"Ugh, John! Hurry, we're going to be late!" She groaned from the kitchen table, putting on the infant's socks as she bucked and squirmed in defiance in the highchair

Stepping out of the bathroom, and running the frayed towel over his head, he chuckled, "He's deep in protest - pretty sure he's still naked."

"You have got to be kidding me! John!" Putting the single pink sock on the table, she shot up off the chair and down the hallway, where sure enough he sat naked on his bed. "John, please get dressed quickly. It's mommy's final exams day and I can't be late."

"No!" He protested, "I no want to!"

Giving their daughter another spoon to add to her collection, Ricky sprinted to the bedroom. "Take a breath. And go to school. I've got this." He assured, running his hands up and down her arms, "My class doesn't start til 9, I can get them to the nursery and deal with his tantrum. You -" Pecking her lips, "just go kill that final."

Sighing against him, Amy nodded, and moved quickly to grab her bag, "You're a lifesaver", Slinging her purse, and grabbing her keys before turning on her boot heel to peck his lips again, "Love you" and wave at the messy baby before closing the door.

A fussy whine turned his attention to the kitchen again, where Emma sat slamming her tiny hands into the yellow glob of her breakfast. He looked down, smirking as she reached a messy hand up towards him, "I guess that's a no on the pureed peaches then?" He teased, grabbing a baby wipe from the counter and wiping her hands and face before lifting her out of the highchair, "Come on, let's go wrangle your brother into some clothes."

"Oohh, look at you!" Kathy enthused, pulling on her hand lightly to admire the stone shining against the light, "And he just proposed like right there?"

"Well, he took me to dinner, and then he just... yeah, right as the cheesecake was coming out. Jack loves his cheesecake." Grace beamed, her smile wide as she too admired the large rock on her ring finger

"Have you set a date yet?"

"Not yet. Right after graduation me and my mom are going to start making plans."

She nodded, half listening as she snuck a glance at the guy across the hall, staring at her with a big goofy grin, "I gotta get to class - congratulations again, I'm sure it's going to be great!"

Waiting until Kathy was out of earshot, Amy leaned into her friend, "Are you sure about this, Grace? This is a big step - a really big step," giving the ring a sad smile, "Is this what you really want?"

"I thought it was... but it's just all happening so fast." Grace sighed, "Jack and I weren't even talking about marriage and then out of nowhere he just proposes? I mean who does that?" She stared at her ring again, and then at the array of students walking in the crowded hallway, "We're graduating at the end of the week. We should be out celebrating, not picking out China patterns and entrees." She bit her lip, pulling her hand to her chest, "I sound so horrible and... ungrateful... don't I?"

"Not really. It's normal to have those feelings... and marriage isn't all sunshine and rainbows... it takes a lot of work." She answered honestly, a sad little crack in her voice, "Sometimes it's exhausting." Her expression quickly changing from sadness to anger upon seeing him across the hallway; his eyes squinting at her

"What is he starring at?" She asked,

"Grace, he's starring at what he's always been staring at - me." She snapped, throwing her hands in the air, "He's obsessed with me still, and that's why I'll be so happy to get the hell out of this place."

Grace's eyes got wide at her friend's sudden outburst, but instead of saying anything she just touched her arm gently and walked away just as he took it upon himself to take her spot.

"Are you stalking me now?" She sneered, her face contorting with slight disgust

"No, but I can if you want." Ben stated back, leaning against the orange locker

"No, I definitely do not want." He stared at her, a smirk coming to his face as she shoved a book roughly inside the cluttered space. She caught his stare, her brow creasing, "Why are you being so weird?"

He was about to respond when Alice came up to them, his facial expression quickly changing from cocky to annoyed before just walking away. "Hey, Amy... can I talk to you?"

"Um, sure." Brow still creased, "What's up?"

"Have you... maybe given Ben any inclination that you may still have feelings for him?" Alice was talking in a weird and rushed way, her wide eyes never leaving the young teens face

"What? No! No way! Why? Did he say I did?" Her eyes squinted in both confusion and anger

"Not exactly... let me ask this - do you have an e-diary?

"Yeah..." Alice's eyes grew wider, and it was then she understood what she was hinting at. Her mouth fell agape, taking in a deep breath and slamming her palm against her forehead, "Oh no. No, no, this can not be happening..."

"I want her to start planning right away. I'm hoping for a small ceremony before she starts school here in the fall." Jack stated, kicking a rock with the tip of his sneaker, stopping at the entrance, "Hey! You think you could be my best man?"

"I'm good." Ricky chuckled, grabbing the handle and opening it, "Look buddy, I'm happy for you guys, but I don't best man. I wouldn't be good for that."

"Oh - sorry" They said in unison, bumping right into each other at the entrance. She lingered, her eyes low

Sensing the tension, Jack cleared his throat, "I'm gonna go grab some food - I'll see you inside?"

