Hello :P It is not Wednesday but I am back to upload this chapter today. I've had loads of extra days at work in the last month but I finally finished all that yesterday. But I wasn't in the headspace to upload. I am now though! This is the chapter that I wrote most recently, actually. It tackles a lot of things and character details that are pretty new to me. But I hope you enjoy! There's certainly a good few dynamics included :3

Ages:

Justin: 20

Jorgie: 2

Johnny: 2 Months Old

Misty: 34

James K: 8

Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned :3

As I let out a peaceful sigh and curled up in a tighter ball while still keeping my eye on everything that was going on, I couldn't stop myself from smiling to myself. I almost nodded my head contentedly as I watched our little world go by. Yes, I was having a very very peaceful evening in indeed.

A few of us Ketchum's were hanging out in the living room of the Morgan mansion with some of those people and little James Ketchum was sat in the arm chair closest to the window. I was certain that he was as relaxed as I was feeling though his youthful expression was taken over by a bit of a frown and his tongue was poking out of his lips in concentration.

The chestnut haired young boy, his mother and I had decided head on over to the other large house when little James was struggling with his homework and needed peace and quiet. There was no hope of that with Ben at home and Jessika and Rey too, as well as my raven haired best friend! So Misty, little James and I had decided to assist him in the quiet of the Morgan Mansion instead.

That place was often as full of hustle and bustle as the Ketchum residence but since Jaxon was off travelling and Jazmyn was out somewhere and the lavender haired and pink haired parents of the offspring were away at an important meeting, it felt like the perfect place to crack on with work. And it had been exactly that for us.

While I remained in my tight little warm ball by the roaring fire during the second month of that particular year, I felt very fuzzy instead. Recent events had made it clearer than ever that I needed to appreciate each and every single moment with the people that I loved. I had always gone about life with that mind-set, of course, but after the passing of Josie, it became even more like a duty to me. I made sure to appreciate my loved ones every day. And especially when they needed a bit of extra kindness.

While listening to the scratching of James' pen on his homework pad paper and Misty humming as she watched over her son doing his work, I watched over at Jorgie as she decided to come marching towards her big brother, a proud but firm look on her face while she pushed her dolls push chair along the wooden floor with her little baby toy perched inside. The orange haired toddler made a beeline straight away for Justin and almost rammed the plastic pram into his ankles as she made sure to get his attention.

"Baby." She announced to him as she looked up at him with big green eyes but a lingering determined frown, desperate for his approval. While she looked at him and waited for him to give her his undivided attention, she moved around to the front of the push chair to make sure her toy was still sitting comfortably. I felt the need to wince when she grabbed it by the throat. "Mine. Baby mine."

After a few seconds of Justin continuing what he was doing and holding his new little half-brother in the crook of his arm while he fed the hungry baby his bottle, he eventually looked down at Jorgie and nodded his head. He didn't smile at her but he didn't ignore her. He nodded his head, pushing his hair out of his eyes with his spare hand.

"Yep." He told her with yet another nod of the head but as if she wasn't satisfied with just that answer from Justin, Jorgie moved back round behind the handles of her toy push chair and looked up at him again, tilting her head and waiting. She waited for a better response from the deep purple haired male. Justin sighed softly but he gave his little half-sister what she wanted. He even gave her a tiny smile. "You've got your baby and I've got mine."

Upon hearing this, the chestnut haired little boy grew momentarily distracted from doing his homework and glanced over at Justin holding Johnny on his lap while he bottle fed him. But after a touch of the shoulder from his mother, he was encouraged to keep up his flow and he went back to doing what he was supposed to. Jorgie, on the other hand, had quite a different reaction from the fellow ginger.

Though she nodded her head and smiled at Justin's words at first, after they sunk in a bit more and she understood properly what he said, she suddenly frowned. She almost stamped her foot but she managed to stop herself. Instead, she turned on her heel with her push chair and made a point of turning her back on him. But as she marched away, she found herself looking over her shoulder at both Justin and Johnny.

"My baba." She pouted before turning her head properly away from Justin all over again, leaving the deep purple haired male showing off a proper smirk at the Morgan-Williams child's attitude and quickly replied to her, despite the fact that he was talking to the back of her orange baby curls as she made her way over to little James instead.

