A/N: Hey, guys! Thanks so much for the reviews! Here's your next chapter!

It was an uncomfortable car ride to say the least. Amy tried to apologize over and over, but Ricky was having none of it. He needed time. At least, that's what she told herself. She pulled up into the driveway, immediately spotting Ashley and John on the front porch swing. This was it. None of their lives were ever going to be the same.

Ricky reluctantly followed Amy up to the front porch. He couldn't believe that this was actually happening. He found himself feeling a twinge of anxiety. What if the kid didn't like him? And that was certainly a possibility considering that he was never around before. Of course, that wasn't his fault. But John didn't know that.

Ashley stopped the swing upon seeing Ricky. John didn't like that too much. "Aunt Ashley...", he complained.

"John", Amy spoke. "Can you come here, please?"

Ricky had a look of awe on his face. This was his son. His flesh and blood. Amy certainly wasn't lying when she said the boy looked like him. He was practically shaking, he was so nervous. Lord, he hoped that John took this well.

"Hey, Ricky", Ashley uttered, a look of relief on her face, before turning to Amy. "I'm just going to be inside."

Amy watched the door close behind her sister. She stood behind her son, and put her hands on his shoulders. "Baby, there's somebody I want you to meet. This is Ricky."

John looked up at him, wondering what he looked so sad about. "Hey. How come you're crying?"

Ricky wiped a tear from his eye before it could fall. He forced a smile. "Who, me? I'm not crying. I just had some dust in my eye."

John giggled a bit, not believing him for a second. "Okay."

"Why don't we sit down?", Amy suggested, motioning to the swing. John reluctantly complied. She sat on one side of him, and Ricky sat on the other.

"How do you know my mama?", John asked, looking at Ricky with curiosity.

Ricky glanced at Amy. "Well..."

"Me and Ricky used to date", Amy answered for him. She took a deep breath. "Sweetie, he's...he's your daddy."

John's eyes widened. He turned abruptly to Ricky. "You're...my daddy?"

He nodded slowly, relief washing over him as the little boy's shocked expression turned into a wide grin. John looked at his mother. "Mama, he's really my daddy?"

"He is", she confirmed.

John threw his arms around Ricky, taking him by surprise. He protectively held his son in his arms, though he wasn't sure if he would be able to let go. That's when he knew this was real. He was a father. And he would never let this child down. Amy watched the scene, fighting back tears in her own eyes. They looked right together. She couldn't deny that.

Slowly, John broke away from his father's embrace. "Ricky, how come I've never met you before?", he wondered.

Ricky glanced at Amy, as if to ask her how he was supposed to answer that. She put her hand on her son's shoulder. "Baby, he didn't know about you", she said softly.

He looked up at her in confusion. "Huh? How come?"

"Well..." She tried to come up with a response that wasn't a total lie, but nothing came to mind.

As angry as Ricky was with Amy, he didn't want to create a rift between her and their son. So, he decided to step in. "Buddy, it's a long, complicated story. And we might tell you when you get older. But all that matters is that I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere."

He could tell by the look in the boy's eyes that he wanted to trust him. "You're really gonna stay?", he asked hopefully.

Ricky nodded. "Absolutely."

"Can I call you daddy?"

"I would love that", he replied. "But only if that's something you're comfortable with. You don't have to call me daddy right away."

"But I want to", John stated. "I've never had a daddy before. Are we gonna get to do manly stuff together? Stuff that mama doesn't like?"

Ricky laughed. "Sure. What do you have in mind?"

John's eyes lit up. "We could go fishing, and we can play catch, and we could go to a real football game!"

He glanced at Amy with a sincere look of disbelief. "He's never been to a football game?"

Amy shook her head, a slight smile creeping onto her face. Ricky sighed. "Son, I promise I'll take you to a football game. You know, I used to play in high school."

His son looked at him in awe. "Really? Were you the quarterback?"

"I was."

"That was for like a month, and it was pee-wee football", Amy said, rolling her eyes. "He was usually the one that ran with the ball."

"A running back", Ricky clarified. "And a dang good one. If I hadn't have torn my ACL, I would've been the next Deuce McCallister."

"Who's that?", John wondered.

Amy watched as Ricky tried to explain to John about some old Saints player. She kind of tuned out of the conversation. Instead, she just watched them smiling, laughing. John barely knew Ricky, but he already thought he walked on water. And the anger that had been flowing through Ricky before now seemed to be gone. She was sure it wasn't. He would probably have resentment towards her for a long time. But it wasn't coming out in front of John. Maybe Ricky Underwood could be a good dad after all.

Ashley couldn't help but smile as she watched through the living room window. God, she was glad that everything was out now. She could only imagine how relieved Amy must be feeling. No more secrets. No more lies. Hearing a ringing noise, she closed the curtain, and picked up Amy's phone. Ben's picture popped up.

"Hello?", she said slowly.

"Who is this?", he asked, obviously knowing that she wasn't Amy.

"Ashley. Her sister. She's kind of busy right now. Can I take a message?"

"Uh, sure. Tell her that I just got off of the jet. I'm here."

"H-Here?", she stuttered, glancing out the window again.

"Yeah. In Alabama."

Ashley gulped nervously. Amy. Ben. Ricky. Adrian. Well, this should certainly be interesting.

Please review!