The ginger-haired agent stifled a yawn as he searched the entire kitchen for something to have for breakfast. There were some bacon and two eggs, but he couldn't be bothered waiting for them to cook. There was a box of cereal that had enough for two people. Making a mental note to go to the store later, Jay made himself a bowl of cereal and slumped onto the couch in the living room, wondering how he was going to spend the day. Just then, there was a rattling coming from the kitchen and he turned just in time to see Kai rummaging through the fridge.
It was clear by the bags under his eyes that he hadn't been sleeping well since he learned the baby's gender.
"Morning honey, you okay?" He beamed as Kai poured himself a bowl of cereal. The four boyfriends had started sharing pet names, although Kai's tended to be more naughty and often left Jay, Zane, and, to a lesser extent, Cole feeling flustered. The other day Zane had told the others what Kai had said about the baby, but they were all too scared to say anything to the brunette in case they made things worse.
"Yep," Kai replied dryly.
"You sure?"
"I can't do a big intense chat every day Jay." He said with a frown and Jay flinched back slightly.
"Okay, if you need anything, a chat of any intensity, whatever, or a shout or another cry-"
"I've got it." He said sharply before finishing his breakfast and making a beeline for the bathroom for a quick shower...
When Cole visited the apartment, he was surprised to see Kai doing yoga in the living room. The brunette had pushed the couch and coffee table up against the wall to make room for the yoga mat on the floor. Kai had spoken to the midwife about his concerns about baby weight and she had reassured him that at almost five months pregnant he could still do light exercises like swimming or yoga. Kai wasn't the best swimmer so yoga was his only option.
Cole could hear the sound of water running and came to the conclusion that someone, most likely Nya since Jay's car was gone and Skylor sent everyone a text that she'd be out in town for the next few hours.
"Hey, you alright?" Cole greeted as he walked over and sat on the couch, letting Kai continue his exercises.
"Yeah, what's up?" Kai grunted as he struggled to perform the moves with his baby bump.
"Nothing."
"Right, so you just thought you'd come over and hang out with me?" He smirked as he finished his yoga session and rolled up the mat. "I mean, I know I'm the sexiest being on the planet, but I can tell by the look on your face that you ain't here to watch me try and get my fat ass off Jay's carpet." He laughed as he sat next to Cole. Despite only knowing them for a few months, Kai knew enough about them to know how to tease them. Cole sighed in defeat, realizing he had been found out.
"This baby-"
"Wow, straight to it, really smooth Cole."
"I just wanted to say that she's a part of you and you're already brilliant." He smiled lovingly at the brunette. "You're gonna have no problem loving it."
"Well thank you, been thinking about this a lot have you?" He muttered, turning away from his raven-haired boyfriend.
"I suppose I have, yeah."
"So it's not like Zane or Jay told you to come to talk to me or anything?" He challenged and Cole mentally cursed again.
"Alright, I suppose I have since then, we all just care, and you're gonna be fine." He reassured.
"Sure, that makes everything alright then?" He snapped, but it had more sadness than anger behind it.
"You know what, after everything you're amazing."
"You can stop now, you're embarrassing me and yourself."
"Deciding to keep the baby-"
"It was never a decision." Kai glared, subconsciously placing a hand on his bump.
"Sorry I didn't mean it like that, but you're still worried, aren't you?" He asked, but they all knew the answer. "Because even though it's not a boy, it's still half of Morro, and you're worried that she'll be daddy's little girl." He continued and Kai reluctantly nodded, feeling the baby move slightly in his belly. The baby had yet to kick, but when he brought this up to the midwife, she assured him that when the baby's ready to kick, he'll definitely know.
He really hoped her kicking wouldn't hurt.
"Is Skylor like her dad?" Cole suddenly asked.
"She's nothing like him and you know that!" Kai exclaimed angrily that Cole would even suggest that.
"Right so this one, with you as its Mom, will be nothing like Morro." Cole smiled as he reached over and rubbed the bump. Instead of pushing the agent away, Kai felt himself relaxing as Cole's warm hand gently rubbed circles into his stomach, causing the baby to settle down. "It's going to be a brilliant kid and a brilliant person because you are."
"Now you even sound like Jay." Kai teased and Cole gasped in mock offense.
"Those are fighting words!" He playfully threatened as he gently pushed Kai down so they were lying on the couch and started planting dozens of light kisses all over the blushing brunette's tanned face. Kai giggled as Cole relentlessly kissed his face for the next couple of minutes. When Cole decided that he had punished Kai enough, they sat back up and silence filled the living room. Cole watched in confusion and worry as Kai's happy face started to form in a scared, sad face.
"What if she looks like him, Cole?" He whispered as tears welled up in his amber eyes, silently cursing his hormones and mood swings, but that didn't make his fears any less valid.