"Oh yes, sorry I forgot that he's your baba. He's yours and yours alone." The eldest Morgan son humoured his little sister though of course, needless to say, she couldn't take in what he was saying. But Misty could. The orange haired woman stopped watching over her son doing her homework and came to briefly sit next to me instead, intending on only moving back over to James if Jorgie demanded his attention. She spoke to Justin straight after he added more words. "Put me in my place, why don't you."

"She is a little firecracker, that one." Misty commented through a similar smirk to the deep purple haired male and while he moved Johnny Jinn into the crook of his opposite arm when it began to get uncomfortable for him, the orange haired woman played with her bangs amusedly. She shook her head. "And all that worrying that your Dad did that she wouldn't take to little Johnny well. She clearly adores him!"

Justin didn't have any words to say to Misty in response but the way that he nodded his head and gave her a close mouthed smile said it all. I nodded my head in agreement and smiled too. Yes, it had been a bit of a tense time worrying how Jorgie would react to no longer being her mother and father's one and only! But she had adapted well. In fact, she had adapted beautifully. As you could see, she was very protective of little Johnny Jinn Morgan-Williams.

And that was even more evident when, while Misty and Justin shared a smile, the little girl did a U-turn with her pram and came marching back towards her brothers as he fussed for a few seconds while he was being switched from which arm he was resting against. Justin quickly caught on. He tried not to roll his eyes at his half-angel half-sister.

"He's okay, he's okay. I'm just getting crushed by his football head." The deep purple haired male reassured her with fondness towards his little lavender haired brother but he made sure to look down at Jorgie so she could see him put the bottle teat to Johnny's lips and witness him happily begin sucking all over again. Justin tapped his foot quietly. "I know you're just waiting for me to mess up so you can pounce."

All over again, Misty smirked and shook her head fondly at the sibling's interactions and I was greatly appreciative when her amusement turned into a few affection strokes for me. I yawned and stretched out from the ball that I was in and waited for Misty's fingers to make their way to my belly. And just like Jorgie, I got what I wanted!

The orange haired little girl looked up at her big brother and frowned suspiciously while she listened and after Justin gave her innocent eyes and pointed to where Johnny was happily continue to suck at his bottle, Jorgie perched her bottom on the wooden floor to make a point. She was not going anywhere. She was going to make sure that Johnny was happy at all times. And if he wasn't because of someone, then she'd be there to sort it out!

I knew that Jorgie had taken to Johnny Jinn so quickly because on top of being very adorable and endearing, he was her own flesh and blood. She couldn't reject someone that her parents made with equal love as they had done with her. But despite that, I couldn't help but think to myself that the reason she was so wonderful with him was because she'd seen the way that Misty had been so adaptable and natural with JJ.

Of course, she was far too young to comprehend all of the confusion and emotions involved but still. I couldn't help but get the feeling that Jorgie somehow knew that it had been difficult for Misty and JJ but it had been worthwhile too. So when she first laid eyes on her wispy lavender haired little brother, she couldn't stop herself from allowing herself to feel that joy as well.

At the age of just two months, Johnny Jinn was already wondrously different from his orange haired big sister. And at the same time that these thoughts crossed my mind, Justin said them aloud and pondered them to Misty.

"Look at her. Look at the way she's observing me." Justin commented to Misty about little Jorgie at his feet and he moved his own foot to nudge her lightly with his boot. He made sure not to hurt her. He shook his head, still making sure that Johnny was getting milk from his bottle. "He is way different to her. He's already so chilled out and Zen and she is not only waiting for trouble but she's always causing it too!"

Misty laughed and nodded her head and while I couldn't stop myself from thinking that that sounded like Jorgie's lavender haired father and her orange haired older half-sister too, Jorgie scooted forward on her bottom to be even closer at Justin's side. She knew when she was being talked about. And she proved this by beginning to jab at his leg with her small finger. He soon stopped her.

"Okay, okay, I'm not a baby gym." He informed her as delicately as he could and at the same time that he managed to hold Johnny Jinn in one arm while using that same hand to keep his bottle to his lips, he used the other to reach down to Jorgie and gently push her away from him. She skidded across the wooden floor easily but looked very annoyed with Justin. "If you're that close to me then you won't be able to watch over baba, will you?"

