Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock or Wizards of Waverly Place.
AN: Sorry for taking a whole MONTH to update, but I had a lot going on. Family, friends, and school. And my depression has come back… With a vengeance. I think it wants me to be extra unhappy since I was in a good place for so long. But… I'm slowly getting better.
After seeing the pop star get socked in the face by a girl standing barely over five feet, the crowd surrounding Connect 3 dispersed. That is, except for Tess, who'd sent Ella and Peggy to get an ice pack for Shane's jaw while she tended his wound. As soon they returned with it, Tess snatched it from Peggy's hand.
"Tess, I'm fine," Shane said in an irritated voice as the petite blonde once again tried to press the ice pack to his face. Only she was pressing too hard, and it was hurting him.
"Oh, Shane." Tess batted her eyelashes at him. "So brave." She reached up and tried to push his hair out of his eyes, but he jerked his head away.
"Just give this to me." He took the towel with the ice inside from Tess's hands and softly placed it to his swollen jaw. Mitchie didn't look like it, but she could sure pack a punch. "I can't believe you let her punch me." He glared at Jason and Nate, his bandmates and friends.
"Like I told you before, you deserved it," Nate said in a bored tone while leaning against the car.
"Why?" Shane demanded.
Nate's cheeks flushed, his blush creeping all the way up the back of his neck to his brown curls. "You know why," he said through gritted teeth, glancing at Tess. He had a pretty good hunch that Mitchie didn't want people knowing that she'd spent the night with Shane two summers ago, and he wasn't going to be the one to divulge that information. Plus, if anyone got wind of the fact that Shane was a womanizer, the press would have a field day.
"I don't know," Jason said in a clueless fashion. "How?"
Nate rolled his eyes. "You know, the thing."
Tess narrowed her eyes and watched Nate closely. He knew something. Then she looked to Shane's face. It was a mixture of amusement and triumph.
"Come on," he said with a grin. "She can't still be mad about that, can she?"
"Did you ever call her after?" Nate asked.
"No."
"Then yes, she can." Nate crossed his arms over his chest. "Very mad. Especially for certain reasons."
"What reasons?" Jason asked. He was clearly lost.
"Like if she was a virgin, Doofus," Shane said in an impatient tone.
Ella and Peggy gasped, Tess smiled wickedly, and Nate groaned.
"Jeez, Shane." Nate glared at the lead singer of the band. "Why don't you just post in on your blog or something?"
"You think I should?" he asked, genuinely curious while taking the ice off his face.
"NO!" Nate yelled. "Gosh, it's called sarcasm! Don't tell people that you screw over girls! Just don't!"
"I'm sure you wouldn't screw over the right girl, huh, Shane?" Tess linked her arm through his and smiled up at him. He tried his best not to grimace and unlinked his arm.
"Tess!" Peggy said. "Can we talk to you over there, please?" She pointed to a spot a few feet away.
"No," Tess said bluntly.
Peggy groaned. She did not gain all that confidence two years ago only to have Tess push her around again. She grabbed the infuriating blonde by the arm and pulled her to the spot she'd designated, Ella following.
"Hands off!" Tess yanked her arms from Peggy's grasp.
"You can't seriously still be interested in him?" Peggy searched Tess's face.
"Of course I am!" Tess said like Peggy was crazy. "He's rich, hot, and famous! Why wouldn't I be interested?"
"Because he just admitted to having sex with Mitchie, and Mitchie has a baby!" Peggy said as if it were obvious.
"And the baby could be Shane's!" Ella butted in.
"Yeah, I gathered that, Ella." Tess rolled her eyes. "I doubt it's his. I bet Mitchie's good girl routine is just an act. She's probably a closeted slut." She examined her nails. "We have no proof that the baby's his."
"The kid looked just like him," Ella said doubtfully.
"OF COURSE THE BABY'S HIS!" Peggy yelled, agitated.
"What baby?" Nate's voice asked, sounding panicked.
The girls turned to see Connect 3 staring at them, all of their eyes wide.
"You have a big mouth," Tess said, poking Peggy in the shoulder.
Peggy ignored her. "We saw Mitchie earlier with a baby…" She locked eyes with Nate. "We think it's Shane's."
"They do," Tess said, pointing to Ella and Peggy. "I think it belongs to some dweeb in chess club. I mean, how can someone as cool as Shane impregnate someone as lame as Mitchie? Right, Shane?" She smiled at him, but his face showed nothing but horror. He said nothing, and the blonde's smile fell. "Right, Shane?"
The singer still said nothing. Nate felt like his head was going to explode.
"Shane…" he said in a dangerously low voice.
Shane let out a throaty laugh, making everyone release the breath they were holding.
"Of course it can't be mine," Shane said, still laughing. "I'd never be stupid enough to get some random girl from summer camp pregnant!"
Shane smiled and made of show of not being worried, but he had an intense feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.
