"Family should always be important. No matter what. Do ya'll hear me? Always." She stresses, eying each one of us carefully.

Each Jackson boy exchanges a promising glance with the other. When our promise has been made, we return our gaze onto the laconic woman.

"Yes, mother..." We agree in honest unison.

"Jermaine... You better look after your brothers. You have to be that rock that they need." She appoints slowly limping down the line of Jackson brothers.

Jermaine offers a prideful grin and nods silently. Mother returns his glance and continues onward for the next brother.

"Randy. Randy, baby you have to grow with them. I'm not asking you to be like them. You are all different, that's what makes each one of you special. But a family grows, together. Not alone. Okay, honey?" Her soft-spoken tone graces the room once more.

Randy silently nods.

Anyone who knows randy, understands and has seen his struggle to "fit in". He always wants to be noticed and goes about the attention the wrong way. It has caused him to storm out of rehearsals and even shelter himself for days in his bedroom.

It's been a process dealing with having to watch and wait his turn. I wish things were different, but I wish he would understand as well.

No matter what we are brothers.

Mother maintains her loving smile and continues.

"Michael... My baby Michael. You know what I'm going to say, but I'll say it again. I don't care what those people tell you. I'm don't care what Quincy has to say, you are still a Jackson and will always be a Jackson. Don't ever turn your back on them, no matter how far you go. These six other boys are your brothers. Don't ever forget that." She stresses, her eyes glued to mine.

Her smile widens as she raises a tender palm to my cheek.

"I love watching you grow. All of you" she pauses and glances at each one of us. "I'm blessed to have you and I want you guys to feel the same." She stresses once more, returning her gaze to mine. "I don't care how hard things get. I don't care what life throws at you, know that you have a home. Okay? You have a home." She whispers, caressing my cheek tenderly.

I can only force a smile through threatening tears. I know why mother is so adamant about repetition in her statements. She doesn't want us to change. She doesn't want us to forget our values. For as many years we have been doing this, we have lost a bit of ourselves within those years. We've disappointed mother, so to make things right, we have to keep hold of this promise.

The promise to stick together as a family. The promise to never drift from one another. The promise to be open and reasonable. The promise to remain as we once were, a big family from a small town. We can't lose ourselves. We can't lose our family. We've made a promise.

I made a promise.

"Miss Marsha, did you check the guesthouses?" I reposition the love seat shams for the millionth time.

Marsha gives me a comical grin and nods silently.

"And they are fine? You know how picky my parents are. Esp-"

"It's fine Mister Jackson. Everything is in tip-top shape. I have flowers for the lovely mother and starlight peppermints for the father. As for your brothers and sisters, I have rooms cleaned and set up to their liking as well." She beams, carefully slipping the shams from my palms.

In less than one hour, a closed-door will be relieved of its lock. In less than an hour, I will let these people back into my life. In less than an hour, my heart could flutter with glee or crumble with despair. Either way, I've prepared myself for both outcomes. I decided to take this step and will deal with what follows accordingly.

"Thank you, Marsha. I'm a mess. I appreciate your help, I really do." I exhale, glancing over my efforts.

I don't want to be a pessimist, but not do I want to be overly optimistic. I don't know what to expect from my family. I just know that I have to take another step to right a wrong. I'm doing this for Noah. I'm doing this for Jesse.

I'm doing this for me.

With another appreciative smile, I dismiss myself onto other priorities, leaving Marsha to venture to her next duty as well.

Making my route upstairs, I find myself pausing midway to listen to my blessings; Jessie and Noah. They seem to be wrapped up in their own conversation. A definite great sign for us all.

Noah has made such a significant improvement with his communication skills. Not only is he comfortable with physically being involved with his doctors and others around him, but he also has been quite the chatty nutty. He has become quite verbose, giggling and putting grave effort into the conversation.

I'm proud of the little one. Doctor Sneed says that this is a reward for our consistency. He also mentioned how truly blessed we are to have a child with such mild autism. He isn't completely "normal", but there's not a doubt in our minds that he can take on the world if he wants to.

Sigh contently at my thoughts, I continue my route and join the talkative pair.

"Well hey, chatty Kathy's." I beam, glancing at the beaut and toddler.

