Warning: it gets intense later on. Enjoy. I own nothing.


Ross opened his eyes to find that he was completely alone. Picking his phone up off the bedside table, he saw that it was only eight in the morning. He sat up and rubbed his eyes as he tried to focus for a moment and then realized that Laura wasn't in the room.

He quickly got out of the bed, rushing out of the room and into the main room where he saw her sitting at the table, a book open in front of her, her notebook beside her and a bowl of cereal in her hand as she just stared into space.

"Laura?" He gently called and she looked up, blinking her eyes. "What's up, are you okay?"

She just put her bowl of cereal down in front of her and then looked at him. He noticed there were tears in her eyes. He slowly walked to her and she put her hands over her face.

"Laura, what's wrong?" He asked her gently and she just shook her head, leaning against him she cried more and he just held her.

After a few moments, she sniffled and pulled away from him.

"I—I'm sorry." She said quietly and Ross shook his head, kneeling down to her he put her hands on her knees and looked up at her a soft smile on his face.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." He assured her. He took one of her hands in his and gently rubbed it. "What's the matter?"

She looked down at her stomach, "this baby!"

He looked confused, "um, could you specify a bit more clearly?"

"Hormones," She said and he nodded, understandingly. They had visited the doctor soon after she told him she was pregnant and the doctor had told them what was going to happen with her pregnancy. Mood swings, hormonal changes, very strange cravings and weight gain were all normal among other things. Though, Laura was almost four months pregnant and she didn't look like it at all. "Also, I can't stop thinking about what Raini said."

Ross sighed, "she was way out of line, but… we can't hate her forever."

"I don't hate her," Laura said, "I'm just really mad at her, I thought she'd be supportive, but she isn't. I don't think she ever will be either."

"I'm sure she'll come around, we are on a tv show with her after all." Ross pointed out.

"Yeah," Laura scoffed, "a show that until further notice is on hiatus."

Ross was silent for a moment, before he stood up, "alright, you know what we need?"

"A new tv show to star in?" Laura deadpanned.

"No." Ross blinked his eyes and looked at her, confused, but he soon snapped out of it. "We need to go out into the real world and do something… crazy."

"Crazy." Laura repeated, "what do you mean crazy? And why do we have to do it? We've done enough crazy things to last us until we're well into our late fifties."

"Oh yeah? Name things we've done."

"Okay, getting drunk alone in the middle of nowhere, having sex when we weren't together, getting high alone, going to Australia, getting chased by fans, leaving in the middle of a production day without anyone knowing—"

"Yeah okay, you made you're point Miss Know It All."

Laura grinned.

"But," Ross held up his finger and her grin went away. "That doesn't mean we still can't do some more crazy shit."

Laura made a face, "I'm actually afraid to know what you mean."

Ross just smiled at her, "go get ready," He kissed the top of her head. "It's a surprise."

Laura got up, mumbling something about hating surprises (though he knew that wasn't true) and stomped off into their bedroom. Ross just shook his head and laughed at her, before turning to the kitchen to get some cereal.


"A puppy?" Laura turned to Ross, "your surprise was taking me to get a puppy?"

He nodded, "yeah, I'm not gonna be around much starting… pretty soon, so I thought getting you a puppy would make you less… lonely."

Laura couldn't help but smile at him. She leaned in and kissed his cheek, "you're so sweet."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, "since Velvet's at your mom's house, I figured you'd want a dog who can… be her sibling, so to speak, but stay with us."

Laura's eyes lit up and she smiled sadly at the ground, before smiling up at her boyfriend. "You are such a sweetheart, it's kinda ruining your man cred."

He rolled his eyes and pretended to try to not smile at that. "Yeah, yeah." He leaned in gently kissing her, before he broke it and took her hand, pulling her inside the shelter.

"Wait, how are we allowed to get a dog? We live in an apartment," Laura pointed out.

"Don't worry, I checked with management and they said if we get one a certain size, one that I wrote in my phone so I wouldn't forget, by the way, then we'll be okay."

Laura surprised him then by squealing and he smiled at her adorableness.

"So, seeing as you have a big dog already, any chance you've always wanted a smaller dog?" Ross asked after a few moments.

Laura nodded, "yeah, I've always wanted a yorkie."

"Alright then, a yorkie it is." Ross said, "as long as it's not a Chihuahua, those things scare the shit out of me."

"I sense that you had a bad experience with one when you were a child."

"It's like you read my mind."

Laura just grinned at him.

"Hello, can I help you two with anything?" A young woman with long dark hair came up to them. Ross looked at her nametag.

"Yes, uh… Bree, she wants a yorkie," He tilted his head towards Laura, who just playfully rolled her eyes.

Bree smiled, "a yorkie? Well, I'm sure we have one here, let's just go in the back and I can show you what we got going on."

They nodded and followed her through a door, before entering the back part of the shelter.

"I feel like we're in Lilo and Stitch," Ross whispered to Laura who playfully shoved him.

"You would say that and bring up an old Disney movie."

"Hey, I was like seven when it came out, that's one and two.. we work for Disney, I felt it was very appropriate."

Laura giggled and shook her head.