He gave a tilt of the head in agreement before turning his attention to getting away from the problem standing in front of him, "I thought I said this was over."

"Ricky please just let me expla-" Clementine pleaded, grabbing the bend of his elbow as he started to walk away

"No!" He yanked back, his eyes were angry, "You lured me in and then kissed me. You don't get to explain Clementine." He took in a deep breath, "I told you when we met that I was married - that I had a family. You disregarded that - and because of that, I can't be friends with you anymore. Not if it means hurting Amy." He swallowed, his jaw twitching slightly as she handed him a large white envelope with his name printed in the middle, "What is this?"

She was on the verge of tears, "I know what I did was wrong. I'm not proud of it... but I meant what I said, Ricky -" finally looking up to meet his brown eyes, "It's all in there." A customer walked past them, eyeing them as he took a seat by the window. "I've gotta get back to work"

Unzipping his backpack, he threw the envelope in quickly just as Jack came back over and handed him a cup of coffee, "What was that about?" He waved him off and started walking towards their usual table - not expecting to see her sitting there too.

"Woah, you look like hell" Jack stated bluntly, taking a seat next to their sniffling friend

"Yeah well I feel like hell" Adrian shot back, wiping her eyes with her thumb

"Did something happen? Did somebody hurt you? Because if they did I'll..." He sunk back, glancing at the colorful purple cast encasing his right arm, "get the campus police or something. I'm still healing so I can't-"

"No one hurt me, okay?" She snapped, "Nobody hurts me. Ever. Okay?" Taking a sip of her coffee, she leaned back in her chair, "I uh, unfortunately had to hurt someone... I had to break things off with Omar."

Both men glanced at their mugs, "Oh..."

"I'm serious! It's over!" Her voice rose, slapping the top of her bare hand with the palm of her other, "I gave him the ring back and everything!"

"Ok...what happened?" Ricky finally inquired, keeping his eyes low to the table

She shrugged, "I had to be honest, because that's who I am. I'm an honest person. And... an honest person doesn't get married when they know it isn't right. Omar has this wonderful job opportunity in New York, and he begged me to go with him but... I love this school. I want to finish school before I get married... I want to start a career before I get married. I can't go to New York. I don't want to go to New York. I - I - I have to finish school."

Jack took another sip, "Why can't you do that in New York? They've got like bunches of schools there?"

Ricky scooted his chair a little closer, leaning on his elbows on the table, "You know it's a myth that long distance relationships don't work - that was before computers, and cell phones, and - you can make it work."

"Look guys, I don't want you to be surprised like Omar was. I mean we had a perfectly nice night last night - and then I knew that when I got up this morning that I had to do it." Adrian sniffled, "I had to break up with him..." Taking a second before spewing her venom, "Just like Grace and Amy are going to break up with you."

Taken aback, Jack moved his casted arm down to his lap, and looked at his friend who had the same what-the-hell expression.

She leaned into the table, making sure her eyes met his, "Jack - Grace is just having sex with you, and accepted your proposal hoping it will buy her time. Enough time to break up with you. She doesn't want to get married, she doesn't want you to follow her to school either. She wants to go off to college by herself. She doesn't even want to think about getting married until she graduates from Medical school. She sees herself marrying a really smart doctor or something - she doesn't want to marry an athlete"

"Adrian, that's enough!" Ricky's anger was bubbling, knuckles turning white as his fists balled themselves under the table

Her head snapped to his side, "It's true! Just like Amy doesn't want to stay married to you - she loves you, she just doesn't want to be married to you." Tapping her nails mischievously against her chin, "You -" pointing and sniffling, "You are just John and Emma's father. That's all. She needs you to take care of them so she can have the life that she's always wanted to have."

Jack got up angry, shoving the chair hard against the old wood

Watching Jack lose his temper, made his slowly start to simmer as he scooted even closer and smirked at her, "he broke up with you, didn't he?"

She glared at him, eyes squinted in anger - "what?"

Ricky smirked again, "Adrian... I've known you for years and if you're miserable you want everyone else in the world to be miserable, and you don't care how you achieve that just as long as other people don't have the love that you've always wanted."

She shook her head, trying to keep her temper in check as he continued speaking.

"So... as your friend let me tell you this was a really despicable thing to do - to say these things to Jack and me whether or not they are true." He stared down at his wedding ring, "Cause sometimes people say things to other people that they don't mean - sometimes people just need to say terrible things out loud - they need to vent. But the safe place to do that is in therapy. So, why don't you go get some help and stop hurting people around you and then, maybe, someone can love you." Getting up from the table, he gave her one last smirk and turned on his boot heel.

