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The sun rays blanketed the carpet with bars of light. Jenn moaned a bit as the bird chirping outside her window woke her from a peaceful sleep. When her eyes fluttered open, a smile danced upon her lips. Every morning welcomed another day that she was finally happy with her life. Kevin had been clean for two months and she made sure that there was never any alcohol in the house. Her hand traveled down to the small bump under her sheets. And their little one was perfect.

"Good morning, beautiful." Jenn jumped about ten feet when the voice came out of no where. It began to laugh and finally, her eyes focused enough to find Kevin standing in her doorway, coffee in one hand and his other shoved into the pocket of his pajama pants. "I didn’t mean to scare you."

"You don’t MEAN to do a lot of things, Richardson." She sat up now, smoothing her hair back into a ponytail and taking in the whiff of fresh coffee. "You didn’t bring me anything?"

He only smiled and nodded slightly towards her nightstand. There, sat a chocolate chip muffin and a glass of orange juice. "Aw, aren’t you Mr.Amazing this morning?"

"All the time." Kevin came over and sat down on the bed. "Now." A look of lost pride washed over him for a moment. Jenn, though, upon seeing this, quickly leaned forward and kissed him.

"All the time." She rubbed the stubble on his face, and then proceeded to laugh at the way his black hair stuck up in all different directions. "Can’t say you LOOK amazing. Just…cute."

"Back at ya." Kevin smirked before putting his coffee cup to his mouth. After an exaggerated smacking of his lips, he uncovered Jenn’s small belly and put his free hand on top of it. "How is our little sunshine this morning?"

"Just dandy, Elmo." She laughed. "How’s everything on Sesame Street?"

The dark man raised an eyebrow and sat his coffee down on the table beside her bed. "Were you just making fun of me?"

"What would you do if I were?" She replied, tilting her head to one side.

Kevin smirked evilly and then crawled slowly up her body, feeling every curve along his way. Jenn shivered with pleasure as she felt his warm breath on her face. His lips were dangerously close to hers….

And then he got up. "I’ll meet you downstairs in a few!" The man chirped, walking towards the door.

"THE HELL YOU WILL!" Jenn leapt from her bed and threw her legs around Kevin, kissing him passionately.

"Mmm, bet Elmo doesn’t get this from Big Bird!" He moaned, before laughing.

"Was that a fat joke?" She gasped. Kevin rolled his eyes and walked the rest of the way out of the door.

Jenn smiled, leaning her head against the doorpost and watching Kevin travel the rest of the way down the hall and proceed down the stairs. He looked so much healthier now. Kevin Richardson was making a comeback. It hurt her now to remember how frail he had been that day…

"Hurry baby! We have to be at the doctor’s office in an hour!" Back to his on time self. Jenn never realized before how much she would’ve missed it. Now, she wouldn't have him any other way.

Kevin threw all of his dirty dishes into the sink and hummed as he cleaned the rest of the kitchen. "Oh my god," He spoke to himself as he cleaned. "I am from Sesame Street."

He had almost finished cleaning when his hand knocked something off of the counter. Kevin bent to pick up the object and realized it was the bottle of Jenn’s prenatal vitamins. Strangely, though, when he went to place them back on the counter, he found himself not being able to let go of it. His jaw tightened as he longed for that feeling that the drugs he had hidden in his own bottles a while back would give him.

But he was clean now. He had been clean for 62 days now. He had gone through an at home treatment, too weak to go public with his problem just yet. It had been hard but he was able to fight his disease. Now, Kevin found himself faced with the smallest obstacle, and he found it hard to deal with. He found his grip tightening the harder he tried to let go.

"Damn it, Kevin. What’re you doing?!" He whispered to himself. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry to Jenn for help. Then he realized, she couldn’t save him. He had to save himself. Taking a deep breath in through his nostrils, Kevin also knew that what was inside any bottle could not give him the happiness that the thought of his growing family upstairs instilled in him.

His fingers loosened on the pill bottle and tears began to glisten in Kevin’s eyes as he overcame something. By himself. Pressing his palms into the tile of the counter, he had to smile at his own strength.

"KEVIN!!" He smiled and turned around to watch Jenn walking awkwardly down the stairs. "These pants…won’t…FIT!" She burst, frustrated as hell.

