The Story of JJ: Part 3

One Month Later…

"Here." Nicole roughly shoved the papers into Sydney's hand. "I've signed your silly contract. Now are you ready to leave or not?"

Sydney smirked at her and shook her head. "Did you even read what you just signed, Nicole?" She balanced JJ on one hip.

Nicole raised an eyebrow at her. "I got the gist of it. Why?"

Sydney chuckled. "Maybe I should go over the details with you, just to be sure." Sydney gestured to Ashleigh and Kyle who were waiting patiently in the room. "Ashleigh and Kyle are now JJ's guardians. None of the gods, including you, see him without Ashleigh or Kyle in the room too. He won't start training until he's ten and if Ashleigh or Kyle think that the training is getting too intense, he will be pulled out. He won't be involved in prophecies or meetings until he's ten, and he will be kept safe during any attack. Skyler and I will be visiting frequently to check up on him and to make sure that you haven't broken the contract. Understood?"

Nicole frowned. "I don't know how you expect me to be able to-"

"I don't want you to do anything. That's the point." Sydney stepped up and got in Nicole's face. "Stay away from my son. Or else."

Sydney shouldered past Nicole and strode over to her friends. "You heard the conditions. Make sure they are followed." Sydney handed JJ over to Ashleigh and the confident show she had been putting on broke. She bit her lip and tried to fight back the tears.

"He'll be okay, Sydney. We'll make sure of it." Ashleigh gave her a reassuring grin.

"I just wish…"

"I know."

"Mommy?" JJ turned to look at Sydney with a confused expression on his face.

Sydney tried to smile at him, but failed. "I have to go away for a little while JJ, but that doesn't mean I don't love you. I will be back soon. I promise." She wiped away the tears that had fallen down her face. She softly kissed JJ's forehead. "I love you."

JJ grinned and pointed to Sydney's heart. "Love."

Skyler gently put his hand on Sydney's shoulder. "You ready to go?"

"No, but I don't have much of a choice do I?" Sydney gave JJ a final loving glance and kiss goodbye and followed Skyler back over to Nicole.

"Well," Nicole said with a huff, "all of your belongings have been moved to that overly expensive penthouse you chose to live in." She handed Sydney a lime green credit card along with several documents. "These are all the papers you'll need to start a new life and that credit card has an unlimited amount of cash for you to use until you finish college. However, it is only to be used for essentials. Do I make myself clear?"

Sydney rolled her eyes. "Yes, Nicole. I would never dream of spending your money on anything but the essentials."

Nicole frowned. "Are you ready?" Nicole didn't give them a chance to answer. She snapped her fingers and they were gone in a flash of green light.

They landed with a thud in the middle of a spacious penthouse. The outer walls were composed entirely of windows that looked out over the Manhattan horizon from thirty stories in the air. The living stretched up two stories and the second floor hung over the living room while various modern style furniture decorated the rooms.

Skyler let out a low whistle. "This place looked great in the photos, but I didn't think it would look this awesome in real life."

Sydney didn't respond. Her eyes were trained on the floor as silent tears fell down her face.

Skyler immediately wrapped her up in a hug. "It'll be okay, Syd. We'll see him again before you know it. Ashleigh and Kyle will take good care of him."

"I know, but I should be the one taking care of him."

"He knows you love him, and when he gets old enough, he'll understand why you made the choices you did."

"Let's hope you're right." Sydney took a deep breath and pulled away. "Shall we tour our new home?"

Skyler scratched the back of his head. "I was kind of hoping that we could see Anna and Joe first. Besides, you kind of have big news to deliver to Joe."

"Right." Sydney smiled and mentally prepared herself for Joe's reaction. "Let's see if they missed us as much as we missed them over the last year and a half."

Sydney felt pure euphoria holding Joe's hand for the first time in over a year and the stolen kisses that he kept giving her on the way back to her penthouse only added to that feeling. She twirled the necklace he had bought her between her fingers. She sighed as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for another kiss.

"You keep this up and we'll never make it back to my penthouse." Sydney laughed as they pulled apart.

"I can't help it." Joe rubbed circles on the small of her back. "I've missed you so much. I was starting to worry that you would never come back."

Sydney leaned into him. "Of course I would come back. I would never leave you like that."

