At an outdoor picnic table Sydney and Harry both sat together with worried looks on their faces. There was a slight chill in the air, so the two teenagers were wearing long coats as they sat together silently. Then from nearby Olive walked over to the two wearing a brown coat. With a small smile on her face, Olive waved and said, "Hey Sydney." Sydney then got up and hugged Olive as she said, "Olive, hey." Sydney then took a step back as she held Olive's hands and said, "So Olive... you okay?" Olive nodded her head and said, "Yeah. Still kind of in shock, but my mom has been really amazing at helping me." Sydney made a little smile and said, "Yeah. My dad and grandma have been great too." Harry then stood up and with a look of uncertainty of what he should do, just decided to wave and say, "Hey Olive." Olive just glanced at Harry as she made a little nod and said, "Hey." Harry then sighed and said, "Olive. I am so sorry that I..." Olive then cut Harry off and with a look of certainty on her face she said, "Harry, I'm just as much to blame as you. I should be just as sorry to you right now." Then suddenly the three were interrupted by the voice of Sophia saying, "Hey." The three turned their heads and saw Emmy and Sophia walking towards them. Sydney then took a deep breath and said, "Well... time for us to have our difficult talk."

The five teenagers sat down together as Olive said, "Oh Emmy, everything okay? I couldn't get a hold of you on your cell phone. I'm glad you finally picked up your home phone though." Emmy looking a little nervous said, "Yeah, um, can we not make this take too long. My parents are out shopping right now, and I don't want them to know I'm out of the house." Sydney looking confused said, "Why would they not want you..." Emmy then said, "Forget about it. So... um... thanks for being here Harry." Harry then looking a bit nervous still said, "You're welcome, I think. Look... I know this is really hard for all of us right now. And even though Sydney is still my girlfriend, I do want to help you all out and support you in some way from here on out. I'm not sure how but..." Olive then with a sympathetic tone said, "Harry, you want to help. That makes you much better than most teen fathers out there."

Then Sydney said, "Well look, I think we all need to agree on a few ground rules on how this is all going to work going forward. First, can we agree we are all gonna be there for each other and help each person out with raising their baby?" Everyone nodded, but then Olive said, "Well I think we need to establish this idea though. Our four babies are going to be family. So even though each child will have a different mother, we still need to see them all as a family we're taking care of together. If another girls' baby is suffering, that means your child's brother or sister is suffering. So can we try to refer to them as our children as much as we can?" Sydney nodded as she said, "I'm down with that. Everyone else good?" Emmy and Sophia nodded as Sophia said, "I like it." Then Sydney said, "Also, if any girl here is thinking about giving their baby up for adoption or something similar, it's important that it's discussed with the group. Like Olive just said, these are our children, and separating a family is a very serious topic. So we need to discuss all options before any single one is taken."

Then Emmy said, "So... has anyone made a good idea of how our children's living arrangements is gonna work? Like, do our kids spend every other week with us, and then every other week with Harry?" Harry then took a deep breath and said, "I am willing to take care of our kids as much as you girls need. However if any girl here wants their child to live with them full time, I won't stand in your way." Then Olive with a sympathetic voice said, "Harry, don't say that. We want our kids to be close with their father growing up." Then Sophia curiously said, "So, what's the schedule then? Does Harry just pick up my kid every other weekend? What about his other children? Do we bombard Harry with four kids a week, or does he take turns with each child every couple of days?" Sydney then held Harry's hand as she said, "Well me and Harry talked a bit, and like Olive said: these kids will be family, so we should raise them together. But four kids at the same time is rough. So maybe me and Harry can take two kids at one point, giving one of you a break for awhile." Then Emmy said, "Then when will you get a break Sydney?" Then Olive said, "I think we should all take turns taking care of two kids at a time. Our children deserve to be raised together to some degree, even if all four aren't going to be living in the same house at the same time."

Then Sophia looking a bit nervous said, "So... what's going to be the schedule then? Does each girl get their kid and someone else's child every other weekend or something?" Then Sydney said, "You know what, I think we don't need to make a specific schedule yet. I remember hearing my mom tell me stories of what early motherhood is like with woman she worked with, and it's hard to build a super structured routine in those early weeks. But I think we can all agree: we will help each other raise these four children, and these kids will be raised together in some way." Then Harry spoke up and said, "And while I won't try to mess with any schedule any of you all want to put in place, I will do everything I can to help our kids and any of you if needed." Then Sydney said, "Well... we still have many more months until D-Day. I'm sure we'll have more to discuss until then, but I think this was a good start. But just one more thing to add... while each girl will be their child's mother first and foremost... I want you all to know I will be there for all four of these kids like they're my own as well. Not just because they're family, but... because I do feel responsible for this. Because I am the one that suggested in the first place that the four of us and Harry do a..." Then Sydney stopped speaking as tears appeared in her eyes as she began to cry. Harry continued to hold Sydney's hand, as Olive put a hand on Sydney's shoulder as she said, "It's okay Sydney. None of us hate you. We will figure this out." Sydney then made a little smile as she looked at Olive and said, "Thank you."

