Chapter 26

"Be nice, Dad," she said as she passed him and left the room.

Joseph stood, staring at Jacob. He didn’t even really know him. The last time he had seen him, Jacob had just beaten up Geoff for hitting Maria. The violence hadn’t exactly thrilled Joseph. Marilyn had told him to give the boy a chance, though, so Joseph was willing to talk to Jacob and see where he stood where Maria was concerned. The fact that Maria was now expecting a child with Jacob was another topic entirely---one that Joseph wasn’t sure he wanted to tackle just yet. But it couldn’t be avoided.

Jacob waited while Joseph stared at him, sizing him up, he guessed. Jacob’s heart was beating a mile a minute, but he held Maria’s father’s gaze and stood his ground.

"You know what I want to talk about, right?" Joseph asked him. Jacob nodded.

"Maria," he said.

"Yes, Maria. You know, son, it’s hard because I don’t really know you, but if Maria cares about you, then I know that you’re not that bad," Joseph told him with a small smile. He thought for a minute and his smile disappeared. "Even if that is true, though, and you are the one that Maria loves, it doesn’t make me feel better about the fact that my daughter is going to have a baby. You realize that she’s extremely upset about that, right?"

Jacob nodded. "Yes, sir. But, I’m behind her one hundred percent. I mean, it’s very unexpected, but I would never leave her to handle it alone," he said.

"You bet you won’t. I wouldn’t let you, but it’s good to hear you say that. How old are you, son?" Joseph asked.

"I’ll be twenty-two in April," Jacob replied. Joseph sighed and shook his head.

"Jesus," he muttered, and then chuckled slightly. "I feel old now. I’m twice as old as you and I just became a father again. You’re gonna be twenty-two."

"I realize that, sir, but I’m prepared to deal with it." Joseph shook his head.

"You’re never prepared. You like to think you are, but you’re not. Having a child is an experience that you can be totally prepared for, yet be totally unprepared for at the same time. It’s nothing like you imagine it to be. Nothing," he said.

Jacob shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. That didn’t make him feel very sure of himself. In fact, it terrified him. But, he couldn’t show Maria or her father that he was afraid. He had to appear strong and confident---which was easier said than done. "I’ll deal with it when it happens," he told him.

"I give you credit for that. But it’s a whole new, and I’ll be honest, frightening experience when you actually have the baby and are holding it for the first time. It’s then that you realize that the life you’re holding in your hands is one that you created and it’s one that you’ll be responsible for for the rest of your life…or at least until he or she turns eighteen." Joseph smiled. "Are you willing to take on that responsibility?"

"Yes, sir. I am. I love Maria and together we can do it. I don’t think it will be easy, but I’ve always felt that I have to be held accountable for my actions," Jacob told him, looking away for the first time.

"Do you intend to marry my daughter?" Joseph asked him quietly. Jacob looked at him again, frustration clearly written on his face.

"I want to, sir, but Maria won’t hear of it," Jacob answered. "I don’t think I can force her to marry me." Joseph nodded, knowing how stubborn his daughter could be.

"Okay, Jacob, I believe that you have my daughter’s best interests at heart, but I’m holding you to your word that you will do everything in your power to support her and help her through this. She’s young, too, and I know for a fact that she didn’t want kids at this time in her life. I’m not blaming you, but just be aware that Maria had a different game plan for her life. So, if she’s unsure about anything, don’t be surprised," Joseph said.

Jacob nodded. Joseph held out his hand and Jacob shook it, nodding. "Like I said, sir, I love Maria and will do everything I can to help her," Jacob said. Joseph nodded, smiling. He released Jacob’s hand and opened the door to leave the room.

Maria was standing on the other side of the door. She hadn’t been able to hear their conversation, though.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, hesitantly. Joseph nodded and smiled.

"If you need anything at all, you let me know," he told her. He kissed her forehead and walked down the hallway. Maria went back into the study where Jacob was now sitting in her father’s chair behind his desk.

