Big'un Lester was waiting for James when she arrived at work the next morning. She'd taken to going in later in the morning since she and JC had become official. Partly due to the fact that she had a reason to stay up later and it also gave them time together in the morning. James was still on Cloud 9 after hearing Sutton refer to JC as "Daddy" earlier that morning at breakfast. It hadn't been anything special. She'd only asked him to pass the bacon when they were sitting in the breakfast nook. It was a simple, "Daddy, can you give me the bacon?" but it had made a huge impact on both JC and James and she was still smiling when she walked up to the entrance of the shop.

"Hi, Big'un," James greeted him, as she opened the door. Big'un grunted a "hello" and followed her into the shop. "Can I help you with something?"Brewster's was busy with its usual morning crowd. Kaylee and Madison were taking orders and Hunter was wiping down a table that had recently been abandoned. 

"Well, I was just wonderin' why the talent show thingy had an age limit? It says on that there flyer you got in the window that it's only for people ages 5 to 18," Big'un crossed his arms. "I been goin' at this since we was in high school. It's my time to shine."

James could almost hear Kaylee giggling into Madison's shoulder but ignored it. "Big'un, this is just a small little talent show that my boyfriend is helping put on for the teenagers. And besides, you do the Shrimp Festival every year." She was a bit repulsed by the stains of something orange all over his white t-shirt boasting the slogan "Country Boyz Do It Better" across it. "You know there's not much in this town for kids and so Josh and I just thought-"

"Yeah, but he's all famous and stuff. Has he heard me sing? If he hasn't, he should and then let me enter," Big'un leaned against the counter, knocking aside a few samples of bagged ground coffee for sale. Madison carefully came behind him and propped them back up, all the while trying not to crack a smile.

"I'm sorry, Big'un, but I this year we're just letting kids and teens enter. Maybe next year," James was a little firmer in her tone with him this time.

"Ok," Big'un sighed and reached in his pocket to pull out a toothpick that he promptly began to chew on. "Well, does he need another judge? Cause I can do that-"

"Big'un, that's really sweet of you, but I'm afraid Josh has already contacted two friends of his in Orlando," which was partly true. JC had spoken to both Joey and Chris to see if either of them were available to come and help him judge. Neither had said 'no', but they'd not gotten back to him officially, either.

"Fine, it's your loss!" Big'un snapped at James, and turned around, waddling out of the shop. Almost as if on cue, she heard Madison and Kaylee letting out shrieks of laughter.

"OMG!" Kaylee giggled, "Like Josh would ever let him perform!"

Chad walked in almost seconds after Big'un had left and was looking over his shoulder, watching the large man cross the street. "Talk about eclipsing the sun," he muttered, though loud enough for James and the girls and Hunter to hear. James shook her head at him, trying to be disapproving, but couldn't hide the smirk spreading across her face. "What'd he want? He doesn't seem like the type that drinks coffee."

"He wanted to know why he couldn't enter the talent show," James answered, as she went behind the counter to fix Chad his regular latte. "And then he wanted to know if he could help judge. Needless to say, he wasn't too happy with me when I told him 'no' to both requests."

"Well, it is a talent show," Chad sighed and rolled his eyes. "Doll, can I speak to you in the back real quick?" he asked James, as she handed him his latte. He looked at Kaylie and Madison. "We'll be right back." James led him to the back of the shop and sat down at her desk, looking up at Chad curiously.

"What's up?" she asked, as Chad pulled out an extra chair that was propped up against the wall. 

"I know you're freaking out," he started and as she began to object, he raised a hand. "No, hear me out. I know you're freaking out because things are happening at lightening speed, but I wanted to ask you something. Isn't it everything you ever wanted? Isn't he everything you ever wanted? You always told me you wanted a man who would be Sutton's father. Seems to me, Josh fits the bill. I know you aren't used to things moving as fast as they are, but when they moved at a snail's pace with Clay, look how things turned out. I'm just saying this all out of love for you. I know you and I know you are excited but the bigger part of you, your little fragile heart, is nearly about to explode from freak out mode because you're waiting for something to go wrong. And maybe it will. But I highly, highly doubt that."

