02

September 2013

Los Angeles, California

(Palm Woods)

"Logan, get up!"

Logan blinked open his eyes before pulling his blanket up over his head. Seconds later, his bed started to shake as Carlos jumped up and down on his bed. He could feel where his friend's feet imprinted on either side of his legs, travelling farther and farther up his body.

"Ssstooooop," Logan said as he bounced on his bed. Logan let out a huff of annoyance before rolling onto his back, swinging his blankets down to his waist. "Carlos, serioul—ow!" Carlos stopped jumping and crash landed all of his body weight onto his friend. "What the hell?"

Carlos grinned, sitting back on his heels. "Good, you're awake," he said simply. Logan stared at Carlos as if he had grown a second head. Carlos stared back at him as silence fell over the two of them.

"Get. Off," Logan said to his friend through clenched teeth, slowly blinking.

"Sheesh, you think the birthday boy would be grateful," Carlos said as he rolled off of his friend and onto the floor. "Mama Knight wanted me to wake you up. Chocolate Chip pancakes are calling your name. Come on."

"I'll be there in a minute," Logan replied as a yawn forced him to drop his jaw, closing his eyes as he stretched his arms above his head.

"Hurry or I'll eat all the bacon," Carlos teased before making his way out of the room.

"Ha, ha," Logan said, dropping his arms back onto his stomach. Only he knew that Carlos was only half joking. When it came to bacon, or any kind of food for that matter, he wouldn't hesitate to jump on the opportunity to eat it all himself. "I'm coming."

His chest swelled as he sucked in a deep breath of air, the smell of pancakes and bacon wafting to his nose, making him smile. It's my birthday. He looked over at the clock…and it all came rushing back to him: staying up late finishing work, the late night phone call, and the news about his dad.

He was nineteen years old, a man. However in some cases, he didn't feel like one. He felt like a scared little boy; a scared little boy who talked like an adult. The same scared little boy he was all those years ago; who followed the straight and narrow path, who didn't do anything wrong because he was scared of doing something bad. All because his dad had gone to jail for doing a "bad thing."

"A life without risks is a life unlived, my friend." Kendall had said that to him over and over again for years, trying to get him to live a little. But, he just couldn't break having to be the good guy. Yes, he had taken some risks as he grew up—with Kendall as a friend it was kind of impossible not to—but he always weighed out the options.

How much trouble would they get in? A lot.

What was the probability that they would get in trouble? 100%

How much fun would it be? That depended on how much trouble they got in.

Was there a chance of talking Kendall out of it? Slim to none.

He couldn't deny that a lot of the time, good things came out of those risks. If they hadn't soaked the girls field hockey team, they wouldn't have been pummeled badly enough to stay home. In turn, they never would've seen the TV newscaster announce Gustavo Rocque coming to Minnesota, and they never would've gotten the idea to get James to audition no matter what.

"Oh, good, you're up." Logan shifted his gaze towards the door and saw Kendall leaning in the door before he pushed it open, stepping inside. "Got up earlier, but I didn't want to wake you. You were up late."

"Couldn't sleep," Logan replied, sitting up in his bed, his blankets collecting around his waist as he did so. "Had too much on my mind." He watched as Kendall made his way over to his dresser, pulling open the top drawer to grab a shirt to change into.

Logan closed his eyes, sucking in a deep breath of air. "I have to tell you something," he spoke up and Kendall turned around to face him. He flipped his t-shirt upside down and parted the bottom before pulling it over his head. "It's important."

What's wrong?" Kendall asked, concerned.

"I have to tell you something," Logan repeated.

Kendall's eyebrows twitched. "You said that already," he replied. He walked over to their shared closet and pulled open the doors. He reached for one of the many flannel shirts hanging inside before pulling it off the hangers, sliding his arms through the sleeves before rolling them up to his elbows. He sat down on his bed, clasping his hands together. "What's up?"

"Uhhh," Logan stalled, staring back at his friend. He bowed his head, scratching at the back of his neck. He had always been wishy-washy with his decisions; deciding on one thing and then quickly changing his mind, and just as quickly changing his mind back.

