~Jonny's POV~

I bit my lip. I had really gotten myself into some shit.

"Do you guys mind? I need to talk to Chris privately for a moment," I said, and the guys all left us by ourselves at the bar.

"I think maybe you should start," Chris told me, motioning for me to spill my secrets.

I sighed. Could I trust him? I loved him and he left me, even if it wasn't his doing. He still left and I could barely live with myself. Still, he was the father to my child and he needed to know that.

"Hey, you can tell me anything," he said, grabbing my hand and squeezing.

I sighed again. "Chris, that night that we... fucked... what did it mean to you?"

He looked a bit taken aback by the question. "Jonny, that night meant everything to me. It was my first time, and it really changed my life. It really told me how much I loved you."

I cleared my throat. "Do you still love me?" I asked him.

He pulled me in for a hug. "Jonny, I've loved you since the day I met you. You pulled me in, you made me feel something that I had never felt before. I've never loved anyone or anything more in my entire life."

I pulled away to look into his ocean blue eyes, and I saw the sparkle of truth. I knew then that he was being honest. He still loved me.

"I love you, too, Chris. And that night was every bit as important to me as it was to you, if not more..." I bit my lip and Chris used two fingers to lift up my chin. He flashed me a small smile.

"What are you hiding, Jonny?"

His words sent a shiver down my spine. I didn't know how he knew me so well, or how he could tell that I was hiding something, but God I loved him for it.

"Well... about a month after you left, I got really sick, and as it turns out... I'm pregnant," I said, my voice quivering.

He laughed. "Jonny, I hate to break it to you, but getting a man pregnant isn't physically possible."

I smiled. "You're just really good at sex," I teased.

He laughed. "No, but seriously. Please explain."

I sighed. "Apparently I was born strangely and sort of developed female reproduction organs as I grew older." His eyes widened. "So, your sperm got inside me at just the right time. The egg from my ovaries was fertilizing that week."

He gasped. "So... you're really pregnant then?" I nodded, looking terrified. "With our baby?" I nodded again, wondering nervously how he would react.

He sat still for a minute, then leaped out of his chair, making me flinch. "Jonny, we're going to be dads!" He shouted excitedly, lifting me off my stool and twirling me in the air before setting me back down on my feet. He touched my stomach gently, before bending down and kissing it. "I thought you had gained some weight," he teased.

I grinned at him and shoved him playfully. "You're lucky you missed the first trimester! Poor Phil was all over the place with my food cravings!"

He laughed. "Great, the worst of it is over!" He teased.

I leaned over and kissed his lips. "So when do we find out the gender?" He asked, and I paused. I really hadn't given much thought to the gender or name of the baby, but I knew that in a week or two would be the best time to figure that out.

"I'm... not really sure that I want to know the gender," I admitted. "I sort of like the surprise aspect."

I could already see myself in the hospital bed, having just woken up from surgery, and asking for the gender of my baby, of our baby. Would they look anything like me, or would they get all of Chris' good looks and charms?

I chucked at the thought of a baby having his wild, curly hair.

"What's so funny?" He asked, poking my stomach playfully. 

I wrapped my arms around his waist, and he did the same. Oh how I've missed your touch, I thought. "I'm just thinking about how ugly a baby would be if it looked anything like me," I said.

Chris shook his head and stroked my cheek gently. "How dare you call the love of my life ugly?" He asked with a smile before swaying in my arms to imaginary music. "I think that you're the most beautiful man-boy in the world," he told me, and I chucked.

"I couldn't possibly be," I countered. "Because you already own that title."

"Ugh, and I thought Will and Guy were bad!" Phil called from the stage. We both turned around, blushing, wondering how long he had been watching us. "But you two make me want to vomit!"

"Do you mind?" I called back, though I couldn't help but laugh at my friend's remarks.

He shrugged. "Sorry, I just wanted to check up on you. We're leaving soon," he told us.

I nodded. "Thanks, Phil." He walked back behind stage and I turned back to Chris.

"Where are you staying?" I asked him.

He sighed. "Currently, I'm living in the attic of a small shop," he said with a small chuckle.

"Do you want to come stay with us?" I offered, though we didn't have much money and we were already crammed. Guy and Will got their own room, and I was forced to share with Phil and Dave.

Chris shook his head. "I don't want to be anymore trouble," he said.

"But you haven't told me your secrets yet," I said, knowing that I wouldn't get them tonight but reminding him that I hadn't forgotten about them.

Chris kissed my lips and smiled. "Tomorrow, my love," he whispered. "I'll meet you in the park where you saw me preform yesterday." He winked, and I was somewhat glad that he had figured out that it was me at the park yesterday.