"How’d it go?" Maria asked, softly. Jacob shook his head and rubbed his hand over his forehead. Maria walked over to him and Jacob gently pulled her onto his lap. "You don’t have to pretend for me, Jacob. I know that this is scary. I expect you to be anxious especially because of the band and all. You’ve got your career to think about…"

"I will never put you second to my career," Jacob told her firmly. "Never. Yes, I have my career and it’s very important to me, but stuff happens that you can’t predict or plan. I just have to deal with it. I can have my career and the band along with you and the baby, too. It’ll be hard, but we’ve got time and we’ll find a way to make it work."

"How?" Maria asked in a small voice.

"I don’t know…yet. I wish I did, but I don’t," Jacob replied, honestly. Maria hugged him to her and sighed. She closed her eyes and rested her chin against his head. She felt his arms tighten around her. They would make it work…somehow. They’d have to.

Orlando

"Hey, Seth, come here," Jim, one of the sound technicians for MTB said. They were in the control room at O-Town’s estate.

"What’s up?" Seth asked, biting into a sandwich.

"I’ve got quite a story here, actually. It’s kinda scandalous, though." Seth sat down, very interested now.

"What?" he asked.

"You know how Jacob took off?" Seth nodded. He had been pissed when Jacob had slammed his bedroom door in the cameraman’s face. Something was going on that they didn’t know about and the MTV brass was getting on his ass about needing more drama for the show. "Well, it seems that Jake didn’t turn his microphone off right away when he went to his room." Seth frowned.

"So, what does that mean?" he asked.

"Jacob made a phone call before he spoke with Dan. We’ve got it on tape," Jim said, smiling. Seth’s eyebrows shot up.

"Play it," he said. Jim smiled and pushed ‘play’ on the recorder.

"Is she pregnant?" Seth looked at Jim, shocked. Jim just smiled at this goldmine of drama that was unfolding.

"Thanks."

"This is where Dan came in," Jim said. Seth nodded as he listened carefully to the recording.

"I gotta go." [This is Jacob’s voice.]

"Jake, are you crazy? You can’t just go." [Dan’s voice.]

"Who gives a shit about rehearsing?" The recording stopped after a door was heard slamming.

"That part of the conversation is actually on video, too. Then after the door slammed, the camera stayed and got a shot of Jacob taking off down the stairs," Jim told Seth, who nodded as he thought.

"Man, this could be good. Jacob would never allow it to be put into an episode, though. Besides, there’s no video of him on the phone with that girl. Keep an eye on Dan. He knows what’s going on. He might say something on camera that we can use," Seth said.

"It doesn’t mean that we can’t ‘accidentally’ leak the news to MTV. I mean, imagine O-Town and their managers having to deal with the outcome of the public finding out that Jacob got his girlfriend pregnant. It’ll be great to film," Jim told him. "Besides, the group has been giving us shit. I mean, the episodes are gonna be lame if something interesting doesn’t happen with them soon."

"Has the cabin episode been edited yet?" Seth asked. Jim shrugged.

"I think so," he said and smiled. "That one is great. There’s footage of Maria and Alex dancing together that is beyond hot!" Seth smiled, too.

"I’ve seen that footage. It won’t help Maria’s image. Dirty dancing with another woman isn’t really showing her maternal side," he remarked. His conscience was starting to kick in, but he had a job to do. He stood up. "Okay. Leak the news to MTV. I’ll call the producers and the director and tell them what we’ve got here. Good job, Jim." Seth left the room.

Jim smiled as he rewound the tape and picked up the phone.

Ashley was dying of curiosity. He had to know what was going on with Jacob and Maria. Dan wouldn’t budge, though. He was keeping his mouth shut.

"Hey, Mike?" Ashley asked as he entered the kitchen where Mike C. was looking through a huge binder of O-Town-related material.

"What?" Mike asked, knowing that Ashley wanted something.

"Can you take me to see Emily?" Mike sighed.

"Why?"