Bree had disappeared and Ross spun around to see where she went.

"This place isn't that big, where the hell did she go?"

Laura burst out laughing.

"No, but seriously, wait, why are you laughing? Is it because of the hormones again? I thought that would only make you sad, I'm officially very confused."

"Stop rambling you dork," Laura managed to say before putting her hand on his arm for support. Ross still looked at her confused. "I was laughing because a, you looked funny spinning around and b, you're just so cute."

"Oh well, in that case, thanks." He winked at her, then realized the first part of what she said. "Hey!"

She laughed harder and then Bree came back carrying a small puppy with her.

Laura's eyes lit up and she motioned for Bree to give her the puppy. Bree handed her over and immediately the puppy started to lick Laura's face. Laura giggled and Ross smiled.

"I think that's your dog," Bree said.

Laura looked up, "how do you know?"

"Look how well he's responding to you, I'd say that's it."

Laura looked up at Ross, "can we take him, please? Don't make me beg."

Ross laughed, "yes, we can take him. If he's what you want."

"He is most definitely what I want!" Laura then looked up and saw all the other dogs and smiled sadly, "though if I could, I'd take them all."

"I know you would, I'd do the same." Ross agreed.

"So, this little guy is who you want, then this little guy is who you're gonna get. His name is Rascal, which let me tell you, fits his personality, but if you'd like, you can change his name."

"I'm sure you have a few already, what do you want to name him?" Ross asked Laura as she thought for a few moments.

"Well, I want it to be original."

"Uh-huh."

"Something no one would ever think of."

"Okay."

She thought for another moment, when the name hit her.

"Shor!"

"Aw that's nice—wait what?" Ross did a double take and Laura giggled. "Of all the names you could've picked, you chose my middle name?"

Bree tried to hide her smile as she asked, "your middle name is Shor?"

"I was born on the same day as my uncle, his name is Shor and that's how I got the name," Ross explained.

Bree nodded.

"I was kidding," Laura told him, "I'm still thinking of a name."

"Well, I mean, if you wanted to us Shor, that's totally cool with me. Just nothing crazy like Rocky, because… we don't need another one." He made a face and Laura laughed again.

"You two are so cute," Bree commented. "Cutest couple I've seen in a while."

"Thanks!" Laura smiled at her as Ross just mumbled something. She nudged him and he smiled at her.

"That means a lot, thanks."

Bree nodded and then led them out to the main room where they had to fill out some papers and she had to get their new puppy all cleaned up. Though, instead of going to the main room, she led them to a private office.

"I figured you two would want to be here, it's more private and you won't get harassed by crazy fans."

"How did you—" Ross began, "I thought you didn't know who we were, no offense, you just seemed too… calm."

"I know who you two are, I have a five year old nephew who just loves you, Ross. And Laura… he's got a crush on you."

Laura smiled, "he sounds cute."

"Yeah, totally adorable." The look on Ross' face made Laura laugh again.

"Okay, so fill all of this out and then I'll take you to get what you need for him, and you'll pretty much be set. Have you thought of a name?"

Ross and Laura looked at him for a moment, before they both lifted their heads, a smile on their face.

"Austin!"


Rydel closed her eyes, her fingers at the piano keys as she played it, getting really into it.

"Yeah! I love that song!"

She opened her eyes and turned to see Rocky and Ratliff were standing in the entrance to the room. She narrowed her eyes and Rocky laughed.

"Keep it going!" He said, "Come on get loud, let it out!"

"What?" Rydel really hadn't realized how distracted she was as she'd been playing the band's anthem, so to speak. "Oh wow," She said and the continued to play it, singing along with Rocky and Ratliff.

She finished and they all clapped and laughed.

"That was pretty awesome," Rocky said, "you still got it little sis."

Rydel looked at him confused, "Little? I'm older than you."

"I mean little like, you're shorter than I am." Rocky shrugged, going to sit down on the couch as Ratliff walked over to her and sat down beside her, letting out a sigh as he did.

"He's strange," She commented and Ratliff nodded.

"That he is," He agreed and then Rydel smiled, kissing him softly. "So, what do you want to do today?"

"I don't know, go swimming? Stay in, watch a movie?" She asked then clapped her hands, "ooh! Or, we could go visit Ross and Laura!"

"We could do that, but let's let them have a day to themselves for a while and then we can go see them later for dinner, like a double date."

She smiled, "I like that idea." Her smile soon dropped, "or a double date and Rocky."

He looked at her confused, "what is it with you and Ross always making Rocky fly solo? Like, I don't understand your logic with that."

"You've met him, take a minute to let it sink in and I'm almost positive it'll hit you like a train."

"Sounds painful."

"That's because it is."

It took a moment but Ratliff slowly nodded and Rydel nodded back.

"Anyway," Rydel pulled her phone out, "while I text Ross, let's go in the other room, push Rocky to the side and find a movie to watch."

Ratliff smiled, "sounds like it'll be interesting."

"Oh, it will." Rydel nodded, "plus, it's Rocky, when will it never not be interesting."

"Yeah, good point."


Laura looked at her phone, reading the message she had received from her mother.

