EPOV:

I'd spent the entire day at the bar after I left the house. I showered there and thankfully had clothes to change into aside from the sweats I had pulled on in order to get out of the house. I couldn't believe how she had reacted, though, I probably should have known it was how she'd behave.

I tried to understand it but my anger, and more to the point, my hurt, took over. I didn't know she'd heard me when I'd said it—hell, I barely heard myself. But she did, and it effected everything else. Did I mean it? I think I did; I wanted to mean it. It had been a long time since I'd felt anything like I felt when I looked at Sookie. I couldn't explain it. The confusion I felt with that new feeling was more frustrating than I remembered. Maybe she did have a point about the family we were trying to build being at risk, but what couple with kids weren't risking that family by being together? We weren't conventional right from the start—that much was obvious—but that didn't mean we couldn't give it a shot at least. Thousands, millions of families managed with their non-conventional lifestyle everyday. Why should we be any different?

I knew Sookie was terrified of letting that happen—for now, at least. I knew Bill had an affect on her and God only knows what she went through when she was a kid and lost her baby. No one that young should have to go through that. Did that excuse her reaction? I wasn't sure.

I'd nursed my ego in the office for the majority of the day, ignoring the fact that Tiffany was practically prancing outside the office trying to get my attention. It wasn't going to happen.

I never had any intention of actually moving out when I drove back to the house that night. Maybe it was childish; maybe it was manipulative, but I wanted to scare her into thinking I would leave. If I did that, maybe she'd wake up and realize she didn't want me to go. Call me crazy, but was it wrong of me to want her to fight for me? Maybe it was, since on the surface it seemed that I was so unwilling to fight for her. I wanted us to be together but I wouldn't force it on her, and she seemed to want Sam. A fact that was reinforced when I went back to the house. I'd slipped in as quietly as I could and threw some things in a bag. I was willing to hash it out with her if I had to. I just wanted her to want me to stay, as pathetic as that sounds.

When I saw she was on the phone with Sam, all rational thought went right out the window. She was smiling and calling him 'sweet.' It pissed me off more than anything and at the risk of handing in my man card completely, it made me feel used. There she was, still dating him less than twenty-four hours after we'd fucked all over my bed. Then she had the sheer gall of looking wide-eyed and hopeful that perhaps we could talk. My ego took over and all I wanted was to get out of there.

I passed Jessica in her baby walker, engrossed in a Barney marathon. I kissed her on the head before I grabbed my sports bag and walked out the door. I didn't want to leave her, either of them if I'm honest, but it was necessary in that moment. Our makeshift family was shattering, despite all of Sookie's protesting to the opposite. I'd always be there for Jessica, but in that moment I couldn't, nor would I, be there for Sookie.

Staying with Pam was worse than I imagined. It was like being sixteen and living with my mother all over again. While I agreed we'd keep our schedules as far as the baby was concerned, it still meant I had my nights free. Nights I was avoiding the office at all costs while I completed my assent into womanhood by wallowing in my heartbreak.

"Eric, you really need to get a grip… and possibly a razor."

"It's a look," I said rubbing my newly bearded chin.

"It's a homeless look. No one wants that; this isn't Hollywood. They see you walking the streets like that here, people will be offering you a dollar for some food."

"Funny."

"You know what's not funny? You. Looking like ass and feeling sorry for yourself and … what the hell are you watching?"

"The Kardashians."

"Are you kidding?"

"No. Their asses are huge but my problems are bigger. Lay off Pam."

"And you still won't tell me what happened? It's been more than a week, Eric." She tapped her foot impatiently.

"What's there to tell? Sookie and I don't match. That's it."

"What a defeatist attitude. Who gives a fuck if you don't match? You make the match."

I just rolled my eyes at her.

"Get up and shave, please. You're scaring the neighbors."

"Like I give a shit."

"Fine, sit here, wallow in your own pathetic mess. I am going to work. I expect my boss to be there." She slapped my knee with the newspaper with an expectant look.

I, on the other hand, had no reason to move. A little wallowing never killed anyone, but if Pam didn't stop bitching, I was pretty sure I'd seen enough re-runs of CSI that week that I could make her disappearance look like an accident.

Yeah...

I really needed to leave the house.

