JT waited by his first period class staring down the hall intently, looking away only to check his watch. He had arrived at school early that morning and had been standing by the door for nearly fifteen minutes. Finally, Emma walked down the hall. She looked upset but JT grabbed her by the arm as she started to enter the classroom.

"What?" Emma asked as he pulled her aside.

"Hello? Manny? What's going on with her?"

Emma wrenched her arm free. "I'm sure you know by now."

"Yeah, I got the email. But, I mean, that's not the whole story? There's gotta be more to it then just what I read. Manny wouldn't do something like that."

Emma just shrugged. "Well she did."

JT shook his head. "I thought you guys were friends again. You should have all the info."

"I thought we were too," Emma replied sadly before turning and entering the classroom.

JT had barely swallowed what Emma had said before he saw Manny headed straight for him. She wore a baggy sweatshirt and walked slightly hunched over.

"H-hey Manny," he said hesitantly. Then he paused, seeing that her eyes were glassy and there were tearstains on her cheeks.

"Hi," she replied quietly.

JT could see that she needed to talk to someone. "Come on. Real quick." He took her hand and led her over to the Zen Garden. They sat on a bench blocked by bushes.

"Manny, I know what's going on."
"You and the rest of the school," Manny interjected. "That email apparently got around."

"Yeah, well it wasn't a nice thing for Ashley to do. I'm not here to judge you or anything like that. You just looked like you needed a friend. I can be your shoulder to cry on," he added with a smile. "Even to hug…or cuddle with."

Manny laughed. "Thanks." Then she sighed. "It looks like you're the only one who hasn't had their mind made up about me. Even Emma secretly thinks I got what was coming to me."

JT waved a hand dismissively. "She'll come around. You guys are best friends and I'm sure that whatever happened will work out. At least you've got Craig."

Manny froze at the sound of his name and looked away.

"…what?" JT asked, confused. "Isn't Craig the father?"

Manny nodded, biting her lip to hold back tears. She pretended to be distracted by finding something in her bag as she wiped her eyes discreetly.

"Then what's the problem? Unless… he doesn't want to have anything to do with the baby?" JT knew without hearing Manny's response that it was true. "No way. He seemed like a responsible guy."

Manny shrugged. "Thought so too. Then again, I can't really blame him. I mean, of course he wasn't going to take the news well. But still I had hoped…I dunno…I just hoped that maybe he would want to be a part of it. But he way he reacted…I don't think I can even ask him."

JT patted her arm comfortingly while his mind raced. He hadn't expected Craig to react that way. He felt angry but also a bit sorry for Craig. After all, JT didn't know how he would react if he found out he was a father. Still there had to be something he could do.

+++

Craig lay in his bed, late that afternoon, staring at his ceiling. He had no idea how long he had been lying there. All he could think about was what he was going to do. The news from Manny yesterday had thrown him completely off balance.

A father, Craig thought, resting his arm across his forehead. I'm going to have a little boy or girl in a few months who will call me Dad. Or would they? He had to admit he felt badly for his reaction when Manny had told him. He had been upset and possibly overreacted. Still it wasn't the kind of news you received everyday. Now he wasn't even sure if Manny wanted him to be a part of the baby's life anymore.

The doorbell rang just then and Craig groaned. Joey was at work, which meant Craig would have to get up and get the door.

Swinging his feet down over the side of his bed, he got up and trudged out of his room and down the stairs. Running a hand through his messy hair, he pulled open the door, stifling a yawn.

To his surprise, JT stood on his doorstep, looking a bit uncertain.

"Craig." JT stepped inside. "May I come in?"

"You're kinda already in," Craig replied, shutting the door. "What are you doing here?"

JT was looking around. "Nice place."

"Yes you've seen it before," Craig reminded him, very confused.

"So I have." JT cleared his throat. "Let me cut to the chase. I know something about someone and I'm here to help that someone with that something."

Craig still had no idea what the boy was talking about. "I thought you were going to cut to the chase."

JT rubbed his hands together and seated himself on the couch. Craig next across from him in the recliner.

"Okay, well if you're in a rush, I'll tell you straight out. You're a big jerk." Craig saw JT's hands twitch slightly as though he were ready to block a punch Craig might throw.

"I'm a…what?"

"Y-you heard me," JT stammered, a bit more hesitantly. "A jerk."

Craig shook his head, trying to understand what was happening. "And why is that?"

