A CHANGE OF HEART ⇒ jjxpope

PROLOGUE

With John B and Sarah running ramped around Europe, making the most of their new found freedom despite all obstacles, hoping to forget the past few months, and Kiara wandering through African villages; helping anyone and everything she possibly could, like the pure, golden hearted she is; it left JJ and Pope to their own devices.

Neither of which would ever have known would have been wild nights of making none another their very own.

It had been unexpected, but somehow not particularly unwelcomed, in a sense. That had been the sense until now.

Until now that JJ is holed up in a local Walmart bathroom, clutching his fourth positive pregnancy test, the carton of apple juice he had purchased along with it sits idle by his feet. With shaking hands, JJ stares down at the pathetic, mocking, piece of plastic that has just determined his future, disrupted, his future; or whatever he had left of a future.

Reaching up to wipe suddenly teary eyes, JJ feels his shoulders shake unknowingly. There are so many fucking unknowns as of now. JJ shakes his head in disbelief. "For fuck sake," He whispers sullenly, unwilling to comprehend what he's holding.

Letting out a half hearted, wet sort of laugh, JJ shakes his head once more. He glances down at the test, the others long discarded and scattered into the nearby bin. JJ drops it to his feet, the stupid little thing clatters softly as JJ puts his head in his hands.

"Fuck," He mumbles tearfully. "Fuck, Pope. Fuck, we've fucked it," Jj says to himself. His voice sounds so unlike his own right now, so foreign, so unfamiliar.

After a few long, dragged on, minutes of self pity, JJ raises to his feet. He leaves the apple juice carton where it is. He supposes some other lonely wanderer can have at it, it isn't his business if they do.

Shit.

He's pregnant.

He's fucking pregnant.

JJ slowly stumbles out of the store with a defeated look upon his face. The elderly cashier shooting him a sympathetic look. "Not good then, honey?" She calls softly.

JJ turns to face her, hoping to conceal his indefinitely red rimmed eyes. He hums, chuckling bitterly. "Everything's fine, it's all good," He lies with such ease. He wonders briefly just when he became so good at lying.  It came almost too natural to him.

The woman shakes her head. "Have a nice day, young man," She knows. JJ knows she knows. It is almost like he has a giant, flashingly neon sign over his head that reads 'I fucked my beat friend and now I'm knocked up'. God, he feels pathetic.

JJ nods in reply before exiting out into the scorching sun. It's May. If his calculations are right, which they never usually are, he and Pope must've conceived the fetus sometime in April.

If April is the fourth month, and a pregnancy lasts nine months, JJ reckons this little piece of he and Pope should be earth side by January. A winter baby. Fuck, a Winter baby.

JJ steps out onto the street with a heavy heart, technically an even heavier stomach, if he really wanted to consider this little parasite inside of him real and not some cannabis induced daydream.

Shit.

He's got to stop smoking.

There goes drinking too; Pope would never forgive him if he let any sort of substance harm to come to their child. Shit. Their child. They're having a child. A real one, at that.