Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock or Wizards of Waverly Place.

AN: I AM SO FREAKING SORRY. It's never taken me this long to update this story before. I just got so busy with school and life. And I lost faith in myself as a writer because of my stupid writing class… I will try not to let it be so long next time. I PROMISE.


Mitchie entered her cabin hot and sweaty, her cheeks a rosy pink from being outside in the sun and the heat. Her black hair was sticking to the back of her neck, just like her flannel shirt was sticking to her sweaty back. She could really use a shower, but since she had to go back out in the sun after a little while, what was the point?

"That heat is killer," she announced to Justin, who was sitting in the middle of the floor with Sam in his lap and a book in his hands. "You know, you're the only one he allows to read to him," Mitchie commented upon seeing the small book. It looked like Dr. Seuss.

"I think it has something to do with Alex," Justin commented, closing the book and standing. He balanced Sam on his hip. "I don't know how, but I know she's behind him being anti-books."

"I believe you."

Mitchie grabbed a hair tie off the bedside table and quickly put her hair up into a sloppy ponytail. The small breeze on the back of her neck was immensely refreshing.

"Thanks for doing this, Justin," Mitchie said with a smile. "The first day is hectic. I should have known there would be a time when no one could watch Sam."

"You're welcome," Justin said as he moved his head back to avoid Sam sticking his finger up his nose. "I'd do anything for you and Sam."

"You'd do anything for Alex, too." Mitchie poked him in the shoulder.

"I would not!" Justin said with a frown.

"Yes you would!" Mitchie laughed. "You love her."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Because it's true." Mitchie smiled and extended her arms. "Wanna come with Mommy, Sam?"

Sam beamed and nearly jumped from his Uncle Justin's arms. "Mommy!" he exclaimed.

"Hi, Baby," Mitchie cooed as she hugged her son to her and kissed the side of his head. "I missed you."

Justin stood there pouting, a little dejected. "He wouldn't detach himself from me for two seconds before you got here."

Mitchie patted Justin's shoulder. "You're his uncle and he loves you, but you'll never be his Mommy."

"Mommy!" Sam squealed again and threw his tiny arms around Mitchie's neck.

Mitchie laughed. "See?"

Justin smiled and nodded. "Yeah, yeah. He loves you most."

"I'd hope so," Mitchie muttered. "After all I went through to have him…" Her eyes shifted to the ground.

Justin put a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up, meeting his green eyes with her brown ones.

"He loves you most, Mitch," Justin said softly, giving her a slight smile. Mitchie gave him a weak smile back and a small nod. "Now, I gotta go," Justin announced, taking a step back and slipping his wand from his back pocket. "I'm in charge of Max's wizard lesson for today." He shook his head. "God help me…"

Justin spun his wand in a small circle before disappearing before their very eyes.

"Bye, Juss!" Sam exclaimed, waving a hand though Justin could not hear nor see him.

Just then Alex walked in, the fingers on her right hand bandaged.

"My first day, and I've already gone to the infirmary!" she exclaimed, holding up her injured hand.

Mitchie walked towards her to get a better look at the bandages. "I didn't even know there was an infirmary here," she said. "What happened?"

"I burned myself," Alex said with a huge pout. "I've only ever worked with cold sandwiches. Throw in a stove, and my whole world is turned upside down!"

"I'm sorry," Mitchie said, suppressing a giggle. "Here, let me kiss them."

Alex held out her fingers, and Mitchie kissed the bandages.

"Better?" Mitchie asked.

"A little," Alex said in a slightly whiny voice, making her sound like a child almost.

"Good," Mitchie said. "Now pull yourself together before Shane gets here."

"Ugh," Alex groaned. "I forgot he was coming over."

Mitchie quirked an eyebrow. "How could you forget that?"

"Okay, I didn't," Alex admitted. "I was just hoping he would."

Mitchie shook her head and looked out the screen door. Across the grounds, she could see someone coming towards their cabin. The person was still very far, but Mitchie was fairly certain it was Shane. She just had the feeling it was.

"No such luck. I see him," Mitchie said, her face turning serious. "You don't think he'd try to take Sam, do you? Because after the hell I went through carrying him, then that terrifying delivery…" Mitchie shivered and noticed Alex tense up. The memory of that day still frightened them sometimes. "I just couldn't handle Shane taking him."

"But you said yourself that there was no way he could," Alex said. "You said that just this morning."