Even when they had gone back to Minnesota for a short while when it looked like their dream of going on tour and releasing an album had quickly been ripped away from them, he settled back into his idea of being a doctor; but found it hard to decide what to put on his application, what not to put on his application, and when Gustavo came knocking on their door, it was hard to decide whether or not to go back out to California.

It was already scary enough having gone out there in the first place, but having to do it again; it really made him stop and think. But, that's what James wanted to do and he would do anything to help his friend. His brother. They always had each other's backs. He knew that Kendall would have his now.

Just tell him, Logan, he'll understand, Logan thought to himself. What's the worst that could happen? He twisted his fingers together in his lap before he got up off his bed, making his way over to the bedroom door. He pushed his weight up against the door and let out a sigh, raking his fingers through his hair. It's not or never.

"So…all these years…you've noticed my dad hasn't been around," Logan said as he shuffled his feet against the ground, making his way back over to his bed. He slowly lowered himself down onto the mattress. He let out a weird laugh."Of course you've noticed; you were there when you found out why he wasn't around."

Kendall's lips formed a line as he slowly nodded his head. "What's up? Seriously?" Kendall asked, catching his attention. "Logie, you're acting strange."

"Uh…well," Logan said before sucking in a deep breath of air. He held it for a moment before letting it all out in a rush. "Last night…I got a phone call…about my dad."

Kendall's eyebrows shot up. A series of emotions quickly passed over his face before stopping on worry. "He's…is he…did he…die?" he asked.

"Oh! No," Logan said with a shake of his head. "He didn't die."

"Well, that's good," Kendall said with a small smile. "So…" He waved his hands in the air. "Logan, what's-?"

"My dad's been released from prison," Logan blurted out before he could stop himself.

And it was in that moment that he left his body. It was like he was floating at the top of the room, watching himself and Kendall talk. He watched the words come out of his mouth and he watched as Kendall's face registered shock, surprise, and concern all at once as his jaw dropped. He watched as he folded in on himself, hugging himself as if he had suddenly grown cold. And then he was back in his own body.

"S-say something," he prompted.

Kendall closed his mouth and swallowed. His eyes widened before they returned to their normal size. He pressed his lips together. Logan just felt like jumping to his feet and shaking him, commanding him to say what was on his mind if not try to shake the thoughts out of his head and to get him to forget what he had even just told him.

"I…wow," Kendall slowly replied. His cheeks puffed out as he let out a breath of air. "He's…so he's back? I mean is he coming back? I mean—"

"He, um, I don't know what he's going to do," Logan said, scratching the back of his head. "My mom probably knows by now." He glanced over at the clock a second time. "She's at work now and I haven't had the chance to look at my e-mail yet." He dropped his hands into his lap again. "He's been gone for so long. I never thought that'd happen."

"Why didn't you say anything last night?" Kendall asked. "No wonder you couldn't sleep."

Because he did a bad thing, Logan thought. Those words nearly escaped from his lips, but they were so…juvenile. He was told those words when he was a kid and he stuck with it. It was a simple answer back then; he did something bad and bad people get punished.

"Happy Birthday to me, huh?" he asked with a short laugh. He twisted his mouth to the side and Kendall scratched the back of his neck before putting his face into his hands. "I didn't know what to say. That's why I didn't tell you. I didn't know how you'd react."

Kendall's lips pulled back into a weird smile. Logan could guess what he was thinking. James's dad divorced his mom and was now dating someone half her age, and Kendall's dad hit him when he was a kid and was no longer in the picture.

How could Kendall or both Kendall and James not understand his situation? Simply put, their dad's weren't in jail. Not that he was trying to compare situations, but they could always fly out and see their sons if they wanted, his dad couldn't. Then again, Kendall was there when he heard, or rather overheard, the news.

"I know you and James would get it," Logan said with a shrug. "I don't know. I guess, talking about it…it makes it real, you know? He actually is in jail…or was. He actually did something wrong."

"You visited him, though," Kendall pointed out to him.

"It felt like a dream," Logan replied. "A very bad dream."

