Here's chapter 43! I hope you like it! Please R&R! I do not own anything from The Secret Life Of The American Teenager! Thank you! I really appreciate everyone's reviews! :)

Italics=Grace

Bold=Ricky

Plain=Other characters

A couple hours later at the Butcher shop...

"Hey...Ricky...Are you all right dude?" Ethan asked concerned as he saw Ricky staring at a piece of meat in his hands.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Ricky said as he looked at Ethan.

"Uh...You've been staring at that meat for like fifteen minutes...What is going on?" Ethan said confused.

"Oh...Sorry...I need to cut this up..." Ricky said as he went into a room with knives and other meat that was cut up.

"Usually I'm the one who doesn't do anything around here..." Ethan said to himself as he started to wrap a gift basket.

Before Ricky started to cut up the meat he started thinking about last night again.

*Flashback*

Ricky was kissing Grace passionately in the shower while he put his hands on her waist.

"Oh...Yes...I love you so much..." Grace said as she took a breath for air while Ricky started to kiss her neck.

"I love you too...I want you closer..." Ricky said as he kissed Grace's soft and wet skin. Next he pulled Grace's petite body as close to his as he could.

"Uh...I...I can feel your...bulge..." Grace said awkwardly.

"Mmm...It's all right...Just relax." Ricky smirked and then he kissed Grace again.

"Ricky! What is taking you so long to cut that meat? The customer is waiting!" Bunny said impatiently.

"Oh...man...I'm sorry Bunny...I'm cutting it..." Ricky said nervously and he began to cut the steak.

"Just save it for the next person...I have some extra steaks cut up in the front that I can give them...Are you sure you're all right? You don't seem like yourself today." Bunny said suspiciously.

"I'm fine...Just a little tired from school." Ricky said honestly.

"Uh hmm...All right...What happened between you and Grace? I know when you have a problem." Bunny said sternly as she crossed her arms.

"Nothing. We're fine...Just let me finish cutting this steak." Ricky said a little irritated.

"You don't seem fine to me kid...Whatever is going on, it better not be affecting your work...Got it?" Bunny said concerned.

"I know...I promise I won't get distracted again..." Ricky said nicely as he cut the steak.

Meanwhile in New York...

Ben and Amy were working on homework while John was coloring a picture that he drew in preschool.

"So...Did you apologize to Adrian?" Ben asked awkwardly as he put his literature book on the table and looked at Amy.

"Uh...I tried to...She was pretty upset...Maybe she needs some time to forgive me. I told Ricky about it..." Amy said sadly.

"What did you do that for? Ricky doesn't need to be involved with this." Ben said concerned.

"He called me...And I thought he should know since...he thought I cheated on you because you cheated on me when you slept with Adrian..." Amy said honestly.

"Oh, geeze...This just keeps getting worse and worse...Is that why you cheated on me?" Ben said irritated.

"Of course not! That happened a long time ago so there's no way I would do that...I thought I liked Jimmy...but I don't..." Amy said seriously.

"All right...Well if it wasn't for Ricky...we probably wouldn't even be in this hell hole." Ben said angrily as he crossed his arms.

"Excuse me?! Ricky has nothing to do with this Ben! This is between Adrian and me. And I'm sorry if I made your life a living hell but I thought you loved me." Amy said stubbornly as she raised her voice.

"I do love you Amy but...I want you to get along with Adrian...Both of you have fought for years and it needs to stop...How does Ricky have nothing to do with this? He changed your entire life." Ben said calmly.

"Ugh...I know he did...I'm not talking to Adrian until she forgives me...I think she needs some serious help." Amy said sternly.

"I guess I could talk to her...I did earlier but...I don't think it helped..." Ben said sadly.

"Just forget about it, Ben...We can't make her do anything that she doesn't want to do..." Amy said annoyed as she picked up her history book.

"Ok...Whatever you want..." Ben smiled slowly and he looked at his literature book again.

"Are you ok Mommy?" John said sweetly as he walked over to the kitchen table.

