Jason had already started a new life with Clair. He moved in with her in a new apartment on the other side of town. It wasn't much but at least it was bigger than his old apartment. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room and kitchen, he didn't need much else. Jason was finally happy… until Stella arrived.

Not that he was upset she was back, in fact, he was glad she was safe again. But after finding out why she was so terrified before, Jason became self-conscious around her. He was afraid of doing anything that would make her feel like she was in danger again. Clair always insisted on going over her mom's for dinner, but whenever he was over there, he would keep as much distance from her as he possibly could and he refused to even be alone with her. That's why he never offered to watch her. She didn't need his help anyways, Glenda was better at handling humans than him anyways.

"Can you do me a favor?" Clair asked. Jason snapped out of his thoughts, looking over at his girlfriend getting ready for work. "Sure, what is it?"

"Can you watch Stella today at noon?"

"I don't think I can." He groaned.

Clair stopped buttoning up her blouse and shot him a look. "And why not?"

"Because…. What if… if I get called into work?"

"Then just say no and watch Stella."

"Why can't your mom watch her?" Clair sighed. "She's been watching her for weeks, dad too. I think they deserve a day to themselves."

She was right, her parents were the ones who paid for all the medical expenses and new clothes for her despite the fact that Stella wasn't even their human. They've worked around the clock to make sure Stella would get better, if anyone deserved a break, it was Glenda and Richard. But Jason still didn't feel comfortable being around Stella.

Clair saw the turmoil in her boyfriend's face and sat down next to him on the bed. "Jason, it's obvious that you're trying to avoid her, everyone can see it." Clair rested her hand onto his. "I just hope you're not doing it for my sake."

"What? No way!"

"You can tell me anything, you know." Clair spoke softly. "I won't be mad."

Jason's eyes trailed away from his girlfriend and down to the ground. "H...how is she around giants?"

"She's getting better every day." Clair brushed her delicate hand against Jason's chin and softly nudged his head in her direction. Jason leaned into his girlfriend's hand and let his cheek rest in her palm. He stared into her beautiful green eyes, Jason felt like he could stare into them forever. Knowing that she looked at him the same way as he did at her was enough to turn him into putty.

"Please." Her bottom lip puckered out. "Just one day?"

Jason let out a sigh. He couldn't resist her adorable puppy-dog look. "Okay, just one day."

~~~~~

It was a quiet afternoon. The air was still chilly but less cold than the past few weeks, Jason could finally just dress in his blue hoodie and Jeans for once. However, melted snow still sloshed around the ground, soaking his sneakers rather quickly.

Jason made his way up the driveway and up to the door. His hand reached for the doorknob but stopped when he noticed his hand trembled. This was a bad idea, he shouldn't have done this. Jason was probably the last person on Earth she'd want to see, so he should just go before someone not-!

The door swung open causing a small gust of wind to ruffle Jason's hair. Richard stood at the doorway, dressed in a green polo shirt and nice jeans. Jason quickly shoved his shaky hands in his pocket before the older man could notice.

"Jason, good to see you." He exclaimed. "I saw you walking up the driveway. Come on in."

"Thanks…" Jason mustered up a smile and let himself in. Damnit! Too late now!

The two men entered the living room, Jason scanned the room for Stella. She was nowhere to be seen. Then Glenda emerged from her room. A smile appeared on her face.

"Glad you could make it!" She cheered. "We were worried you wouldn't show up."

"What? No, I wouldn't do that." Jason rubbed the back of his neck.

Glenda raised an eyebrow but decided not to comment on his fidgeting. "Anyways, Stella just fell asleep in our room."

Jason quietly let out a sigh of relief. Oh good, he didn't have to interact with her yet. "How's she doing?"

"She's doing just fine."

"Anyways, we better get going." Richard said. "Don't want to be late for the show."

"Oh right!" Glenda briskly walked into the kitchen to grab her purse on the table.

"We'll be back in a couple of hours. Call us if you need anything."

"Sure thing."

Richard was about to leave but then he stopped and turned back to Jason. "Oh and make sure Stella doesn't try to climb around too much. She's been growing restless lately, but we can't let her get herself hurt again."

"I'll watch over her."

Richard nodded and walked out the door with his wife.

Once Jason was alone, he slumped down on the couch and let out a soft groan. What's going to happen if Stella need something? How will she react when she realizes he's here. Maybe, if Jason's lucky, she'll just stay asleep while he's here.

Sleep… that sounds nice. Jason didn't realize how tired he was; that walk must have taken a number on him. Maybe he'll just rest his eyes for one minute….