Several minutes later, the five teenagers began to walk off in different directions. Sydney, Harry, and Sophia began walking together as Sydney said, "Oh wait Sophia. Isn't your house the other way?" Then Sophia said, "Oh... um... I'm just seeing someone from my history class who lives this way about an assignment I missed the other day." Then Sydney looking skeptical said, "Okay, I guess. So... is everything else okay?" Then Sophia putting on a fake happy face said, "Yeah. I'm good." Then Harry said, "Well if you need any help, you can call either of us. My door is always open for you if you need it." Sophia nodded and said, "Thanks. Anyway, I have to go now. See you two later." Sophia then walked off in one direction, as Sydney and Harry began to walk in another direction. Then as Sydney and Harry held hands while they walked, Sydney said, "You think she's okay?" Harry then said, "I don't know. Are you?" Sydney sighed and said, "I'm honestly surprised I held myself together for so long. I mean I thought I was going to break down and lose it much sooner." Harry then kissed Sydney on the cheek and said, "You were great Syd. You took amazing charge of the group back there. You already have all the qualities of a great mom." Then Sydney said, "I can only hope for that. How about you though? Think you're ready to be a dad?"

Harry sighed and then said, "No. I mean I know I love you and I'll love my kids. But... I still don't fully get how this is going to work for me. I mean, you and me raising our child together: that can work. But what about the other three kids? Do I make sure they see me spending time with Olive, Sophia, and Emmy; so they can see a good example of their parents getting along? And when they'd old enough to understand how genetics work, how do I explain how I created four kids at the same time from four different mothers. Will they hate me, or find me disgusting, or..." Then Sydney interrupted Harry and said, "Harry, you are going to do everything you can be the best father you can, and all four of those kids will see that and respect that. As for how much you'll need to be there for the other Amigas and how much time you need to spend with them... well, we'll just play that by ear for now."

Olive and Emmy were walking down a sidewalk together as Olive said, "So, do you wanna study for the big science test tomorrow at lunch?" Then Emmy said, "Um... I'm not gonna be at school tomorrow." A curious Olive then said, "What? Why?" Then Emmy said, "Um... my parents have decided to start home schooling me from now on?" Then Olive said, "Well that's really sudden." Then Emmy sighed and said, "Well my pregnancy was really sudden." Olive then looking concerned said, "Emmy... is everything okay between you and your parents?" Emmy then looked down as she said, "They're mad at me Olive. Really mad at me. So mad that... well, I don't you'll be seeing me a lot in the near future." Olive then said, "Emmy... your parents should be upset with you. I mean my mom is but... you're still their daughter. They should still love you, support you, and let you live your life. If they're not, then you have a serious problem you have to deal with." Tears appeared in Emmy's eyes as she said, "Olive, I... I really need to get home before my parents find out I'm gone." Then Emmy ran away from Olive quickly, as Olive watched Emmy run with a concerned look on her face.

As the sky became dark, Sophia sat in a dark alley alone as she was beginning to shiver. Sophia then heard her phone make a buzzing noise. Sophia checked the screen, and saw her mother's caller ID pop up. Sophia put her phone away with an angry look on her face. Suddenly Sophia began to hear the sounds of dogs barking far away which caused her to look very scared. Then Sophia saw two men coming down the alley from far away as one of them said, "Hey little lady. What's a fine looking girl like you doing here all alone?" Sophia then jumped up looking scared and then ran out of the alley and down a nearby sidewalk. Sophia ran for several minutes with a look of panic on her face. Then Sophia finally slowed down, took a deep breath, and then got out her phone.

