April 8th, 2008

Bobby Mercer was not a good cook. When he was growing up, either he had people to cook for him or he did not eat at all. In his twisted little mind, cooking was a woman's job. Hence, the reason he called his youngest brother a fairy. Jack should be in the kitchen cooking, not Bobby. Jack should be scrambling eggs, frying bacon and toasting bread for Emilie at ten o'clock in the morning.

However, Jack was not there. Jack walked out. Bobby got a call from Emilie at one in the morning, asking him to come over because she needed to speak with him. Bobby, being the sucker that he is, rushed over to the other side of town in flannel pajamas to see if Emilie was all right. A whirl of crazy scenarios crossed his mind as he drove but not once did he play out a scene involving what she told him when he got to her last night.

Emilie shut the door behind Bobby and turned to him. His scruffy face was full of worry and confusion as he looked around the apartment. She guessed he was looking for any signs of trouble.

"What's going on?" he asked when he did not find anything that looked odd or out of place. For the first time since he walked in the door, he looked at Emilie. Her eyes were red and puffy but she had a calm smile on her face. "Are you okay?" he walked up to her and held her shoulders. "Where's Jack?" he took another look around but did not see Jack's shoes or jacket in the living room.

"Let's go into the living room and sit." Emilie said and grabbed his hands from her shoulders. She led him to the living room and she sat down on the couch. Bobby stood and crossed his arms.

"You call me at 1 am, Diddle. I think you're hurt or something bad has happened but here you are," he waved a hand at her face. "Looking all calm and not hurt. What is going on?" Emilie simply pointed to the seat next to her.

"Something horrible happened, Bobby," she told him as he moved to the couch. "But something good happened too. Sit down and I'll explain everything."

"Where's Jack, Emilie?" he asked seriously, as he sat next to her. Emilie turned to face him and curled a leg up under her. She took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eye.

She started from the beginning. She told him about the book meeting that she held and about the clinic calling her for an appointment about a blood donation she gave. She told him that she was pregnant and she told him about telling Jack. She did not even leave out the gory details when she told him about Jack breaking the mirror and leaving for the second time that night. She was out of breath and starting to get tired when she was done telling her story but was not about to lay down. She did not even realize that she had been through that much stress in one day until she recounted it to him.

If she thought she would feel better by talking to someone else about it, she was wrong. She was still an emotional mess but at least she knew what she wanted to do.

Bobby was also feeling her wave upon wave of different emotions. "I don't even know what to feel or where to begin." he admitted after a minute or two of silence. Emilie laughed humorlessly and patted his cheek.

"Welcome to my world, Bobby Mercer." she joked. "It's a crazy and hectic world." Bobby looked over at her and smiled a little. How she was so calm in this situation, he had no idea but he applauded her for it.

"I'm pretty much speechless about everything you just told Me." he confessed. "I'm thrilled that you're pregnant, I mean," he chuckled and rubbed his hands over his face. "That's wow, Em. It's a shocker but it's great." Emilie smiled at him sadly.

"Thanks." she said softly. Bobby took a deep breath before saying what he was going to say next.

"As for Jack," he said gruffly. "I don't even know where to start. I don't even want to start because you are upset as it is. You found out your having a baby and you haven't had time to celebrate, have you?" he asked. Emilie shook her head and felt herself tearing up again.

"I'm not worried about celebrating though. I have time for that, Bobby," she told him honestly. "I'm worried about Jack. I know that you're probably pissed off beyond belief but I don't need you pissed off." Bobby looked at her as if she was crazy and she smirked. "Yet."

"Why are you so calm?" Bobby asked. Emilie sighed and leaned back into the couch.

"I don't want to be made at him, Bobby. I know what he did wasn't right but I also know that he didn't really want to do it," she told him. Bobby shook his head and held up his hand to stop her.

"If he didn't want to walk out on you, he wouldn't have." he corrected her. Emilie shook her head and bit her lip.

"I know him, Bobby. Something is wrong. Something isn't right." Bobby huffed and nodded his head this time. Emilie could tell her was getting frustrated with her.

"Damn right something is wrong," he agreed. "Jack just walked out on you after you told him you were having his baby." Bobby could feel his blood start to boil. He knew he should not have said anything. Now he was going to go off ranting about how much of an asshole Jack was. "How could he do that to you? He loves you. I know that.However, the moment you tell him you are having his child; he books it out of here. You're starting a fam-" he stopped immediately and bowed his head.

"A family." Emilie finished for him softly. She knew that Bobby was starting to see what she was seeing. Bobby rubbed his chin and looked out the glass doors.

