So, I've been writing and posting this one on the Matt/Des website, Here For You. I wanted to share it with everyone. A few things have changed from present day: 1) they found out Inez killed Eddie Ford, 2) Matt has awaken from his coma and needs quite a bit of physical therapy, 3) Matt was only out for a couple of months and Destiny still has only told three people she is pregnant and 4) Matt acts more like he did when he and Destiny met in 2009. I'm posting this because it's a triangle and I sincerely believe that Matt needed some competition for Destiny's heart. Subsequent chapters will be posted pretty quickly. Honestly, I'm not sure which guy Destiny will end up with (for the version of the story), so, if you have a preference, please speak up.

The Tempest

Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows- William Shakespeare

Chapter 1

The August sun beamed heavily on Destiny's back as she wiped down the tables at the country club. Once upon a time, she loved her job at the country club. Last year, Nate Salinger, whom she once believed to be her friend, also worked at the country club, which meant her best friend Dani, Nate's girlfriend was always around. Even her then-boyfriend, Darren, showed up and made her laugh regularly. Best of all, Matthew, her other best friend and the love of her life, was a member of the country club, which meant they got to spend plenty of time together during the summer…even if they were just friends.

Somehow, everything went wrong. Matthew believed he killed Eddie Ford, was attacked by Nate and was left with a debilitating brain injury. Nate was now in Statesville prison for attacking Matthew. Dani was doing her best to be a good best friend, but she had so much on her plate. In addition to trying to make sense of Nate's crimes, Dani had just learned that the second man she thought of as her father was a fake. And if the stories in the papers were right, the third of her fathers might have been the worst of them all.

Disaster had taken a toll on her world as well. Somehow she was still trying to make sense of how it turned out that her brother, Greg, was actually her biological father and her parents were in fact, her biological grandparents. Anger had kept her away from them, giving her an excuse to avoid the family drama but the avoidance would have to come to an end soon. Touching her belly, she recalled the biggest change to her circumstance: her pregnancy.

On the night Matthew confessed to her that he was responsible for Eddie Ford's death, they had sex. When Matthew took her hand and led her to his room, she was terrified and excited all at the same time. She'd wanted him for so long and then in that moment he wanted her. Overwhelmed by her feelings, she didn't ask the questions she'd been taught to ask about protection and every Sunday School lesson she'd ever had about abstinence had gone out of the window.

The lessons and questions replayed in her mind daily now; this time she imagined her family repeating them when they learned she was pregnant. Everyone would ask why she hadn't been smarter, stronger, etc…and she would have to face this alone.

At least things were looking up for Matthew…sort of. Although he was at a rehab center in Philadelphia, farther away than Destiny would like him to be, he was making good progress. He was awake. His speech, though slow, was returning. And he was relearning all of his necessary motor skills. His parents had been great to her. They planned some of their trips to the rehab center around her work schedule so that she could ride with them.

And it was during those rides that she felt most guilty. At three months pregnant, she knew she could begin showing at any day. She should tell Matthew's parents and Matthew, now that he was truly conscious, the truth about Matthew's impending fatherhood. But they all had so much to worry about with Matthew's recovery. She had no desire to be an additional burden.

It was bad enough that Vivian, her brother Shaun's girlfriend, kept insisting she tell Shaun about the baby. The truth was if Vivian hadn't figured it out herself she probably wouldn't have told her. Now, she was glad Vivian was one of three of people who knew. Dani and Starr were the other two. Vivian, an obstetrician, made sure she was stocked full of prenatal vitamins and she took care of all of her necessary checkups.

A familiar voice shook her from her thoughts.

"Hey Killer."

It was Becca, the girl Matthew had a crush on freshman year. For a split second, she wondered if Matthew was well enough to have surprised her at the country club. But then she remembered that everyone knew that Matthew hadn't killed Eddie Ford. After further investigation, Matthew's dad, Commissioner Buchanan learned that when Matthew's uncle went to dispose of the gun with which Matthew shot Eddie, Eddie regained consciousness. It turned out he wasn't dead at all…at least he wasn't dead until Nate's mom, Inez, showed up and finished the job.

