Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter.

I did keep my promise to get this chapter up sooner. In comparison to last time, it wasn't that hard. The next few chapters will set up events for the grand finale. Reviews will help get the pace back up again. I'm actually working on the next chapter right now.

The Good News? Part Three

"You're Pregnant." Even though she was barely 35 years old, Caroline never thought she would hear those words again, even if her boyfriend probably would not be that surprised. During her farce of a marriage to Charles, she did everything in her power to make sure she did not bring another child into that bitter situation, short of getting sterilized. Abstinence worked best mostly because Charles was fucking random barely legal high school students (not that she knew it at the time). No wonder he thought she was fucking Jack for most of their marriage.

Only now does she realize how many emotional scars Chad carried from the constant bickering and fighting. As much as she wanted another child, if only to take away some of Chad's loneliness, she couldn't bring another innocent being into the hell that was her marriage to Charles. Children should be created out of love, not defective birth control.

Now that she was with someone she actually loves, having another kid seemed impractical. She and Jack had discussed the matter last night or rather he gave several reasons why a baby would be a bad idea and she agreed. The most important of these reasons was the fact that Jack was still technically married to Lucy.

His argument was logical. She finally had the career she always wanted, but put on hold to raise Chad. It wasn't the Supreme Court but being the Director of Diversity Programs and EEO for a major corporation before her 36th birthday is a major accomplishment.

She never regretted having Chad only staying married to Charles and letting everyone else decide how she should live the rest of her life because she had a kid at 17. She let everyone else convince her that now that she had Chad, her dream of being the first Hispanic woman on the court would never happen. Most of her family did not believe she could handle law school with a preschool age Chad. She believed to this day that Jack pulled various strings just to get Chad into school early so she could start law school sooner.

Now 18 years later, could she really balance a job that would take her out of town two weeks a month with a newborn? With Charles that was completely impossible, but things are different this time around. Jack was always an involved parent and grandfather for that matter. He was not above diaper changing, laundry, and cooking. However, would he really want to go through this again?

They were essentially grandparents for god's sake. For all intensive purposes, she had an 18 year old son with his own children, even if said children came about due to unfortunate circumstance, instead of broken condoms. Mentally, she was preparing herself and Chad for the very high possibility that Tiffany will never recover. In her heart, she already considered Isaac and Olivia her grandchildren. (The fact that she became a grandmother through adoption was the only reason why she was not panicking over becoming a grandmother at 35.) Chad and Sharpay needed her help. Unlike most couples, the two didn't have nine months to prepare for this. If it wasn't for her son's ability to learn how to do anything from reading a book she was sure Chad would be completely screwed.

She wouldn't have time to help Chad with the joys of potty training when she was dealing with her own crying bundle of joy. She was already dealing with high amounts of sleepless nights and they were not even her children. Jack was right, a baby would be impractical. Maybe that's why she burst into tears when she saw her positive pregnancy test this morning.

"Are you completely sure?" Caroline asked the woman that she is known for the last six years.

"Caroline, you are pregnant. I've already run the test twice. You took two tests at home before you even got here. You have been throwing up for days and I'm pretty sure I saw you dip your French fries in raspberry fudge ice cream when we had lunch before you left for DC. Also, your period purse is nowhere to be seen." She joked.

"Does everybody know about that?" Caroline responded with a groan.

"We have known each other for a very long time. I noticed that sort of thing. I'm sure the pregnancy denial is most likely caused by the fact you have an 18 year old college sophomore. As long as you are sexually active and your ovaries work, that's usually what happens eventually." Alex answered her truthfully before continuing.

"You are only a few weeks but you're pregnant. I would put conception sometime around the weekend that Jack went up to see you. I did not need to know about what you did with the flavor condoms that weekend." Alexis mumbled the last part under her breath.

"Are you sure?" Caroline asked again, becoming more panicked by the second. As the lawyer she is, Caroline was looking in her mind for every shred of evidence that would make this impossible.

"I'm on the pill. We used condoms every time including during the 'drunk Thanksgiving incident'." She said trying to deny the obvious. The argument seemed to fall apart just as fast as they did during yesterday's infamous 'a baby would be really bad' conversation.

If she was going to get pregnant, Thanksgiving would have been the weekend to do it but that was not the case. The nausea and late period was a very recent thing. The nausea could easily be explained by developing an extreme sensitivity to dirty diapers or picking up some sort of virus. Considering how much time she spent in hospitals recently, it would be a miracle she did not catch something. As she argued in that conversation that she is trying not to think about right now, a late period could have been most likely trigger by stress. Between her ex husband's antics, Tiffany's hospitalization, teaching her son and pseudo daughter how to take care of newborns, and Troy almost getting killed by a strawberry milkshake she had lots of reasons to be stressful.

