Disclaimer: I do not own Kickin' It!

Chapter Nine

Jess's POV

I got into my car, tears slipping down my cheeks. I started the car and pulled away from the curb.

That was not the reaction I was hoping; it was the reaction I feared. It was the reason I didn't tell them sooner. I thought Jack would always support me and understand... I thought that, even though I was scared to tell him things, he would never be angry with what I told him...

I was wrong.

I drove to the dojo and picked up Morgan before I started to go back to the apartment.

"Are you ok, Momma?" Mo asked from the backseat.

I rubbed the tears from my eyes and said, "Yeah... Momma's just a little sad right now, baby."

"Why?" she asked.

I shook my head. "You're too young to understand," I said quietly.

She was quiet and I looked at her in the mirror. For a moment, I wished for the times when I didn't have a kid, when I only had to look out for myself and didn't have to worry about someone that just couldn't understand my reasons.

I remembered the time when I found out I was pregnant with Mo.

It was such a shock to me...

I stood in the bathroom looking at the pregnancy tests as my heart raced. I closed my eyes and heard Kai calling for me.

"Just give me a minute!" I yelled as I put the tests back into the box and threw it in the trash.

I walked out of the bathroom in our one-bedroom apartment and into the attached kitchen.

"Are you ok?" Kai asked when he noticed my pale face.

I rubbed my eyes and tried to hide how scared I was. "Yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled before I started to make lunch.

I took a head of lettuce out of the fridge and walked over to the counter.

Kai came up behind me and put his arms around my waist. "Are you sure you're ok? You're shaking," he said as he held me protectively.

I sighed. "I'm fine, really," I insisted as I turned in his grasp and put my arms around his neck. I gave him a smile.

He frowned. "Jessi, what's wrong? Are you sick?"

"No, Kai," I said with a gentle smile, "I'm perfectly fine."

He gripped my wrists gently for a moment. "Then why is your heart beating as fast as it was when we were married?" he asked and raised an eyebrow at me, "...Are you... keeping, something from me, Jessica?"

I drew my arms back and crossed them over my chest. "I'm not," I stated firmly.

He moved his hands down to my waist, pulling me close to him. He pecked my lips gently. "You know you can tell me anything, Jess," he mumbled as he ghosted over my lips, making my knees weak, "You know that..."

I quickly pushed him away, taking two, side-steps to the left. "I know what you're trying to do," I said, "You're trying to get me to tell you there is something wrong when there isn't!"

He took a step towards me and I took another step back as he protested, "I am not!"

He stepped closer towards me, taking my hand in his. I tried to pull away but his gentle grip was too strong. He pulled me to him and kissed me. When I pulled away he held me tightly, his arms wrapped around my shoulders. He kissed my neck in a reassuring, gentle way and looked at me.

His green eyes made me weak and I refused to meet them. "What's wrong, Jess?" he asked me, "Please tell me..."

"I'm pregnant."

He didn't say anything, he was too shocked. Then he smiled widely and pulled me to him with a gentle forcefulness, pressing his lips against mine.

I smiled into the kiss, relived that he wasn't angry.

I sighed, that was the reaction I had been hoping for from Jack... But I had forgotten one simple thing: Jack and Kai, were nothing alike.

Jack's POV

I played with Jess's ring, weaving it between my fingers as I thought about what had happened and what I had been told.

Kim hit the table with her hand and I suddenly looked up at her, she hadn't sat back down after Jess left. "Why are you so against Jess and Kai?!" she demanded.

"He tried to kill both me and Jess! How could she love a guy like that?!" I snapped.

"Does it really matter?" Kim snapped back, "She loves him and he loves her! People change!"

"Not Kai," I said sternly, "He's a selfish, manipulating, good-for-nothing..." I noticed Kim staring at me angrily and didn't continue. "My point is..." I started slowly, "Kai can't change."

"Jack, let it go, already!" she told me, "People make mistakes and people mature. Just forgive and forget, if not for Jess, then for me, for our relationship!"

I was quiet and Milton and Jerry thought that this would be a good time to bow out and left.

"Why wouldn't she tell me sooner?" I asked quietly.

"She was scared of what you'd think," Kim replied, "And it was too hard for her..." Kim finally sat down.

I looked at her accusingly. "Wait... Did you know about this?" I asked angrily as I placed Jess's ring back on the table.

"Well, yeah," she said.

"She told you but not me?!" I clenched my fists, "Why?! I thought she trusted me! She knows she can tell me anything!"

"Do you still have feelings for her?!" Kim demanded, "You're acting like she's your fiancée."

