Summary: Chapter One/Part Two

Dear Baby Gecko,
As your mother I would appreciate greatly if you could stop making me throw-up all food that I try to give us, desist making me cry constantly, and please, please quit making me look like a lunatic.
I love you already. - Kate Fuller

Kate's got baby brain, it's a serious condition and she's not very fond of it. Seth's carrying out his mission from Uncle Eddie to "go get her." And now Kate gets to meet his family, this is go great...Oh god, Team Blue Eyes back in action. But Uncle Eddie, you're the best! Oh and Seth, maybe you think before you speak, just once? It's still romcom folks. lol.

I am blown away by all the reviews. I have been reduced to tears from my gratefulness. I feel all of the love! I will be replying to all the reviews, but it's gonna take me a minute and I thought you'd rather have me post this chapter then do that. I am planning on sneaking most, if not all of the cast into this piece in one way or another.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank for all of the support. I am so glad that you guys are enjoying it.

Chapter One: Love is kind; Kate Fuller Normally Is

A chirp from her cell phone woke her up from the impromptu nap she'd taken on her textbook. She looked at the screen, blinking trying to read the numbers on the screen: 7:55. She'd been sleeping for almost five hours?! Her back ached from her awkward napping position and she wiped the drool from her the side of her face. Thankfully her roommate was home visiting family so Kate was alone and no one was here to see her look like this. Since when am I a drooling narcolept? She sighed, maybe she couldn't keep her eyes open because of the energy sucking hormones from the baby growing inside her? The baby whose father didn't want him or anything to do him.

Her life was such a mess. Earlier today she had started crying over a stupid car commercial, she'd forgotten her keys when she walked to the cafeteria for breakfast, and she'd nearly left her room without a bra when she went to meet Seth at the park. How soon was pregnancy brain a thing? She took a long drink from her water bottle and looked at her phone and the missed text message. She answered the text with her dorm name and room number and hit send. …Wait, I just did what?

She looked at the sent text again:

281-555-1234: What's your dorm name and room number?

Oh my god! Please actually be from Seth. He was the only person that she could think of that would be asking that question without a name in her phone. She jumped up from her desk, but her head spun from the sudden movement, and she had to take several calming breaths to keep from throwing up. She grabbed her purse and dug through it until she found the receipt that Seth had written his number on: SethGecko 281-555-1234

KF: Why do u want to know where I live? (8:32)

SG: Cause your damn college is set up like a maze (8:35)

KF: Ur here?! (8:35)
KF: WHY? (8:35)
KF: I'll meet u somewhere (8:36)
KF: U can't be in my dorm this late (8:36)
KF: Seth?! (8:37)

She set down the phone and looked out her window, even though it looked out over the courtyard. She rubbed her hands over her stomach and willed herself not to start crying again, it seemed like that was all she'd done in the last twenty-fours. She had, had this idealized vision of what was going to happen when she met the father of this child, mainly that he was going to want the child, but instead… She got a jerk, who seemed more concerned with her sex life and her age, than with the fact that she was carrying his child. And to top it off he didn't even want a baby; the whole thing was a mistake. How could she be so stupid, so naïve? He certainly hadn't been awful to her, but the second she told him that she wasn't going to 'get rid of it' he couldn't wait to get her back to campus and drop her off.

Three loud knocks sounded against her door and she rushed answer it; yanking Seth inside, before anyone could see him. "Get in here. Did anyone see you? What are you doing here?!" Kate hissed before, staggering away from him covering her face, "Ugh. Did you bathe in cheap cologne before you got here?!"

His face scrunched up, his expression somewhere between annoyed and confused, "No. I haven't done anything to myself, since I saw you at the park." He sniffed his own shoulder, "I don't smell any different."

"Gawd, I didn't notice it before, but it's awful. You smell awful."

"Thanks Princess. First you throw up on my shoes, now you're going to insult me."

"Well you didn't seem to be bothered…"

Another knock sounded against the door, "Kate? Are you in there?"