Kendall nodded as he listened to Logan talk and then he was suddenly on his feet, making his way over to Logan. Logan looked up at his friend as Kendall grabbed his shoulders, pulling him to his feet and into a tight hug. Logan blinked before relaxing into the hug, pressing his forehead into Kendall's shoulder, reaching his arms up to give his back a couple of slaps. Kendall then stepped back and gently shook him.

"You don't have to keep this from us," Kendall said to him, giving him a small smile. Logan snorted. "I know, I know. Who am I to say that when the only way you found out about my dad was when you overhead my mom and I talking?" His smile waned a little bit, but it was still there. "I get it, Logan. Really, I do."

"Yeah, and so…I've just been thinking about it," Logan said, running his fingers through his hair. "It wouldn't surprise me if he tried to get in contact with me. I don't really know if I want him to. Kendall's eyebrows shot up. "I've been going back and forth about whether or not I really wanted to do it. I mean, I'm happy with my life now; with this, with all of you guys, and the Jacksons, and Jo, and Camille, and Stephanie, but now it's just…complicated."

"What isn't complicated nowadays?" Kendall asked with a short laugh. "So, what are you going to do if he does call? Or if he asks to see you?"

Logan suddenly felt warm all over. His stomach twisted up into knots as he glanced at the closed bedroom door out of the corner of his eye. He suddenly wanted to leave. He felt weird. He felt like something was coming towards him and he didn't have any room to get out of the way. His heart beat sped up as he started to breathe in and out of his nose.

"Look, Logan, I blew my chance with my dad," Kendall said quietly. "Looking back on it, I wish I did talk to him about everything." He used his thumb to scratch at his eyebrow and Logan's lips twitched into a smile. "I had my chance with getting closure and now you have yours. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity." Kendall suddenly grinned. "It's like I always say; grab it with both hands and go big time."

"Yeah." Logan chuckled. "So, um, thanks for listening."

"Anytime, bro," Kendall replied, clapping Logan on the shoulder. "Anytime. Oh, and Happy Birthday."

"Yeah, thanks," Logan replied before heading over to his dresser to change. "Hey, Kendall…you can tell James and Carlos if you want. I mean, they already know about him being in prison…"

"Only if you want me to, Logan," Kendall replied. "But, I think it should come from you." He then nodded his head. "Sure, I will."

"Thanks," Logan replied.

"Anytime," Kendall said.

He and Kendall quickly finished changing their clothes before making their way into the kitchen. Plates of pancakes were already sitting at their spots. After being sung "Happy Birthday" from Mrs. Knight, James, Carlos, and Katie Knight, Kendall's little sister, they all dug in to the warm breakfast.

Logan didn't join in much of the conversation making it a point to always have something in his mouth to make it that he didn't have to talk. It was an odd feeling; to have life changing news looming over him, but be put in a happy situation. He just smiled and nodded at whatever it was that was said around him.

Once they were all finished, he offered to do the dishes, and took their plates to the sink as Katie made a comment about going down to the pool and Kendall, James, and Carlos started up a game of dome hockey.

"Logan, do you have any jeans that need to be washed?"

Logan turned away from the sink to see Mrs. Knight carrying a basket of laundry out of James and Carlos's room. He used his elbow to turn off the faucet before reaching for the hand towel beside him. "No, I'm ok," he replied, giving her a smile. "But, thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetheart," Mrs. Knight replied, returning the smile before she set the basket down onto the kitchen table.

"Hey, Mama Knight, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked quietly.

One of the things he liked the most about Mrs. Knight was knowing that she was always around to lend a listening ear and to give advice. Sometimes she even gave advice when he, nor anyone else, wanted it at the time. The best thing was that she never threw things back in your face if you chose not to follow what it was that she told them to do to avoid any conflicts.

"Sure, sweetie," Mrs. Knight replied, setting her basket down onto the kitchen table. "What's wrong?" She started lifting a shirt out of the basket and folding it.

"Well…you know about my dad," Logan muttered, scratching the back of his neck. Mrs. Knight paused before nodded, turning to look at him. "And…did my mom e-mail you this morning? Or call?" She pressed her lips together. Logan glanced over at his friends and saw Kendall peering over at them before he returned his gaze to dome hockey. He lowered his voice. "I got a call last night that my dad's out of prison."

