**I'm SO glad that you guys liked the last chapter! I was a bit nervous, but trust me…business is about to pick up! ;-) You guys rock! Christina89, Chantal Calaway, Vipergirl86, Pajama Pants5, Luneara Eclipse, Animal-Viper-Cena Fan, Cenationxprincess, and Cena's Baby Doll THANK YOU for reviewing and favoriting! Much Love!**
John had had a rough day. Between getting into a spat with Brayden and then having his flight delayed. He finally landed, got into a fight with his best friend and then finding out that the director had pushed back the start date by a week so he didn't even need to be there was NOT making him a happy camper.
He booked himself a flight back to Missouri, and was sitting in the airport waiting for the boarding call when his phone rang. He glanced at it and seen it was his dad calling. "Hey Pops."
"Son, how 'ya doin?" John Sr asked his son. "How was Missouri?"
"Well…about Missouri…I met someone." John said slyly.
"What kind of someone?" John Sr pried.
"A certain someone that I really like and asked her to be my girlfriend." John replied with a smile.
"Well I'll be damned, congrats son! I'm really happy for you. She must be a pretty lucky lady." His dad exclaimed.
"She's great, and her son is pretty cool too." John added with a hint of nervousness.
"Her son?"
"Yeah, she has a three-year-old named Brayden. He's pretty cool. But, he has autism, so it's a whole new ballpark." John 'fessed up.
"Wow son, I'm proud of you and yet I'm a bit worried. Let me tell you why," His dad began. "I'm proud of you for giving this a chance. But, I'm worried because I don't want you to get too far in and then decide it's too much to handle and turn around and run leaving not only a broken-hearted girl, but a devastated little boy behind. Dating someone with a child is totally different, and dating someone with a child who is special needs takes something real. Be careful son. Watch what you do and watch how close you get if you're not ready for a full-time commitment. Autism is something that has no black and white rules to follow."
John nodded, "Thanks, I will dad. I really like her, and I've seen some good and some bad with Brayden. I know that my schedule is a lot to take on, and their schedule is pretty chaotic as well, so we're being mindful to that. And Dad, she's a really great mom. Brayden's dad ditched them a long time ago, so it's always been only her."
"Ugh, I hate dead-beat dads." John Sr quipped. "Anyways, besides the girl, how's the movie going?"
"Well, I'm flying back to Missouri because the director changed the start date and my agent never told me. So I flew out here for nothing. I've had a really crappy day, so I'm going to go and surprise Jasmine and Brayden." John began explaining but was interrupted by the boarding call. "Dad, I've gotta run, my plane is boarding."
"Alright, well I'll fill your mom in and you keep us updated." John Sr replied with a chuckle.
"Will do. Love you guys and I'll talk to you later." John replied and hung up.
As he was boarding, his phone rang. He looked at it and seen Jasmine's name on the caller id. "Sorry babe, but I'll see you soon." He said as he ignored the call.
Jasmine paced back and forth in her living room. She really didn't want to have this talk over the phone with John, but she didn't know when exactly she'd see him next. She had gone over her plan of attack in her head over and over again. She would ask how his day was and what his shooting schedule looked like and when possibly she might see him again. That way she didn't come across as smothering or clingy, but she'd gently mention they needed to talk about something pretty serious. But now he wasn't answering. She sighed and shook her head. "He's probably busy filming. It's still daylight." She grumbled to herself.
Jasmine picked up the house for a bit and then tried calling one more time, but again it rang to his voicemail. So, she thought she'd do something that could prove handy. She went to the cupboard where she kept notebooks and artsy craftsy stuff and pulled out a new notebook. She used a Sharpie and wrote "Brayden" on the cover. She smiled to herself. Then she turned to the first blank page. Jasmine took a deep breath and wrote a little note that this notebook was a reference tool when it came to Brayden and his behaviors.
Jasmine turned the page and titled it, "Mornings." She began to write down his morning routine. From there she made a little table for breakfast foods and how he liked them prepared. Such as cereal: no milk, but milk in a cup on the side. Not a sippy cup, but a real cup. And listed a few other items such as toast: no butter, just grape jelly, etc…
She smiled and looked out the window. She wondered how things were going with Randy and Brayden. She also pondered if he was actually considering sticking around and being a constant in Brayden's life or if this was a one-time deal. If it was going to be a semi-constant, the book would come in handy for him as well.
