Fred

"And e-mails?"

Meredith tilted her head over. "Do those not come through on your phone?"

"I was on my honeymoon, I wasn't exactly worried about my e-mail inbox."

I rolled my sleeves up and looked over at her, making her look down at the folder in her hands. "I marked the really important ones. I answered a lot of them myself."

"Thank you," I said. She stopped at her desk and I walked into my office, my eyes wide.

"Someone's got an attitude on her," I said, sitting down in my chair.

Jo poured himself a cup of coffee. "She's pissed off 'cause you're married and she isn't."

"That's her man's fault," I said.

"You trying to say something?" He asked, turning around to face me.

"Not at all," I muttered, logging into my computer.

"Sorry, but not all of us can be as perfect as you when it comes to the whole movie-worthy wedding planning."

"That's Alexis's job, dumbass," I deadpanned, looking up at him.

"I am a royal screw up, man," he said, sitting on my desk, "she deserves a fairytale wedding. There's no way around me fucking that up."

"You're living in fear," I said.

"You're damn right I am," he confidently responded, nodding.

"That's the pit of all despair, my friend."

He shook his head, closing his eyes. "I want to set a date. I don't want to be the douchebag that kept her waiting."

"Then don't," I said, "it's really that simple."

"It really is not," he said, watching as I stood up.

"Okay, well, you know what, Jo? I'll say what everyone's thinking. You need to give her some kind of something. Lena deserves it. What she doesn't deserve is another failed attempt."

"Don't say that shit to me," he said, his eyebrows in a deep furrow.

"I'm saying what you need to know," I said, "Jackson-"

"Don't say his name, and I swear to God, if you compare me to him..."

He trailed off, his hands resting on his hips.

"I'll tell you the same thing I would've told him. You shouldn't have proposed if you weren't ready to give her what she deserves."

"I was fucking ready, Fred," he said, "you weren't there."

"Uh, yeah, we were both there."

He rubbed his forehead. "I didn't propose then."

I looked up from my desk, my eyebrows knitted together.

He rubbed his hands down his face, shaking his head. "It was a fucking Tuesday, Fred. We were in the bedroom."

"I don't want you to continue, really," I muttered.

"I don't even know what time it was," he said, shaking his head, "I didn't even have a fucking ring. But I knew. I knew I needed her."

I froze, looking over at him. Josiah King was infamous for never needing a single soul. I'd never heard him say he needed anyone.

"If I wasn't ready, I wouldn't have done it then. I would've at least had a plan, Fred. A ring."

I let out a sigh, looking over at him. "I think you're trying to convince yourself rather than me."

"Fuck off, Fred," he grumbled, shaking his head as he rolled up his sleeves, "I don't even know why I talk to you about anything. You pick apart everything I do. You're just like Mom."

I clenched my jaw, watching as he walked out of my office. I let out a sigh and fell back in my chair, unlocking my phone.

[To: Baby]
You up yet?

I patiently waited on a text. She'd been sleeping in, purposefully, since she'd found out she was pregnant.

[From: Baby]
Barely. Can I call you?

I called her first, spinning around in my chair as I threw my stress ball in the air with my free hand.

"Hello?" She answered, her morning voice intoxicating.

"Morning, beautiful."

I could feel her smile. "Morning."

"Did you rest?" I asked, grinning.

"I did," she said, "sorry, if I interrupted."

"No, you didn't. Just got done listening to Jo blow up at me, nothing serious."

"What happened?" She asked. I could hear her shifting around in bed.

"He needs someone to be on his ass about Lena," I said.

"Fred," she cautiously began.

"All she wants is him. That's all. She'd be content, and I think he would be, too, if they just got married already."

She sighed. I could tell she was mentally erasing everything she'd wanted to say. "Listen. Just let them figure it out, okay? You've got your own marriage to work out."

I slowly nodded, gently rubbing my chin. "So how's my boy this morning?"

