A/N: This story is based on the movie, Sweet Home Alabama. There are a lot of similarities at the beginning, but it gets very different very quickly. Also, this is my first fanfic so please review!

Jagged streaks of lightning flashed in the sky accompanied by loud blasts of thunder. The eight-year-old girl ran behind the nine-year-old boy, his hand holding tightly onto hers. This wasn't the first time they had been caught in a thunderstorm. It probably wouldn't be the last. She shrieked in fear as they watched lightning strike the ground a few feet in front of them. He pulled her in that direction.

"We'll be safe here", he assured her.

"How do you know?", she wondered.

"Lightning never strikes the same place twice", he said simply, his arms around her protectively.

She looked up at him. "Ricky Underwood, I think I love you."

He smiled at the only good thing that had ever happened in his life. "Will you marry me, Amy?"

"Marry you? I'm only eight!"

"Not right now! But someday..."

"I don't know", she answered. "What do you want to marry me for anyhow?"

"So I can kiss you anytime I want", he grinned as he kissed her softly on the lips. Her heart had never beat that fast before.

"Mama, I'm hungry", Amy Juergens heard her seven-year-old son complain as they walked into their Manhattan penthouse apartment.

"John, we just ate an hour ago", she responded with an exhausted sigh. "Can you wait until dinner?"

"I guess", he said reluctantly before his big brown eyes lit up. "Can we have spaghetti?"

She smiled. "I guess I can go ahead and make some for you and Lizzie to eat later."

John's facial expression changed slightly at the mention of his babysitter. "Why's Lizzie coming?"

"To watch you, of course. You remember, I told you I was going out with Ben tonight."

His eyes clouded over with disappointment. "Oh. How come I can't go?"

Amy bent down to her son's level. "Oh, sweetie. We have to go to Ben's daddy's charity thing tonight. It's not really a place for kids."

"Oh. Okay."

She stroked his dark brown hair. "You know I love you more than anything in the world, right?"

"Yeah", John answered as he wrapped his arms around her. "I love you too, Mama."

She stood back up. "Okay, so you go watch TV, and I'll get this spaghetti started."

"Okay", he agreed before scampering off down the hall.

She sighed, and got the ingredients for the spaghetti together. Her son was her entire world. It ripped her apart to see him upset about anything. She knew she had been less available to him since she started seeing Ben. But there were plenty of women who were able to balance motherhood with a love life. But she was only twenty-three years old. She just now was beginning to feel like an adult. Not to mention there was her career.

She was a fashion designer who was finally beginning to get noticed. The fact that she was dating the son of Leo Boykevich, mayor of New York City, probably didn't hurt either. After growing up in rural Alabama, Amy Juergens was finally going places. Well, Amy Abbott was technically going places. And that was good for her son in that she could provide for him. But she hated having to hide him from the world. John was her pride and joy, but he was a secret to pretty much everyone who knew her, excluding her immediate family and Ben.

Sometimes, she felt like she was a terrible mother for keeping him a secret. She went through so much stuff to keep it that way too. She had a completely separate identity. She ensured that everyone knew her by her professional last name, Abbott. She didn't dare to mention him to someone that she didn't absolutely trust. Most people would think it was because she was ashamed of getting pregnant at fifteen years old. Sure, she wasn't proud of it. But the main thing was that she had built a new life for herself and John. And there was no way in the world she was going to let Ricky Underwood undo everything she had worked so hard for. Which is exactly what would happen if he knew that he had a son.

She shook away the thoughts of Ricky. She made it a point to not think about him, but it was easier said than done. Every time she looked at her son, she saw him. John was the spitting image of his father. Same hair, eyes, smile...the similarities went on and on. She just hoped her son hadn't inherited Ricky's personality. If he did, she didn't know how she would handle it.

Amy had just put the spaghetti in the refrigerator when she heard the doorbell ring. She adjusted her blond wig, and went to answer it, opening the door to her son's bubbly babysitter. "Hi, Lizzie. Thanks for coming."

The young blonde smiled. "Oh, it's no problem. Going out with that famous boyfriend of yours, huh?"

"Yeah."

"LIZZZZIIIIEEE!", John squealed as he ran into the room. He jumped into Lizzie's waiting arms, almost knocking her over.

"Hey there", she laughed.

"Okay, John. I'll be back in a few hours", Amy said. "Be good for Lizzie, okay?"

"I will", he assured her with a hug.

"Alright. Love you, baby."

"Love you too."

It wasn't long before she was picked up by Ben's limo driver. She rode in the back until they arrived in a deserted parking lot. She was kind of freaked out. Ben wanted her to meet him here?

"This is it, Miss Amy", the driver confirmed.

"Uh...okay", she uttered unsurely as she stepped out of the limo where a man came to greet her. She wasn't sure if this made her feel safer or more in danger. She followed him into the dark building until she saw Ben's figure waiting for her. She got closer, and gave him a puzzled look.

"Ben, what's going on? What are we doing here?"

He grinned. "You'll see."

He took her hand and led her a few steps before lights were suddenly turned on. They illuminated the room, revealing a jewelry store with people everywhere smiling. She was more confused than ever.

She turned to Ben. "Ben, what is this?"

Her heart began to race as he got down on one knee. Was he doing what she thought he was doing?

"Amy, I think I fell in love with you the very first moment I laid eyes on you. And even then, I think I knew. I knew that you were the woman that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I love absolutely everything about you. You are smart, and caring, and so beautiful. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. So I am asking you now. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

It was as if a million thoughts were competing with each other in her head. Most of them were screaming for her to say yes. This was the man of her dreams standing in front of her on one knee asking her to marry him. He was kind, supportive, charming...and he had been the best father figure John had ever had. He would take care of them. She would never have to worry about anything again. But there was a tiny piece of her that was hesitant to answer. That reminded her that they hadn't been dating that long. And of the small obstacle that she was technically still married.

She shoved that thought away. She would find a way to get Ricky to sign the papers. Somehow. "Okay", she whispered.

A smile crept onto Ben's face. "Is that a yes?"

"That's a yes", Amy confirmed as tears began to flow down her cheeks. He swept her up into his arms. She closed her eyes, trying to breathe in the moment. She was getting married. But before she could get married, she would have to get divorced.