My precious family.

Jesse turns away from Noah, a warm smile turning her lips. I return her smile, feeling the splendor of our exchange. I always find myself wondering and pondering, why. I wonder and ponder Jesse's decision for pursuing a relationship with me.

We may come from nearly the same stage, but we are from different worlds. My world is lonely, selfish, and sometimes even cold. Her world is humble, fearless, and abundantly bright. We were two humans with two different outlooks on life, yet here we are. She chose me. She wanted me.

I've always wondered why.

"Baby? Baby? Hello?" She interrupts, standing from her spot on the alphabet rug.

Giving her my undivided attention, I chuckle awkwardly before speaking.

"Sorry, I guess I spaced out for a minute there." I chuckle out, scratching the back of my neck.

She shakes her head in feigned disappointment, her smile never falling from her lips.

"Well if you were listening you would've heard me ask you a very important question..." She lulls, slowly approaching me.

Another awkward smile.

"Sorry, babygirl. What did you ask?"

She shrugs her shoulders and reaches for my hands, a smirk slowly rising beneath her innocent grin. I can't help but giggle at this woman. She can be such a tease. I can't ever admit for a time I've ever complained about this "teasing" of hers. It's an act of chivalry that I absolutely adore. Especially with all we've been through, it's nice to know that I am still worth a tease or two.

"Well for one, I asked if you like my dress. Two, I asked about the whereabouts of the other six-hundred Jackson's." She giggles, enclosing any potential space between us.

I bite down on my lip subconsciously trying to jog my memory.

The last time I telephoned Kat, she informed me that they weren't too far away. She also distastefully mentioned them finding themselves lost, due to "confusing" directions that were given to the driver. I can't lie; the "confusing" directions were my doing. I just wanted to stall a bit. As much as I do want to see my family, I'm still just as afraid about the son to be a reunion as well.

"If I may say, you look... Delicious in your Summer peach dress, Misses." I finally express, leaning forward in an attempt to steal a kiss.

What a fail.

Swiftly she escapes my grasps and lips with a giggle, causing me to stumble forwards while she continues her obsessive giggles behind me. Somehow preventing an embarrassing tumble towards the ground, I maintain my balance and turn towards her with a playful scowl. This only earns me choral giggles between Noah and Jesse.

They just love to abuse me.

"And what is he laughing about? I didn't even fall." I pout, turning my attention to the wildly cackling toddler.

Noah is almost two years old and those little stubs of ivory, growing from his gums shows. He's a beautifully healthy toddler, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy hearing his laughter at my doomed failure. Moments like this is definitely something I live for.

Jesse peeps from over my shoulder and examines the toddler, silently before pecking my cheek.

"His daddy is just a funny man. I have to agree." She giggles in my ear.

I shake my head and turn my head ever so slightly to meet her pecans before stealing a quick peck of her lips. When she playfully shoves me with a playful glare, I erupt with laughter. She has to know by now that Michael always finds a way to get his way.

My silly Jesse.

"Awe, don't look so disappointed, girl. I can give you a great big wet one if that wasn't enough for you." I wink, earning another playful shove.

"Oh shut up. You big idi-"

"They're here!" Bill belts aloud.

I sigh heavily. I don't even think time passed by that quick. Just minutes ago they were due to be here in the next half hour. Now they're already here.

Lord, help us all.

Jesse and I exchange quick glances before she breaks our glance to gather Noah. I watch the two for a moment before yelling to Bill that we would be there in a second. Once I received a barely audible "Okay", I turned towards mother and child with an encouraging smile.

"Everything will be fine. They're in our territory now. If someone says something out of line... I'll either slit their throat or kick them out. Okay?" I stress, gently grabbing Jesse's shoulders.

She pecks Noah's forehead and nods silently. I take another silent moment to examine her. I know Jesse; she's probably an emotional wreck, mentally right now. I can't say I blame her.

The last time we visited my family, Latoya was featuring in a playboy magazine, Joseph was violently bantering about not being appreciated, and Kat well, she was allowing all of it to unfold. I can sympathize with her. That is the most frightening situation. I don't ever want her in the eye of the Jackson storm like that ever again.

