Our Lives (Relix&Jocelyn)

Katie looked from her former best friend to the flower, concerned about what was going to be happening, or what was going to come from his mouth. She noticed that he was dressed nicely, while she was still in the same clothes that she had worn while at the Auto shop. Just being there, she felt under-dressed, though she had been dressed up earlier so she shouldn't feel like it.

She nodded as he apologized and looked at the flower again. She looked at the house when he asked if they could go somewhere quieter and bit her lip. It sounded like Bonnie was doing a lot better, and it even sounded like she was laughing, probably with her step-father.

"Alright." She said, reaching forward to take the flower between her thumb and forefinger. She wasn't too sure about the idea of them going any further from the house than to the tree in front of the house. She didn't really want to get into a fight with him. And right then, she was just tired. But she didn't know if she wanted to tell him about their daughter anymore.

Waving for him to follow her, the red head walked over the front lawn, fully aware of him behind her. She didn't want to be so upset at him. She didn't want for her whole life to have been so uprooted and messed up because she had wanted to make this guy love her. It had been a stupid mistake, but she didn't really regret it.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?" She asked him, tilting her head as she leaned her back against the tree to pay full attention to him. As she did, she brought the rose up to her nose, sniffing slightly. With the flower in front of her lips, it hid her soft smile very well, thankfully. She always liked flowers.

"More of. . . what isn't there I don't want to talk about," A.J. murmured to himself softly as the female leaned back against the tree. It was a bit of a relief that Katie did take the flower from him, he would've had a fit if she didn't. He would told her to just shove it after throwing it at her, he was trying to make amends for his part of all this tragedy this morning. Everything else was her fault. He wasn't the one who pushed them down the paths of 'just friends', she was. He may have made sure it didn't happen between them, but, why should he play second option to her teacher?

Alex forced a small laugh, only to have it be followed by a sigh. He didn't want to be angry anymore, he was tired of it. Now it was just the whole choosing of where to begin, probably to explain the out-burst in the store would be the best place to start. Taking the steps down the porch, the male walked to where there was five to six feet separating the two of them. "I want you to understand, first off, that I am extremely sorry about what happened in the shop." Inhaling a deep breath before letting it out immediately, "My little out-bursts have been happening since, well, high school."

A light sigh passed through his lips, "To give you a rough estimate, after you left, they started, uh," The male paused to swallow some saliva gathering in his throat, "First happened with Julia, it was, uh lets see," Pausing to stretch his arms above his head, thinking about when exactly when Julia pulled all those rumors. "Two, three. . . maybe, weeks after you left. Mr. Scott quit teaching, uh, some rumors were floating around. Julia had gotten worse, she would flip on a drop of a dime. We were in the hall one day, I," The male took a small break to clear his throat, eyes darting back and forth from besides the female. "I snapped. She had been gloating about everything; Mr. Scott quitting, you disappearing, spreading rumors how you were having his child. I just couldn't take it, I got suspended for breaking Julia down to nothing. She'd gotten worse, I felt constricted."

Scratching his chin lightly, "That was the first time, second time was a lot worse - I didn't think you could get worse, I was screaming, shouting names, slamming lockers. Throwing books. Julia broke down to nothing in front of my eyes, her friends ran. A lot of people thought I was just going to start throwing punches." Clearing his throat once more, A.J. looked toward the female. "My mom's new husband, they've been together for a year and a half now - the asshole boyfriend before you left. He kept pushing my buttons about getting a job, telling me I was lazy, nothing. I snapped again. He suffered a broken nose, seven stitches in his right eyebrow, fractured cheekbones, few missing teeth. I was arrested, uh, lawyer got me off on self-defense with a high case of mental distress to spring me to that point. I lived by myself for the last semester for high school." Hand moving up to his chin to scratch at the goatee, eyes making sure to not look directly at her.

"You had reminded me so much of Julia, it was unreal. I don't even remember smacking the jar. I just wanted to apologize and give you a brief up to date on why that happened." The male couldn't help but clear his throat, he didn't want to tell her this stuff, but, he needed to. "I'm just telling you this to give you why I acted like I did, I was angry. Two years, Katie, two fucking years. Not a word, not a phone call. Not a 'Hey, I'm doing fine - just letting you know.' letter. Nothing," His hands, arms beginning to flail a bit, just to emphasize his frustrations. "I mean, how do you do that? I went through hell without you."

Again, Katie nodded when he apologized, waiting for more of an explanation. The A.J. that she had known when they were in high school was so easy going that it was strange having seen him snap like he had.

