A/N: Thanks for the fabulous comments on the last chapter! I completely agree with you, islandofhopex, about the pathetically sad state Secret Life is in right now. It makes me sick how sad the show is right now. There are several episodes of season four I haven't even watched and don't intend to because it's just such a failure. I've been seriously considering dropping it from my DVR, because they just take up space and I never even watch the new episodes. There's always NetFlix, if I decide to continue the Turning Tables version of re-envisioning the seasons and I need to get a general idea of what happened in them, I guess. But anyway, I really appreciate the comments and I'm so glad you feel my writing has given new life to the characters for you (and even done better in some respects, which is like pure candy in that I just go wild when I get reviews like that)! :D

Turning Tables

Whoomp, There She Goes

"Adrian!"

"Grace, what are you doing here?"

"Can I come see my friend at work?"

Adrian skirted out from behind the counter with her hands on her hips. "Actually, no. It's unprofessional."

"I never get to see you," Grace whined.

"Grace, you need to-"

"And who is this?"

Adrian stopped at the sound of her boss's voice. "Mr. Lentz," she said tightly. "This is…my friend Grace. Grace, this is my boss, Francis Lentz."

"It's lovely to meet you!" Grace peeped.

"And I, you." Grace blushed as the older man took her offered hand and kissed the back of her hand. "I was just hoping to drop off a little something for my friend here, is that alright?"

"Oh?" Mr. Lentz asked, eyeing the package under Grace's arm. "Let's see it then."

Grace offered up the package to the Latina. "I thought you could use a little looking after," she said as her friend peeled off the paper and opened the box, revealing a tiny golden angel pin.

Adrian scowled. "And why would I need this?"

"Guidance. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood."

"A pin doesn't guide, Grace."

"But God does. And so do his messengers," she said, indicating the angel. She took the pin from her friend and carefully attached it to Adrian's shirt. "What do you think?" she asked, looking to Mr. Lentz.

"Beautiful."

Grace squealed. "I'll see you later then?"

Adrian glanced at her boss uneasily. "If I don't have to work late."

"I'm sure she'll be able to meet you on time," he smiled.

"Great! Bye, Adrian!"

"Bye, Grace."

When Grace was gone, Mr. Lentz turned to face his employee. "Cute friend. She's not looking for a job, is she?"

Adrian snarled: "You stay away from her!"

Mr. Lentz leaned in close to her face, almost bringing their mouths together, but stopping short. "I like that, save it for later."

Adrian curled her fist in disgust as he sauntered back to his office and brought it down in an echoing slam against the countertop.

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"Mom, it's me again." Ben knelt before his mother's headstone. "I brought something to show you." He unfolded a small envelope and retrieved a black and white picture which he pointed at the headstone. "This is your granddaughter." He lifted a gloved finger to his eye and wiped it. "She's a gorgeous little blob, isn't she?" He scooted closer. "If you look really close, you can even see that she's sucking on her thumb. Isn't that crazy? Sucking on her thumb from inside the womb!"

His smile cracked a moment later and he returned the photo to its envelope. "I'm having a dilemma, though, and it kind of revolves around her. I already kind of talked to Dad about this, but you were always a better listener…or maybe that's just because you and I talked more than Dad did. Not to imply that he buried himself in his work, but…you know what I mean."

Ben crawled up against the headstone and rested his cheek against the icy granite. "The thing is, I have these feelings for Amy and I have Ashley telling me Amy still has feelings for me too, but no reciprocation from Amy. And then I – I think I also have feelings for Adrian. I can't quite describe it." He used his gloved index fingers to trace the two A's in his mother's name.

"I'm thinking about telling Adrian how I feel," Ben confessed. "I have so much to lose though. I think she still has feelings for Ricky, but I've been thinking that if it turns out I'm the father, maybe I want more with her than strictly split visitation. I don't want to jump into marriage and a condo, but…but I know that eventually I would like to find what you and Dad had. And maybe Adrian's The One?"

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Mr. Lentz flicked the lit sign in the store window off and used his master key to lock the front door as Adrian stood at the back of the stair, hanging up a pile of clothing from the dressing rooms. "We're closing up early today," he spoke silkily. "When you're done, could you please meet me in my office? Thank you!"