"You're the worst." Misty commented with more amusement to the way that he rejected his little sister with such subtlety and she briefly moved her hand away from my fur to cover her mouth while she laughed. Thankfully, it soon found its way back to her belly while Justin just shrugged and gently nudged Jorgie away from him all over again when she came strutting back.

"I've been with her all day. I know she's supposedly an angel but sometimes I need some space." He told the orange haired woman and anyone who was listening really with a matter of fact tone before he smiled innocently, showing off both of his dimples. He shrugged, finally pulling the bottle away from his little brother's lips when he emptied it and holding him over his shoulder to burp. "I don't know why she likes me so much."

"She likes you so much because you're the one who is least bothered about her." Misty smirked and stood up but I was grateful when she took me with her to sit in another of the arm chairs. I no longer had the fire for warmth but I had my best friend's wife's belly instead and somehow, that was even better. I listened to what she had to say. "You play hard to get so she thinks it's a game to get her wrapped around her finger as much as her Dad is."

Justin thought about Misty's words for a few seconds and when he caught James looking over at his homework and towards the older male again, he had a smile for him. When the chestnut haired little boy took that as more encouragement to keep up what he was doing, he did exactly that. The deep purple haired male shrugged to himself while he helped get the wind out of his little brother and prayed that he didn't make a mess down his back.

"Well, when you've been with her as much as I have recently and been on so little sleep, it's a bit easier to say no to her." He commented truthfully but with a smile and I could sense that that made Jorgie jealous. Misty had received a smile and James had too but she hadn't. She still had work to do. But luckily for her, Justin finally moved out of his seat and took the little baby off him and lowered him onto the ground for some time on the play mat. I couldn't help but notice that the deep purple haired male seemed a little more relaxed without the baby latched onto him. "There you go, Jorgie, he's definitely all yours now. You can look over baba."

And with that, Justin seemed very pleased in finally being able to sit back down in his chair and picking something else up. His beloved guitar. He placed it on his thigh and slid the strap around his neck. He seemed much more himself and almost free when he had that little friend on him. And that was even before he played any notes. I looked up at Misty from curling up on her lap and we shared the same smile. I wondered if we were sharing the same thoughts too.

Justin had done well in letting it pass but the truth was, I had felt a bit of lingering tension when Misty, James and I had turned up on his doorstep. That could've been down to the fact that Jorgie was clinging onto his leg and whimpering when he answered the door and also while he had fresh baby spit up on his blue plaid shirt.

But after he had got himself together and James had seated himself by the window to crack on with his school work, I felt that he had started to feel better. And even though his leg and foot was still tapping occasionally as if a little bit of buried feelings were still threatening to come out, he looked properly peaceful all over again as he started to play licks on his guitar.

Needless to say, this quickly made the eight year old James look up from doing his homework but it was not because it was distracting him from it. Well, it was. But it was a good kind. In actual fact, he had been gradually distracted a few minutes before that by coming up against a question that he couldn't answer.

So while Justin played a tune to the room that we were all familiar with and Jorgie plonked herself right by Johnny's side and occupied herself with taking off her baby brother's socks, James shyly and subtly whispered for Misty to join his side all over again. Naturally, the orange haired woman didn't hesitate to do so and because of that, I was soon by the chestnut haired little boy's side as well.

I did my best in hiding my own bemused expressions while James admitted he was stuck on a question and needed some help. Misty confidently moved round behind her son to read the question to herself and I watched as she squinted a few times before looking very confused indeed. It took everything inside me not to chuckle. She was at that stage already with little James where she was beginning to be baffled by his homework!

To distract myself from giggling and simultaneously making Misty feel bad and James feel hopeless too, I looked over at Justin instead. And it was then that I noticed he was squinting himself and his foot had gone back to tapping. I witnessed him trying to continue playing one of his favourite guitar licks before having to stop and sigh quietly and reach out to Jorgie as politely as he could.

"Could you not do that, please?" he asked his two year old sister as if she was far beyond her years and he gently waved his hand in her face, referring the way that she was yanking little Johnny's socks off his feet and causing him to gurgle at the sensation. Justin frowned a little bit. "It's too cold for that and I've already put his socks back on him enough times."

