Rick couldn't stop grinning at his phone. "We're having a baby," he repeated.

Suzy beamed back at him. "Yes, we are."

"Can I see?" he asked, deeply curious and wanting to see for himself.

"Of course." She stood up and angled the camera in a different position so he could see the burgeoning swell of her stomach.

He breathed out. "Wow."

"So you're happy about this?" she checked nervously.

"Yeah, I am. Scared shitless but happy. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked.

"My cycles are irregular and I had no morning sickness so didn't figure it out for a while. Wondered why I was gaining weight and then it hit me a few weeks ago. I've been trying to work up the courage since," Suzy explained as she sat back down.

Rick sighed. "I need to see you."

"And I desperately need to see you. Do you want to come out here or should I come back home? I miss Hawai'i."

"Then there's your answer - book the next available flight if you can." They definitely needed to talk about this, and he didn't want to do it over the phone.

"Of course. I'll text you when everything is confirmed." Suzy giggled and they hung up a few minutes later.

Rick stood in a daze for about ten minutes before he shook himself out of it and returned to his friends. The grin plastered on his face probably gave away that the talk had gone well but they'd be stunned (just like he still was) when he told them everything. "So I take it everything went well," Thomas guessed when he laid eyes on him.

"You could say that."

"She's your girlfriend now?" a hopeful Kumu questioned.

"It was a good talk. I think we're together now," Rick answered, still trying to wrap his mind around the news that he was going to be a dad. Holy shit.

"You think?" Thomas was a bit confused.

Rick's eyes flickered around the table, the smile on his face freaking out his friends. "She's pregnant. We're having a baby."

Silence, as he expected - they were clearly just as shocked as he was. Their mouths all dropped open. Juliet actually almost did a spit take, instead saving herself by spitting her drink back into her glass. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and decided to order another one. Meanwhile, Thomas was the first to recover. "Wow. Congratulations, man! I'm happy for you both."

"Yeah, this is fantastic news. You're going to be a dad!" TC smiled back at him.

"Yes, congratulations. This is wonderful." Juliet stood up, urging Rick to do the same, and hugged him when she finally reached his side.

The others joined in on the hug almost immediately. "Our first group baby. Wow," TC mused.

"If you need anything at all, just come to me." Kumu couldn't wait to spoil this baby.

"Glad it's not me," Jin mused. When the others shot him a glare, he shrugged. "What? It's the truth. But congratulations!"

"Thanks, guys. She's coming back so we can have an actual conversation about this."

"I'm excited to see her again. We should celebrate once she returns," Juliet decided.

"Yeah, that sounds fun. I'm in!" Jin agreed.

Thomas patted his back as Rick's phone chimed. He looked down and saw a text. "Ooh, good, her flight's in two days." He laughed.

"At least you don't have to wait long. Wow, you're really a grown-up now," Thomas teased.

"How about a round of drinks on me, to celebrate?" Kumu suggested.

"I own this bar," Rick reminded her. "But thank you for the offer."

Kumu side-eyed him and snorted. "I can still buy a round of drinks. Take it."

"Fine," he grumbled, briefly hugging her.

It was an early night for the group, Rick unable to focus and so excited his whole body couldn't stop shaking.

Rick waited impatiently outside the airport for Suzy two days later. She had informed him he didn't have to pick her up but he insisted, wanting to see her for himself as soon as possible - he definitely didn't have the patience to wait. His breath caught in his throat when he spotted her. Seeing the evidence of her pregnancy in person made the whole situation even more real and mind-boggling. "Wow," he murmured.

Suzy laughed. "Wow indeed." She hugged him and then briefly kissed him before they got on their way.

"Fair warning - everyone wants to see you so we can celebrate. How long are you in town for?"

"I'm not surprised - they're your family. And I'm in town for the next three days. Guess we'll have to start talking about our next steps." She was thrilled about the job in San Diego but wanted to actually raise this baby with RIck. But that's what this trip home was for.

"Sounds good to me." He eyed her stomach in awe.

Suzy smiled at him and grabbed his hand, guiding it to her stomach. "Reality finally hitting you?"

He gasped. "This is amazing, Suzy." Life had been a dumpster fire for months but things were finally starting to look up.

"Yeah, it is." She giggled when Rick wrapped an arm around her, one hand still splayed across her stomach, and kissed her.

"I want to be with you, Suzy. There's no doubt about that."

"I want to be with you too, Rick."

"Then it looks like we're at least on the same page there." He could breathe a sigh of relief at least. But they still had so much to discuss. Rick reluctantly took his hand off her, itching to touch her again as soon as he did so.

"I would love to raise this baby here with you but I do have to consider my job. I can't just quit and ruin this opportunity," she told him.

"I understand completely. Maybe I can go out there with you for a while? I definitely want to be by your side when this baby comes. I'm not missing the birth of my child." Rick refused to - he was determined to be a good dad, to not fuck this up.

"And I don't want you to. That sounds good to me, but we do need to discuss our plans more in depth." Right now, hormones were coursing through her body and all she wanted to do was have sex with him.

So that's what they did - Rick and Suzy had a quickie then met up with his friends a few hours later to celebrate the pregnancy.

They didn't have everything figured out yet but they'd get there long before the baby arrived and turned everything upside down.