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Chapter Text

*Los Angeles, California*

"Grant! Grant! Grant! Grant!"

Grant smiles wide to himself as he listens to the large crowd chant his name over and over, knowing that there are dozens and dozens of handmade posters and signs waving high up in the air, all of the young girls screaming at the tops of their lungs for him, many of them wearing handmade t-shirts, or shirts from his previous tours.

From backstage, he does his final vocal warm-ups, adjusts the earpieces sitting snugly in his ears, and then runs out onto the stage under the hot lights. The crowd screams even louder when he reaches the center of the stage, an extra light shining down on him. He smiles out at the large crowd and steps just a bit closer to the microphone. "How are you doing tonight, Los Angeles?!" he shouts into the mic.

The entire stadium screams.

Grant shakes his head. "No, no, no, I think you can do a lot better than that. Now, again, how are you doing tonight, Los Angeles?!"

The whole stadium cheers again.

Grant smiles. "That's what I love to hear. I am so excited to be here tonight, I love performing in my hometown. You guys are always such a blast to be around." He takes a deep breath. "Now, let's get this party started, shall we?" Without needing any kind of indication, the drummer behind him starts up the beat to the first song of the night. The rest of the band follows right behind, and, after waiting a few beats, Grant starts singing, the crowd singing right along with him the entire night.

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"You were great out there tonight, man," his best friend and drummer, Kebo, says as they walk off stage together after the show.

"Tell me something I don't already know," Grant says with a small laugh as he hands his microphone over to the technical manager as they walk down the stairs and then removes his earpieces from his ears, letting them hang down in front of him. He accepts a water bottle from one of the stage hands and takes a long drink as he walks back towards his dressing room, Kebo following right behind him. "And why are you still carrying those sticks around?" he asks with a slight nod of his head to the drumsticks in Kebo's hand.

"Because I don't like other people touching 'em, you know that. These are my lucky drumsticks."

Grant chuckles. "You're crazy, man."

"Yeah, well, you're the one who still keeps me around after all these years. But I'm being serious about your show tonight, Grant," Kebo says. "I've been by your side everyday for the past eight years of your career. I'm telling you honestly, that was probably one of the best shows you've ever done."

"You really think so?"

Kebo nods his head. "Absolutely."

Grant stops just outside his dressing room and turns to look at Kebo, smiling at him and clapping him on the shoulder. "And that's why you're my best friend." He opens the door and they walk inside, both men immediately collapsing onto the couch along one wall of the room.

A moment later there's a knock on the door and then Grant's manager, Jenny, enters the room. "Great job tonight, Grant," the woman says to him. She's tall, with short blonde hair, and bright green eyes.

"Thank you, Jenny," he says, throwing her a kind smile.

"You're welcome. You always know how to please your fans." She smiles back at him. "But there's one fan in particular who really wants to see you." She steps to the side and a black German Sheppard darts through the dressing room door and straight over to Grant.

Grant grins down at the dog, immediately wrapping his arms around the large dog in a hug, pressing a kiss to his fur. "Hey there, boy. Did you like the show, Max?" he asks the dog, pulling back to look him in the eyes.

"He was getting very jumpy and excited backstage," Jenny tells him. "I for sure thought he was going to run out there at one point."

"I don't think I would have minded too much," Grant says with a smile, looking back at his dog. "It might have been fun performing with you up there too."

"You know, I still don't get why you insist on bringing Max to every show," Kebo speaks up.

"I don't bring him to every show," Grant retorts. "Just…most of them."

Kebo nods. "Exactly my point."

"Oh," Jenny speaks back up, looking down at something sitting on top of her clipboard. "This letter came in the latest batch of your fan mail." She steps forward and hands him a pristine white envelope. "It looked pretty official so I figured I'd give it directly to you instead of later when you and your guys go through all your mail."

He stands up and accepts the envelope. "Thanks." He looks down at the front of it, his eyes going straight to the return address. "Dude," he says to Kebo, "it's from Shield."

"Shield? As in Shield High? Our old high school, Shield?"

"Yeah." He flips it over and tears it open, pulling the letter out.

"Well, what is it?" Kebo asks. "Do they want you to play there or something?"

"I don't know. I haven't read it yet."

"Well what are you waiting for?"

Grant waves him off and then looks down at the letter, reading it silently to himself.

Dear Mr. Ward
We are sending this letter to invite you to attend your ten year high school reunion. The reunion will be held on Saturday, July 18 th , 2015, at 6:00 pm, in the Shield High School gym.
If you are able to attend the reunion, please RSVP as soon as you can.
Thank you,
Nick Fury,
Principal

"Well?" Kebo prods after a minute. "What is it?"

Grant looks up at him. "It's an invitation to our ten year high school reunion."

"Has it really been ten years already?"

Grant shrugs. "I guess so."

"Well why didn't I get an invite?"

"You probably did. But Hannah's been out of town and you have a hard time remembering to check your mail on your own, so you probably haven't seen it."

Kebo nods. "Oh, yeah, right. So, are we going to the reunion or not?"

Grant smiles. "I think we are, Kebo."

"Do you think she's going to be there?"

"Bobbi? I'm sure she will be. I don't think she'd pass up an opportunity to flaunt her success in everyone's faces. She's always been a bit competitive." He chuckles quietly.

"That's not who I meant, and you know it," Kebo tells him.

Grant sighs. "Yeah. Well, I wouldn't know if she's going to be there because we haven't seen or spoken to each other in almost nine years. Do you honestly think she'd tell me if she was going to the reunion?"

"Okay, you do have a point there. But don't you want to go? Just in case she's there and you can see her again."

"I really don't think she's going to want to see me, Kebo. Or maybe you're forgetting how we left things the last time we saw each other."

"Never hurts to at least try," Kebo tells him.

Grant sighs and nods. "I guess you're right. I just hope nothing has changed too much."

*Provincetown, Massachusetts*

"Alright, Jess," Skye says as she and her daughter enter their apartment, "go and grab a snack. Then get started on your homework. Okay?"

"Okay," Jessica replies as she drops her backpack onto the couch in the living room, making her way towards the kitchen.

Skye drops her own bag onto the small table just inside the door, drops her keys into the small bowl, and then sets the mail down. She removes her jacket and shoes, puts them away, and then makes her way into the kitchen as well.

"Mom?" Jessica pipes up from her spot at the kitchen table.

"Yeah, baby?" Skye asks, opening up the fridge to get herself a small snack.

"Is Miles coming over for dinner tonight?"

"Most likely. Why?"

Jessica shrugs. "I don't know. I was just wondering."

"You like Miles, right, Jess?"

Jessica smiles. "Yeah. He's really nice."

"Good. I think so too."

"Are Auntie Jemma, Uncle Fitz and Noah coming over too?"

"Jemma and Noah are for sure, Fitz might be too."

"Yes!" Jessica exclaims. "I wanna show Uncle Fitz the new song I learned to play on the guitar."

Skye smiles. "I'm sure he'd love to hear it." She takes a deep breath. "Now, what should we make for dinner?"

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"Skye, that dinner was amazing," Jemma says as both women carry all of the plates over to the sink.

"Thanks Jem," Skye replies with a smile. "But it was actually Jess who did most of the work. I just put the pizzas in the oven and then cut them up."

Jemma turns to the table and smiles at the eight year old girl. "Jess, those pizzas were absolutely delicious. Excellent work."

"Thanks. Hey mom, can I show Uncle Fitz that song now?"

"Of course you can, baby."

Jessica smiles over at her uncle. "Come on, Uncle Fitz." She gives him a moment to get Noah out of his high chair and set him on the floor before grabbing his hand and pulling him from the table. "You can come too, Miles."

Miles throws Skye a small smile as he stands from the table and then heads into the living room.

"So Jessica really loves her guitar," Jemma says, leaning down to pick up her son and settle him on her hip. "It wasn't just a phase or spur of the moment thing to want to learn how to play it."

Skye nods and leans back against the counter. "Yeah. She's playing that thing every chance she gets and learning every song she possibly can."

Jemma smiles, bouncing Noah a bit on her hip as she crosses to the table to grab the stuffed animal he had earlier. "That's great. And she really seems to like Miles too."

"I don't see why she wouldn't. He's a great guy, and I can tell he loves her just as if she was his own. And I think Jess actually told him she loves him once. She may have been half asleep at the time, but she still said it."

"And do you love him?" Jemma questions, pulling her hair out of Noah's grasp.

"Of course I do. I've known the guy almost as long as I've lived here. And we've been dating for five years."

"Well, if you really love him then you should definitely bring him to the reunion this summer. Show him off to everyone."

"What reunion?" Skye asks, her brows furrowed together.

"Our ten year high school reunion." She tilts her head. "Didn't you get an invitation in the mail?"

Skye shrugs. "I might have. I brought the mail inside when we got home but I haven't opened anything yet."

"Well, now's a good time to check," Jemma tells her.

Skye sighs and walks out of the kitchen and over to the small hallway by the front door. Searching through the stack of mail, she pulls out an envelope with a return address she never thought she'd see again.

Opening the envelope, she pulls the letter out and reads it.

Dear Ms. Coulson,
We are sending you this letter to invite you to attend your ten year high school reunion. The reunion will be held on Saturday, July 18 th , 2015, at 6:00 pm, in the Shield High School gym.
If you are able to attend the reunion, please RSVP as soon as you can.
Thank you,
Nick Fury,
Principal

Holding the letter in her hand, she walks back into the kitchen.

"So?" Jemma prods. "Are you going to go?"

"I don't know. I don't feel comfortable being on the opposite side of the country from Jess. Even if it is just for a day or two."

"Bring her with you," Jemma suggests. "I'm sure your parents will watch her while you're at the reunion. They haven't seen her in quite a while so they'll probably jump at the opportunity to watch her for you."

Skye looks over at Jessica where she's in the living room watching the TV and explaining the plot of the current show to Fitz and Miles.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"Do you think your parents would watch Noah for Leo and I while we're at the reunion? We don't feel comfortable being so far away from him while he's so young."

"I'm sure they'd be more than happy to," Skye tells her.

Jemma smiles. "Then it's settled. We're all going back to Shield High."

"Yep," Skye says with a nod, "I guess we are."

Just as the two friends begin talking about the plans for the reunion they hear a blood curdling scream coming from the living room, startling the little boy in Jemma's arm. Both women rush into the other room to find Fitz and Miles still sitting on the couch, looking over at Jessica. She is standing in front of the TV, watching the screen intently.

"Jess?" Skye asks. "Angel, what's going on?"

Jessica turns around and looks Skye directly in the eyes. "Grant Ward, mom!"

"What?" Skye says, her breath catching in her throat.

"Grant Ward!" Jessica repeats. "The singer! His new CD is coming out soon! Can I get it? Please please please?"

"We'll see," Skye says, still in a bit of shock. "You just had a birthday a few weeks ago so I'll have to think about it." She kneels down in front of her daughter and puts a hand on each shoulder. "Jess, what do you think about taking a little trip in July?"

"Really? Where are we going?"

"We're going to go and see where I'm from."

"California?" Jessica asks.

Skye nods. "Yeah. California."

"Yes yes yes!" Jessica exclaims, bouncing up and down. "Can we go and see Grant's star that's in Hollywood? Please mom!"

"Maybe," Skye says.

"I have to tell Josie about this. She's gonna be so jealous!" Jessica runs off excitedly down the hallway to her room.

Skye sighs and lets out a breath. She turns her attention to the TV to see Grant's face on the screen as he sings the ending of his latest single. She picks up the remote control and shuts the TV off, collapsing onto the couch right next to Miles.

"Are you ever going to tell her?" Fitz asks, taking his son from Jemma.

"How can I?" Skye questions. "She knows so much about him from all those damn interviews and fan sites but he doesn't know a single thing about her."

"What are you talking about?" Miles asks, confusion written all over his face.

Skye sighs and looks at him. "Grant Ward is Jessica's father."

"Wow," Miles says, after a quiet moment. "I know it probably doesn't mean much coming from me, but I think you should tell her. She needs a dad."

"But she has me, her mother. And she has you guys," Skye says to them. "Jemma, Fitz, she's known the two of you since the day she was born. And she's known you, Miles, for a really long time as well. You're basically a father to her."

"But I'm not," he says. "At least think about it?"

She sighs. "Fine. I just hope he isn't at the reunion. He is definitely the last person I want to see."

Chapter Text

"Come on, mom," Jessica groans as she tugs on her mom's hand, pulling her towards the front doors of the store. "We have to get there now."

"Relax, baby girl," Skye tells her daughter. "We'll get there. They aren't going to run out of CD's."

"But they might," Jessica insists. "I have to get one, mom."

"And you will, Jess. I always make sure you get each of his CD's when they come out, right?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah."

"Okay. So then you'll get this one too. Even if it's not today if they're all gone, you will get one."

Jessica sighs. "Fine. But can we go faster, please?"

Skye chuckles quietly and shakes her head, following after her daughter through the front doors of the store and straight past everything else to head towards the entertainment section near the back of the store.

Skye's breath hitches in her throat when they reach the section and she sees a large cardboard cutout of Grant with a guitar, a smile on his face. Even after so many times of seeing it when she comes to buy a CD for her daughter, it still shakes her up a little inside.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she swallows thickly and continues following behind her daughter.

"Mom, I see the shelf where his CD's are!" Jessica shouts excitedly. "Can I go grab one?"

Skye gives her a soft smile. "Of course you can, baby. I'll be right here when you're done."

Jessica grins and then takes off to where the hoard of young girls are crowded around the shelf and table housing the music of their idol.

Skye watches as her daughter joins the group of girls trying to get at the shelf and table, letting out a deep sigh.

"I take it your daughter is a fan?"

Skye turns her head to the side to see a nice looking man with dirty blonde hair standing next to her. She gives him a small smile and laughs. "I guess you could say that. She's pretty much obsessed with him. She knows all of his songs by heart, begs me to buy each CD for her, has tons of posters of him, watches all of his interviews, reads all the articles about him, it's honestly a little concerning some of the time."

The man nods. "Yeah, I know how that can be. My daughter is a pretty huge fan too. She keeps hoping one day to meet Grant Ward. And as her father, I hope to make that happen one day. It's just the two of us right now so I'm pretty much playing mom and dad, so anything I can do to keep her happy and believing that anything is possible, I'll do it."

Skye nods. "Ah, yeah. I'm a single parent too. My ex-husband and I got divorced right before I found out about my little angel. But by then, it was too late; I was all the way out here and wasn't able to get into contact with him to tell him. So now it's just me and Jess." She smiles at the thought of her daughter. "I have a couple of friends who came with me to help me out, and my boyfriend too, but sometimes I wish Jess could know her father."

"My wife passed away when Rachel was just little," the man tells her. "So she doesn't really remember her mom all that much. "I wish she could have seen her grown up."

"Being a single parent is definitely not the easiest thing in the world," Skye remarks.

The man shakes his head. "No it is not. But being a parent is very rewarding."

Skye smiles and nods. "That it is." She looks over at him. "I'm Skye, by the way."

"Martin," he replies. "It's very nice to meet you, Skye. I don't tend to meet too many single parents around here."

"Neither do I," Skye says. "It's kind of nice."

Martin nods. "It most certainly is."

"Dad dad dad! I got one! I got one!"

Skye and Martin turn their heads to see a young girl with light blonde hair racing towards them, clutching a CD case tightly in her hands.

"I see that, sweetheart," Martin says to the young girl. "Are you excited?"

The girl nods. "Yeah. Can we go buy it now?"

Martin smiles. "One second, pumpkin. I'm talking to a new friend. Rachel, this is Skye. Skye, this is my daughter Rachel."

"Hi," Rachel says to Skye with a small smile and a wave.

Skye smiles back at her. "Hi, Rachel. I see that you're a Grant Ward fan."

Rachel nods eagerly. "Yeah. He's the best. I have all of his CD's. I love when he sings. And he's really cute," she says and then giggles.

Skye can't help but smile.

"I worry once she gets a little older and starts to like boys her own age," Martin tells Skye.

"Oh, trust me, I know that feeling as well."

Out of the corner of her eye, Skye sees movement in her direction and turns her head fully to see Jessica walking slowly towards her, her shoulders sagging and her head down.

Skye frowns. "Jess? Baby, is everything okay?"

Jessica looks up with tears shining in her eyes. "I didn't get one," she says. "They're all gone. I told you we should have come sooner."

Skye pulls her daughter into her arms. "I'm so sorry, baby." She presses a kiss to the top of her head. "I promise you that as soon as they're in stock again we'll come and get one, okay?"

Jessica nods against her, hugging her tighter as a few tears slip down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry you didn't get a CD," Rachel speaks up.

Jessica turns her head to look at the other girl. "Thanks," she says quietly.

"Alright, Rachel," Martin speaks. "I think it's time for us to head out now. It was great to meet you, Skye," he says to her. "This town is fairly small, so maybe we'll run into each other again somewhere."

"Yeah, maybe," Skye says with a small smile as the father and daughter walk away. Once they're out of sight, Skye looks down at her daughter. "I know you didn't get the CD you wanted, but do you think you're going to be okay?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah, I think so."

Skye smiles. "Good. I don't like you being so upset. Are you ready to go now?"

"Yeah. But since I didn't get Grant Ward's newest CD, can I get some candy and a book instead?"

Skye laughs quietly and nods. "Yeah, baby girl. Come on." She wraps her arm around Jessica's shoulders and leads her through the store, a smile on her face the whole way.

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.

Stepping through the front door of the small music shop, the little bell above the door ringing, Skye begins making her way towards the back end of the store. "Jemma?" she calls out.

"Hey," Jemma speaks up from her place behind the counter. "How did the CD purchasing go today?"

Skye sighs as she moves behind the counter and places her bag underneath. "Not well. We didn't get there quickly enough so they were all out of stock by the time it came for Jess and a couple of other kids to get a CD."

"She didn't get a CD?"

"Oh, no, you didn't let me finish. She got a CD, but only after some other kid teased her because she didn't get one so that girl's mother made her give her CD to Jess."

Jemma blinks. "Wow."

Skye lets out a small laugh. "I know. I was pretty impressed by the whole thing too. The lady told me that her daughter has a habit of doing things like that and she'd threatened to not let her do certain things a few different times but it never helped and I guess what she did at the store was the last straw or something. Apparently her daughter is a huge, die-hard fan so she thought making her give her CD away would be the best form of punishment for her."

"That's incredible."

Skye shrugs. "It's just good parenting. Though, I'm sure there are some parents out there who would openly disagree with that notion. I'm all about that tough love stuff, though. Part of me fears when Jess becomes a teenager, but another part of me believes she won't be that bad because she's always been a pretty easy going kid."

"Well, considering how you and Grant were always pretty crazy as teenagers, you might be in for quite the ride with Jess when she reaches that age."

Skye's eyes go wide. "Oh my gosh, you're right. I think I've doomed myself by having Grant's kid. Why oh why did I have his kid."

"Maybe because you love him and you—"

"Loved," Skye cuts in. "I loved him. As in past tense. That all ended the moment we got divorced. Or earlier, if you want to use when we started having problems as the real indicator."

"Skye…"

She shakes her head. "Jemma, no. We are not having this conversation again. Ever. I'm with Miles now, have been for a while. Besides you're the one who told me that if I really love him then I should bring him to the reunion this summer."

Jemma nods her head. "Yes, I did say that. However, you cannot forget, no matter how hard you try, that Grant was and always will be the first person you really loved."

Skye sighs. "I know, Jemma. Believe me, I know. Jess is living, breathing proof of that fact. But Grant happened a long time ago for me. I closed that chapter of my life the day I walked out of our house and came here. Maybe it could have worked if we waited for a while instead of getting married so young, but we'll never know now. I loved him, I won't deny that, and I'll always be connected to him because of Jess, but he's no longer a part of my life. And he probably never will be again."

"Are you sure about that?" Jemma asks her.

"Of course I'm not sure, Jemma," Skye says exasperatedly. "I can't see the future. But if I could, Grant would not be in it. Now can we please stop talking about him and get back to work?"

Jemma nods. "Fine, alright."

"Thank you." She turns around and heads into the back room of the store to get a few minutes by herself before she starts her work day.

"Wow, man, Jenny just sent over the latest numbers and your album is flying off the shelves," Kebo says as he enters the living room of Grant's house, glancing down at the tablet in his hands. "Doesn't surprise me that much, though. You are a musical genius," he says with a grin, looking up at his friend.

Grant cracks a small smile. "Yeah, I guess I am that." He looks back down at the open notebook in front of him.

"Oi, what's going on with you?" Kebo asks, stepping into the room and sitting down in the seat across from Grant. He nods his head towards the book. "What's that all about?"

"It's my notebook of song lyrics," Grant tells him.

Kebo's eyes go wide. "Wait, that's where you write you've been writing your lyrics over the years?"

Grant looks up at him. "Kebo, you've seen me write lyrics before. You know I write them in a notebook."

"Well, yeah, but I've never seen it up close. You keep that thing so close to your chest. It looks pretty worn out and bulky. Is that the same one you had in high school?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. And the reason you've never seen it up close is because it's personal," he tells his friend. "No one sees what's in here."

"No one except for Skye," Kebo points out.

Grant narrows his eyes at his best friend.

Kebo holds his hands up defense. "Hey, whoa, I'm just stating a fact. The only one who's ever seen the inside of that notebook is Skye. And don't try to deny it because I know that it's the truth. And I'm sure if she came walking in that door right now and asked to see it you'd let her without hesitation."

Grant sighs. "She's always been the best one to look over my lyrics."

"No, you've just never been able to say no to her. Ever. In all the years you two were friends I can't think of a single instance where you ever said no to her about anything. She's always been your weakness, mate." He leans back in the couch, letting out a deep sigh. "And I'm sure she still would be today if she were here right now."

"But she isn't here," Grant reminds his friend. "You know she's not here, and she probably never will be again so I'd really appreciate it if you would stop bringing her up. It's been almost nine years, man. Please."

Kebo holds his hands up again. "Right, sorry."

Grant shakes his head. "It's fine, man, really. I just…I've been in kind of a slump lately."

"What on earth are you going on about? You just released an album that'll probably go platinum here and in the UK, just like usual. So I don't know what you mean when you refer to this so-called slump."

Grant sighs. "I mean that I've tried writing new stuff lately and I haven't been able to. I have some potential stuff, but I can't seem to finish any of them. I don't know what's wrong with me; I can't really find much inspiration right now for new songs."

"Seriously?" Kebo asks. He lets out a breath. "Wow. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, really. A lot of singers go through this, I'm not the first and I certainly won't be the last. It just kind of sucks."

"I can only imagine," Kebo remarks.

"So what brought you by my house?" Grant asks his friend after a moment. "I know it wasn't just because Jenny sent you the latest CD sale numbers."

"Hannah's out of town and I got bored alone."

Grant nods. "There it is. You seriously need to figure out how to entertain yourself. Or get some more friends."

"Why would I do that when I have you and Max to keep me company all the time? Oh, also, your sister called me, which was very odd, considering she hates me."

Grant rolls his eyes. "She doesn't hate you, Kebo. She's just not particularly fond of you."

"Same difference. Anyway, she called me because apparently she tried calling you but you weren't answering your phone. Told her I'd come by and check in on you."

"Great, thanks. I'll call her back in a bit."

"You should probably do it soon," Kebo tells him, standing up from the couch. "It seemed kind of urgent."

"Where are you going?" Grant calls after his friend.

"I'm hungry," Kebo calls back.

Grant sighs and shakes his head. Looking down at his notebook, he scans over the page again with his eyes as he runs his hands through his hair, trying to come up with something new to add to the potential lyrics already in front of him.

Chapter Text

"Wow. I don't think this gym has changed one bit over the last ten years," Kebo says as he and Grant walk into the gym, his wife Hannah walking beside him, their fingers laced together.

The two men are both wearing a nice pair of jeans and Henley's. Hannah is wearing a simple flowing flowery dress that goes down to just past her knees.

"You've got that right," Grant says to his best friend. "I think I can still smell all the sweat and BO that's accumulated in here over the years." He scrunches up his nose and Kebo chuckles.

"Whatever man." He puts a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go find some food and scope out all the hot, possibly still single, women."

"Kebo," Hannah scolds, hitting him in the chest with her hand.

"I meant for Grant, obviously," Kebo says, rubbing his chest slightly. "I have you, I love you, I don't need anyone else."

"No you do not," Hannah says with a smile, leaning up a bit to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Kebo," Grant speaks up, "you and I both know that we never had to do much searching when it came to the ladies. They always found us. Still do, in my case."

Kebo nods. "Very true. I still want to find the refreshment table, though. I'm feeling a bit puckish."

"Fine," Grant says, "we'll go and find the food. Then we'll do a bit of mingling. Alright? Hannah needs to meet all the people we went to school with and learn more embarrassing stories about you."

"Sounds good to me. Except for the embarrassing stories piece. I'm not thrilled about that." Kebo turns around and gently tugs Hannah along with him towards the refreshment table. Grant just chuckles and follows after his friends.

"You know, this place is actually kind of nice," Miles says as he walks into the gym hand in hand with Skye, sliding one hand into the pocket of his slacks, glancing down quickly to make sure his dress shirt is still nice. Skye is standing right beside him, wearing one of her nicer pairs of pants and her best shirt. Jemma and Fitz walk in right behind them, hand in hand as well. Fitz is wearing a pair of slacks and a nice dress shirt, and Jemma is wearing a very cute, yet simple summer dress.

"You think this is nice?" Skye asks her boyfriend. He nods his head. She laughs quietly. "Wow. You've obviously seen some crappy gyms then." She looks over at her best friends to see them watching the part going on, Jemma with her brows furrowed in worry. "Hey, Jem, you okay over there?"

Jemma looks at her. "Oh, yes. Just worried about Noah is all. Don't think I've ever been away from him for this long."

"What about every day at work?" Skye asks her.

"That's different," Jemma tells her. "He hardly knows your parents and I'm just a little worried that he'll be fussing all night."

A slow song comes over the loudspeakers and Fitz turns to Jemma, extending his hand out to her. "I think I have a way to take your mind off things. Would you care to dance?"

Jemma giggles and takes his hand. "I'd be honored." Fitz smiles and then leads her out onto the dance floor, pulling her close and wrapping his arms around her waist. She wraps her arms around his neck and the two begin swaying back and forth.

Skye smiles at her two friends and how happy they are. She turns to Miles and looks up at him. "Hey, wanna dance with me?"

He smiles. "Sure." He grips her hand and pulls her out onto the dance floor. He wraps his arms around her waist and she wraps her arms around his neck, the two of them beginning to sway.

"Alright alright," the reunion DJ speaks into the microphone when the song ends, "we're gonna pick the pace back up a little bit with our next song. This one comes from a guy you all probably know very well as he originated from this here very school. Straight off of his latest album, here is Hey Princess."

The music starts and Skye groans. Miles looks over at her with his brows furrowed in confusion.

"What is it?" he asks.

She sighs and drags him off of the dance floor to one of the tables lining the walls. Sitting down in the chairs, Skye turns to face him, taking a deep breath to try and calm her racing heart.

"The song they're playing right now, Hey Princess, that's my song."

"What do you mean it's your song?"

"Grant wrote that song for me back when he asked me to be his girlfriend. It's the first of many songs he wrote for me in the few years we were together."

"Wait, really?"

She takes a deep breath and shifts on her seat, nodding her head. "Yeah. We'd been friends since the second grade and one of the things we really bonded over in all our years of friendship was our love for music. He wrote that song for me on my sixteenth birthday which is when we started dating. We got married the August after we graduated so we'd both be eighteen and there wouldn't be any issues legally; we already knew each other so well from being friends for so long and we thought we were ready for that next step in our relationship already. We weren't even married for a year before we got divorced.

She swallows thickly. "Even though it's been years since it happened it's still a little difficult for me to talk or think about. I was young and stupid and actually thought it was going to last forever. After we got divorced, Grant stayed here in LA and obviously started a solo career in music. Our friend Kebo who played drums for us stayed with him. I used the money I had originally been saving for college before we decided to start a band to move out to Massachusetts. I'll always love LA, but at the time I just wanted to be as far away as possible from Grant.

"Fitz came with me because he was like my brother and didn't want me venturing out on my own without anyone. Jemma came with us too, because she and Fitz had finally just started dating by that point and she and I were always pretty close. They both transferred to colleges out there so they could come with me. It wasn't too long after being in Provincetown that I found out I was pregnant with Jess, which made me really happy to have Fitz and Jemma there even though in the beginning I insisted that they didn't need to come with me. For a little while I tried to tell Grant, but I don't think any of my letters ever got through to him. Or he just didn't care. And he changed his number at some point, so I wasn't able to call him. But it's not like I didn't change my number too, so I can't say much about that."

"Wow," Miles says.

Skye sighs. "And the sad part is, after Jess was born, I'd write a letter to him at least once a month, and send some pictures so he could see her grow up, as if he'd even get them."

Miles reaches out and grabs her hand in his, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Hey, at least you tried. And actually made an effort."

"I guess so. It's just hard, knowing that Jess is never going to know her father."

"Grant?"

Halting his conversation with Kebo and Hannah, Grant turns around to see a woman with jet black hair and a smile on her lips standing in front of him.

It takes him a moment to realize who she is and then he smiles. "Kara Lynn Palamas."

"Actually, it's Campbell now," she tells him, holding up her left hand to show off her engagement and wedding ring. "I'm not sure if you remember Lincoln from high school, but he's my husband now."

"Oh, wow, congratulations. And the name sounds kind of familiar, but I don't think I talked to him all too much. Is he here tonight?"

She smiles at him. "Thanks. And no, he's not actually here tonight," she tells him with a shake of her head. "There was a thing at work that he couldn't get out of. He's on his way to becoming a doctor."

"That's great for him. And I guess I'll just have to meet him some other time, then and catch up."

Kara smiles. "Yes you will. I think that would be pretty fun."

"Hey Kara," Kebo interrupts, stepping up beside Grant and waving at Kara.

She tosses him a smile. "Kebo." She wraps her arms around his neck in a hug. When she pulls away, she looks up at him. "So good to see you again."

He smiles. "You too. This is my wife Hannah." He reaches behind him for his wife's hand.

Kara smiles at her. "So nice to meet you."

Hannah smiles back. "And you."

"So how are you guys?" Kara directs towards Grant and Kebo.

"Doing pretty well," Kebo tells her. "Just been working on some music with my boy here," he says as he claps Grant on the shoulder. "Though I mostly just follow along to whatever he comes up with, I do get to have some input about the rhythm and the beat, but not so much when it comes to actual the lyrics. Those are pretty much a secret until Grant reveals them."

"Oh yeah!" Kara exclaims. "I've heard your music on the radio so many times, Grant. And I feel like I should admit that I've bought every single one of your albums when they came out. You're really good."

"Thanks," he says with a small smile. "I'm just glad people are enjoying it so much. I was a little worried about that when I was first getting started."

"Speaking of your music, are you going to play something for everyone tonight?" Kara asks him.

He shakes his head. "No, I don't think so. I kind of just want to relax and hang out tonight, catch up with everyone."

"Oh come on," she pleads with him. "Out of everyone at this school, you're probably the most successful. You have to sing for everyone."

He thinks about it for a moment. "Okay," he concedes, "I guess I can perform a couple of songs."

"Awesome!" she squeals. "I'll go and tell the DJ." Kara runs off excitedly for the DJ booth.

"You really sure you want to perform?" Kebo asks him. "We don't have any of your tracks on us."

"I'll just do some acoustic stuff, then," Grant tells him with a shrug. "Wanna run down to the student lounge and see if there are still some guitars down there that we can use?"

Kebo smiles. "Of course. Let's go."

"Okay everybody," the DJ says, "we're gonna switch things up a little for a minute. We have a very special treat for all of you here tonight. You may remember him from when he was here in high school with all of you, and now he is one of the biggest names in music. And he's agreed to perform a couple of songs for all of you. Please welcome to the stage, Grant Ward!"

Everyone cheers as Grant walks out onto the stage, an acoustic guitar in his hands. He takes a moment and plugs the guitar into one of the amps on the stage, slipping the strap over his neck.

"Hello Shield High Class of 2005! Who missed me?" They all cheer again and he smiles and lets out a small laugh. "It feels so great to be back here. But also a little weird. It's been so long."

"Your cheekbones are still amazing!" someone shouts from within the crowd.

Grant ducks his head slightly and laughs. He looks back up. "Thank you very much for that. I try." He takes a deep breath. "Alright, so tonight, I will be playing a few of my songs acoustically for you, because this was all pretty last minute so I didn't have much time to get anything together. But because I went to school with all of you I was willing to make an exception." He smiles and they cheer. "Okay, here we go." He begins strumming the guitar for a few measures and then opens his mouth to start singing. Most of the people in the crowd, having recognized the song, begin singing along with him.

.

.

.

"You guys are so amazing," Grant says to the crowd with a smile. "Unfortunately, this next song will be the last for tonight." The crowd boos playfully. "I know, I know," he says into the mic with a small laugh. "But I promise you that this is going to be a good one. This is actually one of the songs off of my newest album that just came out back in April and I've uh, I've had it tucked away for quite a long time but decided to finally bring it out into the open for everyone to hear. This song is extremely personal to me, I wrote it years ago at a time in my life when I lost the one person I ever really cared about and the entire thing completely crushed me. This is called Always, I hope you enjoy it."

He looks down and gets his fingers on the right frets, begins strumming softly, and then looks up to see the crowd smiling brightly back at him.

After a few measures he opens his mouth and sings.

This Romeo is bleeding
But you can't see his blood
It's nothing but some feelings
That this old dog kicked up

It's been raining since you left me
Now I'm drowning in the flood
You see I've always been a fighter
But without you I give up

Now I can't sing a love song
Like the way it's meant to be
Well, I guess I'm not that good anymore
But, baby, that's just me

And I will love you, baby, always
And I'll be there forever and a day, always
I'll be there 'til the stars don't shine
'Til the heavens burst and the words don't rhyme
I know when I die,
You'll be on my mind
And I'll love you always

Grant swallows thickly to get rid of the lump forming in his throat and then blinks back the tears he knows are welling up in his eyes. This song always gets to him.

Now your pictures that you left behind
Are just memories of a different life
Some that made us laugh, some that made us cry
One that made you have to say goodbye
What I'd give to run my fingers through your hair
Touch your lips, to hold you near
When you say your prayers, try to understand
I've made mistakes, I'm just a man

When he holds you close, when he pulls you near
When he says the words you've been needing to hear
I'll wish I was him 'cause those words are mine
To say to you 'til the end of time

Yeah, I will love you, baby, always
And I'll be there forever and a day, always

If you told me to cry for you
I could
If you told me to die for you
I would
Take a look at my face
There's no price I won't pay
To say these words to you

He shifts on his feet and steps back from the mic, plucking the strings with ease for an instrumental solo as he lets a few tears escape and roll down his cheeks, his head lowered so no one will see.

When he reaches the end of it he steps back over to the mic and continues singing with every ounce of passion and emotion that he can, wanting to finish off strong.

Well, there ain't no luck
In these loaded dice
But, baby, if you give me just one more try
We can pack up our old dreams and our old lives
We'll find a place where the sun still shines

And I will love you, baby, always
And I'll be there forever and a day, always
I'll be there 'til the stars don't shine
'Til the heavens burst and the words don't rhyme
I know when I die,
You'll be on my mind
And I'll love you, always

Always

Once he finishes the song, plucking the last few notes, everyone claps and cheers, causing him to smile a little through his sadness. As he's looking out into the crowd, that's when he sees it. It's very brief, but he still notices it. He sees a woman standing near the back of the room turn and rush from the room, her short brown hair billowing out slightly behind her.

"Oh gosh," Skye groans when her brain analyzes what Grant meant by his statement to the crowd.

"What is it?" Miles asks, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"I think the next song is about me," she tells him quietly.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

She nods her head when she hears the opening chords. "Yeah. I mean, I had my suspicions when Jess had me put the CD in when we were in the car after she got it and this song came on, but I wasn't sure. Now I'm really sure."

Skye watches as Grant looks down at his guitar as he plays. And then he starts singing. As he sings she starts to remember one of the reasons why she fell for him so hard. Not just for his looks. But how much passion and emotion he puts into his music, especially when he's singing about or to her.

And all of it makes her heart start to ache once again.

During the moment when it's just his guitar playing, she can see the way his body curls in on itself ever so slightly and how his shoulders shake just a bit. Even after all these years she still knows him so well. She knows how emotional the song is making him.

"I'm sorry," she whispers to Miles as Grant gets closer to the end of his song. "I just…I can't be in here right now. I need to go and be alone somewhere for a little while."

"Where are you going?"

"Don't worry. I'll still be in the school; I just can't be in the same room as him. Not after that song. It's so much more different hearing him sing it live than it is hearing it on a CD."

"Okay," he says with a gentle hand on her arm. "I understand. I'll be here when you're ready to leave. Just come find me."

"Thank you," she says with a small smile, leaning up to give him a kiss on the cheek. Then she turns and walks quickly out of the gym, making her way down the hallway.

Walking through the school building, she doesn't think about where she's going. She just lets her feet carry her to a place, any place away from him. As she's running, she eventually comes to a stop just outside a familiar door.

Looking up at it, she runs her hand across the red painted wood of the door, so many different memories rushing back into the forefront of her mind.

Twisting the doorknob and finding it unlocked, she pushes the door open to reveal the student lounge.

Taking a deep breath, she steps inside, every happy moment she ever had in that room with him washing over her.

Moving slowly into the room, she runs her hand across the back of the faded green couch as the tears slowly starting to form in her eyes. When she reaches the other end of the couch, she falls to the floor and leans back against it, letting the tears cascade down her cheeks.

After he watches the woman leave the gym, Grant turns his attention back to the crowd and pastes a smile on his face. "Thank you so much everybody. I had such a great time playing for you all tonight and it's been so great to see everyone again. But I am now going to pass the musical gauntlet back over to the fantastic DJ. Thank you so much." Unplugging the guitar, he makes his way towards the edge of the stage and down the steps, his face falling again.

Kebo meets him at the bottom. "Nice job, man."

"Thanks," he says back. "Listen, I have to go and do a couple of things but I'll be back in a little bit."

"Where are you going?"

"Don't worry about me, man, I'll be fine. I'm just going to go return this guitar and then walk around a bit, see my old locker, stuff like that. You stay here and mingle, alright? Introduce Hannah to some more people; reminisce with them about the good old days when you thought you were cool."

"I was very cool," Kebo retorts. "And I still am."

Grant chuckles. "Whatever helps you sleep at night. I'll see you later. Don't wait up for me, just head out whenever you want."

Giving him a quick pat on the back, Grant turns around and begins walking through the crowd of people in the gym towards the entrance and out the doors.

Making his way down the hallway, he heads down to the student lounge to replace the guitar that he borrowed and maybe just relax for a little while. Singing that song always takes a lot out of him, more than he'd care to admit, and he just needs to let himself get things together again.

As he gets closer to the room, his brows furrow together when he hears sniffling and soft crying coming from inside. He notices the door is open and can hear the crying becoming louder as he moves closer.

Stepping into the room he removes the guitar from around his neck and sets it down right inside the door, leaning it against the wall.

"Hello?" he calls out softly, hoping he doesn't startle them. The crying stops immediately.

"Who's there?" the other person calls out in a shaky voice. They're sitting behind the other end of the couch and he can only see the top of their head.

"Grant. Grant Ward," he replies.

"Grant?"

"Yeah," he says back, somewhat hesitantly. "What's your name?"

They don't reply, and instead, slowly start to stand up. Their back is to him, so he can't see their face just yet.

"You're the woman who ran from the gym just a few minutes ago," he points out when the realization hits him.

She laughs kind of sadly. "Yep. That was me. I couldn't handle being in the same room as you. Especially after you played that song."

"What are you talking about?" he asks her, his brows furrowed together.

"I know that your song was about me," she replies.

He shakes his head. "No, you must be mistaken. That song was about someone who left me a long time ago. Someone I really cared about."

She nods. "Yeah, I know. Like I said, you wrote that song about me." She slowly turns around and in that moment it's as if the whole world around him stops spinning. Her hair is different, which is why he didn't recognize her from behind, but now that he sees her, everything else he tried to keep buried down comes rushing back.

His breath catches in his throat as he stares at her. "Skye?"

"Hey, Grant."

"Wh—what are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the reunion. Just like you are."

He shakes his head slightly. "Right. Um, how are you? Are you doing okay?"

She shrugs, brushing some of her hair behind her ear. "I'm doing alright. Moved to Massachusetts after I…left, made a pretty good life for myself out there. I even own a little music shop that sells instruments and sheet music and other things music related."

He nods. "That's good. That's really good. I'm glad you're doing well."

"No need for me to ask you how you've been, though," she says. "You're pretty much everywhere these days."

There's a moment of silence as the two just stare at each, and before either of them can say anything else, a loud trill breaks them out of their trance-like state. Skye reaches into her bag and pulls out her cell phone, answering the call.

"Hello?" she says into the receiver. A small smile crosses her face. "Hey, angel. It's late, what are you still doing up?...What do you mean you can't sleep?...But you need to, baby. If you don't go to sleep now, then you probably won't be able to get up tomorrow morning and go out to Hollywood with me…Yeah. We can…You're welcome. Now go to sleep, okay?...I promise...I love you too, baby girl." She hangs up her phone and slips it back into her bag.

"Who was that?" Grant asks her.

She takes a deep breath. "My daughter. Her name is Jessica."

"You…you have a kid?" She nods her head. "How old is she?"

She hesitates. "She turned eight in March."

"Wow. That's great, Skye. I'm really hap—" he trails off and furrows his brows when something starts to click in his mind. "Hang on. If she's eight, then that means you had her not that long after you left me. That also means when you left you met some else and got pregnant pretty quickly or she's—" he trails off again, not being able to finish his own sentence.

"She's yours," Skye finishes for him, in an almost whisper.

"She's mine?" He shifts on his feet. "And you kept her from me?" he asks through gritted teeth.

She narrows her eyes at him. "Well I didn't exactly intend to do so. But you really weren't the easiest person to get into contact with."

"What are you talking about? You could have called me."

"You changed your number."

"Well you could have written me."

"I did!" she shouts, tears welling up in her eyes. "I wrote to you every month for two years after she was born! Two damn years, Grant! I even sent you pictures of our daughter so you could see her grow up. You never wrote me back! Not once! Eventually I just gave up. Figured you didn't care enough about your own flesh and blood to want to have anything to do with her!"

"Didn't care?! Skye, I didn't even know she existed!"

"That's not my fault!" she screams at him. "I tried to get into contact with you! You're the one who didn't have the decency to answer me back."

"I would have answered you back if I had gotten any of your letters! Which I didn't, by the way. I have people who help me sort through all of the letters I get and toss out any junk mail that they find. They must have seen your letters and tossed them before I got the chance."

She places her hands on her hips and raises her eyebrows. "So my letters were just junk mail to you?"

He groans in frustration. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Sure as hell sounded like that's what you meant."

"They probably thought you were just another person who was trying to claim that your baby was mine. It's happened to me before. Not too often, thank goodness, but it has happened."

She crosses her arms in front of her defensively. "Well this time around it was actually the truth."

"I know that now," he says, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down. He shifts on his feet. "Look, you have to believe me, Skye. If I had known you had written me, if I had known about our daughter, I would have dropped everything to read your letters. I even would have flown all the way to Massachusetts to see the both of you."

"Really?" she asks him, uncrossing her arms.

"Really." He takes a deep breath and then steps towards her. "You have to believe me when I tell you that our divorce was the hardest thing that I ever had to go through in my entire life. I never wanted any of that for us."

"If you didn't want it then why didn't you fight it? Why didn't you fight to have me stay?" she asks him quietly, the tears threatening to spill over.

"Because I knew you weren't happy," he admits. "I knew you didn't like where our life was at, and if I had made you stay then you would have been miserable."

"Maybe things would have changed," she says. "And you would have been able to see your baby girl grow up into the beautiful little girl she is today. And let me tell you something, she's amazing and looks so much like you."

All of the anger leaves his body at hearing those words. "She does?"

"Yeah," Skye says with a nod. "She looks so much like you a little piece of me breaks inside whenever I look at her because all I see is you and it just reminds me of what I lost when I left." She swallows thickly. "Do you, uh, do you want to see a picture of her?"

He can't find his voice to say anything so he only nods. Skye pulls out her phone again and unlocks it, tapping on it a few times before holding it up for him to see.

"C—can I?" he asks, holding his hand out and gesturing to the phone. She nods, so he takes the phone from her and looks at the screen.

Staring back at him are two beautiful, big brown eyes. The eyes of his daughter. Looking at the picture more closely, he can see that she has the same long brown hair that Skye does. But she has his cheekbones and his eyes. And his complexion as well. Skye was right, that little girl looks so much like him.

"She's beautiful," he says, looking back up at Skye.

She smiles. "Yeah. She is, isn't she?"

He hands the phone back to her. "When's her birthday?"

"March 8th," she tells him, pocketing her phone again.

"That's…that's the day we first met."

She laughs quietly. "I know. I went into labor on the 7th but she was born early morning on the 8th. She was actually due a few days before that but I guess she wanted to wait."

"Wow," he says. "So, uh, where is she tonight?"

"With my parents. They haven't seen her in a while and she was really excited to see them again."

"That's nice. And does…have you told her about me? That I'm her dad?"

Skye shakes her head. "No. I mean, she knows she has a dad somewhere, obviously, but she doesn't know that it's you. I didn't want her to know."

"Well why not?" he asks, raising his voice. "I'm her father, Skye. Even if I can't know about her, why can't she know about me? What would be so wrong about that?!"

"Because she idolizes you, Grant!" Skye shouts at him. "She knows every one of your damn songs by heart and has each and every one of your CDs and singles! She even has an autographed poster she got in a magazine of you on her wall! She's just a little girl, who pretty much worships this man who is actually her father, but I can't tell her!"

"Why the hell not?"

She sighs. "Because, Grant, while she would be excited upon first meeting you and knowing you, she would become completely crushed later on. She would go around telling all of her friends about you being her dad and none of them would believe her and she'd come home crying. And I'd have to live with the fact that my little girl can't know her father because I can't get into contact with him."

"Well you can now," he tells her.

"What?" She gives him a confused look.

"You can contact me now. I'll give you my new cell number, and I'll make sure everybody on my team knows that whenever anything from your address comes in, it comes straight to me, no one else touches it."

She sighs. "That's really sweet of you, Grant, but—"

"But nothing," he cuts her off. "I want to be able to stay updated about my daughter's life, Skye. Actually, I have a better idea. Since she's in town, I can just meet her now before you guys go back."

She shakes her head. "I don't think that's a very good idea."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, it's a mother thing. She looks up to you so much as a singer, I don't know if she'll be able to handle it all."

"Maybe you're right. But shouldn't I be allowed to see her at least? I haven't been a part of her life for the last eight years. Just please give me a few minutes with her. That's all I'm asking you for."

Skye just looks at him, weighing the decision in her mind. "Fine," she relents. "But we do this on my terms, alright? And at the first sign of trouble, or anything else, you are gone."

"Understood," he replies, somewhat of a smile on his face.

She nods. "Good. You can come by sometime tomorrow, if you want. Jess and I aren't leaving for a couple more days; she really wants to see a few things in town. My parents want to take her into town during the day tomorrow, so you can come by at night before she goes to bed. Is that okay with you?"

Grant nods. "Yeah, that sounds perfect."

Chapter Text

Hearing a knock at the front door of her parents' house, Skye stands up from the couch, setting her laptop down on the coffee table in front of her, and makes her way over to the door.

Pulling it open, she sees Grant standing on the other side, his hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans, rocking slightly on the balls of his feet.

"You made it," she says simply, leaning against the doorframe.

"Told you I would," he replies. "I want this, Skye. I want to meet her and get to know her. I've missed eight years already; I don't want to miss any more."

Skye sighs. "I know. Sorry." She stands up straight and opens the door wider for him. "Come on in."

"Thanks." He offers her half a smile as he steps past her and into the house. "It's just as I remember it," he comments as he takes in the living room. "We used to have so many play dates in here when we were younger," he says with a small, reminiscent smile on his face.

"You're really lucky mom and dad left," Skye tells him, ignoring Grant's comment. "I practically had to beg them to leave earlier so they wouldn't be here when you showed up; I just didn't tell them why they needed to leave otherwise they probably wouldn't have." She moves through the house back towards the couch. "Jessica!" she calls down the hallway of her parents' house. "Come here, please."

"Coming!"

Skye turns back around to face Grant and rubs her hands together nervously. "Just a fair warning beforehand, she may scream when she sees you."

"I've dealt with plenty of screaming fans before," he reminds her. "I was fine all those times; I think I'll be fine now."

She nods. "True, but none of those other fans were your daughter."

"Yeah," he breathes out. "Definitely going to take some time to get used to that."

"Jessica!" Skye calls again.

"I'm coming," Jessica says back as she makes her way down the hall into the living room. "You don't need to yell, mom. I already heard you the…" Jessica trails off and stops in her tracks once she enters the living room. A second later she lets out a high pitched squeal of pure delight. "Mom! Why is Grant Ward in Papa and Nana's living room?! Not that I don't want him here, because this is so cool, but why is he here?"

"I wanted to meet you," Grant says to the young girl in front of him, giving her a nervous smile.

Her eyes go wide. "You wanted to meet me? This is so crazy. I'm your biggest fan! I have all of your music on my iPod and I watch all of your music videos and interviews on YouTube all the time. I have a bunch of posters of you from magazines and I even went to your concert in Boston last year. I didn't get to meet you 'cause mom only had enough for just a concert ticket for me and her, but that's okay, because you're here now and oh my gosh! Josie is going to freak out when she finds out that I got to meet you! She's gonna be so jealous and—"

"Jessica!" Skye shouts, interrupting her daughter.

"Yeah?"

"You're rambling, baby girl."

"Sorry, this is just so cool." She grins.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Grant says, "it's not a big deal."

The sound of a door opening and closing turns all of their heads towards the front of the house to see an older couple entering the room.

"Skye? We weren't sure how long you wanted us gone for and you weren't answering your phone so we thought we'd just—Grant."

"Hello Melinda," Grant replies. "Phil."

"Grant," Phil says, a hard look on his face. He turns towards his daughter. "Skye, sweetheart, what is he doing here?"

"It's fine, dad," Skye tells him. "We saw each other at the reunion, we talked, and I asked him to come over. Now can you please leave us alone for just a few minutes?"

Phil sends a warning glance Grant's way before grabbing Melinda gently by the arm. "Alright. We'll go. Jess, come on, baby girl."

"No, dad," Skye says with a small shake of her head. "I need Jess to stay here with us."

"But Skye…"

"Dad, stop. She stays. Now please go."

Phil gives Grant one more stern look before he and Melinda leave the room.

"Mom," Jessica speaks up, "how do Papa and Nana know Grant Ward? And why don't they want him here?"

Skye kneels down so she is at eye level with Jessica. "They've actually known Grant for a pretty long time, baby. I have too."

Jessica tilts her head slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Grant and I went to high school together. We even dated for a couple of years."

"You what?!" Jessica exclaims. "You dated Grant Ward? In high school?"

"Yeah. But it's more than that. Grant and I were also married for a little while."

"What?!"

"And uh, we had a baby. But Grant didn't know because we got divorced and I moved out to Massachusetts before either of us knew that I was pregnant."

"Okay," Jessica says slowly, her tiny brows furrowed in thought.

"That was a little over eight years ago."

"But I'm eight," Jessica says, and then her eyes go wide in realization. "Does that mean…?"

"I'm your dad, Jessica," Grant confirms, stepping forward and squatting down so he is at eye level with her as well, right next to Skye.

Jessica just stands there for a moment in shock, not quite sure what to do. Then she does the first thing she can think of, the thing she's always wanted to do when she dreamt about meeting her dad; she leaps forward and launches herself into Grant's arms, hugging him tightly around the neck.

Grant stumbles for a moment, having not expected the hug. He hesitantly hugs her back, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

When she finally pulls back, he just looks at her. "I'm so glad to finally meet you," he tells her.

Jessica smiles. "Me too. I've always wanted to meet my dad. I just didn't think it'd be you. This is the best day of my life ever."

Grant smiles back. "I'm glad you think so. Because I was hoping that, while you and your mom are still in town, you and I could get together and hang out for a bit. That way I can get to know you a little better. That is, of course, if it's okay with your mom." He looks up at Skye.

Jessica turns around quickly. "Please mom? Can I?"

"I don't know, baby," she says. "You were going to hang out with your grandparents all day tomorrow before we left in the evening."

"Can't you just give me a few hours out of the day?" he asks her. "I just want to get to know her, Skye. Please?"

"Yeah! I want to get to know my dad. Wow, that's really weird to say. But still, I want him to know me too, mom."

Skye thinks for a moment, looking at both the people standing in front of her. She sighs. "Fine. You two can hang out for a little while tomorrow." Grant and Jessica both smile wide. "But Grant, nowhere too public, okay? I don't need my daughters' face being plastered on every magazine cover and gossip site because she was seen out with you."

"Don't you mean our daughter, Princess?" he asks with a small smile. Skye narrows her eyes at him.

"Princess?" Jessica questions curiously. "Did you just call mom 'Princess'?"

"Yeah," Grant replies. "That's what I used to call her when we were younger. It's kind of a long story. Maybe I'll tell it to you sometime."

"Oh, okay."

"And don't worry, Skye," he continues, looking up at her. "I'll make sure to keep Jessica out of the public eye for as long as you like." He smiles warmly at her.

"Thank you," she replies.

"No problem. I can't guarantee you that it'll last for too long, considering how nosy the paparazzi are, but I promise you I'll do my absolute best."

"As long as you try," she tells him. She takes a deep breath. "So what time were you thinking for tomorrow?"

He shrugs. "Whatever works best for you, I'm free pretty much all day except for a couple of meetings that I have in the morning, but they shouldn't last very long."

"Well, how about lunchtime?"

Grant thinks for a moment and then nods. "Yeah, I think I can do lunch."

"Does that sound good to you, baby girl?" Skye asks her daughter.

Jessica nods her head. "Yeah."

Skye smiles. "Alright." She looks over at Grant. "I'll call you tomorrow, then, to make sure?"

"I'll make sure my phone is near me."

"Great. Jess, say goodnight, it's time for you to get to bed."

"But—"

"No buts. Say goodnight to Gr—your father, and then go and get ready for bed. Your grandparents and I will be there in a little while to say goodnight."

Jessica huffs. "Fine." She turns to face Grant and hugs him tightly. "Goodnight, dad. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, sweetheart," he says back.

Jessica pulls away and then goes over to her mom, kisses her on the cheek, and then runs off down the hallway towards her room.

"She looks a lot like you," Grant comments after a quiet minute.

"No she doesn't," Skye replies. "Aside from having my hair, she's your spitting image, Grant. Don't even try and deny it, I saw the look on your face when you saw the photo of her last night. That was the look of a man who could clearly see how much his daughter looks like him."

"That must not have been easy to see every day after what went down between us," Grant says.

"It definitely made things a little harder," she tells him. "Every time I look at her I see you."

"It also mustn't have been easy to raise her on your own, without your parents…or me."

"It really wasn't," Skye admits. "But Fitz and Jemma helped me out a whole lot in the beginning. They sacrificed a lot to be there for me, even though they didn't have to. And Miles became a great support system too when he eventually came into the picture."

"Miles is your…."

"Boyfriend," Skye informs him. "For about five and a half years now."

"Wow. Uh, congratulations. I think that's about a year or so longer than our relationship lasted."

"Thanks. And yeah, I think it is."

"So you really like him?" Grant asks.

Skye nods. "I uh, I love him, actually. He's really good to us. Jess absolutely adores him and vice versa."

"How did you two meet?" he asks her.

Skye lets a fond smile grow on her face. "I took over ownership about two and a half years ago of this little music store back in the town where we live and back when I was just an employee, I guess he'd seen me once or twice walking through town with Jess. He found out who I was and where I worked and came in to ask about something. He ended up asking me out afterwards, but I said no at first. But he didn't give up. It took a little bit of effort on his part, because I was pretty wary about letting someone in, especially because of Jess, but obviously I eventually gave in. We've been together ever since."

"That's a really great story," he tells her.

"Thanks."

"Yeah. So where is he tonight?" Grant asks. "Is he staying here?"

Skye nods her head. "Yeah, he is. But he's actually out right now. When I told him that you'd be coming by to meet Jess he said that he didn't want to be in the way or anything like that. I told him that he wouldn't be in the way, but he insisted on going out."

He nods. "Ah. Well I'm glad you've found someone, Skye, I really am. You deserve to be with someone who will treat you a lot better than I did when we were married."

"We had some pretty good moments," she reminds him with a small hint of a smile.

He nods his head and smiles as well. "Yeah, we did. But obviously not enough of them."

Skye sighs. "Let's not do this right now."

He looks down. "Right, sorry."

"It's fine."

"Your hair's different," he speaks after a minute. "I almost didn't recognize you at the school yesterday."

Skye reaches up and touches the ends of her short locks, a small smile crossing over her features. "Yeah. I uh, I needed a change once I got to Massachusetts. I wanted to leave that part of me behind, start over."

"That makes sense. I'm just so used to seeing you with long hair, so it's probably going to take some getting used to."

"Took me a while to get used to it too," she admits. "It's grown out a little since then, though, but I haven't let it get too long. It's much easier to maintain this way, and I kinda like it."

"Well it looks really good on you," he tells her with a small smile.

"Thanks," she replies, looking down.

Grant shifts on his feet. "So, uh, your parents don't seem like my biggest fans anymore. They used to love me, treated me like one of the family even before we were married."

"Yeah, well, can you really blame them for hating you when you're pretty much the sole reason for their only daughter moving cross country, resulting in them not being able to see their only grandchild as often as they would like?"

He sighs and shakes his head. "No, I guess not." He swallows. "Um, I know you don't want Jess' face out there in magazines and stuff, but does that mean I can't tell anyone? Because I really don't think I'd be able to handle all of this if I wasn't able to talk to anyone about it."

"That depends on who you're planning on telling."

"Kebo, obviously," Grant tells her. "He's at my house so much he'd probably end up finding out anyways. And my sister."

Skye shifts. "Um, yeah, I guess that's okay. How is Mandy, by the way?"

Grant shrugs. "She's doing alright. I'm sure she'd love to see you again, she always did have a soft spot for you."

Skye smiles. "Yeah. She was always like a big sister to me. She'd probably be a really great aunt to Jess too. You can tell them, but I want to hold off a little while on Jess actually meeting them. I don't want to overwhelm her."

Grant nods. "Right. So I uh, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then. You probably want to get some sleep."

"Yeah. Don't be late, okay?"

"I won't," he promises.

She nods once. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Bye." He hesitates for a moment, wanting to step forward and hug her, but instead turns and makes his way over to the front door. Pulling it open, he gives Skye a small smile over his shoulder before exiting the house and pulling the door shut tightly behind him.

Stepping through the front door of his house, Grant toes his shoes off and drops his keys into the basket next to the door, immediately being greeted by his dog. He smiles down at the German Sheppard, rubbing his head affectionately. "Hi, Max."

He stands up straight and moves further into the house to his bedroom, Max following right behind him, and immediately collapses onto his bed, closing his eyes as he lets out a breath.

"Well it took you long enough to get here."

Opening his eyes, Grant lifts his head to see Kebo leaning against one of the walls in his room, eating a bowl of cereal.

"Max and I have been waiting hours for you to get back."

Grant furrows his brows and rises up onto his elbows. "What the hell are you doing in my house, Kebo? And why are you eating my food?"

Kebo shrugs. "I was hungry."

"You have food in your own house."

"Haven't gone shopping yet."

"Why aren't you with Hannah?"

"She had a flight tonight for that company thing."

"Okay. But that still doesn't explain why you're in my house."

"I have a key, remember?"

Grant sighs. "Whatever." He sits up and rests his arms on his legs, hanging his head.

"Whoa, what's going on with you?"

Grant lifts his head. "What?"

"What's going on with you?" Kebo repeats. "You disappeared after your set at the reunion last night and I didn't see you again until just now."

"Right, sorry. I uh, I got sidetracked."

"By what?"

"Skye."

Kebo's eyes go wide. "What? She was actually at the reunion? And you saw her?"

"I didn't just see her, Kebo. We talked."

"About what?"

"The fact that she's been living in Massachusetts for the last nine years. And that she and I…have a daughter together."

Kebo chokes on his cereal. "I'm sorry," he says when he finds his voice again. "Did you just say that you have a daughter with Skye?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. Her name is Jessica, she's eight, and she's absolutely amazing."

"So when Skye left she was pregnant?" Kebo asks.

Grant nods. "Yeah."

"And she just left without telling you?"

"She didn't know."

"But after she found out, she still didn't tell you?"

"Apparently she tried to. She sent a bunch of letters with pictures of our daughter and tried to call me but nothing worked."

"Wait, hadn't the two of you been fighting for a couple months already when she left?" Kebo asks.

Grant nods. "Yeah. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing, really. Just that if you two were fighting already, does that mean you had some kind of angry hate sex sometime before she left?"

"Seriously, Kebo? I am not talking about my sex life with you."

Kebo holds his hands up in defense. "Sorry, it was just a question. Though, you don't need to answer it because I'm sure it's the truth considering you have a daughter and you probably would have known about Skye being pregnant if it had happened before the two of you started fighting all the time. But anyways, how do you feel about all of this new information?"

