"Wow," John said when he looked over at the clock in the room after he woke up from a nap he decided to take when Lita put Anthony down for one and Mikayla was already sleeping. It was some time after four in the afternoon which meant he was out for about three hours. It wasn't totally surprising to him because he didn't get much sleep the night before or much sleep the past few days. He was thankful Lita was helping him out for now, but he couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen in a few days because it wasn't like Lita was always going to be there to help him out with Mikayla.

He still had to figure out how he was going to divide his time with both Anthony and Mikayla when he went back to work. It wasn't hard right now because he had Lita's help and she actually let him and Mikayla stay with her for a few days which he was very thankful for. The first part of the day was pretty great. He played with Anthony and Mikayla although his daughter seemed to want to be with Lita more which he found strange but didn't think much of it because at least she wasn't crying as much as before and that was something he could get used to and hoped didn't change.

John got up and decided to join Lita and the kids downstairs. He assumed the two were now awake and he was correct on that assumption when he went into the kitchen after hearing some noise coming in from there and seeing Anthony coloring at the table and Mikayla was sitting on a booster chair, keeping herself busy with some toys. Lita didn't notice his presence because she was busy washing some dishes. That was until he popped up next to her and that made her jump because she was not expecting him to show up any time soon.

"It's just me," John said, trying not to laugh at her reaction.

Lita nodded before returning her attention back to the dishes she was previously washing. "I get that," and then it became awkwardly quiet until she spoke up again after she was done with her task. She turned around to face John before she spoke. "So um, I was thinking of making spaghetti for dinner because that's Anthony's favorite. Well, pasta is all he eats. Boil any type of pasta, mix it with some butter and he'll be happy. Once in a while I'll sneak some vegetables in it hoping he doesn't catch in on it. Sometimes it works, sometimes is doesn't. Most of the time it doesn't. And..." she trailed off and shook her head when she realized she was kind of in rambling territory. "Point is, is spaghetti fine?"

John smirked before speaking. "As long as you don't try to sneak some vegetables in it." Lita rolled her eyes and was about to say something, but he beat her to it. "I'm kidding. Um, it's fine. Do you need some help?"

"From you?" Lita laughed and shook her head. "No. I'm pretty sure I don't want you to burn down my kitchen. Again."

"That was one time. And I didn't burn anything down. I would appreciate it if you would say almost. It makes it sound better."

Lita rolled her eyes once again. "Anyway you look put it, you almost burned down my kitchen and all I asked you was to make sure the tea didn't boil over and fall into the stove making it all a mess. That would have been better than what you actually did."

"It's not my fault the pot was hot and I needed to use the towel to move the pot onto another one and-"

"But it is your fault that you caught the towel on fire and threw it on the ground and then just stood there staring at it like you had no sense to do anything about it. It wasn't until I came, saw what happened, and threw water all over did the fire stop. I don't want a repeat of that. You know, I moved out of that house and into this one because of you. That kitchen was so damaged, I couldn't stand it anymore."

John rolled his eyes at what she just said. "No it wasn't. There was a little, okay so maybe not so little, but it wasn't as big as you're saying. You got the tiles replaced and all was fine. Plus, that was a fluke," John insisted. "That was the only thing anything like that ever happened."

Lita shook her head. "Yea, no. I'm not taking any chances. But those two," she gestured over to where Anthony was still coloring and Mikayla was still distracted by some toys, "are not going to stay this calm forever so you can make sure they don't give me a hard time."

"I don't think she likes me," John said staring at his daughter. "She likes you more than she likes me and she really doesn't like me so maybe it's not saying a lot, but-"

"Shut up," Lita cut him off before he could get any further. "She likes you, but she just likes me a little bit more and you can't really blame her for that. I mean, I'm awesome." John rolled his eyes. He turned his head a little so he was now looking at her and was about to say something, but Lita spoke up before he could. "We should probably get that crib from downstairs soon unless you want to share a bed with her but I think the crib will be the safe route to go. I mean, she can still sleep on the bed with you because it's not a small bed and I'm sure you won't kick your daughter off of it, but it could be safer using a crib. Don't worry, it's clean and it's sturdy. Went down there while all of you were sleeping and cleaned up the crib as well as the chair," she said referring to where Mikayla was, "before I brought that up. There are some other things down there that are in good condition that can be useful while you two are here."