"What is wrong with you!" Clementine shouted a minute later,

"Oh save it, like you have any room to judge anyone!" Adrian barked back, "You're trying to break up the guy's family by professing that you're in love with him, and you think you have the right to scold me for telling him the truth?" Cackling, she threw her head back, "Ha! Honey please, you're just wasting your breath."

She gripped the coffee pot tighter, clenching her teeth, "Not that it's any of your concern... but Ricky can make his own decisions." She glanced at the doorway, "Maybe he can't see the obvious because he's being blinded or he feels guilty -"

"Oh and what is that? That's he's secretly in love with you?" Her face said it all. Adrian clicked her tongue against her teeth, reaching for her bag, "Wow, you really are delusional aren't you?"

"I am not! I love him... and I know deep down somewhere he loves me too."

"And you know this because?" Clementine didn't answer, just crossed her arms across her chest and glared at her.

"Benjamin!" She yelled loudly down the hallway, taking off in a sprint to catch him as he awkwardly started to run away, "Ben! Ben! Hey, get back here!"

Catching up to him, she put both hands out in front of him and tackled him to the ground, pinning him there with her palms pressed into his back. "What the hell, Amy!"

"You read my diary?" Amy snapped, pushing him further into the dirty concrete

"I'm going to say something I never thought I'd say before -" Her nails were digging into his shoulder blades - and not in the way that he wanted them to be - "You wanna get off of me?"

"You read my diary! Ben, how did you read my diary?"

"I hacked your computer didn't Alice tell you? Because obviously she told you something"

Relenting, she took her hands off of him and allowed him to roll onto his side as she sat up against the lockers

Grunting, Ben leaned on his elbows, a small smile coming to his face, "I was flattered that the password was wings though - we ate a lot of wings together didn't we?"

She shook her head at him, annoyed, "Ben, it was wings because that was just me imagining that I could just fly away."

"And land where?"

"Where is none of your business." She swallowed, "So I imagined what my life would have been like had I never gone to Band camp. If I had never met Ricky. If I had never had John and Emma - that's all that diary is just a big "what if"

"What if you still have feelings for me?"

"What if I don't?" He cocked his head, giving her a look.

Brushing her palms on her pants, Amy stood, offering her hand to him to get up, "You know it's against the law to hack someone's computer"

"I know. But I could tell from what I read that you would never have me arrested"

"No I probably wouldn't but I could - it is a crime"

"And it's a crime of the heart to hide your feelings"

"Ben there are no feelings for you. I do not feel anything towards you. Except maybe a little frustration... because you're so obsessed with me - "

Ben scoffed, "You said and I quote "That given the choice again, I would have gone with the good guy"

Her voice rose, "Ben, Ricky is the good guy now! And yes, I did marry the good guy because he's the father of my children and he's a wonderful father" - picking up her purse from the floor and walking away.

Ethan came up behind him, tapping his shoulder - "What is wrong with you? Amy loves Ricky and Ricky loves her and they're married and have a son and daughter together, why would you want to destroy the lives of 4 people?"

He turned around, adjusting his collar, "I'm trying to save the lives of 4 people. Because as much as they may all love each other - they're not in love with each other - staying together for the kids never works out because children know when their parents aren't happy." Gauging his face, Ben shook his head, "Do you actually know what happens behind closed doors with those two?" Leaning closer, he snarled, before storming away, "Do me a favor and worry about your own love life, alright?

"Hey Ethan... you look like you could use a friend" Brian stated, walking slowly with his books tucked under his arm as Ben stomped away

Ethan scowled, "You're not my friend, you're Kathy's friend - or is it boyfriend now?"

"We're just friends. And as Kathy's friend, I have to tell you that fooling around is stupid, and Ariel isn't the nice girl you think she is." He adjusted his books, looking squarely at Ethan, "She's going around telling people that Kathy is a skank and she doesn't know who got her pregnant because she slept with so many guys."

"What? No Ariel wouldn't do that - not to Kathy who is like the nicest and sweetest girl ever. That's why I broke up with her, she deserves better."

"So you chose to spend your time with a gossip and a liar, rather than the nicest and sweetest girl ever?"

"Look man, I can't wait 4 years until I'm out of high school to have sex. I can't. It won't work."

"Uh huh. You know who else said that? Ben Boykewich - right before he got that Adrian girl pregnant. The not Amy girl that he was in love with. The girl he slept with after that Ricky guy kissed the Amy girl."

Ethan cocked his brow, "How do you know all of this?"

"Everyone does. It's Grant High legend."

"Correct me if I'm wrong... but aren't mops supposed to move?" She observed, watching as he slumped over, struggling to keep his eyes open, and motioning with her finger at the mop he was leaning heavily on.

Blinking a few times, he shook his head back and forth to wake up, "Yeah, sorry."

"Rough night?"