The color drained out Kate's face and she pushed Seth backwards with a panicked whisper, "You can't be here. You have to hide"

"Hide? Hide where?" Seth looked around at the tiny room, and thankfully kept his voice low. "Wait, why the fuck do I need to hide?"

"Hang on Becca, I'm changing." Kate called towards the door, before hissing at Seth, "This is a Christian college there are rules about boys in girl's dorm rooms. Get in the closet."

He glanced behind him at her closet, which wasn't exactly spacious and was pretty full of her clothes. "I ain't gonna fit in there. I'm not a small guy."

She shoved him again and he fumbled awkwardly backwards into the tiny space as she countered his claim. "Well you're not that big either." Her cheeks staining pink as she realized her own unintentional innuendo, which Seth obviously didn't appreciate.

"Kate?" Becca's voice sounded again.

"Just a second!" Kate looked up at Seth as she started to close the door on him.

He was glaring down at her, arms folded over his chest. "Hey Princess, not appreciated or true for your information."

"Just be quiet, so I can get rid of her." She slammed the door closed. She quickstepped to the door but opened it slowly, "Hey Becca." She managed a tight smile as Becca breezed into her space. "Come on in."

Becca was the RA or Resident Assistant for Kate's floor, she was basically there to make sure that Kate and her fellow students were following all of rules. "Are you feeling any better?" The dark-haired woman asked as she inspected the room and not Kate.

It was as if she was looking for something…oh shit! She knew he was here. How did she know?

"Yeah, I think it was something I ate." Kate slipped herself between Becca and the closet. If Seth didn't stay quiet, she'd kil…

"Grace said that you've been sick for on and off for over a week." Becca pressed, "Are you sure it's just something you ate? I can take you to the campus nurse if you want. I'm just worried about you. You even missed chapel this morning." Becca had this fake-concern in her voice that grated against Kate's ears. Becca seemed to enjoy writing the girls up for breaking the rules and it never sat well with Kate.

"I'm really okay, Becca, I promise. I just…I'm having a rough day, that's all. Lots of homework and I think the stress is getting to me a little." Kate fumbled through her excuse. She was terrible liar and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it would have been really useful right now. She just has to convince Becca to go away, so she could get rid of the Seth. Oh god, all of her clothes were gonna smell like him and that disgusting cologne. She felt her stomach flip at her own thought.

Becca grabbed Kate's hands suddenly, "I can see how stressed you are. You poor thing, you've been isolating yourself and you're so far from your parents."

"My father." Kate corrected reflexively, even though she'd told Becca the story about her mother dying, when Kate had interviewed to live in this dorm. "Just my father, my mother passed away a couple of years ago."

"Oh I'd forgotten about that. I'm sorry, sweetie." Becca hugged her and Kate nearly gagged on the perfume the other girl was wearing. Was being sensitive to smells a pregnancy thing? "Here we'll pray for you."

"I…" Kate hesitated and tried to move back a bit, when another knock sounded at the door. Why did everyone in the world need to be in her room right now?

Becca pulled away from Kate and opened the door, one of the women from campus security was standing there.

"Hey Page, what's going on?" Becca beat Kate to the punch.

"One of the cameras caught a guy walking into this dorm a few minute ago." She held her tablet up for Becca and Kate to inspect the fuzzy picture of Seth walking through the common area. "Have either of you seen him?"

"No, I haven't." Becca shook her head. "And Kate's been sick all day, so I'm pretty sure she's not looking to break that kind of rule right now."

Page nodded and clipped into her radio that she wasn't having any luck finding the dangerous man with the neck tattoo and they might have to search room by room.

"I'll let you get some rest, Kate. I'll see you later."

After Becca sauntered out of her room, Kate locked the door and she slumped against it, pulling her knees to her chest. She covered her face with her hands and resisted the urge to scream. Her two moods seemed to toggle between: screaming in frustration or crying over anything. Kate hated it, hating feeling this way. She wasn't one of those girls that let every little thing get to her; she kept her head and kept her faith.

"You gonna leave me in here all night?" Seth's muffled voice demanded. Oops, she'd kinda forgot about him.