The man let out a laugh. "Good." Kevin walked over and put his hands on the bump just above her pants. He stood for a few moments, just thinking about all he could’ve missed in his life if things hadn’t happened the way they did. "I love you any way you are." His hands moved from her stomach and wrapped around her waist, pulling her to him.

Jenn stood, almost in shock. "Did you just say…"

Before she could finish though, Kevin’s lips were pressed against hers. Their heartbeats became as the kiss intensified. Then, as gently as he had come on, he backed off. Their eyes locked with one another, searching for questions and answers. "And I meant it." He whispered, more emotion caught in his throat than he had anticipated.

For everything he was now, he was sure that she was the reason.

~*~*~*~

Kevin smiled as he and Jenn heard their child’s heartbeat for the first time. He instinctively reached for her hand and swallowed the tears that threatened his emotions. It seemed like only yesterday that he was ready to end his life. Now, here he was, listening to the heartbeat of a life that he had created.

Jenn tilted her head up to find Kevin’s eyes wet with unshed tears, matching hers perfectly. As much as she could hate him, for some reason, she couldn’t imagine this moment without him in it.

Neither of them noticed the concerned look crossing the doctor’s face. The doctor, though, seeing the look on the couples’ faces, could not bring himself to tell them.

This heartbeat wasn’t healthy at all.

"That thing you said this morning…" Jenn whispered, squeezing Kevin’s hand a bit as she swallowed. "Me too."

A smirk pulled at Kevin’s lips as he took her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on top of it as the doctor instructed Jenn to get dressed and for both of them to meet him in his office.

And, in that moment, the world seemed so with them instead of against them. They were going to be alright. Together.

~*~

Kevin’s head rested on his arms as he leaned over the steering wheel, his body shaking. "Why God?!" He would scream in random bursts.

Jenn approached the car and, seeing the father of her child so upset, had to take a few moments for herself. She moved forward and, reaching the car door, found that it was locked. She knocked lightly on the window twice before Kevin reached over to hit the unlock button.

The man rested back against his seat, his fingers lightly tapping on the bottom of his steering wheel. His jaw was clenched tight as streams of tears continued to flow down his pale face.

"This isn’t your fault, Kev." Jenn whispered, low and raspy, the tears scratching her throat.

"Then who’s fault is it, Jenn?! You were addicted to drugs! You weren’t even drinking the night we had sex!" He spat, angry with himself more than anything. His baby had irregular heartbeat which "could be caused by drug consumption at the time of conception…". At least, that’s the only possible reason that kept repeating in Kevin’s head. And the way the doctor had looked at him with such accusing eyes. It was his fault…

Jenn focused her gaze outside as she watched a young couple kiss and then laugh as the woman’s protruding stomach kept them distanced. Another couple walked out, their pace slower than the first, a sadness looming above them as they coped with a miscarriage. Still, they were holding hands. Jenn listened to Kevin’s soft cries beside her and, while the baby flittered in her expanding stomach, she couldn’t help but feel that this was all wrong.

Her hand had just fell upon her moving baby when she saw it. That unmistakable flash…

"Oh my God. Kevin, come on, we have to get out…" Jenn began to urge, putting her hand on his arm, seeing that he was still oblivious to the intruders outside their car. "COME ON!" She raised her voice.

The last phrase seemed to shake him from all the overwhelming guilt that drowned him. Outside his window, at least five flashes stung his already burning eyes. Here he was, believing that he was responsible for his baby’s health issues, and the damn media was all over him. Angrily, he shoved the key into the ignition and pushed on the gas, daring anyone to get in his way.

It was closer to home before any words were spoken. "Kev.." Jenn started.

The only sound she received in reply was a quieted sniffle.

"I…I had been drinking that night too. And…I had taken one or two pills." She confessed, taking sudden interest in the hands that rested in her lap.

Kevin’s eyes caught hers for a moment as if searching for some hidden lie in the words she had spoken. Finally, he nodded slightly. "We…we can’t blame ourselves. What’s done is done." He sniffed. "We’ll still have a beautiful baby."

Jenn could see the burden seeming to lift off of Kevin and rest evenly onto both of them. He reached for her hand and gave it a firm squeeze as they pulled into their driveway.

She could only hope that he would never find out that she had been clean since a week before they conceived this child.