"Glad to hear it." He captured her lips in another kiss and mumbled against her lips, "so how far are we from your penthouse?"

"About five feet." Sydney nodded over his shoulder to the entrance of her building. "Well, five feet and about thirty stories, but the elevator is fast."

Joe's head bent back and looked like it was about to fall off. "Nice building."

"It better be." Sydney laughed. "I'm not paying fifteen million a year to live in a terrible place."

Joe's jaw dropped. "How much?"

Sydney grinned. "Technically, my lovely mother is paying for it. And fifteen million is pretty cheap compared to most penthouses in Manhattan."

"Well," Joe grabbed Sydney's hand and pulled her inside, "shall we head up?"

The short elevator ride to the top gave Sydney some time to think about how to tell Joe about JJ, which she still had to do. She couldn't bring herself to say the words: You have a son. She was terrified of his reaction. Would he even believe her? Does he want to be a dad?

"You okay?" Joe was looking at her with concern in his eyes. "You had a weird look on your face."

Sydney blinked. "Yeah, I'm just so glad to be with you again."

Joe grinned at her. "Me too."

The elevator doors dinged open and they stepped into Sydney's new home. There was a sharp intake of breath as Joe took in his surroundings. "This place is huge!" He waltz into the living room and gazed around the room. "You have a fireplace and everything! And how big is that TV?"

"One hundred and ten inches. Biggest TV they sell on the market, but that's nothing. We have a movie theatre room with a huge projection screen."

"I thought the card you had was only supposed to be used on essentials?" Joe smirked at her.

"I can't watch movies on a tiny screen. I need the best quality money can buy." Sydney crossed her arms. "I have a lot of stuff to see too. Draylon didn't exactly get cable and I never had time to go to the movies."

"Then you and I will have to have a Netflix night." Joe walked over to her and pushed her hair out of her face. "So do I get a full tour?"

"I haven't even seen the whole place yet." Sydney laughed. "Skyler and I went to find you and Anna the moment we got here."

"Then let's go." Joe grabbed her hand and led her upstairs. "I'm assuming the bedrooms are upstairs? You said something about bringing your old bed along?"

Sydney's stomach fluttered. She wanted nothing more than to be with Joe again, but she knew telling him about JJ was more important. And to be honest, she wasn't sure she was ready to be intimate like that again yet. She was still in mom-mode, not sexy girlfriend mode. She followed Joe up the stairs anyway and thought about what to say.

Sydney mentally scolded herself, Just tell him. He needs to know about his son.

Joe tentatively pushed open a door revealing an open bedroom filled with a large bed and a few decorations.

Sydney recognized a few of the items. "This must be Sky's room."

Joe sighed. "Nice, but not what I'm looking for."

Sydney rolled her eyes and continued down the hall with Joe. The next room they tried was obviously Sydney's. It had all the items she had brought over with her from Draylon including her large bed. It was custom designed for her, bigger than a California king, and fitted with deep red silk sheets.

"Well, I'd love to see the rest of the place, but I think there's something else we need to take care of first." Joe's eyes glinted with desire.

Before Sydney could stop him to say what she need to say, Joe's mouth was on hers and she could feel him pushing her back to the bed. Sydney's body reacted without her permission and her arms wound their way around his neck. A fire burned in her gut that she hadn't felt in a long time.

The next thing Sydney knew, they were on her bed, the weight of Joe's body pushing down on her. Joe's hand slid down to her waist and teasingly moved up and down her leg.

His kissed moved from her lips to her neck. "I've missed you so much," he moaned against her neck.

Sydney, you need to stop this now, she thought to herself. You need to tell him about JJ.

She opened her mouth to tell Joe to stop, but her breath caught in her throat instead as Joe's hand sensually slipped up her shirt towards her chest and his kisses moved farther south.

"Joe, wait." Sydney barely managed to get the words out.

Joe stilled his hands and hovered over her. "Relax. I know the last time we did this wasn't the best, but I know what I'm doing this time. I've been… doing some research, and I can't wait to show you everything that I've learned." Joe winked at her and stripped off his shirt. "I promise I'll make you feel good."

"Joe… Oh." Sydney failed to form any words. Has Joe always been this toned?

