Chapter Three
"Oh thank god!" Kabal yelled, reaching out to hug Stryker. But the hug wasn't returned. Instead, Stryker jumped back and yelled,"Your shirt is..your shoes, don't touch me!"
"God, what is that stench?!" Katatonia yelled, pushing past the two.
"What's she doing here? I thought you threw her in the slammer.." Kabal said.
"I had a better idea. I decided to let her help us." Stryker replied.
"You put the baby in the hands of a psychopath?!" Kabal yelled.
"Shhh!" he yelled,"just...trust me on this. God I hope I'm making the right decision." Stryker said.
Katatonia looked around the condo and whistled.
"Fancy place, Kurtis. I'm sure getting on your hands and knees for The Man has its advantages." she said.
He went to reply, when she followed the stench of what smelled like a dirty diaper and found a blonde baby girl in her crib, crying.
"Oh my god." she said, gagging.
She then stomped to Kabal and yelled,"How long have you been watching her?!"
"Um..a few hours..." Kabal yelled, cringing as she yelled,"And you haven't changed her once?!"
"I don't know how to!" he yelled.
"She can get an infection!" she yelled.
The two went back and forth, when she turned and tried to get into the bedroom. Stryker was one step ahead and stood in the doorway, blocking her.
"What the hell are you doing?! Get out of my way!" she growled. "I..I don't trust you!" he yelled. "But...you asked me...to...help.." she said.
Cassie cried more and she yelled,"If you don't get out of my way, I'll push my way through!"
"Kurt, I think it's best to do what the lady says." Kabal said, holding his hands up like a caught criminal.
Stryker sighed and moved, letting her get into the bedroom. "God help me..." he said.
Quietly, she walked into the room, holding her nose as she treaded carefully to the crib, and gently picked her up.
"What's her name?" she asked.
Kabal and Stryker looked on cautiously as she held Cassie in her arms.
The same hands that killed people...
Yet, she looked..natural?
"H-her name is Cassie. Cassie Cage." Stryker said.
"Hello there, little Cassie.." she said softly, smiling as she pressed her finger on her tiny nose.
At that moment, Cassie stopped crying.
The two men dropped their jaws in shock.
"You're so cute!" she said, her eyes glowing, rocking her gently.
"Don't worry, I take of you." she said, walking past the two shell-shocked men.
"Unreal..." Kabal said.
She went into his living room, kneeling down in front of her, asking for her diaper bag.
Stryker threw it to her, and she took out a cleaning bed.
"Kurt, Kabal, come here. Watch me." she said.
"No way, you're on your own, Kat." Kabal said. "I didn't make it a question." she snapped coldly.
Stryker dared walk in the room, eyes growing wide as she removed Cassie's diaper.
"Oh god!" he yelled, slamming his hand over his mouth. Kabal shrieked and ran out of the room, too.
"You guys!" she yelled.
"Ugh..fine. Looks like it's just you and me." she added, looking for baby wipes and powder.
She inspected her for infection and wiped her clean, placing baby powder on her as well.
Finally, she was finished, putting on a new diaper. She then placed the old diaper in a trash bag, and went to the sink in the kitchen to wash her hands.
"Kurt! Kabal! Get over here!" she yelled, placing Cassie in her arms.
They watched in awe as she held Cassie on her shoulder, bouncing and rocking her.
"You guys are disappointing. How do you expect to watch her if you can't even..." she sighed,"never mind. I'm gonna put her back to sleep."
The men were still speechless.
She returned a minute later and took Kabal aside.
"Alright. Take off your clothes." she said.
"W-what do you need me to do that for?" he asked. "Your clothes stink. I'm going to clean them." she said.
"You don't have to.." he said, shying away.
"It's fine." she said.
He looked away as he began to strip down to his underpants.
"The washer is down in the basement. Kabal, take a shower, I have some extra clothes for you."
When she left the room, Kabal finished his shower, and changed. Stryker hung over Cassie's crib and watched her sleep.
"She really is cute. But I'm afraid to hold her." he said. "Why don't you give it a try?" Kabal asked as he changed.
"She's sleeping, I can't wake her up now." he said. Kabal chuckled. "Excuses."
Katatonia returned twenty minutes later with Kabal's wet clothes and hung them in the bathroom, laying on his couch in the living room.
"You two will never survive as parents." she said with a smile. "How the hell did you...know how to do that?" Kabal asked. "Back home, I helped my friend out with his nephew once. Cute little kid. My friend was only eighteen, but he had to adopt the kid after his father died. The whole situation was a mess." she replied,"it was only once, but some things stay with you. What do they call it, muscle memory?"
"I'm so used to you being crazy and killer and everything. Just seeing you like this.." Stryker said. "It's really nothing." she said with a smile. She then got up from the couch and said,"Well...I suppose you should get to cleaning up this place. She threw all her toys around." "I.." he stammered. "Kurtis...you have to be responsible." she said, crossing her arms.
"I know that, just...let me wrap my head around everything." he said, rising from the couch. He began to pick up the toys and put them in boxes, while he placed chairs back by the table. As he cleaned up, Katatonia went out on his deck with Kabal, who had a glass of scotch in his hand. The two seemed to be talking.
It was peaceful.
Then she frowned.
"So much for peace.." he muttered.
The two began to argue. She had her arms crossed, head turned away from him, as he returned the yelling. He didn't want to know what they were arguing about.
Cassie began to cry again.
"Damn it.." he said, walking back into the room.
Hovering over Cassie's crib, he tried reaching in, but kept falling back in fright. "I...I can't...I'm too scared." He tried again, only to shake his head and frown. "Ok...ok, it's alright, honey, stop crying...please, stop crying.." he said. He ran out of the bedroom, into one of her ten toy boxes and looked for a hand puppet. When he found one, he ran back into the bedroom and back to the crib.
"Look at the happy puppet!" he said with a cheerful face, making the puppet dance.
Cassie still cried.
"Oh my god.." he said.
He then began making funny faces and cracking terrible jokes.
Cassie still cried.
The door to the deck opened and Katatonia and Kabal stomped in. They were still arguing, but they stopped once she heard Cassie crying. "Damn it, Kurt, where are you?" she asked, running into the bedroom. To her surprise, she saw him hovered over the crib, trying his best to make her stop crying. "I don't know what to do, she keeps crying. Does she need a new diaper again?" he asked. She walked beside Stryker and said,"She's probably hungry. You ever feed a baby?"
"No." he replied. "Alright, time for a lesson." she said, taking Cassie into her arms. Holding the baby in her arms, she left the room and went into the kitchen, preparing a bottle. "Technically, I never did this for my friend's nephew, but it seems easy enough." she added,"now watch me."
She looked down at Cassie, who had stopped crying since being in Katatonia's arms, and said,"Feeding time!", with a big smile. "Now hold the bottle." she added. He held the bottle with shaking hands and began to bring it to her mouth. "Um...bottoms up?" he said, wearing a smirk. "Kurt..." she groaned. "I'm trying my best over here." he said.
Again, he tried to give her the bottle, but his hands shook more.
He breathed in, and tried one more time, when she growled and snatched the bottle from him. "It's so easy, Kurt. Look." she snapped, gently placing the bottle in Cassie's mouth.
Happily, she drank, while Katatonia took her with her on the couch. He leaned on the kitchen doorway, watching her.
Maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright.