Janet was in freefall, total and complete freefall. She could feel every ounce of joy leaching out of her as each second ticked by. Every cell in her body reacting, waiting, on edge. Knowing what the answer would be but trying to will it away. How could this be happening, all her life she had been a good girl, never slept around, never had a relationship. How was it possible that she could be this person, in this moment taking a pregnancy test and not knowing who the father was. How did she become the girl who had sex with two men in two days. Her skin crawled and her heart ached as if she had just woken up in her bed with Rooster next to her. The ding of the timer snapped her out of her haze, she looked at Hannah who sat there on the edge of the tub chewing on her thumb nail as anxious as if she was taking the test herself. A flashback of what she went through with Janet at her side ten years ago, the paternity of her son still in question after all these years.

"Do you want me to..." Hannah stood quickly, reaching for the test.

"No! Hannah, I'll do it..." Janet took a few small tentative steps toward the vanity, and slowly lifted the test. Everything went blurry, how did a small pink plus sign wield so much power. She dropped the maligned stick into the sink, raising her hands to her mouth, shaking her head no. She could hear Hannah talking in the background, but everything sounded muffled and Janet was sure she could hear her own heartbeat. She felt Hannah's arms around her and then she was being guided into the living room and sat on the sofa. Tears, unrelenting tears. What in the world was she going to do, how could she possibly tell Eddie this horrendous news. Eddie his face flashed in her mind. The pain flashing in his eyes the moment she told him she didn't know for sure who the father is. Her mind racing with a million possibilities of how he would react and none of them were good. Her memories of how he reacted to her in the hospital, the horrible things he said still fresh in her mind.

"Janet listen you need to calm down." Hannah sat next to her a cup of hot tea in her hand. "Here drink this." On auto pilot, Janet took the mug, the heat burning her hands, a welcome distraction of physical pain, she gripped the mug tighter. "You need to go to the doctor, ok. You might be further along then you think and then it will be Eddie's baby. Let me give Dr. Wallace a call maybe she can fit you in today."

"She has to Janet, there is no way I can see Eddie tonight and not know for sure."

"Hey Eddie, what goes on my friend?" Nick was treading lightly. Eddie sat on the sofa at Gelson, crunching on a bowl of his favorite cereal.

"Not to much Nicky, aren't you here a little early for band practice?"

"Yeah, I was at Hannah's, finally talking to her about everything and uh, Janet came over they had plans or something."

"Yeah I know, Janet was uh, here this morning..." Nick raised his eyebrows in question.

"Was she, I though slow was the word of the day?"

"Yeah, well..." Eddie cocked his head and raised his shoulders. "She tore out of here, whatever they are doing was important I guess."

"Yeah I guess... so you and Janet are good then?"

"Yeah we are better then good. Better then before even." Now Nick was beyond confused, what ever Janet was this morning it was the total opposite of good.

"Oh, well that's great Eddie, you and Janet." They exchanged smiles, but Nicks was tight and forced. Something was brewing and Eddie didn't have a clue.

"Ok Janet, from the looks of it I would say you are just about seven weeks along."

"Seven weeks..." Tears sprang into Janet's eyes and Hannah gave her hand a squeeze.

"Janet are you ok?"

"Um, well you see...I had sex with two men in the span of a few days..." Janet cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"She was drunk!" Hannah chimed in, not helping.

"Hannah!" Janet wanted to crawl into the nearest hole and die.

"I mean, she and her boyfriend kinda got into a fight and then she got drunk and this other guy totally took advantage of the situation..." Hannah blurted out trying to "fix" it.

"Hannah please for the love of God stop speaking..." Janet's cheeks burned red.

"Janet I am sorry to hear that, really I am... There are paternity tests that can be done in-utero, they do have risks and complications but it is something we can do. You will have to get samples from the potential fathers though."

"No I can't do that, I mean I don't want Rooster knowing about this. He had gone all stalker on me and Eddie, I can't bare the thought of telling him, having to put him through all of that. No. There has to be another way."

