Miserable At Best (Jake)

[Harper Adeliza Liven]

"She only knows you through rumors, so be prepared to have her flip out," she cautioned him. "And I think my dad's in this time, too, but he doesn't matter."

Harper and Mikael's relationship had soured horribly when Eliza died. More often than not, when they tried to talk, they ended up screaming at each other and Harper wound up storming out of the house. She distinctly remembered breaking down and crying when she met up with Jake a few times because of her dad.

[Jacob Micheal Lestrange]

"Ok, I will try to remember that," Jake replied with a chuckle, before becoming quite serious, "Of course your father matters, no matter what has happened between you, you're still family; you know unless he kills and tortures for fun, then he doesn't matter as family."

Jake knew that she and her father had their problems, especially since their mother died. He remembered how bad she had taken some of the fights they had, even breaking into tears, something that was rare for her to do. He was there, and he tried to help her out. But, Jake knew that no matter their problems they had, her father was family and still mattered, especially since he knew her father wasn't like his family.

[Harper Adeliza Liven]

"He's just...there. Why should he matter?" she asked bitterly. "He doesn't care what I do; he doesn't care about Etta and I."

It wasn't that she hated her father; Harper actually loved Mikael very much. That was probably the problem, in all actuality. She tried to help him, but he didn't ever accept it, and it made her bitter towards him. Why couldn't he just see that she wanted to help him get past losing her mom and accept it? She and Etta had needed a dad after their mom died, and he hadn't been one.

[Jacob Micheal Lestrange]

"I know that is how it seems. He does care about you two, he just doesn't know how to accept everything. His wife died, and his two daughters are almost grown up. I don't know what actually is running through his head, but if I were him, I wouldn't know how to deal with any of it happening all at the same time. Not to mention the war we all grew up in," Jake said giving her a little side hug as they walked.

Jake had never really faced the death of someone he loved dearly. He might feel a tinge of sadness when his parents and family died, but really, they didn't matter. If Harper died, who was one of the only people he really loved in this world, or in any world, then he couldn't see himself being able to go on.

[Harper Adeliza Liven]

"We needed a dad, and he wasn't one. I can't just forgive him for that like Etta did," she insisted. "Losing Mom was hard on all of us, but he's the only one that's stuck in the past. There was so much that still needed to be done, and he hasn't helped with anything."

That was the reason why Harper, though she'd only been fourteen at the time of her mother's death, had taken Eliza's place in the war. Mikael wasn't going to, and Etta couldn't. It fell on her to take over for her mom, therefore. She knew that her sister resented her for it, but Etta had needed a mother. Even if the end result was Etta hating her completely, Harper would be a mother for her.

[Jacob Micheal Lestrange]

"I don't expect you to forgive him right away," Jake sighed, "I just wish that you would try to see it his way. He lost his wife, not his parent. He lost the woman he loved the most and it's a lot different than losing a parent."

He wasn't sure exactly how it was different, but he felt it was different. He knew how it was to hate one's parents because they were right foul gits who only thought of him as a tool for later use. He hated it. Jake really felt like he had to raise himself, and so he didn't know how it felt to have a good and happy family and lose it like that.

[Harper Adeliza Liven]

"It's hard to see anything his way; I've spent the past two years avoiding him outright," she admitted. "I know that losing Mom was hard...but why can't he just let Etta and I help him? Isn't that what families are supposed to do?"

That's what her mom had told her families were supposed to do after her uncle Nico, her mom's younger brother, died. And then her mom's parents. Eliza had let them help her get past it, even though Harper knew that she'd mourned their loss every day for the rest of her life. Why wouldn't Mikael listen when Harper and Etta tried to help him?

[Jacob Micheal Lestrange]

"I wouldn't know," Jake sighed, "My family was never like any family one would ever want. Maybe he doesn't want help. Maybe he just wants to try and forget about everything that involved your mother, including you two. He's stubborn and pretends to not need help, but really he does, and just can't accept it. I dunno what you would do to help him get over it, but he does matter."

Jake had never known what a true family really was supposed to be like. All he learned about that was from Harper and a little bit from Phineas when Phineas' family looked like every other family out there. Him laughing and playing while Jake was locked up in the house and instructed to learn how to do magic.

[Harper Adeliza Liven]

"If that's the case, then he doesn't matter," she stated vehemetly. "We're his children; what kind of parent intentionally tries to forget their kids? So, like I said, the only person you have to meet is Etta."

She honestly didn't want to introduce Jake to her dad because she was worried that Mikael would revert to being the dad she remembered only to return to his odd vegetative state after Jake left. She couldn't take that. It would be painful to see the father she'd had when she was younger come back only to lose him again, and she didn't want to go through that again.

[Jacob Micheal Lestrange]

"I just don't know," Jake sighed pretty much just giving up on the premise for now, "I can meet her pretty much anytime, I don't have to make any of those Dragon's Fire meetings anymore. I'm pretty much free."

Jake knew that at least right now he wouldn't be able to convince her otherwise. Maybe in time he would, but not right now at least. He didn't know whether to look forward to meeting Etta or not. He knew of her and had a little bit of a clue of how she would react.

[Harper Adeliza Liven]

"Let me talk to her first," she suggested, glad that the subject had been dropped. "God knows how she'll react otherwise."

Well...actually, Harper knew how her sister would react otherwise: badly. As much and often as Harper and Etta disagreed, there was no way Etta would just accept her big sister dating Jake right away. It was going to take a lot of convincing to even keep Etta from telling their dad!

[Jacob Micheal Lestrange]

"Ok, it's a deal, but I'll have to meet your sister eventually," Jake agreed with a smile.

Jake had a feeling that Harper's sister probably wouldn't like him the first time she met him even if Harper convinced her that he wasn't that bad of a guy, which he wasn't, right? Well, sometimes he felt like a terrible guy, but right now he felt like a good guy.

[Harper Adeliza Liven]

"Ja, I know, I know! But I'm pretty sure that you don't want to listen to Marietta yelling at me, so let me get that out of the way first, and then I'll take you to meet her," she promised.

Jake wasn't a bad guy. Maybe a lot of other people thought that he was, but they didn't know him like Harper did. There was nothing like being one of only a few real friends a person had for getting to know them well. She knew that he wasn't bad and he tried to do the right thing, even if it didn't always turn out the way he wanted.

[Jacob Micheal Lestrange]

"She probably still won't like me that much after you talk with her about it," Jake sighed, "My reputation is extremely terrible to people who were in the Resistance."

Jake really did help them out a lot, at least he hoped that was right. Jake really really did try to do what was better, but the thing that got him was the bad things he had to do to make it better. Spy on people and lie to their faces, hurt people occasionally to keep his cover. He couldn't help but think he was wrong for doing all that for the Greater Good it would bring.

[Harper Adeliza Liven]

"Oh, she'll probably think that you're going to kill me," she agreed. "But give it a little time; she'll come around. I like to think that Etta's a good judge of character."

She gave Jake a quick one-armed hug and rested her head on his shoulder for a moment. She knew that he sometimes thought that he was still wrong, even if he'd helped the Resistance; she always disagreed. He'd done so much more good than he'd done bad, and she would always trust him with her life. She was fairly certain that she loved him, after all; there couldn't be love without trust.