Ascension

Chapter 3

Birthday Bliss

"Leave me alone," Jamie said tonelessly as she walked through the dark parking lot to her car. It had been six days since Ross had shown up on her doorstep, and he was relentless. He was leaning against the wall beside her car, a lit cigarette hanging from his lips. He stubbed it out with his shoe and stood up straight from the wall.

"It's been a week. Why are you still refusing to let me see him?" He asked. She fumbled to put the key in the lock when he gently grabbed her wrist. "Jamie, I know what I did was wrong, but are you doing the right thing keeping me from my son?"

Jamie had remained completely silent throughout all this. She refused to speak to him or reply to his attempts, all in hopes that he would give up and move back with his parents.

But hearing him call Luke 'his son' made her snap. She spun around, her ponytail swishing angrily and jabbed a single finger at his chest.

"He is NOT your son Ross! He is my son! Just because he has your DNA in him does not make him yours!"

She turned back to her car and almost started screaming when the key continued to miss the lock.

Ross gently touched her arm, "Please Jamie, I'm trying to make this right." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to her.

"Here." She took it and saw a phone number scribbled on it. "I know his birthday is coming up, so please call me."

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"Mom!" Mira called out in exasperation, standing up from the couch and walking into the computer room where her mother was. "Make this kid stop crying!"

Audrey frowned at her daughter's tone, but held her arms out and took the baby, "Hello little Lucy. Did you miss your grandma?"

Mira groaned sleepily and rubbed her eyes. It was noon on Thursday and she was tired. "Can you watch her while I go take a nap?"

Audrey raised an eyebrow in a she's-not-my-baby-she's-your-baby kind of way, but nodded her head.

Mira touched her daughter's cheek then walked out of the room up the stairs to her room. She closed and locked her door before setting to work.

She didn't want her mother to watch the baby so she could sleep. She did it because she wanted to work out in peace. Granted, she had been up all night with Lucy and was exhausted, but this was something she needed to do.

She lay on the floor and laced her fingers behind her head, to start doing her sit-ups.

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Matt stopped his car in front of the apartment complex and quickly ran inside. He knocked on Jamie's apartment door and stood there for a moment before knocking again.

"Jamie!" He called, "Come on!"

Immediately, the door swung open to reveal his girlfriend. She practically threw herself at Matt, arms going around his neck. He could see Luke inside watching a toddler show on TV. When Jamie broke away, he saw tears in her eyes.

"Thank god you're here," She said, leading him inside.

"What's going on? You called me a million times."

Jamie nodded to the couch, which Matt sat down on. Luke shrieked at the sight of him and jumped into his lap, hugging him tightly.

The brunette girl briefly explained that her ex-boyfriend was back and wanted to see Luke. She told him about how he had followed her for the last week while Matt was away on a camping trip with his friends.

Matt's face remained impassive during the whole story. But as soon as he heard that Ross had been stalking her, his eyebrows lowered over his blue eyes angrily.

When she finished her story, Matt looked down at Luke and took a deep breath through his nose.

"Well… what do you think you should do?" He asked with a voice calmer than he felt.

Jamie shrugged helplessly, "I have no idea! I told him he can't be a part of Luke's life, but he refuses to listen! I'm… I'm scared he'll take me to court or something."

Matt's eyes widened and he stood up, handing Luke to her, "Can he do that? He abandoned you years ago!"

"Yeah, but his parents are like, really wealthy doctors, they can afford great lawyers and stuff!" she hugged her son close, "What can I do?"

Matt embraced her gently around Luke, "If he does take you to court, I'll get my aunt Leda to help you out. She'll probably do it pro bono."

Jamie's face relaxed a fraction of a second, "And what about his birthday party? He said he wants to come to the party!"

Matt thought for a moment, "Well… I think you need to do what is best for Luke." He patted the little boy's back, "you're a good person Jamie, and I know you love your son more than anything. So do you think Ross should be a part of his life?"

Jamie looked down then at her son then back up at Matt. "Would… would you be alright if I asked him to be there?"

Matt touched the top of Luke's head, "as long as he doesn't do anything to hurt Luke, I'll be fine."

Later that evening, after Matt had left, Jamie took the number out of her pocket and dialed it into her cell phone.

"Hello?" the familiar masculine voice said.

"Hi Ross, its Jamie," She said slowly.

"Jamie, hi!" he said after a moment of shock, "I'm uh, glad you called."

"Listen, I've…decided that, if it means that much to you, you can come to Luke's birthday party."