"Heh...Yes I am John...I'm just tired..." Amy said kindly as she put John on her lap.

"Maybe you should...go to bed." John said happily.

"Ha ha...It's a little too early for bed buddy." Ben laughed as he looked at John.

"Oh teh...When is Daddy coming back?" John asked sadly.

"Um...In about four weeks...I know you miss him." Amy said kindly.

"Yes I do...Do you miss him Mommy?" John asked innocently.

"Uh...Yeah...You should finish coloring your picture...Ben and I have to finish our homework...Ok, John?" Amy said nicely as she moved John off her lap.

"Ok...I love you." John said smiling.

"Heh...Love you too buddy." Amy said sweetly and she gave John a kiss on the head.

"He is so cute...Just like you." Ben said happily as John walked back over to his small table.

"Thank you...Sorry for yelling at you." Amy said sincerely as she smiled.

"Me too...I'm glad John is here to help keep us a little more sane..." Ben said kindly.

"Yeah...I don't know what we would do without him...I just don't know if...Ricky is going to want to keep him next semester..." Amy said worried.

"Oh yeah...How would that work since John goes to preschool here? Would he have to go to a different one in California or..." Ben said concerned.

"I guess so...I really don't know what we're going to do...I would like for John to stay here." Amy said seriously.

"Hmm...I would too but I know he really misses Ricky...I guess we can figure that out when he comes here." Ben said honestly.

"Yeah...Hopefully he'll go along with whatever I want to do..." Amy said concerned.

A few minutes later Amy's phone rang.

"Hello?" Amy said nicely as she answered her phone.

"Hey Amy! It's Kathy! Sorry if you're busy but I haven't talked to you in awhile." Kathy said happily.

"Oh...It's nice to hear from you Kathy! How are you? I'm just working on some homework with Ben." Amy said sweetly.

"I'm doing really well...I miss you...When are you coming back here?" Kathy said kindly.

"Aww! I miss you too. I'm not coming back until the week before Christmas...Why? Is there something going on?" Amy asked intrigued.

"I was just wondering...I need to finish my homework before I go bowling tonight." Kathy said excited.

"Bowling on a school night? Your grandma is all right with this?" Amy asked concerned.

"Yeah...It's only going to be for a few hours with my new friend Chase...He's a senior and transferred to my school." Kathy said sweetly.

"Oh...Does Ethan know about this? You're with him aren't you?" Amy said worried.

"I am...He has to work until eight so he would go too but...he also has homework to do after work...How's Ben?" Kathy explained honestly.

"All right...I hope you have fun tonight...And Ben is doing really well...We've been having a great time here with John." Amy said as she smiled slowly.

"Thanks Amy! I'm glad to hear that. I gotta go so I'll talk to you later." Kathy said happily and she hung up.

"Who was that?" Ben asked confused.

"That Kathy girl that I helped mentor last year...She's really sweet...Except she was a little cranky when she was pregnant." Amy said seriously.

"Oh gotcha...She gave her baby up for adoption, didn't she?" Ben said sadly.

"Yeah...I think it worked out well for her...Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I gave John up for adoption...But I'm really happy to have him." Amy said honestly.

"Me too...He's an awesome kid." Ben said happily and he gave Amy a short kiss.

Meanwhile in California...

Grace was in the grocery store to get some pot pies for Ricky for dinner when she saw Jeff with a woman with brown hair.

Oh no...I need to get out of here... Grace grabbed two pot pies from a frozen isle and she walked over to the isle behind it before Jeff could see her.

She listened to their conversation as they filled up their shopping cart with some frozen foods.

"So I had a lot of fun last night...Do you want to do it again?" Jeff asked happily.

"Heh...Of course I do Jeffery...It's just...I don't know if you should be seeing your ex-wife...It's a little...strange..." The woman said seriously.

"Why would you say that? Kathleen is a very nice woman and we had a wonderful dinner together on Sunday...Are you saying that I can't be friends with her, Nancy?" Jeff said defensively.