Nodding, and yawning, "Sleep training a baby is hell. You'd think being half a year old would wear her out enough to sleep at least half a night, right?" Ricky pressed his fingers into his eye sockets, yawning some more, "I'm seriously considering moving her back into the livingroom with me and Amy, or getting in the crib with her - anything to get a few more hours of sleep"

Grabbing the mop from him, Bunny chuckled, "You know what they say about second kids?" He shook his head again, using one hand to pull his eyelids up. "They keep you from having a third" He rolled his eyes as she continued laughing to herself, the chime of the door jolting him a little. "Nice of you to show up"

"What do you need me to do?" Ben grabbed his apron from the rack, annoyed

"Well, we got two big delivery over the weekend. I put it all away, but it needs to be sorted and inventoried"

"No thanks, I've got better things to do than spend the rest of my day in a freezer."

"Unless you can learn how to work the register, or cut the meat, or something about cooking... you don't really have a choice." His jaw clenched, shoving a box into his arms,

"And who decided that? You?" Ben scowled, putting the box on the counter, "Don't forget you work for my dad."

"And don't forget, that you work for me." Bunny interjected, leaning the mop against the wall, "I made him assistant manager, so technically you also work for him -"

"You what!" He shouted, his scowl growing. A customer walked into the store, taking a step back upon the shout. She waved the gentleman over, narrowing her eyes at him as she walked away. He rolled his eyes, taking the box into his grasp, "Fine. Whatever. I'll be out of here in a few weeks anyway."

Another chime sounded, an angry young man bursting through, and heading straight for him, his face red, "You arrogant little - Kathy is with some other guy because of the advice you gave me!"

"Hey!" Ricky shouted quietly, grasping the teen by his shoulders and pinning him against the wall, "Not here."

"I should have never taken advice from a guy who knocked up my brothers ex-girlfriend, and is now trying to get back with his wife!" Ethan's finger pointed in the air, trying to fight off his brother who had him pinned down.

His outburst got Ricky's attention, turning his head angrily, "Excuse me?" Letting go of him, he turned, enraged as he took the box out of Ben's scrawny hands and grabbed him by the shirt collar, "Unless you want me to snap your neck like a toothpick -" his breath was increased, trying hard to keep his temper in check, "You stay away from Amy - got it? She has enough to deal with without you hovering over her like some kind of freaking lost puppy!"

Being let go, Ben sneered under his breath, "Oh I know all about it."

"What?" Ricky turned again. Ben put his hands up mockingly. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Grow up will you."

Waiting until the gentleman left the shop, she barreled out from behind the counter, grabbing both their aprons, "BACK TO WORK! NOW!"

She was having trouble concentrating, phone constantly buzzing in her back pocket - the texts of those wanting to know about her and Ben's showdown in the hallway - annoying her.

The eight toddlers stared, the sticks in their possession dispersed amongst various visible body parts. One little boy, one of the new two-year-old's brought in from the baby room, Noah, took the stick from his mouth, trailing a disgusting glob of saliva onto the instrument.

She grimaced, sliding the stick against the row of colors, "Row - row - row your boat -" pausing as another buzz came. Continuing, she brought the xylophone closer to her chest, tapping the stick lightly against the first three pieces, "row - row - row -"

The sounds of footsteps pounded in through the narrow and short hallway, one of the other ladies - Tammy - seemingly dragging the pouting toddler by the hand into the room, her face holding a frustrated and disapproving expression. She stopped in front of the class, him twisting to break free from her.

Amy looked up from her music lesson, curious as to why her coworker was bringing in John - immediately thinking something terrible had happened. "What's wrong?" Her tone held a twinge of panic. Tammy gave her another disapproving look, pursing her lips as she spoke, "John taught our reading group a new word," glancing down, "John, what word did you tell Trevor in the blue room?"

John looked sheepishly at his mother, twisting his fingers together, "um-um - I jus ca-all-ed him a as-ss-hwol cuz he t-aked my book!" Amy's face immediately fell, frowning in both annoyance that she was disturbed for that reason, and embarrassed because of course her child had to be the one to say a bad word. "John, you don't say those words. They're bad and not nice."

His brow furrowed at her gentle scolding, pouting a finger in her direction, "You an daddy do it too!"

Her eyes widened at having been outed, opening and then closing her mouth and trying to lightly laugh it off as she was being judged by her older colleague.

Tammy wasn't laughing, her lips pursed into a tight line, glasses pushed to the bridge of her nose. "Children his age pick up on everything - keep that in mind next time you and your husband want to fight in front of them."

"I want daddyyy!" He whined, being tugged down the sidewalk by the hand as she tried to find her keys while juggling the car seat, diaper bag, and his slow moving body. Phone ringing to top it all off.