"Yes, she e-mailed me this morning about it," Mrs. Knight replied with a nod. Logan slowly breathed in and out through his nose. Silence fell between the two of them. "Are you ok?"

She started shaking a shirt into the air before folding it against her chest before setting it down onto a stack on the table. She then reached for a pair of socks. She tilted her head to the side when he didn't say anything. It was a comfort that she knew what was going on, it took a little bit of the weight off his shoulders.

"We can talk later if you want, sweetie."

"No, it's ok," Logan replied, giving a fleeting smile. "I just…do you think I should talk to my dad?"

"Unfortunately, Logan, I can't really give you that answer," Mrs. Knight replied after a moment of silence. "You see, it doesn't matter what I think, what matters is what you and Joanne want to do about it."

"It's just…I don't know how he's going to fix things, or how he even thinks he'd be able to do that," Logan said, leaning against the back of the chair in front of him.

"No one knows for sure, sweetheart," Mrs. Knight replied. "But, if you think it's worth the risk, give it a shot."

Los Angeles, California

(San Marino)

Logan stepped into the Jackson-McGuire home and was greeted by the upbeat lyrics to Hall & Oats' You Make My Dreams Come True as it pumped at no less than—what he could guess—was 100 decibels. Not that loud music was a big surprise, but it was a nice change of pace from the shouts, screams, and maniacal laughter that would normally fill every corner of the vast house.

"Hey, it's…" Logan stopped in mid shout as he stepped into the kitchen, a smile coming to his face as he watched Rhuben Jackson-McGuire dance around the kitchen, singing along to the song. She bopped her way over to the microwave as it beeped and she pulled the door open to release the smell of popcorn into the open air. Logan closed his eyes as he breathed in the scent of the fresh snack as she poured it into the bowl.

He stepped into the kitchen, making his way over to the counter, reaching his hand into the bowl of popcorn, grabbing a small handful. He quietly lowered the strap to the camera bag from his shoulder and set it down onto the counter. He hummed to himself, bobbing his head back and forth as he placed kernel after kernel into his mouth. He watched as she crossed the kitchen to the refrigerator, pulling open the door. Logan quietly stepped across the room, coming up behind her, putting his mouth to her ear and biting down on the popcorn.

"Jesus!" Rhuben cried, whirling around, pointing a bottle of chocolate syrup at him. She closed her eyes, relaxing when she realized who it was. Logan laughed, putting his hands up defensively. "Don't do that. You're just as bad as Noah."

"You could have Carlos go crashing through the walls in here and you still wouldn't hear him," Logan said with a laugh, talking over the loud music. "Figured you'd at least sense I was there or something."

Rhuben briefly glanced up at the ceiling before setting the bottle of chocolate syrup down on the island before making her way out of the room, her footsteps thundering on the linoleum floor. Minutes later, the volume to the song was lowered considerably.

"I'd hear him. I recognize the noise we make, Carlos's noise is all him," Rhuben replied, putting her hands on her hips. She then smiled before opening her arms, giving him a hug. "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you," Logan said as he hugged her back. "I was starting to think you forgot."

"Me?" Rhuben asked, her eyebrows shooting up. "No way. How could I forget your birthday? After all, it's only two days before mine." She gave him a bright smile and Logan laughed lightly. "You ok, though? You look like something's bothering you."

"Just…wanted to see what you were doing," Logan replied with a shrug. Rhuben's eyes narrowed slightly, but she nodded her head. "This was the song my parents danced to on their wedding day. Did I ever tell you that?"

"No," Rhuben replied with a shake of her head as she grabbed the bottle of chocolate syrup. She popped the top and turned the bottle upside down, starting to squeeze the syrup out onto the popcorn. "Then again, you don't talk much about your parents; when they were still together I mean."

Logan made a noise in the back of his throat, nodding his head. "They're still together," he replied before scrunching up half of his face, "I guess. I mean, I don't think they're separated or anything. Just…apart. Due to circumstances." He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "What are you doing?"

