Summer evening drives, Will decided, with his son asleep in the backseat and his girlfriend beside him, were the perfect moments. He watched Henry sleep in the rearview mirror, smiling to himself as the boy's chubby toddler face twitched along with his dreams. Gently, he elbowed JJ, nodding over his shoulder to indicate their son's sleeping form.
JJ glanced in the backseat, shaking her head fondly. It was hardly a surprise he was sleeping, considering he'd spent the entire afternoon sprinting around the park, chasing the soccer ball (how he could possibly have so much energy when he consistently woke just after six AM, JJ would never understand...). Nevertheless, she turned in her seat to snap a picture with her phone because she knew these moments wouldn't last forever.
"Have you ever thought about making Henry an older brother?" Will blurted out, almost apropos of nothing. In truth, he'd been considering the idea for a long time now – practically from the moment Henry had emerged into the world, squishy and squalling and already the most important person in his life.
For a few moments, JJ sputtered, struggling to form a response. "Wh-what do you... Why... What..." It wasn't that she didn't understand the question, of course...in fact, she'd entertained the thought before, however briefly. But she could hardly work the pole with a pregnant belly in the way...
Will chuckled at her apparently short-circuiting brain. "I mean giving him a little brother or sister," he explained unnecessarily. "What do you say?" He shot her a warm smile, hoping to convey just how sincere he was in his request.
"I... I don't know," she stammered. "I mean, there's a lot to consider."
Will's stare quickly returned to the road ahead, hoping she couldn't see the hurt that flashed in his eyes. "What is there to think about?" he asked. "It seems pretty simple to me... Either you want a family or you don't."
"It's not that simple," she insisted. "I mean, I still have to prove to CPS that I'm a fit parent to Henry, for one thing. We don't even live together and then there's our jobs – between our chaotic shifts and my income depending kind of a lot on my appearance..."
Will interrupted, confused, "Meaning what, exactly?"
JJ's eyes went wide as she realized just how dangerously close she'd come to ruining everything... "It's... Well, it's complicated," she said. "I mean, you know, it's a bar...guys like to think they have a shot at taking me home with them and if I'm pregnant, well..." She shrugged, winced as she seemed to sense just how tenuous her grasp on Will's trust was in that moment.
Several moments of tense silence followed, laden with mistrust.
JJ chewed at her lip, struggling to resist further blurting out of things she shouldn't say, certain that at this point she could only make things worse.
"Cher..." Will said on a weary sigh. "I think I've been really patient. I went along with it when you refused to move in with me because it's easier to split childcare with Emily. I was understanding when CPS took Henry away from you. I never asked questions, even though you've been less than forthcoming with me about your job...but now you're clearly not telling me something and I think I deserve to know the truth."
Several more moments of silence, this time laced with just a hint of fear.
On a shaky exhale, JJ's eyes fell shut, but she nodded. "Okay," she said simply. "But I want you to remember that I love you and I was only ever trying to give our son the best possible life with the options available to me."
Will's brows knit in concern. "Jayje, you're scaring me..."
"I'm a stripper," she announced.
The third silence was one of disbelief and, if JJ wasn't mistaken, just a bit of mockery.
"A stripper," Will repeated dubiously. "Come on, JJ, be serious."
"I am!" she insisted, "I work at La Giolleria. My stage name is Sapphire. Emily works there too and Derek is the club bouncer." She waited for Will to say something – anything – even if it was outright telling her they were over.
But he didn't say anything.
At first, she thought he was just struggling to form a response, to control his anger, maybe. But when his silence stretched on longer and longer, she eventually realized he just wasn't going to say anything.
She let out a strangled little nervous laugh. "Come on, Will, say something!" she begged. "Yell at me if you want to...but say something!"
He shook his head slowly, sombrely. "Henry is sleeping," he said, as if that explained anything at all.
And before she could beg him any further, the car pulled to a stop. JJ looked up sharply, confused and just a bit heartbroken to find them outside her apartment. "But..." she started, stopped. "I... I thought we were going to spend the night at your place..."
"I think it would be best if we spent the night apart," he said simply.
She nodded once, twice, trying to hide the sheen of tears in her eyes. "Okay," she whispered. "I'll just...kiss Henry goodbye." She climbed out of the car, opening the back door and leaning into the backseat to press her lips to Henry's forehead. "I love you, Baby," she whispered. She glanced up, caught Will's gaze in the rearview and offered a tight apologetic smile. "I'm sorry," she added, voice barely there at all.
When she entered the apartment, Emily seemed surprised to find her home so early. "What are you doing here?" she asked, brows knit in confusion. "I thought you had a big night planned..." She waggled her brows to show exactly what she assumed that meant.
JJ just shook her head, said nothing, as she made her way into the kitchen in search of a drink.
Emily followed after her, in search of further explanation.
JJ pulled a bottle of vodka from the fridge, downed a sip straight from the bottle, then caught Emily's concerned stare. "You'll never fucking guess what happened..."