Laura, we haven't spoken in weeks. James and I would like to see you and discuss a few things, lunch in one hour at the house. See you then.

"How about no." Laura flipped her phone closed and put it down beside her.

"Who was that?" Ross asked as he stopped at a stoplight.

"My mother," Laura answered. "She wants me to have lunch with her and her boyfriend to talk about things."

"Maybe you should go," Ross shrugged, "you can't stay mad at her forever."

"Yes I can, it's not that hard." Laura stubbornly responded.

"Laura," Ross stated flatly, "she's your mother, you have to give her a break."

"I don't have to do any such thing."

"Really?"

"Really."

Ross sighed, "what if… Vanessa or I went with you, would that make you feel better about it?"

"A little bit yeah, but in her message she just demanded I go. I'm not her little bitch."

"Fine, what if the both of us goes?"

Laura looked at him, "then you, mister, have a deal," She sighed.

Ross smiled, "cool. Because I was gonna make you go anyway."

"What?" Laura's mouth dropped open, they then heard the sound of quiet barking and Laura turned to see Austin was wagging his tail, his tongue hanging out as he stared back at her. "Wait, we can't, we just got him, we cant leave him by himself."

Ross shrugged, "then we'll take him with us."

"I really don't want to go."

"I know."

After about thirty minutes, Ross pulled into Laura's mother's driveway and Laura got out. She went into the back and got Austin out as well, holding him tight against her as he tried to wiggle free.

"No! Stop!" Laura scolded him, "stay still!"

Ross was walking around the car when another car pulled up behind his. Vanessa got out and smiled over at him and he switched. He met Vanessa halfway, giving her a tight hug.

"How are you?" She asked and then looked over at her sister. Her eyebrows furrowed together, "is that a dog? Since when do you two have a dog?"

"Since an hour ago," Ross answered.

"Aw, he's so cute! What's his name?" Vanessa asked, running over to Laura and scratching behind his ears.

"Austin." Laura answered.

Vanessa gave her a look, "you two would totally name your dog that. What about your baby? If it's a girl are you going to name her Ally?"

"Nope, that thought never crossed our minds." Laura responded sarcastically and Vanessa laughed, giving her a tight hug. "Thanks for coming by the way, I don't think I could have handled this alone, even with bozo over here."

"Hey…" Ross warned her and she smiled, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'm kidding. Sort of." Ross glared at her as the two girls laughed and walked up the pathway to the front of the house. Vanessa had the key, as Laura had forgotten hers and opened the door.

"By the way," Vanessa said as they all walked in, "it's not a problem. I was just running errands and had to come back anyways."

Laura nodded, smiling at her and together the three of them plus Austin walked into the kitchen.

Ellen noticed Vanessa first, "oh! I didn't know you were going to be home. I thought you wouldn't be home until much later."

Vanessa shrugged, "I decided to come home now."

Ellen looked up then and saw Laura and Ross standing together, Laura had what everyone at work called her "bitchy face". Ross and Rocky had cleverly come up with it one morning when she'd been over tired. Rocky had the misfortune of being there and that was how the nickname started.

"Ross, I didn't know you were coming either."

"He's my boyfriend, of course he was going to come," Laura responded coolly. Ellen looked down, noticing Austin.

"And you two got a dog!"

"Yup as of an hour ago, so where are we eating, I want to get this over with as soon as possible." Laura responded pushing passed her mother.

"Laura." Ross said quietly, nudging her. "Be cool."

She just gave him a look in response but went into the living room where she found Vanessa and James in the middle of a conversation.

He turned at that moment and noticed Laura was in the room.

"Hi." She said flatly.

He looked at Ross who immediately stepped forward and shook his hand, "I'm Ross, her boyfriend."

James smiled at him, "I'm James, her boyfriend," He said motioning towards Ellen. Ross gave him a small smile back and then realized that James' hand was sweating. He let go and Ross tried to discreetly wipe it off.

"Okay!" Vanessa clapped her hands, "who's ready to eat? Laura? Ross?" She held her hands out towards the table where they sat down. Laura put Austin beside her, wondering why James hadn't asked about him.

"So, Laura, Ross, I heard you two are stars of a television show? On Disney?" James asked trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, Austin & Ally," Ross answered.

"How's that going for you?" James asked, smiling at them.

"Great, except that it's on haitus until further notice," Laura answered.

"Why's that?" James asked.

"None of your business," Laura snapped back, ignoring the look Ross gave her.

"Actually, I'm curious myself, why is it on hiatus?" Ellen asked her.

"Because Kevin and Heath found out I was pregnant and put it on hiatus until further notice, there are you happy?" Laura answered, her tone still cold.

Ross tried not to choke on the water he was drinking when she said it.

"Sorry, I'm fine," He said to Vanessa when she gently touched his shoulder as Laura looked at him, concerned.

"Right, that's right," Ellen answered, smoothing her napkin out on her lap. "I remember you saying something about that, that's actually why we wanted to have lunch."

"Why so you can tell me to get rid of the baby or put it up for adoption?" Laura demanded, "because Ross and I have already talked about it, we're keeping it."

