Juliette stood in the nursery of her house, glaring at the yellow chair. She had been relieved to find it gone when she had returned home from rehab, but now it was back in all it's ugly, clashing with the decor, glory. Avery must have taken it with him when he had left and now here it was, back again. Like a bad penny.

"I think that does it. We're all unpacked and moved in," Avery grinned, carrying Cadence into the nursery, ready to put her down for her nap. His smile turned into a nervous one when he saw Juliette glaring at his favorite chair that he had dragged with him from his apartment, to Juliette's when he had moved in the first time, and then to Gunnar's, now back to Juliette's. "I know you hated it, but Cadence loves it and it was originally in the nursery anyway...I didn't think you'd mind."

"I...I don't. I don't mind. I had just...forgotten about how ugly it is," Juliette shook her head. "Are you sure she wouldn't like a rocking chair instead?"

"Cadence loves this chair," Avery grinned, plopping down in it with their giggling daughter in his arms.

Juliette inwardly sighed. She really hated that chair. She had been relieved that it had been gone from her house. But as long as it meant keeping Avery and Cadence with her, she'll learn to accept it once again. "Fine. But it stays in this room. Even if we move."

"Okay by me," Avery shrugged, preoccupied with making funny faces for the baby's amusement.

Juliette couldn't help but laugh and shake her head. If she wasn't careful, she'll end up wrapped around his finger, just as they both were wrapped around Cadence's.

...

Avery frowned, starring at the poster of Juliette and Noah West in a romantic position hanging up in the studio. No, it wasn't staring. It was glaring. He was glaring at the poster. Did she have to have that one hanging up? Surely, there must be a poster without that jerk gracing it, right?

"Hey baby," Juliette walked in, placing a kiss on his cheek as she headed for the recording equipment. "Do you have something to work on today? I was thinking that we can work on our song some more."

"Don't you have a poster without him on it?" Avery crossed his arms, his eyes never leaving the poster.

Juliette blinked at the question. Where had that come from? What was he talking about? She followed his gaze then laughed. "Oh my god, are you jealous of that poster?"

Avery tore his eyes away to look at his laughing girlfriend. He blushed in embarrassment. "Um...of course not. You're with me, not him. Why should I be jealous? I was just wondering..."

"That's right. I am with you and not him. He was way too...boring for me anyway."

"Really? You seemed to enjoy his company when he was here."

"And I had no idea you were jealous," Juliette giggled, somehow feeling vindicated. She was glad that he had been jealous about Noah when he had been with Layla. It was proof that he had loved her all along.

"Okay, okay. I was jealous. I had never stopped loving you, even when I was trying my best to get over you," Avery admitted. "Why wouldn't I be? He was handsome, had perfect hair, perfect teeth, could cook, and was a big movie star."

"You're right. He was all of those things. A real dreamboat. Wanted by every woman in America. But he wasn't you. He wasn't the one I wanted. You were...when he was here...all I could think about was you and you being with her. Yeah, Noah had everything going for him, but for one thing. He wasn't you."

Avery sighed, feeling foolish. He should know better than to be jealous of the guy. Especially when he had been rejected not once, but twice by the woman in question. "Now I feel ridiculous."

"Don't. I'm the last person who should get mad about jealousy. Remember how I was jealous about Scarlett?"

Avery nodded then grinned. "And Sadie. That one was really crazy. Stalking me, then tearing down all those tents..."

"Oh my god!" Juliette laughed, hiding her face with her hands in embarrassment. "I call that one pregnancy brain!"

"No, that was Jealous Juliette," Avery chuckled.

"Even when I was deep in depression...I accused Emily of having an affair with you after seeing those pictures of you and her picnicing with Cadence. I still feel awful about that one," Juliette sighed, realizing that of the two of them, she was the most jealous one. But she had reason, didn't she? Avery was handsome and kind, and talented and he had this charisma...women liked him. Then there was the aspect of somehow competing with her that some women got off on...of course she would be jealous. Layla was proof that there were women out there willing to take him from her.

