Disclaimer: Don't own the main characters

Summary: C.J. and Brenda are finally tying the knot with family and friends attending at the Caine House, and Kyle has something to announce. How will the day go for the family? Please read and find out. Eleventh story in A different beginnings series. A little A/U.

Title: From this moment on
Genre: Romance, Family
Rating: T
Spoilers: None
Time-line: 2 years after Their little girl is growing up
Warnings: Implied/Suggestive Adult behavior (Last Chapter)
Main Parings: Ducaine, C.J/Brenda
Minor Parings: Mention of others
Other Characters: Multiple
Series Order: A Different Beginning, A life changing moment, First day of school, A Change of heart?, A new baby in the family, Leaving Miami, One chapter ends, another begins, Trouble in Paradise?, Never Stopped, Their little girl is growing up, From this moment on


From this moment on

Chapter 1: Revealing the truth

C.J. hears a sigh as he was tying his black dress shoes, so he looked up and saw nine-year old Chris trying to tie his tie, he smiled and replied. "Come here, buddy, I'll help you with that."

After Chris stopped in front of him, C.J. looked in to his eyes and he couldn't help but think back to an important conversation regarding him.

Flashback

4 years ago (A few days after getting back together)

Since it was the summer vacation, C.J. didn't have to rush back to school, so he decided to stay in Miami a little longer to be with Brenda and Chris, and to spend more time with the family, and they were all happy with that.

Earlier that day after visiting with the family, him, Brenda and Chris went out on a date, which Chris was happy he got to tag along. He was really liking C.J. every second he spent time with him, because not only did he feel that he made his mom extremely happy, but he was feeling quite comfortable around him too.

When they walked into Brenda's apartment after their date, C.J. tucked Chris, who had been asleep in the car, in his bed before walking into the living room, and him and Brenda smiled at each other as he sat down on the couch next to her, then she speaks. "Thank you."

He took her hand with a smile. "It was no problem."

She shook her head. "Not only for tucking him in, but offering to take him with us tonight. It was our first real date in seven years."

"Like I said, it was no problem." He uses his other hand to cup her cheek. "He maybe a packaged deal, but I don't think of him as that, I'm starting to..."

He trials off, but Brenda knew very well what he was starting to do and deep down wanted to know. "You're starting to love him, and you want to know."

C.J. nodded with tears in his eyes. "You have to know I'm going to love him whether he's mine or not, but I need to know either way, it's time."

Brenda nodded as she moved her free hand to his hand that was on her cheek, then she took his hand off her cheek before looking into his eyes. "Christopher Brandon Marshall is..." C.J.'s heart was racing as she finished. "Your son."

He meant what he said about loving Chris no matter what, but to think of him as his son now, a weight felt like it was lifted off of him, then a few tears came down his cheek as he asked to be sure. "He really is?"

Brenda nodded with a sniffle. "Yes, believe me, when I found out I was just as surprised as you probably were when you saw us and thought that he could have been yours."

C.J. nodded before sniffling. "Then how come you never told me?"

"I didn't want to be the clichéd ex-girlfriend that goes to their ex-boyfriend right as they start their new lives and tells him, he's going to be a father, and end up losing his dream before he even gets started. I couldn't do that to you."

He took his hand off of hers, then cupped her cheek again. "But you know we were more than just ex's, besides what about your dreams? I thought you wanted to be a lawyer like your mother."

He was a little surprised when he found out she had gotten a degree in business management instead of a law degree, not that it matted to him which career choice she went for, he just thought she had always wanted to be a lawyer.

Brenda shook her head as she removed her hands from him, then got up from the couch and walked to the window to look outside. "My dream changed the night I found out my mom had an affair with one of her law partners." C.J. looked at her with shock as he gets up from the couch, then started walking toward her while she continued. "At that moment I vowed I would never follow in her footsteps."

C.J. placed his hands on her shoulders and replied softly. "I'm sorry Brenda."

Brenda nodded with tears in her eyes. "I found out it only took her six months after we moved to Seattle for her to start the affair. She destroyed my father, our family." She looked over her shoulder and said. "She changed our lives too, I mean I know that college would have eventually separated us, but we could've had two more years together."

He cupped her cheek again before running his thumb up and down to wipe her tears away. "Now that we are together again that doesn't matter, yeah we lost two years, but we will make up for lost time." He sighed as he looked at her with sympathy. "I wish I would have been there for you when you found out, that had to be a huge blow."

Brenda sighed as she replied. "In a way you were."

He looked at her a little confused. "What do you mean?"

"I had known a week when I came and saw you."

He looked at her shocked again. "You never said anything."

She nodded as she closed her eyes. "Because I didn't want to think about it, that's one of the reason's I left Seattle for a few days." When she opened her eyes again, he was looking at her with love as she continued. "Besides that night was about us, it had nothing to do with my mother or what she had done."

He turned her around before running his thumb up and down her cheek again. "I'm truly sorry Brenda."

She sniffled. "I know."

He leans toward her and kissed her on the forehead, and when he pulled back, he speaks softly. "I also wish would have told me about Chris."

"I know that too." She sighed before continue. "I just know that you would have done everything to be there for us, and like I said, I didn't want you to throw away the life that I know you wanted, that you deserved. Nothing was going to get in your way on having it, I was just doing my part to make it happen."

C.J. had tears in his eyes again as he replied. "Well now it's a life we are having together and nothing is going to get in the way for us, ok?"

Brenda gave him a small smile before she asked softly. "You aren't mad at me?"

He sighed before he continued. "It kind of hurts that I wasn't with you guys from the beginning, and I can rant and rave about it all I want..."