"What if he found a way, though?" Mitchie whispered, looking to Alex.

She squared her jaw and threw her shoulders back in what she hoped appeared to be a threatening manner. "He'd have to kill me first."

Mitchie smiled at Alex and felt her heart swell. Alex was doing it again. She was being amazing.

As Shane got close to the cabin, Mitchie used the arm with which she wasn't holding Sam and pushed the door open for him. He stopped at the steps.

"Hey," he said nervously, putting his hands in his pockets and rocking back and forth on his heels.

"Hey," Mitchie responded. "Coming in?"

Shane hesitated. "I… Uh…"

"Get in here!" Alex demanded, already annoyed with Shane just by his presence… No. His mere existence.

Shane jumped slightly and scrambled up the steps and inside. Mitchie closed the door behind him. Shane took a seat on the floor, glancing at Alex nervously. Alex, seeming satisfied he remembered his place, sat on the bed. Mitchie sat next to her, Sam in her lap.

"So, uh…" Shane swallowed and pulled his knees up to his chest, hooking his arms around them. "You… I…" He took a breath. "Jason said you wanted to talk to me."

Mitchie nodded. "Yes."

When Mitchie didn't go on, Shane asked, "About what?"

"Well…" Mitchie hesitated. She tightened her grip around Sam's waist a little. "Basically, now that you know about Sam, the ball is in your court… If you want to go back to how things were, when you didn't know… If you want to pretend like you still don't know… Great. I'm fine with that. But… If you want to be a part of his life… If you want to get to know him… That would be okay, too." She looked at Shane, hard. "You're his father, after all. Whether you accept responsibility or not. I'm not asking you for money. I'm not asking you for anything. I'm just saying, if you want to be in his life, super. If not, then we're packing up and leaving by as early as tomorrow. And then you can forget all about me and Sam."

Shane was quiet for a while, starring at his shoes. Finally, he looked up and said softly, "Don't do that. Don't leave."

"Give me one reason I shouldn't," Mitchie retorted.

"Because…" Shane looked to Sam. "I want to know him…"

Mitchie stared at him. "Seriously?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Seriously."

"Are you sure?" Alex jumped in. "Because this isn't just something you toy around with. You can't go 'Yeah, being a father might be cool' and then in a week decide 'Nah this is hard.' This is a kid's life." Her speech was reminding her of Mitchie's speech to her when they were fighting over whether or not to try dating. That day on the rooftop overlooking the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. "You have to commit to him. If you don't know whether or not you can do it, don't even try. I'd rather Sam have no father than a flaky father."

Shane blinked a few times. "Who are you?" he exclaimed. "Seriously. Why are you even here? So far since we've met, you've threatened me, bullied me, harassed me, insulted me, and punched me! And you've never left Mitchie's side!" He looked to Mitchie. "Who the hell is this girl? Your personal body guard or something?"

Mitchie looked to Alex, whose face was turning bright red. She expected her heart to be going a mile a minute, but she was oddly calm. After all, she'd told so many people what Alex was to her. Why should Shane be any different?

"She's my girlfriend," Mitchie said, not tearing her eyes from Alex's face, which was getting redder by the minute. "We've been dating for over a year." She finally looked to Shane, who was wearing a blank expression. "Since before I even had Sam."

"That… Would actually make a lot of sense," Shane said slowly.

"How so?" Alex asked, her voice slightly hoarse from holding her breath for so long.

Shane shrugged. "The way you look at each other, and touch. And you're always around each other. You share a cabin." He gestured to the room. "And how much Alex hates me."

"I do hate you…" Alex said quietly.

"That, um…" Mitchie cleared her throat. "That wasn't the reaction I was expecting from you at all."

"You expected me to freak out, didn't you?" Shane asked with his bushy eyebrows raised.

"Freak out, yell, scream, kick, threaten, throw Holy water…" Alex trailed off. "Something like that."

"I'll admit, I'm a little confused since… Well… He's here," he pointed to Sam. "But…" he shrugged. "I don't know. Jason's gay. You find out your best friend and band mate's gay, and you kind of learn to accept it."

"Jason's gay?" Mitchie asked, her eyes widening.

"Yeah," Shane nodded. "But don't go spreading that around. Our manager doesn't want it getting out."

"You know, this is really anticlimactic!" Alex interjected. "I at least wanted him to throw a little fit so I could put him in his place!"

