*Author's Note*

Thank you for all the follows, favs, and reviews.

I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays. I'm sorry it took so long to get this out, but I was busy with the holiday season.

Lydia's First Birthday

Jessa POV:

For the last few weeks things have been a bit awkward between me and Shaw due to lingering feelings. Neither one of us will admit it, but this breakup's hard on us. When Shaw comes over on payday (Friday after work) to bring me my cut of my profits we don't really talk much other then what has to be said. In a way it's for the best since he always has the faint smell of whiskey on his breath. When he visits the kids on Saturdays he strictly interacts with the kids. Like I said, we're a bit awkward around each other; kinda don't know how to act since our situation's touchy.

The last time he was over I invited him to Lydia's first birthday party (since he's her dad after all). That party just happens to be today. It's not a big party, just a handful of family and friends, but I hope that I can socialize with Shaw for our daughter in a way that's not forced or awkward. Today's a happy day, hopefully the breakup doesn't take away from the excitement of Lydia turning one.

I had just taken the cake out of the oven whenever the front door opened up. I looked over to the door only to see Shaw walking into the house. Following right behind him was Uncle Jim. "Ya know ya shouldn't be waltzin' into houses uninvited. Good way of gettin' shot." The mountain man pointed out to his nephew before I even had the chance to say hello.

"But I'm invited, it's my daughter's birthday, plus I built the goddamn house." Shaw told his uncle while the men walked further into the main room.

Sully, who'd walked in behind Jim, just muttered something inaudible while pinching the bridge of his nose. Hmm, seems like he doesn't want to deal with his son and uncle bickering today.

"Gentlemen, if you're going to bitch you can show yourselves out the door. I'm not having any of it today for Lydia's birthday party." I informed Jim and Shaw while placing the cake onto the pedestal I had on the counter.

Stopping by the armchair Sully had taken a seat in, Jim looked around the room and asked, "Where's 'em youngins at?"

"Outback with Todd and Mary." I simply told Jim while Shaw walked by him and over to the kitchen table.

"Well, I'm gonna go see 'em for a bit." The large mountain man announced, causing me to just nod my head and smile. I'm glad that he wanted to see the kids despite what was going on with me and his great-nephew. Patting Sully on the shoulder, Jim asked him, "Sully, wanna join me?"

"Sure." Sully nodded before standing up and following his uncle out the door.

A few seconds after Jim and Sully walked outside, Shaw looked at me from his spot at the kitchen table and asked, "So, who'd ya invite to this party?"

"Family and friends." I simply told him while going over to get the bowl of frosting from the counter I had it on.

"Bein'?" Shaw pried, watching me pick up the large bowl of buttercream.

"You, Sully, and Jim, of course, plus Johnse, Roseanna, Allie, and Cap. " I answered before quickly putting in, "Oh, Allie suggested that I extend an invitation to Vera and Skunkhair so they're coming too.", while bringing the bowl over to the counter the cake pedestal was at.

"Well, at least now I know who to steer clear of at this thing." He seriously remarked while I went to grab a knife from the drawer I kept them in.

"Don't be like that, Shaw." I reprimanded him with a pointed look, slamming the knife drawer shut after grabbing the one I liked to use for icing cakes and pastries.

"Like what? Realistic, cause it's a matter of fact that Allie, Cap, Vera, and Skunkhair can't stand my guts and if I'm to be honest the feeling's kinda mutual." I heard Shaw rant while I returned to the counter the cake was at.

"Shaw, it's Lydia's first birthday, can't you just let things go for one day? Hell…" I sighed, feeling a bit of anxiety start to form in the pit of my stomach at the thought of Shaw getting into a scuffle with Allie, Cap, Vera, or Skunkhair at the party.

"Fine, I'll let shit go for Lydia's party." Shaw relented a bit stiffly. "Um, ya need to me to anything? I mean I got here a bit early to help set up, so…" He chewed on his lip, sounding a bit nervous and out of his element.

"I need to icing the cake, so you can set up the plates, cups, and silverware on the far counter." I told Shaw while dipping my knife into the buttercream in order to start decorating the cake.

