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Previously on The New Girl:

Jack's POV
I picked out my best church clothes this morning. I was nervous as I'll get just wondering if Erin was going to show. I don't know if I should expect her to or not, goodness knows I don't know a thing that runs through that woman's head, but I was really hoping she would.
"Come on Jack, I'll bet she's getting ready right now" Kim told me as she walked in the dojo.
"Shouldn't you know if she is or not?" I asked. "I mean you are staying with Rudy too"
"Well yeah, but she stayed in her room the whole time I was there. When I asked if she was coming she didn't say anything. Rudy told me that even if she did, she wouldn't make it to Sunday school. She got sick this morning" Kim told me.
"Sick? What happened?" I asked worriedly. I told you, I'm not going to let anything happen to her or that baby.
"Jack, she's pregnant. It's called morning sickness" Kim said slowly. I nodded a little and followed her out the doors of the dojo as we began walking to church. It wasn't that far so we didn't bother taking the car.
After Sunday school was over, I met up with Kim, Jerry, and Milton. I still didn't see Erin anywhere in sight.
Church was about to start and the guys had already sat in our row at the end, but Kim was still standing up and refused to let me sit down yet because Erin would be sitting between us. It was getting to the point where everyone had taken their seats and the choir had filled their spots up at the front.
"Kim, we might as well just sit down. She's not coming" I said sighing. Just then when the choir stood up to start singing, the doors at the back of the sanctuary opened. I turned around, completely shocked to see none other than the beautiful Erin Wilkes standing there in a gorgeous dress that was about quarter length past her knees. She was stunning and I couldn't help but smile at the fact she'd actually shown up.
"My seat still open?" she asked smiling a little when she got to our row. I smiled back widely.
"Always, as promised"

Erin smiles back and I let her slide into the row and she hugs Kim, Jerry, and Milton as the choir starts to sing.

Water you turned into wine, opened the eyes of the blind there's no one like you, none like You!
Into the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise there's no one like you none like You!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!

Into the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise there's no one like you, none like You!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!

And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.
What could stand against.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.
Then what could stand against.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!

Erin sang every word like it meant something to her personally with a smile on her face.

I smile as well as we sat down after the song is over.

Erin smiles as I grab her hand and she intertwines our fingers. I'm really glad I brought her here. I hope my plan in bringing her closer to Jesus is working.

Erin's POV:

I smile as we sing Our God, it really opened my eyes. I remembered all the times as a child we sang that. It was so much fun back then and the song was always one of my favorites. I always sang it when I wanted to feel the presence of the Lord...like right now.

After the song Jack smiled at me as we sat down and I smiled back as Jack grabbed my hand and I intertwined our fingers.

"Before we get started, the youth choir has something they want to perform." The pastor says and Jack pts my knee and I smile watching him walk to the stage.

I watched Kim grab a microphone and Jack grabs a guitar and sits on a stool.

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

My jaw dropped when I heard Jack sing and play guitar.

I start to sing along out of instinct, earning some surprised looks from people around me. I saw Milton and Jerry smile a bit from beside me, and I noticed Kim and Jack were both looking at me from the stage as well.

They smiled as I continued to sing along; I even had a few people give me thumbs up.

I smiled at Jack as the song ended and everyone walked back to their seats.

"Well aren't you full of surprises, if you tell me you can dance too then I'll be really scared." I say teasingly to Jack with a huge smile on my face causing Jack to chuckle.

"Today, we are going to talk about how God is always there during the hard times, even if it seems like he isn't sometimes." The pastor says as jack and I hold hands again and I smile a little at how this is exactly what I needed to hear. It was hard to hear about how I blame God the whole time when I should've been counting on him and praying in my time of need. I'm definitely glad to be here now especially.

"God is always around you, and he never gives you more than you can handle, but he's always there to show you the way and to help you along. There are many things that happened to each every person that no one can ever imagine what pain they have gone through to get to where they are now. Just always know that God loves you and he is always, always there for you." The pastor says and Jack smiles at me.

This sermon is really opening my eyes to many things I never knew when I was going through this pain with Jonah.

I'm so glad Jack convinced me to come, if not, I would probably still be in my miserable comfort pain.

Jack's POV:

"I also want to talk about who is someone you love dearly? How far would you go to show this person you love them and will always protect them? Gentlemen, would you put your life on the line like Jesus did on the cross for your sins? Ladies, would you show the kindness and compassion that Jesus did for your sins?" The pastor asks and I smile at Erin, I would always protect her and her daughter as well, I love her ever so dearly.

"I want all of you, when you get home, to let this person know exactly how much you love them." The pastor says and we all nod.

"Let us pray. Dear Lord, we pray for everyone here, be with them during the hard times they may be facing, show them that you are always with them. In your name, Amen." The pastor prays and we all stand up and shake people's hands and talk to some old friends.

I saw Erin looking at the pastor, not moving at all.

"Er, what's wrong?" I ask her and she sighs.

"I want to go talk to the pastor, but I don't want to go alone." She says with a sad smile.

