Chapter 10: Plans

I'm thinking after this there will be two, possibly three more chapters and this story will be finished.

"You can't be serious" Miley said, stunned.

Lilly had managed to calm her bowels and was able to return to her friend's room, her eyes were red from the tears and she had told Miley what it was that was making her sick. "It is."

"How can you be so sure? I mean, it could be a stomach bug or just something minor like that or-" Lilly cut her off.

"I missed my period" she informed.

Miley froze for a moment, "you sure you're not just late?" She was obviously in denial. Lilly shook her head. The brunette silently admitted defeat and came up with a rather drastic question. "Are you sure it's Jason's?"

The blond looked up at her friend, highly offended. Without a word the sixteen year old stood up and walked over to Miley, slapping her across the face then storming out of the room, then out of the house. "Am I sure it's his? Of course I'm sure it's his! What does she think I am some kind of slut?" Lilly spoke to herself as she walked to the beach. She took a seat at Rico's bar, trying to stay hidden although she could've picked a better spot to try and disappear.

Rico was manning the shack by himself as he did on Friday nights for the last hour and a half before closing, there were only two other people at the bar, a young couple, a tall blond young man that made Lilly think of Jason.

"Hey-o folks! Time's up, the shack is closed so… GET LOST!" Rico announced. The couple looked at the little boy as if he had two heads before leaving. Lilly didn't leave however, in fact she hadn't even noticed Rico boot out two paying customers and walk up to her. "Hey blondie?" The boy asked in a friendly tone.

He got Lilly's attention, she looked at him and replied; "hm?"

"That means you too! BEAT IT!" The Latin boy yelled.

Lilly flinched but then grabbed a napkin dispenser and hit Rico over the head with it; the boy fell off the counter. He got up and said; "Ooohhh you're gonna pay for that!" He ducked behind his counter and returned with a pen and paper. "Full name, address, social security number, phone number where I can reach you anytime and lawyer's phone number if you have one" the boy demanded.

"Fuck you Rico! I have enough problems without you being such an asshole!" The blond said, removing herself.

She walked down to the shoreline, she had left the Stewart's without putting shoes on and so she stood at the waterline, her feet being soaked by the brisk Pacific Ocean. She let herself fall to her butt, the water soaking through the fabric of her shorts but she didn't notice let alone care. "My God Jason… I'm so sorry; I can't raise a child by myself!" She broke down. "Why did you have to die? Why couldn't it have been me? You had too much to live for!"

"Now you have too much to live for" Lilly heard Jason's voice say. Her head shot up, her eyes wide; she looked around but found herself to be alone.

"Jason?" She asked meekly.

Silence.

The blond wondered if it was her own consciousness trying to tell her something or if by some miracle Jason had just communicated with her from beyond the grave. Either way the message was clear, Lilly now had a responsibility; she was going to have this child, care for it and raise it into adulthood, just like Jason would've wanted.

She returned to the Stewart house, hesitant to enter since she had hit Miley earlier. Once she did she found the three southern folks sitting at the kitchen table, and they weren't eating. "Lilly, take a seat please" Robby said, motioning to a seat at the empty corner of the table. Lilly did so, slowly, she didn't like where this was going. "I uh… Understand you had a bit of an incident earlier?" Robby said not looking for an answer.

The blond's heart sank, she felt sure that her assault on Miley had just earned her a one-way ticket to the streets. Sure, she could go back to Jason's house but it wouldn't be long before collections agents repossessed it since nobody was paying the property tax. It was a wonder that it hadn't been reclaimed yet already since it was by now well known that its owner was no longing alive. "I um… I didn't think before I acted…" She tried to explain.

"I know" Robby said. "But that doesn't excuse what you did, and now the four of us are in a bit of a situation."

"The four of us?" Lilly wondered.

"You see Rico stopped by only a few minutes ago and asked where you lived. When I told him here he handed me a piece of paper and asked me to fill out all of your information and get it back to him by tomorrow and on top of that he fired my son."

That caught the sixteen year old off guard; she was positive that he had been talking about the problem with Miley. She looked to the brunette, silently asking why she wasn't being asked about their encounter. "So we're in a bit of a jam Lilly" Miley said to her friend.

"He wants to sue us, bodily injury he says." Robby clarified.

"Or more specifically, you" Jackson spat, obviously very angry.

"Alright Jackson relax, the situation is being handled" Robby assured. The boy backed down. "It's also been brought to my attention that you yourself have a bit of a problem."

The blond looked from Robby to Jackson to Miley then back to Robby. "Um… I'm trying to think of it as a mixed blessing" Lilly said, not sure if what she was saying was being completely honest with herself or the Stewarts.

"That's a good way to think of it, but it's not going to be easy for you, are you sure you're up to it?"

Lilly thought before responding. "No, but I can't give it away, Jason wouldn't have wanted that."

"Jason had money to support a child, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we don't, not with Rico's lawsuit." Robby informed, wishing he didn't have to.

"Dad maybe we can get Rico to drop the lawsuit" Miley suggested.

"How?" Both Robby and Jackson asked.

"I don't know but… You know… Maybe we can think of something?"

"I doubt it Miles, but for now why don't we try to concentrate on what we can control… Which isn't much; I'll give my lawyer a call and see what he can do, you kids just go to your rooms, I need some time to think."

Lilly and Miley once again were sitting on their individual beds. "Why didn't you tell your dad I hit you?" Lilly queried.

"Because I deserved what I got from you for what I said" Miley answered. Lilly didn't respond, mostly because she had no idea what to say. "Let's concentrate on Rico, I think I know a way to get this lawsuit out of the picture."

"How?" The blond asked.

With a heavy sigh, Miley said, "Let me worry about that…"

Chapter 10 up and out, please review.