"You're just in time!" Chloe said with a smile as she let Jax in. "I was just starting on getting things set up."

"Great," Jax said, leaning forward to give Chloe a kiss on the cheek. "Oh, and here's my gift for Molly." Jax handed Chloe a neatly wrapped package.

"Oh, thank you so much, Jax! What did you get her?" Chloe looked excitedly at Jax, the suspense killing her.

"You'll see."

"Oh come on, tell me!" Chloe said playfully.

"No, no, you'll see what it is soon enough," Jax teased.

"Oh, you tease!" Chloe laughed.

Chloe held up the box and inspected it, shaking it gently to see if she could figure out what was inside.

Jax leaned forward and put his mouth to her ear. "Don't shake it," Jax cautioned.

Chloe laughed softly and set the box down on the coffee table. "Did you wrap it yourself?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, you did a great job!"

"Well I once had a job at a department store during Christmas in gift wrapping."

"I'm horrible at wrapping gifts! That's why I'm getting Zoey to wrap mine!" Chloe laughed sneakily.

Chloe walked across the room and picked up a huge and colorful banner with big bubble letters that read "Happy Birthday, Molly!"

"Well, I have one thing I really need your help on, and I am so glad you are tall! Could you help me hang this banner over the doorway by the kitchen?"

Jax laughed as Chloe struggled with picking up the banner. "Sure." Jax picked up the other end of the banner and held it up while Chloe taped the other end.

"Okay, now I just have to tape your side. Can you get it?" Chloe handed him the tape and stood back to make sure the banner was straight. "All right, that looks good!"

"So where's Molly and your mother?"

"Oh, Mom took Molly out to the park. Believe me, if Molly was here, it would be next to impossible to set up everything for the party! She would be into *everything*, and by that, I mean the presents!"

Jax laughed. "So I guess you're taking the day off from your bridal shop, huh?"

"Oh yes! That's the great thing about owning your own business. You can set your own hours and have other people work for you." Chloe laughed. "Well, do you think you can help me with the balloons?"

"Okay, what else can I do?" Jax asked, walking into the kitchen after decorating the living room.

"Oh, you could help me finish setting up in here." Chloe handed Jax stacks of paper plates, cups, and napkins. "Will you put these somewhere on the table? Set them somewhere on the side, because the cake is going to be in the center."

"Sure." Jax took the items and began to set the table. After arranging them on the side, he picked up one of the napkins and inspected the cartoon characters on it. "Chloe?" he asked, holding the napkin up with a confused expression, "What kind of cartoon characters are these?"

Chloe laughed. "Those are the Powerpuff Girls, the theme of this party. It's Molly's absolute favorite cartoon."

Jax nodded and looked at the napkin again. "What are they? Superheroes? It looks like they're flying."

"Yeah, they fly. You see, there was this professor, and he was trying to create three perfect little girls, but what he got instead were these three superhero girls who fly and have all of these super powers. Well the girls decided to use their powers for good deeds, so they fly around the city and they battle monsters and bank robbers and…some monkey with a weird hat!" Chloe laughed again.

Jax laughed. "Cartoons have certainly changed since I was a kid."

"Oh, I know! And it used to be that they only came on Saturday mornings, but now, there is a cable channel that plays them all day long."

"Why didn't they have that when I was a kid?" Jax complained.

Chloe laughed. "Molly's got it made. To be a kid today, oh, she's lucky."

"So are you serious, they actually made a cartoon about three little girls with super powers?"

"It's a cute cartoon. But oh, if you think that one's strange, you should see Catdog."

"Catdog?"

"It's about a dog and cat that share the same body. In fact…" Chloe walked out of the room and came back two seconds later holding Molly's little figurine of Catdog. "This is Catdog. See, they have one body."

Jax took the little toy and looked at it closely. "Chloe, tell me this, how does 'Catdog' use the bathroom?"

"You know, I don't know the answer to that question, and…I don't think I *want* to know!" Chloe and Jax laughed.

"Chloe!" a voice called from the living room.

"We're in here, Zoey!" Chloe called back.

