Chapter 8:

Dante uselessly wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's body and held her tight against her body. Her head was buried in his chest. Her fingers wrapped themselves in his shirt on both sides of his chest, and another sob convulsed her body. "I want to go home," she told him between hiccups. "I shouldn't be here."

"I know, baby, but we need to have this appointment. We have a new baby we need to think about. We need to make sure it's healthy and…"

"But I already have a baby!" she interrupted him with a whine. "I want to go home to the baby I have now."

"I know…" He had never once seen her so intensely upset; that included the time he came home to her vomiting and swearing up and down that she was a bad mother. There was nothing more he wanted than to take the fear and anxiety away from her, but he was at a loss for words. Real words that would soothe her worries.

"He needs me," her voice burst through his thoughts. "He's probably wondering where I am. What if he's hurt? What if something happens to him?"

"He's perfectly fine. He's with his Uncles… one of which has two perfectly healthy children, and those same children with parents that go to work every day. We're only going to be a few hours, Lulu. Everything will be just fine." He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. He listened for her breathing to return to normal.

"Okay." She looked up at him through eyes that leaked out tear after tear. She took deep breaths two inhales at a time. "We'll go to the appointment and check on the new baby, but then I want to go home. I don't want to be gone…"

"Lulu, we have another appointment. We need to find somewhere new to live before the next ten kids come out. We're already stepping all over each other at the loft. We can't fit another crib in there." Her face was planted back into his chest as she started shaking her head again.

"Fine. You go. You pick the house. I'll go home to Xavier," she said into his shirt.

"Baby… that's a terrible idea. You really trust me to pick a place for us to live for the next 5 to forever years? I need you there."

"He needs me!"

"He does need you. He needs you to come with me to find us a house for him to grow up in with his little brother or sister, and however many other little brothers and sisters he has in the future." He felt her nod into this chest. "Now look at me." She did and her arms dropped themselves to wrap around his waist. He tucked her hair behind her ear and whipped her cheeks with his thumb. He smiled at her beautiful face, and told her, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Then trust me?" She nodded. "I know you've never had to leave him with anybody, and I understand that you're hormonal, but we should really go inside and check on our baby." She nodded again. He pulled her close to him as his arms hung tight across her shoulder, and they walked into the building that they had been standing next to for the better part of an hour.

The second the appointment gave enough distraction with the first picture of their second child together and the sound of a strong heart beat. Lulu cried a fresh set of happy tears and talked Dante into buying her some chocolate from the gift store on the way out of the building. They raced to their next date. She magically cut down on the expected time but refusing to waste time looking at houses she had an instinctual objection to. Dante chased behind her until finally he had exhausted himself and brought her home.

Dante was worried that if he didn't unlock the door fast enough that she'd pull it off the hinges with little effort. They were expecting screams and wails all the way from the parking garage and the closer they got to their home the more worried they got. It took Dante a minute and a minute too long to get his keys and unlock the door. They stepped into find one of her brothers sprawled across the couth and the other slumped in the hair. Lulu immediately made a b-line for the crib. Xavier was amusing himself with his feet as she tried to pull them toward them towards his mouth. "Hey, mister," she cooed at the baby. "Mommy pissed you." She wept with relief.

"Oh my god, is she crying again?" her brother demanded in a horse Australian accent. "Weren't you crying when you left?"

"The entire time," Dante answered for her so she could focus on rocking their baby in her arms. She slow danced as the baby wedged himself in her neck. "When we left, on the way there, when we got there, during the appointment, on the way to meet the real estate agent, looking at houses…"

"You made me this way," she reminded him.

"Did you guys find a place?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah. Lulu looked at the house and knew it was ours." His eyes never left his son snuggled in his mother's arms. He wanted to burn the image of his impregnated girlfriend cradling their first born on his brain. There had never been anything as beautiful before. "Huh?" he responded to the noise that broke his concentration.

"I asked when you're moving."

"Originally in a month, but Lulu cried so we can start moving next week."

Sneak Peak: Lulu's morning sickness is gone.

Author's Note: Only two chapters left! I hope you liked it. Please review.