"Cou-de-pied, left foot, coupé…." Ms. Stephanie instructed her pupils at the barre. "And hold. Passé. Développé en avant."

Ava concentrated deeply on her task.

Everyone else in her class had been dancing since they were toddlers, so Ava had a lot of catching up to do.

But being so focused and determined, she managed to improve quickly. Some things still needed work, but she didn't stick out like a sore thumb anymore.

Though it took a lot arm twisting, pulling teeth, and threats, Ava was convinced to leave Nathan and go to dance class. Her brother made it a point to tell her that if she hung around for just a minute longer, he was going to wring her neck like a wet towel.

That got her moving.

But it didn't mean she wouldn't be back tomorrow.

"A la seconde." The woman continued and Ava moved her left leg out to the side, making sure her toes were pointed and not sickled. "Passé. Arabesque."

Besides, she loved her dance class. She and Maddie were taking the same classes and this was just another way for them to hang out together outside of school.

Ava held onto the bar in front of her and moved her toes back towards her knee, before extending her leg behind her at a ninety degree angle, keeping her head held high.

"Good." Ms. Stephanie smiled. "Passé. Cou-de-pied and finish in fifth. Class dismissed."

Once Ava ended in fifth position, she took a sip of water and put on her shorts, grabbing her things. She had almost made it to the door when she noticed Andy standing outside in the waiting are.

"Hi." She smiled, sitting down next to him to put her sneakers on. They were her first pair of Jordans and she loved them because they were multicolored. Her father bought them for her as a reward for getting a good grade on a math test and she wore them everywhere. It didn't break her 'two different feet, two different shoes' rule either. "I thought Mama was coming today."

"I talked her into letting me pick you up." He explained. "I wanted to cash in on that ice cream offer I made."

"Sweet!" Ava cheered and stood up after tying her laces. "Did you see me?"

"I did." Andy nodded, holding the door open for her before pulling her hood over her head to combat the chill in the air. "You were wonderful."

"Thank you." Ava hopped over a crack in the sidewalk.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." The man brought up awkwardly as they strolled down the street.

It felt odd, but he'd been dating Karen for quite some times now and he developed an adoration for both her children, especially Ava.

"Oh..…okay."

Whenever grown ups said they wanted to talk about things, that never meant anything good.

"You know I love your mum." He started. "And I love you and your brother."

"Uh huh. Sure." Ava did a jazz pas de bourreé with a small turn, making him chuckle.

"My mum got a little injured back in New Zealand...…and I need to go back to take care of her."

"Is she okay?"

"She will be." Andy answered, surprised with how easily Ava was taking the news. "The thing is, I may be there for a while."

"Oh." Ava deflated. "A long time?"

"More than likely."

"Mama's gonna miss you." She told him.

"And I'll miss her…...I wouldn't leave unless it was absolutely necessary."

"I know." Ava said confidently. "If something happened to my mama, I wouldn't let anything stop me from being with her. You have to go."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're very wise for your age?" Andy smiled.

"Mmhm."

"Thank you, Ava."

"You're welcome...…thanks for making my mama's eyes smile again."

"Thank you for letting me." He stopped walking and bent down to her height. "I want you to know, that if you ever need anything, I'm just a phone call away."

"Where are we going?" Ava asked from the backseat of Lucas' car.

In true Luke fashion, her brother had woken her up that morning and told her that they were going on yet another road trip.

Ava loved road trips. Listening to music and playing games on the drive were so much fun to her.

The problem is, he wouldn't tell her where they were going. All she knew was that Brooke was coming along for the ride.

"That's a surprise, Baby Scott." Brooke smirked from the passenger seat. "You'll find out when we get there."

Ava hated it when anyone called her, 'Baby Scott', but she didn't really mind when Brooke did it.

Maybe because she wasn't condescending. Or maybe because she was Brooke.

She had a way of making anything sound nice.

"Can't you give me a hint?"

"No." She laughed. "Luke, you were right. This is fun."

"What did I tell you?" He smirked. "Keeping things from her is quality entertainment."

"I might cry if you don't tell me." Ava sang.

"If you keep it up, I'm sure you will."

That was a veiled threat and Ava knew it. That was another 'Scott Family Trait' along with the raising of a single eyebrow. Nathan, Lucas, and Dan were really good at making threats that didn't actually sound like threats.

But funnily enough, they were always directed at her.

"No, that's okay." Shifting in her booster seat, she wisely kept her mouth shut and played with her stuffed animal.

Unbeknownst to her, in the front of the car, Lucas and Brooke shared an amused smile.

"Haley!" Ava's eyes lit up when she saw her favorite person in the entire world.

She was so excited when she figured out that Lucas and Brooke were actually taking her to see Haley. They hadn't seen each other in months and Ava felt like it'd been so long that she was beginning to forget what she looked like.

But her face dropped to one of confusion when she saw Chris Keller tickling her mercilessly while they both sat cozy on a couch.

