Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are awesome and I hope no one hates me after this chapter. I still find it hard to believe there's only three chapters left, but I've already started the sequel with the help from Love Ink! If you guys have any suggestions for titles, I'm all ears! I do not own anything in this chapter, besides my ocs, everything else belongs to their rightful owners.

Chapter 45

#$%^&$&^

Even after Juice fell asleep in their bed, Savannah couldn't sleep. She'd tried to, she really did, but she couldn't get her mind to shut off. After hours of tossing and turning, she just gave up and took a shower. Juice knew, he knew she was pregnant. Why hadn't he told her he knew? Probably for the same reason she hadn't told him. He hadn't run off yet, like she'd feared, but going off with some 'old friend' and lying to her about working wasn't any better of a reaction.

Once her shower was done, she started on breakfast. She'd have to make something that'd be easy on his stomach, knowing he'd have one hell of a hangover. How was she even gonna approach the elephant in the room? Oh, yeah, by the way I've known for weeks that I'm pregnant and haven't told you. Yeah, that was going to go over really well.

She's fucked.

It was that simple, she was fucked. Juice had to hate her for keeping the truth from them, especially since she'd made such a big deal out of being honest. An alert from her phone caught her attention. Reaching over, she flipped open her phone to see she had an unopened email. She'd completely forgotten about it when she'd gone to pick Juice up the night before.

Was it even worth opening now that the cat was out of the bag? Juice knew the truth, they both knew she was pregnant. This would just be confirming what they already knew. So, what would it hurt if she opened it? If they were so sure, it'd ease her mind just to see it in black and white. There'd be no more questions of 'what ifs'.

She had just pulled up her email and pressed open when the sound of Juice's footsteps coming down the hall were heard. He came out, rubbing his tired eyes. His hair was sticking up in odd directions, his skin paler and almost sickly looking. He was hung over, like she knew he would be. "Hey, cherry pie. I made you some eggs." She said, shutting her phone off and setting it down before moving to grab the plate.

He winced at the sound of her voice, his head pounding from his migraine. "I'm an idiot. What the hell did I do last night?"

He didn't remember, she realized. She knew it was too good to be true for him to forget what he knew about her, but obviously he was blanking on some things. She wasn't with him most of the night either, Luka was, so she couldn't fill in the blanks for him. Kissing his cheek, she handed him the plate of food and patted his cheek. "I'll grab you some asprin and water."

After getting Juice settled, she started washing the dishes. Her eyes kept glancing over to her phone. It was as if it was taunting her. Her curiosity was getting the best of her. Wiping her hands once she was done, she reached over and grabbed the phone. "Babe, we need to talk about what's been going on." Juice said once he could focus on something other than his headache.

Her eyes flickered up, nodding in agreement. She knew he was right. There was definitely an elephant in the room now, and after last night it needed to be acknowledged. Her fingers hovered over the keys of her phone, itching to pull that email up again. "I might have freaked a little when I answered that call. I knew something was up, but I . . . never in a million years would have guessed . . . okay that sounds bad, but . . ." Juice paused, trying to get his thoughts together.

Savannah fought the urge to open the email until she couldn't anymore. When he paused, she took the chance to open it. Her eyes widened as she read it over. No fucking way. Juice, of course, was oblivious to her. "Look, Sav, I just . . . we're just kids. Fuck, you're still in school I . . . I lied to you. About the job at the club. I lost it a few months ago, and I . . . I got another one at Luka's dad's restaurant. I'm making good money, but fuck . . . I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have lied, I should have told you." He confessed, to a point, but he didn't think she needed all the small details of said job.

"Juice,"

He shook his head, knowing she was gonna be mad at him for lying to her. He needed her to know he was serious about this, though. He was serious about them. Getting up, he took her hand in his, pressing his lips to her palm. "Savannah, I love you so much. I love you, and I-I not going anywhere. This kid, our kid, we can do this." He said, holding her hand in his, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Juice, I-I'm . . ."

"I know you're scared, baby, but you don't have to be. I can support us. I can now. I can. I want a future with you. Kids, marriage, a house, white picket fence. Fuck, I want a dog. I want it all, with you. So what, the kid part came earlier than I thought it would, but I'm here. I'm not ditching you like my dad ditched my mom. I won't be him, I promise." He said, cupping her face in his hands, kissing her with everything he had.

Tears were running down her face after listening to him. It scared her, hearing how he was talking. The future he wanted, wasn't one she was destined to have. It was a future that was out of her reach, but she couldn't tell him that. God, how badly did she just want to say she believed it could happen. Just for right now, in this moment, they could pretend it could really happen though. Just for a little while she wanted it to be true. But, first . . .

"Juice, I-I'm not . . . I'm not pregnant."

His smile fell, confusion taking it's place. His hands dropped from her face, disappointment actually crossing his face. "What?"He asked, taking a step back as he leaned against the counter for support. He felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. As scary as thinking he was gonna be a father was, he was actually a little excited about it now.

