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Collette sat in the coffee shop waiting for Patrick to arrive biting her nails nervously. She wasn't sure if he was even going to show up, but she was sure that if he did, he was going to ask questions about Jackson.

She heard the bell on the door ring and snapped her head up. There he was, walking towards her. Collette just sat there staring at him not able to breathe.

"Hey," he said quietly sitting down next to her.

"Hi," she said putting her hands down into her lap. "I didn't think you were going to show," she said looking down now.

"Why would you think something like that?" he asked sounding surprised.

"Because I didn't tell you about Jackson," Collette said looking Patrick in the eyes now.

"Well, I was a little shocked," Patrick said shifting in his seat.

"And you have every right to be. I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she said folding her hands in front of her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked wanting to know why Jackson never came up.

"I don't know. I guess I just wanted to protect him," Collette said shrugging.

"Protect him or yourself?" Patrick interjected.

Collette's head snapped up. Patrick almost sounded bitter at the fact that Collette hadn't told him about Jackson. Could she blame him?

"Look, Patrick, there's a lot that you don't know about my past, so stay out of it," Collette said sternly. She hated using that voice, which was perfected while working at the boy's home.

Patrick just shook his head and started to stand up.

"Where are you going?" she asked grabbing onto his wrist.

"Forget this, Collette. You obviously don't want me to be in your life, so I'm going to do you a favor, and leave," he said standing up straight and peering down on her.

"Patrick, stop. Don't be like that. Sit down, please," Collette said quietly trying to get Patrick to not create a scene.

"You have my number," he said simply and left.

Collette sat there in shock. What had just happened? That was the last thing that she thought would happen. Was this man really out of her life now?

-----

Patrick walked up to the house that he and the boys were renting while they worked in the studio. He couldn't believe what he had just done. Was he crazy? He was completely head over heels for this girl and he just left her sitting there in the coffee shop. The disappointment in her eyes was enough to make him drop to his knees.

He kept telling himself that he was trying to make a point. He liked her and she liked him. She just needed to accept that fact. She was going to call him. She had to call him. Was she going to call him?

Patrick went straight into his room not wanting to talk to anyone, he just wanted to play his acoustic and let his mind shut off.

"Patrick," Pete said from outside the bedroom door.

No such luck.

"What?" he asked annoyed. Why couldn't this boy just leave him alone?

Pete took that as a cue to come in.

"What are you doing home so early?" he asked putting his hands in his pockets.

"I left," Patrick said simply strumming at his guitar.

"And why?" Pete asked.

"Because," Patrick said trying to sound uninterested in this conversation so Pete would leave him alone.

"Come on," Pete said grabbing Patrick's wallet off of his desk.

"What?" Patrick asked looking at Pete in shock.

"Were going to the studio," Pete said simply grabbing the guitar out of Patrick's hands now. A risky move, he knew, but he didn't care.

"What are you talking about?" Patrick asked irritated.

"Your feeling shit, so this is the perfect time to record some stuff. I'll be in the car," he said and walked out of the room.

Patrick sat on his bed in shock. Pete had lost it. He had definitely lost it.

Patrick laughed to himself for a moment and then got up to join his friend. Well, maybe Pete did have a point.

-----

"CoCo? Is everything ok?" Jackson asked as Collette came to pick him up early from daycare.

"Yeah, kiddo, everything's fine," she said grabbing his hand and walking him to the car.

"Do we have to go? Did the bad people find us?" he asked sounding worried.

"No. No bad people have found us. I just wanted to come get you early," she said buckling him into his car seat.

The little boy just nodded but stared into Collette's eyes. He wasn't buying what she was saying. Collette ignored his prying eyes and got into the Explorer.

Collette couldn't get the look of frustration from Patrick out of her mind. She didn't mean to frustrate him, she just had so much to loose. But what about all that she would gain? Collette gripped the steering wheel tighter as her heart and mind fought with each other. Patrick was the best thing that has come along in a long time; she would be insane to just let him go.

However, he was in the spotlight. Could he protect her enough to keep pictures of her and Jackson out of the tabloids? Could their relationship remain a secret?

Could he handle all of her baggage? No, certainly not.

Could she handle always wondering what if? No, certainly not.

Jackson had fallen asleep on the way home, so Collette carried him inside and laid him down in her bed. She laid there next to him and watched him sleep. She brushed his blonde locks out of his face and smiled to herself. Soon Collette had fallen asleep next to the most important thing in her life.