"I have had 13 year olds and their parents who were in less denial than you are right now." Alexis said with an annoyed sigh before continuing. "Accept it, you're pregnant. You do remember the only absolutely foolproof way not to get pregnant is to not have sex. I know for a fact you are not using that method. You've been smiling too much recently."

"Trust me, I know that. I have an 18 year old to prove it. Abstinence was my method of choice during my first marriage to make sure Chad didn't get any unwanted siblings because there was no way in hell I was bringing another kid into that situation." Caroline remarked darkly.

"It worked so well." Alexis said sardonically.

"However, that method is not an option with Jack. You're right about the possible timing and the sometimes ineffectiveness of birth control. I was on antibiotics during Jack's surprise visit to DC but we still used condoms." That's when she remembered Jack bringing up the counterfeit condom recall last night.

"Oh fuck!" Caroline exclaimed as she remembers what they used the counterfeit condoms for during their inauguration sex fast. "How could this happen again? Stupid, counterfeit condoms." She was beyond angry at that moment.

"The recalled condoms were only sold in Dirty Little Secret Boutiques. There's none on the side of the country." Alexis said obviously knowing about the recall because of her line of work.

"Alexis you forget that until a few weeks ago, I lived in DC. There is one at Pentagon City only a couple miles from my old apartment. During that particular weekend, I picked up a pleasure pack." Caroline said putting her head in her hands as she began to cry.

"That's not good." Alexis said as she patted her back. "By chance did…" Alexis started but did not finish. Maybe she relies that was not the best question to ask when your friend is crying hysterically in front of you, but Caroline understood the question.

"I don't know if Taylor went into the store. She mostly hung out with Ryan and Kim. Considering Kim was surprised at the site of a little blue plus sign this morning, you may want to call Taylor just in case she paid DLS a visit. I have a feeling that Kim was another victim of counterfeit condoms. At least Mr. Kim and Jack will be less angry because this pregnancy was most likely caused by greed and corporate negligence. Kim actually took three tests before agreeing to come here after running away. Sharpay and Penelope barely calmed her down. I better go in with you when you talk to her since I am 99% positive you're going to confirm the results." Caroline said with a sigh.

"You can see her afterwards. I'll call you in if she needs moral support." Alexis said confirming the results without actually saying anything.

"That works. Actually, would you mind retesting Sharpay? I may not know for sure about Taylor but I know Sharpay went into that store and probably picked something up after I left. Oh god, they can't deal with three kids." Alexis just looked away at that. She probably knew better than anybody how truly bad the situation with Tiffany really was and she didn't have to deal with the lawyers from Tiffany's mother who were conspiring to do only god knew what.

"I'll take care of it. So much for having the afternoon off, I will call Taylor later. I probably should borrow Kim's cell phone because Taylor is not answering my calls." Alexis mumbled to herself.

"I thought things were getting better." Caroline asked her friend in concern. She knew that the relationship between mother and daughter has been strained in recent months after Taylor's adoption came to light. However, since New Year Alexis seemed more upbeat about the situation.

"So did I. I knew things were going to be different once Taylor found out she was not my biological daughter. Maybe that's why we waited so long to tell her. I hope she would eventually understand that just because I didn't give birth to her doesn't mean I don't love her unconditionally. I do love her and that's why I'm so worried. She has been distant since the inauguration. I know something happened in DC."

"I don't know. Although listening to me walk in on her ex boyfriend losing his virginity probably did not help things." Caroline said with a slight cringe remembering the embarrassing scene.

"Oh god, you have to be kidding." Alexis asked with an open mouth.

"No, not really, I'll tell you everything later." Caroline said quickly not wanting to relive the experience now or ever.

"I didn't want her to go there but there is no way I can talk her out of transferring to the DC area. If Taylor wants to do something, you can't stop her. I just hope she didn't run into…" Again, Alexis just let the words stand in the air as if she was afraid to go on.

"Her real father?" Caroline prompted.

"Yes. He has never been a very good person but most people don't realize that until it's too late. He's good at covering his tracks. He wouldn't be a senator now if he couldn't take care of his own dirty laundry. It takes a sick individual to hire a hit man to take care of the consequences of fucking the intern over literally." Caroline was not shocked by this revelation because she heard this story before but the names were changed to protect the guilty.