Standing from the table, Shaw remarked, "So, it's buffet style."

"Yea, but aren't most parties?" I asked a bit dismissively.

Making his way over to the cabinet the plates were kept in, he told me. "Jesus, Jessa, I know that, but I was just tryin' to find something to talk to ya about. Hell, I hate how things are awkward with us now that we're broken up." The sound bootsteps ceased before he let out a frustrated cry of, "Goddamnit, I don't know how to do this."

Pausing my task of icing the cake, I looked over at Shaw and curiously asked, "You don't know how to do what?"

"Be without you." Shaw admitted, his voice hitching with unchecked emotion as tears brimmed his honey eyes, as he stood a few feet away from me.

Oh no, he went there. Oh god, he sounded like he was suffering. I understood how he felt cause I felt the same way. It was hard going from seeing somebody every day and having your family intact to suddenly being alone and having your family broken. My dilemma was that I had my children, but not my partner while Shaw's dilemma was that he didn't have me or his children, but was still supporting us with money and was able to see them on Saturdays for an hour or so. All in all, we were both suffering loss and loneliness in our own way. Sadly, he did it to himself with his excessive drinking.

I let out a heavy sigh and stuck my frosting knife into the icing bowl. I knew that now was the time to address our problem, his heavy drinking. "Shaw, I-" I began in a sincere tone only to be interrupted by a loud knock at the door. Whatever I was going to say or whatever was going to be hashed out would never occur since my focus was now on the door. I announced in a swift tone, "I better go get that.", while rushing across the kitchen to the main room.

"I'll finish up the cake." Shaw announced, making his way over to the counter the cake pedestal was at, while I crossed the main room.

I didn't say a word, just rushed over to the door in order to greet whoever came half an hour early. Opening the door with a smile, I was met with the site of Allie, Cap and their son Captain W. standing on my front porch. "Hi, it's good to see you, but you're here early."

"I thought you'd need some help setting up, plus I thought that the kids could play together." Allie told me as an explanation to they came early instead of at the time I set for the party.

"I told her that ya didn't need no help; seems like I was right since your ex-fiance's in the kitchen frostin' a cake." Cap remarked in a cold and snarky tone. His mismatched eyes fell right onto Shaw, making a line to him that'd glow red if he had Superman's powers.

"I got a reason to be here since it's my daughter's first birthday, so check your fuckin' attitude at the door, Cap." Shaw snapped from the kitchen. Clearly, he was offended by his cousin's remark.

"Uncle Jim and Sully's outback with all the kids; you can take Captain W. to join them." I suggested as a way to defuse a situation that was about to boil over between Cap and Shaw.

"Yea, I needa talk t'Jim bout our watch schedule for this weekend anyhow." Cap remarked, accepting my suggestion, before taking his son's hand and leading him down the porch.

Allie on the other hand choose to waltz inside of my house, pushing by me with her big, but cute, pregnant belly while saying, "I'll just place Lydia's present by the hearth and then I can help you and Shaw with the party setup."

"We've got things handled, Allie. You should just go outback with your husband; help by watching the kids." Shaw snapped, placing the frosting knife into the bowl of buttercream icing (since he was finished with the cake), before I could say a word to my best friend.

"Just because you pay child support and visit your kids doesn't give you rights to be running Lydia's birthday party." Allie snapped, placing the small gift she brought on the hearth while I shut the front door. "Why don't you just go sit on a rocker and drink like every other drunk deadbeat dad does." She told Shaw while walking away from the hearth and further into the main room.

"I swear to god if ya weren't knocked up right now I'd smack the living shit outta ya for sayin' that to me." My ex angrily declared to my best friend as his jaw twitched.

"Shaw, don't talk to her like that!" I exclaimed, giving my ex a wide and reprimanding look, while Allie waltzed into the kitchen with a smug attitude.

"You better enjoy this birthday party cause you won't be involved next year; that's a promise too, you manipulating drunk." Allie told Shaw while taking a seat at the kitchen table. What the hell? Why's she acting like this for? How much has her marriage to Cap changed her? I mean she always was snarky growing up, but now she's just being a straight up bitch.

"Allie, stop it. Shaw's got rights to his kids and I won't be taking them away even tho we're broken up." I told my best friend, earning me an eyeroll from her, as I appeared at the table.

"I'm gonna go outside for a smoke." Shaw announced before storming out of the kitchen. Stopping right by me, he whispered in my ear, "If she's gonna hate on me all day then you better show her the door cause I ain't gonna stay quiet."

"I'll talk to her." I assured him in a whisper, causing him to just nod and walk off. As stood by the kitchen table, I heard the door open and shut, indicating that Shaw had exited the house. "I need to lay down a pink table runner." I told my best friend while going over to the drawer that I kept all the table runners and napkins in.

"I'll help you." Allie told me even tho she made no move to rise from the table. Reckon she's just going to straighten it out once I lay it down.

"Allie, you know that you have to be civil to Shaw. I know you don't like him, but he's Silas and Lydia's father and I'm not going to isolate his children from him." I told my friend, grabbing the pink runner from the drawer and bringing it over to the table.

"He's a no good drunk, Jessa. He doesn't deserve those children." She firmly told me with her held up high as I stood by the table and started to unfold the runner.

"Just because he's an alcoholic and I can't handle his drinking doesn't mean that he deserves to have his fatherly rights stripped." I explained while placing the runner on the table.

"I think it does." She countered, helping me by smoothing out any wrinkles in the pink runner.

"It doesn't, plus I promised him that I'd never keep the kids away from him no matter what happened between us." I told her while smoothing the runner over the half of the table she wasn't by. "I intend to keep that promise." I revealed, taking a seat at the table in order to have a quick break.

Allie POV:

Damnit, I got my work cut out for me when it comes to softening Jessa up to the idea of going to Oklahoma with Tolbert since she stupidly made a promise to Shaw about child custody. Hell, of course her loyal nature prevents her from breaking that stupid promise. A promise that was foolish to make if you ask me.

"I understand, but sometimes things happen and a promise must be broken." I told my best friend in a sympathetic tone. Knowing that her children were the push behind her actions, I told her, "Don't forget that your children deserve the best you can give them and that a drunk for a dad may not be what's best."

"I'm done talking about Shaw's drinking." She curtly told me, standing up. "This is Lydia's birthday and I don't want anything ruining the day." Jessa explained while going over to a cabinet. "I could use some help setting up plates, glasses, and silverware on the far counter." She told me in a way that made me feel that maybe I had crossed a line with her by telling her to break a promise to her ex about their children when she just needed some help setting up a party.

About half an hour after I arrived at Jessa's both Vera and Roseanna arrived with their spouses (Skunkhair and my brother-in-law Johnse). Since everything was already set up the party just took off. Us women had found ourselves sitting on the back patio area (which was just a plank of wood set up in front of the back door with a few wooden chairs) watching the children playing with Shaw (who always gravitated to playing with kids at parties and social gatherings) while the other men were either inside grabbing food or sitting on the front porch bullshitting. My husband was one of the men out on the front porch, the others being Skunkhair and Uncle Jim.

"How's she doin'?" Vera asked me in a whisper, subtly motioning her head at Jessa, who was chit-chatting with Roseanna while looking at her ex-fiancé with a tight, perhaps even heartbroken look.

"So so." I sighed before going on to say, "She's having a hard time dealing with the loss of her family and her relationship with Shaw. I mean she doesn't say so, but I can tell by how she acts; how she looks at him."

"In time she'll heal." Vera said with a hopefulness in her voice.

"Yes, time heals all." I nodded in agreement.

"It's better that she ended things now before they married then later, in which she'd need a divorce decree from Judge Wall. Also, she's not too attached to him either."

"I agree, Vera. Their breakup's for the best and in time she'll move on."

"I don't think she'll ever move on tho." Vera said in a sad, but knowing, tone.

Whipping my head around so fast that my braid nearly smacked me in my face, I quickly asked, "Why not?"

"Shaw won't let her." Was my friend's simple answer. What? Was Shaw like her lord and master? Last time I checked Jessa was free from him; they're over. Before I could utter a word, Vera went on to say, "I know as a fact from my Tom that he's highly obsessed with her more so then in love with her; won't ever let her truly be."

Yea, that's why I need Tolbert to whisk her away from this hellhole called Mate Creek. Mhm, I couldn't tell Vera that tho. Instead I just nodded my head, playing along with her remark as if I understood and even agreed with it.

Before Vera could make another remark, the back door opened with a loud squeak followed by Johnse's cheerful tone announcing, "Sis, I got'cha somethin' t'et."

Looking over my shoulder I saw that in his hands he held not one, but two plates fit for the Dallas Cowboys' defensive line. Dear god, don't tell me that he's trying to fatten me up cause I'm a month away from my due date. With a forced smile, I told my blonde brother-in-law, "Thank you, Johns.", as he walked over to me.

"You're welcome." He simply said, passing me my plate before scurrying off to where Roseanna and Jessa were sitting a few feet away.

Upon seeing him hand the second large plate to his wife I quickly came to the conclusion that Roseanna was expecting their first child. I felt happy for Johnse and Roseanna if my realization was true.

Jessa POV:

I was sitting on the back patio with Roseanna (Allie and Vera were a few feet away, which I didn't mind since they were being too nosy about my business with Shaw) watching my ex play with the kids whenever Johnse appeared out of thin air, handing her a heaping pile of food with a proud smile on his face. "Oh, Johnse, this is too much." Roseanna protested as her small hands took hold of the plate full of food.

"No it ain't, my beautiful sweet darlin'. Ya gotta et an' keep up your strength for the baby." Johnse told his wife in such a sweet and loving tone as he knelt by her chair.

"Baby? You're expecting?" I asked my friend, who was like a sister to me, with a sincere smile on my face.

"I'm a few weeks late." The meek blonde nodded while Johnse continued to kneel by her chair with a proud and protective gleam in his blue eyes.

"Congratulations, I'm beyond happy for you two." I told the couple, who I considered not just my close friends, but my family.

"Thank you, Jessa." Roseanna smiled while Johnse just nodded and told me, "Thanks.", while a genuine smile crossed over his pretty boy features.

Before anything else could be said, Uncle Jim trudged over and told me, "Jessa, need'a word wit'cha."

I didn't say a word, just nodded, stood up from my chair, and made my way over to him. Once I reached the large unkempt mountain man's side, I simply asked him, "What is it, Jim?"

Leading us for a walk away from the back-patio area, the large callous man who I'd come to like (believe it or not) during my time in Mate Creek told me, "I wanna talk 'bout my great-nephew."

Ah, so he wants to talk about Shaw. I'm not surprised considering they live together and Shaw's probably complaining about or breakup and what not. "Okay." I simply nodded, giving Jim the go ahead to say whatever needed to be said.

"Shaw's lost without ya, but he just won't admit it. He also won't admit to why he lost ya cause it'd mean facin' some painful shit he's buried deep inside instead of dealin' wit' head on."

"So, what, he's a drinker cause of his messed-up childhood?" I asked since that's the impression I was getting, but just wanted to make sure I was coming to the right conclusion.

"Reckon so, but he won't admit to usin' the bottle cause o'that." Jim told me in a long sigh while stopping by the corral near the barn. "You're a strong woman, Jessa. Just don't give up on my nephew so quick wit'out a fight. That boy fought hard for ya; he deserves the same."

"I don't think I can do that tho, Jim. I've got children to think about; I can't have them around a drunk that doesn't want help for his problem."

Turning his attention to where Shaw and the kids were at, Uncle Jim told me in a firm unmoving tone, "Them youngins deserve their mama an' pappy together, not apart."

"I know, but I can't handle Shaw's drinkin'." I replied in a snappy sigh as I tore my eyes away from the site the croechety mountain man was still looking at.

Looking at me, he asked, "If I can get him t'sober up would ya consider takin' the steps t'reconcile with him?"

"I guess if he got sober, but I doubt that'll happen." I honestly told Jim.

