Hello again. I know I'm killing you with updates. I just can't stop writing recently. So please enjoy.

Sunday evening Mitchie and Alex finally got their boy back. They enveloped him in a hug immediately, and he whined in protest that he was being smushed. T-Rex ran around them happily, waiting to be greeted by Sam, who scooped him up and carried him up the stairs to put his bags in his room.

"So, how'd it go?" Mitchie asked Shane, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Uh, it was interesting," Shane said honestly. "Uneventful for the most part."

"For the most part?" Alex asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Care to clarify?"

Shane glanced up the stairs, making sure Sam was still in his room. Finding the boy hadn't reappeared he gestured into the living room.

"You better sit down for this," he said and lead the curious women to the seating area. He took the armchair while Alex and Mitchie sat side-by-side on the couch, staring at him intently. "I saw Tess," he said, wanting to get right to the point.

"Tyler?" Mitchie asked, blinking at him in astonishment.

"Is there any other Tess?" Alex asked with an eye roll. "Where?"

"The park Saturday morning."

"This happened yesterday, and you're just now telling us?" Mitchie glared at him. "Shane, this isn't something you keep to yourself."

"I didn't think it was something you said over the phone, either," he defended, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Besides, it's not like anything happened."

"Oh," Alex said, letting out a relieved sigh. "So you didn't talk to her, then?"

"No, I did," Shane said, to which both women replied by letting out groans.

"Why?" Alex asked him crossly.

"I didn't know it was her at first," he told them. "It's been, like, seven years. And she was wearing a big hat and sunglasses."

Mitchie shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. This was always something she knew could happen, but never thought it would. Most days she liked to push Tess from her memory altogether, but every now and then she found herself thinking of their second summer at Camp Rock. What they did to Tess made her sick. She'd never truly been able to find peace with it, especially not after she spilled her own secret to the world. After that it felt like it had been for nothing. She could still clearly remember the pained look on Tess's face that day in Brown's office.

"What'd you talk about?" Mitchie asked, finding her voice a tad strained. She cleared her throat and tried to swallow, noticing her mouth was suddenly extremely dry.

"Not much," Shane said with a shrug. "I tried to apologize for the video. She didn't exactly accept it."

"Do you blame her?" Alex glared at him. She wasn't fond of the way Shane had gotten things done, either. After all, they'd told him to avoid her until they figured out what to do, but of course he'd done the exact opposite of avoid her. By the time they found out it was too late to stop him, and they honestly didn't have a better plan in place, so they just went with his. "It wasn't exactly your finest moment."

"I'm aware," he said, sighing. "But I wasn't aware it would fuck her up so badly she'd land in therapy over it."

"Therapy?" Mitchie raised her eyebrows. "She said she's in therapy because of you?"

Shane nodded. "Apparently I pretty much ruined her life."

"That seems to be a trend for you," Alex muttered, looking to Mitchie.

"I just didn't think it would affect her this badly," Shane said, hanging his head. "I mean, I thought she was heartless."

"She's never been heartless," Mitchie said softly. "I saw a few tender moments. She'd turned herself around by the end of my first summer at Camp Rock."

"But she was completely evil again when I was there," Alex countered.

Mitchie shook her head lightly. "I don't think she is, though." She shrugged. "From what I saw her relationship with her mother is horrible. She was starved for TJ's attention. She never felt like she was good enough for her. That kind of neglect can have serious psychological damage on a child." Mitchie looked to Shane. "Which is why I think that while you may be part of the reason she's in therapy, I don't think it's the whole reason."

"But you still definitely contributed," Alex added. She didn't want Shane to think he was completely off the hook.

"Well, that helps," Shane said with a heavy sigh. "But I still feel like shit."

"You should," Alex told him. Mitchie reached out and patted her on the knee, giving her a pointed look that meant to be a little nicer.

At that moment Sam appeared in the doorway with T-Rex following behind him. He went over to the couch and sat opposite Alex. Completely unaware of the tension in the room and the serious conversation his parents had been having previously, he grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Mitchie took it from him and turned it back off. He turned to protest but stopped when she raised her eyebrows at him and gave him "the look." It was her special mom face, full of seriousness. Sam knew that look. He shut his mouth.