SPOV:

After he left, as much as I felt the urge to cry, I didn't. I wouldn't. I was done crying over men and my shitty choices where they were concerned. Instead, I picked Jessica up and got into bed, taking her with me for comfort. She didn't seem to argue, as she cuddled into my duvet with her bottle of warm milk in hand. She was comfortable in minutes and in fact, she was out like a light as I read Sleeping Beauty not too long after Cinders and her Prince met their happily ever after. It was a welcome reprieve I used to text Sam. I told him I needed to see him at some point the next day. I didn't say why. It wasn't something I wanted to do over the phone, but he and I were done. I needed to get my shit together, starting with my love life.

Breaking up with Sam was easier than I thought. He said he knew it was coming but owed it to himself and to me, to make one last ditch attempt at trying to save what we had. Like most of our relationship, the ending was as nice and as amicable as could be expected. He was a good guy and the right one for someone; he just wasn't the right one for me. I didn't tell him about what had happened with Eric, mostly because—and not to sound too Ross and Rachel about this—but we were on a break, and it was none of his business now that we weren't a couple anymore. Since I had wanted my first Thanksgiving in my new place to be a big thing, I'd invited everyone over—sporadic invites here and there. Sam's still stood. No one should be alone on Thanksgiving. That was my Grans motto and even when I was in my tiny apartment, I'd have as many people over as my little kitchen could cook for. This year, I was practically in a palace and I intended to take full advantage. Eric didn't need an invite, since I assumed he would still be living here by the time Thanksgiving rolled around. I mean, why wouldn't I have thought that? But now everything was awkward and wrong and it was mostly my fault.

I could say it was all my fault, like I felt it really was, but in reality, he was just as much to blame. I had my reasons for my reaction and he had his, but really, who tells a girl they loved them for the first time post sex? Honestly, and if you think about it, he really didn't even tell me. He told the room, and I just happened to overhear! If he had those kinds of feelings for me, why not man up and admit them?

I know I didn't make things easy on him, but that's life. It's not easy… and if he loved me like he said he loved me, then he knew I was a stubborn bitch at times who needed to be shoved in the right direction. We'd known each other almost seven months. This wasn't news to him.

Frustration is mostly what I felt when it came to all things Eric. We'd be civil when he came to pick Jessica up, or I'd drop her off at Pam's; always civil for the sake of the baby. The baby who was asking why her 'dada goes bye byes?' when he'd bring her home. It continued to break my heart over and over every time she asked. Two weeks we'd managed to do the little dance and it was fine. Awkward, but fine. He looked like shit more often than not, and I worried he was ill or something. But no, Amelia informed me he was just embracing his inner homeless chic. Personally, I think she'd been spending too much time with Pam.

That bombshell was one I was still getting used to. Amelia, for so long was the girl who loved guys a little too much. Stage five clinger too much, if you get me… but now? She was chilled, changed and relaxed and I attributed most of that to Pam, and maybe the fact that she'd been totally honest with us about who she really was inside. Either way, she was happy and it was wonderful to see. Pam was back to speaking to me, though she gave me the side eye more often than not. I didn't care. Pam I could handle, and I knew she'd eventually get over it… or at least I hoped. My private life was none of her business, nor was what she thought of my sex life. Water off a ducks back, as they say. That's how that felt; I just didn't care.

My one evening a week at work was still a Thursday, and for that night Jess stayed with Maxine, her husband and Hoyt. Jessica seemed to love Maxine. She was a kind, round woman, always there with a recipe or a word of advice. In many regards she was a typical southern woman, and she reminded me of my grandmother a lot of the time. She had that same warmth and I enjoyed her sense of humor, too. She believed in loving your kids but not too much that they were smothered by it. I'd seen it rub off on Hoyt, who was a boisterous little man. While not much older than Jessica, he still seemed oddly protective of her. I felt relaxed knowing my baby girl was in such good hands while I walked into the devils den.

I'd been job hunting on and off for weeks, but nothing decent was coming up. With the recession I guess it was to be expected. Those with good jobs were fighting to keep them, and those without were swooping in to get what they could. But that Thursday evening was my last straw.

Sophie was laughing, her head thrown back, her legs crossed in the direction of her companion. That companion, was Eric, who first of all, was shaven—that shocked me—but second of all, he was in a well-fitted grey suit and smiling, too. That just about pissed me off, but I swallowed it. Walking back to the office, I put down my things, signed my time cards and went on my usual route to check that the staff was okay.

"Oh, Soookie?" I heard from across the semi-filled restaurant. Sophie's jarring voice couldn't be mistaken.