"You can come out; just be quiet." She closed her eyes and banged the back of her head against the door, grimacing and swallowing down her nausea. She listened to Seth's quiet grumbling as he climbed out of closet and she wasn't sure what to expect from the older man, who seemed to curse every other word. He made it very clear that he didn't want kids; didn't want this baby, their baby if you wanted to get really technical. She didn't know why he was even here.

Maybe she should just go back to Bethel? Ugh. The thought of going back to her small town, where everyone would gossip behind her back about broken preacher's daughter that fell off the path of righteousness, was suffocating. But she hadn't done anything wrong, in fact she felt like she was making the only right decision that she could make in this situation. How was she ever going to tell her family? Daddy was…

"I thought you didn't have a boyfriend."

"I don't." Kate opened one eye to find Seth holding up a picture of her and Scott. "That's my brother Scott."

"Right." Seth scoffed, clearly not believing her.

"He's adopted." Kate glared at him, "Why do you care anyway?"

He shrugged and put down the picture. "He looks younger than you; I've got a younger brother too."

"Guess we've got exactly one thing in common then. Well two if you count…" She motioned towards her belly, but Seth had his back to her. She was hungry…hungry and nauseous. How did that work?

She watched him inspect her room. He certainly wasn't bad looking, but definitely older, maybe late twenties? The flame tattoo that ran up his neck and down his arm made him made him look more dangerous than he had in the suit at the park earlier that day. The dirty white t-shirt and stained jeans made him look more normal, but not all at the same time…what had she thought about him earlier? Bible salesman or something ridiculous like that? She buried her face in her hands again; dear baby, stop turning my brain into marshmallow fluff.

She heard his steps, but she actually felt him getting closer. That was something that she'd noticed in the park, he seemed to have this energy that radiated off of him and she wasn't sure what to make of it. She peered up at his offered hand, "What?"

"Let's go for a ride. Everyone here is nuts and this is coming from a guy, who's been to prison."

"We can't leave, Page is gonna be in the hallway." Kate sighed.

"We're going out the window, Princess. Grab a jacket."

.:.

Kate had been in a few shared Lyfts, but none those had been as uncomfortable as the stifling silence that she'd suffered through during this trip in an actual yellow cab. The four-door sedan had been parked around the corner from her dorm, with the meter already reading over $100 and still counting.

Seth held the door for her, when he helped her in and muttered that he was sorry about her mom and overhearing all of her personal shit. Kate was a little surprised at his comment and thought that he might be opening up, but once he flopped into the seat next to her, he folded his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. She wanted to ask questions about his family, but he didn't strike her as a talk it out kind of guy.

"You just aren't what I expected." She picked at her nails, chipping her pale-pink nail polish.

Seth glanced at her, street light illuminating his face for a moment, "Sorry to burst your bubble."

She huffed, "It's not that. I just thought that the person who intended to have this baby really wanted it." She pinched the bridge of her nose , "I just had this image of a couple, who always wanted kids and maybe they had problems conceiving. So I clung onto the idea that this was like fate; like God was using me to bring this life into the world for someone, who always wanted a baby. It was so dumb, so stupid." She clenched her hands in her lap. "Instead I'm like the worst one-night stand of your life."

The car rolled to a stop in front a clean looking ranch house, with a couple of older cars in the driveway and a few junkers in the side yard. She also realized that there was a repair shop within walking distance of the house.

"You're not dumb and...I didn't say that." He groused as he paid the guy, who looked like he'd never regretted being a cab driver more in his life. They got out of the car and he touched her elbow before she could get any further away from him. "Hey, I'm a grade-A asshole, okay? This ain't your fault, and it's not mine either. I just… Just come in for a bit."

Thank god. She was relieved, he actually wanted to talk to her; he just needed to be in his own space. Or maybe he was going to kill herwait what? This whole thing could be a ruse to get her isolated so he could hurt her, so she couldn't have the baby…make sure she didn't have…She was such a freaking idiot. "Are you going to murder me?!" She blurted out.

"The fuck?" He squawked, "Why the hell would I murder you? Where did this even come from?!"

