A/N: Short Chapter. Sorry guys.

August 4, 2013

"I don't want to leave," Celeste pouts, wrapping her arms around my shoulders as I stand in Randy's kitchen.

"You need to get back to work," I smile.

"But I don't want to leave my baby," she pouts rubbing my stomach.

"This baby is in there for another five months. You have plenty of time."

"I'm helping you move," she tries weakly.

"Randy is home for another week and a half. He will help me. Sam will help me. Besides Colby and Randy got all my big things this weekend. I appreciate you looking after me but you let me borrow your boyfriend to move, you helped me pack, now you need to get back to work so you can be my sugar momma."

"Sugar momma," she laughs, "I'll take it. I just don't want to leave you alone."

"Are you forgetting I live in a house with a family of three?"

"You are moving out of a house with a family of three into a condo all alone."

"I am two blocks away, I don't have a stocked kitchen yet, and I'm four months pregnant," I count off the points on my fingers. "I will be here a majority of the time. Sam won't have it any other way. Right Sis," I call as she rushes by.

"Right," she calls back. "Someone has to keep you from self pity all the time."

"Yeah. Yeah," I smile.

"You'll call me," she sighs. "Every night."

"And every morning," I smile hugging her waist quickly as the boys return. "Ah, my knights in shining armor."

"That's just the hormones talking," Randy smiles grabbing bottles of water from the fridge passing one off to Colby, "in five months we'll be back to dorks in tinfoil."

"Probably," I smile pressing a kiss to his cheek. "bask in it while it lasts."

"I'm basking," he grins spreading his arms before crinkling his nose. "I need a shower."

"We need to get going soon," Colby states.

"I am not sitting in a car for any length of time with a sweaty you," Celeste smirks.

"Well then why don't we go back to our room," he smiles wrapping his arms around his girlfriend.

I avert my eyes as the old pain spreads through my chest.

"We checked out of our room already," she purrs.

"Guest bathroom, JJ," Colby asks.

"Across from my room," I answer studying the cabinets.

"Thank you."

"She's just stalling, you know that, right," I call after him.

"It's just because she loves you," he answers back. "We all do."

XXX

"Where's Celeste," Colby asks from my bedroom doorway.

I look up from my packing, "She ran out to get some lunch. She should be back soon. Thank you again for helping this weekend."

"Not a problem," he smiles. "She left you alone? How did you pull that off?"

"Threats of violence," I grin. "I stabbed a man before I was hormonal, think about the possibilities now."

"You stabbed a man that threatened your family," he states matter-of-factly. "You wouldn't hurt Celeste. No matter how much she is annoying you at the moment."

"What?"

"I was still awake that night you told Jon the story."

"You were listening," I gasp dropping the box.

"You weren't exactly being quiet that night," he smiles gently. "Plus I always listened when you two talked. You were always off in your own little bubble when you were talking. I learned a lot just listening to you talk to each other… about both of you. You're both closed off otherwise."

"Like what," I ask cautiously.

"Your mother was murdered by someone that also hurt you. He was only charged with manslaughter. Satisfied?"

"I'm closed off because I don't want people to know just how broken I actually am."

"You're not broken because of your past unless you let it break you. From what I've seen it just made you stronger."

"Stronger, right. That's why I shut down every time someone brings up something I find the least bit painful."

"So you're a work in progress. Everyone is."

"Thanks for that."

"Have you talked to Jon since you left?"

"No. It's not from lacking of trying. He's not answering my calls or my texts. The only contact I have from him is through lawyers. He wants a DNA test according to the set of papers I received when I got home yet he refuses to schedule his half of the test. I'm not going in and having a needle stuck into my stomach and put my child in any kind of danger until he gets off his ass and gets a cheek swab."

"I'll get him to straighten up."

"You don't need to be in the middle of this."

"No, I've needed to straighten him out since you left. He stays drunk every night. He's missed appearances. He's a mess in the ring. The higher ups are talking about letting him go completely earlier this week. He is hurting but he is too stubborn to admit it."

"He's not the only one."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I feel like my life is spiraling out of control but I have everyone watching my every move so I have to plaster on this fake smile and act like I have some sort of grasp on my life. I don't, ok? And I'm now I have another life I'm suppose to be responsible for."

He reaches out to squeeze my shoulder. "You didn't do this by yourself, JJ. This isn't your responsibility alone."

"He's not going to do anything until he gets proof that this is his kid. He's got three more weeks then he has to wait til this kid comes out."

"I'll make sure he sets up the appointment even if I have to make it myself."

"I'm sorry you're in the middle of this mess," I sigh wrapping my arms around his ribs.

"It comes with the territory being friends with two of the most stubborn people on this planet," he smirks wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I squeeze him softly.

"So this is how it's going to go down," Celeste's voice breaks the short silence as we stand embracing. "I leave for thirty minutes and I comeback to you putting the moves on my woman."

"I'm just so irresistible," I smile taking a step back.