JC finished strapping Chance into his car seat before lifting Braeden up into the back of the Blazer. "Kids are ready!" he yelled into the house as Tyler came out with a couple more bags.

Abby soon followed with the last of the bags and his parents and Heather followed her out. The couple hugged and kissed each one, then waited as they each climbed into the back of the Blazer to say goodbye to Braeden and Chance.

JC hugged his mother one more time and pulled away. "We'll see you soon, Mom."

"Why don't you kids fly back and let Tyler drive Abby's truck to Florida? He's going down next week anyway, and then he can fly back."

He shook his head and grabbed the keys out of Abby's hand as she walked by. "Nope. We're taking it with us now. Don't worry about it, Mom. We'll be fine."

Abby glared at him with her hand on her hip. "Excuse me. But I believe that you gave me that vehicle for Christmas, Joshua. At least let me drive part of the way."

JC dropped a kiss to her forehead and held the front passenger side door open. "You're pregnant. No."

Twirling the keys around his finger, he climbed into the driver's seat and with a honk and a wave to his family, pulled out of the long driveway.

Abby looked over at him after several minutes while he pulled out onto the interstate. "You left a pretty big bruise on Tyler."

He smirked and slid his sunglasses over his eyes, glancing in the back set at the boys. Chance was asleep, as usual, and Braeden was looking through one of his books. "He kept referring to our babies as 'marshmallow kids'...I had to set him straight. Besides, he doesn't get his big brother beatings as often as he should."

She shook her head and leaned the seat back slightly as she slipped her own sunglasses over her eyes. "Whatever. I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up if you get tired and need me to drive."

He nodded and turned the radio up slightly so he would have something to keep him busy.

~*~

"I'm taking Braeden down to the pool," JC said, stepping into the hotel room from the bathroom, clad in his blue and white Hawaiian print swim trunks. Braeden stepped out after him in matching trunks, sending Abby into a fit of giggles.

"O...okay, sweetie. Be...be careful," she managed through the laughter.

JC raised an eyebrow and looked down at the boy beside him. "Wanna show Mommy what I taught you?" he asked with a sly grin.

Braeden nodded his head and smiled to his father. "Yeah, let's do it, Daddy."

JC's grin grew even larger as he whispered to his son under his breath. "Ready? One...two...three."

At the final count, the two 'men' immediately struck a similar pose, showing off their 'muscles,' though only one really had anything to show. They held the pose for several seconds before JC said "now" and they moved into another pose before her.

Abby was hyperventilating from her laughter, clutching her chest as she tried to stay on the bed.

The two stopped posing and Braeden ran across the floor to hug his mother. "Was I hot like Daddy, Mommy?"

Abby giggled at his innocent question and raised her eyes to glance at her husband for a moment. "You were scorchin', babe. You were HOTTER than your daddy."

"Hey now," JC muttered, grabbing a room key and their towels. "I'm getting you outta here before you make Mommy stop loving me."

Braeden issued her a kiss on the cheek before darting back across the floor again. "That won't happen, Daddy!"

Abby shook her head as the door shut behind them and she turned to look at Chance where he was seated on the bed, playing with JC's keys. Crawling across the mattress to the young boy, she tickled him and dangled the keys before his little chubby hands. "Your brother and daddy are so silly."

An hour or so passed and Abby found herself in the bathroom, setting shampoos and things they would need in the morning on the counter. She was just placing JC's razor beside her shampoo when she heard his cell phone ring from his backpack.

Hurrying into the room, she grabbed his bag off the bed and pulled the phone out. Flipping it open, she lifted it to her ear. "Hello?" she asked, noting that the number wasn't one she recognized.

"Is JC there?" the voice asked.

"He's out at the moment, can I take a message?" she replied, reaching for the hotel pen and paper.

"Actually, I could speak with you about this, I suppose. Is this Abby?"

Abby furrowed her brow and glanced over at Chance as he slept on the other bed. "Yes. May I ask who this is?"

"I'm Michael Forte, JC's lawyer. I believe we've met once," the man replied with a kind voice.

She vaguely remembered the introduction at one of the parties the guys had thrown after they were married. "I believe I remember, yes. How can I help you?"

"Mrs. Chasez, when your ex-husband decided to take you to court for custody of your son, your husband put my name down as a possible attorney for your side."

"I was never married to Ben," Abby said softly. "He was just a mistake in high school and now he won't let this go."

"Mr. Ricklin insists that the hearing be underway immediately," Michael informed her with a sigh. "The first of the court dates have been set. Two weeks from tomorrow...I need you, JC, and Braeden at the county courthouse in your hometown in Kansas. If JC has plans, please tell him that I encourage him to change them. Judges do not look too kindly on parents who miss custody hearings."

She nodded silently for a moment before finding her voice. "What did Ben say?" she whispered finally.

Michael sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose, leaning back in his desk chair. "Full custody of Braeden with no visitation rights for you or your husband."