"Bud, Mama and I need to finish talking to your dad about something real quick," she said, smoothing out his hair and looking at him a little softer. "Can you give us a second?"

He looked between the adults, who all held somber expressions. Shane wouldn't look at him, his eyes on his expensive Italian shoes. He knew something was up, but he had no idea what it was.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked in a small voice.

"No, baby," Mitchie said, shaking her head.

"This is just adult stuff." Alex rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's really boring, I promise."

"Okay," Sam said slowly, standing. He walked out of the living room, casting glances over his shoulder as he went, the dog following as always.

Alex, Mitchie, and Shane stayed silent until the sound of T-Rex's nails clacking on the tile floor stopped and they heard a door shut. Shane let out a large breath and leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees.

"So, what are you gonna do about this?" Alex asked, breaking the silence finally.

"I don't know," Shane said and frowned. "What can I do?"

"Well, you can start by getting rid of the video," Mitchie said.

"I did that already," Shane said. "Not long after we told the world about Sam. Figured there was no point to keep it anymore."

"Well…" Mitchie thought about it for a moment, chewing her lip. What else could be done? She didn't have a clue. It wasn't like she'd ever done something like this to anyone. She didn't have it in her. "I really don't know what to tell you, Shane. It's not like you can force her to accept your apology or go back and change what's happened. You just have to find a way to live with yourself."

"That's not helpful," Shane grumbled.

Alex fumed. "Well maybe you should have thought of this when you made the stupid video!" She glared at him. "We can't keep cleaning up your messes, you know. We told you not to go near her, and you went inside her. We didn't do this. You did."

He stared at her for a moment, wanting to argue, but realized it was no use. She was right. He'd fucked up again. Yet another one of his past mistakes was coming back to bite him in the ass.

"You're right, Alex," he said and sighed.

"I know," she said quickly.

Mitchie shook her head at the woman, but Shane nodded and stood. He pulled his keys from his pocket.

"Shane, you don't have to go—" Mitchie began.

"No, I do," he said. "I just—gotta go. Tell Sam I said bye."

Before either woman could say anything else he crossed the living room and was out the front door. Mitchie stared after him, insides churning. Nothing about any of this could be good.

"Maybe he should consider therapy," Alex muttered, standing.

"Maybe," Mitchie said softly, standing as well. She let out a sigh and looked to her wife. "I've got a bad feeling about all of this."

Alex placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Try not to worry about it. After all, you said it yourself. There's nothing to be done." She shrugged. "Besides, it's Shane's problem. Remember?"

Mitchie nodded, knowing what Alex said was true. The only involvement they had was being there when Shane showed Tess the video. It wasn't like she'd had sex with Tess. And she sure as hell didn't video her sexual encounters. No, that part was all Shane. So why did she still feel like she was about to hurl?

Alex could tell Mitchie wasn't reassured. But she also knew there was nothing she could do to change that. Mitchie was a worrier; it was who she was. And no amount of reassuring or talking from Alex would change that.

"Let's go see what Sam's gotten up to," Alex said, hoping to pull Mitchie from the depths of her mind. She knew nothing good could come of Mitchie dwelling on this too much.

Mitchie nodded again and allowed Alex to take her hand and lead her through the house. They found him in the music room practicing scales on one of Mitchie's electric guitars. It wasn't plugged in, so it didn't make much noise, but Sam liked the electric ones better than the acoustics. The strings were easier to press so they didn't hurt his fingers as much. When Mitchie began teaching him to play she told him the pain would stop once his fingers built calluses, but he still insisted on playing the electric. He, like Alex, had very little patience and a low tolerance for discomfort.

When he saw his mothers in the doorway he stopped strumming and frowned. "Where's Dad?" he asked, noticing Shane was absent.

"He had to leave," Alex told him, stepping into the room and crossing her arms over her chest.

Sam looked like he had been kicked in the gut. "He didn't say goodbye."

