She hadn't been home in six years. Of course she e-mailed and kept in contact with her father and sister, but she hadn't been home in Seattle since the day she left for Sarah Lawrence.

Every summer, she always meant to come home, but something always came up. Usually, she just ended up apologizing to her father. Bianca, she managed to see during spring break when Bianca forced her out of her rathole apartment that she had grown to love and drove down to Florida with her.

Also there were other complications. Complications like Quentin Joaquin Stratford Preston and Sam Preston. Joaquin was a beautiful little toddler with Sam's black hair and her pale as day skin. He was three now, four in a few weeks. No one knew about him, except Mandella and her William.

As for Sam, he had little to none interest in Kat, romantically speaking. Jason was his romantic interest of the week. at was his best friend that he gossiped about Jason and various other men that came into their lives, not to mention the mother of his little boy.

Joaquin was the result of Kat's break up with Patrick. His brown eyes made her bless the goddess for the magic of tequila. He was worth it, every sip and vomit down the toilet. Most of all, there was Sam, who was dating Eric at the time, and gave up dating until Joaquin was four months old and Kat could handle him by herself.

She had been forced to come home by Bianca. Just because she was having a wedding and Kat happened to be maid of honor, didn't stop Kat from dialing the phone and politely refusing. However, Sam disconnected the number and hid her cell. Now, she was on an airplane, worrying about whether or not Joaquin had his Blankie with him.

"Nervous flyer?" The man next to her asked, smiling, "Don't worry, it's a three hour flight," He smiled and ran a hand through his hair, "Jake Harris," He flashed his white teeth at her

Kat forced a smile, thinking he was probably like Joey Donner, the "brother-pucker" (Kat and Sam baby-proofed swearwords and it became a habit of sorts) she had known at Padua, "Thanks, not looking for a date,"

"Wait," He said, "You haven't listened to my resume," He grinned and Kat laughed, she couldn't help it,

"You have a resume?" She asked, wondering whether this guy was for real

"Yes!" He pulled out a sheet of crumbled paper, and cleared his throat, grinning, "Jacob Harris, six one-"

"No way, you're six one," Kat said, "You look five nine,"

"I'm sitting," He argued, "There is a very big difference!" He blushed a little, "I'm sorry, it's just that when I was a senior in high school, I was four seven,"

Kat spit out her juice, choking.

Jake chuckled, "Not the worst response I've gotten. One woman demanded a picture and left,"

"Oh poor you," Kat laughed

"Anyway, I'm self conscious about my height, and you're right," He admitted and at her perplexed look, he explained, "I really am five nine,"

She laughed even more, "How much of this thing is lies?"

"Well," Jake glanced at it, "I'll let you decide,"

She nodded looking at him. His smile didn't seem as white and preppie as it first did. There was a gap near the end of one of his teeth and he had dark hair, which Kat was a sucker for. By the end of the plane trip, Jake had only gotten through half his resume and Kat felt much better then she ever had on previous plane trips.

His British accent was charming as well. Kat had a thing for accents, she discovered. First, there was Patrick with his Australian, then Sam with his Greek, and now Jake with his British.

"Ah, must leave now," He said, "It was a pleasure to meet you, madam?" He looked at her, waiting for her to tell her name.

"Kat," She said, "K-A-T, not C," She laughed a little, "I'm sorry, but I don't normally do this. Do you live here or?" She hesitated

"My brother lives here and my job's in the Big Apple," He explained, "No, I'm not an actor, but that sounds cool, doesn't it?" He grinned and Kat laughed.

"Jake, can I give you my number?" She asked before she lost the willpower.

"I told you that resume works," He said, smiling. He pulled out a pen, "Tell you what. You can call me when I get back to the city on Monday. No pressure," He smiled and handed her a piece of paper with his number, "Even though I don't want to be desperate, there's my cell and fax,"

Kat laughed again and tucked them away, "I'll call you, Jake," She smiled and grabbed her roll on, thinking of what Sam would tell her. Was Joaquin really ready for such a big step? He was four and smart for his age, but dating's a hard thing. Then again, Sam's been doing it every once in a while.

Now wasn't the time to worry about that, though. Now, she would have to face her past with the full knowledge that her past didn't know her present or her future.

