Breathe For Love

I’m SO sorry about the long wait! Huge (but good!) life-changing things goin’ on here! Hahah. :D I’ve been so freaking busy all week! lol

This chapter was thrown together pretty quickly, though the outline had been done for like… a week and a half… haha. So sorry for shortness/grammar/spelling.

---

“Momma! Wacecaw!” Ethan shrieked, pointing to his new bed in his new bedroom. Hayley laughed and nodded.

“Brand new racecar bed!” She smiled. “Do you like it?” Ethan nodded frantically and ran toward it.

Hayley smiled and sighed, happy that Ethan hadn’t hated the bed. She and Josh were both exhausted. They had been moving all day, while Ethan spent some time with Grammy Farro. Josh’s mother wasn’t thrilled with the idea of her son and Hayley living together, but she had finally admitted that she was excited that the two were together once more and was more than willing to help out during the move.

“Ok, goodnight!” Ethan said into his pillow. Josh laughed and sat next to Ethan on the bed.

“Eth, don’t you want a bedtime story?” He asked as he pulled the blankets over the toddler.

“No, my bed!” Ethan groaned, kicking Josh to get him off.

“Ethan, no kicking!” Hayley said sternly. Josh smiled and stood up.

“Sowwy Dada…” Ethan mumbled.

“You’ve had a busy day, huh buddy?” Josh asked. Ethan nodded and yawned. He had spent almost all day running around the park with Grammy Farro and Auntie Isabelle.

“Well, why don’t we get you into some pajamas and then you can sleep in the racecar bed?” Hayley suggested. Ethan nodded tiredly and sat up.

“Where Milliepuppy?” Ethan mumbled as Hayley pulled his shirt off. He hadn’t seen much of the new puppy, since Millie was still so small and played pretty roughly. He absolutely loved her, as did Josh, but Hayley was nervous that Ethan would get scratched if Millie got too excited or if Ethan hurt her somehow.

“Millie is coming home tomorrow.” Josh explained. Hayley was still nervous about Millie and Ethan, but they couldn’t exactly leave the dog at Zac’s place anymore.

“No. Milliepuppy today.” Ethan demanded with a frown.

“Millie tomorrow.” Josh said firmly. “The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner Millie will be here.”

“But Dadaaaa!” Ethan sighed. Josh shook his head, keeping a straight face, and raised an eyebrow. Ethan groaned in defeat and crossed his arms angrily.

“Aw, poor Ethan.” Hayley pouted. “Life is so hard! He has a brand new racecar bed to sleep in and he had to play at the park all day long!” She teased. Ethan nodded, throwing in a pout for good measure. Hayley laughed quietly and shook her head.

“Ok, come on buddy.” She pulled back the blankets for him to climb under. “Time for bed.” She smiled.

Josh and Hayley said their goodnights, and headed to their bedroom to unpack what they could before it was time to sleep.
 
~*~ 

“Milliepuppy!” Ethan yelled in excitement as Dad and Millie walked through the door. The ever-growing puppy tore off for Ethan happily and tackled him to the floor. Ethan shrieked and giggled as Millie licked his cheeks.

“Millie!” Josh ordered. “Millie, come here.” He hurried over and pulled the excitable puppy off his son.

“I see you brought the dog home.” Hayley laughed as she hurried into the room. She had been cleaning up breakfast while Josh was making a run to Zac’s house for the last of his things.

“I think she’s big enough not to be hurt by Ethan now.” Josh shrugged. “Don’t know about Ethan though, we’ll want to keep a close eye on Millie while she’s around him.”

Hayley smiled and scratched Josh’s back soothingly, resting her head on his shoulder, as they watched Ethan and Millie play tug-of-war with Millie’s leash. For some reason, in that moment, Hayley finally felt like she was part of a traditional family. Her son was happy, she and Josh were better than ever as a couple, they had all moved in together, and they even had a spare room for a potential new baby someday. They were really becoming a family! Everything was finally falling in to place.

Josh grinned and placed his arm around Hayley’s waist. She knew then that he was feeling it too. He knew they were well on their way to becoming a somewhat ‘normal’ family.

“Oh!” Hayley gasped suddenly. She ran toward her son as Ethan toppled to the floor from the force behind a particularly strong tug from Millie.

“No Momma!” Ethan complained, shooing Hayley away. “We play!” Josh laughed and gently pulled Hayley back toward him.

“He’s fine, babe.” Josh assured. Hayley raised an eyebrow, but didn’t reply.

“You’re going to be late for work.” Hayley reminded as she looked at the clock.

“Ah, crap!” Josh groaned. “Are you gonna be ok with Millie and Ethan today?” He asked. Hayley nodded confidently and grabbed his bag for him. He quickly gave Ethan a hug before turning to Hayley. “See you tonight!” He smiled. “We’ll go out to celebrate our first real night in the house.” He kissed her swiftly and headed for the door.

“Momma.” Ethan said immediately.

“Yes EJ?” Hayley replied.

“We take Milliepuppy walkin’?” He asked hopefully, holding out the leash.

“In a bit, yes.” Hayley smiled.

“Thank you, Momma!” Ethan grinned excitedly. “Hear dat Millepuppy?! We go walkin’!” Millie barked loudly and ran toward Ethan, knocking him to the floor once more.

“Bad Milliepuppy!” Ethan giggled. “No pussin!”

“That’s right, no pushing.” Hayley reinforced. “That wasn’t very nice, was it?” Ethan shook his head as he stumbled to his feet and ran toward the stairs.

“Come on puppy!” He called over his shoulder. “We see Maytow!” Hayley smiled to herself, Ethan had quickly named his racecar bed after the character Mater from his current favorite movie, ‘Cars’.

“Careful on the stairs, Ethan!” Hayley warned. Stairs, toddler and puppy just didn’t mix well in her mind. She hurried over and grabbed his hand to help guide him up, just in case.

“Millie!” Ethan said, pushing open the door to his room. “Millie! Pay ‘tention!” He frowned. Millie was far too excited to pay attention though. She was in a new room, it was time to explore.

“Millie, dis is my blanky.” Ethan informed. He pointed to his baby blanket and pulled it toward him. “And dis is my toy box. All my toys sleep in it.” He continued.

Hayley looked on tiredly as Ethan continued with the tour of his room, which Millie was undoubtedly not paying any attention to.

“Ok Ethan, would you like to take Millie for a walk before lunchtime?” Hayley asked after a few minutes. She figured she might as well get it over with as soon as she could, then she might be able to squeeze in the last bit of unpacking while Ethan - and hopefully Millie - took a nap.

“Ok!” Ethan said excitedly. “Less go Milliepuppy!” 

~*~

“Throw it as far as you can!” Hayley encouraged. Ethan had Millie’s ball in his tiny hand and was learning how to play fetch with the puppy. Ethan threw the ball, hopping slightly as the ball left his fingers, and giggled as Millie ran after it excitedly.

“She’s fast, huh?” Hayley asked, referring to Millie. Ethan nodded and held his hand out for the ball again. Hayley pried it away from Millie and crouched on the ground next to Ethan.

“Make Millie go there!” Ethan demanded, pointing to a tree across the park they were in. Hayley smiled and threw the ball as hard as she could toward the tree. Millie took off with a bark, and ran for the ball.

“Millie! Come back here!” Hayley called as the puppy caught the ball and hurried off toward a stranger.

“Milliepuppy!!” Ethan sang. Millie stumbled to a halt, changed direction, and ran for Ethan and Hayley. “Again!” Ethan shrieked when Millie dropped the ball at Hayley’s feet. Hayley did as she was told, hoping that Millie would get tired out and calm down a bit.

“Hey! Millie!” Hayley yelped as the dog flew past her with the ball, headed for another stranger.

“Oh look at you! Aren’t you the cutest little puppy!” A woman said from behind Hayley.

“Sorry!” Hayley called out immediately. She picked Ethan up and turned around, heading for the woman Millie had run to. “She’s still learning.” Hayley explained with a laugh. She quickly attached the leash to Millie’s collar so the dog couldn’t run away again.

“Oh, no problem. Dogs take a while to train.” The woman replied. She finally took her attention off Millie and looked up to Hayley. “Oh! Hayley! Hi!”

Hayley groaned internally, but forced a smile. “Lainy! Wow, how are you?”

“Oh, I’m alright.” Lainy replied. She rested her hand on her stomach and Hayley’s nearly choked in surprise.

“Wow… you’re…. you’re pregnant?” Hayley gasped.

“Yes!” Lainy grinned. “Oh, I’m so excited. But completely terrified! I don’t know how you did it on your own!” She said with a malicious grin.

“How far along are you?” Hayley asked politely. Really, she wanted to ask who had been stupid enough to sleep with Lainy, but she figured that was a tad rude.

“It’ll be six months next week!” Lainy replied. There was a dangerous sort of mocking behind her grin now. 

Hayley quickly did the math in her head and gasped quietly. The world began to sway around her and she shook her head slightly to steady herself. Lainy was nearly six months pregnant. Lainy and Josh had broken up five months ago. Lainy was pregnant with Josh’s baby.

Suddenly everything made sense. The awkward run in at the restaurant, the text message… Hayley gasped. The text message! Josh knew!

“Momma, its cold.” Ethan complained.

“Uh, yeah.” Hayley said quietly. “Yeah, lets get you home buddy.” She said, trying her best to shrug off her discovery for now. “Well, congratulations, Lainy!” Hayley said, not even bothering to force a smile. She turned on her heel and hurried back toward the house, Millie running close behind.

 

“Hey! Sorry I’m late!” Josh called as he walked into the house hours later. He hurried in to the living room, where Hayley was sitting, staring off into the distance. He kissed the top of her head, not noticing her solemn mood, and set his things on the table in the kitchen.

“Where’s Ethan?” He asked over his shoulder. “I thought we’d go out to dinner tonight.”

“Ethan is with my mother for the night.” Hayley replied, voice hollow. Josh frowned and turned around curiously.

“How come?” He asked. Hayley closed her eyes and shook her head.

“He can’t be here right now.” She replied simply. Josh’s was suddenly on guard. He was in trouble. What had he done? He racked his brain but couldn’t think of anything right away.

“W-what’s up?” He asked cautiously.

“Lainy.” Hayley said with a sarcastic laugh. “She’s six months pregnant.”

Josh’s eyes went wide and he raised a hand to his mouth. He felt like all the air in the room had been sucked out, leaving him with nothing to breathe.

“Oh my gosh…”

---

Eep! 

Not sure when I'll be able to update again. Hopefully soon!

Hola a todos! :)

The beginning of this is a liiiiiitle bit “M”, more for ‘suggestion’ than anything. If you don’t want to read, scroll down to the “~*~”

---

"Good morning." Josh mumbled after turning the alarm clock off. Hayley smiled sleepily and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"'Morning." She sighed. She rested her arm across his bare waist and smiled into his chest. "You're warm." She stated. February was far too cold for her liking.

"You're sexy." He replied. Hayley laughed softly and rested her chin on his chest.

"You know, we have some time before the little one wakes up." Hayley said with a sly smile. Josh raised an eyebrow and his eyes instinctively snapped shut as Hayley crawled on top of him.

"Hayles... unfortunately, I'm really too sore for this." Josh said sadly. Filling in for the gym teacher at school – for only one week – had left him unable to move.

"You don't have to do anything." Hayley giggled with a sly smile. "There are other ways to have fun you know." With that, she scooted down a bit and began planting kisses along his torso. Josh bit his lip hard as her lips made their way further and further down his stomach.

"Ouch!" He gasped raising a hand to his lip and dabbing at it while Hayley left warm, wet kisses on his hips.

"Did you bite too hard?" Hayley asked, pausing for a few seconds.

"We've got blood." Josh confirmed, dabbing at his lip again. Hayley laughed and rested her hand on his hip, digging in with her nails slightly.

"Oh geez..." Josh gasped. "You're killing me, Red." Hayley grinned and, without warning, disappeared under the sheets.

"Shiiiiiiiiiit!" Josh groaned quietly, mouth opening in a silent moan.

Both he and Hayley were far too distracted to hear their second alarm clock cry out from the bedroom down the hall.

 

"Mommy!" Ethan called. He was up and ready for the day. Or he would be as soon as mom came in for their morning snuggle. "Mommyyyyyyyyyyyy!" He called again. Where was she?

"Momma!" He said once more, anger coming through in his voice. Fine. If mom wasn't going to come to him, he'd go to mom.

Ethan heaved himself out of bed and stumbled out the door. He walked down the long hall and reached his tiny hand out for Hayley's doorknob. The door swung open easily, to Ethan's surprise, and he took a moment to marvel at how the door moved open on it's own.

He heard a soft grunt come from inside the room, was that Daddy? He thought Daddy had gone home last night… hmm, time to investigate.

"Dada?" Ethan asked.

Josh's eyes flew open and he nearly jumped out of his skin. "E-Eth-an!" He stuttered. He pulled his knees up a bit to hide any Hayley-shaped lumps in the blankets.

"Hi. Where Momma?" Ethan asked in a business-like tone.

"Mommy is..." Josh stalled. His brain was not at all ready to deal with anything other than...well, other things right now. "Mommy is downstairs, getting breakfast ready." He lied. "Why don't you go pick out some bath toys and I'll be in soon. Then we'll go surprise Mommy."

"Ok." Ethan replied happily. He turned around and ran for his room to pick out what to bring into the bath with him.

"Oh my god." Josh groaned as he collapsed into his pillows. Hayley reappeared from the depths of the sheets, face beat red from holding in laughter.

"He had absolutely no idea." Hayley assured. "He's not that observant yet."

"Sure..." Josh groaned. "If you say so."

"It's good he came in anyway, Bekah will be here soon to watch him." Hayley said. Josh smiled and nodded.

"He could have given us two more minutes though..." He mumbled grumpily. Hayley laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Alright, quick, go make breakfast!" Josh laughed. "I'll go get him bathed and dressed. Just gotta... wait a few minutes..."

Hayley giggled and hopped out of bed to brush her teeth and change. "We'll pick up where we left of tonight." She called over her shoulder with a suggestive wink.

"Not helping the situation!" Josh replied.

