To answer a reviewer's question about the rings, I'm getting there. I apologize, but I'm not a fast writer and I don't foresee that changing. But we are getting there. I promise.

I'm hoping that the writers will change some things for the second part of the season, not just about Javery but other things as well. Guess we'll just have to see.

This chapter fits in with S3 episode 10.


Avery's mother had baby fever. He understood; his daughter would be her first grandchild and she was excited. She was full of questions every time he spoke to her, which was a lot more often since she'd learned she was going to be a grandmother - no, not grandmother; she had decided she was going to be Nana. She asked about Juliette all the time, about morning sickness and weight gain and breastfeeding. She always asked if they had any ideas about the name. Avery learned more about pregnancy superstitions than he ever imagined he would need to know. Heartburn meant this or that, while a craving for salty food meant something else entirely.

"That's just an old wives' tale." He heard his father remark in the background.

"Maybe," his mother said. "But they also say not to put her arms over her head because…" Avery found himself tuning out her voice. She meant well, he knew that, but he could picture the look on Juliette's face if he told her not to go outside during the full moon or else their baby would have a birthmark shaped like Finland or a mermaid's tale or something equally disastrous.

"I mailed you a package," she said, calling his attention back to the conversation.

"Really?" He smiled, thinking back to the care packages full of homemade cookies and new socks his mother would send him when he was at Ole Miss. There was nothing in the world like lying back on the bed in his dorm room and wiggling his toes in a cushy pair of socks while eating one of her butterscotch cookies.

"Well, it's not for you, sweetheart. The baby."

"Oh. Well, thanks." He tried to hide his disappointment as the promise of warm toes and baked goods disappeared. "I'll look out for it."

That's how it started. One small box of pink receiving blankets. And then a few baby books. Then the dam broke and he could expect to find something left propped against his door every few days. Boxes filled with onesies, bibs and teeny socks that were clearly not for him. And no cookies either. He was thankful but slightly overwhelmed. How many bibs would she really need? What do you do with a burp cloth? Would they actually need the blue nasal thing? What if she wasn't a snotty baby? Please don't let her be a snotty baby.

That particular "gift" disturbed him so much he asked his mother about it the next time they talked.

"Hey, at least you don't have to do it the old fashioned way," she said. "If you didn't have an aspirator, you'd put your mouth over the baby's nose and suck all the-"

"Oh, God, Mom. Stop. That's nauseating." He put one hand on his stomach. Please don't let her be a snotty baby.

His mother laughed, as if sucking a mouthful of snot out of your kid's nose was the most normal thing in the world. "She'll probably hate it too. Most babies do."

"She wouldn't be alone in that." He left the boxes of baby items on the couch and headed for the kitchen. Maybe a cold drink would wash the image of what his mother had just said from his mind.

"Sweetheart, there is something I've been wanting to ask you."

Something in her voice made Avery pause in the act of twisting the cap from the bottle of water. "Yeah?" He closed the refrigerator with his foot and leaned against the kitchen counter.

"I was just wondering if the baby will be a Barkley or if she'll have Juliette's last name."

Avery was grateful that he'd already swallowed his first slow sip, otherwise he might have choked. He hadn't even considered it. He'd assumed that Juliette would agree to…but they hadn't discussed a name at all, either first or last. "I - I don't know." He hated admitting it, that he didn't even know if his child would carry his name. That was basic. Something that, in his mind, shouldn't have even been a question anyone would need to ask. Unfortunately, because of the circumstances, it was a legitimate topic of discussion.

His mother kept talking, completely unaware of the way his mind was churning. "I wanted to get something monogrammed - when you finally do pick out a first name for her, and I realized I don't even know what her last name will be."

"Yeah, I guess we need to talk about that." He frowned, glancing back into the living room at the packages she'd sent. "Look, I'll let you know about that but I've gotta leave in a few. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"All right." She seemed surprised at the abrupt end to the phone call. "Avery, don't worry about it. It's okay if she's a Barnes. She'll still be ours."

But it wasn't okay. Not by a long shot.


Juliette was beaming when she opened her door, laughing as he juggled the packages and tried not to drop one as he stepped inside.

"More?" She asked, closing the door behind him. "It's like Christmas every time you come over." She followed him into the living room. "I've been getting so many gifts," she said, stating the obvious. There were boxes stacked everywhere in the room. Juliette usually kept her house spotless and he was surprised she'd let it all pile up around her. "I was just going through everything and getting ready to put it all away before it takes over the whole house."

Avery smirked as he set his mother's gifts down. "Want some help?"

"Sure."

He meant to ask her about the last name. He would have, but she kept oohing and aahing over the gifts and then she offered her guest room to him and before he knew it, he had his old key in his pocket. She was happy and talkative and if he didn't know differently, he never would have suspected that she'd been a hormonal, jealous ex-girlfriend/stalker just a few days before. She was friendly, dropping the word herself when he blurted out another question that had been sitting on his mind since he'd talked to his mother earlier. What would they tell their daughter when she was old enough to ask why she was being shuttled between the two of them? When she had a set of clothes and toys for Daddy's and then another for Mama's?

Juliette's answer seemed easy enough, "We'll tell her she came from a place of love and her parents became great friends."

When he left her house to meet Sadie at the studio, he was still mulling over it. The first part of what she'd said was definitely true; their baby had been conceived in love. He'd fallen more and more in love with Juliette every hour of their relationship. The second part of her statement though…were they friends? That's what he'd wanted them to be. A few months before when he'd found out about the baby, a friendship had been a tall order. It was too soon after their breakup, too soon after his heart had been shattered with the truth about her and Jeff. Things were different now, but still. He had to ask himself, were they friends like they'd been before they were dating? Is that really what he wanted to return to? She'd said she'd try her best to handle it better when he started dating, but how would he feel when she started dating again? He realized she wouldn't stay single forever. There would be other men in the bed they'd shared. Other men in the house with their daughter (who might not even have his last name). Did he want Juliette coming to him in a few years, asking his advice about a new boyfriend?

No. Avery slammed his foot on the brake and jerked the gearshift into park. No. He didn't want that at all.