"I can go up there with you." I offered with a smile and she nods.

"I would love that." She says and we go up to the pastor.

Erin's POV
"Excuse me" I said timidly when the preacher finished talking to an elderly couple who were smiling widely. They seemed to really enjoy themselves here, and they told them how much the lesson could help the younger generation, and even some of the older ones. She wasn't wrong about that because it sure helped me.
"Yes, can I help you?" he asked with a smile when he turned to us. I got a bit nervous and quickly grabbed Jack's hand again.
"It's okay" he whispered to me. I nodded and turned back towards the pastor.
"Sir, I really need some advice. I've sinned greatly and blamed God for something that I should've relied on Him for when I needed help" I said sighing. I could feel the tears building up in my eyes.
"Okay, why don't we go on down to my office to be in a more private atmosphere?" he suggested. I nodded and followed, not once letting go of Jack's hand.

Is he staying here or...?" the pastor asked trailing off as he noticed Jack was still there. Jack started to say something, but I gripped his hand tighter (making sure he wasn't leaving) and cut him off.
"No, please; if it's alright with both of you, I'd like it if he'd stay" I said looking to Jack more so than the pastor. He smiled and nodded.
"Of course" he said. The pastor nodded and we all sat down.
"So, what's all this about?" he asked. I sighed and looked to Jack who just nodded encouragingly.
"As I'm sure you know, I'm pregnant. Not by choice, of course, but I would do anything to keep my baby safe. She means the world to me" I told him. He nodded and motioned for me to continue. "Well, I hate to say it, but I blamed God for what happened to me. I resented the fact I believed in Him for so long and He didn't do anything to save me" I said completely truthful. I feel bad, but I know that's what frame of mind I was in.
"Well, I understand where you're coming from and why you feel that way, but I also know that what happened to you was not God's fault" the preacher said. I nodded having realized a few minutes ago that was true, but it was still hard you know?
"God loves you so much, but the devil doesn't like that. The devil knew you were a strong Christian, so he wanted to do something to shake your faith. Just because the devil succeeded at one point doesn't mean you have to keep going down that path"
"I realize that now. I guess I just wanted to know how to make up for my sins. I wanted to know how I could keep myself from ever going down that path again if something bad was to ever happen again" I said.
"Well that's definitely a step in the right direction; trying to figure out a way off the path and how to stay away. Sweetheart, the advice I can give you is just to keep living your life through God and for Him and His glory. Read your Bible and pray. I say you were just at a rough path in your faith where you strayed from God. There is a reason we humans are compared to lambs in the Bible. We stray. Luckily the Lord is our shepherd, so if we have any faith left and/or good Christian influences in our lives, we can be led back to Him" he told me. I nodded before standing up with a new insight; one I didn't really even have before when I did have my faith.
"Thank you sir. I just wanted to let you know how much you and this church have helped me today. Just yesterday I was screaming 'why' to the top of my lungs. Now I don't have to. Thank you so much" I said.
"You're so welcome. That's what I'm here for. You're still young with so much to live for. Live your life through God and you'll be the best mother that little girl could ever have" he said. I smiled and thanked him before exiting the room with Jack at my side. His smile was priceless.
We walked out the building together and sat down on the steps to wait on the others. They'd gone to a separate classroom for small talk and such with old church friends.
"I'm so proud of you" Jack said softly. I turned my head toward him and smiled. Something in his eyes was so captivating; so pure. I was mesmerized.
"Thank you" I whispered.
"Of course" he smiled. I shook my head.
"No, I mean thank you for everything. Thank you for being my friend when I was so difficult and shy. Thank you for sticking with me when you found out about my pregnancy. Thank you for going with me to the doctor and for accepting that disc of my baby's ultrasound. Thank you for telling me God was there for me and still is. Thank you for saving my seat like you promised" I said and he laughed a little at that. "Thank you for inviting me today, because without you I couldn't have come back to God. Thank you for staying with me to go talk to the preacher. I needed that. If you weren't with me I might have gotten so scared I ran off. But most of all, thank you for just being here with me; for me. You are so amazing Jack" I said whispering the last part.
"You're the amazing one" he said, his voice oddly soft. Before I even could process what was happening, his soft lips were on mine...and I didn't even hesitate to kiss back.

Chapter 9: I Love You

Jack's POV
We slowly pulled away and I stared into her beautiful, big greyish blue eyes. She's so beautiful.
"Jack" she whispered. Our faces were still fairly close to each other.
"Hmm?" I said. I felt stupid, but I couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Thank you" she whispered before quickly getting up and walking away. Well that was awkward.

