The Chateau was louder than usual. Sarah was on the couch, cooing at her newborn, while Pope tried to fix the busted fan again and Kie complained about the heat. JJ was somewhere in the kitchen, barefoot, shirtless, and singing off-key with a beer in hand. It was chaotic—messy and golden, like every day with the Pogues. But today? Today felt different.

Your hands were shaking as you stared down at the test in the bathroom. Two pink lines. Clear as day. Unmistakable. You blinked. Once. Twice. But they didn’t go away.

Pregnant.

Your breath caught. The world didn’t stop—but your heart might’ve. You weren’t sure how long you stood there, but it felt like hours.

A soft knock came at the door. “Babe? You good?” JJ’s voice was light, teasing. “You fall in?”

You stared at the test, heart pounding so hard it made your vision blur. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not now. Not with JJ—beautiful, chaotic JJ, who loved hard and lived louder. Who never had a plan beyond the next wave or the next beer. How could you tell him?

You cracked the door open just a little, just enough to see his face. His hair was a mess from the ocean, shirtless as always, a bruise blooming on his shoulder from the last dumb thing he did.

He grinned when he saw you. “You’ve been in there forever. I was about to break down the door.”

The grin vanished. His blue eyes dropped to the test, then flicked back up to your face. “Is that…?” His voice broke off.