"You won't care, by the time you notice and resemblance you'll already be head over heels in love with her," Cole promised as he hugged Kai, which he quickly returned. Just then Nya entered the living room, fully dressed, but her hair was wet, telling Cole that it was indeed her in the shower.
"What's wrong?" She asked when she saw the tiny tears that Kai blinked away.
"I've been having a wobble about the baby." He answered honestly. "But I think I'm gonna be ok." He added as he flashed Cole a smile. All of a sudden, the apartment's front door suddenly burst open, and Jay, Zane, and Skylor stumbled in, carrying so many bags it looked like their arms were about to snap off.
"Delivery for Mr. Smith!" Skylor exclaimed as she dropped her bags and rubbed her sore wrists.
"Um, what's all this?" Kai asked in shock as Nya and Cole started helping the others in emptying the bags.
"This, my darling firefly, is everything a baby girl could ever need in life." Zane beamed as they finished carrying everything into the living room, causing Jay's apartment to look like a baby store. Kai's eyes were as wide as saucers as he took in everything his best friend and two of his boyfriends had gone out of their way to get for him and the baby. They had bought lots of bibs, burp cloths, a breast pump, milk storage containers, a nursing pillow, and some lotion for sore nipples.
If did prefer formula feeding they had bought a bottle and nipple brush and a thermal bottle carrier.
When it came to diapers they had bought two boxes of newborn-size diapers, not wanting to buy too many in advance in case the baby was large or grew quickly. There was also a changing pad, baby ointment to prevent a rash, and disposable wipes for cleaning the baby's bottom. They had bought more clothes than Kai even knew a baby needed. There were eight onesies with short and long-sleeves, eight one-piece stretchy sleepers, five pairs of pants, two newborn hats, eight pairs of socks, and laundry detergent for infants.
Kai awed when he picked up two pairs of scratch mittens to keep the baby from scratching her face.
They had decided not to buy any winter clothes since the baby was due in mid-July. There were three large blankets. One was blue, one was pink, and one was red since Skylor knew that was Kai's favorite color. For bathtime, they had bought a plastic infant tub, even though Kai could have just used a large dishpan in the sink, or take the baby in the bath with him. There were also twelve washcloths that were not to use on the baby's bottom, baby soap, and three soft-hooded towels.
There was a box containing the pieces for a white plastic crib and crib mattress.
There were three waterproof mattress covers, four fitted cribsheets, four blankets that fit in the crib, and a sleep sack. Other necessities they had bought were a car seat, a second-hand stroller, a baby thermometer, and a baby monitor. The next items Kai noticed were not necessities, but they were nice to have. There was changing table with a pink change pad with little butterflies printed on it. They had been kind enough to buy him a sling to help carry the baby in case his arms got tired.
There were a diaper genie and diaper bag, sunshades for the car windows, two pacifiers, rattles and other baby toys, a mobile with pink and white stars and sleepy bears, and a white bunny night light.
"And we got plenty of pampering stuff for you too." Jay smiled as he gave Kai a gift bag.
"How have you paid all this?" Nya frowned in suspicion, knowing from her hours of scouring the online stores for stuff to but for her niece.
"Well, I've been speaking to the bank and a lawyer, apparently Chen had a few grand left after the bank took most of it and it's all transferred to me," Skylor replied and the others stared at her in shock. "At first I wanted to burn it, but then Nya helped me realize the good things I could do with that money."
"Like what?" Cole asked.
"Helping Kai and the baby out for one, and two, I've always wanted to open my own restaurant and many of the guys who worked at the club are still jobless." She replied, remembering her many trips to the job center and see dozens of her old coworkers there as well.
"That's not a bad idea, Sky." Jay agreed, almost laughing at the irony. Chen's money, that he had made on other people's suffering, was going to be used by his daughter not only to start her own business but also allow his previous employees to finally work in a safe and friendly environment. He was about to say all this out loud, but then he noticed the worried look on Kai's face as he looked over all the new baby stuff. They were really nice and he knew the others had put a huge amount of time carefully choosing each item, but Kai felt like crying.
All of this just brought home how real this was and how he had no idea how to take care of a baby.
He had never changed a diaper, made a bottle, he didn't know how to correctly hold a baby or how to give it a bath. The only experience he had was feeding Nya a bottle years ago, but that was with his parents helping and watching his every move. He wished they were still here to help him now. Jay was by his side in a second and kissed his forehead.
"I know things have been hard, but I promise that this little one's gonna have the best possible start in life and the best possible mom." He smiled as he hugged Kai tightly. The others saw this and joined in the hug. Kai smiled and relaxed as he felt all the love and support from the five people he now considered family...