She was impressed when he said that he'd snapped at Julia, and she wished that he would have done that when there could have been a him and her. The idea that he'd gone so far was worrisome for her. Could she really be around this? Let her daughter around it? Though, she didn't think that he would hurt either of them. Well, no. He might hurt her when he found out that she'd kept his daughter from him for so long.

"You hit him? Beat the crap out of him?" She asked, her eyes going wide when he told her that. She couldn't believe that. Couldn't believe that he would snap so violently, even after he'd sent the jar flying in front of her. "My God, Alex." She said quietly.

Her eyes widened even further when he said that she was so much like Julia. That was an insult that she wouldn't take lying down. "No. Don't say that I'm like her." She said. "Julia was a selfish person. I did all that I did for..." She stopped and took a breath, letting him finish with his tirade.

"Can I state my side now?" She asked him quietly, reigning in her own frustration. "I am sorry that you had to go through so much, I never meant for you to be hurt by my leaving. If I would have known that you would have been so affected, maybe I wouldn't have left.. But then, maybe I would have." Her free hand slowly went up to her necklace as she thought.

"I heard about the rumors about a month and a half after I left. Phillip told me." Phillip was the name of the teacher, and when he wasn't her teacher anymore, it was stupid to call him Mr. Scott. "I felt bad about that." She said admitted, sighing. "But, trust me, these two years haven't been easy on me. At all." She told him, biting her lip as she tried to think of how to tell him.

"I couldn't call you." She told him. "I left to protect you, and calling would have made me come back. I wanted to write you a letter, and I even started a time or two. But.. None of them came out just right. You couldn't come and find me." She moved the golden heart from side to side.

"I had a baby." She told him, just spitting it out. "A little girl, her name is Bonnie." She said, putting that first bit out there. "She turned one three months ago."

"If you would've known, Katie? You are really going to pull that bullshit line with me?" A.J. asked between her statements, that was just horse shit of a comment. How in the hell didn't she know? Nothing he said was a lie that night, her, clearly it was. If she could just leave as easily as she did.

Moving his hands up to his head, the male's fingers ran through his hair, grabbing at it as she continued to speak. Simply trying to ease his frustrations with everything she was saying. He didn't need her to leave to protect him, how in the fuck did that protect him!? Alex needed her, no one else. Not some bullshit excuse for her leaving to run off with Mr. Scott. Phillip Scott. The male simply couldn't believe what he was hearing, they were on a first name basis.

Shaking his head lightly, the male let out a small laugh, shoulders shrugging as his hands gripped his hair. "All those rumors were true, heh," The male spoke, huffing his chest a bit as he stared up to the tree. He couldn't look at the female, no, no, all this was just too much. Why did she have to come back to come clean? This only made things far, far, far worse then what they were previously. "So, is it, Katie Scarlett Scott now? That why you came back?" The male asked, hands shooting from his head, as if he was throwing some sort of dust into the air. "Just to throw it in my fucking face!?"

His first scream. "I fucking loved you! Yet, you ran off with some asshole teacher and had his fucking baby!? How could you!?" The male didn't move any bit closer to her, all his rage was in his personal space. "Your leaving protected fucking nothing, Katie! What were you trying to protect!? I meant what I fucking said that god damn night! I even told that bitch Julia about it! So, please, tell me what the fuck you were protecting!?" Shaking his head lightly, his hands moved back to the top of his head. It was just all of sudden beating his ass, he felt so weak, so helpless.

"I need to. . . sit down." The male mumbled to himself, hands removing from his head only to help sit him down in the yard, left leg folding up as his right propped up over his left, elbow resting on his knee cap. His hand continued to run through his hair, his mind simply playing everything over and over. "It was always too good to be true, huh? I still remember that morning, you looked so. . . bright, you had a glow. Of course it wasn't from me." This was all looking like one big ass mistake. A.J. didn't want to know any of this, his 'love' not really being his love. A one year old just happened to fit the story of her and Mr. Phillip Scott being together.

A.J. just shook his head, his hand grabbing at his hair once more. Fighting back all the emotions that wanted to spring from his body. This was not what he wanted to hear, not at all.

Scarlett wondered what he was going to say about her having a baby. Would he put the dates together? She believed that he would have faith in her, not believe those rumors, but then, she had left. And Phillip had left not long after. Still, seeing him come straight to that conclusion, it hurt her more than she could explain.