I sighed and she continued, "And you say she can tell you anything, you know she always needs time to gain the courage to tell someone her secrets. And when she did tell you, you yelled at her! You scared her off, Jack, I wouldn't be surprised if she left Seaford again."

"Kim," I took a breath, "no, I don't have feelings for her... I mean, I do, but in the way that a brother loves his sister. Kim, I love you, I want to marry you, but Jess... she's the one friend that I can't help, the one mystery that I can't solve. It annoys me that I can't help her like I help the others."

"She pushes away from people, Jack, you know that," Kim told me, calming down, "You can't fix all of her problems."

I closed my eyes for a minute then looked at Kim. "I'm sorry for the way I acted," I apologized.

"And I'm sorry for overreacting to your reaction," she said with a smile, "But I'm not the only one you have to apologize to."

I stood up and leaned down to kiss Kim gently. I pulled away but she pulled me back, deepening the kiss. After a moment, I broke the kiss and rested my forehead against hers.

"Have I ever told you that you're beautiful?" I asked and she giggled.

"You may mentioned before," she replied and pecked me on the lips before I stood up straight.

I knew I had to apologize to Jess soon, otherwise she would never forgive me.

I drove to Jess's apartment and knocked on the door.

A minute later, she opened the door. Her eyes were red and her face was streaked with tears. She glared at me and began to close the door, but I stopped it.

"We need to talk," I told her gently.

"You've already said enough," she mumbled and I could hear her struggling to keep her voice even.

"Jess, please, let me in," I said and tried to push the door.

She didn't try to stop me from opening the door, she instead walked to the attached kitchen and I followed her. She was wearing a black tank-top and sweatpants, and I could see the scars on her shoulders and just below her neck. I sighed.

She kept her back to me as she got a glass of water.

"You know I never told anyone," I said as I walked up behind her and traced one of the scars. She flinched and tensed at my touch. I quickly pulled my hand away. "I kept your secret... all these years," I continued, "Everything you told me about Drake and the abuse... I never told anyone."

I could tell she was trying hard to hold back tears. "Please stop..." she whispered.

"It was hard," I said despite what she told me, "but you asked me not to tell anyone, and I didn't."

"Stop it," she choked out.

Seeing her that upset hurt me, but I needed her to cry. If she cried, she would remember that I didn't think of her as weak. I thought of her as brave. I had told her that before she boarded the plane for China, how when she cried, I didn't think any less of her, I thought of her as brave, because she had always refused to cry before.

"Everything you told me, it was what made me so protective of you," I told her, "I didn't want anyone to ever hurt you again... because I knew what you had been through..."

"Stop it!" she yelled with a breaking voice.

That had done it, she clenched one fist and hit it against the counter. "Stop it... Please stop..." she said with a shaking voice.

I placed my hands on her shoulders and gently turned her to face me. Tears were streaming down her face and I looked at her, studying her face.

Her brown hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and her bangs were tucked behind her ear. It was the first time I had seen both of her eyes, she had always hidden one behind her hair. It was also the first time I had noticed just how much pain her blue-gray eyes held. How could I have been so blind as to not have seen it before?

I hugged her tightly, she tensed, but didn't fight it, instead, she cried into my chest. After a moment, she said quietly, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner... I should've..."

I rubbed her back and felt her relax a bit. "You're not the one that should be apologizing," I replied gently, "I'm the one that overreacted when you did tell me. And I'm sorry about that, Jess."

She pulled away and smiled at me. But I could still see the pain in her eyes. How long had that pain been there? Was it from her past or something that had happened recently? Jess had a lot to be upset about, it was no wonder she was depressed...

"Oh," I said suddenly and took something out of my pocket, "I brought you your ring." I handed it to her and she put it on.

"Thanks," she mumbled, "Can you... leave? I really... it's been a hard day and I just wanna be alone for a while."

"Ok," I rubbed her arms and smiled reassuringly at her, "Everything's ok between us, right?"

"Right," she smiled and walked to the apartment door.

I followed her and opened the door; I looked at Jess and kissed her cheek. Then I left.

Jess's POV

When Jack left my smile faded and I clenched my fists.

"Wrong..." I muttered as I walked to my room.

Ok, I know there's not much Kick in this story but I suck at it, ok? Ok.

Most of this chapter was written under the suggestion from Evan Roberts. I know I have forgotten in the past to say whose suggestion I wrote previous chapters under soo... Yeah, sorry 'bout that.

YASSS! CHRISTMAS BREAK IS HERE! WHOO! Yeah so my teacher quit... yesterday was her last day and my Art teacher is taking over all of her classes... Yay...

Also, I was baptized on Wednesday! :D #Christian

Happy holidays!
~Nydroj