"The apple doesn't fall to far from the tree, does it Killer?" Justin, Becca's long-time boyfriend, joined her taunting.

Curiosity overtook Destiny as she headed around the corner to see who their latest victim was. And then it all made sense. They were harassing Jack Manning, her best friend Dani's younger brother. And by all accounts, Jack deserved it. He'd bullied Shane Morasco to nearly committing suicide. And even then, the bullying didn't stop. It didn't stop until Jack and his friends accidentally caused the death of Shane's mother, Gigi, when they locked her in a room meant for Shane.

"How does it feel to know your Bermuda shorts should be an orange jumpsuit?" Becca started again.

If it were anyone else, Destiny would dive in and play hero. Still, even though Jack was Dani's brother, he'd been cruel, mean-spirited and unrepentant to Shane throughout the previous school year. Maybe this would teach him what being a victim felt like. She continued to wipe off a nearby table.

"Careful Becca, you know he might have inherited the rape gene from his dad or maybe he's not even the real Jack Manning. Maybe he's a psycho imposter like the guy he used to call his dad."

"Why don't you knock it off?" Jack finally responded. Being Todd Manning's kid had exposed him to similar taunts since the kids he went to school with were old enough to read. It was in seventh grade that Jack decided that if everyone was going to make him the bad guy, he'd play the role to perfection…just like his dad. Still, it didn't make the taunts hurt any less.

Destiny noticed the look on Jack's face and decided she had heard enough. Sure Jack was a punk, but in her heart she knew he hadn't meant to kill Gigi Morasco. She also knew he was going through a really bad time with the discovery that the dad who raised him was a fake. Heading directly for Justin and Becca she placed her hands on her hips.

"Seriously? You guys haven't grown up at all since freshman year? Why don't you get a life?"

Destiny's voice surprised Jack. She was his sister, Dani's, best friend and she'd been spending a lot of time with their older sister, Starr, lately. What surprised him was that Destiny had seen him do a lot of horrible things to Shane…things he was now ashamed of and yet, she was still coming to his defense.

Justin smirked, "And why don't you go on a diet, Density? Looks like you're piling on the pounds again."

Jack was a tall 16 year-old and when he stood up and hovered over the lounge chairs where Justin and Becca taunted, his body cast a shadow over them both. "You want to see how much like both of my fathers I am? You say one more thing to Destiny. You think I should be in prison? I dare you to give me one more reason to be."

"Whatever." Justin said as he grabbed Becca's hand. "Let's get out of here."

"Well," Destiny sighed, "now that all that is taken care of, I need to get back to work." Maybe she turned too quickly or maybe it was the heat, but suddenly she felt lightheaded. Catching the side of the table with her hand, she was able to keep herself from falling.

"Destiny, are you okay?" Jack ran to her side.

"I'm fine. It's just hot out here. I'm probably a little dehydrated."

Jack pulled out a chair for her and handed her a glass of water. He smirked before he added, "Yeah a little dehydrated and a whole lot pregnant."

Panic spread from Destiny's heart into her lungs at the sound of Jack's words. Judging by Jack's expression, it must have reached her face as well.

"Calm down. I live with both Dani and Starr, remember? How am I not going to overhear Dani talking about stuff? Not to mention I saw Starr go through the same symptoms with Hope."

Taking a deep breath, she sighed. "Please don't tell anyone."

Jack remembered the chaos that broke out between his then-dad and Starr when he found out she was pregnant. He wouldn't wish that on anyone in the world. Besides, since everything happened with Shane's mom, Destiny was the only person in town who wasn't related to him that even spoke to him.

He shrugged. "Not my secret to tell."

Though her instincts should scream that she couldn't trust Jack any further than she could throw him, she did. "Thanks. I should get back to work."

He nodded before he headed back to his chaise lounge. Watching as she walked away, he called out, "Don't work too hard." And when she was gone he dared to do something he had done in weeks; he smiled.