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It was convenient that January 2nd was still a day off because Jasper had zero plans to get out of bed today. His evening had ran into the early morning and he had made it home just before sunrise. Cleaning the mugs and slipping them back into cabinet, he had taken the basket upstairs with him, fruit, chocolate and all still inside. Avoid questions now, have a smoothie later.

But sleep had eluded him.

His eyes were open, gazing up at his fan as his figures turned the black mask over and over. The tuxedo was thrown over his chair and he laid in bed in his boxers, playing over the night.

“What was it about her…” He whispered, closing the mask in his hand as he groaned, rolling over to face the wall. He could not get that woman off his mind.

One room over though, someone else had other plans for the sleepy Jasper. Amelia stirred from her slumber, deciding she had slept enough for the evening. Buried beneath several layers of blankets she yawned and stretched. Blinking away the sleep that lingered, light filtered in through the small holes in the blinds leaving a row of dots along her carpeted floor.

Purple hair mused from a restless nights sleep, the young girl swung her feet over the side of the bed and slid off onto the soft floor. Her footsteps were silent as she shuffled her way out of her room into the hallway and stood in front of her brothers door.

There were two soft knocks on the hollow core wood followed by a quiet calling ”Jasper?” Her tone was questioning, unsure whether or not he had come home from the party or not. Try as she might to stay awake till New Years came so she didn’t miss the fireworks, Amelia lacked the stamina it took to last past 9PM.

Quiet had finally come to Jasper’s mind allowing him to drift off. He was in the stages between sleep and awake as his door was knocked. In that state, his body responded with a grunting noise that could have easily been mistaken for waking up.

Instead, the man in the room only rolled over, throwing his hand up over his head and sending the mask flying across the room.

Out in the hallway Amelia waited patiently for a few minutes, at least it felt like minutes had passed when in actuality it was more likely eight seconds, before she reached up and turned the doorknob and opened the door just a crack. Such small movements caused the door to groan in protest and so she stopped before the sounds woke him, assuming he actually came home and was asleep.

With her face pressed between the frame and door she peered inside through the sliver of space and spoke his name softly once more “Jasper?” It was hard to tell with his blinds shut whether or not it was him in or on the bed or if it was a pile of blankets or yesterday's laundry that hadn’t been put away yet.

That sound was enough to break the spell of light sleep. Groaning, Jasper rolled to his side and stared straight at the door frame. “Amelia, what is it?” He forced out, eyes slightly open enough just to see a dark outline in his doorway. If she was awake and coming to him, meant their father had already taken off. If that man didn’t make partner soon, Jasper was going to burn his briefcase for the amount of overtime he put in.

“Ha-Pee New Year,” she replied softly picking up on his groggy tone. No matter how happy she was to see him home, Amelia knew better than to be loud in the morning having been reminded several times to calm down.

Hearing the cheer in the little girl’s voice, Jasper felt his stomach sink. Here he was being all Mr. Grumpy and his baby sister just wanted to be nice. Sometimes it took him awhile to get out of human mode and into big brother mode. “Com’ Here.” He finally said, patting the side of the bed. “Did Dad let you stay up?”

Eagerly accepting the invitation, the door opened more fully spilling mid morning light into his room. Once inside, Amelia closed the door behind her so only a seam of light trickled through around the frame. “Yeah,” she finally responded, grabbing a fist full of fabric to pull herself up onto his bed. “Me n’ Daddy watched the Lil’ Mermaid.” The tone she carried was quite happy as she continued; “He made popcorn!” and oh it was a treat. Not the most healthy thing to snack on but at least it was unbuttered. “But I fell sleep and didn’t get to see the lights.” Disappointment seeped into her voice but honestly she didn’t mind too much.

“Did you see dem?” she quickly added, excited to hear what they were like.

A smile pulled across Jasper’s face a the notion of Amelia trying to get their father to sing along. Where the two men might not always see eye to eye with each other, there was one thing they did agree on: Amelia. That was why their entire DVD case was nothing but Disney movies. The two of them kept to Netflix.

“Popcorn! I didn’t get any of that.” Jasper faux pouted as he reached over to pull her into a hug. “I got little bitty things. The size of which you would feed to your dolls. I would have needed a whole plate to fill me up! “ He nuzzled her, ignoring telling her about the fruit and chocolate. “But sadly, I did not see them either for you see, I was too busy saving a cat!”