Her father, bless him, had been trying his hardest to stay healthy. She and Bianca chipped in on a set of exercise videos for him. However, when she saw him and hugged him, smiling, he felt and looked the same he always did, slightly overweight and balding.

Bianca and Cameron were slightly taller, but they were still the same lovey-dovey couple Kat had seen in pictures and heard about from the horse's mouth over the phone.

She found it a wonder that they had lasted this long, from high school to college with Walter's eagle eyes. Bianca had even confided in her that she bought lingerie once and Walter returned it to the store, citing it a mistake and she was now listed as persona non grata in that very same store.

"Kat!" Bianca yelled out, squealing.

She could hear Jake laughing behind her. Kat turned around, wondering why he was still there. Cameron cleared that up, by hugging Jake. Jake laughed and clapped Cameron,

"I take it that this is the Stratford family?" He asked, chuckling, "Oi Cameron! It's good to see you too, little brother, but calm down!" Jake laughed, hugging his little brother back with just as much force.

"What's with the accent?" Bianca asked, instead of introducing herself.

"I wanted to stay in England with my dad and Mum remarried and had Cameron," He explained, "I moved to New York, to be closer to Mum's place, near Cameron's dad's army base, since my Dad died," He patted Cameron on the back, "I can see he found a good one. Jake Harris, the best man," He held out his hand, smiling.

"Oh, Kat," Bianca said, as if remembering something, "I got you your dress and you'll look gorgeous with Jake walking you down the aisle!"

Kat laughed and shook Jakes hand, his number in hers, "Katarina Stratford, your soon to be sister in law," She smiled, "If it helps, there will be other single non related to the family women,"

He laughed, "Thanks Kat," Gratefully he took his number back, "You know, I'm going to tell Cameron and you'll tell Bianca, so we might as well tell 'em together,"

"You tell them," She laughed, "You're a better storyteller then me, anyway," She smiled again, at seeing Jake's smile, it was irresistible.

"What, what?" Bianca asked, wanting to be in the know.

"When we boarded the plane," Jake laughed, "I ended up sitting next to Miss Stratford here." He grinned, "Apparently she has a fear of flying,"

"No I don't!" Kat slapped him lightly, giggling. Bianca raised an eyebrow. She had never heard her sister giggle. Laugh yes. Chuckle yes. Snort yes. Snicker oh yeah. Giggle no. Kat, in her dark indigo jeans and denim jacket, complete with a PUCK OFF shirt and a ponytail that screamed "GO AWAY" was not a giggler. Around Jake, she seemed more relaxed, looser, and to be honest, Bianca had never seen Kat this way, not since Patrick.

"Anyway, I flirted with her the entire way and she asked me for my number," Jake grinned, holding up the said piece of paper, "However, there's something to be said about dating your sister," He admitted, putting the paper back in his pocket.

"Well, thank you for the flirting," Bianca said, "Usually Kat's a real mess off the airplane,"

"Even worse then this?" Jake asked, eyes twinkling and Kat threw a peanut at him, shocked.

"You got lucky, Bianca," Kat said, "You're marrying the tall one," She snickered and Jake gasped,

"You did not just say that!" He said in a warning tone

"Want me to repeat it?" She taunted, throwing another peanut at him, giggling, "Cameron's taller then you!"

"Oh!" Jake ran trying to grab her and she laughed, chucking peanuts at him.

"Huh," Bianca said looking at them, "Cameron, your brother is interesting," He now had Kat in a headlock and was telling her to take it back.

"Shorty!" She yelled, squirming.

"Yeah, Jake's the black sheep of the family," Cameron explained, "His dad died when he was fourteen and he was going to live with us, but he and Dad couldn't seem to get along, so Jake went back to boarding school and Dad complains about him every chance she gets,"

"Speaking of which, when will your parents be here-Kat!" Bianca was shocked to see Kat drenched in water and Jake with two peanuts up his nose, both of them laughing hilariously.

"Jake, Mom and the General are driving down," Cameron warned, "They should be here in 0200 hours,"

"Spoken like a true Army brat," Jake said dryly, "I call front!"

"No fair!" Kat jumped in, "The back makes me hurl,"

"Stop squabbling," Cameron said, stepping in between them, "My god, I sound like the General," Jake burst out laughing and hugged his brother