"You can wait until after the baby is born, but even then you will need a sample from the father to compare it too." In her heart Janet believed that she would know the moment the baby was born who the father was.

"What if I chose to not have the baby." Janet couldn't believe what she was asking, her voice sounding foreign to her. She has always wanted to be a mother, dreaming about the moment she would find out she was pregnant and never in all the years did she ever imagine discussing an abortion with her doctor.

"Well you would have to make that decision fairly quickly, being as far along as you are. Look Janet, I can't tell you what to do, but I have been your doctor for almost ten years now. You made a mistake, it happens... half of my business are peoples mistakes. Just try and make the best choice for everyone involved." Janet nodded solemnly, wiping the tear stains from her cheeks. "If you need me I am here for you what ever you decide."

"Thank you Doctor Wallace."

"Janet..."

"I know Hannah... I know..."

"You can't be serious about this, I mean really. There has got to be a better way."

"You tell me Hannah what is the better way? You should know better then anyone there is no better way." Janet chomped on one of her old faithful cheese puffs, always there for her in times of need.

"Janet the lies that I have told all these years, the worry, the regrets they are all coming home to roost now and Sam is going to pay the price for it. I don't want this for you. You deserve to have a happy joyful pregnancy, you deserve Eddie and happily ever after."

"Hannah, I have to this. Regardless of what I deserve, I can not have Rooster around me or this baby and I can't even imagine what it would be like to tell Eddie that I am pregnant and I am not sure who the father is. The hope he would feel that it would be his and if we found out it wasn't. He would never forgive me ever."

"You don't know that Janet Eddie is a good guy he might..."

"Really Hannah, then explain to me why you haven't come clean about Sam and Nick and Eddie..."

"You know?"

"Yes I know, Eddie told me night before the shit hit the fan with Rory, about the possibility that Sam could be his, of course we all know that Nick is the father but there is an off chance. That's why Eddie has always been around, looking after Sam..."

"I can't believe her told you and that you didn't tell me you knew."

"I wanted you to tell me when you were ready, in your own time. It was hard trying to figure out where my relationship with Eddie and my relationship with you begin and ends. We are all so in each other lives and beds." Hannah laughed.

"So true... Janet he is not going to take this sitting down you know this right."

"Yeah I know."

"Just think about this long and hard before you decide."

"Hannah I am going to tell him tonight, I can't look at him and pretend everything is ok."

"Janet tonight, I mean so soon..."

"This can't wait Hannah. I am going to talk to Sully now, and then call Eddie."

"Janet, you need to process, take some time…"

"Hannah, look I have never been able to lie. He will know the moment he sees me that something is up. Like the doctor said, the best thing I can do is act quickly and make the best decision for everyone involved and this is it."

Eddie pulled up to Hannah's house, something was wrong he could hear it in Janet's voice on the phone. He walked up the pathway and a chill went through him, like he could feel something bad was coming his way.

"Hey Eddie."

"Hey there Sam, is Janet around?"

"Yeah, she is in the kitchen with Ma come on back."

"Sam, is everything Ok with Janet?"

"No Eddie I don't think so, she has been crying all day."

"Crying?" Eddie said sadly, Sam nodded and watched Eddie walk into the kitchen. Janet could hear his footsteps getting closer to her and as soon as her eyes fixed on him all her resolve left her body.

"Hey." Eddie smiled, his sweet smile and leaned down to kiss her. "Hey Hannah." She just nodded at him.

"Ok Sam get your jacket, lets go get some ice cream..." Hannah called out trying her best to sound normal.

"Cherry?"

"What ever you want. Bye guys. Janet I will see you later." Janet nodded fiddling with the straw in her glass.

"Ok Janet something is going on so spill." Janet took and deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"I, um... I am going to Providence for a bit." she finally mumbled out unable to look him in the eye. Concern spread across his face and he put his hands over hers. Ok, this made sense to him, the strangeness and the crying, Providence.