“A cat?!” the influx in her voice matched the surprised look on her precious face. Eyebrows raised almost to her hairline she tilted her head to the side. “Was da kitty hurt?”

“No, and I wanted to keep it that way. She was very fluffy and some how managed to get into the party.”[/clor] Jasper was of course editing, not waiting his sister to see the dark things in life at such an age. “When midnight came, people got a little crazy and I was worried someone might step on her. So I picked her up and tried to get her out. Sadly, trying to explain to a cat you are helping isn’t easy.”

“Where is she now?” Amelia asked as she nestled in next to her brother under the covers then peered over the bed, wondering if he had brought her home and was perhaps hiding under the bed. Oh how happy it would make her to be able to play with a little kitten since they had no pets.

“Don’t get your hopes up.” Jasper smiled as he reached over and pulled her away from the edge. “She went back to her own home.” At least, that was what Jasper thought as he tried to forget the laser beam kitty. Talking cats? What was in that champagne anyway? “You know how Dad is. We can have fish.” Jasper smirked, sucking in his cheeks to make a fishy face at her.

“I miss my fishie” she spoke solemnly then, with her head resting upon his pillow, Amelia craned her head back to look up at him “Can we get a new one?” She was responsible for the most part. Never had to worry about if the fish got fed since she gave it the flakes before eating her own cereal in the morning. However it was wise to watch over her just in case she decided he looked really hungry and wanted to give it a few extra fish pelts.

“Do you want another one that badly? You hadn’t said anything since your last one took off.” Jasper was fighting back the grin on his face remembering his father’s expression when he screamed out a few choice words the moment he found the fallen fishy friend. “I thought you wanted something fuzzy this time. Dad is just being stubborn.”

Amelia rubbed her sleepy eyes and let out a rather big yawn, “Yeah, but daddy said no.” Despite her excessive pleas, all it took was a firm ‘Amelia Grace Pennington, I said no...’ to get her to stop asking so freverently. For as much as she would truly love to have a kitten or puppy to keep her company and play with, she knew no amount of sad face or pouty lip would sway her father once his mind was made up.

“Well, one day, I am sure you will be able to get any pet you want. You won’t live under Dad’s roof forever.” He smiled, wondering how she got all this energy. She was enough for them to handle and if only Amelia knew how much of a puppy she was. “But for now, you are my pet. So, pup, you need to brush your teeth. Morning breath is not lady-like.”

A wide grin spread across his sisters face and in response she made a small little ‘woof’ sound beside him. “Then we go to da park n’ eat breakfist?” Even with her back turned towards him there was no mistaking the excited and hopeful tone in her voice. At least the sun was out even if the temperature was rather brisk.

Jasper rolled his eyes. Well, no helping it now. He was not going to sleep until the next night. So, with a groan, he sat up. “Alright. How about we buy crepes at the park and sit on the bench and eat? After you play on the swings while I do a morning run?”

“And Strawberry and nana’s?” More than just a little happy Amelia sat up in his bed with an expectant expression that would make a very cruel person out of Jasper if he were to say no, even if it was teasing.

His eyes were smiling as he watched her nearly jumping out and down. How could he say no to that face? “Go get dressed. Meet you downstairs. And brush your teeth!” He sighed, standing up and heading to his closet to pull out his running clothes.

“Kay!” she replied louder than necessary as she scrambled off the bed and ran back into her bedroom. With his door still open he could hear the sound of her opening the drawers to get clothes; which if he knew Amelia it meant she just dumped the entire contents onto the floor to find the right outfit.

Several minutes passed before the sound of her descending down the stairs met his ears; one step at a time. On the plus note her velcro shoes were on the right feet, her shirt however was on backwards with the little tag sticking out. “Done! We go now?”

While his sister was a speed dresser, for now, Jasper took several more moments. After finding his running pants somewhere in the bottom of his closet and his shoes under his bed, the young man was in front of the bathroom mirror getting his locks just right so he didn’t have to worry about them in his face. A hair tie, a few pens, and he finally had it all up. His bangs were just not listening today.

