10th of February, 2000
Brooklyn is 34, Janet is 33, and Michael is 41

Brandon: "Janet, I'm home!" my voice echoed through our house when I closed the door.

"Hey, honey." my wife appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She waddled her way to me, then placed a kiss on my lips.

"Where were you?"

"Mike and Brooke had a meeting in Santa Barbara." I shrugged.

I wasn't allowed to tell her about the whole adoption thing. Michael and Brooklyn wanted to keep it a secret until they actually bring the new baby home.

Janet crossed her arms over her chest, "You're lying to me."

"No, I'm not. They actually had a meeting in Santa Barbara." I said.

"Then you're not telling me the entire truth."

"Where's my baby girl?" I questioned after noticing the lack of Katie's excitement.

"At mother's. Which reminds me, you need to go pick her up." my wife said.

"But I just got home..." I whined.

It was a long day. All I wanted was to sit down and cuddle with my beautiful pregnant wife.

"I promised Katie her daddy would pick her up."

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I rest for a while."

I yawned as I made my way to the living room, then fell down on the couch.

"You have to pick her up, Brandon," Janet muttered. "You were the one who told her she could join us."

"Join us where?"

"You seriously forgot? Wow."

I looked up at her. She had her angry face on.

Shit.

"We have a checkup on the baby you decided I need to carry for nine months, and you fucking forgot about it!" she screamed.

"Babe, I'm sorry... You know how Mike likes to make me work around the clock."

"Don't blame this on him, or on your job. You think I don't work hard? I'm writing, recording, and producing a new album while pregnant, and right after she's born I have a movie to shoot!"

The tears welled up in her eyes.

"Oh, no, please don't cry..." I begged, pulling her into my arms.

~

Janet: I felt so pathetic.

I couldn't even control my tears, they just kept flowing.

These damn hormones.

Yes, I was furious that he forgot about our checkup. And I wanted to keep it that way, but suddenly I felt the urge to cry.

"Come on, we'll go pick up Katie, then we'll go to the checkup, alright? Just please stop crying, baby..." Brandon whispered while wiping my tears.

It's funny how everyone always ask me how I handle being married to a bodyguard. They all think Brandon's some kind of tough guy. But deep inside, he's soft as butter.

He cracks when it comes to me or Katie.

I hugged his neck tightly and kept crying into his shoulder.

Pathetic.

~

I watched as my parents' home door opened and revealed my smiling mother.

"Janet!" she gasped. "I thought you said it was only Brandon coming! Come in, come in!"

Mother pulled me into a warm hug. She put her hands on my rounded bump as the hug was broken.

"She grew so much!"

"Mother, you saw me this morning." I rolled my eyes, attempting to remove her hands.

"Joe, Janet's here! Come say hello!" mother yelled.

Joseph soon appeared with Katie in his arms.

"Mommy!" she squealed. He put her down, and she ran over to Brandon and I.

"Katie said you are going to see her baby sister." mother told me.

"Yeah, we have a checkup." Brandon said.

"Can we come?" Joseph asked.

"I don't know..." I answered, trying to avoid their eyes.

"What kind of father will I be if I don't come to see my baby girl's baby girl?"

"Joseph, please..."

He was just like me, so he knew I was not in the mood for this at all.

My father had that mischievous smile on his face, "Make your old man happy."

"Please, mommy, let grandpa and grandma come with us!" Kate puckered her lips and looked at me with her big eyes.

"Fine." I gave up.

~

Dr. Cole greeted us all nicely.

"The entire family? What an honor." he smiled as I lay down.

Brandon took his place above me, with Katie in his arms, while mother and Joseph sat quietly.

"Alrighty, let's see this baby girl."

I looked at the screen when he put the scanner on my stomach.

There was a heartbeat, but another thumping noise was heard, too.

"Hmm," my doctor scrunched his eyebrows. "This is surprising. It looks like we missed a baby."

"Huh?" Brandon blinked.

"You have twins. Two girls."

Say what?

"What does that mean, daddy?" Katie asked.

"I think it means you'll have two baby sisters." my husband answered.

"Look, one of them is right here," Dr. Cole said, pointing at the screen. "And the other one is right underneath her. That's probably why we haven't seen the second one, her sister was blocking her the whole time."

I looked up at Brandon who had the goofiest smile on. "It makes sense, baby. You are bigger than when you were pregnant with Kate."

"Shut up." I mumbled.

"Twins? Janet, honey, this is amazing!" mother chirped, coming to hug me.

"Yeah." I sighed, and looked at the two girls in the screen again.

~

Michael: "Goodnight, daddy." Prince said as he got into bed, and gave me a kiss.

"Goodnight, baby boy." I smiled.