"I'm sorry...I guess you can be friends with her but I would like to meet her...If you don't mind." Nancy said sweetly.

"Of course I don't mind...You're gonna love her. Her husband is pretty great too but he can be a little...sarcastic..." Jeff smiled slowly and laughed.

Oh please...George can be a little more than sarcastic...I should have known Jeff didn't want to get back with Mom...Thank God. Grace rolled her eyes as she continued to listen to their conversation from the isle behind them.

"Sounds like fun! Didn't you say she has a daughter and a son? How old are they?" Nancy said kindly.

"Yes she does...Grace is nineteen I think...And Tom is almost twenty six. They're both really great kids." Jeff said sweetly.

"Mmm...That's really exciting...Do you think that we'll ever have kids?" Nancy asked concerned.

"If you want to...We're still young enough to have them." Jeff said nicely.

"That's true but I would like to get married first." Nancy said seriously.

"Heh...Sounds good to me...I would be honored to marry you, Nancy. I love you." Jeff said happily and he gave Nancy a kiss.

"Ugh...He probably used that same line on Mom...Unbelievable..." Grace said quietly to herself as she rolled her eyes.

"Grace? What are you doing?" A familiar voice said from behind her.

"Oh...Daniel...What are you doing here? I was just uh...Getting some bread." Grace said awkwardly as she smiled slowly and grabbed bread from the shelf.

"Uh huh...You've been doing that for the last ten minutes." Daniel said suspiciously.

"You were spying on me? What is wrong with you?" Grace said defensively as she put the bread in her basket.

"Heh...I wasn't spying on you...I was just getting some soup and I noticed you standing here for awhile..." Daniel laughed as he smiled.

"Sure you were...So I heard that you broke up with Chloe...For Raven?" Grace said honestly.

"Um...She sort of broke up with me in San Diego...I was just hanging out with Raven then...We're not really together now." Daniel said seriously as they walked down the isle.

"Oh...So you're single?" Grace asked surprised.

"Yeah...I just want to focus on school right now...And you're with Ricky still?" Daniel said confused.

"Yes I am...I moved in with him...and...things are really great." Grace said nervously.

"Your parents let you move in with him?!" Daniel said shocked.

"They weren't too happy about it...I think George is all right but...I'm not sure about my Mom..." Grace said honestly.

"Oh...Well I'm sure she'll come around. She's very understanding...I need to get some beer...I'm gonna watch the game tonight with some friends." Daniel said kindly.

"I sure hope so...I forgot...you're old enough to drink...Heh...I'm going bowling with some friends later." Grace said sweetly.

"Sounds like fun...I hope you have a good night...Before I go, why were you standing by the bread for so long?" Daniel asked concerned.

"I was just...eavesdropping on my Mom's ex-husband Jeff with some other woman...Tom thought she was cheating on George with him the other night when they had dinner...It's all good now..." Grace said seriously and she smiled.

"That's pretty crazy...I'm glad that your mom wasn't cheating...After everything that your family has been through, that's the last thing that needs to happen..." Daniel said honestly.

"Tell me about it...I'll see ya around..." Grace said kindly and she walked towards the register.

"Yeah...See ya around..." Daniel said nicely as he walked towards the beer isle.

Meanwhile in New York...

"That Chinese was delicious babe." Omar said happily as he put his plate in the sink.

"You're welcome...I just used a recipe that I found online...It wasn't as good as what we did this afternoon..." Adrian smirked as she hugged Omar from behind.

"Heh...Yeah...That was pretty amazing...I love you..." Omar said nicely as he turned around and gave Adrian a short kiss.

"I love you too...So I'm going to the doctor tomorrow...To make sure that I really am pregnant and when the baby will be born." Adrian said seriously.

"Oh...The test said you were pregnant so..." Omar said concerned.

"It did but it's always good to have the doctor confirm that I'm pregnant too...I was also supposed to start my period a few days ago and I didn't." Adrian said honestly.