Fishing her keys out, Amy let go of his hand to answer the call, shooting her hair back with a shot of her head and opening the door with her elbow. "Hey, mom this really isn't the best time - what do mean?" Her brow furrowed, hiking the car seat onto the base, Emma's crying being aided by her brother's whining. Sighing, Amy clicked the buckles in place and went to the other door, "Okay, I'm on my way."

"I'm here, what's the problem?" She asked, slightly out of breath as they all came through the doorway. Anne stood there, just looking around the room, arms crossed tightly against her chest. "Mom, did you really need me to come over tonight? I mean I have to study - and what - did you really want me to move all my stuff out?" She was annoyed, grasping onto the back of his shirt to keep him from running off.

"Mommyyyy" John tugged on her pant leg, pointing towards the door.

Anne sighed, looking between her frustrated daughter, and her cranky crying grandchildren. "I don't know Amy, I just felt like seeing you. I felt like seeing my daughter in my house one more time"

Amy couldn't help but giggle at her dramatics, "Isn't that a little traumatic? I'm still your daughter, mom"

"I know... have you made a decision yet?" Her voice was stern, lowering it when she saw her eyes shift down, and a small but audible sigh come out of her mouth, "I'm not pushing you... but time is running out. You graduate in 4 days -"

"I know, mom." She quickly blurted, shaking her head slowly, "I can't give you an answer when I don't even kno -" The backdoor opened again.

"Know what? What's going on?" Nora asked, smiling at the sight of her grandchildren, even though they didn't return the same sentiment.

"You were way out line down there!" Ricky snapped, barreling through the doorway and shoving a finger into his brother's chest, "You had no right bringing up the baby - that didn't have anything to do with you - or me for that matter, and has no reflection on your relationship with Kathy!" He was breathing heavy again, "Never use the death of a child as a wager or whatever else you were trying to do!"

Taken aback, Ethan opened and then closed his mouth, unknowing what to respond with. "I didn't know the baby died."

"Mercy. Her name was Mercy." His voice lowered, sad, "She was born about a year before Emma was. Amy and I went to the hospital when she -"

"I'm sorry. That sucks." Ethan quickly responded, twisting his sneaker into the floor before shaking his head, "But that still doesn't give Ben the right to act like a giant prick!"

The door opened roughly, filling the small space with a chorus of whiny crying. She stood there, hoisting the toddler higher on her hip with her left hand, while the right one drug the car seat carrying the baby.

"Rough day?" Ricky took the car seat from her, putting it on the coffee table before turning to his brother again, "Wait downstairs"

Unbuckling the straps to pull Emma out, he paused, feeling the tug from a small hand on his shirt sleeve.

"Dadddyyyyy" John cried, outstretching his arms towards his father, the tears staining his cheeks as the slobber coated his fingers.

"He got in trouble again," Amy sighed, running her fingers through his shaggy locks as he nestled into his embrace. Ricky glanced at Ethan still standing by the couch, preparing to hand their son back to her, which only made him cry more. He sighed, going to the sofa with both children.

Helping him, she took the baby out of the carrier, placing her in the crook of his right arm. "I can take him. I need a minute anyway." Nodding, he adjusted their children on his lap, and mouthed a quiet thank you.

"So are you gonna tell me the real reason you tackled Ben?" He asked, staring out the window at the traffic light

She sighed, turning the wheel to the right, "Ben will never realize that whatever we used to have is over, and that I love Ricky..."

He caught her stall, "But?"

She hesitated, letting a single tear roll down her cheek, "I don't know if he loves me - truly loves me - back though... and it scares me."

Riding in silence for about 5 minutes, Ethan twiddled his thumbs, "Hey have you ever seen Aladdin?"

Caught off by his weird question, Amy giggled, "Is that supposed to be a joke? Hasn't everyone seen it?"

His eyes lowered to the floor, tone changing to one she'd never heard before. "Before my mom left, she came into my room and told me that when she got back we would make some popcorn and watch it together." He twisted his shoe against a discarded pile of fast food containers, "It was her favorite film. She used to tell me it was the film she saw with my dad when she knew she was falling in love with him..." Swallowing hard, "I never could understand why she loved it so much - until I watched it when I was older." He took a shaky breath, looking up at her, "It was her story: the girl breaking away from the confines of what she knew to find better... was her: she left her life - she left me - to find something better... something she didn't have to regret..."

Turning the wheel to the right again, Amy nodded slowly, fighting back the lump in her throat, "Is this about Kathy? Or the other one?"

He paused, "I want Kathy to be happy. I do... but I still love her...What do I do?"

"Give her time." She bit her bottom lip to keep it from wobbling, as she pulled into the all too familiar driveway, "Sometimes... all someone needs is time."