"Oh, it'll happen." Jim said in a promising tone, causing me to just give him a skeptical look.

"Why're you taking such an interest in Shaw? Shouldn't Sully be the one begging me to take him back, not you?" I asked since I found it odd that Jim was the one pleading Shaw's cause with me instead of Sully. I mean wouldn't a father be going the extra mile for his son instead of an uncle for a nephew?

"Sully's a scholar, not a man of common sense. 'Sides, that man's never been much of a father t'Shaw in the past and I doubt he'll be one in the future." Jim scoffed with a tint of disgust lodged in the back of his throat.

I gave the large unkempt man an understanding look. "But you treat Shaw like you would've treated your son that you lost in the war since they'd be around the same age."

Jim didn't say word, but the slightly soft look in his hard-blue eyes gave away that his answer was yes. A silent moment passed between us before Jim said, "We better get back to the house, be time for gifts an' cake soon.", and walked away from both me and the corral.

Sully POV:

We had just finished up with the presents so everyone was gathered around the kitchen table in order to sing Happy Birthday to Lydia and to watch her blow out her candles. Lydia was sitting in her highchair while Jessa and Shaw stood on either side of her. The brunette was gently holding onto my granddaughter's hands to prevent her from reaching out and grabbing the cake while my son put a candle in the middle of the cake and lit it.

"Happy Birthday to you." Jessa and Shaw began, prompting the rest of us to join in as Lydia just gazed on the single flame dancing on her cake.

As we sang I noticed that my son and his ex-fiance had some tension rolling off of them, tension that I don't doubt will end up with them either crashing into each other to sate their primal desires and urges or clawing each other's eyes out in spats and fights in order to override whatever feelings might still linger. I know that with me and Peggy it was the latter, we couldn't be in the same room together without one of us (usually her) going off into some sort of tirade. I hope that the tension between Shaw and Jessa gets resolved peacefully cause I hate for him to end up like I did. Alone with a son that doesn't appreciate anything that's done for him by his father.

"Happy Birthday dear Lydia, Happy Birthday to you." Everyone sang, ending the song and prompting both Shaw and Jessa to encourage their daughter to blow out her candle.

Watching Shaw and Jessa help Lydia blow out her candle before praising her with claps and smiles made me feel a sense of melancholy. I was glad that my son was able to be at his daughter's birthday party, but the thing is that he should be with his family all the time not just for an occasion.

"I'll cut the cake, just go sit down and I'll bring everyone a piece." Jessa announced, taking the cake pedestal over to the counter so that the birthday girl couldn't ruin it by plopping her hands into it.

"You need my help?" Shaw asked as everyone else just found places to sit, either inside or outside of the cabin.

"No, I'm fine." Jessa declined with a shake of her head, sending her dark curls cascading over her shoulders, as she placed the cake onto the counter.

"Son, come on outside with me and Silas." I told Shaw while coming to a stop next to him.

"No, I'll stay here with him. You go on outside by yourself." My son bluntly told me while snatching his boy right out of my arms.

Great, he's in one of his piss-poor moods. I just rolled my eyes at my greatest mistake before turning my back to him and walking off towards the back door.

Jessa POV:

As soon as the backdoor slammed shut, I looked at Shaw (who was sitting at the kitchen table with our son) and sighed, "You didn't have to be so rude to him. He just wanted to spend some time with you and his grandson."

"No, he wanted to give me some half-assed hypocritical lecture and I just stopped it before it started." Shaw retorted as I sliced the cake.

"Oh, I see…" I trailed off, placing a cake slice onto a plate.

"Daddy you stay?" My 20-month-old son asked his father with a curious look as he sat on his lap, none the less creating an even heavier atmosphere in the room.

"Only til the party's over, buddy; then I gotta leave like everyone else." Shaw explained while I continued to slice and plate cake.

"No, daddy, no leave! Stay, daddy, stay!" Silas cried loudly, giving his father a crushed look.