Jorgie stared blankly over at her big brother and because she then yanked Johnny's sock off his left foot too, Justin was forced to put his guitar down for the mean time and sort it out. As he sat cross legged next to his little half-sister and his little half-brother too, he waved his hand at her all over again before pushing her lightly away from him a third time. He blocked her way while he put Johnny's socks back on his feet for him all over again. After Justin stood back up and put his guitar strap over his shoulder for the second time, he had more words for Jorgie.

"Don't do that to him again. Baba doesn't like it." Justin tried to tell her but from the way that the little girl's expression changed from unreadable to showing off a crease above her faded angel's kiss mark, I knew that she didn't believe his words. And her actions following that only proved this.

She didn't scoff out loud but she certainly may as well have. She knew that 'Baba' never whimpered after she took his socks off so he knew that she didn't mind it. She figured out that Justin was the one who minded it. So she proved a point to him. She was beginning to get fed up of Justin not being James so she plonked in front of him all over again and tried to look at him dead in the eyes.

And after doing that, she reached down to her own socks and pulled them off. I watched. Justin didn't. But he knew what she was doing while he focused on plucking his guitar strings and looking down at his fret board.

"Nope. I'm off sock duty now." He told her in a level and firm voice, for once not cracking even an exasperated smirk as he ran his fingers up and down the wood of his guitar frets. He didn't look at her. He continued playing. If he had looked up, he'd have seen her pouting in a very displeased way up at him. "You're just going to have to have cold feet, aren't you?"

I couldn't help but feel like the deep purple haired male was being a little bit unreasonable towards the little girl but then again, like he had said; I hadn't been with her all day. I had often seen how many times a day she pulled socks off her little brother and herself and that was when I only spent a few hours with her. I could only imagine how often she did it during a full day. And she probably tried to do it to Justin once or twice too!

Jorgie continued her displeased expression over at Justin while he continued to focus on his playing instead and Misty focused on trying to understand her eight year old son's homework question. But her pouty and scrunched up expression didn't last for much longer. When it went to unreadable once again, before it changed to mischievous, I knew that she had something worse planned for her big brother. And I was right. I was so very right.

After the deep purple haired male was forced to stop playing all over again when he noticed that his little brother had spit up down himself again and moved back onto his knees to sort him out, Jorgie quickly saw when his guitar was left unattended. She seemed to smirk to herself. Justin had taken the time to perch it up against the arm of his chair. Jorgie was determined to change that but she wasn't going to go for it straight away. She had some ground work to do first.

While trying to hide her mischievous expression, Jorgie moved closer to Justin's guitar and reached out to it. She began purposely clumsily pulling on the strings. They made quite the noticeable unpleasant sound. Needless to say, Justin was quick to notice it.

"Can you not do that, please?" he repeated his words to Jorgie but at that point, he was unable to move it out of her reach. Johnny had begun having a rare fuss at the mess that he had made on himself and he needed soothing. He was only a two month old baby but he couldn't be held with one hand while you were standing up. Justin needed both hands to comfort him. This gave Jorgie the opportunity to pull at the strings all over again and harder that time. The deep purple haired male clenched his jaw. His foot began to tap. He tried to remain composed. "Jorgie. No."

I knew that the orange haired little girl wasn't used to that word. She was never really too demanding with her parents but especially when it came to her father, he was usually quite content in giving her what she wanted. Within reason. So Jorgie's face scrunched up even more when she heard that dreadful word.

But before she had the chance to pull on the strings one last time, Misty came wandering over to Justin's side with little James as well. She had been too focused on trying to understand his homework and hadn't really been paying attention to Jorgie pushing his buttons.

She came behind her chestnut haired son and put both of her hands on his shoulders, smiling down at him and encouraging him. She grinned slightly. She had grown to admit when she couldn't do something.

"That question of yours has really got me stumped." She told her son and she squeezed his shoulders. She looked between little James and Justin. She shrugged all over again. "Maybe you can ask Justin to help you? He's really good at that kind of thing."

Looking back from perching on Misty's shoulder, I should've at that moment piped up that Justin was in the middle of a task of his own and couldn't be doing with a third at that point. Or I should've stopped Jorgie. I should've acted differently. But I got so caught up with watching.

