Chapter 21

8 PM....

Rachel is having a glass of orange juice while carrying Elise, while Jack is talking with Liam and Nate. She's been trying to make Elise to calm down, since she's been moving a lot. Just then, she sees Alex walking over to her, a smile slowly forming on his face.

"Hey, how are you?" Alex ask as he stares at the girl carrying her child.

"I'm good, Alex. And you?" Rachel ask with a smile.

"I'm fine," says Alex. He starts to stare at Elise who had been moving around her mother's arms.

"Ah, Elise, calm down," says Rachel as she puts the glass of orange juice on the table beside her and tries to calm the feisty toddler in her arms.

Alex chuckles at the sigh of the child being a little too feisty in her mother's arms. He thought it is really cute. "She's beautiful."

"And feisty at times," Rachel says as she sees that Elise is about to cry.

"Just like you," says Alex with a bit of a flirty tone. He eventually realize that he probably just flirted her.

Rachel's face starts to turn red, but her attention takes turn after Elise starts crying in her arms. Rachel starts rocking Elise back and forth, hoping she would stop crying. Looking at the crying child, Alex felt the urge to carry her and try to calm her down. He didn't know why, but maybe because Elise reminded him of Rachel? He thought.

"Can I...try to carry her?" Alex ask.

Rachel looks at Alex with a puzzled look. For her, it's weird that her ex suddenly asked to carry her child without him knowing that he's actually the father.

"Ok." Though it gives her mixed up feelings, she decides to hand Elise to him, since she trusted him enough.

Rachel hands Elise who is still crying to Alex. He carries her and starts rocking her back and forth gently. Somehow, Elise slowly stops crying in Alex's arms, making both Rachel and Alex feel surprise.

"She stops crying," Alex says as he looks at the little girl who slowly stops crying.

"Yeah," Rachel says with an awkward tone. Though she felt weird seeing her ex carrying their child and calming her down, deep inisde she feels a small feeling of happiness that she could see them together.

I wish I could see this everyday.

Rachel thought.

"How old is she?" Alex ask.

"Two and a half years old," Rachel says.

The two adults were having an awkward moment together, when Jack suddenly approaches them. He sees that Alex is carrying Elise, before turning his head to see Rachel.

"Rachel, I need to talk to you. Can we go out for a minute?" Jack says.

Rachel nods at Jack, before turning her head to Alex. "We'll be back in a minute. In the mean time, can you please look after Elise for a moment?" Rachel ask. She didn't want Elise to start crying again, knowing that it's gonna take a while to calm her down.

"Sure," Alex says with a smile.

Jack and Rachel starts walking away from the crowded party. They decided to exit the ballroom, and talk near the elevators where it's quiet.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Rachel ask as she stares at Jack.

Jack smiles at the girl standing in front of him. His cheeks starts to blush as he starts to feel nervous about what he's planning to say.

Meanwhile, after Rachel and Jack left, Elise had start crying again in Alex's arms. He tries to calm her down but it didn't work. By that, he decides to search the party for her parents.

"Mommy!" Elise says with her little voice as she continues to cry.

"Ok, I will look for Mommy," Alex says while trying to calm the crying child. He starts to search the whole ballroom for Rachel and Jack, while trying to calm down the crying toddler. He eventually runs into Chad and Nate who were talking and having a drink together.

"Hey, guys! Have you seen Rachel and Jack?" Alex ask as he continues to rock Elise back and forth slowly. Lucikly, she's starting to calm down a little.

"I saw them walked out the door," Chad says.

"Maybe they're having a little moment," Nate says with a smirk on his face.

"Whatever, I gotta go look for them," says Alex before he walks away with Elise in his arms.

Alex continues to comfort Elise as he walks through the crowd. She slowly starts to get calmer as he continues to rock her back and forth while caressing her.

Meanwhile...

"I want to say thank you for all the times we spend together. For always being with me through out my journey. Even when I left you when we were eight years old, you never forget me," says Jack.

"Jack, why are you saying all of this? I should be the one to say this to you," Rachel says with a confused look.

Jack just smile at the girl as he slowly pulls out the small box from his pocket. Rachel notice the box in his hand and stare at it with a confused look.