She cuts him off. "Which is understandable if you do."

He gives her a little smile before he continued. "But in the long run it would be a waste of time and energy, because one, it already happened and there is nothing we can do to go back and change it, and two, I know you, you wouldn't have kept him away from me to hurt me."

Brenda shook her head with tears going down her cheek. "I would never, ever hurt you like that. I would have loved to have you with us from the beginning, I just thought I was doing the right thing." She wiped a few tears away as she finished, finally letting out everything that she had been holding in. "I need you C.J., I can't do this alone anymore." C.J. brings her in his arms, kissed the top of her head while running his hand up and down her back so he could comfort her, then before he could speak, she does again after she calmed down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to throw all of that at you at once, you just wanted to know about Chris."

He shook his head as he continued to run his hand up and down her back. "It's ok, you've been holding on to all of that for a while, and I know you like to show your stronger side more, but you never have to hide any of your sides from me or keep anything back, ever, you should always remember that."

She nodded. "I will."

After a second kiss on the head, he whispered before asking. "How did you juggle everything so well?"

She ran her hand up and down his back before replying while pulling back. "When I had found out I was pregnant there was only one option I was doing, I knew it wasn't going to be easy, and it wasn't, believe me, but I was lucky enough to find a couple of college friends to help me out when I needed babysitting, they were/are amazing." As she was pulling her glasses off so she could finish wiping her tears out of her eyes, she continued. "My dad even moved to New York to help me when he found out, he started a new life there, a good and happy one."

He watched her put her glasses back on and asked. "Speaking of your father, I hope he doesn't hate me."

She smiled as she took his hand and walked them back to the couch, then answered as they sat down. "He was a little steamed when he found out you weren't there or at the least helping out, but I explained to him that I hadn't told you, which I can tell he was a little upset with that plan, but he respected my decision."

C.J. nodded as he looked down at their hands, she sighed again and replied. "I really am sorry, and I know it isn't the same, but I wrote down everything that I felt and recorded every moment of his life that I could, so one day you would get to see what I saw as I watched our son grow and learn, and hopefully with my words make you feel what I felt."

He looked at her with his eyes misting again. "You did?"

She gave him a smile as she cupped his cheek with her free hand. "I did, I knew how much it would have meant to you, in fact I want to show you something right now." He sniffled while nodding as she removes her hands from him, then gets up and walks over to the bookshelf, kneels down so she was closer to the last shelf and pulls something out before walking back over toward the couch and hands it to him.

"This is Chris's baby book." He looks up at her before looking at the baby book while taking it from her hands.

When she sits down, she noticed he was still looking at the cover of it, then he looked at her with a few tears running down his cheeks again. "Thank you for doing all of that." She smiled as she cups his cheek again to wipe a few tears off, and when she was done, he looks down at the book again before opening it up, which the first thing he saw was his son's sonogram.

He cleared his throat before saying. "That's our son."

She smiled again as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and spoke softly. "It sure is."

After going through the book, which he took his time, he closed it and leans forward so he could set it down on the coffee table, then once he leans back, he turns to her and cups her cheek before saying with love in his eyes and voice. "Thank you for our beautiful boy."

She placed her hand on top of his that was on her cheek as she replied. "You are so welcome." As they continued to look into each other's eyes, she felt she had to ask. "Are we ok?"

C.J. smiled as he ran his thumb up and down her cheek. "We are. I know that it couldn't have been an easy decision for you, no matter what choice you would have made, and you sacrificed so much to bring and raise our child the last five years without me, but not anymore, I'm in this from now on, you got it?"

She smiled a little and replied. "You don't have to tell me twice."

After he gave her another smile, they just sat there staring into each other's eyes, then he leans toward her and kisses her softly on the lips before whispering. "I love you."

"I love you too."

After a few more pecks, they pull back from each other and he moves so his back was against the couch cushions while bringing her with him, then once she laid her head against his shoulder they just sat there in silence as she fell asleep. While he looked down at his wonderful fiancée, he made a vow to never allow her to feel any type of pain or loneliness that she had been carrying around for years.

His thoughts get interrupted when he saw Chris walk into the living room, looking sad while rubbing his eyes, his looked changed to concern and asked. "You ok?"

He nodded, then noticing his mother was asleep, whispered. "I had a bad dream."

C.J. smiled, held out his hand and replied. "Come here, buddy."

Chris smiled, which C.J. could now see a hint of him in that smile, then he walked up to him and climbed on the couch so he was on C.J.'s other side.

After C.J. wrapped his arm around his son, and as he kissed the little boy's head before he laid his head down against his chest, he sighed in content, thinking this was his family and there was nothing he wouldn't do for them, also vowing the moment he gets his medical degree, he's moving back here and they'll never be without each other again.

End of flashback

When they had told Chris about C.J. being his father, he was a little confused and angry, but it didn't last long after they explained the situation and C.J. had promised that if he had known, he would have been there in an instant. C.J. also told him not to blame his mother either because he didn't, he went on to saying how much he loved her and nothing was going to change that.

C.J. gets back into the present when he hears. "Dad, you ok?"

He mentally shook his head and smiled at his son. "I'm fine." He brings the little boy closer to him and continued. "Actually better than fine, you know how much marrying your mother means to me, right? That I love you and her so much."

Chris smiled with a nod. "I do, and I love you too daddy." He sighed in content as he brings his son into his arms.

It feels like he's been waiting on this day for a very long time, and now in less than 45 minutes, he'll finally be married to the love of his life, then they could build on their lives as one with this wonderful little boy.


AN: Hope you liked it. More? Please review.