"What time do you two get in, again?" Julia asked JC as she unpacked.

"Um 5:55, maybe?"

"Want me to pick you up?"

"How about I call you when we get in and we meet somewhere for dinner?"

"That’d work."

"All right, I’ll call you later then."

"Okay, bye."

"You wanna eat here?" Justin exclaimed, looking at the small restaurant Julia had stopped in front of.

"Yes! It’s some of the best Mexican food this side of the boarder," Julia answered. "You’ll love it!"

"It looks so dirty," JC complained.

"It’s really nice inside," Julia replied, leading them inside.

"How many?" questioned the hostess when they were inside.

"Six, please," Julia responded.

The hostess nodded and lead them into a small room, away from the rest of the customers. "Is this all right?" she asked, stopping at a table.

"It’s fine, thank you," JC replied, helping Micah into his chair.

"You wanna sit there and I’ll sit on the end?" Julia suggested, pointing at the empty chair next to Micah.

"I can said on the end," JC offered.

"Actually, she’s probably right," Lonnie said, looking behind JC, "and maybe move the kid to across from you," he added.

"What, why?" Justin asked.

"Um Eminem is sitting at a table behind us and if you sit there, you don’t have to see him," Julia answered, quietly.

"Shit," JC uttered, looking over his shoulder at the rapper.

"You’re right about the sitting," Justin said, sitting down.

After getting everyone seated, they looked over the menus.

"What’s good here?" JC asked.

"I always get nachos, but that’s cause it’s easier to pick at," Julia replied. "The enchiladas are good though."

JC nodded and went back to looking at the menu. After the waitress came and took their orders they sat making small talk until Micah said," Why does the man keep glaring over here, Mommy?"

Following his gaze to the rapper, who did appear to be glaring at them, Julia retorted, "Because he’s hateful."

"Why is he glaring at us?"

"He’s not," JC assured Micah. "He’s glaring at Justin and me because we do a different kind of music than him."

"That’s a dumb reason to hate someone," Micah remarked.

"Yah, but that’s okay. We don’t have to let him get to us."

"Besides he doesn’t like anyone," Justin said.

"Everything all right?" asked their waitress, Emma, coming to the table.

"Yah, thanks," Julia nodded.

"God, he’s still looking over here?" Justin said, glancing over his shoulder after their food had arrived.

Cutting up Micah’s burrito, Julia frowned. "‘Fraid so."

"Want me to go say something?" Lonnie asked.

JC shook his head. "If we ignore him, hopefully he won’t do anything. He’ll leave soon enough anyway."

Julia and Justin were in the middle of explain what they’d both been told about their filming scheduled, when Julia looked up and noticed the rapper standing behind them. "Yes, can I help you?"

"You’re Julia, ain’t you?"

"Yes I am, why?"

"Phil Cobb your brother?"

"Cousin."

"Oh well you talk to him?"

"Occasionally, why?"

"We went to school together and I was just wondering what he was up to," Eminem shrugged.

"I can give you his number, if you want," Julia offered.

"All right, yah, thanks," Eminem replied, keeping his eyes focused on a point behind Julia.

"You’re not a very nice person," Micah commented, while Julia flipped through her address book.

"Excuse me?" Eminem said, bring his attention to the little boy.

"You shouldn’t hate my daddy and his friends cause they make a different type of music than you."

"Who’s your father?"

"JC," Micah answered, pointing across the table.

"You’ll have to excuse him," Julia said, handing Eminem the number. "He speaks his mind without thinking, you know how kids are."

"Yah, whatever. Thanks for the number," he said walking off.

"Micah, sweetie, you gotta be careful what you say to people," Julia said.

"I’m sorry."

"It’s okay."

==

"When’s Mommy going to be home?" Micah asked JC after he’d finished reading him a story.

"I’m not sure, she’d thought she’d be home by now," JC answered.

"Will you lay with me until I fall asleep?"

"Of course."

"Put in a CD, please?"

"Which one?"