She giggled. "Don't you have things to do, Fred?"

"Yes, constantly ask you questions about our son."

~*~

Jo

"You look sinfully good," I complimented, gazing up at Lena from my chair.

She giggled, giving my shoulder a gentle shove. "Shh. I'm going to the restroom, okay?"

I nodded, slipping my hand down her leg before she walked away. I took a sip of my wine and leaned back in my chair, smiling up at our waitress.

"Can I grab these plates for you?" She sweetly asked, smiling.

"Yes, thank you," I said.

"You two are engaged?" She asked, catching me off guard.

I delicately wiped the corner of my mouth, nodding. "Yes, we are."

"Her ring is beautiful. You've got very good taste."

I smiled. "Thank you."

"My boyfriend and I are planning on getting engaged soon. We even went to pick out my ring together. And we already have our date-"

I looked up at her, earning a worrisome glance. "O-oh, my gosh. I just totally- I'll leave now. I-I'll bring your ticket."

I bit down on my lip. She couldn't have been more than nineteen, maybe twenty, and she already had a date for her wedding? Before even getting engaged?

Wow, you're a slow mover.

Lena sat down, smiling. "Sorry, got caught up. Some sweet lady recognized me from our engagement shoot for that magazine ages ago."

I smiled a soft smile. "That's okay."

She took a sip of her wine. "I-I didn't mean it like that."

"I know you didn't," I said, reaching across the table for her hand.

I rubbed her ring finger, my jaw taut.

"What about May?" I asked, my eyes meeting hers.

"What about it?" She asked, her brown eyes twinkling.

"You could get away with a strapless dress and an outdoor ceremony if we got married in May."

Her expression wasn't quite detectable. A corner of her mouth quirked up, though, after a few seconds.

"I'd like that very much," she softly responded.

The waitress dropped off our ticket, biting down on her bottom lip. "I'll give you a second-"

"What date?" I asked, placing my credit card on top of the ticket. I held it up to her and she looked down, smiling.

"U-uh, Next January. I'm a winter person. So is he."

I smiled. "Well, I'm sure it'll be beautiful."

She smiled and walked away, making Lena smile. "She's young."

I nodded. "She is."

"She seems in love," she said, "she reminds me of myself, when I was her age."

I leaned forward on the table. "May... fifth. What about May fifth?"

She rested her chin in her palm. "Someone's getting eager now."

I chuckled, smiling up at the waitress. She placed my card and the ticket on the table, shooting us a smile.

"Good luck with your wedding," she softly said.

She walked away from the table. Lena stood and gathered her purse and jacket, smiling down at me. "Ready?"

I nodded. "Just a sec."

I scribbled down a tip and a note to go along with it.

For the wedding.
-The Kings

I stood, grabbing my jacket. Lena's eyes went round. "Five hundred dollars?"

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, shrugging. "She might need it."

~*~

Jo

I smiled, folding my arms over my chest.

"That's a goal!" I yelled.

Benny spun around, his eyes lighting up. "Hey!"

I chuckled, dropping to one knee. He wrapped his arms around my neck.

"What's up, kiddo?" I asked, grinning at him.

"Just practicing on my soccer," he said, smiling, "did you see me?"

"I did. Soon enough, I won't even be able to beat you."

I stood up, smiling as he ran to grab his ball. Benny was eleven, and he lived at one of the biggest children's homes in Chicago. Ever since I'd moved to Chicago, I'd been spending my free time here, and I'd watched Benny grow up.

"Mary's been giving me extra minutes on my playtime," he said, walking alongside me as we walked towards the bleachers.

"Yeah? You've been putting it to good use?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, jumping onto the bleachers. He sat down and I sat next to him, bracing my elbows on my knees, "you should see my chip."

"I bet it's the best I'll ever see."

He grinned, shaking his head. "Not that good."

"Mary told me you made another special request for me to come see you," I said, "it's late. Is something wrong?"

