If by Chance - A Jonathan Knight Fanfic

Chapter 6

~Present~

Jon's stomach dropped and he felt like he was going to throw up. His hands were shaking so badly, he almost dropped the phone he was holding.

"I-... what?" Was all he managed to get out of his mouth. Every word seemed to leave his brain, and he wasn't even sure what he just heard was correct.

"You have a daughter, Jon. She's 5 years old. I hoped and hoped she would never ask about you, but she finally has, and I didn't want to lie to her. It's better to tell her that her dad never wanted to be there for her, and is a screw up, so that hopefully she won't want to have a relationship with you or see you."

The room started spinning, and he leaned back against the counter, almost sure his legs would give out if he didn't.

"W-what do you mean I haven't wanted to be there for her? I-I didn't even know.. you never even told me.. h-how was I supposed to have been there?"

Even though he knew it was probably a stupid question to ask, he decided to anyway. "Are you s-sure that she's even mine?"

Vanessa got angry, and even through the phone, Jon could tell she wasn't happy about what he had just said. "What do you mean 'is it mine?'" She snapped.

"Of course it is! What do you think I am? Some kind of slut who goes around sleeping with any guy she can get her hands on?! You are definitely the only guy I slept with. Not to mention, she looks just like you, and it was almost 6 years ago since we broke up. She's yours Jonathan Knight!"

His heart broke. Not only had he just found out that he had a daughter, but he also felt horrible that he hadn't been there for the first part of her life. She had grown up without any father figure, that Jon knew about, in her life. Besides, he had always wanted kids. Although he never imagined it would be quite like this, that still didn't stop him from wanting to see his daughter from here on out. That didn't stop him from wanting to be a part of her life.

"I'm sorry. I know that was a stupid question. That was just... a lot to take in." he was quiet for the next few seconds. Trying to figure out something to say. Trying to figure out if there even was anything he could say to make this situation better. He doubted it.

"Why didn't you tell me about this sooner? I-I could have helped. I would've helped. From day one I would've been there... you said you didn't want her to have a relationship with a father who was never there for her, but how could I have been, if you never even attempted to reach out and tell me?"

There was a long pause from Vanessa's side of the phone. What Jon had said did have some truth to it, but she had already gone through every scenario on how this was gonna go, and already had an idea on how to respond to this.

"You never attempted to reach out to me either, Jon. I know things didn't go well between us, but you never once even tried to check in on me or anything like that. Maybe if you would've, you might've found out sooner. But, you basically fell off the face of the earth after we broke up. You left the band, and then no one heard from you for months, maybe even years. It is partly my fault for not telling you sooner, but you're just as much to blame as I am."

He was about to say something, trying to counteract what she had just said, but she interrupted him before he could.

"Look, I didn't even think we'd make it this far. I figured you'd either hate me, or just refuse to see her... but since you haven't... why don't we meet up for lunch or something and talk the rest of this through. I'll be at the cheesecake factory next Tuesday at 12 p.m. If you don't come, I'll assume you don't want to be a part of her life, and if you do come, maybe we'll be able to figure all this out. I'll see you then." Vanessa said before hanging up the phone.

Jon moved the phone from his ear and turned it off before setting it down on the counter. He leaned forward against the counter, using his hands to support him. He took a few deep breaths, not sure whether to cry, or to scream, throw up, or celebrate after what he had just heard. He didn't think it could get any worse, until a voice he recognized all too well came from behind him.

"Hey, babe. Who was that on the phone?" It was Harley. Jon turned around as quick as lightning, as he came face to face with his husband. He couldn't answer. His mouth wasn't able to form the words to be able to do so. Only one thing kept playing in his head. How long had Harley been standing there, and how much of that conversation had he heard?