Home was actually a three bedroom apartment over a garage with letters proudly proclaiming 'Crash and Burn Repair'. Zana had decided long ago that her parents' sense of humor had been bad if not horrendous. Still the sounds of air drills, a radio blasting heavy metal with too much static and the rank smell of oil was more welcoming then anything in the world to her. Using the side door (her home actually sported four) that lead to a flight of stairs that would take her to the living quarters of her home she didn't even notice when Faeleen didn't follow. Without upsetting the infant in her arm she unslung her bookbag and dropped it by the couch as she made her way through the living room/dining room. Going down the small hallway she made a beeline for the bathroom.
Once in there she rummaged around in the closet until she found a baby's bathtub. Placing it in the tub she turned on the water, making sure it was warm and filled up the smaller tub with just a little bit of water. Snagging a wash clothe of the rack she placed it within easy reach, along with a bottle of baby shampoo rescued from under the sink. Once she had everything arranged Zana gently unwrapped the baby. He gazed up at her with hard ruby eyes. For a moment they just gazed at each other, however the moment ended when the little one gave a gigantic sneeze.
Zana chuckled as she lowered the child into the tub. "Well I guess we best get this bath underway. Then I'll get you into some clothing. Jacob was about your size so his clothes should fit you."
The child growled at Zana gently wiped away the mud and grit with the wash cloth. A couple of times he even tried to push her hand away, hit her or bite her. Zana had smile at these attempts to defy cleanliness. "You'll have to try harder then that little one. Jacob would draw blood when he didn't want a bath, I got really quick at dodging baby teeth."
The bath quickly came to an end. As Zana emptied the water she noticed how much grim was in the water. She frowned, how long was her small charge been in that disgusting ditch and why would someone just leave him like that. As Zana gathered the child up her mind returned to Faeleen's comment about the baby being a freak or demon. She supposed someone might take that view, but to just discard him like that as if he was a piece of trash, it made her skin crawl.
At the door opposite the bathroom Zana hesitated just a moment before firmly turning the knob. A thin layer of dust coated everything, testament at just how long it had been since anyone had entered. Zana didn't glance around at all as she made her way to a dresser and yanked one of the draws open. Quickly she grabbed some clothes then practically bolted out of that room, shutting the door and stiffly walked to her room.
The next door she entered lead to a room decorated so thickly with motorcycle and car posters you could no longer see the actual wall color. A sturdy cherry wood desk littered with sketches of engines and motorcycles was crammed in one corner. A bed with a well worn quilt was pushed up against the same wall. The opposite wall held a dresser with mirror and a punching bag suspended from the ceiling. A fairly large window framed by dark blue curtains looked out onto the street below. Another window just above the bed had a less appealing view of the alley below, but Zana liked this window better because it opened to the roof of the storage shed below. This had been her escape route when grounded by her parents and had let her smuggle Faeleen in on weekends that had been restricted.
Zana made a beeline for the bed, setting her unusually still charge down on the quilt. Briskly shaking out the dust that had settled in the fibers of the shorts and shirt she turned to find the baby staring at her. For the first time in almost an hour she really took notice of this. It wasn't the usual stare from an infant, wondering and curious about what was going on. This was a stare as if trying to figure out something important. Zana could see a great deal of anger in the gaze and a strange type of curiosity, as if the little one couldn't figure out why she was doing all of this.
Zana shook the shirt again and then wrestled it on the child's thin frame. "I guess that's number two on the priority list." She muttered, the child cocking his head in response. Zana gave a lopsided grin, "feeding you. You're way to thin, even for a baby. Especially for a baby. I think I still have some formula mix stashed somewhere."
Again the baby just looked at her, this time like she had suddenly sprouted another head. Zana laughed at this and at the indignant expression the little one gave after the laugh. With the child dressed she gathered him up again and headed for the kitchen. She stopped at the site of a willowy gentleman with mousy brown hair and glasses perched in a thin nose leaning up against one of the counters. Zana let out a sigh of frustration and annoyance and continued into the direction. Rummaging around she eventually found some formula and a bottle stashed in the back of one of the cabinets. After she put the item on the counter she realized the little dilemma resting in her arms.
"I'll hold him Zana. I should do a check up on him anyway." The mousy man said his voice calm.
Zana gave a half shrug and handed the child over. The little one actually squalled at the transfer but settled down right after that, content on glaring at the man. "Should I even ask why you're here Dr. Jenkins?"
Dr. Jenkins quickly set the infant down on a thickly folded towel on the table and took out a stethoscope from a beaten leather satchel on the floor. With a quick hand he started listening to the infant's heart and lungs. "Faeleen was convinced you had brought the devil's child into your home. She's called you counselor, principal and myself. I think she wants us to gang up on you and convince you to abandon the child."
Zana snorted, "She should know me better then that."
Dr. Jenkins chuckled. "Darrel will most likely demand you give the child up, maybe even force you."
"Over my dead body." Zana snarled. "I won't give him up, I found him for a reason so he's mine."
Dr. Jenkins stopped examining the child's ears as he stared at the angered teen. "So you do truly mean to keep him. You realize how much responsibility raising a child is."