"He's going to be a father." Bobby mumbled to himself.

"Do you see what I'm seeing now?" Emilie scooted closer to him and gripped his arm with her hands. "Jack never had a real family until Evelyn got him. Even then, he was already scarred. He never had a father figure. He had brothers but you all were doing your own things by the time he came around." Emilie shook his arm and Bobby looked over at her. "He's scared, Bobby. I know he is."

"Parenthood is scary for everyone, Em. Jack might not know what to do with a family or a baby but it does not give him the right to walk out on you in the middle of the night." Bobby's words brought tears to her eyes. She had never heard Bobby sound so passionate in his life.

"I know that, Bobby. Don't think for one second that I'm not dying inside right now." she looked up at him and nearly brought him to tears. "But I can feel it, Bobby. I can feel it in here," she held her hand over her heart. "I know that he's sacred. He just needs help. I can help him with whatever it is he needs help with. I owe him, Bobby."

"What are you thinking of doing?" he asked curiously. Emilie smiled a little and let his arm go.

"I know some people at Child Services. I'm sure I can get Jack's files from them or from the lawyer," she confessed. "I want to know what happened to Jack. I know he had it rough but I want to know. I want to talk to people and find out what happened when he was a child." Bobby sighed deeply and sat back against the couch.

"It won't be pretty, Em. Jack might not want you to snoop in his past." Bobby knew how touchy his brother was about his past. None of the Mercer men was proud of their pasts. It was not hugs and kisses for them when they were growing up. It was dark and tough. Bobby would not want Emilie hearing those things and he knew Jack wouldn't either.

"I know." Emilie nodded. "That's why I'm going to make him go with me." Bobby barked out a laugh so sudden and loud that it made Emilie jump. When his fit calmed, he apologized for laughing at her and scaring her.

"You really think Jack would, not only, let you go through his past but let him tag along for the ride?" he asked disbelievingly. Emilie did not say anything. Instead, she stared at him with such a serious expression that told Bobby she was dead serious about this. "Em, really?"

"Yes, really." she nodded. "I'm not letting Jack go without a fight, Bobby. And when all is said and done, if he still doesn't want to be with me or the baby, he can go but not until he faces his past and gets over whatever he needs to get over."

Bobby still could not believe how well Emilie was taking all of this. He was still expecting her to burst into tears and fall to knees while begging him to bring Jack back to her but it did not look like that was going to happen. Emilie was hurting but she was not going to let it consume her. She was going to try to fix it before giving up.

When breakfast was done, Bobby filled bacon, eggs and toast on two plates before set them on the table. He was grabbed the orange juice when he heard the quick padding of footsteps down the hall. He looked out of the kitchen in time to see Emilie running to the bathroom. He shook his head with a smile walked down the hall.

"Diddle?" he said knocking on the bathroom door. He heard a muffled voice and smirked when he heard a toilet flush after it. The door creaked open and he peeked in to see Emilie leaning over the sink wetting her toothbrush.

"At least I know why I'm sick now." she tried to joke. Bobby chuckled and walked over to rub her back as she brushed her teeth. "Dom ah mell bahon?" Bobby laughed and plucked the toothbrush out of her mouth. Emilie giggled while she spit and looked back up at him. "I said, do I smell bacon?"

"Yes," Bobby smiled and handed her the toothbrush. "I cooked you breakfast so brush up and come out here." Bobby walked off and Emilie finished brushing her teeth. She had thrown up three times during the night and early morning. She was wishing her first appointment with her doctor were sooner so she could get some medicine but she would have to wait it out a little longer.

Done with brushing her teeth, she walked into the kitchen and looked down at the table. Bobby had cooked her eggs, bacon and toast. He even buttered it for her.

"Thanks, Bobby." she smiled and pulled her seat out. "That's real sweet of you." Bobby shrugged his shoulders and swallowed hit mouthful of eggs.

"You're eating for two now," he said with a smile. "It's my good deed for the day." Emilie laughed and started poking at her eggs.

"You get brownie points for feeding a pregnant girl." Both of them stopped eating and looked at each across the table. Bobby saw her eyes glisten and dropped his fork on his plate. He rushed over to her just as the tears and sobs escaped her. "Oh my God, Bobby. I'm having a baby." Bobby cradled her in his arms as she cried.