Emmy was standing in her kitchen washing several dishes when her mom walked in. Emmy's mother then stepped into the kitchen and looked at the dishes on the drying rack. Emmy's mother picked up one of the dishes and said, "Emmy, this plate is still dirty here. Learn to clean better." Emmy sighed and said, "I'm sorry mom. I've just been really stressed today." Then Emmy's mother angerly said, "You're stressed today? Once your unholy child is born, you and this whole family is going to be stressed for the rest of your life." Then Emmy's mother suddenly threw a plate on the ground breaking it. Emmy jumped back scared, as her mother said, "There's an early taste of what the rest of your life is going to feel like. Now clean up this plate you made me break." Then Emmy's mother stormed out of the kitchen, as Emmy began to clean up the mess while tears appeared in her eyes.

Harry was sitting in front of a computer in his room as his father walked in. Harry's father then said, "So what are you doing there son?" Harry then said, "Oh, just looking for places where I can sell all my old comic books. Apparently many of them aren't worth as much as I wish they did, but I figure any extra money I can make could help support my kids on the way." Harry's father then said, "Well... as disappointed as your mother and I are in what you did... I'm glad your lowest moment of being irresponsible has inspired you to become more responsible than ever. But remember, me and your mother will still be there to help you every step of the way. We certainly don't want to neglect our four soon-to-be grandchildren." Harry smiled and said, "Thanks dad. And I know I'll be taking you and mom up on that offer at some point, but... I wanna handle this myself as much as possible." Harry's dad then said, "Well said. Oh, by the way. Sophia's mother just called saying Sophia ran away from home the other day. Have you seen her recently?" Harry then said, "Yeah, at the park today with the other girls. But none of knew she ran away from home." Then Harry's father said, "Well I'll call Sophia's mother to let her know she was seen recently. But obviously tell us if you learn anything else." Harry nodded as he said, "I will."

Harry's father then walked out of the room, but then several seconds later: Harry heard a knock on his window. Harry looked outside, and saw Sophia standing on a tree branch. Harry opened the window as he said, "Sophia?" Sophia then stepped inside as she said, "Hey." Then Harry looking concerned said, "Sophia, what's going on? Your mom called my dad saying you ran away from home." Sophia then said, "Well yeah. Me and my mom had a fight about plans for my future. She's gonna control how I live my life, and obviously my baby's life too and I can't have that. But um... I still need to work through what I'm gonna do next. So since you said your door was always open to me, I figured it be okay if I could ask to crash at your place tonight." Harry sighed and said, "Well first we need to call your mom." Then Sophia grabbed Harry's arm and said, "Harry, no. My life is gonna be over if you call her. Please. Just give me one night here, and I promise I'll come up with a way to deal with my mom and what I do next. Please, just give me one night." Harry sighed and said, "Okay. Just one night."

In the middle of the night, Emmy crept out of her room and into the living room where a small laptop was set up. Emmy then turned on the laptop and began to search the internet. Emmy then began to look at several websites, but then stopped as she covered her face. Emmy fell back as she said, "Oh God, what am I doing?" Then Emmy sat up, took a deep breath, and said to herself, "No. I have to do this. It's the only way." Then Emmy took a deep breath and began to write down on a piece of paper the words: Directions to Abortion Clinic.

Harry rolled out a sleeping bag as Sophia sat on the nearby bed and said, "Thanks again for letting me stay here Harry. But again, I'm happy to take the sleeping bag." Then Harry said, "No, no. I insist. Take the bed. You're the one with child; not me." Sophia smiled and said, "Thanks. You're really sweet." Then Harry sat on the bed next to Sophia as he said, "Look Sophia, I still think you should call your mom. I mean you said she doesn't hit you or punish you real bad or anything." Then Sophia said, "Harry, I've been living in punishment my whole life. My mom has mapped out everything I do; even the clothes I buy. I can't let her control me any further. I know what I want in my life, and I won't get it while living with my mother." Then Harry said, "Well what do you want for your life Sophia?" Sophia then scooted closer to Harry and said, "Well... I want to be a good mother who raises their sweet child and lets them do whatever they want." Then a curious Harry said, "Anything else besides that?" Sophia then leaned towards Harry as she said, "Well there is one other thing. Every night after I tuck my sweet child into bed, it would be very nice... if I could kiss and make love to my handsome husband." Then Sophia leaned her face forward and suddenly kissed Harry on the lips.

TO BE CONTINUED...

*Author's Note - Thank you for continuing to read this special story of mine, and thanks to all for quickly making this my most viewed Sydney to the Max story I have ever made. Please let me know what you all think of it via comments and messages, and let me know if there's anything you want to see happen in future chapters. I can't guarantee I'll fulfill any requests, but I do very much want to know what my readers think. Also, I would love ideas for baby names for any of the babies that have yet to be born in this story. Again, feel free to comment or message me. ;)