"Is everything ok with Grams and Gramps?" He asked softly. Janet finally looked up at him touched by his concern.

"No Eddie, no they are fine." His brow furrowed in question. "I need a little space, time..."

"Space and time for what?"

"To figure some things out."

"So like a few days a week."

"Eddie, I quit my job today, I am moving to Providence for a while..." Eddie was completely stunned.

"You what, you quit your job! Janet where is this coming from?"

"We said slow and that just didn't happen, and I feel like a I need a change, I need some distance from the Ridge for a bit to figure stuff out."

"Stuff, like you and me stuff." Eddie ran his tongue along his back teeth a nervous habit, trying to contain his anger and confusion.

"Yes."

"Wow, here I thought we were back on track and now this…wow Janet... I thought we were going to work on our crap together..."

"I though so too but Eddie, it's just not possible. I don't... I...

"You don't what? Love me?"

" I just cant be with you right now, maybe never I just..." Tears fell from her eyes and she quickly wiped them away.

"MAYBE NEVER? So we are breaking up, is that what you are trying to say."

"Yes, that's what I am trying to say." Silence fell between them, Eddie unable to believe the words that we coming form her mouth and Janet unable to believe she was actually saying them.

"Janet look at me. please." Janet raised her eyes to meet his. "I love you..."

"Eddie, please don't..." Hannah was right he was not going to make this easy. Janet wanted to tell him she was lying, tell him she loved him and wanted to be with him but she couldn't.

"No, Janet, I do, I love you. So I can't accept this, you just leaving me. No. I know you love me too, this makes no sense. None." His mind trying to process, put the pieces together. "There is something you aren't telling me." Janet's body tightened, she felt trapped. She hated every second of this. Hoping she was making the right choice.

"Eddie I am not sure if I love you or if I loved the idea that you wanted me. Stupid, old, plain fat me being wanted by tall handsome perfect Hail Eddie. And until I figure that out I can't be with you." Eddie looked like she had slapped him across the face the look of pain and shock made her ache. He stood slowly from the table, pressed his lips to her forehead and walked out of the house slamming the door behind him.

Eddie tore out of Hannah's driveway, tears stinging his eyes. He could not believe what just happened, what Janet had just said to him. All day he was happy, thinking that they were on the right track, that everything was going to be ok. And all day she was thinking about how to break up with him. How could he had gotten it so very wrong, how could he not see. It replayed the last few days with Janet over and over in his head wondering of he had missed something. He finally decided that he had not, that she was happy with him, they were happy together. None of this made an ounce of sense. And her words, her sharp words, something that Eddie had always feared but never wanted to admit. That people only loved him because of who he was in his past not who he was today. His stomach turned at the thought that Janet was questioning the love she felt for him, something he was always so sure of. He drove for hours around Knights Ridge trying to put together all the pieces, trying to make sense of something so senseless. Wondering if he would ever be able to convince Janet to stay.

Janet cried, she sat there and cried. That was all she could do, watching him walk away, saying those final words took everything she had. She felt numb and was grateful for it. She had no more to give, nothing more to say, nothing. She looked at her watch, Hannah would be back soon and she wanted to be gone before then. She pulled two letters out of her purse and left them on the table. One addressed to Hannah and one addressed to Eddie. She went to her room grabbed her packed bags and threw them into the back seat of her Jeep, sad to leave the charger behind. She wiped away her last tear, straightened her shoulders and started her ride to New York. She was wrong about one thing, she could tell a lie if she had to. It killed her to look at her best friend and not tell her what she was planning to do. But Janet knew that if she went to Providence, Eddie would find her there. He knew where her grandparents lived, the bar she liked to go too, he had even met a few of her friends. No, she had to go somewhere else, some where she would be harder to find until she was able to figure all this out. And there was only one place where she knew a door was always open for her, where she always had a place to rest her head. Her older sister Jessie…