Good Idea

Hearing Bret Charlotte whipes her hands off and takes both plates in one hand with lunch and the bowl with Nicholas' in the other hand. Walking into the living room and setting the stuff down on the table Charlotte turns and looks down on Bret and the baby. A big smile spreads across her face. Sometimes it was hard to think of herself as a mother already. She'd always been on the move, leaving things to chance. But this small little boy, had changed so much for them...it was strange to think of it any other way.

"I don't see anything wrong with getting Nicholas baptized. I was kind of talking to Jamie the other day when I had to ask her a motherly question. I think it would be a good idea for him."

Sitting down next to Bret and Nicholas Charlotte reaches out and gives his chubby little cheek a soft punch as she makes some baby noises to him. As Bret goes on Charlotte sits back a little bit cocking her head and looking from Nicholas and than to Bret. She had almost lost Bret once it was hard to think about losing him again but he did have a good point. If something was to happen to them she would want to be able to see them again one day.

"I think...I'd like to go to church with you and Nicholas one week. To try it out and see whats its like. Con and Jamie seem to like it, so it can't be that bad."

She never really was one to think about faith and anything feather than knowing what was out there. But her grandmother had a strong faith and she remembered her talking about it. Now that she was older with a family of her own it did make her wonder what really was out there.

"I never want to think about not seeing you and Nicholas again some day. So if going to church and learning more about this is what it takes I am willing to try. As long as you try with me too."

Stopping at her car and looking over the top at Rocky Michaela smiles. She really was happy she came out after all. Tomorrow she would be a little tired for work but it was worth it. Getting out and meeting new people was always something nice.

"It was really good to see you in person again. Don't worry about being to strange, I am pretty strange myself."

Giving a small laugh and shaking her head Michaela gives a little wave as she gets into her car.

"I'll see ya online."

Eying the purse by the door on her way out Beth thinks quickly for a moment before pulling another napkin from her bag that had the same number on it and her name. Making sure no one was looking she slipped it into Lydia's bag. She didn't trust Jared and at least he wouldn't know about this one.

heading out and shutting the door behind her Beth makes her way to the car. She was going to be a little late now getting to Justin's but Beth felt like she at least accomplished something today even if it was a little. She wouldn't tell Justin what went on today...not yet. It might still upset him. She wait to see if Lydia called her first.

Getting to Justin's house and knowing on the door not hearing an answer Beth worried just a little. He was still trying to get over being sick did something happen? Trying the door and finding it unlocked Beth enters and closes it behind her.

"Justin? Are you here?"

Entering more and setting her purse down on the little table by the door Beth enters the living room. Walking over slowly to the couch she can still feel her heart race a little. She might be dealing with things well but still the sight of a body not moving put a little fear into her.

Sitting down on the edge of the couch and lays a hand on Justin's shoulder. Feeling him breathing in and out she relaxes a little and gives a small smile. Giving his shoulder a gentile shake.

"Justin...its Beth...want me to get started on making us dinner?"

Phone calls

Lydia forces a smile and nod to Beth, watching her leave and pointing her to the door. Sitting by herself for several long moments, she sighs. Listen to her heart? Unfortunately, what was in one's heart wasn't always what should be done. Even a heart could betray - emotions could cloud judgment... desires could cloud what God really wanted... No, a heart could be trusted many times, but not all the time. Lydia had learned long ago that following her heart was not always what should be done. Sometimes God had a different route in mind than her own heart. What about now though? What about today? What about Justin and Jared? Where was God in this? Who was right? But deep down... way deep down, Lydia knew the answers.

"She seemed nice."

Lydia jumps at Jared's comment. "Yes... yes, she was a very nice young lady." She slides off her chair and looks back at the counter where she'd been baking.

Jared spots the napkin with a number on it and he picks it up, looking at it skeptically. "What's this?"

Lydia turns to look over her shoulder. "Oh, Beth left me her telephone number in case I wanted to see her again. You know - just girl stuff."

"Mm-hm," Jared watches his mother for a moment until he's sure her back will stay turned for a while. Grabbing a pen, he modifies Beth's number, changing a 5 to a 6 and a 3 to an 8. "Well, I'm gonna go get that milk you needed. I'll be back in a jiffy."


The phone rings. Justin stirs. The phone rings again.

Justin cracks open his eyes, finding himself lying on his stomach on the couch, clutching a throw pillow. Hearing the phone for a third time, he fumbles on the end table to try and find it, eventually landing his fingers around the receiver. He had no idea how long he'd been asleep, and he was still not quite awake enough to figure out what time it was, or even what day it was. His answer to the phone comes as a groggy one. "Hello?"

"I'm sorry... is this Justin?" a female voice asks.

"Yeah... speaking."

"This is Pamela from Brookshire. Dr. Hawks thought I should call you. Scott Johnson had a bad spell this afternoon."

"Bad spell?" Justin tries to wake up. "What do you mean?"

