I want to thank everyone who has reviewed! I mean, seriously. You guys are great. I'm sorry for the lack of updating, and this chapter is short and lame, but I wanted to get at least something out for those of you still reading!

A million thanks, you guys rock! :)

-MJ

"I fucked up," Lincoln muttered while running his hands over his head. I stared at him as he sat at my kitchen table, thinking maybe we were going to finally get back together; finally be normal again.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously. Lincoln lifted his head from his hands and looked at me sadly. He glanced down and pursed his lips.

"She's pregnant," he sighed.

My jaw went slack as I continued to stare at him. My stomach was in my throat and I felt like I was hyperventilating. "Who's pregnant?" I asked slowly.

"Lisa Rix."

"No," I said quickly. "No, you're lying." Lincoln looked up at me as I backed into the kitchen counter. He looked more than upset as he stood from his chair.

"Emma-"

"Don't call me that," I gritted through my teeth.

"I didn't mean for this to happen," he tried to reason while stepping towards me.

"But she did," I told him as I tried to keep the tears from my eyes. "She got exactly what she wanted."

"What're you talking about?" he asked in confusion.

"Do you know what she said to me that night at her party?" I asked him loudly. I didn't even give him time to respond before I went on angrily. "She told me that you and I weren't good for each other. She said that I was a child and that you needed someone who was in college and had a career and… someone like her!"

"I've never wanted anyone besides you, Em," he almost shouted. "I wanted to have a family with you."

"Yeah, well now you get a family with her," I yelled.

"Just stop for a sec-""

"Get out," I interrupted.

"No, Em, I lov-"

"Get out," I shouted through my tears while pointing towards the front door. Lincoln's jaw hardened as he narrowed his eyes before storming out of the room and slamming the door shut behind him.

I looked through the files on Sara's desk quickly; glad to see Michael was coming in next. I took scrap paper from the printer and wrote a simple note onto it.

LJ is with me. Tell Linc.

Call my disposable.

I jotted down the number before skillfully folding the paper into a crane. I smiled at the bird with pride; no one would have guessed I was that nerdy kid in elementary school who was obsessed with folding paper. Or, that I spent quite some time teaching Michael when he was younger.

"Emily," Sara said in surprise as she entered the room. "You're still here?"

"Just running late to Sick Bay," I said in a hurry. I looked up from my desk and saw Michael approaching the room. I grabbed the crane in my hand and went to leave.

"See ya, Sara," I smiled and 'accidently' bumped shoulders with Mike. I slipped the crane into his hand before turning to look up at him.

"I'm sorry," I apologized with a broad smile.

"No problem," he smirked lightly while tucking his hand into his pocket.

It wasn't until I made it to Sick Bay that I heard the other doctors gossiping in low voices. I peeked into the office a listened on curiously.

"Wait, what about the break room?" I asked while folding my arms over my chest.

"Apparently it caught on fire," Adam, an RN, answered with a smirk. "Fire Chief said something about Billson cigarettes…"

The other doctor scheduled with me for the afternoon, Dr. McNeil, snickered lightly. "And we all know the one CO who chain smokes those," he smirked.

I let myself grin wildly. "Bellick," I answered on a happy sigh. "Today is starting to look much brighter, boys."

"Hello?" I answered hurriedly, glaring back at a soccer mom as I blocked the cereal isle. I nearly pulled my hair out as a recording came on asking if I would accept a call from Fox River.

"Yes," I answered impatiently.

It was a moment later that I heard his voice. "Emma?" he asked.

"Lincoln!" I nearly dropped the box of Frosted Flakes I had taken from the shelf. "I was expecting Michael."

"Mike said you've got LJ," he breathed.

"Yeah," I nodded to myself and chuckled lightly. "I found him yesterday…thought that I was looking at you 20 years ago."

"Is he with you?"

"Not at the moment," I shook my head. "I'm grocery shopping; He's at my apartment. He's fine though, I just spoke with him about 15 minutes ago. He's under strict orders to stay inside."

"Jesus, Em. What did he say happened?"

"I didn't ask. I figured we talked about it tonight maybe," I sighed while shoving every imaginable kind of chip in my cart. "I didn't want to stress him out last night, he had a rough day."

"Have you talked to Veronica at all? He's going to have to lawyer up eventually."

"Yeah," I sighed. "I got a hold of her last night. She's in New Glarus, so I told her LJ stays with me until she can get him safely."

There was a pause before Linc chuckled lightly. "Bet she didn't take that very well," he said.

I let out a loud laugh. "Now why would you think that?" I asked sarcastically. "No, she's going to tattle on me to you, so watch out."

"I think I've got it covered," he said and I could hear the smile in his voice. "I've only got a minute, but if you could tell LJ that I'm going to call him tomorrow-"

"I smashed his phone," I interrupted. "But I'll leave my disposable with him tomorrow. So, just call this number tomorrow."

"I'm not going to ask about his cell," Lincoln said oddly. "But, thank you Emma, for everything."

"You're welcome," I said lightly.

"You're biting your lips aren't you?" he asked with a bored tone.

"Not anymore," I laughed, letting my lip slip through my teeth.

Linc sighed and I let my smile drop from my face. "I've got to go," he grumbled.

"Okay," I said sadly.

"Thanks again, Em."

"Yeah," I nodded. "Stay safe, Linc."