"Really?" he said in shock and excitement. She imagined him jumping from wherever he was sitting in happiness.

"Yes, but on one condition," she continued.

"Anything. Name it," he said.

"If you want to be a father to him so bad, you have to help pay for half the party." She bit her lip. She knew that the party would be mildly expensive and she would need help.

"Hell, I'll pay for the whole party if you want!" He said excitedly.

Jamie raised her eyebrows in surprise. "No, that's okay…"

"Hey, he's my son too," Ross said. Once again, Jamie wasn't comfortable with him referring to Luke like that. "And I want the first birthday we have together to be special. Where will it be?"

"I was thinking the park. His birthday isn't for another ten days, so we'll have it next Sunday."

"Sounds great."

"Ok, well uh, see you then."

"Jamie?" He asked quickly.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"Um, no problem. Bye."

Jamie hung up the call and looked down at her sleeping son. She hoped she was doing the right thing.

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The next day, Friday, was the last day of school. Students of Brennan High cleaned out their lockers, signed yearbooks, and hugged each other goodbye.

Paige and Sara had taken Mira's yearbook and went around getting people to sign it for her. They had dozens of signatures in the autograph section, and they knew that Mira would be pleased. They also went through and saw that there were a few pictures of the new mom, but her massive belly was not in any of them. Years from now, when someone would look in the yearbook, they would not remember her as the pregnant girl.

Sara went up to Seth at the end of the day and handed him the signed book, telling him to give it to Mira when he went over later.

When Seth arrived at the Pascal house, he handed the girl her yearbook.

"What's this?" she asked. Seth picked Lucy up out of the crib and cradled her to his shoulder.

"Your yearbook. Paige and Sara had everyone in the school sign it."

"Oh," she quickly flipped through the pages, deciding to go through it later.

"How was your day?" He asked, eyes finally meeting her.

"I'm exhausted," she answered.

He snorted, "Why didn't you sleep today?"

For some reason, that question annoyed her. She set the book on her desk and turned to him. "I was a little too busy taking care of our daughter while you were at school."

Seth shrugged, "So go lie down now, I'll take care of her."

Mira stared at him for a moment, but he just turned and walked out of the room, making silly noises for Lucy. She dropped on her bed. Why did he seem to never notice her anymore?

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Sunday brought warm, sunny June weather. Jamie had set up balloons, a moon bounce, large stacks of capes to be worn by all the toddlers instead of party hats, boxes and boxes of pizza, and a big Happy Birthday Luke banner hung between two trees.

Matt had come over early to help her set up. She had picked the perfect spot. Beneath a few tall trees that shaded them from the sun, with a few large metal picnic tables to hold the food. And all of it was on Ross's dime. He insisted on paying for everything. The moon bounce had been his idea.

Almost all the kids from the babysitter were coming with their parents. Over the last year, Jamie had gotten to know them and invited them to the party.

"Just put those over there!" Jamie pointed beside a picnic table. Matt and his friends Leo and Dylan set three large coolers filled with sodas on the ground. She had borrowed the coolers from various moms in the apartment complex. She had two more in the trunk of Leo's van that were filled with multiple flavored juice boxes.

Ross had told her he would be bringing the cake. She didn't know what kind of cake it was, but she hoped it fit in with the superhero theme of the party.

She sighed and adjusted her dark purple camisole under her crochet top while watching Matt run up the hill to get the coolers out of the van. People would be arriving at the park in about ten minutes.

Luke was running around the playground with her neighbor Melanie and her son Devon. They had to keep him occupied while she set up the party.

The early summer breeze fluttered her long brown ponytail. She popped the tab of her soda and took a long gulp.

"Jamie!" A voice squealed behind her. She turned to see Seth and Mira come running up. Mira threw her arms around her friend. "It's so good to see you!"

Since Lucy had been born, Mira had barely any time to see any of her friends. She had only seen Jamie once since that day in the hospital. Jamie looked at Seth over Mira's shoulder and was surprised to not see Lucy.

"Where's the baby?" she asked when they pulled away from the hug.

"Oh, my mom offered to watch her so I could come here," Mira responded with a grin. Her long hair hung in gentle waves around her face and down her back.

Not having Jamie's physique, she wore a pair of Capri pants and a dark blue pleated kimono shirt.

"Luke's gift is in the car," Seth said, "It's too big to wrap up."

Jamie glanced between the two, "Please tell me you didn't get him a puppy!" she said, voice tinged with fear.

Mira laughed, "No, its something completely different."

