Disclaimer: I own nothing Degrassi...

Jay sat on the cold, concrete steps, letting his mind wander aimlessly. Everyone had gone hours ago, and probably should have too, but here he sat. He tried to make sense of what had happened, but had no clarity on the situation whatsoever. He heard the click clack of heels before he saw her, but instinctively knew it was Manny. He looked up and saw her approach, dressed in jeans and a baggy, hooded sweatshirt.

"You're late," he commented dryly.

Manny took a deep, shaky breath. She opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, and shut it firmly. She climbed a few steps, slowly, sat one step down from Jay, and looked over at the empty parking lot. It was hard to believe that the paved lot had been packed full only hours earlier.

"So nothing?" he pushed. "You have nothing to say to me?"

"Seems like tight lips are contagious around here," she answered sarcastically, refusing to meet his stony gaze.

Jay raised an eyebrow in question. "Meaning?"

Manny dug into the front pocket of her grey sweatshirt and dug out a picture. She thrust it toward Jay. It was Emma's sonogram. Jay held it between nimble fingers and looked at Manny. Hurt was registered all over her face. He swallowed.

"Two months ago I went to the apartment to take a few measurements. I was going to make us new curtains for the bedroom. You know, to match the bedding we got as a shower gift? Anyway, that's when I found the picture."

"Where?" he asked.

Manny gave him a dirty look. "In your bedside table shoved in some auto mechanic's magazine."

"So you went through my stuff?"

"Does it matter how I found it? The point is, you have a picture of Emma's baby hiding in your room!"

Jay sighed. "And for that, you leave me standing at the altar, alone, on our wedding day?"

Manny turned her body around so she was facing Jay straight on. "It's like you have no conscience at all."

"Look, this will go a lot smoother if you just tell me what you'd like me to say to make things better," Jay said, annoyance evident in his deep voice.

"There's nothing you can say. I know, Jay. I know."

Jay looked at Manny, mouth open slightly. "You know what?"

Manny suddenly dropped her head back and yelled, not caring if anyone heard her or not. "I can't believe you! I know that Sarah is your baby! I know that you slept with Emma!"

Jay sighed. "Okay."

"That's it? This was supposed to be our wedding day! Don't you have any feelings about that?"

Jay's thoughts were bounding around his head so quickly, he couldn't pull out one that held any logic. Manny knew about him and Emma. Okay. Now what?

"I have no idea what to say," he answered honestly.

"I know. That's why I went to see Emma first. She pretty much covered for you. She told me that you wanted to be honest with me all along, but she convinced you to keep Sarah a secret."

"Were you mad at her?" he asked, worried that Emma had been torn to shreds by Manny's cutting words.

Manny laughed sarcastically. "Nice to see you're worried about someone."

"I gave up my child for you, Manny. You can't say that I don't care about your feelings."

Manny thought that Jay had never looked so defeated as he did this very moment. His suit was wrinkled, his pants were dirty from sitting on the leaf-covered steps, and his tie was loosened and hanging crookedly from around his neck. His hair, which had probably been styled nicely for the special occasion, was now messy and tousled. His eyes told stories of what had probably been a long night and an even longer day. Jay was a mess! Manny smiled. I guess there is some justice in the world, she thought to herself with a satisfied grin.

"You gave up your child because the woman you're really in love with asked you to!" Manny said pointedly. "Don't you dare try to make your lies justified! And don't try to pretend like it had anything to do with me! You're a worm, Jay! And you got what was coming to you!"

Realization suddenly dawned on Jay. He smirked. "You've been planning this whole thing for the last two months, haven't you?"

A slow smile spread across Manny's full lips. "Can't you at least be proud of me for planning something so Hogart-worthy?"

Jay laughed. "And they say I'm a jerk?" He reached down and rubbed Manny's hand. "So what now?"

"I'm transferring to a college on the west coast in January."

"Why?"

"Because believe it or not, Hogart, it will actually hurt me to see you with someone else."

"Someone else?" he asked.

"Emma. You two should do the right thing, at least for Sarah. You love her and I suspect she loves you, so you should be together."

"It's not that simple. We both love you," he said truthfully.

Manny blinked back tears. "I know. And maybe eventually I'll be able to forgive both of you for lying to me all these months. But for right now, I think I need to go away and you two need time to be together without feeling guilty. I think that's best."

"Emma doesn't feel that way about me," he said plainly. Manny sensed sadness in his voice. It actually made her feel bad for him.

"She does. She just values her friendship with me more than starting a new relationship with you. You'll convince her otherwise, especially since I won't be around to get in your way."

Jay cocked an eyebrow. "Why are being so good about this?"

"I've had two months to get used to this, not that I'm not still upset. But I've also spoken to Craig a few times. He gave me some clarity on the situation and helped me see that Jayson Hogart and Manny Santos were never a good idea. I think we both knew that from the very beginning. I know why I stayed. I'm just not sure why you did."

Jay rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands. "The truth is that I wanted it to really work out for us. I really did."

"I actually believe that," Manny commented. "But we both know that we would have regretted it later on, probably when it was too late. Craig helped me to see that you and Emma work. You two belong together."

"Wait a second. You've been talking to Manning?"

"Jealous?"

Jay smirked. "A little. You gonna look him up when you get out west?"

Manny smiled. "He's helping me get on my feet. But I'm not rushing into anything...again. One almost-trip-down-the-aisle has taught me a thing or two" She rose and shoved her hands in her pockets. "Can I ask you something before I go?"

"I've got nowhere to be."

"Why were you willing to take it this far when you knew you didn't love me? I mean you were willing to give up being Sarah's dad. I know that had to be killing you. Why would you do that?"

Jay stood and gave Manny a hug. "Because the three people I love most in the world were important enough to do anything for. Even if it meant being miserable, even though I'm sure being married to you wouldn't have been that bad. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make."

"Good thing you don't have to do that anymore. Go and be happy, Hogart. But if you hurt my friend or my niece, I'll come back here and kick your ass!"

Jay watched Manny walk away from the church and out of his life. He sighed. He felt like he was standing at the start of the rest of his life. So why did he feel so scared?

One more chapter to go! Please read and respond!