Mitchie immediately went over and sat beside him on the couch, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "He wanted to," she told him comfortingly. "He just had to go. He told us to tell you he said goodbye, though."

Sam looked at her, biting his lip, not convinced. He thought back to how odd Shane had been for the rest of their visit, not saying much and seeming very distracted. After they got back from the park Sam insisted they play more PlayStation together, and Shane didn't argue. Normally Shane clobbered Sam in whatever game they played, but his mind was obviously elsewhere, so Sam won nearly every round of the fighting game they had chosen.

"Is Dad mad at me?" he asked Mitchie, looking to her with a sad expression.

"Of course not," Mitchie said quickly and squeezed his shoulder.

"What makes you think that?" Alex went over and sat on the other side of him. She took the guitar from his hands and rested it near the couch.

"He's been weird every since yesterday morning," Sam explained.

"When you went to the park?" Mitchie tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. It was getting too long again. They would have to bring him to get it cut soon.

Sam nodded, and Alex let out a sigh, looking to Mitchie, then back to Sam.

"That has nothing to do with you," Alex said. She hooked her finger under his chin and made him look at her. "You know that, right? Shane just has some stuff going on right now."

"And none of it is your fault," Mitchie added. "Okay?"

Sam nodded gently, still trying to believe them. But that wasn't the only thing. Something else was nagging at him.

"Am I still going to be able to go to his house more?" he asked.

Mitchie and Alex shared a glance, silently communicating. They'd gotten good at that over the years. After all, most of the time they knew each other better than they knew themselves. They didn't need Alex's mind melding spell to be able to read each other's thoughts anymore. They could do it all with a single look.

"We think so," Mitchie said.

"We'll play it by ear," Alex added.

Sam frowned. That wasn't the answer he was hoping for. It did nothing to soothe his anxieties. But he supposed it was better than a flat-out no. He still felt like something was wrong. It was something he couldn't shake and couldn't help feeling like it was something he'd done. Maybe Shane didn't like spending as much time with him as he did. Maybe because Sam had given him a hard time about dinner and tested him with the soda Shane was having second thoughts about taking him more. Maybe his moms just didn't want to tell him that because they didn't want to hurt his feelings.

Then he just had to change Shane's mind. He silently vowed that next time he was with Shane he would be extra good. He'd come to dinner when called, drink water, clean up all his toys, and do his homework and go to bed without complaint. That had to make Shane feel better.

That night Shane sat on his couch, staring at the TV. He'd tried everything to get his mind clear: running, playing guitar, even cleaning the house. But he still couldn't shake the cloud in his brain. Eventually he'd put on some garbage show on Netflix, hoping it would occupy his mind. But he couldn't pay attention to it. His thoughts still roamed to Tess and how upset she'd been. Her words rang loudly in his ears, and he turned up the volume, trying to drown them out to no avail. So, he went over to his liquor cabinet and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. He poured himself a large serving, nearly spilling the caramel-colored liquid over the rim.

He quickly took a sip, enjoying the burn it left in the back of his throat. He felt it slide down, warming his chest as it went. He brought the bottle over and set it on the coffee table before sitting on the couch again. He propped up his feet and nursed his drink. As the contents of the cup emptied Shane started to feel better. He poured himself another, and once that was half-gone the whisper of Tess's voice had quieted. He found himself able to finally relax. With each sip of his whiskey his nerves eased, and soon he was on the third. The show he was watching suddenly caught his interest, and he actually laughed at a few of the jokes.

Six episodes and three drinks later he was finally stumbling to bed, not even bothering to undress. He buried his face in the pillow and closed his eyes to make the world stop spinning. His thoughts returned to Tess, and he felt his chest tighten, anxiety returning. He tried to think of something else, anything else. Eventually he was able to quiet his troublesome brain, and he fell into an uneasy slumber.

Mitchie and Alex got the call Monday morning that all the bloodwork had come back with positive results. That meant they were ready to begin their invitro injections. After dropping Sam off at school they swung by the doctor's and picked up the prescriptions. After a brief tutorial from their doctor they were on the road again, hitting the studio. They began working on "Catch Me," which their entire band loved. Caitlyn even got to work with Jack on the track.

