Katrina peered through the peek hole of JC's front door. One eye closed while the other was squinted as she tried to read the words off the lips of the two people arguing next to the white Lexus in the blackness of the night.

She frowned as she rubbed her forehead and watched as the fake eye-lashed beauty threw her hands exasperatedly in the air. JC grabbed her wrist and brought it back down to her side, saying something that Katrina couldn't hear from where she spied.

Thinking back, this was probably the first time Katrina had ever been directly caught being intimate with JC by another girlfriend, or, anyone for that matter. She usually made a strategic escape or hid in a tight spot while JC thought of distractions. From the look on both lovers' faces, Katrina couldn't help but feel a small wave of guilt ride through her veins.

When JC didn't release his visibly tight grip, Chelsea shouted profanities into his face and used her free hand to push his shoulder away, causing JC to let her go but stumble backward.

"Ouch," Katrina muttered. She watched the action for a few more moments before she saw JC finally shake his head as he opened the car door to the Lexus' driver's seat. Chelsea got in, and pulled in the door roughly with a scowl.

JC stood with his arms folded as she reversed out of the driveway. When the large, automatic gates to the property had closed, and JC turned to re-enter the house, Katrina scrambled from behind the door and took a few steps back to pretend she was pacing.

The wooden door opened and JC entered the foyer with a silent sigh. His left hand slowly grazed at the stubble on his jaw line.

Katrina stopped moving and looked at him expectantly.

"I know you saw, Kat," he said as he lifted his head to look at her.

Katrina nodded slowly but quickly responded. "I didn't hear anything though, I swear."

JC shrugged. "I'm surprised you didn't hear anything with all the yelling she did."

"What happened out there?" Katrina pushed, following him into the living room. She was hot on his heels as JC dragged his feet toward his couch. Neither of them seemed to pay attention to the fact that both their shirts were off with the exception of her bra. "Talk, c'mon."

"To be honest, there isn't much to talk about," JC told her truthfully, looking up at her as he took a seat.

Katrina folded her arms. "Did you break up with her or did she break up with you?"

"She broke up with me. I tried to tell her that it was just you and that it didn't mean anything but she just, wasn't having it, I guess."

"Did she say anything about me?" Katrina pressed.

Chelsea was familiar with who Katrina was, but they had never been on lengthy conversational terms. As far as Chelsea was concerned, Katrina was simply the fly on the wall.

 "I tried to tell her you were the one who came onto me," JC squirmed uncomfortably. He quickly added, "Which is true, by the way."

Katrina gaped at him and kicked at his feet. "You tried to blame me?"

"I was trying to get her back on my side, okay? I was doing what I could."

"So you lied to her and you blamed me for it? And you still tried to get her back?"

JC shrugged but eventually nodded a moment later.

Katrina shook her head in disbelief. She sat next to him, and turned to face him. "You, my friend, just upgraded from jackass to dumbass."

JC leaned back and closed his eyes. "Gee, thanks, Kat." He muttered a soft "Fuck" before opening his eyes.

Katrina eyed him for a moment before heaving a sigh placing a hand on his knee.

"I'm sorry you fucked up one of the few relationships you cared about," she said sincerely.

She knew JC had a tendency to fall a bit too hard, even if he couldn't stay committed all the way.

JC chuckled, swatting her hand away and Katrina smiled.

"I'll be okay," he assured her. "On the bright side, now I can get with new girls without having Chels' body in the back of my mind."

"Ew."

"She's hot," JC smiled, scratching his head. "Hey, sorry I dragged your name into this, by the way."

Katrina wasn't sure if she minded or not, but she brushed it off. "Eh, better me than someone else, right? At least she knew who I was."

"Thanks."

"You'll be okay. You're better off apart, never mind that I've been telling you that for the entire duration of your relationship."

"I'm not too down about it," JC stated. "I'm going out tonight." He lifted his feet to rest on the glass coffee table in front of him and relaxed against the cushions. "The sooner I move on, the better, right?"

"Jace..."

"What?"