"All right...That's a pretty good sign that you're pregnant then...You didn't really tell me much about your lunch with Antonio yesterday..." Omar said awkwardly as he changed the subject and they sat down on the couch.

"Yeah...It went pretty well...but it was a little emotional...He uh...told me that I gave his life purpose..." Adrian said sadly.

"Wow...That is really...emotional...How did you do that?" Omar said sincerely.

"By just loving him...in every way that I could...I even helped him to love himself...He hated himself because of the...cancer...But he's happy now with his fiance..." Adrian said truthfully as her eyes got watery.

"That's amazing Adrian...I'm so proud of you...And you know something else? You even helped me to believe in myself...I was really skeptical about this job but...you knew I could do it even though I had to push you to move here..." Omar said honestly as he held Adrian's hand.

"Heh...Thank you Omar...I will always believe in you..." Adrian said smiling as she wiped her eyes and she gave Omar a long kiss.

A few minutes later their doorbell rang.

"Mmm...I wonder who that could be..." Omar said surprised as he let go of Adrian.

"I'll get it..." Adrian said as she got off the couch.

"Amy?!" Adrian said shocked as she opened the door.

"Hey Adrian...Ben drove me here and...he said I couldn't leave until you accept my apology." Amy said seriously.

"Oh...So Ben's the boss of you now?" Adrian said stubbornly as she crossed her arms.

"Woah! What's going on here? Amy?" Omar said concerned as he walked over to the door.

"Hello Omar, Adrian...And I am not the boss of Amy...So why don't you accept her apology?" Ben said sternly as he walked to the door.

"Apology for what?" Omar asked confused.

"Ugh...It's a long story and I really don't want to get you in the middle of it..." Adrian said honestly as she looked at Omar.

"All right...Then how about you finish it?" Omar said a little irritated as he looked at her intensely with Ben and Amy.

"Ok, ok...I accept your apology Amy and...I'm sorry for all those mean things that I said to you earlier...I really mean that...It was none of my business that you kissed Jimmy when you were with Ben..." Adrian said honestly as she looked at Amy.

"That's as good as it's gonna get, huh?" Amy said intensely.

"Uh...yeah...What more do you want me to say? I get what you said earlier about me being a good example for my child...I'm sorry for hurting you and humiliating you and whatever else that I did to you to make you feel bad. Is that better?" Adrian said seriously.

"Yes it is...But...I won't believe it until I see it...I forgive you, Adrian...Just please promise me that you won't hurt me again." Amy said sincerely.

"I don't know if I can make that promise unless you don't hurt Ben again." Adrian said sternly.

"You don't have to worry about that...because we're going to have sex...Right, Ben?" Amy said a little irritated as she looked at Adrian and then Ben.

"Uh...This is not going how I pictured it would...I'm sorry Adrian and Omar...Maybe we should go...John's waiting in the car..." Ben said uncomfortably.

"Um hmm...I hope you two have a nice night." Adrian smirked and she closed the door.

Amy and Ben walked down the stairs and got in Ben's car.

"Good God, Amy! Are you insane? Why the hell would you say that?" Ben said angrily.

"I'm sorry Ben but she was being ornery...I thought that would shut her up." Amy said a little irritated.

"Ugh! This was not supposed to happen...At least she apologized..." Ben said seriously as he started his car.

"Yeah...We'll just have to see if she really meant it..." Amy said honestly as Ben started to drive out of Adrian's and Omar's driveway.

Later that night in California...

Grace drove to the bowling alley and when she walked in she saw Jason, Jack, Chloe, Madison, Alice, Henry, and other football guys using two lanes. She got a pair of bowling shoes before walking over to them.

"Grace! You made it! Where's Ricky?" Jason asked confused.

"He couldn't come cause he has a big calculus test tomorrow...It's just me..." Grace said sweetly as she gave Jason a short hug.

"Oh...That's too bad...Do you actually want to bowel? You can use the rest of my turns if you want." Jason said nicely.