"I really don't agree with that decision." Ellen began, "you're both so young and—"

"So?" Laura snapped, "I'm an adult, legally, I can make my own decisions, just like you did when you had sex with him in my bedroom!"

"Whoa, what?" Vanessa looked at her mother, "is she serious?"

Ellen looked down.

"Wow, even I can't believe that." Vanessa leaned back in her chair and shook her head.

"Look, Laura, your mother is just concerned, okay? You two are stars of a tv show and with a baby it's just going to make things a lot harder, like what if you have to travel? Or work long hours?" James asked.

"Or when Ross goes on tour with his band, do you get to go too or stay behind to take care of the baby?" Ellen asked her.

"Okay, first of all, James, you aren't my father so you can't tell me what to do, and second of all, mom, we've figured it out already. I don't have to explain it to you." Ross could see Laura wasn't going to calm down anytime soon, so he spoke up.

"Look, we get that it's going to be hard and though it wasn't planned, we're not going to let this baby get in the way of anything. I come from a big family of sitters. I have two brothers, a sister, a mother and a Rocky."

Vanessa looked at Ross amused, "did you just say 'and a Rocky'?" She asked and he nodded.

"Rocky's different, we all know that," He answered and Vanessa smiled to herself.

"That I can't argue with."

"We also have Calum," Laura added, "and Maia and our other friends who would be more than happy to help us out."

"What about Raini?" Ellen asked her.

"We're done with this conversation." Laura stood up, "I'm not hungry, sorry." She slammed her napkin down on the table and then stormed out of the room.

Ross sighed, "Raini doesn't support us. She thinks we're for lack of a better word and excuse my language, fucking up the show for everyone."

"Well, you are, aren't you?" James asked and Ross didn't know how to respond to that without blowing up on him.

Vanessa, thankfully stepped in, "have you even seen an episode of their show? Forget mine, because I know better and know you haven't, but have you seen theirs?"

"No, it's a children's show. Why would I watch that?" James asked.

"It's your girlfriend's daughter's show, why wouldn't you watch it?" Vanessa demanded. "Isn't that what you're supposed to do, support her daughter?"

"I'm sure it's got too much overacting and stupid silly songs."

Ross looked like he was going to punch him, so he excused himself quickly and went after Laura, being sure to grab Austin on the way.

Vanessa looked at her mother, "yeah, you picked a real winner there, mom." She said, before standing up and leaving the room as well.

James just looked at Ellen who was staring back at him in disbelief.

"Was it something I said?"

"You told me you've seen Laura's and Vanessa's shows. Was that a lie?"

"I didn't watch Laura's, I saw about two minutes of Vanessa's before I wanted to shoot myself and shut it off."

"Okay, you need to go." Ellen shook her head, "please, just leave."

"What? I'm not allowed to have an opinion?"

"No, just go. Now." She spoke sharply and James immediately stood up. She followed him until he walked out of the door, slamming it behind him. At that moment, Laura came downstairs, Ross and Vanessa behind her. She looked at them, "he's gone."

"You don't seem saddened by that," Vanessa told her.

She shrugged, "he doesn't support my daughters in what they do, why would I be sad about that?"

No one said anything for a few moments.

"We're going to go," Laura said, "I'm sorry about your boyfriend, but I can't have this stress right now, it's not good for the baby."

"No, you need to stay, we have to talk about this baby, Laura." Ellen told her.

"I don't have to talk about anything, Ross and I have already made up our minds. Can't you just support us and help us? Or are you going to just let it come between us?" Laura asked her.

"I'm sorry, Laura, I will support you in anything you do, whether it be a role you got in a movie or a television show or whom you decide to date, but I will not support a teenage pregnancy."

"Fine," Laura stared right at her, "then we're done." She didn't even wait for a response before she opened the front door and stormed out of it.

"Whoa, wait, don't you think that's a bit…much?" Ross asked Ellen. "She's your daughter, you can't just abandon her."

"I'm not abandoning—"

"Yes! You are!" Vanessa interrupted before Ross could say another word. "How do you think that's going to make her feel? She already lost her father, one who if you remember, abandoned her years ago. Now because she's having a baby, your grandchild you're just going to let her do it on her own? What kind of mother does that?"

"And no disrespect when I say this, but my father isn't going to be in this baby's life, neither is hers. If my mother is the only grandparent around, then that's going to be pretty sad." Ross took a deep breath, before continuing, "I've got to go, but thanks for lunch. Bye." He then left the house, the closing behind him and Vanessa turned to face her mother.

"I can't."

"Why not?" Vanessa demanded.

"I just can't. I'm sorry." And with that, Ellen went up the stairs, the door to her bedroom closing before Vanessa just spun around and opened the door. She walked out until she saw Ross just getting into the driver's side. She put her hand on his door to stop him from closing it.

"Sup?" He asked.

She looked at Laura, "mind if I come over for a bit?"

"Not at all," He answered, "Rocky, Rydel and Ratliff were coming over for dinner later on, so you're welcome to come as well."

"Awesome," Vanessa softly smiled at him. "I'm there, I'll meet you at your apartment."

Laura nodded and waved at her. She waved back and with that, Ross closed the door and backed out of the driveway.