"Because you've been to prison, maybe you killed someone before, I don't know! You don't want this baby and you took me out to the middle of nowhere… You're gonna throw me in one of those old cars and light it on fire; aren't you? They'll never find my body…" She was practically hyperventilating.

Seth grabbed her face, "Hey." She stopped talking, but she was still shaking, "Listen, I don't hurt women and I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm a thief, not a killer. So take a deep fucking breath." She complied and he sighed, "If I didn't hurt my ex-wife, who I actually hate for all of this shit, then I'm certainly not gonna take this out on you. Now breathe, please." He held onto her face for a few more seconds, and when her breathing evened, he offered her a small, but genuine smile.

"I'm not really that fond of her either all things considered." She grumbled, biting her lip as she admitted, "I'm scared."

"Yeah, me too." He blinked, as if his own confession took him off guard, then his voice dropped, trying to sound calmer and more collected. "Come on Princess, no more bumps and no more scrapes from this point on." He held the door for her and she stepped over the threshold.

She could smell coffee, god that smelled so amazing she really missed coffee, and the faintest hint of cigarette smoke. The home looked comfortable, but it was definitely a guy's place, distinctly masculine. There were two men in the kitchen, both of whom turned their attentions towards her immediately. The younger of the two adjusted his glasses and looked at her with an intelligent curiosity that made her wonder what he saw, when he looked at her in her grungy jeans and oversized sweatshirt.

The older man had salt-n-pepper grey hair and his blue eyes were kind as he took a step forward and took her hand in his with an old Hollywood flourish. "Welcome to Chez Cruickshank." His lips brushed her knuckles and his smile was infectious. "Mi casa es su casa, Little Lady"

"Thank you." She blushed at the attention and glanced behind her at Seth. She silently pleaded for him to have enough manners to explain who the other two men were, while simultaneously begging her brain not to go back to the 'he's-gonna-kill-me' theory. Why hadn't he mentioned they were meeting other people; she would have dressed a little nicer.

"Heard a lot about you." The older man offered.

Kate's eyebrow shot up at Seth, before turning back to the older man with a coy smile, "Unless he's a some kind of detective, I highly doubt that. We didn't get much past: names, my age, and by the way I'm keeping the baby that your ex-wife knocked me up with."

The two men, who were not named Seth Gecko, both started laughing; the younger one's laugh was contained, almost more of a dry chuckle, while the older man's was a full belly laugh. "Oh I like her." He complimented her with a wink.

"I'm sure you do." Seth was scowling, eyebrows furrowed, before he motioned between Kate and the older man. "Kate, this is my Uncle Eddie and Eddie, this is Kate Fuller."

"Nice to meet ya, Kate."

"You too, Mr. Cruickshank." Kate shook his hand on reflex her practiced manners, thankfully kicking in, because her head was spinning again..

"Eddie's fine." He corrected, "No need to make feel any older than I already do, Angel."

She nodded, and fought the urge to fidget. She had to pee again; how was that even possible?

Seth brushed by her as he paced into the kitchen. "That's Richie my brother."

The younger man inclined his head towards her, "Pleasure to meet you, Kate."

"Nice to meet you too, Richie. Seth mentioned that you were younger." She stepped into the taller man's space and offered him her hand to shake.

"Not by much, just shy of a year, our birthdays are both in April." He shook her hand and confirmed the information casually, but he seemed to be gaging her reaction, analyzing her. "I was here when he first came home and he was spazzing out, so I've heard even more about you."

"Fuck you. I wasn't spazzing out." Seth poured himself a shot of whiskey. "I'd like to see how you'd handle this situation if you weren't a member of the audience."

"See spaz." Richie smirked at Kate, while Seth continued muttering under his breath.

"Now then Miss Kate, are you hungry? He feed you before you got back here?" Eddie had his attention on her again.

Seth threw his hands up in the air, "You told me to bring her back, so I brought her back: A to B job."

"To be fair to Seth those were your instructions, Eddie."

Eddie rolled his eyes, "I took these two in when they were ten and eleven and you'd think they'd have some manners. I did teach 'em, lotta good it did."

"Hey!" Both of the Geckos complained, which Eddie ignored.