"I hope I didn't make you wait too long. Just so you know, my feelings towards you never change. I only waited for the right time, at the right moment," Jack says as he slowly opens the box, revealing the beautiful heart shaped diamond ring inside, making Rachel look surprised.

"Rachel Spencer, you've always been in my heart. I hope we can always be in each other's life. Forever, and always." Jack takes out the ring and puts the box back in his pocket.

Rachel stood in surprised as tears starts flowing from her eyes. She couldn't believe that Jack would say all these things to her, when she felt like she was the one who needed to show more gratitude. Despite all the troubles that happened in her life, he never leave her at any chance, when she knew he could have been better off without her. Any girl would be lucky to have him, and he could have any girl he wanted. But instead, he chose to stay with her, a girl with lots of troubles from her past.

Just then, Alex opens the door of the ballroom exit with Elise now asleep in his arms. He was about to see if Rachel and Jack are near the elevator, when he stops as he hears that Rachel is crying while the two are talking. He didn't want to interrupt the moment, so he decided to stay there behind the wall so they couldn't see him.

This kinda feels like eavesdropping, but better than having to go back to the party where Elise could wake up at anytime. Alex thought as he continues to caress Elise, while listening to Rachel and Jack's conversation.

"You've been too kind to me. I should be the one to say thank you. From the start, you've always been there for me even in my hardest time. You never give up on me, even when I pushed you away," says Rachel as tears starts running down her cheeks. "From when the stalkers were after me, to when I was pregnant. You've always been there for me through my ups and downs."

Alex listened to everything Rachel said to Jack. He isn't too surprise to know that Jack had always been there for her. He knew deep inside his best friend had liked the girl for a while. Other than that, he remembered that he told Jack to always take care of Rachel, right before they went to LA.

"You even pretend to be Elise's father, when I couldn't even give her a father. You did that to protect my reputation." Rachel continues to sob.

Alex's eyes suddenly widens as he feels shock after what he just heard. For a moment he wanted to think he misheard it.

Pretend? Why would he pretend to be the father? Does this mean.... Alex thought as he starts to stare at Elise's sleeping face in his arms. Could she be...

Alex starts to stare at Elise's sleeping face. Though he found the little girl to look a lot like Rachel, he did noticed that her eyes looks like him, especially when she smiles.

I'm the father...

Alex thought.

"Don't say that, Rachel. You know I care for you and Elise," says Jack as he lifts Rachel's chin up with his index finger. "I want to be with you guys forever. Rachel Spencer, will you marry me?"

Rachel wipes her tears with her hands, as she slowly forms a small smile on her face. "Yes...Jack Pierce, it's a yes!"

Hearing this, Jack puts the ring on Rachel's finger. He then pulls her into a deep embrace. Tonight has been the happiest night of his life, knowing that the girl he loves just accepted his proposal.

Alex notice that the couple will probably return to the ballroom at any second, so he quickly goes back inside so that they won't caught him eavesdropping. After finding out that he is actually the father of Elise, Alex knew that he couldn't bear to lose his daughter after finding out the truth. Other than that, he is furious at why Rachel never tell him in the first place.

Alex walks back inside the ballroom with Elise still in his arms. A few minutes later, Rachel and Jack walks back in hand-in-hand.

"Hey! Thanks for looking out for her." Jack walks over to Alex to grab Elise from his arms.

"Yeah, you're welcome," Ten says in a flat tone, before turning his gaze to Xiali.

"Rachel, can I have a word with you for a minute?" Ten ask.

Rachel looks confused and surprised, but decides to go talk with Alex anyway. The two of them decides to exit the crowded ballroom and talk near the elevator, the same place where Rachel was talking with Jack a few minutes ago.

"What is it?" Rachel ask.

"Don't play dumb with me, Rachel," Alex says with a disappointed tone. "I can't believe you've been hiding this from me." Both fury and sadness starts to fill Alex's voice.

"What do you mean?" Rachel ask with confusion.

"I am Elise's father, right? I heard everything, Rachel! I heard what you and Jack were talking about!" Alex says with sadness and fury mixed in his voice. He stares deeply into Rachel's hazel eyes with sadness and fury.

Rachel just stood in silence as she feels tears slowly running down her cheeks. She couldn't lie to him anymore, knowing that he had learned the truth.