Joe's hands and mouth went back to work and Sydney couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips. Her back arched up into him and she ran her hands through his hair. The fire in her gut burned hotter and she forgot all the reasons why they shouldn't be doing this. She pressed her body into his while one of Joe's hands reach down to pull one of Sydney's legs around his waist. His hand slowly moved up and down her inner thigh.

Sydney's mind snapped back to reality and she had a brief moment of clarity as she felt Joe start to fumble with the belt of his pants.

"No, stop." Sydney gasped for air and pushed Joe away, pulling her shirt back down.

Joe fell back with a hurt look on his face. "Is something wrong? Isn't this what you wanted?"

"Yes… no… I don't know." Sydney shook her head and leaned back. "I'm sorry, Joe."

"I told you, it won't be like last time…"

"There was nothing wrong with last time, Joe." Sydney smiled at him. "Last time was perfect and I wouldn't change a thing. I really enjoyed being with you."

"Then what's wrong now?"

"A lot has happened while I've been gone and there's something I have to tell you." Sydney stared into his green eyes.

Joe tilted his head. "What is it?"

You have a son. Just tell him already. Sydney bit her lip. "I… I think we took things too fast last time."

"What makes you say that?"

Because the last time we did this I ended up pregnant. Sydney groaned. She wasn't lying technically. She did feel like they moved too fast last time. She loved Joe and making love with him had been amazing, but their relationship needed time to grow before they were together like that again.

"I think we need to spend some time together and catching up with each other before we do anything like this again."

"Oh." Joe frowned and looked down.

Sydney felt guilty looking at his depressed expression. She felt even guiltier when she thought about not telling him about JJ. She just couldn't bring herself to do it.

Sydney grabbed Joe's chin and tilted it towards her. "It doesn't mean I don't love you, because trust me, I do. I loved being with you before. You make me feel things I didn't think it was possible for someone like me to feel. One day we'll be together again. I promise."

"Okay." Joe smiled for her. "I love you too."

Skyler bounced through the door with a huge grin on his face. Today had been great. He asked Anna out and then they had spent the whole day together. They had planned on seeing a movie or something, but ended up spending the whole day talking instead. Anna gave him a tour of New York. Skyler never thought he could feel so happy just holding someone's hand and listening to them talk before. But Anna was a special girl and she meant the world to him. He knew in his gut that they were meant for each other.

He spotted Sydney sitting on their new sectional with an absentminded look in her eye. She was slowly tracing the scar on her collarbone and Skyler instantly knew something was wrong.

"I'm guessing he didn't take the news well?" Skyler sat down next to Sydney and was prepared to comfort her.

"I didn't tell him."

Skyler frowned at her. "Sydney…"

"Don't give me that look. You look like a disappointed father."

"I am disappointed. Sydney, you need to tell him. Do I even want to know how you two spent the day instead?"

"All we did was cuddle and talk about what we had been up to the past year and a half."

"And you didn't tell him about JJ? He's all you've been up to."

Sydney sighed. "I'm a terrible person. I left my son behind this morning and I couldn't bring myself to tell his father that he even exists."

Skyler shook his head and put an arm around Sydney's shoulder. "You're not a terrible person. You did what you had to do. It's not like you can keep JJ hidden from Joe forever. You'll tell him when the time is right, and that time better be soon."

"I miss him." Sydney pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Do you think he's doing okay?"

"I know he is. You left him with good people. You've been friends with my brother and Ashleigh just as long as you've known me. You know they can handle JJ."

"I also know that I should be with him right now. He's going to hate me." Sydney started scratching at her wrists.

"Stop it." Skyler grabbed her hands. "JJ is not going to hate you. We just need to give him time to adjust and we'll be able to see him soon. I miss him too."

Sydney rested her head on Skyler's shoulder. "We should have told JJ you were his dad. You've basically been his dad so far."

"You don't mean that. JJ deserves to know who he real father is." Skyler forced Sydney to face him. "Promise me you'll tell Joe about JJ."

"I promise."

"Soon?"

"Soon."