"Seriously?" She asked him, watching him freak out quietly, watching him in awe. "You seriously think that?" She was looking down at him by then, her eyes watching him with utter shock and pain. "You really believe that I would have sex with a teacher? That I would jump from your fucking bed to his?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips in an attempt to keep herself from flying at him in rage. "I was never that easy, Alex." She said, angrily.

"And you are right! It wasn't for you. It was because my career was finally coming to light. I was so happy because I was going to be putting my foot in the door for my doctorate." She pointed out. Didn't he ever listen to her? Hadn't he?

"It's never been Katie Scarlett Scott. Hell, he's not even Phillip Scott anymore! He's gay!" She threw at him, and now it was her turn to run her fingers through her hair with frustration and anger. "Bonnie and I went to his wedding four months ago, and he and Guy came to her birthday party."

She was so angry and hurt that he would believe that about her. That he would seriously doubt that she would do anything else. "Dammit Alex." She said, nearly shouting it. "I loved you, too. And it was far more than as a friend. Can you figure out, yet, why I left after I found out that I was pregnant? Do you need to look at her?" Her left hand was stuffed into her pocket at that and she pulled out her phone, opening the device with hands nearly shaking with anger. She almost threw it at him, since she didn't need to go through the photos to find a good picture. A picture of the beautiful little girl grinning a three toothed smile was her background. "Take a good look." She commented as she dropped the phone onto his legs.

How wasn't he supposed to believe it? The man had the one who spread the rumor at his ear, berating her, berating him for being friends with her. There was a fine line when he couldn't believe what was true and what was false. How could get get the truth? She wasn't even there. She left. She left him.

Watching the phone dropped to his left leg, the male reached down to it, hesitantly picking it up from the ground. What she was saying was that Bonnie was his child, with a picture to prove it. Flipping the phone open, A.J. stared quietly at the picture for a good while. The light occasionally going out on the backlight, thumb pressing down on the arrow key to light it back up. The light dimly lighting up his face.

Flipping the phone closed, the male looked up to Katie. "No, I can't figure out why you left." Sliding her phone back toward Katie, across the grass. "I can't figure out why you didn't tell me, what did you think I was going to do?" The male asked, calmly, pushing himself up from the ground. Alex wasn't going to dispute what he looked at, looked like him in a few ways. Adding the dates up, if Mr. Scott is gay, would be his child. "You think I was just going to tell you to stuff it because I was with Julia. Did you not believe me when I said that I was going to break up with Julia?"

Shaking his head lightly, the male looked toward Katie, his rage was still there. . . just simmering down. A light sigh passed through his lips, what else was there to say? What else was there for him to ask? He wouldn't have made her go through what she went through, it wasn't fair to either them. "You should have told me, Katie. There were always a way to tell me you wanted to speak to me. You could've showed up at my house, why do you think my reaction would've been negative?"

Scarlett watched him looking at the phone, watched him for any signs of him realizing that he was looking at his own daughter. But, she just saw him looking at the phone. She wished that she could have been closer to see. Did he gasp? Sigh? Did his eyes shimmer? But, no, she couldn't see any of that.

Her shoulders slumped when he still said no, and passed her the phone. She picked it up and pocketed it, looking away from him. She was near tears, again for the little girl, partially for herself as well.. When he spoke again, her eyes shot to him. He believed her? She was happy about that. "You told me to leave." She pointed out. Her back stiffened again and she looked right at him. "After that weekend, you told me to leave. And you didn't seem to want me there anymore.. You didn't want me." She said. And that was exactly how she had felt, and still did. He didn't really want her.

"That's why I didn't tell you. Because I knew you didn't really want me past that night. We'd been around each other after that. You gave me no indication that you wanted to be with me. If I would have known that you really wanted to be with me, or still did, even the day before I left, I would have stayed. Instead, I got to see you and Julia make-out. And I didn't want to spend the next eight months watching you with her or some other girl."

She sighed and bit her lip. "I wasn't worried that your reaction would be bad. I told you, it was to protect you, as well as myself. Can you imagine the words that would have gone through the school if I walked around pregnant? And you should have gone to school, college, had a good life without the worry about a baby." Admittedly, her mother had put those thoughts in her head. She was actually about to tell him, to go to his house and let him know, when her mother pointed out the life that would have been theirs if she told him. It wasn't great. But she'd realized while living away, that life as a single mother wasn't very great either. She and Bonnie were missing so much.

Nodding at the house, she kept her eyes on her former best friend. "Her name is Bonnie Blue Hamilton-Johnson." She told him, crossing her arms and rubbing one hand over the whole of her arm, in an attempt to warm slightly chilled skin. "If you ever want to meet her..." She left that hanging and shrugged.