I smiled. "Okay," I said.

He kissed me gently, pulling me close to his body so that I could feel each movement of his hands and each thud of his heart against my own chest. I grabbed a tuft of his hair with my own hands and felt his fluffy curls against my skin. They were greasy and clearly needed a washing, but I didn't mind. My lover was in my arms again, and it was the best feeling in the world.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning," he said when we broke our kiss, his forehead against my own. I grinned, and I wasn't ready to let him go again. I wanted to hold onto him forever, I never wanted him to leave my side. However, I knew that he had to get back to the shop, and I took comfort in knowing that I would see him tomorrow.

Hesitantly, we parted, and I watched as he walked through the door of the pub.

I walked back behind the stage and all of my anger towards Guy returned. He eyed me bitterly and I pulled him aside. "Talk to me later," I told him, before helping load the last of the equipment back into the van.

The ride back to the hotel was silent, all of the guys silently questioning how my meeting with Chris went, though I'm sure Phil told them about what he had seen.

When we arrived, Guy asked me if we talk outside instead of in the room, and I wondered how long this would take.

We decided to take a walk around the city, and we ended up at the same park where I had promised to meet Chris the next day. We sat down on a bench and I did my best to expel any bitterness I held towards Guy, but to no avail.

He looked at me apologetically, and I could tell what he was going to tell me, he was genuinely sorry for.

"Ok, I just wanted to start off by telling you that when I saw Chris, it was just after you had been a major knob and you snapped at me... you know." I nodded. I remembered that horrible day where I had hurt Guy's feelings, his pride, and ego by saying all those hurtful things to him.

"Anyway, I guess I was angry, and when Chris showed up, I was reminded of how much he had hurt you. Then, I didn't know what to do or who to protect." He shook his head. "I knew that you loved him still, but I was mad at you, and I was mad at Chris, so I hurt both of you."

I sighed. "Guy, you caused me three months of the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. I know that we're back together now, but we missed three months that we could've had together. Chris suffered more than I did, and..." I shookmy head. "He's living in a fucking attic, Guy."

Guy sighed. "I know, Jon. I'm sorry. I hurt you, I know. I didn't know how things were going to go... I was still in shock about your pregnancy and I hadn't realized that Chris really loved you. I'm just grateful that you two found each other again." He gave me a small smile and I suddenly felt bad for him. He had truly been trying to protect me. He had truly thought that Chris was going to hurt me again, and he was doing his best to protect me.

"I forgive you, Guy," I said. "I'm sorry, too." I didn't know what exactly I was sorry for, but it felt like the right thing to say, so I did so.

We both gave each other a friendly hug, and laughing, I asked him, "Why did you hate Chris so much, anyway?"

He blushed. "At first it was because I thought he was weird, then it was because I was being overprotective." I giggled, but he continued. "Besides, he's too perky."

I laughed, and he couldn't keep a straight face anymore. We both laughed and it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders, and I wondered if Guy felt the same. "Look, man. I'm really sorry about what happened. Can we go and grab some ice cream or something?"

I chuckled. "You just want an excuse to get some ice cream."

He shrugged. "Would you rather me offer to take you back to the pub?" He laughed again.

It was no wonder why a mostly-straight guy like Will would fall in love with Guy. He was attractive, for sure, and though he seemed hard-headed and shallow on the outside, his heart was actually quite large and he was way smarter than he let on. Of course, he couldn't compare with Chris on many other complicated levels within my heart, but maybe in another life, Guy and I would be dating instead of Chris and I.

"You're right. Let's just go to the ice cream parlor," I replied with a grin.

We walked around the city, asking around to see if anyone knew where the parlor was. One man pointed us in the right direction, and we laughed at our horrible sense of direction.

"Christ, we're never going to make it back to the hotel!" Guy joked.

We opened the door to the parlor (which was luckily open at 01:00) and examined the different flavors. "What are you gonna get, Guy?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "The chocolate mint looks promising."

I pretended to gag. "Chocolate mint? You mean the worst flavor in existence?"

Guy laughed and rolled his eyes. "Okay, what flavor are you getting, Jon?"

"Probably vanilla. Nothing fancy."

He copied my gagging action. "Vanilla? You mean the worst flavor in existence?"

"You can't just copy me! Besides, who could hate vanilla?" I asked with a grin.

A smile tugged at his lips. "No one, until now."

"You hate vanilla now?"

"I, Guy Rupert Berryman, hereby vow from this day forth to never have a scoop of vanilla ice cream ever again."

I laughed. "I'll hold you to that."

