A/N: Hey, guys, finally its update time! So I'm on my laptop now, so that means review time! Also, this chapter's not that great I'm afraid; I had a bit of a writer's block with this one :(

REVIEWS:

Again, sorry about the temperature hahah

Ugochi: Yeah, you're right, but they've called Camille before, and I wanted to add Kendall into the story a bit more

Guest: You read my mind :)

Chapter 8: Daddy's home for Christmas

Jo stepped out of the room and sat down on the couch.

"Are you still coming tomorrow?" she asked, twirling her hair nervously.

"Yes, Josephine, I am, because your mother will refuse," the words stung Jo, but she pushed it away, patiently waiting for her father to finish "but that doesn't mean I forgive you for what you did" he finished shorty.

"Yes, sir," Jo said quietly.

"I'll be there at 11 am sharp,"

"Yes, sir," Jo mumbled.

"What was that, Josephine?" her father demanded.

"I said, yes, sir," Jo repeated, cringing at her father's harsh tone.

"That's right, now, goodbye Josephine,"

"Goodbye, sir," Jo said, as he hung up on her. She sighed as Kendall walked up, unnoticed, behind her.

"Are you OK?" he asked gently, sitting beside her on the couch and pushing a stray hair behind her ear.

"Yeah," Jo lied "why?"

"I know you're not OK," Kendall said softly, pulling Jo into a protective embrace "why?" he asked gently.

"It's just that, I was just talking to my dad," Kendall stiffened around Jo "and, well, it's stupid,"

"Jo, if it's making you upset, it's definitely not stupid," Kendall assured, pushing Jo's fringe gently from her face. Jo blew out a breath,

"Ok, well, I sorta thought that dad might not hate me as much now that Lacey's here, but he was just as mad as when I called him before," Jo's eyes filled with tears and her entire body shook with sobs as Kendall stroked her hair, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"What makes you think Lacey would change his mind?" Kendall asked gently as he wiped her tears with the pad of his thumb.

"She's his granddaughter!" Jo cried, but faltering as she realized that it was a pointless argument "I guess I just thought that….maybe…..oh, I don't know!" Jo's voice began to rise again as more tears fell "Kendall I'm such an idiot, why did I—?"

"Josephine Marie Taylor, do not ever tell me that! Do not ever think so wrongly of yourself! You're the smartest person I know, besides my mom, and Logan, but all he does is hide his nose in his books." Kendall's heart rose as he heard Jo chuckle ever so slightly.

"Jo," he pushed her away from him into a sitting position, "I know you want your dad to be here," her face fell, and Kendall put hand against her cheek, stroking her soft skin as he gazed into her eyes and spoke, his voice gentle and loving, yet firm as he dropped his hand to land on top of hers "and I know you love him, and he's your father, but I just don't think I want him around Lacey," Kendall finished hesitantly, and he watched cautiously as Jo avoided his gaze, staring straight past him, apparently unable to hear him.

"Why would you say that?" her voice was soft, but Kendall could hear anger cutting across it.

"What do you mean?" he asked, trying not to sound defensive.

"Why would you say that?" she repeated "He's my dad!" her voice shook and Kendall panicked.

"I know!" he said quickly, leaning forward and reaching for her hands, but she withdrew them in an instant. "But look what he did last time he saw you, I don't want him doing anything like that to our Lacey."

"What?" Jo demanded "I—"

"Jo," Kendall interrupted quickly "I love you, but I just don't trust him, and I don't want anyone I don't trust around my daughter,"

"Your daughter?!" Jo demanded "News flash, Kendall; she's my daughter, too! And you don't get to decide things on your own, OK? So, I've decided that my dad is coming for Christmas, and he's going to meet his granddaughter! Now, please go away, I've decided that I'm sleeping on the couch tonight," the words stung Kendall, and he got up wordlessly, and left the room without a second glance.

The next morning dawned on apartment 2J, and Kendall awoke to find Jo already awake and cleaning up the apartment vigorously.

"Still mad, huh?" Kendall said gently, leaning against the counter as Jo straightened the placemats on the table.

"Yep," she snapped.

"Uh, when are you thinking of waking up Lacey?"

"Soon,"

"Am I gonna get a response with more than one syllable?" Kendall asked, and Jo huffed, storming into the bathroom. "Jo, wait! Please! I'm just trying to lighten things up, it's Christmas day! It's Lacey's first Christmas, can't we just forget about this, for Lacey's sake?"

"Fine, Kendall, we can forget about this, but what about when he gets here, huh? What's gonna happen then?"

"I don't know," Kendall said gently, approaching Jo and taking her elbow gently "we'll work that out, but for now I just want Lacey to have the best Christmas ever." Jo sighed,

"Alright, you'd better wake her up so we can do presents before dad gets here, because he won't have brought any," Kendall could hear the hint of sadness in her voice, but decided to let it slide as he made his way into his room to wake his daughter.

A/N: I feel like the last but was a bit rushed, so sorry about that, but I'm super tired and my fingers hurt from typing :/ so I hope that it's not a completely horrible ending for you... Review anyways?