“We go when you calm down a bit.” Jasper called out from the bathroom as he walked out, turning off all the lights Amelia had left on in her haste. By the time he made it down stairs, he was looking straight at her with one of his typical big brother looks. “Amelia, shirt.” Was all he said as he lept the last two steps and went for his keys, wallet, and ipod. “Once you fix it, we leave.”

“Huh?” she said with a tilt of her head slightly confused and so she looked down. Putting clothes on was easy taking them off or rather pulling her arms back through the sleeves was something else entirely. Exasperated after fruitlessly trying turn the shirt around Amelia looked up with those purple doe eyes at her brother, “Halp peas?” she almost whimpered, seeking his assistance since her wrist was effectively stuck.

“Amelia Grace, what have you done to yourself?” Jasper sighed as he walked over to kneel down in front of her. Once he had his hand on the fabric, he looked at her face. “Now, sit still. We will go over this again.” Yanking on the bottom of the shirt, he pulled it up over her head and flipped it around. “Tell me, how do you know which side is the back?” He asked, showing her the shirt.

“Da scratchy tag.” She replied reaching behind her now that her shirt was on the right way to tug on the irritating thing. Most of the times she didn’t notice that they were there but on certain clothes the little piece of fabric could be quite annoying.

“Right. That thing is the back of the shirt and thus goes on our back.” He smirked, reaching around her to tuck the tag back into the shirt. “And how do you tell if it is inside out?”

Amelia pursed her lips as if in deep contemplating, “I dun know.” She took ahold of the hem of her shirt and looked at the underside; it looked the same since it was a solid fabric, there was no picture of a character or anything on it; quite the conundrum for a four year old. “How?” she looked up at him with curiosity.

Jasper reached for his shirt and lifted up the side. “The seams.” He said, pointing at the part where the front and back of the shirt had been combined into one. “When the shirt is on right, these will be against your skin. When it’s on wrong, these will be seen by the world. Then they will think you don’t know how to dress yourself.” He dropped his shirt and tapped her nose. “Don’t want that now. Makes people think you have a bad daddy and brother.”

Her face crinkled in response to the gentle tap “nuh uh” she replied swaying her body from side to side. “I have the bestest” Amelia added before throwing her arms around Jasper in her version of a bear hug.

Jasper was smiling as he hugged her in return. “And I have the best little sister.” When he finally released her, Jasper stood up and walked towards the door. “So make me proud and remember to put your shirt on correctly from now on. Then you might get extra play time at the park.” He chuckled, motioning for her to head into the front yard as he locked up the house. When the lock clicked, he turned and reached out his hand. “You know the law. Hold my hand till we get to the swings.”

“Kay!” she replied, leaning over to pluck a dandelion from their front yard and handed it to him as she took his hand in her own.

Bundled up warm in her winter coat and little blue gloves Amelia tugged his hand as they rounded the second corner “Jasper! Look” she pointed excitedly across the street towards a man out jogging with his yellow lab “Puppy!” she exclaimed. Perhaps if there were animals at the park today, he might take her over and ask if she could pet them.

A smile was on Jasper’s face as they kept walking. He understood why their father didn’t want large animals in the house but lord, if Amelia’s face didn’t light up every time she saw one. “Yes. But look at how good he is being for his master? Such a well trained puppy.” Jasper smiled as he continued to lead her to the edge of the running path. There, it met the squishy surface of the playground and he knelt down beside her. “Now, I’m going to go run a few laps. You know the rules? Do not leave the playground boundary. Do not go with strangers. And make friends.” Jasper smiled, standing up and pulling out his headphones.

“Kay!” she beamed up at him a smile that rivaled the sun itself before taking off across the grass towards the sawdust covered play area. With so many other kids out today he had no doubt in his mind that she’d meet someone new to play with for a few hours at least. Amelia was just that accepting of others and willing to include others in games.

Jasper shook his head as he watched the girl take off towards the park. He knew within moments Amelia would know everyone there. It made him happy.

Hitting the play button with one hand, Jasper allowed himself several stretches before he started. Last thing he needed as to sprain something. But as he came up from his toe touches, a flash of hair caught his attention. Like a dream he saw her again, his flower, wrapped in his coat.

And then it was gone.

“Let it go Jasper. She’s long gone.” He sighed, kicking off with his right foot to head around the park.

Sirene Naiads