We bought our cones of ice cream and decided to walk back to the hotel, figuring it would take as long to walk back as it would to finish our cones. "No, we turned left here!" Guy argued.

"Then shouldn't we turn right?"

"Uh..."

I laughed. We made it back to the hotel, having only taken two wrong turns. Our cones were down to the last bit of creamy goodness, and Guy and I grinned at each other.

"That was fun!" Guy said giddily.

I nodded. "Yeah, you and I should hang out more often."

"Definitely! Next time I promise not to be a total wanker beforehand." He blushed, and I patted his back.

"It's ok, Guy. I understand."

We nodded at each other in understanding and headed up to our respective rooms. Me so I could finally get some sleep and Guy, probably so he fuck Will.

Phil and Dave were already sleep, so quietly, I slipped under the covers and thought about how my life was slowly starting to piece itself together again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Chris' POV~

I woke up happily the next morning. It was the last time that I ever had to enter the shop. I had never thought that I would ever get out of the situation I was in, but then Jonny came and saved me, like I had always dreamed he would. Him, and our little fetus.

God, he was pregnant with my child. It was so hard to believe, almost too good to be true. No, I didn't want to say that. Bad things always happened when people said that.

Still, though, I was going to be a dad with the bloke that I was in love with. I wondered how my step-father would react to the news.

I hadn't thought about him in a long time. The scars on my back no longer caused me pain, simply discomfort that I was long used to. I wondered if he had gone searching for me in London, or if he didn't care enough to even try. My mother was worried sick, I knew, and my father was probably in the same situation.

I felt bad for leaving them all in the dark like that, but I needed an escape from the man who had abused me for years. I was an adult now, and he had struck me. I was humiliated and determined, both to escape and stand up to him. I had done both now, being together with Jonny now and away from home.

Jonny, I thought, and forced myself out of the sleeping bag on the hardwood floor. I picked up my guitar and walked downstairs. Mr. Warren was already there, and it seemed that he already knew that he'd probably never see me again, as he had a sad look on his face.

"Thank you for everything, Mr. Warren," I told him, grinning from ear to ear.

He chuckled. "Helping people is what I've always wanted to do. I'm glad that I could help you out in a rough time in your life, lad, and trust me, it'll get better."

I nodded and chuckled happily. "It already has, Mr. Warren. It already has." With that, I was out the door and skipping towards the park, where I promised to meet Jonny.

Upon arrival, I saw him there, and I smiled. He looked so beautiful, even if he was clad in a jumper and his hair was a bit unkempt. I chuckled and he looked over at me, a grin spreading across his face.

"We both look like homeless twats," I said, and his laugh rang through the air. I dropped my guitar case and ran over to him, sitting on the bench. I sat on his lap and kissed him, feeling the stubble he had grown on his cheek. I know that my own cheeks didn't look much better, as finding people who were willing to let me shower and shave was difficult, and even Mr. Warren's kindness didn't extend as far as letting me go to his home and use his shower. However, at the moment, it didn't matter. All that matters was that we were together again. That was all that ever mattered to me.

"You need a haircut," Jonny said with a chuckle.

I laughed and pushed him playfully. "You wanker! Try be homeless for three months!"

"Ha! That's nothing! Try living in the same room as Guy for almost five months!"

We both laughed, before my face turned serious. "Did you make up with Guy?" I asked him, my arms not unwrapping themselves from Jonny's arms and my booty not moving from his lap.

He nodded. "We went out for a late night dessert," he said, his grin returning.

"Aw, you should've taken me with you," I whined playfully.

Jonny laughed. "I don't think Guy would've appreciated being a third wheel."

"I'm offended that you think I would take Guy with us on our date, Jonny Boy," I teased, earning another one of his gorgeous laughs.

"We just went to clear the air. Our conversation had been really intense."

I nodded. "I understand, Jonny Boy. I was just kidding."

"I know."

He pulled me close to him, my head nuzzling his neck. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my head, but I could tell he was thinking about something else. "What are you thinking about, J?" I asked him.

He sighed. "The future. We only have five months to prepare for arrival of a baby, Chris. A baby!"

I didn't look up at him, I just grabbed his hand and squeezed. "I know, love. But it's going to be alright. We'll always have each other, and that's what matters, right?" I looked up at him.

He smiled. "Yes." He leaned into me and kissed me, showing me that he was truly grateful for me. "You always know what to say, don't you?"

I shrugged. "At worst, we end up homeless, but I'm sure we'll find a place to live."

"My brother Tim said I could stay with him if it came down to it."

I smiled. "Then at least we have a plan to fall back on."

