I was listening to a lot of  Lionel Richie when I wrote this, and got inspired.

Hope you enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to comment and vote, I love you ❤️

~ShoamEmily

~

30th of August, 2008
Michael is 50, Angela is 44, and Jake is 45

Michael: When I woke up, birds were chirping, and I could hear the older kids playing outside.

I wiped the sleep out of my eyes; Angela was sleeping next to me, but the twins were nowhere to be seen.

They must be with Grace. Maybe we can stay in bed a little longer.

I came closer to my wife, admiring how effortlessly beautiful she is. Gently, I stroked her face.

"Mmhm," Angela stretched. "What time is it?"

"I don't know, I just woke up." I smiled at her.

She smiled back, and kissed me. I eased into her as she pulled me closer.

"Grace took the twins earlier," she whispered against my lips. "So we can stay in bed for a while... And I can make it up to you for yesterday..."

My wife climbed on top of me, kissing her way down my body. I felt myself getting hard.

Closing my eyes, for a split second she made me forget about all our problems.

But then Jake came to mind. We have to call him back.

I knew she was only using sex as a distraction right now, anyways.

Angela removed my pants, then got rid of my briefs. "Happy birthday, Mike..."

"Angela, we have to-" I started, but she had other plans. She took me in her mouth, starting to slowly go up and down. "Shit..."

Damn, she knows exactly what she's doing...

"Fuck, Angie, go faster..." I groaned and she obeyed.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, but that didn't stop Angela.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, Good morning," it was one of the housemaids. "Mrs. Jackson's brother just arrived. He said he texted Mrs. Jackson earlier, but she didn't reply."

I covered my mouth with Angela's pillow as she ran her tongue around in just the right way, a muffled groan escaping my lips. When she said she's gonna make it up to me, she meant it.

"A- Ange, I'm gonna-" I grabbed her shoulder tightly and released everything into her mouth.

The housemaid knocked again, "Sir? Ma'am? Are you in there?"

My wife looked me straight in the eyes as she swallowed.

"Tell Luciano we'll be down soon." she said to the housemaid who kept knocking, then her footsteps faded away.

I just stared at her, completely in shock. "What the hell was that, Angela?"

"I'm just having fun with my husband," Angela smirked, repeating what I told her at dinner last night. "And in case you had any doubts about us, I hope they're gone."

I felt myself turn hot and was probably blushing like hell as she got out of bed and went to the bathroom.

~

Luciano and Britney were sitting with our kids outside when we joined them. Leo was cuddled up against Britney, sleeping.

"Ange, it's 11 AM, since when do you sleep in?" my brother-in-law hugged his sister.

"We had a long night," Angela sighed. "Speaking of, where are Rose and Jared?"

Lily smiled at her mother, "I think Grace took them for a nap, mom."

"My poor babies."

I frowned slightly as I looked at Lily and Eric, wondering how they'll take the news about Jake, or how he'd react if he'll see them.

He missed five whole years. But then again, I'm missing those five years, too.

AJ reached for me and I gladly took her. "Hey, baby girl." I kissed her nose.

"So, what are you guys doing here?" Angela asked Luciano.

"Can't I miss my sister?" he shrugged. "Oh, and we wanted to give you this in person."

He took out an envelope and she opened it, "Aww, Luci, this is so cute! Mike, look." It was their wedding invitation.

"That's great, Luciano."

My wife hugged him again, telling him how proud she is.

"Dad," Eric called. "Can we go on the rides with uncle Luci?"

"Of course." I said.

The kids cheered excitedly and Lily took her uncle's hand as they pulled him towards the golf carts.

"Ange, we should probably eat something." I told my wife, hoping to get her alone again so I could tell her about my talk with Jake.

"Right," Angela sighed. "Britney, you're more than welcome to join us."

I opened my mouth to say something, but Britney beat me to it.

She shook her head, "Thanks, Angela, but I think I'll stay here with Leo."

Thank you, Britney.

Immediately, I took my wife's hand and dragged her to the kitchen. "Ow, Mike, what the hell-"

"Listen, we need to call Ja-"

She put two hand on my mouth and shut me up. AJ, who was still in my arms, stared at us.

"We can't talk about this here, Michael."

"But Ange-"

"No. We are going to have a nice day with my brother and his fiancée."

