JJ paused and took a deep breath outside his sister's door. Ever since the morning that he'd inadvertently discovered Abby and EJ DiMera in bed together, he'd been unsure what to do. His initial instinct had been to tell his mom, but fortunately for Abby, their mom had been spending almost every spare moment at Daniel's. Between her schedule and his own community service and school work, he hadn't seen her in days.

Those few days had given him plenty of time to think about what he should do. He knew without a doubt that his mom would blow a gasket at the thought of Abby involved with yet another DiMera, especially an older one who was engaged to another woman, so he had come to the conclusion that it really wouldn't be fair to Abby if he told their mom. He just couldn't do that to his sister. He owed it to her to tell her what he'd seen and give her a chance to explain what was going on.

He lifted his hand to knock on her door just as it was flung open from the inside.

"JJ!" Abby exclaimed. "What are you doing? Don't tell me she's here already."

"Huh, what?" JJ asked in confusions. "She?"

"Sami Brady." Abby said with a touch of exasperation in her voice. "She left me a voice mail yesterday afternoon saying she wanted to see me this morning. She said she had a favour to ask me. I assume she wants another art lesson."

"No, she's not here. Art lesson?" JJ laughed. "Like are you teaching her how to paint or something?"

Abby shook her head. "No, no, no. Though that might have worked out better than this has. I don't know why she keeps bothering me with this. It's been weeks and all she's able to do is parrot word for word whatever I tell her. She has no interest in the subject whatsoever. I tried to teach her about Raphael—"

"The Ninja Turtle?" JJ crinkled his face.

"No!" Abby closed her eyes and rubbed her palm over her forehead in frustration. "That's exactly what Sami said. I'm talking about Raphael, the Renaissance artist."

JJ laughed. "I'm just teasing you. Of course I knew that. We studied the Renaissance in school last year. But what does he have to do with Sami Brady?"

"Come on, let's go downstairs and I'll tell you over breakfast."

"I can't believe you're eating seafood again." JJ's eyes widened as he watched Abby finish her last bite after practically inhaling the entire plate of food. Normally he was the human vacuum at the table, but today she had him beat. "And why does it keep getting delivered here?"

Abby was prepared. She'd spent the previous evening concocting a plausible answer for the question she knew he'd ask. "I won a bet with one of my old college classmates, so I get free meals for a few weeks."

"Did you get to pick the prize?"

"Of course."

"And you chose that – that, what the hell was it that you just ate anyway?"

"My breakfast? Oh that was Takoyaki."

"Tako what?"

"Takoyaki. It's a Japanese dish – dumplings filled with diced octopus."

"For breakfast? You're the woman who's been throwing up at the sight of eggs for the past couple of weeks and you're eating octopus for breakfast?"

Abby shrugged. "The egg aversion was because of that stomach virus I had. I ate an egg salad sandwich the day I came down with it and threw up. I just couldn't handle egg for a bit after that. I'm fine now."

Unconvinced, JJ opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted by the doorbell.

"That must be her." Abby said. She smiled sweetly at JJ. "Squirt, would you mind getting the door and entertaining her for a few minutes. I need to freshen up before I deal with her."

"Sure." JJ agreed. "But stop calling me squirt. I tower over you."

Abby just laughed and headed out of the kitchen to go upstairs. JJ sauntered over to the door and flung it open.

"JJ!" Sami exclaimed with a smile. "I was expecting Abby."

"Oh she'll be back down in a minute. Come on in." He led Sami into the living room. "Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee, tea, water?"

Sami shook her head. "Thank you, no, I won't be staying long."

"Oh." JJ was confused. "I thought you were here for another one of your art lessons with my sister."

"No, not today. I've got way too much to get done by next week."

"Oh what's next week?" JJ asked, though he wasn't especially interested in the answer.

"Well, the reason I'm here is because EJ and I are—."

"Hi Sami." Abby smiled as she breezed into the room. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Oh you hardly did at all." Sami beamed. "And you're just in time. I was just telling JJ my wonderful news."