Zoey walked into the kitchen curiously, wondering who else was in the kitchen with her friend. She decided that it would be Jax, and when she saw she was right, she grinned widely. "Oh, hey, Jax."

"Hi, Zoey."

"So what's going on in here?"

"We were just finishing up in here," Chloe explained. "Oh, Jax, I almost forgot, will you go tie some balloons to the door outside?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Jax!"

Zoey picked a few pretzels out of the bowl on the table and started to munch on them. "You and Jax have sure been spending a lot of time together."

"He's helping me set up for the party."

"Oh, come on, Chloe, *I* could have helped you set up for the party!"

"You are! Did you wrap those presents?"

"Of course! I put them on the coffee table next to the other ones."

"Thank you so much, Zoey. You are a lifesaver! I really should have got those wrapped sooner."

"But, Chloe, you're the 'Queen of Procrastination', so it's expected!"

"Haha, funny, Zoey."

Chloe walked to the living room, wanting to make sure she had done everything.

"How does that look?" Jax asked Chloe. "That's not too many is it?"

Chloe looked to the door and saw that Jax had tied 3 balloons to the doorknob. "That's perfect!"

Jax was about to close the door when he heard the elevator door open, and Molly her grandmother stepped out.

Molly ran into the living room. "Is it time for my party yet?"

"No, baby, not yet."

"Presents!" Molly ran to the coffee table. "Mommy, can I open them?"

Chloe laughed. "No, silly! Not until your party!"

"Can I just open one, Mommy? Just *one*? Please!"

"No, Miss Molly, you heard your mother. Not until your party," Becky said.

"Oh!" Molly sulked.

"The living room looks great!" Becky admired the decorations. When she saw Jax, she smiled. "Oh, hello again, Jax."

"Hello."

Zoey walked out from the kitchen, still munching on pretzels. "Ms. Becky!" Zoey ran over to her and gave her a hug.

"It's nice to see you too, Zoey!" Becky laughed.

"I *love* what you have done to your hair!" Zoey told her.

"Oh, thank you!" Becky blushed. "Just decided to let it grow out a little. Has uh, has Richard put a ring on your finger yet?"

"No, not yet, but…I think that maybe he's thinking about it. At least I hope so!" Zoey laughed.

"Is he coming to the party?"

"Yeah, he said he would try to make it, but he had some business to take care of first. I guess that's what I get for having a boyfriend who runs an international corporation." Zoey sighed.

Five minutes ago, it had been relatively quiet, but now, the apartment was filled with the sounds of several children running around, screaming and playing. Jax soon realized that Molly was a very popular girl. And just when Jax thought that all of Molly's friends were there, another knock sounded on the door.

Chloe rushed over to the door and Molly waited impatiently for her to open it.

"We finally made it!" Ally said, and walked in with her children, Tyler and Bianca, and her husband Tony.

"Hi, Tyler," Molly said coyly.

"Hi, Molly," he said timidly. "Happy birthday."

Molly giggled and ran away with Bianca on her arm.

"Here's our presents for Molly," Ally said to Chloe and handed her the gifts. "Hey, I remember you," she said when she saw Jax.

"Hi, Ally. It's nice to see you again."

"Jax, this is my husband Tony," Ally introduced.

"So you're the guy who saved Molly, huh?"

"That would be me," Jax blushed, and shook his hand.

"I've heard a lot about you."

"He's Superman, Tony," Zoey said as she passed by.

"So, Zoey, where's Richard?" Ally asked her.

"Well he's-"

"I'm right here." Richard smiled, standing in the doorway.

"Richard!" Zoey screamed and ran into his arms and then jumped into them.

Chloe smiled at Jax. "That's Richard. Those two are crazy for each other," she whispered.

"So, where's the birthday girl?" Richard asked. "I have a present for her."

"She's off playing, of course," Chloe explained. "But I can take that for you. Richard, this is Jax."

"And, Jax, this is my Richard," Zoey chimed in.

"It's nice to finally meet you face to face," Richard said and shook Jax's hand.

"Likewise. What part of Australia are you from?" Jax asked.

