"YOU DID WHAT?" Donna shouted.

Donna put her hands on her hips, she poked her head out closer to her husband to hear him clearly. She had heard him clearly the first time, but wanted him to repeat it again to be sure.

"I was just trying to teach her lesson Don" Ed calmly said.

"TEACH HER A LESSON? " she scoffed. "ED ARE
YOU HEARING YOURSELF? YOU SENT THE FUCKING POLICE TO SCARE HER? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW DUMB YOU SOUND?" She rolled her eyes.

"So you think the best thing for us to do is to just let things go?" Ed started raising his voice.

"IT IS NOT OUR JOB TO TEACH HER A LESSON! THAT GIRL IS 18 WITH A CHILD! SHES NOT A KID ANYMORE! WHAT THE HELL COULD WE TEACH HER NOW?"

"DON ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Ed yelled back.

"SO SERIOUS RIGHT NOW! SHES NOT A KID! ELIJAH IS HERE NOW AND THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO NOW!" Donna reasoned.

"SO YOU THINK ITS OK FOR HER TO LIE? ESPECIALLY ABOUT SOMETHING SERIOUS LIKE THAT" Ed gestured around.

"YOU KNOW I DONT!" She pointed in his face. "BUT THATS TAKING SHIT TOO FAR! YOU KNOW IT IS!"

"THATS WHY SHES SO DAMN SPOILED NOW CAUSE YOU LET HER GET AWAY WITH EVERYTHING!" He grew frustrated.

"SPOILED? AINT YOU THE SAME ONE THAT GOT HER HER OWN PLACE? THAT GIRL HAS WORKED HER ASS OFF PREGNANT AND ALL! SHES NEVER ASKED US FOR MUCH OR COMPLAINED BECAUSE SHE KNOWS HOW YOU ARE! SHES WORKED FOR EVERYTHING!"

"HOW I AM?!" He looked confused.

"YES HOW YOU ARE! JUST BE HONEST! YOU ARE ONLY UPSET BECAUSE SHE GOT PREGNANT IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"THATS A LIE!" He replied.

"STOP LYING! YOU KNOW YOU ARE!" She got closer to him.

"You know what! Yeah, I am! She shouldn't have gotten pregnant in the first fucking place. This is not what I had in mind for my child but lying isn't the way either"

"And I agree but you had two police officers show up to her door and she has a brand new baby and they snatch her baby out of her arms and you stand by and let it happen?" She questioned.

"You are supposed to protect her! Not harm her! That's not how you do it Ed and you know it!"

Donna had horror painted in her eyes as she thought about how her daughter and grandbaby were put in jeopardy. She could only imagine her baby screaming as they held her away from her child. The already cracked heart she had broke as she thought about her father who was gunned down by police when she was only 13. She remembered how he respected the police and did everything they commanded, but they still took his life. She remembers the blood that stained his face as they beat him, and they finished him off with a bullet in his back. She remembers her crying and yelling from the backseat of the car for them to stop.

She saw everything they did, and her father pleaded for them to stop. He didn't just cry for them to stop beating him, but he cried for them to stop beating him in front his daughter. He begged for them not to hurt his precious daughter. Those cries haunted her for years and the faces of those officers never left her mind, she could spot them in a crowd. Ever since then she never trusted the police.

She recounted everything over and over again, but no one believed her because she was a young black girl, who would believe her anyway?

She lived with that painful memory and the thought of the same thing happening again just worsened her anxiety. She couldn't believe her husband, he knew everything she had been through and he still thought it was a bright idea to send white police officers to his black daughter's house and have them take her baby out of her arms.

The memory of her own trauma and the history of her ancestors being pillaged, raped, torn from their families and beaten ripped through her brain. It was not  long before the salty tears cascaded from her eyes.

"Am I the only one that has fucking common sense?!" He squinted his eyes. "AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT REALIZES LYING ABOUT BEING RAPED IS SERIOUS?"

"OF COURSE NOT! But that's our daughter! You don't do that to her" Donna cried out.

"SHES NOT YOUR FUCKING DAUGHTER! I DO WITH HER WHAT I WANT!" He spoke through his teeth.

Donna stared at him in disbelief. As long as they have been together, he has never denied her of being Tayler's mother. Although she is not the young girl's biological mother, she had raised her and loved her as her own. Tayler knows no other mother but Donna.

A million images of her mothering her daughter flashed in her mind. Taking care of her when she was sick, kissing bruises and scrapes, staying up late night watching her sleep, taking her to school, cooking for her, cleaning up after her, teaching her how to be a lady, and embracing her in her arms and wiping her fallen tears. She was there through it all, while being married to a successful songwriter and producer who was always gone most of their marriage. While he was gone, she cared for HIS child.

Still in shock, she slapped him hard.

"DONT YOU DARE! Shes my daughter! I was there for her! I WAS THERE!" She yelled. "Unlike that good for nothing bitch who left her" She spit at him.

She got closer, leaving no space between them.

