TEARS BLURRED HER VISION as Jade drove through the streets. The brunette had been driving aimlessly for thirty minutes now, not really knowing where she was going. The news that Jax might have a child with Tara was getting to her more than she wanted to admitᅳ and she needed someone to talk to.

The only person that came to her mind was Alison. Even though she now had her mother, her relationship with Serena wasn't close enough to talk about such topics yet. And Gemma; they had only met a few times since the last dinner, so the matriarch wasn't an option either.

The Cooper woman needed a friend, even if it might not be fair of her, knowing that Alison hasᅳ or had once ᅳ feelings for her.

Still, she automatically headed for Alison's apartment in the hope that her former best friend still lived here.

Sniffling, she parked her SUV in a free parking spot in front of the apartment complex before slipping out the door and slamming it shut hard behind her, her sobs echoing through the night. Right now she didn't even care if anyone saw her like this, she had absolutely no control over her emotions anymore.

Her blurry gaze drifted upwards, a feeling of relief setting in when she saw light in the window that belonged to Alison's apartment. Even though Jade herself had only seen the apartment once back then, she could still remember the floor it was on.

Without thinking about it any further, she locked her car and a few moments later hurried up the stairs outside. Pushing the door open, she jogged up two flights of stairs again before finally banging on Alison's door, unable to muffle the volume of her sniffles.

Something moved behind the door, two voices could be heard before the door swung open, revealing Alison, whose blue eyes immediately filled with concern. "Jade, what happened?!"

"Please..I need you..", Jade choked out, aggressively rubbing her cheeks dry, giving her skin a good burn with her already wet sleeves. "I need my best friend.."

"Baby, what's going on here?" A second woman appeared behind Alison, skepticism flashing in her eyes as she eyed Jade. "Jeez, are you okay, girl?"

Alison didn't hesitate for a moment and reached out to grab Jade's arm and gently pull her into the apartment, closing the door behind them. "This is Jade, my best friend, I told you about her. Can you go to the party alone?"

"Oh..OH, that friend", the redhead's eyes widened as she seemingly realized who the visitor was; and immediately her features softened, as if she knew exactly what had happened between the two of them back then. "Sure, I'll tell Emma and Peter that you were too tired."

"Iᅳ I didn't mean to ruin your plans", Jade mumbled, wiping her sleeves over her, by now, red face again. Her bloodshot, tear-swollen eyes met Alison's after she finally noticed the two women's party outfits. "You two should go to the partyᅳ"

"Stop it", Alison insisted with gentle severity in her tone before planting a kiss on the lips of the woman who Jade didn't know yet. "Have fun and drive carefully."

"Always honey, you know that", the red-haired woman smiled as she gently squeezed Alison's hip and gave Jade a reassuring smile. "I'm Peyton, by the way, maybe we'll get to know each other in the future."

Jade was so perplexed for a moment that she even stopped crying. Alison seemed genuinely happy and Peyton seemed like a decent person. Part of her was just happy that Alison had found happiness with someone who could return her feelings. Even after what Alison had done, Jade couldn't deny that she hadn't missed her best friend.

"That would be nice", Jade replied with the smallest of smiles, her voice sounding a little different because of all the crying. "Thanks..for letting me talk to Alison."

"That's fineᅳ I hope you can talk things out", Peyton said honestly before giving Jade a gentle squeeze on her shoulder. Grabbing her clutch and blowing Alison another kiss, she left the apartment.

"Okay, now you tell me what happened", Alison said firmly, already leading Jade into the living room. When they reached the couch, she gently pushed the brunette onto one of the seats and sat down next to her. "What got you so upset?"

Jade was silent for a while, soft sniffles filling the small living room. "I don't know if you remember Tara but..she came by today with a five month old baby and claimed it was Jax' kid. Iᅳ I have no idea how to deal with this, Ali."