I went to them, swallowing the fact that I wanted to slap her smug face the entire way there.

"You hollered?" I asked, not attempting to be polite.

She smiled.

"Could you be a dear and get us a bottle of wine?"

I furrowed my brows at both of them. She wouldn't stop smiling, and Eric was looking anywhere but at me. Bastard.

"Excuse me?"

"White, preferably of a better standard than the house wine. Oh, and some menu's, too."

"I'm not a waitress, Sophie. Ask one of the wait staff to do it."

"They're busy."

"So? Wait."

"Are you refusing?"

"Sophie, it's fine. I'm not drinking anyway; I'm driving," Eric finally spoke up.

"No, Eric. Sookie is just being rude for the sake of it. She's been insolent all week. Honestly, I wonder why I bother paying her sometimes."

Eric looked at me, suitably embarrassed for me and mad at her.

"Yeah, Sophie, you know what, I wonder about that too sometimes. I mean, it's not like you give a shit about this place," I said, not caring who heard me. The rest of the customers most likely did. "It's not like this place matters to you. All it is, is a playground for when Europe bores you, or when Daddy digs his heels in with the money, right? Or when the latest in a long line of billionaire boyfriends get bored with you and your shrill and irritating voice screaming at them for doing everything wrong. No, it's not like it matters that I've killed myself for this place for three years; that I've built this place up from nothing to what it was before you ruined it. And I stood by and watched as you undid all my work; all our work. The staff here, Sophie, was some of the best. And the customers knew it. They loved this place, and you've taken everything I loved." I didn't mean to look at Eric then, but I did. Before I looked back at her, she was fuming and extremely embarrassed—as she should be. "And you've fucked it into the ground. So you know, I do often wonder why you're paying me at all. You can ruin everything all by yourself."

She cleared her throat before saying, "You're fired." I just laughed because, really, who the fuck was she kidding?

" Honey, you can't fire me. I quit as of… oh, six minutes ago."

I smiled at her fuming face before turning on my heel to go to the office. I found the majority of the staff standing by the kitchen door.

"Sorry guys, I held out as long as I could."

A few of the waitresses nodded and went back to work. Lafayette just shrugged, "Well, that's it then. I'm gone, too."

"What? Lafayette, don't be stupid! You can't quit."

"Oh, yes I can. I hate that little witch and you knows it. The only reason I agreed to work for her is because I wasn't workin' for her, I was workin' for you. I ain't sittin' here for her to boss me around like this is Drivin' Miss Daisy. Okay?"

I nodded. It was his decision and I knew he was just as stubborn as I was. I went into the office, grabbed my bag and my coat and walked to the staff exit where I found Eric waiting.

"Are you okay?" he asked as I walked up to him.

I'd been choking back tears since I walked into the office. I wasn't fine but I wasn't going to tell Sophie's date that.

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

"No…" I wiped a stray tear before I stubbornly looked away. "You should get back to your date. She's probably pissed enough as it is."

He laughed, "She's not my date. This was a very bad idea, and also a business meeting. But definitely not a date."

"You see what she was wearing? To her, this was definitely a date." I laughed.

"No, I haven't lost my mind just yet. If I ever do, I'll be sure to call her."

I looked out the staff door, and it was still pouring rain. But the tension between Eric and I was killer. It was between a rock and a wet place for me.

"Are you okay?" I asked him after we'd both gone quiet. He simply shuffled his feet before he answered me.

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

"No," he smiled, mimicking our previous exchange, before huffing a breath. "But, I will be."

"Jessica misses you, you know?"

"I see her everyday…"

"I know, but it's not the same, and she still does."

He just nodded in acceptance.

"Is she… I mean, is she the only …" He stopped. Whatever he was going to ask, he changed his mind. "I'll pick her up tomorrow."

I laughed as I realized, "I have no job. I guess that means the schedule is out the window."

"I'd still like to have her, I mean if that's not—"

"No, no of course, Eric. I would never stop that, ever. I mean, no matter what happens or doesn't happen with us, I'd never do that to you. Or her."

He smiled.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that."

The rain had finally stopped a little so walking to the car might not have drowned me.

"I should go make a run for it before the sky opens up again."

"Okay…"

I'd made it just past the door when he called my name.

"Yeah?" I said holding my coat over my head.

"I was proud of you back there, you know?" he smiled and it made me smile.