I watched as Justin, despite everything, held Johnny on his hip and tried to use his foot to deter Jorgie and moved to sit back down so he was eye level with James. He had a smile for him. It was slightly strained but soon enough, it was patient. They had always been friends, those two.

"Sure. Why don't you read it to me and I'll see if I understand?" Justin asked the younger male and already at that point, he was beginning to glow ever so slightly at the possibility of the person that he looked up to helping him out with his homework. He wanted Justin to be the one to lead him to enlightenment!

So because of this, little James didn't hesitate to read the question aloud to Justin in his sweet little voice. Justin tried to listen, he really did. But Jorgie did a very silly (or perhaps genius) thing by pulling at the deep purple haired male's guitar strings as soon as the chestnut haired male tried reading out loud. Naturally, this caused things to be even more difficult for Justin while he felt Johnny's soiled clothes pressing against his.

"I'm sorry, James, can you say all that again and a bit louder. I can't hear you." Justin told James and even though his foot was beginning to tap more than I had seen that day and far more quickly, he was trying to keep his cool. He was trying his best to keep his cool. Jorgie finally kept quiet for a few seconds while James read aloud. But unfortunately, Justin had a bewildered expression for him. "I don't think even I know how to help you with that, I'm sorry."

The deep purple haired male managed to speak out truthfully but calmly when, all of a sudden, Jorgie started up her charade all over again. And it was indeed the big finale. With one more pull of her tiny fingers, she yanked at the strings. A couple of them pinged off in the process with a horrible noise. And that's what did it. That is what did it.

"Can you not do that?!" Justin finally snapped and he stood right up in his seat and managed to hold Johnny in one hand and rescue his guitar from Jorgie's hand with the other. He did a rare thing by throwing his beloved instrument onto the sofa and hoping it survived.

And it goes without saying that Jorgie was most unhappy with finally being yelled at by her biggest brother. I jumped myself at the same time that she did too. She had been standing up in front of Justin when he decided to stand up so with the shock of it, she had fallen backwards onto her bottom. She promptly burst into tears. It couldn't have really hurt and Justin didn't even touch her but she sobbed. She sobbed and sobbed. And as soon as James saw Jorgie's tears, he burst into them as well. On top of that, he whimpered and ran out of the room and away from the deep purple haired male. He didn't look back.

Misty, however, looked back at Justin. I did too. We swallowed. We both swallowed. We looked over at him and while he clutched onto his soggy brother, he met both of our eyes. Like Jorgie and James, the deep purple haired male had a prompt reaction as well. He quickly ducked his head with regret and clenched his jaw before dumping his little half-brother on the orange haired woman. He shook his head ashamedly at himself.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry but I… I gotta…" was all Justin said before he quickly left the room and slammed out of the door and half-sprinted in the direction of his bedroom. And because Misty and I both shared the same look and both shared the same thoughts when we heard Jordan somewhere else in the house call little James' name and follow after him, we both knew that someone else needed our attention instead. And it wasn't Jorgie. So we dropped both her and Johnny off with Jayden as we passed him in the hall before intending to comfort Justin in his room.

I had to admit that I was slightly surprised from his sudden outburst but I knew that I had predicted that lingering in him all alone. I saw the tension in him as soon as I laid eyes on him that day. But stupidly, I assumed that it would pass. But it wasn't like that when it came to frustration or overwhelmed emotions. It would come out eventually and it would have to. Unfortunately, it had been unleashed on little Jorgie and James felt the sting of it too. And that's why Justin turned on his heel and wrapped his arms around himself as soon as Misty knocked on his door and poked her head in.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Don't be nice to me. I am the worst. I yelled at your son." It was rare to see the eldest Morgan son rambling so but that was exactly what he was doing. After he had managed to say those words, his mouth was opening and closing. His eyes were widened. He looked as though he might explode but not in an angry way. Misty didn't hesitate to move over to his side and sit down next to him while he plonked on the edge of his window sill.

"Hey, hey, hey, Justin. You need to take a breath or something. You need to relax." Misty informed her best friend's son worriedly and though she sat right down next to him, she still gave him space too. She didn't touch him. She easily found herself shaking her head and breathing out. "You didn't yell at him. He'll be okay. He's just sensitive as well."

