Okay so I know it's been a while and I thank any of you who are still reading this for sticking with me. It's been a rough couple of months but here it is finally the fourth chapter without further ado… enjoy.

Last time
Payson pulled away quickly and turned to face Kaylie. "What are you talking about? I'm not telling Sasha the baby's his. Payson said looking at Kaylie as if she had two heads.

Who's you're daddy?

"What? Payson you have to tell him he's the father!" Kaylie says wondering what the hell was wrong with her friend, "emphasis on Father!" "Yeah Pay he has a right to know" Lauren chimes in with a confused look on her face

"No he doesn't" Payson says vehemently, standing up suddenly. "He has no right to know anything that goes on in my life, he's made it pretty clear that he wants nothing to do with me, so that's what he's getting, absolutely nothing do you hear me? Nothing! Nothing from me, nothing from any of you and I will be struck dumb the day he has anything to do with my baby!" As she spoke she got angrier and angrier until she practically shouted the last few words.

"Whoa Pay, calm down, its okay you don't have to say anything to Sasha if you don't want to" Lauren says taking Payson's hand and sitting her back down on the bed. "Right Kaylie?" "What Lo? Have you both gone mad? Of course Sasha has to know. He. Is. The. Father! This means that he has responsibilities" Kaylie replies, unable to understand where both her friends were coming from. "He needs to know so he can be there for her".

"No!" Payson says starting to get worked up again. "I don't want him to know!" after saying this she began to hyperventilate "Sasha can't know. If he knows it will ruin everything. He absolutely can't know." Payson swayed dangerously on her feet.

"Payson!" Kaylie and Lauren both shout as they stand up to stop her from falling. "What's wrong?" Austin asks, running into the room "Pay?" "I'm fine just a little dizzy, I stood up too fast" She replies, hanging on to Kaylie and Lauren.

"Let's get you sat down, shall we?" Kaylie declares "and now we need to keep you nice and calm so you won't start hyperventilating again", as she spoke she helped Payson to sit down on the bed and she and Lauren sat down either side of her.

"Hyperventilating? What's going on what happened while I was gone?" Austin says as he puts the food down on the desk and crouches down in front of her. "Are you okay?" he asks Payson, taking her hands.

"I'm fine" she replied looking at her belly, which now she could now see as protruding out a little more than it used to. "I'm fine" she repeates. "I'm fine, I'll be fine, I have to be fine." As she finished she burst into tears and fell forward onto Austin. "It's okay, I've got you" he says soothingly as he strokes her back slowly, everything is going to be okay." "Now why don't you two tell me what I missed?" Lauren and Kaylie quickly filled him on everything and began to hand out the food. Once everyone was fed they returned to the convocation they'd been having before Payson freaked out.

"Pay, why don't you want to tell him" Kaylie askes her friend quietly. "I Just don't" Payson replies, avoiding her gaze. "C'mon Pay there has to be a reason or you wouldn't have gotten so worked up about it before" Lauren probes gently, eager for information. "No reason I just don't want him to know, he doesn't need to and he probably wouldn't care anyway" She replies still avoiding looking at all of them by focusing on her belly.

"Why wouldn't he care Pay? You and he always had such a close relationship before all this happened, what's changed now other than you having a bun in the- oww that hurt" Austin exclaims as cushion whacks him in the face. "What the hell was that for?" "For being an insensitive prick" Lauren replies flippantly. "But the prick makes a good point why wouldn't he care about the baby?"

Payson sighed and got up and made her way across the room and to the window, she stared up a the bright blue sky and marvelled at how much her life had transformed in just a few hours. As she gazed outside she thought back the night she shared with him and how amazing it felt being in his arms and how she would give anything to have him with her like that again, even if it meant telling him about the baby. Despite that she just couldn't forget the look on Sasha's face the morning after when he realised what he'd done, how he hurriedly clambered into his clothes and how he stumbled through excuses about alcohol and what was he thinking, and about it never happening again. She can't forget how heartbroken she felt after he left and how she never ever wants to feel that way again.