~*~

"Hold on EJ!" Josh laughed. "I have to dry your hair, buddy." Ethan giggled but stood still long enough for Josh to run a fluffy blue towel through his hair.

"Alright!" Josh smiled. "You're doing great. Now for the clothes." He rested the towel across Ethan's shoulders and turned to grab a diaper.

"...Ethan?" Josh asked as he turned back around. The toddler was nowhere to be found.

"SUPAMAAAAAAN!" A shriek came from the hallway.

"Ethan!" Josh called out. He laughed and hurried out of the bathroom to catch his son.

 

"That bacon smells amazing." Bekah groaned.

"Take a piece." Hayley smiled. Bekah didn't need to be told twice, she leaned forward and grabbed a slice before Josh or Ethan could come downstairs and eat it all.

"Almost done here, then Josh and I will head out to the realtor’s office." Hayley announced. “Thanks again for helping out, Becks.” She pulled the last of the scrambled eggs off the stove and dumped them onto a plate.

"I Supamaaaan!" Ethan's voice called from the hallway. Hayley turned in time to see a blur of blue speed through the kitchen, Josh not far behind.

"Nudist, coming through!" Josh warned, a bit too late. "Ethan! Get back here!" He added, unable to hold his laughter in.

"Hayley." Bekah said as she turned to look at her friend. "You have a naked baby running through your house."

"Not completely naked, he does have a towel-cape." Hayley pointed out thoughtfully. "Josh can handle it." She added with a laugh.

"Whatever you say." Bekah shrugged, turning back to her bacon. “Hi Ethan…” She said as the toddler flew by once more.

“Hi aunite Bekaaaa!” Ethan sang as he ran. Hayley laughed and began setting the table.

“Ethan Joshua!” Josh called. “That’s enough, come here now, please.”

“No!” Ethan screeched happily, still running through the house. When he ran back through the kitchen, Bekah caught him and swung him into the air.

“Oh no!” She cried. “It’s an Ethan-plane!” She swung the toddler in the air, while Ethan flung his arms out to his side, like an airplane, with a laugh.

“Thanks Bekah.” Josh huffed as he jogged into the kitchen. “Damn I’m sore…” He groaned. He took Ethan from Bekah, wrapped him up in the towel and headed for the stairs to get him dressed.

“Geez Hayley, what are you doing to the poor boy?” Bekah laughed, referring to Josh.

“Nothing!” Hayley whined defensively. “He’s been playing gym teacher all week.”

“Oh, that I have to see!” Bekah laughed.

“I know, right?” Hayley laughed. “I got off early from work to see it with my own eyes the other day, but I missed it. By the time I got to the school, gym was over.” She walked over to the bottom of the staircase and yelled up for Josh and ‘superman’ to come down for breakfast.

“Josh and I should only be about an hour and a half or so.” Hayley explained. “I think Taylor is going to come by at some point to pick up a sound pedal from Josh, that’s in the living room for him. He’ll probably hang out with Ethan for a bit though, so you’ll have backup if you need it.”

“I think I’ll be good, but I’m sure Ethan will freak.” Bekah laughed. Ethan always got so excited when he got to see uncle T.

“Oh, Josh!” Hayley said as he finally came down the stairs with Ethan, who happened to be wearing a blue shirt with the superman logo on it. “Come on, we’re going to be late!” She announced, dragging Josh toward the door.

“I haven’t had any breakfast!” Josh whined.

“Quick, quick, quick!” Hayley ordered as she sat Ethan up at the table for his breakfast.

~*~

“Alright! It’s official, you’ve sold your house, and you’re the new owners!” Hayley’s realtor grinned, nodding to Hayley and the new owner as the last of the paperwork was signed. The woman who had bought the house was quite a bit older than Hayley, and very pleasant to deal with. Hayley couldn’t help but like her.

“Congratulations” Hayley smiled, shaking the older woman’s hand.

“Thank you.” The woman smiled.

“Do you have any more questions Ms. Williams?” The realtor asked.

“Yes, is there a bathroom around here?” Hayley asked.

“Of course, it’s down the hall, to the left.” The realtor answered.

“Thank you.” Hayley said. She and Josh stood up and shook hands with the realtor.

“Enjoy your last week in the house!” The realtor smiled. Hayley nodded and hurried out the door, Josh not far behind.

“That was easy, huh?” Josh smiled. Hayley didn’t reply, instead she ran in the direction of the bathroom with her hand over her mouth. “Hayley?” Josh called after her, worried. He followed her into the bathroom, not caring that it was the women’s room, and rubbed her back gently as she knelt on the floor and vomited in the nearest toilet.

“You alright?” Josh asked soothingly.

“No!” Hayley snapped, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and flushing the toilet. “I just sold my fucking house and I’m moving in with a guy I’ve only been dating for a little over a month! No! I’m not ok! I’m kinda freaking out!” Hayley said angrily. She leaned back, resting her back on the wall of the bathroom stall, and ran her fingers through her hair. She still felt dangerously nauseous. She hadn't felt so nervous and scared in such a long time. Not since she'd found out she was pregnant with Ethan anyway.

“Hayley…” Josh whispered, unsure of what to say. She had seemed so happy and confidant about how things were going up to this point. He had no idea that on the inside she had, apparently, been freaking out.

“Everything is going to be fine! You have a place to live. If we do break up, God forbid, I’ll move out and you can have the house we’re moving in to.” He finally said.

“I can’t afford that house on my own!” Hayley scoffed.

“Hayley, we’re not going to break up.” Josh said flatly. “You wont need to pay for that house on your own. I promise you, everything will be fine. This is a good thing!” Hayley rolled her eyes and stood up.

“Hey.” Josh said as she walked away. “Hayley!” He snapped, grasping her shoulder as she kept walking. “Listen to me!” He laughed. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. If we do break up, I’ll make sure you and Ethan have a nice place to live. But I honestly don’t think we will break up. I admit, moving in like this is ridiculously fast, my mom is not at all impressed…” he laughed, “but we’ll make it work. We always manage to make things work. And I love you so, so much.” He finished in a whisper. Hayley smiled faintly and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I love you, too…” She said. He pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back.

“And, you get a really nice, big house to decorate however you want.” Josh smiled. “Plus, the neighborhood is full of kids Ethan can play with and boss around.”

Hayley laughed, knowing with all her heart that Ethan would indeed boss all the other kids around. It didn’t matter how old the others were. Ethan was so confidant and in control, he was a natural leader.

“Come on, let’s get you home.” Josh smiled. He kissed her cheek and guided her to the door.

“Not home anymore.” Hayley replied with a sigh. “I’ll let you explain that one to Ethan.”

~*~

“Hiiiiiii-YAH!” Ethan screeched as Josh and Hayley walked back through the door from the realtor's office. He swung his arms about and began kicking the air around him. “Imma get you Momma!” He grinned, running at Hayley, arms flailing. Hayley knelt down, not missing a beat, and put her arms up in a ninja-like defense pose. Ethan stopped in his tracks, eyes wide.

“UNCLE T!” He yelled. “Momma’s a nija!”

“I told you she was!” Taylor said with a laugh. Hayley giggled and busted out a few more ninja moves, to Ethan’s delight.

“We learned why ninjas were cooler than superman while you were gone.” Bekah explained.

“Oh, pirates are so much cooler!” Josh said with a smile.

“Nu-uh Dada!” Ethan said, shaking his head. “Nijas can be slimy!”

“He means ‘sneaky’.” Taylor explained quickly.  

“Do you want to be a ninja when you grow up?” Josh asked. Ethan grinned and shook his head.

“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-YAH!” Ethan yelped, dancing around.

“We’re gettin’ there!” Taylor laughed.

“Aw, my little ninja.” Hayley smiled. The adults all watched Ethan run around the room playfully, dodging boxes of belongings that were ready to be moved.

“Taylor, if this whole ninja thing makes him hit kids at daycare, I’m gonna kill you.” Josh teased as Ethan karate-chopped a cardboard box.

Hayley laughed and leaned against Josh. For some reason she suddenly felt completely ok about moving in with him. She didn’t know what had caused the abrupt change, but she didn’t care. She had her two boys, that was all that mattered. Everything else would work itself out. 

---

Sorry things are kinda slow right now. They'll pick up next chapter! ;)

I think I might start writing more about Ethan from time to time. How it was in the beginning of the chapter I mean. Like, when he's waking up and calling for Hayley and walking down the hall. That was fun :) We'll see though...

Oh aaaannnndddd... you guys are so smart! :X hehehehehe. You'll see what I'm talking about soon! 

Ahhhh I have like, zero time, so I'm not sure when the next update will be :/ hopefully by the end of the week? We'll see.

---

“Wait, how did he say it?” Sarah asked curiously. Hayley was gossiping with Sarah and baby Grace while Jeremy played with Sammy and Ethan in the playroom.

“It was a ‘talk to you later, love you, bye’ kind of thing.” Hayley sighed. “Really quick and offhand.” She had been freaking out about what Josh had said for the last two days. For now, when she saw him, she just pretended like he hadn’t said anything, but she knew she’d have to face it soon enough.

“Wow…” Sarah mumbled. “Well… maybe he didn’t realize he said it.”

“Sarah! We haven’t even been together for a month yet!” Hayley groaned. “This is bad! What is going on?”

“I honestly don’t know…” Sarah replied. “Maybe he just wanted to see what your reaction would be?”

“Girls overanalyze everything.” Jeremy muttered under his breath as he overheard the conversation.

“What?” Hayley asked quickly, seeing the opportunity to get a guy’s opinion on the situation.

“Hayley, he never stopped.” Jeremy said. Hayley furrowed her eyebrows, confused. “He’s always been in love with you.” Jeremy continued, as if the fact was obvious. “So just say it back and get it over with. I know you love him too, so don’t even try to deny it.” Hayley turned to Sarah in disbelief.

“I say take Jerm’s advice.” Sarah shrugged. “He might be right for once.”

“Damn right!” Jeremy smiled.

“Dan wite!” Ethan echoed from behind Jeremy. Hayley covered her mouth to cover a laugh, not wanting to encourage Ethan, and picked up her little boy.

“Do you think uncle Jeremy is right?” She asked. Ethan looked around the room, thinking. Jeremy nodded his head slowly, eyes wide, as Ethan made eye contact with him. Ethan grinned shyly and nodded his head, mimicking Jeremy.

“Well, then I guess we’d better go find Daddy.” Hayley decided. “We should get going anyway, I’m sure you two could use some alone time with Sammy and Grace.”

“Daddy!” Ethan grinned. “Less go!”

“Can you give baby Grace and auntie Sarah a goodbye kiss?” Hayley asked. Ethan grinned and leaned over to kiss Sarah’s cheek lightly.

“Don’t forget the baby!” Sarah said, holding Grace up a bit. Ethan whined and squirmed in Hayley’s arms.

“Nooo!” He complained.

“What? Why not?” Hayley asked with a frown.

“Fwagle.” Ethan said, pointing to Grace. Sarah stared at Ethan, completely confused.

“Oh! Fragile!” Hayley grinned. Josh had told Ethan to be careful around Grace because she was fragile the other night when they’d seen Sarah and Grace in the hospital.

“Honey, it’s ok, you can kiss her. She won’t break.” Hayley said, amused. She shifted closer to the baby once more.

“No!” Ethan yelped.

“Ok! Alright!” Hayley said, eyes wide. Sarah laughed and began rocking Grace back and forth as she began to wake up.

“What about me? Can I have a goodbye kiss?” Jeremy asked. Ethan nodded and kissed Jeremy’s cheek, leaving a wet mark behind.

“Daddy now.” Ethan announced.

“I guess we’re ready to go.” Hayley laughed. “See you later.”

 

“Ethan! What are you doing here?” Josh smiled as he and Hayley walked into Josh’s classroom. School had been over for a few hours, but Josh had stayed late to get tomorrow’s lesson plan ready.

“Time to see Daddy.” Ethan announced. Hayley raised her eyebrows and set Ethan on the ground.

“And what Ethan says, goes.” She added. “Plus,” she took a step toward him, “I wanted to see you, too.” She smiled. She looked around the room and blushed, remembering what had happened the last time she had been in his classroom.

Ethan’s gasp from the corner of the room distracted her from her thoughts and within seconds, loud drumming filled the room. Ethan screeched in delight at the noise and banged harder on the bongo drum he had found. Josh grinned proudly and placed his arm around Hayley’s waist.

“Josh…” She said quietly, as they watched Ethan play.

“Hmm?” He asked, not taking his eyes off the toddler.

“I love you, too.” She said. She smiled as she realized how natural the words felt coming from her mouth.

“Ah, so you did hear me!” Josh grinned. Hayley laughed and nodded, allowing Josh to spin her around so they were face to face. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

“I was starting to get worried.” He teased.

“Momma, kiss!” Ethan ordered as he looked over to his parents. Hayley laughed loudly and stood on her toes, kissing Josh sweetly. She didn’t need to be told twice.

Ethan giggled and covered his face with his hands. “Sop it!” He said. He ran over and squeezed himself between his parents.

Josh bent down and picked Ethan up. “In ten years, you’ll think that’s anything but icky.” He informed. Ethan shook his head furiously and began playing with Josh’s lip ring, distracted.

“Why don’t you and Mommy go get in the car, and I’ll pack up and take you out to dinner.” Josh suggested. “Does that sound good?” Ethan nodded and lunged for Hayley.

“See you in a bit.” Josh smiled. He kissed Hayley’s cheek and turned to gather his things.

 

As Hayley made her way to the table from the restroom, she bumped into a girl in a big, fluffy, black coat. Hayley mumbled a quick apology before realizing she’d bumped into Lainy. Lainy raised an eyebrow at Hayley with a sneer, looking thoroughly disgusted.

Hayley hurried back to the table, trying not to think about the fact that she could make someone that mad. When she sat back down, Ethan shoved Josh’s iPhone into her hands, asking her to draw a dinosaur in the drawing application Josh had opened up for Ethan to play with. Hayley took the phone and looked over her shoulder to see Lainy smile to herself before leaving the restaurant.

“Oh boy…” Hayley sighed.