"Honey, a lil help here." Shaw gave me a pleading look. Looking between me and the boy on his lap, he went on to say, "He's having a meltdown cause I gotta leave. I don't know how to calm him down.", over the cries of my son's tantrum of the repeated phrase 'No, daddy, no leave! Stay, daddy, stay!'

Against my better judgement, I told Shaw, "Tell him you can stay til it's his bedtime to tuck him in. That'll calm him down."

"You sure?" My ex asked me with leeriness in his tone.

"Yes, I'm sure." No, I wasn't, but I couldn't handle seeing my son so upset over the thought of his daddy leaving him. If Shaw staying to tuck Silas in will calm him down then so be it.

Shaw just nodded at me before rubbing her son's back and gently telling him in a soothing tone. "Calm down, buddy. Mama says I can stay til ya go to sleep."

Silas looked up at Shaw with tears glistening in his honey eyes and asked, "Daddy, you stay?"

"Til ya go to sleep, yea." Shaw assured our son, wiping his tears with the pad of his thumb.

I didn't say a word to either of them as I brought over some cake for Silas and Lydia, who was still sitting in her highchair. I knew by the smile on my son's face that he'd calmed down, but I also knew that he might throw another fit come morning when he discovered his daddy was gone.

"Thank you, mama." Silas politely told me, using the manners that I was drilling into him endlessly, as I placed his cake onto the table after giving Lydia hers on her highchair.

"You're welcome, sweetie." I smiled at my son before turning to Shaw and asking, "You want a slice?"

"Nah, I'll just steal a bite or two of his." Shaw declined, pointing towards the cake that our son was now digging into. "Just go deliver everyone's cake before this day turns sour. I can just feel the hate rolling off of some guests so the sooner this party's over the better." He bluntly told me, causing me to just nod and do my job as party hostess and hand out cake in order to keep the atmosphere of the party civil.

Todd POV:

My niece's party for the most part was nice, except the sexual tension between Shaw and Jessa was thicker than a blanket of fog. Holy hell… Awkward… Anyways, Jessa let my brother stay well after the party was over so that he could tuck my nephew, niece, and lil sister into bed. Yea, I didn't need tucked in since I was old enough to work and earn my keep. Of course, I put myself to bed only to occupy myself with a book since I wasn't tired. Only thing I hate about my room is that it's directly above the master bedroom. Yep, I can hear Shaw and Jessa do the trick every time they do it. Of course, my brother couldn't just go home after he tucked the lil kids in. Nope, like I said the sexual tension between them was thick and it just happened to come to a boiling over point.

Oh my fucking god, I lost track of how long they were at it for, but I'm certain it was a long time cause I read half of a book so… As if their husky and sultry groans and moans were bad enough, after the trick was over, they started yelling at each other about his living situation. Uh, yea, which is what I'm currently listening to from directly below my floorboards.

Feelin' a headache comin' on, I closed my book and tossed it across the room. It bounced off of my wall and landed on the floor with a thunk right as Shaw's yell of, "This is bullshit! I'm good enough to hookup with, but not good enough to live with!", echoed up thru the floorboards.

I rubbed my temples, trying to keep my headache to stay at bay, while Jessa's shrill reply of, "It's not like that and you know it! If you stopped drinking things would be different, Shaw!", filled up my room from the one directly below it.

Jesus…it's gonna be a long night…

Jessa POV:

"This is bullshit! I'm good enough to hookup with, but not good enough to live with!" Shaw roared at me, venom thick in his deep timbre, as he shot out of bed and grabbed his longjohns from the floor.

"It's not like that and you know it! If you stopped drinking things would be different, Shaw!" I shouted back at him, defending myself, as I got out of bed and grabbed my shift off the floor.

"Then tell me, Jessa, how is it? Huh?!" He barked, pulling on his longjohns while I pulled on my shift.

"You can't live here cause of your heavy drinking. I won't have that shit around the kids." I told him while sitting on the edge of the bed, watching him pick up his pants from the floor.

"I'm not a heavy drinker, babe." Shaw denied his problem (like always) while pulling on his jeans. "Hell, everyone drinks here. Having a flask isn't a big deal." He continued his case of self-defense while picking his shirt up from the floor and putting it on.