"Alex, this is a good thing," Mitchie said, patting her knee.

"Can I at least hit him again?" she pouted.

"Maybe later."

"Um, no!" Shane exclaimed. "Don't give her permission to hit me!"

"Okay, both of you, hush!" Mitchie shifted Sam on her lap. He was being particularly good and quiet, something for which his mother was very thankful. "Back on track… Shane, do you want to be in Sam's life, yes or no?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Are you sure?" Alex asked. "Because if you're going to take off in a few−"

"Yes!" Shane interrupted her. "Yes, God, I said YES! What don't you get about that?"

"Don't talk to me like that," Alex snapped.

"Guys!" Mitchie hissed. "You're going to make Sam cry again."

"Sorry," Alex and Shane muttered simultaneously.

Mitchie took a deep breath. "Good." She looked to Shane. "So… What now?"

Shane shrugged. "I don't know. Let me hold him, I guess?"

Mitchie hesitated. "I don't know…"

"I'm not gonna drop him or take off with him," Shane said, seeming to sense Mitchie's fears. "You can even put Butch here by the door to guard it if you think I'm gonna steal him."

Alex's jaw dropped in shock and anger. "I am not a butch, you stupid fuck," she spat.

"Alex, language!" Mitchie snapped and gestured towards Sam. "That won't be necessary, Shane. Just… Be careful, okay?" She stood, picking up Sam with her.

"I won't even stand," Shane said, remaining seated. "How should I hold my arms?"

"He can sit up by himself. I'll just put him in your lap," Mitchie said.

Slowly and carefully, Mitchie lowered Sam onto Shane's lap. As she seated him, she held on a little longer than necessary, not completely ready to hand her son over to the man she never really wanted to hold him. But she had no choice. Shane had rights. And one of his rights was to hold his son. So, Mitchie let go and took a step back. And as she did so, her heart leapt into her throat.

Seeing them side by side like that for the first time, Mitchie realized how much Sam actually did take after Shane. They had, without a doubt, the same hair. And though Sam had her eyes, there were definite facial features that Sam had inherited from his father. They had the same impish smirk.

Shane looked down at the toddler in his lap in stunned silence. Okay, he was holding him. So what should he do now? Should he put his hands on his waist like Mitchie had done? Should he pat his head? Or should he just sit there and stare like he was doing? Maybe he should have listened to Nate and waited until Benny showed up before coming over. At least then he could have avoided embarrassing himself like this by not knowing how to hold a baby.

Sam looked up at the strange man curiously. This man had dark stubble on his chin, something Sam wasn't used to. All the men he'd ever been around were clean-shaven. This was new to him.

Sam lifted his little hand and felt Shane's chin. The whiskers tickled his palm.

He left out a small laugh and looked up at his mothers for approval. Alex simply stared while Mitchie forced a smile for her son's sake.

"I think that's enough for right now," Mitchie said, bending down quickly and scooping her son from his father's lap. "We have activities to get back to soon."

Shane stood, dusting off his shorts. "Yeah, I should probably get going." He hesitated. "Are you going to the bonfire tonight?" He looked back and forth between Alex and Mitchie.

Alex shook her head. "No. We have a child to look after," she said coldly.

Shane nodded slowly. "Right… Well, could I come over tonight and see him again?" he asked. "I don't feel like going to the bonfire."

Mitchie glanced at Alex, then back to Shane. "I guess that would be okay. But just for a little while."

"Thanks," Shane said. "Well, I better get going, I guess…"

"Bye," Alex said bluntly.

Shane rolled his eyes. "Bye." He started walking towards the door.

"Bye!" Sam hollered from Mitchie's arms, waving to Shane's back.

Shane turned at the door and gave a small wave. "Bye, little guy." And with that, he left.

Mitchie and Alex both went over to the screen door, watching as Shane walked away. Each girl had mixed feelings about what had just occurred.

"I am not a butch," Alex said, breaking the silence they had fallen into.

"Of course you aren't, Dear," Mitchie said, placing her hand on Alex's shoulder. "But you're definitely the more manly one of the two of us."

Alex shuffled her feet. "Is it a girly manly?"

Mitchie nodded and smiled a little. "Yes. A very cute, girly manly."

Alex smiled. "Okay, I can live with that."


Once again, so, so, SO sorry for not updating. It's been so crazy. I hardly have time to sleep anymore.

Anyway, review it. Do it. Now.