Grant takes a deep breath, shaking his head slightly at his best friend. "Honestly? I don't even know. But I met her, Kebo, I met my daughter. And apparently she's a fan." He lets out a quiet laugh. "I have a daughter who is a fan of my music and I didn't even know that she existed until yesterday."

"That's crazy, man. So what are you going to do now that you know about her?"

"I'm going to try and be a part of her life as much as I possibly can."

"And how exactly are you going to do that? Didn't you just say that they live on the other side of the country? You know, miles and miles away from you."

Grant gives him a blank look. "Yes, Kebo, I'm painfully aware of that fact. However, I'm actually having lunch with Jessica tomorrow. Hopefully Skye and I will be able to work something out so that I can still be involved in my daughter's life."

"You're having lunch with them tomorrow?" Kebo asks.

Grant nods. "Just Jessica, but yeah. I'm honestly kind of nervous about it."

"What? Why? You've already met her, haven't you?"

"Well, yeah. But only for a few minutes. It was right before she had to go to bed so I wasn't actually able to stay for very long."

"Ah, well. Just be your usual charming self." Kebo grins at him. "Besides, isn't she already a fan? So she pretty much already knows everything there is to know about you. Of course, that's aside from all the very intimate details regarding you and Skye, but that's understandable considering everything."

"You're really not helping much right now, Kebo."

"Right, sorry." He takes a deep breath. "Well, I'm going to go now, leave you to wallow in what could have been and all that jazz. I'll be in my own house all alone because my wife's out of town if you need me. Good luck tomorrow."

"Yeah, thanks," Grant says offhandedly as Kebo makes his way out of the bedroom. Grant turns his head to look at Max. "What do you think, boy? Do you think I can be a good dad?"

Max barks once before lying back down in his bed.

"Yeah," Grant says with a small smile, "I think so too."

Chapter Text

"Jessica, are you ready to go, baby girl?" Skye calls through her parents' house as she digs through her purse to make sure she has what she needs in it.

"Almost!" Jessica calls back.

"Well hurry up, please. You don't want to be late for lunch with your dad."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

Skye turns her head to look at Miles standing near her. She gives him a soft smile and steps a bit closer to him. "I'm sure. I'm just going there to drop her off so she can have lunch with him and then he's going to bring her back here before we have to leave to catch our flight."

He nods. "Right. And how do you feel about all of this? You don't seem to be too happy about it."

Skye sighs. "It's not that I'm not happy that Jess is getting to know her dad, because I am, it's good for her. This is all just happening way too fast for me. I honestly never thought this day would even come."

"Well it has," he reminds her. "And you can't deny your daughter of getting to know her father now that she actually knows who he is."

Skye nods. "I know that. It's just hard for me, that's all."

"And that's perfectly understandable. You've been her only parent her entire life, and now that other half is coming into play. It would make anybody nervous and a little anxious."

"Mom, I'm ready. Hi Miles."

Miles smiles over at the young girl. "Hey, kiddo. Are you excited for lunch with your dad?"

Jessica smiles and nods. "Yeah. I have so much to tell him and ask him."

"Well you better pick wisely," Skye tells her daughter. "You only get a few hours with him before we have to head home."

"Can't I just stay here with dad until school starts?" Jessica asks.

Skye shakes her head. "Sorry, baby, no. But maybe you can come back out here and visit him when you have a break from school. We'll have to talk to him about it, okay?"

Jessica sighs. "Okay. Can we go now? I want to have as much time with him as I can."

Skye laughs quietly and nods. "Yeah, we can go. Go on out to Papa and Nana's car, I'll be right there."

Jessica turns around and makes her way out the front door of the house to her grandparents' car.

Skye turns to Miles and wraps her arms around his neck. "I love you, and I'll see you when I get back. I'm just going to stay long enough to make sure everything's okay, so I shouldn't be gone for too long. Then when I get back maybe you and I can go out and do something together because we'll have a couple of hours to kill before Jess gets back and we have to head out. What do you say?"

Miles gives her a smile. "I think that sounds great."

She smiles back. "I'm glad you think so. I'll see you in a little bit." She leans up to press a quick kiss to his lips.

"Yeah, bye."

"Bye." She pulls away from him and makes her way to the front door and then out to her parents' car where Jessica is waiting for her.

.

.

.

Pulling the car into the restaurant parking lot, Skye shifts the gear into park and then looks through the rearview mirror at her daughter.

"You ready to go inside, baby girl?"

Jessica turns her head to look at her mom and nods. "Yeah."

Skye lets out a breath. "Alright." She shuts off the ignition and pulls her keys out. "Let's go." She unbuckles herself and climbs out of the car, locking it again once Jessica climbs out as well.

"Come on, mom," Jessica says, grabbing hold of her mom's hand and tugging her towards the front doors of the restaurant.

"Patience, Jess. The restaurant isn't going anywhere."

"I know," Jessica says. "But I wanna see dad."

"And you will," Skye replies. "You get to spend a couple of hours with him for lunch before we have to leave for the airport. And maybe if you ask him nicely, your dad will come and see us off."

"Won't people notice him, though?" Jessica asks.

Skye shrugs. "Maybe. But I think he's pretty good at disguising himself by now."

"Why?"

"Because he's famous," Skye explains. "And people who are famous are usually pretty good at disguising themselves in public so that they can have a little bit of privacy when they go certain places with certain people."

"Oh, okay."

Skye smiles down at her. "Come on. Let's go inside." Skye reaches forward and pulls open the doors to the restaurant, allowing her daughter to step through, moving in behind her.

Skye takes a deep breath. "Alright, where is he?"

"There he is!" Jessica exclaims, pointing to a booth near the back of the restaurant. "Dad!" she shouts, breaking out of her mother's grasp and running across the restaurant to Grant.

Grant smiles at his daughter when he sees her approaching. "Hey, Jess." He immediately pulls her into his arms for a hug. "How are you?"

"Good. I'm so excited for lunch with you."

Grant smiles. "Me too. Hey Skye," he greets the other brunette when he sees her approaching.

"Hey," she says back. "So…I'm a little concerned."

"About what?" he asks as Jessica sits down in the seat across from him.

"Why there seems to be no one else here," she replies, glancing around the empty restaurant. "From what I remember, isn't this place usually filled with people?"

Grant shrugs. "I pulled some strings, managed to get Jess and I the place to ourselves for a little while."

"Wow. That's just..."

"Awesome." Jessica grins. "You can really do that?"

"Not all the time," Grant tells her. "But for special occasions I can. And having lunch with my daughter so I can get to know her more seemed like a very special occasion."

"Cool."

Grant smiles at her before looking back up at Skye. "What?" he asks when he sees the look on her face.

She shakes her head. "Nothing." She shifts on her feet and takes a deep breath. "Don't be late getting her back to my parents' house, okay? We can't be late for our flight."

"Even if you are, I can always pay for a flight change so you don't have to spend too much."

She shakes her head again. "No. I can't ask you to do that. Just get her back in time and everything will be fine."

Grant nods. "Right, got it."

Skye turns towards Jessica. "Have fun, okay?"

"I will," Jessica replies.

"And be good."

"I promise."

"Okay. I'll see you later, baby girl." She leans down to drop a kiss to the top of Jessica's head.

"Bye mom." Jessica smiles up at her before turning back to her menu.

Skye gives Grant half a smile before turning and making her way out of the building.

Grant takes a deep breath once Skye is out of the restaurant. "So, what are you having?" he asks his daughter as he glances at the menu in his hands, already knowing what he's having.

"There aren't a lot of choices," Jessica says.

"That's because amazing burgers is what this place is known for."

"I like cheeseburgers," Jessica tells him.

Grant smiles. "Me too. And this place has really great cheeseburgers," he tells her. "Some of the best in LA, actually."

"Mom doesn't let me have cheeseburgers a lot."

"Well that's very smart of her. Cheeseburgers aren't the healthiest thing for you, but I think eating them every once in a while is okay. And obviously your mom thinks so too, otherwise she wouldn't have agreed to this restaurant."

"Really?"

Grant nods. "Mm-hmm. In fact, In-N-Out was one of her favorite places to come to for lunch or dinner. Sometimes we'd even come here for a midnight dinner during high school when we were both wide awake and couldn't fall asleep."

"What was mom like during high school?" Jessica asks him, leaning forward a bit against the table. "She never talks about when she lived here."

Grant smiles. "Oh, she was awesome. One of the coolest people I knew. We always had so much fun together. Especially when we played music or wrote songs together. That was always when we had the most fun."

"Mom writes music?"

Grant nods. "Mm-hmm. At least, she used to all the time. Your mom and I wrote quite a few songs together. We even had a band for a little while."

"You did?"

"Yeah. But we split up before the band could ever really take off. So I continued making music on my own."

"Did you release any of the songs you and mom wrote together on any of your albums?" she asks him.

"I thought about it a few times," he admits. "But ultimately it didn't feel right to use the songs we created together for myself. Thankfully I was still able to write my own stuff, obviously not as good as the stuff your mom and I wrote together, but still good enough that people enjoy it."

"I love your music," Jessica tells him. "It's really good."

"Thanks, sweetheart." He smiles at her. "But you've never heard your mom and I's music. That stuff is truly amazing. Especially when your mom sings. She has an incredible voice."

"Can I hear some of it?" she asks him.

He gives her a small smile. "Maybe one day. If we're both lucky."

.

.

.

Hearing a quick knock, Skye stands from the couch and walks over to the front door, pulling it open and smiling when she sees her daughter and Grant standing on the other side of it.

"Hey. I was worried you guys weren't going to get back on time. Come on inside." She steps aside to let Grant and Jessica cross the threshold. "Jess, go make sure you have all your stuff packed up, okay?"

"Okay." Jessica turns to Grant and hugs him around the legs. "Thanks for lunch, dad."

Grant hugs her back. "You're welcome, Jess."

Jessica pulls from the hug and makes her way down the hallway.

"Thanks for bringing her back," Skye says to Grant.

"Promised you I would." He takes a deep breath. "So, are you excited to be going back to Massachusetts?"

Skye nods. "Definitely. I mean, I love LA, I grew up here, but Provincetown is my home now. Mine and Jess'."

"And I'm sure it's a great place."

"It is. It's perfect for us."

"Maybe I can come and visit sometime," he suggests. "That way I can spend more time with Jess and get to know your new home a little better. I just want to be in her life as much as I possibly can. It'll be difficult, since we live so far away, but I want to try."

"I'm sure we can figure something out so you can come visit her at some point," she tells him.

"Can you come for Christmas?"

Grant and Skye turn their heads to see Jessica emerging from the hallway, carrying her bag with her.

"It always snows there," she adds. "We can have a snowball fight outside in the backyard. Can he come for Christmas, mom? Please please please?"

Skye looks to her ex. "Is that okay with you?"

"It's more than okay," he replies. He looks down at his daughter. "I'd love to visit you in Provincetown for Christmas."

Jessica beams. "Awesome. Can you come with us to the airport too? To say bye?"

"I'm sure I can, if everyone's okay with that." He looks over at Skye.

"I'm okay with it," Jessica tells him.

"What about you, Skye? Are you okay with it?" he asks her.

Skye gives him a tight lipped smile and nods. "Yeah, I'm okay with it."

Jessica fist pumps the air excitedly. "Yes!"

.

.

.

"Do we really have to go?" Jessica asks as the small group makes their way across the airport floor.

"Unfortunately we do, baby girl," Skye replies.

"But I want to stay here longer with dad," Jessica tells her.

Skye sighs and stops walking, moving so she's in front of her daughter and kneeling down. "And I told you that you'll still get to see your dad sometimes, like at Christmas when he comes to visit. And you can talk to him on the phone too, and even FaceTime each other. But it's time for us to go back home now."

"Your mom's right, Jess," Grant speaks up. "You guys have to go home. But I promise you that you can call me as soon as you get back and we can talk for as long as you want."

"Really?" Jessica asks.

Grant nods. "Really."

"Okay. I'm gonna miss you, dad. A lot."

Grant smiles with tears brimming his eyes. "I'm going to miss you too, Jess."

"A lot?" she asks him.

Grant chuckles and nods. "A lot. More than I've ever missed anyone."

"Even mom?"

He tilts his head. "Probably about the same."

Jessica smiles and then steps forward to wrap her arms tightly around his neck in a hug.

Grant smiles and hugs her back, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"I love you, dad," Jessica whispers.

Grant's smile widens. "I love you too, Jess."

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Grant unlocks the device and goes into his photo album, tapping the picture he took earlier that day with Jessica. Their two faces are pressed together, both of them smiling wide for the camera. He smiles at the photo before switching over to his messages.

Selecting the one between him and his sister, he taps inside the message box, types out 'Meet your niece' and then attaches the picture of him and Jessica before hitting send.

A few seconds later, instead of a new text message, the screen lights up with his sisters name and a photo of his nephews in an incoming call.

Smiling to himself, he hits the answer button and holds the device up to his ear. "Yes?"

"I have a niece? What the hell, Grant?"

"Mandy, relax for just a minute while I explain, okay?"

He hears a slow intake of breath on the other end. "Okay, fine. I'm calm now. You can talk."

He smiles. "Thank you. Okay. You remember Skye, right?"

"You mean the girl who was your best friend since elementary school that you ended up marrying only for her to break your heart in less than a year and move to who knows where? Yeah, I think I remember her."

Grant sighs. "We broke each other's hearts, Mandy; you know that as much as I do. And she moved to Massachusetts, actually."

"How do you know that? Not even Kebo knew where she went and he was weirdly obsessed with your relationship."

"I saw her again at our ten year high school reunion. We talked for a bit and she told me something that I never thought I'd hear from her."

"What did she te—wait a minute. She had a kid after she left, didn't she? And that kid is yours."

Grant nods. "Yes. Her name is Jessica, she's eight, and she's absolutely incredible. I got to spend the afternoon with her today and have lunch and I got to know more about her. I'm a dad, Mandy."

"You're a dad," Mandy states.

"And you're an aunt," he tells her.

"And I'm an aunt. Wow. This is crazy. I've always wanted to be an aunt."

"Yeah, I know."

"Hang on a second."

"What?"

"If Skye had the kid after she left you, then that means she was already pregnant and you two had some type of crazy hate sex amidst all of your fighting."

Grant sighs. "Why is that the most important piece of information to people? Kebo literally asked me the same thing yesterday."

"Kebo's an idiot," Amanda says.

Grant chuckles. "No arguments here. He means well, though."

"Maybe so, but he's still an idiot." She takes a deep breath. "So are you going to fight for custody of your daughter now so you can see her more?" Amanda asks him.

Grant furrows his brows. "What?"

"Oh come on, Grant. You live on opposite sides of the country and probably the only way you'll get to see that little girl of yours is if it's over the phone unless your lawyer helps you get joint custody of her or something."

"Honestly, that thought never even occurred to me. When I learned about her, all I was really focused on was just getting to meet her and Skye seemed to be okay with that."

"Well that may not last, Grant. Skye's her mother and has full custody and legality over her, pretty much whatever she says goes where it concerns your daughter. But I'm sure it won't be too difficult for you to get some type of custody arrangement. You never knew Jessica existed and Skye never told you."

"Apparently she tried to."

"She did?"

"Mm-hmm. But everything she tried fell through. She didn't have any way of contacting me over the years to tell me about my daughter."

"She couldn't have just flown to LA to see you and tell you in person?"

"I don't think that thought ever crossed her mind," Grant tells his sister, shifting in his seat. "When she left she was pretty upset with everything that happened and basically told me she'd never set foot in the state again as long as I was there. Not even to see her parents. And I was pretty upset with everything too, so she probably assumed I wouldn't want to see her."

"Huh."

"Yeah. And even though I hadn't thought about it until you brought it up just now, I don't think I'll need a lawyer for this."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, the last thing I want Jess to think is that I'm forcing her mom to let me see her. She's just a kid, she doesn't need that. And she has a whole life in Massachusetts. If I get joint custody of her then there'll probably be some kind of clause where she spends part of the year with me and part of it with Skye and I can't do that to her, that's not good for a kid to have to go through, it's too unstable. She has stability in Massachusetts. Things may have ended badly for me and Skye all those years ago, but she's been pretty understanding throughout this whole situation so far and willing to let me see Jess whenever I can and spend time with her."

"So Skye's going to let you be a part of your daughters' life, then?"

He nods his head. "She is. And I'm actually going to Massachusetts for Christmas to spend time with the two of them, and Skye's boyfriend."

"She has a boyfriend?"

"Why wouldn't she? She's gorgeous, could have any man she wanted, and it's been nine years. I wasn't expecting her to have sworn off other guys."

"You swore off other girls."

"I did not. I had a few dates, like that one model Kebo set me up with a few years back."

"Sure seemed like you swore off girls for a while there."

"Well I didn't. I just didn't go out a whole lot."

"Yes. Because you were still pining after the girl who left you."

"It's my fault she left," Grant mutters.

"Whoa, hey, don't say that, little brother. She left of her own accord. If she really wanted to stick around then she would have."

"But she wasn't happy with me anymore," Grant tells his sister. "I think it was all just a matter of us getting married too young, and if one of us had just stepped back to see what was happening to us then maybe things could have ended a lot differently. Maybe I could have actually seen my daughter grow up. But it doesn't help to dwell on all of that. What matters now is that I know I have a daughter and that I am going to try and spend as much time with her as I can."

"And I'm very glad that you get to," she tells him. "Also, when do I get to meet this adorable niece of mine? And I'm sure the boys would love to have a cousin."

"Well, Skye doesn't want to overwhelm her with a whole bunch of family just yet. It's pretty much just been the two of them, plus Fitz and Jemma, and Skye's boyfriend. And obviously Skye's parents, even though they're still in LA."

"I think I get it," Amanda says. "She's only eight. She has a dad now and getting an aunt and uncle, plus two cousins and Gramsy might be a little much for her to take."

"Yeah. But that's not to say that she doesn't know about you guys. Apparently she's a big fan of my music and has been following my career pretty closely so she knows that I have a sister and two nephews. She asked me about you guys when we were at lunch today. She wants to meet you, but they had to head back home, so maybe you can meet her another time."

"I better," Amanda tells him. "She's a very cute kid. Looks just like you."

"That's what Skye says."

"And it's the truth. She's got your cheekbones, Grant, and your eyes."

"Yes, I know. And she may look like me, but she definitely has Skye's fierce, independent personality. It's amazing."

"You sound very smitten, Grant," Amanda tells him.

Grant chuckles quietly. "Yeah, I guess I am. But can you really blame me? She's my daughter."

"That she is. And I can't wait to meet her."

Grant smiles. "I can't wait either."

Chapter Text

"...and then you have the recording later for your segment of Iris West's show," Jenny tells Grant, reading off of the tablet in her hands. "She's been really eager to have you on since your album came out and we finally managed to get you a spot."

"Well I'm very much looking forward to it," Grant says with a smile. "I did her show once when I first started out, right?"

Jenny nods. "Yes, I believe so."

"Great. Anything else on the docket that I should know about?" he asks the blonde.

Jenny glances down at the tablet and scrolls a bit. "Um, no, I don't see anything. But you should probably—"

"I'm so sorry," Grant says when his cell phone ringing interrupts Jenny. He glances at the caller and then back at Jenny. "I have to take this."

Jenny waves him off. "It's fine."

"Great, thanks." He stands up from the couch and moves out of the room as he holds the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hi, dad."

He smiles wide. "Hey, Jess. It's so good to hear your voice. I miss you."

"I miss you too. I wanna tell everybody that you're my dad but mom says I can't. She said I have to wait."

Grant sighs. "She's right, Jess. It's better for you right now if you don't say anything about me being your dad. I don't think it'll be too bad if you say that we've met, but ask your mom about that one."

"Okay. How come I can't tell anybody yet that you're my dad?"

"Well, if people know, then they'll probably never leave you alone. They'll constantly be bugging you and your mom about me and all sorts of other things that you shouldn't have to deal with."

"Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense. But can I tell Josie? She's my best friend and I want her to know."

"I wouldn't mind if you told her so you'd have someone to talk to, but you should probably ask your mom about that one too."

"Okay."

Grant takes a deep breath. "So, what's up with you lately, Jess? What's new? Anything exciting happen?"

"Um, I don't know."

"Oh, come on. Something had to have happened since we last saw each other."

"I don't know if mom would want me to tell you. She hasn't told anybody yet. Just me."

"That's okay," he tells her. "You don't have to tell me. Your mom doesn't need to tell me every little thing that happens in her life anymore. Only the stuff that will affect you, or my relationship with you."

"Um, well it does affect me. Kind of. But it's mostly gonna affect mom. I don't know if she'd want me to tell you, though."

"Hey, it's okay, Jess," he says softly. "I told you that you don't need to tell me. If your mom wants to tell me what it is, then she will when she wants to. But you don't have to be the one to tell me wha—"

"Mom's gonna marry Miles," Jessica blurts out, cutting him off.

Grant's breath hitches in his throat. "She's what?"

"He proposed to her yesterday. He took her out to dinner and asked her to marry him. She told me after she came home 'cause I wasn't asleep yet. She's really excited."

"What about you?" he asks, swallowing back the lump forming in his throat. "Are you excited?"

"Kinda. I really like Miles, he's fun. And he makes me laugh sometimes."

"But?" Grant prods, hearing the way her voice trailed off at the end.

"What if she marries him and then I can't see you anymore?" Jessica asks him after a quick moment of hesitation.

"Whoa, hey. Where'd you get that idea from?"

"You're in LA, and I'm in Provincetown. And when mom marries Miles he'll be my stepdad."

"And what part of that makes you think you won't get to see me anymore?" he asks her curiously.

"I don't know."

"Jessica Katherine, just because your mom is getting married and Miles is going to be your stepdad, that does not, in any way, mean that we won't get to see each other anymore. I am still your dad and I will always do everything I can to make sure we can still see each other and spend time together. Do you believe me?"

"Yeah."

He smiles. "Good. I love you so so much."

"I love you too, dad."

His smile widens. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Welcome back to the show, everybody," Iris West says with a smile to the camera and live studio audience. "We've got a very special treat for you today. Here to sing one of the songs off of his newest album, please welcome, Grant Ward."

The studio audience cheers loud as the sliding walls off to the side open up, revealing Grant standing in front of a microphone with his guitar hanging in front of him. Kebo sits behind him at the drums, a couple of his other band members with their instruments off to the side, ready to play.

Grant glances behind him at Kebo and gives him a small nod. Kebo waits a quick beat and then begins the opening beats of the song, Grant and the others following right behind on their own instruments.

Stepping a bit closer to the mic, Grant opens his mouth and starts to sing.

Hey Princess
In a white dress
Chuck Taylor's
Got me obsessed
Wanna see you, so when can we hang out?
Hey Princess in a contest
You're the queen and you own the rest
Someday we're gonna take the crown

He smiles when he sees and hears the audience singing along with him, most of them standing up and dancing along to the beat.

Let's go, let go!
Hold on to me oh, oh!
Let's go,
I'm a let you know!
I'll be the one that's storming the castle,
We'll be the two hearts beating faster!
'Ever you want, 'ever you want, I'm down!
I'll be the one that makes you adore me
We'll be the two, the two end of story
One that I want, one that I want I found
It's your kiss
Hey Princess

Hey Princess
Be my guest
Chase you around, no regrets
If I catch you I'll never let you down

Let's go, let go!
Hold on to me oh, oh!
Let's go,
I'm a let you know!
I'll be the one that's storming the castle
We'll be the two hearts beating faster!
'Ever you want, 'ever you want, I'm down!
I'll be the one that makes you adore me
We'll be the two the two end of story
One that I want, one that I want I found
It's your kiss
Hey Princess

He shoves back the memories and images trying to force their way to the front of his mind, focusing on singing the song for the crowd.

What if all the stars aligned
Could I ever make you mine?
When the movie ends we could be the ever after
You and I

He swallows thickly and steps a little closer to the mic, eyes locked onto the camera in front of him as he continues to sing.

I'm just a boy and you're Cinderella
Snow White in blue jeans I'm gonna tell ya
'Ever you want 'ever you want I'm down
I'll be the one that makes you adore me
We'll be the two the two end of story
One that I want one that I want I found

I'll be the one that's storming the castle
We'll be the two hearts beating faster!
'Ever you want 'ever you want I'm down
I'll be the one that makes you adore me
We'll be the two the two end of story
One that I want one that I want I found
It's your kiss
Hey Princess

The audience claps and cheers when he finishes the song, making him smile wide. Putting his guitar on its stand off to the side, Grant makes his way over to where Iris is waiting for him by the chairs.

"That was amazing," she tells him with a smile as she pulls him down into a hug. "Absolutely amazing."

"Thank you," he replies, pulling from the hug to sit down in the chair behind him.

"Grant Ward, you truly are a musical genius," Iris says to him after sitting in her own chair.

Grant smiles and laughs quietly. "Thank you, that's very kind of you to say. My friend Kebo would probably agree with you on that considering he said it to me not long after my latest album actually came out."

Iris smiles. "Speaking of your latest album, it came out back in April and it's still very high up there on the charts after just a few months. That must be a great feeling, knowing so many people are buying and listening to your music."

Grant smiles and nods. "It is a pretty great feeling, yeah. I have some of the most amazing and supportive fans."

"That's great to hear. I really love this album, by the way. It's so packed full of emotion and passion. More so, I think, than any of your previous albums. It's incredible."

"Thank you. I really like this one too. A lot of the songs that are on there are ones that I wrote years ago, when I first started making music, but I never released them. I kept them pretty locked down and didn't share them with anyone."

"And what made you decide to release them now after all these years?"

Grant takes a deep breath. "You know, I'm not really sure. I wrote those songs at a time in my life when I was hurting pretty bad, and I just needed to get everything down so I didn't keep those feelings bottled up. A few of them I wrote before that, but it hurt to sing them, so I also kept those ones locked down. I guess releasing them to the public now is kind of a therapeutic thing, in a sense, trying to help myself move past everything that happened."

"That must have been a tough decision for you to make."

Grant nods. "It was a little bit, yeah. I thought about it a lot, and in the end, I decided that the only way for me to really move past things was to put those songs out into the open. And maybe they'll help someone else who needs to hear those songs. Music has a greater impact on people than we initially realize. I've had plenty of fans come up to me at one time or another and tell me stories about how a song that I wrote when I was in a particular situation helped them overcome something in their life. It's a great feeling, one of the best you can have as a musician."

"I can only imagine," Iris says. She shifts in her chair. "Now, you said that you wrote some of those songs at a time when you were hurting. I know that a lot of artists use their personal experiences to come up with their song lyrics and even the beats for the music, is that what it was like for you?"

Grant nods. "Pretty much, yeah. I uh, I had just gotten out of a relationship, one that I thought was going to last, that I hoped was going to last. It ended on a pretty bad note so I used all of my feelings from that to get out some pretty powerful songs. It's hard sometimes to sing them, because it reminds me of everything that happened back then, but it's also a little bit therapeutic for me."

"That's great. I'd love to know the story behind a couple of the songs, if you're comfortable with that, of course."

Grant takes a deep breath and nods. "I think I can do that, yeah."

She smiles. "Great. I'd love to know about Hey Princess," Iris says to him. "My daughter absolutely loves that song. She dances all around the house singing along to it."

Grant smiles. "That sounds adorable. And I wrote Hey Princess for the girl I had been in that relationship with back when we first started dating. It was the first of many songs I wrote for her."

"Really."

He nods. "Yeah. We were friends for a while and then one day I started seeing her in a completely different light than before. I knew I was in deep so I wrote that song and sang it to her and asked her to be my girlfriend. Thankfully she said yes, and we were very happy for the few years we were together."

"That's amazing. And the last song I wanna know about, because we're unfortunately running low on time with you today, is Always. That song is so beautiful and extremely powerful."

"Thank you. That one was written when that particular relationship I mentioned earlier ended. I believe it was the first one I wrote at that time. I had a lot of pent up anger and heartache that I needed to get out. So I put it into my music. Though I don't think people really pick up on anger when they hear that song."

"Wow."

"Yeah. I'll always care about this particular person, there's no doubt about that at all, but our lives just took us in different directions, and I'm learning to be okay with that. At least I still have my music," he says with a smile.

Iris smiles back. "That you do." She takes a deep breath. "Alright, well, I'm afraid that's all we have time for today with you, but thank you so much for being here and I really hope we can have you back soon."

Grant smiles. "I'd really like that."

Iris looks to the camera. "Make sure you go check out Grant's latest album, Faded Memories, in stores and on iTunes now, and don't go anywhere, we'll be right back with some more great stuff for you."

"And we're clear!"

"That was a great segment, Grant," Iris tells him when the cameras stop rolling.

"You're the professional here," he says. "I was just following your lead and speaking from the heart."

"Well it was great nonetheless. But do you think I could ask for a small favor before you go?"

Grant nods. "Absolutely."

"I was wondering if I could get your autograph for my daughter."

Grant smiles. "Of course."

Iris smiles back. "Great. Here." She reaches behind her to the small table and grabs a pad of paper and a pen, handing them over to Grant.

"What's her name?" Grant asks, taking the paper and pen.

"Dawn," Iris replies. "D-a-w-n."

Grant nods and begins writing on the paper. "Dawn, your mom tells me you're a fan. Thank you so much for loving my music. You seem like a very sweet girl. Love, Grant Ward." He looks up at Iris and hands the paper back. "How's that?"

Iris beams as she looks down at the paper and then back up at him. "Perfect. This is going to make me mom-of-the-year for sure. I'd like to see my husband try and beat that."

Grant chuckles. "I'm happy I could help." He takes a deep breath as he stands from his chair. "It was great to see you again, Iris, thanks again for having me on the show."

"Thank you for agreeing to be on it," she says back. "Have a safe drive."

"I will, thank you." He gives her one last smile before moving off the stage and back into the wings to head towards the green room, handing his mic pack to one of the tech hands.

Stepping foot inside the green room, Grant chuckles at the sight of Kebo lounging back on the couch, one of the bowls of provided snacks resting on his chest as he scrolls through something on his phone.

"Great job out there, mate," Kebo says, looking away from his phone as soon as Grant enters the room.

"Thanks."

Kebo pulls himself up into a seated position and locks his phone, setting it off to the side. "But what was that bit near the end there about learning to be okay with where your lives took you two? You sounded a bit down when you said it."

Grant sighs and falls down into one of the chairs. "Skye's engaged."

Kebo's eyes go wide. "She's what?"

"She's engaged," Grant repeated.

"Yeah, no, I heard you. I just can't believe it."

"Why not?" Grant asks. "Apparently she's been with this guy for five years."

"That's longer than you and she lasted," Kebo points out.

Grant deadpans. "Yes, I'm aware of that, thank you. Did you have a point in bringing that up?"

Kebo opens and closes his mouth a few times. "No, not really, sorry."

"It's fine."

"So how'd you find out?" Kebo asks his friend, grabbing some more of the snacks from the bowl he's holding and tossing them into his mouth.

"Jess told me."

"She did."

Grant nods. "Yeah. She said there was something going on over there but she wasn't sure if Skye would want me to know. I told her that she didn't have to tell me, but she did anyways. I guess it just happened and Skye hasn't told anyone yet. Or maybe she has now, but she hadn't when Jess called me."

"Wow."

"I know. I actually got a little hurt when Jess told me the news. I mean, a large part of me knew that there'd be little to no chance of Skye and I ever getting back together after all these years, but I guess there was still that small piece of me that was hoping. But that's gone now. She's getting married and I'm almost 30 and still single."

"So go find a girlfriend," Kebo tells him.

Grant raises an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Kebo nods. "Yeah." He shifts on his seat. "Look, we both know that I was, and always will be, the biggest supporter of you and Skye as a couple, that's never going to change. But if Skye's moving on with her life in a romantic sense, then I think you should try and do the same. I'm not saying you have to go and get a girlfriend, though."

"That's literally what you just said."

Kebo waves him off. "Be quiet, I'm trying to help you out here. Anyways, I'm not saying you have to go and get a girlfriend right away, just call up one of the women who are always throwing themselves at you and ask her out to dinner, or a movie, or dinner and movie. Just something to get your mind off Skye so you can try and move past all of this."

"You really think that'll help?" Grant asks him.

Kebo shrugs. "Only one way to find out." He stands up from the couch and takes a deep breath. "Now, I'm going to go and see if I can find the bathroom in this place before we leave." He turns and makes his way out of the room, calling over his shoulder to Grant, "Ooh, try that model again. You looked good with her."

Grant lets out a deep sigh once Kebo leaves the room, leaning back into the chair and letting his body relax. Reaching off to the side, he grabs his phone from where he put it before the show, and unlocks it, going into his contact list. He scrolls a bit, his eyes skimming over the names of different women he knows and went out with once or twice, hoping one of their names will spark something.

Eventually he stops, one name catching his eye, the name of the model Kebo had set him up with a few years ago. He knows she's not seeing anyone currently; she has no qualms about putting every aspect of her personal life out there for the public. He hesitates, his thumb hovering over her name.

Taking a deep breath, he taps on her name and then holds the device up to his ear, waiting as it rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lorelei, it's Grant."

Chapter Text

"You ready for the back-to-school social today, baby girl?" Skye asks her daughter as the two of them get themselves ready to go in their apartment.

Jessica nods head from where she's sitting on the living room floor tying her shoes. "Yeah. I can't wait to see who my new teacher is gonna be. And I really hope Josie's in my class again."

"Even if she isn't, you two can still hang out at recess, right?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah."

"Hello. You girls ready to go?"

"Hi, Miles." Jessica smiles up at the man stepping into the apartment as she finishes tying her shoes.

"Hey, kiddo. You excited for today?"

"Yeah." She stands up from the floor and grabs her jacket from where it's draped over the arm of the couch, sliding it on. "Are you coming with us?" she asks him.

He smiles and nods. "I sure am. Is that cool with you?"

Jessica smiles. "Yeah. You can meet my teacher too."

"Sounds like a plan."

Jessica smiles over at her mom. "I'm ready to go, mom."

Skye smiles back at her daughter. "Excellent. We don't want to be late, so should we go, then?"

"Yeah," Jessica says, nodding. "Me and Josie are meeting each other outside by the tether ball courts, so we need to go."

Skye laughs quietly. "Alright, let's go." She grabs her keys from their place and ushers the two other people out of the apartment and towards her car, making sure to lock the apartment door behind her.

.

.

.

Don't forget that Luis should be stopping by later with the latest shipment of supplies. Please do not forget. Skye hits send on the text and locks it again. She goes to slide it back into her pocket when it chimes, a new text from Jemma lighting up the screen.

I promise I will not forget.

Good. Thank you.

She locks the device and then slides her phone back into her pocket, just as she hears a voice speak up from behind her.

"Skye?"

Turning around, Skye smiles at the dirty blonde haired man approaching her. "Martin, hi. How are you?"

"Pretty good," he tells her. "You?"

"As well as I can be. New school year starting up, so you know how it goes."

Martin nods. "That I do. Rachel's been very excited about coming to this back-to-school social."

"So has Jess. She's been very eager to meet her new teacher."

"Same with Rachel," Martin tells her.

"I managed to get you a snow cone, Skye," Miles says as he approaches her, carrying two paper cones in his hands. "Half cherry, half blue raspberry, just how you like it."

She looks up at him and smiles, taking the cone. "Thanks. Miles, this is Martin; I met him and his daughter when Jess and I went to buy Grant's latest CD. Martin, this is my fiancé Miles."

"Fiancé?" Martin asks with a slightly raised brow. "Well congratulations."

Skye smiles. "Thank you."

"It's very nice to meet you, Miles," Martin says, extending a hand out to him.

Miles accepts the hand and gives the man a small smile. "You too." He takes a deep breath. "So, you have a daughter that goes to school here?"

Martin nods. "I do, yes. She's my entire world. Everything I do, I do it for her."

Skye nods her head. "Mm, I know that feeling so well. I would do pretty much anything for Jess. She's my little angel, my reason for doing everything I do."

"Oh, the joys of being a parent," Martin says with a smile.

"I'm just a little worried for the teenage years to arrive," Skye replies.

Martin laughs. "Yes, those will definitely be interesting."

"But it's the small, meaningful moments that makes all the stress worth it in the end," Skye says.

"Most definitely," Martin agrees with a nod.

"Mom!"

"Hey there, baby girl," Skye says, smiling down at her daughter as she approaches. "Are you having fun?"

"Yeah. Me, Josie, and Rachel were playing out in the field and look what I found." She excitedly holds her hand out to her mom, palm up.

"Oh, wow. Is that a four leaf clover?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah. Can you take a picture and send it to dad? I want him to see it."

Skye laughs quietly and pulls her phone out. "Okay." She quickly takes a photo and then smiles at her daughter. "Alright, photo is taken; I'll send it to your dad in just a minute, okay?"

Jessica smiles. "Okay."

"Hi, Jessica," Martin speaks up, getting the young girl's attention.

Jessica turns to him and waves. "Hi." She looks back at her mom. "I'm gonna go back and play."

"Yeah, sure thing, baby girl. Go have fun, and be careful."

"I will," Jessica says as she turns and runs off towards the large open field.

"She's so adorable," Martin comments as Jessica runs away.

Skye smiles proudly. "Thanks. I'd like to say she takes after me, but that's only in personality. Her looks are all her dad's doing. She looks so much like he did when he was a kid."

"I wish Rach looked more like her mom, but sadly, she's saddled with my looks." He lets out a small laugh.

Skye laughs as well. "It's funny how those things work out."

Martin nods. "Yes it is." He shifts on his feet. "I couldn't help but notice how Jessica asked you to send a photo to her dad. I'm assuming she knows who he is?"

Skye nods and sighs. "She does now, yes. Her dad and I ran into each other at our high school reunion after not having seen each other in nine years, and he found out about her and asked to meet her. I was a little hesitant at first, but I realized I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had kept Jess from actually knowing her father if I had the chance to make it happen. So now they know about each other."

"That's good," Martin says. "It is good, right?"

Skye takes a deep breath and nods. "I really hope so. I'm probably going to have a massive break down if this backfires on me somehow."

"Well for your sake, and Jessica's, I hope it doesn't backfire on you."

Skye smiles kindly. "Thank you. Now, if you boys would excuse me, I have to go inside and use the bathroom real quick." She looks at Miles and hands her snowcone over for him to hold. "You gonna be okay out here by yourself for a few minutes?"

He smiles. "I'll be fine."

"Great." She leans up and gives him a quick kiss before turning and making her way inside the school.

"So, how do you feel about all this?" Martin asks Miles once Skye is out of earshot.

"About what?"

"About Jessica's dad being in her life now. When I met Skye she said that Jessica's never met her dad before this."

"She hadn't," Miles confirms. "I've known Jess almost her entire life and her dad hasn't been a part of it until just this summer when he found out about her."

"Wow. I can't even imagine not knowing Rachel for the first eight years of her life."

"Neither can I about Jess. And I'm not even her dad. I'm just the guy who's been dating her mom for five years and has been there for most of the major milestones in her life up till now and is soon going to be her step dad."

Martin nods. "Ah. I see."

Miles furrows his brows. "What? What do you see?"

"You're not sure how you're going to fit into the picture, even if you are marrying Skye, because Jessica actually has her dad in her life now. A similar thing happened to a friend of mine from work."

Miles sighs. "I haven't told Skye because I don't want her to think I'm being petty or jealous or anything. And I've been playing things cool since everything happened because I really do want what's best for Jessica and having her dad in her life might be what's best for her. I just hope I don't get lost somehow along the way because of it. I really do love her like she was my own, and I'd hate to lose that connection I have with her just because her dad is in the picture now."

Martin smiles. "Miles, I may have just met you today and haven't really seen you interact with Jess very much, but I can tell from how you talk that you care a lot about Jessica."

Miles nods. "I really do. She and Skye mean the world to me."

"That's good. But I also think that this is a conversation you should have with Skye, so that everything is out in the open and doesn't come out later at that wrong time and bite you in the backside."

Miles tilts his head. "Are you a psychologist or something?"

Martin chuckles. "I am not. I've just seen a lot of things over the years."

"Right." He takes a deep breath. "And I've thought about bringing it up a few times with Skye, I'm just not sure how to approach the subject, I don't want her to think I'm insecure about it or anything. It's just a little weird for me, that's all."

"And that's exactly what you should tell her. Make sure she knows how you feel about all of this."

Miles nods. "Yeah, you're right. I think I'll talk to her about it tonight."

Martin smiles. "That's a very good choice, Miles."

Miles smiles back at him. "Thanks, Martin."

"Hey boys," Skye says as she walks back up to them, wrapping her arm around Miles' waist as she takes her snow cone back and takes a bite. "Sorry I took so long, I ran into another parent I know and we got talking about a few different things. What did I miss?"

"Not much," Miles tells her. "Martin and I were just talking."

"Anything I should know about?" she asks with a smile.

Miles leans down to give her a quick kiss and smiles. "Nothing to worry about."

She smiles up at him. "Good."

"Hey, Skye?" Miles speaks up as he and Skye get ready for bed later that night.

"Hmm?"

"Can I talk to you about something?" he asks, sliding underneath the covers of the bed, leaning back against the headboard.

She glances over her shoulder from her place at the vanity brushing out her hair. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Um, I just wanted to talk about Grant."

Skye stills and turns around fully to face her fiancé. "What about him?"

"Well I don't want you to think I'm insecure or anything, I'm just a little concerned about him being in Jess' life, that's all."

Skye sighs and moves over to the bed, sitting down next to him on top of the covers. "I appreciate your concern, I really do, I'm concerned too, but now that they know about each other I can't just keep them out of each other's lives. It wouldn't be fair to them, and I'd probably feel guilty later on. And Grant's rich, if I tried to keep Jess away from him he'd most likely get a lawyer and take me to court and I can't afford that kind of thing."

"What if he does something like that anyways?" Miles asks. "You said it yourself, he's rich, he can probably afford some hot-shot lawyer who never loses a single case and has an in with every judge out there. You guys are on opposite sides of the country and he'll probably hardly ever get to see Jess because of that. What if he tries to fight you for custody anyways?"

Skye tilts her head. "Miles, what is this really about?"

He shakes his head. "I don't know what you mean."

"Miles, I've known you just about as long as I've been dating you. What is this concern with Grant being in Jess' life really about?"

Miles sighs. "I guess I'm just worried about my role in Jess' life now that she has her dad. I mean, I always knew I could never really be her dad, but at least before all of this I was some type of a father-type figure for her, always being there and everything. But now that she has her actual dad, I'm just a little worried that I'm going to be pushed off to the side for her."

Skye gives him a small smile and reaches out to grab his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. "Listen to me, Miles, I love you. And I'm pretty sure Jess loves you too considering she's known you almost her entire life. You can't be replaced or pushed to the side that easily. Yes, Jessica may have her biological father in her life now, but you're still a huge part of her life as well. You've always been there for her, like you said, and she knows that. She knows that she has you to lean on if she really needs it, especially since her dad is hundreds of miles away on the other side of the country."

"I know. But what if something happens because of how famous Grant is? I just want Jess to be safe."

"That's very sweet of you to be so worried and concerned," she tells him. "It's one of the things that I love so much about you. You were an amazing boyfriend, you're a fantastic fiancé, and you're going to be an incredible husband as well as step-father."

He smiles. "You really think so?"

She smiles back at him. "I know so. I can't wait to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you, and I know Jess is very excited about all of this."

"She is?"

Skye nods. "Yeah. When I told her about how you proposed she said she was happy for us. She even asked if she could be the flower girl."

Miles laughs quietly. "She will make a beautiful flower girl."

Skye nods again. "That she will." She gives him a soft smile. "So is everything good, then? You're okay?"

He nods and lets out a breath. "Yes, everything's good. I just wanted to get everything out in the open."

"And I really appreciate it," she tells him. "The key to a good relationship is always being open and honest with one another."

"Then I guess it's a good thing we're already like that," he says.

Skye smiles and nods. "Yes it is."

Chapter Text

Hearing his cell phone going off next to him, Grant glances over at the screen to see Skye's name and a photo of Jessica on the screen. Rolling over onto his side, he reaches for the device and hits the green answer button as he holds the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?" he says into the receiver.

"Hi dad."

Grant smiles and props himself up onto his elbow. "Hey, Jess. How are you?"

"Good. Guess what?"

"What?"

"Today's my first day of school."

Grant nods. "I know. Your mom told me already. She sent me that picture last month of you with all of your supplies and that cool new backpack. You seemed very happy."

"I was. Still am. Hey dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Did I wake you up?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mom said you're three hours behind us in LA so that means you haven't had eight o'clock yet."

"Your mom's right," Grant says. "It's only five o'clock here."

"Oh. Were you still sleeping? Mom said you probably were. But I wanted to call you."

"No, I wasn't sleeping. I woke up pretty early because I have a lot of things I need to do so I thought I'd get an early start. You calling me was the perfect way to start my day," he says with a smile.

"Cool. Mom says we have to go now so I'm not late on the first day, but can I call you after school?"

He smiles. "Of course you can. You can call me whenever you want to. Any time, day or night. Even though we're on opposite sides of the country, I'm always here for you. Never forget that."

"Thanks, dad."

"Any time, sweetheart. Have a good day at school, okay?"

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

Pulling the phone down from his ear, Grant ends the call and sets the device back down on the small table next to his bed. He rolls over onto his back and lets out a breath as he stares up at the ceiling.

"Grant?"

Turning his head, he gives a soft smile to the half asleep red-headed woman lying next to him under the sheets. "Hey, sorry if I woke you. You can go back to sleep."

"It's alright," she tells him. "I like waking early every once in a while. But who was calling you on the phone at such an early hour? Seems a bit unusual."

"It was just an old friend."

"A lady friend, perhaps?" she asks him, lifting her head to look at him better.

"Yes, but it's not what you think, Lorelei, I promise. I'm a one woman kind of man, and currently I am with you, so there's no reason at all for you to be jealous."

"I'm not jealous," she tells him. "I just like to know about all the people in the life of the man I'm dating. Especially any women that he happens to be close to."

"You have nothing to worry about."

"So who was on the phone, then?" she asks him.

"Someone you don't know."

"Can I know her?"

"Maybe one day." He takes a deep breath. "I have a lot of meetings today but you're free to hang out around here if you want. Max will keep you company. Want me to make us some breakfast before I have to head out?"

She smiles up at him. "I would love some, thank you."

"Great." He leans forward and gives her a quick kiss. "I'll be back in a bit." He pulls away and climbs out of the bed, pulling his boxers and a t-shirt on before trudging out of his room and to the kitchen to get started on breakfast for the two of them.

"Okay, class, time to get our day started."

Jessica turns around from where she's been talking to Josie to face the front of the classroom where her teacher is standing, leaning back against the edge of her desk, a clipboard resting in her lap.

"Thank you. Now, first things first, I think that in order to get to know each other a little bit better, we're all going to take turns sharing something fun that we did over the summer. It can be about anything you want. I'll start. This summer, I spent an entire week down in Texas for my dad's birthday. All my family was there and it was a lot of fun getting to see everybody again. We had a big barbecue and played games and had tons of s'mores. Who wants to go next?"

A few hands shoot up.

The teacher looks around the room and glances down at her clipboard. "Um, Monica. Let's have you start us off."

A little girl with dirty blonde hair stands from her desk. "I have two new baby sisters at home," she tells the rest of her classmates. "They were born at the end of June. Their names are Heather and Hailey. They're really cute but they cry a lot and keep mom and dad up at night."

"Thank you, Monica. That must be really exciting at home with two babies."

"It is. I love being a big sister."

"That's great to hear. Let's see, who wants to go next?"

More hands shoot up.

"Alex, what's something fun you did this summer?"

A young boy with dark red hair stands up. "I went to summer camp," he says. "It was in the middle of the woods and we had s'mores at night and went hiking during the day. And we got to shoot BB guns too."

The teacher smiles. "That sounds like a lot of fun. Did you hit any targets?"

He shakes his head. "No. But I got really close to one. I even got a ribbon for getting closest."

"That's excellent. And just keep on practicing," she tells him. "I'm sure you'll get it next time. Who wants to share next?"

A couple more hands shoot up.

"Jessica, let's hear from you."

Jessica stands up from her seat and takes a deep breath. "In July I went to California for a few days. That's where my mom's from. We went there for her ten year high school reunion. She went to high school there with my Uncle Fitz and Aunt Jemma. And Grant Ward, the singer." She grins.

"Liar! No she didn't," one boy shouts.

"Yes she did," Jessica retorts. "They were friends since they were kids."

"No they weren't."

"Alright, that's enough," the teacher interrupts. "Jessica, please continue."

"Okay. Um, we stayed at my Papa and Nana's house and the second night we were there my mom called me into the living room and Grant was there. He gave me a hug and told me he was excited to meet me. I got to eat lunch with him the next day just the two of us. He's so cool and really nice."

"You never met Grant Ward, stop lying."

"I'm not lying!" Jessica shouts at the boy, tears stinging at her eyes.

"Yeah you are! Grant Ward's always busy writing music. You never met him."

"Yes I did!" Jessica shouts at him.

"No you didn't!"

"Marco!" the teacher raises her voice to be heard over the two kids. "That's enough out of you. How would you like it if you were telling us what you did this summer and someone told you that you didn't actually do it?"

The young boy, Marco, shrugs. "I don't know."

"Probably not very good. Now apologize to Jessica."

Marco looks over at Jessica and grumbles out a quiet "sorry" before sinking down in his seat, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Thank you. Jessica, sweetie, is there anything else you want to share about your trip?"

Jessica silently shakes her head.

"Alright. Thank you for sharing. You can go ahead and have a seat."

Jessica nods and then sits down in her seat, trying her hardest to keep the tears in her eyes at bay.

"Hey, angel." Skye smiles at her daughter as she steps through the front door of their apartment, Miles walking through right behind her. "How was your first day back?"

Jessica shrugs. "Okay. I have homework." She turns and moves down the hallway to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

"What was that?" Skye asks, moving towards her fiancé. "She's usually a lot happier when she gets home from school. And homework on the first day? What's that about?"

"I honestly have no idea," Miles tells her. "She didn't say a single word the whole way home; just sat there staring out the car window. Didn't even sing along when one of Grant's songs came on the radio."

"Well that has me very concerned," Skye says. "I'm gonna go talk to her and see if I can figure out what's going on."

Miles nods. "Yeah, okay. I'm gonna grab something to eat."

"Okay," she says back as she makes her way down the hall.

Stopping in front of her daughter's door, Skye lifts a fist and lightly taps on the wood. "Jess? Baby, can I come in?"

A muffled "sure" comes from the other side of the door and Skye twists the knob and pushes the door open.

Her heart aches when she sees her daughter curled up on top of her blanket, her favorite stuffed elephant clutched tightly against her small body.

Skye moves further into the room and sits down on the edge of the bed, reaching out to brush some of Jessica's hair out of her face.

"Miles said you were really quiet on the way home. Want to tell me what happened at school?"

Jessica stays quiet.

"I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong, baby girl."

Jessica shifts on the bed so she's lying on her back and looks up at her mom. "I wanna talk to dad," she says quietly.

"What?" Skye asks.

"I wanna talk to dad," Jessica repeats a little louder. "He told me I can always call him. I wanna call him."

"He might be busy, sweetie," Skye tells her.

Jessica frowns, tears filling her eyes. "I wanna talk to him. He said I can always call him, no matter what."

Skye sighs. "Fine. Let me go and get my phone, okay?"

Jessica just rolls back onto her side, not saying a word.

Skye waits a moment before standing from the bed and making her way out of the room.

"So what happened?" Miles asks her when she enters the kitchen.

"I don't know. She wouldn't tell me."

"Did she say anything at all?"

Skye nods. "She wants to talk to Grant."

"Really?"

Skye nods again. "Yeah. I don't know why, but that actually kind of hurt to hear that she wants to talk to him instead of me."

"And that makes perfect sense," he tells her. "Her entire life you've been the only parent she's had. Now she has her dad and since she's not actually with him, she's probably trying to catch up on all that missing time."

Skye sighs. "Yeah, well, it sucks." She moves over to the counter to pick up her cell phone. "I better see if Grant's available to talk before things get too bad with Jess. I'll be right back."

"Yeah, of course."

Skye gives him a smile before turning to go back down the hallway, unlocking her phone and finding Grant's number.

Hitting the call button, she holds the phone to her ear and waits for him to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Grant, hey, it's me."

"Skye, hey. What's up?"

She bites her bottom lip between her teeth. "Um, are you busy right now?"

"I actually just got out of a meeting, so no."

"Good, that's good."

"Why's that?"

"Oh, uh, it's Jess. She wants to talk to you."

"She does?"

"Yeah. She came home from school and she seemed pretty upset. I tried to ask her what was going on and she wouldn't tell me. All she said is that she wants to talk to you."

"Oh. Okay. Where is she?"

"In her room. Hang on." Skye pulls the phone from her ear and steps over to her daughters' door, pushing the door open and walking inside. "Jess, baby, your dad's on the phone."

Jessica sits up and holds her hand out eagerly for the phone.

Skye hands the phone over to her daughter and then leaves the room, closing the door behind her.

Jessica lies back down on her bed and holds the cell phone up to her ear, clutching her stuffed elephant a little bit closer to her body.

"Dad?"

"Hey, Jess. What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Jess, come on. Your mom said you wanted to talk to me about something. So what's going on?"

Jessica swallows. "Um, today our teacher asked us to talk about our summer and what we did. So I said how I got to meet you. But I didn't say how you're my dad 'cause you and mom told me not to tell anyone. But then Marco called me a liar because he doesn't believe me that I actually met you."

"Oh, Jess. I'm so sorry. That's awful."

"Yeah. And then he kept teasing me out on the playground too. He told me I was a liar and that I didn't really meet you. But we did meet."

"Yes we did. And you know that's the truth. So it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks."

"I know. It just made me really mad."

"Well you don't need to be mad or upset anymore. Because I'm your dad, I love you, and I'm always here for you, okay?"

"Okay."

"Do you think you're going to be alright, now?"

"Yeah."

"Good, that's what I like to hear."

"Thanks, dad."

"Anytime, sweetheart. Now why don't you give the phone back to your mom, okay?"

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too, Jess."

Jessica pulls the phone away from her ear and stands up from her bed, moving towards the door. She pulls open the door and leans out. "Mom! Dad wants to talk to you."

A few seconds later, Skye appears in the hallway. "Hey, baby girl." She smiles at her daughter. "You feeling any better?"

"Yeah. Dad wants to talk to you." She holds the phone out to her mom.

"Okay." Skye takes the phone. "Thanks."

Jessica smiles up at her before retreating back into her room, leaving the door cracked open.

Skye turns and moves into her bedroom, holding the phone up to her ear. "Grant?"

"Hey."

"Hey," she says back, closing the door. "How'd it go? Did she tell you what was wrong?"

"Yeah, she did."

"And?"

"And...some kid at school made her cry today."

Skye's eyes go wide. "What?! Are you serious?"

"Completely. Apparently they were sharing what they did over the summer during class, and she was talking about how she met me, and I guess this kid kept telling her she was lying about the whole thing."

Skye closes her eyes and lets out a deep sigh. "This is why I didn't want to tell her, Grant. This is exactly what I thought was going to happen."

"She didn't tell them I'm her dad, if that's what you're really worried about," he says. "All she told them was that she met me, and this kid is probably one of those 'pics or it didn't happen' types of kids."

"Yeah, well, it did happen. And no one at school besides her two best friends believes her. I knew it was a bad idea right from the beginning. I should have just listened to my gut and not let you convince me otherwise."

"Are you seriously blaming me for this right now?"

Skye shakes her head. "No, that's not what I'm doing."

"Really? Because it kind of sounds like you are."

"I'm not blaming you," she insists. "But if Jess had never met you then she wouldn't have been crying her eyes out at school because of it."

"And if I had known about her in the first place, then we wouldn't be in this whole situation."

"You know you can't blame that all on me. I tried to get in contact with you."

"Well you certainly could have tried a lot harder."

Things are quiet before Grant speaks back up.

"Look, I have some things I need to do right now. Tell Jess I love her and I'll talk to her soon."

The call ends before Skye can get another word out.

Pulling the phone away from her ear, Skye locks it and tosses it angrily onto her bed, resting her hands on her hips and tilting her head back, feeling the tears starting to prick at her eyes.

"You okay?"

Bringing her head back down, Skye gives Miles a watery smile when she sees him in the doorway. "Hey. Yeah, I'm fine. Just uh, just having some slightly horrifying flashbacks to all the fights Grant and I had near the end of our marriage, reminding me why I decided to leave him in the first place."

Miles steps into the room and wraps his arms around her waist. "Well that's all in the past now, Skye. It's time for you to move forward and try to get along with him for Jessica's sake; both of us need to be civil with him, actually. You're lucky Jess was out in the living room so she didn't have to hear you and him on the phone just now."

Skye sighs. "I know." She wipes at her eyes and takes a deep breath before smiling up at her fiancé. "You hungry? I'm thinking spaghetti for dinner tonight."

Miles gives her a small smile. "That sounds delicious."

"Great. You can help me, then." She pulls out of his arms and grabs his hand, pulling him down the hallway with her to the kitchen.

Chapter Text

"Morning, mom." Jessica smiles up at her mom as the older brunette makes her way into the kitchen.

"Good morning, baby girl." Skye smiles back at her daughter, dropping a kiss to the top of her head as she passes by on her way to the coffee maker. "I have a conference this morning with your teacher to talk about how you're doing in class so you're going to stay here and hang out with Miles until I'm done. Then you guys can come and join me at the shop if you want to."

Jessica smiles. "Cool. Can I help Auntie Jemma stock the shelves if there's a new shipment?"

"I think there's a shipment coming in this morning, so I'll tell her to hold off on restocking the shelves until you get there. But you're only allowed to help if you're super careful and ask for help if something's too heavy or too tall."

"I will. Thanks."

Skye smiles. "Anytime."

"Good morning."

"Hi Miles." Jessica smiles in the direction of the front door as Miles steps through into the apartment.

He smiles back at her. "Hey there, kiddo. You ready to hang out with me for a few hours this morning?"

Jessica nods. "Mm-hmm. Mom said we can do whatever we want."

"I did not say that," Skye says, grabbing an energy bar out of one of the cupboards. "You two can do whatever you want within reason."

"Oh, we'll be fine," Miles tells her. "Won't we, Jess?"

Jessica smiles and nods. "Mm-hmm."

Skye looks at Miles pointedly. "You better not get into any trouble while I'm gone."

"I promise you we'll be fine," he assures her. "Now go before you're late for your conference with her teacher. I love you." He dips his head and gives her a kiss.

She smiles up at him. "I love you too." She looks over at Jessica. "Love you, sweet girl."

"Love you too, mom."

"See you both at the shop later." She makes her way to the front door and pulls it open, stepping outside and making her way down the sidewalk to her car.

Stepping up to the door of the classroom, Skye leans in and knocks on the doorframe with her knuckles. "Hello?"

The blonde woman sitting behind the desk at the front of the room looks up from the open notebook n front of her and gives Skye a soft smile. "Hello."

"Hi," she says back, moving forward into the room. "I'm here for a conference."

"Yes, of course. Right on time. You're Jessica's mother, correct?"

Skye nods. "Yes."

The woman smiles. "Well it's great to see you again; I think we met briefly at the back-to-school social. I'm Penny Larson."

"Right, Penny." Skye sits down in the chair in front of the teacher's desk, setting her bag down next to her on the carpet. She takes a deep breath and relaxes into her seat. "So, what can you tell me? How's Jess doing in class?"

"She's doing very well in every subject," Penny tells her. "She's especially excelling in the more creative subjects we practice."

Skye smiles. "She's always been my little artist in every sense of the word."

"Yes, she has a very creatively wired mind which is a really great thing to have at her age. However, I am a little concerned about one thing."

Skye furrows her brows. "What about? She isn't causing any trouble for you in class, is she?"

Penny shakes her head. "No, Jessica's very well behaved."

"Then what is it?"

"Well, I'm not sure if you know about the incident that happened during class on the first day of school between her and another student," Penny says.

"Yeah, I know about it," Skye tells her. "Some kid called Jess a liar repeatedly and she ended up in tears."

Penny nods. "Right. Jessica was telling the class how she met Grant Ward in California over the summer and one of my other students didn't believe her."

"Well she did meet him," Skye says. "He and I knew each other in school and we both happened to be there for our high school reunion. Jessica's a fan so I arranged for them to meet."

Penny lets a small smile grace her lips. "That's great. I was really hoping she was telling the truth."

"My daughter's not a liar," Skye defends her daughter.

"I never said that she was."

"Is that all, then?" Skye asks.

"Actually, the part that has me concerned is this." Penny pulls a sheet of paper out of a file next to her and holds it out to Skye.

"What's this?" Skye asks, glancing down at the paper and then back up at the woman.

"The other day I had all the kids write about one of their favorite people, to practice various writing skills. That's the one that Jessica wrote." She nods towards the paper, signaling for Skye to read.

Skye looks down at the paper and lets her eyes roam over it, reading it silently to herself.

