Note: Well, this is awkward. Monthly updates and employment don't mix great. I apologize. I am trying to get my writing groove back. This chapter also includes an OC and so credit goes to AzikaRue394.
I want to thank AzikaRue394, Dead-bY-n0w, guest, Marie-France02, and Someone for their reviews since the last chapter. It always made my day to get an alert and to read your kind words.
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.
Parade
Rick wasn't supposed to be here in the first place.
This was all he could think about as he slouched in annoyance in his seat, a jutting piece of the plastic chair digging into his shoulder blade. The room was crowded with plenty of people who had better reasons to sit around watching the clock. All Rick was doing was tapping his foot to the beat of the second hand as it ticked in the room.
Judy had forbid him from leaving a while ago, a deadly look and nerves so shot Rick believed she might just do whatever crazy thing her brain thought up. He supposed this is what happened when regretful daughter-in-laws went into labour with first grandchildren; denial could only run so deep after all. Rick had only reluctantly agreed to travel to Japan for BBA reasons, but Mariam had gone into labour a little earlier than expected muddling their plans. BBA reasons were fine with Rick, baby reasons were not.
Rick pursed his lips, staring at the clock hanging on the wall. The ticking was obnoxiously loud and wearing on his nerves. He crossed his leg over his knee, tilting his head tiredly to look at Judy walking the same route she had been for the past forty-five minutes. She gripped the Styrofoam coffee cup in her hand, tensed as her other hand worked through the texts on her phone.
Taro had stepped out for a moment, leaving his wife even more unhinged than usual. While Judy would remain quiet for the most part there would be periods where it would just become too unbearable and she would need to spout nonsense. Up to this point everything had to have offended the others in the room, not that Judy would notice. Clearly the world was closing in on her.
Rick found he had appreciated the company of the others in the room more than Judy. His eyes bounced to the other side of the room where a pair was poised in silence. An older man had his arms crossed against his chest, his eyes focused on the tiled floor. He had barely moved an inch since arriving in the small waiting room, positioning himself against the wall in a guarded stance. A younger man sat next to him in another plastic chair, equally uncomfortable as Rick's he was sure, his feet perched up on another chair he had dragged closer. Every now and then the younger boy would look over to the older man and mutter something, often to no response.
Rick had met the younger man a few times, Mariam's brother, Joseph or something. It didn't take much for him to muster the guess that the older man was their father, it would definitely explain his focused concern.
"You know, if you stay like that the whole time, your face might crack." Joseph, with his chin sitting in the palm of his hand, carefully tilted his head over in his father's direction. Slowly, another pair of green eyes moved to meet his own. Finally, a response.
"Your concern for your sister is touching, Joseph."
"Relax." Joseph stifled a yawn, stretching his legs out in the process. "Mom's in there too."
His father merely grunted, eyes trained back on the wall in front of them. Joseph sighed, turned his attention back toward the centre of the room where Judy still made her tight circles as if on a track. Her heels clicked on the floor matching the rhythm of her texting. Rick offered the boy a shrug, a gesture of camaraderie in the silent room.
Minutes later the door to the room opened. Everyone paused to see Taro enter, an apologetic smile for having given up their hopes.
Scratching his beard, Taro looked down at the slouched Rick. "Take it there's been no news yet?"
Before Rick could even shake his head no, Judy had stomped over to them. "Where have you been?"
"I needed to help the new kid close up the Hobby Shop?" Taro knew he had mentioned this before rushing home, but he also knew his wife was on the verge of a mental breakdown. "I'm here, it's fine." He put his hands on his wife's shoulders reassuringly. "It's okay."
"It's not okay. Our son is having a child with this... with this..."
Taro openly flinched at the comment as both him and Rick looked over to Joseph and his father. Taking his hands off his wife, Taro raised his hands defensively not knowing how to communicate how sorry he was about everything. Judy was already in a tizzy in her own world, stuck to her phone, and just about done with her unsupportive husband. Joseph closed his eyes, shaking his head as he whispered something to his father. The blue haired man eyed Judy icily before begrudgingly returning to his stance. Rick wasn't sure how many times he watched this same scene happen this afternoon.