"What the heck happened to you two?" Caitlyn asked upon opening the door to reveal Mitchie and Alex, muddy and wet from swimming in the pond.
"We went swimming in the pond," Mitchie explained with a smile.
"So you made up, then?" Caitlyn raised her eyebrows. She noted that their hands were locked securely together. And then there was the love bite on Mitchie's neck. Caitlyn smirked and held her tongue, the urge to tease her about it very strong.
"Sure did." Alex grinned and squeezed Mitchie's hand. She leaned over and gave her girlfriend a kiss on the cheek.
Mitchie smiled at Alex widely before turning to Caitlyn. "Was Sam good?"
"If you call emptying my entire suitcase and strewing its contents about good, then yes, he was good," Caitlyn said with a laugh, stepping back to let the couple inside.
"You would have done it yourself eventually." Mitchie rolled her eyes and entered the cabin, Alex following behind her.
"This is true," Caitlyn commented.
Sam sat in the middle of the floor, rolling a pair of Caitlyn's socks back and forth in front of him, oblivious to the fact that his mothers had arrived to pick him up.
"Look, Honey," Alex said. "Caitlyn's turning our son into a cat."
Mitchie snickered and got down on her hands and knees, crawling over to Sam. When her face was inches from his, he looked up. His eyes brightened upon recognition and his little lips curled into a smile.
"Mommy!" he said happily.
"Hey, Baby Love," Mitchie cooed softly. "Can Mommy have a kiss?"
She pouted out her lips, waiting for a kiss. Sam did the same and leaned forward. He grabbed Mitchie's face in between his small hands and smashed his mouth to hers. Mitchie smiled and enfolded Sam in her arms. She stood, picking him up as she went.
"And how about one for Mama?" Mitchie asked, nodding towards Alex. She carried him closer, and he held out his arms for Alex to take him.
Mitchie handed Sam to Alex, who took him with a smile.
"Got a kiss for me, Sammy?" she asked, and pouted out her lips like Mitchie had done.
Sam opened his mouth and put it on Alex's face. Alex leaned her head back, trying to hold in a laugh.
"He pretty much just bit my face," she said.
"Sam!" Mitchie scolded in an amused tone. "Give Mama a real kiss!"
Sam smiled mischievously and shook his head.
"I'm gonna steal the kiss if you won't give it to me!" Alex grinned and began placing kisses all over Sam's face. He giggled and tried to push her away, but she kept at it.
"All right, you two," Mitchie said with a giggle of her own. "We need to get back and change out of these wet clothes. Say goodbye to Nanny, Sam."
Caitlyn smiled and blew Sam a kiss. Sam put his palm to his mouth then extended it in front of him, sending Caitlyn one back.
"Thanks for watching him, Caitlyn," Alex said, picking up Sam's bag and handing it to Mitchie to carry because she had the baby in her arms.
"Don't mention it." She held the door to the cabin open for them.
Mitchie walked out into the afternoon light, Alex exiting behind her with Sam balancing on her hip.
"See you tomorrow, Caitlyn!" Mitchie said as they began walking away, her hand raised in a goodbye.
Alex reached out with the arm that wasn't holding Sam and wrapped it around Mitchie's shoulder, pulling her close. As Mitchie smiled and wrapped her arm around Alex's waist, Alex placed a sweet kiss to Mitchie's temple, and they began walking towards their cabin.
Brown's office door swung open, and Shane stormed inside. Brown stopped typing up the schedule for the following week and looked at his nephew in surprise.
"Come in," he said sarcastically in response to Shane not knocking.
"What the hell is Mitchie Torres doing here?" Shane demanded.
"Same reason you're here," Brown said evenly. "I hired her."
"Why?" Shane slammed his hands on his uncle's desk. Brown didn't bat an eyelash.
"She's a talented musician. I needed counselors. It's not hard to understand."
"Well I don't want her here!" Shane yelled. "So get rid of her."
"Excuse me?" Brown frowned at his nephew.
"Either she goes, or I go!" Shane glared at the man, trying to seem intimidating.
Brown leaned back in his chair calmly. "Are you really demanding that I fire a girl who's done nothing wrong just because you're too ashamed of a stupid mistake you made to face her?"
Shane's eyes fell. How did the guy do it? He could be so philosophical at times. It was like he could read Shane's mind. There's no way he could know what had happened with Mitchie… Right?
"I was very surprised, however, when I learned upon her arrival that she has a baby," Brown continued during Shane's silence. "A son, in fact."
Shane looked up. "A… a son?"
Brown nodded. "About a year old. Looks just like her. Big, brown eyes, little button nose. But his hair… He couldn't have gotten that from Mitchie." He locked eyes with Shane. "It's nearly black and curly as can be."
Shane's hand subconsciously went up to his own curls; he ran a shaky hand through them.
"Must have gotten that from his father," Brown said with a knowing smile.