"Does a breakup ever have any effect on you people? I don't even think I saw so much as a teardrop from either of you."

"I knew you were peeking," JC told her. "And of course a breakup has effects on me. I just choose to either drink them away or get rid of ‘em by having meaningless sex with women with low self esteem. So much easier."

Katrina stared at him blankly. "Can't you just be like a normal musician and write a song about your girlfriend screwing you over?"

"I'm not Justin Timberlake."

"Don't you think you'll regret this in the morning?"

"I'll sleep late."

Katrina chuckled, getting up from the couch. "Be careful tonight, then. And if you come banging on my door before the sun is up tomorrow morning, expect to be greeted by getting a pitchfork to the chest. I got to get Cody and Cindy back to my place."

"What're you guys doing tomorrow?" JC asked. "You wanna bring them back here?"

Katrina snorted. "Hell no. Not again. You messed up my plans for the day and look at how our night ended."

"So where're you taking ‘em?"

"To the Aquarium, like I intended."

JC raised his eyebrows. "Can I-"

"And no, you can't come."

****

Katrina grinned as she looked at her neutral makeup self in the bathroom mirror. Her natural, wavy hair that sometimes frizzed out of hand was smoothed back and pulled into a high ponytail. Her dark blue visor matched the navy blue polo she threw on and her knee length, black capris was the obvious choice.

To her delight, JC hadn't woken Katrina up in the middle of the night with an unexpected visit, text message, or even a voicemail. Applying a coat of neutral lipstick, she assumed that JC was knocked out cold in his own bed after stumbling home from wherever he went the night before, and that ultimately meant-

"Aquarium!" Cindy cheered, running into the bathroom and wrapping her arms around the leg of her aunt. "Are you ready yet?"

"I'm ready!" Katrina laughed, lifting the child and shaking her with excitement. She planted a kiss on Cindy's forehead before she left the bathroom.

"Cody?" Katrina called out, looking around the apartment. She took the few steps toward the guest room and opened the door halfway. Sure enough, the seven year old was sitting quietly on the bed, already dressed in his khakis and green t shirt, drawing in what Katrina assumed was a workbook.

"What'd ya doing, kiddo?" she asked. "You ready to head to the Aquarium?"

The boy looked up at his aunt and grinned. "Yea. Are we leaving now?"

"Yea, Cindy and I are ready. Did you bring homework?"

"It's a music workbook that dad bought for me to practice in," the child explained. He looked down at his page of treble clefs and closed the book. "I'm done though."

"You're such a music freak sometimes, Codes," Katrina smiled.

"Is your JC coming with us today, Aunt Kat?" Cindy asked, peering up at her aunt with big brown eyes.

Katrina shook her head, partly surprised that the child had managed to remember the name of the stranger she had spent the day with the day before. "No, I think he might be a little busy today."

"We should invite him over for dinner tonight," Cody suggested hopping off the bed. "He could help me with the rest of the workbook."

Katrina folded her arms. "Gosh, I'm starting to think you guys want to hang out with JC more than you do with me."

Cody chuckled while his aunt playfully pouted as she looked down at Cindy.

"We love you more Aunt Kat, don't worry," her nephew assured her.

"Of course you do," Katrina said happily. "But you know what I love?"

"What?"

"Not leaving the house an hour later than we were supposed to."

Cindy used the opportunity to run out the room. Her chanting could be heard from the front door. "Aquarium!"

****

 Katrina knelt down on the tile with a silent smile on her face. She angled her camera and snapped the scene in front of her.

Both children gaped at the wonders of the sea otters swimming in the large aquarium before them in glee. Their small hands pressed against the glass and they giggled whenever one of the animals swam close to them.

"Don't they get cold swimming in water all day, Aunt Kat?" Cody questioned.

"Their fur keeps them warm," Katrina responded, standing up to join them. "It's like a blanket for ‘em so they don't get too cold in there."

"Their moustaches are long," Cindy giggled. "I like the baby otters."