"Hear me good Eddie Holland, don't you ever and I mean ever say I am not that girl's mama"

"I have been there and if you think about it. I have been there more than you" She looked him in the eyes.

"You have truly fucked up with her and God forbid something happens to her, you, or that baby you'll regret what you have done" she stepped back from him.

After a few more seconds of looking at each other, Donna walked away. She put on her shoes, grabbed a coat to throw on, and put her purse on her arm on the way out the house.

She started up her car with only one destination in mind, getting to her daughter.

Ed plopped down the couch with his head in his hands. He was now having second thoughts on what he perceived to be a good idea, now he wasn't sure.

~
Michael waited at the back door of the studio for Tayler and Elijah.

Once he got her to calm down, she was able to finally tell him what happened. The fright in her voice, broke his heart as he listened to her recounting the story between her sobs. He felt helpless because he was not there to protect his family.

He didn't care that they weren't together, she still gave him the best gift he ever received.

His son.

He felt ashamed and less of a man that he couldn't even protect his own child and that even sickened him to his stomach.

He insisted on leaving the rehearsals for the new variety show CBS had them filming, but she begged for him to let her come because she didn't feel safe being at home anymore. He protested at first because Elijah did not need to be outside of the house this early, but he couldn't turn her down after she cried for the safety of his arms.

Once he saw her, his heart beat was rapid as he didn't know what to expect. He saw as she meticulously parked the car, he even chuckled because she was trying to be careful because of the newborn baby on board. He walked over to her car and upon seeing Michael she jumped out of the car and grabbed him.

Her ear was pressed into his chest as she listened to his soothing heart beat. The safety of his arms and the familiar calming scent she was used to sprung tears in her eyes. Her silent cries became louder as she replayed everything in her mind again.

"Shh, it's ok. I got you" He sang to her and rocked her side to side.

She cried harder at his words. Michael was definitely the calming spirit she needed, she never felt safer than she did when being in his arms. Her body melted into his as he rubbed her back and whispered sweet nothings to her. She looked up at him and found solace in his eyes. Nothing needed to be said, he could feel and see exactly how she felt through her eyes.

He flashed his pearls at her, which made her blush.

"It's going to be ok, I got you now" He sweetly said.

He leaned down and captured her lips in a sweet but salty kiss. He wiped her fallen tears with the pads of his thumbs. He kissed her nose, her wet cheeks, then connected their lips again. His soft but inviting lips brought peace to her, that's how she knew she missed him.

The two had been so caught up in each other, he almost forgot that Elijah was safely cocooned in the car seat.

"I'm going to grab him and you two can sit in the green room while we rehearse" He kissed her forehead and gave her ass a light squeeze.

She giggled in return.

Michael was always a good but fun distraction to have, that's why she begged for him to allow her to come to the studio. She knew her presence would be unwanted by his pigheaded father, but she needed Michael. Her and Elijah.

Once Michael settled them into the room, it wasn't long before Randy came into the room.

"Hey Mike, they need us on set"

"What's going on?" He waved at Tayler.

"Awee you brought the baby" He cooed.

"HEY YALL TAYLER'S HERE" Randy yelled into the hallway.

The two parents immediately rocked Elijah to make sure he wouldn't awaken by the sudden abrupt noise.

Before long the rest of the Jackson klan including the sisters had come into the room to steal a glimpse of the baby.

The crew drank in the baby's features as they commented and cooed about how cute he was. She couldn't help but look at Michael who held an almost permanent smile as his siblings showered their love onto his son. He looked proud that he had created something that everyone fell in love with, Elijah was truly Michael's greatest creation.

However, everything came into an abrupt end once the stage manager came into the room and requested them to come back to the set for rehearsal.

Tayler laughed as everyone groaned a bit, especially Janet who demanded she get time with Elijah once they have another break.

"I'll be back to check on you guys in between takes. If you want, you can come to the set and check us out" He kissed her cheek.

"Daddy's gotta go but I'll be back little guy" He kissed the sleeping baby's cheek.

She laughed to herself at his apprehension to leave the baby. Once he left, she laid Elijah back into his carrier and placed the blanket over him. She rocked the seat once she noticed he started to fuss but after a few minutes his breathing became uneven and he was relaxed.

She wanted to desperately go out and get a glimpse of the rehearsals. But she was afraid of leaving Elijah in a room alone and she didn't trust anyone on the crew to watch him.

She searched the baby bag for the monitor as she anticipated possibly going to the Jackson's house later on that day. She cut one on and left it on the coffee table near the baby. She cut the other one on and walked out the door.

"It'll only be for a few minutes, it's only for a few minutes" She reminded herself as she had to tear herself away from the door.

The room must've been sound proof she thought as she didn't even hear all the music that was playing through the hallway. She heard the familiar tune of Forever Came Today. She internally groaned as she knew this was one of the songs her father wrote for The Supremes a few years prior. The events from earlier swirled in her mind again and she had to slow her breathing to calm herself down. She cracked the door and checked on the baby again and he was still fast asleep.