Of course, everything went back to that damn weekend. That was miscommunication on both of their parts, how was he supposed to counter the whole 'I'm going away for a week! I'm so excited!' glow about her with. . . nothing but them building a relationship in the shadows? Honestly, how could he compete with it? Shaking his head lightly, the male let out a small sigh, "I did want you, how was I supposed to convince you to stay when you were so excited to go out of town for a week with Mr. Scott? One that seemed to completely over-shadow what he had done a day and two nights prior?" Shrugging his shoulders, "I'm sorry that I felt threatened, what was I supposed to do? How could I have came to you talking about rumors? That would give the illusion of me believing them. How could I betray your trust in that with asking about it?"

If he knew how to not give off that sense of betrayal, he would've. "And look where that got you, Katie, look where it got us. If you would've told me, who knows what it would've led to? I know for damn sure that your fears wouldn't have came true, you should have known that, just like I should have known." A.J. couldn't help but shake his head again, "You didn't need to protect me, people talk. Who cares? Did you care about what they were saying before that point? What would've a pregnancy changed, Katie? I would've been there, I wouldn't have just been there on the side with a fake relationship with Julia--"

Taking in a breath, the male shook his head lightly. What was the use talking about things that were in the past? Alex had tons of thoughts about what to say, to try to convince her otherwise that it would've been a better decision. Where would that gotten him? A better sense of what happened in the past? What about right then, what would that do about the present? The present was still her running off.

Taking the necessary steps toward the female who leaned back against the tree, A.J. shook his head at to her statements. He did want to see her, he did - just need to take it a step at a time. Bringing his hands up, Alex tenderly placed his hands against Katie's face, thumbs stroking her cheeks softly. "We just need to take it a step at a time. Lets not rush it," The male spoke softly, leaning his forehead to press against her own. For all he knew, Bonnie could not like him. "What do I got to do to make everything clear that I am here to stay? I want to be with you, Katie." Thumbs still lightly rubbing at her cheeks, eyes closing as his forehead rested against the female's.

Scarlett smirked at his first statement. "But clearly you did believe them. Otherwise you wouldn't have freaked out when I told you I was going away. I thought you'd known about the big competition. That's why I was going. A Latin competition." She sighed and closed her eyes, trying not to show her hurt. But that wasn't possible anymore. She was just so tired. Tired of everything.

"Yes..." She said when he asked if she had cared what they were saying. But all his questions were said together, and her reply came so slow, that she could have been saying yes to anything. But, she had been hurt by the rumors, the way people looked at her. She'd never done anything to anyone at the school, yet they thought that it was just fine to talk so badly about her around the school. Especially Julia and her friends. It was painful.

She slowly opened her eyes and watched as he advanced toward her. She wondered what he was going to be doing so close to her. Wasn't he still angry? She would have thought he'd be more angry. Come to think of it, she was still a bit angry. When his hands found her face, she was looking down, twirling her flower between her fingers as if she was thinking. When she felt the first caress of his thumbs on her cheeks, the redhead looked up into his eyes.

They had a daughter that was over a year old and he wasn't rushing to see her? It struck a cord in her that she didn't know she had. She felt the pressure of his forehead before that registered. It seemed like it would be the opposite of rushing if he went in to see her. But... He had his own rights, his own say in if he saw her or not..

"Apparently you are here to stay. You never left." She tried to joke, it wasn't very funny so she just bit her lip. Did she have to wait again? Was that going to be the catch. "Look. Alex. I don't want you to think that just because we have a child you should be with me. I wouldn't ever keep Bonnie from you." She promised, though she so badly wanted for him to really want to be with her. It even brought her close to tears just thinking about it.

Pulling his head back, A.J. let out a soft, mock laugh. Did she not hear what he said? That he wanted to be with her? Did that just happen to go in one ear then out the other? Why was she playing such a bullshit card? Shaking his head softly, A.J. moved his hands from her face to plant against the tree. "Why are you doing that?" Alex asked softly, another small shake of his head before turning his head away from her.

She was playing the 'I don't want to tie you down with a child, because you might not be interested in me' card. Or whatever they consider it nowadays. Alex could only question why, did he not make it clear enough?

"Did somewhere along the road was there a label of 'liar' put on me, Katie?" The male wondered, why was it so hard to believe that he still wanted to be with her? Pushing himself to stand up, the male shrugged softly. "So, you don't want me to think that we have a child together that I should be with you?" The male repeated her statement in the form of a question. Scratching his chin lightly, "What if I do want that-"

"W.C.I.B.U."