One of my favorite people in the whole world is my dad. For my whole life I didn't know who my dad was, and he didn't know who I was. He didn't even know that I had been born. But over the summer I got to meet him when I went with my mom to California for her high school reunion. I already knew everything about my dad, except for the part about him being my dad.
My dad is Grant Ward the singer. He's always been my favorite singer because he's really good, but knowing that he's also my dad makes it even better.
Dad says he didn't know about me when my mom was pregnant because they got divorced and she moved across the country from Los Angeles to Provincetown before she even knew about me. And a lot of things got in the way of her trying to tell him about me. But he says that if he knew about me then he would have flown all the way here just to see me. I think that's awesome.
My dad's the best, I love him so much. I haven't seen him since the summer but he said he's going to come here for Christmas so we can be together. I don't want to wait until Christmas but mom says I have to. I just want Christmas to be here tomorrow so I can see my dad again. I want to give him his present and go ice skating with him and show him all over where we live. It's going to be the best Christmas ever.
My dad's such a great dad already. He told me I can call him whenever I want to and that he's always going to be there for me. I know that he is because he promised. And you aren't supposed to break promises.
I know that I have my mom, and she's the best mom ever. But I've always wanted to have a dad. And now I do. I'm just not allowed to tell anyone yet, but that's okay, I like it just being us that knows. It's more fun. I love my dad, he's the best.

Skye swallows thickly and wipes a few tears away from her eyes. She looks up at the teacher and sets the paper back down on the desk. "I don't see what the problem is here. She wrote about her dad being one of her favorite people."

"Yes, well, it's not so much the part about her dad being one of her favorite people, as it is about who she says is her dad. I realize it must be tough for her not to have a father, but to—"

"She does have a father," Skye interrupts the teacher.

Jenny nods. "Of course, obviously she has a father out there somewhere. But—"

Skye shakes her head and interrupts the woman again, "No. He's not just 'out there somewhere', he's in California. Grant Ward is her biological father. We dated in high school, got married pretty much right off, got divorced after not even a year, then I moved out here and soon after found out I was pregnant with Jess. I tried telling him but wasn't able to until our ten year high school reunion."

"Oh, I see. Well I apologize for just assuming."

"It's fine." Skye waves her off. "I told Jess not to tell anyone that Grant's her father because I really don't want her face to be plastered in every magazine and social media outlet."

Penny nods. "Understandable."

"Plus, kids can be mean, especially if they don't believe something."

"Very true as well, unfortunately," Penny says.

"Yeah, unfortunately."

Stopping outside the front of her music shop, Skye pulls her phone out of her pocket and quickly unlocks it and goes to Grant's info in her contact list.

She hits the call button next to his name and then holds the phone up to her ear, waiting for him to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Grant, hey. Glad I caught you."

"Skye. What's up? Is everything okay with Jess?"

"Yeah, she's fine."

"Then what's going on? You usually try to avoid calling me unless it has something to do with Jess."

"I don't try and avoid you."

"You sure? Because that's definitely the impression that I've been getting."

"Well I'm sorry you feel that way," she says to him. "I promise it wasn't intentional. Just that besides Jess, we don't have that much in common anymore."

"What about music?" he asks. "You can't tell me that you don't still love making music."

"I don't do that anymore," she tells him.

"You own a music shop, Skye."

"Right. A music shop. Me owning a music shop doesn't mean that I stay up late with multiple cups of coffee writing songs in that notebook you got me."

"You still have it, don't you? You still have your notebook full of song lyrics."

Skye narrows her eyes. "I never said I still have it."

"Yeah, you didn't have to. I know you, Skye. Making music is who you are. You'll never be able to fully cut out that part of your life even if you wanted to."

"Maybe not. But I'm also not making money off of it like you are."

"You were going to," he counters.

"That's one of the reasons I left, Grant," she reminds him. "The money and the contracts and the stress from it all, it put a strain on our marriage and I couldn't take it anymore." She sighs. "Look, I didn't call you to argue, okay?"

"So why did you call?" he asks.

"It's about Jess," she says.

"What? You said she's fine."

Skye nods. "She is. I just got out of a conference with her teacher."

"Oh. And?"

"And her teacher had the class write about their favorite person in the world."

"Okay?"

"You, Grant. She wrote about you. Her father. Her favorite singer in the entire world."

"Oh. Wow."

"Yeah."

"Was it any good?"

"What do you think? She worships you, Grant. Even before she knew you were her father. Of course the paper's good. She's really looking forward to Christmas, by the way."

"As am I," he tells her. "I miss her."

"She misses you too. I don't think phone calls and FaceTime are really doing it for her anymore."

"Well then I guess we'll have to hope that Christmas comes quickly."

"Yes we will. I'm going to let you go now, I just wanted to call you and let you know about her paper."

"Well I appreciate it."

"She really loves you, Grant."

"And I really love her too. I'm never gonna let her go."

Skye's voice is quiet as she speaks. "You said the same thing to me once." There's a brief pause. "Bye, Grant."

Not giving him the chance to answer, she pulls the phone down away from her ear, ends the call, and then slides the device into her pocket as she steps through the front doors of her music shop. The little bell above the door chimes as she steps inside.

"Hi mom!" Jessica exclaims from behind the counter.

Skye smiles at her daughter. "Hey angel." She moves behind the counter and drops a kiss to the top of Jessica's head. "When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes before you did," Miles says, making his way out of the backroom. "How did the conference go?" he asks.

Skye lets out a breath. "Pretty good, actually." She looks down at Jessica. "Your teacher told me that you're doing really well in class."

Jessica smiles. "I really like Mrs. Larson. She's so cool."

Skye smiles and nods. "She definitely is." She takes a deep breath. "So, what have you two been up to while I was gone?" she asks, setting her purse behind the counter and shrugging out of her coat.

"We were gonna help Auntie Jemma restock the shelves," Jessica tells her. "We're making a game out of it to have more fun."

Skye smiles and reaches down to lift Jessica up into her arms, hugging the little girl tightly. "Well then let's go finish that game, huh?"

Jessica grins and then slides out of her mom's arms, darting through the store as she begins talking a mile a minute.

Skye just laughs quietly and follows behind her daughter, Miles right beside her.

"I saw you on the phone outside," Miles whispers in her ear. "You seemed kind of upset. Is everything okay?"

Skye shakes her head. "Not now."

Miles nods. "Okay." He drops a kiss to her head and then they both focus their attention on Jessica, happily joining in on her shelf stocking game.

Chapter Text

"Happy Halloween, people of Los Angeles!" Grant shouts happily as he enters the large party with Lorelei, Kebo, and Hannah.

Everyone cheers back, some of them lifting their drink cups into the air.

"I love Halloween so much," Hannah states as the four adults move off to the side as more people enter the room behind them.

"It is one of the greatest holidays out there," Kebo agrees.

Grant nods. "It most certainly is." He takes a deep breath. "Now, I say we all find the alcohol so this party can really get started."

"Please tell me you're not going to get completely drunk at this party and make a fool of yourself," Lorelei says to him, adjusting the sash on her Goddess costume.

"But that's the best part of Halloween parties when you're old enough to drink," Kebo pipes in. "I remember the Halloween after Grant and I graduated high school, bunch of us went to this party and obviously there was alcohol there cause the people hosting it could actually buy alcohol legally."

"Kebo, I don't think you need to tell this story," Grant cuts in, his eyes slightly wide and his heartbeat picking up just a tad.

Kebo shakes his head and chuckles. "No, trust me, mate, this is a great story." He swallows. "Anyways, Grant and Skye had only been married for about two months at this point and were still somewhat in that honeymoon phase of their marriage."

"Seriously, Kebo. Knock it off."

"Hang on a minute; this is the best part." He grins and shifts on his feet. "So, it's a few hours into the party and we're all hanging around in the central room of the house and someone points out that Grant and Skye have completely disappeared, right? Nobody had seen them since just after the party started and we were all a bit worried so we decided to go looking for them. Only took us a matter of minutes to find them. They'd gotten so sodding drunk within the first little bit of the party and then decided to find an empty room to jump each others' bones in. Had they been sober when we found 'em they probably would have been mortified because when we found 'em they were half naked and her legs were up around his waist; I was scarred for days, thought I was going to have to bleach my brain. I don't even want to think about what would have happened had we not walked in on them, or found them just a few minutes later. I mean, yeah, they were married, but still, they could have at least gone home to do that sort of thing. They didn't even bat an eye when we found 'em. And I'm pretty sure Skye started giggling like a child."

Things are quiet for a moment between the four of them before Lorelei turns sharply to Grant with a raised eyebrow. "You're married?"

Kebo's eyes go wide when he realizes what he just revealed. "Oh my—I am so sorry, Grant. I wasn't thinking and I just started talking and—"

"Already causing problems and you haven't even had a drink yet," Hannah interrupts her husband, grabbing him by the upper arm and pulling him away. She looks at Grant. "Sorry about him." She turns to her husband as she drags him away. "You are absolutely unbelievable," she says through gritted teeth.

"So, you're married," Lorelei says once again when Kebo and Hannah are out of ear-shot.

"No, I was married. And it was a long time ago," Grant corrects her. "But it ended badly so I don't really like to talk about it. I thought Skye and I were going to last forever, but it obviously didn't work out that way seeing as how I'm here and she's on the other side of the country."

"How long were you married for?" she asks him.

"Not long," he tells her. "Less than a year." He sighs. "But I really don't want to talk about that anymore, it's still a pretty tough subject for me. Besides, I'm here with you and I just want to have a good time at this Halloween party. Think you can help me out with that?" he asks her with a small smile.

Lorelei thinks for a moment and then gives him half a smile. "Yes, I think I can help you with that."

Grant's smile widens. "Excellent." He grabs one of her hands in his and leads her out onto the dance floor, joining the large group of people already there.

"That was some party tonight," Grant says as he and Lorelei enter his house. He kicks his shoes off just inside the door and moves further into the house. He removes his phone from the pocket in his pants and sets it down on the coffee table, along with his car keys.

"It most certainly was," Lorelei agrees.

"I still can't believe how idiotic Kebo is. Actually, I can. Yet somehow his idiocy still manages to surprise. Like did he seriously think he'd be able to do that while completely hammered?" He sighs and shakes his head. "Sometimes I wonder why I'm still friends with him," he says with a small laugh.

"Yes, well what should we do now?" she asks him. "It's pretty late."

"Technically it's early," Grant tells her. "That party went all night. I'm pretty wiped. Though, if you want, I could make us something to eat before we both ultimately pass out from exhaustion."

"That sounds great."

"Awesome. What do you want?" he asks as he makes his way into the kitchen.

"Surprise me," she says with a small smile as she roams into the living room, sitting down on one of the couches. Grant's phone pings a second later, drawing Lorelei's attention to it.

"Then prepare to have your mind blown," he tells her as he moves about the kitchen. "I am the master of cooking food, especially those of the breakfast variety."

"I'm sure you are," she says to him, listening as his phone goes off twice more.

She eyes his phone for a moment, waiting for it to go off again, and when it doesn't, she pulls out her own cell phone and begins scrolling through her Twitter feed after unlocking it, liking and retweeting the occasional tweet.

Her eyes shoot up when Grant's phone goes off again, twice in succession. Glancing back towards the kitchen, she leans forward and grabs his phone, clicking the home button to light up the lock screen, allowing her to see the messages still on the screen.

Tightening her jaw upon seeing the name attached to the messages, Lorelei stands from the couch and strides into the kitchen where Grant is standing at the stove with his back to her.

"Um, Grant?" she speaks up, gaining his attention.

"Hey," he replies, glancing at her over his shoulder as he finishes up breakfast for the two of them. "You're just in luck, breakfast is just about done," he tells her as he cooks.

"If your marriage ended so badly, then why is your ex wife texting you?" she asks him in response. "And why is she sending you a picture of a little girl she says is your daughter?"

Grant spins around to find the red-head holding his phone up to show him the image of his daughter smiling wide on the screen, dressed up in her Halloween costume, a bucket filled to the brim with candy in her arms.

"Why do you have my phone?" he asks her, his brows furrowing together. "Isn't it considered an invasion of privacy to go through someone's phone without their permission?"

"It kept going off," she explains. "It was getting a tad annoying so I picked it up to silence it when I saw this message from Skye, whom I could have sworn you said was your ex wife. I thought you said it ended badly between the two of you, so I really don't know why you'd be corresponding with her."

Grant sighs and takes the phone from her, looking down at it to tap a quick message That is a lot of candy. Hope you aren't going to let her eat all of it in one go :), hit send, and then lock it. He looks back up at Lorelei. "Things did end badly between us," he tells his girlfriend. "But we ran into each other again at our high school reunion this summer and that's when I found out about my daughter. The little girl in that photo is my daughter Jessica. She's eight, looks just like me, and is completely amazing. Skye never told me about her because she left me before she knew she was pregnant and wasn't able to ever get into contact with me."

Lorelei nods. "I see. And how often do you get to see your daughter?" she asks him.

"Not as often as I would like, if I'm being completely honest with you. It's only been three months since we met and she lives on the other side of the country and so far I've only gotten to talk with her over the phone and FaceTime. She and I had lunch together when she was here over the summer but I haven't actually seen her in person since then. But I'm going to where she lives to spend some time with her for Christmas."

"Really."

He nods. "Yes."

"And if I hadn't seen those messages and found out on my own, were you ever going to tell me about her? Or just continue to keep her a secret?"

"I'm not keeping her a secret, Lorelei, not really."

"Then what?"

Grant sighs. "Skye doesn't want anyone finding out about me being Jessica's father because she's worried that because of how famous I am it would cause issues, mainly for Jess. I didn't argue with her because I just want to get to know Jess first before the media eventually finds out and starts prying into things."

"That's understandable. So what happens now?"

He furrows his brows. "What do you mean?"

"You have a daughter with your ex-wife, Grant. I can't just overlook that."

"And I'm not asking you to. The fact that I have a daughter doesn't change anything between us."

"But it does, Grant," she insists.

"Why does it have to? I like you, Lorelei, you're an incredible woman. But I don't see how me having a daughter has to change that."

Lorelei sighs. "Listen, I really like you too, Grant, you're wonderful. But I need some time to think. I'm not saying I'm ending things; I just need some space and time to think things through. I'll call you." Without giving him a chance to respond, she turns around and makes her way towards the front door.

Grant listens to her walk across the hardwood floor and then the front door open and close tightly.

Letting out a sigh, he makes his way out of the kitchen and into the living room, dropping down onto the couch and leaning back into it. Running one hand down his face in frustration, he reaches out for the remote television remote control and turns it on, distracting himself with whatever is currently playing.

Picking up his cell phone off the coffee table, Grant unlocks the device and goes into his contacts, finding Skye's name and tapping on it for a phone call. He holds the phone up to his ear and bounces his knee up and down as he waits for her to answer, reaching out to affectionately rub the top of Max's head as the German Sheppard comes up to him and rests his head on his other leg.

"Hello?"

"Skye, hey. How are you?"

"Good. You?"

He shrugs. "Pretty good. You guys have a good Halloween?"

"As well as one can. Jess got quite a bit of candy last night."

He smiles. "Yeah, I saw the picture. She looked very proud of herself."

"She was definitely very proud," Skye tells him. "So what's with the call?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to call and say hey."

"Seriously, Grant? I may just be talking to you over the phone and can't see your face but I still know you very well. What's going on?"

Grant sighs. "Okay, so, something may have happened earlier that I really think I should tell you about."

"Well what is it?"

He hesitates for a moment. "Um, somebody else found out about Jess."

"What? Who?"

"My girlfriend Lorelei."

"Your girlfriend? I didn't know you were seeing anyone."

He shifts in his seat and leans back into the couch, crossing one arm over his chest. "Yeah, well, I don't have to tell you every aspect of what goes on in my life anymore," he bites, maybe a bit harsher than he should have.

"Right, of course. How exactly did she find out? Did you tell her?"

"No, Skye, I didn't tell her. I told you I wouldn't tell anyone else until you gave the okay and I haven't. My phone was going off because you were texting me and she went to silence it because I was out of the room and she saw the photo of Jess and confronted me about it."

"I see."

"Yeah. And it really didn't help matters that she only found out about you and I being married once upon time because Kebo acts like an idiot even when he isn't drunk."

"You can always count on Kebo to be the go-to idiot when you don't need one," she says.

Grant chuckles. "Don't I know it. Pretty sure his wife read him the riot act afterwards."

"Good for her. So is this girlfriend of yours going to go to the press and tell them all about Grant Ward's secret child?"

"I honestly don't know. She said she needed some time to think about things and then left. I don't think she'd be the type of person to go around telling everyone, but I can't be sure."

"Right, well, I guess the cat was going to come out of the bag sooner or later. I just hoped there'd be more time for me to really come to terms with all of this."

"What are you talking about, Skye? One person found out. That's it."

"And pretty soon more people will start to find out. Your life's very much out there for everyone to see, Grant. People are going to find out eventually. I was just hoping we'd have a little bit more control over things."

"We still can," he tells her.

"Really? How?"

"Well, if Lorelei doesn't say anything to anyone, and I'm really hoping she won't, then at some point down the line, one or both of us can make some kind of statement or post online, though it'd probably have more reception coming from me because of who I am. That way we still have some control over when it comes out."

"That's…actually not a bad idea."

He smiles. "I have been known to have a good one on occasion."

"Right." She takes a deep breath. "Okay, so, we just go with the flow, then? Decide when the right time to tell the rest of the world is?"

Grant nods. "Yeah, something like that."

Chapter Text

"Hello?"

"Hi, dad." Jessica smiles into the receiver of her mom's cell phone as she holds it up against her ear, lying back on her bed.

"Hey, sweetheart," Grant says back. "How are you?"

"Good. Thanksgiving Break is almost here. Not until the end of the month, though."

"Are you excited for it?"

"Yeah. Papa and Nana are coming over."

"That's sounds like fun. Do they visit you every year for Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah. Except for last year. They couldn't come last year because Papa was sick."

"Well then it's a good thing they're coming this year, huh?"

Jessica nods. "Uh-huh. What are you doing for Thanksgiving, dad?"

"Well, I actually wanted to talk to you about that. Have you ever seen the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?"

"Only on TV," she tells him. "But I really wanna see it in person. It'd be so cool."

"How would you like to?"

She furrows her brows. "What?"

"If it's okay with your mom, I want you guys to come to New York and watch me perform on a float in the parade this year. If that's okay with your mom, of course."

Jessica grins. "I'm gonna go ask her right now. Stay here."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay. I'll be right back." Setting the phone down on her bed, Jessica stands up and runs out of her bedroom and into the living room where Skye and Miles are sitting together on the couch, watching something on TV. "Mom," she says. "Can we go to New York for Thanksgiving?"

Skye looks over at her daughter and furrows her brows. "What? Why do you want to go to New York? We're having Thanksgiving here with your grandparents like we do every year."

"I know. But dad said that he's singing on a float in the Macy's parade and he wants us to go there to watch him. Can we? Please?"

Skye bites her lip between her teeth. "Um, I don't know, baby girl. Let me think about it, okay?"

"Pleeeeaaase?" Jessica pleads, folding her hands together. "I haven't seen dad since July. Please?"

"Jessica Katherine, stop that right now. I said I'll think about it."

Jessica sighs. "Fine." She turns around and sulks back down the hallway to her bedroom.

Going over to her bed, she picks up the cell phone and holds it up to her ear. "Dad?"

"Still here, sweetheart."

"I asked mom about New York," she tells him.

"And what did she say?" he asks.

"That she's gonna think about it."

"Well then you just need to wait for her to give you an answer. If she says no, that's okay. I'll just see you at Christmas."

Jessica sighs. "Okay. Hey dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you just released your album a few months ago, but do you have any new songs you're working on?" she asks him, leaning back on her bed.

"I've got a few things. I think some of them are almost done but there are a few I'm still struggling with."

"Can I hear something?" she asks.

"You really want to hear something?"

Jessica nods her head. "Yeah."

Grant lets out a breath. "Alright, let me see what I can find to play for you."

A knock at his front door pulls Grant's attention away from his notebook of lyrics open in front of him. Setting his pencil down in the spine, he closes the notebook and stands from the couch, making his way across the room towards the door.

Pulling the door open, he stills when he sees Lorelei standing on the other side.

"Lorelei, hey, how are you?"

She gives him a slight smile. "I'm doing well. May I come in?"

"Yeah, of course." He steps back and opens the door wider, allowing her to move inside. He closes the door behind her and turns to face the red headed woman. "So, what's up? I wasn't sure when I'd hear from you again. And I thought you'd call."

"I thought about calling, but I figured this would be better done in person."

"You're not breaking up with me, are you?" he asks her.

She shakes her head. "No, I'm not. I thought a lot about it, about the fact that you have a daughter and as much as I wish you would have told me, I understand why you didn't. Or, I'm trying to. And I realize that it wouldn't be fair of me to just leave you because you have a daughter."

"I'm really glad you said that. My daughter is a huge part of my life now, and that isn't going to change anytime soon. Not for anything."

Lorelei nods. "I know. I really like you, Grant," she tells him with a small smile.

He smiles back. "I really like you too." He steps forward and wraps his arms around her waist. "So are we good, then?" he asks her.

She nods. "Yes, I think we are."

"Great." He leans down and gives her a soft kiss, smiling against her lips.

His phone going off in his pocket breaks them from their kiss and Grant pulls away to answer the call when he sees Skye's name and Jess' photo on the screen. He holds the phone up to his ear. "Jess?"

"No, it's Skye."

"Oh. Hey. What's up?"

"Um, I just wanted to call you back about what you said to Jess the other day, about going to watch you at the parade."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I uh, we'll be there, at the parade to watch you. Jess got pretty excited when I told her we'd be going. Even if you hadn't called, and she saw the news of you being in it, she still probably would have begged me to go."

Grant chuckles. "Right."

"And uh, I was wondering, if you were up for it, after the parade, you could come back to Provincetown with us for Thanksgiving dinner. So you can spend some more time with Jess, of course. I'm sure she'd love it."

Grant smiles. "I would love to, yeah." He glances over at Lorelei. "Hey, Skye?"

"Yeah?"

"Would it be alright if I brought someone with me to dinner?"

"I guess. Who did you want to bring?"

"My girlfriend."

"Oh, right, um, yeah. Th-that should be fine. If she's okay with that then yeah, go ahead and bring her. The more the merrier, right?"

"Right." He takes a deep breath. "So I'll see you in a couple of weeks, then."

"A couple of weeks, yeah. Bye, Grant."

"Bye."

He pulls the phone from his ear and ends the call, sliding the device back into his pocket.

"So where exactly will I be going?"

Grant turns towards his girlfriend and gives her a toothy smile. "Provincetown, Massachusetts for Thanksgiving."

"And what is in Provincetown, if you don't mind my asking? Though, I may have pieced it together based on what I heard you say."

"I invited Skye and Jessica to New York to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since I'm going to be in it, and Skye was just calling me to say that they'll be going and then she invited me to have Thanksgiving dinner with them back in Provincetown. And I said yes and then asked if I could bring you with me. If you think you'll be too uncomfortable you don't have to go, and I realized I should have asked you first, but it was kind of a spur of the moment type of thing. So what do you say?"

Lorelei purses her lips as she stares at Grant. A moment later she lets out a sigh. "I suppose it shouldn't be too bad meeting your daughter. It was bound to happen eventually, right?"

Grant grins. "Lorelei, you're amazing. I promise you this is going to be a good thing. The two special girls in my life are going to meet; this is good, this is really good."

"Dad!" Jessica exclaims when she sees Grant making his way across the airport floor. She darts straight over to him across the carpet and wraps her arms tightly around him in a hug. "I missed you so much."

Grant smiles and hugs her back, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I missed you too, sweetheart."

"Did you have a good flight?" Jessica asks him.

Grant nods his head. "I did, thanks for asking." He stands up and smiles over at the other brunette. "Hey, Skye."

She gives him a small smile back. "Hey. I'm uh, I'm glad you could be here."

"Me too."

"Grant, darling, aren't you going to make the introductions?" Lorelei speaks as she steps up beside him, looping her arm through his.

He nods. "Right, yes. Lorelei, this is my ex-wife Skye, and my daughter Jessica. Skye, Jess, this is Lorelei, my girlfriend."

"It's nice to meet you," Skye says, giving the woman a strained smile.

"You as well," Lorelei replies, giving an equally as strained smile.

"You're a model, right?" Jessica speaks up.

Lorelei looks down at the young girl and nods. "I am, yes. You know of my work?"

Jessica shrugs. "Kinda. I see it on billboards and stuff. Do you love my dad?" she asks.

"Jessica," Skye reprimands.

"Oh, um, isn't that a bit of a personal question?" Lorelei responds. Jessica just tilts her head. "Well, either way, I think that's a question that should really be discussed between me and your father first, when we don't have an audience."

"So you don't love him?"

"I think we should probably get going now," Skye cuts in, placing her hands on Jessica's shoulders and pulling her daughter back against her. "You two are staying at a hotel while you're here, right?"

Grant nods. "Yes. I think I'm free all day tomorrow and then I have rehearsal the morning after that for the parade and then I'm free in the afternoon and evening. And obviously Thanksgiving Day I have the parade in the morning."

"Great. So then do you just want to come over tomorrow morning?" Skye asks him.

Grant nods and gives a small smile. "Yeah, that should be great. Lorelei, are you cool with that?" he asks his girlfriend.

She smiles softly. "Of course."

He looks back at Skye. "Tomorrow morning it is, then."

Skye nods. "Yes. Tomorrow."

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Grant asks his girlfriend. "I know that spending time with my ex and my daughter probably isn't your ideal way to spend a day."

"It definitely would not have been my first choice, you're right," she says with a small nod. "However, this seems to be quite important to you, so I'm willing to do this for you."

Grant smiles at her and leans down to press a quick kiss to her lips. "Thank you."

His phone goes off in his pocket as he's pulling away from Lorelei. He pulls the device out and smiles when he sees his sister's name and a photo of his two nephews on the screen.

Hitting the green answer button he holds the device up to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, little brother. How are you?"

"Doing alright. I'm in Massachusetts right now so I can spend Thanksgiving with my daughter."

"Well that's certainly exciting."

"It really is. Tomorrow I have to rehearse for the parade, but today I get to spend all day with Jess, so that's going to be fun. I'm actually walking up to the front door of her apartment right now as we speak."

"Oh, do you want me to hang up then?"

"Actually," Grant says as he reaches out and knocks on the door, "I was thinking that maybe you'd like to talk to her. I know it won't be the same as meeting her in person, but I think she'd really like it."

"That sounds like a really great idea," she tells him.

"I'm glad you think so. As soon as I get inside I'll let you talk to her."

"Awesome."

"Hi, dad!" Jessica shouts excitedly as the door swings open. She rushes across the threshold and wraps her arms around him in a hug.

Grant smiles and hugs her back. "Hey, sweetheart. How are you?"

She pulls back and looks up at him. "Good. You?"

"Much better now that I'm here with you."

Jessica smiles and then looks over at Lorelei. "Hi," she says simply, a smaller smile on her face.

Lorelei gives her a small wave. "Hello."

There's a quiet beat before Jessica steps back into the apartment, Grant and Lorelei right behind her.

"Hey, Jess, guess who I'm on the phone with right now?" Grant says to his daughter after he closes the door and removes his shoes and jacket.

"Who?" Jessica asks, jumping up to sit on the couch.

"My sister, your aunt," he tells her, moving to sit next to her.

Jessica grins. "Can I talk to her?"

"Of course you can."

"Wait, Grant, switch it over to FaceTime," Amanda instructs him through the phone speaker. "I want to see her too."

"You got it," he replies, pulling the phone down from his ear. He taps on the screen and switches the audio call to a video call through FaceTime. Once it connects, he smiles at his sisters' smiling face. "Hey there, beautiful."

"Hey, Dougie. Good to see you. Now where's that cute little niece of mine?"

"She's right here, hang on." Grant turns the phone around so Jessica and Amanda can see each other and hands the device over to his daughter. "Amanda, meet Jessica. Jessica, meet your Aunt Amanda."

"Wow," Amanda says, letting out a breath. "She really is your spitting image, Grant."

"That's what Skye always says," Grant replies, leaning closer to Jessica so he's in the screen as well.

"She's definitely right on that front," Amanda tells him. "It's almost like I'm looking at you as a kid if you had long hair. Oh wait, you did have long hair for a little while, didn't you?"

Grant groans. "Mandy, you said you'd never bring that up."

She shakes her head. "No, I said I'd be sure not to mention it in front of any of your fans or reporters. Never said I wouldn't bring it up in general."

"You had long hair?" Jessica asks, looking at her dad.

"Once, and it was a very long time ago."

"Oh, I remember that haircut," Skye pipes in as she enters the living room. "You looked like an idiot for months, yet you thought you actually looked cool."

"I did at first," he insists.

Skye laughs and shakes her head. "No you didn't."

"Skye? Is that you?"

Skye stops and moves towards the couch, leaning against the back of it to look at the phone. "Amanda, hi. It's been a long time."

"That it has," Amanda says with a nod. "How are you?"

Skye lets out a breath, relaxing a bit. "As well as I can be. I forgot how much of a hassle wedding planning can be, though," she says. "Not quite as stressful now as it was at seventeen, but still stressful nonetheless."

Amanda raises an eyebrow. "You're getting married? Again?"

Skye nods. "I am. His name is Miles, and he's really great. Right, Jess?" She looks down at her daughter.

Jessica smiles and nods. "Yeah. He's awesome."

"Well as long as you're both happy."

"We are," Skye confirms.

"Aunt Amanda?" Jessica speaks up.

"You can call me Aunt Mandy, sweetheart," Amanda tells her. "Pretty much everyone just uses Mandy. The only one who still calls me Amanda is Gramsy."

"How is Gramsy?" Skye asks. "She made the best chocolate chip cookies known to man."

"She's doing okay," Amanda tells her. "The boys and I go see her every Sunday."

"You've got two boys?" Skye asks. She looks at her daughter. "Jess, you have cousins."

Jessica smiles. "Yeah. I remember reading about them one time in an interview dad did. And he posts pictures of them sometimes."

"Hey, Dougie, is it weird to have a daughter who knows pretty much everything about you, yet you're still getting to know her?"

"A little," Grant admits. "But there are still some things she doesn't know. I don't spill all my secrets when I do interviews."

"You don't?" Jessica asks.

Grant shakes his head. "Nope. If I did, then you probably already would have pieced together that I'm your dad if I had mentioned being married to your mom."

"Oh, yeah."

"But that doesn't mean you won't get to know more about me the more time we spend together. Because I plan on making sure that we know just about everything we can about each other."

Jessica smiles up at him. "Awesome."

"Why do you seem so nervous right now?" Skye asks Grant as they make their way down the street towards the park. "You're just going to see Fitz and Jemma."

Grant nods. "Yes, I know. They're two of the people who probably hated my guts for as long as humanly possible because of what went down between us."

"Hey, you're not the only one at fault there," she tells him. "We both said and did things that we regret."

"Maybe so, but they definitely didn't seem to have any qualms about showing where their allegiance lied."

Skye rolls her eyes. "Knock it off, Grant. They came with me because I needed the support, and out of all of our friends, I was closest with them."

"What about Kebo?" Grant asks.

Skye scrunches up her nose. "Kebo was more like the stray puppy that followed you around everywhere and always begged for food but you never got the heart to toss him out into the cold or a pound. And he was always more your friend than mine."

"True, but he still really liked you."

"And I tolerated him," Skye says with a teasing smile, causing Grant to laugh. "Oh, hang on," Skye says when she hears her phone going off in her bag. She reaches inside and pulls the device out, seeing Miles' name and photo displayed on the screen. "I've got to take this real quick," she tells Grant. "You can just wait right over there," she says, pointing to a nearby bench. "Fitz and Jemma should be here soon."

He nods as she steps away to answer the call and then makes his way over to the indicated bench, sitting down on it and letting out a breath as he looks around.

"I'll be damned, it really is Grant Ward."

Grant looks up to see Fitz and Jemma approaching him, Jemma narrowing her eyes at her Fitz as she smacks him on the arm and then gestures to the young boy in her arms. "We talked about monitoring our language around Noah."

"Right, sorry." He looks back at Grant, stopping once he and Jemma reach the bench. "I still can't believe you're actually here. It's been ages."

Grant stands up from the bench and breathes in deeply. "That it has. And who's this little guy?" he asks, gesturing to the small boy Jemma's holding.

"This is our son, Noah FitzSimmons," Jemma tells him.

Grant smiles. "Hey there, Noah. You're like the perfect mix between your mom and dad. How old is he?"

"Almost two," Jemma tells him. "His birthday is next month on the fifth."

"Wow, that must be exciting for you."

Jemma nods. "It is. Being a parent is a wonderful experience."

"Yeah, I'm starting to figure that out myself. I mean, I missed all the firsts when she was younger, but there are still a few more firsts I get to be there for and I'm doing my best to make up for lost time."

"Hey, Grant?" Fitz speaks up, gaining the other man's attention again.

"Yeah?"

"We're sorry."

Grant furrows his brows. "About what?"

"Never telling you about Jessica," Fitz says. "You have to believe that we would have told you if we were able to. But after Skye tried contacting you she seemed pretty upset over the whole ordeal and we didn't think it would be right for us to tell you against her wishes, even if we had been able to get in contact with you."

"It's fine," Grant assures them. "I understand. You have nothing to be sorry about, you were just being there for your friend and supporting her."

"But you were our friend too," Jemma tells him, shifting Noah up higher on her hip.

"Like I said, it's fine. What matters now is that I'm a part of Jessica's life, and I get to be there for her whenever she needs me. The past is the past; I don't blame you guys for not telling me, it was never your job to tell me. And I don't blame Skye either, she tried. All I want to focus on is the present, and getting to be there for my daughter as much as I possibly can."

Jemma smiles up at him. "That's great, the perfect thing to focus on."

Grant smiles. "Yeah, it is."

Chapter Text

"This is so awesome!" Jessica exclaims with a wide smile as she bounces up and down on her feet while watching the floats and performers travel down the parade route on the street in front of her. "I can't believe we're here. We're actually at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! This is so cool."

"And I still can't believe I actually let you talk me into this," Skye says to her fiancé.

"Come on, Skye," Miles says to her. "It's not that bad, it's just a parade. We've watched this so many times on TV. And it's not like Jess hasn't spent time with Grant already since he's been here."

Skye sighs. "Yeah, I know. Are you cold at all, baby?" she asks her daughter.

Jessica shakes her head. "No, I'm fine right now."

"Okay. But let me know if you get cold at any point, alright?"

"I will. I think I'm too excited to get cold, though. I can't wait to see dad perform. This is gonna be so awesome." She grins wide as she focuses back on the current performance in front of her, right on the large green carpet in front of the Macy's store.

The float begins moving down the street again when the performance is over, all the fans along the side of the street clapping and cheering.

"Mom, look! There he is!" Jessica shouts and points after a moment once she sees the float Grant is on making its way down the street towards them. "Do you see him, mom? Do you see him?"

"Yeah, I see him, baby girl," Skye says to her daughter, running a hand down the top of her head.

Skye turns her attention to the float and watches as Grant smiles and waves to the crowd before looking down at his guitar. He pulls the pick out of his teeth and strums, one of his band members playing the opening drum beat from a set up on the bottom level of the float.

At the same time they both play the opening note, Grant opens his mouth and starts to sing into the mic.

I feel just like Picasso
And you're my masterpiece
I painted you a lifetime
Now what's left are memories
Oooh

Sunlight's in the curtains
Diamonds in the trees
I gave you colors blue and gold
As you lay upon the sheets
Something so familiar drawn from this blank page
Every line from my hand takes me back to what I can't erase
No matter how I try, no matter what I do
I'm still painting pictures of you

If I should go crazy, if I would go blind
I'd still fill the canvas from the pictures in my mind
If that's the only way to make you mine

It was something so familiar
Drawn from this blank page
Every line from my hand takes me back to what I can't erase
No matter how I try, no matter what I do
I'm still painting pictures, I'm always painting pictures
Still painting pictures of you

Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh...

When the song finishes, Grant smiles and waves out to the crowd as the float starts moving again, carrying him the rest of the way down the road towards the final resting place for floats.

"Can we go meet dad at the end where all the floats are?" Jessica asks from her place in the crowd, looking up at her mom with eager eyes.

"It's probably really chaotic over there, Jess," Skye tells her. "Besides, the parade isn't over yet. Don't you want to see Santa at the end of it?"

Jessica shakes her head. "No. I wanna go see dad."

Skye sighs. "Alright, come on. But hold my hand please; I don't want to lose you in this crowd."

"Okay." She reaches up and grabs hold of her mom's hand, tugging on it as she starts to make her way through the large crowd of people still standing around and watching the parade.

.

.

.

"Dad!"

Grant turns around from where he's talking to Lorelei and smiles wide when he sees Jessica quickly approaching him. "There's my favorite girl." He stoops down and opens his arms up to her, hugging her tight. "How'd you like my show out there?" he asks her.

Jessica beams. "It was so awesome. You were really good, dad."

"Glad to hear it." He stands back up and looks at Skye and Miles. "How'd you guys like it?" he asks them.

"It was pretty cool," Miles says. "I always wondered what it would be like to see the parade live."

"And now you have."

Miles nods. "Yes I have. Even if we didn't get to see the entire thing because Jess wanted to come over here to see you."

"Because I missed him," Jessica tells him.

"You just spent all day with him the other day," Skye reminds her daughter.

Jessica just shrugs, causing the three adults to laugh to themselves.

"What about you, Skye?" Grant asks, turning towards her. "What did you think?"

Skye shrugs. "It was okay."

Grant raises an eyebrow. "Seriously? That's all you have to say?"

"What else do you want me to say?" she asks.

"Maybe that your mind was blown with how cool it was, or that you were secretly wishing you could have been up there with me performing. Don't even try and deny it, because I know it's always been a dream of yours to play in this parade."

"That was a long time ago," she tells him. "I have new dreams now."

Grant just smiles. "Some dreams never die."

"Hey dad?" Jessica speaks up.

He looks down at her. "Yeah?"

"How come Kebo wasn't playing drums on the float? He's your drummer."

"He is my drummer," Grant says with a nod. "But he and his wife go to her parent's house every year for the holiday and he wouldn't have been able to be there and here cause her family lives in Europe. And even though he would have loved to have been here, he decided to spend the time with his in-laws since he doesn't see them too often."

"Oh. Okay."

Grant smiles at her and then takes a deep breath. "Now, why don't we all get out of the cold and find somewhere warm to go."

"We can go back to our house," Jessica suggests. "You and Lorelei can come over too, dad."

"As long as you're mom is okay with it," Grant says, looking at Skye.

Skye sighs and nods. "It's fine. I already said that you can have dinner with us tonight. And you might want to stay over for the night too," she tells him. "It'll probably be pretty late by the time dinner is over and you shouldn't be driving so long at that time of night. You two can just use the living room since the guest room will be taken?"

"Is it going to be taken by your parents?" he asks her. "Are they going to be there? Because I really don't want to cause any trouble."

"Why would there be trouble?" Jessica asks.

"There's not going to be any trouble, baby girl," Skye tells her daughter. She looks back at Grant. "Everything will be fine. It's my house, my rules. If they don't like it, tough."

"Well then we should probably get going," Grant says, taking hold of Lorelei's hand. "We'll follow behind you guys in the rental."

"Can I go with dad?" Jessica asks, looking up at her mother.

Skye thinks for a moment. "Um, I guess that should be okay."

Jessica smiles. "Awesome." She grabs onto Grant's other hand and begins tugging him towards the parking lot.

Grant chuckles. "Slow down, Jess. We'll get to the car eventually, no need to rush."

Jessica sighs and stops pulling on his hand. "Fine. But can we please go now?"

Grant nods. "Yeah, we can go." He looks at Skye. "We'll see you at your place."

"See you there," Skye says, watching as they walk away towards the parking lot.

Setting the platter of turkey down in the center of the table, Skye stands back and places her hands on her hips with a pleased smile on her lips, letting her eyes roaming over the place settings and different food items set out.

"Dinner's ready," she calls out through the small apartment.

The sound of multiple pairs of feet echo off the floor as her family makes their way into the room.

"Everything looks great, Skye," her mother tells her with a smile.

Skye smiles back. "Thanks, mom. I just hope it tastes great too."

"It always does," Miles comments, pressing a kiss to her temple as he moves to his chair.

"Wait, Skye actually cooked all of this?" Grant asks, gesturing to the food on the table as he and Lorelei make their way into the kitchen.

Skye nods. "Yes, I did."

"Really?" he asks with a raised brow. "Wow. Last I knew, you couldn't make a grilled cheese sandwich without burning something. I usually had to make everything for you even before we were together."

"Yeah, well, when you become a single parent in a city you've never been to before, you end up doing what you can to survive and keep your kid alive."

"So you learned to cook, then? I'm impressed."

"Wasn't looking to impress," she says. "Just survive." She takes a deep breath and claps her hands together once. "Okay everybody, take a seat somewhere at the table so we can get this holiday meal started." She sits down in her chair and scoots closer to the table.

Everyone moves towards the table, sitting down in their chairs and getting comfortable.

"Can dad carve the turkey?" Jessica asks when she's settled in her seat between her parents.

"Don't I always carve the turkey, Jess?" Phil speaks up to his granddaughter.

"I want dad to do it this year," Jessica says.

"Sorry, Jess," Grant says to his daughter, "I've never carved a turkey before. I'll just let your grandpa do it again if he's the one who always does it."

Phil raises his eyebrows. "You're going to let me?"

"Okay," Skye speaks up before an argument can break out. "Dad, go ahead and carve the turkey for everyone, please, I think we're all a little eager to start eating."

Phil nods his head and grabs the carving knife to begin cutting into the turkey, serving out slices to everyone around the table.

"Dad, have you really never carved a turkey before?" Jessica asks.

Grant shakes his head. "Nope. Kebo, Hannah, and I usually just have turkey TV dinners on Thanksgiving every year in LA."

"All that money at your disposal and you don't have some extravagant Thanksgiving party with your sister and her family or hundreds of your closest friends?" Skye asks him.

Grant shrugs."I guess I could do that. But I kind of like it being just me and Kebo. He's one of the only ones I have around still in LA that I genuinely care about, besides my family, of course. Well, him and his wife Hannah."

"Oh, wow," Skye says quietly, a small frown on her face.

"But now you have me and mom," Jessica says.

Grant smiles and pulls Jessica into a side hug, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "That I do." He takes a deep breath and reaches for his glass, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention. "Before we all start eating, I just want to say something real quick. Usually, at this time of year, I'm back in LA with just my best friend and his wife and maybe one or two somewhat close friends, eating awful turkey TV dinners. But this year...this year is the best Thanksgiving I could ever have. Because I have my beautiful daughter to spend the holiday with, as well as her equally as beautiful mother, someone I never thought I'd see again in this lifetime. I'm very glad and extremely thankful to be able to spend the holiday with you all. Happy Thanksgiving."

Skye smiles kindly at him and gives him a small nod of her head. "Happy Thanksgiving, Grant."

"Happy Thanksgiving, dad," Jessica says with a wide smile. "Can we eat now?"

.

.

.

"You can post something if you want."

Grant looks up from his phone to see Skye standing against the wall near the hallway, her arms crossed casually in front of her. "What?"

"I said you can post something if you want to. A picture of you and Jess. There are already a handful of people who know what's going on and sooner or later it's bound to get out to the rest of the world that she's your daughter. It's better that we get on it first, right?"

Grant nods slowly. "Yeah. I guess that makes sense."

Skye nods once. "Good, I'm glad." She turns to make her way down the hall when Grant calls out for her again. She looks over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

"I meant what I said at dinner earlier. I know we'll never be together again because you're marrying Miles and I wouldn't want to get in the way of that, you guys seem really happy together, but I am grateful to be back in your life, even if it is just as friends."

"We're not friends, Grant," she tells him. "At least, not right now. I don't think there's a word to describe what we are at this point in our relationship."

"Do you think we can ever be friends again?" he asks her. "We were friends long before we got together."

"I know that," she says with a small nod. "And maybe we can one day. After all, we'll probably be seeing a whole lot of each other for the rest of our lives because of Jess."

Grant nods. "Very true. Well, uh, goodnight, I guess."

"Yeah, goodnight." She turns back around and continues down the hallway, leaving Grant in the dimly lit living room.

Looking back at his phone, Grant goes to his Instagram app and hits the new photo button, going into his camera roll to find a photo.

He scrolls a little and then smiles at the photo he finds, one of him and Jess taken earlier in the day. They're both smiling wide for the camera while Jessica is making bunny ears behind his head, trying to suppress a laugh.

Hitting the next button, Grant taps inside the text box and writes a caption This Thanksgiving there's one thing I'm thankful for above all else; my beautiful, amazing, incredible daughter. I love your goofy self so much, Jess, you're already my entire world. I'm so thankful to get to be a part of your life now. I've missed so much already and I certainly don't plan on missing any more.

Chapter Text

Using the eraser of his pencil, Grant leans forward over the edge of his guitar and gets rid of one of the lines of lyrics in his notebook, quickly scribbling down something else while mumbling under his breath. He sticks the pencil behind his ear and leans back, replacing his fingers on the strings of his guitar. He looks down at the notebook, gently strumming as he sings quietly to himself.

Letting a pleased smile cross his lips, he removes the pencil from behind his ear and sets it in the spine of the notebook, closing it and then setting his guitar off to the side, letting it lean against the front of the couch. "I think this song is just about done, Max," he says to the German Sheppard lying next to the end of the couch. "I think I'm finally getting my mojo back for writing music. But now I think I need a little break, maybe get a snack or something. What do you think, boy? Do you want a snack too?"

Max's head shoots up and he lets out an excited bark.

Grant chuckles. "Alright, come on." He gestures with his head towards the kitchen and then stands from the couch, making his way towards the other room, Max following behind him, the dog's tail wagging eagerly.

He stops short just inside the kitchen when he hears a knock at the front door. He looks down at Max and smiles apologetically. "Sorry, boy. Let me go see who's at the door first, and then I'll get you a treat." He rubs the top of Max's head as he walks past him and towards the front door.

"Lorelei," he says when he opens the door to find his girlfriend standing on the other side. "Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you had a concept meeting today."

She nods. "I did. But we got finished early and I wanted to come by and speak with you."

"About what?" he asks her, pulling the door open wider, allowing her to step into the house.

"About us," she tells him, turning to face him once she's in the room.

Grant closes the door and then turns towards her, crossing his arms casually in front of him. "What about us?" he asks.

She takes a deep breath. "I think we should stop seeing each other for a while."

Grant stills. "What?"

"I said I think we should stop seeing each other."

He shifts on his feet. "No, I heard you the first time. I'm just trying to figure out why you said it. I thought things were going pretty well between us."

"They were. But some things were brought to my attention recently."

"Like what?" he asks her, shifting on his feet.

"Well, first of all, I want you to know that this has nothing to do with you being a father, the fact that you have a daughter does not turn me away; I think I already made that clear before."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Your ex."

Grant furrows his furrows. "You mean Skye?"

She nods. "Yes."

"What problem do you have with Skye? I thought she was pretty civil towards you during Thanksgiving."

"You're still in love with her," Lorelei states.

"What?" He shakes his head. "I am not still in love with her. My relationship with Skye ended a long time ago."

"But it hasn't, not really," Lorelei tells him. "She's still going to be in your life because you have a daughter together, and I get that. But I saw the way you were looking at her during the holiday, Grant. I'm sure you didn't mean to do it, or even realize you were doing it at the time. And you talked about how beautiful she was and how happy you are to be back in her life during your speech before dinner." She takes a deep breath. "I just don't think that I can be with a man who is so clearly still not over his ex-wife."

"I'm working on that, though," Grant assures her. "I'm trying to get over her and move past everything, but it's not that easy to do. We've known each other a long time; she was a huge part of my life for so long. I thought I was completely over her, but then she came back into my life and all of these old feelings I had for her just came rushing back. We never got to deal with everything that happened properly and so all of those old feelings are still there."

"I realize that. And I'm glad you're trying to get over her, love, I really am. And once you do get over her, once you two are able to talk, I'll be here. But until that happens, I'm sorry, Grant, we can't be together." She steps forward and presses a lingering kiss to his cheek before moving past him to walk out the front door.

Grant lets out a sigh when the door closes, looking over at the German Sheppard slowly walking towards him.

He kneels down in front of the dog and places his hands on either side of his face, looking Max right in the eyes. "I just can't seem to keep a lasting romantic relationship, can I?" He smiles when Max lets out a bark. "Yeah, at least we got each other, boy." He rubs the dog's head affectionately and then stands up, taking a deep breath. "Now, let's go get you that treat I promised."

Max lets out an excited bark and then follows after Grant as he moves back into the kitchen.

"Have a good day at school, sweetie," Skye says to Jessica as the young girl makes her way up to the front of the school.

"I will, mom," Jessica calls back with a smile and a small wave. She turns around fully and makes her way inside the building, before going down the hall that leads to her classroom.

"Good morning, Jessica," her teacher greets her with a small smile.

"Good morning, Mrs. Larson," she says back as she steps inside the classroom and makes her way to the back where her desk is.

"Jessica."

Looking up as she hangs her backpack on the back of her chair, Jessica sees Marco slowly approaching her, his hands tucked into the front pockets of his jeans.

"Hi, Marco," she says, turning to face him fully.

"Hi," he says back. Looking down at the carpet, he shuffles on his feet and mumbles something under his breath.

"What?" Jessica asks, tilting her head.

He looks up at her. "I said I'm sorry I called you a liar on the first day of school."

"It's okay, Marco," Jessica says to him with a small smile. "Even though you didn't believe me I knew that I met him. And that's all that really matters."

"Yeah, okay." He pauses for a moment before turning around and walking towards his desk.

"Everybody's talking about you."

Jessica turns her head to see Josie approaching her quickly, a wide grin on her face.

"What? Why?" Jessica asks.

"Because Grant Ward is your dad," the other little girl tells her. "He posted that picture on Thanksgiving of you two and said that he's your dad. So now everyone's talking about it and you."

"Wow. That's weird."

"It is?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah. Not that he's my dad, but that everyone's talking about it."

"You never told me how you found out," Josie reminds her. "All you said was that he's your dad. How did you find out?"

"Mom told me when we went to California," Jessica tells her friend. "I was at Papa and Nana's house and when I went out to the living room he was standing there with her. First he said that he was excited to meet me and then they told me that he's my dad. We went to lunch the day after that and had cheeseburgers. And guess what?"

"What?"

Jessica smiles. "We had the whole restaurant for just the two of us."

"Wow. That's awesome."

"Yeah. He's so cool."

"How much do you get to see him?" Josie asks.

"Not a lot. Because he's in California and we're here. But we got to see each other for Thanksgiving and he's coming back for Christmas."

"Really?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah."

"Wow. Do you think I can meet him next time?" Josie asks her.

Jessica smiles. "Sure. I think he wants to meet you anyways, 'cause you're my best friend."

"I can't wait," Josie says with a wide smile. "When do you think I can meet him?"

Jessica shrugs. "Probably Christmastime when he visits again. I think he's gonna be here for New Year's too, so I get to see him a lot this time."

"Oh, okay. He has a sister, too, right?"

Jessica smiles and nods. "Yeah, my aunt Mandy. She's so cool."

"You've met her?"

"Kinda. We talked to each other over FaceTime when dad was here for Thanksgiving. I wanna meet her in person but she lives in California too, so I have to wait until I go there again."

"When are you gonna go?" Josie asks.

Jessica shrugs. "I don't know. I hope it's soon, though. Last time I was only there for a few days so I didn't get to do a whole lot."

"Alright, class," Mrs. Larson speaks up from the front of the room, gathering everyone's attention, "if you'd all take your seats we can get our day started."

"Mom, are you gonna come and tuck me in?" Jessica asks from the entrance to the hallway.

"Yeah, baby, I'll be right there."

"Okay." Jessica turns around and makes her way back down the hall towards her room. She pushes the door back open and steps inside, moving over to her bed and climbing in underneath of the covers, grabbing her favorite stuffed elephant and holding him in her lap. She sits there for a moment, playing with the ears and trunk of the elephant before she hears footsteps approaching the door.

She looks up and smiles when she sees her mom entering the room. "Hi, mom."

Skye smiles back at her daughter. "Hey, angel. Are you all ready for bed?"

Jessica nods. "Mm-hmm."

"Excellent. Let's get you all tucked in, then." She moves closer to the bed and pulls the blankets up over her daughter as Jessica slides down in the bed so she's lying with her head against the pillow. She leans down and presses a kiss to Jessica's forehead. "Goodnight, Jess."

"Goodnight, mom."

Skye stands up straight and turns to make her way back towards the door.

"Hey mom?" Jessica speaks up.

"Yeah, angel?" Skye responds from the doorway, turning back towards her.

"What were you and Miles doing earlier?"

Skye furrows her brows. "What do you mean?"

"You guys were sitting at the kitchen table with a notebook talking to each other about stuff. What was it?"

Skye gives a soft smile and moves towards her daughter's bed, sitting down on the edge of it and turning to face her daughter. "We were talking about wedding stuff, planning some more of the details for it."

"Like what?" she asks.

Skye takes a deep breath. "Well, we already know where and when we're going to get married, and where the reception is going to be. So now we're just working on how to decorate the place, and who we want to invite to the ceremony and reception."

"Are you going to be married to Miles for a long time?" Jessica asks her.

"Of course," Skye assures her with a smile. "I always told myself that when I got married, it'd be forever and ever."

"But you were married to dad before and it didn't last forever," Jessica states.

Skye sighs. "I know, baby, but that was different."

"How come? Didn't you love dad?"

"I loved him very much," Skye admits with a nod. "He was the first guy I ever really loved like that."

"Then why didn't you stay married?"

"Well, we started arguing all the time," Skye confesses after a moment of hesitation.

"You did?"

Skye nods. "Mm-hmm. Instead of going away to college after we graduated high school we got married that summer after I turned eighteen and decided to try and start a music career, but pretty soon that was all everything was about, the music. Our marriage sort of took the back burner to everything else and I wasn't happy about that."

"So you left?"

Skye nods again. "Yeah, I left. But I did it because I loved your dad. I knew that neither of us were too happy with how things were going; it was taking a lot longer than your dad wanted for our band to get off the ground, and it was really wearing us out."

"Oh. How long were you married for?"

"Not very long," Skye tells her daughter. "I left before we reached our first anniversary. I knew it wouldn't have been that happy of a day considering everything that had been happening."

"How long were you two arguing?" Jessica asks.

"Honestly? I don't even know. A couple of months at least, but it was long enough for me to realize I didn't want to stay there. So I left and came out here with your Uncle Fitz and Aunt Jemma. And even though things didn't work out between me and your dad, I will always be grateful for that relationship because it gave me the best gift in the entire world: you." She smiles at her daughter as she reaches out and brushes some of her hair out of her face. "And if I had to go back and do it all over again, I would, because it means that I'd still have you, my little angel."

Jessica smiles up at her mom. "I love you, mom."

"I love you too, sweetheart. But I want you to know something, okay? Just because things didn't work out between your dad and I, and we're no longer together, it doesn't mean that I will ever keep you two away from each other. I know it's already been a few months since you met, and I probably should have said this in the beginning, but I'm saying it now. Yes, Miles is going to be your step-dad and he'll have a little more say in what goes on in your life than he does now, but your dad also has a say as well, even if he's on the other side of the country."

"Really?"

Skye nods. "Really. We may not be together anymore, but we're still your parents and we both love you so much. He won't have a say in everything that goes on in your life, because he doesn't live here and you're with me all the time, but some of the time I'll talk with him about certain aspects of your life."

"Do I get to visit him in California, though?" Jessica asks. "Or is it always going to be him visiting us here?"

"That's something we'll have to talk about later," Skye explains. "That's not an easy decision to make because you've got school most of the year and your dad is busy a lot with his music. But I promise that you will get to go visit him in California sometime."

"By myself?"

"We'll see. Now go to sleep, okay?" She leans forward to press another kiss to Jessica's forehead. "I love you, angel," she whispers when she leans back.

"I love you too, mom," Jessica replies, her eyes closing as she rolls onto her side, holding her elephant just a little bit closer to her.

Chapter Text

"Dad?" Jessica speaks through the receiver of the phone as she holds it up against her ear.

"Hey, Jess. How are you?"

"Good. Are you still coming here for Christmas?" she asks him.

"Of course I am," he tells her. "There's no way I'd miss spending my first Christmas with you. I promised you I'd be there and I will be. I always try my best to keep my promises."

"I know. I'm so excited. I miss you. Even though we just saw each other for Thanksgiving."

"I miss you too, Jess. I can't wait until tomorrow for my flight. It's going to be a really long flight because it's cross country, but my flight leaves early enough in the day that hopefully we'll be able to hang out for a little while before I have to go to my hotel and get some sleep."

"You can just stay at our house," Jessica tells him.

"I'm not sure your mom would be okay with that."

"I'll ask her."

"No, Jess. Don't do that. I promise you I'll be fine at a hotel while I'm there."

"Maybe just for Christmas Eve then," she suggests. "That way you're here right as I get up on Christmas morning and we don't have to wait for you to come here from your hotel to open presents."

"I'll talk to your mom about that later, okay? But I make absolutely no promises that she'll say yes."

Jessica smiles. "Cool. Hey dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Is Lorelei coming too?"

Grant sucks in a breath. "Uh, no, she's not. I think she has some other plans for Christmas."

"Oh, okay."

"So what have you been up to?" Grant asks his daughter, switching gears.

Jessica shrugs. "Stuff."

"Well what kind of stuff?"

"Um, I tried writing a song," she says quietly, playing with the bottom hem of her shirt.

"You did? That's awesome, Jess. Do you think I can see what you've got when I get there?"

"It's not done," she tells him quickly. "And it's not that good. Not like yours."

"Practice," he tells her. "You just have to practice. Write something down, sing it a few times, try different musical arrangements, maybe change a few words around. You'll get there; you just have to keep on trying."

Jessica sighs. "It doesn't matter. I'm never gonna be as good as you."

"Hey, whoa, don't talk like that Jess. You shouldn't be comparing your own music to someone else's. if you do, then it'll never sound like you. And I don't know if you know this, but I used to have a lot of trouble writing songs just like you are now."

"Really?"

"Really. I was just a little bit older than you are when I started trying to write my own songs. It took me many years to be able to write songs as well as I do now. You just have to write what you know."

"Write what I know?"

"Mm-hmm. Think about things you like to do, people you care about, maybe even your favorite things. Then try writing about how those things or people make you feel. You can be literal or figurative with what you write down. You just have to keep on trying until you find your muse."

"Okay. What's your muse, dad?"

"Well, for a really long time it was your mom, even after we split up. I used how I felt about what happened to come up with new songs. But I also wrote about other experiences I went through, or about things that happened to people around me. I used those events and feelings to create songs. So that's what you need to do. Use what's around you for inspiration."

"Oh, okay. I think I can do that."

"That's good, I'm glad to hear it."

"Can you see him?" Jessica asks as she stands up on one of the chairs in the airport, craning her neck and keeping her eye out for Grant.

"No, baby," Skye says with a small shake of her head. "And please get down from there. You're going to fall if you aren't careful."

Jessica sighs. "Fine." She jumps down off of the chair and sits in it instead, crossing her arms in front of her in a pout.

Skye wraps an arm around her daughters' shoulders and pulls her closer. "I know you're excited about seeing him, Jess. And it's perfectly fine if you get excited when you see him, just don't go too overboard, okay?"

"Okay."

"So, do I get a hug from my favorite girl at some point, or do I just have to stand here?"

Jessica turns her head to see Grant approaching them, wearing a gray beanie and pair of dark sunglasses, pulling his carry on suitcase behind him.

"Dad!" Jessica shouts with a wide grin. She jumps up from the chair and moves quickly towards him, immediately wrapping him in a tight hug.

Grant smiles as he hugs her back. "Hey Jess. How are you?"

"Good." She leans back to look up at him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, sweetheart." He lifts his head to give a kind smile to Skye as she stands from her chair and walks over to them. "Skye."

She gives him a polite smile. "Hey, Grant. How was your flight?"

"Pretty good, thanks."

"Is it just you this time?" she asks him, glancing around.

Grant sucks in a sharp breath and nods. "Yeah. Lorelei and I...it uh, it didn't work out."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

He gives a tight smile. "Thanks. I'll be okay, though." He looks back down at his daughter. "Should we get going now? We need to go to the pet hold to get Max and then we can leave." He grabs her hand and the three of them begin making their way across the airport floor.

"Max is your dog, right?" Jessica asks.

"You still have him?" Skye asks before Grant can answer Jessica's question.

Grant nods. "Yeah. He's definitely getting up there in age, but he's still as loyal as he ever was."

"Max is your dog, right, dad?" Jessica repeats.

Grant looks down at his daughter. "Yeah, Jess."

"What did mom mean when she asked if you still had him?"

"Your dad and I rescued Max when he was just a puppy," Skye tells her daughter. "I think it was right after we got married, actually, when we moved into the house."

"That was a great house," Grant says with a reminiscent smile.

"You're not there anymore?" Skye asks.

Grant shakes his head. "Sold the place about a month after you left. Felt too big."

Skye nods. "Ah."

"I can't wait to see Max," Jessica speaks up. "I've seen all your pictures of him, and the interview you did in M Magazine about him."

"And I'm sure he'll be just as excited to see you," Grant tells the young girl. "I've told him all about you and showed him your picture."

Jessica smiles. "Cool."

"Do you think he'll still remember me?" Skye asks Grant. "I mean, it's been almost a decade, he might not."

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see, then."

They walk in silence for a little while longer before they eventually reach the pet hold.

"I think I see Max and he looks pretty eager to get out," Grant says. "You guys wait here, I'll be right back." He steps away from them and makes his way over to the hold, immediately walking over to where Max is being held. "Hey, boy," he says, kneeling down in front of him. "You ready to go?"