"Because I want to see her," Ashley told him. "I was thinking that she might know what’s up with Maria, which would help you out."

"How?"

"Well, if Emily knows what’s going on and if I can, like, get Emily to tell me, then you’ll know why Jake left," Ashley said.

"You should’ve been a detective, Ashley," Mike said, smiling. "Okay, I guess I can drive you over there. Anything that will shed some light on why Jacob left sounds good to me." Ashley smiled and followed Mike out to the van.

"Trevor? Yo, Trev, wake up," Erik whispered. Trevor groaned and opened his eyes, which were still heavy from his painkillers.

"What?" Trevor asked. Erik handed him a glass of water and Trevor sat up to drink it. His mouth was extremely dry.

"Man, a lot of shit is going down. You’ve been asleep for most of it, though," Erik said, smiling.

"What’s going on?"

"Jake took off. He just, like, left and didn’t say why he left. He only told Dan who isn’t telling anyone anything. The Mikes are beyond pissed. Jacob’s in trouble, man," Erik said, shaking his head. Trevor frowned.

"Where did he go?" he asked.

"San Francisco," Erik answered.

"Maria? She’s involved then, right?" Erik nodded.

"Yeah, but Dan won’t tell us what’s going on," he said. "And then, on top of all of that, I can’t get in touch with Alex for some reason." Erik lay down at Trevor’s feet.

"Where’s she?" Trevor asked, his mind still foggy from the drugs.

"I don’t know! She’s usually home now, but she’s not picking up her cell phone or her home phone. I’ve tried both several times," Erik told him. Trevor shrugged.

"Maybe she went shopping," he said.

"Maybe," Erik agreed. Or maybe something was wrong.

"She just moved back into her apartment. Relax, I’m sure she’s just tired from moving her stuff and she fell asleep or something," Trevor told him. Erik nodded. Trevor was right, Alex was fine and just sleeping or she went to see her parents or something. She was fine.

Alex was not fine. She was angry, frustrated and fed up with her brother. ‘I wish he’d stayed in jail,’ she thought. She got up and went over to the windows. She opened the blinds and found herself looking at a brick wall through the dirt-splattered glass. Wherever she was, it wasn’t a nice neighborhood. She tried to lift the window, but it wouldn’t budge. She tried the lock and it wouldn’t turn.

"I can’t believe this," Alex muttered. She ran her hands through her hair and looked around. Nothing. There was no way of getting out other than the door. She wondered if anyone else knew what Carlos had done. Miguel? Would he go along with this ridiculous method of protection? Alex didn’t think so. Her parents wouldn’t know---hell, her father wouldn’t even care.

"Erik, where are you when I need a hero?" Alex said and laughed at the image of Erik in a cape coming to her rescue. "Great, now I’m going crazy."

Alex went and sat down on the bed, crossing her legs beneath her. The thought of a trial scared her. Facing the guy who had stabbed her was frightening. She hadn’t actually seen the guy, he had been standing behind her, but she had seen the guy who had shot Carlos. Carlos had seen her attacker, though. ‘So what trouble am I in if I can’t even testify that I saw them?’ she asked herself.

"I just want to go home," Alex said out loud.

San Francisco

Maria and Jacob entered the rec room. Joey was eating a frozen dinner at the bar while Sarah sat on the couch watching TV.

Joey looked at them. Maria gave him a look of warning to not start anything. "So, ‘Ria, is everything okay?" Joey asked.

"As ‘okay’ as can be," she said.

Jacob wandered over to sit beside Sarah on the couch. "How have you been?" he asked. Sarah glanced at him.

"Like you care," she said.

"Actually, I do," he told her. Sarah turned toward him.

"Jacob, I’m not crazy, okay. I know it appeared that I was the last time that you saw me, but I’m not crazy," she said.

"I didn’t say that you were. I just want to know how you’ve been," Jacob said. Sarah sighed.

"I’m better," she said. Jacob smiled.

"There. Was that so hard?" he asked. Sarah smiled and Jacob leaned over to put an arm around her, hugging her. Sarah shook her head.