"Angela, I talked to him last night," I explained. "He called when you were sleeping. We have to call him back."

Angela covered her face and groaned into her hands. "I just want one normal day. All I can do is think about him, Mike. How is that right?"

God, what a mess.

"Mama." AJ babbled, making Angela look up.

"She doesn't like seeing her mommy upset. And I don't either." I said.

My wife tried to hide a smile. "We'll call him later, okay? I need a break, even if it is for a few hours."

Nodding, I pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around me as well, telling me she loves me.

I wanted to say it back, yet something kept holding me back.

~

Angela: After the kids went to bed that night, Michael and I sat in his office, where no one could bother us.

It was such a nice day; all we did was lounge around with Britney and Luciano, laughing, talking. I finally felt like myself again.

My husband also listened to me and called his doctor earlier. He has another appointment in two weeks anyways, so we decided to leave it at that, but I told him if anything feels weird we're going sooner, and he didn't argue.

The phone rang as we waited for Jake to pick up. I really didn't want to call him, but Michael insisted.

"Hi, Angie." Jake answered.

"Hi, Jakey." I said. I could've sworn I saw Michael roll his eyes.

"What did you do today?" he asked.

"Jake," Michael barged in. "You wanted to tell us something, remember?"

I smacked his arm, giving him a disbelieving look. Why is he so impatient? He's the one who said we need to call.

"Right. Okay, um... I talked to my captain, and he said I might be able to come home."

"What?" Michael and I said together.

"Yeah," Jake sighed. "I told him I have to get back to my family."

I didn't know what to say. Of course I wanted him to come home, mostly for Lily and Eric. They deserve to get to know him.

But he's been out of our lives for almost five years. So much has happened, not to mention I remembered how he reacted when I told him I love Michael more than anything in this world.

I looked up at my husband, and couldn't read his expression. "Mike?"

"You don't have to answer me right away, I know it's a lot. I still have some time before they actually let me go home, so..." Jake said.

"And you want to stay with us, right?" I questioned.

"I was hoping to, Ange," Jake chuckled. "I haven't seen Mike in five years, and I'd love to spend some time with Lily and Eric."

Michael let out a sigh, "I'm sure we can work something out, Jake. We have more than enough room here."

"Thanks, Mike. I really appreciate it."

"We have to tell the kids..." I nervously tapped my fingers on the desk.

"Take as much time as you need, alright? I'm really not trying to pressure you guys into anything, it's gonna take all of us time to get used to this." my ex-husband said.

I heard loud cries from upstairs, it sounded like Rose. Her and Jared were still feeling under the weather, although their fever broke this afternoon.

"I'll go before Jared wakes up." Michael smiled and placed a long kiss on my lips.

I pulled him back when he broke the kiss, totally forgetting about Jake who was still on the line. I thanked him, telling him I love him before he headed upstairs.

Jake cleared his throat. "Hey, Angela, I'm gonna head to sleep. But we'll talk soon, okay?"

"Sure, Jakey. Goodnight." I told him.

"Goodnight."

With that, he hung up and I hurried to leave the office to see if Michael needs help.

~

14th of September, 2008
Michael is 50, Angela is 44, and Jake is 45

Michael: "Come on, baby girl!" I encouraged AJ to walk as she stood up with the help of Prince. "You can do it, come on!"

It was a nice Sunday morning, there wasn't much going on today so we were just taking it easy.

My daughter had the goofiest smile on and Prince let go of her hands. "Go, AJ!" he cheered.

Blanket, who was sitting on the couch widened his eyes. "Daddy, she's doing it."

"Dada..." my daughter babbled.

"Come here, AJ." I reached my arms out for her. Her little feet started moving and she finally took her first steps.

Prince gasped, making me smile. I love my children so much, I can't believe how lucky I am.

"You did it, AJ!" Blanket clapped excitedly, as AJ fell into my opened arms.

I hugged her tightly, "Good job, baby girl."

"What's going on here?" Angela asked when she entered the living room.

"AJ walked, mom." Prince said with a proud smile on his face.

"And I missed it?" she frowned. "Not fair."

I rolled my eyes, and AJ let go of me and stood up again.

"Ooh, she's doing it again. This is your chance, Ange." I moved away and let Angela take over. She planted a soft kiss on my cheek before my phone buzzed in my pocket.