He looked over at me. "I told Mary not to tell you that I asked."

I chuckled. "Mary's got a big mouth."

"You're telling me," he grumbled, holding his soccer ball between his side and arm.

"So what's up?" I asked.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said, looking up at me.

"Let's talk."

"So," he said, tracing circles on the bleachers beneath us, "you know that meeting I had?"

I nodded, leaning forward.

Another failed attempt.

"They really like me," he said, smiling up at me.

"Of course they do," I said, "you're Benny."

"I'm getting adopted."

I'm sure he could notice the change in my expression. My lips parted and my eyes went round as I tried to find any kind of response.

"No way," I said, forcing a smile. I leaned back a bit, shaking my head.

He nodded. "They're a really rich family, apparently. I guess they have an extra room they want to fill out."

I clenched my jaw, nodding. "Wow."

I felt tears clouding up my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away. I cleared my throat and chuckled, looking away from him. "That's awesome, Benny."

"Yeah. I kind of bombed all my other meetings, looking back on them."

I smiled. "Well, I guess our deal is off?"

His smile faded as he nodded. "Guess so. But you can still come see me! I even told them that I have a really good friend that I can't give up."

I sniffled, nodding. "Well, that's relieving."

He wrapped his arms around my neck. "Seriously. I'll give you my new mom's number and everything."

I hugged him tight. I looked back on the past five years I'd known him and realized he needed someone. He needed a family, he deserved a family.

"I'm so happy for you, Ben," I said, "so happy."

He looked down at his watch. "It's time for me to go inside. Are you leaving?"

I nodded, standing up. "Yeah."

We walked inside together, but not after me attempting to trip him a few times. I chuckled and he ran towards the desk. "Hey, Mary, I'm back in."

I smiled and Benny stood in front of me, his hands in his pockets. "Well, I've got to go to bed."

"Yeah, for sure," I said, "gotta get some rest, you know, so you're rested for more soccer."

He smiled, nodding. He ran towards me to give me one last hug, staying a little longer than he typically would've.

"Goodnight, kiddo," I said, rubbing his back.

"Night, Jo."

He ran off and I shot Mary a smile before walking out of the building. Lena was already standing by the car, a smile on her face.

"Hi," she said, "I just walked out, don't worry."

I nodded, fighting the tears pricking my eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She softly asked, looking up at me.

I fell into her, resting my head on her shoulder. I silently cried into her shoulder, and she didn't do anything except gently rub my back.

"Jo, baby, what's wrong?" She asked, looking up at me as I pulled away.

I let out a breath, wiping my eyes. "Benny. He's getting adopted."

She tilted her head, biting down on her lip. "Well, he deserves it."

"I know," I said, leaning against my car, "I just kind of wish I would've beaten them to it."

She pressed a kiss to my chest, resting the side of her face against me.

"We had a deal," I said, chewing on my bottom lip, "that if he didn't have somebody by the time he was twelve, he'd just come live with us."

She looked up at me, her lips parted.

I nodded, looking down at her. "We made that deal on his birthday."

"Jo," she muttered, sighing as she wrapped her arms around me.

I sighed, wrapping my arms around her neck. "I'm happy for him. I really am. He deserves it."

She rested her chin on my chest, looking up at me. "I don't think he'll ever forget you."

"Yeah?" I asked, looking down at her.

She nodded, smiling. "Of course not. You're Josiah King."

~*~

hi guys!

vulnerable Jo GOODBYE!!!

this chapter was definitely focused on jo and lena for sure! i hope u enjoyed <3

sorry my updates are literally SHIT. im working on an actual schedule that i can stick to, just gotta get back into the swing of updating! ♥️

i hope you guys are doing great. please tell me what you want to see in the next chapter! more of fred/lex or more of jo/lena? pls pls leave a sis suggestions.

i love u guys so so much <3 hope you have a wonderful rest of your day!
-jay