"Bye, Emma." I frowned as I whispered goodbye and flipped my phone shut. I sighed and straightened up and went back to finishing my shopping.

"Alright, Kid," I laughed while stumbling into my apartment with at least 5 grocery bags on each arm. I kicked the door closed behind me and dumped the bags into the kitchen.

"I've got just about everything a teenage boy needs to survive," I laughed while double bolting my front door. I even used the chain, and I never do that.

LJ appeared from the living room and crossed his arms as he watched me unload the groceries. "Let's see…I got, like, 6 boxes of cereal; and I'm not joking," I said as he laughed. "Little pizza bites, crap for sandwiches, like 10 boxes of Mac and Cheese, Top Ramen, hotdogs, soda…oh, and all of my favorite ice creams," I listed while unpacking all of it onto the counters.

"Holy crap," he laughed as he came and stood next to me.

I took in a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah," I laughed. "I think it's the most food I've ever had in here."

I dumped the three different tubs of ice cream into his arms and smirked. "Freezer," I instructed.

"So, wanna tell me more about what happened to you and my dad?" LJ asked curiously while I tossed him a loaf of bread.

"You sure you want to hear about that?" I asked while stashing the Mac and Cheese in a cupboard.

"Yeah," he nodded while putting the soda in the fridge.

"We dated for about a year and I broke up with him so he could be with your mom," I said, easily twisting the truth. For his own sake, of course. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Don't change the subject," he laughed. I turned to him a quirked an eyebrow. "Fine, Mac and Cheese with Hotdogs," he answered.

I looked at him and shook my head. "You're more like your dad than I thought," I laughed. "We used to make that after school all the time."

"So where does my mom come into this story?" LJ asked as he jumped up and sat on the counter next to the stove.

"I met your mom when I was a senior in high school. She was friends with Veronica," I smiled.

"No way," he said in surprise. "My mom and Veronica hated each other!"

I nodded and poured a box of macaroni noodles into a pot of boiling water. "Yeah, that was after she and your dad got together. Veronica never took lightly to girls he dated."

"Okay," he nodded and crossed his arms. "But you still haven't told me why you broke up with him."

"Nothing gets past you, kid," I chuckled. I stepped back and leaned against the opposite counter. "It was some time after we had met your mom that some…things happened and it made me think that maybe your dad and I shouldn't be together-"

"Did he cheat on you?" LJ's eyebrows shot up.

"No," I shook my head. "Never. But anyways, I knew your mom liked him and I thought that she would be good for him. She was in college and she knew what she wanted and she was ambitious. I was still in high school…I thought, at the time, that I was holding your dad back. So I let him go…"

"You regret it don't you?" he asked while glancing up from his lap.

I shrugged indifferently. "Yes and no. Yes because I've always loved your dad; No because now we have you and you're dad loves you more than anything, and I think you're a pretty awesome kid," I smiled and nudged his arm and took the macaroni off the stove.

"Chop up some hotdogs for me?" I asked while straining the water out. LJ nodded and hopped off the counter, heading for the fridge.

"Do you get to see him a lot?" LJ asked, not taking his eyes off the hotdogs. "My dad, I mean."

I sighed sadly and shook my head. "No, I've only seen him twice in nearly 7 months," I said as I finished stirring up the Mac and Cheese.

"But can't you see him during visitation?" he asked while putting the hotdogs into the microwave.

"If they knew I was close with your dad and Mike, I would probably lose my job," I sighed while pouring the cheesy noodles into separate bowls.

"It must be hard," he said while dishing hotdog chunks into our bowls. We migrated in silence to the living room.

"Yeah, but I have faith things will be better," I smiled lightly while shoveling in a forkful. I looked over to LJ and sighed.

"This is a lot harder for you, LJ. I'm really sorry for everything that's happening," I told him honestly.

LJ shrugged indifferently. "It's not your fault; you don't need to be sorry," he said quietly.

"LJ…" I paused and turned to him. "What happened?"

He stiffened and fiddled with his fork before glancing my way. "These two guys, in suits, came to my house," he frowned and cleared his throat. "I was able to get a picture of one of the guys on my cell phone, but that's gone now."

I sighed, feeling slightly guilty. "Sorry, LJ… but if I hadn't tossed the phone, we'd both be locked up right now."

LJ nodded lightly. "I know," he nearly whispered.

I set my bowl down on the coffee table in front of us. "Listen LJ," I said while turning to him. "I believe that you were set up… and I'm pretty sure it was the same people who set your dad up."

LJ stayed silent for a moment and slowly started shaking. My heart wrenched as I saw tears flow from his eyes. I grabbed his bowl and put it with mine before hugging him tightly.

"They killed my mom; I saw her," he cried while gripping my back tightly. "She- blood was everywhere."

My chin quivered roughly as I rubbed his back. "I know," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"I just want to see my dad," he said sadly as he pulled away from me and wiped the back of his arm across his face.

"I know you do," I said sympathetically. "But if you go anywhere near Fox River, they'll take you in."

"It just so not fair," he said angrily. I sighed and got up. I dug my disposable phone from my purse and set it on the coffee table in front of him.

"You're dad is going to call for you on this phone tomorrow," I told him. "The only people with the number for that phone are Veronica, your dad, and your Uncle Mike."

LJ looked at me oddly before sniffing and grabbing the phone. "Alright," he said slowly while flipping it around in his hand.

"I wish there was something more I could do for you, LJ, but for now that's the best I've got."