“Hmm?” Josh asked.

“Oh, nothing.” She smiled. “What kind of dinosaur should I draw, Ethan?” She asked.

“Um… what one Daddy?” He asked Josh in a hushed voice. Josh whispered something into his ear, making him grin. “A Etasawas-wex!” He said loudly.

“Ethasaurus-rex?” Hayley gasped. “What does that look like?” Hayley drew as best she could on the phone as Ethan described the dinosaur to her.

“Oh, hold on, Daddy has a message.” Hayley interrupted as a pop-up came onto the screen. “It’s from… huh?” She frowned.

‘Lainy Text

I need to talk to you’

Flashed across the screen. Josh grabbed the phone curiously and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“Why?” Hayley asked suspiciously.

“I have absolutely no idea.” Josh replied honestly. He typed ‘why? We haven’t talked in months.’ in reply to Lainy’s message, showing Hayley after for reassurance. Hayley forced a smile and turned her attention back to Ethan, trying to ignore the sense of uneasiness that settled over her.

~*~ 

“See you in an hour!” Hayley called over her shoulder to a co-worker as she left the saloon for her lunch break.

She was actually excited about lunch for once. Josh had taken the day off and was taking her out to eat. It was sort of a date for them, since Ethan was at daycare.

She had almost completely forgotten about the odd text from Lainy, although it did randomly haunt her dreams on occasion. From what she could tell though, Josh hadn’t ever met with Lainy to talk. Instead, he had spent most of the last week and a half attached to Hayley’s side.

“Hey, Red!” Josh called from Hayley’s right. Hayley instinctively grinned at the sound of his voice and hurried to his car.

“Hey!” She said as she hopped inside. Josh kissed her quickly and handed over a sleep mask.

“Put this on.” He said with a sly smile.

“…Why?” She asked suspiciously.

“Surprise.” Josh replied. “Put it on.” Hayley apprehensively did as she was told, blushing as she did so.

“I feel so weird.” She complained.

“You look cute.” Josh assured, kissing her nose lightly. He put the car in drive and took off down the road.

“Can I take this off yet?” Hayley asked fifteen minutes later as she heard him cut the engine.

“Almost.” He replied. She heard his car door open, followed by her door seconds later. He helped her out of the car, and led her to a spot a few feet away, positioning her so she was facing a suburban street.

“Ok, you can take it off.” He said, smiling. She pulled the mask off hesitantly and grinned.

“I remember this street!” She laughed. It was where Josh had spent most of his childhood and early teens. Hayley had some great memories of this street before Josh’s family had moved to a bigger house a few blocks away. She had always loved the neighborhood. The neighbors were all friends, and looked out for each other. It was like it’s own little world.  

“Now…” He said, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around. “Look at this.” Hayley frowned as her eyes landed on a light yellow house.

“What about it?” She asked.

“Come on!” He grinned. He grabbed her hand and walked up to the front door. Josh pushed the door open and led Hayley inside. The inside was bare, no furniture in sight.

“All the rooms have been redone within the past two years and there’s an alarm system installed.” He said quickly. Hayley began to feel her heart race, what was he doing? He wasn’t planning on living here, was he?

“So, what do you think?” He asked.

“Of what?” She snorted. “The wall color?”

Josh smiled and shook his head. “The house! Come on, Hayley…”

“I think it’s a little big for you.” She admitted.

“Come here. I want to show you something.” He said, ignoring her comment. He led her up the stairs and down the hall to a small room. “I was thinking Ethan could sleep here.” He started. “And… please hear me out before you freak, but I was thinking this room at the end of the hall could be mine, and the master bedroom at the other end of the hall could be… yours…” He finished quietly. “You could sell your house, and we could all live together.” Hayley’s mouth went dry and she bit her lip. She backed out of the room and walked down the hall to look the other rooms.

“I think…” She started, grabbing Josh’s hand and dragging him to one of the rooms, “this should be Ethan’s room. It looks over the street, he’d love that.” She said. Josh smiled weakly and nodded. Hayley laughed and pulled him toward another room.

“And this should be a guest bedroom.” She said quietly. She saw the hurt of rejection take over his face and he quickly bowed his head, pretending to scratch his neck.

“I’m not done talkin’!” She laughed. “Don’t get pissed off yet.” She dragged him toward the master bedroom and turned to face him. “And this room… can be ours.” She whispered. She didn’t think she had ever seen Josh smile so widely, so quickly. She squealed as he lifted her into the air and spun her around. She lowered her lips to his as he still spun around, and kissed him deeply.

“You don’t think it’s too fast?” He asked breathlessly as they parted and he lowered her to the floor.

“Yep, it is. Way too fast. But I don’t care.” She smiled. Josh laughed and kissed her again.

“Well, here are your keys then.” He said, pulling out a set of keys from his pocket.

“You already bought it?” Hayley gasped in disbelief.

“Closed today.” He grinned. “It’s all ours.” Hayley slapped him playfully for buying without really talking with her, and hurried away to explore the rest of the house.

---

Anyone going to buy "Dear Jack"?? I'm SO excited for it! Can't wait for November 3rd!! :D

This is another long one... lol. Sorry. Lots of Ethan though :)

---

“Momma.” Ethan whispered. “Wake up!” Hayley groaned in her sleep and cuddled in closer to the warm body next to her.

“Ethan?” Josh asked, voice rough from lack of use.

“Momma’s supwise!” He said with a grin, holding up a bowl of cereal.

“What?” Hayley mumbled against Josh’s chest. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around the dark room. “Ethan?” She said, squinting to see him. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. “What time is it?” She asked, confused.

Josh looked at the clock and groaned. “Five twenty-four.” He sighed.

“Breffast!” Ethan grinned, holding up the bowl once more.

Hayley groaned quietly. “Ethan, it’s…” She started.

“Very nice that you wanted to surprise Mommy with breakfast in bed.” Josh cut in with a yawn.

“Yeah… that…” Hayley sighed, sinking back against her soft pillow with a sigh. She and Josh had only fallen asleep four hours before. Being a new couple with a two-year-old son in the house was hard work.

“Thank you, Ethan.” She sighed.

“Welcome Momma!” He grinned. Well at least someone was wide-awake…

“Ethan, this is very nice of you, but you forgot to wake me up first so we could make pancakes, remember?” Josh said, sitting up and throwing his legs over the side of the bed.

“Boxers.” Hayley reminded, eyes still closed.

“I’m good, woke up an hour ago to use the bathroom.” He replied. Hayley grunted in reply and forced herself to sit up while Josh stumbled out of the room to get in the shower.

“Come here.” She said, forcing a smile and pulling Ethan onto the bed. “Thank you very much.” She yawned, taking the bowl from her son.

“No milk.” He frowned. “I sowwy.”

“That’s ok. Less messy this way.” She smiled. She and Ethan picked away at the dry cereal for a few minutes, while Hayley tried to wake herself up.

“How did you even reach this?” She asked suddenly, pointing to the cereal.

“Ummmm.” Ethan said. He raised a finger to his chin and squinted, deep in thought. Hayley laughed quietly, he had picked up this little trick from Uncle Taylor at Christmas and often did it when he was asked a question, even if he knew the answer. “Oh yeah!” He said, raising his arm in the air. “Daddy putted it on a chair fowa me.” He grinned.

“Ah, so it’s all Daddy’s fault.” Hayley muttered under her breath. Ethan giggled and nodded.

“Hey, I’m not the one who woke him up.” Josh mumbled as he walked back into the room, fresh from a very quick shower. “Have you seen my shirt?”

“I’m wearing it.” Hayley giggled. “Sorry. I think I still have one of your old Jimmy shirts in a box in the closet though.” She added, nodding toward her large closet.

“Oh, how lovely.” Josh said sarcastically as he spotted a cardboard box on a high shelf. “A-hole’s shi- er… stuff.” He said, reading off the label. Hayley laughed loudly. Ethan joined in, just for the fun of it and looked between his parents with a smile.

“Hey! I’ve been looking for this!” Josh smiled, pulling out his blue Jimmy Eat World shirt from the box. He slid it over his head and grinned. It still fit. It was tighter, but it still fit.

“Wow…” Hayley whispered in slight shock. “You… have muscles.” Josh laughed and walked over to the bed.

“Come on, Ethan, let’s go make Mommy some real breakfast.” He held out his hand and helped Ethan off the bed. “Go get a fresh diaper and I’ll be in soon.”

“Seriously, that shirt… wow.” Hayley said as Ethan left. Josh blushed slightly and kissed Hayley’s forehead.

“I woke up the happiest guy in the world this morning…” He sighed.

“It’s five in the morning…” Hayley groaned.

“Yet I’m happy.” Josh pointed out. “Weird, huh?” Hayley smiled and nodded. Usually, when Josh was forced to wake up before eight, he was a grumpy mess not to be reckoned with, or talked to for that matter. “Now, you, go back to sleep. I’ll sit Ethan in front of the TV for a bit and then make breakfast.”

“Stoooop!” Hayley groaned.

“What?” Josh asked.

“Stop trying to woo me.” She laughed. “You already have me, I promise.”

“Oh, ok, so you don’t want yummy bacon.” He kissed her quickly. “And eggs.” He kissed again. “And pancakes. And mayyyyybe even a Josh Farro smoothie?” He asked, adding a kiss between each item.

“Smoothieeeee!” Hayley squealed. She hadn’t had one oh his smoothies since before Ethan was born.

“Thought so.” He grinned. “So, I think I’ll continue to ‘woo’ you for as long as I want, Red.” He finished. “Get some sleep.” He added, kissing her forehead and walking out of the room.

“Ready buddy?” Hayley heard Josh ask in the hallway.

“Watch Elmo?” Ethan asked.

“Elmo’s sleeping.” Josh replied with a yawn.

“Time to wake up Elmoooooo!” Ethan sang as Josh carried him down the stairs. Hayley laughed to herself and settled back in to bed, feeling indescribably happy.

~*~

“How was he?” Hayley asked later that day when she picked Ethan up from daycare.

“He was fine.” Kelly smiled. Hayley smiled and nodded as Kelly talked about the kid’s activities that day. She hated the small talk she had to make with Kelly. It was the end of her day, and she was ready to just take her son home and relax.

“Ethan keeps saying that Mommy and Daddy slept in the same bed.” Kelly revealed with a smile.

“Oh my gosh!” Hayley gasped, blushing deeply.

“It’s normal!” Kelly laughed. “All kids say it. He’s just never been able to say it before, so he’s making sure everyone knows.”

“Ethaaaan!” Hayley groaned.

“Momma!” Ethan grinned, finally spotting her.

“I take it Ethan’s father is back in the picture?” Kelly asked.

“Uh, yeah…” Hayley mumbled, picking Ethan up. “He’s not officially moved in, we’re still trying to figure out what works best for Ethan.” She explained.

Kelly nodded. “Well, I must say, Ethan seems much happier than he was before Christmas.” She noted.  Hayley smiled and nodded.

“He really does…” She mused. “I just don’t know what will happen if things don’t work out…” She admitted.

“It’s a sticky situation.” Kelly agreed.

“Alright, well, I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Josh – er, his father, may be picking him up, I get out of work a bit late.” Hayley said. 

“Ok.” Kelly smiled. Hayley turned and walked out the door. She lowered Ethan to the ground so she could dig around for her car keys and she heard a small gasp from behind her. She turned around to see a shocked looking girl, not much younger than Hayley was, standing on the sidewalk.

“Uh, sorry!” The girl apologized, shaking her head. “But… are you… Hayley Williams?” Hayley smiled, she hadn’t been recognized in months. And never when she was with Ethan. Must be the hair.

“Yeah, I am.” Hayley smiled.

“Oh my gosh!” The girl grinned. “Hi! I’m Megan. Big Paramore fan!” Hayley smiled and shook Megan’s hand.

“Momma?” Ethan asked. “Who dat?” He pointed to the stranger.

“Awww!” Megan cooed. “Look at you! Aren’t you adorable…” Ethan huddled against Hayley shyly. She picked him up and turned back to the fan.

“This is Megan.” Hayley introduced.

“Why?” Ethan asked.

“Because that’s what her mommy decided to name her.” Hayley laughed. “Can you tell her your name?” Ethan shook his head and hid his face in her shoulder. Hayley smiled and looked back to Megan. “This is Ethan.”

“Etan Joswa Willams” Ethan yelped.

“He been practicing his name…” Hayley explained.

“You are the cutest thing ever!” Megan grinned. “My gosh, he looks so much like… uh, you…” She stuttered, trying to cover her tracks.

“You mean Josh?” Hayley laughed. Megan nodded and blushed. “It’s ok, Josh is his father.”

“Oh…” Megan said, a grin spreading across her face. “Wait! Is that why Paramore just like… fell off the face of the earth? I knew you were pregnant, but…”

“Yep, that’s pretty much it.” Hayley admitted. She was ready to end this conversation now. She really didn’t want to get in to this with a fan.

“What’s pawamowa?” Ethan asked.

“Mommy and Daddy used to be in a band together.” Hayley explained. “I sang and Daddy played the guitar.” Ethan shrugged, still confused, but he didn’t care.

“Mommy an Daddy seep in da same bed.” Ethan said with a nod, turning to Megan.

“Oh my gosh!” Hayley gasped, face going red. “Ethan!” Ethan grinned widely and placed his hands on Hayley’s cheeks with a giggle. Megan blushed and laughed.

“Uh… seeing Josh and I together is a bit of a new thing for him…” Hayley explained. She racked her brain, thinking of excuses to leave.

“I understand, my little niece says the same thing about my sister and brother-in-law.” Megan smiled. “Josh mustn’t have been around much, I thought he was out in California?”

“He was for a bit.” Hayley said, beginning to get annoyed. “Look, I’m sorry, but I’d really rather not get in to this…”

“Oh I’m so sorry!” Megan gasped. “I shouldn’t have…”

“It’s alright…” Hayley assured. “Just… want to enjoy our privacy for once I guess.” Hayley laughed.

“What’s piwacy?” Ethan asked.

“Privacy is when you want to keep things to yourself.” Hayley explained quickly. She pulled out her phone, which kept buzzing in her pocket and frowned. Two missed call and three text messages.