"Shit…" Kevin muttered as he pulled up behind Nick’s car. He had completely forgotten that the guys had been invited to dinner at their house tonight. The simple thought of food right now was enough to make Kevin gag.

"I’ll tell him to go home…" Jenn whispered, reading Kevin’s mind. "And then…call the others."

He might’ve taken her up on the offer had she not sounded so down when she spoke. She didn’t need what he was giving her, or, rather, taking from her, right now. She deserved to at least be around good spirits.

"No." He swallowed and forced a smile. "It’ll be okay. We’ll just…order pizza or something…"

"Chinese.." Jenn smiled, a craving kicking in a bit.

Kevin had to grin a bit at that one. "Okay then, Chinese." He agreed, stepping out of the car and approaching Nick’s.

What he hadn’t expected was to find two feet pressed up against the drivers side window and one large ass blocking the vision of anything else. Jenn stifled a laugh as she came up behind Kevin to share his view. Raising an eyebrow, the man tapped on the window. Louder the second time.

The second time sent Nick’s head flying up, connecting it with the ceiling of his SUV, his hand slipping and hitting the alarm on his steering wheel. A few profane words were heard before Nick was in sitting position again, with Sara on the other side, adjusting the strap of her tank top and struggling to get her foot out from underneath her boyfriend.

"What the hell are you two doing doing…that…in my driveway!?" Kevin spoke through Nick’s window.

"Had to kill time somehow." Nick answered, pulling Sara’s foot out from underneath him.

"Well, get out."

"I…I can’t." The blonde turned a shade of red, glancing down and then back up at his audience.

Kevin opened his mouth and closed it then wrinkled his nose. "I’m going to go order the food. You don’t come out until your problem is fixed." With that, the older man walked up the stairs and into his house. Sara and Jenn followed suit.

"Damn…" Nick moaned. "Howie in a thong…Howie in a thong." It wasn’t two seconds later before the young man joined the rest.

~*~*~

"What do you suppose is wrong?" Brian leaned over to Nick halfway through dinner.

Nick only poked a piece of chicken with his chopstick and looked back at his friend. "What’re you talking about?"

"Jenn and Kevin. They’ve been acting…strange all night." He nodded his head in their direction as his cousin stood to take trash into the kitchen.

"Mmm, probably not having any sex…" Nick shrugged. "Not that Kevin had that much to begin with."

Brian laughed but still, he worried. Something was definitely bothering his cousin and his friend. "I don’t think that’s it, Nick. I mean, it’s not like she’s the virgin Mary."

This statement brought forth the affectionately named ‘Carter Cackle’. It was quickly cut off though, when the youngest boy realized that all eyes had fallen upon him. "What?"

"What’s so funny?" Jenn infused an amused look into her eyes, knowing he would pick up on anything different.

"Nothing." The blonde struggled to keep a straight face. "Mary." He whispered at the end. This time, it was Brian who laughed, sending sprite flying out of his nose.

"NASTY LITTRELL! What the hell is with y’all?" Sara laughed, looking at the two, pointing her chopsticks in their direction having given up on using them to eat.

Jenn was about to ask the same question but her attention was quickly diverted. "Sar, what’s that?" She pointed.

"Um, chopsticks." Sara picked up an unopened package in the middle of the table. "You can have some too."
"No…no, on your finger…"

By now, everyone’s eyes had left Nick and Brian and laid questioningly upon Sara.

"Well, I, uh…we…" Her brown eyes lowered, as did her hand, into her lap. Her face had turned a light shade of pink before Nick piped in.

"Um, guys, we’re getting married."

It was AJ who began to choke on a piece of chicken at this news. After a whack on the back from Brian, he finally cursed loudly and asked Nick to repeat himself.

But Jenn wished he hadn’t. While the room filled with laughter, happiness, and words of congratulations, her world began to slow down. The life inside of her stirred and she began to inspect her own hands. She was the one with the baby…living with the father…shouldn’t there be something adorning her hand as well? Jenn began to wonder what would become of her and Kevin. The way he had gotten so upset earlier…What if something was wrong with the baby? Would he handle it? Or...leave?

In all reality, she was almost jealous of Nick’s new fiancée. Jenn had been so tight with him and she supposed, looking back now, that she had always seen him as someone to fall back on. He would be there if no one else would care. He would take care of her.