"Yes, Diddle, you are. You're going to be a mommy," he said as soothingly as he could. "You're going to be a great mom, too." he pulled back and looked at her tear streaked but smiling face. "I want you to know that I will be here until you have this baby and afterwards. If you need me, you call me. Okay?" Emilie nodded and leaned forward to kiss her cheek.

"Thanks, Bobby." The phone rang and Bobby moved away to answer it. Emilie sat at the table and ate her food slowly. Bobby came back in a few seconds later with a hard look on his face.

"It's for you." he handed her the phone and sat back down to finish his food. Emilie held the phone up to her ear and hoped for dear life that is was Jack.

"Hello?" she said hesitantly.

"Hey, Em. It's James." Emilie frowned a little but perked up when she realized that Jack might have gone to his band.

"Hey, James. How are you?" she asked and picked up a piece of bacon.

"Good." he sighed and Emilie set her bacon down. "Listen," he said in a soft voice. "I don't know what's going on with you and Jack but I highly doubted you knew what was going on with us." Emilie frowned and pushed herself out of the chair.

"What do you mean?" she demanded.

"Well, Jack came in late last night and said that we were going on the road. He said that you two had talked about it and thought it would be a nice change to road trip for a little bit." James' voice got lower and lower as he spoke to her. "Hold on," he whispered. Emilie felt her heart speed up a little. Jack lied to them. Jack lied about her. Jack was going away. How long was a little bit?

"James?" she asked softly. She heard a muffled sound and then he was back.

"Sorry, Jack doesn't know I'm calling you." he admitted. "I knew something was wrong by the way he was acting. He hasn't acted like this since the time we left for LA." Emilie rubbed her temple with one hand and sighed.

"James, how long are you guys going to be gone?" she asked. She heard him curse under his breath.

"So he lied? You didn't know," he cursed again. "We're leaving in an hour. We have everything packed up already. He has been non-stop packing and getting ready. We'll be gone for three weeks." his words hit her like a ton of bricks. She knew he would run away from her but she never thought that he would far away from her.

"Three weeks." she repeated softly. Bobby laid a hand on her shoulder and looked at her with a questioning face. She held up a finger and focused on James again. "James, if Jack didn't tell you what was going on, then I won't go behind his back and tell you. I hope you understand that. However, I do want you to call me and tell me where you guys are, okay? Jack and I," she sniffled and blinked back tears. "We're not okay, James. If he is going away, I will not stop him but I do want to know where he is and know that he is okay. Can you do that for me without him knowing?"

"Yeah, Em, I can." James sounds sad almost. "Is there anything else I can do?" he asked. Emilie smiled a little and laughed a shaky watery laugh.

"No, James. Just keep me informed." Emilie pressed the end button and set the phone on the counter. She started chewing on her thumbnail and turned to Bobby, tears already starting to fall.

"I didn't think he literally run away from me, Bobby." The dam broke and Bobby pulled her into his arms while she cried. He knew that this was all hitting her most clearly now and he wondered if it would deter her plans to help Jack. Bobby hoped it wouldn't because, as much as he didn't want to go through the trouble, Jack needed to face his demons and Emilie was the one who could help him do it.

"Don't worry about that, Em. You focus on fixing him like I you said." he pulled away from her and kissed her forehead. "Think about the future. You, Jack and," he laid his hand on her stomach. "Your baby. It's the only future possible. You two belong together. Fate just wants to see how far you would go to keep it that way."


Jack waited outside the bathroom door, his guitar case in one hand and a cigarette in the other. It had been over ten hours since he walked out on Emilie. He walked around town until three in the morning before finally going to James apartment. He would go to Troy's but he did not want to risk Paisley seeing him over there. Jack made James call Troy up that morning and meet them at the studio. Then, he told them the plan. They were leaving in a few hours and they needed to hurry and pack. James and Troy were iffy on the trip though. Who randomly took a three week trip without any kind of planning? James was the brave one to ask Jack what was going on. Jack knew he had to tell them or they would not go with him.

"Emilie and I are uh," Jack ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Taking a break. Some things have happened the past couple days and we need our space." he stopped and shook his head. "No, I need space. She's just...she's just getting some space." James looked like Jack has spoken a foreign language.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I'd rather not say." Troy and James both heard the agony in his voice and did not press him for more info about the reason behind the sudden break. "Let's just get everything together and get ready to leave." Jack waved them away but called them back. "Don't tell anyone until we get ready to leave. Okay?" Troy let out a shaky breath before nodding is head and walking off. He didn't have a good feeling about this and neither did James.