"Celebrity. I always listen to it before I go to sleep."

"Okay."

"Number five."

JC lay next to Micah listening to the song he’d written, picking out parts in it where he thought he wasn’t quite on. Finally his mind drifted ti when Joey had said this song fit him and Julia.

Joey’s wrong, JC thought. This isn’t anything like me and Julia. We’re just friends, and it’s not gonna change. We aren’t in love with each other. Just because we’ve got a child together and just because I like spending time with her, doesn’t mean anything. We’ve been friends for ten years, of course I’m gonna want to be around her.

"Damn it, Joey," JC muttered aloud, glancing at Micah to find him fast asleep. Tucking Micah in again, JC slipped out of the room. Grabbing his cell phone out of his room, he dialed Joey’s number,

"Hello?"

"Damn you, Joe," JC cursed.

"JC, what?" Joey said confused.

"Why’d you have to say ‘Just the Two of Us’ fit Julia and me? And start all that stuff about us being perfect for each other?"

"Because it’s true?" Joey answered. "What’s it matter anyway?"

"Cause now you got me wondering if it’s true!"

"Glad to see you finally got a clue, C," Joey answered. "Kelly, JC’s got a clue!"

"That’s wonderful," JC heard Kelly yell back.

=

"So did you and that guy break up?" Justin asked as he and Julia drove back to the house.

"Yah, we decided it was for the best."

"That’s too bad."

"Guess so," Julia shrugged.

"You guess so?"

"Drew was nice but I didn’t figure we’d be together long, is all. We didn’t have anything to talk about besides our kids."

"Oh. Who do you-- could you-- see yourself being with for a long time?"

"No one right now."

"No one?"

"No one. Why?"

"What about JC?"

"Oh god, don’t you start too," Julia sighed.

"Start what?"

"Kelly and Alyson both say I should be dating him, they’re working together to drive me crazy."

"We can’t help it if we see how perfect you’d be for each other."

"We?"

"The guys and I bug C about it all the time," Justin replied.

"Why? All we’ve got between us, besides Micah, is friendship."

"Friendship is one of the most important things in a relationship."

"So is love and trust."

"Don’t you love and trust JC?"

"I do but I love him as a friend."

"If that’s all you feel then how’d you enter into the act that brought you Micah?" Justin argued.

"Joey and I just have friend love but we got together," Julia countered.

"You and Joey were together for two and a half year, you’re love bond is different that regular friend love."

"Jus, sweetheart, I know you’re trying be helpful but in the five years I’ve been on the Earth longer than you, I’ve learned more about relationships you ever will because you’ll marry Britney one day and you haven’t had any other serious relationships."

"How many have you had?"

"Two, Joey for two and a half, and Billiam for a year and half."

"Oh wow, then you must know more," Justin rolled his eyes. "Brit and I have been together almost that long."

"You don’t know how many relationships I had before Joey."

"Those don’t count cause you were sixteen when you started dating Joey."

"No they do count because they lasted six months or more," Julia argued.

"Were they committed?"

"Besides one, yes."

"Why wasn’t it?"

"Because he cheated on me."

"That Matt guy Joey’s mentioned?"

"Yah, but I would’ve broken up with him anyway, I gotta have some one I could talk with and next to Matt, Joey’s a rocket scientist."

"He was that stupid?"

"Yah."

"How the hell did you end up with him then?"

"I’ll have to show you a picture of him sometime. Like you at fourteen he looked better than some guys ever look in their lives," Julia replied. "Serious hottie."

"What attracted you to Joey and Billiam?"

"Joey, I’m not really sure. He always seemed interested in what I was saying and we had a lot to talk about with other. He was just great to be around, he was my best friend. He’d also do sweet little things like during one of my mother’s health kicks he snuck me a bag of Snickers. Billiam caught my eye because of how smart he was. I met him while I was taking a class in London and he just blew me away with how much he knew. We could sit in a cafe for hours on end talking about anything."

Justin nodded. "Why’d you break up?"