Abby feigned interest. "What wonderful news? Is it about Will?"

Sami shook her head. "No, no."

"Allie then? What's my brilliant little cousin been up to? Did she win another award at school?"

"Well actually she did, but that's not why I'm here. Like I was just about to tell JJ, I have the most incredible news. EJ and I have decided to get married next week! Isn't that awesome?"

Abby was stunned. "You're what?"

"Getting married. We moved up the wedding date. We're both so excited and so very, very happy. And we want you to be part of our wedding party, Abby. You're a friend to both of us, so we hope you'll agree to be EJ's best person. Will has already agreed to be mine."

JJ glanced over at his sister with alarm. She'd turned deathly pale at Sami's news. "Abs are you okay?" He moved closer to her. "You don't look so hot all of a sudden."

Abby could hear the blood pounding in her head and felt her stomach beginning to heave. She lifted her hand to her mouth and ran out of the room. As she made it to the bathroom and shut the door she could hear her brother calling for her.

"Abby?!"

"Poor thing. Stupid me." Sami clucked sympathetically. "I forgot that she was probably still suffering from morning sickness. I should have done this later in the day. I was just so eager to tell her about my, er I mean our plans."

JJ's head whipped around. "Morning sickness?"

Sami lifted her hand to her mouth. "Oops! I thought she would have told you guys by now. Forget I said anything." She gathered her purse and headed for the door. Please tell Abby that I'll call her later and we can go over the details. And can you let her know that to keep next Wednesday clear in her schedule? I have to run. So much to do. See you later JJ."

JJ waited until Sami was out the door and then sank down onto the sofa. "Morning sickness? She's pregnant?" Immediately he flashed back to what he'd seen upstairs days ago. "Oh my god, and EJ's got to be the father."

Abby held a cool, damp cloth against her face with one hand and rubbed her abdomen protectively with the other. "This has to be some sort of misunderstanding little one. Your daddy would have told me if he planned to marry her next week. I know he would have." Still, despite her assurances to their unborn child, she couldn't help but have her doubts. She'd been pressuring him to tell Sami about them ever since they got the pregnancy results and every time he had assured her that he was going to do it, yet so far he hadn't followed through on the promise. "Was he lying? He is the world's best liar. He'll even admit that." But he doesn't lie to me.He knows I see right through it if he tries.He's admitted that as well.

Abby was snapped out of her reverie by a soft knocking at the door. "Abs, are you okay?"

She smiled slightly at the concern she heard in JJ's voice. "I've been better." She said truthfully as she opened the door and led him back into the living room. "I guess I'm not as over that stomach bug as I thought I was."

JJ shook his head, crossed his arms and gave Abby a look that reminded her so much of their late father that it took her breath away. "Abby, you and I both know that you don't have a stomach bug."

"Of course I do!"

"I don't think so."

"You know I've been fighting it for the past few weeks."

"No." JJ corrected her. "I know that's what you've been passing it off as, but I don't think you're sick at all."

"What?" Abby couldn't meet his gaze. "I don't know what point you're trying to prove—."

"You're pregnant." It was a statement, not a question.

Abby paused to take a breath. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Sami just slipped and said you were suffering from morning sickness."

"Oh don't tell me you believe Sami Brady—"

"How else do you explain the 'stomach virus' that only makes you throw up in the morning? Or how tired you've been lately?"

"That proves nothing. Besides, you know I'm not seeing anyone right now so how could I be pregnant?"

JJ coughed into his hand. "Liar."

"Pardon me?"

"Abigail Johanna, I saw you with him."

"What?" Abby could feel a knot forming in her stomach.

"The night the kids all slept over, or I should say the next morning. I went upstairs to grab some clothes and my toothbrush and noticed that my bed hadn't been slept in. I opened your door to ask if you knew where EJ had gone, but before I could say anything, I had my answer. He was in your bed and you were snuggled so tightly in his arms that I doubt I could have slid a piece of paper between the two of you."

"Oh god." Abby moved to the sofa and sank down, burying her head in her hands.