"And don't mind Seth being moody, it's a chronic condition."

"I noticed." Kate let out a little laugh, "I can't tell if it's talking to him or the baby brain that's got my mind whiplashed."

"It's him." Eddie and Richie quipped back instantly and Kate laughed out for real, unable to help it.

Seth slammed the glass in his hand down against the counter, "You jokers wanna add any more insult to my injury?!"

"I'm an injury?" Kate cocked her head to the side the laughter dying on her lips. Oh this assh

"Not you the thing." He motioned towards her stomach.

Kate folded her arms over her chest, "The baby isn't an injury or a thing."

Seth opened his mouth, and then closed it before motioning at Eddie and Richie, "Either of you wanna help me out here?"

"Nope you got your foot in your mouth all by your dumb-ass self." Eddie shook his head and Richie was chuckling under his breath again. "You get yourself out of this mess."

"I didn't get myself into anything!" Seth snarled as his jaw twitched, "This was done to me! Without my fucking permission and without my fucking consent…"

"Join the damn club." Kate barked and all three men were staring at her, as she surged forward into the kitchen nearly bumping into Seth. Oh god he smelled so awful and that whiskey made it even worse, but she refused to back down or give into her body. No more being bullied or feeling sorry for him, when she wasn't even feeling sorry for herself.

"Without your permission or consent!? It's my body that's going to be doing all the work! I'm a virgin who went into a clinic for birth control pills to help with cramps and walked out your baby. So like it or not and ready or not this is our baby! And I'm so sorry that this wasn't what you wanted for your life, but trust me, when I say, that this wasn't what I planned either. And I swear…" She didn't lose her temper even often...Oh hell, she didn't care right now. "I swear, Seth Gecko, if you so much as think about calling this baby a THING ever again, I'll…"

She'd seen panic on the faces of her friend's boyfriends when they got backed into a corner, but they had nothing on Seth's face right now. He put his hands up in a show of surrender, "Easy there, Princess. I'm sure this is getting your blood pressure all up and I can't imagine that's good for the kid or whatever. So maybe you just calm down for a sec?"

Oh this…this…bastard. Kate's ears were burning. She really felt like screaming, but instead she narrowed her eyes and whispered a warning, "Tell me to calm down one more time, I dare you."

Eddie cleared his throat, "Don't do it, Kid."

"Unless you're suddenly suicidal." Richie added.

Kate's ears were no longer red, it was her face. Oh god, she'd had a meltdown in front of two, well three honestly she barely knew Seth either, complete strangers. She didn't yell and she wasn't…she just didn't talk like that; dear baby, stop making me look like a lunatic. Her eyes filled with tears, "Do you have a restroom that I can use?"

"Down that hall; first door on the right." Seth muttered, pointing and moving out of her to allow her, her retreat.

Kate really did have to pee, but she was so grateful to be alone for a few minutes after she was done. She left the water running in the sink after she washed her hands and she let herself sink to the floor, tears running down her cheeks. She muffled her sobs with a hand towel. She was so tired of crying, tired of feeling sorry for herself, tired of being scared, tired of this life she found herself in… It sounded so childish even in her head, but it just wasn't fair!

Three soft raps on the door, made her look up and she wiped her cheeks off, her voice still shaking, "It's open; I didn't know how to lock it."

She'd expected to see Seth, for some reason, maybe because it was his kid, but it was Eddie's face that appeared.

"Wouldn't much matter if you had, I'm a helluva lock pick." He turned off the water before offering his hand to her and handing her a tissue from the box on the sink. "I sent that dipshit to town with Richie. Let's you and me have a chat."

She nodded, not sure what else to do, and followed him into the kitchen. He pulled out one of the bar stools and helped her up. "Thank you, Eddie."

"My pleasure, now how about something to eat? You're welcome to anything I've got." He handed her a bottle of water and she drank half of it down immediately. "What's gonna settle okay?"

"Honestly," She picked at the label on the bottle, "I'm still figuring it out. I've been living on crackers and soups, but even that doesn't work out half the time." She traced a nonsense pattern on the counter, where she was sitting with her finger. "I'm sure Seth told you I threw-up on his shoes earlier."