"Thanks. For everything. I really appreciate your help and everything you're doing for me and Mikayla."

Lita shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Yes it is. You don't have to do any of this-"

"Well, it's good for Anthony so it's not really a big deal." John simply nodded in response. "Have you given much thought about what you're going to do when you're back on the road?"

John shook his head. "Well, I have thought about it, just couldn't come up with something. The only thing I can think of is getting a nanny like Mickie did, but definitely not someone like that one. I only met her once and she didn't look like she was competent of looking after any kid."

"He's seriously willing to let some stranger raise his daughter?" Lita didn't realize she said that out loud until she looked up at John and saw the look on his face. "Oh, um-"

John let out a sigh. "That's not... I don't know what else I can do. It's not like I take her on the road with me. I really don't want to retire right now. Maybe I can... I don't know. I really don't know."

"Look, if you want some stran..." she trailed off when she realized she was about to use that word again. "A nanny. If you want a nanny to look after your daughter then do that. It's your decision, I can't tell you what to do, but I can give you suggestion, right?" John nodded. "Right. So um, how about-" Just as Lita was about to suggest what she was thinking, the doorbell rang. "Okay. That'll just have to wait for later. I'm gonna go check who that is." She walked away and was almost out of the kitchen, but she turned around with a smirk present on her face. "Stay away from the stoves. No fire, okay?" With that, she left.

Lita opened the door and was surprised to see her sister standing on the other side. She wasn't expecting her at all. And now she couldn't stop thinking about how Mellie was going to react when she found out John was there.

"Are you going to let me in or are you going to make me stand out here?" Mellie asked which caused Lita to move out the way and allow the other woman to enter the house.

"Um, not that I'm not happy to see you here," kinda bad timing, "but uh, what's up? What are you doing here?"

"I didn't come to see you," Mellie said as she walked into the house and heard sounds coming from the kitchen. "I came to see my favorite nephew in the whole wide world. My husband abandoned me."

"How long is he gone for this time?" Lita asked. Her brother-in-law was enlisted in the Navy so it wasn't unusual for him to be gone a lot.

"Two months. And why do I hear a baby..." Mellie trailed off when she entered the kitchen with Lita following behind and received her answer. She stared at John for a while trying to figure out if she was actually seeing him and why he was there. Then she looked over at her sister, then back at John, then back at Lita again. "You're not screwing him again are you? Because you know that only screws you over." John looked over at Lita and saw she looked angry which didn't surprise him because he was a bit bothered by that statement too.

"Mellie!" Lita exclaimed, pulling her sister out of the room and into the living room. "What the hell is your problem?" She tried to keep her voice down so it wouldn't travel into the kitchen, but her sister just pissed her off. "You can't just come in my house and say whatever the hell you want. Especially not in front of Anthony."

"The better question is what is he doing here?"

"Anthony is his son and Anthony lives here so he's here to visit his son. Do you have a problem with that? Because I really don't give a damn. If I'm not mistake, you were the one trying to convince me to let him be a part of Anthony's life so what the hell is your problem now?"

"And he brought his daughter along with him? I'm assuming that's his daughter."

Lita nodded. "You're right. It's a long story and it's really none of your business. Plus, that's Anthony's sister so he can bring her along with him whenever he wants."

"Does Mickie know her daughter is here? Because I sure as hell don't think she would allow that."

"Doesn't really matter what Mickie would allow right now," Lita muttered under her breath. She shook her head before speaking out loud before Mellie could question what she meant by that. "Again, long story and it's none of your business."