Now, he would have a family of his own…

Too many thoughts invaded the woman’s mind and she had to find some way out. Feigning a smile, she forced herself to hug Nick but, the moment she felt the tears begin to sting across her nose, she found her way through the kitchen door.

Her palms pressed into the counter top, a few inevitable tears escaping down her tired face. "Damn hormones," She whispered, wiping away the evidence of rapid emotion.

"What’s going on?" A voice she recognized as her brother’s asked.

"Nothing." Jenn spoke nonchalantly, tossing back a glass of water.

"Okay. Now the truth.."

"How do you know that’s not the truth?" She feigned laughter.

" Because if it wasn’t, you would’ve bitched me out by now for thinking anything was wrong." AJ stated plainly.

Jenn turned now, leaning back against the counter. "You wanna know?"

"I asked." He sounded confident but, inside, he was scared of the truth she had to deliver.

"The baby’s heart…" She bit her lip, fighting the emotion caught in her throat. "It…it has irregular beating."

Before Jenn had even let out a breath before she was enveloped in her brother’s arms. "Jenn, I’m so sorry."

"The doctor said it..it might be because of…" She paused, wondering if she should tell him the truth.

"Because of what, sweetie?" He rubbed her back gently, trying to relax her into telling him.

"It could be because of the drugs."

The man pushed his sister back a bit. "What?!" His jaw clenched. "I can’t believe Kevin…" He turned slightly only to be turned back.

"Alex, please don’t say anything. He really feels bad enough." Jenn’s eyes pleaded with AJ.

Reluctantly, AJ kept his mouth shut pulled Jenn into his arms.

~*~*~*~*~

"Nick, just lay off, right now." Kevin stated, getting up with empty boxes in his hands. He thought the confrontation was over, they would just go back to discussing the wedding.

"No Kevin, I won’t lay off. You’ve been a wet blanket for God knows how long and it seems that you’re never happy for anyone except yourself." The blonde had grown bold.

Sara, Brian, and Howie watched with wide eyes as Kevin turned around slowly. He plunked the boxes onto the table and stared hard at Nick. The stare suddenly, though, turned softer and the older man caught his bottom lip between his teeth.

"You want to know what my problem is today, Nick?" Kevin’s finger traced a water ring on the table before looking up with watery eyes. "Because when I went to the doctor with Jenn today, I found out that our baby isn’t in the best health. Know why?! Because of drug use during conception! Then I pull up into my driveway to find you and Sara having sex in your front seat and then you tell us y’all are engaged! I want that, damn it! I love Jenn…And for the life of me, I don’t know why I’m afraid of life. Because…" He paused for a moment, his voice becoming quieter. "Because what would I have to lose? She’s so..perfect.."

The man looked up, realizing that everyone was focused on him. Suddenly, he became introverted and, as his face flushed, Kevin could find no escape but to run up the stairs and into some hiding place.

Nick blinked, trying to take in all of the information that had just been hurled at him.

"What?" Brian spoke first, after he forced his jaw to close. "What’s wrong with the baby?"

"He…He loves Jenn?" Nick whispered into the air.

"What the hell did you guys do to him?!" Jenn spat, coming back into the dining room. She had heard Kevin yelling just in time to see him fly up the stairs. She had waited at the bottom until she heard his door slam and then retreated back.

"He loves you?" The blonde repeated, looking at his friend.

"What?!" What was Nick talking about? Kevin loved her? "Just…just…I don’t know." Jenn collapsed into a pulled out chair and put her head into her hands. "Today’s just…no good."

"I…I gave him…the drugs. I helped him…" Sara hadn’t said a word since Kevin had gone and now it was apparent why.

"No, Sar. He…He bought them." Nick tried to console. Before he was finished talking though, his new fiancee was up and out of the room with Nick hot on her heels.

Brian and Jenn were the only two left sitting as AJ and Howie watched each other.

"The baby’s…heart." Brian paled, his words mindless off of his lips. "I…I don’t feel too well." His cousin’s child was going to have congenital heart problems. It hit too close to home.

"Um, C’mon Bri. I’ll take you home." Howie’s eyes glanced from Jenn to AJ and then back again before following Brian out.