"To answer your question," Rick began, Taro's attention back on him. "Nothing has happened." Taro nodded as Rick leaned his head back until it rested against the plain white wall. "How long does this usually take?"
Taro laughed. "Depends on the kid. Could be soon, could be a few more hours."
Rick closed his eyes at the answer, his annoyance at the entire situation flaring.
Taro glanced at his wife, her focus remaining down at her phone as she texted rigidly. He could bet money it was her extended family that she managed to turn against his poor daughter-in-law before they even knew her name. He offered a look to his son's in-laws, coughing awkwardly before attempting to approach them.
Joseph met Taro's gaze first, chin still perched in his hand. Taro attempted a smile. "Listen, I'm so sorry about Judy," he whispered, not wanting to provoke his wife into a further tangent. "She's just, ah, tense."
Joseph remained unconvinced. "Don't worry about it, we were warned." The boy offered a limp shrug, out of energy from sitting around all day.
"Ah. Max?"
"Pfft. Try Mariam."
Taro laughed at Joseph's smirk. "One of the things I've always really liked about her, sticks up for herself." Mariam's father looked over to Taro at this, a nod of approval at the statement. "Listen, Tobias? I am so sorry again about this..."
"You are right, Mariam has been able to take care of herself for some time now." Tobias shook his head, refuting the apology. "I am here for the same reason as you, our grandchild. I do not intend to get into a pointless fight. Isn't my way."
Taro grinned sticking his hand out toward Tobias for a handshake. Tobias uncrossed his arms for the first time in hours to shake the other man's hand. "From one future grandfather to the next, congratulations."
"Thank you. You as well."
Joseph looked at their handshake in front of him and fought the urge to roll his eyes at the display. Instead he opted to exchange another empty shrug with Rick.
The room fell into another silence beyond the clicking of Judy's heels and the ticking of the wall clock. Taro had taken a seat next to Rick, hands folded as he sat forward on his knees. He occasionally would glance to Judy, waiting for another unneeded outburst that he would need to intervene. Rick's own phone had died a while ago leaving him without the limited amount of entertainment he had in the first place. Tobias was still perched against the wall, the most unfaltering of the room while Joseph appeared to be falling asleep against his will. Judy was still wearing a path into the linoleum and Rick was annoyed at her seemingly endless battery.
The sound of the door opening made Rick sigh in relief, he wanted to leave badly. His hopes were dashed once Tyson sauntered in. "Baby?" Tyson asked with a grin, giving a thumbs up to everyone in the room as he looked around. Once realizing everyone was now glaring at him, Tyson's grin vanished. He looked over his shoulder through the doorway and turning his thumb downward in the process. "Okay, no baby..."
Hilary waddled into the room, hands on her own stomach as she approached Tyson's side. "It takes time," she stated almost as if she explained this to Tyson a thousand times before. Rick wanted to say it's been enough time, eyes twitching as he read the clock.
"You're pregnant...?"
Hilary paused, looking over to Joseph at his comment. With a raised brow, he looked between her and Tyson. "Yeah, this will be us pretty soon."
"I'm due in April, Tyson."
"I know, I can't wait."
Joseph snorted. "I can't believe you let him get you pregnant."
"Sometimes I can't either." Hilary smiled at Tyson, taking a seat in the room carefully. Telling her eighth grade self she would be married to Tyson Granger, let alone having a kid with him, would've made her laugh. Or die.
"I really don't think it's that funny...," Tyson muttered, crossing his arms.
Rick had to agree, but only because he lost his sense of humour hours ago. He closed his eyes and set his head back against the wall and tried to drown out the conversations that had erupted into the room. He didn't need any more baby talk, just a drink and permission to go back to the hotel for the night.