Twenty minutes later, over a dozen people were crowded around the picnic tables with their children running around, screaming and playing.

Seth and Mira were standing off to the side, talking to a man and woman who were holding a baby. Mira looked over at Seth and noticed him staring at something.

"No," she said firmly.

"But…"

"Seth, you are too old for the bouncy house!"

He pouted and crossed his arms.

Across the picnic tables, Jamie held her cell phone to her ear. "Ross where are you? Call me when you get this!" she hung up the call.

"Mama!" A little voice screamed. She turned just in time for Luke to come racing into her arms. Marinara sauce coated his little mouth. Matt came running up behind him.

"Luke managed to get into the pizza!" Matt said with a laugh. Jamie giggled and wiped her son's mouth with a napkin.

She kissed Luke's cheek, "You having fun, sweetheart?"

Instead of answering, Luke squirmed out of her arms and ran off toward the children laughing at something at the bouncy house.

Jamie and Matt burst out laughing as Mira walked over to the blow-up castle.

"Seth, get out of there!" Mira screamed.

Jamie turned back to Matt and, in a moment of sheer happiness, she threw her arms around his neck. He immediately hugged her back.

"Thank you so much for helping me with this," she whispered against the soft fabric of his shirt.

Matt smiled, "Its no problem, I love the little guy."

Jamie turned her head to see Mira dragging Seth out of the castle and a parent helping Luke into it, where he began to bounce merrily.

"He really loves you," she said back. Something running down the hill became visible out of the corner of her eye, so she turned her head to see Ross walking up to them. She nudged Matt with her elbow and nodded in his direction.

She walked forward to greet him. "Hello Ross," she said cordially.

"Hey Jamie," His eyes shifted to Matt, who was walking up behind her.

An awkward moment passed as the two young men eyed each other. Jamie cleared her throat, "Uh, this is my boyfriend Matt Pascal. Matt, this is Ross."

Matt held his hand out, "It's nice to finally meet you."

Ross eyed his hand for a moment before shaking it, "Yeah, you too, man."

At that moment, Mira came walking up, Luke perched on her hip. Seth was walking up behind her, drinking from a toddler juice box. "Hey, Jamie," she greeted cheerfully. Her blue eyes fell on Ross and they widened somewhat. She looked at him, then back at Luke, then back at Ross. "Um… is this…"

"Yes," Jamie said, "This is Ross. Ross, this is Mira."

"And this is Seth." Mira gestured to the boy beside her. "My baby daddy. You know, one that didn't run off."

Ross frowned. Jamie pressed her lips together to keep from giggling. "Um, Mira has a daughter, Lucy."

"She's an angel," Seth said with a grin. Talking about his daughter always made him break out in a grin. He held out his cell phone that held the most recent picture of Lucy.

Ross smiled politely, "she's cute."

Seth put his phone back in his pocket. Ross's eyes were looking at the toddler on Mira's hip.

"Uh." He looked at Jamie. "Can I, like, hold him?"

Jamie glanced at her son, "I-I guess so," she answered softly.

Ross held his hands out and took Luke from Mira's hip. He placed Luke on his own hip, arm supporting his back.

"Hey buddy," he said. The two-year-old just tilted his head to the side and studied the man before him. "I'm your daddy."

Matt glanced at his girlfriend out of the corner of his eye, and saw her face crumpled slightly, as if hearing Ross say that brought out something in her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to his side.

Luke stared at Ross with his big brown eyes, and apparently even as a toddler, he didn't like what he saw. He squirmed in his arms and reached his hands out to Matt.

"Dada!" He yelled. Ross's smile fell. Matt stepped forward and took the child out of Ross's unwilling grip.

Mira, sensing the awkwardness of the situation, decided to speak up. "Um, Matt lets get Luke some pizza."

The two Pascals and Seth quickly walked over to the picnic tables, leaving Ross and Jamie.

The brunette girl looked at her former lover, a smile printed on her face. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Ross continued staring after Luke. "He doesn't even care who I am."

"Well what did you expect?" she asked in surprise. "He's two and you have been absent from his entire life. He won't see you as his dad as soon as he meets you."

He looked at her, "how long will it take?"

Jamie frowned, "I thought we agreed that you could come to the party and then we would figure something out?"

"We did, but I still intend to be a part of his life."

That comment made her frown deepen. She turned to face him, "Ross, I am not going to do this now. It's Luke's birthday."

"Jamie, come on we need to cut the cake!" Mira called from the picnic table.