"So is he staying here or is he just visiting and then staying at a hotel late?" Lita didn't reply to that and looked away which basically was an answer to Mellie. "Unbelievable. Are you really playing house with him? Of all people, with him? Seriously?" The redhead sighed and looked back up at her sister. "He already... twice, okay? He already broke your heart twice. Well, at least twice. Are you really going to pretend that didn't happen? Are you two going to pretend you never asked him to leave his wife for you? Not once, but twice."

"They're not married," Lita muttered under her breath and she really didn't know why she said that especially with what her sister, who heard what she said, was going to say now.

"They're not married?" Mellie repeated and Lita could tell she was about to go on some rant. "Are you kidding me? They're not married so they obviously separated or got a divorce and what? You're just jumping at the chance to get back at him? Do you not remember everything's he's done to you? Do I really have to bring up what happened just a couple of months ago? Because I already kinda brought it up a little while ago, I can go into detail if you want."

"Just shut up!" The redhead interrupted before the brunette could get any further. "I remember everything quite clear so you don't need to give me a history lesson. You really don't think I remember any of that? I do. I wish I could forget, but I can't. I'm not jumping at a chance to get back at him. I'm just being a good friend and I think we can be friends. I'm pretty sure me and him can be friends. We have to be friends for Anthony. I'm just doing this for Anthony because it's what works better for him. If John having to stay here for a couple of days in order for Anthony to spend some time with his father, then that's perfectly fine with me and I have no problem letting him stay here. He's just... John needs some help and if me helping him is beneficial for Anthony then I'm going to do whatever I can to help him and I really don't give a damn what you or anyone else thinks about that."

Mellie let out a sigh and shook her head. "Okay, I understand what you're saying, but I just don't want to see you get hurt again."

"How is that going to happen? I don't... It's not. There's nothing going on between me and him and it's not going to. I'm just... I'm doing this for Anthony. And even if I didn't let him stay here for a couple of days, I would still be seeing a lot of him so it doesn't matter."

Mellie had to bite her tongue from saying she still thought it was a stupid idea. "I'm just going to leave because I know I'm going to say something to piss you off again when I see him again. So yea, I'm just going to leave. I'll see you later. You know, when he's gone." With that said, she left.

Lita stayed in the living room in a little while longer. She knew her sister was going to react the way she did, but she failed to see how this was any of her concern. She could only imagine how her sister would react if she found out what Lita was about to suggest to John before she showed up.

Lita shook her head as she ad her way back into the kitchen. "It's now or never. Just get it over with."

"Look," was the first thing John said when he saw Lita, who looked up at him and saw him holding Mikayla, come back into the kitchen. "She's not crying."

"I guess she's learning to like you, huh?"

John didn't say anything in response to that. He could tell there was something bothering her and it wasn't surprising given the fact by what her sister said and how they left the room. "So um, where's your sister?"

"She left. We need to talk."

John nodded and put Mikayla back into the booster chair before walking closer to Lita. "Everything okay?"

Lita shrugged. "I don't know. I guess." She looked over to where Anthony was and she was surprised to see he was still coloring. Well, that was good she supposed because she did have to talk to John and it was good Anthony was not going to be paying attention to anything her and John were about to talk about.

Lita looked back over to John and took a deep breath before speaking again. "Okay. Here's the thing. This is what I wanted to say before Mellie came and then started saying dumb crap. And then..." she trailed off and shook her head. "It really doesn't matter what she said. Point is, this is is what I wanted to say before she interrupted us I guess. Oh God. Okay. Um... I really don't know how to say this. This is so weird and probably not a good idea, but I mean, what's wrong with it? I'm just helping you out and in helping you out, it's good for Anthony. And-"

"Lita," John interrupted Lita before she could continue any further. Whatever she was about to say had her so anxious. He placed hand on her shoulder. "Calm down. Just take a deep breath and whatever it is, just spit it out." He pulled his hand away when he saw Lita eyeing it.