She thought that Nathan was the only man that got to be on top of her like that.

Maybe she was wrong.

But it didn't look good, that's for sure.

Haley gasped when she spotted the three and stopped laughing as Chris got off of her.

Awkward.

There was really no explaining this one.

"Oh my gosh!' She rushed over to them, pulling Lucas in for a hug. "Hi!"

"Oh, well, it's about time the tribal leaders came to collect their squaw." Chris quipped.

"Oh, shut up, Chris."

"Yeah." Lucas parroted his best friend. "Shut up, Chris."

"Alright, I'm going." Chris stood up and looked at Brooke. "Oh..…I see you couldn't stay away from me."

"Out!'" Haley shoved him away.

"Alright! But, Ava, I have a little something for you."

Lucas gave his sister a look to which she shrugged.

It wasn't like she had been secretly keeping in contact with him. So she didn't know what this was about either.

"I'm sorry." Haley embraced Brooke. "It's good to see you, too, Brooke."

"Yeah, you, too, Fugitive Girl." The brunette laughed.

"And you." Haley swung Ava up onto her hip. "I missed you." She kissed her cheek.

"I missed you." Ava smiled once again. "Thank you for singing to me."

She was referring to the phone call the two had one night when she couldn't sleep. Sneaking out in the living room, she grabbed the landline and dialed Haley's number in hopes that she would pick up. They stayed on the phone for a couple of hours until Haley decided that it was time for Ava to go to sleep, singing to her until she was sure that the little girl was out like a light.

"It was my pleasure." Haley returned the smile. "Anything for you…..So, what're you guys doing here?"

"We brought your English assignment." Lucas reminded her.

"Oh my gosh, finals!" She facepalmed. "That just feels like a totally different life."

"Let's go, diva!" A backstage manager knocked on the door.

"Hey, Joey D, this, um, my friend, Lucas and my friend, Brooke." Haley introduced. "And this is my favorite little munchkin ever, Ava." She gave the little girl a loving squeeze.

"What's up, guys?" Joey waved. "Ah, sorry I gotta drag her away, but we've got three meetings and a satellite radio interview. You ready?"

"Um….." Haley pretended to cough. "I'm just feeling a little…..fluish."

"Haley!"

"Yeah, I—"

"—It's totally going around." Brooke coughed as well.

"Cover for me?" Haley shrugged.

"Um—"

"—Really, because I'm just, I'm sick as a dog here." She grabbed Lucas, who grabbed Brooke, pulling them out the door.

"No, wait! Haley!"

"Hey, Trouble, I know you missed me and all, but..…can I put you down?" Haley asked. "You're getting kind of heavy."

It was true, Haley had been carrying Ava for the past hour or so, and she was really starting to feel it in her back.

Central Park was by no means small, and Ava had been attached to Haley for the better part of their little stroll.

"I promise, I'm not going anywhere."

Ava scrutinized her for a moment and nodded. The whole 'leaving without saying goodbye' thing hadn't just affected Nathan and Lucas, and Haley was starting to realize that.

"Thank you." The teen sighed in relief and set her down, grabbing her hand. "There's a frozen yogurt place a little ways down, how do you feel about sharing a big bowl with sour gummy worms?"

"Yes!" Ava grinned. "And gummy bears?"

"We can definitely use some gummy bears." Haley smiled. "Hey, why don't you go and see the horses? You said you've always wanted to pet one."

At the prospect of leaving Haley's side, Ava shook her head.

"See that one?" Haley pointed at a beautiful black stallion that was hooked up to a carriage, waiting for passengers. "He looks like he could use a friend."

"Yeah." Lucas encouraged. "I think he'd enjoy the company."

"I promise, that I'll be here when you get back. I won't leave without saying goodbye. Not again." Haley assured her.

"Pinky swear?" Ava held her small finger out to her.

"Pinky swear. Now, go."

The two best friends watched as she walked up to the woman who had been driving the carriage and began talking to her.

Ava could make friends with anyone without really trying.

She was friendly that way.

"I'm guessing you're here because of Nathan." Haley spoke once Ava was out of earshot.

"Kind of."

"You know that he told me not to come home, right? You know that?"

"Look." Lucas sighed. "Mostly, I'm here because of us, Haley. You know, I was…..sitting in class and I looked over and saw your empty seat…..and it struck me, that not too long ago, it was just you and me."

"Yeah." Haley understood, taking his arm.

"Suddenly, it felt wrong…..that you weren't there."

"You think I was wrong for leaving." Haley stopped and led him to sit down at a bench, both of them still keeping their eyes on Ava, who looked like she was doing just fine.

She had gotten permission to feed the horse and she had a huge smile on her face. The animal seemed to like her.

"Here's what I think…..you stood by me when I left the River Court because a voice in my head told me that it's what I had to do. So, I'm here for you, Hales. And I always will be…..even when I don't understand it."

"Thanks, Luke. Thank you…..because sometimes, I don't understand it either."