Zana took the bottle and checked the temperature against her wrist. Satisfied she walked over to the table and picked the baby up again. For a moment all was silent as a test of wills went on; Zana against an infant that had no interest in the bottle. Eventually the child gave up and started drinking from the bottle. Zana watched him closely, rubbing her thumb against his cheek.
"I know it'll be hard. I've still got another year of high school and there's the shop to consider." The babe watched her closely, his eyes holding a guarded emotion, but Zana could see what it was. The anticipation of rejection. "It'll be tough, but I'm not abandoning him. He's my son now and I'll raise him the best I can."
For a moment the room was completely silent, even the child had stopped feeding. Dr. Jenkins watched as Zana gazed at the infant with a mother's love and pride. He sighed at the girl's decision but knew it was for the best on both parts. Maybe this would even help Zana's heart heal a little.
The gentle moment was broken when the door leading to the stairs burst open. The infant screamed in anger then went back to his meal, drinking angrily as he watched the scene unfold. Faeleen led the charge straight up to a few feet from Zana, coming to an abrupt halt with hands on hip. Three adults flanked the teen each with a different expression on his or her face.
"I FORBID you to keep that, that thing!" Bellowed the man to Faeleen's left. His wild mane of singed blond hair quivered at his anger while his face was starting to change an interesting shade of plum.
"That's nice." Zana replied, her jade eyes hardening. "But he's not a thing. He's a baby, my baby and if you ever call him a thing again I'll pitch you out of this house faster than you can blink."
"You will not keep it as long as I'm your guardian!" Darrel hollered again.
"For your information I turned eighteen two days ago, or don't you remember. My parents' will stated you would be my guardian until I turned eighteen. So you can no longer tell me what I can and can't do with my life. And it'll be a cold day in hell before I give up my son!"
Darrel seemed to deflate at the word son, going from plum to a more healthy red. As the large man sputter along a mocha skinned woman stepped forward, leaning over slightly to get a good look at the boy cradled in Zana's arms.
"Well Faeleen was right; he does look like a demon." The woman smiled gently at the girl. "You have thought this decision through, looked at it from all angles? What about school? College? What will you do when you want to go out with friends?"
"Come on Mrs. Hearthill, when have I not thought things through?" Mrs. Hearthill gave a small shrug, smiling. "I know what I'm getting into. Besides it's not like I'm going to be the first at school to bring their child with them to class. And I never really considered college an option. We all know I'm not that smart."
Mrs. Hearthill sighed. "You are smart enough for college dear and you know it. I just wanted to make sure that you knew what you were getting yourself into."
Zana turned to the last adult in the room. "Well Dr. Smith what do you have to say?"
Dr. Smith shrugged. "I don't even know why I bothered coming over. I'm just your shrink, I can't tell you what to do with your life as long as it's not life threatening."
Zana quirked an eyebrow. "Then why did you come?"
Dr. Smith jerked a thumb at Faeleen. "She threatened to put my picture on the internet with my home phone number and the statement that I was single and desperate."
Zana gave a small bark of laughter at her friend's scheming. Faeleen had once described Dr. Smith as "bland named to hide tall, dark and deliciously handsome" and then proceeded to have a month long crush on the man. Zana felt relieved that Dr. Smith had trusted her decision. He and Dr. Jenkins were the only two adults in the room whose opinion on the matter had really counted for Zana. With this decision made she relaxed a little, just in time to see that the infant had finished his meal and was struggling to stay awake.
"I'm keeping him." Zana stated firmly, looking at each person with determined eyes. "There's nothing anyone could have said that would have changed my mind, but I'm glad most of you trust me on this decision. Now if you'll excuse me I need to put him down for a nap."
"What are you going to name him?" Mrs. Hearthill asked.
"Humf, might as well call him Hiei." Faeleen grumbled from her position near the counters.
"What the character from those fan fictions you read?" Zana looked at her friend strangely.
Faeleen shrugged. "Might as well he fits the character's description."
"Hiei." Zana tasted the name in her mouth. It seemed to feel right to her. She looked down at the infant whose eyes had gone from angry to extremely tired. "What do you think little one? Is your name to be Hiei?"
The infant looked Zana straight in the eye then yawned. "Umph."
Zana chuckled as she rocked the now named Hiei gently, encouraging sleep to come. "Well Hiei it is."
As Zana walked down to her room the remaining adults minus Darrel made their way out of the apartment. Dr. Smith stopped at the door and turned to the two standing in the living room. "I'm going to give you this bit of advice. Don't dwell on Zana keeping Hiei. This child might be the one thing that snaps her back to the way she was. Remember Zana's barely been living, she needs something to give her a real reason to live."
"She has the shop and school." Darrel muttered.
Dr. Smith shook his head. "That's not good enough. She needs someone that's going to need her just as much. This baby, Hiei, might just be that thing. You need to be supportive of her and this decision."
Darrel looked defeated but nodded anyway. Faeleen sighed. "I've just got a bad feeling about this."
Dr. Smith shrugged. "Then just keep a look out. That's all we can do."
