and she raised an eyebrow at him, he found himself speaking between smirking once again. He held his hands up before they went back to his own curly locks. His shoulders shrugged. "Okay, it took a bit of getting used to. To be fair, I don't think she likes textures very much so she needs to get a little braver. You're pretty brave. How many of her nappies did you have to do to spot the paint on her feet?"

Katie stopped smirking back and watching Jayden running his fingers through his child-like curls to think to herself and tilt her head on one side. After a few seconds, she pointed over to her bin where a good few of Jorgie's nappies were residing. Jayden didn't hesitate to pull a face before he started laughing once again. He gave Jorgie some attention by tickling her toes and tummy playfully but he gave most of it to the older orange haired female instead.

"Wow, you are brave. She's definitely a stinky thing for a pretty little girl; no matter how many times my Dad tries to deny it. It makes me very glad that the age gap between Jaxon and I is so small. He was meant to be the worst. But thankfully, I avoided it all!"

Katie pretended to wrinkle her nose and shove her long term childhood best friend for all the 'immature' talk but soon enough, she couldn't stop herself from telling Jayden that she was pretty sure she still remembered Ben's nappies to distract herself from the fact that he had grabbed her hands after she shoved him. The lavender and magenta haired curly male dropped her hands after a few seconds and didn't hesitate to tease her some more about her words being "unlady-like". She then didn't hesitate to shove him in the chest lightly once again, not caring if he grabbed her hands again. He did. And he held onto them for a longer time that time before letting them go.

And following that little bit of contact between them both, they both went quiet which soon turned into silence. But it wasn't awkward. It was far from being awkward. They had known each other many many years and had so many conversations together that of course; there would be a few silences here and there. And they enjoyed them, almost as much as they enjoyed exchanging words with one and other. I enjoyed it too. Jorgie did as well. It gave her time to think. It gave me time to think as well.

They were just so natural together. Jayden and Katie were just so natural together. Whatever they were – whether they were friends or more than friends or companions or just two people who got on really well – they found it all very natural. They found it very easy as well. Even though they had the feelings for one and other that they had for each other, you couldn't tell. Well, a person on the outside could tell. But they themselves couldn't. Between themselves, they couldn't tell at all. And that was most likely that made them assume that their affections – again, be it platonic or budding romantic – were one sided.

Their little silence soon turned into a big silence but it didn't start being awkward. It remained as easy and as natural and as comfortable as ever. They both propped themselves up on the bed as they laid next to Jorgie and they interacted with her together, Jayden tickling her sleep suit covered toes and Katie running her fingers through her feathery hair.

The orange haired female was very much looking down at her little ginger relative, wondering how long it would be until she could start giving her hairstyles. Jayden was very much giving his little half-sister affections but his eyes and his mind were on Katie. And he couldn't stop himself from smiling to himself.

He was very much like his father, Jayden was. From some people's perspectives, he was the child that was most like him. He was funny. He was creative. He was kind. He was gentle. He was thoughtful. In that moment, he had a thought. He had a thought about Katie. And because in some aspects he was the slightly more forward one than she was, he didn't hesitate to move his musings in his brain to being on the tip of his tongue.

He propped himself further up on his elbow. He smiled at Katie even more so and more softly. He spoke in a gentle voice. His meadow green orbs were laced with friendliness and fondness too. He really did care for her. He cared for her very much indeed.

"Isn't it crazy how she's here, Katie?" Jayden began and like how the curly haired boy was with her, his words were enough to get her attention. Even though she was seemingly deep in thought imagining what hairstyles she could give Jorgie when she was older, she didn't hesitate to listen to Jayden. She gave him a smile. "She's so small and perfect and… Here."

Jorgie gurgled upon hearing this. Once again, she enjoyed the validation and the attention. I smiled. But of course it was Katie who smiled the most. She found the fact that he was so intelligent but in that moment he was struggling to make the point that he was thinking about to be endearing. She nodded her head. She understood. Or so she thought that she understood.

"I know. I k-know what you mean. One m-minute she's growing and I'm on my journey and getting posted all of these sonograms of her and the next minute, she's here and in the flesh. A-And you're painting her toes and I'm changing her nappies and she's here. Yeah. It's crazy how quickly time goes by."

"Yeah, but I don't mean just that." Jayden told Katie and for once, he was quick to respond to her. She couldn't stop herself from frowning at him at his very quick answer but she wasn't annoyed. She was more surprised. He was always a very slow and polite person. He never really answered hurriedly. But when he did, it meant that he had something to say. Something important to say. So Katie didn't say anything in her own words. She just looked at him with a reassuring face and open eyes. She allowed him to continue with his words. Her face did all of the talking for her. Jayden appreciated that. Jayden admired that. Jayden loved that. "I don't know."

For once, the lavender and magenta teenage boy was having a hard time getting his words out. It was either that, or he was having trouble articulating what exactly he wanted to say. That was rare for him. He was so intelligent. Katie was too. She had trouble getting her words out too, but in a different way. And that was okay. So it was okay for Jayden to be like momentarily too.

They were both intelligent. But they were not both patient. The Morgan male was. But the Ketchum female was not. She was often sort of rather impatient. But that was okay. That was her. She was often impatient. But in that moment, they were almost balancing each other out like good matches between people did.

Jayden was having trouble articulating. Katie was finding it easy to be calm and patient. She gave the curly haired teenage boy a smile. And that was all he needed. That was all Jayden needed. With his heart rate starting to thump ever so lightly in his throat, he said everything that he needed to say.