I could tell he was still worried, but I didn't want him to think about that right now. I wanted him to think about the positives of having a baby, if he were to think about it at all. "What would you name it?" I asked him, changing the subject, and catching him slightly off guard.

"I really hadn't thought that far ahead. Um... what would you name it?"

I thought for a few moments. "I think if it were a girl, I would name her Maxine Grace."

Jonny considered for a moment. "I like that name, actually. Like, it sounds badass but sweet at the same time."

I chuckled. "Just like you, Jonny Boy."

"There's nothing badass about me, trust me," he replied with a small laugh.

"You never told me what you would name it. What about if it were a boy?"

Jonny laughed and shook his head. "I'm not good with coming up with names."

I grinned at the memory of him suggesting "Starfish" as a possible name for our band. "Come on, Jonny Boy. What's the first name that pops to mind?"

He giggled. "Alexander."

"Why laugh? It's a good name," I said sincerely. Alexander would be a good first name if his last name were Buckland or Martin. "The middle name is harder, though."

Jonny nodded. "Yeah, but we don't have to give him or her a middle name, you know."

"I know," I shrugged. "But I could always give him a middle name. After all, I have an extra one," I giggled. I imagined my creation with one of my names. Alexander Anthony Buckland, I thought. It flowed better with Jonny's last name than it did mine, but we wouldn't have to make that choice until later.

"But not the name we share!" He insisted, only half-jokingly. I laughed and kissed him.

"Of course not! Jon is our sacred name!"

"With or without the h?" He played along.

"Without, of course! That would be discriminating against you!" We laughed and couldn't help but lean into each other.

We were silent for awhile before Jonny broke it with a serious question. "Where are you going to go when we go back to London?" He asked quietly.

It was a good question. I really hadn't given it much thought, because I had thought that I could just go right back to Uni and start all over. Of course, that was nonsense. I couldn't go back to Uni without the funds to pay for it, and Jonny didn't own an apartment.

"Not back to my step-father," I said simply. I stared straight ahead as I imagined the pain he had brought me since I was old enough to take responsibility for my actions.

I remember my first strike with painful detail.

I was only seven, and I had come home from school crying because I had been chastised for cheating on a math test.

"Do you know what cheaters get in the military?" He had asked me. I shook my head and wiped some snot from my nose. "They get beat."

The word had stuck in my head and I had suddenly become terrified. "Beat?" I repeated, just to make sure I had heard right.

"Yes, beat. To toughen you up. Now, take off your shirt and go lie belly first on the table."

Confused and afraid, I had done what he asked and waited. I remember wondering if he was going to beat me, and wondering if it was going to hurt.

It did.

He had a whip that he hid in the closet from my mother. He had used the same whip to beat the prisoners in the Vietnam War, and I hadn't found out until later. I remembered the first strike being the worst pain I had ever felt in my life. I had immediately cried out and burst into tears, and each time the whip came back down on my back, I felt more pain, and extreme dizziness.

The memory ended when seven-year old me blacked out, and I turned to Jonny, who had a look of horror on his face. "What?" I asked.

"You just said all that out loud," he said, and I immediately panicked. How could I not have realized that I was divulging the memory to Jonny? It was too personal... something that I hadn't wanted him to go through or know about me. How badly I had been hurt in the past leading up to now.

"Let me see your back," he ordered.

"Jonny, please don't te-"

"Your back, Chris! Now!"

I had never heard him take such a firm tone with me before. I immediately obliged and lifted my shirt up so that he could take a look at the number of scars that ran up and down my back. He gently touched one, and I flinched, jumping out of his lap, and started to cry.

"Chris..."

He stood up and brought me in for a hug. "I hadn't realized that he had abused you like that," he whispered. "Did he strike you when he picked you up from Uni that morning?"

Without thinking, I nodded. I continued to cry and Jonny rubbed my neck, avoiding my back so that I wouldn't flinch again.

I embraced his touch. I savored every moment that we were together, for my love for him grew exponentially by each ticking minute.

"I swear to God if I ever see his mother fucking face, I will beat his arse down until he's bleeding in places that he didn't even know could bleed."

I chuckled slightly at his serious remark. "Oh Jonny, sweetie, he would kick your arse in a second. He knows who you are and what you look like, and he hates your guts."

He sighed. "Chris, I will never let anyone hurt you like that ever again. Do you understand?" He pulled me away from him so that I could look at him. I saw the anger burning in his eyes, and deep down, I could see his love. His passion and desire for me. To hug me, kiss me, and hold me close like no one has ever done before.

I nodded dumbly, unable to get my voice to work. He pulled me close to him again and whispered, "Never again."