~~~~

"Hellooo?!"

The sharp voice jolted Jason into consciousness. He couldn't help jerk his knee forward, but he wished he hadn't because he didn't realize a little human was standing on his lap until she tumbled forward and face planted onto the sofa.

"Stella?!" Jason jumped off the couch to give her some space. He instinctively reached out to help her but stopped when she started to push herself up. "Fuck, I'm sorry! Don't freak out!"

Stella cocked her head to the side as she stared at Jason. "Why would I freak out?"

Weird, Stella was normally so skittish around Jason, but when he looked at her right now, he could see how relaxed she looked. But maybe that was because of the pajamas she wore, soft purple pajama bottoms and a light blue robe loosely fitted over her. Of course they covered her scars, the last thing she'd want is someone to see her scars again.

"Uh… never mind." Jason stammered. "What are you doing out of bed? You shouldn't be climbing around, you could have gotten yourself hurt."

Stella huffed and crossed her arms. "Well I did call out for help but no one else is here and you were asleep."

"Sorry about that." Jason rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I could use some water."

"Sure thing, kiddo." Jason hastily went into the kitchen and grabbed a tiny cup of water for Stella. Once he handed the cup to her, Jason grabbed the remote on the table and began to fumble around channels instead of sitting down on the couch next to her. After about a minute of channel surfing, Stella spoke up.

"Is there a reason you've been avoiding me?"

"I…" Jason wasn't sure how to respond. Does he tell her the reason behind his absence?

"Are you mad because I ran away that morning?" Her voice sounded so frail, like she was about to cry. "Cause if you are I promise I won't do it again!"

"Stella, it's okay! I'm not mad." Jason silently cursed himself for what he had done. Stella was already going through so much pain, she didn't need Jason to make her feel like she did something wrong. "I mean, I was worried for you, but you had your reasons to leave, and I respect them."

"So why haven't you been around?"

Jason let out a deep breath. "I figured you wanted some space."

"Jason, I've spent over a month away from you, I think you've given me more than enough space." She scooted over to her right and motioned Jason to sit with her.

Not wanting to object her offer, Jason awkwardly shuffled his way to the open seat, trying to make slow movements to not startle her. His mind couldn't help but wander. Jason had so many questions about what happened when she was gone, but he couldn't just ask her. That was probably the last thing she wanted to talk about. Still, he did have one lingering question.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure go ahead."

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to…" Jason could feel a nervous lump forming in his throat but he swallowed it in hopes it wouldn't prevent him from asking the question. "Remember that morning before Thanksgiving, where you told me about what happened to your parents?"

"Yeah?"

"Was any of that true?"

Her expression darkened as her eyes drew towards the ground. "It was mostly true… I just didn't tell you the whole story."

"You don't have to tell me anything." Jason reassured.

"No, it's fine." Stella took a deep breath, contemplating if she really should talk about it. "The part about my parents being from Europe was true. But after they died, I wandered through the streets trying to survive. Unfortunately, I wasn't very good at living on my own. That's when I ran into Ed. I thought he was nice, but when money got tight, I was always the one who had to skip meals. And if I tried asking for scraps, he would scream at me, sometimes even… squeeze me until I was knocked out. I broke a few bones from that."

A knot twisted in Jason's stomach, how could anyone do that to her, and over something so simple as wanting to eat?! His heart started to beat with anger, but he continued to listen to Stella.

"That went on for about a year, then his brother stopped by and saw me lying in the cage…"

"M-Mike?" Jason breathed out. He remembered the name she screamed out when she had her nightmare.

