Wow, it's been almost two months since I last updated. I'm so sorry!! Hahaha whoever said second semester senior year was easy is a liar! Anyway here's the next chapter and I apologise that it's only one chapter, not the usual three. Thank you to my loyal reviewers, I really appreciate the support/encouragement. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm really not sure how I feel about it but let's hope you guys like it. Thanks a lot. *Heart* to everyone!!

Looking Out For Each Other.

"Chris!! Chris man, the baby's crying again!"

Chris came out of the bathroom to the combined sounds of Teddy's panicked voice and Aimee's wailing. Teddy was standing over the cot, futilely shaking a rattle. Aimee's face was bright red and scrunched up.

"Teddy man, don't ever have children." Chris strode forwards and carefully lifted Aimee out of the cot.

"Come on baby, don't cry," Chris whispered and gently rocked her back and forth.

"Aw look at Chris with his little baby," Teddy mocked.

"Hey man, this is my niece," Chris said. "Besides she's stopped crying now. Chambers babies are always tough."

"Except you."

"I was tougher as a baby than you are now," Chris said dismissively and sat down on the sofa with Aimee still in his arms.

Teddy paused before sitting down awkwardly next to Chris. "Geez this is really gay now, huh?"

Chris shrugged. "Depends on how you look at it."

"How are you looking at it?"

"Well," Chris began, "I'm doing a favour for my friend and my brother." He turned to Teddy to say some more but the look on his friend's face stopped him dead.

"You like her!" Teddy cried and his eyes widened behind his glasses. "Why didn't I see it before? You love her!"

"What??" Chris asked. "Who are you talking about?"

"That Jillian chick, man. I mean yeah, she's pretty hot and all but she's been with Eyeball for God's sake!" Teddy looked both shocked and gleeful about the latest development.

"No way man, you're wrong."

"Am I?" Teddy said importantly and stood up. He began to pace the room in a cheap imitation of a lawyer in one of those TV shows or perhaps he was going more for the Sherlock Holmes type thing. Chris couldn't really tell.

"Yes, you're wrong. Jillian is just a friend, not even that really, she's more like an acquaintance."

Teddy laughed. "Yeah I'm always taking care of the babies of my acquaintances on my Saturday night too."

"Well you're here too ain't ya?" Chris exclaimed, but he blushed slightly and Teddy knew he was right.

Aimee was looking a little startled so Chris went and laid her back down in her cot. When he turned around Teddy was smirking at him.

"In love with the ex-girlfriend of your brother and the mother of your niece."

Chris rolled his eyes. "You're like some broken record Teddy."

"Isn't this like incest?" Teddy asked perfectly serious.

"Hell no! What's wrong with you?!"

"Hey man, don't yell at me." Teddy held up his hands in mock surrender. "I'm not the one on a date with the girl you looooove."

Chris sighed. "You're insane Duchamp."

Teddy laughed. "How does it feel to know fucking Eyeball is with your girl right now?"

"Hey man, don't swear in front of Aimee! I promised Jillian you'd be good."

"I promised Jillian," Teddy mimicked.

Chris cast a look back at the cot to see whether Aimee was watching them or not. Seeing she had her eyes closed Chris took the opportunity to flick Teddy off with both hands.

Teddy grinned and slumped down on the sofa. "I struck a nerve! I struck a nerve!" he crowed.

Chris bit his lip. "Shut up would ya," he said but without much conviction.

"You like her don't you?"

"I guess so."

"A lot?"

"Nah, just a little," Chris said and he even blushed slightly.

Teddy nodded, understanding the situation.

"I mean," Chris began, "it's more like I feel bad for her, you know what I mean?"

Teddy frowned slightly. "Why do you feel bad for her?"

"Just it's a pretty fucked up situation you know. I'm not saying I feel responsible or shit, just…"

"Well there's a difference between feeling bad and wanting to help, and feeling like you have a responsibility to help, Chris," Teddy said seriously.

"I know that," Chris said with a hint of anger in his voice.

Teddy held up his hands. "Calm down," he said. "I was just talking…"

Chris glared out the window for a while, and when he eventually spoke again, his voice was low and quiet.

"Maybe I do feel some responsibility for the kid," he said. "It's a Chambers for Christ's sake. We don't have much of a chance in life."

Teddy shook his head and twisted his baseball cap around so it faced backwards. "Why do you feel the need to take responsibility for everything and everyone?" he asked.

"What?" Chris asked and turned around to face Teddy.

"You heard what I said," Teddy said evenly and sat forward on the couch.

"That's bullshit," Chris said curtly.

"No it ain't," Teddy said and stood up, wishing fleetingly that he could match Chris's height of 6"2; in this kind of circumstance it did a guy good to have a height advantage, but Teddy was shorter by at least four or five inches. "Ever since we were kids you've been taking responsibility for other people, whether you should or not. Always making some fucking sacrifice."

"That's not true."

"It is! I mean c'mon Chris, look at this thing with Gordie. He's old enough to take care of himself Chris, and he's old enough to decide who he wants to be friends with. You say you want to back away so that you don't 'drag him down'?? What the fuck does that mean? If things happen in Gordie's life it's down to Gordie, not you. Why can't you see that?"

Chris stared hard at Teddy for a minute or two before replying. "Maybe that's true," he said finally, "but you can't tell me that his being friends with me doesn't put him in a certain category. That to all the fucking teachers and those assholes from up on the View, his being a friend with me makes him as much of a loser as I am."

"That's cause they're assholes! You just said so. Those jerks from up on the View will look down on Gordie whether you're around or not. Why? Because his family isn't rich or powerful, and because, despite evidence to the contrary, a lot of people in this town still think that Denny may have been drunk when he had his accident, and all the other lame-ass reasons those idiots have for being snobby bastards to us all."

Chris opened his mouth to say something but couldn't think of a goddamn word.

Teddy seized the opportunity to keep going. "I mean Chris, c'mon man, Gordie is not the kind of person to give a shit what any of those bastards think of him. The only opinions Gordie has ever cared about are Denny's, his dad's and yours. "Teddy stared directly at Chris when he spoke, making sure the other boy caught every word. "So think about it, the person Gordie cares about most in the world suddenly ditches him. Do you know how that feels Chris?"

"I'm not the bad guy, Teddy," Chris said brokenly.

Teddy nodded emphatically. "I know you're not a bad guy, Chris. You're the good guy! You're the guy who we all rely on, who we always have relied on and probably always will. You're that guy, Chris."

"It's not easy being that guy," Chris said regaining some of his strength.

"I don't doubt it, " Teddy said smoothly, "that's why you have to let other people help you too."

Chris stared at the floor, gathering his thoughts. Finally he spoke: "You know what Teddy, you're a goddamn genius." He smiled and it was his smile, not the cold, haunted one he'd been wearing all week. "As soon as Jillian gets back, me and you are going to go and fucking find Gordie."

Teddy smiled too. "That's what I'm talking about man.

Chris nodded and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Damn, still another hour at least before they get back."

Teddy was peering into Aimee's cot. "Um yeah and here's another problem you can solve man."

"What?"

"How the fuck do you change a diaper?"