“Sorry…” She apologized as she opened her phone to see what was going on. “Oh my gosh!” She yelped with a grin. “I’m so sorry! I have to go!” Hayley said quickly, relieved for an excuse to leave. “It was nice to meet you! Come on Ethan!”

“Go home?” Ethan asked.

“No, Auntie Sarah is having her baby!” Hayley said, opening her car door and buckling Ethan in as quickly as she could.

“I see!” Ethan grinned happily.

“Yes! You’ll get to see her!” Hayley assured. “Soon!”

 

“Ethan, no.” Hayley said, pushing him away from a hospital chair. “You’ll get stuck.” There was on uncomfortable looking padded chair in Sarah’s hospital room, and Ethan was attempting to squeeze his head in the gap between two of the pieces that made up the back of the chair.

“Momma, I fit!” He said, showing Hayley that he could stick his head through the gap with several inches to spare.

“I know baby, but please don’t do that.” Hayley said, pushing his head out of the gap for what seemed like the hundredth time. “Josh, will you grab his coat? He’s getting restless, I think it’s time to go.”

“Yep.” Josh hurried over to the corner of the room and Hayley turned to Sarah.

“Sar, she’s so beautiful.” Hayley smiled, looking at the baby.

“My turn to hold her!” Jeremy said, grinning proudly. “Hey Grace! Hey baby!” Jeremy cooed.

“Oh jeez…” Josh sighed, looking behind Hayley.

“What?” Hayley asked. She turned around and covered her mouth to keep from laughing.

“Etan stuck.” Ethan said, frowning. He had somehow managed to squeeze through the gap in the chair and was stuck at his waist. Hayley couldn’t hold her laugh in for long and she had to turn away so Ethan wouldn’t see.

“Josh… could you… get him out?” Hayley asked between giggles. Josh nodded and bit his lip, trying to keep quiet himself.

Hayley quickly pulled out her camera and took a picture. Ethan raised his hands in the air, giving her ‘thumbs up’ just as she snapped the photo. Josh grabbed hold of Ethan’s legs and tugged, doubled over in silent laughter; Ethan looked completely ridiculous. In a matter of seconds, Josh had freed the poor toddler and successfully put his jacket on.

“Again!” Ethan grinned, running for the chair.

“Oh no you don’t!” Hayley laughed. Josh grabbed Ethan as he ran past and swung him in the air, making the toddler squeal in delight.

“Ok, now I really think it’s time to go.” Hayley said. “We’ll see you later. Congratulations again!”

“Bye! See you soon!” Sarah smiled tiredly. Jeremy grabbed Grace’s arm and waived it gently.

 

“Ethan, say bye-bye to Daddy.” Hayley said as the three walked out the main entry of the hospital.

“Daddy seep ova?” Ethan asked hopefully.

“Not tonight, buddy.” Josh replied. “It’s a week day, I have to go home tonight and plan what I’m going to do at work tomorrow.”

Ethan frowned and looked to Hayley. “Pwease?” He asked.

“Nope, Daddy has to work tomorrow.” Hayley repeated. Ethan crossed his arms and frowned. Josh shook his head and laughed quietly.

“I might see you this weekend though.” He said, hoping to lift Ethan’s sprits a bit.

“Pwease Momma?!” Ethan asked, eyes lighting up.

“Yeah! Pwease, Momma?” Josh echoed with a smile.

Hayley laughed and nodded. “Alright, Daddy can spend the night this weekend.” She agreed.

“Yaaay!” Ethan and Josh cheered together.

“Hey, I parked over this way.” Josh said to Hayley, nodding to his left. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you.” He kissed her quickly before turning to Ethan.

“See you tomorrow, little man!” He grinned. “Bye!” Hayley watched him go, eyes wide. Did he just say… love?

---

Just wanted to introduce the idea of Paramore to Ethan. :) hah.

This one is long... haha. The end is kinda important though. ...sorta... meh

Also, it's a little lacking in the Ethan department :( Heavy on the Joshayley though :)

This chapter is a little on the 'M' side of ratings, just to warn.

---

“Hey, I think I’m gonna get going, Ethan is ready for bed.” Hayley said, nodding to the sleepy toddler in her arms.

“Oh, come on, Hayles!” Zac complained. “You haven’t spent New Years Eve with us in so long!”

“Ethan can sleep in Josh’s room.” Emily pointed out. “Then you don’t have to leave us!” She said with a grin. Hayley frowned, thinking it over.

“Pleaseeeeee!” Jeremy and Zac begged with matching pouts. Ethan suddenly gasped and screeched right into Hayley’s ear, making her cringe.

“UNCLE TAY!” He yelled. He practically jumped out of Hayley’s arms toward Taylor. He was by far, Ethan’s favorite ‘uncle’, much to Zac’s dismay.

“Hey! How’s my favorite shorty!” Taylor smiled, pulling Ethan into his arms. Ethan grinned and rested his head on Taylor’s shoulder, already feeling tired again.

“Dude! You’re a redhead again!” Taylor gasped with a large smile, looking at Hayley.

“Yep!” Hayley laughed. “Did it at the while I was at work yesterday, I missed being red.” Hayley loved working at a salon as a make up artist. It brought lots of benefits, namely, free hair-dying. She had gone for a more natural red color this time, instead of her normal bright red and orange. She was a mother now, after all.

“Ok, you can’t leave now.” Zac said, pointing to Taylor. “T just got here! And you’re a redhead again. It’s a Paramore reunion!” Hayley frowned, Zac made a good point. The whole band hadn’t been in one room together since Zac and Emily’s wedding over a year ago.

“Alright.” She sighed. “Come on Ethan, let’s get you to bed.”

“Nooo!” Ethan screeched when Hayley tried to take him from Taylor.

“Can I put you to bed?” Taylor asked, preventing a tantrum. Ethan nodded and yawned. “Sweet deal.” Taylor smiled. “Where are we going?” He asked.

“Just down the hall here.” Hayley smiled. “Thanks Tay.”

“Actually, why don’t you bring him to the guest room upstairs instead, it’ll be quieter than Josh’s room.” Emily suggested. 

 

“Hayley! Hey!” Josh grinned, as she walked down the stairs. Hayley raised an eyebrow and laughed.

“Geez Josh, how much have you had to drink?” She asked as she made her way through the crowd.

“I’m not drunk!” He insisted. “Just tipsy.”

“Whatever you say.” Hayley laughed.

“You’re sexy, Red…” Josh noted, cocking his head to the side.

“Shut up.” Hayley laughed. “Red?”

“Mhmm, that’s your new nickname.” Josh explained as he played with a strand of her newly dyed hair. She laughed and pushed him away as he took a step toward her to put his arm around her.

“Josh, seriously, no.” She said. “No one knows about us yet, I don’t think this is the best way for them to find out.”

“They’re not paying attention.” Josh mumbled, pressing his forehead against hers.

Hayley’s eyes snapped shut, she could feel his hot breath on her lips, it was enough to make her knees go weak.

“Nooo.” She whined as common sense invaded. “Stop it.” Josh grinned and backed away.

“Just wanted to know that you wanted it too.” He said. “Here, have a Jell-o shot, the cherry flavored ones are awesome.” He handed over a shot-sized plastic cup filled with Jell-o.

“No, I have to drive Ethan home later.” Hayley said, pushing his hand away.

“Not for a while! One shot wont make a difference.” Josh insisted. “You have to let go for once! Yeah, you’re a mom now, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop having fun!” Hayley snatched to cup out of his hand, just to shut him up, and tipped the contents into her mouth.

An hour - and a few frozen drinks - later, Hayley was feeling a bit tipsy. She sat on the couch with Sarah and Josh’s mother, sharing stories of their children, while Emily listened on excitedly with a grin. She and Zac had announced at Christmas that Emily was expecting. The baby would be due in the beginning of September.

Hayley was quite enjoying the little tidbits of information about toddler-Josh she was gathering from his mother. She was already planning how to use the fact that he’d insisted on having a Barbie doll when he was three against him.

“Oh…” Hayley said suddenly, pressing her hand to her head as she laughed at a story about little Samuel.

“I’m dizzy.” She giggled. “I’m such a bad mother!”

“Hayley, you are not a bad mother just because you’re a bit drunk.” Sarah laughed. “If you were drunk on a regular basis… well that’s a different story, but you never drink. You’re a great mom.”

“Honey, sometimes you have to be drunk if you’re a mother.” Josh’s mom added. “Otherwise you’d go crazy.” She finished with a smile.

“Hey, Red!” Josh called from the corner of the room.

“Oh look, Dad’s drunk too.” Emily laughed as Josh walked over, looking determined.

“Hayley…” He said, kneeling down in front of her. “Hi…”

Hayley raised an eyebrow and looked to the other girls, trying not to laugh. “…Hi.” She replied.

“I just wanted to… uh…” He said. He looked around, realizing all the girls were staring at him. “Eh, fuck it. I just wanted to do this.” He placed a hand behind her neck and kissed her hard on the lips.

“Josh!” Hayley yelped. She pushed him away, face red. Sarah and Emily grinned widely, while Josh’s mother frowned, unsure of the situation.

“Finally!” Zac groaned from the other side of the room. “It’s about freaking time!” Hayley giggled and shook her head.

“See! They’re not mad!” Josh said, pointing around the room. Hayley shook her head and covered her face with her hands. The whole room suddenly erupted in a chorus of ‘kiss him, kiss him’ led by Taylor. She shrugged, feeling confident thanks to the alcohol she had consumed, and planted a sloppy kiss on his lips. Josh raised his arms in the air victoriously, still kissing back.

“Ok, go away now.” Hayley said, pushing him back with a smile.

“What the hell is this?!” Sarah asked over the now loud music pumping through the speakers. She had a huge grin on and she and Emily both pulled Hayley into a hug while Josh’s mom tried to make a beeline for her son.

“I knew it!” Emily grinned.

“It’s only been a few days.” Hayley informed. “When Ethan was sick… well… he was there for me and… eh whatever. I’ll tell you later, when it’s not so noisy!” She yelled.

Sarah nodded and pointed to Josh. “I think your lover wants you anyway.” She smiled. Hayley excused herself with a blush and walked over to Josh. He slipped his hand into hers and led her outside so they had some privacy.

“Hey…” He said hesitantly as they walked around to the back of the house.

“Hi…” Hayley giggled, she felt like she was back in high school, talking to her biggest crush. Josh smiled and stopped walking long enough to kiss her gently.

“Oh, how am I going to get home? Hayley groaned as the world around her started to spin a bit.

“Just stay here tonight.” Josh said with a shrug. “You can sleep in my bed, I’ll take the couch. Ethan’s fine where he is for the night, and Sammy’s up there with him now, so he’s not even alone in a strange house.” Hayley groaned and rested her head on Josh’s shoulder as they sat down on a bench in Zac’s backyard.

“This wasn’t a good idea.” She mumbled. “What if Eth gets sick again? I can’t drive. And there’s no way you can drive.”

“We’ll call a cab.” Josh shrugged.

“There are no cabs, it’s New Years Eve.” Hayley frowned.

“We’ll call an ambola… no… ambulance.” Josh said, stumbling over his words drunkenly.

“That won’t scare Ethan.” Hayley said sarcastically.

“Hayley, he’s fine now. He’s not sick anymore.” Josh sighed. Hayley smiled and rested her head against his chest. Without warning, and for no reason, she began to laugh – one of the many oddities of being drunk – and when she pulled away to look at Josh, she froze. His lips looked so inviting…

She leaned forward and mashed her lips against his. She wriggled her way into his lap, kissing whatever her lips came in contact with along the way. Josh groaned loudly and dug his fingers into her hips, pulling her closer to him eagerly.

“You’re ringing.” Hayley said breathlessly as a noise from his pocket filled the air around them.

“Don’t care.” He replied. “More important things to do.” He added huskily. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, making her moan.

“Pick it up.” Hayley insisted, pulling away from Josh. “Could be important.”

He groaned in complaint and gently pushed Hayley off his lap so he could get to his phone. Hayley couldn’t help but look down as he dug his hand into the pocket of his jeans and she bit her lip at what she saw. Even in the darkness of the night sky around them, she could tell he wanted her. Her heart skipped a few beats and she realized she couldn’t help herself. She wanted him, too.

“Hello?” Josh said, raising the phone to his ear. Hayley let her instincts take over and she slid back onto his lap.

“Mom, hiii-ahh!” He choked out as Hayley left hot, sloppy kisses along his neck. He tried to push her away, but he couldn’t. Mostly because, deep down, he didn’t want her to stop.

“Josh? Are you… alright?” His mother asked on the other line.

“F-fine.” He replied, clearing his throat. “What’s up?”

“What do you think you’re doing?” She asked.

Josh froze. “What do you mean?” He asked slowly, trying to sound as normal as he could while Hayley nipped at his neck teasingly.

“With Hayley! What do you think you are doing?” She demanded. Josh panicked and quickly pushed Hayley away from him. He looked around, expecting to see his mother somewhere in the yard or peering out a window from inside the house.

“Uh… w-what are you talking about?” He asked.

“Jesus Josh, how drunk are you?” his mother sighed. “Are you two seriously dating again?”

“Oh!” He said, laughing. “I thought… ah never mind. Yeah, we are.”

“Josh… I don’t know if this is a good idea.” She admitted. “She was an absolute wreck last time… I don’t want to see her go through that again.”

“Mom, please!” Josh scoffed. “It’s not gonna be like that.”

“Just… be careful, Josh.” She sighed.

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” He said. “Look, I don’t want to talk about this now.”

“Where did you get off to anyway? Everyone is looking for you.” She asked, distracted from her point now.

“I left.” Josh shrugged. “Hayley and I are taking a walk.” He said. Well… it wasn’t exactly a lie… they had been walking. They were just… taking a break. “I reeeeeally have to go now.” He said, voice strained as Hayley dug her nails into his thigh.

“I want to talk to you tomorrow.” She said sternly, still having no idea what was going on between her son and Hayley.

“Yep, call you then. Bye!” He said quickly, hanging up the phone.  “That was unpleasant.” He groaned, throwing his phone onto the bench next to him. “I’m not answering next time.”