"Dr. Hawks thought he was just trying too much on his own - those cards you left with him - the ones with the pictures? Jenny said Scott was getting frustrated with something and so he was trying really hard to retrieve some information or something. At any rate, he made himself sick and it took us a while to calm him down. You don't need to come, but we thought you should know."

Justin sighs. It had been a while since Scott had had a bad day like this. Most likely, he just pushed things too far on his own today. But he hadn't blacked out or zoned out, which was good. "Okay. Thanks, Pamela. I appreciate it."

Ending the call, he tries not to worry. A small setback - that was all. Tomorrow he'd talk to Scott and try to regain that ground... right?

It wasn't thirty seconds later that the phone was ringing once more. Still in a bit of a fog, he answers again. "Yeah?"

"Justin, it's Nichole." Her voice wad panicked and it was easy to tell she was crying. "Clark just left and I'm all alone and I don't know what to do!"

Justin closes his eyes and rolls onto his back while sighing. "Nichole, calm down."

"How can I be calm?! We've been married for three whole months! What am I supposed to do?!"

Justin rubs a hand over his face, still trying to wake up. "He'll be back."

"Not this time. He took all his stuff! He even took our radio - you know, the one with the cute little dogs that-"

"Then I guess he won't be back."

"Justin!" Nichole's voice was desperate as it wavers.

"What?" He finally opens his eyes and stares up at the ceiling. "I told you not to marry him. He left six weeks ago, too - I told you to let him go and all you did was be his best friend, leaving the door wide open for him to come back."

"But I thought he meant it that time!"

"And what did I tell you? I told you he'd do it again and you didn't listen." Justin didn't want to be heartless, but he'd tried to help Nichole before and she'd refused to listen. He'd given her advice, prompted her and tried to get her to see clearly, but she just wouldn't. "I'm sorry, Nichole, but I can't feel sympathy for you when you're doing this to yourself. If you want to stop these games, then you need to buck up and let that guy go." He didn't like divorce - he knew God didn't like divorce - but if Clark was going to keep being a jerk and leaving, then Nichole needed to let him. "Go get a lawyer and get this thing over and done before you waste too much more of your life."

"I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Well because! He might change his mind! And it's only been three months!"

Justin moans. "Would you listen to yourself? How many times was Clark a jerk while you were dating him, hmm? You run off to Vegas and marry the guy, expecting him to be changed just because he got you a ring?" He flops one hand over his eyes, wondering how on earth he'd landed in this position. "I told you dating with him was unwise. I told you living with him before you were married was not only wrong, but stupid. I told you staying with him was unwise. Now you call me when he's gone, expecting me to feel sorry for you?"

Nichole sniffs. "I guess I was wrong about you." Anger was now inserted into her panic. "I thought I could trust you to at least be a shoulder."

Justin wasn't even going to bring up the conversation he'd stumbled on at Jack's - she hadn't thought he was worth anything then. And he wasn't even going to bring up all the guys she'd gone through besides Clark either. He just sighs. "Look... if I knew you were going to stop being Clark's friend and start getting your act together, I might feel differently. But right now, all I see is someone crying over a jerk. Quit crying, get a lawyer, clean up your act and start living the way you should."

Click.

Justin puts the phone in front of his face and stares at it. His eyes were still trying to adjust from being asleep. "Okay then. Be that way. I know you won't disown me. You never disown anybody. If you think I'll be hurt by you hanging up, then you can just think that." It was silly talking to no one, but at least it allowed him to vent.

Rolling over, he puts the phone aside before letting his head nestle into a pillow again. He needed to get up. He had things he needed to do. He needed to straighten up the living room and kitchen before Beth got here. He needed to feed the dogs. He needed to-

The phone rings again and he groans. Sitting up this time, he grabs the phone. "Hello?"

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Justin blinks at the irritated male voice. "Who is this?"

"Lane - who do you think? Nichole just called me and said you were treating her like dirt. Who do you think you are?!"

Justin holds the phone out a little to keep the yelling farther from his ear. "I'm someone that's honest?"

"Honest? She told me what you said. And you call Clark a jerk? You had no right to say those things to Nichole. Clark just left her and you expect her to not even be sad?"

"I never said that. I just gave her my opinion of the situation."

"Yeah, you always do, don't you? It's amazing that your opinion is always negative. No wonder you couldn't be a counselor - Nobody would pay a dime to hire someone like you."

Justin leans his elbows on his knees, his shoulders dropping in surrender. "What do you want?" he asks calmly.

"I want you to stop being a jerk and apologize to Nichole!"

"First, I'm not a jerk, and second, I have nothing to apologize for."

"Then consider this friendship over. I'm sorry, Justin, but you went too far this time."

Click.

Justin stares at the phone again. "Like our friendship wasn't already over? What is it with you and everybody else that thinks I forgot about you all talking behind my back? None of you have called me for weeks, and suddenly I'm the one getting lambasted for my honesty. Score one for real life."