James stared at him and sighed, shaking her head and wryly smiling at him. "I hate that you know me this well," she finally spoke. "I was thinking all morning about what I might do or what he might do that would make the relationship end."

"I think unless one of you has a debilitating disease, you're going to be okay," Chad stood and pulled James up with him, enveloping her in a hug. "Don't be mad at him for what he did, looking into adoption, I mean. He was excited and was only looking at what his options were. Lane told me that Clay was just as creepy sounding as ever so I'd say the sooner you get that signature from Creepazoid, the better."

"We're waiting to talk about all of that after the talent show and his parents come into town and we move," James was trying not to sound as paranoid as she was feeling inside about all that she had to do in the coming weeks. "One day at a time, remember?"

"Yes, I vaguely remember saying something like that," Chad winked at her and kissed her forehead. "I love you, doll face. I wouldn't have told you any of this if I didn't."

** 

Chris Kirkpatrick was dreading pulling into his driveway and getting out of his car. Another fight with Stephanie had made him leave in the first place and drive throughout the Windemere suburb until he cooled off. He didn't want to apologize to her again because he knew, at least this time, he'd done nothing wrong. As he sat in the car, debating whether or not to turn it off or go for another spin, he felt his phone buzz. He looked down at the caller ID and grinned when he saw it was JC. "Dude, I just talked to you a few days ago. This is a record. We haven't spoken this much in years."

"I know," JC said into the phone. He was sitting out by the pool watching Sutton swim and waiting for James to get off work. He figured calling to see if Chris was in for the judging portion of the talent show couldn't hurt. He and James had wanted to update the flyers and he knew if another "celebrity" was billed, it would draw even more of a crowd. He had to hand it to Grayson. For being such a small town, they had already had at least 100 or so people say they were interested. And he was getting at least ten or more emails a day asking for a time to sign up. "I just figured I'd see where you were at on my little offer."

"Oh, you mean for the talent show?" Chris mused. "Yeah, count me in. I ain't got nothing better to do." He figured this little trip to this little town in Georgia would give him and his so-called girlfriend a much desired and needed break from one another. 

"Awesome. It's going to be the Saturday after the Fourth of July. You can come on up whenever. James and I are moving to our house that week so we'll be in the midst of unpacking, but you're more than welcome to crash with us," JC told him. "I can't wait for you to meet her. And Sutton, too."

Chris laughed into the phone. "I've never heard you talk about a girl like this before. You must be the smitten kitten,"

"Call me whatever you want," JC retorted. "I've never been happier, that's for sure." He watched Sutton climb out of the pool and she waved at him as she went up the steps to the water slide.

"Daddy, watch me! I'm gonna go down on my stomach!" she called to him. JC stood, warily eyeing her and walking to the edge of the pool just in case. He was always extra cautious with her in the water.

"Ok, be careful baby girl," he warned her, as she flattened herself against the slide and let the water carry her into the pool. She came bobbing up and giggling, swimming to the edge of the pool and climbing out to have another go at it.

"Whoa. Daddy. Nice," Chris interrupted JC's watchful stare. He looked up at the front door and saw Stephanie standing on the porch, her arms folded in front of her, a scowl across her face. "Hey, man, I better go. Keep me posted and I'll see you in a few weeks." Chris hung up and reluctantly got out of the car.

James returned home shortly after JC had hung up the phone with Chris. She had two bags of groceries with her and she tapped the sliding glass door with her foot to let JC know she was back. He waved at her, continuing to watch Sutton, who was now doing little ballet leaps into the water from the side of the pool. He walked over to the edge and looked down at the child, who looked up at him with her brown eyes shining at him through her goggles. "Mommy's home," he told her and immediately Sutton went to climb out of the pool. JC helped lift her out and carried her over to the lawn chair where a towel awaited her. He dried her off and playfully threw the towel over her head, grabbing her in a fierce hug as the little girl squealed with delight. He loved it. He loved every minute of this new role of fatherhood that had snuck into his life. It was hard to imagine life before Sutton and James and JC didn't want to. This was his life and he couldn't imagine it any other way.