"Because although she made some mistakes, I've known Manny my whole life and she's got a good heart. And she doesn't deserve to be treated this way." As he spoke, JT grew more and more confident. "She's going through a really rough time right now and she wants you to be there for her. But you're not. That's why you're a jerk."

Craig was starting to get annoyed. "How do you know about—listen, I don't need this right now."

"Yes you do," JT insisted. He smirked slightly. "You could also use a good swift kick in the—"

"Get out," Craig interrupted. "I, um, need to rest and you need to leave."

JT stood up. "Fine. I'll go. But I'll be watching you." He backed out of the doorway and nearly tripped down the stoop. Craig rolled his eyes as he slammed the door shut then leaned against it.

He felt perfectly fine and needed more rest like he needed a hole in his head. Still, he needed to get JT out of his house. Despite Craig's attitude towards him, JT's words had stung. Deep down, Craig knew that at least part of what he was saying was true.

With a sigh, he trudged back up stairs to do some serious thinking. When he was halfway up to his room, the doorbell rang again. Groaning loudly, Craig spun and hurried to the door.

"JT I thought I said—" He froze seeing Ashley standing in front of him.

"Hi, Craig, how are you?" she said solemnly.

"Uh, I'm fine." Craig stared at her.

She smiled slightly. "You gonna keep me out here all day?"

Craig shook his head quickly, and stepped back, motioning for her to enter. She did so and he led her into the living room. They sat across from each other in the same positions he and JT had sat in only minutes before.

Ashley leaned forward and took Craig's hands in her own. "Craig, I know you must be going crazy right now with all the stuff that's been going on. And that's totally understandable. But I have to tell you something." She looked down then back up at Craig. "I did something. Bad."

"What did you do?"

She took a deep breath. "I…I found out about Manny being pregnant and basically told everyone in school."

"You did what?!" Craig pulled his hands away from her. So that's how JT knew, he thought, his mind racing. "Why would you do that?"

"I-I don't know. I was still angry at her and thought at the time that it was justified but now I feel awful about it."

"And everyone knows that I'm the father?"

Ashley nodded, biting her lip. "I'm really sorry, Craig. That was a really stupid thing for me to do."

Craig leaned his head back against the recliner. He could see where Ashley was coming from and had to admit that he would probably have been just as vindictive if their positions were reversed. "I know you're sorry. It's okay, I guess. Everyone was bound to find out sooner or later."

Ashley looked relieved. "So how are you doing? I can't imagine what you must be thinking right now. You're going to be a dad. Are you excited about tomorrow?"

Craig frowned. "Tomorrow?"

"You know, Manny's going to get her first sonogram taken. Paige told me."

"Oh."

Ashley leaned forward, a slight frown playing her face. "You are going with her, aren't you?"

Craig shrugged. "Probably not, considering the fact that she never told me about it and that she probably doesn't even want me involved. I don't even know if I want to be involved." It was the first time he voiced the words and they shocked even him.

"What?! What do you mean, you don't want to be involved? It's your baby, Craig. It's a part of you. Why wouldn't you want to help raise it?"

"Because what if…" Craig trailed off, swallowing a lump that was rising in his throat.

"What if what?" Ashley asked gently.

He hesitated for a second. "What if…what if I lose the baby too?" he whispered. He blinked back tears as memories of his sister flooded back into his mind.

"Oh Craig." Ashley put a hand over his which rested on the armrest. "You can't think like that. You can't live your life by 'what ifs'. Not knowing is what life is all about. Sometimes bad things happen but sometimes, really incredible things happen too."

"But you can't know—"

"Maybe you can't. But some things you can control. You can choose to help Manny to raise this baby and be the amazing father I know you can be. Or you can choose to abandon them both."

Just then, the front door opened and Joey walked in.

"Oh," he said surprised. "Hi Ashley."

Ashley smiled stiffly at him. "Hi Joey. Uh, I was just leaving. Bye Craig. Feel better." She gave him a meaningful look before exiting.

Craig sat in the chair, her words echoing in his mind. He still didn't know if he could do it. Going with Manny tomorrow would mean exposing himself to the possibility of even more pain.

"You okay, Craig?" Joey's voice pierced his thoughts.

"Yeah. I'm just gonna go to my room." He quickly hurried up the stairs before Joey could question him further.

That evening, as Craig fell asleep, he still didn't know what he would do. But answers often come in dreams and he would dream heavily that night.