Chapter Nine:

The Grandfathers

Rikki POV

Just as Cariba's eyelids closed, the phone rang, causing Zane to jump across the room. He snatched the phone and held it to his ear.

"Hello," Zane mumured in a low voice.

I glanced back down at Cariba and was relieved to see her sleeping peacefully.

"Oh, uh, hi." Zane covered the speaker with his hand, staring at me sheepishly.

"Um, it's my dad."

I rolled my head back and groaned, closing my eyes in frustration. Zane put the phone back to his ear.

"Hey. Uh, yes. She's sleeping. What? Oh, no, no, no."

I glared at him, mouthing to 'get rid of him'.

"Dad, I really think it's for the best if you... Just, give us a few days and let us get used to being parents on our own."

I nodded reassuringly at Zane, holding Cariba closer to me.

"Mm? Yeah. Okay. Bye. Yeah. I know. Bye."

Zane put down the phone and folded his arms. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Well?"

Zane paused. "Yeah, he's coming over."

I let out a small groan, scowling at him. "Really? Again? Why?"

"I don't get it either." Zane flopped onto the couch and sank low into the cushions. "I mean, he didn't try to be a good father to me and now, as a grandfather, we can't get rid of him!"

The phone rang again before I could reply and Zane leapt over to pick up to grab the phone for the second time. I scowled, grinding my teeth together.

"That better not be him again. If that is him, I'm leaving you."

Zane rolled his eyes and held the phone to his ear, smirking.

"Hello? Oh, Terry, hi!" Zane laughed quietly as he looked at me.

Great. Grandfather number two.

"Yep. Uh, yeah. No, yeah, we know, yeah. Wait- What? No! Uh, I mean, Harrison actually called not too long ago,-"

I rolled my eyes and watched Cariba stretch and squirm then settle back down. I keaned back against the couch and instantly forgot about our overprotecting parents as I studied every detail of her face, overwhelmed by how beautiful Cariba was.

"Yeah, so he's coming over. Well, it might be a bit crowded and Cariba's sleeping so..."

Zane looked around the room. "Well, it isn't that big..." He replied to Terry defensively. "Yeah, uh, okay... Bye. Yeah... I'll... see you soon."

Zane put the phone down, slowly, lips pursued. I shook my head at him.

"Zane Bennett, who would've thought you had a back bone."

Zane laughed, smiling brightly. He sat back down, staring at me fondly.

"You know..." Zane started, frowning slightly. "Apart from the grandparents... Being a parent isn't as hard as-."

As if on cue, the phone rang for what I hoped was the last time. Cariba began to stir, stretching her arms out from the blanket. As expected, she squinted her eyes and opened her mouth to let out a yell. I immediately went into mother mode as Cariba began to cry.

"You jinxed it!" I exclaimed to Zane over the shrieks. Zane froze, the phone held to his ear, face turning white. I rocked Cariba, willing her to sleep and frowned at Zane who hadn't moved.

"Zane, who is it?"

Sorry for any spelling mistakes. I'm completely wrecked. This chapter is just to show how Rikki and Zane are handling being parents. Hope you enjoyed. Please review!