Laura just stared out of the window. She had never felt so alone before. Her father was gone and her mother basically abandoned her. She had nobody on her side, family wise, but her sister.

But once Ross found out the truth she'd been hiding, all that would be left of her support system would be Vanessa. Or, at least she hoped she didn't get mad enough she cut her off as well.

Looking at Ross, she let out a sad sigh and felt a tear roll down her cheek. Grabbing his hand she held it tightly in hers and then she leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes. Pushing away all her worries and stress to the side, she just took a deep breath and tried to calm down for the baby's sake. He or she always had to come first, no matter what.


"Okay, she's down, for at least a couple of hours," Ross said as he walked into the living room where Vanessa was just sitting on the couch and staring at the television. "You do know that's off, right?"

"Yes, I do, you doofus." Vanessa answered. She let out a sigh, "I just feel so bad for her, you know? I really thought my mother would be on her side, but I guess I was wrong."

"Yeah, I agree. It's unbelievable seeing as everything that had happened before with her father." He ran his fingers through his hair. "She was crying pretty hard on the way back here."

"Yeah, I could tell." Vanessa turned to him. "Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were pink."

"Signs of someone who's been crying," Ross stared ahead, "what if your mother doesn't come around? Then Laura's pretty much on her own, with the exception of you, myself and my family."

"That poor kid isn't going to have very many grandparents, so it looks like your mother is going to have to spoil the hell out of them."

He nodded, "trust me, she will. Oh, and take a lot of pictures too." Vanessa laughed.

"I can totally see her doing that, every single moment of their life."

"Wouldn't put it past her."

It was silent for a few moments when Vanessa asked her question, "and your father? He's out?"

"Yeah, I don't want that abusive, cheating pervert around my kid, hell no."

"Good." Vanessa agreed. "I hope he doesn't even try to see him or her."

Ross shrugged, "he'll be too busy with his own child to really notice."

"Wait what? Your father is going to be a dad again?"

"Yeah, well, we just found out a few months ago that he was cheating on my mother, so with that woman. He got her pregnant, she's for sure having the baby I think." Ross explained, "but I'm sure you already knew about the whole cheating thing."

Vanessa nodded, "Rocky told me not so long ago, I'm really sorry about that."

Ross shrugged, "whatever. My father will get what's coming to him, I hope."

"What about your sibling?" Vanessa asked, "you're going to want to be a part of their lives, right?"

"If I can see them without my father present, then yeah. I'm not gonna blame them for my father's idiot mistakes."

"Yeah good, don't do that," Vanessa leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "You know, I think this is the most we've ever talked since I met you."

"Nah, we had to have talked more than this." Ross said, but then realized she was right. "Wow, we really haven't talked much, have we?"

"Well, you're always busy with Laura and well, I've been kinda busy myself." Vanessa admitted.

A sly smile spread across Ross' face, "with my brother, I hear."

Vanessa looked down, but he could see her smile and blush.

"Dude, it's totally okay. I mean, he makes you happy.. I hope."

"Yes, Ross, don't worry, your brother makes me very happy, when I'm around him. We're not together… um, yet." She looked away awkwardly.

"Well, do you want to be?" He asked and she nodded.

"I do."

He smiled, "then grow some lady balls and ask him out."

"Did you just say lady balls?"

"Don't distract me."

She laughed, "it's so easy to too."

"Yeah, yeah, but if you feel feelings for Rocky, god knows why, then go for it. He's… charming I guess, in a weird Prince Charming on steroids kinda way."

"You really know how to help your brother out with the cool factor." Vanessa commented.

"It's what I do, a skill yes, but also… a hobby."

Vanessa laughed again, "how does Laura put up with you?"

"I'm going to be asking you that same question when you start hanging out with Rocky more."

"Oh joy."

Ross rolled his eyes, "alright, enough with the Rocky talk, as fun as it was, go pick out a movie or something while pregnant lady gets some sleep."

"You better hope she didn't hear you call her that."

"Nah, she's good." Ross said, then looked at her with a less amused face. "Seriously though, ask Rocky out, he's too chicken shit to do it himself, trust me on that one."

"But isn't the guy supposed to ask the girl out?"

"Not everyone is as awesome as me," Ross pointed out. "I mean, yeah, Laura's and my relationship started out rocky, but I managed to still sweep her off her feet. She knows I love her, that I'm in love with her and that's never going to change. Hopefully Rocky knows that with you, and before you have a panic attack about love and shit and I'm talking about being in like with you. It's a lot less intense."

"Yeah, you're right." Vanessa answered, "I'll just see how tonight goes and go from there."

"Alright, sweet." Ross answered, his phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that he had two messages.

One from an unknown number and another from Ratliff.

Hey, bro. We're bored so we're gonna head over now, that cool?

He quickly responded that it was fine and then looked at the unknown number text.

It's your father, I'm in your apartment building, come hlp me.

"Everything okay?" Vanessa asked as his phone vibrated again with another message from the unknown number.

He looked up, "uh, yeah. I just have to go downstairs for a second, I'll be right back." He answered. "Go ahead and pick out the movie." He added as he walked out of the apartment and went down the stairs in search of his father. He quickly called Ratliff.