One Month Later…

Their first month in New York were amazing. Sydney had pulled some strings and managed to get her and Skyler to be the choreographers for a West End revival of 42nd Street that would hopefully be moving to Broadway before the year ended. Sydney missed JJ and felt the ache of his absence every day. She hadn't been able to tell Joe yet, and Sydney was doubting that she ever would. Instead of telling him like she should have, their days had been spent talking and Joe showing her the best TV shows and movies from the past seven years and other than the occasional passionate moment, Joe had honored Sydney's request to take things slow for now.

In just one month, her life became so much better here than it ever had been in Draylon. Sydney smiled to herself as she drove over to Joe's house in navy blue Maserati GranTurismo Convertible. Having a way to get around New York was a necessity, and Sydney wanted to do it in style. The additional black McLaren P1 she had bought herself was probably not considered a necessity, but she didn't care. And of course, Sky needed a way to get around too, so she had bought him a red Bugatti Veyron. Anything to get back at Nicole, even if it was just a financial annoyance.

Sydney pulled up in front of Joe's house and quickly walked up the steps, rang the doorbell, and waited for Joe to answer the door. Netflix night had become a ritual for them, and Sydney looked forward to it every week. Not only did she get some quality time with her boyfriend, but she could let herself relax and not worry about anything, like looking good. Her hair was loosely piled on top of her head in a messy bun and she had chosen to wear black leggings and a gold crop top t-shirt. She could freely rub her eyes without worrying about smearing any make-up too. They usually watched Netflix at Sydney and Skyler's home theatre, but Sydney had told Skyler he could use it tonight for a date with Anna. So now Sydney and Joe were going to be spending the night in his room. His mom didn't mind (she genuinely seemed to like Sydney and Sydney was more than happy to have a good motherly figure in her life) as long as they kept the door open. Sydney was okay with that given that she and Joe were still taking it slow and having that extra security measure to keep him in line didn't hurt. Joe said something about his mom not being home tonight, so the open door rule didn't really matter for the night anyway.

Joe opened the door and immediately greeted Sydney by pulling her in for a deep kiss. "Hello, beautiful." His lips brushed against hers as he spoke.

Sydney giggled and rolled her eyes. "Hello, handsome. Ready for Netflix night? What are we watching tonight?"

"It's time I introduced you to the perfection that is Breaking Bad, but first, I ordered us a pizza from Ray's that we need to go pick up." Joe threw his arm around her waist. "And I figured we could take your amazing car to get there, and maybe I could drive." He looked at her with wide, pleading eyes.

Sydney smiled and shook her head. "Be careful." She handed him the keys and got back in her car.

Joe giddily hopped in the driver's seat and drove off to Ray's.

"You know you could have just told me to pick up the pizza on my way over here. Or had it delivered like a normal person."

"But then I wouldn't be able to drive." Joe winked at her and stretched over to grab her hand. "Besides I know a shortcut we can take to get there quicker."

They pulled up to Ray's ten minutes later. Joe hopped out of the car and turned back to Sydney, "You coming in?"

Sydney shook her head. "I'll watch the car."

Joe shrugged and went inside to pick up the pizza. Sydney got out of the car and walked around it to make sure it hadn't gotten scratched on the drive over. She could easily fix any damage or just buy a new car, but she had grown fond of sports cars and hated to see any damage done to them.

Sydney heard footsteps behind her and assumed it was Joe coming back to the car. "I'm impressed. You didn't get any scratches on- oomph!"

"I want all your money. Now." A mysterious looking man pushed her into the alley next to Ray's, just out of sight of the window. He pressed a dull knife against the side of her neck. He was close enough to Sydney's face that all she could smell was the tobacco on the man's breath.

"Easy there. I don't have any money."

"You're telling me you have a car like that and you don't have any money? That's a load of bullshit. You rich hussies are all the same. Holding on to all of your money and refusing to give any of it to the poor."

Sydney carefully analyzed the situation. The man had her pinned against the wall with her arms stuck behind her back. She had no doubt by the crazed look in his eyes that he would use that knife on her without thinking twice about it. If he could just move back a little…

Sydney focused her eyes on a spot on the wall behind the attacker. "Uh…"

"What?" The man's paranoia peaked. His head snap over his shoulder and his grip loosened.

Sydney smirked and took advantage of his distracted state to knee him in the crotch.

The man cried out in pain and fell to his knees.