Erin's POV
"Thank you? Erin, he kissed you and said thank you!?" Kim whisper/yelled at me. I was telling her about the kiss when we got to the dojo. Jerry was in the shower, Uncle Rudy was in his office, and Milton and Jack were about to spar so Kim and I had some time to talk.
"Yes, I know that was probably the most stupid thing I could've said, but at least it somewhat went along with what we were talking about before! It would've been way more awkward if I had've just ran off without saying anything!" I defended.
"Why didn't you just say 'Oh Jack, I love you so much! You're the man of my dreams!'?" she exclaimed. I quickly shushed her and made sure no one heard that.
"Will you shut up? He's in here right now!" I whispered back. She nodded and mouthed an apology. "Besides, I wouldn't have said that anyway. You know how shy I am"
"Hon, shy has nothing to do with it. You could be mute and it doesn't change the fact that he kissed you. He obviously cares for you quite a lot" she said. I immediately shook my head.
"Maybe so, but caring and loving are two very different things" I reminded her.
"You never know" she said making me roll my eyes. Oh, I know. He couldn't possibly love me...right?

Jack's POV
I could obviously tell what Kim and Erin were talking about. What with all the shushing Erin was doing and turning around every few seconds to see if anyone could hear them. I knew they were talking about the kiss, it just bugs me that I couldn't hear what she was saying about it. If she liked it, if it scared her; I just don't know.
Suddenly I'm brought back to reality as my entire body hit the ground. I would expect to see Kim (only sometimes; she is the only one who could ever beat me) but I never expected to see the person I was really sparing with. Never Milton.
"Yes! I beat him! I beat Jack! You hear that everybody? I beat Jack!" Milton yelled as he ran out of the dojo, screaming that all throughout the mall. I rolled my eyes and stood up, dragging myself over to the lockers to get my towel.
"You okay there Jack?" Kim asked laughing a little. I could still see a smirk evident on her face though as to why Milton won. Just great.
"I'm fine" I snapped back with a fake smile. I noticed Erin just sitting over there biting her lip. Even greater.

"Hey Milton, how does it feel to beat Jack?" Erin asks Milton while glancing at me jokingly.

"You're mean." I say to Erin and she pretends to think about it.

"I'll take that as a compliment." She says teasingly.

I shake my head and walk over to Erin and Kim and sit down for a while.

Erin smiles and watches us practice when Rudy comes out of his office.

"Her Er, there is a youth party tonight at the church, do you wanna come?" I ask Erin after practice.

"She says with a smile and Kim drags her out of the dojo as soon as she answers.

I smile and laugh at the thought of Kim picking out the perfect outfit for Erin.

Man, I'm falling harder for that girl more and more.

Erin's POV:

Kim and I walk into a store in the mall and Kim starts to give me multiple things to try on.

"Kimmy." I whine when she hands me shorts, a white tank top, a black lace tank top, and cowboy boots.

"Just try it on." Kim says as she pushes me towards the changing room.

I came out and she smiles and nods.

I turn towards the mirror, in awe of the amazing outfit.

"I love it Kimmy, thank you." I say as I hug her.

"You're welcome Er. I'm sure Jack will love it too." Kim says teasingly.

I shake my head and push her and I go to change.

We pay for our outfits and go home to get ready for the party.

Kim curls the ends of my hair and I leave it parted to the right and pin some hair back and I do Kim's hair in a fishtail braid and she flips it onto her right shoulder.

We both do Smokey eye makeup but mine had a little more brown in it than Kim's and Kim puts on clear lip gloss while I put on peach flavored.

As we do our hair and makeup, we laugh and just joke around.

I'm so glad God put Kim in my life, she's an amazing friend and I love her so much.

Kim, Jerry, Milton and I were waiting for Erin to show up since Rudy said she was running a little late.

'What is wrong with some girls wanting to be fashionably late?' I ask myself, I guess I'll never know.

Just then Erin walks in and everyone froze at how Erin looked.

My jaw dropped and Erin says 'Hi' to people as she makes her way towards us.

"Wow, you look incredible." I say and Erin smiles.

"I don't think I've ever seen you without makeup though." I tease and Erin rolls her eyes.

"Just wait until the baby comes, she won't have any time for that." Kim teases.

"Do you want to try being pregnant?" Erin asks Kim with a playful glare.

"Aw, you know you love me." Kim says hugging Erin and Erin smiles and props her arm on Kim's shoulder.

"I'll be back soon." Erin said and walks off with a smile.

"Go get her." Kim says with a smile pushing me towards where Erin went.

As I walk off, I barely hear Kim say "We got to get those two together." To Jerry and Milton and I smile.

Erin's POV:

When I finish talking to the group of people I wanted to say hi to, I suddenly feel familiar arms around my waist.

I smile and quickly find myself face to face with Jack.

We both smile at each other and I glance over my shoulder to see Kim, Jerry and Milton smiling at us as well.

"Kiss her Brewer!" Jerry yells and I glare at him playfully before turning back to Jack while biting my lip.

"You know, you're surrounded by people who love you, Kim, Jerry, Milton and Rudy. Do you know who also loves you?" Jack asks me.

"Who?" I ask my voice barely above a whisper.

"Me, always." Jack says and leans in to kiss me.

I feel fireworks going off and butterflies in my stomach, I was oh so happy.

I could hear people cheering as we pulled away and smiled.

"I love you." Jack says.

"I love you too." I say with a smile.

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