While she was happy with her position as Mitchie's keyboardist, her first passion was still producing, and it was something she wished to pursue later in life. She was thankful Jack allowed her to give input and actually listened to what she had to say. He'd seemed to have taken her under his wing, becoming somewhat of a mentor.

Mitchie and Alex were so busy with their new song that it was still all they were thinking about it when they finally left the studio to pick up Sam from school. Alex found herself drumming the tune on the table with pencils as she watched Sam color in a map for his social studies homework. Mitchie sang along softly under her breath as she cooked dinner.

It wasn't until the alarm Mitchie had set went off on her phone that she even thought about the medicine again. They had to take them every night at the same time, and tonight was the first night. She retrieved the medication from her purse and ushered Alex upstairs. They peeked in on Sam quickly, sighing in relief when they saw he was sound asleep, T-Rex curled up at his feet. That was good. The last thing they needed was for him to unexpectedly burst in the room while they were administering the doses. That wasn't something he needed to see or something they wanted to explain just yet. They still weren't sure when they were going to tell him about the baby, but that wasn't the way they wanted him to find out.

They locked themselves in their room and took the medicine from its packaging. Mitchie's knees went weak when she saw how big the needles were. She knew there would be shots involved, but she was hoping for a small needle.

"Jesus Christ," Alex said, taking the cap off the syringe. "That's gotta be painful." She frowned and looked to Mitchie, who wore a frown of her own.

"It's for a good cause," Mitchie said. She took the needle from Alex. "Let's just get this over with. Pull your pants down."

Alex hesitated, staring at the object in Mitchie's hand. Normally those words out of Mitchie's mouth would be met with arousal, not anxiety. But this wasn't for a fun romp between the sheets. This would not result in incomparable pleasure. This was gonna fucking hurt.

"Why do I have to go first?" she asked with a whine.

"Because I said so," Mitchie answered. "Pants. Now."

Alex rolled her eyes and groaned, but unfasted the button of her skinny jeans and pulled down the zipper. Mitchie twirled her finger, signaling for Alex to turn around. She did and leaned over the bed. She pushed down her jeans, exposing just enough to administer the shot. Mitchie went over to the nightstand and used the rubbing alcohol they'd set out to wet a cotton ball. She returned to Alex and swiped it against her skin, sanitizing the injection sight just like their doctor told them to. Alex held her breath, bracing herself.

"Here we go," Mitchie said as she hovered the needle right above where she needed to place it.

Alex felt a slight prick and then a deep burning sensation as the shot went into her body. She bit her lip and winced as the needle pressed into her thigh. This was worse than a flu shot, and she always hated those.

Finally, the burning sensation stopped when Mitchie pulled the needle away, and a stinging took its place.

"You're bleeding," Mitchie said. "I'll get a band aid. Stay there."

Alex remained where she was, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. This was only the first shot, and it was agony. She could only imagine how much it would hurt tomorrow, when the muscle was sore from the previous night's injection. How long did they have to do this?

Mitchie returned from the bathroom with two bandages. She unwrapped one and pressed it over the dot of blood on Alex's thigh. She placed a gentle kiss over the bandage, like she did with Sam's scrapes and cuts. Alex pulled up her pants and turned to Mitchie, who gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"You did well," Mitchie told her. "I know it sucks, but this will all be over before we know it."

"I hope you're right," Alex muttered. She felt uneasy; pain was not something she enjoyed, not in the slightest. It was one of the reasons she didn't work out. Mitchie had tried to get her to go running once, and after only three blocks her lungs were on fire and her calves felt like lava. She knew exercise was good for her and would keep her in shape, but God, at what cost? Plus, if she couldn't handle the little bit of pain that came from the shot how was she going to make it through birth?

"My turn," Mitchie said with a look of distaste. She picked up the other needle and handed it to Alex.

That's it for now. May have another chapter up quickly. Who knows? Time will tell.

Until Next Time,

DF