"Hello?"

"Hey, bro. Hold off on coming for just a little while longer, okay?"

"Yeah, why is everything okay?" Ratliff asked, concerned. "are Laura and the baby okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine, I'm not sure why or how he got her, but my father's here and I'm gonna go find out what's going on. I just didn't want Rydel near him. I'll call you back okay?"

"Yeah, sure dude. But should you be doing this yourself?"

"Don't really have a choice," Ross answered. "I'll call you back."

"Be careful, be safe." Ratliff said and Ross nodded.

"Sure thing, later." He hung up and then went down to the lobby where he found his father, laughing at the security.

"He's my son! He hates me sure, but he's—he's still my sooon." Mark was saying and Ross knew in that moment that he was very drunk.

Great, he thought.

The security guy, Robert, looked up and saw Ross was there. He waved him over.

"You know this guy?"

"Yeah, he's my father." Ross answered, making a face when Mark leaned in too close to him and breathed on him.

"Then his claims were true, sorry, sir." Robert apologized.

"Yeah don't be sorry about that," Ross answered, "we're not on speaking terms right now."

"Yeah cuz Rossy here thinks I touched his sister, but I didn't! No wait, yes I did, actually… but she was so cute and pretty and—"

Ross gave him a look of disgust.

"Enough!" He shouted. "I don't want you here! How did you even find out where I live?"

Mark smiled, "I have my ways."

"So you were stalking me," Ross nodded, "yeah, okay. You need to leave. Now."

"I—I can't."

"Why would you think for two seconds that I'd want you here?"

"I have no where else to go," Mark ignored him. "Your mother doesn't want me."

Ross scoffed, "yeah, I don't blame her."

"And Serena kicked me out."

"Why?"

"Because your sister told her what I did."

Well, he had a little bit more respect for Serena now. She knew he wasn't fit to be a parent and had kicked him out as soon as she figured it out. Go, Serena.

"That's not my problem, you made your own mess, and now everyone who you thought cared about you, don't. That's the way life goes, but right now, you need to leave. I'm not asking you again."

"Mr. Lynch is there a problem?" Robert asked, "I mean, I see that there is, but is he causing you any trouble?"

"No." Mark said at the same time Ross said, "yes."

"I was talking to Blondie," Robert said to Mark.

"Look, I don't want him here, he's not allowed anywhere near me. He's abusive, a molester and… I just don't want him around myself, my sister, my brothers, my mother, my friends or my girlfriend. Please see to it that he leaves and if he fights, call the police." Ross said as he slowly backed away.

"Oh right!" Mark called after him, "Like you're so damn perfect!"

Ross slowly turned around, "Excuse me?"

"You're the star of the family, because let's face it, no one else in this family has what you've got, you're a millionaire, everyone loves you and always takes your side."

"I'm—"

"But you're not perfect, you're really just a little shit." Mark started to look angry, "you ruined my marriage, you ruined my kids' trust in me and you ruined everything!"

"I didn't do that! You did that all on your own!" Ross yelled back, "at least be grateful I did the biggest mistake of my life and kept your secret for two fucking years!"

"Don't yell at me, I'm still your father."

"No, you're a joke. I don't want you around me, Laura, Rydel or anyone else. It sucks you're out of your kid's life now, but I'm telling you now because you're going to find out sooner or later, you're not going to be around your granchild's life either."

"What grandchild?"

"The baby Laura is having." Ross answered and then Mark burst into laughter. "What's so funny?"

"You got your girlfriend pregnant? Wow, who knew you'd screw that releationship up that badly?"

We're not breaking up," Ross looked confused. "We live together now and we're keeping the baby."

"Yeah, that's not gonna last long," Mark answered. "You're more like me then you think you are." He pointed his finger at him, but it soon fell down at his side and he laughed at that.

"I'm nothing like you. I will never be anything like you." Ross snapped at him in a low voice. "Now get your drunk ass out here of here before I call the police."

Then something seemed to snap inside of Mark, because he just looked at him and immediately ran toward where Ross was standing. He then lifted his fist and before Ross could do anything punched him in the nose, causing him to stumble and fall back to the floor.

"What the hell was that for?" Ross shouted as Robert immediately rushed over and pulled Mark off of him before he could hit him again. Ross touched his nose and saw blood all over his fingers.

"That's for disrespecting me!" Mark yelled at him, fighting against Robert who was restraining him as Ross slowly stood up, a bit dizzily.

"Fuck off." Ross yelled back at him and then turned around a bit too fast and fell to the ground again, coughing he spit up some blood and then realized Mark had gotten him again when he'd punched him in the mouth.

"Sir, you need to leave." He could hear Robert speaking. "Or I will call the police, if you even so much as step a foot down the block, I'll call the police, you are no longer welcome here."

After a few moments, Ross slowly stood up and stumbled to the counter where Robert usually sat and leaned against it. He grabbed a few tissues and then dabbed where they needed to be dabbed lightly just as Robert walked back in.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever," Ross responded coolly. "It's not the first time he's hit me or anyone else."

Robert looked at his nose, "it looks really swollen; you should go get that checked out." He paused, "how's your head?"