Max lets out a bark and Grant smiles.

"Great, let's go, then." He exchanges a few pleasantries with the employee in charge and then walks away from the hold, Max right by his side. "You finally get to meet Jessica today," he tells the dog. "She's my daughter, the one I've been telling you about. And there's someone else who I think you might recognize. I'm not sure if you actually will, though, because it's been so long since you've seen here and I…guess you do remember her after all," Grant says to himself as he watches Max dart across the airport carpet towards Skye, letting out a few barks.

Skye lets out a laugh as Max nearly tackles her to the floor. "Hi, Max. Oh I missed you too, boy." She kneels down in front of him and hugs him around the neck, pressing a kiss to the top of his head before burying her face in his thick, black fur. "You've gotten so big since the last time I saw you. But you're still such a big sweetheart."

"Looks like he does remember you," Grant comments as he approaches them with a smile on his face.

Skye looks up at him. "Yeah, guess he does."

"Not too surprising, though," Grant says. "You were always his favorite."

"This coming from the guy who always let him get away with just about anything," Skye says with a small laugh.

"True. But he still loved you better." He takes a deep breath. "So, should we head out, then?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah. I'm so excited that you're here for Christmas, dad," she says with a wide smile.

Grant smiles back. "So am I, Jess."

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.

"We're gonna have so much fun while you're here, dad," Jessica tells Grant as the two of them, Skye, and Max make their way into the apartment. "And you can even meet my best friend Josie. She really likes your music too."

Grant smiles. "Well I'm definitely looking forward to it. From what you've already told me she sounds like a great friend."

"She is," Jessica responds. "I've known her since kindergarten. She's the best."

"I'm sure she is," Grant says.

"Hey mom, where's the tablet?" Jessica asks as the three of them find seats in the living room, Max curling up right at Grant's feet.

"Why do you need it?" Skye asks her daughter.

"I wanna show dad some pictures and videos that are on it," she says.

"It's sitting on the nightstand next to my bed. Please be careful."

"Thanks." She turns and darts from the room down the hallway.

Skye turns towards where Grant is sitting in a chair across from her. "She is very excited that you're here again," she tells him.

Grant chuckles. "Yeah, I gathered that." He takes a deep breath. "I'm happy to be back too. I love getting to spend time with her."

"And she loves getting to spend time with you too," she tells him. There's a slight pause before she speaks up again. "Can I ask what happened between you and Lorelei? It's just...you seemed happy together when you were here for Thanksgiving."

"We were," he says. "She's actually the one broke things off between us. Not because she wasn't happy, but because of something else that I'd rather not get into right now."

Skye shakes her head. "No, that's fine. You don't have to tell me."

"I mean, I guess there was a part of me deep down that knew it wasn't going to work out in the long run, because it didn't the last time, it was just kind of abrupt, in a way," he tells her. "I wasn't really expecting it so it still kind of hurts."

Skye nods and swallows. "Yeah, I'm sure it does," she says quietly. "You two dated before?" she asks.

He nods. "Kind of, a few years ago. We went on a couple of dates but it didn't go anywhere."

"Ah, okay."

"I've got it," Jessica announces her presence back into the room, carrying a tablet in her hands. "It wasn't on the nightstand, mom," she says, climbing up next to Skye on the couch.

"Well where was it?" Skye asks.

"On your dresser."

Skye nods. "Ah, right. I forgot I let it there."

"Come here, dad," Jessica instructs, patting the section of couch on her side.

Grant smiles and stands up from his chair, moving over to sit down next to her, draping his arm across the back of the couch. "Alright, so what exactly do we have on here?" he asks, gesturing to the tablet.

"Mom scanned all her old pictures of me onto here," Jessica tells him.

"And then there's all the other ones that I've transferred onto there over the years for safe keeping so they're all in one spot," Skye adds.

"There are so many pictures and videos on this," Jessica says as she unlocks the device and goes into the photo album. She scrolls through the different folders before clicking on one. She scrolls a little bit more and the taps on a photo.

She tilts the screen so Grant can see. "This is from when me and Josie stayed up all night at one of our sleepovers," she explains to her dad, showing him the photo of her and Josie sitting up inside their sleeping bags, bowls of assorted candy around them as they smile for the camera. "Mom didn't think we were going to, but we did."

"And then you both fell asleep at eight in the morning and slept all throughout the day," Skye adds. "That was a truly horrendous occasion because she did not want to go to sleep that night," she says to Grant with an amused smile. "I think Miles ended up bribing her with something so she'd stay in her room and at least try to sleep."

"This one is from when Noah was born," Jessica speaks up, showing him a photo of her sitting in a hospital chair holding a newborn Noah in her arms, a wide grin on her face. "He's really cute."

"That he is," Grant says with a nod. "I'm really happy that Fitz and Jemma got married, I was always rooting for them when we were in school."

"So was I," Skye admits with a smile. "Their wedding was the perfect combination of the two of them, and Noah is the exact same way. He's like a little mini version of the both of them."

"I was the flower girl in their wedding," Jessica speaks up, swiping through a few more photos. "Mom said I get to be the flower girl when she marries Miles."

"Yes you do," Skye says, running one hand through Jessica's long hair. "And you're gonna be amazing." She drops a kiss to her daughter's head and then leans into the couch as Jessica continues showing Grant photos on the tablet, explaining the different scenarios to him.

.

.

.

"This one's from my last birthday party," Jessica explains, showing Grant a photo of her and all of her friends gathered around the living room, opened presents piled up next to her. "It was so much fun. I got so many cool presents, and the cake was really awesome, and we all—"

"Hey, Jess," Grant interrupts his daughter, "can you just…hang on for a second with all the pictures and videos?"

"Are you okay, dad?" Jessica asks, her tiny brows furrowed in concern as she looks up at Grant.

Grant nods his head and swallows thickly. "Yeah, Jess, I'm fine. I uh, I just need a little air real quick. I'll be right back." He stands up from the couch and starts to make his way towards the back of the apartment. "Stay, Max," he says to the dog when he starts to follow after him.

"Mom, is dad okay?" Jessica asks.

Skye furrows her brows in confusion. "I don't know, baby girl. I'll go check on him. You just stay here and hang out with Max for a little while." Skye stands up from the couch and goes in the direction Grant went, finding him outside in the backyard leaning against the house.

"Hey," she speaks up, getting his attention.

He turns his head to look up at her. "Hi."

"What was that back there?" she asks, gesturing over her shoulder to the house. "You only saw a handful of photos and videos. Jess wanted to show you more."

"I know," he says, looking back down at the grass. "I just, I couldn't."

"You couldn't what?" she asks him. He doesn't respond. "You couldn't what, Grant? Answer me, please."

He sighs. "I couldn't look at any more of those pictures of her. It hurts too much."

Skye furrows her brows and crosses her arms in front of her chest. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't understand," he says to her.

"Then explain it to me."

"You were there, Skye," he says with tears brimming his eyes. "You were there for every single one of those moments as they happened. You've been there for the past eight years. I haven't. You don't know how it feels to look at these pictures of your daughter, and watch and listen to her talk about them, trying to explain every little thing she can remember about them to you because you weren't there. It sucks, Skye, it really sucks. I should have been there. For everything." He takes a deep, shaky breath.

Skye nods. "You're right, you should have been there. But you weren't. And there's nothing we can do to change that now. The past is in the past. All you can do now is make sure that you're here for her now and that you're there for all the moments that matter going forward."

"It's kind of hard to do that when I live on the opposite side of the country."

"I know," Skye says. "I wish it could be easier, but this is our home, we can't just pack up and move cross country so you can see her in person more."

He shakes his head. "And I'm not asking you to, I wouldn't do that. I know that this is your home. I would never ask you to just up and leave like that for me. And as much as I would love to, I can't really pack up and leave either. I have too much going on right now because of my latest album. But I do have something to ask."

"What is it?"

He shifts on his feet. "Well, I was thinking that after school lets out, Jess could come stay with me in LA for a little while. It'd only be for a week or two so that she and I can really spend time together and I can get to know her better."

Skye purses her lips in thought. "I'll have to think about it."

Grant nods. "Of course. Absolutely. Take your time to think it over. That's all I ask."

It's quiet for a moment before Skye speaks up. "So, should we go back inside?"

"I'm uh, I'm actually going to hang out for a little while longer, if that's okay with you."

Skye nods. "Yeah, sure. I'll just be inside with Jess. Come on in whenever you're ready." She gives him a soft smile and rises up to press a quick kiss to his cheek before turning around making her way back inside the house.

Chapter Text

"I got it!" Jessica calls through the apartment as she quickly makes her way towards the front door after hearing a knock. She pulls the door open and lets a grin break out on her face when she sees her dad standing on the other side. She immediately steps across the threshold to hug him tightly. "Hi, dad."

Grant smiles and hugs his daughter back. "Hey, Jess. How are you?"

"Good," she answers. "Are you excited?" she asks him as he steps into the apartment.

"Considering I'm going to be meeting your best friend, I think it's safe to say that I'm pretty excited," he tells the young girl. "What time is she coming by?" he asks.

"Before lunch," Jessica tells him. "We're gonna have lunch and play for a while before her mom comes back to get her."

Grant nods. "I see. And does this friend of yours know that she's getting to meet me? Or does she just think she's coming over to play?"

"Um, she kinda knows she gets to meet you. She just doesn't know it's today."

"You didn't tell her?" Grant asks.

"She said she wanted it to be a surprise," Skye pipes in as she makes her way into the room. "Hey, Grant."

"Hey," he says back. He looks down at his daughter. "A surprise, huh?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah."

"Alright. I think we can do this as a surprise. Should be fun, right?"

Jessica smiles and nods. "Yeah." She gasps and turns towards Skye. "Mom!"

"What's up, baby girl?"

"Call Martin," she instructs.

"What for?"

"To ask him if Rachel wants to come over and meet dad too. She said she's a fan so I think she should get to meet dad too."

Skye smiles at her daughter. "That sounds like an excellent idea, Jess. I'll go and call him right now." She turns and makes her way back out of the room as she pulls her phone out of her pocket.

"I think you'll like Rachel too, dad," Jessica tells Grant. "Mom and I met her and her dad when we went to buy your CD."

"Well I'm very much looking forward to meeting the both of them," he says with a smile. "It's about time I met your best friends, right?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah. They're gonna be so excited."

"I'm sure they will be."

"Josie!" Jessica exclaims happily when she pulls open the front door to see her best friend standing on the other side.

"Hi, Jess," Josie replies.

"Hi, Lisa," Jessica says to Josie's mom, smiling up at the older woman. "Thanks for letting Josie come over and play."

Lisa smiles down at Jessica. "Of course, sweetie. Is your mom home?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah, she's on the phone."

"Okay. I'll be back later tonight to get Josie, then. You two have fun."

"We will, mom," Josie says. "Bye, I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

Lisa moves away from the apartment and Jessica closes the door, turning around to face her best friend with a smile. "Rachel's coming too," she tells her.

"She is? I thought it was just gonna be me and you."

"It was. But then I told my mom to call Rachel too. Is that okay?"

Josie nods. "Yeah. I like Rachel."

"Me too. She's fun."

A knock at the front door makes them both smile.

Jessica steps back to the door and pulls it open to see Rachel and Martin standing on the other side. "Hi Rachel," she says to her.

"Hi," Rachel says back.

"Hey, Jessica," Martin greets the young girl. "Is your mom home?"

"She's on the phone," Jessica tells him.

"Actually, I'm right here. Hi, Martin."

"Hey. I do believe I have someone here who wants to hang out for the afternoon," he says, gesturing to his daughter, resting his hands on her shoulders.

Skye smiles. "That's great to hear. Come on in, Rachel. You girls can go on down to Jess' room and play. I have a surprise for you a little bit later."

"What is it?" Josie asks eagerly.

"You're just going to have to wait and see, Jo," she says to the young girl. "Now go on and play."

"Bye, dad." Rachel smiles and waves at Martin before following Jessica and Josie down the hallway.

"I guess I'll be back later this afternoon to get Rachel," Martin says. "Thank you so much for doing this. She's going to be so thrilled."

Skye smiles and waves him off. "It's fine, really."

"You know, I still can't believe Grant Ward of all people is your ex as well as Jessica's father."

She gives him a small, one-shouldered shrug. "Yeah, well, it's been months and I'm still trying to cope with that fact that he's back in my life. I honestly never thought I'd see him again."

"Well, there's not much you can do about it now," he tells her.

She sighs. "No there is not."

Martin takes a deep breath. "Well, I should probably get going now, but I'll come by to get Rachel a bit later."

Skye nods. "Great. See you later." She gives him a small smile and wave as he turns and makes his way down and away from the apartment.

Closing the door, Skye pulls her cell phone out of her pocket and unlocks it, going into her text messages. Selecting the one near the top between her and Grant, she taps inside the text box. You can come on by now whenever you're ready.

.

.

.

Hearing a knock on the front door, Skye moves towards the front of the apartment and pulls open the door, smiling a little when she sees Grant on the other side. "Hey, you're here."

"Promised Jess I would be," he tells her. He steps inside the apartment when she opens the door wider for him. "I hope you don't mind I brought Max too," he says, gesturing to the German Sheppard at his side.

Skye smiles at Max. "Of course. That handsome face is always welcome here." She gets down on her knees and opens her arms up to Max, allowing the dog to give her kisses. She laughs quietly as she hugs him and then stands back up.

"So, where are the two girls I'm supposed to be meeting?" Grant asks, making his way into the living room and sitting down on the couch, Max obediently curling up at his feet. He sets his guitar case down beside the end of the couch and looks at Skye.

"They're playing in Jess' room, I'll be right back." She turns and makes her way down the hallway towards Jessica's bedroom. She nudges the door open and peers inside at the three young girls. "Alright, girls, your surprise is here." She looks over at her daughter and gives her a subtle nod.

Jessica grins. "Come on," she says to her friends, politely pushing past her mom to go out into the living room.

"Hey girls."

Josie and Rachel stand frozen in their spots as Jessica continues walking and gives Grant and then Max each a hug. She stands back up and looks at Grant. "Thanks, dad."

Grant smiles. "No problem, sweetheart. Now why don't you introduce me?" he suggests.

Jessica nods. "Yeah, okay." She turns around to face her friends. "Dad, this is my best friend Josie and my new friend Rachel. Josie, Rachel, this is Grant Ward, my dad," Jessica makes the introductions, a small smile on her face. "Oh, and he brought his dog, Max," she says, leaning down to rub the dog's head affectionately.

"Hey girls," he says again. "It's great to finally meet the both of you. Jess has already told me a lot about you."

"Wow," Josie breathes out. "It's really you."

Grant chuckles quietly and nods. "It's really me. And don't just stand over there, come sit down." He gestures for the two girls to join him in the living room.

"This is so cool," Josie says as she and Rachel move into the living room and sit down in the chairs across from Grant. "I love your music," she tells him, "it's so good."

Grant smiles. "Well thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it."

"I like your music too," Rachel says. "I listen to it all the time with my dad."

"I'm glad to hear that," Grant says.

"My favorite song off your new album is Hey Princess," Josie tells him. "I love dancing around my room to it."

"Ooh, I like that one too," Jessica pipes in. "Did you write that one about mom?" she asks him. "Because you said that you used to call her Princess and in that interview you did on Iris West's show you said that you wrote that for someone you dated once. Was it mom?"

Grant nods his head. "Yeah, I wrote that one for your mom. It was the first of many, many songs that I wrote for her in the short time we were together."

"Wow. That's so cool," Josie says. She looks up towards where Skye is now sitting at the dining room table. "Skye, did he really write that song for you?"

Skye looks up and nods, giving the young girl a tight smile. "Yeah, he did."

"That's so romantic," Rachel says with a smile.

"It was pretty romantic at the time," Skye admits, turning slightly in her chair. "He sang it to me on my sixteenth birthday when he asked me to be his girlfriend."

"In front of a ton of people or were you alone?" Josie asks.

"We were alone," Skye tells her, standing up and making her way into the room. She sits down on the couch next to her daughter and looks at the three girls. "It was after my party and everyone else had gone home, so it was just the two of us left. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if Kebo was hiding in a bush somewhere watching everything."

Grant chuckles and nods. "Knowing Kebo, he probably was, though I've never heard him confirm or deny it, so who really knows."

"Anyways," Skye continues, "we were still hanging out in the backyard at my parents' house, under the big tree that had kind of become our place when we were younger. He pulled his guitar out, from I don't even know where, and said that he had a special present for me, one that he wanted only me to hear. So he sang that song for me, gave some long speech about how he felt about me, and then he asked me to be his girlfriend. And I obviously agreed."

"That's so cute," Josie says with a smile. She looks over at Grant. "Good job."

Grant chuckles. "Thank you. I thought it was pretty great too."

"Hey, dad?" Jessica speaks up.

"Yeah?"

"Will you play a song for us?" she asks him. "Something from your new album."

"For you, Jess, anything. Let me just grab my guitar."

He leans over towards the end of the couch, and pulls his guitar case into his lap, undoing the latches and flipping open the top.

"That would be my cue to leave now," Skye says to herself as she stands from the couch and begins to make her way back towards the dining room.

"Where are you going, mom?" Jessica asks.

"Back to finish doing what I was doing earlier," she tells her daughter.

"But dad's going to sing for us."

"Trust me, baby girl, I've heard him sing plenty of times before. And I'll probably be able to hear him from the table, so it's fine."

"Okay."

"Alright," Grant says as he places the guitar case off to the side again. "What would you girls like me to sing for you?" he asks as he settles his guitar in his lap. "I know you want something off my new album, but is there any song in particular you'd like to hear?"

"Ooh, play Scars on This Guitar," Josie speaks up. "I really like that one too."

"Yeah, play that one," Rachel insists.

Grant smiles. "Scars on This Guitar it is, then." He shifts in his spot to get more comfortable and places his fingers on the frets. He takes a deep breath and then begins strumming the strings lightly. After a moment he opens his mouth to sing.

Another Friday night I'm somewhere
A little drunk and worn out from the show
It's a hallway to a hotel room
The truck's already rolling down the road

I find the lights take off my coat
I see her there just lying on the bed
She's seen me through my yesterdays
God knows tonight I'm needing her again

Grant smiles when Jessica starts to sing along with him during the chorus.

She's the place I go
When there's nowhere left to run to
She's the one I hold
When there's no one to hold on to

She's been with me late at night
When I was drowning in the dark
She heard my every word
When I was pouring out my heart
So I thank my lucky stars
For every crack, scratch and scar on this guitar

His smile widens when Josie and Rachel join in as well, just not as loud and enthusiastic as Jessica.

She's given me her best
When I am at my worst
When I can't find the pieces
Fingers scratching in the dirt
She offers no forgiveness
Cause she likes to make it hurt

She's the place I go
When there's nowhere left to run to
She's the one I hold
When there's no one to hold on to

She's been with me late at night
When I was drowning in the dark
She heard my every word
When I was pouring out my heart
So I thank my lucky stars
For every crack, scratch and scar on this guitar

He swallows thickly while he plucks the strings for a moment and then continues to sing.

Morning like a freight train
Last night still ringing in my head
Before today becomes tomorrow
Tonight I know I'll do it all again

She's the place I go
When there's nowhere left to run to
She's the one I hold
When there's no one to hold on to

She's been with me late at night
When I was drowning in the dark
She heard my every word
When I was pouring out my heart
So I thank my lucky stars
For every crack, scratch and scar on this guitar

And so I thank my lucky stars
For every crack, scratch and scar on this guitar

Playing the final note of the song, Grant smiles up at the three girls. "You girls were great," he tells them. He looks over at his daughter. "Especially you, Jess. It reminded me of singing with your mom."

Jessica smiles. "Cool."

"Wow, we actually got to really sing with you," Josie pipes in. "That was so awesome."

"Did you really write that song about a guitar?" Rachel asks him.

He nods. "I did. But not just any guitar. This guitar," he says, smiling down at the guitar resting in his lap. "The guitar that's been with me since day one, the one that I've had since I was just a little bit older than you three."

"I thought that guitar looked familiar," Skye pipes up from the table. "I can't believe you still have that thing."

Grant looks up at her and smiles softly. "Of course I do. Besides the few people I still talk to on a regular basis, this is the one thing that has stayed constant in my life and has never once let me down."

Skye swallows. "So does that mean this is the guitar with the thing?" she asks.

"What thing?" Jessica asks. "What does she mean, dad?"

Grant smiles. "She means this," he says, turning the guitar over in his lap so it's lying face down. "Not very many people know about this," he says, pointing to the very bottom of the neck of the guitar, right where it meets the body. There's a few small letters carved into the wood.

"What is that?" Josie asks.

"That is my initials, and Skye's initials."

"Really?" Rachel asks.

Grant nods. "Mm-hmm. I believe she carved those there six months after we started dating."

"Did you really, mom?" Jessica asks.

Skye nods her head. "Yeah." She smiles sadly. "I told him that since he and I were going to last forever, it was only right that we put our initials somewhere that we'd always have with us. So I carved them into the back of his guitar."

Grant matches her sad, reminiscent smile. "That was a great day," he says. "Didn't I make you dinner that night to celebrate?"

"Yeah, you did. Even though I told you that you didn't have to because it had only been six months, but you insisted."

"It was the halfway point to our first year as a couple," he reminds her. "I wanted it to be special."

"Well it was," she assures him.

There's a brief pause, silence filling the living room as Grant and Skye share a long look.

"This is the best day ever," Josie breaks the silence.

"Definitely," Rachel says. "We got to meet Grant Ward and sing with him. This is so cool."

"Well I think I have an idea on how to make it an even better day," Grant says.

"How?" Josie asks him.

"By taking a picture of the four of us. And then posting it on my Instagram. If it's okay with your parents, of course."

"My mom won't care," Josie says immediately. "I know she won't."

"I think my dad will be okay with it," Rachel tells him. "He has Instagram too and posts pictures of me on it sometimes."

"So then we're taking a picture?" Grant asks the three girls.

"Yes," they all chorus together.

He smiles and pulls out his cell phone. "Alright, come here, then." He gestures for them to join him as he sets his guitar off to the side.

Jessica climbs into his lap and leans back against him as her two friends climb up onto the couch, one on each side of him.

He unlocks his phone and then goes into Instagram, hitting the new photo button and switching to the front facing camera and holding it up.

Not needing to tell the girls to smile, he lets a smile grace his own lips as he taps the capture button.

Pulling the phone down, he smiles at the photo. "Looks great, girls," he tells them. "Time to post it." Tapping inside the caption box, he types a few words. A little outnumbered over here. But I don't really mind too much. I'm having a great time. :)

Chapter Text

"Thanks for the cocoa, mom," Jessica says, smiling up at Skye as she takes the mug of hot chocolate from her, holding it tightly in her hands.

"You're welcome, baby," Skye says back as she sits down on the couch next to Miles, leaning against his side as he wraps his arm around her shoulders. "How does it taste?" she asks.

Jessica takes a testing sip of her cocoa and then smiles. "Really good."

Skye smiles. "That's what I like to hear."

From his spot on the living room floor, leaning back against one of the walls with Max curled up right next to him, Grant breathes in deeply and smiles, holding his own cup of cocoa in his hands. "You know, I think I like Massachusetts Christmases much more than LA Christmases."

"How come?" Jessica asks him.

"The snow, mainly. It pretty much never snows in LA during the winter so it's a nice change of pace to be able to have snow right now."

"Do you still have fun during Christmas even though there's no snow?" Jessica asks him.

Grant nods. "Of course. Especially once I met your mom. Even though there was no snow, your mom and I always seemed to find a way to have fun for Christmas when we were growing up."

"What did you guys do?" she asks with eager eyes.

"Well," Grant begins, shifting slightly to get a bit more comfortable in his seat, "I remember one particular Christmas, I think it was during our junior year of high school, and your mom was complaining about there not being any snow."

"Hey, you weren't exactly thrilled about there not being any snow either," Skye cuts in.

"Very true," Grant says with a nod. "We were both complaining about there being no snow, but your mom more than me. So I suggested that we make our own snow."

"How can you make snow?" Jessica asks.

"I'm getting to that," Grant says. "I told her that we could probably use a wood chipper and put ice in it to make snow. She told me I was crazy and that it wouldn't work, and I told her we wouldn't know unless we tried it. So we found a wood chipper somewhere around the neighborhood and brought it back to my house to use. Then we bought a bunch of bags of ice from the store and invited some of our friends over to help us test it out."

"Did it work?"

"Not exactly," Grant tells her. "It didn't turn out exactly as we wanted it to, it pretty much just turned into smaller chunks of ice. Not very ideal for snowball fights or building snowmen."

Jessica laughs. "Really?"

Grant nods. "Yep. But it was still fun."

"Was it really that fun, mom?" Jessica asks, her eyes darting over to her mom.

Skye nods her head. "It was very fun," she admits. "Your dad and I always had a lot of fun hanging out together. Even before we got together. He was my best friend."

It's quiet for a few minutes between the four people in the room. Not an awkward silence, just a comfortable quietness about the room as they drink their cocoa, their faces being illuminated by the lights from the Christmas tree in the corner of the room.

"We should sing something," Jessica speaks up after a few quiet minutes.

"What?" Skye asks, looking over at her daughter.

Jessica sits up straighter and looks at her mom. "We should sing a Christmas song since it's Christmas Eve." She whips her head around towards Grant. "Or dad should."

"You really want us all to sing a Christmas song?" Grant asks his daughter.

Jessica nods. "Yeah."

Grant smiles and nods. "Alright, can you go grab my guitar for me out of the guest room?"

"Yeah." Jessica grins and then jumps up from the floor, running down the hallway to the guest room to get her dad's guitar.

"You don't have to sing, Grant," Skye tells him when Jessica's out of the room.

Grant shrugs. "I want to. You know how much I love to sing with just an acoustic guitar as my background music."

Skye nods. "That I do know."

"Here, dad." Jessica enters the room again carrying his guitar. She hands it to him and then takes up her spot again. "What song are we gonna sing?" she asks him. "Silent Night? Deck The Halls? Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer?"

"Actually," Grant says, "if it's okay with you, I was thinking about singing something else. You don't know it, Jess, but you're mom does." He looks up at Skye and smiles. "We wrote it together in high school."

Jessica turns to her mom and smiles. "You did?"

"That was a very long time ago," Skye says. "And we wrote a lot of songs together in high school, I'm pretty sure I won't remember the words to whatever song you're going to play."

"Well if you do, don't be afraid to join me," he tells her.

Skye sighs. "Just play the damn song already before I hit you."

Grant chuckles. "Alright, alright." Grant shifts on the floor to get more comfortable and looks down at the guitar, adjusting his fingers on the frets. He strums slowly a couple of times and then opens his mouth to sing.

The fireplace is burning bright, shining all on me
I see the presents underneath the good old Christmas tree
And I wait all night 'til Santa comes to wake me from my dreams
Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me

He strums a few more times and goes to open his mouth to sing when he hears Skye's voice continue the song, her head down as she stares into her cocoa. Grant smiles at her.

I see the children play outside, like angels in the snow
While mom and daddy share a kiss under the mistletoe
And we'll cherish all these simple things wherever we may be
Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me

The smile still on his face, Grant joins in with Skye for the chorus, her head now lifted up to look at him.

I've got this Christmas song in my heart
I've got the candles glowing in the dark
I'm hanging all the stockings by the Christmas tree
Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me
Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me

I listen for the thud of reindeer walking on the roof
As I fall asleep to lullabies, the morning's coming soon
The only gift I'll ever need is the joy of family
Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me

I've got this Christmas song in my heart (song in my heart)
I've got the candles glowing in the dark (glowing in the dark)
I'm hanging all the stockings by the Christmas tree
Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me
Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me

Ooooohhhhoooohhooohhh
Ooooohhhhoooohhooohhh

Oh, the joy that fills our hearts and makes us see
Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me
I've got this Christmas song in my heart
I've got the candles glowing in the dark
And then for years to come we'll always know one thing
That's the love that Christmas can bring
Oh, why? 'Case that's Christmas to me

Grant strums the final chord of the song and things are quiet in the room for a moment.

"Wow," Jessica says with a wide smile on her face. "That was so cool."

"Thanks, Jess," Grant says.

"I had no idea you could sing like that," Miles says to Skye with a small smile on his face. "You're really good."

Skye smiles sheepishly. "Thanks."

"How come I've never heard you sing before?"

She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I uh, I used to sing all the time in high school and when Grant and I were trying to get our band off the ground, so I guess I just didn't want to live in the past too much. I wanted to move forward and focus on being a good mom."

Miles nods. "Yeah, I guess that makes some sense."

"Hey, dad?" Jessica speaks up.

Grant looks over at her. "Yeah?"

"How come you never did that song when you released your Christmas album?" she asks him. "It would have been really good on it."

He takes a deep breath. "Well, to be honest with you, I always thought this song would sound better as a duet than if I sang it by myself."

"Then why didn't you get anyone else to sing it with you?"

Grant looks up at Skye. "No one else would have sounded good enough for it."

Skye swallows and looks down into her cocoa, knowing that Grant is still looking at her. She clears her throat after a minute and looks back up towards her daughter. "Okay, Jess, I think it's time for you to head to bed now."

"Do I have to?" Jessica asks.

"Afraid so, baby girl. You want Santa to come tonight and bring you a present, right?" Jessica nods. "Well then you better get your little butt in bed so he can come bring you your present."

Jessica sighs. "Fine." She stands up from her spot on the floor next to Grant, leaning down to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, dad."

"Goodnight, sweetheart," he says with a small smile.

"Goodnight, Max," she says to the dog, giving him a kiss on the top of his head.

Jessica moves over to the couch and gives Miles a hug goodnight and then a hug and kiss goodnight to her mother. She moves down the hallway towards her bedroom.

"I'll take the cups to the kitchen," Miles says, standing up from the couch. He takes Skye's cup from her and then grabs Jessica's cup off of the floor and Grant's cup, taking all four of them into the kitchen.

"You should probably turn in now too," Skye says to Grant as she stands up from the couch. "I have to stay up for a little bit to do some last minute stuff for tomorrow, but you'll probably want to get as much sleep as you can before the morning. Jess likes to wake up as early as I allow her to in order to have enough time to open presents and play with whatever she gets."

Grant nods his head. "Good to know." He takes a deep breath and shifts on his feet. "Hey, so I know I'm still here for a few more days, but I just wanted to say thanks, again, for letting me spend the holiday here with Jessica."

"It's no problem, really," she tells him. "You're her father; you're allowed to spend time with her. Besides, I like to think of it as making up for lost time. You two spent eight years not knowing about each other, now you want to get to know each other and be together as often as you can. It'd be wrong of me to stand in the way of that."

Grant nods. "Right. Well, uh, I guess I'm going to head to bed. Sleep tight."

She gives him a small smile. "Thanks. You too."

He gives her a tight smile before turning and making his way down the hallway towards the guest room with Max to get some shut eye before what he's sure is going to be a crazy day.

Cracking one eye open, Grant reaches out towards the nightstand next to the bed and taps the Home button on his phone to check the time. Seeing the time on the display, he locks the device again and then listens carefully to the soft padding against the hardwood floor just outside of his door.

Hearing the doorknob turn, he closes his eye again, feigning sleep.

"Dad?"

He slowly turns over in the bed but keeps his eyes closed.

"Dad, are you awake?"

Turning more in the bed, he slowly lifts up onto his elbows and opens his eyes to smile over at his daughter. "Hey, good morning, sweetie."

Jessica smiles back. "Merry Christmas, dad."

"Merry Christmas, Jess. Come on up here and sit with me for a bit," he says, patting next to him on the bed as he pulls himself up into a seated position.

Jessica moves into the room, closing the door behind her, and then climbs up onto the bed to sit next to her dad.

"What are you doing up so early on Christmas, huh?" he asks her.

Jessica shrugs. "I like waking up early. I'm too excited to sleep."

"Well is your mom up yet?" Grant asks his daughter.

Jessica shakes her head. "No. Mom doesn't like me waking her up super early. She likes to sleep for as long as she can."

Grant smiles. "She definitely does. She used to throw things at me whenever I tried to wake her up if she was taking a nap during the day."

Jessica stifles a laugh. "Really?"

Grant smiles and nods. "Really. She'd reach out with her eyes closed for whatever she could find nearby. Sometimes it was a pillow or blanket, sometimes a shoe, one time she even threw her cell phone at me."

"Did it hit you?"

Grant shakes his head. "I managed to duck just in time. But it could have been very tragic if I hadn't. I might have ended up with a huge welt on my forehead."

Jessica lets out a laugh. "You probably would have looked really funny."

Grant laughs with her. "But it also would have really hurt," he says.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm glad you ducked."

Grant chuckles quietly. "Me too."

.

.

.

Breathing in deeply, Skye slowly opens her eyes and glances at the alarm clock sitting on the nightstand next to her bed. Taking in the time on the digital display, her eyes go wide and she sits up quickly in the bed, startling the man lying next to her.

"Skye?" he asks sleepily. "What's going on?"

"It's almost 8:30," she tells him.

"And?"

"It's almost 8:30 on Christmas morning," she further explains. "Jess always wakes me up before now. So where is she?"

"Maybe she's still sleeping," Miles suggests and then lets out a large yawn.

Skye snorts. "Have you met the girl?"

Miles nods. "Right. So what do you think is going on?"

Skye's brows furrow together. "I don't know. But I'm gonna go find out. I'll be right back." She leans down to give him a quick kiss before sliding out of the bed and padding towards the door. She pulls it open and steps out in the hallway, moving down towards her daughter's bedroom.

Peering inside, she finds the bed empty, the blanket thrown halfway off the bed and her favorite elephant still lying near the pillow.

Hearing quiet giggles coming from another area of the apartment, Skye leaves her daughter's room. Closing the door behind her, she follows the low sounds down the hall to the guest bedroom.

Stepping up to the slightly ajar door, Skye pushes the door open more and smiles when she sees the sight in front of her. Grant and Jessica are sitting next to each other, Max stretched out across their legs, and their heads bent together as they talk with smiles on both of their faces.

"Hey, you two," Skye speaks up, gaining the two's attention. "What's going on in here?"

Grant and Jessica look up at Skye and smile.

"We've just been talking," Grant tells her.

"That's good. I was just a little concerned when I woke up at 8:30 and Jess still hadn't woke me up."

"I came to get dad first and we started talking," Jessica tells her. "But we can go open presents now."

"So you're the one who gets to decide now, huh?" she asks with a teasing smile.

Jessica smiles and nods. "Yeah."

Skye laughs quietly and shakes her head. She moves across the room to where her daughter is sitting on the bed and sits down next to her. She wraps an arm around her daughter's shoulders and pulls her a little closer, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Did you sleep well?" she asks the young girl.

Jessica nods. "Yeah."

"That's good. What about you?" she asks, looking over at Grant.

He gives her a soft smile and nods his head. "I slept very well. And then this one came to join me," he says, reaching out to tickle Jessica's sides.

"I hope she didn't wake you up too early," Skye says. "I had to ban her from waking me up before seven on Christmas morning. She'd probably wake me up at four am if she could."

"I was already waking up," he tells her. "I heard her outside my door just before she came in."

"Um, I'm still here," Jessica pipes up.

Skye smiles down at her daughter. "Sorry, baby girl. Are you ready to open presents?"

Jessica grins. "Yeah!"

Skye laughs quietly. "Alright. You go on out to the living room, Miles should already be out there. Your dad and I will be there in just a minute."

"Okay." Jessica gives them each a kiss on the cheek before climbing off the bed and darting out to the living room.

"What's that look on your face for?" Skye asks her ex.

"What look?"

"I don't know how to explain it," she says. "But you kinda look like you're happy or something."

Grant chuckles. "I am very happy. It's still so crazy, in a way, that I have a daughter and that I'm getting to spend all this time with her. I just wish I could have been there the first eight years."

"So do I," she admits. "Those first eight years were pretty great ones."

"I'm sure they were," he agrees. "Guess I'll just have to take your word for it and be there for all the following years." He gives her a small smile.

She smiles back. "You definitely will." There's a brief pause and then Skye takes a deep breath. "We should probably get out there," she tells him. "Jess is always very eager to open presents."

"Then we should definitely get out there," he agrees.

She nods. "Yes. I'll meet you out there?"

He nods too. "Yeah." He watches for a moment as she stands from the bed, giving Max an affectionate head rub as she passes, and then makes her way out of the bedroom.

"You ready to open some presents, boy?" Grant asks his dog.

Max lets out a soft bark.

Grant smiles. "Alright, come on."

.

.

.

"Alright, Jess," Skye speaks up as she grabs another present out from underneath of the Christmas tree and glances at the tag, "this one is for you from your dad." She hands the present over to her eager daughter.

"I really hope you like it," Grant says to the young girl. "Since we're still getting to know each other I wasn't quite sure of what to get you. But then I remembered a conversation we had and I thought of that." He nods with his head towards the wrapped gift.

Jessica smiles up at him before looking down the medium sized gift box and tearing at the holiday themed paper. "Wow," she breathes out when she pulls the lid off and peals back the tissue paper. "Thanks, dad."

"You're welcome, Jess. Do you like it?"

Jessica nods. "I love it."

"I'm glad."

"What is it, sweetheart?" Skye asks her daughter.

Jessica turns the box towards her mom with a smile. "It's a journal," she says, showing off the nice, leather bound notebook sitting inside the box.

"Kind of," Grant speaks up, getting his daughter's attention. "It's for you to write your songs in. Remember when you told me how you've started trying to write songs?" Jessica nods. "Well, now you have somewhere nice to write them down."

"Cool."

"I don't know how you feel about song lyrics, but I always thought of them to be something you keep close to yourself until you're ready to show what you've made to the world. At least, in my case. Of course, you can show them to whomever you want, whenever you want."

"This is so cool, dad, thanks."

"Jess," Skye speaks up, "have you really started writing music?"

Jessica shrugs. "Kind of. I don't know if any of it's any good, though."

"Well, if you're anything like me or your mother, then I'm sure your songs will be great."

Jessica smiles at him. "Thanks, dad. Writing the words is easier than the music."

Grant smiles. "It definitely can be."

"Jess, sweetie, can I see that?" Skye asks her daughter, holding her hand out for the notebook.

"Sure." Jessica sits up on her knees and leans over to hand the gift to her mom.

Skye takes the notebook and rubs her hands over the leather, turning it over in her hands and gently flipping through the blank pages. She looks up at Grant. "This looks almost identical to the ones we have," she comments.

"You have a notebook for song lyrics too?" Jessica asks.

Skye nods. "Yeah. Your dad is actually the one who gave it to me," she tells her daughter.

"Really?"

"Really," Grant confirms. "I think I got that for her along with the song for her sweet sixteen. We'd already written a few songs together, but I wanted her to have a special place where she could write things down. Hers is actually an exact match to mine, and we had to get our names engraved on the covers so we wouldn't get them mixed up on accident. And yours," he says to his daughter, "is an almost exact match to the ones your mom and I have. Yours is only slightly different."

"How?" she asks.

"Well, where your mom and I's notebooks are all black, yours has a bit of a silver trim on the edges of the leather," he explains. "I wanted it to be a bit more unique."

"Wow, that's so cool."

Grant smiles. "I like to think so too. And now you have a place to write down whatever lyrics for songs pop into your head."

"Awesome. Hey dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to look at some of my songs later?" she asks him.

Grant smiles, fighting back the happy tears that want to spill out. "I would love that, Jess."

Chapter Text

"So, how are things going over there on your end?"

"Things are fine, Kebo," Grant tells his best friend over the phone as he relaxes into the couch cushions, Max lying comfortably at his feet. "Christmas went pretty well, Jess really liked her present, and now we're just waiting for the New Year to hit in a few days."

"Right. And you don't have anyone to kiss at midnight, do you?"

Grant sighs. "No, I don't. So why would you bring it up?"

"I don't know."

"Well thank you, that's very comforting," Grant mutters. He takes a deep breath. "So, what are you and Hannah getting up to for the holiday this time around?"

"Oh, you know, just the usual. Probably gonna head out to a party this year, though, since your sad, pathetic, single self isn't here to drag me down."

Grant deadpans. "Well I'm glad my inability to find a lasting relationship is no longer prohibiting you from having a good time."

"See, I knew you'd understand."

Grant rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Tell Hannah I said hey, will you?"

"You know I will."

"And if you somehow manage to run into Lorelei, despite how large LA is, please do not mention the break up, okay?"

"What? I would never—"

"Kebo, I know you. Please just try not to be an idiot if you see her at any point tonight."

"I promise I will do my best."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He takes a deep breath. "Now, how are things going there with Skye? Are you two getting along well enough? Or are you fighting and having more angry hate sex? You better be careful there because you know what happened the last time."

Grant sighs. "Yes, Kebo, I'm painfully aware of what happened the last time."

"So does that mean you are having angry hate sex?"

"Kebo."

"I wanna know, Grant."

"She's engaged to somebody else, Kebo. So stop."

"Sorry, mate, can't do that. I'm curious."

"Ever heard the phrase 'curiosity killed the cat'?" he asks his friend.

"Cats have nine lives, thank you very much."

"Yeah, well, I've never been very fond of cats," he says with a teasing smile.

"Why do you always insist on hurting me like that? I really don't understand it."

Grant rolls his eyes. "You'll be fine, Kebo. Nothing a little alcohol can't fix for you."

"Right you are, mate."

Grant laughs quietly. "Alright, well, I gotta go now, but I'll see you when I get back."

"Sounds like a plan. Tell Skye I say hello."

Grant smiles. "I will be sure to."

"Alright. Bye."

"Bye."

Pulling the phone down from his ear, Grant ends the call and then sets the device next to him on the cushion. He leans his head against the back of the couch and closes his eyes, breathing in deeply.

"Dad?"

Cracking one eye open, he tilts his head to see Jessica standing by the end of the couch.

"Hey, Jess," he says, opening both eyes fully and sitting up. "What's up?"

Jessica shrugs as she falls down next to him on the couch. "Nothing."

"Oh, I'm sure there's something," he says with a small smile, shifting in his seat a little more. "You just have to tell me what it is. But only if you really want to."

Jessica bites her lip between her teeth. "Um, will you look at my songs for me?" she asks him quietly.

His smile widens. "Of course. Come sit down and let me see what you've got so far."

Jessica smiles and pulls out her notebook from behind her back and hands it over to him. "I put my lyrics into the notebook you gave me for Christmas," she tells him.

Grant's smile widens even more. "That's awesome. So you like it, then?"

She nods. "Yeah. It's awesome."

"Guess I picked out the right gift, then." He takes a deep breath. "Alright, let's take a look at these lyrics and see what you have." He flips open the cover of the notebook, opening it to the first scribbled on page and lets his eyes roam over it, taking in all the words written there.

.

.

.

"Yes, thank you so much. I'm looking forward to it as well."

Pulling her cell phone away from her ear, Skye ends the call and then takes a few steps over to the desk in her room. She leans down and grabs the pen sitting next to an open notebook, ticking off one of the many items written on the page.

"Excellent," she says quietly to herself. "Things are really coming together. This is gonna be amazing."

With a smile on her face, she closes the notebook and then makes her way out of the room and towards the kitchen to grab a snack.

As she's walking towards the kitchen, she stops when something catches her attention out of the corner of her eye. She turns and smiles when she sees Grant and Jessica sitting together on the couch, their heads bent together as they speak in hushed voices.

"Well this is definitely a sight I could get used to seeing," she speaks up as she enters the room, drawing their attention to her.

"Hi, mom," Jessica says with a smile.

Skye smiles back. "Hey, baby. What are you doing?"

"Showing dad my songs," she tells her.

"Ooh, very fun." She walks around the back of the couch and sits on the coffee table in front of them. "Can I see?"

Jessica shakes her head. "No, I just want dad to see them right now," she says.

"Your mom is actually a pretty good song writer," Grant tells his daughter. "Possibly even better than me. Whenever I was working on a song and got stuck I'd show it to her and she always had the magic fix for whatever the problem was."

Skye shrugs. "Sometimes all it takes is a new eye to see what's missing."

"Really?" Jessica asks.

Skye nods. "Mm-hmm."

"Wow. Hey mom?"

"Yeah?"

"At Christmas you said that dad gave you a notebook like mine a long time ago. Do you still have it?" she asks. "Or did you get rid of it."

Skye takes a deep breath and nods her head. "I still have it, actually. I put a lot of my own personal thoughts and feelings into that notebook so it wouldn't have felt right to give or throw it away; I just tucked it away somewhere. I haven't pulled it out in years, but I still have it somewhere around here."

"When was the last time you wrote in it?" Jessica asks her mom.

"I think you were about two," Skye explains after a moment of thinking. "I had just decided to stop writing letters to your dad to let him know about you because I hadn't gotten anything back from him. I was pretty upset and hurt and decided to write it all down. I never actually put it to music, but it certainly helped me cope for a little while. Writing music was always very therapeutic for me."

Grant nods in agreement. "Writing music is a great way to get your feelings and emotions out so that they don't stay bottled up inside forever."

"Is that why you write music?" Jessica asks her dad.

He breathes in deeply. "I guess so, yeah. It's therapeutic, but it's also really fun," he finishes with a smile.

Jessica smiles back. "Well you're really good at it."

Grant smiles. "Thanks, Jess. I'm glad you think so. You're not half bad yourself, actually."

"Really?"

Grant nods. "Really. That's not too surprising, though, considering your mom and I are both phenomenal song writers."

Skye smiles. "I don't think I'd call myself phenomenal, but thank you."

"You were always the better of us two at writing music."

"Well you seem to be doing pretty well with your song writing," she tells him.

He shrugs. "I do okay."

"I think you do more than okay, but I'll let you think what you want." She takes a deep breath and looks at her daughter. "So, are you having a good time?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah."

"Good. I'm glad. And are you excited for New Year's?"

"Totally. I'm gonna stay up all night. Just like last year."

"Sweetie, you fell asleep just minutes before the New Year hit last year."

"I know. But this year I'm gonna make it all night."

"Everybody looks like they're having so much fun there," Jessica comments as the small family watches the New Year's festivities together on the TV screen in the living room. "It would be so cool to watch the ball drop in Times Square in person."

"Maybe one day, if your mom's okay with it, I can take you there," Grant suggests. "It'll be just the two of us and we can make a whole trip out of it. I'll show you some of my favorite places."

Jessica grins and looks over at Skye. "Can I, mom?"

"We'll see," Skye responds."I make no promises right now but I'll consider it for some point in the future."

"Awesome." She looks back at her dad. "I think you should play in Times Square for New Years," she tells him.

Grant smiles. "So do I. I've played in LA before for New Year's, but I've yet to have a call from New York about it. Maybe one day I'll finally get to."

"That'd be so cool," Jessica says.

"I completely agree," Grant tells her.

"Wouldn't that be cool, mom?" Jessica asks Skye.

Skye nods her head. "It would be very cool. The New Year's party in LA is always a lot of fun. Your dad and I actually went there when we were in high school. And I think that year we were married, too."

Grant smiles and nods. "We did. Those were some very good times."

Skye nods. "Yes they were."

"What did you guys do there?" Jessica asks.

Grant and Skye share a look, having a silent conversation with their eyes.

"Oh, we uh, we just…talked," Grant replies with a knowing smile.

Skye ducks her head as a soft warmth quickly creeps onto her cheeks, some of her hair dropping down in front of her face.

"All you did was talk?" Jessica asks with furrowed brows.

"Well we also listened to music and hung out with some friends. But yeah, we did a lot of talking at those parties. We always had a really good time."

There's a brief moment of silence in the room, the only noise coming from the celebration on TV.

"Hey, Grant, can I talk to you for a minute?" Skye speaks up, breaking the quiet.

Grant looks over at her. "Yeah, sure."

She stands up from the couch, giving Miles a quick kiss before making her way down the hall towards her bedroom. Grant follows after her, pushing the door closed behind him but leaving it cracked slightly.

He turns to face her. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Us," she tells him.

He furrows his brows. "Us?"

She nods. "Yeah. As in things that have happened between you and me. I want us to bury the hatchet Grant, get out whatever pent up feelings we have leftover from when we split so that we can start fresh in the New Year. I don't want there to continuously be this…awkward tension between us because we never talk about what happened. We're going to be seeing a lot of each other as Jess grows up and I don't want there to be any weirdness or whatever. For Jess' sake."

He nods his head. "I completely agree. So where do you want to start?" he asks her.

She sighs. "I honestly don't know. I just know that I don't want whatever goes on between us to affect Jess negatively in any way. She means too much to me."

"Me as well," Grant says. "I may not have had the luxury of getting to see her grow up, but I'm here now, and I love her and I don't want her to ever think that she has to choose between us. I still care about you, Skye. That is something that'll never change, no matter what. We've been through too much together for me to ever stop caring about you."

"I care about you too," she admits. "Maybe not in the same way that I used to, but it's still there somewhere."

"Because you're getting married," he states.

She nods. "I am. And that's one of the reasons for me wanting to clear the air between us."

"It's a great idea," he says. "I just…I'm not sure where to start for that."

"Maybe I could start by saying that I'm sorry."

He furrows his brows. "For what?"

"For just walking out on the life we were trying to build together without trying to make things better between us."

"You don't have to be sorry about that," he assures her. "You were unhappy, you wanted to get away. I can't blame you for wanting to have a better life than the one I was able to give you. You did what you felt you had to." He shifts on his feet. "And maybe, maybe if we hadn't gotten married so young, things could have turned out a lot differently."

Skye nods. "Maybe. But we'll never know. All we can do now is focus on the present and being the best parents we can be to that amazing girl out there."

"From what I've seen so far you already are."

She shrugs. "Yeah, well, she's been a pretty easy kid to deal with. I'm only a little worried about her teenage years."

"If she's anything like you, she may be a bit of a handful."

Skye laughs quietly. "And that's what has me in an almost panic some nights."

"Well we'll deal with that when we get to it," he tells her. "But I guess I should probably apologize for treating you how I did back then. It wasn't right."

"No, it wasn't," she agrees. "And thank you."

He nods his head. "I just wanted us to be successful with our music because we both loved doing that, but I didn't realize at the time how badly I was treating you. After you left I realized the mistake I made and I hated myself everyday for driving you away like I did. I should have realized the toll it all was taking on us and our marriage and that you weren't happy."

"I was in the beginning," she tells him. "I wanted our music to take off too, believe me. I loved getting to make and play music with you, it was one of my favorite things and I wanted our music to last forever. But I also wanted our marriage to last forever. And I could see that dream slowly starting to fade when you were constantly up at all hours of the night working on music, or always on the phone arguing with someone, or flat out ignoring me at every turn. You were becoming someone unrecognizable, you weren't the guy I had fallen in love with anymore."

Grant closes his eyes and hands his head.

"I'm not saying this to make you feel bad or anything, Grant, I just want you to really understand why I left."

He nods his head. "I understand. At least, I do now. I like to think there was still some amount of love between us there at the end, though. Even though things were tough and we argued a lot, and what we did was more out of anger than anything else, I like to think Jess came from a place of love."

Skye smiles softly. "Of course she did. And there's always going to be a small part of me that loves you and who we were together, because we were great once. But that's all in the past now. We have to move forward."

Grant nods. "You're right. We have to move forward with our lives and try to be the best parents we can, even if we're on opposite sides of the country."

Skye smiles. "We'll make it work. Whatever we need to do. And all the technology and social media available makes it easier for you two to keep in touch."

Grant nods. "Right, of course. So uh, are we good, then? Everything's okay between us now?"

Skye takes a deep breath and nods. "I think so, yeah."

Grant smiles. "Good, that's good."

"The countdown's starting!" Jessica exclaims from the living room, breaking Grant and Skye out of their little bubble.

"We should probably get out there," Skye says, gesturing toward the door and hallway behind it.

Grant nods. "Yeah, we probably should." He steps to the door and pulls it open, allowing Skye to exit in front of him and move down toward the living room.

"Jessica Katherine, if you spill that cider on the couch you're in trouble," Skye tells her daughter, watching as she bounces excitedly in her seat, her eyes glued to the screen and a cup filled with sparkling cider in her hand.

"I'm being careful, mom," Jessica retorts. "Dad, here's some cider for you." She holds a glass of the celebratory drink up to him.

Grant smiles and takes the drink from her as he sits back down beside her. "Thanks, Jess." He presses a quick kiss to the side of her head and leans back into the couch.

Skye takes her place back beside Miles on the other couch, leaning into his side and taking her glass of cider from him. She looks over at Grant and gives him a soft, kind smile which he returns.

The four of them sit in their seats, watching the countdown continue on the screen in front of them. Jessica's on the edge of her seat the entire time, eagerly awaiting the stroke of midnight.

"5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Happy New Year!"

Grant looks over sadly at Skye and Miles locking lips, both of them smiling wide. He swallows the lump forming in his throat.

"Happy New Year, dad," Jessica says, leaning up to give him a kiss on the cheek, breaking him from his thoughts.

Grant smiles at her. "Happy New Year, Jess. Come here." He wraps his arm around her to pull her a little closer as he takes his phone out.

Jessica happily sidles up right next to him and then smiles up at him. "Hi."

He smiles back down at her. "Hi. Want to take a picture with me?"

Jessica grins and nods. "Yeah."

"Excellent." He holds his phone up in front of them. "Smile big," he tells his daughter, leaning his head against hers.

Grant smiles wide as well as he captures the photo. He pulls his phone down and looks at the image. "It's perfect," he tells his daughter.

"Yeah?"

He nods. "Yeah. You look absolutely beautiful."

She smiles. "Thanks, dad."

"Anytime, Jess."

.

.

.

Most beautiful New Year's date right here, everybody. She conked out not long after we took this photo, right after the clock struck midnight. Glad I've been able to celebrate the holidays with my favorite girl. Here's to many more amazing moments spent getting to know my wonderful daughter and watching her grow up in the coming year and all the years after. I love you so much, Jess.

Chapter Text

Hearing his phone go off from its place on the nightstand, Grant opens his eyes and reaches out to grab the device, holding it up in front of him and squinting at the bright light.

Seeing an incoming FaceTime call on the screen, he hits the answer button and smiles when he sees Jessica's brightly smiling face filling up the frame.

"Happy birthday, dad!"

Grant smiles and laughs quietly. "Thanks, Jess. How are you?"

"Good. Are you having a good birthday?"

"Well, seeing as how it just started and you're the first one I get to talk to this morning, I'd say it's already shaping up to be a pretty great day." He takes a deep breath. "So what are you up to today?" he asks his daughter, shifting in the bed so he's sitting up against the headboard.

"I have school," Jessica tells him.

Grant nods. "That's right."

"Are you gonna have a party for your birthday, dad?" Jessica asks, changing the subject back to him.

"I'm not sure," he answers. "Usually I just have a few people over and we hang out, nothing too crazy, but I don't know if I'm going to have an actual party."

"Birthday parties are fun," Jessica states.

Grant smiles. "That they are. I had some pretty fun ones when I was your age. Your mom, uncle Kebo, and I always knew how to have fun together."

"Really?"

Grant nods. "Absolutely. Those were some of my favorite moments growing up, getting to celebrate my birthday with your mom and Kebo."

"I wish I could be there for your birthday, dad," she says.

"I do too, Jess. But it's okay. You calling me on my birthday is more than enough. It's perfect."

"Okay."

"Jess? Come on, baby, we gotta get going."

"Mom, come say happy birthday to dad first," Jessica says, looking over her shoulder.

A few seconds later Skye appears in the screen, a small smile on her face. "Hey, Grant. Happy birthday."

He smiles back. "Thanks. How's your day going so far?" he asks.

Skye lets out a breath. "As well as any other normal day. I'm sure Jess would love to keep talking to you for hours on end, but we have to go if she doesn't want to be late for school," she says with a pointed look at her daughter. "Say bye to your dad, Jess, I'll be out in the car." She looks back at Grant. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks." He watches her leave the screen and can hear faint footsteps across the carpet.

"Hey dad?"

He focuses his attention back on his daughter. "Yeah?"

"I know I have to go, but can I call you after I get home from school?"

"As long as you do your homework and any chores your mom asks you to do first," he tells her.

"Okay. I love you, dad."

Grant smiles. "I love you too, Jess. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, dad."

"Bye." Pulling the phone down away from his face, Grant ends the call and switches to his Twitter app, going straight into his notifications.

He scrolls through for a moment and smiles at the many happy birthday tweets from his fans that he already has. He likes a few of the different tweets, the ones that are more than just the generic 'happy birthday! I love you!'.

After scrolling for a little while, he closes out of Twitter and then locks his phone, picking up the remote control to turn on the TV on the wall opposite his bed.

Max comes up to the side of the bed and stands there, resting his head on the mattress right next to Grant.

Grant smiles at his dog and affectionately rubs his head. "Hey, boy. You want to watch some TV with me for a little while? Come on up." He gestures with his head and Max leaps up onto the bed, planting himself down right next to Grant, resting his head in his owner's lap.

"Guess it's just you and me for today," Grant says to the dog, rubbing his head. "That's alright, though. We'll just have a relaxing morning in. I think it sounds like a pretty good plan." He lets out a content sigh as he relaxes further into his bed, his eyes focusing on the television screen in front of him.

"Grant! You home, mate?"

Grant sighs and leans his head over the back of the couch. "Living room!"

The tapping of shoes against the hardwood flooring gets closer and then he sees Kebo rounding the corner with Hannah right behind him.

"Happy birthday, you sad, lonely git," Kebo says with a smile.

Hannah rolls her eyes and smacks Kebo's arm. "Be nice." She looks at Grant and smiles. "Happy birthday, Grant."

Grant smiles at them. "Thanks, guys. What's up?"

Kebo shrugs. "Do I really need a reason besides your birthday to come and see you?"

Grant sighs. "No, I guess not."

"How are you doing?" Hannah asks him, sitting down next to him on the couch, kicking her shoes off and putting her feet up on the coffee table.

Grant shrugs. "Alright, I guess. I just wish I could spend time with Jess today since it's my birthday. I mean, she called me on FaceTime this morning to say 'happy birthday', but it's not really the same as spending time with her in person."

"Well hopefully at some point you'll be able to spend it with her," Hannah says. "I'm sure she'd love to do that."

"I know she would because she told me so," Grant replied. "We didn't get to speak for too long because she had to go to school, but it was still really nice."

"It certainly sounds like it was. I can't wait until I get to meet her," Hannah tells him.

"Me neither," Kebo pipes in, falling down between his best friend and his wife. "That girl's gonna love me."

"She'll tolerate you," Grant counters. "As do most people who know you."

"Why do you always insist on hurting me? I really don't understand it."

Grant shrugs. "You're an easy target."

"Well I don't like it."

"Too bad, because it probably won't ever change any time soon."

"You know, sometimes I question why we're friends," Kebo remarks.

Grant furrows his brows and tilts his head. "No you don't."

Kebo takes a deep breath. "You're right, I don't. But still, you can be quite mean."

"He doesn't mean it, baby," Hannah says to him, rubbing his shoulder affectionately with a small smile. "You know he loves you."

"Well he could definitely show it more," Kebo grumbles, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Aww, Kebo, do you want to cuddle?" Grant teases, holding his arms open to his friend.

Kebo shoves Grant's shoulder. "Shut up."

Grant just laughs quietly, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, really. I'll try to stop harassing you so much if it really bothers you."

Kebo nods once. "Thank you. I really appreciate that." He takes a deep breath. "Now then, I say we get these festivities started. It's your birthday, Grant. What do you want to do?"

"Um, I was just going to keep watching the History channel. There's some pretty interesting stuff on here today."

Kebo shakes his head. "Nope. Too lame. Something else."

Grant shrugs. "I don't know, man."

Kebo sighs. "Fine. I'll decide what we do." He stands from the couch and pulls his phone out of his pocket. "Let me just make a few calls," he says as he begins dialing while walking out of the room.

"Yeah, we should definitely be worried," Grant says, settling back into the couch and focusing on the television.

A knock at the door draws Grant's attention away from the television screen. Lifting the remote control, he shuts off the TV and then stands from the couch, making his way toward the front door.

Grant smiles when he pulls the door open and sees his two nephews and his older sister standing on the other side.

"Happy Birthday, Uncle Grant!"

"Hey guys. Come on in." He steps aside and allows them to enter his home, the two boys immediately running toward the back of the apartment where Max is, after giving Grant a hug around the legs. He pulls his sister in for a quick hug as he shuts the door after them. "How are you?" he asks.

"Doing alright," Amanda tells him. "How are you doing, little brother? Another year older now. Do anything special today?"

Grant shakes his head. "Not really. Jess called me this morning to say happy birthday, Kebo and Hannah came by for a few hours earlier, and now I'm gonna hang out with you guys for a little while."

"Well we can only stay for a few hours because it's still a school night, but the boys really wanted to come by and see you because it's your birthday," she tells him with a smile.

Grant smiles back. "Well I'm very glad that you did. Things are always much more fun when you guys are here. And I know Max enjoys having two young boys to rough house with."

"I'm sure he does." Amanda laughs quietly as she moves further into the apartment, going to the couch in the living room to sit down.

Grant follows after her and sits down beside her, letting out a deep, content sigh as he relaxes into the couch.

"Did Gramsy call you today?" Amanda asks him.

He nods his head. "Yeah. We talked for a few minutes before she had to go. She was getting tired."

"She's been getting tired a lot more, lately."

Grant sighs. "I know. I don't like seeing her so weak and everything."