Savannah wiped her face before showing him the email on her phone. "The doctor said I'm not pregnant. It must have been a false positive. I only took one test, I didn't know that was possible. I thought . . . it was weird I wasn't showing. I just thought . . . I don't know, I've never been pregnant before. I'm so sorry, Juice. I'm not . . . we're not gonna have a baby." She said, the guilt getting to her as she saw just how hurt he was by the news.

Juice looked sick. Whether it was because of the shock or his hangover, she couldn't tell. She wanted to hug him, kiss him, just make sure he was okay. As bad as it sounded, she was actually relieved she wasn't pregnant. She still had school to finish, a life she wanted to have before kids came along. She was no more ready to be a mother than Juice was to be a father, but the look on his face right now made her feel guilty for being so relieved.

"Juice, baby, say something. Please." She said, reaching out to him.

She tried not to be hurt when he pulled away from her touch. He was crushed and just thrown a lot of information. He'd actually planned all this out, accepted the fact he was going to be a father and wanted to step up. Not even half the men back at Charming would do that, but he wanted to. Now he was finding out it was all for nothing. There was no white picket fence, no dog, because there was no baby on the way.

"You're not pregnant?" He asked, his eyes rimmed with tears of his own when he finally met her worried gaze.

Shaking her head, more tears fell from her eyes. This was definitely not how she saw this morning going, but she felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. As guilty as she felt for feeling like that, she was definitely relieved. "No, no I'm not pregnant." She confirmed, looking away from him.

When she heard him breathe out in relief, her head shot up. Her eyes were puffy from crying, but wide with confusion to his reaction. Closing the space between them, he cupped her face and wiped her tears away from his thumbs. "I meant every word I said, Savannah. I'm not taking that back, I want that future with you. I love you so fuckin' much, but . . . we're not ready for a baby. We'd both go insane after a week." He said softly, a sad smile playing on his lips as he continued to stroke her cheek.

She let out a sob laced laugh, smiling up at him before he closed the space and kissed her deeply. Her arms reached up and wrapped around him, pulling him closer to her. His arms snaked around her waist, pulling her flat against him. He could take the salt of her tears in her kiss, but he was sure she could with his too. They were a mess, but they fit together so perfectly. They were Savannah and Juice, they could make it through hell and back.

At least he hoped so.

#%$^&*%^$

After they cleaned up, and Juice showered the hangover off, they decided to make a lunch and bring it to the park. It wasn't something they did often, but it was simple and fun. It was exactly the kind of date she wanted with Juice. They were relaxed as they walked through the market, looking at all the different vendors. Juice had even surprised her with buying her the dream catcher that had catch her eye.

After fooling around in the shops, trying on different things and just making fun of each other, they finally made it to the park. They walked around for a little bit before they found a good spot. One Juice knew pretty well from when he'd be wondering around. Laying out the sheet, the pair settled and got comfortable. "We even have a nice view of the lake." Sav said happily.

So far, she'd already had more fun on this date than she'd had on their last when he actually took her out to a fancy restaurant. This was just more . . . well, her. Juice laid back, resting his head on her lap while she fed him grapes. It was very cliche, but he didn't mind it. She was feeding him. They could be as cheesy as she wanted. "We couldn't get anymore Notebook if we tried." He teased her, biting off another grape from the bunch in her hand.

Her head fell back in laughter. It was like the stress from the last couple of weeks were just rolling off her. A few hours ago, her life felt like it was ending before it really even was able to begin, and now she had the world in front of her. She knew that little fantasy was only until she graduated and returned home, back to the real future that awaited her, but she could pretend. At least for the moment.

The two talked, really talked, for hours. It had been too long since they just laid beside each other and talked about anything and everything. The sun had set eventually, and Juice knew they would have to head back soon. Not because it was late, but for another reason. One he was going to keep to himself for now. Savannah turned her head, her expression serious now as she watched him. "What did you mean earlier? About your dad leaving. You've never really talked about him before." She asked, watching his reaction to her question.

His entire body seemed to tense up at the topic of his father. Looking up at the stars, he wasn't sure how to answer her question, or if he really wanted to. "Uh, I don't really know much about him. Saw his picture once and asked my ma. She just cried and told me he left, that was all I needed to know. I think . . . I think she blames me for him leaving. He was fine with my sister, but I guess two kids were too much for him and he left." He said, finally turning his head to look at her.

She could see the hurt behind his brown eyes. It hurt him knowing his dad left because of him, but it wasn't his fault. She didn't have to know him to know that she was right. Juice was a baby, he couldn't have done anything to make him leave. That was his choice to go. He'd decided to miss out on knowing the great kid Juice grew to be. None of that was on Juice. Maybe that was her subconscious telling herself that because of what happened to her own dad, but she still knew it applied to Juice too.

Reaching over, she laced her fingers with his. He gave her a weak smile in return, squeezing her hand to know what she was trying to say without actually saying it. He'd cried enough over a dad that was never there. Why should he care now? He left. He missed out on Juice's life. He missed seeing him go to prom with Lindsey Jennings. He missed his graduation. First date, first everything. He missed seeing him off to college and his graduation then too. He was missing out on meeting the love of his life. He was going to miss out on seeing the man he'd grown to be, no help from him, and he was going to miss out on seeing him having a family of his own one day.