"Chocolate Drizzle Popcorn," Rhuben replied, setting down the chocolate syrup. "The girls are coming over to spend the night; Riles went to get Katie and Lizzie. Pat and No are cleaning the pool and Syd is, as usual, shut up in his room working on some science mumbo-jumbo." She squeezed a drop of chocolate syrup onto her finger before licking it off, setting the bottle down. She slapped her hand down on top of it to close the bottle. "I may not be as good a cook as Riles, but I do my best."

"You make some of the best toast I've ever had," Logan replied and Rhuben chuckled rolled her eyes. "Come on, that has to be so sticky and messy."

"We're not on your tour bus, Logie, it's fine," Rhuben pointed out and Logan closed his mouth before he let out a short laugh. He was one of the cleanest out of Big Time Rush, trying to keep every aspect of his life neat and tidy, including the times they were travelling on a tour bus from city to city performing concert after concert. She smacked her lips before resting her arms on the counter. "What's really bothering you?"

Logan twisted his mouth to the side peering back at her before grasping her hand, gently tugging it. Rhuben gave him a confused look as she allowed him to pull her out from behind the island. He gave her a smile as he started dancing along to the music, swinging her arms along to the movement. Rhuben shook her head, a smile coming to her face before she started to dance as well.

He knew she couldn't resist, she loved dancing too much and as he spun her a couple of times before taking her hand again, he saw the light of laughter in her eyes, and watched the silly side of her come out, a side she didn't show that often outside of her house or around the comfort of her friends. The two of them sang along to the song as they danced around the kitchen, their laughter breaking up the words.

"Someone's been practicing," Rhuben said, her eyebrows shooting up as the song faded out at the end. She planted her hands on her hips before raking her fingers through her hair. "Although, I can't help but notice that it's not the dance moves your new choreographer assigned you."

"We miss you around the studio," Logan said with a groan as he leaned up against the island. "All we do now is work, work, work."

"Not like you did anything different when I was teaching you, blokes," Rhuben said with a laugh.

"Well yeah," Logan agreed with a nod of his head before giving a small pout. "But, you gave us words of encouragement, too."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're sexy when you're sad?" Rhuben asked and Logan shook his head. "Good."

"Ha ha," Logan replied, reaching up to adjust the backwards hat on his head, pushing it farther up his forehead.

"Seriously, what's up?" Rhuben asked before she lifted her hands, wiggling her fingers in the air. "You're sending out weird vibes. It's killing my mood. It's your birthday, you should be happy."

"I am," Logan replied. "And I can't wait to celebrate at the pier tomorrow."

"Not like we haven't been there a million times already," Rhuben pointed out to him. "But, who's counting?"

Logan reached his hand into the bowl of popcorn and grabbed a handful, shoving some into his mouth. "Mmm, this is really good."

"Told ya," Rhuben replied with a grin. "Don't underestimate the goodness of chocolate."

"Yeah," Logan agreed, licking at his hand before showing it to her. Popcorn was stuck to his fingers and palm. He wiggled his fingers. "But, it's really sticky." He then moved his hand towards her face and Rhuben slapped at his wrist, backing away from him.

"Stop," she laughed as he continued to try and stick the popcorn to her face.

She let out a shriek as he suddenly lunged at her, before she ran around the island. Logan chased after her, laughing. He followed her around a back hallway before she quickly cut towards the front door. As they hurtled past a window covered room, the doors open and her father, Ronan McGuire stepped out into the hallway, a phone to his ear.

"How many times do I have to tell you to not make noise around this door when I'm working?" he asked as Logan skidded to a stop to prevent himself from colliding with the older man. Rhuben spun around, cringing as she made her way back to her dad.

"Sorry, sir-dad!" she quickly replied. Logan looked up at Ronan to see a hurt look quickly pass over his face. "I forgot. Logan was being an idiot."

"Thanks," Logan said sarcastically and Ronan shifted his gaze towards him.

"Hold on one second," Ronan said to him before heading back into his office, closing the door behind him.