Randy drove home with Brayden in the backseat. He looked in the mirror and there he was holding his Tinky Winky and his blankie and staring out the window. "Are you excited to come to my house?"
Brayden continued looking out the window.
"Brayden, are you excited to come over to my house?" Randy repeated a bit louder hoping to catch his attention.
Brayden looked towards the drivers' seat. "Pway yo house."
Randy laughed, "Yup, you get to play at my house."
Soon Randy was pulling into the driveway. Samantha seen his suv pull in and went bouncing outside, "You're home!" She exclaimed while wrapping her arms around him.
He smiled and hugged and kissed her back, "Yup, I'm home. But I'm not alone."
"What do you mean?" Samantha asked cautiously.
He opened the back door and Brayden looked at Samantha and smiled, "Hi Sammy."
Samantha looked shocked, "Uh, hi Brayden." She turned to Randy, "What's going on?"
"Let's go in the house and we can talk about it." Randy replied as he stepped in and unbuckled Brayden and helped him get out.
Brayden went running for the front door. Samantha eyeballed Randy as he ran to catch up with him.
Once inside, Randy turned on cartoons for Brayden in the living room and made sure he was comfy. Then he met up with Samantha in the kitchen.
"Why is Brayden here Randy?" She asked trying to not sound upset.
"Well, John and I got into an argument this morning about Jasmine and Brayden. I said some really harsh things about him because I was pissy and cranky and because I wanted to make sure that he wasn't just going to be in and out of their life." Randy started to say but Samantha interrupted him.
"What? Why would you do that? She is NOT your concern anymore. You walked away from them, remember?" Samantha spat angrily.
"You're right, I did walk away from them. But I shouldn't have turned my back on Brayden." Randy replied sternly.
"Randy, if I remember correctly, you didn't want to be associated with him. You didn't want the world knowing that you had a son that wasn't perfect." Samantha fought back.
"You're right, and you tried to tell me that was complete bullshit and I should be proud no matter what, but I was too caught up in my character and persona to care about what you or anyone else had to say, so I walked away. Now I'm realizing what an ass I was and maybe it's time to step up." Randy argued.
"I'm so tired of you always looking for ways to be closer to HER. Now trying to use Brayden is really crappy excuse. You never cared before, why would you care now? Let John take over with both of them." Samantha fired back.
Randy looked at her, "This has nothing to do with Jasmine. I'm not trying to use Brayden as an excuse to get to her. Samantha, you're my wife. I married you. Brayden is my son. I was there for him once upon a time, and when he needed me the most, I ditched him. What I did was horrible, and I know I can't fix it, but maybe I can make it better."
"I might be your wife, but even after our wedding you still fucked her." She replied quietly.
"And we worked through that, didn't we? What are you trying to say Sam? Are you trying to tell me that I shouldn't be involved in Brayden's life?"
"Randy, listen to yourself. You don't even call him your son. You call him Brayden. The last time you called him your son was the day you walked away from him." Samantha slammed her fist on the counter, "UGH! I wanted Jasmine to get involved with someone so her and Brayden would have someone stable in their life. I know you've beaten yourself up about turning your back on them, but don't you think it's a little late now?"
"Better late then never." Randy replied back in a softer voice. "Sam, I don't think you understand where I'm coming from."
"Randy, I've babysat for her so she can go to her second job so she can pay bills. I've watched him at HER house because you didn't want him here. Now all of a sudden, you care. Why now?" Samantha argued back.
Randy took a deep breath and began pacing the floor, "Because I realized just how badly I fucked up. Sam, I paid her off so I didn't have to be responsible for my own child. Then, when things got rough and she racked up all of those medical bills and missed so much work trying to figure out what was going on with him, what did I do? NOT A DAMN THING. I watched her suffer, I watched her struggle. The only times I ever did anything for him was when I was with her. The minute we were done, I walked away and never looked back. Hell, you've seen him more in the last year or so then I have. I've made fun of him, I've called him names, what kind of person am I? Let alone what kind of father am I? I'm not. I've been a horrible person and I don't deserve the title of father. When I told my parents what I did and what I chose to do, they were so disappointed, but I never let myself think about it. When you guys became friends and you helped her out by watching him, did I let that make me think? NO." Randy went to Samantha and picked up her hand, "I want to make this better. I need to make this better."
Samantha's attitude softened a bit, "Randy, I need you to tell me the honest to God truth. Don't take this wrong, but you've always treated Jasmine and Brayden as if they were yours and yours alone. You went to her, led her on and left her and with Brayden, you were in his life and out of his life, on your terms. Are you stepping up because now John's come along and she might finally find someone for her very own and you're threatened by that? Or because you truly want to be a father-figure for Brayden?"