"I know this tale. It was practically an urban legend among law students in the nineties. When I was in law school, it became the ultimate cautionary tale of what not to do during a legal internship. 'Don't sleep with the Partners' was drilled into my head by multiple Professors. Rumor has it that an intern at some big law firm in DC got pregnant by a senior partner and ended up in intensive care because she wouldn't get rid of the evidence of his indiscretion. My old professor Alena Suarez worked at the firm before losing her stomach for it after what happened. That's how she ended up at some tiny law school in Albuquerque. She's a judge now. Everybody including Professor Suarez thought it was the baby's father who did it but it couldn't be proven. According to legend, the baby did not survive and the girl disappeared into the night. Kim's stepmom is the girl from the rumor?" Caroline asked already knowing the answer.

"Yes, although that wasn't quite what happened, but close enough. Whatever I say must stay between us. The only way to keep Taylor safe was to give her up. He wasn't going to give up. Only a handful of people know Vanessa's true identity." Alexis said almost on the verge of tears.

"I understand." Caroline said not really.

"I think what happened is why I feel so bad for Tiffany. It's like reliving the catastrophe all over again. I'm just glad we were able to save the babies." Alexis said with shaky breath.

"Me too, they are completely adorable." Caroline said with a smile before it faded quickly. "I just wasn't planning on supplying a playmate any time soon."

"Finding out your pregnant when your child is in college can be hard on anyone. I thought Taylor was going to be an only child. We tried for years and nothing happened. Then along came Jason. Come to think of it, Taylor was just as big of a surprise. I was just accepting that I was never going to be a mom after the fourth negative pregnancy test in a roll and then Vanessa calls out of the blue asking for a huge favor."

"You said yes?" Caroline asked knowing the answer.

"Not until I held Taylor in my arms for the first time. At that moment, I knew she was mine no matter how she came into the world." Alexis said truthfully.

"I felt the same way when I held Chad for the first time. I'm just so scared." she said in a whisper.

"You shouldn't be. Things are a lot better this time around. First, you are gainfully employed and living on your own. Unlike the first time around, you actually love the guy who knocked you up. Most important of all, Jack is not a complete prick with a schoolgirl fetish." Alexis added darkly.

"There's always that." She said quickly.

"I'm sure Jack will react better than Charles did when he found out your pregnant." Caroline couldn't help but laugh at Alexis's words.

"Anything short of killing me would be better than handing me $500 to get an abortion. I know Jack too well to see him reacting the way Charles did." Caroline told her honestly. Other than Jack, no one else knows about that. She hoped with everything in her that Chad would never find out. He already thinks his existence is a complete mistake despite everything she has told him to the contrary.

"I think Charles tried to do the right thing with Tiffany because of the money that he could get from it. He's the most selfish person I know. He only married me because my father offered to pay for his master's degree." Caroline said as a few tears slid down her cheeks.

"Why am I not surprised? I think I understand why you're so afraid and displaying a level of denial that I normally get from my under 18 patients. Even though you know Jack is the complete antithesis of Charles, you're afraid he's going to behave the same way. He's not. He loves you." Alexis said getting a little too close to the real issue at hand.

"What if he doesn't? What if I'm just the rebound?" Caroline said in a whisper forcing her fears allowed.

"You're not the rebound. The first time I saw you and Jack together at some parent teacher conference then I actually thought that the two of you were lovers because of the way he acted around you. There was just something there." Apparently, everybody noticed what was going on except her and Jack.

"Technically, he is still married to Lucy. Maybe he will want to go back to her." Even as she said the words aloud, it sounded ridiculous to her.

"That ring says otherwise." She said pointing to her engagement ring and practically laughing. "You and I both know all those bridges are burnt and the only reason why he is still married to her is because she refuses to sign the divorce papers. What are you really afraid of?" That is when Caroline recounted the entire conversation from the night before.

"I don't think you understood what he was saying. He never once said he did not want a baby, he just said now was a bad time. Which he is right, considering he is still technically married to someone else. However, it's a little too late to do the right thing now." Alexis said literally holding up her test results.

"I want to believe that." Caroline started out quickly as she wiped her eyes.

"Take a few moments to compose yourself before we deal with the youngsters."

The rest of the afternoon Caroline kept her fears inside and was the supporting adult and pseudo mother figure for two girls who never really had a mom, at least one they cared. She couldn't think about Jack's reaction because she needed to keep Kim as calm as possible. It didn't help when seconds later Kim bolted out the door only stopping long enough to grab her purse. Hours later the 21-year-old still has not return any of her calls or text messages.