"So...how are things around here?" Logan asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Rhuben did the same before leaning her shoulder against the wall, giving him an annoyed look.

"Are you going to ask that every time you come over or just when I make a mistake like that?" she asked. Logan glanced at the closed door, hearing Ronan's muffled voice before he looked back over at his friend.

"I saw the look on his face, that's all," Logan said quietly.

"So did I," Rhuben replied in the same tone of voice, blinking once. "Easy to spot. Doesn't make me feel any better when someone points it out."

"Sorry," Logan said quietly.

"It's ok," Rhuben replied as she let out a heavy sigh through her nose. "But, seriously, how many times are you going to ask that question?" She gave him a half smile, one he could tell she used to try and lighten the situation. "It's something you ask every time you come over here."

"Not every time," Logan protested. Rhuben gave him a pointed look, twisting her mouth to the side. "Ok, every time. I'm just curious."

"Nosey more like," she replied, putting a finger to her nose. "I want an answer though." Logan peered at her for a moment before he gave a short nod of his head.

"I'm going to keep asking until I get the answer that I want to hear," he replied. "I know it'll take a while but...it's worth waiting for."

"I doubt the pummeling you get from my annoyance, or Riles's, whichever comes first, will be, though," Rhuben said with a smirk. She looked up as the doors opened and Ronan stepped back out, handing him a card in an envelope, hands free from the phone.

"Here, Logan," he said with a smile. "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks, Ronan," Logan said with a smile as he took the card. Hearing a crunch, he looked down to see chocolate syrup and popcorn bits in his hand, now on the envelope. "Oh, great."

"Have that happen to me a few times," Ronan said with a laugh. "I'm going to head back to work. I need half an hour more of quiet, please?"

"Sure, dad," Rhuben replied with a nod as she walked over to Logan. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards the kitchen. "Being back to recording this year, he's had a lot on his plate."

"I don't doubt it," Logan replied, licking at his fingers. "You never answered my question. How is everything here?"

"You never answered mine," Rhuben said. "And it's good." She gave him a smile. "It's really good."

"Great." Logan smiled back. "I'm glad."

"Me too."

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Joanna Mitchell made it to her home after a long day of work and tossed her keys and shoes down onto the bottom stairs, after kicking the door shut behind her. She locked it and then sighed, making her way towards the phone that started to ring. She walked over to the wall mount for the phone and picked it up, glancing at the caller ID. She quickly answered and ended the call before putting the phone back into its cradle.

She headed into the kitchen and reached into a cabinet for a bottle of wine and a glass. Popping out the cork, she started to hum to herself before lifting the bottle, pouring the golden fluid into her glass. She put the cork back in, grasped the wine glass and made her way into the living room. She collapsed onto the couch and kicked her feet up onto the table, crossing them at her ankles. She reached for her laptop and logged on all with one hand, taking a sip of the wine with the other.

She was barely logged into her computer for 5 minutes when a jingle hit the air, causing her to jump. A black bar with green and red buttons popped up on her screen. She leaned closer towards the screen, peering at the buttons before slowly dragging her finger across the touch pad before clicking on the second green button. Her screen suddenly went blank before turning a deep blue color and a light popped up on the top of her computer before a box appeared and she was face to face with Jennifer Knight.

A wide smile came to Joanna's face and she waved at her friend. Jennifer waved back and said something that Joanna couldn't hear. Joanna looked around her keyboard and jabbed her finger into the mute button. "Did it work?" she asked louder than she needed to. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you," Jennifer replied, laughing a little bit. "You don't have to yell Joanna."

"This technology," Joanna said, shaking her head back and forth. "I don't know how I've gotten this far without Logan. I wouldn't even know what Skype thing was."

"How are you doing?" Jennifer asked, a look of worry coming to her face. "I've tried calling."

"I'm just about to disconnect my phone," Joanna said with a sigh, rubbing at her eyes. "It's gotten a little crazy around here."

Jennifer's eyes went to the wine glass in her hand. "I can tell," she said, jokingly. "Logan's been doing well, considering. I don't think it's really sunk in." She raked her fingers through her auburn hair. "He talked to me this morning about it. Just wanted some advice." She shook her head. "I'm worried about the two of you. Logan seems to just be trying to forget he heard anything and I think that's going to catch up to him when he least expects it."