-----

"Patrick, that was awesome. Let's call it a night, ok?" Pete said as he walked into the recording room.

Patrick just nodded and marked something on the sheet of paper that was in front of him. He took his headphones off and set them on the stand.

They drove home in silence.

"Thanks for that," Patrick said breaking the silence that was comfortable for them.

"Hey, thank you. You sounded great today," Pete said not taking his eyes off the road.

"It felt good to get some of that out," Patrick said taking a deep breath.

"Do you want to talk about it now?" Pete asked glancing slightly at Patrick.

"I was an idiot," Patrick said staring out the window.

"Why do you say that?" Pete asked knowing full well that Patrick was not an idiot.

"Because I got irritated with the fact that she didn't tell me about Jackson. She got angry and practically scolded me, and I just left. Just like that. I stood up and walked out," Patrick said resting his head on the back of the seat.

"She got mad at you?" Pete asked confused.

"That wasn't what caused me to leave, though. I left because she said something along the lines of how I don't know about her past and how I should stay out of it. So I took that as a cue that she doesn't want me in her life at all," Patrick said fidgeting with his hands.

"Whoa, really?" Pete asked shocked.

"I pretty much put the ball in her court telling her that she had my number," he said and paused thinking.

"She's gonna call, right?" Patrick asked looking at Pete's profile.

"Yeah, how could she not," Pete swallowed hard and smiled while looking over at Patrick.

Patrick just nodded. He knew that voice. Pete wasn't so sure if she was going to call.

-----

"This is Keifer. Keifer, this is my CoCo," Morgan said introducing her sister to her new arm candy of the month.

"Nice to meet you," Collette said politely as she shook the man's hand.

He just nodded towards her. He gripped Collette's hand tightly and she widened her eyes slightly at the feeling of coldness she got from this man. She could read people quite well, and she read nothing but evil all over this man.

"CoCo, I'm going to introduce Keifer to mom and grandma, quick. We'll be right back," Morgan said happily.

Collette watched as she saw her sister take Keifer's hand in hers. She saw the way she looked up at his 6'2" frame adoringly. She saw how she hung on every word that he spoke. Morgan was completely head over heels for this guy. Why did Collette have the feeling like her chest was caving in when she talked to him?

Morgan came jaunting over to Collette with a giddy expression on her face.

"Come walk with me," Morgan said linking her arm with her older sister's.

"Where's Keifer?" Collette asked looking behind Morgan.

"Talking to dad. You know, "the talk"," Morgan said leading them down the driveway.

"The one about him having a shot gun and a shovel?" Collette joked.

"That's the one," Morgan said kicking at rocks on the gravel road that they walked down.

"You seem happy," Collette said after a moment of silence.

"I am," Morgan said keeping her giddy smile plastered on her face.

"I'm happy for you," Collette said squeezing her younger sister's shoulder.

"CoCo, you know that means the world to me. But do you know what would make me the happiest person ever?" she asked stopping to look at Collette.

"What?" Collette asked confused.

"You actually being happy," she said grabbing Collette by the shoulders.

"I am happy," Collette laughed slightly.

"No, you're not. Ever since Jeremy, you haven't been happy," Morgan stated.

Collette just put her head down at the sound of his name. She didn't want to think about him.

"CoCo, why do you let him do this to you?" Morgan asked trying to bend down to look Collette in the eyes.

"I love him," she said simply looking up into her eyes.

"I know, but he doesn't make you happy. CoCo, you deserve more than anyone else in the world to be happy. You deserve to have what you want, for once. Stop worrying about everyone else and do something for yourself, CoCo. Be happy."

Collette opened her eyes quickly. Her sister's voice was still ringing in her ears. Be happy.

Collette vividly remembers that day; just as it was yesterday because that was the last day she had actually seen her sister truly happy. Keifer was a good for nothing scumbag, who turned everyone's lives into a living hell.

Collette used to wish for time to go back, so she could stop her sister from meeting him. Collette would then take it back because if she were to turn back time, she wouldn't have Jackson.

Be happy.

Collette jumped out of bed noticing that Jackson wasn't there. She walked into the living room and saw him coloring and glancing at the TV every now and then.

"Hey Jacks," Collette said going through her purse.