"Yes," Rachel says as she stares down at the ground, not wanting Alex to see the tears in her eyes.

Alex stares at Rachel as he tries to control himself to not burst out crying at this point. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to bother you knowing that you have a fianceè," says Rachel. "You made a promise to your fianceè and your parents, Alex. Don't break your promise!"

Alex takes a deep breath upon hearing Rachel's words. "I messed up, big time. I put you into this mess because I couldn't be a good man."

Tears starts to flow from Alex's eyes.

Suddenly, he grabs Rachel's hands gently. Rachel turns her head to look at him with tears in her eyes. "Let's start again, Rachel."

Rachel looks at Alex with a confused look. As much as she knew that deep down a part of her still cares about him, she realize they could never be together.

"We can't. You're engaged and so am I. We could never be together," says Rachel as she stares at the ring on her finger, making Alex notice.

"We have Elise! She needs her parents. I know I already failed to be a good boyfriend, but at least give me a chance to be a good father," Alex says as he puts his hands on Rachel's shoulders. "I don't care about my promises. Right now, I just care about my actions."

What is worse than a guy who can't keep his promise? A guy who runs from his actions. Alex thought as he stares deeply into Rachel's eyes.

"Alex, don't do this! Don't break your promise. You're only gonna hurt more people," says Rachel as she starts to tear up. "It's my fault. I should have been more careful when I loved you."

Rachel starts to tear up as she covers her face with her hands. Alex feels guilty knowing that he just made the mother of his daughter cry. Alex quickly pulls her into his embrace as he comforts her.

"I'm sorry for everything....I put you into this mess, now I don't even have the chance to fix it. I'm such a loser." Alex starts crying as he hugs Rachel tightly in his arms.

"You're not a loser. Admiring you was the greatest serendipity. But we still have to keep our promise to our partners. You with Courtney, and I'm with Jack," Rachel says as she slowly tries to comfort Alex.

She pulls away from the hug to look at him in the face.

"Then give me a chance to be a part of Elise's life," Alex says. "At least, that's the only way for me to take actions. I want to support her and give her all the affection I have."

"How is that possible?" Rachel ask with a confused look.

"It's possible because I want to take actions. Right now, all that matters is that I take actions and take part in Elise's life," Alex says.

"What if your parents or Courtney find out? I don't want to get you into trouble," Rachel says.

"That doesn't matter because right now, all that matters is that I take responsibility for my actions. My parents won't mind about it. As for Courtney, I will still keep my promise to her," says Alex before he takes a deep breath. "Though I feel like my promise is already breaking itself."

"What do you mean?" Rachel ask.

"We decided to postponed the wedding. We still have some issues to sort out. I guess that's the dangerous thing about promise. We make them when we're happy, not when we're ready," says Alex. "But enough about that. I just want to support Elise at all cost. Will you give me that chance?"

Rachel lets out a sigh. She knew she couldn't run away from Alex forever with their child, even though they are no longer together. Knowing that he wants to take part in Elise's life made Rachel a little happy inside. She thought she could give him a chance.

"Ok. You can visit her anytime," says Rachel.

Alex starts to smile after hearing Rachel's words. He suddenly pulls her into a tight hug. Rachel hugs him back and the two embrace. Both of them realize how deep down, they still care for each other, and right now, they're just thinking about what's best for their daughter while still keeping their promises to their partners.

"I'll do a lot more than that. I'm her father and I should do way much more."

"She's still staying with me though," says Rachel as she pulls away from the hug.

"If that's what you want, I understand. Besides, she also needs her mother, but I'm also gonna be her father figure, because I am," Alex says.

Rachel smiles at Alex. "I agree," Rachel says. "So we're good?"

"Yeah. I just need to talk to Jack now about this," Alex says.

"Then let's go talk to him!" Rachel says as she leads the way to return to the ballroom.

Alex and Rachel returns to the ballroom and sees Jack carrying Elise who is now awake. Rachel approaches Jack and grabs Elise from his arms.

"Hi, Eli! You're awake?" Rachel ask as she carries Elise in her arms.

"Yeah, she is," Jack says.

"Well, I'm gonna go catch up with the girls now. See you guys later," Rachel says as she walks away and leaves the two guys.

Alex turns his head to look at Jack.

