Note: I don't own anything that you recognize...Enjoy...

I was careful to walk up the few steps before entering the enclosed porch. I approached the front door and knocked. It was in the evening on a cold November night but I had been told to come whenever by the owner. A tall black man with a moustache and a small goatee opened the door.

"Hello?"

"Hi. I'm here to see Evelyn Mercer. You must be Jeremiah. She said you often visited."

"My mother was murdered five days ago in a robbery. When did you last talk to her?" he asked.

"Either five or six days ago. She told me to come down to visit before saying she was called about a young boy who reminded her of her boys and had to go scare it out of him."

"That night she was killed. Please come in. It's cold out."

I carried my things inside and dropped the bags near the door. I carried the most important item into the living room and sat it on the coffee table.

"I'm truly sorry to hear about your mother. From the few times that I talked with her, she seemed lovely. She was going to help me…"

"Yo, Bobby. There's other people in the house who need to use the bathroom," a familiar voice yelled upstairs.

I smiled to Jeremiah, held up a finger and said, "Excuse me."

I walked back into the foyer and stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"JACK MERCER, YOU GET YOUR SKINNY HOT ASS DOWN HERE!" I yelled.

"Oh, shit," he cursed.

A man I hadn't seen in awhile came halfway down the stairs. He stopped to look at me.

"Hi, Ivy."

"Don't you fucking Hi, Ivy me. Care to explain why you up and left in the middle of the night? When I saw your guitar missing in the morning, I knew you were gone for good. You could have talked to me rather than running away. I could have used you around but no, you fucking coward, had to run. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't come up there to kick your ass," I hissed.

"Hey, Cracker Jack. Who's this?" a very muscular man asked as he came up behind Jack.

"Quiet, this is between me and Jack. So, Jack, please explain."

"I freaked, OK? I wasn't ready."

"Weren't ready? We were together for a fucking year before you ran out. I had no one left. You know my parents disowned me when we got together. Even with you gone, they weren't going to take me back."

A small cry came from the front room and I instinctively turned to it.

"Great. Now you woke him."

I walked over to the coffee table as I removed my coat. I unwrapped the blankets and saw my son awake. I lifted him out and turned my back so I could begin feeding him. I draped a blanket over my shoulder to hide my exposed breast and my son. I turned around and saw all three guys staring at me.

"I can still verbally berate you while breastfeeding my son. What made you freak when I was weeks away from delivering?"

"Shit, Jack. You're a dad," the guy, I'm assuming as Bobby, said. "I thought you're a fairy."

"Jesus Christ, Jack's bi so get over it. Why did you leave?"

Jack didn't have anything to say. He stared at me for a second before walking closer. He had his 'I'm so sorry' face on and when his eyes glanced down at the hidden baby, I almost wanted to forgive him.

"A boy?" he asked.

"Yeah. I was hysterical when I saw that you were gone and went into labor. He was delivered the next day. Early a couple weeks but he was a good size. I named him after your mother. His full name is Evan Jackson Mercer."

He wrapped his arms around us and hugged us close.

"Careful, a fragile baby in between us."

"How did you know I was here?" Jack asked, releasing us and motioning to the couch.

"After a month, I knew I needed to find you at least to tell you about him. I used the computer to track your mother down and I've been talking to her for the last couple of months. She convinced me to leave New York and to come here, said you always showed up or at least called on Thanksgiving. Evelyn even offered me a place to live and help with the baby. I'm sorry to hear that she was killed."

I switched breasts like a pro and kept talking to Jack. Jeremiah and Bobby would pop in with a question every now and then. When Evan was finished feeding, I propped him up on my knee with my hand on his chest to burp him. It was the first time the Mercer brothers saw him.

"He's adorable. May I hold him?" Bobby asked.

"Jack's first. He is the father, that is if you want to hold him."

Jack was hesitant but after Evan was burped, he took the baby and cuddled him against his chest like I instructed. What little hair Evan had was everywhere just like Jack's and I knew their eye colors matched as well. After a few quiet moments, Evan began crying and before I could take him back, Bobby got in there and scooped up the baby into his arms.

He gently rocked my baby to quiet him and it worked.

"You look so weird, Bobby, holding a baby in your arms," Jack said.

"Quiet, Cracker Jack. My nephew is asleep and I don't want to beat your ass if you wake him."

After a few more minutes, Bobby handed me Evan and motioned to the stairs.

"I'd offer you Mom's room but it doesn't have a bigger bed. There's an air mattress in the hall closet and tomorrow we'll go grab things for Evan."

"I think Camille still has our old crib somewhere. I'll find what I can and bring it over."

"Thank you. I have a few things back in New York in storage waiting for shipping but I wasn't sure if your mom would want to help looking after a newborn even if she offered."

I started up the stairs with Evan while Jack followed with the bags and car seat. We got to the top landing when the front door banged open.

"Oh hell no, Angel. La vida Loca isn't staying here. We're completely full. We're not hearing you and her groan all night. You'll wake Evan."

"Evan? Who the fuck is Evan?"

"Your fucking nephew and if you don't shut up, you'll have the next diaper change," I replied as I stepped past Jack.

Angel, a tall black man with tattoos, and a shorter Spanish woman approached to look at Evan. He looked at Jack and smiled with his blinding white teeth.

"Jackie's a daddy."

"Yes, Angel. That's my son, Evan, named after Mom. This is Ivy, my…um…girlfriend."

"So you run out and I get demoted back to girlfriend? No. I'm Ivy, his fiancé sans ring. Remember? You asked me when we saw his first ultrasound. Now, Evan and I are going to bed. It's been a long trip on the bus from New York and I'm beat."

I grabbed the diaper bag from Jack and the other blankets off the car seat.

"You can have the air mattress or the couch because until you can tell me why you so called freaked and ran, you ain't coming near me even if it is to sleep. Goodnight all."

It didn't take me more than a glance to find Jack's room and I slammed the door shut. I could hear them bugging Jack but I was tired. I sat on the floor and changed Evan's diaper before fixing him a spot on the bed. I cocooned him with blankets and draped my arm over him.

"Night, Evan. Mama loves you."