Maybe she'd get the acronym, maybe if he repeated it like old times sake she'd just snap out of this little 'He doesn't want to be with me.' fantasy. "Or should I just leave and stop wasting both of our time? I'm not sure how much further I can go to convince you that I want to be with you. It is. . . incredible to see how much you've built up to believe that I don't want to be with you. I left Julia to be with you, you weren't there to see what happened."

Scarlett tilted her head. Why was she doing what? She wasn't doing anything, or she didn't think she was. Then, she realized what he was talking about. Her saying he didn't have to be with her. She knew it was like she was calling him a liar, but she had learned to defend herself from being hurt as well as she could.

"No. I haven't heard you being labeled a liar anywhere." She said, putting her hands on his chest when he was done. The W.C.I.B.U. had eased her mind a lot more. "I don't want you to leave. If I didn't want you here then I never would have come back." She said, her fingers playing over his chest slightly. "It wasn't to clear my mind. Because I was convinced that I was doing the right thing.. I want you two to have a relationship... And I had hoped.." She said, smiling to herself. "That you would have wanted me." She confessed. "I do want to be with you." She said, flashing him a sad smile.

A.J. cracked a light smile, head shaking just a bit as his hands moved back toward Katie's face. Thumbs once more stroking her cheeks, his thumbs dropping to her jaw. "Just shut up." A.J. spoke with a light laugh, using a bit of force in his thumbs to close her lips, simply to quiet her. She just wanted to talk and talk, explain and explain. At one point it was repetitive, yet, at another. . . A.J. was finding it hard to resist it being cute.

"Listen closely, okay?" Alex spoke, his thumbs trailing up and down her jaw a bit while still holding her lips from talking. "Can you just do that for a moment?" The male asked, waiting for her to only nod as his hands dropped to from her face, down to her neck before finally stopping at her shoulders.

Pulling her towards him, Alex yanked her gently from leaning back against the tree. His lips pressed into her's, kissing her hoping to break whatever sort of confusion she still had on the situation. If he wanted to leave, he would've left.

Breaking off from the kiss, Alex's eyes opened slowly as his hands squeezed her shoulders lightly. "Understand now?" The male asked softly, shaking his head lightly as he cracked a light smile, hands drifting back up to her face. Thumbs stroking her cheeks lightly, "I sure hope not. . . I can go for a little bit more if I am needed to."

Katie smiled slightly when he smiled. His smiles were always contagious to her. Her eyes, however, grew wide when he told her to shut up and then physically did it for her. She couldn't help the soft giggle that came from her lips at that. She nodded when he asked if she could just listen, and watched him.

When he pulled her to him, the redhead put a bit of pressure on his chest with her hands so that she didn't just knock into him. When he kissed her, she groaned softly and her hands fisted around his shirt. She was not expecting him to just suddenly kiss her, but the kiss really melted her, like it had when they were together that night.

Her eyes slowly opened when he pulled away, and she smiled. "I might need a bit more explaining before I fully understand." She said with a smile, licking her lips slowly. She couldn't believe how much she'd missed such a simple thing as kissing. It had been too long since she had been able to kiss anyone.

She'd really missed him. It was amazing just how much. So much more than she had realized when she was away. She had missed just looking at him. Feeling his hands on her body. "I still like the way your hands feel on me." She confessed with a smile.

"Not even twenty seconds after I kissed you and your mind is already going dirty," A.J. spoke teasingly, leaning forward to place another kiss on the girl's lips. Holding it only for a split second before pulling back, a small teasing peck. "Pervert. . . " The male whispered softly, placing his lips to press into Katie Scarlett's once more.

He wouldn't lie and say it didn't feel good, or right, to be back in such an affectionate moment with Katie Scarlett again. It had been far too long, far too long since it was an enjoyed feeling. Breaking from the kiss, A.J. let his forehead rest against her forehead as his hands moved from her face, arms slowly wrapping under Katie's to pull her into a hug. Pressing her body into his, surely her mom and step-dad noticed she was missing. Wouldn't doubt that they heard the screaming, too. . . it was all for a good cause, or so, Alex hoped.

Resting his cheek against Katie's head, Alex let out a soft sigh, a content sigh. "I missed you so much, Katie," The male spoke as he brought himself to stand back straight, arms unwrapped from her as his hands slid to her sides. "If I wasn't keeping myself busy, I was thinking about you in more ways then one. . . I'd lose track of time, slip into a day-dream. Totally space everything out and think only about you. I'd make all these scenarios in my head that you had gotten hurt and I wouldn't have ever known." For the most part, A.J. scared himself. He wanted to be around her constantly - not worry constantly about where she was.