"Sure...I got shoes since they're free." Grace said as she showed Jason the bowling shoes she got.

"Sounds good! I'm up after Jack..." Jason said kindly as he grabbed a bowling ball for Grace as she put on her bowling shoes.

"Thank you Jason..." Grace smiled as he gave her a light pink bowling ball.

"Hey Grace...I didn't know you would be here." Jack said surprised as he walked over to her and Jason.

"Yeah..." Grace said a little irritated as she walked past Jack to bowl.

"Uh...I thought it was your turn, dude." Jack said confused as he looked at Jason.

"It was but I'll let Grace finish...I'm kind of hungry...Do you want some pizzas?" Jason said nicely.

"Oh man...That was a bad idea...Grace is a terrible bowler...She has no aim...I can pay for the pizzas if you want." Jack said smiling and he pulled out his wallet.

"I don't care...I'll beat you guys in the next game...I can pay for them...It was my idea to have everyone come." Jason said happily.

"Thanks Jason...You're really awesome." Jack said kindly and Jason went over to the food area.

"Oh, geeze...What is she doing here?" Chloe said stubbornly as she walked over to Jack.

"Um...Jason invited her and Ricky too I think...But he couldn't come." Jack said awkwardly.

"All right...I'm just warning you that I don't think she approves of our relationship...She saw us kissing the other day when you dropped me off at school." Chloe said honestly.

"Don't worry about her...Everything will be fine..." Jack said sweetly and he gave Chloe a short kiss.

About an hour later the guys were still bowling while the girls were eating some pizza and chatting at a table.

"It's really nice to see all of you girls again." Madison said nicely.

"Yeah...It kind of feels like we're in high school again..." Grace said sweetly.

"No kidding...I'm so glad that Henry gets a break from the military for a couple months...I really missed him." Alice said happily.

"I'm sure you did...The military is pretty tough...My Dad was an army lieutenant before he...left me and my Mom for someone else..." Chloe said sadly.

"Oh...I'm so sorry to hear that Chloe...You never told me that before..." Grace said kindly.

"My family isn't really anything I like to talk about...I'm just glad that I have Ben and Leo now..." Chloe said sweetly.

"That is really sad...How did you end up with Jack?" Madison asked intrigued.

"Yeah...I've been wondering that all night too...And you know, all three of us have dated him actually." Alice said seriously as she smiled.

"Wow...I had no idea...Of course I know that Grace did and Madison...I didn't know you dated Jack, Alice..." Chloe said surprised as she looked at Alice.

"We weren't together for very long...He just wanted to take me to Ben's and Amy's illegal wedding cause...he didn't know who else to go with...But that doesn't matter...I belong to Hank now." Alice said honestly and then happily.

"Ok...So I ran into Jack at the gym and we started talking and...we hung out at the mall to get his mom a birthday present..." Chloe trailed off.

Oh, geeze...Do I have to hear this? I really don't care how they started dating...Is that? Grace's eyes widened as she looked over at another lane and saw Kathy bowling with Chase.

"Um...I'm sorry...I have to go to the bathroom..." Grace said as she got up and walked away from them.

"That's a pretty interesting story...I think you're going to like Jack...He can be kind of annoying sometimes but he's really sweet..." Madison said kindly.

"Yeah I know...He even got me a little necklace the other day..." Chloe said happily as she showed Madison and Alice the gold necklace that Jack got her.

"Oh wow...It looks really great on you...He got me one too..." Madison said sweetly.

"That's great and all but...about eighty five percent of couples who give each other gifts, usually don't stay together..." Alice said intelligently.

"Heh...And where did you find that statistic, Alice?" Henry said as he walked over to them.

"I made it up...I like to say random stats about relationships so people think I'm smart...Heh...Or did I not make it up...You'll have to look it up for yourselves." Alice said as she smiled slowly and then she gave Henry a short kiss.

Meanwhile Grace walked over to Chase and Kathy after using the bathroom.