"Fuck him, right? He left. He doesn't deserve to be fuckin' missed by me. I did this, Sav. I did it all on my fuckin' own. I got through school. I survived that hell of a home. I survived the beatings, the nights without dinner. I survived living on the streets. I graduated, not just high school, but fuckin' college. I got my degree. I did that, with no help from him. He can rot for all I care." He said, his voice cracking as the dam broke.

All the emotions, all the 'what ifs' thoughts, he had hid them all away and now it was like a wall had come down and all of those thoughts and feelings were hitting him at once. Savannah laid up, kissing his hand as she listened to him. She knew he just needed her to listen, he needed to get it all out. Juice eventually let out a staggering breath, letting her know he was done.

"My dad killed himself after my little brother died. The police reports say his breaks weren't working, but my dad knew that bike. He was damn good rider, he would have known if something was off the second he started it up." She confessed, her own tears stinging her eyes.

Reaching up, she wiped them away before they had the chance to fall. She'd been so young when the accident happen, and no one would tell her all the details, but she knew enough to understand. "I loved my dad, don't get me wrong. We use to have days where he'd take me on his bike and we'd get lunch. Just a day of quietness, he'd tell me. Then . . . then he was just gone. I didn't understand how sad he was. I didn't even really understand that he . . . took his own life until recently." She went on, her eyes flickering to him nervously.

"As horrible as it sounds, I hate him for doing it. I hate him for leaving me. He was losing my mom to Clay after Tommy's death, but he-he still had us. He still had his friends. I use to wonder why Jax and I weren't enough for him. Why wasn't I enough? He missed out on my entire life because of what? Something he couldn't prevent? Tommy was sick. There was nothing anyone could do. I know it's not the same, at least I had my dad for a few years, but I . . . I know how it feels to wish you were enough. To wonder what I could have done differently to make him stay." She said, staring off for a while before she finally looked up and met his curious look.

"The truth is . . . there's nothing you could have done differently, JC. He made his choice and now he's got to live with it. You did nothing wrong. It wasn't your fault." She said, taking his hand in hers again. "It wasn't your fault."

Juice cupped her face, his eyes searching hers for something she wasn't quite sure what, before he kissed her. She didn't hesitate in kissing him back, pulling him closer to her. It was like both were trying to comfort the other, but didn't know how to put it in words. All either of them could think was . . . it wasn't their fault.

The kiss lasted a good couple of minutes before something dawned on Juice. He'd almost forgotten why they needed to leave soon. Confusion crossed her face when he pulled away suddenly. "What's wrong?" She asked, her confusion only growing when he got up and started packing their stuff up.

"Nothing's wrong. I just don't want to be here in two minutes." He said, not giving her anything more than that.

Climbing to her feet, she looked around for any sign of what he was talking about. Obviously he knew something she didn't. "JC, what is going on?" She asked, her nerves getting the best of her. She was just waiting for something to come out of the bush and scare them. If it wasn't that, she knew something was about to happen.

"Just, you know, the sprinklers come on at five." He said, chuckling when he saw her flabbergasted expression.

Before she could really understand what he'd said, the sprinklers turned on as if it was on cue. Gasping when the cold water hit her, her eyes darted to Juice. He knew this was about to happen and didn't warn her until it was too late. "Oh, you think you are funny, Ortiz? I'm so gonna kill you!" She yelled before making a run for him.

He chuckled, dropping the things in his arms as he dodged her. He shivered when the cold water hit him, but it was worth it to hear her laugh. She shoved at him, but he barely budged until she shoved him hard enough to knock him over. He'd say he slipped on the wet grass, but they both knew that was bull. Laughter rang out from her lips. "Oh, you're in for it now, Teller." He said, picking himself up from the grass.

He was soaked to the bone and covered in grass stains, her fairing no better, but neither cared. They were being carefree and enjoying themselves. They were having fun. Savannah yelped, stumbling backwards when he reached for her. "JC!" She screamed when he lifted her up over his shoulder, spinning her around. "Ah! JC, put me down! Stop!" She laughed, kicking her legs while her fists beat playfully on his back.

A shriek of laughter left her lips when he suddenly put her down. Her head was spinning from him, her foot wobbly, but she grabbed his arm and pulled. The two spun around laughing. He pulled her flat against him, making her laugh as he dipped her back. He ended up losing his balance and sent them both to the ground. Laughing, he raised himself up onto his arm so he didn't crush her. Brushing back her hair, he leaned down and kissed her.

"I love you, Savannah Teller." He whispered against her lips, his eyes hooded as he looked down at her.

Reaching up, she stroked his cheek. She was smiling brightly back at him. "I love you too, Juan Carlos Ortiz."

His smile grew if that was possible and leaned down again, kissing her with everything he had in him. Nothing could ruin this high he was on.

Nothing.