"Neither do I. I just wish she'd get better so she could make us some chocolate chip cookies."

Grant smiles at the many memories. "Her chocolate chip cookies are the best chocolate chip cookies of all time."

"And she still refuses to give us the recipe. I tried recreating them once for the boys not too long ago, but they didn't taste right."

"I think she has a secret ingredient," Grant tells her. "I'm pretty sure I saw her making them once when we were kids and she put in something that I didn't recognize."

Amanda tilts her head to look at him. "Maybe it was some kind of drug and she's been slowly poising us since we were children."

The two adults are quiet for a quick moment before bursting out laughing, their eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Okay, I know she loves us and everything, but you have to admit that it sounds like something Gramsy would do if we were being annoying," Amanda says to him.

Grant nods his head. "I will admit that it sounds like something she definitely would have threatened us with."

Amanda chuckles. "Yeah, it does. Hey, when are you gonna introduce Gramsy and Jess to each other?" she asks him.

Grant sighs. "I don't know. Next time Jess is here, I guess."

"And when do you think that'll be?"

"I have absolutely no idea. But I hope it's soon. I'll probably call Skye at some point to see if I can have Jess here with me for a little while. So we can get to know each other a little better. I just hope she'll be open to the idea."

"Why wouldn't she be?" Amanda asks. "You're Jess' dad."

"I know that. But what I mean is, I hope she'll be open to the idea of letting Jess stay with me for a significant amount of time."

"She'll be with her dad, so I really don't think Skye will be too opposed to that."

Grant nods. "Yes, she'll be with me, on the opposite side of the country from where Skye lives. Would you really be all that thrilled of letting your boys stay on the opposite side of the country for a week without you at their current age?"

Amanda tilts her head in thought. "Good point. But all you can do is ask, maybe she'll surprise you."

"Yeah, maybe."

Opening up Instagram, Grant hits the new post button at the bottom and switches it to the video setting. He flips the camera around, holds the phone up in front of him, takes a deep breath, and then holds his thumb over the record button.

"Hey, everybody. I just want to take a quick moment before I head to bed to thank all of you for the birthday wishes you've sent in all throughout the day," he says with a smile into the camera on his phone. "You guys are the greatest fans a guy could ask for. I've even received some gifts from various places all over the world that I can't wait to open. Thank you guys so much."

Releasing his thumb, he hits the next button and then taps inside the caption box Thanks for all the birthday love, guys. :)

Hitting the post button, he waits a moment for it to upload and then begins scrolling through his timeline. As he scrolls, he likes the occasional photo and makes a few comments on photos of people he knows.

Stopping on a particular photo, he can't help it when the smile on his face grows a little bit wider. It's a photo posted by Skye of the two of them and Kebo as kids at one of his birthday parties. All three of them are smiling wide, Grant in the middle with one arm flung over Kebo's shoulders, and one arm flung over Skye's shoulders.

Happy birthday to the guy who was my best friend for so long before everything changed. But honestly, I'm really glad that you're back in my life, and Jess' life, even if it didn't seem that way at first. I've missed you, Grant, way more than I actually thought I would. So happy birthday, you big weirdo. :) #icantbelievethisphotostillexists #kebolookslikeanidiot #butimprettycute #andiguessyouaretoo

Grant double taps on the photo to like it and then clicks on the comments section to read the few that are there.

There's one from Melinda: I remember this. You three had so much fun that day. Then you all slept for hours after you sugar crashed. Longest moment of peace and quiet ever in our house. Happy birthday, Grant.

Another one from Jemma: Oh, I so wish Fitz and I could have been friends with you two back then, it seemed like you always had a lot of fun. Happy birthday, Grant. Fitz says it as well.

Even one from Kebo: Why do you always have to hurt me like that, Skye? I really don't get it.

Smiling to himself, Grant taps inside the comment box and types Thanks, Princess. I've missed you too. :)

Chapter Text

"Welcome back to the show, everybody," Iris West says as she smiles into the camera in front of her, as well as to the studio audience. "Our next guest is an extremely talented musician and has definitely won over the hearts of millions of young girls, as well as grown women, across the country and the world. I've had the pleasure of having him on my show a few times already and I'm happy to have him back again; please welcome back to the studio, Grant Ward."

The audience claps and cheers as loud as they can as Grant makes his way out onto the stage from the wings, waving and smiling to the crowd as he walks.

"Thank you so much for joining us again," Iris says to Grant, pulling him into a quick hug.

"Thanks for having me back," he replies.

"Please, have a seat." She gestures to the chair behind him as she sits down in her own.

"Thank you." He tosses her a smile as he sits down in the chair. "It feels so great to be back here. I love doing these things. Especially on your show. It might hurt the feelings of the hosts of the other shows I've been on, but I have to say that your show is probably my favorite one to be on."

She smiles back at him. "Well I'm glad to hear that, and we're certainly glad to have you back on the show." She takes a deep breath and shifts in her chair. "So, in just a few months your latest album will have been out for a year. What has the reception been like for that so far?"

Grant smiles. "Oh it's been great. The fans are amazing. I did a few album release parties in the beginning and meeting my fans was as awesome as it always is. Every time I meet them, they're always so nice and have some of the sweetest things to say about me and my music."

Iris smiles. "That's so great."

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome. I've loved making music for as long as I can remember, and so the reception I get from my fans whenever I release something new is always incredible. They make it all worth it in the end."

"That's really great to hear," Iris says. "But now we're going to move onto a subject that I think everyone here is dying to know all about." She takes a deep breath and shifts in her seat once more. "Over the last couple of months you've posted a few photos to your Instagram account that definitely got people talking, yet you haven't actually come out with a statement about the subject. One of my favorites is actually this photo here." The screen behind them lights up to show one of the pictures from Grant's Instagram. "I think we're all dying to know what this is all about. Do you really have a daughter?"

Grant sighs. "I should have known I'd be asked about this sooner or later." He takes a deep breath. "Yes, I have a daughter. The girl in that photo is my daughter; her name is Jessica, she's nine, and absolutely amazing. She's everything I could have hoped for in a daughter and so much more."

"Really."

Grant nods. "Yes. I don't think I've ever been happier than I am being a dad."

"Wow, that's great. But I think what we're all wondering now is how on earth you went so long without knowing that you had a daughter."

"Her mom and I actually grew up together," Grant begins explaining. "I've never talked about any of this before because I figured that when we went our separate ways she would appreciate it if I kept her name out of things whenever I talked about my past, so I decided that it was just easier not to talk about it at all."

He takes a deep breath and shifts in his seat. "But anyways, we'd been friends for years, since we were kids, and we both really loved music at the time so we had talked about starting a band, just the two of us, when we were in high school. We started dating soon after, and then we got married the summer after we graduated.

"Things were great at first, but then eventually, one thing lead to another and we ended up getting a divorce before we even hit our first anniversary."

He swallows thickly, remembering that day as clear as if it was just yesterday. "Neither of us knew she was pregnant when she moved away; she didn't find out until she was already settled in her new city. She tried to get in touch with me for a while after that, but I never got any of her letters. But we saw each other again at our high school reunion last summer and that's when I found out about my daughter."

"And I take it you've been a part of her life ever since then."

Grant nods. "As much as I can be, yeah. I live here in LA and they live out on the East Coast so it makes things slightly more difficult. But we talk on the phone a lot and FaceTime each other too. So we still get to stay in contact. And I was able to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas with her where she lives."

"Have you ever thought about having them move out here to LA so they can be closer?"

"I will admit that I've thought about it once or twice since finding out. But my daughter and her mom have their whole lives out where there are; I can't ask them to uproot all of that just for me. It wouldn't be fair to them."

Iris nods. "Right, of course. So what exactly is the story behind this photo? It's very cute."

Grant smiles at the photo of him and Jessica on the couch, Jessica leaning comfortably against his side. "Thanks. I really love this picture. It was Christmas morning, if I'm remembering it correctly, and we had just finished opening presents. We were watching one of the movies that my daughter got for Christmas and she came to sit next to me on the couch. Her mom took this photo during the movie when we were obviously very engrossed in the film. I absolutely love this picture."

"It is a very sweet photo," Iris tells him.

"Thank you."

"I'm also a fan of this particular photo, I believe it's the first one you posted of you and your daughter." The screen lights up to show the photo Grant posted on Thanksgiving of him and Jessica together.

Grant smiles. "Yes, that is. And I actually had to get permission to post that photo."

"Permission?"

Grant nods. "Mm-hmm. Her mom didn't want our daughters' face to be all over the magazines and websites because she's been seen out with me or anything."

"That's completely understandable. But obviously she's changed her stance on that since you've been posting pictures."

Grant nods again. "Yeah. She told me on Thanksgiving that she didn't mind if I started posting photos, she realized that she couldn't keep our daughter's face out of the publics' eye for very long considering she's my daughter and more people were starting to find out. So she let me post that photo."

"Well that was very nice of her," the host says with a small smile.

"Yeah, I was pretty happy about it."

"That's great." She takes a deep breath. "Well, unfortunately that's all we have time for today with you, but good luck on your music, being a dad, happy belated birthday, and I hope we can have you back again soon."

Grant nods his head politely. "Thank you. I would very much like to come back again at some point down the road. When you call, I won't hesitate to say yes."

Iris gives him a smile and looks at the camera. "Don't go anywhere, you guys; we'll be right back with some more fun stuff for you."

"And we're out!" the producer shouts through the studio.

She turns towards Grant. "Thank you so much for being here."

Grant gives her a kind smile. "No problem. I'm always happy to be here."

Iris smiles back. "Well I should probably let you go now, but good luck with your music and continuing to be a father. I hope everything works out well for you."

Grant smiles. "Thank you." He stands from his chair after she does and makes his way backstage.

"Great interview, mate," Kebo says, clapping his friend on the back as he makes his way toward him.

Grant smiles. "Thanks, Kebo." He takes a deep breath. "Should we get going, then?"

Kebo nods. "Yes we should."

The two men turn and make their way toward the doors of the studio to head out to the parking lot, heading in the direction of their individual cars since they both showed up separately.

"Oh, I meant to ask," Kebo speaks up before they split off, "are you going into the studio today?"

Grant shrugs. "I might if I feel inspired. Why?"

"Just wondering. I'll see you later, yeah?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. Tell Hannah I said hi."

"Will do." He gives him a small smile and then turns to walk over to where his car is waiting for him, pulling the car keys out of his pocket.

Watching his friend for a moment, Grant turns and continues toward his own car, pulling the keys out of his pocket and hitting the button to unlock the car from a distance.

Slowly his walk as he hears the vehicle, Grant pulls his phone out of his pocket and quickly unlocks it, hitting a familiar number in his favorites list. He holds the phone up to his ear and leans back against the side of his car, waiting for the other person to answer.

"Hello?"

He smiles into the receiver. "Skye, hey."

"Hey Grant. What's up?"

He shifts a little on his feet and shoves his free hand into the pocket of his pants. "I uh, I just wanted to let you know that people are probably going to figure out who you are pretty soon and start digging into your life. Mainly the tabloids, but still. You probably won't have very much privacy anymore."

She sighs. "Yeah, I kind of figured this would happen eventually. Good thing I already made my Instagram account private not long after you came back into my life and I've never had a Twitter. No offense to your fans or anything, but the last thing I need on any of my posts is a bunch of tween girls telling me how much they love you or asking me for favors involving you."

"No, I don't blame you for that. My fans can be kind of excessive."

"I'm sure they can be." She takes a deep breath. "Can I ask how people are going to figure out who I am, though? I'm just a little curious."

"No, yeah, totally." He rubs the back of his neck. "I uh, I just did an interview with Iris West and she asked about some of the pictures I posted with Jess, and one thing led to another and then I was talking about you, and our history. I didn't say your name or anything, but trust me when I say that it doesn't take much for these people to sniff stuff out. So when the interview comes out on TV, people are definitely going to start looking you up. Although, there was a studio audience today, so those people are probably trying to look you up as we speak."

"Well I appreciate the heads up."

"I figured you would."

"I do. Although I should tell you that I've already had quite a few people here mentioning the fact that you're Jess' dad. None of them know we were married before, but I'm sure once that interview comes to light there will be plenty of gossip at PTA meetings."

Grant quirks an eyebrow in amusement. "Did my ears deceive me or did you just say that you go to PTA meetings?"

Skye laughs quietly. "Been a proud member since the day Jess started kindergarten. Figured it'd be a good way for me to stay involved as a single parent."

"Well that was some very excellent thinking on your part," he assures her.

"Thanks. Well, I uh, I should probably go now, Miles and I have an important meeting with the wedding caterer to decide on the menu, so…"

"Oh, yeah, no, you should, you should go and do that. It's important. I'll uh, I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah. And thanks again, for the warning."

"Of course. Uh, bye."

"Yeah, bye."

Ending the call, Grant slides his phone into his pocket and then pulls open the door of his car and climbs inside. Starting up the engine, he shifts the gear into reverse and pulls out of his parking space before switching into drive and heading back toward his house.

Chapter Text

"Skye Coulson, I've got a major bone to pick with you today."

Skye groans internally, closing her eyes briefly before opening them and turning around, plastering a fake smile on her face toward the small group of women standing before her. "Teresa, Pamela, Angela, Brenda," she addresses each woman. "So good to see you all again. What can I do for you?"

"Well, a little birdie told us that you know Grant Ward a whole lot better than you initially led all of us to believe," the woman at the front of the group, Teresa, says to her.

"By little birdie do you mean Iris West's talk show?" Skye questions.

Teresa shakes her head and waves off the question. "Never mind how we know. Why didn't you tell us that your past relationship with that man was more than just a one night fluke that ended up with you being pregnant with his child?"

Skye quirks a brow. "Maybe because it's really none of your damn business what happened between me and Grant," she replies. "Other than PTA meetings and various school functions, we don't socialize, we're not friends. I know you four have some weird, slightly creepy, obsession over Grant, as do a lot of women I meet, but that doesn't mean I have to tell you all the intimate details about our relationship."

"You told us about him being Jessica's father," Teresa says.

Skye shakes her head. "No, I didn't. You guys found out through Instagram after Grant posted that photo of him and Jess on Thanksgiving when he was here."

"Well that bit of information is old hat now," Teresa tells her. "We all just assumed it was one of those little one-night stands people tend to have and you ended up pregnant with his child and never even bothered to tell him." Skye opens her mouth to speak when Teresa keeps speaking. "No, the bigger news around here now is that apparently, you were once married to Grant Ward way back when. I honestly don't know how you could have let such a fine specimen like that go. I mean honestly, what were you thinking?" She lets out a small laugh, trying to play her comment off in a joking manner.

"We were young," Skye tells her, growing more irritated with the woman standing in front of her. "Things happen, people change, I left. End of story."

"Oh I'm sure there's more to the story than that."

"There is," Skye admits. "But the rest of it is, like I said earlier, none of your damn business. So you can stop pestering me about it."

"Well I'm sure the others will agree with me when I say that if we had managed to land ourselves someone like Grant Ward, we'd have done everything to keep our hands on him."

"Yeah, well, what makes you think I wouldn't have too?" Skye asks sharply. "You don't know anything about what happened, Teresa, so don't act like you do. Like I just told you, there's a whole lot more to the story than what Grant said in that interview. And for the last time, none of it is your business. I'm with Miles and I'm going to marry him because I love him and he'll be a great stepfather to Jessica. Grant and I are in the past, it'll never happen again. But he will still be in my life because of the daughter we made together and he's a great father to her, like I always knew he would be from the moment I found out I was pregnant. Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere else I need to be right now." Turning around, Skye makes way across the pavement away from the women, letting out a frustrated huff of air as she walks.

"Hey, everything okay?"

Skye looks up to see Miles standing in front of her, concern etched on his face. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just annoyed."

"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Help me bury the bodies?" she suggests.

Miles frowns. "Skye."

She shrugs. "What? I'm just kidding. Obviously I'm not going to actually kill anyone. At least not until Jess is out of the house, she's too young for me to go to prison right now. There's a possibility it could mess her up psychologically and I can't do that to her."

Miles' frown deepens as he looks at her.

Skye sighs. "Relax, Miles, I'm kidding, I promise. I just needed to imagine that for a minute because those women really grate on my nerves. But I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Miles asks her.

She nods. "Yeah, I'm sure. I just need to get away from them for as long as humanly possible."

"Isn't there still more left of the meeting, though?" he asks. "I thought this was just a short break. Shouldn't we stay to hear whatever else there is?"

Skye sighs. "Do we really have to, though? It's usually just the same stuff that's at every other meeting."

"It's important, though, right?" he asks. "So that you know what's going on in school and all of that."

She shrugs. "I mean, I guess so. But do we really have to stay? They're just going to give me weird looks the rest of the time, now that it's out that Grant and I used to be together."

"Wasn't it already out there because of Jess' mere existence?" he asks.

"Well yeah. But according to them, it could have just been a one night stand and we were never even in a relationship. I mean, I know it didn't end well between us, but what Grant and I had was special, he was the first guy I ever really loved like that, and it really irritates me that someone could just play it down so easily as a meaningless one night stand; it was so much more than that. Even if we were fighting those last few months, there was still some amount of love there." She takes a deep breath and lets it out on a sigh, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sure the last thing you want is to hear me talking about my ex husband."

"It isn't, but I understand. You and Grant have history, and a daughter together."

She nods her head. "Yes we do. But you and I have a future together. I've told you that before and I'll tell you it again. I promise you have nothing to worry about with any of that."

Miles nods. "I know. And I trust you completely."

"Good. And because I love you, and you seem to be so invested in staying for the rest of this meeting even though it's going to be completely boring, we can stay."

Miles gives her a smile and then leans down to kiss her. "Thank you."

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Let's just go back inside before I change my mind and drag you to the car."

"Hey Jess," Skye greets her daughter when the young girl walks into the apartment, Jemma right behind her. "Did you have fun with Rachel?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah."

"Good, I'm glad." She looks up at her friend. "Thanks for picking her up for me. I got kind of swamped with stuff for the shop."

"Oh it was no problem," Jemma tells her. "Do you need anything else before I head back out?"

Skye shakes her head. "No, I think we're good."

"Great. I'll see you later, then."

"Yeah, see ya."

"Bye, Jessica," Jemma calls to her niece with a small wave.

Jessica doesn't look up from where she's sitting on the couch. "Bye."

"So, what are you thinking for dinner?" Skye asks her daughter once the door closes.

Jessica shrugs. "I don't know."

Skye's brows furrow. "Hey, what's going on with you? Is everything okay?"

"Did you love dad?" Jessica asks, looking up from her hands.

"What?" Skye asks. "Why on earth would you ask me something like that?"

"Rachel and I went to the park today and some of the other kids were talking about the interview dad did on Iris West's show. They said that you didn't really love dad because you left him and didn't tell him about me."

Skye sighs and stands up from her seat, crossing over to sit down next to her daughter. "Jessica, I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay?" Jessica nods. "Because of how popular your father is, people like to talk about him and the people in his life. Unfortunately, it seems like you've started to become somewhat of a target for people's jabs about him. And that's never what I wanted."

"But they were talking about you, mom, not dad."

Skye nods. "I know, angel. And I wish you wouldn't have to hear any of that, I really do. But because people know now that I used to be in a relationship with your dad, they're going to say things. Things that I really, really wish you wouldn't have to hear."

"They were saying really mean things about you, mom," Jessica says, tears shining in her eyes.

Skye frowns, tears starting to build up in her own eyes as she hugs her daughter close to her. "Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry you had to hear what those kids said. Most of them probably didn't even know what they were talking about, they most likely heard it from one of their parents who just running their mouths. None of what any of them are saying is true in the slightest. I loved your father so much. And because of that love, I got you. Nothing that anyone says is ever going to change that."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Skye pulls back and wipes at the few tears trailing down her daughter's cheeks. "Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing at all. This is not your fault, and you shouldn't have to worry about what other people are saying about me or your father. Anytime anyone says anything else about my relationship with your father, I just want you to remember what I told you the last time we talked like this. Your dad and I love you so much and no matter what happens between the two of us, our love for you will never ever go away. He'll always be in your life, and there's a part of me that will always care about him and be grateful for what I did have with him because he gave me you," she says with a soft smile.

Jessica sniffles and nods her head, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. "Okay. Can we have fried chicken for dinner?" Jessica asks, changing the subject.

Skye smiles and laughs quietly. "Of course we can, baby. Go on and wash up and you can help me."

"Okay." Jessica stands up from the couch and turns to make her way down the hall. "I love you, mom," she says over her shoulder.

Skye smiles. "I love you too, angel."

Chapter Text

Hearing his phone go off near him, Grant leans over to the small table next to the couch and grabs hold of the device, glancing at the caller ID displayed on the screen.

He hits the answer button after seeing Skye's name appear on the screen with Jessica's photo and then holds the device up to his ear. "Hello?"

"Happy Valentine's Day, dad."

Grant smiles into the phone at hearing his daughters' voice, relaxing back into the couch a little more. "Happy Valentine's day, Jess. Are you doing anything special today to celebrate?"

"Miles said he's going to take me and mom out for dinner tonight."

"That sounds fun."

"Yeah. I don't know where he's taking us but I'm really excited."

"As you should be. I'm sure wherever Miles decides to take you is going to be very nice."

"Yeah. I like going out to dinner to nice restaurants. It's really fun and the food is awesome. Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day, dad?" she asks him.

He takes a deep breath. "No, not really."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

He shakes his head. "Don't be. Sometimes I like being able to just have some time to myself for a while. It's definitely needed with the crazy life that I have."

"Well if I was there I'd spend Valentine's Day with you and it'd be just you and me and we'd go out and do something."

Grant smiles. "That definitely sounds better than sitting at home alone. Thanks, Jess."

"You're welcome. I have to go now, dad, but I love you."

"I love you too, Jess. Bye."

"Bye."

Pulling the phone down from his ear, Grant switches over to his Twitter app and scrolls a bit through his timeline before hitting the new tweet button.

Somehow I always end up single on Valentine's Day. But getting to talk to my daughter for a few minutes managed to brighten my day. :)

He hits send and then closes out of the app, locking his phone again and tossing it down onto the cushion next to him as he relaxes further into his couch and focuses his eyes on the screen in front of him.

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.

.

Setting his drink glass down on the counter top, Grant looks up toward the salt-and-pepper haired man behind the bar.

"Can I get another one over here, please, Marty?" Grant says, holding up a hand to the bartender.

"Sure thing, Grant," Marty replies. He quickly puts together another drink and then brings it over to Grant, setting it down in front of him. "Great set tonight, by the way," he tells him.

Grant smiles. "Thanks. It felt good."

"I'm sure it did. Enjoy your drink, man." He grabs the empty glass and carries it with him to the sink.

"I will, Marty, thanks." He lifts the glass to his lips and takes a long sip from it before setting it back down on the bar top and looking down into the amber liquid.

"Hi."

Grant looks up from the drink to see a woman with light brown hair and hazel eyes standing next to him with a small smile playing at her lips.

"Hi," he says back.

"You were great up there," she tells him, gesturing to the small stage he just played on.

He smiles at her. "Thanks. I'm Grant."

"Sophia," the woman says. "Mind if I join you?"

Grant shakes his head. "Not at all. In fact, I highly encourage it." He smiles at her as she sits down in the chair next to him, placing her own glass down in front of her.

Sophia takes a deep breath and turns to face him. "So, what's your story?" she asks him.

He furrows his brows. "What?"

"I asked you what your story is," she repeats. "Why are you here at a bar on Valentine's Day?"

"Oh, um, obviously I'm single," he says. "I had a girlfriend for a couple of months but she ended things between us at the beginning of December." He sighs. "I can never manage to keep a girlfriend long enough for Valentine's Day to roll around. There were only a few years when I was a teenager that I wasn't single on Valentine's Day. Longest relationship I've ever had, but it ended way sooner than I would have liked it to, and not exactly in the best way, either."

Sophia nods. "Ah, I see. And so you're out here trying to distract yourself from all the happy couples out there in the world."

Grant shrugs. "Kind of. I've been coming here the last five years or so to play a few songs for the other people. I try not to play anything too heavy in romance, because there's a reason why they're here alone on Valentine's Day. I just figured I can do something better with my night than sit around my house and mope about love lost."

"Well you certainly made a great choice in coming here to play," she tells him.

He smiles at her. "Thanks." He takes a deep breath. "So, I told you why I'm here, now I think it's your turn to tell me why you're here."

Sophia nods. "Alright, that's fair." She takes another sip of her drink and swallows. "I have been perpetually single for the last three years. I've had a few dates, but never a real, meaningful relationship. None of the guys were ever right for me. It's been a long time since I've been in a relationship that actually meant something to me."

"Well that's too bad," Grant says. "Because even though we've just met, I can already tell that you're a lovely woman and any guy would be lucky to be in a relationship with you, no matter how long it lasted."

Sophia ducks her head and smiles, tucking some of her hair back behind her ear, and then looks up at him through her lashes. "Thank you."

He smiles softly. "Anytime." He takes a deep breath. "So, I have another question for you."

She shifts on her seat. "Shoot."

"What do you do for a living?" he asks her.

She raises a brow. "Really?"

He nods. "Yeah. I'm genuinely curious."

"Alright. Well, if you really want to know, I'm a museum curator," she tells him.

"Oh, wow. That's so cool."

"You really think so?"

He nods with a smile. "Definitely. All that history and all those stories behind the different pieces of art. You have such a huge part in helping those come to life."

"Wow. I don't think I've ever met anyone who was so enthusiastic about what I do."

"Well, not a lot of people know this about me, but if I wasn't in the career I'm currently in, I think if I had gone to college and gotten a degree, it would have been in history."

"That's awesome," she says with a smile. "I love history. And art. I've loved art since I was a kid and when I got older I realized I had this huge fascination with history and different people's stories. I think that's why I became a museum curator; I was able to blend my two passions into one career. And were you really serious about nobody knowing you wanted to get a degree in history at one point?"

He nods. "Yeah. Only a select few people I grew up with who know me very well know that I would have gotten a history degree."

Sophia smiles. "Ooh. So I'm part of a very exclusive circle, then."

Grant laughs quietly and nods. "Yeah, I guess you are."

Sophia shifts on her bar stool. "So, is there anything else about you that someone in that very exclusive circle gets to know?"

Grant smiles and lifts his drink to his lips. "Mm, I guess you'll just have to stick around and see."

Sophia smiles back. "That sounds like an excellent plan."

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.

.

"Well, this is me right here," Sophia tells Grant as they slowly approach her apartment complex. "Thanks for walking me back to my place, even though you really didn't have to."

He gives her a small shrug. "I wanted to. It wouldn't be right to just let you walk back in the dark by yourself. This way I know that you're safe at home and I don't have to worry all night."

Sophia smiles up at him. "Well, you are certainly quite the gentleman, Grant."

"You can thank my Gramsy for that," he tells her.

"I will be sure to do that if I ever get the chance to meet her."

Grant takes a deep breath. "Well, I had a really great time with you tonight, Sophia," he says. "Probably one of the best nights I've had in a long time."

"Same goes for me," she admits. "And maybe, if you'd be up for it at all, we could try it again sometime. I know this great place not too far from here that I think would be perfect for a second date."

Grant smiles. "That sounds like something I can definitely get behind. But I feel like I should tell you this now before things go any further, but I have an eight year old daughter from the relationship I mentioned earlier from when I was younger. We were married but it didn't even last a year, but I'm talking to her, my ex, again because she's my daughter's mother. They live on the opposite side of the country, though, so I don't see them too often."

"I know."

Grant furrows his brows. "You do?"

She nods. "Yeah. I'm actually a pretty big fan of yours, Grant Ward," she says. "I follow all of your social media accounts, so I already know all about that whole thing. At least, I only know what's been said in interviews and whatnot, but I still know."

"Wait, you actually know who I am?" he asks with a raised brow. "You didn't say anything back at the bar."

"I knew who you were the moment I saw you up on stage and heard you sing," she tells him with a small smile. "But I figured you could probably benefit from one night of someone treating you like an actual person instead of a celebrity."

"Well thank you."

She shrugs. "No problem."

"So you're really not put off by the fact that I've been married before and have a kid?" he asks.

"If I was put off by it, do you really think I would have stayed and talked to you at the bar?" she retorts. "Besides, I've always found guys with a sensitive side much more attractive."

Grant smiles. "Well I am very sensitive. My daughter brings it all out in me. She's a great girl."

"She definitely seems like it based on all of your Instagram photos and tweets."

Grant smiles sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, I've posted a lot about her since I found out, haven't I?"

Sophia smiles. "It's fine. I think it's sweet."

"You do?"

She nods. "Mm-hmm."

"Wow, that's great. Really great." He takes a deep breath. "So then that second date is still on?" he asks.

She nods and smiles. "Absolutely. Be here at seven o'clock next Friday."

"Seven o'clock next Friday. Got it. I'll be here."

"Awesome. Can't wait." She steps forward and gives him a quick kiss on the cheek before pulling her keys out and stepping up to the building. "Goodnight, Grant."

He smiles softly at her. "Goodnight, Sophia."

He waits until she's safely in the building and down the hall out of his sight before turning around and making the short walk back toward the bar to retrieve his car.

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.

.

Smiling to himself as he falls back onto his bed, Grant pulls his phone out of his pocket and unlocks it, going straight into Twitter. He hits the new post button and begins typing.

First time in a long time that I've actually had a pleasant evening on Valentine's Day. Could definitely get used to more nights like this.

Hitting send, he waits a moment for it to upload and then smiles when he sees a new reply notification a few seconds later. From Sophia. He recognizes her photo.

Hope it was a fun night for you.

He chuckles quietly to himself and then responds to her tweet. It was a very fun night. I can't wait to have more like it.

Tapping on her icon, he's taken to her profile and he immediately hits the 'follow' button before closing out of the app altogether.

Looking down, he lets out a content sigh as he catches Max's eye. "I've got a pretty good feeling about this girl, Max. A really, really good feeling."

Chapter Text

Taking a deep breath, Grant steps up onto Sophia's front porch and lightly wraps on the door, rocking back on his heels as he waits.

A second later, the door swings open to reveal the woman in question standing on the other side, wearing a simple pair of nice blue jeans and a flowy blouse, her hair curled slightly and half of it pulled back into a ponytail.

He lets out a breath. "Wow. You look beautiful."

Sophia smiles and tucks a loose lock of hair back behind her ear. "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself tonight."

He glances down at his own outfit, a pair of dark jeans and one of his nicer Henley's, and then back up at her. "Thanks. So, should we go?"

She nods. "Yes, we should." She pulls the door closed behind her as she steps out onto the porch. "My car or yours?" she asks him, tucking her cell phone into her back pocket.

"Well, since you're the one who actually knows where we're going, I think we should take your car and you should drive."

Sophia smiles and nods. "Great, my car it is, then. Right this way." She leads him over to her car sitting in the complex's parking lot and climbs inside once it's unlocked.

"So where exactly are we going tonight for our date?" Grant asks once Sophia pulls the car onto the main road.

"It's a surprise," she tells him with a small smile. "If I told you where we're going, then it wouldn't be a surprise."

"Well I certainly love a good surprise," he says back. "So long as it doesn't backfire in any way."

"Then in that case, I have my fingers crossed that tonight doesn't backfire on either of us," she tells him. "I want tonight to go well."

"So do I," Grant admits. "I really like you, Sophia."

She smiles over at him. "I really like you too, Grant. Which is why I'm really glad we're doing this."

"I am too," he tells her. "It's been a while since I went on a real date."

"Didn't you have a girlfriend a few months ago?" she asks him.

He nods. "Yeah. But I was dating Lorelei and she was usually more about going on dates where we could be seen together most of the time, so our picture would get taken by somebody. She was never really up for just going on nice, clam, intimate dates where it was just the two of us."

"Oh. Well then I'm glad I could help you out."

Grant smiles. "Me too. So does that mean this place we're going to is pretty intimate?"

"Well it's not a very well-known place," she tells him. "So yeah, I guess you could say it's pretty intimate. I only know about it because a friend of mine works there."

Grant nods. "Ah. So you have a connection there."

Sophia nods. "Yeah, I guess I do."

"Well connections are a great thing to have at most any place you go. Some people considering it cheating, having connections, but I just consider it being smart. It never hurts to have people who can help you out in certain situations."

Sophia smiles softly. "You know, if somebody didn't know you were a world-famous singer, I don't think they would figure it out just by being alone with you. You're very down to earth."

Grant shrugs. "I never got into the music for the fame; I do it because I love it. And that'll never change. But it also helps that I have an older sister who probably kick my butt if I started to get a big head and go all crazy because of the fame."

"Well that's good to know."

He nods. "Yeah. And I knowing that I have a daughter now, I'd hate for her to have to witness me doing something stupid because of how famous I am. So that's an extra incentive for me to not let things get out of hand."

Sophia nods. "That is definitely a great incentive."

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.

.

"You know, I still can't get over how great this place is," Grant says, his eyes roaming around the small restaurant for a moment before focusing back on Sophia. "The food here is amazing."

Sophia smiles and nods. "It definitely is. I'll make sure to pass that information on to my friend when I see her."

"Good, good. She should know what a great job she's doing with this place."

"Yes, she should." She takes a deep breath. "So, it's not a typical second date question, but I really have to know." Sophia shifts in her seat and leans forward, resting her arms on the table. "What's it like being a dad after not knowing about your daughter for the first eight years of her life? I'm sorry if it seems like I'm overstepping or something, I'm just a naturally curious person."

Grant shakes his head. "You're fine, I don't mind the question. It's a valid question." He then lets out a small chuckle. "And it isn't a typical second date question, but I promise I don't mind it."

"Glad to hear it. So what's it like?"

"It's honestly really great," he tells her with a smile at the simple thought of his daughter. "When Skye and I first got married, we were fresh out of high school and starting a family wasn't really on our minds just yet. The thought had crossed my mind a few times, whenever I'd see a little girl or boy out on the street somewhere, I'd imagine a little boy or girl that looked just like Skye and it would make me smile and hope for the future we'd get to make for ourselves one day." He swallows thickly. "When Skye left me and filed for divorce, I saw that image of our future completely fall apart right before my eyes. I was devastated."

Sophia frowns. "I'm so sorry. That definitely doesn't sound like it was easy for you at all."

"It really wasn't. For a long time I didn't think I'd ever be happy again," he admits. "But I found solace in my music and my best friend Kebo helped to pull me up out of the hole I'd buried myself in and really get my career started."

Sophia smiles. "It's great to have a best friend like that."

"Yeah, it is. He was probably one of the biggest supporters of my relationship with Skye, since the very beginning, so he was probably just as hurt as I was by it all. I know he'd give anything for me to be happy again."

"That's really great."

Grant smiles. "Yeah. He's always got my best interest in mind and has no problems calling me out when I'm acting like an idiot, or pointing out things that I don't realize myself in that moment. It can be a little much sometimes, but he means well."

Sophia smiles and laughs quietly. "I'm sure he does."

Hearing his phone go off, Grant shoots Sophia an apologetic smile before reaching into his pocket to pull the device out.

"Hello?" he says into the receiver, after checking the caller ID and hitting the answer button.

"Make them stop."

Grant's brows furrow. "What are you talking about, Skye?" Sophia's ears perk up.

"The reporters and the photographers, Grant. Make them stop harassing me at work and Jess when she's at school. It's really starting to get out of hand."

"Well if you didn't want them hounding you then shouldn't have had a kid with me," he teases with a smile.

Skye groans. "Can you please be serious for two seconds?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry."

"Thank you." She sighs. "I just feel like I can't go anywhere in public anymore without someone taking my picture or trying to ask me about you. They know where I work too, and they're making it so that people just walk by the shop without coming in and that's not okay because that's taking business away which is how I make my living."

Grant nods as he listens. "Mm-hmm, okay. I'll uh, I'll send something out to try and lessen the amount of reporters and paparazzi following you around."

"I'd prefer if it was none," Skye tells him.

"I know, but I can only do so much. If it doesn't let up anytime soon, just let me know and I'll see what else I can do."

Skye sighs. "Yeah, okay."

"Good. I'll get on that as soon as I'm done here."

"Oh, did I interrupt something?" Skye asks.

"Kind of. I'm on a date right now," he says, flashing Sophia a smile.

"Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry."

He shakes his head. "It's fine."

"Still, I'm sorry for interrupting your date. Are you having a good time?"

He smiles. "Yeah, I am."

"And do you like the girl you're out with?"

He nods, the smile on his face growing a little wider. "Yeah, I do."

"I'm glad to hear it. You deserve to be happy, Grant. I really mean that."

"Thanks," he says back, leaning back in his chair. "So, uh, I'll do that thing as soon as I can."

"Right. Thank you so much."

"Of course," he says. "It's really no problem."

"Well I still really appreciate it," she tells him.

"I'm just happy to help. Will you tell Jess I said hi?"

"Of course I will. Goodnight, Grant."

"Goodnight, Skye."

Pulling the phone down from his ear, he ends the call and lets out a breath.

"I'm sorry about that," he apologizes to Sophia.

"It's okay," she assures him. "But do you always answer the phone every time when it's Skye calling?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. I kinda have to. Sometimes it's Jess calling me, or there's something going on with Jess, and I don't want Skye to think I don't care or that anything else is more important than my daughter. My daughter comes first. That doesn't bother you, does it?" he asks hesitantly.

She shakes her head. "No, not really. I just, I don't want it to get in the way of us."

Grant smiles. "So there's an 'us', then?"

Sophia smiles and nods her head, tucking some of her hair back behind her ear. "I was kind of hoping so, yeah."

"I'm really glad to hear that," Grant tells her. "I wasn't sure how to bring up the subject, so I'm glad that you did."

"So am I. And I just want to make it clear that I'm not saying you have to cut off all communication with your daughter or anything like that, because I understand that she's important to you, I just don't want our relationship to be put on the back burner constantly. She does live on the other side of the country, and it's okay to put your own needs first some of the time."

Grant nods. "Yeah. And I promise I'll do everything I can to make sure our relationship doesn't become second fiddle. But I should probably post this thing for Skye before it gets any later and I forget about it."

"What thing?" she asks him as he pulls his phone back out.

"Apparently she's been starting to get hounded by paparazzi ever since I talked about our past relationship on Iris West's show."

Sophia nods. "Ah, yeah. Well, I guess that's bound to happen when it's revealed you were once married and have a daughter with a world famous singer."

Grant chuckles. "Yeah, I guess so."

"So what thing are you posting for her, then?"

"Just something to ask all the paparazzi out on the east coast to leave them alone. Hopefully it'll work, but it might not. I'm just praying that the paparazzi in Massachusetts are a little more understanding than the paparazzi in LA."

"Oh, wow. I never even thought about that. It must not be easy for her."

"I don't think it's her most favorite thing in the world, especially since she's trying to build a life with her fiancé Miles."

"She's getting married?" Sophia asks.

Grant nods. "Yeah. I met him when I was there before and he seems like a great guy, so I think he'll be a good step-dad for Jess."

"Well that's good."

"Yeah, it is. And uh, I feel like I should tell you that if we continue to date, the paparazzi and reporters are probably going to start hounding you at some point. And they'll probably bring up subjects like my previous marriage to try and rattle the cage somehow. I just don't want you to be caught off guard or anything when it ends up happening."

Sophia smiles and reaches across the table for his hand. "I appreciate the concern and the warning. I think I'll be good, though. There's not much that can shake me."

Grant nods once. "Good." He takes a deep breath. "Okay, so let me actually post this thing now," he says with a small chuckle. "And then we can get back to our dare."

He holds his phone back in front of him and looks at the screen, going straight to Twitter and hitting the new tweet button.

ATTENTION! To all reporters &paparazzi on east coast. Please leave my daughter &her mother alone. It's starting to get ridiculous. Thank you

Hitting the send button, he closes out of twitter and locks his phone, sliding it back into his pocket and focusing his attention on Sophia once more.

Chapter Text

"Hey, mom?" Jessica calls through the apartment as she walks into the living room. "Can I watch TV? I already did all my homework and unloaded the dishwasher."

"That's fine," Skye calls back from her bedroom. "Just don't have it too loud, please."

"I won't." She climbs up onto the middle of the couch, grabbing the remote off the side table, and settles into the cushions as she hits the power button.

She clicks on the channel buttons a few times, moving through the different stations as she searches for something to watch.

Her tiny body perks up when she sees her dad's name written across the bottom of the screen when she gets to a certain channel that she's watched a few times before.

She pauses as the voiceover speaks while a clip rolls on the screen of her dad walking out of a building with a woman she's never seen before, his arm wrapped protectively around her waist.

"...spotted out in public just recently, coming out of a local club with a beautiful, yet mysterious woman on his arm."

"Grant!" someone shouts from off-camera. "Grant, is it true that you Lorelei broke up with you because you're still in love with your ex-wife?"

"That's none of your business," Grant bites.

"Who's this woman?" someone else asks. "Is she your new girlfriend? What's her name?"

Grant holds a hand out politely toward the cameras, cutting off their views as he and the woman make their way down the street. "Excuse me. Please stop. We're just trying to have a nice night out."

The clip ends, going back to a woman sitting on a couch with a sly smile.

"So who is this mysterious woman seen out with Grant Ward? And just how quickly did he bounce back after his relationship with world renowned supermodel Lorelei ended? We'll be sure to keep you updated as more—"

Shutting off the TV, Jessica leans over and grabs the tablet off of the end table and quickly logs into it, going straight to the internet browser.

Tapping inside the search bar, she quickly types on the keyboard when it appears, 'Grant Ward girlfriend', and then hits enter.

The results page loads, showing a few images of the clip she just saw on TV, followed by a few online magazine articles about 'Grant Ward and his new mystery woman' within the top results.

"Mom!" she shouts, not looking up from the tablet as she continues to scroll down the page, debating on whether or not to actually click on any of the links.

"What's going on, baby girl?" Skye asks as she steps into the room, her cell phone in her hand and her brows furrowed. "What's with all the shouting?"

"I think dad has a new girlfriend," Jessica states, handing the tablet up to her mom. "I saw something on TV when I was trying to find something to watch. So I Googled it and it's showing all these pictures of him with some lady."

Skye scrolls back up to the top and looks at the images on the screen for a moment, her heart barely skipping a beat, before she looks at her daughter. "Well you know what you can do that no one else in the paparazzi field can do?" she asks after swallowing.

"What?"

"Call your dad and ask him about it," she says with a soft smile. "I'm sure he'll tell you the truth if you just asked him."

Jessica takes the tablet back and tilts her head in thought. "Yeah, okay. Can I use your phone?"

"Why don't you just FaceTime him instead?" She gestures to the tablet with her head. "I've got some important calls to make for both the store and the wedding so I kind of need my phone."

Jessica sighs. "Okay."

Skye gives her a small smile and kiss to the top of the head before she turns around and makes her way out of the room and back down the hall to her own bedroom.

Turning back around, Jessica pulls her legs up underneath of her and holds the tablet securely in her lap. Opening up FaceTime, she clicks on her dad's name and then waits for it to connect.

Once his face fills up the screen, Jessica smiles. "Hi dad."

Grant smiles back. "Hey, Jess. What's up?"

Jessica fidgets with the fabric of her jeans. "Um, I wanted to ask you something."

"What did you want to ask me?"

Jessica takes a deep breath. "Do you have a new girlfriend?"

"What?"

"Do you have a new girlfriend?" she repeats. "I saw something on TV about it and then I Googled it and it says you have a new girlfriend. But mom said I should ask you to be sure."

Grant sighs and nods. "And your mom was right. That goes for the future too, if you ever see anything in the media about me, just go ahead and ask me. And to answer your question, yes, I do have a new girlfriend. Her name is Sophia, I met her on Valentine's Day, and I really like her."

"Do you love her?" Jessica asks.

"I don't know yet, sweetheart. We haven't been together for very long yet. But I definitely think that I could in time."

"Oh, okay. Um, dad?"

"Yeah?"

"How long was it before you knew you loved mom?"

Grant smiles at the memory. "Not very long at all. But I'll tell you that story another time."

"Really?"

"Really."

Jessica sighs. "Okay. Fine."

There's a quick beat before Grant opens his mouth to speak again.

"So, how is the songwriting coming along?" he asks his daughter, shifting slightly in his seat but making sure he's still visible in the screen.

Jessica shrugs. "Okay. It's easier to write the words than figure out the music."

Grant smiles. "It can definitely be that way sometimes. And other times, you come up with a tune that you really like, but it takes you a while to figure out words for it."

"Really?"

Grant nods. "Mm-hmm. But I'll tell you what, next time we see each other, make sure you have your notebook and we can sit down again and maybe I can help you figure out some music for one of your songs."

Jessica smiles. "You will?"

Grant smiles back and nods. "Of course."

"Awesome. I love you, dad."

"I love you too, Jess."

"Hi, Jess."

Jessica glances up from her desk to see Josie approaching her. "Hi."

Josie frowns."Why do you look sad?"

"My dad has a new girlfriend," Jessica explains. "I saw it on the news."

"Oh, yeah. I saw that one too."

"I FaceTimed him after I saw it and asked him about it and he said that it's true that he has a new girlfriend. Her name is Sophia and he said that he really likes her."

"Wow. But why do you seem sad about it?"

Jessica shrugs. "I don't know. I want dad to be happy, but I don't know if he can really happy be without mom."

"Really?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah. He smiles a lot whenever he's near mom or talks about her. I tried to ask him how long it took before he knew he loved mom but he wouldn't tell me."

"How come?"

"I think it's cause he knows mom is happy with Miles and he doesn't want to ruin it."

"Do you think he still loves her?"

Jessica shrugs. "I don't know. Mom told me once that a part of her is always going to love dad because of me, but I don't know if dad feels the same way."

"Have you asked him?"

Jessica shakes her head. "No. I don't know how to bring it up. And I don't want him to get mad."

"Why would he get mad?" Josie asks.

"I don't know. He has a new girlfriend, so maybe he's trying to move on from my mom and if I brought it up then he might get mad. Obviously my mom doesn't want to be with my dad anymore because she's getting married to Miles."

"Maybe your dad will get married again," Josie suggests. "Then you'd have a step-mom and a step-dad."

"As long as she wouldn't be a wicked step-mother."

"That's only in stories," Josie tells her.

Jessica shakes her head. "Nu-uh. Owen said that his cousin has a wicked step-mom."

"And Owen's always lying," Josie reminds her.

Jessica's tiny brows furrow. "Oh, yeah. You're right. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if both my mom and dad got married to other people. Maybe it'll be nice."

"Maybe," Josie agrees. "But only time will tell."

"Yeah, guess I just have to wait and see."

Chapter Text

"Hey, beautiful." Grant smiles at the sight of Sophia stepping through the front door of his apartment, shrugging out of her jacket and toeing off her shoes. "How was work?"

Sophia lets out a breath as she falls down next to him on the couch. "It was okay. How was your day?"

Grant shrugs. "It was fine. I have a question for you, though."

"And I just might have an answer," she replies.

Grant smiles. "Right. So, I know it's kind of last minute, but I was just barely able to shuffle some stuff around so that I can go, and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me."

"Well I think that all depends on where we'd be going," she says.

"Right, sorry. It's uh, it's my daughter's birthday party. I told her I wasn't going to be able to make it, but I was able to move some stuff around, like I said, and so I want to surprise her. And I know it's still fairly early in our relationship, but I was hoping you'd want to come with me and meet her."

Sophia smile softly. "I would love to go with you."

Grant perks up. "You would? Oh that's great. It's uh, it's on the 12th. Her birthday's actually the 8th but they're having her party on that Saturday because it's easier, I guess, since it's still the middle of the school year."

"That makes sense. I take it we're flying out there?" she asks.

He nods. "Yeah. You're good with that, right?"

Sophia nods. "Mm-hmm. I love flying."

"Well that's a relief," Grant tells her.

"It is?"

"Yeah. Skye hates flying. We went on a trip in middle school to Florida for this one group we were a part of, and we had to fly there. Obviously Skye, Kebo, and I got our seats right next to each other. The whole flight there, Skye had a death grip on my hand and even jumped and squealed a few times when the plane made any sudden movements." He laughs quietly at the memory. "Same thing happened on the way back too. I think she's avoided having to take a plane as much as she possibly can."

"Well your hand will be safe when we go for your daughter's birthday," she assures him.

Grant chuckles quietly. "Good to know. Now come here." He drapes his arm across the back of the couch and pulls her into his side, dropping a kiss to the top of her head as they relax back into the couch.

"I'm not too late for the party, am I?"

Jessica gasps as she turns her head toward the front door of the apartment. A wide smile immediately crosses over her face and then she's jumping up from her seat on the living room floor and running over to Grant, wrapping her arms around him tightly in a hug. "You came," she says.

Grant smiles as he hugs her back. "Of course I did."

"Mom said you weren't gonna be able to," she says, leaning back to look up at him.

"Well I managed to move some things around in my schedule so that I could fly out here for your party. After missing the first eight birthdays I wasn't about to miss the ninth one too."

Jessica grins and then hugs him again tightly. "Dad, who's that?" Jessica asks, after pulling away from the hug and noticing the woman standing with her dad. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Grant glances behind him and grabs Sophia's hand in his, gently tugging her forward. "Yes, this is my girlfriend Sophia. Soph, this is my daughter Jessica."

Sophia smiles nervously. "Hi. You look so much like your dad. I bet you get that a lot, though, huh?"

Jessica shrugs. "Sometimes. Mostly from my mom. How long have you been dating my dad?"

"Not very long," Sophia tells her. "But I really, really like him." She smiles up at Grant before looking back at Jessica. "Happy birthday, by the way."

Jessica smiles. "Thanks. Did you guys bring me a present?"

"Jessica," Skye warns as she makes her way over to them.

Jessica looks over her shoulder at her mom and shrugs. "What? It's a birthday party."

Skye laughs quietly and shakes her head. "Yes it is. Now go back and join your friends, okay? Your dad's going to be here for the rest of the day, and then all of tomorrow, so you'll have plenty of time to hang out with him while he's here."

"Okay." She gives Grant one last hug before going back over to where her friends are and immediately engaging in conversation with them.

"I'm glad you could make it," she tells Grant once Jessica is out of ear shot.

"So am I," he replies. "I was a little worried I wasn't going to be able to."

"What did you have to move around in order to come?" she asks him.

"Just a few different meetings and interviews."

"I hope they weren't too important."

He shrugs. "I'm not sure how important they were. But I made a promise to be here for Jess as much as possible. If that means sacrificing certain aspects of my career, then I'm okay with that. She's the most important thing in my life now. My music can ride in the backseat for a little while."

Skye gives him a small smile. "Well I'm glad to hear that. I know you've been around as much as possible the last few months, but it's still great to know that you're committed to being a part of her life."

He nods. "I am. One hundred percent."

"That's great. And I really am glad that you're here. She got pretty sad when I told her you weren't going to be able to make it."

"I felt bad," Grant tells her. "I had all of these interviews and meetings scheduled long before I knew about the party, and I just couldn't fathom missing my daughter's birthday party for things that I've done countless other times. It wouldn't have felt right."

Skye nods. "Yeah, right." She takes a deep breath. "So, are you going to introduce me to your friend, or just let her stand there awkwardly?"

Grant huffs out a laugh. "Right, sorry. Uh, Skye, this is my girlfriend Sophia. Sophia, this is Skye, my ex-wife and Jessica's mom."

"It's so great to finally meet you," Sophia says, holding out a hand to Skye. "I've heard so much about you."

"Really," Skye says in disbelief, shaking Sophia's hand. "I find that a little hard to believe. Most guys don't really like talking about their ex-wives with their current girlfriend."

"I guess that's mainly my fault," Sophia says. "I ask him all kinds of questions. I just figure, if I'm going to be in his life, I should get to know everything I can about all aspects of his life. Even the bits some people might find awkward or weird to talk about. I just want to get to know everything I can about him." She smiles at Grant and then leans her head on his shoulder with a smile. "He's a great guy."

Skye pulls her lips in tight and then forces a smile. "Yeah, he's pretty great. I guess that's why I fell for him so hard when we were teenagers."

"And vice versa," Sophia says. "If what Grant has said is correct. He says he fell for you pretty hard too."

There's a brief pause and then Skye takes a deep breath. "Well enough talk about the past. Today is all about celebrating the beautiful little girl Grant and I made. Snacks and drinks are in the kitchen, feel free to kind of mingle about and meet some of the other parents. I have to get back to fulfilling my hostess duties, but please, make yourselves comfortable." She gives them a small smile before turning around and making her way into another area of the apartment.

.

.

.

"Happy Birthday, Jessica!"

Jessica grins as she looks around at the all of the people surrounding her before leaning forward to blow out the candles on her cake, her eyes closed as she makes a wish.

"Alright, angel, let me go get this cake cut for you," Skye says, stepping forward to grab the tray and take it back into the kitchen and set it on the counter.

"She's even more adorable in person," Sophia comments to Grant, watching with a small smile as Jessica talks with her friends.

Grant smiles wide. "Yeah. She is pretty great. I'm glad you got to meet her."

"So am I. And it's not hard to see why everybody loves her. She's definitely enjoyable to be around."

Grant nods. "She definitely is. I just wish I could see her more than I have."

"Have you thought about having them move to LA so you could see her more?" Sophia asks. "Or getting some kind of joint custody arrangement?"

Grant shakes his head. "I don't want to do anything like that. Jess has a stable life here with her mom and Miles. I don't want to suddenly disrupt that by carting her off to LA every other month or however often it'd be. It wouldn't be fair to her. And Skye and I are back on good terms right now, if I tried to fight for joint custody, that just…that wouldn't be fair to any of us. And I know Skye, I know she'll do anything she can to have me be a part of Jessica's life. Within reason, of course."

Sophia nods. "Right."

"Grant."

Turning his head, Grant gives a polite smile when he sees Miles approaching.

"Miles, hey."

"Hey." Miles holds his hand out and shakes Grant's. He looks over at Sophia and gives her a polite smile with furrowed brows. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Miles, Skye's fiancé."

"Sophia," she tells him. "I'm Grant's girlfriend."

He nods. "Ah. Well it's great to meet you. And Grant," he says, looking back at the man, "I'm glad you're able to be here. Jess is really excited."

Grant smiles at the thought of his daughter. "Yeah, well, I've missed too many big moments in her life, I wasn't about to miss another one."

"And I'm glad to hear that. She really loves having you around."

"Well she's a fun kid to be around. And I want to get to know her as much as possible. Though, I have this inkling that it might get a bit harder as the years go by."

"How do you mean?" Miles asks with furrowed brows.

"If she's anything like Skye was, Jess won't be very willing to talk about what's going on in her life. She may have been an outgoing person, but if she was having problems, she wasn't one to go to an adult and talk to them about it. Unless she was forced to somehow. I was one of the only people she ever talked to about stuff willingly."

"Well Skye and I have made sure that Jess knows she can come to us about anything, no matter what it is. We want her to be able to feel comfortable enough to talk to us about whatever's on her mind."

Grant nods. "And that's very good. All I'm saying is that you should be prepared for her not wanting to talk to you about certain things."

Miles sucks in a sharp breath and gives Grant a tight smile while he nods. "Right. Thanks. I'll uh, I'll keep that in mind."

"Just want to help," Grant tells him. "You're going to be a permanent part of her life, I want you to have as much helpful information as possible going forward."

Miles quirks a brow. "This coming from the man who didn't actually know his daughter existed until just last summer."

Sophia gasps quietly.

Grant sighs and nods. "You're right. I didn't. But I'm a part of her life now. And I may not know her as well as you do, but I do know Skye, even if it has been a few years." He takes a deep breath and shifts on his feet. "Look, I'm not trying to step on your toes or anything here. And I get that you've known Jess longer and may know more of the little things about her than I do. But all I'm doing is trying to get to know my daughter better. I'm not looking to get in the way of anything or disrupt the home you three have made together. That's not my intention whatsoever."

Miles is quiet for a moment nodding slowly. "I understand your wanting to get to know Jess, and I honestly have no problem with that. I guess a part of me just feels a little threatened by how much history you and Skye have. I honestly never thought Jess' dad would come into her life. At least not now."

"I don't think anyone did. Especially me because I had no idea she even existed." He lets out a small laugh. "But I'm being serious, Miles. I can see how much Skye loves you, and I honestly wish you both the best in the years going forward."

Miles gives him a small smile. "Thank you, Grant. That really means a lot. I uh, I should probably go and see if Skye needs any help with anything, but uh, you two keep enjoying the party."

"Thanks." He watches as Miles leaves the room and then looks at Sophia with a small laugh. "Well, that certainly wasn't weird or awkward."

.

.

.

"Dad!" Jessica shouts as she approaches where he's sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Hey, birthday girl," he says with a smile. "Are you enjoying your party?"

She nods. "Yeah. Hey, dad, can you sing us a song?"

"You want me to sing something?"

She nods again. "Yeah."

"Oh, I don't know," he teases. "I didn't bring my guitar with me."

"You can use mine," she tells him. "Please sing something, dad."

Grant sighs and nods his head. "Alright, I'll sing something. Go grab your guitar."

"Yes!" She does a small fist pump in the air before running from the room to grab her guitar.

Grant shifts on the couch and gives a small smile to the young kids gathering on the floor in front of him.

"Here you go, dad," Jessica says, entering the room again with her guitar in her hands. She hands it to him and then sits down on the carpet with her friends, smiling up at him eagerly.

Grant shifts again, trying to hold the guitar as comfortably on his lap as possible, the instrument being slightly smaller than what he's normally used to.

"Okay," he speaks up, "so, I wasn't originally planning on singing something today, but since it's Jessica's birthday, and she asked me to, I figured I would. Any suggestions for what song to sing?" he asks.

"Sing We All Fall Down!" one kid shouts. "I love that one."

"Yeah, sing that one!" another kid shouts.

Grant smiles and chuckles quietly. "Alright, We All Fall Down it is."

Looking down the neck of the guitar, he positions his fingers on the right spot of the frets and then slowly begins to strum a little before he begins singing.

Don't be afraid to lose your way
Take that step don't hesitate
Your time is now

He smiles when Jessica starts singing with him.

Don't be afraid to scrape your knees
On these streets of shattered dreams
Stand up and be proud
I'm telling you now

His smile widens when a few of the other kids join in on the chorus.

Climb every mountain
How high doesn't matter
Don't ever be afraid to fall
Walk out on that wire
Climb every ladder
Keep your back against the wall
And don't be sacred to hit the ground
'Cause we all fall down

He glances over at Skye and makes eye contact with her, giving her a small smile. She gives him a small nod of her head. He focuses back on the kids in front of him.

Down on your luck you're feeling small
The little things seem ten feet tall
Watch your dreams fall apart at the seams

You want to scream and shout out loud
When you sit up they knock you down
You're a long way from home
But you're never alone, yeah

Climb every mountain
How high doesn't matter
Don't ever be afraid to fall
Walk out on that wire
Climb every ladder
Keep your back against the wall
And don't be scared to hit the ground
'Cause we all fall down

He shifts on the couch and sings a little bit more passionately, really getting into it.

We're all digging in this dirt
We're all living hand to mouth
We're all trying to fit in
Trying not to chicken out

Life doesn't wait, don't hesitate
Don't lose your faith it's judgment day
They're calling you out
I'm calling you now

Climb every mountain
How high doesn't matter
Don't ever be afraid to fall
Walk out on that wire
Climb every ladder
Keep your back against the wall
And don't be scared to hit the ground
'Cause we all fall down
'Cause we all fall down
'Cause we all fall down

Strumming the final cords of the song, Grant smiles when all the kids in front of him start clapping and cheering for him.

"Sing another one!"

Grant continues to smile and shakes his head, setting the guitar aside. "No, sorry. This is Jessica's party and so it should be all about her. You kids go on and play before it's time for you to go home."

Groans come from all the kids before Jessica managed to usher them all back outside to continue playing.

"I know I've heard you play an acoustic set before," Sophia speaks up from beside him, "but I still find it really breathtaking."

Grant smiles and leans forward to give her a quick kiss. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry she roped you into doing that."

Grant turns his head to see Skye slowly approaching, sitting down on the arm of the couch. He waves her off. "It's fine, Skye, honestly. You know I'd do anything for Jess. That includes singing a song for her and her friends at her birthday party completely unprepared to do so." He lets out a small laugh.

Skye laughs with him. "Yeah. It never fails to amuse me how persistent she is when she wants something."

"Which she completely gets from you, by the way," he tells her. "I can remember plenty of times where I did something I didn't necessarily want to do because you convinced me to do so."

"But the important thing is that you always did them," she reminds him.

"Only because I didn't want you to be mad at me for any length of time for not going along with your crazy ideas."

"Thankfully none of them were too crazy," she says.

He chuckles quietly and nods. "Yes, thankfully. This is a great party you put together, by the way. I'm very impressed."

Skye smiles. "Thanks. I can't take all the credit, though. Jemma helped quite a lot, as did Miles."

"Miles seems like a really great guy," Sophia speaks up.

"He is."

"How long have you two been together?"

"Sometimes it feels like forever. But in a really good way. I love him, and he's been really good to me and Jess over the years. And my parents like him too, so that's a plus. But I think we've been together for just over six years. Jess was still pretty young when he and I eventually got together."

"Well it's a good thing Jessica was able to have a father type figure there for her growing up. I was raised by a single mother who was never with anyone else after my father died. If I had had someone like Jessica has Miles, I'm sure I would have been a pretty happy girl too."

