Of Morning Drop-Offs and Goodbyes

Title: Of Morning Drop-Offs and Goodbyes
Rating: PG-13
Author: Sxymami0909
Fandom: Secret Life
Pairing: Ricky/Amy, John
Word Count: 1480
Prompt: Tag to episode 3x4 ‘Goodbye Amy Juergens’ Written for itsniley



Amy glanced at the clock in the kitchen as she put the last of John’s stuff in his bag. It was 7:15 in the morning and she was waiting on Ricky. She glanced at John who was sitting in his high chair slamming his hands down on his tray.

“Ma ma ma!”

She smiled.

“What baby? Are you gonna miss Mommy while she’s away? Huh John?”

He squealed lightly and she moved over to him and lifted him from the seat. She was leaving for New York today, a mixture of excitement and nervousness filled her. She couldn’t wait to get out there explore New York and concentrate on her music again.

But on the other hand she’d never left John for more than a few hours at a time. Sure Ricky took him on the weekends, but that was different. She could always call or go over there and see him if she wanted to. Ricky was really good about that.

New York was a plane ride away. A lot harder to stop what she was doing and see John. Speaking of Ricky, where was he anyway? He was supposed to be at the house by now. She sighed and was about to take out her phone and call him when the kitchen door opened. She looked up and Ricky waved as he walked in, closing the door behind him, and yawning.

“Morning.”

“Hey.”

“Daaa!”

Ricky smiled and moved over towards Amy and John, rubbing his son’s head lightly.

“Hey buddy, so…what’s up? What’d you need me for this morning?”

She shifted hefting John further onto her hip as she picked up the bag and handed it to Ricky. He took it placing it over his shoulder as he raised an eyebrow.

“I thought since you’re going to be staying here and helping out that you could come with me to drop John off at the nursery this morning. You know…so you know how to do it.”

He seemed surprised, but it left his face quickly.

“That’d be great. Thanks Amy. So…you getting nervous about the trip?”

He opened the kitchen door for her and she shrugged as she walked through it towards his car.

“A little. I’m just worried about leaving John for four weeks. What if he forgets me?”

Ricky tossed John’s bag gently on the backseat of the car as Amy strapped in John and moved back. She glanced at Ricky and he could see the worry on her face. He shook his head and gave her a reassuring smile.

“That’s not going to happen. Trust me. John could never forget you…besides I wouldn’t let him.”
Her face softened and she smiled as he pulled open the passenger side door for her. She got in; he shut the door behind her, and walked around the car to the driver’s side. Minutes later they were pulling away from the curb.

It only took about fifteen minutes to get to the Church nursery. Ricky parked, unhooked his seatbelt and started to get out of the car when he noticed Amy wasn’t moving. He glanced at her and she seemed frozen in her seat. He frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

She turned her head, opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before clearing her throat.

“I…I don’t think I can do this.”

“What?”

He plopped back down on the seat as he studied her. She looked like she was seconds away from a panic attack or possibly crying, which he hated. Ricky never knew what to do when Amy cried. He swallowed hard and she shook her head and spoke quickly.

“I can’t leave John for four weeks! What was I thinking? He’ll forget who I am. I’ll come back and he’ll be like who is this stranger! Or something bad will happen…or he won’t love me anymore. Oh my god I’m a horrible mother!”

Her voice was high pitched and John whimpered in the back seat. Ricky glanced at his son before placing a calming hand on Amy’s arm.

“You need to calm down. You’re upsetting John. Amy everything’s going to be fine, I promise. I’ll be with John and we’ll call you every day and you’re not a bad Mom. It’s okay for you to want to do this. It’s a once in a lifetime chance…you have to go.”

He rubbed her arm lightly as she took a few deep breaths. When she finally calmed down she glanced down at the rhythmic movements of his hand and sucked in a deep breath. She felt a fluttering low in her stomach as his fingers left sparks across her skin.

Amy looked up and caught Ricky’s eyes. His fingers stilled as they watched each other for several minutes. He shifted closer and when she didn’t move he dipped his head forward. Their lips barely brushed before John let out a loud squeal startling them both.

Ricky jerked back as Amy’s eyes grew wide and they spoke in unison.

“We should get John inside.”

She smiled and he cleared his throat, grinned and spoke.

“I’ll grab him, you get his bag.”

She nodded. They got John’s stuff together and brought him inside. Amy spoke to the other women who worked at the nursery and explained the situation and how Ricky would be dropping off and picking up John for the next for few weeks.

Twenty minutes later they were heading back to the car after Amy showed Ricky around the nursery and how to drop off John. They got in and pulled out of the lot heading back towards Amy’s house. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and he could see her hands on her lap fidgeting.

Amy was frantically rattling her brain trying to figure out what was wrong with her. She’d almost let Ricky kiss her. Hell she almost kissed him back! She’d just gotten back together with Ben and here she was letting Ricky put the moves on her.

Or had she put the moves on him? She didn’t even know and the worst part of it all was this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened between them. First there was that moment at Ricky’s apartment when they were having John’s birthday party and then the night he came over to convince her to go to New York.

She had no clue what was going on between them, but she needed it to stop. She loved Ben…she was with Ben. Amy swallowed hard as she attempted to convince herself of something she knew was no longer true. But this was the way it should be.

Ben was simple. He loved her. He treated her good and he was a nice guy. Ricky…well he was complicated and dangerous and he could hurt her. He already did it once, what was to stop him from doing it again?

Ben was the safe choice and after all the mistakes she’d made in the past year she wasn’t about to take any more risks. especially not with her heart. Ricky could tell she was in deep thought as he pulled up at the curb alongside her house and shifted the car into park.

He turned toward her and nudged her lightly. She blinked several times and raised an eyebrow in his direction. He motioned toward the window as he spoke.

“We’re back.”

“Oh, right. Sorry about that. Thanks for driving to the nursery.”

“Thanks for asking me to come.”

She nodded and gave him a small smile.

“I guess I’ll see you in a few weeks?”
Ricky grinned.

“Yup. Give me a call later tonight and you can say goodnight to John.”

She bit her lip briefly before reaching across the seat and pulling Ricky into a hug. His arms came around her small body and he could smell the strawberry shampoo she must have used that morning. The tang of fruit was fast becoming his favorite scent.

“Thanks again for doing this Ricky. I know my family’s no picnic.”

“It’s no big deal.”

She pulled back looking him in the eye as she spoke softly.

“It’s a big deal to me.”

She leaned in and placed a brief kiss on his cheek before pulling back and pushing the car door open. She slipped out of the car and waved as she pushed it shut.

“I’ll see you later?”

He swallowed hard, his heartbeat picking up speed the minute her lips had hit his cheek, and nodded.

“I’ll see you later.”

He watched her go until she was behind the door before letting out a heavy breath. It was official. He had feelings for Amy, which was a very, very bad idea. At least he had four weeks to get over them. Who the hell was he kidding? He was gonna need a lot longer than four weeks to get over Amy Juergens.