"You’ve heard the saying about all the good guys either being taken or gay?" Julia said after a moment.

"What’s that go to do with anythi..." Justin said trailing off. "You’re kidding me! He’s gay?!"

Julia nodded. "That’s why I went a little wild when I came back to America, cause I was mad and wanted to prove to myself it wasn’t me. Cause even though Billiam had told me repeatedly it wasn’t, it’s a shock, ya know?"

"Yah I understand."

"But I got over it and he was such a great friend after I got pregnant, staying in America, even after we’d found he wasn’t the father, so it was worth it."

"That was nice of him. Do you still talk?"

"Every Sunday," Julia nodded. "His boyfriend and him are supposed to visit soon, actually. Maybe you’ll get a chance to meet him."

"That’d be cool."

==

"Joshua," Karen Chasez cried when she opened the door. "Baby it’s so good to see you," she continued, hugging him tightly.

"You too, Mommy," JC whispered, hoping Julia wouldn’t hear him. "This is Julia and Micah," he introduced when they pulled apart.

"I remember Julia, dear. Good to see you again, Julia," Karen said before kneeling down in front of Micah. "Hi, Micah," she greeted him.

"Hi," Micah smiled. "You’re Daddy’s mommy, right?"

"Yes I am," she nodded.

"Does that mean you’re my grandma like Mommy’s mommy?"

"Sure does, sweetie."

"Cool," Micah smiled.

"He’s smart," Karen commented watching Micah explain to JC why he couldn’t remove a certain block because it would cause it to fall over.

"Thank you," Julia smiled, watching the two play.

"Thank you for bringing him to visit us," Roy said.

"We’ve been excited to meet him since Joshua told us Micah was his," Karen added.

"I want Micah to know you. You are as much his family as mine is," Julia said.

"Thank you," Karen said.

"Mommy, come play with us," Micah called. "You’ll help me keep Daddy from knocking it over, won’t you?"

"Sure, Baby," Julia nodded sitting down with them.

==

When JC returned from picking Micah up from Rock Ridge, he noticed two men sitting on the porch.

"Can I help you?" he asked, after parking his Escalade, keeping Micah close to him.

"Hello, I am Billiam, a friend of Julia’s," said the dark haired one. "She is expecting us."

"She’s on the set but I can call her phone," JC offered.

"Thank you," Billiam replied, kneeling down to see Micah. "Hello Micah."

"Hi, Uncle Billiam," Micah smiled. "This is my daddy," he added tugging on JC’s hand.

"I know, your maman told me. This is Lucas."

"Mommy says he’s your boyfriend, is that true?" Micah asked after saying hello to Lucas.

"Yes he is."

"Is he as nice as you?"

"I think so."

"You treat my Uncle Billiam good," Micah told Lucas.

"I will," promised the blonde.

"Julia said they’d be breaking soon so she’ll be here soon," JC said hanging up his phone. "Come in," he added unlocking the door.

"So you’re Billiam, huh?" JC said to the dark haired man. "Julia’s ex-boyfriend."

"Yes and you’re JC, Micah’s father."

"Yah..."

"Julia’s told me a lot about you."

"You too."

"Your group is very good," commented Lucas.

"Thank you."

"JC, Micah, Billiam?" Julia called walking into the house with Justin.

"In the living room," JC replied.

"Billiam!!" Julia squealed, smiling when she walked into the living room.

"Julia," he answered hugging her. "So good to see you again!"

"You too."

"This is Lucas," he introduced.

"Nice to meet you, finally," Julia said, shaking his hand. "Billiam has told me so much about you!"

"You too," Lucas said.

"All right so if you give me like five minutes to change we can go out to dinner," Julia suggested, hugging Micah. "Hi, baby! Have a good day?"

"Great," he nodded/

"Maybe this time we won’t run into Eminem," JC said.

"Julia probably chooses the places we eat by where she knows he eats," Justin replied.

"Oh you know it," Julia answered, before excusing herself to change.

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