(James' POV)

        "Babe, What do you mean you're going to Alabama? Did you forget we have a dinner to attend tomorrow night for Frederick's birthday?"

          I turned my head to find Charlotte standing by the door, her hands resting on her hips. She hadn't gone to work because she was having horrible morning sickness that started just about a week ago and seemed to be more than a morning thing. And while I looked at her, I noticed how sunken her eyes were and how pale her coloring was. I went over to her, forgetting for a second the shit that I was certain would be waiting for me in Alabama and focused on her. My love, my life, the mother of my unborn child.

          I cupped her face in my hands and smiled softly as her green eyes met mine. Even while sick she was still beautiful and it seemed as though she had gotten even more beautiful now that she was pregnant. I loved that about her, knowing that she was pregnant, carrying my seeds, a combining of her and I.

          "How are you?"

         She shrugged but didn't break the eye contact, her hands now coming to rest on mine. "I feel like shit, but I'll survive." She answered and right then, there was a shadow that crossed her face as she looked away. "It was the same way the first time around." Ah, so that's why she wouldn't meet my eyes.

           With a finger, I turned her head towards me and the second her gaze met mine, I lowered my head and kissed her. Nothing hard, just a soft kiss on her soft lips to chase away the shadowy sadness, to make her understand that though we wouldn't ever forget what led to that decision so many years ago, we were trying our best everyday to learn from those mistakes, keep them in the past and not repeat them.

         "I love knowing that I got you pregnant." That, made her chuckle, the warmth of her smile making my heart tighten. God, how much I loved her.

         "I love being pregnant by you. Though I could do without the all day sickness and not even miss it." She replied, raised her self on her toes and kissed me before letting go of me and heading into out closet.

          "I'll pack you a few things." She said as she grabbed a small travel bag which landed on the bed when she threw it from the closet. "Tell me again why you're making this impromptu voyage?"

           This brought back the conversation I had with Jemma to mind. I didn't know what was happening with my mother but if I were to find out Jemma had done something to her, anything at all, she would regret ever coming back into our lives, though knowing Jemma and what she had said, I wouldn't put anything past her. This was all the more troublesome as I was still unable to reach my mother.

          "Is Ghost traveling with you?" Charlotte asked, poking her head out, holding a white shirt in hand which she had been folding. I reached into my pockets and took out my cellphone to give it another try, hoping that this time around I would reach her.

          "Yes, he's on his way now." I replied as the call went to voicemail. I could feel the beginning of headache as k tried to rack my brain as to what could possibly have happened.

        Did my mother relapse? Though she hadn't, to my detailed knowledge,  gone back to her drugs habits, I couldn't say for sure that a relapse of any kind was impossible. I had been more relaxed about the drug tests for the past months because I trusted her to stay clean. We had made sure she understood that her being into our lives was only dependent on her ability to stay sober and drugs free and it had worked for more that four years, so for her to relapse just like that would be very confusing, to say the least.

           I put my phone back and stood there, hands in my pockets as I watched Charlotte folding and arranging a few things. There was something calming about watching her do that. Or maybe it was happiness, to know that she was mine and she was having my baby and only I was privy to that expression she sports on her face when she wanted me to pull her hair back and fuck her fast and hard, no matter where we happened to be; bed, bathroom, kitchen or even car- which, think of it, could be when she had gotten pregnant, three months ago.

          Or maybe it was that shy smile when she wanted me to be soft and gentle, to hold her while we made love, those times were more about the connection between us than the sexual act. Or those goofy faces she made when she was bored, whatever she could do for distraction.
     
          My pocket vibrated, which stole my attention for a few seconds from Charlotte to check the text message. Ghost. "Waiting downstairs for you boss. Anytime you're ready."

          The text I ultimately sent back was quick and short then I walked over and reached for her. She chuckled but came willingly, her arms coming around my neck. Her smiling eyes met mine and they were so full of unbashful love that it might as well have blinded me, for I found myself unable to do much but stare into them.

         "I have to go," I said, my eyes focused on nothing but her. "Ghost is waiting downstairs." She smiled and nodded, lifting herself on her toes for a kiss. I held her face in my hands and leaned into the kiss, deepening it for just a second. The sigh that came out of her as her eyes closed for a moment was what I would carry with me throughout the days I was to spend dealing with my mother.

          "Stay pregnant, alright? Could you do that for me?"

         She smiled and unlocked her arms from my neck. "I'll try my very best." She replied and grabbed the bag she had packed and left on the bed to hand it to me. "No matter what happens there, you come home to me and we'll deal with it." One last kiss, and then finally, I left.

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          The suspicions I had that something was going on was quickly confirmed the second I opened the door of my mother's house and stepped in. Talk about trashed. The house was in a state that was simply hard take in, as if a hurricane has passed through merely a few minutes before and we were left with the aftermath. And as I walked further into the house, I was taken back to the days when I was a young boy and my mother's crack addiction was at its worse. The only difference here was the size of the house.