"Jack," James hesitantly approached him and ran a hand through his hair. "Does Em know you're leaving?" Jack stared at him for a moment. James knew Jack better than he thought. Jack knew he should tell him the truth and say that Emilie did not know that they were leaving. He also should tell James that she was pregnant and that he walked out on her. However, the truth was killing Jack and he did not want to admit it.

"Yeah, we talked about it." Jack lied. James gave him a knowing look and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Just go get ready."

The bathroom door opened and James walked out. When he saw Jack standing there, he froze. Jack threw the cigarette down as James did an impression of a fish, opening and closing his mouth.

"How did she sound?" Jack asked after another silent moment. James made a choking sound and shook his head.

"I have, um no idea-" Jack cut him off with a pleading look.

"I know you called her." Jack said. "I knew you would. How did she sound?" James sighed deeply and scratched his chin.

"Well, Bobby was with her and he didn't sound too happy when he answered. He though I was you at first and cursed me out." Jack winced and looked away. He knew the only time Emilie would call Bobby was if she was really upset or if she was really worried about him. Jack wanted to smile at the thought of her still worrying about him even after he walked out on her but he did not.

"I asked her if she knew we were leaving," James continued softly. "She didn't know what I was talking about, of course."

"Did you tell her how long we were going to be gone?" Jack asked. James nodded sadly. "What did she say?" Jack saw a dark look cross James' face and got worried. Did she react that badly?

"You know what? I told her that you said that she knew we were leaving. I told her that we were leaving in an hour and we to be gone for three weeks and you know what she said, Jack?" he paused and Jack shook his head numbly. "She told me that something was wrong between you two. She did not tell me what though because she said if you did not confide in me, she would not go behind your back. Then she told to me keep an eye out for you and to call her when ever we get to a new place." Jack felt hot tears sting his eyes and he looked away from his raging friend.

"You were going to leave without telling her, weren't you?" James asked, still angry. Jack nodded his head. "You were going to leave without telling her and when she found that out, she didn't care about you hurting her. Al she cared about was making sure that you were okay." James waited for Jack to say something but he did not. That made James even angrier.

"Damn her feelings, she cares about you more than she cares about herself, Jack!" James screamed. Jack popped his head up and got in James' face.

"You think I don't know this. Why in the hell do you think I am leaving? She doesn't need to worry about me now!" Jack knew he might have said too much when James' face softened.

"Why would you think that?" he asked crossing his arms. "What could possibly make you think that she doesn't need to care about you?" Jack exhaled and shut his eyes tightly.

"I'm not ready, James. I'm just not ready." he turned on his heel and walked away leaving James with more unanswered questions than he had before he talked to Emilie. The only thing he knew was that Jack was not ready for something and James had the distinct feeling it was not about Jack not wanting to tell him what was going on. Something big had happened and it somehow shook Jack to his very core.

Hours later when the band was on the road, Jack sat in the back of the one of the vans and pulled a tiny piece of paper out of his pocket. His eyes read each word carefully and each word brought on the same image.

I'd walk right back through the rain
Back to every broken heart
On the day that it was breakin'
And I'd relive all the years
And be thankful for the tears
I've cried with every stumbled step
That led to you and got me here, right here

It's amazing what I let my heart go through
To get me where it got me
In this moment here with you

God knows how many times
I was so caught up in holding
What I never thought I'd find
I know now, there's a million roads
I had to take
To get me in your arms that way
And I wouldn't change a thing

"But I'd let it slip through my fingers." he mumbled and stuffed the paper back into his pocket. Jack knew he had made a big mistake and even though he knew he could walk right back into Emilie's arms, he had made his bed and he was going to lie in it.

His eyes closed and the image popped into his mind again. He watched her sleep peacefully and held onto the image for dear life. He might have left her but he would not forget her.


One thing I want to clear up and a few things I want to mention.

1.) The baby that's in the Pro does NOT have a gender yet! Kris pointed out to me that I messed up on a spot where I called it a He. I do not know what gender the baby will be...lol. So if I confused someone in thinkign it was either boy or girl, My bad!

2.) Also on the note of the gender...when the time comes around (which will be a while away) I'm going to set up a poll outsite of this site so EVERYONE who reads the story can vote on whether they want it to bea boy or girl. You won't know the results until the baby is born but I wanna see what you all will vote.

3.) I've also decided to make polls for a boy name, a girl name and a unisex name. I'm feeling very open to what you peeps think so I'm trying to let you all have a say in the gender and name.

Again, these will be a while away. I'm gathering names already but I won't make the polls for a while.

I'm done talking now....lol. Read on! AND REVIEW!