"Hi!" Ava skipped past Brooke, into Chris Keller's hotel room.

She had just gotten back with Lucas and Haley, and she wanted to talk to him.

Shocker.

"Hey, Cricket."

"What's that you were playing?" She sat down next to him.

"A song I wrote for you." He joked.

"You're silly." Ava giggled. "You said you had something for me?"

"I did?" He questioned, pretending not to know what she was talking about. "When did I say that?"

"Earlier! You remember!"

"Hold this." He handed her his guitar and went rummaging through the hotel desk.

Ava pressed her finger against some strings on the fretboard and strummed. And somehow, it didn't sound bad.

So she kept doing it, switching it up from time to time.

"Ava, do you play?" Brooke asked, clearly impressed by how quickly she had managed to make music.

"No." Ava shook her head, paying no attention to Chris when he sat back down, still strumming random chords she had managed to find.

"That's good, Ava." Chris mused, pulling her to sit on his lap. "That's an A minor and a D major, you just played. You're pretty good."

"Really?"

"Yeah, have you had any lessons at all?"

"Nope…..at Tric, I watch how the bands play and I hear the notes in my head…..so I just played them." The nine year old shrugged.

"I think you should keep at it."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Chris." Brooke nodded.

"Hey, Brooke." Haley greeted the girl, entering the room. "What's going on?"

"She was just hitting on me." Chris winked, making Brooke scoff. "Hey, we missed you at the on-air. How's the flu bug?"

"Oh…..it'll pass, thanks." Haley rolled her eyes. "How'd it go?"

As Ava listened to their conversation, she played something else. The song for her dance routine had been stuck in her head for days and she figured that if it was going to take up space in her mind, she might as well take her hands along for the ride.

"Well, without you, there's more time to talk about me. It went great!"

"Oh!" Brooke gasped, her hand flying to her throat as if she couldn't breathe.

"What?" Haley whirled around to face her, worried that Brooke was having an attack of some sort.

"I can't breathe..…" Brooke wheezed. "There's no room in here with Chris' ego! Can we go?"

"Yes, let's go." Haley pursed her lips. "You can show me what you've got." She began to follow Brooke out, but then stopped when she recognized the song that was being played. "You think you own whatever land you land on, the earth is just a dead thing you can claim, but I know every rock and tree and creature, has a life, has a spirit, has a name….." She sang along. "Ava, how are you…..?"

"It was in my head." Ava stopped playing and looked up at her.

"You heard it and you played it?" Haley questioned.

"Yeah." Ava nodded, setting the guitar down on the bed when she saw her brother. "Hi, Luke!"

But the look on her brother's face was enough to drop the smile from her own. She knew it was because she was so close to Chris, but he was her friend!

"Lucas! Good to see you, buddy!"

"Come on, Ava, let's go find Brooke." Haley could tell by the look on Lucas's face, that he wanted to talk to Chris. Alone.

"Okay, bye."

"Hey, don't forget this." Chris handed her a CD. "It's Elvis' greatest hits. Since you're starting to listen to good things that are considered music, I thought you'd like to take a listen."

"Cool, thanks!" Ava fist bumped him before following Haley, hesitating before she tried to pass Lucas, who was still glaring at her. "Umm…Can I get by?" She hesitated to ask.

Lucas' gaze left hers as he turned it onto Chris, making the message very clear to his sister.

It didn't seem like either of her brothers liked it when she got close to Chris.

"Okay, so this is it." Haley ran a hand through her hair, standing by the car. "I'm really glad you came. I missed you."

"Me, too." Ava nodded, not really wanting to say goodbye. She was starting to realize why Haley hadn't bothered with it the first time she left.

It was hard.

"We'll see each other soon…..this isn't it, you know?"

"It's not?"

"Of course it isn't." Haley scoffed and ruffled her hair. "I'm not letting you guys go anytime soon."

"Good."

"But for now, I'll say, see you later, alligator." Haley pulled her in for a hug. "And you'll say?"

"In a while, crocodile." Ava giggled.

"Alright. Go on."

"Haley?"

"Yeah?"

"Nathan misses you, too. Even more than me. He's mad at you, but he still loves you."

"I don't know about that, Ava. I know you'd like to think so, but this is really complicated."

"I got into a fight with Mama, and I didn't talk to her for a long time….I thought she didn't want to see me, so I stayed away from her. But she didn't come to see me, because she thought I was mad at her…..I hear Nathan crying sometimes. He doesn't think I know, but I do. Maybe he doesn't talk to you because he thinks you're mad at him. And maybe you don't because you think he's mad at you." Ava shrugged.

"Have you spoken to your mother?"

"Yeah..…I think maybe she thought that I went to live with Daddy because I loved him more. But that wasn't why. Maybe Nathan thinks that you left because you love singing more than him."

For a child that hadn't even aged to double digits yet, Ava was certainly smart.

And it really made Haley rethink her decisions.

"Bye, Haley."