"You know, Cin," Katrina smiled. They had been there forty five and all they had seen so far were some fish and sea otters. "The penguin habitat is the next closest exhibit."

The little girl's face lit up. "Let's go!" she urged, tearing herself away from the large aquarium to latch on to her aunt's hand.

"Where's the penguin exhibit?" Cody asked.

"Down this corridor and turn left- Hey!"

Both children had taken off running down the dark, blue glassed corridor, leaving Katrina behind. "Guys, stop-"

Before she could even call after them to stop, both kids had already rounded to corner. Katrina took off on a short sprint, almost falling forward when she turned the corner and realized Cody was standing right at the entrance, high fiving a man in a white t shirt, grey jeans and black sunglasses.

"Cody!" Katrina half scowled-half exclaimed. "You guys aren't supposed to- You've got to be joking."

"You're doing a great job keeping these kids close, SmartieKat."

Katrina glared at the man through his Aviators. "They ran off on me!" she defended. "Don't ever do that again, by the way," she pointed her fixed stare at her niece and nephew before lifting her head again.

"JC, what the hell are you doing here?"

JC chuckled, taking off the Aviators and shrugging. "I thought I would have found something to do today but I got bored and remembered Cindy talking about wanting to see penguins at the Aquarium yesterday. I've been here for almost an hour waiting for you guys to show up."

"You're kidding, right?" Katrina shook her head. "You could have called, you know."

"My phone died on my way here."

"I feel like you're stalking me," Katrina stated, partly joking. "There was nothing to do in the studio today?"

"Writer's block," JC shrugged. "And I woke up with a hangover," he mouthed.

Katrina shook her head, adjusting the visor she wore.

"That means JC can stay with us while we're here, right Aunt Kat?" Cody beamed.

JC smiled when Cindy walked over to him and held on to his hand. "No more running away from your aunt, sweetie. I know she's a bit looney sometimes but we got to stick with her, okay?"

Cody chuckled, taking his aunt's hand. "Sorry, Aunt Kat. We won't run off again. We promise."

"Yea, yea, okay," Katrina sighed. "Since we're stuck with JC now, can we see go see the penguins?"

"Yea!" Cindy cheered.

"C'mon," JC grinned, lifting the child and balancing her on his side. "Penguin time."

They walked over to where at least a dozen penguins both swam while a few played on the icy rock set up in the habitat.

"It's so cool the way that they glide through the water like that," Cody murmured.                  

"Awesome, right?" JC agreed. "Too bad they can't fly though."

"They waddle funny," Cindy grinned.

Katrina looked on for a few moments while the trio continued sharing their thoughts on the exhibit. She caught herself smiling at times when she looked at what she had always considered ‘a fat, fluffy bowling pin wearing a tuxedo.' She also found herself drifting toward the small area a few feet away where presentations and information about penguins were set up.

A certain image of one penguin caught her eye, and Katrina immediately started laughing. She was about to take out her camera to snap another photo when someone came up next to her.

"Amusing, isn't it?"

A man a couple inches taller with broad shoulders and hazel eyes smiled at her.

Katrina grinned, looking back at the photo. "It's hilarious. He looks like he tried getting a penguin Mohawk and died it yellow."

The man chuckled, nodding in agreement. "You gotta love those Macaroni penguins."

"They're adorable. That's what they're called?"

"Mhm. They're pretty noisy, aggressive birds though, and they're pretty raucous when they're out at sea, as well. I guess you can expect that when you're out at sea and you got predators like leopard seals and killer whales."

"Woah, you know really your Macaroni penguin, don't you?"

The man laughed, as he used a hand to brush back some of the brown hair that covered his head.

"It's written right there, actually," he grinned, pointing at the flash cards lay out next to the picture.

"Oh," Katrina blushed. "That makes sense."

"I'm Ethan," the man introduced, a friendly smile- dimples intact. "And I do know my Macaroni penguins, just for the record. I tend to them a lot."

"You work with them?"

"Something like that," he replied. "I work with all the animals in the Aquarium. I'm one of the main vets here at the Animal Care Centre, so I gotta know my stuff. Today's actually one of my days off."