Randy looked as if she had struck him. He never really thought about it that way. He knew he loved Samantha, but he had always loved Jasmine. Samantha and Jasmine were two totally different people. Jasmine was laid-back, she was her own person; she marched to the beat of her own drum. But she was also a trophy girl. She had modeled for various magazines and had been working on a music career. When Brayden came along, she dropped everything and dedicated her life to being a mom. At the time, Randy loved knowing he had a son. He spent a lot of time with Jasmine and Brayden. But he also began seeing Samantha. Samantha was a high-maintenance woman who craved power in the same way Randy did. Then when Brayden's symptoms began appearing and she became so consumed in fighting to find out what was going on with him, Randy turned back to Samantha. Jasmine's attention was no longer on Randy but on researching symptoms and doing what she could for Brayden. Back then Randy's ego had to be stroked. He had let everything go to his head and Samantha was just the girl to give it to him. But yet he still found himself going back to Jasmine time after time.
Then Randy thought about Brayden. He had been in and out of his life so many times. But, when he seen him and looked in those big brown eyes, he couldn't help but melt. That was his son, through the good and the bad. My son. It sounded so good to finally acknowledge what he had been trying to hide for SO long. And yes, maybe he was a little protective and territorial over Jasmine, but John was his best friend. He trusted John with her and her heart and their son. He knew had led Jasmine on so many times, feeding her lines about him and Samantha splitting up or being on a break just so she'd give herself over to him, but after awhile he'd go running back to Samantha. Not because he didn't love Jas, but because he was scared of what life with Brayden 24-7 was really like. So in order to make sure he wouldn't have to face that music he had run off and married Samantha in a whirlwind. And STILL wound up with Jasmine again.
Now here he was, ready to face the music and be a good father to Brayden…but where did that leave his heart?
"Randy, Brayden's calling you." Samantha said breaking his train of thought.
He got up and walked out to the living room. Brayden was standing in the living room, "Nandy me hungee."
Randy smiled, Jasmine would be proud of his words. "Are you hungry?"
Brayden nodded.
"Ok, let's find something to eat." He said holding his hand out.
Brayden ran over and took his hand tight. Randy couldn't help but smile as they walked into the kitchen. "Somebody's hungry."
"How about grilled cheese and fruit?" Samantha offered.
The three of them were in the kitchen when the doorbell rang.
Randy headed to the front door. He opened the door and found John standing there. "Dude, what's up? What are you doing here?"
John pushed past him into the living room. "I need to know what the hell your problem is." He fumed.
"What are you doing here? Why don't we go and talk downstairs?" Randy said confused.
"Why? Samantha can hear what I've got to say." John replied angrily. "I need to know why you're so against me and Jasmine."
Brayden looked at Samantha with a HUGE smile, "TOHN!" He exclaimed. He jumped off the chair and went running out to the living room.
Samantha tried to catch him, but it was too late. "Wait!"
Brayden ran to John and hugged his leg tight, "TOHN HOME!"
John's face turned from angry to surprised, "Brayden! What are you doing here?" He knelt down and picked him up and gave him a big hug.
Samantha looked over at Randy, she was putting two and two together. John didn't know the truth.
Randy took a deep breath, "Jasmine had a horrible day and needed a little break. So I brought him home. She tried to call you."
John nodded, "Yeah, I was ignoring her calls because I wanted to surprise her. But then on my way there I decided I wanted to come here and clear the air."
Randy looked over at John, "Dude, we're cool. You know how ornery I can be. But, why don't we go over to Jasmine's, we can bring Brayden home."
"I know how to find it." John replied.
"Brayden hasn't eaten his grilled cheese yet." Samantha replied. "We could have Jasmine come over here. It would still be a surprise."
"Nah, I'll go over there." John replied. He set Brayden down, "You eat your dinner and I'll come pick you up in a little bit, ok?"
Brayden smiled and nodded, "O-tay Tohn." And he ran to the kitchen.
He looked over at Randy, "We'll hash this out later. I'ma head over to Jas's."
Randy nodded. The minute John walked out he looked at Samantha, "This might blow up."
Samantha nodded, she just hoped that it wouldn't go too terribly.
**I'm going to be working on John's arrival at Jasmine's today and tonight. Please read and review! **