"Tasmania. I lived there until I was a teenager. And where are you from?"

"I was born in Victoria."

"Oh really? I have some friends that live there."

Zoey walked over to Chloe with a huge grin on her face. "We have certainly got ourselves some incredible Australian men, huh?"

"Is everyone ready for some cake?" Chloe asked as she put the cake on the table and stuck 4 pink candles in it.

"Gotta light the candles first, Mommy!" Molly said.

"Oh, wait, we have to take a picture! I need the camera," Chloe said.

"Here it is, Chloe," Becky said, handing her daughter the Polaroid.

Chloe took the camera and handed it to Ally. "Ally, you take the best pictures. Would you?"

"Sure."

"Let's light the candles!" Becky said, lighting the four little candles in the cake. "Now be careful, Molly," she cautioned her granddaughter.

"Okay, everyone! Happy--" Zoey got everyone's attention, and they started to sing to Molly.

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear, Molly
Happy birthday to you!

The children had their own version of the ending of the song.

You look like a monkey,
And smell like one too!

Molly just laughed, and everyone cheered and clapped.

"Make a wish, baby!" Chloe said, giving her daughter a little hug.

Molly blew out all the candles in one puff, and Ally snapped a picture of her. "I did it! I blew them all out!" Molly said excitedly.

"You sure did!" Chloe said and gave Molly a kiss on the cheek.

"I want my presents now!"

"But, baby, don't you want to eat some cake first?" Chloe asked her.

"I want cake later. I want my presents now!"

Chloe looked at her mother. Becky just smiled. "It's her birthday, and the cake's not going anywhere."

"Okay, Molly," Chloe said, but by the time she said that, Molly and her friends had already ran into the living room.

Molly had so many presents, and it had taken a long time for them to be wrapped, but only seconds for them to be unwrapped. Molly tore into them all, wanting to see what new toys she had received.

When Molly came to Jax's present, Chloe was just as anxious as she was to see what was inside. Jax sat beside Chloe, grinning widely.

Molly ripped the wrapping paper and bow off, throwing it behind the couch in the pile with the rest of the wrapping paper. Molly squealed when she saw what Jax had given her. "The Princess Bear!! Mommy! Mommy, look, it's the Princess Bear!"

Chloe gasped. The one gift she couldn't find for Molly, the one thing that Molly wanted the most, the Princess Bear beanie baby, and Jax had got it for her. Chloe looked at Jax with an expression of pure shock. "Jax, how in the world did you--? I looked *everywhere* for it!"

Jax grinned. "I know a guy who works for Ty, and well, he owed me a favor anyway."

"But, Jax," Chloe whispered, "that bear is retired now. They don't make it anymore."

"I know. The guy I know has like, ten of the Princess bears. He gave me one from his own collection."

"Jax, oh god, how much did you pay for it?"

"Nothing. I told you, he owed me a favor."

Chloe smiled. Jax never ceased to amaze her.

Molly climbed onto the couch where Jax was sitting. "You see that boy over there?" Molly pointed across the room to Tyler. "That's Tyler. He's my boyfriend," Molly said softly.

Chloe, standing behind Molly, held back her laughter and mouthed to Jax, "No he's not."

"Oh really, Molly?" Jax asked, pretending to be stunned. "You have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, he's my boyfriend. And guess what! We're gonna get married!"

Jax had to hold back his own laughter. "Married? You're getting married?! Wow, congratulations! But uh, aren't you a little too young to be getting married?"

Molly laughed. "No, silly! Not *now*! When we're all grown up!"

"Oh, of course. So, when will that be?"

"When I'm twelve," Molly casually replied.

Jax laughed softly. "Well what about school? Don't you have to go to school?"

"Um…no, we won't go to school, because, because, grown ups don't go to school. Married people, they…they don't have to go to school."

"Oh, I see. Well, where are you and Tyler going to live after you get married?"

"We're gonna live with Mommy."

"Aren't you going to get an apartment? Because that's what married people usually do; they get an apartment together."

"Um…no, we're not gonna get an apartment. We're gonna stay with Mommy, cause that way, she can cook for us."