Stella nodded. "He was so much worse…." Her body started to tremble, she wrapped her arms around her body in a failed attempt to stop it. "Mike is the reason why I have all those scars… and he's the one who found me again…" Tears started to fall out of her eyes.

"Don't tell me anymore, I don't need to know." Jason wanted to reach out to her, to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. But she never liked that before, why would she want that now? He felt sick to his stomach. It wasn't fair to make Stella relive her trauma. She kept that a secret the entire time, and she had every right to do so. Especially when Jason forced himself into her life. "All this time, I never realized why you were so scared of me. I didn't know you thought I was going to hurt you like Mike and Ed did. And I'm so sorry that I sent you into a traumatic episode that night!"

"Jason, it's alright. You didn't know."

"But that doesn't make it right!" He exclaimed. Stella deserved justice, it wasn't fair that she had to continue to be traumatized so easily while her abusers walked free. Jason wanted to make sure they were rightfully punished. "How about we go after these assholes? Lock them up forever!"

"I've already talked to Richard about that. That could take a long time."

"It can't take that long if you know where they are? What about Mike?"

"I think he's dead." Stella responded quietly.

"You think or you know?"

"I…. Don't know."

"Well, what about Ed?"

"I don't know and I don't want to know!" Stella snapped. "I never wanna see them again!"

"But don't you want closure?"

"All I want to do is forget that I was a victim!" She choked out. She was clearly trying to hold back her tears. "I just want to live a normal life."

But she could never live a normal life, she would always be seen as less of a person in the states. And how could she live a normal life when she still has unresolved trauma? Closure should be the best way for Stella to lead a normal life, but if she didn't feel that way, then who was Jason to tell her otherwise? There had to be another way to give her the life she deserved.

"I understand." Jason breathed out.

"Thank you." Stella whispered. She grew quiet as her bottom lip quivered. That's when an ugly wail escaped her lips as tears heavily rolled down her cheeks. She buried her face in her hands to muffle the sobs. All the walls she had built up, all the sorrow she had been silently carrying for years, had fallen apart.

It broke Jason's heart to see her like this. He couldn't just let her wallow in her own tears alone. She deserves someone to be there for her, and Jason was willing to fill that role. He stretched his arm out to her but instead of grabbing her, he laid his hand out flat in front of her. Stella gasped and stared at his hand in a mix of shock and confusion.

"I wish I knew how to get rid of all your pain permanently, but if your feeling up for it, a hug might help you for a little bit."

"Oh Jason," Stella sniffled and wiped some of the tears away from her face. "That's all I ever wanted." Without hesitation, Stella collapsed onto his hand.

Jason immediately brought the tiny girl up to his chest, Stella immediately buried her face into Jason's shirt as she released more sobs. To comfort her, Jason gently rubbed his thumb against her back and hummed the same tune that his mother did for him in troubling times. After several minutes, her cries quiet down. All her energy was drained from her body. Jason thought she fell asleep, until he felt her weakly lift her head up.

"Thank you, for saving me from dying on the streets."

Jason shot the human a confused look. "Clair was the one who found you."

"No not that night." She stated. "I'm talking about the first night we met, I would have died if you didn't take me."

Jason had no words for how he felt. He never would have thought that Stella would appreciate a fearful night like that. He smiled and gently pressed her close to him as a tear rolled down his left cheek. "Anytime kiddo."

~~~~

Jason walked through the door to the smell of melted mozzarella in the air.

"Hey honey." Clair smiled as he entered the apartment. "I ordered a pizza."

"Thanks babe." Jason smiled back and grabbed a slice of pizza. "How was your day?"

"Oh the same as usual. Worked then picked up the boys from school." Clair looked over at Jason, curiosity written all over her face. "How was your day with Stella."

"Not as bad as I thought." Jason chuckled. "We talked for a bit. You were right, she is getting better everyday."

"I told you."

"But can I ask you something a little personal?"

"What is it?"

"So, your ex was able to afford to make Kelly a citizen over in Europe rather quickly right."

"Yeah why?"

Jason took a deep breath. "Because I want to help her become a legal citizen. I want to give her a normal life."