Lita took a deep breath and opened her mouth to say something, but then immediately closed it and looked away from John who was patiently waiting for her to say whatever it was that was on her mind. "Just get it over with," she mumbled to herself. "Before I say this, I just want you to know that I was really only thinking about Anthony when I thought about this. You don't have to agree with me, I'm just throwing an idea out here. I don't even know... It just came randomly." She paused for a brief moment and to say John was shocked after the next words that left her mouth would be an understatement. "Maybe you don't need to get a nanny. I know you said you don't want to bother your mom, but... How about Mikayla stay with me?"

John was speechless. He wasn't able to register what she said. Was he even hearing her correct in the first place? No. Maybe he was hearing this. "What?"

"I... It's... Anthony was upset when you didn't show up yesterday afternoon like you were supposed to and he likes having you around. Now I'm not saying you should move in because that's just weird. You staying here for a couple of days is different than you just moving in here completely. That's not gonna happen. But Mikayla can stay with me while you're off on the road. What I'm trying to say is, you don't even the slightest clue of what you can do. It would be easier if Mickie was around to be with Mikayla when you came here to visit Anthony, but she's not. I don't know how you were planning on splitting time between those two even when Mickie was here. Anthony doesn't understand what's going on and he's going to be upset just like yesterday when you didn't show up when that happens again and it'll happen a lot so this could be better for him and Mikayla because there might be times when you're not going to be able to be there for her because you're with him."

"Point is, this way you can be with both of them together. You can end up renting a place or buying a place or whatever you want around here. I just... I don't know. It's... I'm not a stranger. Plus, Mikayla is Anthony's sister so she'll kind of be with family even though her mother just left and you would be at work."

"I don't have a problem looking after her. I mean, I am the one who brought it up in the first place. Not permanent. I can't take care of your daughter for you until she's eighteen or whatever because she's not my responsibility; she's yours and Mickie's. I mean, if we were married that would kind of be different because then she would be like my step-daughter and I cannot believe I just said that. Idiot. I hope you know what I mean. I just... it was just a suggestion."

John thought about everything she said for a moment then shook his head. "I can't ask you to do that even if you are the one who's offering. Maybe... Some of what you said makes sense and I probably should have thought about it before. Maybe I should move around here because then both my kids would be in the same state and if Mickie comes back and has a problem with that, then that's too bad for her. I can move here somewhere and I know you're against the whole nanny idea, but that's not your decision to make, it's mine. There's nothing else I can think of and I didn't even think of this on my own. I just changed up your idea a little bit."

"Okay. That works too. I can help you look for a nanny, you know, interviewing and all that stuff. And I can take care of Mikayla until you can get someone that you're comfortable with leaving your daughter with."

"Maybe I can find someone before I have to leave so you wouldn't have to be bothered with having another kid around, and one that isn't even yours."

"No bother, I'm the one who's offering. And maybe you can find a great nanny soon. But you should probably look for a place to stay first because there's no point in getting a nanny if you don't have a house first because Mikayla would end up being here with me."

"I don't care. Anything works. I'll rent out an apartment if I have to."

"I really hope that's no your attitude when choosing a nanny."

John rolled his eyes. "It's not. Thank you for everything."

"Not a problem."

"Really though, thank you. I don't know what I would do without you. You don't have to help me and yet you are."

"For Anthony," was all Lita said before walking over to her son who just called her over. John knew she was doing this way more for Anthony than she was for him, but it didn't matter because she was still helping him out and he was very grateful for that. Just an hour ago he had no clue what he was going to do, but at least now there was a plan. He really didn't mind moving from Tampa to Atlanta if it meant things would be a just a little bit easier. Now of course that would probably be different and things could possibly be tricky if and when Mickie showed up. But as far as he knew, the woman was not getting anywhere near his daughter after abandoning her the way she did. What Mickie wanted didn't matter to him anymore. He just hoped everything worked out for the better.


Thanks for reading. Thanks for the reviews. Hope you liked the chapter. Tell me what you think, please and thanks. :)

I have mixed feelings on this chapter. I spent a long time on it so please spare my feelings if you think it sucks. You can tell me it sucks in a nice way.

I realize Mickie has been MIA, but no worries because she will be back soonish.