When Jade's voice died and new sobs tore through her petite body, Alison stared at her in shock before she pulled the brunette into her arms. No matter what had happened between them, Alison was glad that Jade had come to her, sought comfort from herᅳ that showed that Jade still trusted her. And maybe, maybe they could build a friendship again after that night.

"Shit, I'm so sorry, Jade", the blonde murmured sincerely into Jade's hair, rubbing her back gently. "Does that mean he, well, cheated on you? I mean, you've been together for over a year now."

Jade shook her head, her face still buried in Alison's shoulder, her voice choked with tears. "No, that happened shortly before we got back togetherᅳ apparently she had the baby in prison and kept it a secret the whole time."

"Stupid bitch", Alison cursed under her breath, sincerely feeling for Jade. She gently pushed her friend back a little, eyeing her. "What does this mean for you and Jax now? Is it even certain that the kid is his?"

"We won't know for a few hours", Jade explained through a sniffle, wiping the dripping tears from the tip of her nose before pulling her sleeves over her hands as her face twisted again. "I don't know if I can do thisᅳ seeing Tara's child all the time I mean. I really don't want to push Jax away, that's the last thing I want butᅳ"

"Hey, shh." Alison gently grabbed Jade's face, shaking her head as she looked at her best friend. "You and Jax got back together for a reason, things like that don't just happen if the universe didn't want it that way. I know I'm the last person who should say anything about your relationshipᅳ but don't give up on him, Jade, not because of Tara."

Jade sniffled to herself, her lips trembling and more silent tears running down her cheeks as she studied her friend for a while. "I'm sorry, Ali, for everything. If I had known that you had feelings for me back then, I would've behaved differently."

"It's not your fault, Jade." With a gentle smile, Alison shook her head, wiping away Jade's tears with her thumbs before slowly lowering her hands. "Back then, I was obsessed with the idea of having you and Thommy by my side because I'd never loved anyone like that beforeᅳ but deep down I knew that it would never come to that. But I ignored that and was too focused on winning your heart."

Jade opened her mouth to say something, but Alison stopped her by raising a hand. "What I did was wrong and I regret it. After you told me that you didn't want to see me anymoreᅳ that was the worst day of my life, but also the one that made me realize how obsessive my love for you had already been. So I started therapy to work on myself."

"Yeah, it was obsessive, and it scared meᅳ and I hated losing you because of it." Jade swallowed hard as Alison's words hung heavy in the air, the honesty in them so raw and sincere that Jade didn't even doubt the words. "But I'm proud of you, I really am. Did therapy help? Were you able to process the pain somehow? I never wanted you to feel this way because of me."

Alison smiled weakly, closing her hands around Jade's, which were still wrapped in her wet sleeves, as she saw guilt cross her friend's features. "Yes, and I'm over youᅳ as you can see, I met someone too and I'm really happy. But I miss you as a friend, Jade."

"I miss you too, always did", Jade admitted quietly, letting her head fall onto Alison's shoulder. "Maybe we still have a chance, now that some time has passed and you're happy again. And if that's what you still want."

"I would love that", Alison answered softly. She put a comforting arm around Jade so that she could lean into her side. "But first, let's see if we can find a solution to your problem."

"I don't think there's a solution." Jade pulled her feet up onto the couch and against her chest, staring apathetically at the glass table in front of her. "I can't live without Jax, without my boysᅳ and I'm certainly not going to leave him. But I can't demand that he abandons his kid because of me."

"No, you can't", Alison agreed with a sigh. It would be easier to give Jax an ultimatum, make him choose, but Jade was definitely not the type to do such things. "Just wait and see if it's actually Jax' kid, and if it is, you just have to find a solution together that works for everyone, including you, sweetie."

"Yeah, I know." Taking a deep breath, Jade wiped the last tears from her cheeks before closing her eyes, clearly exhausted from all the crying. "Can I stay here for the night?"

"Of course you can", Alison hummed and pulled the blanket, that was folded over the back of the couch, over Jade, covering her properly. "Get some sleep, okay?"