She also had to be there for Sharpay but fortunately not for a reason that would make her a biological grandmother any time soon. At least she could be thankful for that even if she was upset to learn that it may never happen at all. She held Sharpay's hand during the vaginal exam as her body went completely rigid at the mere sight of a speculum. Caroline was the shoulder to cry on when Alexis had to tell the 19 year old that they needed to do more tests because it was highly possible that she could never have children.

Now she and Sharpay sat in a parking lot outside Alexis' office with Sharpay trying not to cry. Caroline was just happy that the babies were currently asleep in the back after their most recent bottle.

"Sharpay there's no point in worrying until you know for sure. Even then, there is still hope. When Alexis was in her twenties they told her she would never be able to get pregnant then a few years later she had Jason. Doctors can be wrong sometimes and there's always knew fertility treatments coming out every day." She said putting a hand on Sharpay's shoulder.

"I know. I've always known that Jason was very special. Not being pregnant right now is a good thing. I'm already dealing with lack of sleep and dirty diapers; I don't need stretch marks to go with it. It's just in my head I have all these dreams about Chad and I walking our baby down the street or being the proud parents at her first play. It's hard to let go of dead dreams." Sharpay's said with a sniffle as she wiped at her tears.

"You are already doing the stroller thing this afternoon. You are also throwing the baby coming out party of the year this weekend. Congratulations, you are a mom. Does it really matter if the child is yours biologically?" She asked the girl who would become her daughter in law as soon as she would allow it.

"No it doesn't. Olivia and Isaac are mine. I know I shouldn't get attached but from the first moment I held the babies I knew that they were mine and it was my job to protect them from everything in the world. I'm just so afraid that I'm going to lose the two." Sharpay was crying even harder then.

"You mean if Tiffany does not wake up?" Caroline prompted.

"I talked to the specialist that my father flew in from the Cleveland clinic. He came because his wife was one of Tiffany's professors. He didn't sugarcoat it for me. He believes the brain damage is more severe than we initially thought. If she does wake up there is a 74.3% chance that Tiffany may not even be able to feed herself, much less take care of two babies." Sharpay said not looking at her.

"Why are you afraid?" Caroline asked.

"Tiffany's mother, I don't trust her. She reminds me too much of my mother. I know she is going to challenge the custody arrangement." Sharpay said voicing the same concern that Caroline had. She made sure the custody papers had no loopholes herself, but the legal system was a very tricky entity.

"You have the best legal team in the state, she doesn't stand a chance. No one is taking those babies without a fight." Caroline said in an attempt to reassure her knowing full well that things could go wrong. After being a lawyer for over a decade, she knew that justice sometimes went to the person with the bigger checkbook. Fortunately for everyone, Sharpay's father has the biggest checkbook in Albuquerque excluding Sharpay's best friend.

Sharpay just smiled at her through watery eyes as she moved her hand on to Caroline still flat stomach.

"Are you scared?" Sharpay was obviously referring to her pregnancy.

"Completely petrified." She answered honestly.

"You shouldn't be. Jack loves you. Let's be honest he's going to be more angry at Troy than anything. He will be too distracted by that to panic about the new kid." Sharpay said just before enveloping her in a hug.

"You're probably right. Come on lets go pick up some dinner before the babies regain consciousness because I know you're not going to feel like cooking." Caroline said pulling away as she wipes at her own tears that were beginning to fall.

"We better go to Chad's favorite restaurant. I'll tell him about everything once he is fed." Again, Sharpay said without making any eye contact.

"Everything will be okay." Caroline was unsure if this was an actual promise or just wishful thinking.

Today was not a good day by any definition of the word. It started with his girlfriend sneaking out of bed 30 minutes before the alarm went off to signal another day at a job he was beginning to despise more and more. There were other activities he wanted to participate in now that Caroline was home for good. With the recent chaos, Caroline was the only thing worth waking up for recently and thanks to an offer from Sharpay's father he would have this almost every morning. The last few days with her in DC to close everything out was difficult though he told himself that she would be home for good as soon as she got back.

Yet that morning, Caroline seem to be just as far away from him, despite the kiss goodbye, that she might as well still be in DC and he knew why. It was obvious that she was still upset with him regarding a certain conversation the night before. In hindsight, even if what he said was true he should have had said it differently. Maybe his bad day really began the night before when he found multiple pregnancy tests in the Harris Teeter shopping bag buried underneath the sink.