           "Jesus! What the fuck happened here?" Ghost cursed under his breath as I heard a loud cracking sound coming from behind me. I looked back just in time to notice the pained expression on his face and the broken vase by his feet. I kept walking, all my focus on finding my mother in a house that I had stayed in, only four months ago.

            And by the overwhelming wall of stench wafting from dirty clothes left to ferment, the incredibly pungent odor of rotting food that I was certain had been there for a few months now, I was simply at lost for words. Yet, with everything scattered around this way, I was find in it hard not to burn everything to the ground.

           "Melinda!!!" I yelled, taking the stairs in pairs as I headed upstairs towards her bedroom. I was furious. How the fuck could she do this when I warned her...I fucking warned her that I would not stand for this. I opened her bedroom door and immediately my heart broke while still pissed off out of my goddamn mind. I saw her laying on that bed in this mess room, clothes strewn all over the floor the musty smell that had welcomed us as we entered the house was still present here.

         I all but ran to the bed and pulled the sheets roughly off of her to find her curled up like a ball on the bed. Her hair a mess on her head, scratches on her skin that seemed to be everywhere. Her eyes red and wild. "Get. The. Fuck. UP!!!" I yelled and pulled her up. She screamed.

         "James, it's everywhere, it's everywhere under my skin and it's crawling and I don't know how to get it out." She cried hysterically, pulling on her skin. She looked so thin...too thin. She has never been particularly big, but now she was all bones and skin.

         "Boss," I heard Ghost call from behind me. I didn't have to look at him to know what he was saying. He was there to make sure I stayed calm and composed enough to deal with the shit storm.

          Eyes shut, I pinched the bridge of my nose to calm myself down a bit. When I looked down, she was still scratching herself, murmuring something that I couldn't quite understand. I crouched down and stopped her from peeling off her skin by holding her hands. I tried a smile. I could kill her later. Now, I had to figure out what the fuck happened.

          "What did you take, Melinda? Huh? What are you on?" I asked softly, my eyes on her and held on tightly as she tried to pull her hand away. Her eyes were distant but she was still murmuring, repeating something that I still had a hard time understanding. "What is it?"

           "Boss, it looks like meth." I looked back at Ghost and noticed a clear small bag in his hand. Okay, fuck this shit, I was fucking pissed again.

        "Really, Melinda? Fucking meth? Out of all the fucking drugs you could do, you went for meth? You couldn't at least fucking do cocaïne? Or what, since you already did crack, you wanted to try something else? The worse fucking drug to be addicted to?" I realized my voice was getting higher as my grip on her hands was getting tighter when she started squirming away, crying.

          "Baby, you're hurting me." She cried but it wasn't until I felt Ghost's hand on my shoulder that I let her go and go up.

         "How about you go call Charlotte and I'll take care of your Melinda here." He suggested. Good fucking Idea. I walked out of the room and left him there to deal with her.

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        "Oh my! I'm so sorry, Jamie. I hadn't expected it to be this, of all things." Charlotte, with her soft voice was all that I realized could calm me. "She had been doing so good and was so willing to stay sober."

          "Yeah, I know which is what pisses me off so fucking much." I swear if I find out Jemma is behind that, however the fuck it happened, I will fucking kill her. I swear Charlotte, I will murder her." I growled and had to calm myself when I heard Charlotte sigh. I was putting this shit on her and it wasn't fair, especially because I knew she wasn't feeling particularly well at the moment.

           "No matter what happens, you need to calm down. Don't do something you might regret. You have a family here that's counting on you and a fiancé that's pregnant."

          I sighed and let the anger fly out of me. Of course she was right. Which was what I was about to say when my phone started indicating that I had another call waiting. I took the phone off my ear to check who it was and was surprised by the number that appeared. I frowned. "Babe, let me call you back. I have to take this call."

          "Alright, call me if there is anything else.  I'm about to put Bastian down for the night. He decided to sleep in the bed with me because you're not here." She said and laughed softly.

         "I'll be home soon enough."

          "Alright. I love you." And then she hung up and I picked up the second call right as it was about about to go to voicemail.

         "Sarah?"

         "Hello, James. I was wondering if  you had a few minutes to talk?" She replied. Her voice drooling with her Australian Accent. The last time I talked to Sarah had been a shocker, to say the least and in a way, I was still trying to come to terms with what had happened since then.

         "I'm actually dealing with a few things right now so if you don't mind, I would call you back when things settle and I'm back in New York." I told her and looked back as I heard my name being called from upstairs.

         "Actually, I don't think I can, James. I gave you enough time already. My daughter has the right to know her father and as you know from the DNA test, you are her father so don't take that right away from her."

        Ah, fuck. What was the saying again? Ah yes, when it rains, it fucking pours and I was getting fucking drenched with shit.
          
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Please don't forget to vote.

This chapter is long as a thank you for sticking around. I'm glad you did because shit is about to hit the fan and I'm excited about what's to come.

How shocked are you guys about this revelation! James has a daughter and Charlotte won't be the first to give him a baby? How do you think she'll take the news?