"Yeah? Me too. First time for anything, right?" I said before I waved once and made a bolt for my car.

It was true, rarely had I reason to feel proud of myself, but bitching out my bitch of a bitch ass ex boss, was pretty damn cool. You know what else was cool? A conversation with Eric with more than one syllable. Progress was progress, and in the spirit of progress and self-improvement, I decided to bite the bullet on something I'd been considering for years but always shied away from.

Therapy.

I'd made a call to a Dr. Ellis and made an initial appointment. She said it was free since she liked to see if her patients like her, her style and her rate before signing onto anything huge. Her office was bright and friendly with personal touches of her personality here and there, as well as a beautifully framed picture of her daughter on her desk. We agreed to meet once a week and we could make that more if I felt the need. She was open and approachable, and her office smelled like baked goods—what's not to love?

After quitting my job, the initial freak-out lasted a day and a half. Jessica was clearly confused as to why I was around so much more, but it served us well. In the three weeks since the blow up with Eric, things between Jessica and I had vastly improved, as had her ever wonky steps. We were doing our weekly baking ritual when Eric came through the backdoor to pick her up.

"Sorry, I lost track of the time. We got a little distracted," I admitted, glancing at the clock.

"I can see that. Is there a baby underneath all that cream?"

We both looked at Jessica who was perched on the kitchen counter. Her jeans and her sweater were covered in soft cream. She'd taken to dipping her fingers, hands and apparently, her arms into the mixing bowl.

When she saw us both looking at her she put her two hands in a 'what?' motion before she said, "I didn't do it," only it came out sounding more like 'ah dent do eet' than anything.

"Didn't do what?" I asked her.

"Dis?" She held up her pink cream covered fingers to me. "Some?"

"No," I said before she turned to Eric who was now next to her.

"Some, daddy?"

He took a tiny amount from her hand making a loud 'nom nom' sound making her giggle.

"Good thing I wasn't here to screw this batch up, huh?" he asked, nodding toward the freshly made cupcakes.

"Little bit. Jessica is a mess though, just like you. So it was almost like you were here."

"A Sookie cupcake was still the best cupcake I've had," he said sticking his finger into the cream and licking it off, and God, Jesus and Judas help me if it didn't go straight to my lady business.

"I found a place—"

"What...?" I may have zoned out.

"I, uh, found a place. It's not that far from here. I can move in in a couple of weeks so… Should make things a little easier, having my own space again."

"Oh..." My heart sank. Not that I didn't think he was serious about being gone, I just thought maybe he'd want to move back in at some point. Guess that wasn't happening now. "I guess so." I grabbed Jessica off the countertop, before walking out of the kitchen. "I'll be back in a second. I'll get her cleaned up for you. Help yourself to … whatever." I motioned to the table and the island, both covered in various batches of cookies and cakes.

I wasn't so much eating my emotions, as Dr. Ellis would say. I was baking my feelings and handing them out to the neighbors.

I'd wiped Jessica down with a cloth before I changed her into some leggings and a blue denim dress. Her little black booties were just too cute. I handed her off to Eric, who had dabs of powdered sugar on his lips. I didn't allow myself to think what that might taste like… not at all.

"Mama?"

"Yes honey?

"Come too?" She asked.

Before I could answer, Eric spoke up. "No, honey, mamma has work to do here. Next time, okay?"

"Pleeeease?"

"No, Jess, not right now. But you have fun with daddy, okay?" It was Tuesday. Tuesday was the park and since it wasn't raining for once that week, they could still go.

"See ya, Sookie."

"Wait. Eric?"

"Yeah?"

"I um, well, I'm still having that big Thanksgiving dinner I talked about ages ago. You're more than welcome to come. There'll be a ton of food."

He stood, Jessica's bag on one shoulder as he held her up high in his arms, and he seemed to contemplate it.

"Will Sam be there?"

And there was the rub. We'd gone three weeks without mentioning Sam and it had worked well. There was a hardness in his eyes when I told him that he would be there.

"Then thanks, but no thanks. I don't really feel like sitting through a meal with you two being all… whatever you are."

"It's not like that, not at all..." I started to protest but he interrupted me.

"Yeah, like I said, no, but thanks."

I guess progress couldn't be made everywhere at once.

A/N: Big thank you all for the review love last chapter, between work and life, and trying to get the next chapter done I'm sorry if I didn't get to reply to your questions and comments but know that I read and loved all of them, I promise! :D