By 11:00, most of the crowd had died down. Sutton had gone home with her grandparents and Chad and Lane were helping break down the stage, although JC had to laugh at Chad who was panicking about getting dust on his linen pants. Lane was constantly reminding him he shouldn't have worn them, but it was doing no good. He walked away and found the coffee shop nearly deserted, the table in the corner set with a single rose and Kaylie and Madison leaving the back office. 

"We'll go get her! She's in the back!" Madison whispered, and pulled Kaylie back towards the office again. In a few seconds, James appeared looking confused, then smiled when she saw JC standing by himself and grinning back at her. The girls quickly ran out of the shop, giggling and whispering. JC made his way over to James. 

"Come sit down," he pulled her hand and led her to the table. The table where they'd had their first date. James sat across from him and looked a bit perplexed by the red rose. She then let out a small gasp when she looked to see JC kneeling before her, a ring between his thumb and forefinger. "James, I know this is soon but that's just how our relationship's been. I can't imagine being with anyone else. So, will you marry me?"

James couldn't breathe, only nod her head slowly and then burst into happy tears, throwing her arms around JC's neck and hugging him tightly. She pulled away so that he was able to place the ring on her finger. He kissed the tip of each of her fingers before enveloping her in a warm, long kiss. James couldn't remember the last time she'd been this ecstatically happy. Sutton's birth was probably the last time she'd felt so elated, but it was a different kind of elation. "Josh, I can't believe all of this," she whispered into his ear as he kissed her neck. "I'm so happy, baby. So, so happy!"

JC pulled away and smiled at her. "I wanted to wait til next week, but I couldn't. And now that we're having a baby-"

James grinned, "A lot's happened in three months." she placed her hand on her belly, and then looked up at JC. "We're gonna have a busy year. Especially with you opening your own talent studio."

"We'll talk about that tomorrow. C'mon, I've got the rest of the night planned," He grabbed her hand and they headed out of the coffee shop and got into James' car. They drove all over town, which wasn't a big feat of course, but they made it into one. First, they stopped at Ruby's and celebrated with ice cold beers and Ruby gave them buffalo wings on the house. It just happened to be karaoke night and JC got up to sing She's Got a Way and then coerced a tipsy James into singing I Got You Babe before heading out. Then, they drove the 45 minute trek to the beach and JC surprised James with a blanket he'd placed in the trunk, laying it out on the sand. Under the stars, on a secluded beach, they made love while the ocean waves crashed on the sand. Finally, they fell asleep, which JC hadn't planned on, but certainly wasn't going to object.

James awoke the next morning with the sunrise. She slowly sat up, looking down at JC who was on his side and fast asleep. She watched him breathe rhythmically and studied the features on his face. She loved everything about him. His passion for the arts, his passion for her and for Sutton and their new baby. His laugh alone made her smile just thinking about it. And he was going to be her husband. She wasn't stupid, of course. She knew they were bound for their ups and downs and the fact that they'd only known each other for such a short amount of time was a little scary, but it just made sense for them. He made sense. For the first time in a long time, James' world was finally starting to sort itself out.

**

"It's federal law, James. If both parents are able, they have to be there to sign the adoption papers," Lane hated having to tell James what he was telling her just a week and a half later. She and JC had been so thrilled about the fact that they could move forward with the adoption before the wedding now, that she hadn't even thought about the prospect of seeing the one man that still made her skin crawl. 

James felt helpless. She looked at JC, who squeezed her hand. "How long does it take? The court session, I mean."

"If all goes well, it will be done within an hour,  maybe not even that long," Lane responded. "I've already mailed him his set of papers for him to sign and we can get a date in Atlanta as early as next week."

"Next week?!" James let out a shaky sigh. She looked at Lane, "I don't want him to see Sutton. I know he says he doesn't want contact or whatever, but he's an asshole and is unpredictable. So if she has to be in the room-"

"Baby, calm down," JC interrupted her and then looked at Lane, "Will Sutton need to be there?"

Lane shook his head firmly, "Not at all. It's a matter of a judge taking away Clay's parental rights and handing them over to you. You'll sign a few papers and that will be that. I'll make sure to talk to whomever Clay has representing him and let him know that Clay isn't to speak to you before, during, or after."

James felt a little more relaxed and tightened her grip on JC's hand. "Okay. Then I guess we just wait to hear from him, then?"

Lane nodded, "As soon as I hear something, I'll let you know."

James was quiet on the drive home. She looked out of the window and a million thoughts replayed in her head. The last time she'd seen Clay, she'd been thrown on a floor and pregnant with their daughter and he hadn't given a damn. Her blood boiled when she thought of the ways he'd manipulated her and treated her as though she was sub-human. 

"What if he changes his mind?" James looked over at JC, who immediately switched off the radio. 

"We'll deal with it if it happens, babe. Sutton's going to be with us regardless. He can't take her away," JC was trying to be reassuring, but he'd felt the same question wandering around in his mind. If this guy really was as horrible as both James and Chad had made him out to be, there was no telling what he was capable of. 

"Are you shitting me?!" Chad nearly dropped the pan of skirt steaks he was holding, later that evening when he and Lane had come over to JC's and James' for dinner. "You have to be in the same room with that asswipe?!"

"Chad!" James shushed him, as Sutton was just in the next room. "Don't make this a bigger deal than it is. Sutton doesn't know what's going on and frankly, it's better that she doesn't. In her mind, Josh is her dad and that's all that matters. When she's older, we're going to explain to her what happened, but for right now, I don't want her to know anything and if you keep reacting like you just did, she'll find out sooner than later!"

Chad took a breath before he spoke, "I'm sorry." He sighed and looked at James with a pitiful expression. "I just hate this for you, doll. If I could, I'd go and beat him up myself, but you know what weak fists I make." This caused a sea of laughter between James, JC, Chad, and Lane and soon the tension of what was taking place the next week was broken. 

Dunwoody, Georgia
Anna had absentmindedly opened something that didn't belong to her. She stared at the sheet of paper in her hand and read over and over again:

...that the biological father, Clayton William Anderson give up his paternal rights as father to Sutton Elizabeth Ryan, hereby handing over all paternal rights to Joshua Scott Chasez....

There was more, but Anna couldn't read it from the tears now streaming freely down her face. He had a daughter. And he had known he had a daughter. There was another name on the form. James Elizabeth Ryan. His ex-girlfriend that he'd made out to be a schizophrenic, psychotic bitch. Nevertheless, her name stood and screamed out to her more than any of the other unknowns on the page. Anna couldn't find the right emotion to feel. Anger. Hurt. Betrayal. And just an overall feeling of hopelessness. Because this marriage was over. She couldn't stay, not after this. He'd had a child this whole entire time and it was the biggest lie he'd ever hidden from her. 

At that moment, the front door opened and she looked up to see him coming toward her, awaiting a kiss from her. Before he reached her, she held the paper in her hand in front of him. 

"Who is James Ryan and why the hell have you been hiding the fact that you had a child all of this time?!" Anna screamed at him.

She was thrown to the floor before she could say anything else.