"After lunch, we need to talk to you guys," Brynn tells the kids who were sitting on their designated chairs as they ate their sandwiches.

"Mama's having a baby?" Bodhi asks.

Our kids have a strange addiction to pregnancy. Every day they ask if we're going to have another baby soon and I'm left speechless.

"No, not yet," I tell them, and Brynn eyes me. I winked at her, making her cheeks go red.

We let the kids finish their lunch. We decided to speak to all the kids instead of just Journey. Bodhi had the persuasive genes in his system so maybe he could help out.

Once we cleaned them up and finished the dishes we sat them on the couch.

"This is cute, our first family meeting." Sol cheers.

Brynn and I let out a burst of soft laughter.

"Do you guys remember Blair?" Brynn asks.

Bodhi and Sol nod their heads while Journey just has this hard state in her eyes. Something that rarely happened.

"Journey doesn't want to see her," Sol says hugging onto her older sister. Bodhi nods agreeing.

"Blair used to be mean to mommy," Journey says. "I don't like meanies."

"She's biologically your mother still," I tell her and she shakes her head.

"My mommy is right here, I don't need any more mommies." Journey runs over to Brynn and jumps into her arms.

"I will always be your mommy baby." Brynn kisses her temple.

"Yes she was mean to mommy but she never once hurt her feelings. Mommy was too strong to let a meanie do that to her." I tell Journey.

"Don't you want to say goodbye to her, one last time?" Brynn asks. "She's different now."

"What if she's not? What if she's still mean to you?" Journey asks Brynn.

"Don't worry about me, baby. People can change for the better. Maybe she has but if she hasn't then it doesn't matter. She just wants to talk to you okay? If you think she's being mean then we can leave okay? This is your choice."

Journey leans her head onto Brynn's shoulder as she thought. "Blair is sick?" Bodhi asks us. We nodded. "I know you don't like her, I don't too but you might regret it." He tells Journey.

"Yeah, let her leave with peace on her mind. It's better for the soul." Sol smiles.

"Who taught you that?"

"Grandpappy Levi." She smiles proudly making me chuckle.

"I'll go see her," Journey says.

"Really? Are you sure?" I asked.

She nods. "Only if mommy adopts me."

Lord have mercy.

Brynn started coughing vigorously as Sol ran over to slap her back a couple of times. "Are you okay mommy?"

"Yep. Perfectly fine." Brynn chokes out. "When did you learn to negotiate?" She asks Journey.

"I listen to your phone calls. I have a pretty good memory." She smiles proudly.

"Spencer Reid would be very proud." Bodhi smiles. "You're like the girl mini version."

"You got my kids watching criminal minds too?" I asked her.

"They ask for it and I just oblige." Brynn puts her hand up, surrendering. "You're too smart for a seven-year-old."

"I think I'm a genius."

"I think we all do." Sol hugs her sister.

"I'll adopt you baby. I was going to since the beginning. I just wanted to make sure that's what you wanted to." Brynn tells Journey.

"I want that a lot mommy. I love you so much."

"I love you so much more." She kisses Jourmey's cheeks.

"Awe I love us too." Bodhi hugs them.

"Pile in daddy," Sol says motioning for a group hug. I oblige and squeezed all of us.

~

"Oh my goodness, thank you for coming here today." Mick comes up to us cheerfully.

Brynn plasters a smile onto her face. A genuine one and not a fake one.

Or maybe it is and she's good at faking it either way she had a smile on her face.

Journey was clutching onto both of ours hands carefully as we entered the hospital room. Blair was attached to a bunch of needles and wires. Her skin was very pale, she had dark eye bags and pinkish cheeks. She was bonier than ever before.

"Journey." She smiles weakly. Journey shyly waves, hiding her face behind Brynn's arms. "Thank you for bringing her." She smiles at us.

Brynn simply nods and so do I.

"She's beautiful." Blair smiles as she continued to stare at my daughter. Brynn and I sat down in the chair that was pulled next to the hospital bed. I sat Journey on my lap since I was closer to Blair.

"Hey, Journey."

"Hi, Blair." Journey whispers. "H-how are you?"

She smiles, "I'm good, and you?"

"I'm good too." Journey nods.

"I'll make this quick for you guys." Blair coughs trying to sit up. Brynn gets up and helps her by placing a pillow behind her back.

Blair looked shocked to see Brynn helping her but she looked rather grateful. "Thank you."

"No problem." Brynn sits back in her seat.

"I want to start off by apologizing to you, Journey. I'm sorry for abandoning you. I was not ready to be a mom at all but it was not right of me to treat you the way that I did when you were a baby. I was young and I knew that no matter how hard I tried, I was never going to be a good mom so I gave you to your daddy. I just knew he was going to be a better parent than I will ever be. I don't ever want you to feel like you were a mistake when you think about me because you're not. You're the blessing that kept your parents together." She smiles looking between Brynnley and me.

"And I want to apologize to you two for causing so much unnecessary problems in high school. I was jealous of you because you were able to build a bond with Journey that I knew I couldn't. Not only Journey but with a Jax too. I'm sorry for causing your heartbreak, forgetting you jumped, and for the fight. I was driven by jealousy and I regret all of it. I hope you can forgive me."

"All's forgiven on my part," I told Blair.

"Yeah same, the scar makes me look cool." Brynn shows her the scar on her arm from when she fought off that guy back in high school.

"If my mommy and daddy can forgive you then I can too," Journey says.

Blair tears up, "Thank you so much."

We all nodded before the nurse came in and told us we had to leave.

Before we left Journey went up to Blair and held her hand. "Are you at peace?"

"Yes, I am."

"Okay." She smiles. "Maybe we'll see each other again? One day?"

"One day Journey." Blair smiles.

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published: april 30th, 2021

Happy last day of April. This month was so slow but so fast at the same time I don't even know how to describe it.

Q: How many times do you cry in a week? Lmaooo I'm genuinely curious. For me, the only time I can cry is through reading a book where there's a really sad scene involved. Other than that, I cannot physically cry over my own problems which is weird but it is what it is.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, have a great day! Please remember to stay safe and love yourself. I love you, MUAH!