Jax couldn't help but laugh, and Chloe was laughing too.

Jax quickly regained his composure. "Well I suppose that since your mother designs wedding gowns, she's going to design a wedding dress for you, and I right?"

"Yeah! Mommy's gonna to make me a pretty dress with flowers and stuff! I'm gonna be pretty like a princess because, ya know, I'll be the bride, cause I'm getting married. Well, I'm gonna go kiss my boyfriend now!" Molly ran off towards Tyler and kissed him on the cheek. Tyler started to run away once Molly started chasing him.

Chloe sat down on the couch, laughing just as hard as Jax. She then sighed. "Oh, they grow up so fast these days, Jax. Molly just turned four, and she's already engaged. I didn't have my first crush until I was eight!"

Jax laughed. "Who was your first crush?" he asked out of curiosity.

Chloe smiled, thinking back to her first crush. "It was this guy who lived down the road from me. He must have been about 25 or 26. Anyway, he was from Florida, dark hair, gorgeous tan, and he drove this red sports car. I remember he was always outside washing or driving that car, and every time he drove by my house, I would stop everything and simply gawk at him! One time, my friends dared me to knock on his door and tell him that I loved him, but I was too chicken!"

Jax laughed. "So whatever happened to this guy?"

"I don't know. I think he moved. But when school started, I forgot all about him, because I had a new crush. He was the new boy in school, blonde hair, blue eyes, and his name was Brad. I thought he was the cutest boy I had ever seen! Then one day in our P.E. class, they made us learn square dancing for some reason. I have no idea why! But it turned out to be really nice, because the teacher made Brad and I partners. I was all excited about it. I finally got to hold Brad's hand! And then, he teased me about something, and after that, I hated him!"

"Aww, kids can be so cruel. What was he teasing you about?"

"I don't remember. I think he had made some comment about my hair. It was really long back then, longer than Molly's! Oh wait, I remember! I had wore it in braids, and he kept calling me Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie, which normally, I wouldn't mind, but he had said it in a mean way. So, I've told you who my first crush was, who was yours?"

Jax grinned. "Ms. Irmeguard, my fifth grade English teacher."

Chloe gave him an odd look. "Irmeguard?"

"I know, the name screams 'old lady' doesn't it?"

"Just a little," Chloe teased.

"Actually, Ms. Irmeguard was really young. It was only her second or third year of teaching, so she was in her early twenties. She always wore this perfume that smelled like flowers. You could smell it every time she walked past you. All of the boys, including myself, we would drool over her! We would always raise our hands and say that we didn't know how to do the assignment, even if we did understand it, and she would come over to our desk and lean over to help."

Chloe laughed. "Oh! To see her bra, right?"

Jax grinned. "Hey, she wore loose blouses and taught 5th grade boys, it was her fault!"

Becky watched her daughter and Jax talking and laughing on couch from across the room. Suddenly, they both stood up and walked towards the kitchen. They looked around, thinking that no one was looking, and then they kissed. Becky laughed softly.

Molly and Chloe stood at the door as the last of Molly's friends left. "Bye! Thanks for comin' to my party!" Molly shouted in the hallway.

Jax was the only guest left. He and Chloe's mother sat at the kitchen table and talked. They watched Molly and Chloe in the living room.

Chloe closed the door and walked over to the end table. She picked up the picture of Molly blowing out the candles. Then she went over to the bookshelf and picked up a book that resembled a photo album.

"Molly, come here, I want to show you something."

Chloe sat down on the couch and Molly hopped up there with her, clutching her Princess Bear.

"Do you know what this is?" Chloe held up the book.

"What?"

"This is your baby book. And what I'm going to do is take this picture of you from today," Chloe opened the book towards the back, "and we're just going to put it in here." Chloe slipped the picture in the clear pocket of the book. "And now, your baby book is complete."

"What's in there, Mommy?"

"Everything! This book is all about you." Chloe turned to the first page.

"That's me!" Molly said excitedly, pointing to one of her baby pictures.

Chloe laughed. "Yes, that's you. You were only one day old in that photo. And you see this little tiny bracelet?"

