Thank you again for your reviews; I really appreciate the long ones especially. I hope you guys feel like there's a good balance between baby stuff and other plot points like the Mr. H drama (which I'm glad has been well-received)! This chapter is fairly light, but I have some really interesting ideas of where to take Lola's character soon... xx

Shot in the Dark

The next week, Lola grabbed the diaper bag and finished getting the baby dressed for her doctor's appointment. Hope was wearing the same little pink, flowery onesie Lola had spotted at the mall months ago. After he found out they were having a girl, Miles drove to that same department store and searched for two hours to find the onesie. He'd surprised Lola with it when they first brought Hope home from the hospital.

Lola's phone rang. "Hello?" she answered, putting Hope's little shoes on.

"Hey babe," Miles said. "Look, I'm really sorry to bail like this, but I have to meet with some lawyers for the trial. It's kinda urgent."

Lola took a deep breath. "Okay," she sighed, scooping the baby into her arms. "I guess I understand. But how am I supposed to take Hope to her doctor's appointment?" Even though she was about to turn 17, she didn't have her license yet. She had planned to get it last year, but the whole being pregnant thing kind of disrupted her plans. Besides, she didn't have a car and her dad could barely afford one as it was.

"Frankie will take you," Miles said. "She can pick you up in twenty." He sighed. "I'm really sorry."

Lola shrugged to herself. "No, I get it," she murmured. "Family stuff..."

"I'll come over this evening," Miles promised.

Lola waited for forty minutes, but Frankie still didn't show. She was annoyed, to say the least-- she didn't need two Hollingsworths flaking on her in the same day. She was about to just give up and call an Uber when the doorbell finally rang.

Lola opened the door and was immediately surprised. "Hunter?"

"Frankie's sick," Hunter explained. "So I've been summoned for baby duty," he shrugged, waving his car keys.

Lola bit her lip hesitantly. Even though he had sort of apologized, she still was kind of ticked at him for the way he had treated her when she was pregnant. "Look, you don't have to drive us all the way down there," she said, not looking at him. "I can just call an Uber or something."

"What? No, I'll take you," Hunter said. He smiled a tiny bit. "Don't worry, my music taste isn't that bad."

Lola sighed, but smiled back a little. "Alright," she agreed, nestling the sleeping baby against her shoulder. "Let's go, then."

They didn't say much on the ride there. Everything seemed to be an awkward subject between them-- Mr. H, Yael, Miles, the baby. But Lola also knew she couldn't stay mad forever, especially considering they were almost-sort-of related now. "Thanks for taking me," she said finally in the waiting room. "You know you didn't have to come in, though. You

could have just dropped us off."

Hunter looked up from his gaming magazine. It was weird to be in the pediatrician wing-- everyone around them was either over thirty or under six. "Nah, it's fine," he shrugged, glancing at Hope, who was still sound asleep in Lola's arms. "All part of being an uncle, right?"

The doctor finally called them back. "Ugh, I'm nervous," Lola admitted quietly to Hunter. "She's supposed to get her first shot today."

Hunter looked down at the sleeping baby and sighed. "I'll come back with you if you want," he offered, shrugging awkwardly. "Maybe I can like... distract her or something."

Lola shook her head laughing a little. "Okay," she agreed. "Sure. I guess I could use the help."

The doctor, Dr. Chris, was pretty nice-- he didn't seem too judgey or anything. Lola had been worried she would get looked down on for being a teen mom. "Alright," he said when Hope had finally woken up. "Nice to meet you, Hope," he smiled, pressing his stethoscope to the baby's chest.

Hope fussed a little as the doctor took her measurements. "Shh, baby," Lola whispered, holding her close. She'd never felt so protective of anything in her life-- every time Hope seemed to be the slightest bit uncomfortable or sick or tired, Lola immediately wanted to fix it. It was crazy how in just a matter of months, Lola had gone from only really caring about makeup and volleyball to making this tiny little human the center of her universe.

"Looks like she's developing perfectly normally," Dr. Chris said, jotting something down on his chart. "Has she been sleeping through the night?"

"No," Lola sighed wearily. "Not really."

The doctor nodded. "Well, that's to be expected at this age," he said. "How's breast-feeding going?"

Hunter, who was just sitting awkwardly in the corner, turned a scarlett red as Lola talked to the doctor about nursing. Miles definitely owed him for this.

The doctor smiled at Hope, then turned to Lola and Hunter. "And how are you two doing?" he asked. "I know teen parenting can obviously be pretty difficult."

Now Hunter and Lola both turned red. "Oh, no, we're not... this isn't..." Lola stammered, not looking at Hunter.

"I'm the uncle," Hunter piped up, cheeks still red.

"Oh," Dr. Chris said, looking equally embarrassed. "Okay. Um, is the father... in the picture, or--"

"Yeah," Lola said immediately. "Of course. Miles is great. He just couldn't make it today." She sighed, holding Hope tightly in her lap.

The doctor nodded at Lola. "Well, there's a local teen parent group I can give you the info for if you're interested," he offered. He pulled out a business card and handed it to her. "They meet Wednesday afternoons at the Dot."

Lola looked over the card. As intimidating as it was, it didn't seem like such a bad idea to meet more people who could understand what she was going through. As much as she loved Frankie and Shay, they just didn't get it. "Thanks," she said quietly, tossing the card into the diaper bag.

"Now for the least fun part," Dr. Chris sighed. He looked at Hope sympathetically. "Your first shot."

Lola winced. She hated getting shots herself, but she wasn't sure she could stand seeing Hope in pain. "Just... make it quick," she murmured, squeezing Hope's little fingers.

The doctor chuckled a little. "The parents are always more nervous than the kids," he said, getting the needle ready. "This will only take a second."

Lola didn't look as he gave Hope the shot. The baby immediately started wailing. "No, don't cry," Lola pleaded at the screaming infant, still wincing. "Please don't cry. It's okay baby, Mommy's here." She sighed, wishing Miles was there.

Hunter sat up. "Hey, Hope," he said in a low, gentle voice. "Look at me." He made a silly face at her and tickled her gently on her chin.

Just seconds later, Hope stopped crying. "How'd you do that?" Lola cried, in shock.

Hunter just shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "She kind of likes me. God knows why," he laughed.

Dr. Chris shook his head laughing. "See, that wasn't so bad," he said.

"Yeah," Lola sighed, smiling at her happy baby. "Not bad at all."