He sat in silence as the rest of the staff talked with the doctor. He pretended that he was listening but his mind was swirling with thoughts and questions. How could this happen? Well…he knew how it happened but still, he just didn't know what he could do or how he was going to tell the others, if he was allowed to.
The doctor soon left after being paged and gave them her office number in case they had any more questions or information. It would be a few days before anyone could see Katie, but Carlos wanted to see his new adopted nieces and/or nephews. The network staff attempted to persuade him out of seeing them but they couldn't stop him. They made him leave his phone and other gadgets so he couldn't take any pictures. They made him promise to keep it quiet.
He arrived at the maternity ward and was pointed in the direction of the baby ward. He greeted the nurse and he asked to see the babies.
"Are you the father?" she asked with a smile
"Uncle." he corrected.
"Well congratulations to the proud uncle." she said. "What's the name of the mother?" Carlos told her but she came back after a minute and said the children weren't listed. Katie's name was but her children weren't in the ward. She looked through the hospital records and found they were in the Newborn Intensive care Unit. "Because they were triplets and of Katie's condition they are on the small side. They will be there for a few days before coming here." she said apologetically. Carlos was disheartened but the nurse cheered him up. "Don't worry, they are doing well, this is just regular procedure." she assured. Carlos made his way back to the meeting room to find the staff scattered about the room and just outside the door. Carlos gave a quick explanation and they were off. Carlos went back home just in time to receive several calls from James, Logan and Kendall who were all concerned about Katie; they had been trying to reach him since early this morning, but he had his phone off. Carlos had already rehearsed his excuse and was given instructions on what to say to keep the guys at bay.
"I was called early this morning by Dave, he told me Katie's condition which isn't good but not life threatening. We can't see her for a few days until she regains some of her strength. All the work we have been doing put a lot of stress on her and that genetic condition she has began to overtake and become immune to the regimen she was on. That's all." he explained. The guys sounded content with the answer but their tones sounded slightly frustrated.
They were called to the studio the next day on their supposed day off, late in the afternoon. They thought they were there for a dance or vocal rehearsal but instead were intercepted by staff and brought to their table read room where Nate was sitting with a couple nurses.
"Afternoon, gentlemen. Sorry to call you here on your day off but to put it simply, I need your DNA. All the stars are getting this done, it was suggested to me by a networking friend I have, its quite popular to do with celebrities. It helps in cases where you may be overseas and someone tries to pin blame on you. You know that kind of stuff, these forensic nurse specialists will be taking different samples from you." Nate said stiffly. Kendall and James were confused and about to ask questions but before they could Nate stood and motioned for the nurses to begin and they were taken to their dressing rooms. The nurses took saliva, hair and nail clippings if possible. They finished in about 10 minutes and the guys were dismissed, although confused but shrugged it off and grabbed a bite to eat.
Nate had collected the DNA of only BTR, he had ordered paternity tests to find out exactly who the father is without asking. With Katie unconscious there was no other way of finding out. He put a rush on the paternity tests and they came back the next morning; James was indeed the father. He had no idea how to tell him this news without upsetting him. He didn't want James to have another mental breakdown. He was deep in thought when his intercom buzzed.
"Sir, James Diamond is here to speak with you." she said. He was at a loss for words for a moment before he told her to let him in. He came in and shut the door behind him before walking up to Nate's desk with pourpose.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking and I came to a conclusion about a few things and I want to know the truth." James said flatly, a little demanding.
"Ok." Nate agreed, nervous about the discussion ahead.
"I may play dumb on the show but this is real life. I know what I did, I know how I feel and I want to know if the DNA you took from us yesterday was for something else than what you said?" James asked. Nate sighed trying to find the right words to say. "Is Katie pregnant?" James continued. Nate lowered his hands and could only nod. James was calm on the outside but inside his heart began to beat pretty fast and he felt uneasy as he prepared to ask the next question. "And I'm the father?" he asked somewhat as a statement. He knew Katie's lifestyle and he would have been her first. After what he did, no way would she want to be with another guy; there was no way that he wasn't the father but he just wanted some closure.
"What are you going to do about this, James?"
"I…I don't know. There's many options, what I want to do, What Katie would want, and then there is doing what is right. Where do I begin?" he began. He paused for a moment as he thought. "I'll be honest, the first thing I thought about was my career, this is the big break I have been hoping for and if this gets out its all over, but then again I suppose it's my fault and then I feel worse about not thinking about Katie at all. What about her career? She'd have to go back to life being the outcast and then if this got out at home she would be disowned and the bullying would just continue. How are either of us supposed to care for a child when we have paparazzi all around us? I don't think she would want to give the child up for adoption, nor would I ask her too. Maybe we could make this work by commuting in private? I just don't know…" James said as he spoke out loud, mostly too himself but yet loud enough for Nate to hear him as James paced the room. "Tell me, if we brought the baby here, would it be possible to get someone to care for it while we are on set?" he asked Nate. Nate nodded in silence allowing James to continue brainstorming. "I see. That helps but the question still remains, can I handle this? I mean I am only 23, Katie is 22. I'd like to think of myself as a mature and professional adult but let's face it I still get a kick out of playing with nerf guns and bouncy balls! How on earth am I supposed to care for a child. The right thing to do is step up and be a man, maybe even marry her and make an honest woman out of her. Damn, there is so much to think about and so little time to prepare. How did I not notice this or even think of it? There is still a part of me that just wants to run away and pretend like this never happened and it sickens me to be honest how could I abandon my best friend when she needs me the most especially with something that is half my responsibility?" James said as he took a breath. He stood in silence for a minute. "When can I see Katie?"
"In another 2-3 days I suppose. You should check with the hospital first; she's fine, just needs to regain her strength."
"Anything else I should know?"
Yes, Kendall and Logan don't know yet and I suggest that you don't tell them just yet. Wait until you figure out what you want to do, then discuss it with Katie. If we can keep this even in a small group, then whatever decisions you guys come too, can be dealt with quickly without too many people finding out."
"I just really don't think I'm ready for this. I really just want to run away and have no part in it."
"I cant promise we'll support you in that decision, but I'm not going to tell you what you should do."
"I know. I hope I can be man enough to make the right decision though. I cant believe I have a child."
"Actually you have triplets."
"Triplets?" James repeated loudly as he spun around to face Nate. He saw Nate's face and then everything went black.

*AN* a twist! I really wasnt planning on James having an internal problem. obviously he would step up to the plate but I thought I would through some real world problems in there and have James thinking about running away and ditching his new family. I might just keep it this way too and have katie fend for herself but who knows. you should be able to find out next chapter, this will be kept short I hope, shouldnt be more than 5 chapters. #5b is next and follows the same plot line but had a different outcome should be just as short and only one chapter of less than 4k words not including any AN's