Disclaimer: I (sadly) own nothing Degrassi.

"We need to talk."

Jay's breath caught in his throat. Emma. It was the first time they'd been alone since...since...since the janitor's closet. But he knew that voice anywhere. He also knew the tone; something was up.

"Talk? I don't see how there's anything you and I have to talk about," Jay whispered, looking around the mechanic's shop where he was working late.

Emma's brow creased. "No one's here, Jay. The place is closed, remember?"

Jay shrugged and wiped his hands on a rag, even though they were clean from the washing he'd just given them. He unzipped his coveralls and stepped out of the blue suit, revealing a pair of baggy jeans and a black t-shirt. As he hung his coveralls up in his locker and grabbed his coat, he ignored Emma and tried to think of something clever to say. No girl had ever made Jay Hogart tongue tied!

"Are you going to ignore me?" Emma asked.

"That was the plan," Jay confessed. He turned to face Emma, realizing he'd actually missed their usual sarcastic banter. "What can I do for you, Nelson?"

Emma swallowed. You cannot lose your nerve now. You're here. Just tell him! "I have something to tell you."

"You miss me?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

She pursed her lips tightly and fought the urge to slug him. He stood there, leaning against his locker and looking at Emma as if he were reading her mind. No, Emma thought, he'd be on the floor if he could read my thoughts.

"So what is it, Nelson?" Jay asked, impatience present in his tone. "I've got places to go."

Emma took a deep breath and blurted, "I'm pregnant."

Jay's eyes grew large and his throat suddenly became dry. She had flowed the words together so quickly, maybe he'd misunderstood. Emma Nelson was having a baby? What?!

"Are you going to say something?" Emma asked.

"Like what? Congrats? I'm sure Spinner will make a great father? Something like that?"

Emma was not pleased by his sarcasm. She was even less thrilled at his lack of insight. He thought the baby was Spinner's. This was about to get ugly very fast.

"It's not Spinner's baby."

Looking intently at Emma's downcast eyes and hung head, the truth suddenly hit Jay like a ton of bricks. She was here, to tell him she was pregnant. Him. He was stunned into silence. His usual wit would not solve this predicament. He saw that Emma was clearly upset and wondered what to say to make her calm down. An angry Emma was not as a good thing. Okay, let's play dumb, he thought to himself. When in doubt, dumb it up!

"So not Spinner. Then who?" he probed stupidly.

Emma looked at Jay once again with that 'you're an idiot' look. "Am I going to have to spell it out?"

"I think maybe you should."

Emma watched Jay carefully. He obviously knew what she was going to say, but he was going to make her say it anyway. Why was he playing the whole 'I'm a dumb ass' routine?

"The baby is your's," she whispered, not able to look him in the eye. "And no, there are no other possibilities. I'm about eight weeks along, so do the math. Sean and I were way over by then and Spinner and I never..."

"Okay!" Jay yelled, cutting off Emma's banter. "I get it! You're pregnant and I'm the father. How did this happen?"

"Well when two people care about each other or are locked in a room together for the whole day, some things just happen," Emma answered.

Jay gave her a tired look. "You know what I mean."

"I don't recall you using anything that day."

Jay thought back on it and realized he hadn't...either time. That just wasn't like him. In all of his other experiences, he'd always insisted on using a condom, even when he knew the girl was protected. It was just part of his repertoire. Jay wasn't about to become any baby's daddy. Until now...

"I thought you were on the pill," he whispered feebly. "Aren't you?"

She nodded. "Yes I am. And guess what? I didn't miss any pills. The same thing happened to my mom when she found out that she was pregnant with Jack. It's not 100."

Jay wanted to make some kind of comment about the strength of his 'guys', but thought against it. His humour wouldn't get them anywhere. "So what now?"

Emma swallowed, deeply hurting having to say the words she'd been rehearsing all day. "You're going to marry Manny. I'm going to have this baby...alone."

Jay gave Emma a confused look. "So you want me to just walk away from my kid?"

Tears formed in Emma's eyes. She hadn't wanted to cry. In her mind, she actually had herself convinced that Jay would want this. "There's no other way."

Jay sniffed. "Oh I get it! Jay's a bastard so he won't have any trouble abandoning his kid! Right?"

"So what are you proposing, Jay? You want to tell Manny how you got me pregnant? You want to hurt her that way? Because I don't."

"I'm about to get married and spend the rest of my life with Manny just so she won't get hurt. But to ask me to give away my child? I can't do that. I won't. I know what it's like to have a father ditch you. You can't ask me to do that," Jay said with all the sincerity he could muster.

