Howdy all. First of all, a very late happy new year to you all. I tried to get this chapter out around the first week, but a LOT of crap hit the fan that affected my workplace and left me out of sorts due to it. Its calmed down now though, giving me time to update. Enjoy!

It had been close to an hour since Jasmine and Jaden had their talk. By then, Mindy and Fonda came back to where they were laying. Jasmine gave Jaden a quick kiss before getting up and heading to the wading pools. Fonda joined her, wanting to see what life was in there. Mindy looked at Jaden who got up.

"Mindy, want to go explore with me?" He asked, offering his arm.

The black haired girl nodded, linking her arm with his. The two set off into the nearby woods. The sun dappled leaves danced in the wind, making the shadows grow and shrink.

"This is such a beautiful island, Jaden." Mindy gushed, watching some birds flit by.

"Thanks. As I said, I wanted to be left alone when I'm off the circuit." Jaden commented, shuddering at memories of Amelia and the paperazzi.

"What were you and Jazz talking about?" Mindy asked, not seeing the shudder.

Jaden smiled. They had been discussing the future. Jasmine had surprised him with a wish to take up Fashion design as a hobby.

"Speaking of...do you have plans to continue dueling?"

"Off and on again. I was planning on going pro on the tennis courts, but Harrington ruined that for me." Mindy said, sighing.

Jaden winced. For Mindy to lose something that she loved to do, he couldn't imagine. He decided to steer the conversation back. Inquiring about any alternate plans for the future, her face lit up in delight.

"Game design!" Mindy squealed.

"Game design?" Jaden repeated, confusion on his face.

He knew Mindy was smarter then what she acted. But to hear that still come from her lips, it still caught him off guard. She nodded enthusiastically.

Game design was a passion of hers. She loved coding, programming, and texture filing. She had a knack for it early in her life. Central just helped it along.

She had plans to either join a triple A gaming company, like Kaiba Corp, or start her own. Though she saw the latter happening more then the former. After all, indie game makers had it rougher then usual.

"After the whole Digi-Men and Pocket Men debacle, lots of Indie game devs have all but died off..." Mindy said, a little sour.

"I know...I find that it was stupid of Nonton to do that to Vandai." Jaden said, a little bitter himself.

Still, he encouraged her to keep on her hard work. Mindy nodded, taking a seat on a stump. Jaden looked around before smirking. He went over to a certain tree and opened a lid. Inside was food pellet of some kind. Grabbing a handful, he walked back.

"Huh? What's that, Jay-bear?" Mindy asked, using her pet name for him.

"Watch." He said, his voice quiet.

He placed a few of the food pellets out, walking back to her. Mindy watched him but he just pointed. Following his finger, her eyes went wide. In the shadows of the tree was a bird.

Its plumage was silver colored, black chest feathers, its wings a deep crimson. Its beak was black, but it eyes shone in the darkness. It hopped down, pecking at the pellets. Each time it ate one, it jumped to the next. Jaden wordlessly handed Mindy the rest of the pellets.

Now in the light, the silver coloring glimmered. It lifted its head, seeing more of the pellets in Mindy's hands. It jumped up and began to eat. Mindy stood stock still, staring in wonderment.

"Jaden...this is a Silver Budgie..." She choked out in a hushed tone.

"Yep...it migrates here until the end of August. This is one reason why I bought the whole island. It is one of the rare few places it nests." Jaden whispered back.

The two stared at the bird, Jaden watching it with a soft smile. A chirping made the bird look up and then take off. Mindy and Jaden followed it and saw a second one. They both flew to the nest, making Jaden smile.

"I wanted to at least share this moment with you, Mindy."

"Jaden...thank you so much. But...you never told me your dreams for the future."

Jaden chuckled. He had actually. He wanted to make a big family. The problem was that he didn't feel he would be good father material given his own. Here, Mindy embraced him.

"You would be a WONDERFUL father, Jaden. You know what your donor was wrong and took steps to cut him out of your life. When, not if, WHEN you have kids, you will be a wonderful father."

Jaden smiled, hugging her. Thanking her for the words of encouragement, he entwined his hand with hers. The pair of them started on their way back. As they walked, Mindy leaned over and whispered into his ear. He tensed up at hearing what she had to say, but nodded.

Upon reaching the beach, they saw Jasmine holding her arms over her chest, glaring while Fonda nearby was laughing.

The reason? Seems Jasmine had gotten too close to a crab. The things claws latched onto her front before snapping the top off. Leaving her topless.

Jaden and Mindy looked at one another before bursting out into laughter. Jasmine just puffed up her cheeks in annoyance, further making the pair roar in hysterics.

Fonda grabbed Jaden and dragged him away while he still was laughing. Mindy went to go help her best friend deal with her embarrassment and to get an extra top for her.

And we close that out with some humor at Jasmine's expense. But what did the two girls whisper to Jaden about? Stay tuned to find out.