Jade stayed in that position, her eyelids so heavy that she just kept her eyes closed and nodded weakly. Wrapped in the warmth of the blanket and with Alison by her side, it didn't take long before tiredness overcame her.

ᅳ

IN THE EARLY HOURS of the morning, Jade was on her way home after calling in sick and having coffee with Alison and Peyton. Alison had told her to call her after she had talked to Jax, and Peyton had assured her that she could always stay with them for a while if she needed toᅳ even with the kids.

As grateful as Jade was, she shouldn't, she didn't want to. No, she wanted to work things out with Jax and find a solution for this mess. Now that her mind was a little clearer, that was possible.

But her eyes nearly popped out of her skull when she saw Tara coming out of a house two blocks from her own house, the baby seat firmly placed in her hand as she sauntered toward the car in the driveway. Did she live here now? In her neighborhood?

Stupid whore.

Jade saw red after Tara strapped the baby seat into the back seat, anger ripping through her as she yanked the steering wheel around, blocking Tara's exit. Furious as never before, she got out of her car and walked towards the former doctor. Without saying a word, and before Tara could say anything, Jade's fist connected with Tara's nose.

Despite Jade not being a fan of the child that was possibly Jax', she made sure the baby didn't see any of this.

The slightly older brunette stumbled back, a pained yelp falling from her lips as she held her hand under her nose. The blood dripping from her nose filled Tara's palm rather quickly. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Oh, I'm the bad one now?" Jade chuckled dryly, rubbing the tip of her own nose. Taking a step forward, the brunette shoved Tara against the car. Caging her in, Jade's hands rested against the car besides Tara's head. "You're not ruining the life I built with Jax. If you thought I'd leave him just because you showed up with a baby, you're wrong, your plan isn't working."

Tara's stance crumbled, the blood now even dripping past her hand and down her chin, the crimson liquid seeping into the former doctor's beige shirt. "You're pathetic, Jade! I may not get him back, but the babyᅳ she'll be in his life, like it orᅳ"

"Shut up", Jade snapped, her face just inches from Tara's. Her hateful gaze bored into Tara's skull before the next words dripped like poison from her tongue. "If the baby is his, we'll find a solution, togetherᅳ not you and him, no, all of us. And God help you if all of this is just a game of yours."

"Are you threatening me?" Tara asked through a snort, which she immediately regretted as more blood gushed out of her nose, drawing a groan from her. "I'm not leaving my daughter with someone like you. If Jax wants to see her, it will only be without you or with me there."

With a look of disdain and warning, Jade silenced the former doctor as she was about to talk more bullshit. "You won't be a part of my familyᅳ Jax won't let you, Gemma won't let you, and most of all, I won't let you. You got that?"

The Cooper woman noticed that they now had the attention of a neighbor. An old man standing outside his door, sipping his coffee while watching the women with a scrutinizing gaze; but he did nothing, as if he himself wasn't thrilled to get involved in dramaᅳ and Jade was glad about that.

"Olivia is his daughter", Tara hissed, stumbling slightly to the side as Jade finally dropped her arms. "Weren't you the one who came back into his life with a kid too? And look where you are now, sleeping with him every night, seeing his famous panty-dropping smile every dayᅳ I can have that back too. We're not as different as you think."

Jade slowly stepped back, swallowing softly as she realized what the bitch had made her do. Losing control like that was completely out of her nature and shocked even herself. And Tara didn't stop, instead she shot her another smug grin.

"See", the older brunette taunted before shoving Jade back a little to open the car door to get a tissue from her bag. "Now get out of my way, I have to take your stepdaughter to the pediatrician."

Jade's hands were clenched into fists at her sides, ready to strike again. But she didn't, as the girl in the backseat started to cry. "If you compare us again, I'll fucking punch you again, stupid cunt."

And with that, Jade stormed off, but not before catching a glimpse of the little girl. Swallowing hard, she shook her head, slipped back into her car, and finally drove home.

word count; 2489