Skye smiles at her sadly. "I'm sorry to hear about your dad. And yeah, I guess we both got pretty lucky. I mean, I'm sure she would have loved to have had the real deal all her life, but you can't control the universe, no matter how much you wish you could." She takes a deep breath. "I should probably go see if everyone else is enjoying the party, but thanks again for coming, Grant. I know Jess is really happy about it."

He smiles up at her. "There's nowhere I'd rather be."

.

.

.

Lying back against the pillow on the bed in his hotel room, Grant goes into Instagram and hits the new photo button at the bottom, going straight into his camera roll. He scrolls a little ways up until he finds the perfect picture that he wants to post. It's a photo of him and Jessica together from when he visited back at Christmas.

He selects the photo, skips over a filter, and taps inside the caption box.

Wishing the absolute happiest of birthdays to my favorite girl in the entire world; my beautiful daughter. Even though I haven't known you for as long as I would have liked to, it doesn't mean I love you any less. You're nine now and I can't wait until the next time I get to see you. I love you so much, sweetheart. Happy Birthday. :)

Chapter Text

Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, Grant sinks down onto his couch as he unlocks the device and goes straight into his contacts. He taps on the Favorites section and then hits Skye's name, holding the phone up to his ear and leaning back as he waits for her to answer.

"Hello?"

"Skye, hey, it's Grant."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Oh, not much. I just had an idea the other day and wanted to run it by you real quick."

"Shoot."

Grant takes a deep breath and shifts in his spot. "Okay, so, I know that you might think this could be somewhat weird for us because we aren't together anymore, but I was thinking that maybe you and Jess would want to come out to LA for a week when she's on Spring Break so we could all spend some time together. We haven't done that yet and I think it'd be really nice for Jess to get to see more of where we grew up."

"I don't know, Grant," Skye says. "I mean, I know he's a grown man and all, but I can't just leave Miles here in Massachusetts while I fly off to LA to spend a week with my ex who also happens to be my daughters' father."

He nods. "Yeah, I get that. And he's more than welcome to come along if it'd make you feel better about it."

"Wait, seriously?"

Grant shrugs. "Yeah."

"You just want to size him up on your own turf, don't you?"

He shakes his head and lets out a quiet laugh. "I never said that."

"Yeah, you didn't have to. Even though we haven't been together in years, I know you, Grant. You were my best friend long before you were my boyfriend or husband. I know you."

Grant sighs. "Alright, fine. I never have been able to get anything past you."

"No you have not."

He takes a deep breath. "Look, I just want to make sure he's good enough for you, okay?" he says softly. "We may not be together, but I still care about you a lot, Skye, and I want to make sure the man you chose to spend the rest of your life with is going to treat you right."

"That's sweet of you, Grant. But I promise you that Miles is a perfect gentleman."

"Still, you should tell him that he's more than welcome to come to LA with you and Jess. If you two decide to come."

"Fine. I'll talk to Jess and see what she thinks, though I'm sure I already know what her answer will be. I'll also talk to Miles and see what he thinks about it. I have to leave for work now, but I'll get back to you soon, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Tell Jess I say hey."

"I will. Bye, Grant."

"Bye."

Pulling the phone down from his ear, he ends the call and sets the device off to the side, looking over at the German Sheppard lying comfortably on the floor next to the front of the couch.

"What do you think about having Skye and Jessica here for a week, boy?" he asks the dog.

Max lifts his head and lets out a bark and Grant laughs quietly.

"Yeah, I like the idea too. Let's just hope they do come and visit. You hungry?" he asks the dog.

Max lets out another bark and Grant smiles.

He gestures with his head toward the kitchen as he stands up from the couch. "Alright, come on." He walks out of the living room and into the kitchen, Max following dutifully behind him.

"So, I got a phone call from Grant this morning," Skye brings up casually as she and Jemma restock the shelves at the music shop.

Jemma glances over her shoulder as she unpacks a few small boxes. "Oh really. What about?"

"He wants me and Jess to go stay with him while she's on Spring Break next month."

Jemma nods. "I see."

"And he said that Miles is invited as well." She carefully hangs an acoustic guitar up on its hooks.

"Interesting."

"Yeah. And it's not like I'd ever actually keep Jess from spending time with her dad, but I honestly don't know how I feel about this."

"Have you talked to Miles about it yet?"

Skye shakes her head and turns around to look at her friend, leaning back against the wall. "No. I wanted to talk to you first. You're one of my best friends. I need some advice."

"Well I really don't know how much help I can be with this," Jemma tells her, turning around to face her as well, giving her a small shrug. "I've never been in your position before and I pray that I never am."

"I hope you never are either, it's not fun. But I really need some advice here, Jem. What do I do? Do all three of us go and spend time with Grant for a week? Or do I send Jess by herself so I don't have to endure anymore awkwardness between us?"

"Oh, I'm sure things aren't that awkward anymore."

"You were at Jess' party, right?" she asks with a raised eyebrow. "Because there was so much awkward tension in the air. I thought I was going to suffocate."

"Did any of the awkwardness happen to have anything to do with a certain brunette who was at the party with Grant?"

"You mean Sophia?" Skye furrows her brows. "Why would that be awkward?"

"Um, maybe because your ex-husband brought his new girlfriend to the birthday party of the daughter you share without any forewarning."

Skye sighs. "Okay, yeah, it was kind of weird at first when I saw here there. But I knew about her beforehand. I just didn't know he was going to be bringing her to the party. Hell, I didn't even know he was coming to the party."

"It was sweet of him to show up, though," Jemma comments.

Skye smiles softly. "Yeah. I'm not even joking when I say that I would have gone off on him so hard if he hadn't shown up to the party. I've known him since we were kids and was in a relationship with him for a couple of years, I know all of his weaknesses. Jess was really upset when she thought he wasn't going to show up."

"Well then thank goodness he did and you didn't have to maim him in some way," Jemma replies with a small laugh.

Skye laughs back. "Yeah, thank goodness for that. His girlfriend is sweet too. I honestly didn't know what I'd think of her. Part of me thought that she was just someone going after his fame and money. But she seems to genuinely care about him, so she's okay in my book."

"Girlfriend approval from the ex-wife. How nice."

Skye rolls her eyes. "Don't say it like that, Jemma. You know Grant and I are on good terms now after everything that happened."

Jemma nods. "Yes, I know. And I'm very glad about that. I never did like when you two weren't speaking in high school."

"It was usually Grant's fault," Skye remarks. "Our first two years of high school was his idiot phase. I'm just glad he got his act together when we started dating. Because let me tell you right now, I may have put up with it as his best friend, but I would not have put up with his idiocy as his girlfriend."

"I completely believe you," Jemma tells her. "But back to the subject you initially brought up. Are you going to go to LA for a week?"

Skye sighs. "I'm leaning toward saying yes," she tells her friend. "Only because I want Jess to be able to spend time with him and I don't think I'm ready to leave her alone with him for a long period of time just yet."

"You're going to have to eventually."

"Yes, I know. And I will. Just not yet. I'm still getting used to Grant being back in my life."

"And you're doing a great job at it," Jemma says with a small smile.

Skye smiles back. "Thanks. Now come on, these boxes aren't going to unpack themselves." She turns back toward the shelves in front of her and continues stocking them, letting her mind wander.

Chapter Text

"Dad!" Jessica shouts as she, Skye, and Miles make their way across the airport floor.

"Hey, Jess." Grant smiles as he bends down and opens his arms up to his daughter. He pulls her into a tight hug and drops a kiss to the top of her head. "Did you have a good flight?" he asks her.

Jessica leans back and looks up at him, nodding her head. "Yeah. Mom didn't really like the plane; she had her eyes closed a lot."

Grant chuckles. "Yeah, she's never been a fan of planes."

"Which had me questioning why I decided to come here on a plane," Skye remarks. "Hi, Grant." She gives him a small smile.

"Hey." He gives her a small smile in return. He turns his attention to the man next to Skye. "Nice to see you again, Miles," he says.

Miles nods. "Likewise."

"Well," Grant says with a deep breath in, "you guys had a pretty long flight; I'm guessing you probably want to settle in and relax for a little while."

Skye nods. "That would be great, yeah."

"Great, follow me then." He smiles and turns around with Jessica at his side clutching his hand, leading the three out to the front of the airport.

"Grant Ward! Oh my gosh! It's Grant Ward!"

Grant stops when he hears the screams and turns to see a small group of girls heading towards him. He looks at Skye. "Sorry about this."

"It's fine," Skye says.

Grant drops Jessica's hand in order to focus on the group of girls in front of him. "Hi," he says.

The girls all squeal in response.

"You're my favorite singer," one of the girls says.

Grant smiles. "Thanks. I'm glad you like my music."

"Can we get a picture with you?" another little girl asks.

Grant nods. "Of course you can." He moves so he's standing behind the group of girls, bending down ever so slightly and smiling.

"Thank you," one of the girls says after the picture is taken.

"You're welcome," Grant says back. He looks back at Skye, Jessica, and Miles. "Sorry about that. Shall we go?"

Jessica steps forward and grabs his hand again. "It's okay, dad. You're famous; people are always going to want your picture."

Grant smiles and nods. "That they are. But no matter what, you'll always be my number one priority."

The small group begins walking toward the doors again, Jessica right by Grant's side and Skye and Miles behind them.

"What are we going to do first, dad?" Jessica asks as they step out the front doors.

"Well, after you guys get settled in, I was thinking we could go out to dinner. Kebo wants to join us too."

"Oh, I haven't seen Kebo in so long," Skye says with a reminiscent smile. "It'll be great to see him again. How is he doing?"

"Pretty good, actually," Grant tells her. "He's excited to see you."

"I'm excited to see him too," Skye says.

"Is Sophia going to be there?" Jessica asks.

Grant shakes his head. "She wanted to be. But she got called into work last minute for an emergency and can't make it. But she said she'd try and hang out with us later in the week while you're still here."

"Kebo is your best friend, right?" Miles asks. "That's what you said when you were over for Christmas."

"And he's his drummer," Jessica pipes up.

"Yeah. He went to high school with us," Grant tells the other man. "And he did backup drums for some of the songs Skye and I wrote together at the time when we did a few small performances at school and whatnot."

"He's a really great guy," Skye says. She looks at Grant. "Just don't tell him I said that. Don't need it going to his already big head."

Grant chuckles. "Don't worry. I won't. Hannah and I try to keep him down here with us mere mortals as much as I can."

Skye smiles. "Glad to hear it."

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"Wow, this is a really nice place," Skye comments as they step inside the front doors of the restaurant.

"Yes it is," Grant replies. He looks at the host and smiles kindly. "Hi, reservation under Ward? I think one member of my party is already here."

The woman smiles and nods. "Yes, of course. Right this way." She grabs a few menus out of the holder and then leads them through the restaurant toward the back. As they go, there are a few whispers and squeals when certain patrons realize Grant is walking past them.

"Here you are," the hostess says, gesturing to an empty table.

"Thank you very much," Grant says, pulling Jessica's chair out for her.

The hostess sets the stack of menus down on the table. "Your waiter will be right with you." She gives a polite smile and then makes her way back to the front of the restaurant.

"Well I don't think I quite believe it. Is Skye Coulson really back in LA after all this time?"

Everyone turns their heads to see Kebo approaching the table, a wide smile on his face.

"I was here for the reunion last summer," she reminds him.

He nods. "True. But I didn't get to see you back then. So to me it's still been eight years since you've been here. Now come over here and give me a hug. You know how much I've always loved those."

Skye smiles and moves across the floor to pull Kebo into a tight hug. "I've missed you, Kebo."

"I've missed you too, sweetheart," he says back. He pulls out of the hug and looks at her. "It's so great to see you again."

"You too." She takes a step back and reaches out for Jessica, gently pulling the young girl forward. "Kebo, this is Jessica. Jess, this is Kebo. You already knew that, though."

"Hi there," Kebo says to Jessica. "It's great to meet you."

"You too," Jessica says. "You're really good at playing the drums."

Kebo chuckles quietly. "Well I better be, I've been your dad's drummer for years. It'd really suck to find out now that I can't play."

Jessica smiles.

Kebo takes a deep breath and looks over at Miles. "Right then. Who's this bloke?"

"Kebo," Skye says, "this is my fiancé Miles. Miles, this is Kebo, an old friend."

"It's nice to meet you," Miles says with a slight nod.

"Your fiancé?" Kebo asks, looking over to Skye.

Skye nods. "Yeah. We're having an early summer wedding, once the school year ends."

Kebo nods. "Right. And am I, one of your closest friends, going to be invited to this party? Or were you just not going to tell me about it?"

Skye gives him a soft smile. "Of course we're going to invite you, Kebo. We're still finalizing the guest list, so I'll make sure to put you down."

"Do I get a plus one?" he asks. "'Cause you know, I've got a wife now."

"That's right," Skye says. "I think I vaguely remember something from all of Jess' rants about you and Grant and your music. Of course you can bring her, I'd love to meet the woman who finally tamed your wild ways," she says with a teasing smile. "Congratulations, by the way."

He smiles. "Thanks. Congratulations to you, too," he says.

"Thank you." She looks over at Grant. "What about you? Do you want to come to the wedding? Or will that be...too weird?"

"Of course it won't be," Kebo says, clapping Grant on the back. "He'd be happy to go. You can put the both of us on the VIP list, as well as two plus ones."

Skye nods. "Right, of course. You'll probably be bringing Sophia with you as your date." She takes a deep breath. "Well, I think it's about time we get this dinner started. I'm pretty hungry."

"Me too," Jessica speaks up from her place sitting at the table.

"Yes, of course," Grant says with a small nod. "You guys have a seat and start figuring out what you want; I just need to talk to Kebo for a minute." He places a hand on Kebo's shoulder and leads him away from the table. "Dude, what that hell was that?" Grant asks in a low voice.

"What do you mean?"

"You just accepted an invitation for me to go to Skye's wedding to another guy. Why would you do something like that? Do you know how hard it's going to be for me to watch that?"

Kebo shrugs. "So just tell her you can't go."

"I can't do that, man. If I back out now after you already accepted then she'll think I'm not okay with her marrying Miles."

"But you aren't."

"Well she doesn't need to know that," Grant says. "The last thing I need her to think is that I'm trying to sabotage her wedding because I'm still in love with her."

"But you are still in love with her. And don't even try to deny it, mate, even though it sucks for Sophia, who is your girlfriend, by the way, in case you've forgotten. I saw it in your eyes when you were looking at Skye just now. It's the same way you looked at her when we were in high school. You both looked at each other like no one else was ever in the room. Which always made for many uncomfortable moments for me, by the way."

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure she hasn't looked at me like that since we were married. And she probably won't again because she's getting married to someone else. I'll go to her wedding because you already accepted it for me and I don't want to be rude."

"Right. So we go to the wedding, you try to keep the heart eyes to a minimum out of respect for your girlfriend who will be there with you, because that won't be weird at all, and hope that your relationship with your daughter doesn't change because the guy she's known pretty much her entire life is going to be her step dad. Great plan, mate."

Grant rolls his eyes. "Shut up. Let's just worry about all of this later, okay? Let's get back to the table so we can eat."

"Yes, let's do that. I'm starving."

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"Oh my gosh," Skye says with a groan, burying her face in her hands. "I cannot believe you still remember that."

"Of course I do," Kebo says with a smile. "It was the only thing anyone at school talked about for months on end."

"Which I still find hard to believe," Skye says. "It's not like it was even that crazy of a thing for me to do. If anyone else had done it I guarantee you it wouldn't have been as talked about. Or even recognized."

Kebo shrugs. "Probably. But seeing as how you and Grant were two of the most popular kids at school, it only makes sense."

"You were popular?" Jessica asks.

"Kind of," Skye replies. "It wasn't like what you see in all those movies and shows you like to watch. I wasn't mean to everybody and people didn't bow down at my feet when I walked through the halls. Your dad and I were just very well liked by almost everyone at our high school. We were popular because we were nice people and played music and things like that."

"Your good looks probably helped out a bit too," Grant tells her. "As I recall, you were voted Best Smile and Best Hair in our Senior Hall of Fame."

Skye smiles and nods. "That I was. You were also voted Best Hair, though. As well as Best Cheekbones, which I'm pretty sure wasn't actually a real category until you got to that school. I can't tell you how many whispers I heard from other girls about your cheekbones. It was ridiculous."

"Maybe so, but we both know that even before we started dating you were the only one who was ever allowed to get at these cheekbones," he says with a smile, running a hand over his chin.

Skye laughs quietly. "Yeah. I did have a tendency to touch your jaw a lot."

"A lot?" Kebo goes wide-eyed. "Skye, your hands were practically glued to his jaw. And his hair. And his abs. And his—"

"Yes, we get it," Skye interrupts him. "I always had my hands on Grant. Can we just change the subject, please?"

Kebo nods his head. "Right, sorry." He takes a deep breath and looks over at Miles. "So, Miles, what do you do for a living? Or do you just leech off of Skye's paychecks?"

"Kebo," Skye scolds him.

"It's fine, Skye," Miles speaks up. He looks at Kebo. "I've actually been working at an IT firm the last few years. I make pretty good money there so I'm able to help Skye and Jessica out whenever they need it."

"What do you do there?" Grant asks.

"I started at the bottom just like everyone else; going out on repair jobs for different companies and homes, doing projects around the office, but I've slowly moved up the ranks over the years."

"And now he heads up his own little section of worker bees," Skye says with a proud smile, placing a hand on Miles' shoulder. "We're very happy for him. Right, Jess?"

Jessica nods, her mouth full of food. "Mm-hmm." She swallows and then opens her mouth to speak, "Sometimes he takes me with him on Take Your Child to Work Day. I get to help him boss people around."

Grant smiles. "Sounds like a lot of fun."

"It is. What would I do if I went with you on Take Your Child to Work Day?" she asks her dad.

"Well that depends," Grant says. "I do a lot of different things, so we might be in the studio working on writing or recording a song, or planning or shooting a new music video, or going to meetings. But that last one would probably be pretty boring for you."

"Is making music videos fun?" she asks him.

Grant nods. "It usually is, yeah. Sometimes I get to wear some pretty fun stuff and do fun things while making the videos."

"I think it'd be so cool to be in one," Jessica tells him. "One time Josie and I made our own video for this song, but it looked all weird."

"Well that's probably because you were just using a webcam, right?"

Jessica nods.

"If you want to make a really good quality video, you need a really good camera to record it on," he explains. "I don't know much of the technical aspects behind it, I just know that we always use the best equipment we can find to make my videos."

"Now the question is," Kebo speaks up, looking directly at Jessica, "which is more fun, going to work with Miles, or going to work with your dad?" A second later he lets out a yelp, reaching down to grab at his shin, looking over to see Skye glaring daggers at him.

"You don't have to answer that, baby girl," Skye tells her daughter. "Uncle Kebo's just being weird, as usual."

"It's okay, mom," Jessica says. "I can't really answer it anyways because I've never really been to work with dad so I don't actually know if I'd have more fun there. But I think I'd like it."

"See," Kebo says, "that's honestly what I expected to come out of her mouth. There was no need for violence."

"There's always a need for violence when it concerns you," Skye quips.

"Alright, alright," Grant interjects, "I think we should change the subject before this turns into a repeat of gym class junior year."

"What happened in gym class junior year?" Jessica asks curiously.

"Let's just say that your mom finally taught your Uncle Kebo a thing or two."

"I still have nightmares sometimes," Kebo says with a far off look on his face.

"You deserved it and you know it," Skye replies, digging back into her food.

Grant just sighs and hangs his head a moment before turning his attention back to his own food.

The conversation becomes a little bit lighter not long after, everyone enjoying their time with each other.

Chapter Text

"Hi dad."

Grant turns from where he's standing at the counter pouring himself some coffee to see Jessica entering his kitchen, Max right by her side.

"Hey, Jess," he says with a small smile. "Did you sleep well?"

She nods. "Yeah. That bed is really comfy," she tells him, pulling herself up onto a stool at the counter.

"I like to think so too. Max didn't cause any trouble for you last night, did he?"

Jessica shakes her head. "Nope."

"That's good. Usually he likes to hog my bed and try to shove me out of it at night when I let him sleep there with me, so I wasn't sure if he'd be the same way for you."

"He didn't try to shove me out," she tells him. "We cuddled a little bit, though."

Grant sighs. "Looks like history is repeating itself."

Jessica's brows furrow. "What do you mean?"

"Even when Max was a puppy and your mom and I let him sleep in the bed with us, he'd try to shove me out. It never worked because he was so small, but he never tried to shove your mom out."

Jessica giggles. "That's kinda funny." She shifts on her stool and leans forward against the counter top. "So what are we gonna do today?"

"Well first, you're going to eat some breakfast because it's the most important meal of the day. What would you like? I've got a few boxes of cereal, not sure if you'd like any of them, though. Or I could make you something. Not sure if you know this about me, but I'm actually a pretty good cook."

"I know," Jessica says with a small smile. "You talked about it when a magazine did an article about a day in your life. You said you love to cook all sorts of foods and that your Gramsy taught you how to cook when you were little."

Grant blinks. "Huh."

"What?"

He shakes his head. "Nothing. It's just...you know pretty much everything there is to know about me from all of my interviews but I'm still getting to know everything about you."

Jessica shrugs. "That's okay. You didn't know about me."

Grant sucks in a breath. "That's right. But that's why I've been making up for lost time."

Jessica smiles up at him. "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I have breakfast now?"

Grant laughs and nods. "Yeah, Jess. What would you like to eat?"

"Um, can I have some scrambled eggs? And maybe some bacon?"

Grant smiles. "I think we can most certainly do that." He turns toward the fridge to pull open the door and grab out a few eggs to crack in a small bowl and the package of bacon.

"After breakfast what are we gonna do?" Jessica asks him as he turns on the stove and waits for the pan to heat up.

Grant cracks the two eggs into a small glass bowl and begins scrambling them with a fork. "Well, I did have one idea, but I'm not sure if you'd like it. You probably won't want to go."

"Won't know unless you tell me first," she replies with a smile.

Grant chuckles. "You sound just like your mom."

Jessica smiles. "What's your idea?"

Grant pours the eggs into the heated pan and glances over at Jessica. "If you're interested, I could take you to the studio where I record my songs; show you around a bit, maybe let you sit in on a recording session of part of one of my new songs."

Jessica grins. "Really?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. That is, if you actually want to do that. You might think it's boring."

Jessica shakes her head. "Not boring. That sounds awesome."

Grant smiles and turns back to the stove.

"What sounds awesome?" Skye asks as she and Miles enter the kitchen. Skye drops a kiss to the top of Jessica's head as she walks past her to the coffee pot, Miles taking a seat next to the young girl.

"Dad said he's going to take me to the studio where he records," Jessica says excitedly. "And that I get to watch him record."

"Only if she really wants to," Grant says with a teasing smile as he focuses on the eggs in the pan.

"I want to," Jessica says. "Can we, mom? Please?"

Skye nods her head. "Of course we can, baby."

Jessica grins. "Awesome. Can we go right after breakfast?" she asks.

"I think that should be fine," Skye says. "As soon as you're done eating you'll need to get dressed."

Jessica nods. "Yeah, I know. I'm so excited! Today's gonna be awesome."

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Jessica's eyes go wide as she steps through the large, glass front doors of the record label, and a wide smile slowly grows on her face at seeing everything around her.

"Whoa. This place is so cool."

Grant steps up behind her with a smile on his face. "Just wait until you see the recording booths. Those are even cooler."

"Can we go see them now?" she asks eagerly, looking up at him.

Grant smiles. "In just a minute. We need to go check in at the front desk and get you, your mom, and Miles each a visitors badge first before we can go any further." He walks up to the front desk and smiles politely at the man sitting behind it. "Good morning, Charles."

"Grant Ward," the man says with a smile. "How have you been lately?"

"I've been pretty good, thanks. You?"

Charles shrugs. "As well as I can be. And who is this beautiful little lady with you?" he asks, his gaze shifting over to Jessica.

"This is my daughter Jessica," he says proudly, one hand resting on Jessica's shoulder. "I'm here to show her around the studio, let her in on a few trade secrets."

Charles nods. "Ah, I see. One visitors badge coming right up."

"Actually," Grant says, "three visitors badges, please. One for Jessica, one for Skye, and one for Miles. Skye is Jessica's mom, my ex wife, and Miles is Skye's fiancé."

Charles nods and looks at Skye. "It's lovely to meet you, Skye."

Skye gives him a small smile. "You too."

"I didn't know you were married, Grant," Charles says.

Grant shrugs. "Yeah, well, it wasn't something I really liked to advertise because of how it ended. And you don't exactly listen to gossip around the office or listen to interviews I do, so that makes perfect sense. But anyways," he says in a lighter tone, "visitors badges."

"Yes," Charles says, digging around behind the desk and typing a few things into the computer system. He looks up at them. "Okay, three visitors' badges all set and ready to go." He hands the badges over to Grant with a smile.

"Thank you, Charles," Grant says back.

"Of course. Have fun."

"We will," Jessica tells him. "Thanks for the badges, mister."

"You are most welcome."

Grant hands a badge to each of the three people and then takes a deep breath. "Okay, is everybody ready?"

"I am," Jessica says excitedly. "Can we go see the recording booths?" she asks.

"We will definitely get to those," he assures her. "But I figure first I'll give you a tour so you can see everything. Then we'll end up at the recording booths. Sound good?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah."

Grant smiles. "Excellent. Let's go then. Right this way." He grabs Jessica's hand in his and begins leading her past the front desk toward the inner workings of the studio.

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"And finally, we have now arrived at the last stop on our grand tour, the recording booths. One of my favorite places to be."

Grant stops in the entryway to the hallway containing a few different recording booths, holding his arms out to the side with a smile on his face.

"This is where all the magic happens, Jess," he tells his daughter. "This is where everything gets recorded and mixed together to be put on the CD'S that all the artists signed to this label put out."

"Wow," Jessica says, her eyes wide in pure amazement. "This is so cool. Can we go in one?"

"Of course we can."

Jessica smiles. "Awesome."

Grant chuckles quietly. "Let's go, then." He turns and makes his way down the short hallway, stopping in front of a booth that isn't being used, pushing open the door. He steps back and allows Skye, Miles, and Jessica to step through before moving in behind them and closing the door again.

"Wow," Jessica says. "This is so awesome."

"It is pretty awesome," Grant agrees with a small nod. "This is one of my favorite places to come to. Making music has always been a really good outlet for me, so coming here to put it all together to release to the world is sort of therapeutic."

"Mom," Jessica speaks up, turning toward Skye, "if you had stayed married to dad then you would have used this place too."

Skye nods her head. "That's right. But uh, I actually have used one of these before."

"You have?" Jessica asks.

Skye nods again. "Mm-hmm. It wasn't too long after your father and I got married. We were working on putting together our first album, one that obviously never happened, so we came in here to test some things out with a few different songs." She steps over to the control panel and gently runs her hand across the switches and dials. She lets out a breath. "There's actually a small part of me that has missed doing this." She takes a deep breath and looks at her daughter with a small smile. "But that's all in the past. Now I have you and Miles, and that's all I need." She smiles up at her fiancé. "My life is pretty great just the way it is."

Chapter Text

"I still can't believe I actually get to meet my niece today."

Grant smiles into the speaker of his cell phone, leaning back against the wall behind him. "I can't believe it either. I'm really excited for you guys to finally meet in person. She's really great, Amanda, absolutely amazing."

"Well of course she is, you idiot, she's your daughter."

Grant chuckles and nods. "Yes she is. Though she definitely has a lot of Skye's spunk, that's for sure."

"And that is something I'm definitely looking forward to witnessing in person."

"It's pretty great."

"So when are you going to stop by?"

"Is right after breakfast okay?"

"Absolutely."

"Great. We'll come right after we finish eating here, and then when we're done at your place, we're going to go see Gramsy."

"You're taking her to see Gramsy?"

"Of course I am. Ever since I told her I have a daughter, Gramsy's been pestering me constantly about bringing her by."

"And is Skye going with you?"

"Considering she's Jess' mother, yes, she's going with us."

"Then I'd probably warn Gramsy beforehand."

Grant's brows furrow. "What? Why?"

"Seriously, Grant? Are you forgetting how Gramsy was when she found out Skye left you? I swear she was almost as much of a mess as you were."

"No one was as much of a mess as I was."

"That's why I said almost, little brother."

Grant laughs quietly. "Yeah, alright." He takes a deep breath. "Hey, I'm gonna go now so I can get breakfast going soon, but I'll see you in a little bit."

"Okay. See you soon. Bye."

"Bye."

Pulling his phone down from his ear, Grant ends the call and locks the device as he slides it into his back pocket. Standing up from his bed, he makes his way out of the room and down the hall into the kitchen.

Crossing to the stove, he flips on one of the burners, setting a pan on top of it, and begins gathering all the ingredients he needs in order to make breakfast.

"Morning, dad."

Looking over his shoulder Grant smiles at his daughter. "Hey, Jess. Did you sleep well?"

She nods, pulling herself up onto one of the stools at the counter. "Yeah. So what are we doing today?" she asks him, resting her forearms on the counter and leaning forward.

"Well, if your mom is okay with it, I thought that we might go out and you can meet your Aunt Mandy and your cousins. And Gramsy."

Jessica grins. "We should totally do that."

Grant chuckles. "I'm glad you're so enthusiastic about it. Your Aunt is definitely excited to meet you in person. And I'm sure Gramsy will love you just as much as I do."

Jessica just smiles back at him. "I can't wait."

"Can't wait for what?" Skye asks as she and Miles enter the kitchen, Skye going straight for the coffee pot that Grant is holding out to her.

"Dad said that we're gonna go see Gramsy today."

Skye looks up at Grant. "Really?"

Grant nods. "Yeah. And we're gonna go see Mandy and her boys after we're done eating. I already talked to them both and they're excited to see you."

Skye snorts. "I highly doubt that Gramsy is excited to see me, but whatever you say."

"Okay, so maybe Gramsy isn't the most thrilled that you're back in my life, but she wants to meet her great-granddaughter so she's going to let it go. I think."

Skye laughs quietly. "Gramsy never was one to hold back on her thoughts about a person or subject, so this will definitely be interesting."

.

.

.

Lifting his fist to knock on the front door, Grant rocks back on his heels as he waits, tossing a smile down to his daughter next to him.

A few seconds later, the door swings open wide. "Uncle Grant!"

Grant laughs as he's tackled to the ground by his nephews. "Hey, guys. How are you?"

"Good," the oldest boy replies. "Mom said you have a surprise for us."

"Well I do, kind of."

"What is it?" the younger boy asks.

"How would you two like to meet your cousin?"

"We have a cousin?"

Grant nods. "You do. Her name is Jessica."

The older boy scrunches up his face. "We have a girl cousin?"

"Yes, you do. But I promise you that she's really fun to hang out with and I'm sure if you ask her really nicely, she'll play outside with you or maybe help you build some cool stuff with your Leggos." He looks over his shoulder. "Jess, come here. I want you to meet your cousins." He waits for her to stand next to him and then looks back at his nephews. "Jess, this is Ethan and Caleb. Boys, this is Jessica."

"Hi," she says with a small smile and wave.

"Do you like Leggos?" Caleb asks her.

Jessica shrugs. "I guess."

"Do you wanna build a really tall tower with us? You're bigger so you can reach up higher."

Jessica nods. "Sure. Where are they?"

"This way." Caleb steps forward and grabs her hand, dragging her through the front door and into the living room with Ethan not far behind them.

"Well thank goodness they seem to be taking to each other so quickly," Amanda says as she steps into Grant's line of sight.

Grant stands up and looks to his sister. "I know how you feel. I was a little worried for a minute, but now I'm just relieved."

"So am I. Now get over here and give me a hug."

Grant chuckles and steps forward to wrap his sister in his arms, hugging her tightly. "It's good to see you, Mandy."

"You too, Grant." She looks past him and lets a small smile cross her lips. "Well there's a face I haven't seen in a while," Amanda says, her eyes landing on Skye. "I should probably hate you right now for what you did to my brother all those years ago, but you gave me that beautiful niece in there and you're letting him be a part of her life."

"I've always wanted him in her life," Skye tells the other woman. "I would have liked it to have been from the time she was a baby, but I'm just glad that it happened before she got too much older."

"So am I," Grant pipes in. "Now can we come inside? Or do we have to stay out here forever?"

Amanda rolls her eyes. "Stop being dramatic and just come inside already."

Grant laughs quietly as he steps into the house, Skye right behind him.

"So, Skye," Amanda speaks up, closing the door and turning around, "where's this fiancé of yours? I was looking forward to meeting him."

"I tried to convince him to come with, but he didn't want to feel out of place or anything. So I think he's off exploring the city by himself."

"Well I'll just have to meet him some other time, then."

Skye nods. "Yes you will."

Amanda turns to her brother. "And Grant, I still want to meet your new girlfriend."

"And I promised you I'd bring her by eventually. I just don't want you to scare her off, I really like her."

"Have you written her a song yet?"

Grant's brows furrow. "What? No."

"Well then how much can you really like her? You wrote Skye dozens of songs before you two were even dating."

Grant sighs. "That's different."

"How so?"

"It just is. Now can we please change the subject?"

Amanda sighs and nods. "Fine. I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

"You should still write her at least one song," Amanda says after a moment.

Grant groans. "Seriously?!"

.

.

.

"You really think that you can handle this?" Grant asks his ex as they make their way into the building, Jessica a few steps in front of them. "It's been about a decade since you last saw her."

Skye nods. "Yeah. I think I'll be okay. It's Gramsy; even if she completely hates my guts right now, deep down she's always loved me."

Grant chuckles and nods. "She certainly did. Sometimes I feel like she loved you more than she loved the rest of us."

"Oh, she totally did."

"Here we are," Grant says as they approach one of the rooms. "This is Gramsy's room." He steps forward and knocks on the door quietly before pushing it open and peering around inside. "Hello? Gramsy?"

"Grant." The old woman in the room looks up at him and smiles. "Dear, it's so good to see you again."

Grant steps into the room and walks over to hug her. "It's good to see you too, Gramsy. How are you?"

"As well as an old woman in a nursing home can be."

Grant smiles and laughs quietly. "Of course."

"Skye?" Gramsy speaks up, peering around Grant to the open doorway. "Is that you, dear?"

"Hey, Gramsy," Skye says with a small smile, stepping further inside the room. "It's been a while."

"It most certainly has. I believe the last time I saw you was not long before you left Grant with a shattered heart."

"Gramsy," Grant warns.

"What? It's true. The last time I saw her was just a few months before she broke your heart, and left you so that she could go run off to the other side of the country with your unborn child."

"To be fair, Gramsy, she didn't know she was pregnant until after she left. And before you tell her that she could have told me, she did try and tell me. But the message never made its way to me. The important thing now is that I know about Jess and that Skye's letting me be a part of her life."

Gramsy scoffs. "Letting you. You're her father, Grant."

Grant nods. "Yes, Gramsy, I know. And can we please not do this right now? Don't you want to meet your great-granddaughter?"

"Of course I do. Where is she?"

"Jess, come here." He holds his hand out to his daughter, placing it on her shoulder when she reaches him. "Jess, this is Gramsy. Gramsy, this is Jessica."

"Hi," Jessica says with a small smile.

"Hello," Gramsy replies. "Oh, sweetheart, you look so much like your father did when he was your age. It's remarkable."

"Thanks," Jessica says with a smile. "Mom and dad said that you make the best chocolate chip cookies ever. Is that true?"

"Well it most certainly is," Gramsy tells her with a smile. "It's what I'm most well known for. I don't get to do too much baking anymore, but maybe sometime they'll let us into the kitchen here and I can teach you everything I know about making the best chocolate chips."

Grant's eyes go wide. "What? You'll teach Jess your secret cookie recipe but you wouldn't teach me?"

Jessica shrugs. "Sorry, dad. Guess I'm just more awesome."

Skye stifles a laugh behind her hand as Grant just stares at his daughter with a dropped jaw.

"Unbelievable."

"Well, she's not entirely wrong, Grant," Skye speaks up. "She's is pretty awesome."

Grant sighs. "Yeah, I guess you're right on that front." He gives his daughter a small smile. He takes a deep breath. "I have an idea. Let me get a picture of the two of you together." He pulls his phone out of his pocket and opens up the camera, holding it up in front of him.

"Come here, sweetheart," Gramsy says to Jessica. "I promise I don't bite."

Jessica smiles and moves closer to the woman, sitting down right next to her and looking at her dad.

"Alright," he says, "big smiles." He smiles himself as he snaps the photo, bringing the phone a little closer so he can get a better look.

"Let me see," Skye says, stepping up next to him. She smiles when Grant tilts the phone so she can see. "Aww, that's adorable. Will you send that to me?"

He nods. "Yeah."

"Great, thanks."

"Hey, Gramsy?" Jessica speaks up.

"Yes, dear?"

"Can we see if they'll let us make cookies?"

Gramsy laughs quietly and nods. "Yes, of course we can. We'll leave your mom and dad in here while we bake. Don't want them sneaking a peek, trying to figure out how I make my cookies."

Jessica smiles. "Okay." She hops off the chair and turns to her parents. "You guys stay here. Me and Gramsy are gonna go make some cookies. We'll bring them to you when they're all done."

Grant chuckles. "Alright, Jess. You two have fun."

"We will," Jessica states with a smile. She holds onto Gramsy's hand as the two make their way out of the room.

Moving further into the room, Grant falls down into one of the chairs, letting out a deep sigh. "So that wasn't nearly as bad as you thought it was going to be, right?" he asks Skye, looking up at her.

"I have to admit, I'm glad she didn't reprimand me here on the spot, though I'm not entirely convinced that she won't do so at some point."

Grant laughs. "Yeah. Knowing Gramsy, she might just wait to get you alone and then really lay into you."

Skye laughs quietly as well, sitting down in a chair near Grant. "Remember when we tried alcohol for the first time and got completely hammered?" she asks, an amused smile still on her face.

"You mean at the party Kebo threw freshman year and got his cousin to get us all beer?"

Skye nods. "Yeah. Gramsy found out because we didn't think to go somewhere else after the party to sleep off the hangover."

"Oh man, she was so pissed at us," Grant says with a small laugh. "Didn't she call your parents even though you begged her not to?"

Skye nods again. "She said it was her duty as a parental guardian to inform my parents that I was hungover."

"Right. And how long did they ground you for again?"

"It felt like forever, but I think it was just a few weeks. What about you?"

"Three months."

Skye nods. "That's right. Didn't she take your guitar away?"

Grant sighs. "Probably the worst punishment she ever gave me."

"I'm sure it was."

"It was," Grant insists. "I had so many song ideas but all I could do was write down the lyrics and try to remember the music in my head until I could get my guitar back."

She quirks a brow. "Are you sure that's all you did? You were always pretty resourceful. I'm sure you found a way around that."

Grant shrugs with a small smile. "I may have found other ways."

Skye laughs. "And that's the Grant I remember."

Chapter Text

"Where are we going?" Jessica asks as she walks down one of the many sidewalks of Los Angeles, holding hands with her dad; Sophia is on his other side, with Skye and Miles right behind them.

"Nowhere in particular," Grant tells his daughter. "I just figured we could walk around town a little bit and that maybe your mom and I could show you some of our favorite places that we liked to go when we were younger."

"Really?"

Grant nods. "Yeah."

"Cool."

"I thought you'd think it was." He takes a deep breath. "So, where should we go first?" he asks no one in particular.

"Ooh, maybe we should show her our place," Skye speaks up with a tiny smile on her face. "She'd probably like that. It's still there, right?"

Grant shrugs. "Wouldn't know. Haven't been there since you left."

"What are you guys talking about?" Jessica asks. "What do you mean by 'your place'?"

"It's somewhere in town that your mom and I used to go all the time," Grant tells her. "We'd go there to get away for a while, or to write music. Mainly to write music, but I'm pretty sure we had a few dates there as well."

"It was one of our favorite places to be whenever we could get away from whatever was going on in our actual lives," Skye says. "Nobody else knew about it or where it was, so we never had to worry about being interrupted while writing or just being together."

"Wow. That sounds really cool."

"It is," Grant tells her. "I'm fairly certain that your mom and I spent the majority of our time there when we weren't at school or working."

"Really?"

Skye nods. "Mm-hmm. It was our safe place, very special to us."

"I can't wait to see it," Jessica says with a smile.

The group continues walking down the sidewalk, each of them speaking up occasionally to make a comment here or there about something they see while walking or a memory they have of the city.

"Grant? Skye? Is that really you guys?"

Stopping and turning their heads, Grant and Skye smile when they see the raven-haired woman approaching them from one of the many stores along the street.

"Oh my goodness! It is you. I can't believe this."

"Kara Pala—Campbell," Grant corrects himself with a small smile, stepping forward to hug the woman. "It's so good to see you again."

"Likewise," Kara says, pulling from their hug to embrace Skye. "How are you guys?" she asks. "I thought you two weren't together anymore."

"Oh, we're not," Skye says. "This is my fiancé Miles," she says, gesturing to the man standing next to her.

"And this is my girlfriend Sophia," Grant introduces the two women.

Kara's eyes go wide. "Oh wow, I can't believe I didn't even notice you two, I am so sorry. And you'd think I'd know that Grant has a girlfriend since I follow him on Twitter and Instagram. I completely apologize. It is very nice to meet you both," she says, looking between Miles and Sophia. "I'm Kara. I went to high school with Grant and Skye."

"It's nice to meet you too," Sophia says with a kind smile.

"And I believe congratulations are in order for you," Kara says to Skye.

Skye smiles softly. "Thanks. We're pretty happy."

"I'm sure you are." Her eyes drift down to Jessica. "I think I know who this is. You must be Jessica."

Jessica nods. "Jessica Katherine Coulson."

Kara smiles and holds a hand out to her. "Well it's very nice to meet you, Jessica. I'm Kara."

"Hi. Did you really go to school with my mom and dad?"

"Mm-hmm. They were two of the coolest people when we were in high school, everybody wanted to be their friend."

"Oh, I think that's a bit of an exaggeration," Skye says.

Kara tilts her head. "Mm, not really. You guys were pretty popular."

"I'm pretty sure people only liked us for our music," Grant interjects.

"Well that was definitely part of it. But also your relationship. You had one of the best friendships, and then romantic relationships, that anybody had ever seen. A lot of people were jealous. Including me and my husband."

"Wow. Really?" Skye asks.

Kara nods. "Really. But it didn't last for very long for me. Lincoln's took a bit longer to get over because he had a major crush on you in high school. For me, it was mainly just because you were an amazing musician and had this guy pretty much wrapped around your finger," she says, gesturing to Grant.

"I wasn't completely wrapped around her finger," Grant tries to defend himself.

Skye and Kara both laugh.

"Oh you totally were," Skye tells him with an amused smile. "All I had to do was look at you and you'd do whatever I wanted."

Grant shrugs. "I just wanted you to be happy."

"Kara? Honey, where'd you go?"

"I'm over here," Kara calls over her shoulder. "Linc, look who I ran into. It's Grant and Skye."

"Oh, wow." Lincoln steps up beside his wife, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Hey guys. It's been a long time. How are you?"

"Pretty good," Grant says. "How are you?"

"Really well, actually," Lincoln tells him. "It's not easy trying to become a doctor, but I know it'll be worth it in the end."

"And I am very proud of him," Kara says, smiling up at her husband. "He's going to be an amazing doctor."

"I'll be a good doctor," Lincoln says, a small smile on his face. "I don't think I'll be amazing, but definitely decent. But only time will tell."

"Ooh, I think I have a really great idea," Kara speaks up, looking at Grant, Skye, Miles, Sophia, and Jessica. "If you guys aren't too busy right now, we should all have lunch together and catch up."

"Well, we were about to show Jess something special, but I think that can wait for a little while longer," Grant says. "What do you think, Jess?"

She shrugs. "I'm fine with it."

"What about you?" he asks his girlfriend.

Sophia smiles softly. "Sounds fun. And I am getting a little hungry, actually."

"It could probably be pretty fun," Skye agrees. "What do you think?" she asks Miles, looking up at him.

"Sure," he says back. "Could be fun to hear more stories about you as a teenager."

"Afraid we don't know too many of those," Kara tells him. "Lincoln and I didn't hang out with them too often. I hung out with them more than he did, but it still wasn't a crazy ton of time."

"Well then it's a good thing I know plenty of stories about Skye from high school," Grant interjects. "Some of them might not be appropriate to tell, but I still know some pretty good ones."

"And I know a whole lot of stories about you too," Skye tells him. "Some of them very embarrassing, so I'd watch yourself if I were you."

Grant holds his hands up. "Alright, alright, no need to get hostile."

"I wasn't gonna get hostile," she assure shim. "Just wanted to make sure you remember that for as much dirt as you have on me, I have just as much, if not more, dirt on you as well."

"Yes, I'm well aware of that fact." He takes a deep breath and looks at the rest of the group. "So, should we go to lunch, then? I know a pretty great restaurant near here and we won't even have to wait for very long to get a table. The owner owes me a favor."

"Do we want to know what you did for them?" Skye asks.

Grant rolls his eyes. "Nothing illegal, if that's what you're implying."

Skye holds her hands up. "Hey, you said it, not me. But I'm glad you didn't do anything illegal, can't have you getting arrested now when you're just starting to get to know your daughter."

"No, we certainly cannot."

.

.

.

"Least favorite class, hands down," Lincoln says to the group, grabbing a French fry off his plate and popping it into his mouth. "I hated that class."

"No one liked that class," Kara tells him.

"Grant did," Skye accuses, jutting her thumb at him. "He was a weird one in high school."

"Because I actually liked going to school I was deemed as weird by you for a very long time."

"You're still pretty weird, though," Skye tells him. "No matter how famous you get, it'll never change. You'll always be a giant history nerd."

Grant chuckles. "Guilty as charged."

"Is that your favorite subject?" Jessica asks him.

Grant nods. "Yeah. What about you?" he asks his daughter. "What's your favorite school subject?"

"Probably music class."

Kara lets out a laugh. "I'm sorry. But that's just the most perfect answer for the child of two of the most talented musicians I know."

"I'm certainly not complaining about the answer," Grant says. "I loved music classes when I was her age too. I wanted to be a rockstar," he says with a smile.

"And now you are," Lincoln speaks up.

Grant nods. "I am."

"I thought you wanted to be a history major," Sophia speaks up softly to him.

"He did," Skye tells the other woman. "He made it seem like all he cared about was being a rockstar, but deep down, he wanted to be a history nerd and wear the tweed suits and adorable glasses that he didn't actually need."

"Okay, that was one time, and we were seven," Grant defends himself. "And I distinctly remember you wanted to be a—"

"We don't need that said aloud," Skye cuts him off, her eyes wide. "We're in a public place here."

"Well now I definitely want to know what Grant was going to say," Kara says with a sly smile.

"Maybe another time," Skye tells the raven haired woman. "I really don't need my daughter hearing about that."

Kara frowns. "Fine."

"You know what we need right now?" Grant speaks up, pulling out his cell phone and unlocking it to open up Instagram. "A picture. We need to commemorate this moment."

"And what moment would that be?" Skye asks him curiously.

"When four friends from high school got together after nearly ten years apart," he explains.

"It's a nice sentiment," Lincoln tells him, "but I wasn't exactly close with you guys in high school."

"Maybe not," Grant says. "But you're married to one of our good friends and I like to think that we at least talked to you a few times in high school."

"Once or twice," Lincoln says with a small shrug.

"Well, either way, it's still a little mini reunion. Which means that we should take a picture."

"I'm down for it," Kara says. "A chance to be featured on Grant Ward's Instagram account? It's every fangirl's dream."

"Sweetie, you're one of those fangirls," Lincoln tells his wife.

"Yes, but I'm not twelve." She looks back at Grant. "You're putting this on Instagram, right? I wasn't just assuming things?"

Grant chuckles and nods his head. "Yes, I'm putting it on Instagram, if it's okay with you guys." He looks at Kara, Lincoln, and Skye.

"I think it was pretty obvious that I'm okay with it," Kara states.

Lincoln shrugs. "I guess I don't really mind. Kara posts enough pictures of me on hers."

"Skye? What about you? You cool with me putting a picture of you up on Instagram?"

She hesitates a moment before nodding her head. "Yeah, it should be fine."

Grant smiles. "Great." He looks at his girlfriend. "Soph, can you take the picture for us?"

She gives him a soft smile and takes the phone from him. "Sure." She holds the phone up, waiting for the four adults to get situated before quickly snapping the photo. "It looks great, you guys."

"You are the best," Grant tells the brunette as he kisses her cheek and takes his phone from her. "Are you two on Instagram?" he asks Kara and Lincoln as he begins typing out a caption below the photo. Just a mini reunion between four old friends.

"I am," Kara tells him. "Lincoln isn't, even though I've tried to get him on it a few times."

Lincoln shrugs. "I just don't feel like it's for me."

Miles nods from his seat. "I know what you mean, man. I don't need a social media account like that to share pictures with the people I care about."

"Exactly," Lincoln agrees.

"Well, it'd definitely be weird if I didn't have one," Grant admits. "Being a famous singer, having an Instagram helps me to communicate with my fans and share things with them."

Tagging Skye and Kara in the photo, Grant hits the post button and then lets out a breath as he locks his phone and slides it into his pocket, easily rejoining the conversation happening around the table.

Chapter Text

"Good morning, baby girl," Skye greets her daughter with a kiss to the top of her head as she enters the kitchen.

"Morning," Jessica says back from her place on a stool at the counter, already munching away on a bowl of Cheerios.

"How'd you sleep?" Skye asks as she moves over to the coffee pot and turns it on, reaching up to grab a mug out of one of the cabinets.

Jessica shrugs. "Okay. You?"

"Pretty well, actually." She takes a deep breath as she leans back against the edge of the counter, waiting for the coffee to be ready. "So, baby girl, it's our last full day in LA, what do you want to do?"

"Um, can we go to the zoo?" Jessica asks.

"You really want to go to the zoo on your last day in LA?" Skye asks.

Jessica nods. "Yeah."

Skye nods her head slowly. "Alright, let me talk to your dad about it first."

"Talk to me about what?" Grant asks as he enters the room.

"Apparently your daughter wants to go to the zoo today," Skye explains, grabbing the coffee pot and pouring herself some coffee.

"Ooh, the zoo," Grant says as he takes the coffee pot from Skye and pours himself a cup. "I love the one here in LA. Your mom and I actually went there once on a date," Grant tells Jessica.

Jessica's eyes go wide and she smiles, sitting up a little straighter. "You did? Really?"

Grant nods and lifts his cup to his lips. "Mm-hmm."

"Was it fun, mom?" Jessica asks Skye.

"From what I remember of it, it was very fun," Skye says with a small smile. "We saw all the animals, saw a couple of shows, had a picnic lunch on one of the lawns; the whole day was a lot of fun."

"What was your favorite part, dad?" Jessica asks him.

"Spending the entire day with the most beautiful woman on the face of the planet." He smiles over at Skye.

"Grant…" she warns him.

He holds his hands up in defense. "Hey, I'm just telling it how sixteen year old me would have said it."

"What was your favorite part, mom?"

"Probably getting to see all the animals," Skye answers. "I've always loved them."

"Especially the elephants," Grant adds. "If I remember correctly, you were most excited to see the elephants."

Skye nods. "You do, and I was." She looks at Jessica. "Elephants are my favorite animal. Always have been."

"I like the monkeys," Jessica states.

"Monkeys are pretty cool animals," Grant says as he nods.

"So can we please go to the zoo?" Jessica asks her parents. "Pretty please?"

Skye and Grant look at each other, a few different looks passing between them before they look back at their daughter.

Skye nods. "Yes, we can go."

Jessica grins. "Cool. Hey, dad, do you think Sophia wants to come too?" she asks.

Grant smiles. "I'm sure she'd love to, but she's pretty busy with work right now. But I'll make sure she knows you offered."

"Oh, okay. I'm gonna go get ready to go." She jumps off of the stool and heads back down the hallway to the room she's been using to get changed.

"So, the zoo," Grant says casually, lifting his coffee to his lips to take a sip.

Skye nods. "Yeah, the zoo. Been a while since I've been to the zoo. Jess has been begging me for a while to take her to the one in New York but we haven't gotten around to it yet. Must be why she wants to go the one here before we leave."

"Yeah, must be."

Skye takes another long swig of her coffee before setting the mug on the counter and taking a deep breath. "Right, well, I should probably get dressed if we're going out. And tell Miles what the plan is for the day."

He nods his head as he watches her slowly back out of the kitchen. "Right, of course. And I should probably get dressed too." He gives her a small smile before letting out a sigh and making his way to his own room to get ready for the day.

Jessica bounces up and down excitedly as they all stand in line at the ticket counter for the zoo, waiting to purchase their tickets. "I'm so excited," she says. "This is gonna be so much fun."

"That it is," Grant says with a small nod. "This zoo has some really cool animals in it. And if we're lucky, we may even be able to catch a show or two."

"Awesome."

"Next please."

"Hello," Grant says, giving the woman behind the glass a kind smile. "Three adult tickets and one child ticket, please."

"That'll be $75."

"Holy crap," Skye says. "That's a lot of money. I forgot how expensive the zoo is."

"It's fine, Skye," Grant assures her, handing his credit card over to the ticket agent and then accepting the tickets from her a few moments later. "Thank you," he says. He looks at the other three and smiles. "Alright, let's go in."

"We're finally here," Jessica says excitedly as she steps through the front gates of the zoo.

"Yes we are," Skye says. "What do you want to see first, baby girl?" she asks her daughter.

"Elephants," Jessica replies instantaneously. "Definitely the elephants."

Skye smiles. "Elephants it is, then."

"Hang on," Grant speaks up, getting their attention. "Before we start off on our zoo adventure, I suggest that we proceed around the park in a circular fashion, making sure to hit all of the exhibits that branch off as we go."

Skye sighs. "I almost forgot."

"What does that mean?" Grant asks.

Skye shakes her head. "Nothing. I'm just remembering the last time we came here and you made sure that we stuck to following the path around the zoo."

"But we managed to see all the animals and didn't miss a single exhibit. Admit it, Skye, my plan works like a charm."

"Do we still get to see the elephants?" Jessica asks.

Grant smiles down at the girl. "Of course we do. In fact, I think elephants are one of the first animals we'll get to see."

Jessica smiles and then looks up at her mom. "Let's follow the path, mom. I want to see the elephants."

Skye sighs. "Alright, fine." She looks at Grant. "We'll follow your stupid path."

Grant smiles and takes Jessica's hand as they begin walking. "It's not my path, Skye, it's the zoo's path. I'm just utilizing it in the best way possible."

She rolls her eyes. "Shut up and keep walking."

.

.

.

"Monkeys!" Jessica exclaims as soon as they reach the primate enclosure. She darts straight over to the barrier and leans as far forward as she can to see the animals inside, a wide smile on her face the whole time. "This is so cool."

"Jess, please be careful," Skye says to her daughter as she, Miles, and Grant slowly approach the enclosure. "And calm down a little too."

"Let her be excited," Grant tells his ex. "You were the exact same way the first time we came to see the elephants. "And you were a teenager."

"Yes, I remember. I'm pretty sure there were a few people who thought I was a little crazy."

Grant shrugs. "It was cute how excited you were. You had this huge grin on your face and I swear I thought you were going to try and climb over the gate at one point to get inside the enclosure."

"Even if I had you would have gone with me immediately so I wouldn't get in trouble alone."

"Actually, I would have let you suffer on your own for a little while. Then I would have climbed inside the enclosure so you wouldn't get in trouble alone," he informs her.

Skye laughs quietly and shakes her head. "You never could stand the sight of me being in trouble."

"It hurt me down to my soul," he remarks. "Just like it'll probably be whenever Jess inevitably gets hurt in life, as much as I would like for it not to happen."

"Guys!" Jessica shouts from her place leaning against the fence of the primate enclosure. "Come look at this monkey. I think he's actually putting on the perfume from the magazine."

The three adults turn and take a few steps forward to see a monkey rubbing a page out of a magazine on his underarms.

"Oh that's hilarious," Skye comments with a smile small, resting one hand on top of Jessica's head.

"Monkey's are so weird sometimes," Jessica says. "But they're still really awesome. The best."

"That they are," Grant agrees with a nod. "But I think your mom would probably think the elephants are better than the monkeys."

"Elephants are awesome," Skye defends her favorite animal. "Yes they're huge, but they're so gentle if you treat them right and they're just all around amazing."

"I personally like the giant anteater," Miles speaks up. "There's just something about them that's always fascinated me."

Grant tilts his head at the other man. "I barely know you, but somehow that doesn't surprise me."

Skye reaches out and slaps his arm. "Shut up."

Grant laughs quietly and turns his attention back to the monkey enclosure in front of him, leaning down to whisper something into his daughter's ear and make her giggle.

.

.

.

"Mom!" Jessica shouts as they all make their way back towards the entrance of the zoo. "Can I go inside the gift shop and get something? Please? I really want to get a stuffed animal."

"Sorry, baby girl," Skye says. "I didn't think to bring any cash with me."

"I have some cash," Grant says, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet.

"You don't need to do that," Skye tells him.

"I want to," he says. "Let me do this, Skye."

She sighs. "Fine. Go ahead."

Grant smiles and turns to his daughter. "How much do you think you'll need for a stuffed animal?"

"Fifty dollars."

"Jessica," Skye warns.

Grant chuckles. "Nice try, kiddo." He pulls out two bills and hands them to her. "I think thirty should be enough to get a stuffed animal."

"Cool." Jessica smiles and takes the money from him. "Thanks. Miles, will come in with me?"

"Sure thing."

"Mom, dad, you two can wait here." She turns around and makes her to the front doors of the gift shop, Miles following quickly behind her.

"Don't take too long, please," Skye calls after them as the two make their way inside the gift shop. She lets out a breath and sits down on one of the benches outside, her eyes fluttering closed as she leans her head back.

"You tired?" Grant asks Skye, sitting down next to her as an amused smile crosses his lips.

Skye nods. "Yeah." She opens her eyes and looks over at him. "I forgot how much walking around you actually do at a zoo. Last time I got this tired from walking around I was near the end of my pregnancy with Jess and I was just trying to get to the bathroom from my bedroom. Not fun at all."

Grant chuckles quietly. "Right." He takes a deep breath. "Hey, do you remember when I bought you that little stuffed elephant from here after our date? It's been so long, I wouldn't expect you to remember; I'm just curious."

"I do remember," she tells him. "I actually still have it."

"You do?"

She nods. "Mm-hmm. I know we aren't together anymore, but I didn't have the heart to throw him away after I left. Then when I found out I was pregnant I decided to give him to Jess. I guess it was kind of a way for me to make sure you were still there for her in some sense."

"Well I wish I could have been there," he tells her honestly. "Maybe if you had stayed just a little bit longer we would have found out together and things could have been different for all of us."

"I wish that too, sometimes. At least, I used to." She shifts in her seat. "When I first found out about Jess I was always hoping that you'd get my letters and fly to Massachusetts to tell me you still wanted to be with me and raise our daughter together, and then you'd stay there and we'd get married again and live together in pure bliss. But you never did. So eventually I stopped hoping. I stopped hoping that you'd be my husband again or the father that Jessica should have. And then I met Miles and he and I clicked so well and Jess completely adores him, so everything worked out pretty well in the end."

"Well I'm glad that you're happy with how your life is going now," he tells her.

"Thanks." She gives him a small smile. "You have a pretty great life too, if I'm not mistaken."

He shrugs. "Yeah, I guess so."

She furrows her brows. "What do you mean? You're world famous now, Grant. That's what you've always wanted. Ever since we started that band the summer before our senior year, that's all you ever talked about."

He nods. "True. But at the time, I thought you'd be there beside me. I wanted to be famous with you, to share the spotlight and everything that goes along with it. Now..." he lets out a breath. "Now I don't know. I love what I do, believe me, I do, and my fans are amazing. But I just don't know anymore. Sometimes I wonder why I'm still doing this; my heart hasn't really been in it as much lately."

"Well I hope you can figure out whatever it is that doesn't feel right."

He smiles. "Thanks."

She smiles back. "No problem." She takes a deep breath and leans back slightly on the bench. "So, today was pretty much a success. As was the rest of this week."

Grant nods. "Yes it definitely was. I'll be honest by saying I was a little worried about coming here."

"Really? Why?"

"I never know when my fans are going to come up to me and I don't like to ignore them or anything. I was a little worried that I'd end up spending more time greeting fans and taking pictures than spending quality time with my daughter."

"Hardly anyone came up to you though," Skye tells him.

He nods. "True. But a few did come up to me at one point. I think you, Jess, and Miles were doing something else when a couple of younger girls came up to me and asked for a picture."

"Oh, well I'm sorry."

He shakes his head. "Don't be. I love my fans, I really do. It's just...sometimes I wish I wasn't as famous as I am. That I could just live a normal life again like you do."

Skye lets out a small laugh. "Being normal is so overrated. Besides, I'm sure once you find someone who will stay by your side forever then you won't mind being famous too much. You'll have someone to go home to at the end of the day who will help keep you grounded and keep life interesting for you. Maybe Sophia is that person for you and you just have to give it a little more time."

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

She scoffs playfully. "Of course I am."

He gives a small smile before letting out a sigh. "Or maybe...maybe I missed my chance of having someone always by my side." He looks her directly in the eyes.

"Grant..."

He shifts on the bench. "I miss you, Skye. Spending this past week with you has brought back so many memories for me about us. I miss everything about what we used to be. I miss falling asleep next to you and waking up with you in my arms. I miss singing and playing music together. I miss writing songs together on Saturday afternoons in our pajamas. I miss everything."

