“Honey, we’re home!”  Adah called into the apartment as she fumbled through the door, her arms loaded with luggage and diaper bags.  Justin was close behind with Emma in her carrier and the rest of their things. 

Sam and Brett came around the corner, happy to see Adah and Emma back safely.  “My favorite girl!”  Sam called, rushing toward the group in the doorway.

“I missed you, too, Sammy,” Adah started, but stopped when Sam went past Adah and grabbed the carrier from Justin’s arms.  “Nevermind. I didn’t miss you at all.”  She deadpanned.

“Don’t mind her, she’s been contemplating have a baby of her own, so…it’s good you’re back.”  Brett grabbed some of the bags from Adah’s arms, setting them down before helping Justin carry everything further into the room.  He gave Adah a kiss on the cheek and shook Justin’s hand, giving him a smile.  “Flight went okay?”

“It was fine.  Emma was really fussy, but luckily there weren’t a lot of other people on the flight with us.”  Adah answered, taking off her coat and hanging it in the closet.

“Hey, Ads, I’ve got to get going.  I have a meeting tomorrow so I’ll be tied up most of the day.  I’ll call you when it’s over.”  Justin grabbed Adah in a tight hug, giving her a kiss on the cheek before waving to everyone else and slipping out the door.  Adah blushed at Brett’s knowing look.

“I’ll take it Tennessee went well, then?”  He headed toward the kitchen where Sam was giving Emma cheerios at the table.

“Uh…yeah, it was…good.”  Adah had no idea what to tell her roommates, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to spill all of the details yet.  She was still trying to figure everything out in her head still.  She didn’t know if she could handle everyone else’s input when she didn’t even know what her own thoughts were.  “Everyone loved Emma.”

“That’s no surprise.  She’s got good genes, this one.”  Sam grinned up at Brett and Adah.  “I missed having her around.  You too, Adah.”  She gave her roommate a cheeky look.

“Thanks, good to know I’m loved.”  Adah grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and grabbed a seat at the table, watching Emma and Sam with a grin on her face.

“Well, if you’re not feeling the love here you could always go to Justin.  He seems to be all set to love you.”  Brett’s voice wiped the smile right from Adah’s face and her cheeks flamed brightly.  Sam stopped trying to give Emma a cheerio and gave Adah a long hard look.

“You slept with him.  Again!”  Sam squeaked.  If possible, Adah’s face became an even darker shade of crimson and she started choking on the sip of water she’d just taken.  It took a few moments and some well placed pats on the back before she was able to catch her breath.

“Is it that obvious?”  Her face was flushed with the embarrassment and lack of air, and Adah suddenly felt extremely claustrophobic.

Brett and Sam passed a look between each other.  “Only if you’re us.”  It was Brett that answered.  He leaned up against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest.  “So, what happened?”

Adah ducked her head.  She wasn’t prepared to come home and face the Spanish Inquisition.  “I…I don’t know, really.”  She took another careful sip of her water.  “He took me out back with a picnic and everything and he started asking me questions about the night we met…and…we had sex.”  She chanced a glance at her two best friends and wished she hadn’t.

“What about Brennan?”  Sam moved from her spot to fill Emma’s sippy cup with water, but her attention was fully on Adah.

“I haven’t talked to him in a few days.”  Adah confessed, “I have no idea what I’m going to say to him.”

“The truth would be a good place to start, Ace.”  Brett loved his roommate like a sister, but he knew that she was getting herself into even more hot water.  It wasn’t enough that she was the mother of Justin Timberlake’s baby, Adah didn’t need to get into a love triangle, either.  He didn’t want to see her get hurt, but she seemed oblivious to what was going on around her.

“I don’t know.”  She ran a hand through her hair, frustrated and confused.  “I have no idea what’s going on between me and Justin…and, I hate to hurt Brennan like that.”  She gave a pleading look to her roommates, but Sam’s focus was on Emma and Brett wasn’t caving.

“You’ve already hurt Brennan, Adah, he just doesn’t know about it.  But it’s completely unfair to hide things from him while you figure out what it is you want from Justin.”  Taking a deep breath, Brett attempted to calm himself down.  “I love you, Ace, I really do.  You’ve been one of my best friends since the moment we met.  But I refuse to see you do this to yourself and to two good men.  Justin has obviously stepped up and taken responsibility for his actions, and it’s glaringly obvious that he’s got feelings for you.  And Brennan has been nothing but understanding and a gentleman with you.  You have to figure out what the hell you’re doing before both of them end up resenting you.”

Both Sam and Adah looked at Brett, slack-jawed.  “Uh, Brett, you left your soapbox.”  Sam called after him as he left the kitchen, waving them off.  The girls exchanged glances, still reeling from his tirade.