"Shaw, you just don't have a flask. You have a stash in the hayloft; that's not normal."

"Don't go there, Jessa. Hell, that's why I had the shine hidden cause I knew you'd blow it up into something it ain't." He spat, finishing buttoning up his shirt before grabbing his socks and boots from the floor.

"I'm not blowing anything up, I'm just telling you the truth and you don't want to see it cause you're in denial." I explained, watching him take a seat next to me on the bed.

"I'm not in denial; I don't have a drinking problem." Shaw told me as he put on his socks. "Hell, I should be at home instead of sprawled out on my uncle's sofa." He added in an angry snap while pulling on his boots.

"If you want the house then take it. I'll take the kids and move in with Granny Delize. I'm sure she'll take us in with open arms." I told Shaw since I didn't want him to feel like I was the reason he couch surfing at Jim and Sully's.

Shaw's head spun around so fast that for a moment I thought he was going full out exorcist on me. His honey eyes burned a dark angry amber as he seethed, "Like fucking hell I'm going to let you take my kids to Tazewell to live with that old hag. You're never taking my kids out of state, ever, or else."

Folding my arms over my chest, I cut my indigo eyes at him and said, "Don't threaten me, Shaw. I was just giving you a way to have your house back since you're bitter about sleeping on Uncle Jim's sofa."

Shaw stood up and shook his head before snapping, "I don't want my house back, I want my family back, but that's something you're not able to give me. Huh?!"

"If you got sober, I'd consider giving you one last chance." I honestly revealed to him, hoping that he'd accept my terms.

"If I got sober?" He asked in a rhetorical scoff before chuckling a bit crudely, "Are you blind? I'm sober right now cause you know if I had a case of whiskey dick we wouldn't have hooked up."

"Get out! Get out of my house!" I ordered in an angry, but hurt, shout. While pointing a finger at the door I kept a flood of tears at bay. Oh my god, how did things get this bad? How did it come to this?

Shaw clenched his jaw and stood up. Quickly, he crossed the room and went over to the door. With his hand around the doorknob, he looked over his shoulder and coldly told me, "I'll be back for my Saturday visit with my kids."

I didn't say a word, just watched him walk out of the door. As I stared at the wooden door, thinking the last few moments over in my mind, I heard the front door slam shut and knew that Shaw was gone. I don't know how long I was brooding on the edge of my bed for, but the sound of a knock on my door broke me out of it. "Who is it?" I asked, wondering if somehow Shaw had returned.

"Todd." Was the simple name that sounded from the other side of the door. Before I had the chance to answer, he cracked the door open and revealed, "I heard ya'll's fight upstairs." Oh no, were we really arguing that loud? What if the others heard? That wouldn't be good. Choosing to stand in the doorway with his head popped in, Todd told me, "I love my brother, but he's worse than my dad was with drinkin'. Pray he ain't like him in other ways or else Tazewell won't be far 'nough t'run."

"It wasn't just Shaw that Peter was abusive to, was it?" I asked even tho deep in my gut I knew that the answer was yes.

"Nobody was safe from my dad when he got into a drunken fit." Todd admitted, bringing to light exactly how damaging Peter was not just to Shaw, but to the entire Eldridge family. "Shaw ain't hateful like that yet wit' us, but if he keeps drinkin'…well…I dunno…" Todd trailed off, shutting my door and leaving me alone once more.

Alone with my thoughts, but only one popped into my head. Would Jim Vance be able to make good on his promise and sober up Shaw or was that just wishful and bullheaded thinking on his part?

AN:

So Johnse and Roseanna's expecting, isn't that exciting? *Cough* Somebody else is gonna wind up preggers too *Cough* Anyways, do you think that Jim can succeed in getting Shaw sober?

In the next chapter Cap tells Allie something that she passes along to Tolbert in hopes that it'll help him with Jessa. Also, one of the things Tolbert is spending his money on gets revealed. Dun dun dun…

I also plan on a couple more filler chapters before I get to the one where Tolbert and his brothers kidnap both Johnse and Shaw.