I thought that Justin was well past taking advice from anyone by the way his eyes were widening so and the circles under his eyes were visible when we were in his bedroom. But I was proved to be wrong when he took the time to breathe in and out a few times, his slim frame moving before he rubbed his forehead. He found himself clenching his jaw all over again at Misty's words.

"I'm not sensitive. I'm just weak." He mumbled and he closed his eyes weakly before opening them again and hesitantly looking over at the orange haired woman. He seemed to blush. He certainly felt very vulnerable. He winced. And then he shook his head at himself. "I'm not like my Dad. I'm meant to be stepping in for him but I'm nothing like him. I can't handle all that like he can. I'm a let-down compared to him."

As expected, right away upon hearing this, Misty furrowed her brow and shook her head. I did too. But before either of us could have reassuring words with Justin or give him a comforting touch, he spoke all over again. He tried to say it light-heartedly but you could tell there was emotion there. His eyes didn't prick with tears but he swallowed.

"I bet you've never seen my Dad react like that, have you? I bet-"

"Oh, Justin!" Misty found herself interrupting her best friend's son and even though it was a pretty odd time to have that reaction, she started laughing. Justin definitely needed an explanation when he didn't understand why and Misty didn't hesitate to explain herself. Her laughter changed to a fond smile. She didn't hug the younger male but she pressed her shoulder against his. She played with her bangs and focused on the posters all around his walls. "I have seen your Dad react like that many, many times. So don't think you're a let-down. I think your reaction was perfectly understandable. One time your Dad got so stressed with you lot that by the time my Ben glared at him; he almost left and never came back!"

And upon hearing this, Justin's eyes widened quite dramatically but after Misty smirked kindly all the more and squeezed his shoulder a second time, he understood that she was elaborating ever so slightly. But she was also telling the truth. He knew she was telling the truth and I knew it too. I had remembered that day. If Justin felt like he wasn't living up to his father's example by being stressed out then he was seeing his father far more perfectly than he really was. Misty was there to help him see that.

"You really are so much like him, you know? You need to learn to say no and learn that there is such a thing as doing too much for people. Especially when it overwhelms you like that. I was sometimes the one to push your Dad too far and allow him to be too generous to me so I definitely won't let you do the same thing." The orange haired woman told the deep purple haired male and it was absolutely what he needed to hear. In her own way, she was protecting him and making sure that he looked after himself too. Her advice wasn't always clear but she always got her point across. Justin certainly eagerly listened to it even though his expression was very much still regretful. "Every parent has that moment, Justin. That moment where it all gets too much. Welcome to real life."

"Yeah, but that's the thing." The eldest Morgan son began and he paused while he ran his fingers through his shorter deep purple locks. They shimmied around his eyes before they parted into curtains. He let out a quiet breath and looked over at Misty. He looked over at her almost sadly. "I'm not a parent though, am I? I'm just a big brother."

Justin's words shouldn't have affected Misty and I the way that they did. Or maybe it was perfectly okay that they had. We both swallowed. Since Josie had died and James was grieving and going back and forth between his own home and his grandfather's one, without it being intended to be that way, Justin had slipped into the role of the caregiver.

He often helped Lynne with Johnny, even throughout the night. He had taken a break from touring anyway for the birth of his little brother and was off for a few months but in that time, he had spent a lot of time at home. He had spent a lot of time doing chores and being a big brother and cooking and cleaning and looking after Jorgie. And letting her drive him mad! It was a vast difference from his little tour bubble. Justin expressed how much it had gotten to him.

"I'm just a big brother and I'm meant to be getting ready for this promotional tour and getting these songs finished but all I can think about is socks being pulled off feet and which afternoon snacks Jorgie can't throw at me and what smell is on my fingers and realising that it's nappy cream!"

The deep purple haired male tried to say humorously in the same way that Misty was being comical even though he was concerned. But he just wasn't Misty. He was Justin. His voiced cracked. And because of that, Misty didn't hesitate to pat his back gently. She breathed out.

"Don't undervalue yourself; you are a big brother and a great one. And a great son too. You've taken on so much. But it's not your duty. And I know you want to but you don't have to be doing all this and you don't have to live up to anyone – especially not your Dad. You're both capable and brilliant in your own way. Give yourself a break, Justin. You're a good kid. You're a good boy."