"Must have…" Shane tried to swallow the lump in his throat, sitting in one of the leather armchairs in front of Brown's desk.
"She said the boy's dad didn't even know she'd had him," Brown went on. "Can you believe that?"
"Maybe she's doing the guy a favor," Shane mumbled, averting his eyes.
"I don't know about that. I'd want to know, wouldn't you?"
Shane shrugged, still not looking at his uncle.
"You wouldn't want to know if you had a child walking around on this earth?" Brown asked, keeping his eyes locked on Shane until he looked his way again.
"Probably not," Shane said quietly.
Brown shook his head and stood, going around to the front of the desk. He sat atop it, right in front of Shane, and crossed his arms over his chest.
"I feel bad for Sam's father," Brown said.
"Sam?" Shane asked, finally looking at his uncle.
Brown nodded. "Samuel…If I was his father, and Mitchie hadn't told me about him, I'd be very upset. Having children is one of the greatest joys in life."
Shane snorted. "What are you talking about? You don't have kids."
"We've tried. Your aunt can't get pregnant." He pointed a finger in the brat's face. "And for your information, we've starting looking into adoption." He settled back onto the desk. "Being able to have children is a blessing. And anyone who refuses to acknowledge their own flesh and blood is a selfish bastard in my book."
Shane looked at his feet, avoiding Brown's hard gaze. His heart beat fast, and he felt like his chest was constricting.
"I think he's mine," Shane said quietly to his shoes. "Sam, I mean."
Brown let out a fake gasp. "No, really?"
Shane looked up. "You knew?"
"Of course I knew," Brown said. "He looks exactly like you did at that age. How could I not know?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I just found out today."
"Well what do I do?" Shane asked. "I don't want a kid!"
"It's a little too late," Brown said. "You should have thought of that two summers ago!"
Shane hung his head in stupidity. He felt tears sting his eyes. He was scared. "What if it's mine?"
"First off, he, not it," Brown corrected. "Second, you need to talk to Mitchie."
Shane wiped his eyes and picked his head up. "I tried… She punched me."
"And you bloody well deserved it, if Sam is your son!" Brown exclaimed. He examined Shane's bruised jaw more closely. "Damn, she got you good. Must be yours with how hard she hit you."
"You're not helping," Shane said angrily, jerking his head away.
Brown chuckled. "Sorry." His face got serious. "But really… You need to talk to her and find out once and for all."
Mitchie fastened the sides of Sam's diaper, happy he hadn't peed on her this time. He still enjoyed doing that.
"All done, Baby Boy," Mitchie said, picking up Sam and putting him in a standing position.
Sam, standing there in only his diaper, looked up at his mother. "Ba," he said.
"You want your bottle?" Mitchie asked, and he nodded.
Mitchie went over to the mini fridge Alex had zapped in just before leaving for her shower and opened it. She retrieved one of the pre-made bottles and took off its cap. Sam toddled over and reached out for it. Mitchie handed it to him.
"Tank ou, Mommy," he said and popped the bottle into his mouth.
"You're welcome, Baby." Mitchie smiled and smoothed his hair.
She paused with her hand on his head, examining her knuckles. They were red and swollen, no doubt from socking Shane in the jaw.
"How did I not notice this before?" she asked herself quietly as she lifted her hand up to the light to inspect it closer.
She flexed her fingers and curled them in towards her palm, hissing as pain shot through her hand.
A knock on the screen door made Mitchie jump, as she had not been expecting anyone. She turned towards the door, and froze immediately upon seeing Shane standing there. She looked at Sam, who was staring at the door while sucking on his bottle. He looked up at her, curious.
She had the fleeting urge to pick up her baby and hide him, stash him away somewhere safe from Shane. But what good would that do? It was an utterly ridiculous idea. But she still had the urge to do it.
She looked back at Shane, and their eyes locked. She took a deep breath, crossed the cabin, and opened the door.
"Can I come in?" Shane asked softly.
Mitchie, at a loss for words, only nodded and stepped back, letting him inside. His eyes instantly went to Sam, and his knees nearly gave out. He did look just like him when he was a baby.
"Cute baby," Shane said hoarsely. He looked at Mitchie. "What's his name?"
"Samuel James," Mitchie answered.
Upon hearing his name, Sam toddled over to Mitchie and signaled that he wanted to be picked up. Mitchie did so, balancing him on her hip. Shane watched, not taking his eyes off the small boy, who was sucking his bottle innocently and looking at him with big, brown, curious eyes.
"Is he yours?" he asked quietly.
Mitchie nodded slowly. "Yes."
Shane gulped. "Is he… Is he mine?" He looked at Mitchie.
Time seemed to freeze to Mitchie. She breathing stopped, and fear made her numb. But somehow, she managed to answer.
"Yes, Shane. You're his father."
Well. That's this chapter. Uh. Yeah. That's all I have to say.
So… Review, yeah?