"Come to mommy, AJ." my wife beamed as I walked into my office to answer.

"Dr. Moore?" I put the phone to my ear. "Hi, how are you?"

I had an appointment with him two days ago, and got another scan done. Angela was so worried that we'd get bad news, the poor thing.

"I'm good, Mr. Jackson- I mean, Michael. Thanks for asking. Listen, I'd like you to come in for another scan... The one we did a couple days ago was inconclusive." he said.

"Is that... Is that bad? Should I worry Angela?" I sat down.

"No, not at all. I'm just covering all my bases, to make sure. How is that headache?"

"It comes and goes."

"Don't worry, Michael. From what I saw two days ago, I'd say you're doing better than ever. Especially on the home front," the doctor let out a chuckle. "Mrs. Jackson, she's the happiest I've seen her since you checked into the hospital a year ago."

I smiled, "Yeah, I finally feel like I'm at home."

"That's great to hear, Michael. So, come in whenever you can, soon. Just let my receptionist know first. And again, don't stress about it too much."

Thanking him, I hung up the phone.

A knock on the door was heard and Angela opened the door slightly.

"Can I come in?" she asked. I nodded, making her take a seat next to me. "Who was on the phone?"

"Dr. Moore. He wants me to come in for another scan." I sighed.

"Why? What's wrong?" her eyebrows furrowed.

I took her hand and kissed it. "Nothing, honey. Relax, he just said the last scan didn't come out the way he wanted."

She gave me a look, clearly not believing me.

"Angela, don't," I said strictly. "I feel fine, alright? You have to stop worrying so much."

My wife nodded but I could still see the worry in her eyes.

~

Angela: Michael kissed me slowly as he thrusted in and out of me, his big hands grabbing my thighs tightly.

After he told me about what Dr. Moore said, I kept a close eye on him all day. He noticed right away, so he claimed I needed to let off some steam when we got into bed earlier.

"Damn it, baby..." he sighed into my mouth. "You're something special."

He called me baby... The last time he called me baby was a year ago.

My husband pushed himself in even deeper and I gasped when he hit that sweet spot over and over again.

"M- Mike..." I moaned loudly. "Don't stop, I'm so close-"

My phone suddenly rang, making him groan. Shit, what if it's Jake?

We talked to him a few more times lately, but I still didn't have the courage to tell Lily and Eric. Every time we talked he would ask if they know already so he can come back home.

Michael quickly reached for the phone and silenced it.

"Try to relax, Angela..." he whispered, making shivers run down my spine. His lips found the skin of my neck. I threw my head back as he started sucking the tender skin, probably leaving marks.

My fingernails dug into his back when I reached my high, screaming his name. He came soon after and collapsed on top of me.

"I love you so much, you know that, right?" I panted.

He looked me straight in the eyes. Say it, come on... But he only kissed me, then rolled off to his side of the bed to take off the condom he was wearing.

My husband rubbed his forehead, sighing.

"Another headache?" I asked.

"Yeah." he answered, closing his eyes.

"Maybe we should go to the hospital-" I started, but he cut me off.

"Remember what we talked about, Angie?"

I nodded, and still, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Anxiety is one hell of a thing.

Just like that, I zoned out, thinking of the worst and my breath got caught in my throat.

"Angela," Michael called. "Hey, honey, come on... Breathe..."

He took my hand, placing it on his chest. His heart was pounding fast. "See? I'm okay, Angie. I'm right here."

He pulled me closer, gently stroking my hand that was still on his chest. I slowly felt myself start to breathe again.

"Good, just like that." my husband cooed, but his heartbeat never really calmed down.

"W- why is it so fast?" I finally looked at him.

"That one's on you, baby." he chuckled, bringing his lips close to mine.

He called me baby again.

We kissed for what seemed like a second until my phone buzzed again. I groaned in frustration.

Michael grabbed it, "It's Jake."

He pressed the green button quickly and Jake's voice came through.

"Hello? Ange? Mike?" he said. I could hear loud noises from his end.

"Jake? What's going on?" my husband asked.

"They're, uh, sending me back to California, I'm boarding a plane," Jake answered. "I'm sorry it's so sudden, but they said if I want to go, I have to board the next flight out."