“Ok.” Hayley giggled. “Your mom mad about us?” She asked.

“Concerned.” Josh corrected. “I don’t want to talk about this now.” He added. His eyes were dark and he looked ready to pounce.

“Me either.” Hayley whispered. Josh lunged forward, toppling Hayley onto her back and she immediately snuck her hands under his shirt and ran her fingertips lightly along his tight abs. Josh’s stomach contracted and he shivered at her touch. He hovered over her, taking in as much as he could about her and committing it to memory. He didn’t want to forget this anytime soon.

He leaned down slowly and kissed her lightly on the lips. Each time she tried to deepen the kiss, Josh pulled back a bit with a sly smile. He ran his tongue slowly along her lower lip, enjoying the taste of vodka and cherry flavoring mix that lingered there.

His tongue slipped easily between her lips and he gasped and let out a low moan as her tongue pressed against his. He soon found that he could resist no longer and he began to thrust his hips against Hayley’s slowly.

Hayley cried out and quickly slapped her hand to her mouth. “Shit!” She whispered. “That was loud.”

Josh grinned. “I don’t mind.” He laughed. “I don’t mind at all.”

“I don’t want people to hear us!” She said, hitting Josh lightly.

“Hayles, it’s loud in there.” He replied, nodding toward the house. “No one will be able to hea-oh!” He gasped as her fingers slid under the waist of his jeans. His eyes snapped shut and he rested his head in the crook of her neck, panting. He began biting and sucking at her neck noisily and Hayley threw her head back, trying her hardest not to cry out once more as he began moving again.

“Josh.” She gasped. “We can’t.” She added, panting. “We can’t do this…”

“But I want tooooo!” He whined. Hayley laughed and pushed him away.

“Let me finish.” She said. “We can’t do this here.”

Josh grinned. “And why is that?” he asked.

“Because we’re in the middle Zac’s fucking back yard! Anyone could walk by!” She laughed.

“You raise a good point.” He replied. “But I really don’t care about everyone else right now.” He teased.

Hayley rolled her eyes. “Come on.” She wiggled out from under him and dragged him back toward the house.

They snuck back into the house and made a dash for Josh’s room. Hayley shut and locked the door while Josh tugged his shirt off and threw it over his shoulder.

“Wait!” Hayley giggled, dodging Josh as he walked toward her purposefully. She hurried to his dresser and pulled a small, silver packet out of his sock drawer. “Still keep these in the same place I see.” She grinned. “Best to be safe this time.” She added, blushing slightly, and placing the condom on the bedside table until it was needed. Josh laughed and climbed into the bed, pulling Hayley after him.

“Shit…” Hayley giggled as the bedsprings groaned loudly. “Is this you’re old bed?”

Josh smiled and nodded. “Brings back memories, huh?” He asked. Hayley raised an eyebrow and placed a hand behind his neck, pulling him toward her. He rolled over, pinning her beneath him. Hayley gasped as he thrust his hips into hers, simultaneously wincing at the noise the bed made.

“Shh!” She scolded, pressing her head against his chest, laughing quietly. “You’re making the bed squeak. People will hear!”

“Oh boy…” He whispered. “This should be interesting.” He added with a lopsided grin.

 

“5…4…3…2…1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!” The house burst out, just as Josh and Hayley ran back into the living room. Couples turned to each other and shared drunken New Year’s kisses. Josh grinned as he looked around. He pulled Hayley close and kissed her passionately.

“Happy New Year…” He mumbled against her lips.

“Happy New Year.” Hayley replied giddily.

“Where have you two been?!” Zac asked as he spotted the couple.

“Outside.” Josh lied. Unfortunately, he was unable to wipe a grin off his face, causing Zac to raise an eyebrow curiously.

“Oh like hell…” Jeremy laughed as he looked between the two. “I saw you two sneak into Josh’s room.”

“Jeremy, shut up!” Josh snapped, he had always liked to keep private things private.

“Gross!” Zac groaned. “Dude, you’re in my house!”

“On my bed.” Josh defended.

“Any good New Years resolutions?” Taylor interrupted, in an attempt to prevent a friendly brotherly fight.

“I’m gonna be a better dad.” Josh said immediately. “And a better boyfriend, and I’m gonna find a new place to live.”

“I like that one.” Zac teased.

“And.” Josh continued, turning to Hayley. “I’m going to take you on a date at least once a month.” He said, accentuating the ‘you’ with a light, playful tap on Hayley’s nose.

“Sounds good to me!” Hayley replied. She pulled Josh into a hug and smiled. She felt so safe and secure in his arms. How had she lived without him for so long?

---

Hope I didn't burn your eyes out or something equally as bad! haha

More Ethan in the next chapter, I promise

I'm being forced to update... hahaha. :)

This chapter is kinda... filler-y. :/

---

“Ethan’s awake.” Hayley mumbled as Josh kissed her neck gently.

Josh paused and pulled his head back to look at Hayley. “What?” He asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “It’s only six in the morning. How do you know?”

“Heard him.” Hayley replied. She kissed the corner of his mouth and smiled. She could get used to waking up like this. Too bad it wasn’t a real possibility at this point, considering they’d only officially been together for less than twelve hours.

“I didn’t hear anything.” Josh shrugged. He moved around under the blankets and pulled Hayley close to him.

“Instinct. You’ll pick it up eventually.” Hayley replied. “Took me a few months.” She sighed and rested her head on Josh’s chest. He shook his head, smiling, and rolled over so he was laying on top of her. He captured her lips in a sweet kiss and tangled his fingers in her hair.

“Mmmm.” Hayley sighed with a smile as they broke for air. “I’m tellin’ you, Ethan’s gonna walk through that door within the next two minutes.” She warned.

“Better make the most of the time we’ve got then.” Josh replied with a cocky grin. Hayley laughed and pushed him away. “Seriously, Josh. Come on, we should get out of bed. I don’t want to shock him too much. Especially since you don’t actually live here…”

“Yeah, yeah.” Josh sighed. “I see how it is.” He teased. “Making up Ethan excuses to get me away from you.” Just as he finished, the door creaked open.

“Hi Dad.” Ethan said, as if seeing Josh in his mother’s bed was the most normal thing ever. Josh and Hayley both jumped and blushed furiously.

“Mommy, brefasst time?” Ethan asked, still unfazed by the sudden presence of his father. Hayley snickered quietly while Josh laid in slight shock as Ethan pulled himself up onto the bed and nestled himself between his parents.

“How are you feeling?” Hayley asked. She raised her palm to his forehead to check his temperature. He was still a little warm, but not hot anymore.

“Hungy.” Ethan replied. “Listen!” He said, pointing to his stomach. Sure enough, a loud, hungry gurgle came from inside. Hayley smiled and pulled back the covers to get out. 

“Ok, lets go get something to eat.” Hayley yawned.

“I’ll do it!” Josh said, jumping up. “You go take a bath and relax for a while, Ethan and I can have some male bonding time.” He grinned.

“Yeah!” Ethan said excitedly. “Relass, Momma! Come on Daddy!”

“How about we get dressed and Daddy can have a shower?” Hayley suggested. “Then you and Daddy can make breakfast before Mommy has to go to work.” Ethan nodded.

“Towels are in the bathroom closet, Josh.” Hayley said with a smile.

“Towas in coset, Joss!” Ethan echoed.

“Thanks.” Josh laughed.

“Are we having a parrot day?” Hayley asked Ethan.

“Pawwot day!” Ethan grinned.

“Aw, my little echo.” Hayley laughed. “See you in a bit, Josh.” He nodded and headed for the bathroom.

“Daddy’s here!” Ethan pointed out as he and Hayley entered his room.

“Mmhmm.” Hayley replied. “He wanted to make sure you were ok, so he spent the night. He’s going home tonight though, ok?” She asked. Ethan pouted. “I’m serious! He has to go to his house tonight.”

“Oookayyyyy.” Ethan sighed.

“Arms up!” Hayley said. Ethan raised his arms and Hayley pulled off his nightshirt.

~*~

“Ah, that’s the first time in so long that I’ve actually been able to enjoy a shower.” Hayley grinned as she entered the kitchen. “I even got to shave my legs for once.” She added with a laugh.

“Good!” Josh smiled. “Ethan and I didn’t do too much damage to the house. Did we. EJ?”

“Nope!” Ethan grinned.

“Breakfast?” Josh asked, holding out a plate of Eggo waffles with syrup drizzled over them. Hayley’s eyes went wide in excitement. She usually was only able to scarf down a piece of toast in the mornings.

“Yes, please!” She grinned, taking the plate happily.

“You ready to spend the day with me?” Josh asked Ethan.

“Yes!” Ethan grinned.

“Oh shoot, is it really eight thirty? I’ve got to get to work!” Hayley complained. She hurried forward and kissed Ethan. “Be good for Daddy!” She said. “Call me if his fever goes up again.” She added, talking to Josh. “His doctor’s appointment is at one. Don’t forget!”

“Got it.” Josh nodded. He followed Hayley to the front door and kissed her quickly. “Have a great day.” He smiled. Hayley bit her lip and smiled. She didn’t think she would ever get used to kissing him.

“My last make-up consult is at three, so I should be home by four thirty so you can go home and get some rest.” She informed.

“Alright, see you then.” Josh said, although he had no intention of leaving once she got home.

“Bye…” She said hesitantly. She stood on her toes and kissed him slowly. He smiled and put his hands on her waist, kissing back passionately.

“Wow.” She whispered against his lips.

“Yeah…” Josh laughed quietly.

“Yucky.” Ethan said as he walked into the entryway. “Daddy, come pay wif me.”  Hayley jumped away from Josh immediately. So much for keeping her and Josh’s relationship a secret… Although, really, the fact that Ethan had found Josh in her bed earlier that morning had probably been the real giveaway.

Hayley cleared her throat and hurried out the door, leaving Josh to explain.

~*~

“How are my boys?” Hayley called as she walked through the door later that day.

“Daddy mean.” Ethan pouted, running toward Hayley and holding his arms out for her. His eyes were wet and his face was red. He’d just thrown a temper tantrum, no doubt.

“Why is Daddy mean?” Hayley sighed, picking him up. He rested his head on her shoulder and started rocking back and forth.

“EJ wanted to go outside.” Josh explained. “But we had to stay inside because he’s still got a fever.”

“Ah.” Hayley said. “Ethan, you have plenty of toys inside, why didn’t you play with those?”

“Don’t want to.” He replied angrily. “Outside!” 

“But the doctor said we have to stay inside, remember?” Hayley pointed out. Josh had taken him to see the pediatrician that afternoon and reported back to Hayley as soon as they had left. Ethan was officially fine, but the doctor told Josh to keep an eye on him and keep him inside and away from daycare if possible until he was better.

“Outsiiiiiide!” He complained, crying again.

“No, we’re staying inside.” Hayley said firmly. “Come on, let’s get some hot chocolate.” Ethan froze and stared at Hayley. He loved hot chocolate, but he knew there were some ulterior motives behind the offer.

“No hot chocolate until you act like a big boy though.” Hayley said. Ethan frowned. There it was! The ‘condition’ for his hot chocolaty goodness.

“Daddy, I have to potty!” He said instantly, twisting in Hayley’s arms to get to Josh. Hayley laughed and handed him over to Josh. Ever since Daddy had come into the picture, Hayley had been having a difficult time getting Ethan to allow her to take him to the bathroom. He was starting to realize the boys and girls were different, and he was becoming more and more self-conscious around Hayley, although that self-consciousness was only limited to the bathroom. Hayley still woke up to a naked Ethan running through the house on occasion.

“Ok, buddy, lets go.” Josh smiled. A few moments later, they reappeared from the bathroom.

“All done.” Josh announced. “He did a good job, minus the fact I got peed on a little.” He said, gesturing to a small wet patch on his shirt.

“I have hot chakit now?” Ethan asked excitedly. Hayley stifled a laugh and handed over a glass of slightly warm hot chocolate, so he wouldn’t burn himself.

“That’s what little boys do.” She sighed, talking to Josh. “It’s happened many a time to me. Would you like some hot chocolate?” She asked. He shook his head and began digging around the refrigerator.

“What would you like for dinner?” He asked over his shoulder. Hayley smiled, she could definitely get used to Josh being in her house. 

---

:/ Ehh... next one will be better, haha.

Passion? They haz it. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcDDQKE5pxo in case that link doesn't work for some people)

Watch from 4:10 on.

Srsly, I cried. And I'm totally not ashamed to admit that. I still shake every time I watch/listen to it.

Josh, I freaking love you for playing that at the end...

 

MP3: http://www.sendspace.com/file/iqwh89

5 pages in Microsoft Word... haha. Kinda boring at times. I think? Eh, whatever. 

---

 

“Pick up Josh!” Hayley grumbled into her phone. She had called him three times straight, but still wasn’t getting an answer. She knew he was at school, for some teacher’s workshop, but she needed him right now.

She had thought about calling Sarah for support, but Sarah was too pregnant at this point to be dragged to a hospital and be worried about Ethan. Plus… Hayley wanted Josh. She didn’t know why, but she just needed him right now. He would make things better.

“Damn it, Josh!” Hayley groaned as the phone went to voicemail once more. She hung up and dialed his number again.

“What?” Josh spat into his phone after the third ring.

“Josh!” Hayley gasped. “Finally!”

“Hayley, I’m in a meeting.” He said shortly.

“I know.” She said, voice wavering.

“Whoa, what’s up?” He asked, concerned now.

“Ethan.” She choked out. “Uh…” She took a few deep breaths to calm herself, trying not to frighten the poor boy in her lap. If she let on that she was upset about the whole situation, Ethan would be even more scared than he currently was.

“Oh my gosh…” Josh said, thinking the worst. He excused himself from the meeting and ran to his classroom to get his coat and car keys.

“No! No!” Hayley said quickly. “He’s ok! Well… ah I don’t know.” She added.

“Is that him crying in the background? Where are you?”