Emma let the tears that had been brimming, fall onto and run down her pink cheeks. She tried so hard to compose herself, but it just wouldn't happen. Since finding out about her impending motherhood, Emma had not allowed herself to feel anything. She had things to get sorted out after all. But now, staring at Jay, she found it impossible to hold her emotions in check any longer. This man standing before her, the one she had written off, was the first decent thing to happen to Emma in a very long time. And she couldn't have him.

"I'm sorry to ask you to do this, but there's no other way."

Jay wanted to gather Emma's small frame into his arms and hold her until the tears dried up, but he thought better of it. Keeping her at arm's length was probably the right decision, especially given their present situation. Besides, holding Emma wouldn't be enough to satisfy his need, and he knew it. He wouldn't be able to let her go if he did.

"So I'm supposed to deny my kid and let you do it all on your own? How can I do that?" he asked. His voice turned soft. "I care about you too much."

"Oh why did you have to say that?" Emma cried. "Why couldn't you be a prick about the whole thing? Be Jay Hogart! I need you to be a jerk right now!"

Emma was yelling at Jay and all he could do was take it. She was obviously upset. Jay had no idea how to handle this. His head was swimming. Yeah, Emma was an emotional wreck, but the last thing Jay felt was stable right now. He was going to be a father. And Emma wanted him not to be.

"Oh don't just stand there! Say something cocky! Say something!" she screamed.

Jay shook his head. "Whaddya want me to say, Emma? I'm just trying to get my head around this, okay? You tell me that I'm going to be a father in one breath and then in another, you say that you don't want me in the baby's life. I just don't know what to say."

Emma took a step forward and reached out a hand. Tenderly, she placed it on the left side of Jay's face. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her. The odour intoxicated him. It brought back the best memories. A janitor's closet. A kiss to end all kisses. The best sex Jay had ever experienced. A connection between the two unlikeliest people.

"It's the only way I know how to handle this with the least bit of pain. Please understand that. Besides, you'll still be around the baby."

"Yeah, but as what? A friend? An uncle? Maybe the best thing to do is to just tell Manny. Like a Bandaid; rip it off quick and it'll be less painful. She'll take it out on me anyway, not you. You'll go on being Emma, the poor girl who was taken advantage of by mean old Jay Hogart."

Emma remembered her earlier conversation with Manny. Her friend was head over heels in love. She would never understand how Emma could ever have hooked up with Jay behind her back.

"I can't lose Manny in my life. Not now. I need her now more than ever."

Jay questioned, "How do you expect to do this on your own?"

"I don't know, but I know that I can and I will. Besides, you said that you didn't want to have kids any time soon. You said that," Emma reminded him.

Jay smiled. "That was before. I might not want chocolate cake, but put a slice in front of me and tell me I can't have it."

"Can I count on you to keep this under your hat?" Emma asked.

Jay removed his black hat and stared at it. He was still standing close to Emma. He put the hat on her head and smiled again. "For now. I'm not saying that I'm agreeing to this. I'm just saying that I'll think about it and keep silent until I've made my decision. In the mean time, what are you gonna tell people?"

Emma licked her lips. Why was she so incredibly attracted to this man? He was the cause of all of her present problems, yet here she was, melting into a puddle at his feet. She took a deep breath and replied, "I think the best choice is to tell everyone that I met someone and we hooked up. That way I don't have to give a name. I can just go about my own business."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure people will buy that one, Nelson! Anyway, your family knows?" Jay asked. When Emma nodded, he sighed. "Are they okay with helping you out with this?"

"I'm sure it's not their first choice for their high school senior daughter, but they're being supportive."

Jay turned back to his locker and opened it. He grabbed a plastic bank card and handed it to Emma. "The code is 2678."

"What's this?" she asked, looking at the card.

Jay's face turned red. "I wasn't completely honest in the closet that day. You know, when I told you about my family life? Ron, my father, he wasn't in my life until a couple years ago. He went off to college after high school, got married, and started a pretty decent life. He and his wife can't have any kids together, so he decided to come looking for me. I was already a teenage smart ass, and I didn't want anything to do with him. So we worked out an agreement. He deposits money into this account every week, and I visit him every Sunday. There's a nice bit of change in the account. I was saving it up for something special."

Emma's breath caught in her dry throat. "I can't take this."

"What's more special than a baby?" he asked with a smirk. His face turned serious as he grabbed Emma's hand. "I want you and my child to be taken care of."

"But this is your money. I can't..."

Jay interrupted her protests with a soft kiss to Emma's rosy cheeks. "You can and you will. It's the least I can do."

Enjoy!