Gathering his backpack, Ethan stilled, knowing that she was trying to keep herself together. He nodded again, gently touching her elbow as he muttered, "Ricky loves you, you know. Don't ever doubt for one second that he doesn't."

Putting the last of the dishes into the cabinet, he checked his phone again, sighing when it didn't change from the last time he checked it over an hour ago. Deciding that he wasn't going to let the fact that she still wasn't home yet bother him, he wiped his wet hands on a dish towel and sat down, gathering his backpack from the floor, and unzipping it to get some studying in before he undoubtedly would be passed out against the kitchen table.

His fingers brushed a hard edge, the tip digging into the sensitive skin under his thumb nail. Pulling back, his brow furrowed before grasping the envelope he forgot he shoved into his backpack earlier that day.

Contemplating, he bit his top lip hard as he fiddled with the seal, before deciding that knowing what it said was better than not, and ripping it open. Eyes scanning the pages rapidly as it read: "Ricky, I know what I did was wrong - and that you and Amy are married... but there's something I have to say. Something I have to get off my chest. I love you. I've always been in love with you, and running into you again that morning in the coffee shop after all these years... maybe we're destined to be together. I can't stand to be near you everyday and not have you. To smell the mixture of mint and leather that you always have on you... and not be able take it in. To have your hand brush mine, and not be able to feel it all over my skin..."

Ricky's breath hitched, continuing to scan the page.

"I don't know if you're in love with Amy, or if you just feel obligated to be with her because of John and Emma, but time will tell. There's no way for us to have a life together unless you've truly exhausted every possibility of life with Amy; work whatever you have to out with her to have a family for your children... but if you don't, then we'll find each other again I'm sure of it. That kiss just solidified to me that maybe, just maybe, the universe wants us to be together someday. And if that means I have to wait around for you... I will."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, breath increased slightly. He picked up his phone and wrung out his hands, nervously staring at his wedding ring just as a soft but audible cry beckoned him.

Tucking the letter away into his bag again, he blew out a slow breath and stood, taking the 5 steps to the swing in the livingroom where she irritability twisted and grabbed at the bars.

Cupping his hands under her arms, he pulled her to his chest, thankful for the distraction as she whimpered against him.

"Not tonight either, huh?" Ricky whispered, grazing Emma's blue onesie covered stomach with his nails and kissing her cheek softly, as she chewed on her fingers and squirmed. "We'll get there."

His eyes were heavy, trapped underneath his eyelids like sand as pure exhaustion took over his body.

He felt the pressure, a slow moving hand creeping up his abdomen. He smirked in his sleep, not yet ready to open his eyes and give in to her playful game. He moaned against the pillow, fighting the urge to spring awake and let her take him.

"Ricky..." came a whisper, tickling his ear. He twitched his nose, eyes still closed, and creased his brow: the whisper wasn't hers; hers was lighter, more flirty. "Ricky..."

Fighting to open his eyes as they fell closed again each time, his breathing quickened, feeling the weight on his torso increase. "I know you want me, Ricky..."

Finally able to regain control, his eyes sprung open, and he screamed, quickly shoving the person off of him and backing away - eyes wide and mouth agape. "No! No! Get back! No! This isn't real!" He shoved his palms into his eye sockets, twisting them harder, "this isn't real!"

Clementine's lips found his, adding more pressure as her hands lifted his shirt. This time though his eyes stayed on her face, swallowing and slowly cupping her neck with his hand and kissing her back, before pulling away. "No! I've never cheated on Amy. Never... " She removed her shirt, leaving his mouth agape before he leaned in to kiss her again.

"Why did you have to get her pregnant and marry her? It was supposed to be you and me!" Her voice was desperate, grasping onto his shoulder to gain more contact.

"But it wasn't." Amyy popped up from behind the sofa, a placid look on her face at the site of them, startling them both.

He slid away so fast he fell off the bed - "Amy I swear I didn't-"

She glanced between them, saying nothing before sighing and sitting on the top of the couch, her voice robotic and emotionless, "It was me and Ricky. We got pregnant. We got engaged. We got pregnant again, and then we got married in high school. And this..." She pulled out a giant black ball attached to her leg by a thick chain from behind the couch, looking directly at Clementine, "we got this as our prize for doing so, right Ricky?" Throwing it at them and hitting him in the chest.

"Ricky... Ricky!"

"Ricky..."

"No!" Ricky shot awake, sweat trickling down the side of his head

"You okay?" Amy mumbled tiredly, reaching for his arm

He jumped back a little, startled by her touch, "Y-yeah. Sorry, bad dream." Patting her hand, and pulling the cover further over her shoulders, "Go back to sleep"

Lying back down he stared at the ceiling, trying to calm his breathing while she snored peacefully next to him.