"Hurts a bit, I guess I hit the floor."

"I can't believe your own father would do that to you, that's awful."

Ross nodded, "yeah, like I said, not the first time. He hit me once before while I was still underage and has abused my sister as well, so… I'm sure he'll ass will end up in jail."

Before Robert could respond, he looked up and they noticed Mark was back. He picked up his phone, "looks like that night's going to be tonight."

Ross didn't even stop him as he watched him dial 911. He just let him do it, ignoring the screaming Mark was doing outside and the pain in his heart when he thought of back when he was a child and his dad was someone he looked up to.

He vowed then to not let his unborn child ever feel that way when it came to their relationship. Ross was going to be a much better father, he'd make sure of it.

Staring into space for a while and hearing the sirens in the distance, he pulled his phone out and called Ratliff.

"Hello?"

"Come over, we all have to talk." Ross said and then before Ratliff could say anything else, he quickly hung up the phone just as the police handcuffed his father and a detective walked over to him.

"Hey, sir? Can we ask you a few questions."

"No, um… I have to go upstairs," Ross answered as he watched the police put his father into the backseat of one of the cop cars. He watched him through the window and then looked up at the detective. "I'm really sorry, but I can't do this right now."

"We need to ask you a few questions," He said just as another one showed up by his side. "We can't let you go until we do."

"I'm sorry, sir, I just—I can't right now." Ross answered, knowing that if he didn't get upstairs and soon he was going to explode.

"It'll only take a few minutes," The detective's partner said, she stepped closer and inspected his face. "You really need to go to a hospital."

"I'm okay." He answered, feeling dizzier as the pain in his nose and head increased. "just ask me your questions."

"Who is that man in relation to you?"

"My father."

"Did you notice he was intoxicated when you saw him?"

"Yes."

He couldn't help but think of Mark's words. You are more like me than you think.

He blinked so that he could pay attention to the detectives.

"Does he have a history of abuse towards you or any other family members?"

Ross paused a moment, thinking to himself and then realized that though Rydel wasn't there to give them her answer, he was.

"Yes, myself and my sister."

They asked him a few more questions and in the middle of them he noticed Ratliff, Rocky and Rydel walking up to the door and looking around confused. Thank god, his father had been long gone at that point.

"Okay, no further questions. If we need anything we'll contact you."

Ross slowly nodded and then looked at Robert, "thanks." He said and then without another word, hurried up the stairs before Ratliff, Rocky or Rydel could see him. He then quickly opened the apartment and threw open the door, not bothering to see Vanessa or Laura's expressions, as Laura was now sitting on the couch with Vanessa, he quickly ran into his and Laura's bedroom and into the bathroom where he closed the door and locked it. Leaning his head against it, he slowly slid down it until he landed on his ass and held his head in his hands.

He heard the sound of Rydel, Rocky and Ratliff, but paid no mind to it. He needed a minute alone and he didn't care what it took; he was going to get it no matter what.


"What is going on?" Rydel asked, her head going from one side to the other as she watched police cars and sirens going around where she was standing with Rocky and Ratliff.

"I don't know," Rocky answered as they stepped inside. "It doesn't look good though."

They walked futher into the building and then walked up to the security. Rydel remembered his name was Robert.

"Hey guys, you can go on up." He said, figuring Ross didn't want him to broadcast what had just happened to them.

They nodded and took the elevator up, until they reached the apartment. The door was already thrown open, so they walked further inside.

Laura looked up at them.

"Anyone know what's going on?" Rocky asked the two sisters and they shook their heads.

"Ross just ran in here though and ran straight into his and Laura's room," Vanessa answered, "it was very strange."

"Maybe he's sick?" Rocky said.

"No, he was fine not even thirty minutes ago." Vanessa answered as he sat down beside her.

Ratliff tried to think of what could be wrong when it hit him. He had said Mark was there and not to bring Rydel around yet, so he just figured he shouldn't say anything.

"Oh shit." He said and everyone looked at him. "I think I know what's going on, he had called me not too long ago saying that your father was here," He was speaking to Rydel, "and not to bring you around because he wanted to figure out why. God only knows what happened after that though."

Laura slowly stood up and immediately ran into her bedroom, trying not to trip over Austin who was lying on the ground. She knocked on the bathroom door. "Ross! Ross! Come out, please? Are you okay?"

He didn't answer and she started to get worried.

"Ross!"

He opened the door and Laura stepped in; he closed it quickly behind her and she looked around, noticing there was blood in the sink and a bit on the floor. Slowly bringing her eyes up, she saw Ross' face and how swollen his nose and lip were.

"Oh my god, Ross, what happened?" She asked, gently grabbing his wrist and pulling him to sit down on the closed toilet lid.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You cant do that anymore, you have to talk. I know you don't want to, but if you go back to the way you were before than it's going to make it worse." She had noticed that he had tears in his eyes, but didn't appear to be crying. She wiped off as much blood as she could as gently as she could, before looking closer. "Okay, we need to take you to the hospital, now."

"No."

"Stop being a four year old, Ross."

"I don't want to go to the damn hospital!" He yelled at her and she immediately backed away. "I want to go to dinner." His tone was calmer.