Jesse didn't deserve any of that.

"I know it will. I'm just a little nervous. We haven't seen them in two years, nearly three. We have a one-year-old who will be two in five months. I'm pregnant. The worst part is, we're not even married. You know how religious Katherine is. She's going to have our heads for this one. And I don't even want to think about Mister Joseph. Michael... I don't know about this..." Jesse stresses, carefully switching Noah onto her right hip.

I sigh and peck her forehead, releasing her shoulders to stuff my hands in my pockets.

"Well, babygirl. We can't back out now. I promise you, Kat will understand. Joseph won't dare say a word. Neither will Jermaine, Randy, Marlon, Janet or Latoya. There's nothing to be afraid of, they wouldn't risk pissing me off. Besides, they love and adore you. Nothing to worry about, girl." I reiterate, offering a warm smile.

She sighs heavily once more before nodding in reluctant acceptance.

"Okay. Let's go before I lose my nerve."

I chuckle and silently nod, granting her wish with a quick peck of the lips. She falsely grimaces and trails behind me as I escort us out of Noah's playroom. With each step we take as we descend the stairs, my heart pumps more and more violently. It isn't until Jesse's sneaky little hand clasps mine, that my nerves calm and I can smile easily again.

Here goes nothing.

With one last step to take, I inhale deeply and prepare for what is to come. No sooner than we step down from the very last step, Mother catches my glance with a warm smile of acknowledgment.

"Oh my God... Is that my baby boy?" She gasps, her eyes trailing towards Jesse's arms.

Carefully she limps her way over to Jesse and me. It honestly breaks my heart, seeing what Kat has to go through with that terrible limp. She always told us that we shouldn't feel remorseful about her "minor setback", but one thing the entire Jackson family agrees on is, when we look at Katherine we can't help our gloomy glances.

Yet even still, we can't even stifle our awing smiles either. This little woman is quite the fighter. That's one of the gamuts of reasons why I love her.

"I thought I was your, baby?" Another voice calls out, belonging to no other than the youngest Jackson brother; Randy.

Mother gives him not an ounce of attention, seeing as though she already began her mission to inspect her grandson. Randy seemingly acknowledged that, chuckling at his own childish whining before fully showing himself.

All the while the other Jacksons slowly trailed behind him, mother already found herself in a comfortable conversation with Jesse as she gawked over Noah. I can't even diminish the goofy smile on my face as I watch my mother and wife-to-be; communicate as if to be reuniting old friends.

That's one less problem to worry about.

A full palm presses firmly into my right shoulder, followed by another pair on my left. I don't even get the chance to turn around before all unasked questions are answered with a simple, brotherly greeting.

"Hey, little brother, what's up little man?" The eldest chirps, giving my right shoulder a few squeezes between his words.

"Yeah little man, haven't heard from you in years man..." The other chimes.

Jermaine and Marlon Jackson-the pains in my lower hind. I love them, but they annoy the hell out of me; especially Marlon. Jermaine is the more flirtatious, easy-going eldest brother, while Marlon on the other hand is the goofball. Although I reluctantly invited the two (for behavioral reasons) it's nice to see them again.

"Hey, Jermaine. Hello Marlon." I answer with feigned disinterest.

Both men exchange quick glances before chuckling and squishing me between their chests in their infamous "Jackson hug". It's a deathly hug shared between us Jackson brothers, just to either squeeze the hell out of each other or annoy the hell out of each other.

It's working both ways for me right now.

"We haven't seen your ugly ass in years and all we get is dusty ole' hey's? That's not how it works little brother." Jermaine antagonizes, giving me another squeeze before releasing me.

This is exactly why I was reluctant with a few of my invitations.

Giving Jermaine a sideways glance, I gently shove Marlon away from me to re-gather myself. This is why I didn't want to invite these fools; they don't know how to behave. They especially have no mental or verbal censor. It's terrible to think about and even worse to witness.

"I think you pissed little man off here Jermaine..." Marlon snickers, leaning forward to poke me.

I slap at his finger and give him a nice, glare warning him. He takes the hint with another light chuckle before turning to Jermaine and pointing behind me. When their amused grins transform into mischievous smirks, I roll my eyes knowingly and step in front of the two wide-eyed fools.