“Yeah, it’s him.” She said. She cleared her throat, finally gaining control of her emotions. “Uh, we’re at the emergency room. He woke up last night with a pretty high fever. The doctors told me not to bring him in because it was probably just the flu. But this morning he was even worse, so now we’re here.” She explained. “We’ve been here for four hours now and they still don’t know what’s wrong. They’ve taken a lot of blood and done a urine test and a few x-rays. Now they want to do a CT scan to look at his chest.” Hayley finished, voice unsteady.

“I’m on my way.” Josh said. He tried to sound strong, but on the inside his heart was racing and he was frightened for his son. He pulled on his jacket and ran for the door.

“He’s been crying since he woke up this morning…” Hayley said quietly. “He’s terrified. I just want to make it better! I hate seeing him like this…”

“Daddyyyy!” Ethan wailed in the background.

“Do you want to talk to Daddy?” Hayley asked quickly. Ethan nodded and Hayley pressed the phone to his ear.

“Daddy?” Ethan asked through his tears.

“Hey! Ethan!” Josh said, trying to sound upbeat. “How are you, buddy?” Ethan wailed into the phone in response.

“Hey, I’m gonna come see you, I’ll be there soon, ok?” Josh said as he slammed his car door shut. “Can you stay strong for Mommy?” He asked.

“Y-yea-ah” Ethan hiccupped into the phone.

“Ok, I love you!” Josh said. “I’ll see you in a little bit.” He ended the call and turned his keys in the ignition.

~*~

“I’m looking for Hayley and Ethan Williams!” Josh said quickly as he ran into the emergency room.”

“Are you Josh?” An annoyed looking nurse behind the check-in desk asked. He nodded quickly and looked around the room, trying to spot them. “Your wife and son are in exam room three.” The nurse sighed.

“Thank you!” He called over his shoulder, not bothering to correct her.

“How is he?” Josh asked as he burst through the door.

“We just finished the scan.” Hayley sighed, stroking Ethan’s back. “We’re waiting to see if he has to be admitted to the hospital or not.”

Hayley looked completely drained, both physically and mentally. Ethan was lying on the exam table, curled up in a little ball. He was sweating and looked scared. At least he had stopped crying…

“Hey, buddy!” Josh said quietly. Ethan looked up and smiled faintly. “Do you not feel well?” Josh asked with a frown. Ethan shook his head.

“Everything will be ok.” Josh assured, more to Hayley than to Ethan since the toddler didn’t seem to be paying much attention. “The doctors will make everything better.”

“Hello! You must be Mr. Williams.” A doctor said happily as he walked into the room.

“Josh.” Josh replied. “Uh. Josh Farro, not Williams.”

“Oh! My mistake.” The doctor smiled.
“What’s going on?” Josh asked in a businesslike tone. “What’s wrong with my son?”

“Hard to say I’m afraid.” The doctor frowned. “Everything is normal so far. The CT scan we just did showed no abnormalities.” 

“Well, how do we find out?” Josh asked.

“We’d like to do a lumbar puncture for some diagnostic testing.” The doctor explained. Hayley gasped and her eyes went wide.

“No!” She said. “No! Please don’t! He’s already terrified enough.”

“What would you be testing for with the puncture?” Josh asked calmly.

“Nothing specific. We would just run some generic tests to find out what’s wrong.” The doctor explained.

Josh shook his head. “Not good enough.” He said. “You’re not sticking a giant needle in our son’s back for ‘nothing in particular’. What else can you do?”

“This is what we would like to try next.” The doctor continued.

“I didn’t ask what you would like to do. I asked what else you could do.” Josh said slowly.

“Sir, we’re just trying to find out what is wrong with little Ethan here.” The doctor explained. “This is the fastest way.”

“You don’t know that!” Hayley cut in. Josh raised his hand a bit, letting her know he would take care of it.

“Find a different test.” Josh said simply. “Unless there is a good, solid reason he has to have a lumbar puncture, we’re not giving the ok. You’ve done so many pointless tests already. We will not put him through that much pain without having an idea of what’s wrong.”

“Sir, it really is the fastest route…”

“I don’t care.” Josh said. “Having him not feel well for a few extra hours is far better than putting him through that much pain.”

“You’ll just be putting it off.” The doctor said.

“Find a different test.” Josh spat. “We are the parents, we make the decision. There is no need to be this impulsive. There are other tests out there.”

“We’ve done everything we can.” The doctor said.

“Then go look at the tests again.” Josh demanded. “Hayley and I will talk things over. Let us know what the best guess is without doing the puncture for now.” The doctor sighed in frustration, turned on his heel and left, saying he’d be back soon.

“Oh my gosh!” Hayley sighed as the door clicked shut. “This is a nightmare.” She walked over to Josh and rested her head on his chest, relieved that he was finally here. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, rubbing her back gently.

“Everything is going to be fine.” He whispered, hoping he was right. He felt Hayley shake in his arms and knew instantly that she was crying. “Shh…” He whispered. “It’s ok.” He glanced over at Ethan and smiled.

“What are you doing, buddy?” He asked. Hayley pulled back and wiped her eyes before Ethan saw her, while Josh walked over to the toddler who was attempting to sit up.

“Momma, hold me.” Ethan said weakly. Hayley lifted him into the air, flinching slightly as her arms screamed in complaint. Holding a two and a half year old all day was tough on the arms…

Hayley’s eyes went wide and she smiled for the first time all day. “Hey! I think your fever has gone down a little.” She commented, feeling his forehead.

“What are you talking about?” Josh asked. “He’s burning up!”

“Not as much as this morning.” Hayley explained. “Are you feeling a little better?” She asked.

“No.” Ethan replied, playing with a strand of Hayley’s hair.

“Hey, can I hold you?” Josh asked as he watched Hayley shift the heavy toddler in her arms.

“Ok.” Ethan said with a shrug. He leaned toward Josh and wrapped his arms around his father’s neck.

“Thanks.” Hayley sighed, shaking her arms out. “You’re heavy, Ethan!”

“Uh huh.” Ethan replied with a yawn. “Go home now?” He asked.

“Not quite yet, buddy.” Josh said. “Soon though.”

“You know what?” Hayley said thoughtfully. “I think he is feeling better. He’s talking a bit now. He’s hardly said a word all day.”

“It’s ‘cause I’m here.” Josh joked. “I make everything better, don’t I EJ?” Ethan cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow at Josh. Hayley burst out laughing and rubbed Ethan’s back.

“Oh, that was perfect!” She laughed. Ethan smiled faintly, knowing he’d done something funny. He groaned soon after, and rested his head on Josh’s shoulder.

“Knock, knock!” A voice called from the hall. Before anyone could reply, the door opened and a nurse’s head slid inside.

“Bekah!” Hayley gasped in relief.

“I got your message.” She said, looking at Ethan with a frown. “What do we have here? Do you feel icky?” She asked. Ethan nodded and rubbed his eyes.

“I think he’s starting to feel a little better.” Hayley said. “The doctor wants to do a lumbar puncture.”

“Is he insane?” Bekah scoffed.

“Absolutely crazy if he thinks we’re gonna allow that.” Josh said.

“Oh wow, it is so weird to see you finally holding Ethan…” Bekah noted with a grin. Josh smiled faintly and began to rock back and forth, to see if he could get Ethan to sleep at all.

“Well, I’m not a doctor, and I probably shouldn’t be saying anything, but I was reviewing Ethan’s tests-” Bekah began.

“Did you see anything?” Hayley asked hopefully.

“Well, no, nothing too out of the ordinary.” Bekah explained. “But it could be some sort of bacterial infection making it’s way through his system. Especially if he’s starting to feel a little better now.”

“Feel bad.” Ethan said tiredly.

“Yeah, you feel bad, don’t you?” Josh whispered, still rocking back and forth.

“He’s talking more…” Hayley said. “And his fever isn’t quite as high.”

“What’s all this?” The doctor asked as he returned to the room.

“Could it be bacterial?” Hayley asked, not bothering to explain.

The doctor frowned at Bekah and turned to Josh and Hayley. “That is looking like the best answer, yes. But we don’t know the source of the infection. We would still like to do the lumbar puncture.”

“You’re not doing that for a bacterial infection!” Josh sneered. “He’s starting to feel better, talking more, moving around. Why don’t we take him home and see how things go. If he’s still this bad tomorrow, we’ll reassess the situation.”

The doctor sighed and nodded, seeing that he was going to lose his fight. “Alright. If he gets any worse, bring him back immediately.” He advised. “Bring him to your pediatrician tomorrow and we’ll see how things are. I’m not writing any sort of antibiotic prescription until we know more, I don’t want to risk making things worse.” With that, the doctor left.

“Thank you, Bekah.” Hayley sighed.

“No problem.” She smiled. “I’ve got to get back to work, I hope he feels better soon.”

“Thanks, see you later.” Hayley smiled.

“Come on, let’s get you two home.” Josh said, putting his hand on the small of Hayley’s back and leading her out of the hospital.

~*~

Through the evening, Ethan seemed to be getting much better. He was eating and moving around a lot more, although he still had a pretty high fever. Josh had decided to stay at Hayley’s house for the rest of the afternoon and evening to help keep an eye on Ethan in hopes that Hayley would get some rest, but it was no use. Hayley refused to sleep. She did however give in quickly to his offer to make dinner.

“Hey! Dinner’s ready!” Josh called. He poured two glasses of red wine, knowing that Hayley needed it after her day.

“Hayley?” He called. “Dinner!” There was still no reply. He frowned, placed the wine bottle on the counter and headed for the living room.

“Shh!” Ethan said as Josh walked in. “Momma is sleepy.” Josh smiled, Hayley was sprawled out across the couch, sleeping soundly.  She looked adorable. He covered her up with a blanket and picked Ethan up off the floor.

“Are you hungry?” He asked quietly. Ethan shook his head and yawned. “Sleepy?” Josh asked. Ethan nodded and rested his head on Josh’s shoulder.

“Bed.” He mumbled.

“Ok, lets get you to bed.” Josh said. It was already seven-thirty, and after what Ethan had been through, it was no surprise he was exhausted.

Josh took him upstairs, and tucked him in to bed. The poor kid was out like a light before Josh even finished reading the first page of Ethan’s bedtime story. Josh headed back down to Hayley and knelt down beside the couch, pushing some hair out of her face.

“Josh?” Hayley mumbled tiredly, waking up at his touch.

“I’m here.” He replied quietly.

“Thank you.” She whispered. “For being there.” She leaned forward, eyes still shut, and kissed him gently. Josh jumped in surprise, but his eyes snapped shut and he placed his hand on the back of her neck, kissing back firmly. They both gasped for air as they parted and stared at each other, mesmerized.

“Lets get you to bed.” Josh said finally, deciding she was too tired to really know what she had done. “You deserve some sleep.” Hayley nodded in agreement and allowed Josh to help her up.

“Come on.” She said, holding out her hand. Josh looked at her curiously before finally taking her hand.

“I’m sorry.” She said as they walked toward the stairs. “About everything. I’m still not sure about this… you and I dating thing, but I think, after today, I’m willing to give it a shot.” Josh broke out into a grin and pulled her close.

“I’m sorry too.” He whispered. “I swear to you, this time will be better. No walking out, no breaking up.”

“Whatever you say…” Hayley laughed. Josh darted toward her and kissed her, trying to show her how happy he was through the kiss. Hayley sighed contentedly and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Don’t make me regret this decision.” She warned. 

“Me! Do something to make you upset? Never!” He teased. Hayley rolled her eyes and dragged him up the stairs.

---

:)

I don't know when the next update will be... hopefully sometime before Wednesday! Thursday at the latest. ...I think... lol

:S

---

“Thanks for taking him for the day.” Hayley said with a quick forced smile. Josh rolled his eyes and guided Ethan to the living room to play. He hadn’t been able to get Hayley to talk to him much over the last few days and he was starting to get royally pissed off about it. Hayley was being ridiculous. He could almost see where she was coming from, but he still thought she was being too stubborn.

“Kitchen, now.” Josh mumbled as he grabbed her arm gently and dragged her away, leaving her with no real choice.

“What?” Hayley asked, venom in her voice.

“Why?” Josh asked. “Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?” Hayley asked innocently.

“Don’t be an ass, you know what.” Josh replied. “You like me, I like you, I think it’s safe to say that Ethan would be more than fine with us being together.”

“Quiet!” Hayley scolded. “And you already know why! I can’t risk it. I don’t want to get Ethan’s hopes up.”

“Let him get his hopes up!” Josh said. “Hayley! I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

“Josh…” She sighed. “I really want to believe that, really, I do, but… I can’t. Last time…”

“Last time was different!” Josh cut her off, voice raised. “Last time I was young and stupid!”

“Josh, I can’t!” Hayley replied. “You have no idea how bad it was for me when you left. No idea. I can’t go through that again, and I will not make Ethan go through that.”

“That’s not going to happen again!” Josh insisted. “I’m not going to walk out!”

“God Josh!” Hayley sighed. “Don’t you get it?! When we were together the first time, you swore to me that you’d never leave me. I trusted you. I felt safe with you. And you left me. So how am I to know it won’t happen again?” She asked.  “And! When I actually thought we might be able to be together again, you hide the fact that you’re engaged to another woman!” She added as an afterthought.

“Oh, so it’s all my fault?” Josh said with a snort. “I created this disaster of a relationship between us? All on me, huh?”

Hayley stared at him in shock. “You walked out on me!” She spat, emphasizing each word loudly. “You left me alone! With a fucking child, Josh! You broke my trust. So yeah! This is pretty much all your doing!”

Josh glared at Hayley, anger burning bright in his eyes. “We’ve been over this a million times, Hayley! I screwed up! I tried coming back, you wouldn’t let me.”

“Oh screw you.” Hayley muttered. “You didn’t try too hard! Not until recently anyway. And after Elaina, you don’t deserve to gain my trust back!”

Josh took a deep, calming breath before speaking again. “You’re happy with me, why not just let yourself be happy for once?” He asked.

