"Are you going to give the ring back?"

Jade knows Cat is only asking the question out of nothing but pure curiosity, but the words hit her a bit harder than she had expected them to.

"I..." Jade hesitates "I dunno. I haven't gotten that far yet. I'm definitely not going to wear it anymore."

She took it off after she confronted Andrew about cheating and hadn't put it back on again since. The ring itself is wrapped up in a cloth pouch and tucked away inside one of Jade's suitcases. As angry as Jade is at Andrew, she knows the ring was expensive and is quite valuable. She doesn't want anything to happen to it.

"Obviously not." Cat agrees "But I meant are you going to give it back to him to do what he wants with or are you going to keep it?"

"I haven't gotten that far yet."

"Okay."

Jade stayed true to her word and left the penthouse with both Drew and Harper the morning following her argument with Andrew. Cat and Robbie offered to let her stay with them so she wouldn't have to take the kids to a hotel, and Jade graciously accepted. She assured them that it would only be for a week, two at the maximum, while she found a house for her and her children.

Drew is still far too young to understand anything that is going on in the environment around him, but Harper is excited to be staying with 'Annie'. From the moment she had started babbling as an infant, Cat had been trying to get Harper to call her 'Auntie'...and she's still working on the correct sounds. Cat has stopped correcting the toddler though, thinking that the mispronunciation is cuter than the correct name. She'd be content to be 'Annie' for the rest of her life. Jade knows her children are lucky to have people in their lives who care about them so much, and that she's lucky to have such good friends.

"I fucked up, Cat..." She sighs, rubbing her temples

Harper and Drew are both in bed for the night and the two women sit beside each other at the kitchen island, sharing a bottle of wine.

"You're not the one who cheated, Jade." Cat reminds her "That's on him."

"No, I know that..." Jade agrees "I just...never should have let it get that far."

"How do you mean?"

"I was going to break up with him." Jade admits "Before I found out I was pregnant...the first time."

"Like before Harper?"

"Mhm..." Jade nods, taking sip of her wine "I felt that I had kind of grown out of the relationship...he was thirty and still acting like a frat boy. We had that big dinner planned for my birthday and I was going to do it the next day, so it wouldn't be weird when I showed up without him...but then a few days before my gut told me to take the test so I did and..."

"And you were pregnant." Cat finishes the thought for her, nodding as the pieces of the narrative slowly start to come together for her "So you stayed with him."

"Right." Jade confirms "He proposed as soon as I told him, we just didn't have the ring until Christmas."

"Could've fooled me."

"I know." Jade smirks a bit before turning serious again "I don't know why I said yes, I shouldn't have. But I knew I wanted the baby...and I wanted Harper to have the chance at the united family unit I never had after my parents split up. I thought he would grow up, but he was still just as immature and irresponsible...he just had a pregnant fiancé to go home to. And then when she was a girl..."

"Right..."

Cat knows the rest. How pouty and distant Andrew had been when Harper was a baby, how he wanted to try again for another as soon as it was safe for them to do so, about basically ignoring Harper once Drew was born, leaving her with Amanda when he went to the studio...

"I shouldn't have said yes when he asked me to marry him." Jade shakes her head "I should have broken up with him."

"Okay, but you said yes to him because in a way...you were already trying to do what you thought was best for Harper." Cat assures her "Only...what? A few hours of knowing you were pregnant and you were already a great mom. And if you had broken up with Andrew that day...you wouldn't have Drew."

"You're right." Jade nods "Fuck, you're right. Am I a bad mom now for saying that?"

"Jadey..."

Cat sets her glass down on the counter and pivots herself a bit in her chair so she can wrap her arms tightly around her friend. Normally Jade isn't one for hugs from anyone other than Harper, but in this moment Cat can tell that she really needs one. Not to her surprise at all, Jade hugs her back...tightly. Cat hears Jade's breath start to catch, signaling that she's crying, and squeezes her friend a bit tighter.

"You're a great mom, Jadey." She tells her quietly "This is just a shitty situation, but you're handling it beautifully and it's going to work itself out."

"Thank you, Cat."

"Of course."

Despite all of the critical hits her personal life is taking, Jade still has a show that needs to get made. She kept true to her word to Cat and Robbie and only stays with them for nine days, then moves herself and her children into a three bedroom house not that far away. She hires a new nanny and accepts help from her parents...who despite being sad for their daughter that her relationship fell apart, are happy to have a bit of extra time with their grandkids.

Jade directs the first four episodes of the show herself, then brings in a friend who had directed frequently for the last show she worked on to takeover so she can focus on the writing aspect. She'll still direct a few episodes here and there, but having another person will help her lighten the load. She's also open to allowing members of the cast to direct episodes as well, once they've established the show a bit more and gotten a feel for the characters and where they will take the story.

She is on set every day, making sure everything is running according to plan and answering any questions that might pop up. As a showrunner and as a person, the cast and crew adore her and respect her. Yes, her professional life is thriving...but it can't make up for the mess that has become of her personal life.

They were never married, so there's no divorce to finalize...but Andrew and Jade both meet with their own lawyers to work out some kind of custody agreement. They've been told a 'parenting plan' is a better way to put it, but they both know what it means. Andrew has to take paternity tests for both kids to prove he has any rights at all, and he is confirmed to be the father in both cases. It's decided that in the best interest of Harper and Drew, and due to some of Andrew's past behavior with leaving them unattended, they should live with Jade full time. Andrew will be allowed to take them every Wednesday afternoons, but not overnight or for full weekends until the baby is a bit older and Harper is able to communicate her needs more clearly.

Jade expects Andrew to fight for more time, at least with Drew, but he doesn't, much to her surprise. He signs the agreement and they plan to meet back with their lawyers in a year unless something comes up.

"I want the ring." He says to her as they leave the meeting

"Huh?"

"The ring." He repeats "The engagement ring that I bought you? I want it back. I paid for it, so it's mine."

"It was a gift though, wasn't it?" Jade counters "Wouldn't that make it mine?"

She knows better than to argue with him, especially when starting an argument could lead to him not getting his way. But she's still so angry at him for cheating. Even though she knew their relationship most likely wouldn't last, she would have never cheated on him. He deserves to squirm just a little bit.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Be careful, AJ." His lawyer warns him

"I'm fucking with you." Jade rolls her eyes and reaches into her purse "Here's your damn ring, I never wanted to keep it anyway."

"Oh." Andrew snatches the ring away from her before she can change her mind "Thanks...I guess."

"Sure." She sighs "See you Wednesday."