"I miss it too," she says quietly. "But I shouldn't," she says more firmly. "I shouldn't miss it."

"You can," he tells her as he scoots just a tad bit closer to her on the bench. "It's okay to miss it."

"But it shouldn't be. It shouldn't be okay."

"But it is," he says, leaning closer to her. He ghosts his lips over hers, pausing. "I still love you," he whispers before softly pressing his lips against hers.

Skye waits a quick beat before pulling away with a shocked look on her face.

"I'm so sorry," Grant says quickly. "I shouldn't have done that. I got carried away. I'm so sorry, Skye. Please don't—" He's cut off by Skye grabbing his head in her hands and forcefully pressing her lips to his.

She moves a bit closer to him, sitting up straighter and sliding her hands back around his neck, playing with the little hairs at the base. His hands land on her hips, squeezing gently and pulls her closer as he runs his tongue along her lips.

Skye gasps and pulls away, her eyes closed. "Stop, we can't. We can't do this."

"Skye, I—"

"No." She shakes her head and quickly stands up from the bench. "You have a girlfriend, Grant. And I'm getting married. To a really good man, a man who loves me and Jess."

"I know that."

"I can't believe you."

His eyes go wide. "Me? If I remember correctly, you kissed me back."

"Yeah, well, it was a lapse in judgment. Believe me when I say that it won't happen again."

"Skye, please just let me—"

"Mom! Dad! Look! Look what I got!"

Grant and Skye turn their heads to see Jessica approaching with Miles right behind her. She holds up a medium sized stuffed gray elephant, a wide smile on her face.

Skye smiles, though it doesn't quite reach up to her eyes. "That's awesome, Jess. But don't you already have a stuffed elephant at home?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah. But now he has a friend."

"Well that's very sweet."

"Is there any money left?" Grant asks.

Jessica shakes her head. "No. I bought some candy too."

"Jessica," Skye says sternly. "Your father gave you money for a stuffed animal not for candy."

Jessica sighs. "I know."

"She's fine, Skye," Grant says. "I don't mind, really."

"No, it's not fine." Skye turns to Grant. "She should have asked you first if she could use the extra money for candy."

"Skye," Miles speaks up, "he said it's okay."

Skye groans. "Can we just go now, please?" She turns and starts walking toward the entrance of the zoo.

"I'll go see what's wrong," Mile says, jogging to catch up to Skye, leaving Jessica with Grant.

"Dad, is mom okay?" Jessica asks him with furrowed brows.

Grant nods his head as he stands up from the bench. "Yeah, I think so. It's not your fault though, it was something I did."

"What did you do?" she asks.

He shakes his head. "Nothing that you need to worry about, I promise. Now come on, let's go catch up to your mom and Miles."

Chapter Text

Making her way across the airport floor, Jessica clutches tightly onto Grant's hand, pulling her rolling suitcase in her other hand, her mom and Miles trailing not far behind them. She shuffles her feet across the carpet as she walks, a small frown on her face.

"Do I really have to go?" she asks her dad after a while. "I want to stay with you longer."

"Yeah, Jess, you have to go," Grant tells his daughter. "You've got to finish up the school year back in Massachusetts."

She sighs. "I know. But I want to spend more time with you," she says. "It sucks being on the other side of the country and not getting to see you all the time."

Grant sighs and stops moving, turning and kneeling down in front of Jessica and gently gripping her shoulders. "Listen to me carefully, Jessica Katherine, I'm going to tell you the same thing I've told you so many times before. Just because we live on opposite sides of the country, it doesn't mean we can't still be there for each other."

"I know. But I miss you a lot when I don't get to see you."

"And I miss you too. But you belong in Massachusetts with your mom and Miles. That's where you guys live. And I live here in LA."

Jessica sighs again, dropping her head. "Fine."

Grant dips his head so he can look her in the eyes. "Hey, look at me, Jess. No matter how far apart we are, I am still your dad, nothing is going to change that. Okay?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah, okay."

The edges of Grant's lip curl up. "Good." He takes a deep breath. "Now, I think we should keep moving so you don't miss your flight."

"Maybe I want to miss it," she says quietly. "If I miss the plane then I can stay here with you."

Grant smiles. "I would love nothing more than that. But if you missed this flight you could always take the next one. And I would pay the difference so your mom wouldn't have to. Because Massachusetts is where you guys need to be right now. And I promise that I will come and see you the very next chance that I get."

"At mom's wedding, right?" Jessica asks him.

Grant swallows thickly and nods at the thought. "Yeah, at your mom's wedding."

"What about after that?" she asks him.

"A few days after that I'm leaving on my tour, but I promise to come see you as soon as I'm done with it, okay?"

Jessica nods. "Okay."

Grant smiles. "Good." He stands up straight and takes a deep breath, looking up at Skye and Miles. "Well, you guys should probably get going so you don't miss your plane."

Skye nods once. "Right. Jess," she says to her daughter, "say bye to your dad and then head over to the security line with Miles. I just need to talk to your dad for a minute."

"Okay. Bye, dad." Jessica smiles up at Grant and hugs him tightly.

Grant hugs her back just as tight. "Bye, Jess. Have a safe flight."

"Thanks." She pulls away from him and then grabs Miles' hand, pulling him with her toward the security line.

"Thanks for inviting us out for the week," Skye says to Grant once Miles and Jessica are out of ear shot.

"No problem," he tells her. "I was more than happy to have you guys here."

"I'm sure Jess had loads of fun this week," Skye tells him. "She'll probably be talking about it for days to just about anyone who will listen." She lets out a small laugh.

Grant laughs as well. "Yeah, probably." He shifts on his feet and tucks his hands into his pockets. "So, um, about what happened at the zoo..."

Skye closes her eyes briefly before looking back at him. "No one can know. Especially Jessica."

He nods. "Right, yeah, no, I uh, I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page with that."

She raises a brow. "You did?"

"Mm-hmm. I can't exactly have people knowing we kissed, especially since I have a girlfriend. People, especially fans and paparazzi, would start to talk and it would just be way too complicated."

"Complicated, yeah," Skye says somewhat quietly. She takes a deep breath. "Well, I guess I'll see you...at the wedding."

Grant nods with a tight lipped smile. "Mm-hmm."

Skye smiles. "Great. See you then." She turns around and begins making her way toward the security line. She pauses briefly and looks over her shoulder. "Goodbye, Grant."

"Goodbye, Princess."

"Hey, Skye, you okay?"

Skye looks up from her laptop at her fiancé and furrows her brows. "Of course. Why would you think something's wrong?"

Miles shrugs as he sits down next to her on the couch. "I don't know. You've just seemed a little off since we got back from LA. Did something happen while we were there that I don't know about?"

Skye shakes her head and swallows. "No, nothing happened." She can feel her heart pounding inside her chest. "I just, it was a little weird spending so much time with Grant, that's all. I haven't spent that much time with him since we were together and it was bringing up all of these old memories, especially being in our hometown, and I guess it still has me a little shaken up."

Miles nods slowly. "Okay. But you'd tell me if something was wrong, right?"

Skye nods and gives him a soft smile. "Of course."

"Good. I'm gonna head back to my place; settle back in and get some sleep before I have to head into work tomorrow. But I'll see you later."

Skye nods. "Yeah. Bye."

He leans forward and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Bye." He stands up from the couch and makes his way toward the front door.

Letting out a sigh, Skye leans back into the couch, and closes her eyes, running her hands down over her face as she thinks about what she's going to do. There's a knot in her stomach at the thought of continuing to keep this from Miles, but an even larger knot at the thought of what he'll do if she tells him the truth about what happened.

Opening her eyes and sitting up a little, she reaches out for her phone and unlocks the device, going straight into her contact list. She immediately finds Jemma's number and holds the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?" she hears on the other end after two rings.

"Jemma, hey. Are you at the shop right now?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I'm gonna come by in a few minutes. I really need to talk to you and I feel like it'll be a lot better to do this in person rather than over the phone."

"Oh. Are you back from LA already?"

Skye nods. "Yeah, we are. So, I'll see you in a few?"

"Yes, of course. See you soon."

"Yeah, bye."

"Bye."

Pulling the phone down away from her ear, Skye ends the call and sets the device down next to her on the couch, taking a moment to try and calm her racing heart.

Standing up, she moves down the hallway to Jessica's room. Leaning in the doorway, she smiles at the sight of her daughter lying on her stomach on her bed, intently focused on reading one of her favorite books.

"Jess," she calls out softly.

Jessica looks up from her book and smiles. "Hi, mom."

"Hey, baby girl. I need you to get up and get your shoes on."

"Why?" Jessica asks, sitting up on the bed.

"I need to go out and run some errands so I'm going to drop you off at Miss Carter's place while I'm out."

"Can't I just go with you?" Jessica asks.

Skye furrows her brows and tilts her head. "I thought you liked hanging out with Miss Carter."

"I do."

"Then let's go. Come on." She moves out of her daughter's room to go back out to the living room to get her own shoes on.

"I'm ready, mom." Jessica emerges from the hallway, her shoes on her feet and her book in her hands.

Skye looks up and smiles. "Great. Let's go, then." She moves toward the front door, nudging Jessica in front of her when they step outside.

Going down the hallway of the apartment building, they stop at another door and Skye lifts her fist to knock.

A second later the door opens to reveal an elderly woman standing on the other side. She gives them a soft smile. "Skye, Jessica, how lovely to see you both," she says in her light British accent. "What can I do for the two of you?"

"I was wondering if you could watch Jess for a couple of hours. I have to go run out and do a few things."

Miss Carter nods. "Of course I will. Come on inside, Jessica."

"Thank you so much," Skye says to the older woman. "I should only be gone for an hour or two but I'll call if I'm going to be any longer."

"No worries, dear. Take your time."

"Great, thanks." She looks down at her daughter. "Jess, be good for Miss Carter, alright?"

Jessica nods. "I will, mom."

"Good. I'll see you in a little bit." She steps forward to drop a kiss to the top of her head. She gives Miss Carter a grateful smile and then makes her way toward the staircase to head out of the building and down to her car.

.

.

.

Stepping through the front door of the music shop, the little bell above the door dinging, Skye turns her head all around the room, searching for her best friend. Not finding her in the main area of the store, she makes her way toward the back and steps behind the counter.

"Jemma, I'm in big trouble," she says to her friend as soon as she enters the back room of the music shop, dropping her bag at her feet.

"Why? What happened?" Jemma asks, turning away from the shelves of inventory to face her best friend, setting her clipboard off to the side.

Skye wrings her hands together nervously as she starts to pace. "Okay, so um, you know how Miles, Jess and I went to LA to spend a week with Grant, right?"

Jemma nods. "Of course I do."

Skye nods. "Right. And uh, well, maybe it wasn't the best idea for me to go there. Especially not for an entire week."

"Why?" Jemma takes a step forward. "Skye, what happened while you were in LA?"

Skye takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. "Grant and I…we kissed."

"You what?!" Jemma shouts, her eyes going wide.

Skye opens her eyes and looks up at her friend. "I kissed Grant. Well, I guess some people would probably consider it making out, but I've been freaking out about it ever since it happened, because it never should have happened and I think Miles knows something is up but he's not saying anything about it and is probably giving me time to tell him what's going on, and Grant has a girlfriend that I know he really likes and I don't know what to do about any of this. Please help me."

"Alright, um, so I guess it's up to you, then," Jemma tells her.

"What?"

"Well, you said how you think Miles knows something happened but isn't saying anything about it. That's ultimately giving you the chance to tell him what happened before he finds out some other way."

"How could he possibly find out?" Skye asks. "The only people who know are me and Grant."

"And me."

"You wouldn't tell him, would you? Because as my best friend that'd be a really sucky thing to do."

Jemma shakes her head. "No, I would never betray our friendship like that. But I do think that you should say something. It's not healthy to keep secrets in a relationship. Fitz and I don't keep secrets and our marriage is very strong."

"Yeah, well, you and Fitz physically can't keep secrets from each other. He feels guilty and you wear pretty much everything on your face. I am not like that. I don't feel that urge to tell the person I'm in a relationship every single secret that I have. I mean, Miles didn't actually know about me being married to Grant until just last summer."

"Well, just think about it like this, could you marry Miles knowing that you kissed another man, who happens to be the father of your daughter, and never told him?"

Skye bites her lip between her teeth, that same knot from before forming in her stomach again. "Um, no, I don't...I don't think so."

Jemma smiles softly. "That's good. Then you should tell him now so that he has time process things. It'd be better if you told him now than five years down the line while you're settled into married life."

Skye doesn't say anything, just stares at her best friend.

"All I'm saying," Jemma continues, "is that you should really consider telling him now instead of years later. It might be best to just do it now and get the whole thing over with."

Skye sighs. "Yeah, I just...what if when I tell him what happened he calls off the wedding? I don't want to lose him."

"He loves you, right?" Jemma asks.

Skye nods. "Well, yeah."

"Then if he loves you, he'll understand and know how deeply sorry you are and will still want to marry you."

Skye gives her friend a watery smile. "You really are the best friend I could ever have, Jemma Simmons."

Jemma smiles back. "I'm just trying to help save this relationship. It's a really great one."

Skye grins. "That it is."

.

.

.

Pushing open the front door of Miles' apartment, Skye steps inside, closing the door behind her, and finds the man in question sitting on his couch, his laptop open in front of him and the TV on with the volume low.

"Miles?" she calls out as she closes the door and moves further into the room.

Miles looks up at her and gives her a small smile. "Skye, hey. What's up? Where's Jess?"

"At Miss Carter's. Can I talk to you for a second?" she asks her fiancé as she approaches him.

Miles nods. "Yeah, of course." He shuts off the TV and closes the lid of his laptop, turning fully to face her. "What's up?"

Skye wrings her hands together nervously, watching him closely, and then sits down next to him on the couch. "Um, I know you know that something's going on, ever since we left LA, and you're right. Sort of. I uh, when we were in LA, at the zoo, while you and Jess were inside the gift shop, Grant and I were sitting on the bench talking. We were just talking about old times, how life used to be before everything happened, and then we, uh, we kissed."

Miles just stares at her for a long moment, not saying anything. He shifts in his seat and takes a deep breath. "You...kissed him," he states slowly.

Skye nods. "Yeah. But it didn't mean anything, I swear," she hurries to say. "I still love you; kissing Grant didn't change that at all. I guess it was just one of those 'heat of the moment' type of things. We were both there, and we were talking about the past and before I knew it I was kissing him."

"It didn't mean anything to you?" Miles asks.

Skye shakes her head. "No, it didn't. You are the one that I love and that I want to marry. You are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. Not Grant. Obviously he's still going to be a part of my life because he's Jess' dad, but you are the man who's going to always be by my side. That's how I want things to be. But…is it how you still want things to be?" she asks him nervously. "Do you still want to marry me?"

Miles is quiet for a moment longer before he reaches out to take her hand. "Of course I still want to marry you, Skye. I just want to make sure that you're still in this, that you kissing Grant back in LA hasn't changed anything between us."

Skye shakes her head. "It hasn't changed anything, I promise. He's my ex and Jess' father, that's it. He's my past, you're my future. That's how it's going to be."

Miles slowly grows a smile on his face. "That's what I like to hear. Come here." He opens up his arms to her and pulls her in, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close.

Skye smiles back at him and wraps her own arms around him, snuggling deep into his side and resting her head against his chest. She lets out a content sigh as she relaxes into him.

Chapter Text

Checking his appearance in the mirror in front of him again, Grant breathes in deeply as he runs his fingers through his hair, trying to get it to cooperate a little bit better for him. He's honestly feeling really drained, and would rather just be in his bed sleeping or working on music. But he's going to put on a face, like he always does, and do this interview.

"You almost ready, mate?"

He nods without looking over at his friend. "Yeah. Just about. Be out soon."

"Great. I think they're about ready to start your segment."

He nods again. "Yeah, thanks."

Taking a deep breath, he runs his hand through his hair once more before standing from his seat and making his way out of the room to head to the backstage area. He stands near the entrance hallway that'll take him out to the main stage, listening as the hostess finishes up her previous segment and then introduces him to the audience.

"Alright, everybody," he hears her say, "you know him and you love him, and we absolutely love having him on this show every time he's here. Please welcome to the stage, Grant Ward."

Grant pastes a smile on his face as he makes his way out of the side wing and out onto the stage, waving to the cheering studio audience as he passes by them.

He greets Iris with a hug and a kind smile when he reaches where she's standing.

"So great to see you again," she says to him.

"Likewise." He pulls from the hug and waves to the audience again before turning and sitting down in the chair behind him. "It is really great to be back here again."

"Well we love having you here whenever you come by. You're always such a treat."

"Thank you."

"So, cutting right to the chase here, Grant, as I understand it, you're going out on tour this summer."

Grant smiles and nods, shifting in his seat. "I am. And I'm very excited about it. It's going to be a pretty fun tour. We've got some exciting stuff planned for some of the shows and have some awesome guests who will be appearing with us in some of the cities."

"That sounds like it'll be a real treat to all the fans who come out to your shows."

"That's what I'm hoping for."

"Well I'm sure that it'll be a fantastic tour. You're always so alive when you're performing."

He smiles at the compliment. "Thank you. It's definitely one of my favorite things to do. A few cities on this tour are completely sold out, and some are close to it, so I guess that means people are excited which makes me equally as excited."

"I'll bet it does." She takes a deep breath and shifts in her chair. "And I'm sure you're going to have an amazing time."

"I usually do," Grant says. "I love getting to visit different places around the world and see fans that I've seen at other shows in the past, and meet new fans who are just now finding my music. It's always an amazing thing to experience."

"It certainly sounds that way. Now, something else I want to touch on very quickly before we have to let you go, is that I hear this past week was a pretty exciting one for you, if your Instagram photos are anything to go by."

Grant smiles at the thought of his daughter again. "Yeah, I had a pretty good week. My daughter was on Spring Break so I invited her and her mom to come out here for the week. And her mom's fiancé came out as well. I figured if he's the guy that's always been there for my daughter, and is going to continue to be there for her, then I should get to know him a little better."

Iris smiles and nods. "Right, of course. And I just have to say, this is probably one of my favorite photos that you posted last week." The screen behind them lights up to show a photo from Grant's Instagram of Jessica at the zoo, staring at the monkeys in front of her with a wide smile on her face.

Grant smiles wide when he sees the photo. "Thanks, I really like that one too. Monkeys are her favorite so she was really excited about getting to see those ones. She was just standing there staring at them and I knew that it'd be the perfect shot."

"Well I have to agree. And you have a very beautiful daughter, I'm not sure if I told you that yet."

"You haven't. And thank you. Her mom says that she takes after me, but all I see when I look at her is her mom."

"That's so sweet. I'm glad that you seem to have taken to fatherhood so quickly and so well."

"It makes it easy having a daughter like I do. She's a great kid."

"She definitely seems like it." Iris takes a deep breath. "Unfortunately we have to let you go now, but it was so great having you be here."

"Thanks for inviting me to come on the show."

Iris smiles at the camera. "Don't forget to order your tickets for Grant Ward's tour this summer on his website, and don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more guests and fun surprises."

"And we're clear!" the producer shouts to the rest of the crew. "Great job, guys. We're back on in five."

"Thank you again for being here," Iris says to Grant with a smile.

He smiles back politely. "It's not a problem. I really love being here. You always make it fun."

She smiles back in appreciation. "Well I should probably let you go now," she tells him. "You probably have things to do and I have another segment to get ready for."

He nods. "Of course. I'll see you soon." He stands from his chair and gives her another kind smile before turning and making his way backstage.

"Another great show, mate."

He turns his head to see Kebo walking toward him from another part of the backstage area, a smile on the other man's face.

"Thanks, Kebo," he says to his friend. "I can always count on you to give me praise."

"And to knock you down a few pegs occasionally," his friend adds, clapping him on the back. "You up for doing something together? Hannah's busy at work and I'm bored as hell."

"You're so needy," Grant tells him.

"Because I want to spend some quality time with my best mate?"

"Because you can't seem to entertain yourself if your wife is busy," he retorts. "And I'm actually going to go home and finish putting together the set list for tour and then see if I can get some more writing done."

"Well, fine, if you want to go and be productive."

"I do. And you should find a way to be productive as well."

Kebo shrugs. "Eh. Where's the fun in that?" He takes a deep breath. "I'll catch you later, then, I guess."

He nods at his friend as he pulls out his cell phone. "Yeah, see ya."

He watches as Kebo walks away to go out to the parking lot before turning his attention to the phone in his hand. Unlocking it, he moves to sit down in one of the chairs off to the side, going into his text messages.

Taking a deep breath, he opens up the one between him and Skye and hesitates for a moment, his fingers hovering over the screen.

After a quick moment, he taps inside the box at the bottom of the screen and sends a new message to Skye.

Hey, I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to right now, which is why I figured I'd text you instead of call. I have something I want to ask you and I'm not sure how you're going to feel about it.

A few seconds later, he gets a new text from her.

What is it?

He takes another deep breath.

I want Jess to come and stay with me for a little while after she gets out of school. Just the two of us.

No.

He frowns and furrows his brows.

Seriously? She's my daughter too, Skye.

I know she is. But I don't like the idea of her being on the other side of the country when I'm not there.

His jaw hardens as he types out his next message.

Not even if she's with me? Her father? Do you really not trust me to be able to take care of her by myself?

It's not that I don't trust you, Grant. It's just a mother thing, not liking being away from your child for too long.

I think that's a general parent thing. Cause I'm not too thrilled about her being on the east coast the majority of the time, but I have to learn to deal with it because that's her home. I just want to spend quality time with my daughter. Please.

A couple of minutes pass by without a response from her, and he bounces one knee up and down anxiously, waiting for her reply. He really hopes he didn't overstep with this.

Finally, after what feels like forever to him, he gets a response.

Fine. Once school gets out she can come and stay with you.

He lets out a relieved sigh and smiles.

Thank you. Is having her for two weeks too much to ask?

He holds his breath as he waits for her response, not quite sure whether he should have been the one to ask for the amount of time or if he should have let Skye set the guideline. But this is his daughter too; he shouldn't have to ask about every single thing.

A quiet ping from his phone pulls his attention back to it to see a new text from Skye.

I guess that should be fine. I'm not too happy with the idea, but I guess she should spend some time with you alone.

Thank you, Skye. And don't worry about paying for the flight; I'll cover it since she's going to be staying with me.

Okay. I'll text you later to figure out the details. I have some things I need to take care of right now.

Great. Thank you.

Yeah.

Locking his phone again, he holds it in both of his hands as he breathes in deeply and looks up, letting a small smile cross over his lips. Life is starting to look up.

Chapter Text

"That was great, you guys," Grant says to his tour band after hitting the final note of the song. He turns away from the microphone in front of him to look at them. "Let's take ten and then get back to it from the top. I'm really loving how this is starting to come together."

Stepping away from the mic completely, he moves off to the side of the room to grab his water bottle off one of the stools sitting along the wall.

Picking up his phone off of the same stool, he unlocks it and goes directly into his e-mail, skimming over a few messages from various people and organizations. He takes a few minutes to read through some of them, making a mental note to respond to the most important ones as soon as he's done rehearsing for tour.

Switching over to his text messages, he finds a new message from Skye with a photo attached to it near the top of his messages. He taps on the box to read it.

Doesn't mom look really pretty?

Grant's breath catches in his throat at the sight of the picture sent of Skye in a wedding dress, one that flows out near the bottom but still hugs her really well. Even though it's just a photo, and he's not actually there in person, it still makes his heart clench. Seeing her like that takes him back all those years ago when she was walking down the aisle toward him wearing a similar dress, though one that was less elegant since they couldn't afford to get much nicer at eighteen.

Shaking his head free of those thoughts, he quickly types a response back to his daughter, knowing full well that she's the one who sent him the message. Yeah, she looks beautiful.

Did she look that beautiful when you two got married?

Even more so. I'll see if I can find a picture sometime to show you.

He shakes his head again to clear away the thoughts that are trying to seep back into the front of his brain and quickly sends a new text to his daughter.

Why do you have your mother's phone?

Because she's trying on her wedding dress.

Yes, I realized that from the photo you sent me. Why did you send that to me, by the way?

I wanted you to see how pretty mom looks.

She looks very pretty but you should probably stop sending me those photos.

How come?

Because I said so. Now, are you excited to spend two weeks with me once you get done with school?

Definitely. It's gonna be so much fun.

It certainly is.

I have to go now because I have to get back to rehearsal for my tour, but I'll talk to you soon, okay?

Okay. I love you, dad.

Love you too, Jess.

Locking his phone again, he sets it down and takes another swig from his water bottle before replacing the cap and setting it off to the side.

Turning around, he slowly makes his way back over to his microphone, calling out to the other band members to gather together so they can practice more before going home for the day.

Stepping through the front door of his apartment, Grant shrugs out of his jacket and drops it on the couch, toes his shoes off against a nearby wall, and tosses his keys onto the coffee table. He lets out a deep sigh as he falls down onto the couch.

Max immediately comes up to where his owner is, resting his head on the couch, the edge of his nose barely touching Grant's leg.

Grant absentmindedly reaches out and rubs a hand over Max's head as he continues to just think about how life is now and how it used to be. Sure he's happy now, but he can't help but think about how much happier he used to be when he was eighteen and married to the girl he thought would be with him forever.

Obviously it's true when they say that teenagers can be stupid when it comes to love. He obviously was. Maybe if he had just waited longer to marry Skye, maybe then they could have lasted longer than they did. But he'll never really know if they would have. That's all in the past now. Everything he had with Skye is now just a memory in the back of his mind.

Letting out another sigh, he stands from the couch and makes his way down the hallway into his bedroom, immediately stepping over to his closet.

Pulling open the door, he begins searching on the shelf above him and the space beneath his clothes, searching for the one thing he's thought about so many times over the years, but hasn't had the guts to pull out and look at.

"Where the hell is it?" he grumbles under his breath. "I know it's here somewhere."

Turning away from the closet, he slams the door closed and marches out of the room down to the hallway closet.

Throwing open the door, he begins searching that space as well, not caring in the slightest if he's making his house messier than it normally is. He can clean it up later. He just needs to find that book.

"Finally," he whispers, letting out a breath as he pulls out a slightly worn, leather bound photo book from the deep recesses of the closet.

Side stepping the mess on his hallway floor, he moves back into the living room and sits down on the carpet, leaning back against the couch with the book propped up against his knees.

He runs his hands over the cover of the album, the embroidered words on the leather making his mind flash back to that special day in his life. 'Grant and Skye Ward. August 21, 2005.'

Taking a deep breath, he slowly pulls open the cover of the photo album, his heart instantly clenching at the first photo that stares back at him. It's one of their many engagement photos, Grant standing behind Skye with his arms wrapped securely around, her hands resting on top of his. She's leaning back against him and he's resting his head right next to hers. They both have wide grins on their faces.

Grant swallows thickly at the memories that flood back into his mind at seeing the image. He remembers every second of that day even though it wasn't their actual wedding day. They were so happy and carefree back then. Part of him wishes they could be like that again. But he knows it won't happen.

He continues to flip through the pages, looking at all of the different photos from that special day.

He comes across more pictures of their engagement, ceremony, and reception. There are even a few from when they first got Max, running around in the yard and lying down on the living carpet or in the master bed for naps.

Each photo he sees brings back memories he thought he pushed away a long time ago so he'd stop hurting. There's even a photo neither of them had even realized was being taken at the time until they got the photos back later from the photographer. It's a photo from their later in the evening at their reception, not long before the last of the guests went home. The two of them are sitting down on the ground, Skye with her feet up in Grant's lap and her eyes closed. His own eyes are closed as well, his hands on her feet as he'd been giving her a foot massage before they'd both fallen asleep from exhaustion.

Grant smiles sadly at the memory of that moment, remembering how Skye had all but demanded him to give her a foot massage right then and there because her feet were hurting. And of course he agreed without hesitation because he would do just about anything for her to make her happy. Including, apparently, letting go of his feelings for her so she can get married to another guy.

Slamming the book closed, Grant sits up and uses all of his strength to chuck it at the nearest wall, letting out a loud scream, accidentally startling the German Sheppard just a few feet away from him.

"Bloody hell! Are you trying to take my head off? What did you even throw at me? Oh no. You weren't. You were looking at it, weren't you? I could have sworn I put this away years ago."

"You suck at finding hiding places," he mutters, pulling his knees closer to his chest.

"Clearly."

"I screwed everything up, Kebo," Grant says in a strained voice, looking up at his best friend with watery eyes. "I messed up and she left me."

"Whoa, hey." Kebo rushes to his friend's side, kneeling down next to him. "Don't go doing this again, mate. You don't have any alcohol here, do you? Because that is the last thing you need right now. You need to get up off your arse and pull yourself together. You've still got a life to live."

"I know I shouldn't still be thinking about this, Kebo, but I can't help it. She left me because I screwed up and in the end I couldn't keep our marriage together. I was more concerned about furthering my career and making money than I was about my wife and making sure she was still happy."

Kebo reaches up and smacks Grant on the back of the head, earning a hard glare from the dark haired man. "Oi, quit that. You know I love Skye like a sister and I always will, but she's at fault in it too. Instead of doing her part to try and fix you two, she just up and left. And then didn't even consider coming back here to tell you about your child."

"She was hurting," Grant tries to defend her.

"And so were you. But she didn't even consider that." Kebo sighs and shifts in his spot. "Look, you can't do this to yourself again, mate. It took you a really long time the last time to get your life back together. I won't let you fall apart again. Not when you have a daughter that needs you to be there for her as much as humanly possible, and a girlfriend that really cares about you and wants to be with you for you and not your money or fame."

Grant lets out a heavy sigh. "I don't deserve someone like Sophia. She's amazing and I'm just an idiot who's still hung up on his ex-wife even though she's clearly moved on with her life and is getting married to someone else."

"Well you can always try and become the man that Sophia does deserve," Kebo tells him. "It won't be easy, but I believe that it's doable. Also, what made you think to look at your old wedding album? That part has me a bit confused."

Grant swallows thickly. "Jessica. Apparently Skye is trying on her wedding dress and Jess thought it would be a good idea to send me a picture of the whole thing. I started remembering the first time I saw her walking down the aisle toward me and how beautiful she looked. It's like she was on air and we were the only two people in the room."

"Yes, it was disgusting. All the goo-goo eyes, it was very nauseating. I almost threw something at the two of you to make it stop."

"But I don't want to remember any of it anymore," he admits. "I want to stop loving Skye so that I can move on with my life like she is. I just...I just don't know how to do that. Especially when I can still feel her lips on mine and how soft they are."

"Really, mate? It's been ten years."

Grant shakes his head. "But it hasn't. When she was here for Spring Break, we all went to the zoo...and Skye and I kissed."

Kebo's eyes go wide and his jaw drops open. "What?! Are you serious right now? You kissed her?"

"And she kissed me back. But then she started yelling at me telling me how wrong it was and stormed off after Jess got out of the gift shop."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Besides you, no. She told me I couldn't tell anyone. But I don't want to keep this from Sophia. She deserves to know what happened, right?"

"It might crush her," Kebo says. "But you have to decide for yourself if you want to risk what happens either way if you tell her or don't. I'm afraid I can't help you out too much with this one."

Grant sighs. "I know. I just…I don't know what to do anymore, Kebo. My life's such a mess."

"Well I have faith that everything will all work itself out in the end. You just need to have that faith too."

"I don't know if I can."

"Well tough. Because I'm not going to let you mope about anymore. Not again. So get up off your arse, I'm going to take this wedding book with me so you don't look through it again and make yourself miserable, and you're going to focus on keeping your life together, with your girlfriend and your daughter."

Grant nods and takes a deep breath. "You're right."

"Of course I am."

Grant just laughs quietly, pulling himself up off the floor and taking a few slow, deep breaths. He nods his head. "Okay, I think I'm good."

Kebo raises a brow. "You sure? You're not just saying that to appease me?"

Grant shakes his head. "No, I really mean it. I think…I think I still had a lot of pent up frustrations that I needed to get out, and looking at our wedding album, it helped me. It was kind of therapeutic in a way, to get out the last of those feelings and emotions."

Kebo nods curtly. "Good. I'm glad to hear it." He takes a deep breath. "Now, I'm going to go so that I can put this away some place where you'll never find it, and I want you to go and do something productive. You got that?"

One corner of Grant's mouth ticks upward. "Yeah, I got it."

"Excellent. I'll see you later, then." Kebo gives him a quick pat on the back before turning around and making his way to the front door, the worn wedding album tucked up under his arm.

"Kebo," Grant calls out to his friend.

Kebo stops in the doorway, one hand on the doorknob, and looks over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Kebo smiles at him. "Anytime, mate."

Chapter Text

"Grant!" Kebo calls out as he walks down the short hallway toward the bedroom, greeting Max in the living room as he goes. "Oi! Grant! Are you even listening to me? Or are you just choosing to ignore me?" Kebo walks into Grant's room to find his friend sitting at his computer surfing the Internet, his guitar leaning up against the bed and his notebook open on top of the blanket, a pencil lying in the fold between pages. "Grant!"

Grant turns around at hearing his name being called to see his best friend standing just inside the doorway to his bedroom, leaning against the frame. "Hey man, what's up?"

"You left your phone downstairs," Kebo tells him, holding Grant's phone up and extending it out to him as he takes a few steps into the room. "It's Jessica."

Grant smiles and quickly takes the phone from his friend, holding it up to his ear and relaxing back in his chair. "Hello?"

"Hi dad!"

He smiles into the phone at hearing his daughter's voice. "Hey Jess. How are you?"

"Great! Today was my last day of school," she tells him excitedly.

"Really? Well that's awesome. Did you have fun? I always had fun on my last day of school."

"I had so much fun. We went out onto the playground for the rest of the day after we had lunch, and we got to eat snow cones and popcorn, and we got to dunk our principal in a dunk tank. It was so awesome, dad! I got the first shot that dunk him."

Grant chuckles. "That's great, sweetheart. Are you ready for next week?"

"Uh-huh!" she exclaims excitedly. "I get to spend two whole weeks with you by myself! I'm so excited! We're gonna have so much fun!"

"Yes we are," he says. "If we get the chance, I'm going to introduce you to some more friends of mine that I think you're really going to like. And we're also going to go out and explore more of the city and do a lot of really fun stuff together. What do you say?"

"I say yes!" Jessica says excitedly. "And you know what's cool?"

"What?"

"I get to fly on the plane all by myself!"

Grant smiles and nods. "I know you do. And I will be there to pick you up as soon as your flight gets in."

"I can't wait! Hey dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I have to go now because mom wants me to do some laundry before I go over to Josie's house to play."

"Alright, have fun. And tell Josie I say hello."

"Thanks, and I will. I love you, dad!"

"Love you too, Jess. Bye." Grant pulls his phone away from his ear and ends the phone call, setting it down on his desk and turning to see Kebo looking at him with an amused look on his face. "What?" he asks.

Kebo shakes his head. "Nothing. It's just that it's still a little hard to believe sometimes that you and Skye actually have a kid together."

"Tell me about it," Grant says with a small chuckle. "I've known for almost a year and it's still hard sometimes for me to wrap my head around the whole thing."

"I can only imagine. You dated for three years, were married for not even a year, got divorced, never spoke to each other, and then eight years later, at your ten year high school reunion, you find out you have a daughter. It's pretty crazy, like something out of a movie."

"I know." He sighs with a smile. "And remember, I don't want the paparazzi taking a ton of pictures of Jess while she's here. Even though she lets me post photos of her on my own Instagram, Skye made it very clear to me the first time around that she doesn't want Jess' face to be plastered everywhere, and for her to be the headline of every newspaper and website. I feel like I just barely managed to convince her to let me have Jess by myself for two weeks. I don't need her to get on my case because Jess' face is all over different magazines and stuff."

"I know, man," Kebo says. "I've already got Jenny on it. She's making sure the tabloids know that your daughter is off limits while she's here with you."

"Thanks."

"Hey, it's not a problem. I love that kid even though I only met her the one time. She's great."

"She really is," Grant says with a smile. "She's the best part of me."

"So I've been replaced just like that, then? I see how it is."

Grant rolls his eyes at Kebo's antics. "Shut up, Kebo."

Kebo huffs. "Fine. I know when I'm not wanted."

"Don't be so dramatic."

"Don't tell me how to live my life."

Grant just chuckles and shakes his head at Kebo's continued antics. He's a completely ridiculous person, but he's always been there when Grant's needed someone, so he can't really complain too much.

Stepping through the security gate, Jessica takes a deep breath before making her way through the terminal, clutching her carryon bag tightly in one hand. Once she steps onto the main floor of the airport, she looks around for her dad, keeping her eyes and ears on high alert.

"Jessica!"

Turning around all the way, she sees her dad standing just a few feet in front of her, a wide smile on his face as he walks toward her.

"Dad!" she exclaims, running full speed toward him.

When she gets closer to him, he bends down slightly and opens his arms up to her. She jumps up into his waiting arms and he happily wraps her in a hug, spinning her around in the middle of the airport.

"Oh, it's so good to see you," he tells her when he sets her feet back on the ground.

She grins up at him. "Me too. We're gonna have so much fun."

"You bet we are." He smiles back. "This is Los Angeles, the City of Angels, by far one of the most fun cities in America."

"Cool. I know I've been here before, but I'm so excited."

"I'm glad you are. Now come on, let's go get your bag and then we'll go back to my place and let you get settled in. Max and Sophia are waiting for you. Probably very eagerly, in Max's case."

"Sophia's at your house?"

Grant nods. "I hope that's okay. She wanted to see you when you got here, but figured she'd wait at my place so that I could pick you up by myself."

"Oh, okay." She grabs his hand in hers and the two of them begin making their way through the airport toward baggage claim to get her suitcase. "Hey dad?"

"Yeah?"

"What are we gonna do for two weeks while I'm here?" she asks him. "When I was here for Spring Break we did a lot of really fun stuff so what else is there to do?"

"That's a very good question," he says. "But this is Los Angeles, and therefore, there is a whole lot of activities we can do while we're here. The list is pretty much endless. As long as you have a big imagination, you can have as much fun as you want here."

"Can we do stuff that you and mom used to do to have fun?"

Grant smiles. "I think I remember some of the crazier adventures we've had."

"Really?"

He nods. "Mm-hmm. And I might have a few ideas in mind of what we can do."

"Awesome."

.

.

.

"Max!" Jessica shouts as she enters Grant's house, immediately seeing the German Sheppard sitting in the living room near the couch. The dog perks up at hearing his name, his eyes darting over to Jessica. The young girl rushes toward him, dropping to her knees to hug him around the neck. "I missed you."

Max barks loudly and licks Jessica's face excitedly, bouncing on his feet.

Grant laughs quietly at the sight. "I think he missed you too, Jess."

"Can you send a picture of me and Max to mom? I want her to see."

"Yeah, sure." He pulls his phone out and opens up the camera, centering Jessica and Max in the photo before hitting the capture button. Tapping on the screen a few times, he gets the photo attached in a text to Skye Jess made it here safely. You can have her back in two weeks. :)

Please be careful with her.

I promise I will be. Don't worry.

I'm her mother. It's my job to worry about her for the rest of her life. No matter how old she is, or who she's with, I'm going to worry about her.

Chuckling quietly at the response, Grant locks his phone and slides it back into his pocket, looking up to see Jessica and Max rough housing on the living room carpet, quiet, full-bellied laughs coming from his daughter. He smiles at the scene.

"Alright," he says, taking a deep breath and clapping his hands together once, "Jess, why don't you go to your room and unpack and then I'll make us something to eat. Airplane food isn't the most appetizing stuff."

"Can we have grilled cheese?" she asks him. "I really want grilled cheese."

Grant smiles and nods his head. "Grilled cheese sounds like an excellent idea. Also, tomorrow, I was thinking we could go out and you could visit your aunt and cousins. How does that sound?"

Jessica just smiles up at him before moving down the hallway with Max right at her side, pulling her suitcase behind her as she goes.

Grant lets out a content sigh and turns to face his girlfriend. "Do you want to stay and eat with us?"

She smiles back at him. "I would love to."

"Great. You can help me with the grilled cheese. I happen to make very excellent grilled cheese sandwiches. Some of the best grilled cheese sandwiches in existence."

"Well I am very much looking forward to having them," she tells him honestly with a small smile.

Grant smiles back at her and then takes her hand to lead her into the kitchen to get started on the meal.

"Aunt Mandy!" Jessica shouts when she sees the older woman as she approaches the house, her dad not far behind her. She runs up the steps onto the porch and moves toward her aunt, a wide smile on her face the entire time.

Amanda turns around fully and smiles, holding her arms open to Jessica. She hugs the girl tightly. "Oh, I missed you so much, sweet pea."

Jessica leans back and smiles up at her aunt. "I missed you too, Aunt Mandy. I'm so excited mom let me come here by myself."

"I'm sure you are," Amanda says.

"I get to spend two whole weeks with dad by myself."

"I heard. And did you have a good flight yesterday?"

"Yeah. The airplane food wasn't the best, though, so dad made us grilled cheese when we got to his house."

"I see. And how were the sandwiches?"

"Really good."

"I'm sure they were. Your dad makes really good food."

"Where's Ethan and Caleb?" she asks her aunt.

"They're out in the backyard playing. Go ahead and go on back."

"Awesome. Bye, dad." She gives Grant a quick smile and wave before making her through the house and out to the backyard, smiling wide when she sees her two younger cousins playing in the grass. She immediately makes her way over to them and joins in whatever game they're playing.

"Thanks again for watching her today," Grant says to his sister as he slowly approaches the house. "I wish I didn't have to go to these meetings and could just spend time with Jess, but they're pretty important meetings."

Amanda waves him off. "It's fine, Grant, really. You know I don't mind watching her for a few hours. She's my niece and a really great kid. Besides, the boys have been hounding me about when they'd get to see her again, so it's perfect. They'll all have a good time hanging out together."

"I know they will," he says, a small smile on his face at thinking about how well his daughter and nephews get along despite their difference in age. He takes a deep breath. "Alright, well, I should probably get going so I'm not late for my meetings and get chewed out by Jenny again, but I'll let you know when I'm on my way back to pick her up."

"Don't stress, Grant. Take your time and don't rush through your meetings. Jess will be fine here with me and the boys. Now go to your meeting."

Grant sighs and nods his head. "Alright, alright. I'm going." He puts his hands in the air and slowly backs away toward his car parked along the curb. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"I promise I will, but we'll be perfectly fine here without you checking in on us every five minutes. I love you, little bro, but you might be taking this fatherhood thing a little too crazy." She lets out a small laugh.

He laughs quietly as he turns around. "Can't help it. She's my entire world."

Chapter Text

"So, how does it feel not having Jess here?"

Skye lets out a heavy sigh as she leans sideways against one of the walls of her shop and looks over at her best friend. "Honestly? I know it's only been a few days since I put her on the plane to LA, but I think I might actually lose my mind. Why did I agree to let her go there for two weeks?"

"Because you wanted her to be able to spend time and bond with her father?" Jemma suggests.

Skye waves off her friend. "Yeah, yeah. I'm just really glad I didn't agree to longer than that. And I mean, not having to take care of her twenty-four seven for two weeks means I have some extra time on my hands to finalize wedding details."

"How is that going, by the way?" Jemma asks as she places a few items on the shelf near her.

Skye shrugs, absentmindedly grabbing a few pieces of equipment from one of the boxes and fiddling with them. "As well as it can be. Everything's pretty much done, I think. There are just a few smaller details to work out." She sets the items back in the box.

"Well that's good."

"Yeah. I'm just kind of worried that something is going to go wrong."

"How so?"

Skye sighs again. "I don't know. I just have this sinking feeling in my stomach that somehow something is going to go wrong right before the wedding and completely ruin everything."

Her phone ringing pulls her attention away from the shelf in front of her. Moving to the counter at the back of the shop, she steps behind it and pulls her phone out of her bag. Glancing at the screen she sees Grant's name staring back up at her and hits the answer button.

She holds the phone up to her ear. "Grant?"

"Skye, hey. I'm glad I caught you."

"Why? What's up? Is everything okay?"

"Um..."

"Just spit it out. Please."

He sighs. "Fine. We were out walking around town today when this group of teenage boys came running past us. They didn't even stop when they saw us and Jess got knocked down. She has a fractured wrist."

Her eyes go wide. "She has a what?!"

"Relax, Skye. I promise you everything is going to be fine."

"Relax?" she repeats. "My daughter got a fractured wrist while I'm not there and you're telling me to relax?"

"Look, I promise you that everything is perfectly fine," he tells her. "I brought her to the hospital and Lincoln is actually the one who took care of her wrist. He said she'll be fine."

Her brows furrow together. "Lincoln from high school? The one who apparently had a crush on me?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Okay. So Jess is going to be fine, then?" she asks, even though he already told her she would be.

"She's going to be perfectly fine," he reassures her. "She'll need to wear a cast for a little while, and Lincoln said he'll fax the information over to her doctor in Massachusetts so that when it comes time to take it off, she can just get it done there."

"Okay. I just feel bad that she's going to have to wear a cast for the beginning of the summer. And for the wedding too."

"She actually doesn't seem to be too bummed out about it," Grant tells her. "She said she's going to have all of her friends sign it once she gets back."

"Oh, well I guess that's something."

"Yeah. She even had me sign it first and made a joke about selling it online after she gets it taken off. At least, I think she was joking. Sometimes I can't tell."

"She gets it from you," Skye tells him. "It was hard to tell sometimes when you were joking about something. Can I talk to her?"

"Uh, yeah. Just give me a second." There's shuffling on the other end of the line and she takes a moment to glance around the store, taking notice of the few people wandering around the store looking at the merchandise; Jemma's speaking with an elderly woman near the racks of sheet music.

"Mom?"

"Hey, angel," she says into her phone with a smile. "Your dad told me what happened with your arm. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Lincoln's a really good doctor. And he's pretty funny too."

Skye smiles. "I'm sure he is, sweetie. Does your arm hurt at all?"

"Not anymore. It did when I fell and for a little bit after, but Lincoln gave me some medicine so it doesn't hurt that much anymore. And I have a really cool cast. It's neon green. I'm gonna see how many celebrities I can get to sign it while I'm here. Dad knows a lot of famous people so it should be really easy."

"Just don't go too crazy, okay, baby? If one of them doesn't want to sign it or whatever, don't force them to."

"I won't."

"Good. Put your dad back on now please."

"Okay. I love you, mom."

"I love you too, angel."

There's a bit more shuffling on the other end of the line and then she hears Grant's voice coming through the speaker again, "Hey."

"Hi."

"So, are you satisfied that she's really doing okay now that you've spoken to her?" he asks.

She rolls her eyes. "Yes, I'm satisfied."

"Good."

"But it doesn't mean that I'm still thrilled about her being away from me for two weeks. Especially with a hurt arm."

"Didn't we go over this already?"

"Yes. But it doesn't change my feelings that much. I'm her mother; I carried her inside me for nine months, gave birth to her, and raised her pretty much on my own for the first nine years of her life."

"I know. But I promise you that I can take care of her while she's here. So please try not to worry too much, okay?"

"I'll do my best but I make absolutely no promises that I won't worry a little."

"As long as you try. That's all I can ask."

"Fine. And uh, I should probably go now since I'm at work right now and have stock to finish unloading, but uh, let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"I will. Goodbye, Skye."

"Bye."

Pulling the phone down from her ear, she ends the call and drops the device back into her purse. Letting out a heavy sigh, she makes her way back around the counter onto the main floor of the shop, quickly moving over to where Jemma's standing near a shelf of smaller accessories for instruments.

"Hey."

She begins digging in one of the open boxes to put away more items onto the shelves.

"Hi. Who was on the phone?"

"Grant."

"Oh. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. I guess Jess got a fractured wrist."

Jemma's eyes go wide. "She did?"

Skye nods. "Mm-hmm."

"Well is she alright?"

"Grant said that she has to wear a cast for a few weeks but that she should be fine."

"And I'm sure that's very true," Jemma tells her. "Jessica is a very strong young girl; she'll be able to handle this. Just try not to worry too much."

Skye throws her hands up. "Why do people keep telling me to not worry? Grant said the exact same thing on the phone."

"So then maybe you should listen to what everyone's telling you," Jemma says, stacking a few items onto the shelf. "Maybe you should worry less about your daughter, who is with her father, and focus on planning the rest of your wedding."

Skye nods. "Yeah, you're right. But do you think the wedding is still a good idea?"

Jemma furrows her brows. "What are you talking about?"

Skye sighs again. "It's just…I feel like Miles has been pulling away ever since I told him about how Grant and I kissed. I'm worried that I screwed things up, Jemma, that he doesn't actually want to get married anymore. What if I messed it all up by kissing Grant in LA?"

"You said he was okay with it, though, right?"

Skye nods her head and crosses her arms casually across her chest. "I mean, yeah, he said that, but I don't know anymore. It's almost like he doesn't want to hurt me by bringing it up, but he's not fully into this relationship anymore because of what happened."

"Well I can't say I blame him all that much."

"Jemma!"

The Brit looks over at her friend and shrugs. "What? You can't honestly tell me that you weren't expecting him to get upset with you."

"Maybe I was a little, I basically cheated on him, in a way, and all he did was act like everything was all okay and that nothing was wrong. But I kissed my ex husband, Jemma, that's not something that should just be overlooked. Right? Should I talk to Miles about it, see if he's really okay with it all or just putting on an act?"

Jemma sighs again. "I don't know, Skye. I think you have to make that decision for yourself, just like the last time. I just hope everything works out well for you."

"So do I, Jemma, so do I."

Chapter Text

Entering the living room of his place from the hallway, Grant takes a moment to lean against the wall next to him and smile at the sight of Sophia lounging comfortably on his couch, watching something on the television screen in front of her, the tiniest hint of a smile on her lips. He loves watching her be so at home at his place, it makes him think that everything might actually work out for him in the end, despite everything else that has happened.

A sinking feeling enters his gut though, at remembering what happened during Spring Break that his girlfriend still doesn't know about. Can he really continue on in a relationship with her without her knowing the truth?

"Hey."

Pulling himself from his thoughts, he smiles softly at his girlfriend. "Hey."

"Is Jess asleep?" she asks him, shutting off the TV and shifting on the couch.

"Sort of," he replies, crossing the carpet of the living to sit down next to her. "I told her she could stay up a little longer to read more of her book. I figured it's the summertime so she doesn't really need to be going to bed super early." He takes a deep breath. "So what have you been doing?"

"Just watching some TV," she tells him. She shifts a little more and turns toward him. "But you're here now, so we can probably do something else a little more fun." She smiles as she leans forward to press a quick kiss to his lips. "What do you say?"

"Um, actually, can I talk to you for a minute about something?" he rubs at the back of his neck nervously, a small frown on his face as he looks at his girlfriend.

Sophia smiles and nods, leaning back a little. "Yeah. I actually have something I want to talk to you about too."

"Oh, okay. So, do uh, do you want to go first?" he asks her.

She shakes her head. "No. You can."

"Okay." He shifts a little in his seat and breathes in deeply. "Um, so, during spring break, when Skye, Miles, and Jessica were here, we all went to the zoo because Jess really wanted to go since she's never been before. At the end of the day, Skye and I were sitting outside while Jess and Miles were in the gift shop. We uh, we were talking about the past and how things used to be between us when we were together and uh, we sort of...kissed."

Sophia sucks in a sharp breath.

"Well, technically I kissed her and then she kissed me back. But I promise you that it was a onetime thing and it didn't mean anything to me."

"Yes it did," she whispers.

He furrows his brows. "What?"

"You can't just kiss your ex wife, who you've known practically you're entire life and have a child with, and tell me that it meant nothing to you."

"I was just caught up in the moment," he tries to defend himself.

"That's exactly it, Grant. If it didn't mean anything, even if you were caught up in the moment, you wouldn't have kissed her. And you wouldn't have waited until now to tell me."

"Skye didn't want either of us to say anything to anyone."

"So because Skye said that you couldn't, you didn't."

He shakes his head. "No. I also didn't want anyone to know because it'd be all over social media instantly and people, especially the gossip sites and magazines, would blow it way out of proportion and make life so much more difficult for everyone involved, including you. And I also didn't know how to tell you."

"Well it seems like you did perfectly fine just now."

He groans. "Can you please just work with me here? I'm trying to be honest with you. I've felt so guilty keeping this from you for as long as I have."

"I don't want you to tell me things out of guilt, Grant. That's not how relationships are supposed to work."

"I know that. And I'm really trying here. Just tell me what I need to do."

"But I shouldn't have to tell you, Grant," she says to him softly. "You should just know. We've been together for a few months now, I thought you'd know me well enough by now. Or maybe if I was a different brunette you'd have no problem confiding in me about things."

Grant's eyes narrow. "Whoa, hey. That's not fair."

Sophia sighs and nods. "You're right. It wasn't, and I'm sorry." She takes a deep breath. "But what's also not fair is me feeling like I'm more invested in this relationship than you are. And I don't want to feel like that, Grant, I really don't."

"I'm sorry." He frowns and looks down, fiddling with the fabric of his jeans.

Sophia takes a deep breath. "I got offered a job."

Grant looks up at her, remaining silent to let her finish speaking.

"It's in Europe. For six months. The curator at one of the biggest museums fell ill and they need someone to fill in. Somehow, my resume got to them and they've asked me to step in. I was debating whether or not to take the job. I wanted to know we were in a good place before I left for six months so that when I came back we'd still be okay. But now…now I think this is a sign, telling me I should take the job."

Grant nods his head. "I think you're right. I think you should take the job."

She quirks a brow. "You do?"

"Yeah. It's what you love to do. I don't want to hold you back from that and then have you resenting me somewhere down the line wondering what might have been if you'd have taken that job. So you should take the job."

"You really want me to leave?" she asks him quietly.

"I want you to be happy, Soph."

"I'm happy with you, Grant."

He sighs and nods, hearing her unsaid words of how they could both be happier.

"So what does this mean for us, then?" he asks her. "If you're going to go to Europe for six months, what happens here?" He gestures between them.

"Part of me doesn't want things to end," she admits.

"And the other part?"

"Knows that it'll be much easier on the both of us if we just end things right now before I leave. We won't have to worry as much. And long distance relationships are tough on most people."

Grant nods. "Right. So when do you leave?"

"I'm going to call in the morning and let them know. Then I'll probably be leaving pretty soon after that."

"Can I see you before you leave?"

She shakes her head and smiles sadly. "I don't think so. It'll just make this harder."

"I'll never stop caring about you," he tells her. "You're always going to have been an important part of my life."

"Just not the most important one. It's okay," she says before he can open his mouth to respond. "I was hoping that you wouldn't still be in love with your ex wife after so long, but clearly there are still some things that need to be figured out between you two."

"It's pointless. She's getting married to someone else soon."

"I know. And I'm sorry. But I think…I think that maybe we need some time apart, either way. And if, in six months, either of us is still single and you've moved on a little more, maybe we can try again."

Grant nods his head. "Yeah, okay. Uh, have a safe trip, then, I guess."

She smiles softly. "Thank you. And I don't want you moping around this place, okay? Enjoy the last full week you have your daughter here with you."

He smiles back at her. "I will. I promise."

Sophia hesitates a moment and then leans forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Grant's cheek. She lingers for a moment before pulling back and smiling sadly. "I'm going to miss you, Grant."

"I'm gonna miss you too," he tells her.

Without another word, Sophia stands from the couch and turns around, making her way to the front door, leaving Grant alone in the living room.

Letting out a deep sigh when the front door closes, Grant leans back into the couch, resting his eyes as he breathes in and out slowly. Another relationship done, unfortunately. Maybe he's just destined to be alone forever.

"Dad?"

Lifting his head and opening his eyes, Grant looks over to see Jessica standing next to the side of the couch, clutching her favorite stuffed elephant tightly in her arms. "Hey, Jess, what's up?"

"Where'd Sophia go?" she asks him.

"She uh, she left. She went back to her place."

"Oh." She sits down next to him. "Is she gonna come back tomorrow to hang out?"

Grant sighs and shakes his head. "I don't think she's coming back at all, sweetheart. She broke up with me and is taking a new job in England."

"She broke up with you?"

Grant nods. "Yeah, she did."

"How come?"

"It's complicated grown up stuff."

"But it doesn't have to be complicated, though."

"This time it does. Now go back to your room, okay? I'll be there in a minute to say goodnight."

Jessica sighs. "Okay."

Grant waits for his daughter to stand from the couch and move back down the hallway before letting out another deep sigh and hanging his head. He may not have a romantic relationship anymore, but at least he still has a relationship with his daughter, and that's all that should really matter in the long run.

After a minute of just thinking, he takes a deep breath and then stands from the couch to go down to Jessica's room, Max right at his heels like always.

Entering the bedroom, he smiles when he sees his daughter sitting up in her bed with a book open in her bed, her eyes fixated on the pages.

"You should be asleep," he comments, drawing her attention.

"I was waiting for you."

"I know." He steps further into the room and moves to the bed. "Alright, book away, time to go to sleep."

Jessica sighs. "Fine." She closes her book and sets it on the nightstand off to the side, shifting so she's deeper under the covers.

"Good." Grant tucks the blankets in a little tighter around his daughter and leans down to press a kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight, Jess. I love you."

"Love you too, dad."

Smiling, he stands up straight again and moves back toward the door when his daughter's voice stops him.

"Hey dad? Can I tell you something?"

He turns around to look at her. "Of course you can, sweetheart. What's on your mind?"

She fiddles with the edge of her blanket. "Um, I heard when you and Sophia were talking."

He frowns. "You were eavesdropping? That's not very nice, Jess."

"I know. But I heard some of what she said to you. Are you really still in love with mom?"

Grant sighs and steps over to the bed, sitting down on the edge of it. "It's a bit more complicated than that, Jess. Your mom's marrying Miles."

"But she doesn't have to. If you tell her you love her then maybe she'll take you back."

Grant shakes his head. "I don't think it works that way, sweetie."

"But it can."

"Where's all this coming from, anyways?" he asks her, his voice laced with concern. "I thought you liked Miles."

"I do like him, he makes mom happy."

"Okay. So then why are you making it seem like you don't want your mom to marry him?"

Jessica shrugs. "I don't know. I was just thinking about what it'd be like if you and mom got married again. We'd be a family."

"I hate to break it to you, kiddo, but I don't think that's going to happen. Your mom really loves Miles and she's going to marry him. Besides, I've got you, and you're all I need right now. Your mom and I don't need to be married for you and me to be a family."

"Okay. But you still love mom, right?"

"Your mom will always have a special place in my heart, she was the first girl I ever loved completely, and she gave me you, so I'll always love that. But it's time for me to move on from your mother. She's moved on and I should too. Understand?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah."

"Good. Now go to sleep, okay?"

"Okay. I love you, dad."

"Love you too, sweetheart." He leans down and presses a quick kiss to her head before standing up and making his way out of the room, shutting off the bedroom light as he goes.

Moving back into the living room, he grabs his phone and unlocks the device, going straight into his messages and clicking on the one between him and Kebo.

Sophia left me tonight. Why do I keep doing this?

A few seconds later he gets a reply.

Bloody hell. I'm sorry, mate. I know you really cared about her.

What sucks the most is that I honestly think I could have seen a real future with her if I wasn't still so hung up on Skye. I wish I didn't still feel like this.

Do I need to come over there again?

Grant chuckles quietly. No, Kebo, I'm fine, I promise. Just doing a lot of thinking.

Alright. Well don't wallow for too long, yeah? You've still got a week left with Jessica; you need to make the most of it.

I plan to.

Good. I'll talk to you later then.

Yeah, thanks man. Night.

No problem.

Locking his phone again, Grant sets it off to the side and picks up the remote control for the television. Relaxing back on the couch, one arm resting up on the back of the couch, he lets out a deep sigh as he flips the TV on and gets lost in the shows playing for the next couple of hours.

Chapter Text

"So, I think I have a really good idea," Grant speaks up to his daughter as he makes his way into the kitchen, setting his phone down on the counter as he passes by it. "Only thing is, I'm not sure if you'd be up for it."

"You said the same thing during spring break about going to the studio," Jessica replies, glancing up from her bowl of cereal.

Grant nods, feigning forgetfulness. "Right. Of course. So do you want to hear my really good idea, then?"

Jessica nods, her mouth full of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. "Mm-hmm."

"Great. So I was thinking, since it's your last full day here in LA, we could go and do something that's really, really fun, one of the coolest things to do in LA. It's so cool that I decided to save it for last."

"Even cooler than getting to watch you rehearse for your tour?" she asks him. "Cause that was really cool."

He nods. "Definitely cooler than that."

"So what is it?"

"Hiking up to the Hollywood sign."

Jessica grins and sits up straighter. "Yes!"

"You really want to go?"

She nods her head vigorously. "Yeah! That sounds like so much fun."

Grant laughs quietly. "I'm glad you think so. And we could even have a picnic up there if you want to."

"That sounds awesome."

"Good. I'm glad. So hurry up and finish eating, okay? We have to go run a few errands and then we can go hiking."

"Cool. Is Max gonna go with us?" she asks him.

"I think that'd be okay. Besides, Max would probably get pretty lonely here without us to keep him company while we're gone."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Do you think he'll get tired easily when we're hiking?"

"He might. He's getting pretty old; he's not as spritely as he used to be when your mom and I first got him."

"Was he a cute puppy?"

"The cutest. Your mom liked to dress him up in ridiculous costumes and outfits and take pictures of him."