"Uh-huh."

"That's your hospital bracelet. You wore that on your little tiny arm."

"That's really small!"

"Well you were really small. And there's the bracelet I wore."

"Why do they make you wear a bracelet at the hospital?"

"So the hospital knows who the patients are."

"Oh."

"And here are some more of your baby pictures." Chloe flipped through the book, letting Molly look at the pages.

"How come there's writing in it?"

"Well, that's important information, like your name, and the day you were born. And then, there are also some things I wrote in here, like what I was feeling when I first saw you."

"What did you write, Mommy?"

"I wrote that you are a perfect little angel."

Jax smiled at Chloe as she showed Molly her baby book. "Chloe's such a wonderful mother."

Becky smiled.

"Chloe told me that you stayed with her when she was pregnant."

"Yes, I did. At first, I tried to get Chloe to come stay with me in Albany, but Chloe was so stubborn about moving, and with her company just starting up, she really didn't want to leave New York, so I had to come to her. Now Chloe tried to tell me not to come and that she would be just fine, but I knew she was really was hoping I would come, and I wasn't about to let my daughter go through her pregnancy alone. Brian certainly wasn't going to help her."

"I can't believe that a man could be so insensitive and not help his pregnant girlfriend."

"Brian is a very irresponsible man. He would go off for weeks on trips with his buddies, not even telling Chloe that he was leaving. I'm surprised he even showed up to see Molly at the hospital. I'm not surprised that he left though."

"Well I think it's for the best that he left. I don't think Chloe needs to be with someone who treats her that way."

"I couldn't agree more."

"And here's a picture from your very first birthday party."

"Hey! Mommy, why are you blowing out my candle? I'm the birthday girl; that's my job!"

Chloe laughed. "Molly, you were just a little baby. You didn't know how to blow out a candle."

"Yes I did," Molly stated.

"No you didn't," Chloe teased. "And this picture is from your second birthday party. And there's your third."

"I remember that! That was at Chuck E. Cheeses's!"

"That's right. That's where we had your third birthday party. And now we are at your fourth birthday party."

"And my baby book is finished now?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"I wanna keep that book, Mommy."

"It's yours. This is your book. I want you to keep this forever, and keep it in a safe place where it won't get messed up, and you can look at it whenever you feel like it."

Chloe put her arms around Molly and started rocking her back and forth. "Oh, I can't believe my little baby is four years old! She's growing up so fast! I can't believe she's already four!"

Molly laughed and held on to her mother.

Becky glanced over at her daughter and granddaughter. She couldn't believe that Molly was already turning four either. "It truly feels like yesterday that Molly was born," she told Jax.

"She grew up right before your eyes, huh?"

Becky nodded. "I remember that night so clearly. Chloe had gone to bed about 7:30. She had to go to bed early on purpose because Molly had an awful habit of keeping Chloe up with her kicking if she went to bed any later."

Jax laughed softly.

"I was in the other room watching television, and it had to have been about forty-five minutes later. I heard Chloe shouting for me to come quick, something was wrong. Well of course, I panicked and ran into the bedroom."

"Was she alright?"

"She was okay. Her water had just broken, and it had surprised her a little. And she wouldn't believe me when I told her that everything was perfectly normal, that her water breaking was supposed to be like that. And she was having these awful contractions."

"She must have been scared."

"She was. But everything was just fine. I got her to the hospital, and a little after midnight, Molly was born.

"Are you talking about me?" Chloe asked, grinning at Jax and then giving her mother a suspicious look.

"I was just telling Jax about the night Molly was born."

Chloe's eyes grew wide. "Mom!" She complained.

"Don't worry, I didn't tell him anything embarrassing."

Chloe looked at Jax, then at her mother.

"Don't worry, she didn't," Jax said, smiling.

"Looks like Molly really loves her baby book," Becky said.

"Oh yes, she loves it. Now's she's tearing through all the photo albums looking for more of her baby pictures." Chloe laughed.

"This kitchen is a mess," Becky suddenly stated.