"That's Logan for you," Joanna said with a sigh.

Logan was always a curious kid, wanting to learn as much as he could, especially about his dad. She didn't want him to be worried or be scared or have to learn all about the things she had personally seen or heard other people say or do in regards to their family and didn't want him to know all about it. She barely answered his questions, only enough to pacify him for the time being and then after a while, he just stopped asking. She was relieved, she just didn't anticipate her son building up such a grudge for his own father and she didn't know how it'd blow up in her face when he found out.

Her husband was out of jail and she never thought she'd see the day when that happened. Worse she felt like she had abandoned him. In a way, she had: when Logan was around ten years old, she moved away without telling him where they went, but that wasn't just to get away from the stares and the whispers, and the harassment—it was part of it, she didn't want to expose Logan to anything like that—but it was also because her job was demanding a move. It was an opportunity to get more money to pay for their lawyer. It was all just too much for them to handle and her parents weren't going to help.

They were old-fashioned in that sense. "If you get yourself in trouble, you can get yourself out," they would say. Adding on the fact that Charlie had sold drugs to get to that point in the first place, they didn't want to have anything to do with him.

She hadn't even gone by her first name, Christine, in years, neither has Logan. Shortly after meeting and becoming close friends with Brooke Diamond, Jennifer Knight, and Sylvia Garcia, did she explain to them everything that was going on and how she wanted them to all start calling her son by his middle name, Logan. Kendall, Carlos, and James had a little trouble following that until Brooke all but demanded that they start calling him "Logan" instead of Hortense.

And here he was as part of one of the most popular boy bands…making a lot of money. Enough money that he could…possibly use…to help his father. But, she was too proud and too guilty to ask for the help, let alone to use his money to help someone her son thought of as a stranger. It was a miracle that he even agreed to talk with his father online.

"What about you?" Jennifer asked. "Are you ok?"

"It's…hard," Joanna replied, nodding her head repeatedly. Jennifer clicked her tongue, slowly shaking her head back and forth in sympathy. "I thought I was doing a good job keeping it out of work, but they want me to take a week or two off to get this all sorted out."

"You look like you could use some time off, sweetie," Jennifer commented. "Have you asked Brooke and Sylvia for any advice?"

"You know, Brooke, she's not the best person to go to for this," Joanna said, shaking her head as well. "She would probably sell me some products to make myself look alluring even while sobbing." She took a few gulps of her wine and then locked eyes with her friend.

"If it stings, that means it's working," the two of them said in unison before they started to laugh. Joanna's smile faded as her laughter subsided.

"Sylvia would do anything she could to help, considering my parents won't," Joanna explained, "However, she doesn't know him as well as I do. To her, he screwed up and he's always going to be a screw up. You know she feels that way about Kevin and Paul."

Jennifer hesitated before slowly nodding. "I love her, I do, but she's too judgmental sometimes," Joanna continued. "You know her, she won't ever admit it, but I don't think she'd lend me some money."

"I wish I had enough to help you out, dear," Jennifer said with a sigh, raking her fingers through her hair. "Really, I do."

"I know, but I can't ask you and Kendall to do that for me," Joanna replied, feeling herself frown as well. "You both work so hard for what you earn."

"So do you, Jo," Jennifer said, her voice suddenly filling with emotion. "So do you. You know the hardships I went through after Kevin left." She wiped at her eyes with her thumb. "You've always been there to help; taking the kids in when I had all those court hearings. I just wish there was some way I could help you."

"Just look out for my baby," Joanna replied, leaning forward to set down her glass of wine before using both hands to wipe at her eyes. "Just look out for my baby."

A/N: Slow start, but things pick up quickly. I'm doing my best to not have Logan interacting with his dad not so drawn out as last time. You'll see some chapters done from Rhuben's point of view, but not a lot.

PS: I have that extra chapter for Turning Into You coming this weekend, and another one-shot for Katie and Lizzie's friendship, too.

-Rhuben