"Do you still have any?" she asks eagerly.

He tilts his head in thought. "I might be able to dig up a few, but I'd have to really look. I think they got put away somewhere after your mom and I split up."

"Oh, okay." She turns back to her breakfast and continues eating.

Grant smiles softly at her before turning to the stove to make himself some breakfast before getting their day started.

Pulling up to a stop in one of the parking spaces in front of the record studio, Grant shifts the gear into park before shutting off the engine and removing the keys from the ignition.

"How come we're here?" Jessica asks him, looking through the windshield at the tall building in front of them. "I thought we were gonna go hiking?"

"I just have to do a few quick things real fast in regards to my tour. And then I promise we'll go out on that hike."

"Okay. Do I have to stay in the car while you're inside?"

"Absolutely not. You and Max get to come inside and hang out in one of the lounges while I do what I need to do. I think they have games and stuff in there for when kids like you have to wait around for a while."

"Okay."

"Good. Now come on." He gestures with his head outside the car as he climbs out, Jessica climbing out right after him.

Making sure the car is locked, Grant gently rests a hand on Jessica's shoulder and leads her up to the front of the studio building, pushing open the front doors and nudging her inside to the front lobby.

Stepping up to the front desk, Grant smiles at the man sitting behind the desk. "Good morning, Charles."

"Grant, good to see you again. How are you?"

"Doing pretty well. You?"

"As well as I usually am."

"Hi, Charles," Jessica speaks up, smiling and waving at the man.

Charles peers over the desk and smiles kindly at her. "Oh, Jessica, hello. I didn't realize you were in town."

"I've been here for two weeks with dad since I'm done with school. But today's my last day here. We're gonna go hiking up to the Hollywood sign later."

"Oh, that'll be fun."

"Yeah. I'm really excited."

Charles gives her another smile before looking back up at Grant. "So, what can I do for you, Grant?"

"I'm actually here for a meeting about my tour, but I'm not sure if the others are here yet. Can you find out for me?"

Charles nods. "I absolutely can. Just give me one moment."

Grant and Jessica stand patiently in front of the reception counter, talking quietly to themselves as they wait for Charles to finish his task, one of Jessica's hands resting absentmindedly on top of Max's head, much like Grant does whenever he's out with his dog.

"Alright," Charles speaks up a moment later, "I do believe that two of the members of your meeting today are already here."

"That's great, Charles, thank you so much."

"Not a problem. They're in the conference room on the seventh floor."

"Great, thanks." Grant gives the other man a small smile before leading Jessica past the desk and over to the bank of elevators, Max following right beside them.

"Bye, Charles," Jessica says with a wave. She looks up at her dad. "I like Charles, he's nice."

"He certainly is. He's one of the nicest guys that I know."

"That's cool."

"Yeah, I think so too."

As soon as their elevator car arrives, Grant ushers her inside and they ride up in a comfortable silence.

Once they reach the seventh floor, they step out into the hallway and Grant leads Jessica to one of the lounges.

"Alright, you hang out in here with Max while I go do what I need to. Feel free to have any of the snacks or drinks in the fridge and cupboards. Hopefully I won't be too long."

"Okay. Have fun in your meeting."

Grant smiles. "I'll try." He leans down and gives her a quick kiss on the top of her head before turning around and walking out of the room.

.

.

.

Lying down on the couch in the lounge, Jessica stares up at the ceiling, singing quietly to herself as she waits for her dad to finish up his meeting. Max is curled up on one end of the couch at her feet, snoring as he sleeps.

Hearing a faint voice coming from somewhere outside the room, she casually looks over in curiosity.

Her eyes go wide at what she sees and she sits up quickly, staring straight ahead of her.

"No way," she whispers, watching the tall blonde woman walking just a few feet in front of her. "Bobbi Morse," she says. A wide smile crosses over her lips at seeing the other woman.

"Hi there."

Jessica's eyes go wide when she realizes that Bobbi is speaking to her, standing in front of her and looking directly at her.

"Hi. You're Bobbi Morse."

Bobbi nods. "I am. And I believe I know who you are."

"You do?"

"Mm-hmm. You're Jessica, Grant's daughter."

"You know my dad?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. He and I go way back."

"Really? Did you go to school with him and my mom too? He never said anything about going to school with you."

Bobbi shakes her head and laughs quietly. "Not quite that far back. One of his songs was actually on the soundtrack to one of my movies about five or six years ago."

Jessica gasps. "I remember that! Mom wouldn't let me see the movie because there was a lot kissing and stuff, but I listened to that song all the time."

Bobbi smiles. "I'm sure you did." She takes a deep breath and moves to sit next to Jessica on the couch. "I'm sorry about your arm," she says, gesturing to the cast covering Jessica's arm. "That doesn't look like it was any fun."

Jessica glances down at the cast and then back up at Bobbi. "Thanks. It doesn't really hurt that much anymore, though. So I guess that's good."

"That certainly is a good thing. So, what are you doing here right now? Where's your dad?"

"He's doing some stuff for his tour. He told me to wait here with Max until he's done and then we're going to go hiking up to the Hollywood sign."

"Wow. That's pretty awesome.

"Yeah. What are you doing here? You're an actress, not a singer."

Bobbi makes a show of looking around conspiratorially before look back at Jessica. "Can you keep a secret?"

Jessica nods her head. "Yeah. I'm really good at it."

"I'm working on a new movie and the people in charge of it want me to sing a song for it. So I had a meeting here today to talk about it."

"Wow. That's so cool."

"Thanks. Can I count on you to listen to the song over and over again if it happens and to tell other about it when it comes out?"

Jessica nods. "Definitely."

"Great."

"Oh, you know what you should do?"

"What?"

"Have dad sing a song for the movie. He's really good."

Bobbi smiles. "That is definitely something I'll have to consider and bring up to my producers."

"Sorry my meeting took a little longer than I thought it would, Jess," Grant speaks up as he enters the room.

"It's okay, dad. I was talking to Bobbi."

Grant smiles when he notices the blonde woman sitting next to his daughter. "Oh, hey, Bobbi. Good to see you again."

"You too. Did your meeting go well?"

Grant sighs and nods. "As well as it could. We were going over some logistics for my tour that's starting soon."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. Lot of shows sold out pretty quickly, huh?"

"They did. I'm pretty excited. The only thing that'll be tough is not getting to see my beautiful daughter the whole time." He smiles over at Jessica.

"It's called FaceTime, dad," she responds. "Mom said she's gonna leave her tablet with me while I'm with Uncle Fitz and Auntie Jemma so I can still talk to you since she'll have her phone with her on her honeymoon."

Grant nods. "Right, of course. How could I forget about FaceTime?"

Jessica shrugs. "I don't know. You're getting old?"

Bobbi lets out a loud laugh while Grant's jaw drops open.

"Excuse you, young lady; I'm only twenty-nine, just a few months older than your mother. The woman who gave birth to you and will also be twenty-nine very soon."

"I know. You're both almost thirty. That's weird."

Grant laughs quietly and turns to look at Bobbi. "So, how's Lance?" he asks the woman, a small smile still on his face.

Bobbi sighs. "Good. Also annoying."

"So then why did you marry him?" he asks her.

Bobbi tilts her head in thought. "You know, I'm still trying to figure that one out myself."

"Well I hope you figure it out, truly. But in the meantime, Jess and I need to get going so that we can go on our hike before it gets to be too much later."

Bobbi nods. "Of course. I heard about your hike up to the Hollywood sign. Sounds like fun."

"I hope it will be," Grant admits, a small smile on his face.

"Are we almost there?" Jessica asks as she and Grant continue to climb up the mountainside. Grant has a backpack on his back with their lunch and a few of their belongings in it, his hands hanging onto the straps.

"I think so," Grant tells his daughter.

"Good. I'm kind of getting tired. And hungry."

Grant smiles. "Well I promise you we're almost there and then we'll sit down and eat lunch."

"Okay."

The two continue walking together up the mountain, Jessica messing around with Max as they go, laughing and smiling the whole way up to the top.

"Hey, Jess, look where we are."

"Wow. This is so awesome," Jessica states once they reach the top of the hill overlooking all of Los Angeles, clutching tightly to one strap of the bag on her back. She carefully turns and looks all around, a wide smile on her face at the sight. "Everything's so small down there."

"That's what makes it so amazing," Grant tells his daughter, stepping up beside her and resting a hand on her shoulder, Max right beside him. "I don't come up here too often, but when I do, it always seems to take my breath away. It's one of my favorite places to come to."

"Did you ever come up here with mom when she lived here?" she asks him.

"Once or twice. Your mom wasn't really that big on exercise," he jokes.

"She still isn't," Jessica replies.

Grant laughs quietly. "Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. She made me carry her most of the way whenever we came up here."

"She did?"

"Mm-hmm. She's lucky that I loved her so much." He takes a deep breath and shifts on his feet. "Hey, do you want to take a picture? Show everybody that we hiked all the way up to the Hollywood sign?"

Jessica smiles. "Yeah."

"Great. Come here." He moves to stand so their backs are facing the view of LA. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, opens up Instagram, and holds it up in front of them. He leans down so his face is next to hers, wide smiles on both of their faces.

Capturing the moment, Grant taps inside the caption button after skipping over a filter.

Incredible day spent with my daughter on her last day with me in LA before I have to send her back to her mom. Hiked all the way up to the Hollywood sign. Love you to the moon and back, Jess. You haven't even left yet but I already miss you like crazy.

"I wish we could get closer to the sign," Jessica speaks up.

"So do I," Grant tells her. "But this is still pretty cool from up here, right?"

She nods. "Yeah, it's awesome."

"Good. I'm really glad you think so." He takes another deep breath. "So, should we set out our lunch and start eating?"

Jessica nods her head vigorously. "Yes please."

Grant chuckles and moves over to a flat area of ground. "Alright, come on." He sits down and sets his backpack in front of him, opening the top and pulling out the few different lunch items he packed for their adventure.

"I don't want to go."

Grant sighs as he walks next to his daughter through the airport, hanging tightly onto her hand. "I know you don't, Jess. But we'll see each other again in just a couple of days when I fly out for your mom's wedding."

"Can't you just come with me now?" she asks him. "That way we don't have to wait to see each other again."

He shakes his head. "Sorry, Jess. But I still have a few things to take care of here in LA before I go to Massachusetts. I have to make sure things are ready for my tour so that when I get back I can head out for that."

Jessica sighs. "Okay. It just sucks."

"I know it does."

"I miss you a lot when I'm not here," she tells him.

He swallows his tears. "I miss you a lot too. But it'll just make the next time we see each other that much more special."

"Really?"

Grant stops walking and nods his head, turning to face his daughter and kneel down in front of her. "Absolutely. I'll never stop missing you, Jess." He places his hands on her small shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes. "But every time we get to see each other in person it'll be one of the greatest moments ever."

"You really mean it?"

"Of course I do. I love you so much, Jessica. More than I ever thought was possible."

Jessica smiles up at him. "I love you too, dad." She takes a small step forward and closes the space between them, throwing her arms around him in a hug and burying her face in his neck.

Grant smiles through the tears threatening to spill over as he hugs his daughter back. He'll never get tired of this. Ever.

Chapter Text

Pushing open the front door of his best friend's apartment, Kebo steps inside, closing the door behind him again as he peers into the living room in search of his friend.

"Grant, you ready to head out now, mate?" he calls out as as he makes his way deeper into the apartment, having not found him in the living room. "Hannah's waiting in the car, but you're being rather slow this morning and I don't think that I like it. If we miss our flight then we miss the wedding, and you know how much I hate breaking promises. Especially to people I care about." He leans down and greets Max with an affectionate head rub as he passes the dog in the hallway. "Where's your dad, huh? Is he moping about in his room?" Max lets out a bark and Kebo chuckles. "That's what I thought." He stands up straight and moves through the apartment toward Grant's room at the end of the hall, finding the other man lounging back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with his guitar lying across his stomach; his fingers are on the frets and he's absentmindedly plucking at the strings. "Grant," Kebo speaks up, getting his friends' attention.

Grant tears his eyes away from the ceiling to look over at Kebo. He furrows his brows. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm picking you up so we can catch our flight to go to Massachusetts for Skye's wedding. Remember?"

Grant's face hardens and he looks away from his friend. "I changed my mind, I'm not going."

Kebo takes a few more steps into the room. "What do you mean you're not going?"

Grant sighs and sits up, setting his guitar on the ground, letting it lean against the wall. He looks over at his friend. "I mean I'm not getting on that plane and I'm not going to Massachusetts so I can watch the woman I'm still in love with get married to some other guy. I know I told her that I would go, but I can't. I just can't do it."

Kebo nods slowly and moves so he's leaning back against one of the bedroom walls, sliding his hands into his pants pockets. "No, I get it, I really do."

"How do you get it?" Grant asks. "You're not the one who's been in love with Skye for just over a decade."

Kebo nods curtly. "True. However, that doesn't mean it's not going to be excruciatingly painful for me to watch one of my closest friends marry some other bloke that I know can't possibly love her as much as you do, not with the history you two have together. I think you're forgetting who's been rooting for the two of you since the very first day you told me about the 'beautiful brown haired girl with mischief in her eyes' when we were on the playground. Even though we were kids, I knew you were hooked on her that first day and I know it still to this very day."

Grant lets a small smile cross his lips. "Yeah, that'll probably never change."

Kebo takes a deep breath and shifts on his feet. "Grant, I stood by your side as your Best Man when you married Skye all those years ago, I even helped you write your bloody vows even though you should have done it yourself; I know you're always going to love her. And as much as it truly pains me to say it, maybe you should consider moving on somehow. Things didn't work out with Lorelei, again, and they didn't work out with Sophia. Skye's going to be married to another guy very soon and there's nothing you can do about that."

"I know that, Kebo," Grant tells him through gritted teeth. "Believe me, I know that. But I can't go to her wedding and watch her pledge herself to someone else while I'm still in love with her. I just can't do it, Kebo. I'm sorry. You and Hannah are just gonna have to go without me."

"What am I supposed to tell Skye or Jessica if they ask me where you are?"

"Just tell them I think I've come down with something and didn't want to risk getting anyone else sick while there in case I am sick."

Kebo sighs. "Alright." He takes a deep breath and stands up from the bed. "But you're going to owe me big time for this, you hear? I could very well tell Skye that you simply didn't want to go, but I'm not going to do that because I'm your best friend and I genuinely care about you."

Grant rolls his eyes. "Whatever, Kebo. Just go, alright? Tell Skye I said congratulations and that I wish her and Miles all the best."

"You don't, though," Kebo counters.

"But she doesn't need to know that."

Kebo nods. "Right. I'll see you in a few days, then. While we're there Hannah and I are going to do a bit of exploring. I think Jess said that she wanted to take us around town and show us some of her favorite places to go."

"Yeah, okay. See ya." Grant lies back down on his bed and pulls his guitar onto his lap, plucking absentmindedly at the strings again as he stares up at the ceiling above him, searching for a non-existent pattern to occupy his mind.

Kebo sighs and then turns around and makes his way out of the bedroom, giving Max a pat on the head as he moves toward the front door. "Take care of him for me, boy." He gives Max a small smile before stepping out of the house.

"Where's Grant?" Hannah asks him once he pulls open the door of the car.

Kebo sighs as he climbs inside. "Still in the house. He said he's not going."

"What? He isn't?"

Kebo shakes his head. "Nope. Said he won't be able to sit through the ceremony and watch Skye get married to another man. Can't really blame him, though. It'll be tough for me and I'm not even in love with her."

"But I thought he was happy for her," Hannah says.

"He most definitely is not that," Kebo replies. "Well, I think he's happy that she's happy, but he wishes that she could be happy with him again. You didn't meet him until a few years after the divorce. He was absolutely devastated when Skye left him. His sister and I for sure thought he was going to do something crazy and hurt himself somehow. It took him a long time to come to terms with the fact that he'd probably never see Skye again because she promised to never come back to California if he was still here."

"And then the reunion happened," Hannah states.

Kebo nods. "Yeah. And he found out he has a daughter he never knew about and now Skye's back in his life because of that little girl whom he might have gone his whole life not knowing about had he not gone down to that room at the reunion. Now the woman he loves is marrying someone else and he thought he'd be able to be there to support her but he can't because he's still in love with her and knows he won't be able to keep that off his face if he goes there."

"But would she really know if no one told her?"

"Skye's always been the best at reading him so she'd know pretty quickly when she saw him. She might not say anything about it, because she wouldn't want to make things more awkward than they'd already be, but she'd know."

Hannah nods in understanding. "Ah, okay. So what are we saying if anyone asks us why he's not there?"

"That he's sick."

"Is he really sick?" Hannah asks as she pulls the car away from the curb.

Kebo scoffs. "Love sick."

.

.

.

Breathing in deeply, Grant opens his eyes and stares up at his bedroom ceiling for a long moment, his eyes roaming over the blank canvas above him.

Max barking loud in his ear pulls his attention away from the emptiness above him and he turns his head to see the large German Sheppard standing next to his bed, his head resting on the mattress.

"Hey, boy," he says with a small smile. "How are you?"

Max simply rises up and grabs the blanket wrapped around Grant in his teeth and pulls it down off of the man to the end of the bed. Then he rises up a little further and uses his wet nose to push roughly at Grant's side.

"What are you doing, Max?" Grant asks his dog.

Max continues to push on Grant, letting out a few barks as he does do.

Grant sighs, understanding what the dog wants. "Alright, alright, I'm getting up." He sits up on the edge of the bed and straightens out his t-shirt. He looks over at his dog. "Happy now?"

Max lets out a bark and then makes his way over to the bedroom door.

Grant stands up and follows after the dog, going to move into the kitchen when he hears a knock at the front door. "Sorry, boy," he says to the dog, pausing in his steps. "Looks like your food is going to have to wait for a few minutes."

There's another loud, quick knock at the door.

"Coming!" he calls out as he switches paths and makes his way toward the front door of his house.

A third knock sounds and he sighs.

"I said I'm coming!"

When he reaches the door and pulls it open he stills, his brows furrowing together in confusion when he sees the brunette woman standing in front of him, her hands wringing together and her bottom lip bit between her teeth.

"Skye?"

"You weren't there," she says simply, a small frown on her face.

"What?"

"My wedding," she clarifies. "You weren't there. And you said you were going to be there. Jess was pretty upset that she didn't get to see you."

Grant nods. "Right. I'm sorry. I uh, I started coming down with something and didn't want to risk anyone else getting sick if I showed up."

Skye just stares up at him before cracking a smile. "Liar."

The edges of Grant's lips twitch. "Yeah, I wasn't sick. And I'm sorry I missed it. But I just have one question for you right now."

"What?"

"Why are you here at my house in California instead of on your honeymoon with Miles in some other part of the world?"

Skye shifts on her feet. "Can I come inside?"

He shrugs. "I guess." He steps aside and allows her to move into his house.

Skye walks past him and then turns around to face him, still wringing her hands together. "Miles called the wedding off," she tells him once the door is closed.

He furrows his brows again. "What? Why would he do that?"

Skye swallows thickly. "Because he realized something that I was trying so hard myself to deny because I didn't want it to be true because I didn't want to get hurt again."

"And what would that be?" Grant asks her. "What did Miles realize?"

"That I'm still in love with you."

Grant's breath catches in his throat. "You're what?"

Skye shakes her head. "I know that's probably the last thing you want to hear from me right now after everything that's happened this past year, especially considering how just yesterday I was supposed to be getting married to another guy and the last time we saw each other I was pretty upset with you and I ju—"

Skye's eyes go wide at the rough yet gentle familiar feeling of Grant's lips on hers, cutting off her speech, her head tilting backward automatically to accommodate for their difference in height. She doesn't waste any time in reciprocating the kiss, cradling his face in her hands and pulling him closer to kiss him deeper.

Pulling away, Grant breathes heavily and rests his forehead against hers. "I'm still in love with you too," he whispers. "I always have been and I always will be."

"I'm really glad you said that," she tells him.

"So then what does this mean?" he asks. "What does all of this mean for us?"

Skye takes a deep breath. "I honestly don't know. I hadn't really thought that far ahead." She lets out a breathy laugh. "Showing up here and telling you how I feel was as far as I got in my plan. I even took a plane here, which we both know I hate doing, so that probably tells you a lot. I just wasn't sure if you'd take me back or not once I got here, considering how horrible I've been to you recently."

Grant smiles and strokes her cheek gently with his thumb. "It wasn't just you," he tells her. "I've been pretty awful too. And of course I take you back, Skye. I will always, always take you back. I am so madly in love with you."

Skye grins up at him. "And I am madly in love with you too. I don't know if I ever really stopped, but I tried to push it down, to get over you and move on. But I guess I just couldn't do it in the long run." She rises up onto her toes to press her lips to his again.

Grant smiles against her lips, kissing her deeper.

After a moment he pulls away to look at her. "We should probably talk, though," he tells her.

She shakes her head, going for his lips again. "I don't want to."

He moves his head back. "Skye..."

She sighs. "Fine." She drops her hands and steps back, a frown forming on her face as she moves away from him.

"Hey, don't be like that," he says, taking a small step forward. "I just think that we should talk about some stuff before things between us really go anywhere. That's all."

"What's there to talk about?" she asks. "We just kissed and said we still love each other. Shouldn't that be enough? I know you've wanted me back since the moment you saw me again so why are you insisting that we talk right now?!"

"Because we need to," he tells her. "Yesterday you were supposed to be getting married to another guy, you said so yourself. We can't just overlook that. And we live on opposite sides of the country. We also have Jess to think about. What if things don't work out again between us? What is that going to do to her?"

"Do you think things aren't going to work out?" she asks him with a raised eyebrow.

He sighs. "No, that's not what I meant. Just that this time around, it's more than just you and me that's at stake here. We also have our daughter to think about. We can't just jump into this again without thinking about everything. What if things don't work out again and she's the one who gets hurt the most because of it? We can't do that to her."

Skye turns to face him and looks up into his eyes, placing her hands flat on his chest. "Look at me, Grant. All I know right now is that I love you and I want to be with you again. We can worry about all of that other stuff later; I just want to be with you, in so many different ways." She slowly slides her hands down his body, stopping when she reaches the top hem of his pants. "And I know you want to be with me too."

Grant doesn't say anything else, simply cups the back of her neck in his hand and leans down to sear his lips to hers hard enough to cause her to stumble backward. She manages to regain her footing just enough to be able to grab hold of his belt and pull his body closer to hers. Grant deepens the kiss between them, running his tongue along the seam of her lips as he cards his fingers through her hair.

Skye moans into his mouth, running her hands up underneath of his t-shirt, letting her nails graze against his skin ever so gently.

Grant shivers at the feeling and quickly flips them around, pushing Skye up against the nearest wall, holding her hips tightly in his hands. He breaks away from her lips to trail hot, wet kisses down the length of her neck. Her breath hitches in her throat when he nips at a pulse point, her fingers tangling in his hair and tugging.

"Grant..." she breathes out, her eyes fluttering closed as he kisses down across her collarbone toward the valley between her breasts.

"You are so beautiful," he says to her, unbuttoning her flannel shirt as he presses kisses to each patch of skin as it's exposed. "So incredibly beautiful." He pushes the shirt off of her shoulders and lets it fall to the floor.

Skye grips Grant's hair tighter and tugs his head up to capture his lips in hers again, sucking his bottom lip between her teeth. Lifting one leg up to wrap around his hips, she pulls him closer to her and rolls her hips forcefully against his.

Grant groans into her mouth, pressing her harder into the wall.

"Bedroom," she says breathlessly. "Please."

Grant pulls away from her lips, looking at her with dark, lust-filled eyes. "Are you sure?" he asks her.

She nods, staring straight into his eyes. "I love you, Grant. And I've missed you. So much. So damn much."

Grant smiles. "I've missed you too." He pauses. "Kebo's going to be pissed that he flew all the way across the country only for there to be no wedding."

Skye lets out a laugh. "Probably. But something tells me he won't be pissed for too long once he finds out why the wedding got cancelled."

"He is our number one fan," Grant tells her with a small smile.

"But I am your number one fan, as cheesy as that may sound," she tells him. "Now come on." She grabs his hand and drags him down the hallway. "It's been years, I'm dying to see if you're just as good as I remember you to be. It might take us all day but I'll endure it to get the right answer."

Grant smirks and steps up quickly behind her, scooping her up into his arms bridal style. "You're not the only one who's curious," he says huskily into her ear, pressing a lingering kiss to the corner of her mouth as he nears the bedroom.

Stepping into the room, he carefully sets Skye's feet on the floor, walking them backward until the door is closed, Skye pressed right up against it with her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. She cups the back of his neck and pulls him down to her lips again, jumping up after a moment to wrap her legs around his waist, the two of them getting completely lost in each other.

.

.

.

"Well that was definitely just as good as I remember it," Skye tells Grant as they lie curled up together underneath of his sheets, their legs tangled together and his arms wrapped comfortably around her from behind. "Maybe even better, actually."

Grant smiles from his spot behind her, pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder blade. "Ditto." He shifts them on the bed so she's lying on her back and he's hovering above her, resting on his forearm. "I really missed you, Skye. I really thought I'd never have this again. But now I do."

Skye smiles up at him. "We both do."

"Yes we do." He takes a deep breath. "What are your parents going to think about all of this?" he asks her. "Last I checked they still hated me for driving you away to the other side of the country."

"I think they'll be happy, eventually," she tells him. "I mean, deep down they still love you to some degree because they've known you practically forever, and you're Jess' dad so they're going to have to hear about and see you every so often."

"But…" he prods.

She sighs. "But they still aren't your biggest fans at the moment when you consider everything that went down between us and that you're pretty much the sole reason for me moving to the other side of the country with their unborn grandchild."

"And now that is all in the past," he reminds her. "We've both put it behind us and moved past it, and soon enough your parents will too. They love you and Jess, so I'm sure in time they'll be able to come to terms with what's happening now."

Skye nods. "Very true. I love what's happening now, by the way." She lets out a content sigh as she lazily runs her hands up his back. "When we were together, my favorite thing was getting to wake up in your arms; you always made me feel safe. And I don't think you know this, but you used to smile in your sleep." She brings one hand to his mouth and traces her fingers over his lips. "You could be deep in sleep and you'd still be smiling. I thought it was very cute."

Grant smiles and reaches up to hold her hand against his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her fingertips. "I wrote you a song," he tells her after a quiet moment.

Skye smiles at him. "So what else is new?"

Grant laughs quietly. "Well, it's not quite finished yet, but I've been working on it for a while."

Skye lets out a content sigh and moves a little on the bed to get more comfortable. "Will you sing it to me? I don't care if it isn't finished yet. I just want to hear you sing to me."

"Do you want me to grab my guitar?" he asks her.

She shakes her head. "No. Sing it to me just like this."

Grant smiles. "Okay." He takes a deep breath and then opens his mouth to sing softly to her.

If the heart is always searching,
Can you ever find a home?
I've been looking for that someone,
I'll never make it on my own
Dreams can't take the place of loving you,
There's gotta be a million reasons why it's true

When you look me in the eyes,
And tell me that you love me.
Everything's alright,
When you're right here by my side.
When you look me in the eyes,
I catch a glimpse of heaven.
I find my paradise,
When you look me in the eyes.

How long will I be waiting
To be with you again?
Gonna tell you that I love you,
In the best way that I can.
I can't take a day without you here,
You're the light that makes my darkness disappear.

He reaches out and brushes some of her hair back, smiling gently as he pulls her closer.

When you look me in the eyes,
And tell me that you love me.
Everything's alright,
When you're right here by my side.
When you look me in the eyes,
I catch a glimpse of heaven.
I find my paradise,
When you look me in the eyes.

He takes a deep breath when he finishes singing, waiting with slightly bated breath. "So, it's not done yet, like I already said, but what do you think?"

Skye smiles at him and lifts her head to brush her lips against his before closing the small gap between them. She pulls away and looks at him. "I loved it, it was beautiful."

"You really think so?" he asks.

She nods. "Mm-hmm. And I'm sure it'll be even more beautiful once you finish it and put it to music."

He smiles. "I'm sure it will be." He takes a deep breath and cups the side of her face in his palm. "I love you so much," he tells her.

Skye turns her head to press a kiss to the inside of his palm, sighing contently. "I love you too. I don't ever want this to end."

"It doesn't have to."

"We live on opposite sides of the country, Grant," she reminds him. "And you're supposed to be going on tour really soon."

"I don't have to go on tour. I've done plenty of them over the years."

Skye shakes her head. "No, Grant, you need to go on that tour. You can't do that to your fans. It wouldn't be right or fair to them for you to just cancel it when they've all already bought their tickets."

"They'll be fully refunded."

She tilts her head. "Grant, I'm serious. You need to go on that tour."

"But what about us?" he asks her.

She smiles softly. "I'll still be here when you're done," she assures him. "And I'm pretty sure I saw that one of your shows brings you near my neck of the woods."

He gives her a small smile and nods. "That it does. I may or may not have done that on purpose so I'd be able to stop by and see Jess while I was on the road."

"Well maybe you can stop by and see the both of us."

"I can most definitely do that. And maybe I can even stay for a while. I mean, I'm pretty sure that show is the last or second to last one of my tour."

"I would not be opposed to you staying out there for a little while longer."

"Neither would I." He takes a deep breath. "So then how about this? I go on my tour for the summer, and after I play that last show out on the east coast, instead of coming back here to LA, I take a break from my music and spend some time in Massachusetts with you and Jess."

"You really want to take a break from your music?" she asks him.

He nods. "Yeah. I was lucky to be able to get my latest album out."

"Really?"

He nods again. "Mm-hmm. I was starting to lose my momentum with writing music. So I think that taking some time off will really do me some good in the long run. Especially if I'm out in Massachusetts with you and our daughter. We can spend time together, get to know one another again, and learn how to be a family."

"A family," Skye says softly and then smiles. "I really like the sound of that."

Grant smiles back at her. "So do I."

Chapter Text

Breathing in deeply, Grant smiles at the familiar feeling in his arms, pulling the petite feminine body just a little bit closer to his own. He revels in the feeling of having her there again, right where she should have been all these years. He never wants to let her go again.

Lifting his head from the pillow, he slowly peppers kisses all along her bare shoulder, his arms circling around her tighter, wanting her as close as he can possibly get her. He smiles against her skin when he feels a slight shiver go through her body.

"I've missed this."

"Me too," he says with a smile. "It always made my day so much better getting to wake up with you in my arms."

Skye looks over her shoulder and smiles at him. "Mm, I know the feeling. I didn't know how much I missed all of this until just recently."

"I always knew," he tells her. "From the moment you left I knew that I was going to miss everything about you and what we were together."

"I missed it a lot in the beginning," she admits, "when I first moved away and especially being pregnant with Jess. I would get so emotional sometimes thinking about you, which I always blamed on the hormones because I didn't want to admit that I missed you. After a while I just tried to push that all down so I wouldn't go crazy or anything."

"That's understandable. But now you can openly admit that you missed this incredibly chiseled jaw line." He runs a hand over his chin, causing Skye to laugh out loud.

"Yes, I did miss it." She runs a hand over his jaw, leaning up to give it a quick kiss. "And I also missed this beautiful piece of work." She trails her hand down to his abdomen, lightly scratching her fingernails across his skin. She dips her head and kisses the bare skin, smiling when she feels Grant's skin tighten up beneath her lips.

"You need to stop that," he says breathlessly.

She lifts her head just a bit. "Oh really? And why's that?"

"Because we were trying to have a conversation."

"I can think of many other things that I'd rather be doing right now instead of talking."

"I'm sure you can," he says. "But first, before we get back to any of that, are you hungry?" he asks her as he rolls over onto his back, one arm curling up under his head, the other still wrapped around Skye.

"I guess I could eat," she tells him, absentmindedly drawing random shapes on his skin. "Been a while since I've had a personalized Grant Ward breakfast."

He smiles and nods. "It definitely has."

"When was the last time you made me a personalized breakfast?" she asks him curiously, her brows furrowed in thought.

"Hmm, that's a good question. It was sometime after we got married, I know that. Within the first few months, I believe."

"Was it during Christmas?"

"Possibly."

"Valentine's Day, maybe?"

"Maybe."

"Even if we can't remember, it doesn't really matter. Because right now things are all about new beginnings and starting over. So we're starting fresh and doing things better this time around."

"Yes we are." He lifts his head to give her a quick kiss and then takes a deep breath as he lies back down. "So, what do you want for breakfast, then? Or do you want it to be a surprise?"

"You go and get it started," she tells him. "I'll be out there in a minute to join you."

"Okay." He pulls himself out of her arms and sits up on the edge of his bed. Reaching down, he grabs his underwear off the floor and pulls them on before standing up.

Turning around, he leans down to give Skye a slow kiss. "I love you," he whispers against her lips.

She smiles. "I love you too. Now go make me some food."

"Anything for you, Princess." He gives her another quick kiss and then turns to go out into the kitchen.

Skye lies on her back for a moment, looking up at the ceiling and letting out a content sigh. This is exactly how things are supposed to be. This is how it's always supposed to have been.

Reaching out to the bedside table, she grabs her cell phone and looks at the screen, seeing a few texts from her parents and Jemma.

Opening up the one from Jemma, she reads over the text and smiles. Hope everything's alright with you. Jess is perfectly safe with me and Fitz.

Thanks for watching her, Jem. And everything's fine here with me.

I'm actually with Grant.

A few seconds later, instead of a new text message, the screen of her phone lights up with an incoming call from Jemma. She laughs quietly as she answers the call.

"Hello?"

"You're actually with him right now? In California?"

She nods even though her friend can't see her. "Yeah. We sort of...got back together last night."

"Oh my goodness."

"I know. But please don't tell Jess, okay? This is something that needs to be told to her in person. Or even over FaceTime. We'll see."

"Wow. I can't believe you two are actually back together."

"Neither can I. I think we still have a few things to work out, but for the most part, things are pretty good so far."

"And you're happy?"

She lets out a breath and nods her head again. "Very. There's a part of me that's always going to care about Miles, he was there when I really needed someone and I'll never forget that, but my heart has honestly always belonged to Grant. I was being stupid trying to fight that."

"You weren't being stupid."

"Yes, I was. Don't argue with me about this."

"Fine, I won't."

"Good. Thank you. I'm gonna go now because Grant's making us breakfast, but I'll call you later."

"Of course. Have fun."

"I already have been. Bye, Jemma."

"Bye."

Pulling her phone down away from her ear, Skye hits the red button to end the call and drops the phone onto her lap, letting out a breath of air as she runs her hands through her hair.

Sitting up in the bed, she pulls the blanket off of her body and stands up, taking a moment to stretch out.

Grabbing Grant's t-shirt from where she threw it on the floor the night before, she slips it on over her body. She takes a moment to let it all sink in, the fact that she's back with Grant, wearing his t-shirt after a passionate reunion. She never thought she'd be able to do any of this again. And she's loving every single second of it.

Taking another deep breath, she grabs her phone and shuffles her way across the hardwood floor and out into the kitchen.

"Well this is a sight I could definitely get used to again," she remarks as she enters the kitchen to see Grant standing at the stove in only his boxers, making breakfast for the two of them.

Grant looks over his shoulder and smiles at her. "So is that," he says, gesturing with his head to her body covered in his shirt. "I almost forgot how beautiful you look in the morning."

"And I almost forgot how amazing your breakfasts smell in the morning." She hops up to sit on the counter, a small smile on her face.

He laughs quietly and turns around fully, leaning against the counter behind him, crossing his arms casually across his chest. "Do you have to sit on the counter?" he asks her.

She shrugs. "You know me. I've always been a counter-sitter."

He nods. "That you have. You know what else you've always been?"

"What's that?" she asks him.

Grant smiles as he takes a few steps forward so he's standing right in front of her. He rests his hands on the counter right next to hers, his lips just mere centimeters away from hers. "The love of my life."

There's a quiet beat and then Skye is throwing her head back laughing.

Grant continues to smile as he watches her laugh, thinking back to when he thought he'd never get to hear that full-belly laugh or see her thousand-watt smile first thing in the morning. He's taking it all in and promises himself in that moment to never take her for granted again, to keep her by his side for as long as he possibly can.

"I'm sorry," Skye says, a smile still on her face from laughing. She rests one hand on his shoulder, the other cupping his cheek. "That was very sweet. But also super dorky."

"Hey, I've always been dorky. You knew that when you agreed to marry me at eighteen."

Skye smiles and leans forward to kiss him. "Yes I did. One of the best decisions I ever made because I love you."

"Mm, I love you too. But I should probably finish this breakfast before it gets ruined."

Skye sighs. "Fine. I guess I'll just sit here and watch you make me breakfast."

Grant smiles and gives her another kiss. "Perfectly fine with me." He turns back to the stove. "Just like old times."

Skye smiles at the sight before her, still not quite believing that she's actually living this life again; happy with the love of her life. She thought she lost this forever, but now she has it back. And she is never, ever going to let it go again.

.

.

.

"Bloody hell! Well it's about time the two of you got your act together. I swear, I thought I was going to have to knock some sense into the both of you myself for you both to realize the truth. But the least you could have done is given me some heads up, mate. I hear the wedding's canceled, so Hannah and I hop on the first plane back out here to tell you the good news and low and behold, you're obviously the very reason for that wedding being called off."

Grant and Skye pull apart quickly and look up toward the open door of Grant's bedroom, finding Kebo standing in the doorway, a smug smile growing on his face.

"Did I mention how incredibly proud I am, right now? The two of you finally got back in the sack and I honestly don't know if I could be any prouder than I am in this very moment right here."

"What if I was to tell you that after his tour Grant's going to spend some time with me and Jess in Massachusetts?" Skye speaks up from her place straddling Grant's lap in the bed, looking over her shoulder at one of her closest friends.

Kebo wipes fake tears away from his eyes. "Stop it; you're going to make me cry."

Skye snickers at Kebo's antics.

"If you're going to cry can you do it somewhere else?" Grant asks his friend. "We're kind of indecent at the moment." He gestures to his and Skye's lack of the majority of their clothing, being only in their underwear.

Kebo waves him off. "Oh, stop being like that, Grant. This is hardly anything to blush over. You know I've caught you two in much more compromising positions than this. Remember Thanksgiving break senior year at Skye's parents' house? I almost poured bleach over my eyes to get rid of that image."

Skye narrows her eyes. "We vowed to never speak of that again."

Kebo holds his hands up in defense. "And I haven't. Until now. I know how to keep my promises. Though, I should probably tell you that I'm pretty upset I had to fly all the way out to Massachusetts for a wedding that never even happened."

"You won't stay mad forever, though," Grant says to his friend. "Skye and I are back together and you even told me you've always been our biggest supporter."

"It's the principal of the thing."

Skye laughs quietly. "Sure it is. Seriously, though, Kebo, could you leave the room? We'll be out to join you in the living room in just a few minutes."

Kebo sighs. "Fine. Five minutes you two," he says, pointing to the both of them. "You hear me? Five minutes, and then I'm coming back in here if you're not out in the living room and dragging you out there myself whether you're half dressed or butt naked."

"Okay, okay, relax," Skye says. "We'll be there, now leave."

Kebo narrows his eyes at the both of them before turning around and leaving the bedroom, pulling the door closed behind him as he goes.

Once the door is closed, Skye turns back to face the man in front of her, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to his lips. "To be continued later."

"It doesn't have to," he counters. "He said five minutes, right?"

Skye smiles. "As much as I appreciate the idea of that, the mood was ruined for me as soon as Kebo walked in. But as soon as Kebo leaves…" she trails off and leans down to nip at his ear.

Grant shudders at the sensation and then smiles. "Sounds perfect to me."

"Good." She sits up and presses one more kiss to his lips before climbing off his lap and searching for her clothes.

"I really hate Kebo right now," Grant comments.

Skye snorts. "No you don't."

"You're right, I don't. But I am a little upset with him for interrupting what was going to be an amazing moment between us."

"We already had one of those earlier," she reminds him.

"Yeah, but every moment with you is amazing."

Skye rolls her eyes despite the small smile creeping onto her lips. "You've already got me back, no need to go the sappy route."

"It's because I've got you back that I'm going the sappy route," he informs her, climbing off of the bed and walking over to her. He rests his hands on her hips and pulls her a few steps closer to his body. "And I am happier than I've ever been."

"What about all the times you're on stage performing?" she asks him, wrapping her arms up around his neck.

He shakes his head. "None of that is anything compared to the way I feel whenever I'm with you. You're my entire world. You and Jess. My two beautiful, amazing girls."

Skye smiles. "That's what I love to hear."

"And I love saying it."

"You two better be getting dressed in there!"

Grant groans, dropping his head onto Skye's shoulder. "Why does Kebo have the worst timing in the world?"

"Because he's Kebo. Now hurry up and get dressed before he actually comes in here and dresses you himself."

"He's actually done that before," Grant tells her as Skye steps away from him to finish getting her clothes on.

Skye's face scrunches up. "Wait, seriously?"

Grant nods as he pulls on a pair of sweatpants. "Mm-hm. It wasn't long after you left and I was a mess. I'd been wearing the same clothes for days and Kebo was pretty disgusted by it. So he physically got me up and changed my clothes. Called me hopeless and useless."

Skye frowns. "I'm sorry I put you through all that."

He gives her a soft smile. "Skye, it's fine. Really. It was years ago, and I'm better now. Okay?"

Skye nods. "Yeah, okay."

He pulls his shirt on over his head and then takes a few steps toward her, dropping a kiss to her forehead. "Come on," he whispers, grabbing her hand in his and gently pulling her to the bedroom door. They walk silently down the hall and out to the living room, finding Kebo sitting on one of the couches, a bowl of cereal in his hands. Max is curled up in the corner of the room, his head perking up when he sees Grant and Skye entering the room.

Grant sighs. "Seriously, Kebo? Again with eating my food?"

Kebo swallows. "I got hungry while I was waiting for the two of you. Been a few hours since I've eaten real food."

"It's fine, Grant," Skye says. "We both know Kebo's always been a mooch, even in high school."

"Oi, I've told you time and time again, you never had to let me actually mooch off of you. You could have said no." He takes a deep breath and sets his nearly empty bowl off to the side and looks at his two closest friends. "Have a seat, you two."

Grant and Skye give each other a look before moving to sit on the couch across from Kebo, their hands still intertwined. Max immediately jumps up from his spot and walks over to them, lying down at their feet. Grant smiles and reaches down to rub Max's head affectionately before sitting back up and leaning into the couch, Skye following his lead and leaning back as well.

"Right, so, who wants to go first?" Kebo asks his two best friends. "One of you better fess up right now on how this all happened, just without all the gross details."

"Miles is the one who called off the wedding," Skye explains. "He talked to me and said that he wanted to believe that I no longer had feelings for Grant, but that he couldn't. He said that he knew I still loved Grant and that he'd always care about me but that he didn't want me to marry him and then regret it later on down the road when I came to the realization myself about Grant."

"So you're really not with that bloke anymore?"

She shakes her head. "No, I'm not."

Kebo lets out a breath and relaxes his body. "Good. I never really liked him anyways."

Skye frowns. "Kebo."

"What? Did you expect me to lie and say that I loved seeing you two together knowing my best mate was still in love with you? That doesn't matter now, though. All that matters is the fact that you two are together and I can sleep easier at night. I honestly don't know what I would have done with Grant had you gone and actually gone through with that wedding."

"I almost did," Skye says. "If Miles hadn't called me out, then I'd be married to him right now."

"I know I've said that I'm glad you're back with me," Grant speaks up, "but I honestly do feel a little bad for Miles. He was with you for a really long time and came so close to being with you forever."

Skye nods. "Yeah, I feel bad too. I let this go on for so long, trying to deny my feelings for you because I didn't want to get hurt again. But in the end, Miles got hurt because of that."

"Nope," Kebo speaks up, shaking his head. "Stop that, both of you. Yes, that other guy missed out on a lifetime with a really great person, but you two were always meant to be together, I could tell that even when we were sixteen. So quit your moping about and just be happy, yeah?"

Grant and Skye smile at their friend, finding it somewhat amusing how he's still so invested in their relationship after so many years.

"You're right, Kebo," Grant tells him.

Kebo scoffs. "Obviously. It's about bloody time somebody acknowledged it."

.

.

.

Pulling his car into one of the parking spaces at LAX, Grant shifts the gear into park and turns his head to look at the woman sitting in the passenger seat next to him. She's staring out the windshield, a far off look in her eyes, her fingers absentmindedly fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"Hey, you okay over there?" he speaks up, getting her attention.

Skye looks over at him and he can see tears shining in her eyes. "I'm just really going to miss you while you're on tour," she tells him. "Now that I've got you back I don't want to let you go."

"It's just for a few weeks," he assures her, one hand cupping her cheek. "And then I'll be in Massachusetts with you and Jess and we can just spend time together as a family without worrying about anyone or anything else."

Skye smiles. "I really like the sound of that."

"Good. Because I do too." He leans forward to brush his lips against hers. "I love you, Skye."

"I love you too, Grant." She closes the small space between them, breathing in deeply through her nose as she kisses the love of her life. "I've always loved you," she says against his lips. "And I'll never stop loving you. Because I want to spend every single second of my life with you."

"I want that too," he tells her. "Let's just not rush things, okay? Let's take our time getting to know each other again and getting into the groove of being an actual family."

She nods her head. "Yeah, that sounds like a really good plan."

"Good. Now you better go before you miss your flight."

"What if I want to miss it?" she asks.

Grant laughs quietly. "Jess asked me the same thing once."

"She knows what I've always known, that you're completely amazing and one of the best people on this planet. That's why it made leaving you so hard all those years ago. And it's why I don't want to go again."

"But this time around it's different. Because we both know that we'll be together again really soon."

"Yes, and that makes me really, really happy."

"You know who else is going to be happy that we're back together?"

"Who?"

"Jessica."

Skye laughs quietly and nods her head. "Yeah, I'm sure she will be. Mainly because she'll get to see you every day for an entire year."

"Yeah, there's that. But there's also the fact that when she was staying with me she asked me if you and I were going to get back together right after Sophia broke up with me. She'd been listening to part of our conversation and heard Sophia say that she knew I still loved you. I told her that you and I were never going to be getting back together because you were going to marry Miles. So I think she'll be pleasantly surprised when she knows what's going on here." He gestures between the two of them.

"Yes, I suppose she will be." She lets out a heavy sigh. "And I suppose I should also go now. But I really don't want to."

"I know you don't. I don't want you to go either. But you need to go and be with our beautiful daughter, and in what will seem like no time at all I'll be right there with you two." He leans forward and presses a slow kiss to her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Reluctantly pulling away from him, Skye pushes open the car door and steps out onto the pavement. She closes the door and turns back to the car, leaning down into the open window.

"I'd ask you to walk me inside, but I think we both know that wouldn't be the smartest decision at this point."

"Last thing we need is someone taking a picture of us together and posting it before we have the chance to tell everyone closest to us."

Skye nods. "Exactly." She takes a deep breath. "Okay, I'm really gonna go this time."

Grant smiles at her. "I'll see you soon, Skye."

"Yeah." She hesitates for a moment before standing up straight and taking a small step back, waving to Grant as he pulls the car out of the parking space and drives off.

Letting out a breath, Skye turns around and makes her way inside the airport, making a beeline for the ticket booth to print out her ticket that she bought online earlier. She's still amazed that she managed to get a decent ticket at such late notice, but she's not complaining too much.

Once she has her ticket, she walks through the airport to the correct gate she needs to go to, dodging and weaving her way through the large crowds of people walking in the opposite direction as her.

She laughs quietly to herself at the sight of a group of paparazzi standing on the airport floor, waiting to try and get photos of whichever celebrities are coming or going. Oh, if only they knew who she was just kissing in a car outside. They'd certainly be kicking themselves. That, or hounding her for any information she could give them. Which she most definitely would not do.

When she reaches her gate, she quickly makes her way through the security line, not having any bags to be checked and only very minimal items on her person to go through the x-ray machine.

Once at the terminal, she simply has to sit and wait for her plane to start boarding. She finds an empty seat and takes it, immediately pulling out her cell phone.

Opening up her text messages, she finds the one between her and Grant, his name now having the cliché red heart emoji next to it, and sends him a new message.

Not on my plane yet, but I already miss you.

A few seconds later she gets a text from him.

I miss you too. :*

She smiles at the text, feeling like she's back in high school all over again, the two of them constantly texting during class not long after they got together, never wanting to be too far away from one another.

Switching over to her contacts, she finds Jemma's number and clicks on it, holding the device up to her ear, waiting patiently for her friend to answer.

"Hello?"

"Jemma, hey. Is Jess there?"

"Yeah, just give me one moment to get her."

"Great, thanks."

There's some quiet shuffling on the other end of the phone as she waits and then she hears her daughter's voice come through the speaker, "Hello?"

She smiles. "Hey, angel."

"Hi, mom. Where are you? How come you didn't marry Miles? Nobody would tell me anything when I asked them."

Skye takes a deep breath. "I just needed to get away for a little bit. But I'm on my way home now, baby girl, and I promise I'll explain everything to you when I get back, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. And Jess?"

"Yeah?"

She lets the smile on her lips grow a little more as she looks out the large window in front of her. "I think you're really going to like what I'm going to tell you."

Chapter Text

"Are you sure you're ready for this, mate?"

Grant turns his head to see Kebo standing near him, twirling one of his drumsticks in his hand, a small smile on his face as he watches his friend.

"Yeah, Kebo, I'm ready," Grant says, nodding his head. "I've played probably hundreds of shows over the course of my career; I think I can handle one more."

"Yeah, but it's been a year since you've performed live on stage in front of a whole group of people."

"It's not exactly rocket science, Kebo," Grant tells him, an amused smile on his face. "I go out there, sing a few songs, and then it's over and I get to go home with my two favorite girls." His smile grows into a grin at the thought of his girlfriend and their daughter.

"Right. But what about the other part? You think you can handle that bit as well?"

"Won't be the first time I've done that either, Kebo."

The Brit nods, shifting on his feet. "True. But there's a lot more at stake this time around if things go south."

"I know that, you don't need to remind me."

Kebo holds his hands up in front of him. "Sorry, sorry. Just making sure your head's in the right place before you go out there and make such a bold move."

"Of course it's in the right place," Grant assures him. "I've spent the last year living my dream life. Even though I wasn't recording new music every day and singing on stage to crowds of hundreds, I was with the two people I love most in this world."

Kebo tilts his head. "Um, I don't remember being there."

Grant rolls his eyes. "Shut up, Kebo. This is important."

"Yes, I know how important it is, mate. You've been planning this for months now, I know you're nervous. You were nervous the first go around too."

"I don't need you to remind me how nervous I am, Kebo." He lets out a breath. "I really don't know why I chose to do this in front of so many people. What if I was completely misreading things between us this past year and it all goes horribly wrong?"

"You weren't misreading things," Kebo assures him with a hand on his shoulder. "Then again, I wasn't there the whole time so I don't really know. But you'll be fine. You always are."

Grant smiles at his friend. "Thanks, man."

"Anytime."

"Grant? We're almost ready for you out there."

Grant looks past Kebo to see the producer of the event standing a little ways off. "Thanks," he says. "I'll be ready whenever you are."

The producer nods once before making his way to another area of the building.

"Grant Ward, it is so great to have you here."

"Thanks, Owen," Grant says to the host of the event as he approaches, a microphone already held in his hand. "I'm more than happy to help out by playing my music for everybody. It's been a little while since I've played live though, so let's hope I've still got it."

"I one hundred percent believe that you still do, man. You've always been really great at what you do."

"Owen, time to go."

"That's my cue," Owen says with a smile. "See you out there, Grant." He turns around and takes a deep breath, holding the wireless microphone up in front of him as he makes his way out onto the stage, waving to the large crowd gathered right in front as they cheer.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he says into the mic, looking out at the entirety of the crowd, "thank you all so much for coming out here tonight. It truly means a lot to me and everyone I work with to have your support for such an incredible cause. It holds a very special place in my heart, so I'm glad to see so many of you out here. And we have got a very special treat for all of you, that we've managed to keep pretty well hidden as we wanted it to be a surprise. There is someone here with us, someone who's spent the last year out of the spotlight and the media's prying eye, taking some well-earned time off from his musical career. But now he's back, and he's agreed to play a few songs for you guys tonight. Please welcome back to the stage, Grant Ward!"

The crowd cheers as loud as they can as Grant makes his way out onto the stage, an acoustic guitar strapped around him and a wide smile on his face as he waves to the audience.

"Hello," he says smoothly into the microphone set up when he reaches the center of the stage. "How's everybody doing tonight?"

The crowd cheers again, causing Grant to smile a bit wider. He's definitely missed this.

"That's what I love to hear. It's been a while, huh? A whole year." He takes a deep breath. "Now, before I sing for you guys, I want to thank each and every one of you for coming out here to support this incredible organization and their cause. Tonight is a very special night for me as well. And because tonight is so special, I want to bring someone very dear to me out here tonight to sing with me. Skye, honey, can you come on out here and join me?" He looks off to the side of the stage and holds his hand out.

A second later, Skye emerges from the wing, the crowd cheering as she walks out to center stage to meet him. She stops next to Grant at the mic and narrows her eyes at him as she takes his hand. "What on earth do you think you're doing, Grant Ward?"

Grant smiles at her. "I know it wasn't the original plan, but I want you to sing with me tonight, Skye," he says softly. "Just like the old days, when we were always singing together without a single care in the world."

"Well I think that all depends on what you want me to sing with you," she says to him.

He grins. "The first song we ever completed together. Do you remember it?"

Skye gives him a fond smile. "Yeah, I think I might."

He smiles back. "Great." He looks out at the crowd. "None of you are going to know this song we're about to sing as it was never officially released at any point in my career. But this is one of my favorite songs that I've ever written, because I wrote it with the woman I love more than anything in this world." He smiles at Skye, causing her to duck her head and blush. "This is In Our Bones. We hope you like it."

He turns his attention to his guitar, gently strums a few times, and then smiles as Skye lifts her head, takes hold of the mic and starts singing, casting him a quick sideways glance.

We are wild flowers
The city is our field of gold
We've got wide fire
In our bones

Grant steps up to a microphone off to the side and sings with her, their voices blending together in perfect harmony.

We're born to be electric
You and me, we're painting neon under our skin
It's a force you shouldn't mess with
Cause you and me, we're glowing bright
Radioactive

Bruises come and go
But our hearts beat louder
Than the thunder from the storm
In our darkest hours
We are not invincible
But we're both stronger than we know
In our bones
In our bones

Skye pulls her mic out of its stand and casually walks closer to Grant as she continues to sing, resting one hand on his shoulder and smiling up at him. He happily returns the smile.

We've got super powers
The city is our silver screen
Running 'round this little town
Wild and free

We're born to be electric
You and me,  we're painting neon under our skin
It's a force you shouldn't mess with
Cause you and me,  we're glowing bright
Radioactive

Bruises come and go
But our hearts beat louder
Than the thunder from the storm
In our darkest hours
We are not invincible
But we're both stronger than we know
In our bones
In our bones

Grant looks down at Skye with nothing but love and adoration for her in his eyes as he sings.

We are wild flowers
The city is our field of gold
We've got wild fire
In our bones

The two turn their attention out to the crowd as they finish up the song, pouring every ounce of passion and emotion that they can into their words.

Bruises come and go
But our hearts beat louder
Than the thunder from the storm
In our darkest hours
We are not invincible
But we're both stronger than we know
In our bones
In our bones
In our bones
In our bones
In our bones
In our bones

As Grant strums the final chords of the song, the crowd continues to cheer as loud as it can.

Grant looks over at Skye and smiles at her, sliding his guitar around his body so he can wrap her in a tight hug. Skye hugs him back just as tight, burying her face in his shoulder.

When they pull back from the hug, Grant keeps an arm wrapped around Skye's waist; both of her arms wrapped around him, and turns out toward the crowd.

Grant grabs his mic out of its stand and holds it up in front of him. "Guys, can you quiet down for a minute, please?"

He waits for a moment as the cheering dies down.

"Thanks. So uh, as many of you may know, I've been out of the spotlight and haven't released any new music in the last year. That's because I've spent the last year with my family; rekindling an old romance and getting to know my daughter much better. You also might be wondering why tonight is so special for me. Well, just recently, Skye and I decided to have another go at this whole making music together thing and earlier this morning we made everything official with the record label I've been under for the last few years. So I'm very happy to announce that the next album I release will not be a solo album, but it will, in fact, be a duo album. Between me and the most amazing woman I have ever known." He smiles down at the woman next to him.

The crowd cheers as loud as they can, making Grant and Skye smile wide at the obvious excitement and approval from the people in the audience.

"And uh, I just have one more thing I want to say, and I really, really hope that it doesn't backfire on me because that would be highly embarrassing and my best friend would never let me live it down." He slowly turns toward Skye, dropping his arm from around her.

Grabbing hold of his guitar again, he pulls it up so it's in front of him and situates his fingers on the frets, stepping back to the mic. "Skye's always been my number one inspiration for writing music, so this is a little something I came up with just for her, all about the first time I saw her. Whether it was the first time when we were kids, or the first time I saw her after nine years apart, it's all the same; she's my home and my life. I hope you like it," he says, his eyes flitting over to the woman in question.

Glancing down at the strings, he starts plucking out a soft melody for a few measures before lifting his head and opening his mouth to sing.

At the mirror you fix your hair and put your makeup on
You're insecure about what clothes to wear
I can't see nothing wrong

To me you look so beautiful when you can't make up your mind
It's half past eight, it's getting late
It's ok, take your time

Standing here my hands in my pockets
Like I have a thousand times
Thinking back it took one breath
One word to change my life

He looks over to the side and locks eyes with Skye as he continues to sing, pouring all of his love for her into his words and music.

The first time I saw you it felt like coming home
If I never told you I just want you to know
You had me from hello

He flashes her a soft smile as he plays, causing her to smile back at him.

When we walk into a crowded room it's like we're all alone
Everybody tries to kidnap your attention
You just smile and steal the show

You come to me and take my hand
We start dancin' slow
You put your lips up to my ear and whisper way down low

From the first time I saw you it felt like coming home
If I never told you I just want you to know
You had me from hello

The beat picks up just a little bit and he steps closer to the mic.

And when you're laying down beside me
I feel your heartbeat to remind me…

He steps away from the mic as he plays an instrumental solo, walking slowly over to Skye to dip his head and press a slow kiss to her cheek before walking back to the microphone, the tempo of the song slowing down once again.

The first time I saw you it felt like coming home
If I never told you I just want you to know
You had me from hello

From hello

Strumming the last notes of the song, he lets out a breath. A wide smile then breaks out on his face when the crowd starts cheering.

Removing his guitar, he hands it to a nearby stage hand, and then walks over to Skye with the microphone in his hand. Taking a deep breath, he looks deep into her eyes, holding one of her hands in his. "Skye, I know that we just got back together last year, but in all of the years we spent apart I never once stopped thinking about you or loving you. I tried to move on from you but I never could, no matter how hard I tried to. But now you're back in my life and I don't ever plan on letting you walk away from me again, not without a fight. Today is the renewal of our musical career and I'm hoping that it can also be the renewal of the life that we started together so many years ago." He pulls away from her and gets down onto one knee, causing Skye to let out a quiet gasp, tears springing to her eyes. He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a small velvet box, holding it up and flipping open the lid. "Will you marry me…again?"

Skye stands there silently for a moment before she nods her head. "Yes, of course I will." She reaches down and grabs his head in her hands, pulling him up off of his knee and pressing her lips to his.

Grant smiles into the kiss, standing up completely and wrapping his arms around Skye's waist to hold her close.

Pulling from the kiss, he plucks the ring from the box and gently slides it onto the fourth finger of Skye's left hand, smoothing his thumb over her knuckles.

Skye smiles down at the ring and then looks back up at Grant. "This isn't the same ring," she states, her brows furrowed slightly.

Grant shakes his head. "No, it isn't. I figured, new start, new us, new ring. Sound good to you?"

Skye smiles and shakes her head, leaning up on her toes to press her lips to his. "Sounds perfect."

"Mom! Dad!"

Grant and Skye pull apart to see Jessica running up onto the stage from where she'd been in the crowd with Hannan and then over toward them, a wide smile on her face the whole way. She wraps the both of them in a tight hug when she reaches them.

"Hey there, sweet girl." Skye smiles down at her daughter as she returns the hug.

Jessica pulls back and grins up at the two of them. "I'm so excited you guys are getting married. Can I be the flower girl?"

Grant chuckles. "I think we can most definitely make that work."

"Awesome. I'm so excited!"

Skye smiles up at Grant. "So am I."

"Everybody's still looking up here," Jessica tells her parents, glancing out at the crowd. "And there are cameras going off too."

Grant and Skye turn to look out at the large crowd of people and cameras completely focused on them.

"Looks like there's going to be a wedding coming up soon." Grant smiles into the microphone.

The crowd cheers loudly, cameras flashing again from every possible angle.

"Wow," Skye says with a small shake of her head.

"What?" Grant asks her.

"Nothing. I just don't know if I'll ever get used to all the loud crowds and cameras," she tells him.

He smiles down at her, cupping her face in his hands. "Well you don't have to brave it alone, because I don't plan on letting you go again. I'm going to be right here beside you the whole time."

She smiles up at him. "You better be." She rises up onto her toes and presses a soft kiss to his lips. She pulls away and smiles. "Now, what do you say we give these people the best damn show of their lives?"

Grant smiles back, leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "I think that sounds like the perfect idea."