"It's crazy how my Dad has a new baby. It's crazy how your Nanny has a new baby. It's crazy how they have a new baby. Together. I don't know. I suppose it's not surprising because they've been in love for a very long time but at the same time, it's crazy. But it's just as wonderful as well. Do you know what I mean?" Jayden needed to pause to make sure Katie was still engaged in the conversation. Of course she definitely was.

She wanted to nod her head because she thought that she knew what Jayden was getting at but she didn't do that right away. She decided to tilt her head on one side instead. So that her curly haired childhood friend could continue no matter what. So he did. His voice was starting to become slightly shaky but his words were still forward he knew what he wanted to say. He really really did.

"You and I are family now, Katie. We've been close for so many years. And some of my earliest and best memories are with you. And now we have Jorgie and she's so sweet and so lovely and she's ours. She's related to you. And she's related to me. She's related to us both. So we're family now. And even though we've felt that way about each other for many years – or at least that's how I feel about you – and now it's come true. We're family. So that means we'll be connected for always."

I swallowed and I blinked upon hearing this but I was very happy indeed. I was surprised, but I was very happy. Jorgie was too. She hadn't expected that from her big half-brother, but she was proud. He really was rather forward with Katie. And it was obvious he had affections for her. It was obvious to me. It was obvious to Jorgie. It was possibly obvious to Jayden. But it wasn't obvious to Katie.

But just because she didn't quite know how exactly Jayden felt about her, that didn't mean she didn't hear or understand the sentiment behind his words. She heard them. She appreciated them. She felt the same way. She blushed another delicate rosy pink and she ducked her head. She wanted to tell him that she felt the same way but she didn't. She couldn't - not just yet.

But that didn't matter. She smiled. She smiled at Jayden, a lovely and wonderful and genuine smile. And this was what it took for Jayden to speak even more truths to her. He moved closer to her on the bed while laying down next to her, Jorgie still between them both.

"I think she's come at the perfect time, you know, Katie? I'm about to start some really hard work at school. You're sticking around here for good while you decide what to do next. We're both here. We're both here at the same time and we have her. That's no coincidence. It's meant to be. We're meant to spend lots of time together, you, me and little Jorgie. We're family. We'll be connected for always."

I breathed out and I smiled as I heard Jayden repeat those last words of his. He meant them. He really meant them. Katie had heard them the first time and he had appreciated them the first time. But when she heard them for the second time, she knew she had to respond to Jayden. She knew she had to respond to the male that she had felt strongly for, for a very long time. And she found herself hinting to him ever so slightly about how she felt about him back.

At first, she just gave him another lovely smile, a genuine twinkle in her eye. And then she did something bold. Well, perhaps it wasn't bold because they had grown up doing it. But I knew they hadn't done it in a rather long while. But they did it then. It happened then. After smiling at Jayden and edging closer to him, she reached out to innocently hold his hand. And she told him.

"The thing is though, Jayden…" Katie began but of course, the dual hair coloured male was already listening. He was surprised but her slight affection back but he didn't hesitate to hold her hand back. His fingers entwined with hers. It felt so good. And her words felt even better. He felt so good as he heard the truth. "The thing is Jayden, I didn't need Jorgie arrive to feel that way. I've always felt that way about you. I always have."

I held my breath. Jorgie hiccupped and then she held her breath. Jayden's eyes widened. They seemed to shake in the whites of his eyes. His heart rate in his throat thudded even more. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say. He wanted to do so many things. He wanted to do so many things. But in the end, he just kept doing what he had been doing the entire time.

He held her hand, softly but firmly and with all the security in the world. Katie ducked her head shyly after telling him the truth but she didn't need to. Because he felt the same way as her. And because she told him the truth, Jayden of course didn't hesitate to give it back to her all over again.

He smiled at her and didn't let go of her hand. He didn't move closer to her. He didn't need to. His eyes locked onto her. He looked at her. His best friend. His oldest friend. He felt so many things about her. And he always would. No matter what happened between them. Jayden lightly brushed his lips against her hand but the most important thing was that he squeezed it. And didn't let it go.

"I feel the same way, Katie. I feel the same way-" Jayden began with a soft smile and for once and with confidence, Katie interrupted him. She had something she needed to say. And Jayden had something he needed to hear. And it was something that would be on their minds for a very long time following that. And it was something that would be on their minds all throughout whatever the months had planned for them and wherever they ended up – together or apart.

"I feel that way about you, Jayden. And I'll never stop. We are connected. And that will never stop. Not just because of Jorgie. But because we are us. We are best friends. Always."

The End.

There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 It was fun having more of a mature approach to Katie and Jayden's relationship. When I was younger I definitely viewed them as - like the story says - saying they'll get married from a young age and being kiddie sweethearts. But years later, I find it fun giving them a little bit of hardships too. Like the story also mentions, they do drift apart a bit when Jayden goes on his journey because they both think that the other person has grown away from them. And even though they're always around for each other, it's Jorgie who brings them back together for good. And after she's born is the real turning point for Jayden and Katie getting ready to be together romantically. After this time, Katie starts to struggle a bit more with her stammer but that brings her closer to Jayden. They don't get together until she's 14 and he's 17, but they definitely catch stronger feelings thanks to Jorgie. It was fun for me to write Jayden too. After getting to know Justin's character so strongly, it was good to focus on the other one. I liked showing his mature and gentle but teasing side :P Thanks again and I will be back next Wednesday so see you then!

AmyBieberKetchum signing out :3