"Where did you go? Who helped you through the pregnancy? Through the first year of our daughter being born?" The man wanted to know, and at the same time, he didn't. What if she had no help? That was just gonna make him feel worse.

Scarlett laughed softly and kissed him back, nodding during the kiss. She would admit to being a pervert, at least when it came to him. It had, after all, been two years since she'd been with anyone. Her mind was prone to slipping into the dirty thoughts. She couldn't help it.

With her body right to his, her arms wrapped around his chest to close the rest of the distance. She let him pull back a little, but her arms stayed around his shoulders. She didn't want to let him go.

"I missed you, too." She agreed, biting her lip softly. I would look at Bonnie and see you, especially in her eyes. And I'd think about what was happening with you. Were you married? Did you have other kids? Had Julia gotten her hooks completely into you? It drove me crazy." She said.

She didn't want to tell him about the hard pregnancy she'd had. She wasn't going to. "I went to my father's, actually." She said, her fingers stroking over his back. "He did what he could, but I wasn't allowed to actually live with him. So, he let me stay in his old condo. It was a nice place, but so lonely." She said, sighing. Still, he didn't stick around for long. He babysat Bonnie when Scarlett had to go to work. But, he wouldn't come to the house. She couldn't even really relax after the surgery. It had been tough, but she wasn't going to let Alex know that.

It wasn't tough to tell her pregnancy wasn't all that great, he could see the light pain that came to her eyes while she spoke about it. She wasn't lying to him, he knew this. . . she was just not wanting to break the bad news to him. Not everything is a fairy tale, hell, safe to say that they both lived pretty hard lives these past two years. "All that is over now," The male spoke, nodding softly, at least for the most part. His situation wasn't any much better, least they could restart from where they left off, be a 'family'.

That is a funny term to think them two as, a family? A.J. never expected it, yeah sure, they loved one another but who was to say they would've gotten to this point if everything went the way it did rather then taking the fork in the road?

"Well," A.J. spoke, his eyes looking away from her, "There is something I should tell you. . . " An elongated pause being deliberate, he simply wanted to joke with her a bit. They could do that still, right? "I should let you know that I also. . . have five other kids." His eyes coming to the corners to look at her, facial expression a bit serious. . . for a few moments before his lips curved into a smile. A light laugh passing through his lips, "I kid, I kid. I only have one child, our child." The male spoke, leaning forward to place a kiss on Katie's forehead.

"Though, I do say I should get going. I came to talk to your mom a year or so ago, she told me to beat it before she calls the cops. It was weird." The male spoke, laughing softly as he turned his head a bit to look at the house the best he could. "Unless they are going to bed soon and you sneak me in like the old days." Fingers pushing into her sides, squeezing a bit before his fingers moved to tickle up and down Katie's sides.

Katie nodded and smiled at him. It was all over. Bonnie would have her father, and Scarlett would have him as well. Life was going to be better. She just knew it. They could make each other happy like they had done before.

When he turned serious, looking away from her, she got worried. She listened with slight shock as he said he had five other kids. "In two years?" She asked, not sure if he was joking. "You've been busy." She said commented, just before he smiled, and she knew that he was only joking around. She laughed with him and shook her head. "You had me worried!" She said, laughing softly as she leaned into the kiss on her forehead.

"She wasn't very happy when I told her that I was pregnant.." She said hesitantly. "And well, Daddy made me tell him who the father was. I didn't think it would be so bad, since I was going to tell you. Before they told me what it would do to you to be a father so young.." She said, and then, she laughed. "You wanna sneak in when they go to bed?" She asked, giggling softly at his tickling. "I could let you in." She said. "You can come in my window." She said with a smile, lifting her chin so that she could kiss him softly.

The male pushed his lips forward when she lifted her chin to kiss him, arms wrapping around her body once more to pull her close to him. Holding their lips together for a few moments. "Or you could just let me in, I'd rather not have to sneak in on the first day." A.J. spoke in reply, nodding softly. It wasn't that he wouldn't sneak in, just rather not get caught sneaking in. That wouldn't be anywhere good for either of them, that would show her mom and stepfather that she doesn't trust them to approve of her decision to have informed A.J. of him being Bonnie's father, and all sorts of other things.

Something that was just completely avoidable if she just took him by the hand, led him into the house and showed him their daughter. Wouldn't be hard to get the gist that Katie informed him of everything, would they be mad? Most likely, but in the end, it was Katie's decision.