"I was so out of control at the cabin. How can you even look at me without being scared of me?" she asked.

"I like you. Except when you hit. That hurt," Jacob said, smirking. Sarah laughed.

"Do you want me to do it again?" she asked. Jacob backed away.

"No, please!" he said.

Joey watched them, a frown on his face. Maria sat on a stool at the bar. "What’s that look for?"

"I don’t trust him. Why is he flirting with Sarah?" he asked. Maria rolled her eyes.

"He isn’t flirting with her. Did Sarah or Mom tell you what happened at the cabin in Utah?" she asked. Joey looked at her, nodding slightly. He finished his dinner and put the plate down on the bar.

"Some. Just that Sarah was ‘stressed.’ I think that’s the word Mom used. Sarah’s been going to counseling for a few weeks now and she seems better," he said.

"That’s good. You don’t have to know the details. As long as Sarah’s getting help," Maria said.

"Are you going to tell me what’s wrong with you?" Joey asked. Jacob heard him and looked over at Maria. She glanced at him and then back at Joey.

Marilyn and Joseph entered the room with Bradley, who was awake. "He doesn’t keep the same hours as normal people," Marilyn said. She smiled and placed him in Maria’s arms.

"He’s so precious. Aren’t you, Braddy?" Maria smiled down at her brother. Jacob watched Maria holding the baby and felt a sudden panic attack coming on. He excused himself and went outside into the pool area.

"What’s his problem?" Sarah asked. Marilyn and Joseph just looked at each other while Joey was starting to put two and two together. Maria pulled Bradley’s blanket tighter around him and followed Jacob.

"She’s pregnant…isn’t she?" Joey asked. Joseph sighed and nodded.

"Yes," he said. Sarah’s mouth dropped open.

"You’re kidding. Maria’s gonna have a baby? Jacob’s baby?" She thought she’d be jealous, but she was actually kind of excited.

"Yes, now don’t go making a big thing of it. It’s something that Maria and Jacob have to handle on their own," Joseph said, looking pointedly at Joey.

"Man, I don’t even know the guy and he gets my sister pregnant! How am I supposed to not make a big thing of it?" Joey asked.

"You need to stay calm and not add to their stress. They need time to figure it out," Marilyn said. Joey nodded, but he planned on talking to his sister’s boyfriend.

"Are you okay?" Maria asked Jacob. He looked down at the baby and sighed.

"He’s cute," he said. He put his finger against the baby’s hand. Bradley grabbed it and held on. Jacob smiled and then sighed. "How are we gonna do it?"

"Jacob, don’t panic, okay. We’ll find a way to do it. People have babies all the time. It’s unexpected, but…unavoidable," she said.

"Then why are you crying?" Jacob asked her, softly, as he reached up to wipe a tear that had slid down her cheek.

"Because I’m not ready to be a mother. I don’t want a baby and I don’t know how I’m gonna do it. And because I only have myself to blame. It was my fault that this happened," she said.

"I had a little something to do with it," Jacob told her, frowning.

"You wanted to use extra protection, but I said no and didn’t really give you a choice. It was my fault for not thinking. I let my passion for you cloud my judgment and now I’m paying for it," Maria said, looking down at the ground.

Jacob tilted her head up so that Maria was looking into his eyes. "Do you love me?" he asked.

"Yes, you know I do."

"Then believe in that love and know that I’m here for you. You’re not alone," Jacob told her. "I love you, sweetheart." He leaned forward and kissed her gently. Bradley started to cry. Jacob backed away and looked down at the baby. "It’ll be a while yet. We’ll have time to get used to the fact that we’re going to be parents."

Marilyn came outside and stood beside them. She put a comforting hand on Jacob’s shoulder. He looked at her and she smiled at him.

"It’ll be alright," she said. Jacob nodded. Marilyn took Bradley from Maria’s arms and went back inside. Jacob held out his arms and Maria went to him. She closed her eyes as Jacob held her. They had a long road ahead of them…a very long road.