Adrian felt her stomach churn in revolt as he slipped into the back. As slow as she could, she hung up the clothes, moving around the room as though her feet were filled with lead. By the time she was done, thirty minutes had elapsed, and she began her laborious journey towards her boss's office. Once there, she hovered in the doorframe, watching him as he sat reclined in his chair behind his desk.

"Don't be shy," he said, waving her in.

Adrian inched in, turning her face away from his as she got closer, almost as though he smelt like rotten eggs or skunk. "Do you do favors for all your female employees or is it just me?" she hissed once she was standing in front of him.

"Let's put it this way: you're not the only woman I've helped make it up the professional ladder." He flicked his fingers, ushering her closer. "But you are special," he said, as she lowered herself onto his lap.

"How?"

"You're in a unique position, Adrian." He ran his fingers – studded with gaudy rings – through her onyx locks. "You're sixteen, you're pregnant…and you're of a…" His finger trailed the length of her jaw. "…sensual minority."

"Which would make you look all the worse if I told."

"But you won't. You can't afford to. And besides, what would that prove anyway? It would simply be my word against yours. Wouldn't you rather enjoy the benefits I can give you inside of fighting me tooth and nail? Clearly you have no problem giving it up, so what's the problem now? Besides, it's too late to turn back now, you've already signed and delivered."

"What turns you on about a pregnant teenager anyway?"

"A pregnant woman isn't incapable of pleasure," he smiled. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, a little less talk and…"

Adrian placed her hands forcefully on the man's shoulders and ground herself against his lap, all the while casting a steely look into his dark eyes. When he began to shake his head, she stopped. "What? A lap dance," she said, "that's what you wanted."

"Last time. That's what I wanted last time. You're now a willing participant in our agreement, which means I'm taking the liberty of increasing my salary." He pointed to the floor. "You can start by getting on your knees."

Adrian gasped. "I'm pregnant!"

"Then don't swallow, that's your choice." He glanced boredly at his watch. "And I don't have all night."

Clamping her mouth shut, Adrian slid into a kneeling position and began to unzip her boss's pants. As pulled down the zipper she lifted her head and shook it. "No."

"No?"

"No." Adrian rose to her feet and folded her arms. "You can go fuck yourself."

Mr. Lentz shook his head. "Well I won't make a girl do what she won't," he said coolly, "but I can tell you you're making a massive mistake. Not only will I fire you, but who knows what you might've stolen from my establishment?"

Adrian scoffed. "I'm as scared of threats as I am of your dick, reason being: they're about the same size." She strode for the door.

"You're not getting away with this!"

"Right back atcha, gilipollas!"

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"What are you doing?" Margaret asked slyly as she stood on the last step of her son's room.

Ricky poked his head up from the spot that he was kneeling beside, with a plastic plug halfway into the wall socket. "Tidying up."

"Looks like baby proofing to me."

Ricky shrugged. "Maybe it is."

Margaret stepped off the step and stood beside Ricky. "I thought you said you didn't want to baby proof until after the paternity test?"

"Adrian's baby is going to be in my life either way."

"How's that?"

"I've – we've – decided that we're going to try this, this…being in a relationship. A real one, with no cheating."

"Even if the baby isn't yours?"

"Even if it isn't mine."

"That's a big commitment, Ricky. I will be the first one to say that families can come in all shapes and sizes, but don't forget, you are still only in high school, and most high school romances don't last, even and perhaps especially, between teen parents."

"I know all that. I know! But this time it's different. With Adrian, it feels different. I want to change with her, to be better."

"There's a difference between wanting to be better and wanting her to make you better."

"I want to be better. For me. And her. And the baby. I know I can."

Margaret encircled her son in a hug. "I know you can too, I always have. I'm so proud of you, Ricky!"

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"Did you get it?" Adrian asked as she blew through Grace's bedroom door.

"Straight from heaven's eyes to my laptop," Grace beamed. She swiveled in her chair and waved to Adrian as the latter walked towards her. Simultaneously on her laptop screen, the image of Grace grinning and waving in her chair appeared.

Adrian reached down to the angel pin on her shirt and pulled it off. She turned the angel towards herself and smiled at it, watching from the corner of her eye as her face appeared on Grace's laptop screen. "And this is why you don't sexually harass your employees," she said with a smile. "See you in court, Francis." She adjusted something on the back of the pin and the image on Grace's screen went black.