"Hi CoCo. Wanna color?" he asked handing her a blue color.

"In a minute. I have to make a phone call. What do you feel about having company over on Friday?" she asked the young boy.

-----

"You are never going to believe this," Patrick said walking into Pete's room without knocking.

Pete turned from his laptop and looked up at Patrick. He had a goofy grin on his face, so he imagined it had to do with Collette.

"She called you," Pete said simply.

"Dude, how the hell do you do that?" Patrick asked shocked.

"Patrick, I can read you like a playboy," Pete said leaning forward in his chair.

Patrick just rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, Collette called and invited you and me over for dinner on Friday," Patrick said excitedly.

Pete just made an odd face as though he was thinking.

"Why both of us?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe she thought you would be a good playmate for Jackson," Patrick said back.

"Hardy-har-har," Pete said turning back to his computer.

"So you're coming with me," Patrick said making it a statement rather than a question.

"I dunno, I have plans," Pete said not looking away from the computer screen.

"Pete," Patrick said seriously.

Pete looked over at Patrick and saw the pleading in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll go with," he said nodding at his friend.

-----

"She sure does live in the middle of nowhere," Pete said as they pulled down the long winding driveway that was surrounded by woods.

"Yeah, who knew places like these existed so close to L.A.," Patrick said looking around him.

The boys walked up to the fenced in area of the yard.

"It sure is peaceful," Pete said reaching over the fence to unlock it looking around him.

He jumped back and almost fell over when two wolf-like looking dogs started barking, growling and snapping at his arm.

"Holy Shit!" he yelled.

Both he and Patrick took many steps backwards as the dogs continued their show of anger and protection.

"Nala! Simba! Down," Collette commanded walking out of the door towards the gate.

Both dogs obeyed and sat down in silence.

"Good dogs," Collette said giving them a treat.

"Good dogs? They nearly ate my arm," Pete said in shock.

"Well, I can't scold them for doing their job," Collette said simply as she opened the gate.

Pete looked at Patrick wide-eyed and Patrick just shrugged. She had a point.

"Come on in, boys," Collette said allowing them to walk into the gated area.

Pete walked in, but tried to walk as far around the dogs as possible.

"Pete, they won't hurt you," Collette said laughing.

"Right," he said and stopped walking suddenly causing Patrick to bump into him.

"Dude?" Patrick asked irritated.

Pete turned around and pointed his finger towards Collette.

"You're not a vampire, are you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Pete," Patrick said not amused.

"A what?" Collette asked confused.

"You know. You got these two 'Hounds of Hell' here guarding your place," he said pointing to the two dogs that were licking their chops at him.

"Pete, stop," Patrick said sounding embarrassed.

Collette just burst out laughing causing Patrick and Pete to look at her confused.

"The Lost Boys. Good movie, but no, I'm not a vampire. Sorry to disappoint you," she said and started walking back towards the house.

Patrick smacked Pete on the arm when Collette's back was turned. Pete just looked at Patrick as to say, 'What did I do?'

"I'm impressed you know that movie," Pete said following Collette up the stairs.

"Are you kidding? It's a classic," she said opening her front door for the boys to walk in.

She smiled at Patrick as he walked past her. She wondered why he was so quiet today.

She shut the door behind the boys and pushed buttons on the white pad next to the door signaling that she had turned the alarm system on.

Patrick took note of this.

"Pete!" Jackson said running into the entryway with a white sash tied around his head and Rooger following close behind.

He let out one low bark, but left it at that.

"Hey there, ninja," Pete said leaning down to block him from running into his privates as little kids tend to do.

"Wanna play karate?" he asked excited.

"I don't know if Pete should play Karate. You might hurt him," Patrick said looking down at Jackson.

"Really?" Jackson asked concerned.

"Yeah, Pete's kind of a weenie when it comes to that," Patrick said noticing Pete giving him a not impressed look.

Jackson just giggled.

"Patrick said that Pete was a weenie," he squealed.

"Thanks," Pete said sarcastically.

"Sorry," Patrick said laughing.

"Jacks, why don't you go get washed up for dinner and you and the boys can play after we eat," Collette said pushing him slightly towards his room.

"Ok, CoCo!" he yelled as he was halfway to his room.

There it was again. Jackson called her CoCo.

"So a tour?" she asked clasping her hands in front of her.