"You know, you have no reason to be jealous either. Even when I try to move on and get over you...I can't. When you're with other guys, I want to break their legs, even when I don't have a right to. You're it for me, Juliette. There's no other woman for me, but you. We were made for each other."

"You know, it's almost unfair. You know of all my embarrassing jealousy moments. I know nothing of yours," Juliette giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Guess that proves what a perfect guy you are."

Avery kissed her back, feeling out of sorts. It wasn't fair for him to know all the moments where she was embarrassed and she knew none of his. He had to come clean. All the way clean. "I am far from perfect. Scarlett and our friends from Mississippi and even Gunnar could tell you that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I had to take some hard knocks before I got to this point. And still, even now I make mistakes. Layla being one of them."

"Well we know that Layla was a mistake, but what of the other ones that Scarlett and Gunnar are privy to," Juliette walked over to the couch she had set up and sat down, patting the spot next to her.

Avery laughed and rolled his eyes. "I don't know. All of it seems like a million years ago."

"Well, I have time. Tell me what you remember."

Avery sat next to her, not really looking forward to discussing himself pre-Juliette. He hadn't been a very good person back then. In fact, he was surprised that someone like Scarlett hadn't sent him packing the moment they had said hello. He had learned so much here in Nashville, about becoming a better person, a better friend, and a better boyfriend.

"Well...alright. For one...I wasn't a very good person. You wouldn't have liked me when Scarlett and I first came to town."

"So you two were together before?"

Avery nodded. "We met in at University...we were both music majors and realized just how much we had in common. I even went home with her on Thanksgiving and Christmas a few times. We both decided that University wasn't working for us so, we packed up our things, along with a few other friends of mine, and came to music city. I was head of a band and I had aspirations of making it big. I had such a big ego back then...

"I had my band and Scarlett had the blue bird. Everything was perfect. That was until Gunnar came along and encouraged her to start writing and singing...invading my turf you can say. You can also say that I didn't appreciate it. I mean...well like I said, I wasn't a very nice person back then. Kind of a narcissist to be honest..."

"Like me."

"No, not like you. You care about the people surrounding you...your friends and people you consider your family. Me on the other hand...would have done anything to reach the big time...even betray the people closest to me..."

Juliette frowned. "Now I can't picture that. I mean...I've seen you with Scarlett and your other friends...you'd never do anything to hurt them. Not purposely..."

"I was a different person then. I...I didn't consider the pain my actions would cause the people I cared about. Not until it was too late and I lost them. Well, nearly all of them. Scarlett forgave me in the end. She saw that I had changed..."

"And the others?"

"I don't know. I've been too afraid to even approach the guy who had been my best friend and guitarist of the band after the big blow up. There was a time we had done everything together...told each other everything...but I ruined that," Avery sighed, staring at his hands, feeling horrible how he had treated his friends back then. He hadn't realized what he had lost until he had seen Scarlett on stage with them making music.

"Well, how do you know if he'll forgive you if you don't talk to him? Give him the same chance to see that you're not the same person that Scarlett had?"

Avery looked away, his mind processing what Juliette had just said. Maybe she had a point. Maybe he should get over his fear of talking to JT. See if their friendship could be rekindled if not salvaged. At least let him know how sorry he was about how he had behaved and that he took full responsibility for their band falling apart. Let him know that the Avery he knew was gone and that he was a better person now and capable of being a better friend if given the chance.

He had nothing to lose really. The worse JT could do was tell him to get lost. Right?

...

Freshly woken from her nap, Juliette and Avery decided that it'd be a good idea to take the baby out to one of Nashville's parks and enjoy the nice weather. Juliette put together a nice picnic while Avery got Cadence dressed for the outing.

Avery was looking forward to it. It was their first real outing as a family, just the three of them. He loved the vibe between the three of them. They were a happy family and he felt closer to Juliette than ever. He had been afraid that hearing about his past, about the person he used to be would have ran her off. Made her change her mind about him. But it seemed to have brought them closer together. Now Juliette knew that he wasn't this perfect guy who had never done anything wrong in his life and had never hurt the people that he loved. It made her more relaxed with him, which was great!

