Mikayla's nerves finally caught up with her, and she could feel her knees starting to get weak. AJ grabbed her hand and gave her a little smile, and her strength returned. She took a deep breath and entered the room.

"Hi guys," she said quietly, as she walked across the room and sat down in an oversized chair. AJ stood behind her chair and placed his hands on her shoulders. They were all too stunned to speak, except Nick.

"Mikayla, who knocked you up?" he said, laughing. He didn't even stop to think that he may have been the one. Kevin shot him a nasty look, and Nick thought about his words carefully. A look of realization came over Nick's face as his mouth dropped open and he took a deep breath.

"Oh shit..." he said softly, sitting back down in his chair. He cast his eyes down to the floor and didn't say anything else.

"Is this why you left, Kay?" Brian asked, his eyes filled with sympathy.

"I didn't know what else to do, Bri. I just knew I had to come home. I couldn't be out there with you guys. I was in shock, I guess."

"Do you know who...." Howie started, but she cut him off with a steely glare.

"No. And I don't care, either. I don't expect anything from any of you, so you don't have to worry about that, Howie," she said. Her tone was icy. She knew he didn't like her, and she didn't even want to think of the possibility that someone who felt like that about her could be the father of the baby she loved so much.

Howie looked down at his hands, but didn't say anything more. He knew she was aware of his feelings toward her, and he didn't blame her for being cold to him. Inside, his mind was racing as he thought of the chance that he could be a father. The idea was very strange, but he wasn't altogether upset about it. Of course, if he had his choice, he would have picked another girl to be the mother...

Nick was still silent and staring at the carpet. Mikayla could tell he was scared to death and feeling terribly guilty, and she didn't blame him at all. She went to him and knelt on the floor beside him. She put her head against his and held one of his hands.

"Nicky," she whispered, "You didn't do anything wrong, baby. This is my fault, not yours. I know you're scared, and you're probably pretty pissed, but it's going to be OK. I'm going to take care of everything."

Nick looked up at her with tears in his eyes that spilled over onto his cheeks. His lower lip was trembling a little as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. She returned his embrace and smiled. She pulled back a little and wiped the tears off of Nick's face.

Kevin sat in his chair and watched the events going on in the room with very little emotion. He stood up, walked over, and grasped Mikayla's arm, a little harder than he had intended.

"Oww" she said, looking up at him with confusion in her eyes.

"Sorry. Mikayla, we have to talk," he said in a low, angry voice, pulling her to her feet and leading her to the French doors. They walked out onto AJ's patio by the pool and stopped by the fence, Kevin still holding on to Mikayla's arm tightly. When they were out of sight of the rest of the boys, she pulled her arm away from him sharply.

"Kevin, you're hurting me!" she said, alarm creeping into her voice. He turned to her and their eyes locked. She could see the hurt and the anger in his eyes.

"How could you keep this from me?" he asked, his voice shaking. She couldn't answer him immediately. The look on his face was just too much.

"Answer me, Mikayla!" he yelled, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her against the fence. "How could you keep something like this from me? We've been together for almost four years! We know everything about each other, and you kept something this important from me? WHY? I want to know."

Brian heard Kevin's raised voice, and he glanced out the back door to see what was going on. When he saw that Kevin had pinned Mikayla to the fence, he sprang into action.

"AJ, Kev's freakin', man!" he yelled as he ran out the door toward them. AJ was close behind.

Mikayla saw them running toward them, and glanced back up at Kevin. He looked so hurt.

"Guys, go back inside. Kevin and I need some time alone," she said calmly, removing Kevin's hands from her shoulders.

"No way, Mikayla. He's being an asshole, and I'm not leaving you alone with him," Brian said angrily, pushing Kevin away from her.

"Brian, it's ok," she said, trying to smile. "He didn't hurt me, and he's not going to touch me again, are you Kevin?"

Kevin shook his head and looked down at the ground, ashamed of himself. AJ walked over to Kevin and put his finger in his face.

"Don't you even think about it, man," AJ growled. "I know you may be bigger than me, but I will kick your ASS if you touch her again."