"Kathy? What are you doing here? And who's this?" Grace asked intrigued.

"Oh...Hey Grace...I'm just bowling with Chase...What are you doing here?" Kathy asked surprised.

"I'm just bowling with some old friends...It's a pleasure to meet you, Chase." Grace said kindly as she put her hand out to shake Chase's.

"No...The pleasure's all mine...Grace...Are you single?" Chase smirked as he shook Grace's hand.

"Chase! Are you serious?" Kathy said a little irritated as she gave him a mean look.

"What? I'm just being friendly." Chase said sweetly as he looked at Kathy.

"Heh...I'm flattered but no I'm not single...What happened to Ethan?" Grace smiled slowly as her cheeks turned red and then she looked at Kathy.

"Oh...He had a lot of homework to do tonight...If you don't mind, we need to get back to our game...My curfew is in about forty five minutes." Kathy said nicely.

"All right...It was nice seeing you again Kathy and meeting you Chase...Bye." Grace said kindly and she walked back over to her friends.

"Dang...She is fine...I didn't know you had hot friends." Chase said excited as he turned to Kathy.

"Uh...She's not really my friend...More of an acquaintance...Plus she's in college and...Don't you think I'm fine and hot?" Kathy said seriously and then seductively as she put her arms around Chase's neck.

"Mmm...Of course I do...You wanna go to a party after this game?" Chase smirked as he put his hands on Kathy's waist.

"A party? It's a school night..." Kathy said concerned.

"So? It will be over by eleven thirty...It's only eight forty five...I'm sure your grandma won't mind..." Chase said as he grinned and licked his lips.

"Oh...All right...I'm sure it will be fun..." Kathy said happily and she gave Chase a long kiss.

"Holy crap..." Chloe said shocked as she watched Kathy and Chase from her lane.

"Are you all right Chloe?" Jack asked concerned from behind her.

"Yeah...It's nothing...I'm ready to go when you are." Chloe said nicely.

"All right...I'll meet you at the car in a few minutes." Jack said happily as he waved at his old football friends who were leaving.

"Ok...I had a blast with your old high school friends. See you in a bit." Chloe said sweetly and she walked towards the door.

"I had a really fun time Jason...Thanks for inviting me...It's too bad Ricky couldn't come." Grace said happily and then sadly.

"I'm glad you came. Maybe we can do something with him some other time...I hope you have a great night." Jason said kindly and he gave Jack a quick hug and then left.

Jack awkwardly walked over to Grace as she grabbed her purse from the table.

"So...I couldn't help but notice that you...avoided me all night." Jack said seriously.

"Heh...Don't you think there's a reason for that? You tried to break up Ricky and me. Why do you think I would want to talk to you?" Grace said annoyed as she gave Jack a mean look.

"I thought you could forgive me...Ricky did earlier today...I really feel so bad for hurting both of you..." Jack said honestly.

"Ok...So you think that I should forgive you again? How many times have I forgiven you and then you make the exact same mistakes over and over again? You're out of your mind, Jack. And if you're with Chloe in order to make me jealous, you should break up with her. She deserves better than that." Grace said sternly as she crossed her arms.

"Wow...I can not believe that you're giving me grief right now...After all the times that I forgave you, you can't forgive me one more time?" Jack said a little irritated.

Woah! There's some good drama coming up! What's Grace going to say next? Is Ricky starting to regret what he did in the shower with her? Who is John going to stay with next semester too? Is Grace going to tell Kathleen and George about Jeff with Nancy? Will Grace see Daniel again? How is the baby going to be when Adrian goes to the doctor? It sounds like she's getting closer with Omar too. Did Adrian really mean her apology to Amy? Will Amy and Ben have sex again? Will Chloe stay with Jack? Is Chase interested in Grace or was he really only being friendly? What's going to happen with him and Kathy at the party? Will Jason see Grace and Ricky again? Poor Ethan also has no idea how much Kathy likes Chase. Stay tuned for what's going to happen next! Let me know what you think! Thank you! :)