She doesn't know quite how she can convey this to the people gathered in her room so she sums it up as best she can. "He hasn't shared a decent conversation with more than a handful of words since we arrived home, and every time I've been to the Rock he locks himself away in his office with an explanation about paperwork. He doesn't care about me and he won't care about my baby, I'm not going to give him that option."

"Payson, that's all very well but don't you think he's gonna put two and two together when your stomach becomes the size of a house?" Lauren probes. "Thanks Lo" Payson scoffs "glad to see you still think about the important things in life." "You know what I mean it's a small town, he's gonna see you around at some point, plus you mom still kind of works at the gym and do you seriously think she won't say anything to him?"

Suddenly Payson's head snaps round and she stares at them with a look of blank horror on her face. "Shit" she gasps "my parents. What on earth am I gonna tell my parents? They're gonna be so disappointed," she begins to pace "they've given up so much for me and how do I repay them? "She asks rhetorically, "I get myself knocked up the first time I ever have sex." "The first time, really? How unlucky" Austin inputs. "Austin!" Kaylie exclaims "so not your business". "Right sorry".

"Payson, even if you won't tell Sasha, which I still think you should by the way. You have to tell your parents seen as you live here and I think they're gonna notice." Kaylie says, appealing the Payson's logical side. "Your right I will but how do I tell them without telling them who the father is?"

"Oh that's easy" Lauren interjects, examining her nails "you just say it was a random hook up and that you don't want him in yours or the baby's life." She looks up to find three incredulous faces staring at her. "What?" she asks. "What?" Payson asks, "Nothing at all if you want me to sound like a common whore" she spits out, venom in her voice. "Okay, Okay, we'll think of something else" Lauren reasons. "How about you find someone who you trust, who you think will understand, let him in on the situation and tell everyone he's the dad. No one will argue with you as long as he's believable." Austin says, offering his opinion. " Good idea except I don't really have that many close friends who are guys, none of whom I'd be comfortable telling who the real dad is which I'd have to do."

"but there is someone you could ask, Pay" Kaylie says quietly "someone who you trust, who knows the whole situation, who doesn't judge you and who people would believe as being a believable father" "Who Kaylie?" Lauren asks. "More importantly how could they know" Payson asks, confused "unless-"she trails off and the three girls turn to look at Austin.

"Me!" Austin exclaims disbelievingly, "You want me to pretend to be your baby's father?" The three girls looked at each other and simultaneously nodded at him. "You're mental; all those pregnancy hormones are going to your head". "What do you know about hormones? Besides it was Kaylies idea you know, your girlfriends idea the one who's standing over there" Payson retorts. "Speaking of…" Austin turns to Kaylie "what are you thinking, because you know what I'm thinking; if I agree to this and I'm not saying that I will, everyone will think that I cheated on you and then everyone will hate me. Additionally no one will expect you and Payson to be friends, in fact quite the opposite as she is one of your best friends. Not to mention your dad will KILL ME!" Austin says, emphasising the last point.

"True, but we can figure something out, just say we were on a break, you were overtired and misread signs and thought I was cheating on you, so you went to Payson's for sympathy and got drunk and the rest is history. That way me and Payson can stay friends, and we can say that you're sticking by Payson but that you're staying with me as well. That way my dad won't have any reason to kill you." Kaylie says, explaining away all of Austin's arguments.

"Wow you have given it some thought". "I just want the best for Payson" Kaylie "and if you being the 'dad' makes this easier for her then that's what we're going to do. Right Pay? Pay? Where is she?"

"in the bathroom, baby does not like fried chicken" Lauren says absentmindedly from the bed.

The bathroom door opens and Payson walks out, "will you do it?" she asks, fear in her eyes.

"Of course I'll do it" Austin replies "just don't ask me to change any diapers once it's born okay, because that is something I really don't want to do."

"Sure thing, Dad"

The end. That has to be the longest chapter I've written yet and they'll probably get longer still. Hope you enjoyed it and that it was worth waiting for. I'll try and update soon if not they feel free to throw things at me, metaphorically of course. Please review it means so much to me and as it means so much if I get at least ten reviews on this chapter by Saturday night I'll write a short filler chapter and post it on Sunday.