“You call this happy?” Hayley asked in disbelief, gesturing between Josh and herself. “Josh, I just… I know what it’s like to have parents who have split up. And I know what it’s like hoping that they’ll get back together and stay that way. I… I can’t do that too him. It’s just better this way…”

“How can it possibly be better this way?” Josh asked. “Hayley! Yeah, he’s only a kid, but he can sense when things are bad between people, especially between his parents! He knows things are strained right now when we’re together. Do you want him growing up thinking he caused that strain? Do you want him thinking you and I had to deal with each other because of him?”

“Well judging by the way we’re fighting right now, all you do is piss me off.” Hayley said. “Not a great feeling to have if you’re in a relationship. And fighting is worse than the awkward stain between us. He’ll think he’s the reason we’re fighting all the time. I know what that’s like. It’s not fair to him. I don’t want to put that on him. Us being together just wouldn’t be fair to him.”

“Damn it Hayley!” Josh spat. “You are so… narrow-minded. Why can’t you see the bigger picture?! We could be happy together! We could be an actual family!”

“This is not happy!” Hayley yelled. “This is fighting! We fight too much, Josh! And how the fuck am I being narrow-minded? I’m thinking about Ethan! About his life! Josh, I don’t want to fuck him up! I want him to be a normal kid.”

“You’re being completely ridiculous.” Josh said angrily. “Ethan is fine. He’ll be fine no matter what.”

“You don’t know that, Josh.” Hayley spat. “You don’t know what having fighting parents is like.”

“Oh, I don’t?” Josh replied with a sarcastic laugh. “Really? Because I’m pretty sure my parents fought a lot throughout my teens.”

“I mean when you were a kid, Josh!” Hayley sighed. “God I just... I can’t do this! Why can’t you just accept that?” 
“Because I’m willing to fight for us.” Josh said seriously. “There’s something between us and I’m sorry, but I just can’t understand why you keep rejecting it.”

“Because I’m scared Josh!” Hayley yelled. “Ok? Does that help? Does it make things better?” She spat, tears spilling over her cheeks.

“Hayley…” Josh whispered. “It’s ok to be scared!” He walked toward her and held out his arms to hug her.

“No!” She snapped, dodging him. “We cannot do this.” She continued, emphasizing each word carefully.

“What the fuck is your problem!” Josh yelled.

“You!” Hayley roared. “You are my fucking problem, Josh!”

“Stooooop!” A sad voice called out, interrupting the two.

“Oh my gosh!” Hayley gasped. “Ethan!” There he was, standing in the kitchen doorway with his tiny hands covering his ears and tears running down his chubby cheeks.

Hayley hurried over and knelt on the ground, pulling him into a hug. “I’m so sorry, baby!” She whispered. “I’m so sorry!” Ethan pushed her away and walked to the middle of the kitchen.

“Stop.” He said quietly, wiping his eyes.

“Ethan…” Josh whispered. He looked horrified, much like Hayley felt. They had completely forgotten to keep quiet in the midst of their little discussion.

“Eth, I’m so sorry you heard that.” Josh said, kneeling down to Ethan’s height. “It’s ok though, everything is ok. I’m sorry, buddy.” He said. Tears still streamed down Ethan’s tiny cheeks.

“I think you should go.” Hayley said quietly. Josh nodded in agreement and stood up.

“Come on Ethan.” He said, picking up the toddler. “Let’s let Mommy have some time.”

“No! No!” Ethan cried hysterically, squirming around in Josh’s arms. “Mommy!” He yelled, reaching for her, eyes wide in panic. Hayley pulled him into her arms and Ethan clung tight to her. Hayley looked at Josh with a sympathetic frown.

“It’s only because-”

“He’s attached to you because I wasn’t here for the first two years, yeah, I know.” Josh sighed. “Like you said, it’s all my fault. Whatever.” He added, defeated.

“Josh…” Hayley sighed.

“I’ll see you later.” He replied. He kissed Ethan’s cheek and headed for the door. “Happy Birthday.” He mumbled, closing the door behind him.

Hayley rolled her eyes and walked toward the couch in the living room. “Yep. Happy Birthday to me. Just how I wanted to spend my evening.” She muttered under her breath.

“Ethan, everything is going to be ok.” She insisted, giving some much needed attention to her son. “I’m sorry that Daddy and I yelled, we shouldn’t have. We were very bad.”

Ethan pulled his head back from where he had been leaning against her chest and nodded. “No more.” He said.

“No more.” Hayley said. “I promise.” She hugged him tightly and started rocking back and forth, humming quietly. She felt like the world’s worst mom. She knew what it was like to be young and hear your parents yelling. She had absolutely hated it. And now she had gone and done the same thing to her son. Her heart sank and she felt hot tears form at the corners of her eyes.

~*~

Hayley sat up straight in bed and looked from side to side, senses heightened. Something was wrong. She didn’t know what yet, but she could feel it. She sat as still as a statue and listened hard for any noises out of the ordinary. Seconds later, she heard a pained groan. She threw the covers off herself and ran to Ethan’s room.

“Ethan?” She asked. “Ethan, baby, what’s wrong?” She hurried over to his bed and sat on the edge. Even in the dark she could tell he was as pale as a ghost. He looked at her through half lidded eyes and groaned once more with a shiver.

She pressed the palm of her hand against his forehead, heart racing. He was burning up. She quickly pulled the blankets off of him and began to pull off his shirt to cool him off.

“What is it?” She asked. “What hurts?” Ethan coughed quietly in reply and squeezed his eyes shut. “Is it your tummy?” She asked. He shook his head. “What is it?” She repeated. “Tell me honey, so I can make it better.” Ethan shrugged and began to cry quietly.

“Hold me.” He said quietly, with a frown. She immediately picked him up and headed downstairs to call the hospital.

 

“Does that feel good?” Hayley asked as she dabbed a cool washcloth over Ethan’s forehead. He nodded and shut his eyes. Hayley was sitting on the couch in the living room with Ethan’s head in her lap. He hadn’t said much at all since Hayley had discovered him an hour ago.

She had called the hospital, but the doctor on call advised her not to bring him in under the notion that all it would do was scare the poor toddler and do more harm than good.  The doctor had said the flu was making its way around various daycares and, more than likely, Ethan had caught it and it should go away within a day or two. If Ethan wasn’t feeling better by morning Hayley didn’t care what the doctors said, she was bringing him in.

She dragged the cool cloth over Ethan’s chest, trying to at least temporarily make him feel a bit better, and hummed his favorite song until he was finally able to fall asleep in her lap.

Hayley tried her best not to fall asleep, in case Ethan woke up and needed her, but her eyes were too heavy and within moments, she too was asleep. Hours later, Ethan began to shift in her lap.

“Ethan!” She gasped, snapping awake. She looked around, gaining her bearings, and looked down to where Ethan was.

“How are you feeling?” She asked. Ethan didn’t reply. He looked up at Hayley miserably and his eyes watered over.

“Oh, baby!” Hayley frowned. She felt his forehead and frowned, he was even warmer than he’d been at three in the morning.

Her heart began to race out of slight fear. Ethan had never really been ill before. Not like this. She knew she was probably being an overly protective mother and she should probably just ride it out, but she didn’t care. It was better to be safe than sorry.

“Come on, let’s go visit auntie Bekah at the hospital.” She said.

---

I'm writing the next chapter right now!! I promise!

I'll have it up by tomorrow night. 

Holy wow...

On September 5th, 2008 I decided to join Buzznet and start sharing my writing (in the form of Joshayley obsession!) with the world.

I can't believe it's been a year now... wow!!! :D it doesn't seem like it's been that long. 

I just wanted to say THANK YOU!! to everyone who checks out, comments, and buzzes my posts and to everyone who has ever dropped me a note or sent me a message or added me as a friend or as a favorite. And a huge thanks to everyone who has helped me out when I'm stuck on ideas, or helped when I needed someone to proofread or offer suggestions. And another huge thanks to everyone who has been reading since day one. :)

I've always loved writing in general - not only Paramore-based stuff - and I'm so glad I get to share my stories and get feedback from everyone. Maybe someday I'll start to post some original fics?? Hmm we'll see. I think I'll stick with Paramore for now. :) I have lots more ideas in mind, so don't go anywhere! ;) 

As you might be able to tell at this point, I joined Buzznet with the intention to post stories only. For some stupid reason I didn't think I'd make friends. Holy crap, was I wrong! hahaha. 

I have to say, I love my Buzznet buddies! So much! I wouldn't trade any of you for the world! :D 

I love logging in and seeing what new messages and notes I've got and late-night AIM chats are always fun! (hammrsnstrings - no 'e' in hammers! - on AIM if anyone wants to say hi! Just let me know who you are so I'm not confused... I get confused easily... hehe) 

Oh! Oh! And! A big thanks to my Bebo buddies! :D I know a few of you are on Buzznet, haha. I originally started on Bebo, although I've always found Buzznet a lot easier for posting...I kinda dropped off the face of the Bebo-planet... lol.

 

Anyway, to celebrate my one year 'buzzaversary', I've ...made something? kinda? for everyone :D 

I was trying to re-read some of my fics (you have no idea how much the earlier fics make me cringe... ehhhh. Grammar was never my strong point... this brings me to another point, I feel like my writing has improved soooo much over the last year! haha. MFEO, although I love it to pieces, was pretty badly written at times...)
Wow... way to get off topic... Anyway, I was reading through old journals and I found it so incredibly annoying to navigate through Buzznet to read one story all the way through. And especially to find specific chapters.

So, I'm assuming other people (if you even want to read my older stories...haha) have this same problem. 

Solution?

INDEX OF STORIES!! hahaha. I've spent the past three days making a 'Table of Contents' of my stories and made a link for each chapter. 

I was going to post it all in a Journal here, but that just created a ridiculously massive headache because none of the links worked no matter what I did. So much HTML D':

Tumblr is easier. Muuuuuch easier, hehe.

 

http://breathexforxlove.tumblr.com/post/179856688/toc

 

All the stories and one shots are listed here, if you click on the name of a story, it takes you to a new page with all the chapters individually listed out. I think I checked everything, so there shouldn't be any dead links or links that go to the wrong chapters, but if there are, let me know! :)

I'll keep this updated as I post more chapters/stories/one shots and I'll post a Journal with the link every so often... or maybe I'll just add the link on my profile page somewhere... 

Hope that's helpful! 

Thanks again to everyone! You guys are all awesome.

---

Wow, just re-read this after I hit 'Publish' ....I ramble a lot... hahaha.

Sorry it took so long for part 2!

---

“MOMMAAA!” Ethan yelled. “MERRY KISSMASS MOMMA!” He called from the hallway. Hayley’s eyes fluttered open and she gasped as Josh’s sleeping face came in to focus in front of her.

“Josh!” She yelped. “Hide!” Josh groaned in his sleep and opened his eyes slowly.

“Ethan’s coming in! Hide!” She said frantically. Josh leapt out of bed instantly and ducked behind the bed where Ethan wouldn’t see him, grabbing his pants and t-shirt on the way.

“Momma! It’s kissmass!” Ethan greeted as he pushed her bedroom door open.

“It is!” Hayley grinned, hugging him. “Merry Christmas!”

She quickly stepped in Ethan’s path as he tried to go further into her room, to avoid any Daddy sightings. “It’s almost seven in the morning! You did a good job sleeping in.” She praised. “Come on, let’s get you changed so we can see what Santa brought.”

Ethan grinned and ran off toward his bedroom happily.

“Josh!” Hayley hissed. His head poked up over the side of the bed cautiously. “Go downstairs and pretend you slept on the couch.” She ordered. He nodded and made a dash for the stairs while Hayley hurried into Ethan’s room where the two year old was waiting with a fresh diaper.

That was too close…

“Let’s go! Let’s go!” Ethan insisted as soon as Hayley finished changing him.

“Ok, hold on, buddy!” Hayley laughed. “Let me get the video camera.” She hurried back to her room and came back to the hall to find Ethan sitting at the top of the stairs, ready to go down. She quickly turned the camera on and focused it on Ethan. “Ok EJ, go ahead.” She said with a smile.

“Hold me!” He demanded, holding his arms out for her.

“The camera can’t see you if I hold you.” Hayley explained. Ethan began to whine and stomp his feet in complaint. “Alright, alright.” Hayley sighed. She didn’t do temper-tantrums before 8 AM. She picked him up and did her best to focus the camera on him as she walked down the stairs.

“Down!” He demanded as they reached the bottom. Hayley laughed and lowered Ethan to the floor. He took of down the hall and stopped dead in the doorway to the living room. His eyes went wide and he looked at Hayley, jaw dropped in disbelief. “DADDY!” He shrieked. “MOMMA! SANTA GOT ME DADDY!” He jumped up and down in excitement and danced around in a little circle. Hayley’s heart stopped. Well that wasn’t how this was supposed to work…

“Come see!” He grinned, running over toward the couch. Hayley hurried over and laughed as she spotted Josh on the couch. He looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“Santa did it!” Ethan grinned, holding his hands out to Josh. Josh pulled Ethan into his lap and he looked to Hayley, trying t figure out how to explain.

“I ask for Daddy! Santa bringed Daddy!” Ethan said, still grinning like mad.

“You asked for me for Christmas?” Josh asked, looking at Ethan. The toddler nodded enthusiastically and hugged Josh. “That explains a lot.” He mumbled under his breath with a laugh, thinking back to the day he’d taken Ethan to see Santa.

“Well, at least he’s not a material kid…” Hayley sighed, shutting off the camera for the time being. “Ethan, Daddy is here to watch you open presents, at the end of the day, he has to go home.” She explained.

“Nope. Daddy stay.” Ethan said with a smile, as if it was a simple fact. Josh sighed and pulled Ethan back a bit.

“Buddy, I can’t stay, you know that.” Josh said, looking him in the eyes. “But, I’ll work harder to see you every single day, how does that sound?”

Ethan frowned. “Tree!” He said, ignoring Josh’s offer and pointing to the evergreen tree by the window.

“Ok, presents.” Hayley said. They’d figure everything else out later. It was better not to make a toddler cry before he even opened his Christmas gifts.

~*~

“I think that’s all of them.” Hayley said as she shoved the last of the wrapping paper into a trash bag. So far, Ethan’s favorite gift seemed to be the red canvas bag his new Legos had come in. It was always the little things…

“No!” Ethan said suddenly. “Daddy, Mommy’s pesent.” He said, holding out his hand. Josh laughed and walked over to his coat, pulling a black velvet box out of a pocket.