She just wanted this moment to be about Michael and his family so she pushed the nauseating thoughts of her father and the officers out of her head.

It wasn't hard to do once she saw Michael grooving on the makeshift stage. The steps were smooth and in sync, she tried to give her attention equally to all members but her eyes went straight to Michael. She was in a trance as she watched him glide around the stage, it was like second nature to him. Every move he made was on beat, his hips moved freely, and he commanded the attention of everyone. The infectious beat caused her to move along with them. She bobbed her head to the beat, and swayed her hips in place. Michael looked up and sent a smile and wink her way. She blushed at the gesture that created massive butterflies in her tummy.

Her day started off rocky, but in this moment all her troubles melted away. Michael had that effect on her whether he was just being himself or when he was on stage, he just touched everyone with his angelic but electrifying voice and his coordinated sultry dance moves. Somehow just looking at him, she got the feeling of everything would alright. She beamed with admiration as she was proud of him.

She giggled and blushed at the movements of Michael sending his famous pointed finger her way.

Once the performance was over she clapped loudly and giggled. The boys laughed at her response and bowed. However, it was someone else that was clapping as loud as she was.

"That was excellent fellas!"

Tayler looked over to her right and saw no one other than Stephanie Mills. Her blood begin to boil at the sight of the thin figure, she wanted to smack that smile off her face. Her face twisted in anger as she wondered why she was there. Her stomach was in knots and her heart sunk down in her chest as she noticed Stephanie goofily smiling at Michael. She held the same look that she gave Michael every time she saw him.

She instinctively clutched her fist as Stephanie made her way over to her.

"Hey Doll" Stephanie greeted.

This fake bitch. Tayler thought.

But if she wanted to play nice, then she could to. She didn't want to embarrass or cause a scene on set.

The mess her father had caused earlier pushed her over to the edge and she knew she would stomp a mud hole right into Stephanie. Therefore, she decided to be cool and calm because she knew what she was capable of.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" She questioned.

"I could ask you the same thing" Stephanie giggled. "But I had an audition at another sound stage here and my agent told me Michael was here so I came to check him out and say hi before I leave town" She explained.

Michael noticed the tension amongst the ladies. He quickly made his way over before they started to run through the performance again.

"Speaking of the devil, hey" Stephanie blushed.

She opened her arms to Michael. Aware of Tayler's uneasiness and face pained with anger, he quickly gave her a side hug and was careful not to let it linger.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Michael asked.

She laughed again, and looked between the two. "What's wrong with everyone asking me that? I came to check you out! I'm leaving town today and I heard you were here"

"Oh ok, did you enjoy the performance?" He asked.

"Oh yes, you haven't lost your touch! You guys were fantastic. I can't wait to see the show when it comes out"

Tayler watched as the two laughed and had a conversation amongst themselves. Her stomach had a pang of jealousy and frustration as she watched Stephanie giggle and touch Michael's arm every now and then. She tightened her jaw to keep her cool, she couldn't believe how the two talked as if she wasn't standing there.

"Oh I'm so sorry, I forgot to tell you congratulations. I see you're not pregnant anymore" She gestured towards her flat belly.

"Gee, what gave it away?" Tayler faked smiled. "But thank you"

Stephanie took the hint and cleared her throat.

"So what did you have?"

"A little boy"

"Oh wow, I would love to see him" She beamed.

Like hell you will ever lay eyes on my son. She thought.

"He's sleeping right now but maybe next time"

"Oh wow, he's here? Awwwee. Well maybe next time" Stephanie decided not to ask her anymore about the baby.

"That's so nice that you and Michael can still remain friends after everything that has happened. Between me and you I hear stories about you and what happened to you at Motown. But hang in there, I know it's just bullshit" She rubbed Tayler's shoulder.

Tayler looked over at her shoulder that held Stephanie's hand. She wanted to rip it off and beat her with it. The nerve of her to play nice when she tried floating about being with Michael the last time they saw each other. The thoughts of her and Michael in the pool are her up as she thought about how she made Michael laugh or how she saw him without his shirt, and the possibility of them touching each other.

She blinked away the clouded thoughts.

"Ok, well I'm going to go so you can get back to work Michael. I'll call you once I get in town"

Tayler cocked her brow at Michael and looked back at Stephanie with a smile. She couldn't wait for the day to be over because Michael would definitely be getting an earful from her. She hugged Tayler and Michael goodbye. She kissed Michael's cheek purposely or at least Tayler thought so.

"Oh I almost forgot" Stephanie walked back to where  the couple stood. "These got mixed up in my laundry Mike" She dug in her purse and pulled out Michael's boxer briefs by the waistband.

The brothers looked on at the trio and whispered amongst themselves with wide eyes.

"Oh no" Michael whispered.

Tayler took a deep breath and looked at a smiling Stephanie and a blushing Michael.

"Ahh hell nahh" Tayler said to herself.

So much for these ladies playing nice with each other.

~

Did you miss me???

What do you think will happen next???