The phone rings again.

Justin's eyes narrow. "You've got to be kidding me." He answers the call tersely. "What?"

"Um...Justin? It's Reese."

"Oh. Yeah. What's up?"

A conversation about Alec follows, with Reese asking Justin to approach Alec about the upcoming hearing. He explains his conversation with Angelica and the angle that they thought might help their case. Justin wasn't completely sold on the idea, but he promised he'd try to think up a strategy for when he came in tomorrow.

Eventually, Justin was lying on the couch again in the still quietness of the living room. No more ringing phone. Thank goodness. Some days he thought he was getting somewhere. And other days, he just felt like he was swimming in mud. Why couldn't he just back up several months and start a few things over?

His eyes droop.

He needed to clean for Beth... needed to feed the dogs... needed to...

Sleep wouldn't take no for an answer.


Looking to his side at Michaela, Rocky smiles, and for a moment, he doesn't say anything at all. "Yeah... I'm glad I got to meet you too..." Getting bumped in the elbow, he looks over to see Carson waiting to see what he wanted to drink and giving him a teasing look.

And that's how most of the evening went. Conversations and laughter bounced back and forth from one end of the table to the other with pizza in between. Carson takes a seat for just a little while to enjoy the interaction before he has to get back to the kitchen. It got late, but he never complained - groups like these made the long, boring days worthwhile.

As the group begins to disperse, Rocky finds himself out on the dimly lit sidewalk, ambling very slowly towards his car. Glancing over at Michaela, he stops, another smile coming to his lips. "It was nice of you to come tonight." He nods. "I guess not too many people would have... as crazy as I am online sometimes." He chuckles. "I, um... guess I'll see ya back in the chatroom sometime, huh?"


Bret lay on his stomach on the living room floor, his chin resting on his hands as he watched Nicholas try to roll over, gurgling and drooling as he went. Bret's mouth was upturned into a little smile, perfectly content to have time some off from the track to spend at home.

Things had been going well - so well that Bret almost feared something was waiting around the corner to happen, but so far, life had been smooth. He kept busy at the track, sometimes racing, sometimes taking care of the stock cars - always griping about something or someone around there, but never wishing he were working somewhere else. He got to hang out with the guys every once in a while when Charlotte didn't mind an evening alone, and they both did things with Con and Jamie every so often too - usually dinner or a movie and always having a fun time with them.

There was just one thing that had been bugging Bret lately though. He wasn't really sure why. But perhaps that was simply because he was unaware of the prayers going up for him every day. If he knew of those, he might understand better why the tug on his heart had increased.

Really, it had started clear back when Brandon had died from the cave-in at the construction site. He'd had several long talks with Con at that point, but after not taking any action, the thoughts had dwindled and he'd never done anything about it. Ever since then though, that small little seed had been trying to grow, tucked away in the dark corners of Bret's heart.

Watching Nicholas now, he would never be able to say there was no God. This little life in front of him... he never could deny there was an Intelligent Maker in charge of all this. This child... he could never have just happened by coincidence. One could see both Bret and Charlotte in the baby's face... an amazing workmanship. All of that just made Bret's apprehensions grow stronger.

"Hey, Charlotte?" He knew she was nearby in the kitchen, and he doesn't get up, just staying where he was on the floor. "I was talking to Con the other day... I asked him if we should have Nicholas baptized, ya know? I mean, it seemed the thing to do and all."

Furrowing his brow, he thinks, mulling over all the information in his head. "He said God takes care of all children and there was no worry there... that if anything happened, Nicholas would be fine." It was a comforting thought. Bret had never had much to do with church, so he didn't know. He knew people had babies christened or baptized all the time, whether they were really religious or not. But Con had a differed perspective... and it did make a little more sense.

Bret scrunches up his nose as Nicholas had scooted close enough to finger his face. "But he said it was the adults who had the responsibility to follow God... I mean, once they figure out right and wrong and stuff like that."

Rolling over onto his back, he picks up Nicholas and holds him up high making him giggle. Bret smiles and sets him down on his stomach, holding him so he didn't topple over. "I don't know..." He shrugs. "I guess I wondered if maybe you would be okay with going to church once with Con and Jamie or something." He and Charlotte rarely talked about religion. They mentioned God every once in a while and they both agreed they liked it when they were out with Con and Jamie and they prayed at meals. But that was about it. He wasn't sure if she would agree to church or not.

"I mean..." His smile fades, his expression turning into a much more thoughtful one as he stares at Nicholas. "Heaven forbid something happen to Nicholas but... but if it did and... and he went to be with God... and something happened to me and I didn't know God, well... I'd never see him again. We'd never see him again." It was a startling thought, and one that Bret didn't like at all. "Sounds kinda morbid but... I don't know. You wanna try it with me? The church thing? Maybe learn a little more?"