"Don't even think about it. I know you see our child in her arms." I smugly interrupt, smirking at their dropped expressions.

"Whoah, you smashed that? Damn Mic-"

"Jermaine! That is the last time I will hear you curse like that again, you hear me? Act like you have some sense. In front of a one-year-old cursing like a sailor. Besides, you don't need to talk about Michael's fiancé like that anyways." Katherine suddenly hisses, approaching us with a distasteful glare.

Jesse follows close behind her, her glance just as unamused.

I can only stifle my own snickers, enjoying the remorseful glances of my two eldest brothers. Marlon is the first to offer a pathetic apology, followed by a whispered apology unfortunately gifted by Jermaine.

Mother accepts each brother's apology, silently motioning for them to repeat them to Jesse. It's absolutely amazing the pull mother still has on us. We're grown men, but she has that power to make us succumb to her demands as if we were small children.

She is definitely a strong woman.

"Now, Michael your sisters are in their guest houses. Your father said he wanted to take a nap, so I'll guess he will talk to you later." She informs me, not breaking her glare from Jermaine and Marlon.

I silently nod; inwardly relieved to know that I won't have to face Joseph until later.

"That's fine. I will have someone whip us up some lunch then we can all catch up. How does that sound?" I offer, glancing between the five adults and Noah.

Randy, Marlon, and Jermaine perk up instantaneously at the mention of lunch. I swear they are even more childish than I am; way past being immature. Mother offers a small smile before yawning aloud and walking up to me.

"I'm tired, but I want to talk to you." She sighs, glancing over at Jesse and Noah. "Is it okay if I steal him?"

Jesse glances between us before nodding with a smile. Jermaine steps over to Jesse and playfully pokes at Noah's stomach before wrapping an arm around Jesse's shoulders.

"Don't worry she's in good hands. Go ahead little brother." He smiles at Jesse before discreetly flashing a smirk my way.

Glaring at him, I narrow my eyes in silent warning. I know Jermaine, he wouldn't care if a woman he's pursuing has only one leg and an extra toe, if she's mobile and has a hint of beauty, he's going after her. I won't be tolerating his animalistic behavior this week.

He knows damn well that Jesse is happily engaged and would snap his neck in two if he "tried" her. Yet even still, he needs to know I'll do worse damage if he lays another finger on her.

Taking my warning for gold, he slowly removes his arm and smiles innocently.

"Follow me..." I finally speak, tearing my glare from Jermaine.

Mother abides as I carefully escort her through the hall, towards the living room. Within minutes we are comfortably planted on the mocha love seat, silently gathering our thoughts. Only when mother decides to speak, the silence is broken.

"He's a darling Michael..." She begins, smiling at her entangled fingers.

A small smile spreads my lips. From just a few minutes of observation, I know mother has already found a place in her heart for little Nutty. I know she'll be the best grandmother for him. I also know what her next words will be.

I'm ready for them.

"So you let me find out about my grandson on the news? I didn't even know what he looked like until Bill mailed us a picture. You've done a great job with keeping the world guessing about your son, but your own family? Michael that hurt. It hurts to know that you kept this part of your life so hidden from us. I know you're angry with your father, but you have other family members. Your little sister missed you terribly Michael. Why?" She nearly whispers, her soft-spoken tone barely audible.

I fiddle with my fingers, too ashamed to make an excuse. I can't lie to mother or even justify my past decisions. I do know that I have to be honest. I have to be open and honest about my reasons.

"I know. I'm sorry, Kat. I'm so sorry. You just... I wish you could understand. I was hurting and just when I was happy again, he snatches it away. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I just needed to do what was best for Jesse and me. Look what happened because of that. I have a son-"

"Michael you were about to marry that Presley girl. From what I seen and heard, you needed your family in so many moments, but you wouldn't even call. I love you, honey but it's selfish, so very selfish of you." She continues her palm finding its way between mine.

With her every word, my eyes begin to well. I didn't even think about the effects my decisions would have on certain members of the family. I knew that a few would feel sour about my secrecy, but hearing Katherine express the abandonment she felt, pains my heart completely.