"Go Alex." Jenn spoke now, her voice barely above a whisper, her fingers entangled in her hair.

"Jenn...I…" He began.

"I need alone time with him." She breathed out , looking up for the first time since she had sat down. "Please?"

"Okay." AJ gave in, leaning down to kiss his sister’s forehead. "You call me later, alright?"

Jenn smiled and nodded tiredly in response. "Promise."

"Love you."

"I know." She smirked. "Love you too. Thanks, big bro."

"No prob." And with that, he was out the door, leaving Jenn alone at the bottom of the stairs. With great hesitation, the woman forced herself to climb the first step and then the second and then continued until she was at the top. Her strong emotions though, were taking over her body, forcing her further and further away from Kevin’s door and more towards her own.

There was a broken sound though, that interrupted her action. A lonely cry…

…coming from behind Kevin’s door.

"Kevin?" Jenn whispered, quietly pushing open the door to his room.

"What?" His voice was almost as dark as the room in which he sat.

"You alright?"

"Not at all."
She took in his silhouette. The moon reflected off of the ocean and felt onto his floor, leaving the outline of a 33 year old man, hunched over in sadness. His bare back shook with every breath he took, his hands entangled in his dark hair.

"I’m sorry." Jenn couldn’t think of anything else to say as she sat on the end of his bed.

"Why should you be sorry?" He breathed in. "You didn’t hurt our child."

"KEVIN SCOTT! If you don’t get off of it right now, I’ll…I’ll…" She yelled now, no longer feeling pity for the man.

"You’ll WHAT?!" He stood now, moving forward.

Jenn looked around frantically but could only find the one thing that she really wanted. The one thing that had been so tempting, yet, for some reason, unattainable. "I’ll do this!"

With that, she brought her hand to the back of Kevin’s head and pressed her lips against his own.

Jenn was surprised to find no resistance in the intimate move. He had wanted it just as badly as she had.

Kevin’s mind was whirling. Suddenly, memories from previous nights flew into an open window of his mind. He had missed her so badly each time. She was different, he had guessed. But his lifestyle would never allow him to be tied down to someone like her. She was too good. Now, though, things had changed. They were forever bound together by this child. Maybe it was for a reason…

Kevin grasped onto Jenn tighter as thoughts invaded his mind. "I want you." He breathed, kissing down her neck.

"Take me." She whispered, gently tugging his hair with her fingers.

The man swallowed, looking up, his green eyes piercing her soul. "Are…are you sure?"

Normally, he would never even consider the feelings and emotions put into this act. He just got what he wanted and left. This, too, though, was different. This night, just like a night a couple of months ago, could change their lives forever.

Jenn sucked in a quiet breath and nodded, meeting his eyes for the first time. Her trembling hands ran down his bare sides and looked up when she reached his waist, as if asking for permission to carry on.

"We need this." He breathed out in response. "I…"

Gently, Jenn placed a finger over his thin lips and then replaced it with her own lips to silence him completely.

His hands began to roam timidly underneath her shirt, rediscovering the land that he had always wanted to travel back to. The only body that he had ever remembered. He hadn’t realized until that moment how much he had missed it.

Jenn couldn’t help but smile as she fell back onto Kevin’s bed, her trembling hands fumbling with his belt buckle as the human inside of her began to awake and stir. Maybe her dreams of this family were finally going to become a reality…

Her thoughts were broken by Kevin’s warm breath against her neck, the soft kisses he placed from her earlobe to her jaw line in a continuous trail.

This was it. Everything inside of her felt perfectly in place. Kevin Richardson was her missing piece. Now, she lay wondering, if he felt the same way.

A thin layer of sweat began to coat Kevin’s body as his skin finally become one with Jenn’s. In that moment, he felt something he had never felt before and with every move, every kiss, he became more and more frightened. Frightened of the unknown…of the future…of this feeling.

It would be hours before Kevin and Jenn would finally rest in each others’ arms. The ecstasy of the night still illuminated the room long after they had fallen asleep, with their hearts beating in a rhythmic pattern, their child resting between them. It was the perfect picture of love.

But even the finest masterpiece has it’s flaws. Fine details that can be destroyed in moments….

A/N: Sara is finishing with Chapter 7 very shortly...if i have my way tonight...lol...and i will post it as soon as she sends it to me....please let her know what you think...