"This whole house is a mess. The living room is a disaster with the mess of ten kids!"

"I think we had better start cleaning it up," Becky said.

"I can help out too," Jax offered.

"Oh, Jax, you don't have to; you've done so much already."

"I don't mind, Chloe," Jax assured her. So Jax stayed longer and helped Chloe and her mother clean up, while Molly amused herself with her new toys.

Jax tackled the living room and picked up every piece of wrapping paper, food crumbs, and any other trash he could find and put it in a trash bag.

"Jax!" Molly rushed over to him.

"Yes, Molly?"

"Look at this picture!" In her little hands, Molly held up a picture of she and her mother. It was a fairly recent picture, taken at a photography studio. Molly sat on her mother's lap. She looked so much like Chloe in that photo.

"That's a great picture of you and your mother."

"Yeah. Mommy picked out my dress in that picture. You can have it." Molly put the picture in his hands.

"Thanks, Molly," Jax said, but Molly had already scampered away to play with her toys some more.

Finally, the house was in order, and after a party with several preschoolers, it was amazing that no permanent damage had been done.

Jax had no desire to leave. He wanted to stay longer and hear more stories about Chloe from her mother, which was exactly what Becky loved to do. They sat at the table and talked for an hour or so, while Chloe sat and listened most of the time, praying her mother would not embarrass her.

"Well," Becky said when she realized it was getting late, "I think I'm going to call it a night." Becky looked at the couch across the room. Molly was fast asleep on it, one hand tucked under a couch cushion and the other holding her princess bear. "I think she has the right idea!" Becky laughed.

"No wonder it was so quiet," Chloe laughed.

"Do you want me to take her up?"

"Oh, that's okay, Mom, I'll do it. You're tired; go to bed."

"Alright. Goodnight, sweetie." Becky kissed her daughter goodnight. "Jax."

"Goodnight," Jax said.

"Goodnight, Mom."

Chloe looked over to the couch at her daughter. "Aww, look at her, Jax. Isn't she so precious? She has certainly had a long day."

Jax laughed softly. "She looks very peaceful."

Chloe smiled at Jax. "Well, I better get her to bed. Are you going to be here when I come back downstairs or are you leaving now?"

"I can wait until you come back down before I leave."

"Okay. I'll only be few minutes." Chloe quietly walked over to Molly and picked her up gently. Molly put her arms around her mother, but she didn't wake up. Chloe picked up her bear and managed to carry her daughter upstairs and into her bed.

When she got back downstairs, Jax was sitting on the couch waiting for her. "Molly still asleep?"

"Yeah. She was so exhausted. She loves that bear. Thank you so much again."

"Oh, here." Jax handed Chloe the picture. "Molly took this out of your photo album and gave it to me. You probably want it back."

Chloe took the picture, but then handed it back to him. "No, you keep it. Molly wants you to have it, and so do I. Plus, I have like, twenty other copies of this same photo. Keep it."

Jax smiled. "Okay." He was glad. He was hoping he would get to keep it. "Well, it's getting late. I should go."

"Jax."

"Yeah?"

"Before you go, I just wanted to thank you."

Jax smiled. Chloe was always thanking him. "You're welcome, Chloe. I'm glad to help you out with the party."

"Oh, well, thanks for that too, but I wasn't talking about that. Jax, if it wasn't for you, Molly may not have even made it to her fourth birthday. I'm so happy that you came, Jax. I'm glad that you got to see her celebrate her birthday. She's here because of you."

"I don't know what to say," Jax said, which was the truth. He still wasn't used to this "hero" business.

Chloe smiled. "You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know how grateful I am to you."

"I think I have an idea," Jax winked. Then he slowly brought her chin to his face, and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "Goodnight, Chloe."

"Goodnight, Jax."

When Jax got home, he put the picture of Chloe and Molly in a frame. Then, he looked around for a place to put it. He wanted to put it in his bedroom, but putting it on the dresser next to his picture of Brenda seemed too weird. He didn't want to feel as if the pictures were competing against each other. He finally decided to put it on his nightstand next to his clock, where he would see it every morning.

To be continued…