"So it's true." JJ sat down beside her and slid his arm around her, rubbing comforting circles across her back.

Abby nodded.

"And it's EJ's." Again, it was a statement not a question. JJ knew his sister well enough to know that if she was involved with EJ, he was the only man in her life and in her bed.

Abby nodded again.

"Does he know you're pregnant?"

"He was with me when I got the results. He's been nothing but supportive."

JJ whistled softly. "And yet he's engaged to Sami Brady and planning to marry her next week? Supportive, my ass. I'm going to kill that bastard."

"No." Abby sat back up. "You can't do anything. I'm sure that there's more to this. EJ would have told me."

"He cheated on his fiancée and got you pregnant. Forgive me if I'm not inclined to believe he's been honest about anything."

"You don't know him the way I do!"

JJ raised his brow. "Obviously."

"No, I'm being serious. EJ and I have a connection. It's impossible to explain. We can't even explain it. It's like everything in our lives was leading to the moment we first kissed. We just, fit."

"Then why is he still engaged to another woman? If you're so perfect for each other couldn't he have taken a moment to end things with Sami before starting with you?"

"It's complicated. He has kids—"

"Who adore you." JJ shook his head. "I'm pretty sure they would have come through it all okay."

Abby shrugged. "I thought the same thing, but it's not my decision to make. EJ knows they've been through a lot in their short lives and was trying to make it as painless as possible for them."

"Sounds more like he was trying to have his cake and eat it too."

"JJ—"

"Be real Abby. I know you. For you to get involved with an engaged man is a big deal. You're obviously head over heels in love with him and you'll do anything to make him happy. What incentive does he have to end things with Sami when he knows he can have his pretty little willing mistress on the side? Has he asked you to move to Europe yet? You know, to hide from Sami?"

"For your information, I offered to move to Europe and have the baby there. He was having none of that. He wants to be involved his our child's life"

"Abby!" JJ jumped up and ran a hand threw his hair in frustration as he paced across the room. "What about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Fine. He wants to be involved with the baby's life, but what about you? Did he tell you that he was going to end things with Sami?"

"Not in so many words."

"So no."

Abby stood up and reached her hand out, stopping him mid-pace. "JJ, I know you're in shock and upset, but this is between EJ and me."

"You're right. It is, but he needs to deal with this, right now. How about if I pay him a little visit at DiMera Enterprises and pass on that message to him?"

"You can't do that."

"Abby, I'm your brother. If Dad was alive, he'd be the one making EJ do the right thing. That falls to me now."

Abby couldn't hide the proud little smile that JJ's words put on her face. He might be a bit of a pest sometimes, but he always had her back. She knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt. "Slow down squirt. Believe me, I appreciate that you want to help, but you can't go see EJ because EJ is out of the country and won't be back until next week."

"Well Sami said for you to keep Wednesday open, so he must be due back by then. Can't you phone him and tell him to get his butt back here to explain?"

Abby sighed. "I'll send him a text. He warned me when he left that communication would be a challenge. All I can do is hope he gets the message in time. I'm sure there's an explanation though. He would have told me if this was his plan. I trust him."

From the expression on her brother's face, she knew he had nothing but doubts in EJ's sincerity and given the situation, she couldn't fault him for that.

"JJ, look I know I'm asking a lot here, but can you promise me that you'll keep this a secret between the two of us?"

"You'll have to tell Mom eventually, Abs. She's not stupid. You won't be able to hide your pregnancy forever."

"I know, and I won't have to. I just need a little more time. Now speaking of time, don't you have a class to go to?"

JJ glanced at the clock on the mantle. "Ugh, yes." He started heading out of the room but stopped and crossed back to Abby, surprising her as he hauled her into his arms for a big hug. "No matter what happens, I'm on your side Abby, just know that."

"Always." Abby smiled as she returned his hug. "Now get to class."

She absently rubbed her belly as she watched him grab his books and head out the door. "Your uncle's a good guy little one. You're going to love him. Now, let's go send a message off to your daddy and find out what the hell is going on."