"Sure," Patrick said as Pete just shrugged.

Collette showed them around the homey residence noticing how Pete and Patrick were taking everything in.

"And this is Jackson's room," Collette said peering in seeing Jackson playing with his trucks on the floor.

Pete walked inside and looked around.

"Very cool," he said looking at the toys. Patrick just smiled over at Collette who smiled back.

"Jackson are you all ready for dinner?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I'm starving," he said dramatically.

"Me too," Pete said rubbing his stomach.

They all sat in the dinning room talking about nothing in particular. Collette mainly focused the attention on the boys and their record.

Pete asked Jackson questions about his favorite cartoon characters causing Jackson to get excited; his big blue eyes getting even bigger as he talked with his hands. That was something that Collette did.

"Remember that CoCo?" Jackson asked as he finished a story about Rooger chasing a bunny.

"I sure do," Collette said laughing at this young, animated boy.

"CoCo, can I show Pete my room now?" Jackson asked after he had finished drinking his milk. He still had the milk mustache on his face.

"Sure, but go wash you hands first, ok?" she said smiling at him.

"Ok!" he said jumping off his chair and running towards the bathroom.

"You don't have to play in his room if you don't want to," Collette said laughing.

"Naw, I would love to," Pete said smiling at her.

He knew that Patrick wanted more alone time with Collette, so he would help out in any way possible.

"Why does he call you CoCo?" Patrick asked.

Pete dropped his fork. That was forward, especially for Patrick.

"What?" Collette asked sounding nervous.

"Well, I mean, why doesn't he call you mom?" Patrick asked.

It was obvious that he had been pondering this for quite some time and couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation.

"Well, because I'm not his mother," Collette said simply.

This caused Pete's jaw to nearly fall to the floor.

"But at McDonald's you said he was yours," Patrick asked as his brain began to hurt.

"He's mine, legally," she said back quietly.

"Pete! Wanna go play now?" Jackson asked running into the dinning room.

-----

Patrick and Collette sat in the living room drinking wine listen to Pete and Jackson laughing out loud at what ever game they were playing on Jackson's gaming system.

"Whose is he?" Patrick asked breaking the silence that had surrounded them.

"My sister's," Collette said quietly.

"Can I asked what happened?" he asked knowing he was treading on thin ice.

"She died over a year ago. The last thing she wanted was for Jackson to go to his father, so she named me his legal guardian. She called me CoCo, so that is why he calls me CoCo," Collette explained.

"Why weren't you more open about him?" Patrick asked.

"I know you think that I'm trying to protect myself, but I'm really trying to protect him," she said turning slightly so she could face him.

"Protect him from what?" he asked doing the same.

"Heartbreak. He gets attached to you and then you leave. That's hard for a boy his age," she said talking quietly.

"How do you know how things are going to end up if you don't even give it a chance?" Patrick asked in almost a pleading way.

He knew there was more than what Collette was leading on.

"I'm scared," she whispered looking into his eyes.

"The unknown is always scary, but isn't always wondering even scarier?" Patrick asked.

Collette pondered what Patrick had just said. He was right, and that was why she called him in the first place. She couldn't live with always wondering. Besides, her sister wants her to be happy, she always had.

Collette looked up into those eyes that she had found herself get lost in before. She found herself wondering what it would be like to kiss those lips and to wake up in those arms again.

"Things are going to be complicated," she said shaking her thoughts from her head.

"When are they not?" he asked leaning forward slightly.

He wanted nothing more than to kiss her at that moment. The look on her face made him want her even more. It was the look of struggling with wanting and uncertainty that caused him to reach up and gently touch her cheek.

Collette put her hand over his and leaned into his hand. She can't remember the last time she had the gentle touch of a male's hand caress her cheek. It was something that she longed for and now that she had it, she didn't want to let it go.

"Let's take things slowly, and see where they go," Patrick whispered leaning forward even more.

Collette was unable to take her eyes from his. She just nodded and leaned forward as if she was hypnotized as well.

Patrick's lips met Collette's as they shared a sweet innocent kiss. Collette felt sparks go from her lips straight down to her toes and she was sure Patrick felt it too.

AN: Everyone should thank Crystal (pixiedsecrets) for being a nerd like me and helping me through this chapter. I couldn't have done it with out her! And a shout out to my DOJ girls! You are all the bomb-diggity!