Austin

There was a loud cry from the other side of my bedroom. I got up and walked over to where Marshall lay. His little body moved back and forth as he cried. I picked him up and rocked him back and forth. "Daddy's here."

His big, brown eyes popped open and he stared up at me. His crying stopped, but he was still a little fussy. "Hey, one day when you're old enough to walk and talk, I'll take you to a baseball game, and we'll cheer for one team and tell the other team they suck. I'll make sure I do everything for you, because I care about you so much." Few tears came to my eyes, which surprised me, because I'm not one to cry, but sitting here, looking at my little boy is emotional.

"You don't deserve a Dad like me or a family like this. Your Mommy will probably marry another man, and he'll treat you like his son. You'll be a family over at your Mom's, and then when you come to me, it'll probably be the two of us, because I don't love anyone but you right now. I know you don't know it, but I'm still a kid, too. I'm only 17. When you're my age, I'll only be 34. Isn't that crazy?" I wiped the tears from my cheek. "It may not be what you want, and I'm sorry for that, but I'll always love you. And so will your Mom."

He smiled, now, reaching his hands up in the air. I grabbed his hand and kissed it. "Let's put you back to sleep, buddy."

I strapped Marshall into his carrier. "You ready to go see Mommy?" I asked, placing my hand around his.

My Mom patted my back. "You're doing good, honey. Look at him smiling, he loves you."

I smiled. "Thanks, Mom. I never knew how hard being a parent is. Poor Ally has to take care of him most of the time. Mom, I really wish I'd never gotten her pregnant. I love Marshall, more than anything, but that poor girl has to suffer because of me."

"Oh, everything happens for a reason. You have a son now, and you can't mope about regretting him, you just have to be responsible. If Ally wants to discuss a different way of seeing him, she will. She loves the boy as much as you do. I'm sure it's hard for her, but she's not suffering. No one can suffer after seeing their baby's face. I would know, I was 16 when I had you, and every time I wanted to throw you out the door, I saw your little face and I knew everything would be okay. And it was." She kissed my cheek.

"You're right. I'll be right back. I'm going to go drop Marshall off, but I'll be back soon."

I got into my car and drove over to Ally's house.

"We're here, Marshall. Time to see Mommy!" I exclaimed, unclipping his carrier from the car. I knocked on the door, and shortly after, Ally answered.

"Come in," She said, holding the door open for us to come in. I followed her into her bedroom, where I took Marshall out of the carrier and lay him on the bed.

"Was he good for you?" Ally asked, folding baby clothes.

"Yeah, I loved having him over. He was a little fussy at first, I think because he missed you, but afterwards he was great." I looked up and smiled at her. "He's a wonderful baby."

She nodded. "Yes, he is. Keeps me up at night, but he's a good baby. I love him. Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, go for it," I told her.

"Do you love Marshall, or do you feel like you have to love him?" She asked, biting her lip.

"I really love him. You know, Ally, you don't know much about me, but I've never really had a father figure in my life. Before he went to prison, the 7 years I actually knew him, he didn't talk to me. He didn't live with my Mom and I, and he was supposed to pick me up every weekend to do something, but he only ever did once or twice. I love my Mom, don't get me wrong, but she was your age when she had me, and I feel like without my Dad, I had to step up and be the man of the house. What this has to do with anything, is that sometimes things aren't always easy, but sometimes we love someone so much, we're numb to the feeling. I love him, Ally, I really love him."

She smiled. "Wow. You're probably right. I was just having this feeling that maybe I didn't really love Marshall, but I do. I love him so much. Thanks."

"No problem. I should get going. I'll see you later." I walked over to Marshall and kissed his forehead. "I'll see you later, too, buddy. I love you."

Ally

"Why was Austin over?" Dallas asked, rudely.

I rolled my eyes. "Dallas, he's Marshall's Dad, he kept him for the night, and he was bringing him back over. You know, he may be the bad boy or whatever, but he really loves Marshall, and I'm proud of him for being responsible."

"I could watch him, ya know. I love Marshall, too," Dallas said.

"Dallas, I know you want to be, but you're not Marshall's father. He isn't your priority, okay? Austin is allowed to take his baby to his house for the night, for God's sake. It's nice of you to help me, and it's nice of you to stick with me even though my baby isn't yours, but that doesn't mean you can pretend your his father."

"One day I'm going to marry you, and he'll be my step-son, and I'll be able to treat him as if he's my son," Dallas said.

"Okay, and I'm not saying you can't treat him like a son, but you can't literally be his father. That's Austin's job. Dallas, I don't know if you realize it, but Austin and I are always going to know each other, because we have a baby, okay? But that doesn't mean I love him." I kissed him. "I love you."

A/N: Sorry there's not too much drama yet, but keep reading for it!

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