The phone dropped from her hands and she let out a sob. She couldn't think, much less find the energy to bend down and pick the phone up off the floor.

JC and Braeden chose that moment to return from the pool. He unlocked the door as he listened to Braeden ramble about how much fun he'd had. Pushing it open with a smile to his son, he looked into the room in time to watch his wife slide off the bed and onto the floor as she cried.

JC's brow furrowed and he ran into the room, kneeling down before her. "Abby? Honey, what's the matter? Baby...talk to me."

He turned as he heard the confused yells coming from his phone where it lay on the floor. He reached out and grabbed it, putting it to his ear. "Hello?"

"JC, thank God. It's Michael."

His chest clenched and he took a deep breath before responding. "What's going on?" he asked, preparing for the worst.

~*~

JC shut his cell phone quietly and looked over at his wife. "You ready?" he asked, his voice barely audible.

Leaning over to kiss Chance's forehead as he slept, she looked up at her mother before taking her husband's hand. "Yeah...I guess."

They had flown out to Kansas two days before the trial was to take place. All four of the guys insisted that they join them, so Rhonda and William's home became a hotel of sorts, housing five grown men and two children.

Abby squeezed JC's hand as they made their way to the door and the couple was shocked to see Justin standing there, holding Braeden's hand while the others were putting on their jackets. "What's going on, guys? We told you didn't need to be there today. They're just going to get the information on the case," JC insisted, reaching for Abby's jacket and helping her into it.

"We don't care," Justin replied, pulling Braeden in front of him and resting his large hands on his shoulders. He knelt down behind the boy then and wrapped his arms around him. "This little guy is a part of our family and we stick up for our family. No one is going to take him away from us without all of us fighting back."

Tears rose in Abby's eyes and she leaned into JC's side as they stepped out the door. "Okay. Come on, Braeden."

The group stepped out and piled into the large SUV they had rented from the airport. The drive to the courthouse flew by, and that was exactly what Abby had been hoping wouldn't happen.

The group could have looked like a gang or mafia as they walked into the courtroom. Pinstripe suits and ties adorned Justin and Joey, Chris was in solid black, and Lance wore a blue suit while JC wore khakis and a button down blue shirt. Abby wore a short black skirt and white button down dress shirt. They looked so well put together, so professional, but anyone who would look into any of those pairs of eyes would know that each one of them was falling apart inside for fear of what may come.

Bodyguards were stationed throughout the large courtroom and the four remaining members of the group took seats behind the bars that separated them from JC and Abby. Braeden sat on Justin's lap.

Abby turned in her seat and smiled at her son. "You okay, sweetie?" she asked quietly, noting the tears that were harbored in his eyes at the uncertainty of his surroundings.

He nodded silently and reached for her, but JC pulled her back. "He needs to stay back there right now, okay? I don't know if they want him up here with us or not."

They all turned and looked as a professional looking man sat down at the opposite table just before Michael walked in. JC's lawyer shook all of their hands before sitting down beside the couple. "Is that Ben's lawyer?" Abby asked, looking at the older man.

Michael nodded and opened his briefcase. "Yeah. And he's good. I've worked with him before. He's out of New York and I don't know how the hell Mr. Ricklin got a hold of him, but he's gotta be shelling out money that he doesn't have."

He turned around in his seat and looked at the little boy sitting behind him. "Hey buddy. How are you today?" he asked, holding his hand out to shake Braeden's smaller hand.

"I'm fine. Why can't I sit with my mommy and daddy?" he asked, moving to crawl off Justin's lap.

Michael smiled and reached into his briefcase for a Tootsie Pop. Handing it to the little boy, he winked. "Because we want to hide you from everyone and surprise them when they see how big and strong you are."

Braeden's eyes widened and he ripped the wrapper off his sucker. "Cool. Daddy, can we show him?"

JC's face flushed and he shook his head. "Not right now, pal...okay?"

Michael looked at JC in confusion and was about to question the comment when someone kneeled down at Abby's end of the table.

Abby turned and felt such anger rise in her at the sight of the man before her. "Ben."

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek before she could pull away. Ignoring the way JC stiffened at the gesture, he smiled that 'Ben smile' that always got her and winked. "Good to see you, baby. You brought my kid, right?" He peeked around the couple to see Braeden now sitting between Justin and Lance. "He looks great. You've got him all packed and ready to go home with me, don't you?"

Abby's hand tightened around the glass of water JC had poured for her and she took several deep breaths.

Michael stood up and introduced himself as their lawyer. "Mr. Ricklin, I would suggest you take a seat with your lawyer. None of us want to deal with you right now."

Ben grinned again and stood up, wiping off his pants. "Oh, that's fine. Because you're going to be dealing with me for the next few weeks while the judge decides that I'm going to have custody of that kid." Narrowing his eyes at JC, he leaned down to whisper in Abby's ear so no one else heard.

"But I would call this whole thing off if you left him and came back to me. Then we'll both have what we want."

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