“This is from Ethan and I.” He said, handing it over. “Ethan picked it out all on his own.”

Hayley smiled and opened the box. “Oh my gosh!” She gasped. “Aw, I love it! Thank you!”

“Pwetty!” Ethan grinned.

“Very pretty.” Hayley laughed. She hugged Ethan and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Josh, I love it.” She said honestly, hugging him quickly.

“This goes with it.” Josh said, handing over one more velvet box. “This one is just from me.”

“You didn’t have to-“

“But I did, so open it.” Josh laughed. Hayley rolled her eyes at him, smiling slightly, and opened the box.

“Oh, Josh!” She said quietly. Inside were gorgeous diamond earrings. “Wow.”

“Are they ok? I didn’t know if you’d like them… the saleswoman-“

“Shut up!” She laughed. “They’re perfect, thank you.” She added.

“Do you want to go get Daddy’s present?” Hayley asked Ethan, who was once again, distracted by his Legos bag. He nodded and ran for the kitchen. While he was gone, Hayley kissed Josh, slipping her tongue against his lips quickly and making him moan. They parted just before Ethan ran back in with a small wrapped box.

“Dis is from um… Me and Mommy.” Ethan said, handing the package to Josh.

“And uncle Zac.” Hayley added.

“Oh yeah, and uncle Z.” Ethan corrected.

“Zac and Emily have a few more things to go with it when you see them later.” Hayley explained. Josh smiled curiously and slipped a finger under the wrapping paper to tear it open.

“I open!” Ethan said suddenly, pushing his way into Josh’s lap.

“No, Ethan. Let Daddy open, it’s his present.” Hayley said. Ethan pouted and crossed his arms at his mother, but didn’t argue. 

“How about you help me?” Josh asked. “Can you throw the paper away when I’m done?” Ethan’s eyes lit up and he nodded, proud to be needed for something. Josh laughed and finally tore the wrap off the gift.

“…A collar?” He asked, turning to Hayley with a very confused look on his face. “What the…”

“PUPPY!” Ethan shrieked, making Josh wince slightly.

“No!” He said, a grin passing over his face. Hayley nodded. She bit her lip and grinned as well, Josh had always wanted a puppy.

“Golden retriever.” She said. “Zac will take you to see her sometime this week, but she wont be ready to come home until the first week in January.”

“Oh my gosh!” He said, unable to get rid of his smile. “Thank you!” He leaned over and hugged Hayley, and, without thinking, he kissed her lightly.

“Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!” Ethan said, hoping up and down. Luckily, he had completely missed the kiss.

“Puppy!” Hayley smiled, pulling Ethan toward her. “What do you think Daddy should name his puppy?”

“Woof!” Ethan grinned. Josh laughed and ruffled Ethan’s hair.

“She might get confused if that’s her name.” He explained. “All the doggies say ‘woof’ so she wont know where to go!”

“Oh yeah…” Ethan said quietly. “Hmm…”

“Come on, what was the name we had picked out last week?” Hayley encouraged. She had craftily planted a specific name in his mind.

“Millie! Daddy! Name da doggy Millie!” He said excitedly. Josh bit his lip and nodded.

“I like that name.” He said. “I like it a lot.”

Years and years ago, Hayley and Josh joked about their future together. They had thought of what seemed like hundreds of scenarios of what their lives might be like, most more fantasy-based than others. But in every scenario, Josh had somehow managed to sneak in a golden retriever named Millie. It had always been a joke, and Hayley could no longer remember where the name had originally come from, but she had been able to tell that the idea had embedded itself in Josh’s brain and he secretly had a soft spot for that fictional dog named Millie.

“Milliepuppy lives twif us.” Ethan said. Looking from Josh to Hayley with a smile.

“Millie-puppy lives with Daddy.” Hayley said sternly. “You can visit her when you see Daddy.”

“No, Milliepuppy and Daddy lives here.” Ethan replied, nodding his head. He walked away and sat down a few feet away, playing once again with his Legos bag.

Hayley looked to Josh, raising an eyebrow. Josh replied with a frown. Things were going to get interesting if Ethan honestly thought Josh would be living with them now.

Hayley ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. She just wanted Ethan to be happy, but he was too little to understand why Daddy couldn’t live with them. It broke her heart to think about how sad Ethan would be when it came time for Josh to leave.

“It’ll be ok.” Josh whispered, placing his hand gently over Hayley’s. She sighed and nodded, resting her head on his shoulder.

Maybe she and Josh were getting too close, and that was why Ethan was so set on Josh living with them. Maybe she and Josh would have to put their relationship on hold for the sake of their son and distance themselves from each other.

Even if they did stay together, Hayley wasn’t too fond of the idea of Josh moving in. If he moved in and they subsequently broke up, Ethan would take it so hard. She didn’t want to complicate her son’s life any more than she already had.

Once she thought about it, the only solution, in her eyes, was for her and Josh to put whatever they had of a relationship on hold. She quickly took her hand away from Josh’s and moved a few feet away, feeling hot tears sting at her eyes.

“What’s up?” Josh asked, concern thick in his voice. Hayley shook her head and shrugged his hand off her shoulder. Now wasn’t the time to talk, but Josh knew anyway.

“No Hayley…” He whispered. “We’ll figure something else out.” He said, begging quietly. Hayley shook her head quickly once more and quickly wiped her eyes. They would have to talk about options later.

“Ok. Ethan!” She said as happily as she could. “How about some pancakes?” 

---

I'll update ASAP, but I have nothing written yet, and lots of homework :/ 

I apologize ahead of time for the lack of Ethan cuteness, haha. But yay for Joshayley! 

---

“Goodnight, Ethan.” Hayley said. She kissed his forehead and backed away.

“’Night, buddy.” Josh said. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”

“Night-night!” Ethan said, tiredly. Hayley pulled the door shut and made her way down the stairs, Josh not far behind.

Ethan had spent the day with Josh, and when Josh had brought him home, he’d thrown a fit about Daddy leaving. He wanted Josh to stay forever. So they had made a deal, Daddy stayed the extra hour until bedtime and helped set out a snack for Santa, then he went home.

“So…” Josh said as he and Hayley stood at the bottom of the stairs.

“So…” Hayley repeated.

“Need help with that?” He asked, pointing to the snack for Santa.

“Oh, uh… sure.” Hayley smiled. Josh walked over and began to nibble away at a few of the cookies, to make it look like Santa had actually come and enjoyed the cookies Ethan and Hayley had made.

Hayley ran upstairs and returned with a few unwrapped presents for Ethan and various family members, along with wrapping paper, tape and bows. Thanks to Josh, it was looking like Ethan would have a decent Christmas this year. Having the extra income in the form of child support from Josh had helped tremendously, now that she was finally depositing his monthly checks.

“Well, everything looks good over here.” Josh said, gesturing to the plate of cookies and glass of milk.

“Great, thanks.” Hayley replied. She stood up and walked over to him.

“I uh… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Josh said quietly. Hayley nodded hesitantly and bit her lip. This was one of their rare moments together and it was awkward as hell.

Without warning, Hayley yawned widely and shook her head, trying to wake herself up. Josh smiled to himself, Hayley looked so cute. Exhausted, but cute.

“Do you want help?” He asked, nodding toward the small pile of unwrapped presents. “So you can get to sleep sooner?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Hayley smiled. “That would be great, Josh.”

“I’m not too great at wrapping, but anything I can do to help!” He smiled. Hayley laughed and sat on the floor, laying out the wrapping paper in front of her.

“You can hand me bits of tape and label the gifts.” She decided. “Leave the wrapping to me.”

“Sounds good.” Josh replied, sitting on the floor across from her.

After only four presents, Josh got bored. He spotted a nearby crumpled up bit of wrapping paper and smiled slyly. He reached for the crumpled paper, and formed it into a tight ball with his hands.

“Alright, that’s it!” Hayley announced half an hour later, pushing the final gift away from her. “What?” She asked slowly as she spotted a ridiculous grin on Josh’s face.

Josh raised his arm and chucked the ball of paper at Hayley. Hayley yelped and dodged it with a laugh. She grabbed the ball and threw it back at Josh, hitting him square in the shoulder. The ball of paper bounced back onto the floor, landing between the two. They both dove for it, but Hayley was faster. She squealed as Josh tried to tackle her, but she wriggled away and crawled toward the couch, laughing. She threw the ball once more and raised her arms in victory as it hit his forehead, right between his eyes.

“Gah!” He cried, holding his hand to his head. He fell to the floor, pretending to die, and didn’t move.

“Ok, Josh.” Hayley sighed. “Come on, help me get these under the tree.” Josh didn’t move, but instead still played dead.

“Jooooooosh!” Hayley complained. “I want to go to bed!” She crawled over to him and sat next to him, shoving his shoulder roughly. Without warning, he jumped up, scaring Hayley, and taped a giant bow he’d been hiding to the side of her head.

“Hey!” Hayley squealed with a laugh. She grabbed his hand and drew a lopsided smiley face on it with a nearby permanent marker, much to his dislike.

“Shh!” Hayley giggled as Josh lunged for her once more with tape and another bow. ”Don’t wake Ethan up!” She said.

“Oh, right.” Josh said with a sly smile. “Better keep quiet when I tickle you then.”

“No!” Hayley yelped.

“Shh!” Josh imitated in a high voice. “Be quiet!”

“No!” Hayley giggled, squirming on the carpet, trying to get away from Josh. “Seriously! Stop. He’s a light sleeper.” She gasped. Josh raised his hands in forfeit and backed away to sit a few feet from her.

“I should get going anyway…” He said. It was nearly midnight.

“Oh…” Hayley said, looking at the clock. When she turned back to face him, her eyes locked with his and her breath instantly caught in her throat.

It was happening again, she was getting that… feeling. Her stomach was flipping around within her and her breath came in shallow bursts. She smiled widely, that feeling meant one thing. She and Josh were going to kiss.

She crawled closer to him across the carpet and knelt in front of him, placing her arms around his neck. He immediately lunged forward and kissed her deeply. Hayley lost her balance from the force behind the kiss and the two went tumbling to the floor, still attached at the lips. Their lips moved together perfectly, as if they were meant to fit together.

Josh hovered over her and let out a low hiss as Hayley’s small hands ran along his sides under his shirt. He wasted no time exploring her body with his hands and took ample time to appreciate just how tiny her body really was. She seemed so fragile and small, but that didn’t stop him from digging his hips into hers roughly.

“Josh!” Hayley gasped. He pressed his lips to hers once more and ran his tongue along her lower lip slowly. Her lips instinctively parted and his tongue slipped easily into her warm mouth. Hayley pressed her tongue against his, initiating a fierce battle for dominance.

Josh ran his fingers lightly along her sides down to her hip making her shiver and tremble beneath him. He pressed the palm of his hand against her hipbone and wrapped his fingers around her sides, wanting desperately not to have to let go ever again. He felt a rush of excitement flood through his veins and he shook involuntarily as Hayley’s tiny hands pulled him flat up against her.

Hayley threw her head back as Josh’s lips left a wet trail from her lips to her neck and collarbone. She felt like she might explode from happiness. She dug her nails into his back and ducked down, capturing his lips with hers. She gently tugged at his lip ring with her teeth and smiled as she extracted a quiet moan from his throat.

Suddenly, Josh’s watch beeped, signaling that it was officially midnight. Both jumped in shock at the noise and looked around, gaining their bearings. Once they figured out where exactly they were on the floor, Hayley cleared her throat and Josh quickly jumped off her.

“Wow…” She sighed, sitting up and breathing heavily.

“Yeah…” Josh replied.

“What… what is going on with us?” She asked.

“I honestly don’t know.” Josh sighed. Hayley shifted on the floor and rested her back against the side of the couch, running her hands through her hair.

“Hayley, I really like you. Like… a lot.” Josh admitted. Hayley smiled.

“I like you too.” Hayley replied. “I think that’s kind of obvious though.”

“What do we do?” Josh asked.

“Well… let’s see how things go.” She suggested. “Try it out for a bit, go on some real dates…you know, couple stuff.”

“But what about…” He started.

“Ethan.” Hayley finished. “Yeah…” She sighed and let her head fall back.

“Well, we can try to hide it from him, for now. In case… things don’t work out.” Josh suggested.

Hayley bit her lip. She didn’t want to hide things from her son, but there really was no other way. She didn’t want him to hope his parents were going to get together, only to have it blow up. She’d hoped the same thing too many times about her own parents when she was young and it got her nowhere.

“I don’t know, Josh…” She sighed. “I need to think. I’m just… worried about Ethan.”

“I know.” Josh said, placing his hand over hers. “I am too. But I’m also worried about you. You’ve been so stressed out recently, and you seem to relax and have fun when we’re together.” He pointed out. Hayley nodded slowly and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Ethan can’t know.” She said seriously. “Not yet.”  Josh grinned and nodded eagerly. He leaned in and kissed her gently.

“And no more of that tonight.” She mumbled against his lips. “Too dangerous. I want to take things slow.” Josh pouted, but didn’t push his luck too much.

“Well, I suppose I should get going.” He said, pulling away from Hayley and standing up.

“It’s really late…” Hayley said, looking at the clock. “Why don’t you… crash here for the night? Ethan will want to see you in the morning anyway.”

“Uh, yeah. Ok.” He said with a smile. He walked over to the couch and frowned. It was a very small couch… he was in for a rough night.

Hayley laughed and grabbed his hand, leading him to the stairs. “You can sleep in my bed.” She said. “Don’t get too excited though, it’s just sleep.” She warned. Josh grinned and nodded. “Seriously!” She laughed.

“I know, I know.” Josh sighed. “I’m exhausted anyway.” He stopped walking and pulled her arm, making her spin backward and end up in his arms. He kissed her slowly and backed away with a smile.

“Merry Christmas, Hayley.” He whispered.

“Merry Christmas, Josh.” She replied with a grin.

---

:)

I feel like this chapter lacks.... something. Maybe not though. Ehh, I don't know, hahah.