Justin found himself scrunching his nose but and briefly smirking at the way that her words sounded but when they sunk in, he greatly appreciated them. The truth was he wanted to be around for his parents and Lynne and help out in any way he could since there had been a massive bereavement in the family. But sometimes it got too much for him. It certainly got too much with the way he knew that he didn't have to take on so much responsibility yet wanted to. And sometimes he just needed to hear that what he was doing was appreciated and with everything going on, sometimes that didn't get said. It didn't get said enough.

But when Misty said those words, they were most definitely appreciated. I did the small fraction of smiling for Justin while Misty rubbed his back lightly. She breathed out, hoping that she had made him feel better. She found her own face falling when he shut his eyes and looked a little sad all over again.

"Hey c'mon. I thought I cheered you up? Do you need more stories of your Dad being overwhelmed as well? Because I have plenty." she tried to ask humorously but she couldn't stop herself from feeling a little worried at the way that Justin's expression changed. She wanted him to be okay. Like everyone and like her best friend, she just wanted him to feel okay. Lucky for her, Justin was quick to respond to her. He opened his eyes briefly before they fluttered shut again and he gave her a small smile too. He shook his head.

"No, you did make me feel better. I am just very, very tired, Misty. You try going from a carefree kid to somehow a parent overnight." He mumbled in an airy way and he continued smiling for a few seconds but Misty understood that he needed a bit of TLC. And on top of that, he needed the space to feel however he felt. Misty certainly gave him this. Both Misty and I certainly gave him this.

I stayed on her lap while the orange haired woman continued rubbing his back comfortingly and Justin moved his cheek against her shoulder. His eyes remained shut. But he knew when someone else was about to join them. And he knew when he was in for even more comforting.

My best friend's wife remained watching over Justin and making sure he was okay and I did too. But we both got distracted when there was a knock on Justin's bedroom door before it opened. Someone didn't hesitate to come in. Someone knew that they were most definitely welcome. Someone knew that someone else needed cheering up. Only one person could be that empathetic and intuitive.

"Is Justin okay?" Katie simply murmured with care in her eyes and as she stepped forward, her arms moved open just an inch, getting ready for the older male. And as soon as Misty saw this and her kind-hearted daughter, she didn't hesitate to move away from Justin after giving his cheek a light touch with the back of her fingers. The orange haired woman smiled at the fellow orange haired girl.

"He will be now." She informed Katie though she didn't really need to say those words at all. We all knew them. And as soon as Misty had moved away from him, Justin didn't need to open his eyes as he stood up and moved towards Katie. And as if it was the place that he needed to be the most, he moved into the younger female's arms and rested his chin against her shoulder even though he was quite a bit taller than her. And she hugged him. Katie hugged him. Katie comfortingly held Justin in his arms. And then Misty joined in the hug too.

So in that moment, Justin went from feeling very exhausted and overwhelmed to feeling very exhausted and overwhelmed but supported too. He had a hug from Katie and he had a hug from Misty too. He had a hug from them both. And I couldn't help but smile to myself while I seated myself on his bed.

No matter what the differences were between he and his father and how he felt like he had to live up to his example, one thing was for certain. One thing certainly united them. They were okay. And they would be okay. And they were most certainly even more okay in the arms of red heads!

The End.

There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 One of the biggest things about 2018 is that the character of Justin really became fully developed. He's not just the gay one or the musical one but a person with many traits. I think a lot of those are shown in this chapter. He's a caring big brother and he wants to help out his parents but it's certainly a new challenge for him. I've written about Jorgie a fair few times but in this one, she is a little bit of a pest! She acts differently around different people and like Misty says, she knows that Justin is the most low-key with her so she acts up more to get his attention! Their dynamic is a funny one and I look forward to writing more about that. The same with Justin and Johnny too. And James as well. Justin's admired by all! One thing shown here is he's not the most physically affectionate person but at the end, he doesn't hesitate to cuddle Katie! She's one of the exceptions :3 This little scenario of James grieving over Josie and dealing with all of that and Justin taking on a more adult and parental role in the family is one that is special to me. I think it's a cool addition to both their characters. Thanks again for reading and I will be back next Wednesday with another chapter so see you then!

AmyBieberKetchum signing out :3