Ross had insisted on getting the biggest possible cake for the party. It was a massive vanilla cream cake, seven circular layers, each with a different superhero. The bottom, the biggest layer, was captain America, the one above it was Robin, then the hulk, then Spiderman, Aquaman, Superman, and the final was the top half of Batman. Jamie had insisted that it was too extravagant, but Ross wouldn't hear of it.

Jamie was lucky that so many people were at the party, because there was so much cake. Everyone sang happy birthday to the child, and he and Jamie blew out the candles.

Seth and Mira were sitting in the shade eating off small paper plates. Mira had scraped off the icing and appeared to only be nibbling at it. Seth was on his third piece and showed no intention of stopping.

"I miss Lucy," Mira said randomly. Seth looked at her.

"We've only been away from her for two hours."

"I know," she sighed. "But I don't like being away from her."

"Mira!" Jamie called. Seth and Mira looked up to see Jamie waving them over. "Come on! We need you in the picture!"

Mira handed her plate of slightly eaten cake to Seth and stood up. Dusting grass and dirt off her jeans, she walked over and sat beside Jamie.

Matt stood in front of them holding the camera. "Ok, the two mommies say cheese!"

"Cheese!" Mira, Jamie, and Luke screamed with big grins.

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"It was so fun," Mira gushed to Ava, who was looking over her shoulder at the computer.

Ava flipped her black and blue ponytail over her shoulder as Mira clicked on the icon in her e-mail. A photo loaded to reveal a picture of Jamie holding Luke, both with huge grins on their faces.

The next one was Mira and Seth with another couple. The next was a candid picture of Mira yelling at Seth in the bouncy house. After that was one of Mira walking toward the camera, mouth open in what looked like mid-scream for taking that last picture.

Mira quickly closed the tab. "Those weren't supposed to be there, I look awful in them!"

But Ava wasn't listening. She looked deep in thought.

"Ava? You alright?"

The black haired girl backed up and sat on the bed beside a sleeping Lucy. "I… I've been thinking lately."

"About what?" Mira asked. Ava expertly picked up Lucy and bounced her in her arms, all without waking her.

"About… okay, so you know how I was adopted by my dads?"

"Yeah," Mira replied, draping an arm over the back of her chair.

"Well, when we first met, you were set on giving Lucy up for adoption."

Mira winced, "Don't remind me."

Ava ignored her, "And after you decided to keep her, I realized that I had never wondered about my real mother and father. My dads never talked about them and I have no idea who they are."

Mira sat beside her on the bed, gently caressing Lucy's soft downy baby hair.

"Ava, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying… I want to find my real parents."

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"Thank you so much for helping out today," Jamie said, standing on her toes and kissing Matt's cheek. He had to go to work and couldn't help bring home all the gifts and leftover food.

"No problem," he answered. Leaning into the car, he touched sleeping Luke's arm as a goodbye, "Happy birthday, little guy."

Ross closed the trunk of Jamie's car after loading all the things in it. "Well that's everything." He said. They watched Matt cross the street to his car before Ross turned to Jamie.

"This was fun," he said. Jamie forced a smile and nodded. It had been a very tiring day and she just wanted to go home and sleep.

"Yeah, um I'll call you," she said weakly, digging her keys out of her pocket. She was stopped when Ross grabbed her arm.

"Jamie we need to talk about this now," he declared. She huffed a breath out of the corner of her mouth and turned to him.

"About what?"

"About our son."

"Okay, stop calling him that. Just because you bought him a big cake and a toy car –which he is too young for- doesn't mean you can call him your son."

"He is my son!" Ross said indignantly. This girl was getting on his nerves. He wasn't used to not getting his way, or being spoken to this way. "And I want to see him again."

Jamie let out a long sigh before turning back to him. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Ross," she said honestly. "I think it would be best for Luke if… if you left."

Ross twitched slightly, "Why should I leave? If I want to see my son, then I will see my son!"

Jamie rubbed her temples. Now she knew where Luke got his temper tantrums from.

"I had to rebuild my life, Ross. You abandoned me and I had to raise a baby all by myself. I had no one. My parents didn't want me or Luke, so I had to be alone. And it turns out; I'm really good at being a single mom. I…" she trailed off, but took a breath and continued, "I think you should leave. Don't try to contact us again."

She had barely taken a step toward her car when he grabbed her arm much, much harder than last time.

"This isn't over," he hissed. Releasing her arm, he spun around and stalked off. Jamie gulped around the lump in her throat. This could not end well.

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