"I can't believe he had the gall to do that to you," Grace spoke as Adrian climbed onto her bed.

"I'm a triple threat minority," Adrian said. "He thought I looked like an easy target. I'm not. The Francis Lentzes and Bob Underwoods of the world are the reason I want to go into family law, so I can help people like Ricky and I from people like them. They're pigs. !Repugnante!"

Grace pulled her knees up to her chest, resting the heels of her feet on the edge of her chair. "I hope you bury that creep!"

Adrian nodded. "Thanks for helping me, Grace. You coming in the way you did, he didn't suspect a thing."

"I still don't think I could've done what you did though…I can't believe you actually gave him a lap dance the first time."

"I knew that if I refused him, I'd lose my job and it really would've been my word against his. I knew it wasn't going to stop with just one lap dance, I had to catch him in the act."

"Still, it seems like an awfully big price."

"It wouldn't have been a choice everyone could make. Or should make. But it was how I wanted to do it."

"What if they try to use it against you when you file charges?"

Adrian stared at the ceiling. "I have no doubt that'll be the case. The criminal justice system in ripe with victim blaming." She shook her head. "Look, I don't want to talk about it anymore tonight, okay? Let's just…do something. Go somewhere! The Dairy Shack? The movies? My nerves are wound so tight right now-" She suddenly bounced off the bed.

"What!" Grace yelped. She grabbed her ballet flat from the floor. "Is there a spider?"

Adrian began to laugh as she grabbed her cell phone which was vibrating on the mattress. "Must've fallen out of my back pocket," she said. "It's just – I thought – I told you, my nerves are like..." She motioned her hands as if she was grabbing someone by the shirt collar and tightening her grip into fists.

Grace let the shoe drop back to the floor and she absently wiped her brow. "Who is it?"

"It's Ben."

Grace tilted her head curiously. "What does he want on a Saturday night?"

"He wants to see me. Says we need to talk."

Grace crossed her arms. "Are you gonna go?" She eyed an English book that was resting beside her laptop. "You know what, I have an English essay to write tonight anyway, so maybe you should? My parents hate it when I pull all nighters anyway."

Adrian nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Surprising her friend, she suddenly crossed the room to hug her. "Thanks again, Grace."

"Ne nada," the blonde winked. "Best…amiga?"

"Best amigas," Adrian laughably agreed.

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Ben paced back and forth in front of Adrian's apartment. He'd been there about forty-five minutes before he'd decided to text her. During that time, George had come and went again, as had a few neighbors, one of which gave him a disapproving glare as he'd hobbled inside three doors down. Another forty-minutes elapsed after his text and Ben was ready to sit down his legs were so tired by the time he finally heard echoing footsteps in the hallway. Perking up he looked in the direction of the sound and beamed when he saw Adrian heading his way.

"What's the rush?" she asked, absently digging around in her purse for her keys.

"I need to talk to you."

"You said as much in the text. Do I need to be worried?" She stopped when she saw him looking at her and inadvertently felt a little smile take shape at the corner of her lips. "What?"

Ben shook his head. "You – you have that glow," he said. "The one they always talk about pregnant women having. I never noticed before."

Adrian made a noise, a crossbreed between a laugh and a bashful exhale. "Thanks?"

"You – you look beautiful," he said sincerely.

Adrian swallowed, completely taken aback by the comment. As she looked at him in the artificial hallway light, she realized how much he reminded her of the kid she first met back at the retreat. "Yeah?" she asked reflexively.

Ben nodded. "I need to know something, Adrian." He stepped closer to her and placed his hand on her billowing stomach. "Answer me truthfully: the night we met, what did it mean to you? Why were you so intent on having sex with me? Did it – did taking my virginity – mean anything to you? Or was it really just that I was the first guy you had come across in two months?" Ben rubbed a circle around her stomach and then moved it up the length of her torso, until he was cupping her breast. Not in a possessive or demanding way, but simply taking in the magnificence of her body; the beauty of life. Finally, he lifted his hand to her face, holding her chin. "And most importantly: do I mean anything to you now?"

Adrian opened her mouth, but there didn't seem to be a gateway from the words in her head to the opening of her mouth. She sought to close it, but before she could, she suddenly found Ben kissing her and suddenly that one night at the majorette retreat all came rushing back.