Fifteen minutes later, they found a nice park, where families were indeed having picnics together and just enjoying the day. Avery parked the car and helped Juliette gather their supplies and everything they would need for Cadence. Five minutes later, Avery had a nice picnic spread out under a willow tree that sat a little bit away from where everyone else was sitting.

"This is nice," Juliette settled down on the red and white checked blanket that Avery had spread out. She looked at Cadence in her pumpkin seat, gurgling away and giggling at the birds and butterflies fluttering about.

"Perfect for a family picnic," Avery grinned, taking the food out of the basket. "I think I've packed Cadence some mashed sweet potatos in here somewhere..."

Juliette watched him dig through the basket and smiled when his face lit up when he found the jar of food. She loved watching him like this. His face...it was so expressive.

"Here we are! Now our princess won't starve," Avery grinned, holding up the jar for Juliette to see.

"You know, I've been thinking. How would you feel if I started making Cadence's food myself? They have these machines that smashes and blends foods for babies. It's more healthy than buying the food. This way, we know what goes into it. What do you think?"

Avery was a little surprised that Juliette would want to make Cadence's food herself. He thought that she'd want to get started on her career, but he was glad that she was thinking in terms of what was best and more healthy for Cadence. It really did show him that she was as much into this as he was.

"I think it's a great idea. I think Cadence would love it too," Avery agreed, leaning in to give his wife a quick kiss, not seeing the couple with a baby of their own slowly approaching.

"Hello Avery," the unsmiling man greeted as Avery pulled away from the kiss.

Avery's eyes widened in surprise as he realized who it was. "JT, man, how are you? It's been a while." He looked at Juliette, wondering if she had something to do with JT showing up out of the blue like this, but she looked just as clueless as he was.

"It has. I've been pretty busy. I got married and had a kid. This is my wife Jessica and our baby Luke," JT introduce the lovely African-American woman at his side and the baby that was just about Cadence's age that was in a stroller, smiling happily at Cadence, probably happy to spot another baby. Cadence laughed and giggled, reaching her arms out to the other baby as they babbled at each other.

"You got married? I had no idea. I got married and have a kid as well...even though we got divorced, but we're working things out again. This is Juliette and our daughter Cadence," Avery managed to get out over his shock and a tinge of hurt. After all, JT had once been his best friend in the world. He had once thought that they would be best men at each other's weddings. Of course, after what he had done, that hadn't been the case.

"You're Juliette Barnes," Jessica gasped, her eyes widening in recognition. "Oh my god, I love you! Don't put dirt on my Grave Just Yet is my favorite song!"

Juliette smiled, happy to meet a fan. "It's one of my favorites as well. It's so nice to meet you."

"JT, why didn't you tell me that you knew the Juliette Barne's baby daddy? No matter what you always cringed at some of the gossip," Jessica nudged her husband.

Avery tried not to cringe at what had now become his media title. He detasted being called Juliette's baby daddy, but that's what he was really. But he was also a producer and wanted to be known for that instead. "I'm also a producer as well," he gave a light hearted chuckle.

"You're a wonderful baby daddy," Juliette giggled, giving his hand a squeeze.

"I didn't mention it because we kind of fell out of touch," JT shrugged. Coming over to say hello to what had once been his best friend was not the easiest thing. A part of him missed Avery and wondered how he was doing, especially when he was in gossip papers. He knew that he could have always called Scarlett to get Avery's number, but he never had, thinking that maybe Avery would rather leave the part of his life that had included their friendship behind. But seeing Avery with his girl and baby, he couldn't not speak. "I just wanted to say hi..."

"I'm glad you did. It's good seeing you, man. It's good to see that you're doing well," Avery nodded afraid to say more, like how much he missed his old friend. How much he regretted their falling out and would love to be friends again, especially since they had babies the same age. Just think if Cadence and little Luke grew up together.

