Authors note: Okay, last chapter of this story, don't really want to drag it out too long.

Reviews would be really appreciated to let me know if anyone actually likes it, and may determine whether I continue writing these fan fics.

Blue eyes stared into the rippling surface of the red liquid, the small waves lapping up against the sides of the glass which contained it. Jak sighed and swirled the glass around again, though he didn't take a sip. He hadn't really taken to drinking alcohol, and not because he was under age, but because he was sure that an addled mind and dark eco was not a good mix for him or anyone around him. But now he didn't really care anymore.

He had come down to Krew's bar to drown his sorrows, so to speak, through it wasn't really working because the drink tasted god awful and any small bit he had consumed so far hadn't seemed to take his mind off things at all. Tess stood across the bar from him, wiping out a class while looking at him in concern, but he just ignored her and she knew better than to ask.

"Jak, there you are!" came a high pitched voice from behind him, where the door was. Jak slouched further down in his seat while small footsteps approached him from behind. He lifted his glass and finally took a swig as the orange ottsel jumped up on the bar beside him.

"Hey Tess baby," Daxter said, winking at the blonde bar tender before turning to Jak, who was staring intently into his glass again. "What do you think you're doing Jak?" Daxter exclaimed loudly, pointing his finger at his friend. Jak shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but still wouldn't look up at Daxter.

"Nothin'" Jak mumbled, taking another drink, though only a small sip this time. Daxter's eyebrows narrowed.

"Do you realise what you've just done, ya big idiot?" Daxter continued just as loudly. Thankfully there was no one else in the bar except Tess. "Ya left you're girl crying on the sidewalk. Is that any way to treat a lady?" Daxter knew that soft words and comfort was no way to get through to Jak, only the cold plain truth would do.

"I didn't want to hurt her…" Jak mumbled quietly, setting his drink down and turning his stare to the wood of the bar.

"Well ya did, and the only way you can fix that is to march back over there and apologize!" Daxter stated, crossing his arms over his furry chest.

"What's the point, she probably hates me now. Maybe it's for the best…" Jak trailed off, resting an elbow on the bar and his head in his hand.

Daxter seemed to do a double take, his face contorting in confusion.

"She doesn't hate you Jak, she thinks you hate her," Daxter explained, and then shook his head. "That girl would stick with you through anything Jak, you should have seen her last night. She sat by you all night, put a wet cloth on your head, held your hand…" Daxter now trailed off, and then quickly shook his head again.

"What I am saying is, she was just concerned about you and you shouldn't have treated her like you did. But I know that you're probably already beating yourself up over that so that's not why I am here, my point is you need to fix this! And the only way to fix this is if you go over there and tell her that you're sorry and that you didn't mean to do what you did!" Daxter finished and then took a gasp of air, out of breath from his over expressive speech.

Jak grumbled slightly, he mouth turning downwards in a small frown.

"Don't push your friends away Jak, you need them more than you may think," Tess said in a quiet voice.

"I guess you guys are right," Jak reached up with both hands and pushed his fingers deep into his blonde mane of hair, resting his forehead in his palms.

"But what if she doesn't accept the apology? What if…" he could handle pushing people away from himself in order to protect them, but to be pushed away by someone close to him, especially her… he didn't know if he could handle it…

"It'll be fine big guy, trust me!" Daxter said confidently, pointing a thumb at himself. "When have I ever let ya down?

"Well," Jak began, removing his hands from his face and finally look across of his friend.

"On second thought, don't answer that," Daxter cut across quickly. "C'mon, let's go," he leaped on to Jak's shoulder and pointed towards the door.

Jak couldn't help but smile. Somehow, Daxter always managed to cheer him up, always made the world seem that little bit better.

"Okay, I guess I'll try," Jak said in a resigned tone, though the smile hadn't left his face.

"That's the spirit, no challenge to big for the Jak-man!" Daxter pronounced with a huge grin plastered across his furry mug. With that they turned away from the bar and walked out, Tess secretly smiling as she watched them go. They were going to be all right.

''''

Jak walked into the garage alone, after they had figured Keira must be here because she hadn't been back at the hideout when they had checked. He had told Daxter to wait in the hovercar because he wanted to do this by himself. He felt much better now that Daxter had talked him around his personal barriers, and though he was apprehensive he knew that he had to face his friend by himself and apologize, he owed her that much.

He saw Keira standing at a workbench with her back turned to him, her elbows moving as she worked on something. He stopped, hesitating, but then continued walking towards her. At the sound of his footsteps she froze, but didn't turn around. He stopped a few feet away from her.

"Ummm, Keira…" he began, lifting up one arm and scratching the back of his neck in discomfort, "I just wanted to… well I wanted to say that…"his words came out haltingly, and he couldn't seem to say what he wanted to. Damn his inability with words.

"…what I mean is… I didn't mean to… to hurt you… and… I'm sorry," he managed to blurt out awkwardly, mentally slapping himself in the face as he did so. He sounded so stupid, mainly since he had no idea how to properly handle problems of the emotional type. He could take down an army of metal heads by himself and yet he couldn't manage to share his feelings with anyone.

Keira finally turned around, taking her goggles off her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a stern look.

"I mean… not just sorry for hurting you… but… sorry for… pushing you away," the last words came out in a sigh, and he hoped that he had said the right thing.

Keira's facial expression softened and she uncrossed her arms, taking a few steps to close the gap between them.

"Thank you Jak," she said quietly, taking his hand in her own. "It's okay; though I may not understand everything about you I know it wasn't your fault."

"But it was Keira, I lost control and let myself lash out at you when I shouldn't have," Jak said ashamed, looking away from her face.

"No, it wasn't you Jak, it was the dark eco. It's all Praxis's fault, everything is," she said firmly, scowling at the thought of the Baron. Sometimes she even wished she could kill him herself, after he had taken away the happy young man who had played with her on the beach when they were kids and had blushed whenever she had talked to him when they were older. Now what was left was this angry, often cold-hearted renegade, though she believed that the boy was still inside him somewhere.

Jak grunted in agreement. "Yet another thing to make that bastard pay for, when I finally get to him," he clenched his other hand into a fist and stared at it with hard eyes.

"It's alright Jak, he will get what he deserves one day," she said reassuringly. He looked back up into her eyes and she squeezed his hand. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

She would always be there for him.