"Eh, ain't the worst thing that's been on that boy's shoes, I can promise you that." Eddie shrugged and handed her a box of saltine crackers. "Try those, they're a little dry, but I knew…I knew a lady once that swore by them for morning sickness."

Kate munched on the crackers, grateful that it didn't immediately turn her stomach. "I really appreciate everything. I know I'm kinda an intruding on your lives."

"Nonsense, you're no bother at all. Now Richie mentioned that you might need a place to live?" He arched his eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, once my college finds out about the baby, I'm afraid..." She trailed off and bit her lower lip. "I mean I'm not going to say anything, just in case, plus it's January and finals for this term are in May, so as long as no one notices that I'm pregnant…"

"And why would that be a problem, you being pregnant?" He pushed, she could tell he wasn't trying to make this harder, but he was confused.

"My college is conservative." She sighed, "Unwed mothers aren't really encouraged. If I'm not living at the dorm and I wear baggy clothes then no one should notice. I mean, I shouldn't be showing that much anyway by May…So if I just take the fall semester off, I should be able to keep my scholarship." She could hear the desperation creeping back into her voice. "I just need to figure out where to live; I'll have to get a real job. I just grade papers as a teacher's assistant right now and that won't be enough for…"

Eddie's hand covered hers and she looked up at those blue eyes, her lip trembling again, as she fought back against more stupid tears. "I meant that, mi casa es su casa, part that I said before. You are welcome here as long as you like. Geckos are stubborn and you're gonna need all the help you can get."

"But Seth…"

"Will grow up and get his shit together, even if Richie and I have to kick it into him." He tapped the tip of her nose with his finger, "He lives in my house, so if I say, you're living here, then you are."

Kate slipped off the barstool and hugged Eddie, letting herself break down as he held onto her, "Thank you, Eddie. Thank you so much."

"Don't you worry; everything's gonna be alright. We take care of our own and you're family now."

.:.

She wasn't sure then she sat down on the couch or fell asleep, but she could hear the three men talking in the kitchen as she started to wake up.

"Do I even get a say in this?"

"No you don't. This my fucking house and your fucking kid no matter how it happened. You take care of your family, no questions." Eddie's low growl was oddly comforting. It was so nice to know that someone had her back.

"Well, if we clean out the room Seth and I used to share when we were kids there'd be plenty of space for her and the baby. It's just full of junk and parts." Richie's voice was calculated, like he was planning something bigger than just cleaning out a room.

"It's no good, she's gonna be throwing up for what another nine months? She'll want a private bathroom." Seth countered.

"Actually morning sickness normally subsides between week twelve and week sixteen." Richie corrected.

"You research this shit already?"

"Are you going to?" Richie scoffed, "I rest my case. I'd let her have my space over the garage, but she isn't going to want to do those stairs once she gets further along."

"I guess that leaves me to give up my space." Seth grumbled.

Kate frowned, sorry to be such a nuisance.

"It is your kid." Eddie spoke out. "It won't kill you to sleep on the couch or in Richie's room, since he's still working nights for a while. And you know this might not be the worst thing that's ever happened to this family. Kate's a sweet girl, might be a little hope for the Gecko line after all."

A shadow moved in front of the light and she felt a soft blanket being draped over her. She took a slow breath in and caught Seth's scent; it wasn't so bad right now, almost tolerable. She could feel him watching her and an odd still silence had fallen over the house. He was close enough that she could feel his warm breath on her forehead; had he crouched in front of her? She didn't want to ruin, whatever this was, so she simply kept her breathing even to feign sleep.

His voice was low enough to keep his family from hearing it as he echoed, "Yeah she is a sweet girl."

He moved away from her and marched back into the kitchen. "By the way, Richie, you're going to have to help her get her stuff from her dorm. I kinda got labeled a dangerous criminal, when I went to pick her up."

"Well you did knock up a student."

"Fuck off."

"Both of you shut your traps."

Dear baby, I'm not sure what we've gotten ourselves into here, but I promise I got you.