"Why exactly are there 10 pregnancy tests in the bathroom?" He asked as he wondered out into the master bedroom in a daze.

"Are you late?" He asked this question mostly because he was sure that she was considering what they did the moment she got home. Also, after knowing Caroline for nearly 20 years, he knows to look for an extra large purse filled with pads and good chocolate bars every fourth Tuesday of the month. Said purse was still in her suitcase. After being married for nearly two decades, Jack knew the importance of keeping track of such things mostly so he would remember to schedule late night practices on those days. That should have been the first sign that his marriage was destined to fall apart.

"Stop worrying. The tests are not for me." She said quickly.

"Then who are they for?" Jack asked not believing her.

"One of Sharpay's friends is late after doing something very stupid a couple weeks ago with a guy at a party. She did take plan B, but you know that doesn't work if you are already pregnant. She's in complete denial about the possibility. Since I have been through this before, I was asked to assist with the intervention. I told you about what my friend had to do for me to accept that I was pregnant with Chad." He knew everything about that time, sometimes more than he would like to. Considering what happened next, he could understand why she was so reluctant to admit that she was pregnant with Chad.

"I remember she took the test with you. So that's what you're planning on doing?" He asked.

"Pretty much. We'll do it first thing in the morning with everyone at the house as soon as Chad is safely on his way to his first class." Caroline said, grabbing the tests out of his hands and putting them back in the bathroom.

"You may want to take one just in case. Your period purse is still in the closet." Jack remarked not sure if he was serious or not but after teaching the not exactly sanctioned by Principal Dave sexual health curriculum for 14 years he knew the signs of pregnancy very well. He knew that when she was in DC, Caroline was throwing up almost every morning claiming it was some sort of virus. Today she made him wear a different aftershave because his normal scent made her queasy. Then there is also the fact that he was 99% sure he saw her dip a pickle in peanut butter this afternoon.

"Period purse?" She asked in puzzlement.

"Normally you just carry everything in your work bag including your cell phone and your wallet except under certain circumstances. However, four days out of every month you carry a purse with you that is usually stocked with lots of Belgian chocolate." This revelation led to her grabbing her phone and looking at the calendar.

"I should have started yesterday. How can you know I'm late and I didn't?"

"I'm a very observant person." He said with a smirk.

"Just because I'm late, doesn't mean I am pregnant. Late periods can be caused by other things besides pregnancy such as stress, which I have a lot of at the moment. I just moved across the country again and have to deal with the stress of my ex husband almost killing his girlfriend and subsequently making me a grandmother before my 36th birthday without giving Sharpay morning sickness. I am on the pill and we used condoms every time. I'm not concerned." She said defensively in a way that told Jack she was worried. Unfortunately, he didn't come to this realization until an hour later.

"Maybe you should be. If the pill worked every time, I would not be a grandfather now." Jack pointed out. In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have said this.

"Good point. This is why we are still using condoms even though I know you don't like it. I also know the only 100% sure way to prevent pregnancy until I go through menopause is abstinence. Unlike with my ex husband, that's not an option." Caroline said with a smirk.

"Very true, however, you do remember the recent condom recall?" Looking back on it now he should have picked up on the little bit of fear in her eyes, but he didn't.

"I'm pretty sure we only use those for activities that don't lead to pregnancy. Don't worry. I'm not pregnant." She said again. He wondered who she was trying to convince more.

"It's still possible." Jack brought up again. Part of him wanted it to be possible. The other part of him knew this was the wrong time. Maybe in a year or two, but not now. They probably have another 10 years at least to worry about such things, maybe longer.

"I'm starting to think I should have just dropped the tests off at Kim's house if I knew you were going to freak out worse than Chad would." She said giving him an irritated look.

"I'm not freaking out. It's just this is not a good time for us to bring another child into the world. You just accepted a new job that's going to have you on a plane a lot. I told you how bad things are at work now. I'm not sure I'm going to be working at East High next year. Dave is still upset that the New Mexico High School Athletics Board will be taking a very close look at East High right now. I know with your brand new high six figure job you could take care of the house and everything else including a new kid on your own but I wouldn't want you to. I never had a problem with my wife making more money than me but I like to at least be able to put dinner on the table." Lucy always made 2 to 3 times as much money as he did. Apparently, that bothered her more than it did him. That is why they lived in one of the nicer neighborhoods in the Albuquerque area. The income difference was why Jack found it so insane that she was suing him for spousal support now.

"After my first marriage, I would be happy with a husband who would at least carry the food into the house. The fact that you can actually cook is even better."