"Stupid bitch," a new deep voice spoke up.

Sydney groaned. Of course he wasn't alone. She spun on her heel and sneered at the new man. "Want to end up like your friend here?"

"Want to end up dead?" The man held up a gun. "My friend asked nicely. Give us your money. Now."

The man Sydney had knocked down stood up behind her. "Do it. You're trapped and we'll kill you before you could make a move."

Except that Sydney couldn't give them what they wanted. She genuinely didn't have any money on her besides the Draylon card and that was in the car, not like she'd give it to them anyway. Sydney looked at the surrounding walls. She could run up the wall and over the guys' heads, but she hadn't attempted something like that since she gave up her powers. Having a kid probably didn't help much either, and Sydney made a mental note to continue fighting practice with Sky just in case of another event like this. She questioned how good the man's aim was, but believed their earlier threat about them shooting her the moment she made any suspicious movement.

"Let's go, bitch. We don't have all night here."

Sydney clenched her fists. She decided she didn't care about getting shot, these guys needed to be hit. Hard.

The man in front of her slumped over before Sydney could do anything.

Joe stood behind him with a pizza box held above his head. "Do not call my girlfriend a bitch."

"Hey!" The man behind Sydney lunged for Joe.

Sydney kicked her foot out and hit the man square in the chest. She ran to Joe without hesitation. "Glad you could join the party."

"Look out!" Joe shoved her out of the way and held her against a wall as a gunshot rang out over head. Sydney could practically feel the testosterone radiating off of Joe. A wave of déjà vu hit her as memories of Joe saving her during her battle with Kerk rushed into her head. Sydney felt something click inside her. Her blue eyes bored into Joe's green ones.

The man with the gun stumbled and held his head. The gun dropped from his hands and clattered to the ground.

"We need to leave." Joe grabbed Sydney's hand and pulled her to the car.

Joe sped the car back to his house and quickly led Sydney inside. They hadn't said a word the ride home and their hearts hadn't stopped racing form the attack.

Joe pulled Sydney into his room, grabbed her face, his brows furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?"

Sydney focused on his eyes and mutely nodded, her heart beating against her chest.

"Thank God." Joe touched his forehead to hers. "I came out with the pizza and when you weren't in the car I became worried, and then I heard voices and that man had a gun trained on you. I'm so sorry. I should have just had the pizza delivered. This is all my fault. If you had gotten hurt, I don't know what I-"

Sydney tackled Joe with a kiss, pushing them both onto his bed. Joe pushed Sydney away so he could breathe. "Um… sorry. What's happening here?"

"I love you."

"I love-" That was all Joe could get out before Sydney cut him off with another kiss.

Joe had to push her away again. "So… uh… what?" Joe was gasping for air.

"You saved me." Sydney traced her fingers down the side of his face.

"Um… you're welcome?" He kept his hands up so she wouldn't attack him with another kiss.

"Tonight reminded me why I fell in love with you in the first place. I wanted to show you how much I love you. And gods, do I love you." Sydney bit her lip and gazed at Joe through half-lidded eyes.

"Oh…" Joe blinked, not getting her message. "Oh." Realization spread across his features. "But I thought you wanted to take things slow?"

"I did, but slow just really isn't our style. After tonight, something just flicked on in me." Sydney toyed with her hair. "And I don't think I can turn it off."

"Are you sure about this? I mean, you've been pretty adamant about not letting things go too far."

"You sure are talking a lot for someone who I know has been wanting this to happen for a while. Making love is beautiful and it's what you do when there is nothing else you can do or say to express to someone just how much you love them. I've reached that point." Sydney stopped briefly to take off her shirt. "And yes. I'm sure."

"Hi," Joe squeaked out, staring at her well-endowed figure.

Sydney smirked. "I believe you've been doing some research over this area? I'd love to see what you've learned."

Joe shook his head and regained his composure. Swiftly, he flipped them over so that he was on top and gave her his sexiest grin. "I'd love to show you."

A/N - The conclusion to the JJ prequel is finally done. I have a few ideas to do more chapters with JJ in the future, but until then i have plenty of Untold Stories chapters to post! Dead Debts might not be out for a while until I can get all these chapters posted. Sorry.

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