Seeing the look in Avery's face, the desire to say more, but the fear of rejection, she decided to take action. "You know, I don't know many of Avery's friends from Mississippi, only Scarlett. Why don't you two and your baby come to dinner sometime this week? I'd love to get to know both of you better and I think our babies have made friends already."

"I don't know...," JT frowned, not knowing if he would be necessarily welcomed. After all, when Avery had gotten that record deal, he had been quick to dump his old friends. Why would he want his former best friend hanging around his new life of the rich and famous?

"That's a great idea! Luke needs more friends and it'd be great to know another couple," Jessica's eyes widened. She turned to her husband, her eyes pleading with him to accept Juliette's invitation. "Say yes, honey! We hardly go out and this will give you two time to catch up with each other. Wouldn't it be nice to have a friend from home? You always seem so jealous when Susy and I share our Kentucky humor. Wouldn't be nice to have someone you can share your own humor with?"

JT sighed, feeling himself give in. He did miss Avery, despite how things had ended between them. He missed the poker games, the jam sessions, the talk about women and music. He missed the easy comradarie that had once existed between them. Hell, he just missed his best friend. If having dinner with Juliette Barnes was a way to get that friendship back, he'll do it.

Besides, he was curious about how life as Juliette Barnes' baby daddy was treating his old friend. He just hoped that this wouldn't be a case of curiousity killed the cat.

"Okay...if it's alright by you," JT watched Avery closely, looking for any sighs of annoyance or reluctance to have him around. All he saw was nervousness and a deep sense of sadness. Maybe he wasn't the only one missing their friendship after all.

"It's alright, I'll be glad to have you and your family over and catch up with each other," Avery smiled, feeling nervous but grateful at the same time. This was the second chance that he had thought that he'd never get.

"How does Wednesday sound to you?" Juliette pulled out the digital planner that she kept with her at all times. She was relieved to see that she had Wednesday free and clear.

"That would be great! We'll see you then," Jessica happily accepted.

JT and Jessica waved as they and baby Luke headed for the park exit. Once they were gone, Avery looked at Juliette as if seeing her for the first time.

"You didn't have to do that, invite them to dinner..."

Juliette frowned, wondering if she had done the wrong thing. She had just assumed that Avery would want to see JT again, especially after their discussion earlier. Plus, he had looked so sad, like he was seeing something he had lost and felt it was too late to get it back. She had to do something to help.

"Did I do the wrong thing? I assumed that you would want to see him again. Have a chance to repair what's broken between you two."

Avery shook his head, taking her hand in his. "Baby, I'm not mad. You didn't do anything wrong. I was just taken by surprise. To be honest...I'm glad that you invited them to dinner. I don't think I would have had the strength to do it myself. Especially since our falling out was my fault. I just hope he knows how sorry I am about what happened. I just..I'd love to get him back."

Juliette smiled, her eyes sympathetic. "Now you know how I had been feeling when I had returned from rehab wanting you back...yet not knowing if it was even possible."

Avery sighed and squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry baby..."

"Don't be. It was my own fault. But things are good now. I made you see that I am truly sorry and that I had changed. I got you back and I believe that you can get your friend back too. Just be honest with him. Let him see how truly sorry you are. He seems like a good guy and I can tell that he misses you too. I think that you have a good chance of getting him back."

"It'd be great if I did. I mean with him having a baby Cadence's age...it'd be great if they had the same friendship that JT and I had at the beginning, before the whole record deal crap messed it up."

"Yeah. It would. Growing up, I didn't have any friends. I was too embarrassed by momma and what other people would think if they knew. A friendless childhood is not one I want for our baby girl. I want her to be surrounded by friends...and if not surrounded, at least have one good friend, you know?"

"I know. JT and I, we had an awesome childhood. We were inseparable and got into all kinds of trouble together. I want that for her too."

"Well with any luck, she'll have that. But let's concentrate on getting you and JT back together, first," Juliette grinned, again leaning over to kiss her man, happy that she was part of helping Avery for once and not the other way around.