"I guess I should thank Charles for giving you such low standards. Of course, he is also the reason why things are so complicated now. Because of him, your busy helping Chad and Sharpay take care of newborns. Could you imagine taking care of three children under the age of one simultaneously?" He asked her seriously. Again, maybe this wasn't the best time to ask that question.

"No." She said not looking at him. He didn't recognize her pensive look then but looking back on the memory he notices it now. In hindsight, he should have stopped their, instead he continued on voicing his real fear. He probably should have told Caroline that he would love to have a child with her someday even if Kim will probably kill him for giving Alex another aunt or uncle that was technically younger than him. Instead of reassuring her, he said what he said next and he will regret it.

"Then there's Lucy."

"What about Lucy?"

"First of all there is the fact that I'm still technically married to her. She is determined to hold up this divorce as long as possible. This could be just another thing she will use to make the process as miserable as possible. I'll be lucky to survive with the shirt on my back." He didn't really care if he did. He just wanted out.

"If the government doesn't seize it first." Caroline said with a laugh but in hindsight it seemed forced.

"Who cares if the government takes it, if she can get more? I think she's after Kim's money. Kim feels incredibly guilty for what she believes is her role in the end of my marriage. You know that Kim would be willing to give a couple million for Lucy to go way. You being pregnant would just give Lucy more ammunition." Maybe he should have said that Lucy would know that Caroline being pregnant would be another reason why Jack would want to get the divorce over with as quickly as possible. As cliché as it sounds, hindsight is 20/20.

"Her divorce lawyer is a sleaze ball and I know he would use every dirty trick that they don't teach in law school. However, there is nothing to worry about. I'm not pregnant. " Caroline said again as she got up from the bed. It was obvious that she was angry. "Where are you going?"

"I forgot I had to do something for the party this weekend." Even in the moment, Jack felt this was an excuse. She just wanted to get away from him.

"I thought the staff at the Garden Hotel are taking care of everything?" He asked quickly trying to catch Caroline In her excuse.

"Sharpay made a special request and I couldn't say no. It's a surprise. You will find out Saturday." She left without kissing him.

Jack does not fall asleep until she returns 2 hours later giving him plenty of time to think about what he really said. He doesn't have time to tell Caroline that he would love to have a child with her even if Lucy will use such a thing as ammunition because she falls asleep the moment her head hits the pillow. Caroline is out the door the next morning before he has time to talk to her. He considers going over to Kim's house but decides not to. If things turn out badly he doesn't want to be surrounded by crying teenagers. He tells her that he loves her in a text message before heading off to a job that he is slowly beginning to despise over the last few months.

He doesn't loathe his job because of the subject matter change, at least not as much as he expected to. He enjoyed teaching English again and no longer having to deal with extremely immature freshmen who giggled every time he said the word testicle or uterus during the sexual health chapter. Ironically enough last semester 12 year old Jason was the most well behave (except for certain jokes about what he accidentally saw on thanksgiving). Although, that may have something to do with the fact his mother is a gynecologist.

Jack hated his boss even if they used to be friends. He was already 100% sure that having him take over Miss Darbus' classes was a punishment for Troy and Kim breaking his 'no teen pregnancies at East High' record. Dismantling the drama department and hiring someone, who will most likely takeover Jack's position as head coach, in addition to his old job, was punishment for choosing Troy over coaching the championship game in addition to reporting what his assistant coach did to the New Mexico high school athletics association. Actually, there are probably multiple reasons for his punishment including not kicking Jimmy off the team for being not heterosexual to kicking every person who was involved in Kerri's near rape off the team.

Jack understands his boss better than anyone. All Dave cared about was winning and image at all cost. That was probably why he allowed the social apartheid at East High to continue for so long, it made it easier to force everybody into the image of his desire. The faculty was never instructed to stop it. Actually, they were discouraged from doing so. Maybe they were just lucky they didn't have an incident of a Columbine nature.

Now, the system was falling apart. The captain of the basketball team was a future music major who just happened to be bisexual. The one before him, not counting the attempted rapist, is a single father who is now a theater major at Berkeley. There is also his co captain who was responsible for more Ivy League schools visiting East High than in the rest of Jack's time as a basketball coach. Jack was being punished for allowing that to happen.

He knew Dave wanted him to be furious but Jack didn't say a word as he was essentially told that he wouldn't have a job at the end of the year. He will always love East High but it was time to move on.