After 2 hours and 39 minutes of looking up at the dark ceiling tiles, he carefully climbed out of bed - trying his best not to disturb her as he tiptoed through the dark apartment, and slid on his shoes. Grabbing his backpack from the floor, he slung it over his shoulder and quietly made his way out the door.

Coming off the stairs, Ricky paused, contemplating the best way to get out of the butcher shop: if he used the front door, the chime could potentially wake her, but he'd have to be quick to slide out the back without tripping the alarm. Deciding with the latter, he hiked the bag up further on his shoulder and slipped out the back door into the breezy early morning air; taking off into a sprint down the dark and desolate alleyway.

The sun was shining, breaking through the clouds as the temperature rose from the early morning breeze to a humid, sticky heat.

He blinked a few times, rising his head slowly up from his clasped arms molded against the hard wooden picnic table. Squinting as a bee flew past his ear, he yawned, standing to stretch as he looked out towards the trees. A child's voice caught his attention, the giddy lilt making him smile as a boy a little younger than his own, leapt around the grass excitedly.

Raking his hand through his sweaty hair, Ricky blew out a breath, remembering how he got there.

After taking off in a sprint in the alleyway, he rounded the corner, letting his feet slap the pavement hard as he increased his speed. The breeze felt good against his burning skin; lungs on fire as the images plagued his thoughts relentlessly, and fueled his feet to go faster. How did it come to this? He thought, fighting back tears as the images of her sad and angry eyes flashed through his mind. Why was this happening?

Rounding another corner, he paused, doubling over with his hands on his knees and gasping for the air that blew across his cheeks. Taking off again, he flew past the trees, and the swing set: it's creaky rusted chains scraping against the wind, before he stopped at a bench - the all too familiar wood like a dark shadow against the crescent moonlight.

Taking a seat, he pulled the bag over, unzipping it carefully and taking hold of the crumpled letter; eyes scanning it again and again in a fluster of confusion and something he couldn't place.

14. Ricky read that letter 14 times. Each time becoming more confused and more distraught. Shaking his head, he threw it down, stepping away from it before picking it back up again. His hands were shaky as he took it and ripped it down the middle, and then again, and again, and again, until it was just chunky bits of paper littering the aged wood in the early morning darkness.

Letting the tears fall from his eyes, he sat down, removing his wedding ring from his finger delicately and admiring its glisten in the moonlight. He smiled, remembering the day he received it from his mother, and the smile on her face when he dropped it into her palm. How did they get to this point?

Ricky kept his gaze on the ring, spinning it around the table as the memories of their life together thus far, played through his mind. He smiled again, pulling out his phone to scroll the photo gallery, chuckling at all the blurry images of the ceiling and random objects John must have found fascinating enough to document. If Amy knew all the embarrassing photos he had, she'd for sure break his phone.

Tapping, he brought up an image, her hair was pinned back, the laugh she expelled taking up her entire face as her head tilted back.

Swipe

Another image of her, this one he snuck while she was putting the kids to bed - pre baby sleep training - Emma pressed against her chest as John laid his head on her lap.

Swipe

Her brow was furrowed, a sheepish smile coming to face that made her left dimple pop in her cheek.

Swipe

She pouted: her bottom lip stuck out in the same way as their son's often did.

Swipe

Her eyes were squinted, the too short shorts she was wearing clinging to her legs wrapped into themselves against the sheets: peacefully deep in slumber.

Swipe

This one his favorite. Their long awaited wedding photo. His arm was wrapped around her waist, his other cupped her cheek. Her left hand was holding the phone while the other stayed on her abdomen. The way she looked at him in that moment... that quiet moment of just the two of them lying together in their wedding attire on a hotel bed... it was perfect. She was perfect.

So why does he have these other... feelings?

The ring stopped spinning, dropping like a domino with a single clink.

Biting his lip, he picked it up and slid it back on his finger, quietly whispering into the darkness, "I'm not doing this. That's not who I am anymore. I can't be. I won't be."

Fighting the soreness in his calves, he fought back the urge to drop like a stone as he opened the door: a small smile coming to his face upon her standing at the stove making breakfast.

"Where were you, you weren't in bed when I got up." Amy asked softly, a hint of worry laced in as he wrapped his arms around her chest, lacing his fingers together above their daughters head

"I didn't want to wake you - but I needed some air." Ricky nuzzled his nose into her neck affectionately, letting the sweet scent of her strawberry shampoo fill his nostrils, "I think all these tests are messing with me. I just needed to clear my head for a minute." Moving his hands, he chuckled and stepped back, motioning to the pouch their daughter sat in that she had strapped to her body, "I guess we've adopted the kangaroo pouch thing then?"

"Beats getting kicked in the ribs because of a little one's constant desire to kick their legs" pursing her lips at his teasing and flipping over another glob of batter with the spatula

Rocking back on his heels, he shot them both a smile, "smells good."