Brian sighed heavily and led AJ back into the house. Mikayla began to speak softly to Kevin.

"Kevin, the reason I didn't tell you this is because I didn't want to cause you any more pain than necessary, ok? You're married. I knew you'd eventually get over me leaving like I did, and I figured the last thing you needed to worry about was whether you had knocked up some chick. I know you take everything to heart and stressful things are so hard for you to deal with. I just couldn't stand worrying you like that. But now you know. Do you feel any better now that you know? I'm sure you don't."

"Don't you think it hurt when you just LEFT? You didn't even say goodbye, Mikayla. You didn't even give me a chance to say goodbye to you. I thought you didn't.... love me anymore..." his voice trailed off, and he looked out to the ocean.

Mikayla reached out tentatively and placed her hand on his cheek. To her surprise, he didn't brush it off.

"Look at me," she said softly. He turned toward her slowly and stared into her emerald green eyes.

"I'll always love you, Kevin. I've never, ever loved anybody else but you in my whole life. No matter what happens to either of us, you'll always have my heart. But baby, you have a wife, and I'm not her. Do you see what I'm saying? I know you're never going to leave her for me, and I don't blame you for that. Just don't be angry when I have to move on with my life too, because the most important thing in the world to me is doing what is right for this baby," she said quietly.

Kevin smiled sadly and put his hand on her stomach.

"Do you realize I could be a daddy?" Kevin asked, still smiling a little. "I mean, I could be somebody's father, Mikayla. That is just too strange."

"I can imagine," she said. She reached down and grasped his hand in her own, staring down at his wedding band.

"Can I see you tonight?" he asked quietly. She contemplated her answer for a minute before speaking.

"No..." she said, looking away. "No, I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Why not," he asked quietly, trying to swallow the large knot that was forming in his throat.

"Because I've had to make some major changes in my life. I can't be partying with all of you guys anymore, ok? It's just not a good idea," she said, still unable to look at him. She couldn't believe she was telling him that she couldn't see him anymore.

"I guess I understand that," he said, sadly. "But, can we still hang out? I don't think I could stand not seeing you at all."

"Of course we can," she said, hugging him. "I couldn't stay away from you any more than you could stay away from me."

He pulled her in close, and she looked up at him, smiling. He placed a gentle, sweet kiss on her lips and smiled. They held hands as they walked back into the house. Nick was lying on the couch with his arm over his face. Mikayla started to go to him, but Howie stopped her.

"Um, I think we need to talk, too, Mikayla," he said, swallowing hard.

"OK, Howie. Talk," she said, looking right into his eyes.

"Not here. Let's go for a ride," Howie said, placing his hand on her lower back and leading her to the front door.

As they rode along in his car, they were silent for the longest time. Howie couldn't think of the right way to say what he was thinking. He really didn't like this girl, but God, she could be the mother of his child. As they made their way down the coastal highway, he finally got the nerve to say something.

"Listen, I know we haven't been as close as you and the other guys, but I just want you to know that if...." he stopped for a second. "... if this baby is mine, I want to be a part of it's life, ok? I don't run from my responsibilities. I wasn't brought up like that."

"Ok..." she said, not sure how to respond.

"Ok, I admit it, I was a jerk. I should have been nicer to you," he said, laughing lightly. "We got off on the wrong foot..."

"No, we got off on the elevator. It was pretty damned good, too," Mikayla interrupted, laughing. Howie looked over at her and smiled.

"Whoo, you're quick, aren't you?" he said, as he noticed how beautiful she looked.

"I'm a smartmouth, too," she laughed, placing her hand on his on top of the gear shift.

"Can we start over?" Howie asked quietly. "I mean, can we at least try to be friends?"

"I guess so, but you might have to beg me," she said, raising her eyebrow at him. He shook his head and laughed.

"You're too much. Are you hungry?" he asked.

"I'm ALWAYS hungry, and I'm craving Burger King right now," Mikayla said, tilting her head to the side. "Why? You buying?"

"Welllll... I guess I could at least spring for a burger," Howie laughed, holding her hand. Maybe she wasn't such a total bitch after all, he thought.