"So, yes, I'd prefer for you to take me in through the front room. If we are going to sneak anywhere, you'd be sneaking over to my apartment." The male spoke, letting out a light laugh, taking a small step back to let them have a little space - simply because once that door shut, the lights dimmed and her parents went to bed; there'd be little to no space between the two. Not that it would lead to anything, they simply vibed better without space between them. "After you, Katie."

Scarlett laughed softly and let her hands drop. He definitely had a point. And if she wanted him to meet the girl tonight, it would be what had to be done. Him sneaking in would only help one part of her. So, with a wide smile, she took his hand and turned toward the house.

She missed the closeness that they had shared only a few moments before, but at least she knew she could have it again. And soon, she hoped. But, he needed to meet his daughter. A year was more than enough time to have been without her.

"If you see a bump on her head... Well.." She looked back and flashed him a quick smile. "She's learning how to run, and she fell." She explained, knowing there just might be a nice sized bump, or even a bruise. But, the girl healed fast, thankfully.

Once inside the house, she saw her step-father sitting with Bonnie on his lap, a book opened in one hand. They had been all for her putting Bonnie up for adoption, so they had never considered that one day Alex would be meeting her. It was clear that the man didn't know what to think of the situation. "Eleanor! Put another plate on the table!" The man called, drawing Bonnie's eyes from the book.

When she saw her mother, she brightened instantly and stretched out her hands, fingers moving into fists and then out as her signal that she wanted to be picked up. Scarlett hurried to do just that, cradling the girl in her arms to make her giggle. The girl let her head fall back, her hair hanging down a bit.

"Alex." She said, turning to him. "Meet Bonnie." She said, turning so that the girl was looking up at him. "She's a bit of a monkey." She explained.

"No- You don't have. . . to. . . do that. . . " A.J.'s statement falling off toward the end as the male got up from the couch to rush into the kitchen. The man didn't want to feel like he was intruding, setting another plate was. . . in a few ways, awkward. Those thoughts were shook from his head rather quickly as Katie walked over to him with their daughter, Bonnie.

His face brightened, smile forming only to widen as he looked down upon their daughter. The little girl staring up at her mother, occasionally looking to the strange man with a confused look on her face. A.J. tried his hardest to wipe the stupid grin off his face, he just couldn't help it - she looked so much like her mother then she did in the photo. "She looks just like you, Katie. . . " The male murmured lightly, bringing his hand up from his side, wiggling his right index finger to try to grab Bonnie's attention just for a second.

"Hi there, Bonnie, I'm Alex. . . your father." The male spoke in a whisper, placing his index finger to her cheek before gently rubbing the baby's face, rubbing over the light bruise. It would be tough to get used to having a one-year old, the man missed so much already. He'd still be stuck in her being a little baby, soon enough she'd be walking and talking.

"The photo under-played how much she looks like you, my god, its like looking at a photo of what you looked like as a baby." The male spoke, completely dumbfounded. Free hand moving to the girl's side to guide her to the couch, sitting them both down as his eyes didn't break from the child. It was unbelievable, how they produced this off a mistake.

Scarlett shrugged as her step-father hurried from the living room to see her mother most likely. "He will do what he will do." She said. "If you don't want to stay for dinner then just let them know when the time comes." She told him in a soft voice.

Bonnie was looking between the two of them. The girl had pulled herself so that one arm was wrapped around her mother's neck, her hand holding on tight as Alex reached to touch her cheek. "It's Daddy, baby." She whispered to the girl who was watching him. Like most children her age, she was a bit shy, but she warmed up rather easily. So, as they sat down, and Scarlett tried to settle her on her lap, the girl was pushing away.

"She looks like me right now because she's kind of calm. When she gets mischievous she looks just like you." She told him, making a soft 'humph' sound when the girl pushed on her stomach as she tried to climb across her lap to crawl on Alex's. Scarlett just watched her go and sighed as she relaxed back, a smile on her face as Bonnie settled herself on the lap of her father.

"So, would you like to know anything about her?" She asked curiously, watching as Bonnie touched his face with a single finger.

"So, basically, when she's getting herself into trouble - she reminds me of you? How does that work. . . 'cause, if I remember correctly," The male spoke, pausing in his statement to make his face completely still, making a facial expression of him being scared of her touching him, attempting to pull away while still frozen.