Later that night, as they lay in bed after a heated love-making session, James spoke softly, "I want you to know I'm not freaking out anymore,"

JC chuckled lightly, his fingers running lazily up and down James' arm. Her head rested on his chest and Norah Jones could still be heard crooning from the iPod that rested on its speakers next to James' side of the bed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm not freaking out like I was. I mean that I'm ready for all of this because Chad reminded me that as fast as we're moving and as much as I was scared about it moving so fast, I'm not anymore. Because you've been the best thing that's ever happened to me, Josh. You're everything I ever wanted," she rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him.

"Are you just saying that because of how good it was a few minutes ago?" JC teased her and James playfully slapped him. 

"No!" she giggled, as he rolled on top of her and held her arms above her head. "I meant it. All of it!" JC bent down to kiss her and James let him have complete control yet again. It was amazing what he did to her. All of him. She clung to him tighter, reveling in his kisses and his movements above her. 
"I love you, James Ryan," JC said, almost above a whisper. "And I'm not ever, ever letting you go." She'd heard those words before, but they'd been far more sinister and as JC pulled away from her and laid down next to her again, all she could think about was that she did want JC to be the legal father of Sutton more than ever. She brushed her middle finger over her ring finger, knowing what that meant, but also knowing she was more than ready to be JC Chasez's wife.

Anna Anderson looked out the window of her three-story home in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody. It was past midnight and he still wasn't home. She wasn't stupid. Business dinners never lasted this long. She knew and she'd known for a while. It was admitting it to herself that had taken the longest.From the outside, she and Clay had the perfect life. From the outside, their neighbors thought they were the sweet and normal neighbors; Anna with her charm and hospitality and Clay with his successful business. Yes, they made quite the impression on those around them. 

She placed her hand on her non-existent bump that was there only weeks before. She'd been ecstatic when she'd found out they were going to have a baby. Already choosing names - Eloise, a nice Southern name, for a girl and Clayton Jr. after his daddy for a boy. She'd secretly wanted Eloise. She'd always wanted a girl first. When Anna had looked at the pregnancy test and saw the double pink line, her heart had leapt for joy. Immediately, she'd made Clay's favorite meal - pork chops, homemade mashed potatoes, lima beans, and Hawaiian sweet bread - lit candles and put on his favorite dress right before he was due home. He'd come in that evening, hardly noticing the spread on the dining room table and barely glancing at her. 

He blamed it on a rough day at the office, but Anna saw right through that. She had hoped the news of the baby would be the one thing that would stop this new strain in their marriage. He finally acknowledged the dinner, before even acknowledging her, that is, and when she sat down across from him and took his hand in hers, his eyes glazed over as she told him their news. 

"We were going to wait," had been his cold response.

"I know, honey, but you know, things happen," she winked at him and brought his hand to her lips, kissing it softly. "I'm due in October. Oh, Clay, I know it's sooner than we thought, but-"

Clay wasn't listening to her, "We just bought this house, Anna. How in the hell are we supposed to pay for a mortgage and a kid? And I thought you were on the pill?!" It had been a conversation he'd had six years previously. 

"How are you pregnant? You were on the pill!"

"I forgot to take it that day. I didn't think you'd be back-"

"Well, that was dumb of you," his hand came flying across her face. "How am I supposed to raise a kid?! Did you ever think of that?" his hand clenched her throat and he pushed her against the wall. 

"Stop, Clay!" James had gasped. He'd released her and she slid to the floor. He didn't want kids. She should've known that. He punched her. Again and again...

"I was, but the doctor put me on antibiotics and it negated it," Anna looked at him uncertainly. "Clay, are you mad?"

He glared at her. "I guess I'll get over it, won't I?" he'd felt his fists tighten under the table and restrained himself this time. This was his wife. He wouldn't do what his father had done to his mother. James had been an ex-girlfriend, Anna was his wife.

Anna shuddered as she remembered the conversation. And then, twelve weeks into the pregnancy, she'd woken up bleeding in the middle of the night. Clay had been attentive then. He'd rushed her to the hospital, held her as she gasped sobs of despair when the doctor had told them there was no baby, and cradled her in his arms all night that night. But it had only been days later when he'd gone back to being distant with her again. And angry. So angry. Watching for any sign of a car passing by, Anna finally gave up and crawled back into bed, letting the tears fall onto her pillow like they had for so many nights in a row now.