“That was rough.”  Adah let out the breath she’d been holding.  “I didn’t know he felt so strongly.”

Sam gave her a look.  “He loves you, Adah.  You’re right up there with his family.  He’s right, as harsh as it sounds.  He’s just trying to look out for you and for Emma.”  Adah watched as Sam picked Emma up, bringing her to the sink to wash her hands and wipe her face.  “I’m going to watch Emma tonight.  I think you should go across the hall and have a talk with Brennan.”

A moment later, Adah was left alone in the kitchen, her thoughts heavy on her mind.

~*~

A long, hot shower and a strong cup of coffee later, Adah stood in front of Brennan’s door, her hand poised to knock.  She had no idea what she wanted to say to him, and she knew that telling him the truth was going to make a mess.  Her roommates were right, and she knew that, but it didn’t make this any easier.

Sometimes, Adah wished she’d never met Justin Timberlake.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Adah’s knuckles rapped on the wooden door.

Brennan’s face light up as he spotted Adah.  “Hey!  You’re back! Come on in.”  He opened the door wider, ushering into the apartment.  Ranger met her with tail wagging and tongue lolling out of his mouth.  “You look great.”  He shut the door behind them and they made their way into the living room.

“Thanks.  It’s good to be home.”  She smiled at him, but it felt forced on her face.

“Did you have a good time?”  He sat back, grinning, happy to see Adah.

“It was…interesting,” she smiled, remembering all of the family members she’d met and the few she’d pissed off.  “Justin’s family was really excited to see Emma, though, so that was good.”

“Cool,” Brenna knew that Justin would have to come up in the conversation; he just wished it hadn’t been so soon.  For some reason, Adah seemed to changed when Justin was mentioned.  “I’m glad you had a good time.”

“Yeah,”  Adah wrung her hands together, knowing she should just come out with everything.  “Brennan…there’s something I should tell you.”

His eyebrows drew together, a strange feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.  “Oh?”  He licked his lips; suddenly his mouth was too dry for him to swallow.

“I…”  She hesitated.  How was she going to drop this bomb?  “We…Justin and I…we…I slept with him.”  She rushed out, looking down at the floor.  “I didn’t mean for it to happen, and I have no idea what it means or how I feel.  I just…I didn’t want to lie to you.”  She finally chanced a look, but Brennan’s face was blank.

He watched her, his heart somewhere down around his toes.  He knew something like this was going to happen, he just wasn’t ready for it to be so soon.  He knew that Adah and Justin had a lot of unfinished business to work out between them, and they would always share Emma.  He just didn’t expect things to happen like this.  He should have known, of course, because what woman wouldn’t want Justin Timberlake?  Adah had slept with the man once, Brennan shouldn’t be surprised that she did it again.

He just didn’t know it would hurt quite like this.

“I’m so sorry.”  She whispered.  She tried to stop the tears from her eyes, swallowing hard.

Brennan shrugged off the heaviness that had settled on his shoulders.  “You don’t owe me anything.”  He turned his head, not quite sure where to go from there.

“But I do.”  She pleaded, hating that she’d had to do this.  “You’ve been nothing but spectacular with both me and Emma and…I…I really enjoy spending time with you, Brennan.  I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“But it did.”  He countered.  “So what does that mean?”

“I don’t know.”  She took a deep breath, hoping to steel her resolve.  “I’m sorry, Brennan.  I didn’t mean for this to happen, I swear.  I just…”  Her voice faded out, unsure of what to say.

Brennan turned toward her, a forced smile on his face.  “Adah, you have been through a lot, and there’s still a lot of stuff that you and Justin have to figure out, obviously.  I get that.  I think you need to spend some time thinking about that before we can really go anywhere else.”  He lowered his eyes, picking at his shorts.  “I don’t want to be caught in the middle while you decide between the two of us.”

“I...you’re right.  I’m sorry.  That’s completely fair.”  She stood, wiping her sweaty hands down her pants.  “You’re a good man, Brennan.  I’m sorry you got caught in my mess.” 

He stood too, giving her a shaky grin.  “Hey, it’ll be okay.  We…ah…we can still be friends.”  It killed him to say it, but he couldn’t take the look on her face anymore.  He just wanted to say something to get her to smile.

“Good.  Friends.”  She repeated, not sure what she thought of the term or the situation.  It was her doing, though, so she’d just have to put up with it.

“Yeah.”  He walked her to the door, needing some time along to process everything.  “I’m glad you’re home safe, Adah.”

“Thanks.  I guess I’ll see you around,” she waved pathetically, stepping out into the hallway.  Brennan attempted another smile before closing the door, leaving Adah standing in the hallway, feeling completely confused.