I made sure to tuck him in, then stood up to turn off the lights.

"Daddy, you forgot my nightlight!" he scoffed.

"Right, I'm sorry." I apologized.

I switched it on.

"Goodnight." I whispered.

"Wait, daddy... Where were you and mommy today?"

"I can't say, Prince. It's a surprise."

"Please, daddy!" he begged, sitting up.

I sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you. But can you keep a secret?"

He nodded excitedly.

"Mommy and I were at a meeting today, because you are getting a baby brother next month." I told him.

My son looked confused.

"But mommy doesn't have a big stomach like auntie Janet does. How can she have a baby in there?"

I chuckled at his wondering nature.

"Well, he has a different mommy and a different daddy, but they can't take care of him like mommy and me take care of you and Paris. So they are giving him to us so he can have a good home and a loving family."

"What does he look like?" my son asked.

"He has a cute little face, and brown eyes like you do." I answered, remembering the picture Margaret showed Brooke and I today.

The new edition to our family was born on January 15th, and was a healthy baby.

Prince grinned. "I can't wait to meet him!"

"Good. Now, you go to sleep. We're going over to auntie Janet's tomorrow." I gave his forehead a kiss.

I walked out of his room, and made my way to our bedroom.

The bathroom light was on, so I went inside.

Brooklyn stood in front of the mirror, topless.

She was examining herself; particularly her abdomen.

"Do I look fat to you, Mike? I feel fat." she muttered.

"Maybe you're pregnant." I suggested.

She snickered, then put on a shirt.

"I am not. Don't even think about it. There's no way."

I blocked her way out of the bathroom.

"Take a test." I said.

"No."

"Why? Are you scared?"

"No, because there's no way I'm pregnant."

"Then take a test just to prove it." I urged.

My wife groaned and turned back to the cabinets.

~

"See? I'm not pregnant." Brooke said, going to the trash can.

"Show me." I ordered.

She hesitated before giving me the test.

The plus sign was clear, making me smile widely.

"I knew it. Told you you'd be pregnant."

"This is bad. Really bad, Michael. If Margaret or anyone else from the adoption agency find out about this, they won't give us Kamron."

"They don't have to find out."

"This is so wrong!" she threw her hands in air. "I can't have a baby right now. I can't be pregnant. We were so close to adopting him... Now that's all ruined!"

"Babe, calm down. We'll sort this out, I promise." I pulled her into my arms.

"N- no. Give me that." she snatched the pregnancy test from my hold and pushed it deep down into the trash.

The rest of the night was quiet since she decided to go to sleep early.

~

11th of February, 2000
Brooklyn is 34, Janet is 33, and Michael is 41

Brooklyn: I woke up early so I could leave the house without Michael noticing.

I was still denying the fact that I was pregnant.

"Where to, Mrs. Jackson?" Steve smiled when I sat inside the car.

"Dr. James' clinic, please." I said.

~

I made a face when Dr. James stuck a needle in my arm.

"How fast can you give me the results?" I asked, watching the blood flow through the tube.

"Tomorrow." she answered.

"I can't be pregnant." I told her.

"Maybe you aren't. Home pregnancy tests aren't always right."

I let out a small sigh of relief when she said that.

Normally, I would never refuse a pregnancy. But this is exactly what I've been trying to avoid.

"What did Michael say?" my doctor question, and removed the needle from inside my vein.

"What do you think? He's excited, of course. I just really can't be pregnant. We're in the process of adopting a baby, and if I'm pregnant, they might not give him to us."

I was already way too attached to Kamron. I've been talking to Anaya non-stop over the phone. We were even talking when she went into labor.

"Okay, I think we're all set. I'll give you a call once I have the results."

I nodded and thanked her.

As I was leaving, Dr. James cleared her throat.

"I don't want you to be overwhelmed by this, Brooke. Cheer up. If you are pregnant and this baby survives, he'll be another miracle. Remember that."

~

I found Michael in the kitchen along with our two babies.

"Where were you?" he asked a he bounced Paris on his knee.

"Oh, um, nowhere." I answered.

I opened the refrigerator in hopes to find something to eat because I was starving. When I didn't find anything to satisfy my sudden hunger, I closed it shut.

"Brooke, where were you?" Michael asked again.

"I went to see Dr. James."

"Why?"

"I took a blood test. I don't trust these home pregnancy tests anymore. She said they might be wrong."

He rolled his eyes, "They never failed before."

"We'll just have to wait until I get the results tomorrow." I said.

"Whatever makes you happy, babe," he sighed. "We need to get going to Janet's."

"Yay!" Prince chirped from his seat.

I laughed and took his hand.

"Let's go."