Orlando

Ashley knocked on the door to Maria’s loft. He waited a minute before Emily opened the door. She looked surprised to see him and Mike C. standing there.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey, mind if we come in?" Ashley asked. Emily shook her head and moved aside to let them in.

"Look, if you’re here to find out about Maria, I can’t tell you. I promised not to say anything," she told them.

"Jake’s in a lot of trouble for leaving. We just want to know why he left," Ashley said. Emily frowned.

"Jacob left? Where did he go?" she asked.

"San Francisco. He went after Maria to, like, bring her back or something. Why did she go there in the first place?" Ashley asked her.

"I told you I can’t tell you. I didn’t know that Jacob went after her," Emily said.

Mike sighed. "Is it real bad? I just want to know what kind of situation he’s in. He’s not picking up his cell phone and he hasn’t called. Not being in touch with him is making us nervous," he said.

"It’s something that Maria and Jacob need to talk about together. I don’t think Maria should have left, but I couldn’t stop her." Emily walked over to the doors that looked out onto the dark patio.

"Let me talk to her alone," Ashley said. Mike nodded and went out into the hall. Ashley walked over to Emily. He put his hands on her shoulders. "You know, Jacob is like a brother to us, that is, me, Trevor, Erik and Dan. If he’s in trouble, we want to be able to be there for him. Now, Dan knows what’s going on, but he’s not talking."

"Then let Dan help Jacob," Emily told him. She turned around to face him. "Ashley, I’d tell you if I could, but I promised Maria." Ashley nodded. He smiled and pulled Emily to him, hugging her. "What are you doing?"

"Holding you. You smell and feel really good," Ashley said. Emily relaxed in his embrace.

"Seeing what’s going on with Maria, it’s making me really not want to get involved with anyone," Emily remarked. Ashley frowned.

"Why not?"

"It’s too much heartache and stress. She’s too young to have a baby…" The minute Emily said that, she pulled away from Ashley, her hand over her mouth. Ashley was looking at her with wide eyes.

"She’s pregnant?" he asked. Emily ran to her room. Ashley watched her go. He was shocked. Maria was going to have a baby? Jacob’s baby. No wonder he had gone chasing after her. Ashley didn’t blame him.

Running to the door, Ashley pulled it open. Mike looked at him. "Well, did she tell you?"

"Accidentally. Come on, let’s get back to the house," Ashley said as he made his way quickly to the elevator.

"Alex, where are you?" Erik asked as he put his phone down after trying to call Alex yet again. It was getting late and he was getting more panicked by the minute. His phone rang and Erik immediately put it to his ear. "Alex?"

"No, man, this is Miguel, Alex’s brother. Erik?"

"Yeah, hey man, what’s going on?" Erik asked, not liking the fact that Alex’s brother was calling him.

"I was wondering if she was with you. I haven’t been able to get a hold of her all night," Miguel said. Erik exited his bedroom and began pacing in the hall.

"No, she’s not here. I haven’t seen her all day and I’ve tried calling her a million times. She’s not picking up," he said, worriedly.

"I helped her move earlier in the day and when I left, she was okay. I’m sure she’s fine, but it’s weird that I haven’t been able to talk to her either," Miguel told him.

"Did you try going over to her apartment again?" Erik asked.

"No. I’ll go tomorrow. I’m sure she’s just sleeping." Erik sighed.

"Yeah, you’re probably right. If you hear from her, can you call and let me know?"

"Sure. Thanks, man."

"No problem," Erik said and hung up. It was very unnerving that Alex’s own brother was looking for her. Erik took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He went back into his room and lay down on his bed. There wasn’t anything he could do this late. He’d have to wait until tomorrow. The group had rehearsal. He’d go to her apartment afterwards. ‘If we even rehearse seeing as there’s only four of us,’ Erik thought, bitterly. ‘I hope Jake is having a good time. He’s gonna have a lot to answer for when he returns.’