"Kat... You know I would never. I felt I could figure things out on my own. I learned that I can't. I almost lost Jesse because of that. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry..." I whimper, squeezing her palms between mine.

She coos for me to calm down, retrieving one of her hands to gently force my gaze on hers.

"I didn't say that for you to feel guilty. You had to learn, I understand. I'm just telling you how that affected everyone else. You know that now. Don't cry, Michael. We all understand. Please don't cry." She whispers, gently wiping away a few lone tears.

I nod silently, unable to gather enough words for a proper response. Noticing my speechlessness, she sighs and continues.

"I also wanted to talk to you about your engagement. I don't think I want to know about the Presley girl, but I do want to know about Jesse. You had a child out of wedlock. You know I taught you better."

I knew that was coming.

Inhaling deeply, I exhale and allow her palm to fall from my jaw before acknowledging her statement.

"I wanted to-we wanted to, but things were complicated during the time..." I exhale once more.

"Complicated how? Please tell me he was planned." She stresses, her pupils broadening.

"Yes, he was planned. But life... just got complicated. Everything just spiraled.... Things could be so good one minute, but I just stopped making her happy for some time. She left me, taking him. I met Lisa. We got engaged. I cheated on Lisa. We called off the engagement. Just a mess..."

"You cheated on the Presley girl! Michael! You know damn well I didn't raise you that way! What have I told you! I warned you... Dear God help me... my baby...." She trails off, shaking her head painfully.

I remain silent. Never has actually sworn like that, unless you count the time she found out Joseph was cheating. I can't even hold neither account against her. Mother is very passionate about infidelity. Her parents divorced one another because of it, and our family was almost split because of it as well.

I was just a sad repeat.

"It was with Jesse. Each time..." I admit, hanging my head low.

I know telling her these things won't lighten the situation, but it lightens the burden in my heart. It's only right that I tell my own mother about the negatives and positives of my life. I feel I owe it to her, especially after two years of being absent in her life.

"You cheated on your then-current fiancé, with your ex-fiancé? Michael this makes no sense. Why weren't you... never mind. So where do you go from now? Why aren't you two married now?" She questions, her eyes kneading my palms.

I wish I knew.

"Well, I just broke off my engagement with Lisa, back in May. It's July... that barely even a month to go and get married and say hello world, I'm married now... to my ex-fiancé. It's not that easy, Kat."

She mumbles the inaudible and shakes her head in disagreement.

"Do you love her?" She questions.

"With everything that's in me. Yes, I love her." I answer honestly.

"Marry her. It's just that simple. The world doesn't tell you how to run your own life. You two know what you have, it's not their job to understand what that is.' She stresses, earning my full gaze. " Besides, I don't want the second one to be born out of wedlock..."

My eyes widen and my heart seemingly skips a nerve-wracking beat.

She knows.

"What are you-"

"A mother knows. She has this glow to her. Besides, while we were talking, she would every now and then, rub that stomach of hers. What is she, a month now?" She casually continues.

Still taken aback by mothers' knowledge of Jesse's pregnancy, I nod foolishly and chuckle awkwardly. I wanted to break it to her, my own way. That idea has definitely been thrown out of the window.

"Don't be so surprised, sweetheart. I'm getting old, but I pay good money for these brain cells to work like they do. Now, I think we can talk more later. For now, I'm going to go get a nap in. You better go save your wife from those no-good brothers of yours." She chuckles, carefully raising from her spot.

I swiftly make my way over to her, to ensure that she doesn't stumble on her way up. Once she's standing upright, I peck her cheek and smile.

"I love you, Kat. I really do."

"I love you too, honey. I just want you to think about what I said. I'm proud of you. We are all proud of you, all of us." She returns with a heartwarming smile.

I nod a silent vow to make that a solid promise. I even try not to grimace at her emphasis of the others being proud of me as well; especially with that including Joseph. I'll have to see to believe that. All in all, I would have to say that this "reunion" has had a great start and I'm actually looking forward to the rest of the evening.

Maybe things are finally looking up in the once messy parts of my life? Could this be a new wind of possibilities?

Whichever way this new wind blows, I just hope to be ready.