"Are you talking about me or the pancakes?" Amy paused, turning on her heels to meet his face, "Because I took a nice hot shower this morning..." her voice low and seductive as she stepped closer to him, "and then someone got her teething cookie on me" before switching to a more playful tone upon their daughter grunting and shoving her fist into her mouth.

"Speaking of..." Ricky scrunched his nose at Emma, smirking playfully as her slick fingers reached towards him, before looking back up to her mother, "today's the twelfth, you know."

Amy smiled wide, flipping the last of the batter over and turning down the stove as she craned her neck down, "happy half birthday, baby girl!"

"Da!" Emma responded, a wide toothless grin on her face as she marveled at her father

His eyes grew wide, grinning from ear to ear as he trust his right index finger into the air towards her, "Ha! Told you!" Emma squealed at his outburst, pumping her dangling legs in excitement against the pouch. "Yeah, I told her didn't I?" He teased, letting her grasp tightly onto his index finger as he kissed her forehead

"Seven and a half months in misery, just to have you betray me!" Amy rebutted, mouth slightly agape in mock shock. Emma squealed again, flailing her little arms and blowing raspberries

Adjusting the harness, she took a step back, allowing him to slide her out of the pouch. "You're lucky you're cute" Amy stated, poking her index finger into the child's covered stomach

Ricky's brow rose, jostling Emma in his arm as she grabbed at the neck of his t-shirt, "Are you talking about me or her?" Amy cocked her head at him, his grin growing bigger as his eyes softened before leaning into her and brushing his lips against hers, "I love you, Amy"

Reciprocating, she added some pressure, cupping his cheek in her palm affectionately, "I love you too," trying to keep from giggling as their youngest child grabbed at their faces with her small fingers.

"Ewwweee!" John scrunched his nose at the sight, hiding his eyes behind his hands, giggling.

Breaking apart, they gave each other a glance, handing her back to his wife and crouching slowly to tackle him, digging his fingertips into his sides in a furious tickle attack, "C'mere you!"

"St-o-o-op da-d-d-dy!" He shrieked, stomping his feet against the wood as he squirmed in his father's grasp.

Relenting after another round of his shrill shrieking, Ricky plopped him into the kitchen chair he was standing by, watching as he took a hesitant bite of his breakfast. "Is it good?" John nodded, his mouth full. "Mommy didn't burn it?"

"Hey!" Amy's jaw fell open, playfully slapping his arm, their child snorting at the funny face her brother was making at her, making him giggle.

Taking a small one from the plate, Ricky took a bite, nodding slowly and leaning back against the chair, "not bad, you did good today, mommy"

She rolled her eyes at him, putting the pan into the growing pile of dishes in the sink. He got up from his chair, pecking her temple with his lips as she rinsed off the pan, "last final today?"

Shutting off the faucet, she adjusted the baby against her hip, "Yeah - hardest one"

"You got this."

John nodded, fork held high in the air as he cheered, "You dot th-is mommy!"

They both started to chuckle, before she glanced at the clock. "Oh shoot, I need to see O'Malley -" shuffling around the kitchen, gathering a few pancakes into a paper towel, a water bottle from the fridge, sliding their child back into her husband's awaiting arms, and kissing their son's mop of shaggy blonde hair. "I gotta run, I'll see you when I get home?" Ricky nodded, following on her heels to the door, and pecking her lips one more time before they went their separate ways for the day. "Okay - love you - byeeee!" He waved Emma's tiny arm back and forth, before lifting her above his head, "Da! Da-Da!" He cooed, "Come on you can do it, Emma! Da-da!"

Pulling into the lot, she grabbed her phone as it buzzed inside the cup holder, "everything okay?"

"I don't know. Nora just called... your mom is selling the house?" He sounded concerned

"What! When is that happening?" She tried to sound convincing

"I don't know. Your mom told Nora last night. I gotta get these two to daycare, do you want me to call Anne?"

"No!" Amy interjected quickly, "I -I'm going to call her... see what is going on." Her hand shook grasping the phone tightly against her ear. "I gotta go too. I'll see you tonight. Love you."

Hanging up, she blew out a long breath, tapping the phone screen a few times and turning the dial on the dashboard as a melody floated around the small space.

Tapping another part, her eyes rested on the image that brought the screen to life: their small little family nestled together on their sofa. It was taken by Nora, and reminded her that life is oftentimes messy and wonderful at the same time.

She let the tears roll down her cheeks as the image continued to show, and the song blared through the speakers.

I can show you the world

Shining, shimmering, splendid

Tell me, princess, now when did

You last let your heart decide?

I can open your eyes

Take you wonder by wonder

Over sideways and under

On a magic carpet ride

A whole new world

A new fantastic point of view

No one to tell us "No"

Or where to go

Or say we're only dreaming