"You came to work on your day off?" Katrina questioned. "You must love it here."

"Yea, I'm always around, just, you know, in case something happens. And besides, it's a pretty sweet place to stick around."

She smiled. "Yea, it is great. And, I'm Kat, just so you know. Katrina, but, Kat's good."

"Nice to meet you, Kat," he said, extending an arm.

Katrina smiled as she returned the handshake. "So you're Dr...?"

"Dr. Phillips," Ethan replied.

"Do you only specialize with sea animals or all animals in general?"

"Typically only sea animals, but, you know, my practice requires me to know about the general being about animals in general. I figured they were a lot easier to deal with than us humans."

 Katrina laughed. "I know what you mean. I'm telling you, being in the company of my cat gives me the sanity I could never get from being with any friend."

"I saw your husband in here for a while before you came over here. You have quite a cute family, over there," Ethan complimented, nodding to where JC, Cody and Cindy were still enjoying the penguins.

Katrina turned around and chuckled. "Oh, Jesus, no, that's not my husband. I'm watching my niece and nephew for a while. He's just a friend of mine who wanted to help me out today."

"Well, I'd be happy to show you all through the rest of the Aquarium. Working here, I can arrange a tour if you wanted."

"Really?" Katrina raised her eyebrows. "Well, I-"

"Everything okay, Kat?" JC asked, coming up behind her. Cindy was still in his arm while Cody stuck to his side.

Katrina smiled. "Yea, yea, everything's great. I was just speaking to Ethan who offered to give us a tour around the Aquarium today."

Then man smiled. "Hi," he said politely.

"Hey, man," JC nodded toward him. "But we're alright for now, thanks."

"Yea? You sure?" Ethan asked, looking at Katrina.

She looked at JC who had a blank expression upon his face, and she thought for a moment before responding. "Yea, we're good. Thank you, for the offer though."

"Well, if you ever want a tour arranged one day," he pulled out a leather wallet and opened it, removing a business card from one of the card slots. "Call me. Or, you know, if your cat gets sick or if you ever have any questions about Macaroni penguins or something."

Katrina laughed as she accepted the card. "Thank you. I'll definitely do that."

"You're welcome, Katrina."

"Katrina Smart," she smiled.

"Uh, Kat, we should go now, you know," JC said, walking a couple steps ahead. "We need to get to the shark lagoon."

"C'mon, Aunt Kat!" Cody excitedly tugged at the hem on her shirt. "We gotta go."

"Enjoy the Aquarium," Ethan wished with a smile.

"We will," JC said loudly with a grin.

Katrina shot him a glare before nodding at Ethan. "Thanks."

Cody held on to her hand and dragged her over to where JC was standing and waiting.

"Lead the way, Codes," Katrina smiled. "Cin, go ahead, but not too fast again."

JC set down the four year old as the siblings led the way out of the exhibit.

"That was kind of rude what you did there, Jace," Katrina mumbled. "Interrupting like that."

JC shook his head. "The dude was hitting on you. I had to do something either embarrassing or protective. You don't know who that guy is."

"He's a veterinarian here at the Aquarium, smart ass. He was talking to me about penguins."

"And he gave you his number," JC pointed out.

Katrina felt her back pocket to ensure that the card was still there. "C'mon, I like being hit on sometimes, and its innocent. After you showed up, Cody and Cindy were entertained, anyways."

"Are you gonna call that guy?"

Katrina blushed slightly, and laughed through her nose. "I don't know. He was cute, wasn't he?"

"Gorgeous," JC responded.

Katrina nudged him.

"You're with me and your niece and nephew today," JC told her. "Stick with us, okay?"

"Okay, Captain Stalker," Katrina smile.

JC laughed. "You love that I'm here."

"You weren't even supposed to be here today. You'd think I'd be used to you showing up at the most unexpected times by now."

"Being unpredictable is a skill."

"I just wish you would call first."

"And I wish you liked anal."