It was only for a moment before he snapped at her, playfully, growling like he was a dog as he tried biting her hand a few times - hopefully not scaring her in the process. "You were the trouble maker, not me." The male spoke softly, his hands moving to caress the little girl's side. Bonnie looked a bit stunned at her father's actions before giggling lightly, hands shooting up to grab at his lips, seemingly wanting him to reenact his snarling.

"I would- ow, stop," A.J. laughed softly, the male's hands beginning to tickle his daughter as her hands pinched at his lips, occasionally pinching his skin a bit too hard. A.J. quickly snarled at his little girl, attempting to bite her hands - Bonnie quickly drawing her hands back to her body with a light giggle fit. "When's her birthday?" The male wasn't quite sure the date, would like to know for sure.

Bringing his hands up to catch the girl's hands from shooting up to stop her's from grabbing his lips again. "I take it this is one of those father mischievous moments you spoke of?"

Scarlett laughed softly as she watched them playing. She even jumped when he started snapping and growling at her. Then, she laughed, watching.

"You were trouble." She said, reminding him. She could remember that same mischief in his eyes. "Her birthday." She said with a nod. "April Twenty-third." She told him, smiling. "She was a month early, but surprisingly healthy. She only had to spend a week in the NICU. The doctor said premature delivery is common with teen pregnancy." She explained. "But she's perfectly healthy now." She laughed as he continued to be played with.

"Bonnie." She said, snapping her finger once. "Baby, don't pinch Daddy." She said, "You'll hurt him." She giggled and swatted at the girl's hand. They swatted each other for a minute before they both calmed down.

"It definitely is." She said, smiling. "Just like you."

"I was not trouble," The male spoke, shaking his head as the girls had a little swat fight before Bonnie turned her attention back to her father. Alex bringing his hand to rest atop Bonnie's head, rubbing the top of her head a little before giving her a weak smile. "You were the trouble, Katie, I was only trouble when it came to the bed---" Alex stopped himself in his tracks on that statement, hearing a few 'ahems' coming from the kitchen caused him to clear his throat. That was almost a slip of the tongue.

"April Twenty-third, so, I just missed her birthday, huh?" The male asked, looking up from his daughter, facial expression going from a smile to a light frown. A.J. gave a quick shake, pulling that smile back over his lips. "Always plenty of more birthdays." The male quickly chimed, hands moving to tickle the girl sitting in his lap, laughing softly as she squirmed away from his tickles, into her mom's lap.

"Yeah, you better run to mom. Dad is a tickling machine, ain't that right mom?" A.J. grinned triumphantly, eyes diverting to Katie as he leaned back against the couch a bit more. Head resting back against the couch, right arm moving to lay across the back, side of his head planting into his bicep. Alex's eyes continued to stare at Katie, giving her a smile every time she looked up from their daughter towards him. Shifting a bit, the male leaned forward toward Katie. Leaning far enough to place his lips against her's, giving her a firmer, bit more passionate kiss then before.

Smack. A.J.'s head jerked back, lips removing from Katie's, a small hand pressing into his cheek. Eyes looking toward their daughter, "Okay," the male spoke, looking back toward Katie, who also had been smacked and cheek mushed by their daughter. "Maybe she does get her mischievousness from me."

Scarlett laughed. "Watch yourself, Mr. Johnson." She teased. "My parents have become prudes in the last two years." It was a way to break the tension with all of them. She remembered when they liked Alex. But, she supposed if a guy got her Bonnie pregnant at seventeen and wasn't really talking to her in the time it took to find out, then she might not be too happy. Hell, even if the guy was around constantly, she'd probably feel the same.

She laughed as she cuddled Bonnie protectively close to her. "Daddy tickles a lot." She told the girl, giggling softly. "Be careful." She warned, smiling over at Alex. She started fussing over her daughter's curly hair. Every so often, she'd look over and see Alex looking at her. She'd smile back and wink, before being brought back to her daughter. The girl loved when her mother played with her hair.

Still, she couldn't help but turn to look at him every so often. And she was looking at him when he leaned forward to kiss her. She sighed into the kiss and pressed her lips to his in return. She hadn't even noticed Bonnie changing positions. She only realized it when she felt the sting and pressure on her cheek. When she opened her eyes and looked, she laughed to see that she wasn't the only one to be smacked. "Thanks for admitting it." She said with a laugh as she took the girl's hand off her cheek.

"Will you please stay for dinner?" She asked the man. She pouted at him and batted her eyes. "If you stay for dinner you can help me get Bonnie ready for bed, then you can help me lay her down. And then.. We can go downstairs and talk, just the two of us." She said, batting her eyelashes at him.