Word of Principal Dave's little stunt had already spread and within an hour Jack had e-mails from the athletics department of almost every private high school in the state. There was even one from A of U. He probably only received such a message because half the coaching staff probably won't be there next year after the NCAA finishes their investigation, but he was still flattered. He had options and knowing that was enough to make the fear of the unknown go away.

Unfortunately, tucked away under all the other messages was an e-mail from the one woman he never wanted to hear from again, outside of a courtroom. The sooner the divorce was finalized, the sooner she would be out of his life for good. Even the fact they had a child together would not matter. Troy did not want anything to do with his mother for what she did to both Kim and Gabriella.

Jack should have just sent the message to his attorney before notifying the police that Lucy broke her restraining order, but he didn't. He justified opening the message on the grounds that he needed to verify it was actually from Lucy and not spam.

After reading the first few words, he wished he didn't. In the middle was a picture of Caroline picking up multiple pregnancy tests the day before. Underneath was the caption "It looks like you're little whore is pregnant, I doubt the baby is yours. You never know with someone like her. If you think I'm going to let you go just so you can play happy family with that bitch then you are sadly mistaken. I'm not signing the papers until both the bitches are gone along with that thing that is supposedly my grandkid. You do what I say or else" The font was even blood red.

Jack was furious and worried at the same time. If he wasn't in his classroom filled with students, he would be throwing his phone against the wall. The only way Lucy could have obtained that image was if she was stalking Caroline. That scared the hell out of him. If Caroline was pregnant, and Jack was pretty sure that she was, who knows how far Lucy will go. She was beyond imbalanced. He was worried about what she would do. Jack spent a great deal of his morning talking to the police and his lawyer.

According to his divorce legal team, Lucy's team already asked that the hearing be pushed back. Jack personally believed Lucy did this to give him time to carry out her demands. The only thing this is going to do was lead to her bail being revoked.

He was actually glad that Kim called him and told him that she wasn't coming to school that afternoon. He knew he would have to tell her about Lucy eventually but he didn't want to do it until his ex wife was back in police custody. Of course, her excuse of a last minute doctor's appointment because she threw up on Chad in physics class made him suspicious along with the fact that she mentioned nothing about what happened that morning even when he asked her directly. Instead, she pretended that the call was dropped. He tried to call her again to let her know about the change in the hearing but she did not pick up forcing him to resort to text messages.

His girlfriend was just as elusive. He received a text message letting him know that she was spending the afternoon with Sharpay to take the twins to a last minute check up. He didn't believe her but he would wait until that afternoon.

Of his three helpers, only Penelope actually showed up that day. For the first few weeks, he followed her lead in the drama class but now he was getting more comfortable. He may actually be able to survive a play this spring if they actually get to have one. He is also getting more used to Penelope and therefore he knew something was wrong. She's normally a very outgoing person but today she seemed withdrawn. She was twitchy and going out of her way to avoid him for most of the 90 minute even going so far as to take her group out to the stage to perform. Before that, she kept pulling out her phone every few minutes sending text messages, which was unlike her. The final sign was she wouldn't look at him as he recounted his encounter with Principal Dave after class. Penelope was not happy.

"That's complete bullshit." Penelope said not caring that she cursed. "I don't believe for one moment his excuse about budget cuts. Everyone knows the drama department at East High has been privately funded for the last five years. The Evans foundation donated so much money to the school district that some of it even went to the West High drama department. This year, Kim has offered to pay for the whole thing no matter where we hold it. Given that, we should still do the musical just not here. This morning it was decided that I would be in charge of looking in to alternate venues because I have the most free time right now. We can get the theater at A of U for a price but I'm not sure if it's in the budget. I don't know because Kim has not return any of my text messages. We could always do the play at West High but I think a neutral location would be better." He knew Penelope said that because she was probably one of the few people who knew how intense the cross-town rivalry really was between the two schools.

"That would probably be best. I think you're right that Principal Dave is doing this for his own reasons and we should put the musical on anyway. You're also right about needing to do this on neutral ground if we are going to let students from any school in the district take part. I'll talk to Kim." Jack said quickly.

"That's okay; I'll take care of it. She is not returning my calls and messages; I doubt she is going to talk to you. She is probably terrified of you at the moment. Kim is convinced you're going to want to…" Penelope said quickly before stopping in the middle of her sentence as if she said too much.

"Why would Kim be terrified of me?" Jack asked already suspecting the answer.

"No reason, no reason at all." Penelope said already grabbing her purse from behind his desk. "I have an exam to study for, so I'll see you tomorrow."