~

Michael: Janet was definitely bigger since the last time I saw her.

And Brandon seemed happier than ever.

"Mommy, can we tell 'em? Pleaaaseeee!" Katie jumped up and down.

"Tell us what?" Brooke raised her eyebrows.

"Go ahead, baby." Janet grinned.

"Mommy has two girls inside her! I'm gonna have two baby sisters!"

"You're having twins?" I questioned.

"Apparently. The second one was hidden behind the first baby." Brandon said.

"Two girls means double the fun!" Brooklyn clapped her hands.

Janet breathed in deeply. "Yeah, and I have to push both of them out."

"We have some good news, too," I blurted out. "Brooke's pregnant."

"Really?" my brother-in-law gasped.

"No, we aren't sure yet. I'll know tomorrow." Brooke told him.

I shook my head. What is up with her? She would never refuse a pregnancy.

"But I thought you guys are-"

I shot Brandon a glare.

"Never mind."

~

Brooklyn: The whole day I kept thinking about what Dr. James said.

What if I am pregnant? And we'll have another baby of our own, but then we won't have Kamron.

I was already way in too deep to give him up. I couldn't think about him going to a different home.

"You okay?" Janet snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry."

"You sure? You zoned out for a long time."

I nodded and looked down at my stomach.

Please, don't be in there.

I felt so bad for not wanting a child. But I was torn between two babies.

"Brooke, it'll survive. I'm sure of it." my best friend said calmly.

She took my hand, the tears streaming down her cheeks.

I loved how pregnancies softened her.

"Jan, why are you crying?" I chuckled.

"I don't know," she sniffled. "Really, I don't know. I can't stop, either."

I pulled her into a fight hug.

"If you don't stop, I might cry, too." I muttered into her shoulder.

She let out a laugh and hugged me tighter.

"I just can't believe we're both pregnant." Janet whispered.

I sighed deeply, letting go of her.

"Well, I can't believe you're having twins! Out of all people, Janet Damita Jo Jackson is having twins!"

"Please, don't remind me. Now I get why I've been feeling like a cow. This is awful."

"You also look like one." I winked.

She rolled her eyes at me before we heard Michael.

"Babe, Paris fell asleep, I think we should go home." he said as he walked into Janet's and Brandon's bedroom.

"Okay. Bye, Jan. Love you." I smiled, kissing her cheek.

I gave her belly a gentle rub, then joined my husband.

He gave her a very tight hug and we left.

~

Janet: "Hey, babies, it's daddy." Brandon whispered to my exposed stomach.

"Daddy should really back off because mommy isn't in the mood for baby talk right now." I groaned.

"Babe, you're never in the mood. Just let me talk to my girls for a few minutes." he said, kissing me so tenderly that I couldn't resist.

He then returned to my bump. "Daddy loves you so much. I really do."

"Are you done?" I questioned, a bit annoyed.

"Yes." he sighed.

"Thank you."

I scooted away from him and turned off the lights.

"Goodnight." I yawned.

Brandon wrapped a strong arm around me, "Daddy loves you, too."

"And I love daddy, but I am too tired right now." I gave him a light peck.

"Goodnight." he put a kiss on my cheek.

~

Brooklyn: Michael and I were in bed, both of us reading a book.

I was leaning against him since I whined about not finding a comfortable enough position.

I was feeling a slight pinch in my body, like it was trying to tell me something.

"I've been reading the same line thirty times," he suddenly mumbled, closing his book. "Can we talk about today?"

"What about today?" I asked and flipped a page.

"Don't act dumb. You know what I'm talking about."

"I just want to prove to you that I can't be pregnant."

I closed my eyes for a quick second when a wave of pain went through my body.

"But you are! I don't get why you're so worked up on this. It's just a baby- Hey, what is it?" Michael sounded worried.

His worries were justified. Soon enough, another wave came.

~

Michael: Brooklyn sprung out of bed, clutching her flat stomach.

She stood there, doubled over, "I- I think something's wrong."

I then noticed that the pants she was wearing were starting to soak in blood.

"Babe, your pants..." I said.

She looked down and gasped.

My wife let out a small whimper, "No..."

"Do you want to go to the hospital?" I asked quietly.

She nodded before shrieking.

"Come on."

~

Brooke was crying into my chest when a doctor gave us the news.

"Again, I'm very sorry." he murmured, then left the room.

"This is all my fault," she sniffled. "I didn't want him, and now he's gone."

"Shh." I rubbed her back gently.

I didn't want her to blame herself, because it wasn't her fault. These things happen, and we know that more than anyone.

"I'm so sorry, Michael." she cried harder.

"Stop. You aren't responsible for this."

Brooklyn pulled away from me and wiped her tears.