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Summary: John has been sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison and away from the woman he loves. Trish is adapting to life without John, trying to stay strong for the sake of their newfound love. Can they survive the ultimate test to their relationship, one that neither of them expects or is prepared to fight?
But you can have what's left of me
She ran into the room quickly throwing her arms around the man she loved, letting him know through her touch that she was here for him now and that they would deal with whatever the results showed. Trish knew deep down that this was always a possibility but part of her heart had just been hoping that their babies would be the only ones John would have. Would she love Michelle's baby if it was John's? She knew she would, but she couldn't stop her heart from wishing it was Randy's.
"Is it wrong to be scared right now?" John asked as he pulled away from the long embrace. He knew that any man would feel this way in this circumstance, but for him it just felt scary. John wasn't a man that was afraid of much but standing here now with Trish by his side, he was never so afraid of a piece of paper in his life.
Did he want to be a father to Michelle's child?
Yes.
He would do whatever needed to be done if these results showed he was the father of this child. He knew he would love it, no matter who it's mother was and that love would never weaken. Trish had been the person to finally show him what real love meant and with her by his side, he knew he could tackle anything.
"It's not wrong to be scared John. I'm scared too, for so many reasons that are hard to explain. But just know that whatever the results show, I will support you one hundred percent."
She squeezed his hand tightly within her own, letting him know silently that she meant every word of it. She would stand with her man no matter what their life held. Because that is what two people in love did for each other. Even when one of them sometimes faltered in their belief in love the way they had both done since they got together.
She watched as John slipped his hand into the long brown envelope, and slowly extracted the piece of paper that held his future. He knew there was no reason to think that dramatically but truth be told he was praying this baby wasn't his. He knew the baby wouldn't be better off with Randy but it beat having a daily reminder of the mistakes of his past around on a constant basis.
Just remember this is not the child's fault. The mother is another story.
He knew he was right. The voice in his head was right that this outcome was not the babies fault but more the fault of the adults that would most likely be in its life.
"What does it say John? Is Michelle's baby yours or not?"Trish asked, bringing him away from his fears and back to the job at hand. He looked down at the paper and after reading past all of the statistics and medical jargon, he saw the line that he needed and read it, taking in each and every word as he did. With baited breath he looked up from the paper and over beside him as his very pregnant girlfriend was standing just as rigidly as he in that moment. He opened his mouth to speak but before he got a chance to saw the results of the test, the room door opened, a guard and Shawn coming in. Serious looks on their faces.
"What's going on?" John said, nodding his head in Shawn's direction as way of a hello. Shawn did the same and then looked at Trish.
"Wait. Did we interrupt something important here?" Shawn asked, not bothering to admit to why they were there before finding out what he had just walked in on. The looks on both of their faces told him that it was something big and that it had to do with the paternity of the baby Michelle McCool was having.
"Nothing that can't wait another few minutes. What is going on and why is the guard here?"
Shawn looked down at the ground, collecting his thoughts before starting to speak. How he said this had to be worded just right otherwise it might cause even more pain then it was likely too.
"They went to arrest the driver and he had skipped out John. I'm afraid right now that he's listed as missing and most likely on the run. I know you don't want or need to hear this right now but I thought you deserved to know."
The knot in John's stomach just got deeper and deeper with what Shawn had said. First the results of the test and now this? Lives were being affected in more then one way and it was all going to end painfully for all involved. Even them in that moment.
"It's not my baby, it's Randy's." he slipped out, watching all the eyes in the room go back to him and the bombshell he had chosen to drop on them now. Trish threw her arms around him tightly and held him as close as possible to her body, happiness written all over her face.
John wanted to be happy in that moment as well, finding out that he no longer needed to have Michelle in his life or the issues she had thrown into motion, but he just couldn't bring himself to be happy about it. He was getting out of prison in six months, he wasn't having a baby with his ex girlfriend after all, but there was still two pieces in the puzzle that were threatening to come to the surface.
What was Michell going to do now that he was proven not to be the father. Could Randy really be the father that this baby needed? But that wasn't the only thing crossing his mind in that moment. He also wondered why Trish was standing there, faking happiness when she was holding things back from him. Things he knew that she wasn't aware that he did.
"Can you give me a minute alone with Trish please?" he asked Shawn quietly, hoping that they would all leave the room. He had lied to her when he had called earlier. He wanted her there for more then just the results of the paternity tests. He wanted her there with him so that she would finally admit what Jeff had told him only two days earlier, guilt ridden and full of regret. But she hadn't done it. He had to wonder why. What was she hiding from him?
When the men left the room the door slamming behind them as the only sound in the room he turned to Trish and motioned for her to sit down.
"So the baby isn't yours. I think along with the news I got today this might be the best day we've had in a long time." She stated more at him then too him.
What could she possibly have found out today that would make this day any better? Was she talking about Jeff or was there something with the baby they were having? He didn't want to admit it but it was eating him alive that Jeff had been the one to tell him this. He loved her and he knew deep down that she loved him too. She knew how keeping secrets had destroyed his life once before so why was she doing it now?
"What did you find out today?" John asked, his eyebrows raising and his heart almost pounding with fear.
"I went for the ultrasound to determine the health of the baby and to find out the gender. I put off having it for two months because I wasn't worried at all about the pregnancy. As it turns out the reason why I have been so tired lately and sick is because it's not just one baby we're having."
"What are you talking about?" John said, not at all following her.
"We're having twins John. It was confirmed for sure this morning. A boy and a girl! Isn't that great?" she said jumping from her seat and allowing herself to be caught in his arms as the news started to sink in.
They were having twins? Just how in the hell had that happened?
He wanted to be happy about this turn of events but Jeff's visit kept creeping into his mind, so much so that it was blocking all emotion that he had welled up inside him. When he finally couldn't take it anymore he pushed Trish away from him and looked her dead in the eyes.
"When were you going to tell me that you and Jeff kissed at the house?" he said, his eyes full of hurt and anger and mostly, mistrust. She had hidden something so serious from him and he was heartbroken by it. So heartbroken that the idea of his having twins barely left a mark on him.
When she turned away from him then, he knew he had hit his mark. Jeff had been telling him the truth and now it was time to find out why it had to come from the man John despised and not from the woman he loved more then life itself.