"Penelope stop, during this morning's 'intervention' were any of the tests positive?"

"You knew about that?" Penelope asked sheepishly.

"I found the bag of tests last night. I thought Caroline was pregnant and she promptly explained why it was impossible, in her mind anyway." Jack said quickly before Penelope let out a nervous laugh.

"Why am I surrounded by guys who are more aware of the possibility than their partners?" Penelope mumbled to herself as she continued to laugh nervously.

"Yes, some of the tests were positive. Fortunately, I was one of those with a negative test." Penelope said with visible relief.

"Kim's test was positive?" He asked purposely not mentioning Caroline. He wanted to know from her. The fact that Penelope was not looking at him pretty much confirmed the truth.

"I'm going to take that as a yes. At least Troy is over 18 this time." He said with another sigh. No matter how responsible you are some things just happen. He personally wished this happened a year from now when they were both in the same state but at least Kim and Troy's relationship was stable now if nothing else in their lives.

"You're taking this well. Kim was expecting screaming and crying before being disallowed from the family again." As Penelope said this, Jack remembered that first weekend in Vegas months ago. No matter how hard she tried, Mr. Kim would not forgive Kim for what happened.

"It's a lot easier to take the second time. Also, I never reacted like that." He said defensively fully aware of who did.

"According to Kim, everyone else did. I mean you know what her mother did. I think she is terrified it's going to happen again." He is sure Kim would be. Somewhere in the back of her mind, there would constantly be this sense of doubt and mistrust. Caroline never trusted her family the same way again after what happened when she was 16.

"Fuck." He muttered quickly hoping that Penelope did not hear him. He was the only one who knew Charles real reaction to finding out that Caroline was pregnant. He was the one who saw her body after she told her father about being pregnant. Did those thoughts come to mine at the possibility of another pregnancy? All his very logical reasons for why this was a bad time probably made things worse. Maybe that's why she was so distant after their conversation.

"Penelope let's talk about producing the musical somewhere else after things calm down a little bit. It's only February. Last year's production did not happen until the end of May." Jack said as he ran over to his desk.

"You're right. We have time. We don't have to start rehearsals until late march. Just don't be that hard on Kim. You have no idea how worried she was about how you would react, probably more than her own father. She really respects you. I think she's just afraid of history repeating itself." Penelope said as she walked to the door.

"I think you're right." Jack said as he grabbed his thing and walked out of his classroom.

On the way home he grabbed an 'I am sorry for being an idiot' apology gift along with a dozen orange roses. He chose orange because it symbolized the connection between friendship and love as well as signifying passion. Okay, he really chose that color because it was two days before Valentine's Day and red roses were a little scarce. An hour later, Caroline walked into the house carrying what appeared to be dinner.

"I'm sorry," was out of his mouth before she was even in the house.

"Why are you apologizing?" She asked putting dinner on the table. That's when she noticed the orange roses and the baby teddy bear complete with diaper.

"For a lot of things, I should have expressed things differently last night. I want to have a child with you someday even if that day happens to be today or rather nine months from now no matter how it complicates things."

"37 weeks but we will go with it." She confirmed and Jack kissed her on the lips.

"This wasn't the reaction I was expecting." She said as tears slid down her cheeks. Jack was unsure if these were happy tears.

"I know what you were expecting. I'm not Charles. I know what he did to you. If you remember correctly, I was the one who knocked him out for thinking he could buy you off. Yesterday was mostly about why trying to have a child right now would be bad. But I can't help loving a child that is already here because it's part of you." He said running a finger over her tear stain cheeks before placing a hand on her still flat stomach.

"You get bonus points for that." Caroline said as her tears decreased.

"I try. Honestly, I was just scared. The fact that we're going to have a child together makes me want to get Lucy out of my life faster. It's just going to be hard now." Jack said with an aggravated sigh.

"I know she is going to use this against us." Caroline said bitterly.

"She already has." Jack said with shaky breath already reaching for his blackberry. He knew that he needed to show her.
"What are you talking about?" As soon as she asked, he passed his blackberry to her.

"Oh my god, she's insane." Despite her tough persona, he noticed Caroline was shaking.

"I've already sent this to the lawyers and the police." Jack said in reassurance.

"That's good because those pictures were not taken here in Albuquerque. That was taken in Arlington. I picked up the test at the Harris Teeter by Reagan National. I thought I saw somebody there who looked like her but I dismissed it because she is legally not supposed to leave the state of New Mexico." Her words automatically filled him with dread.

"This is not good."

To be continued.