"Forget about dinner, okay? It's cancelled. Right now we need to get your nose looked at, it looks broken." Laura stepped closer to him, but he just turned away from her. "Ross, look at me."

"Leave me alone."

"Ross," She tried again, kneeling down to his level. "Come on, please?"

He then turned to look at her and she saw tear stains on his cheeks and some falling. She immediately hugged him and held him close to her.

"It's okay." She whispered, rubbing his back, "you're okay."

It took a few moments, but he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her closer and cried into her shoulder as she just wrapped her arms around him tighter.

"I got you, it's okay." She whispered, feeling tears come to her eyes as well. "When you're ready to, we'll go out there, okay?" He nodded and then softly cried more. She didn't stop rubbing his back until he stopped and pulled away. She tearfully smiled at him and wiped under his eyes, careful to mind his injuries. "I love you," She told him, "nothing's going to change that."

Ross nodded and after realizing he couldn't kiss her, just hugged her again.

"I love you more," He whispered.


It was tense and silent as everyone waited for Ross and Laura to come out into the main part of the apartment. The bedroom door soon opened and Laura stumbled into the room, holding Ross upright the best she could as he stumbled in after her.

"Ross—" Rydel began and he lifted his head to look at her. She gasped, tears immediately coming to her eyes as she saw how bad he looked. "What happened?" She whispered. Rocky immediately stood up.

"Did dad do that to you?" He asked, angrily and it took a moment, but Ross nodded.

"Look, talk about this later, but right now we have to focus on getting him to hospital." Laura said, passing him over to Ratliff who immediately got him to lean on his shoulder. "He's really dizzy because he hit his head and we can't under any circumstances let him fall asleep."

Rocky nodded and helped him walk on his other side as the three of them walked to the front door, Vanessa quickly going to open it.

"I—I don't have to go to a hospital," Ross muttered, his head falling down and his eyes drooping closed.

"Yes, you do buddy. Come on, let's go." Rocky told him, "you don't have a say in this."

Ratliff lightly smacked him, "don't fall asleep, stay awake."

"Fuckkkk…" Ross trailed off. "My head and nose hurt so fucking badly."

Laura quickly got her things and with that, she, Rydel and Vanessa left the apartment after them.

"I bet it does," Rocky answered as they slowly got him in the elevator and into Laura's car. He helped put him in the back and with that they all rode to the hospital.


"How are you feeling?"

Ross opened his eyes only to see Laura was standing above him. He slowly sat up and looked at her, touching his nose to find a bandage was there he moved his hand away.

"Wha—what happened? I don't remember anything but coming up here after the police took my dad away."

Laura sat down, putting the cup of tea she held in her hand beside her. She touched his arm gently, "we took you to the hospital, they said your nose was broken and you had a small concussion."

"That expains my headache," He tried to joke, but even laughing hurt.

"You're going to be just fine, don't worry." Laura smiled at him and took his hand. "You must've hit your head on the floor when you fell."

He nodded, "did I say anything last night?"

"Not really. You kept going in and out of consciousness, scared the crap out of Rocky, Rydel and I and Ratliff kept trying to keep you awake. Actually, come to think of it, you scared all of us."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, it wasn't your fault, you couldn't help it."

There was a soft knock on the door and Stormie stuck her head inside the room.

"How do you feel?"

"My nose hurts, my head hurts, my body actually hurts." Ross mumbled, "but I'm okay. I'll live."

Stormie walked into the bedroom, "you gave us all quite a scare last night."

Ross looked at Laura, "yeah, I heard."

"I know this isn't probably the right time to talk about this, but the detectives who spoke to you yesterday, want to know if you want to press any charges. I was going to say yes, but it's entirely up to you." Stormie said as Rydel walked into the room and stood beside her.

He exchanged a look with Rydel, before she gave him a nod, "after everything that happened with Rydel and yesterday, I um, I think so." He answered, looking down. "he can't—he can't do it again. I don't care how pissed he is or how drunk."

"We all agree with you," Laura told him.

"Then yeah, I want to press charges," Ross answered, leaning back in the bed, he looked up at the ceiling.

"Okay." Stormie said quietly, "then it's settled, we'll give you some time to rest."

"Yeah, and if you need anything, call okay?"

Ross nodded and waved. He held his arm out towards Laura who immediately knew what he wanted and lay down beside him, cuddling closer to him, her head on his chest.

"I'm so glad you're okay." She whispered, her hand finding his.

"Yeah," Ross nodded, "I'm happy to be here."

She reached up and gently kissed his cheek, "you should get some rest."

"Will you be here when I wake up?" He asked and she nodded.

"I'm not going anywhere," She promised and lay her head on his chest, closing her eyes. She woke up again a few moments later, only to see Austin jump on the bed and curl up beside Ross' leg. She smiled to herself and then soon drifted off to sleep.


Shoutout to Dani on twitter! She helped me out a lot with this chapter, though the Ross stuff was my idea.
Sorry, I've been kind of emotional lately and I just saw my biological father the other day again. It didn't go well.

So, hope you liked it and sorry for the wait. Next chapter will be soon, I hope.

Much love xx.