"I already know everything, Bro," Alex says, making Jack turn to face him with a puzzled look.

"What?" Jack ask.

"It's a long story, but let me take you there," Alex says.

Witht that, Alex eventually told Jack everything he just said to Rachel. Though it was surprising for him that Alex found out, he eventually agreed to let Alex support Elise and become a part of her life. He just wants all the best for Elise, and that she receive much love from all her parents.

"Take care of them, Brother," Alex says as he stares down at the ground. "I believe in you. You're a good man."

"I will," Jack says.

With that, Alex forms a small smile on his face before he walks away from Jack.

After a few hours, the party eventually comes to an end and all the guest starts to head home.

The next day...

Before going back to New York City tonight, Ten wanted to spend the day with Elise, which Rachel and Jack agreed. They decided to go to an amusement park along with Liam and Nate.

"Here you go!" Alex hands Elise a teddy bear he had bought for her at the souvenir store.

"Aww...Elise, what do you say?" Rachel ask Elise who is holding the teddy bear.

"Thank you, Uncle," Elise says.

Alex forms a small smile at the sight of his daughter smiling. Though he is a bit disappointed that he called her "Uncle" instead of "Dad", he knew that it's hard for her to understand the situation, knowing that she's way too young. At least he felt happy enough to be a part of her life, even if he could only be her "Uncle".

"Aww...how cute," Nate says ad he stare at the little toddler.

"Let's take Elise for another ride," Jack says, which everyone agrees.

Hours passed by and Alex feels happy enough that he could spend some time with his daughter, without any of his friends knowing that he's actually the father. He knew he was gonna miss her a lot, that's why he wants to spend some time with her before he goes back.

7 PM...

At the airport...

"See you guys soon," Liam says as he waves goodbye at Rachel and Jack.

"Bye guys! Have a safe flight," Jack says.

Alex smiles. "You too, stay safe!" he start to stare at Rachel who is carrying Elise in her arms. "Can I carry her one last time?"

"Sure," Rachel says with a smile.

Alex takes Elise from Rachel's arms and carries her in his arms. He stares at her face one last time with affection. He wished that he could see her in his arms everyday. After a few minutes of carrying her, Alex returns Elise back to Rachel.

"Goodbye, Elise! Stay safe. Be good to Mommy and Daddy ok," Alex says as he waves at the little toddler who is staring at him. "Bye guys!" Alex adds before turning away to head inside the airport along with his friends.

"Well, seems like someone here has become Elise's favorite uncle," says Nate as he places his arm around Alex as they walk through the airport.

"Looks like you're all set to be a father, Alex," Liam says with a small chuckle.

Alex just smile at his friends comments, knowing deep inside that he is already a father to a lovely little girl.

Elise, thank you for making me a father. Rachel, thank you for giving me such a lovely daughter. No matter how far I go, I wil always love you two, forever. Alex thought.

2:30 AM...

At the gang's house...

Rachel's POV...

Alex informed me that he and the guys had arrived home safely and just finished unpacking. They are now gonna clean up and go to bed. Speaking of that, I'm also gonna go to bed. It's late now and I'm sleepy after a long day.

I walk upstairs to my room after having a late bowl of cereal. When I open the door, I bump into Jack who is already in his pajamas. Meanwhile, Elise is already asleep in her crib.

"Going to bed?" Jack ask.

"Yeah, I'll just go clean up first," I say as I walk inside the room and make my way to the bathroom.

After a few minutes, I walk out of the bathroom and lie down on the bed. I noticed that Jack is already lying down beside me. Slowly, he puts his arms around my waist, making me turn my head to face him. Tonight, I'm happy to say that my heart feels happy after all that happened. In a way, everything brings a valuable lesson and a memory to cherish.

Even though Alex and I didn't end up together, I'm thankful that we were once together. I'm glad we finally clear things and are on good terms now. I'm happy to know that he's willing to take action to be a part of Elise's life. I'm thankful to have the chance to be Elise's mother. My lovely daughter, my sunshine. She brings joy to my life. And after that, in the end I found myself back to Jack, the boy who had always been there for me since my childhood days.

I guess that's what life is trying to teach me. That not every chapter is gonna last, but every chapter brings a special message, which could bring out the most unexpected ending.

THE END...