He didn't recall dozing off, but the sound of chairs against the floor caused Rick to jump from his slumber. He noticed Joseph was on his feet and Tobias had become unglued from the wall and a circle had started to form in the room. That's when Rick groggily noticed Max was in the room, dressed up in hospital scrubs with a gigantic smile as he looked at his family and friends that had gathered. Rick had found himself on his feet in seconds to hear the news.
"It's a boy," Max finally choked out.
Everyone in the room seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief, a weight off of their shoulders. The blond looked like he was on the verge of tears as people crowded around him, but he was also swelling with pride. Judy had grabbed him and planted a hard kiss on his cheek. Taro slapped him on the back, his own face contorting with new emotions. Tobias offered Max a handshake, which he took gratefully with his smile still stuck to his face. Even his father-in-law seemed to break at the news, a softer expression etched on his face. Joseph beamed at his father's side. Tyson was cheering loudly, Hilary trying to shush him but also laughing and glowing at the news.
Rick didn't know what to do. He offered a smile to his friend, but didn't know how else to respond.
Grandparents were ushered into the room first and Rick found himself back in the plastic chair just waiting again. Joseph had also been left behind, who gave Rick another limp shrug, as he took a new stance on the wall his father had guarded.
The wait this time had been shorter. Grandparents left the room, very reluctantly in Judy's case, who felt it was unfair that Mariam's mother got to stay, even if she was a doctor. Max gave his mother a dubious look behind her back before turning to his friends. Another smile broke onto his face as he gestured for the door.
"You guys ready?"
Rick, Joseph, Tyson, and Hilary followed Max behind the door and through the hallway to another door at the very end. He opened it gently and with his other hand waved them on ahead. Inside laid Mariam with a baby swaddled in blue in her arms, her own mother standing at the bedside with a soft smile. Max approached the bed from the other side, smiling down with such adoration at his wife and first child.
Hilary covered her mouth with her hand. "Max... he's perfect." Tyson put a hand on her shoulder and nodded in agreement, for once at a loss on what to say.
Joseph made his way to his mom's side of the bed, eyes wide as he looked at the tiny bundle. Mariam offered him a look, her eyebrow cocked at his own speechlessness. "Come on little brother, telling me you have nothing to say?"
He laughed. "Well, his name better be Joseph."
"Nice try." Mariam rolled her eyes before looking down at her son, her expression softening instantly. She never knew she could this feel way about anyone and so quickly. "It's Maddox."
"Maddox Tobias Tate."
Joseph looked to his sister blankly, then up to Max before finally staring at his mom. "Oh boy, did you make dad cry? Wait – better question – did Judy have a meltdown?"
Rick had stayed at the back of the crowd, uncertain how to act. He looked over Tyson's shoulder to the baby, surprised he hadn't found it hideous or that it seemed to be content swaddled in the blanket. He also wasn't in much of a hurry anymore, but still felt out of place.
"Can I hold the little guy?"
Mariam was reluctant. "I swear Joseph, if you drop him..."
"Sis, please! I'm an expert baby wrangler."
Rick even cracked a smile as Joseph gathered the baby up in his own arms, a slight whine out of Maddox as he was traded from his mother. Joseph held him against his chest, seemingly a natural as he soothed Maddox back into his slumber.
"Hey buddy, I'm your Uncle Joseph."
"What do you think?" Rick snapped his attention to Max, who was staring back at him in interest. Mariam also sent him a curious glance, but everyone else had their focus on the newborn.
"I think I don't know why people are congratulating you when she did all the hard work." Rick nodded to Mariam and she smirked at the comment. She turned to look up at Max before hitting him gently in the torso. He smiled back at her graciously before bending over and offering her a soft kiss on the temple.
"Hey! I know that!"
"I'm just making sure."
"Listen, I'm just really glad you guys are here," Max said. Maddox was now in Hilary's arms, Tyson looking approvingly over her shoulder and bustling with energy about how they would have one soon too. "I know Maddox already has an uncle by family," Max began, brushing his messy hair with his hand shyly as he regarded Joseph, "but it would mean a lot if he could consider you family too. I mean, we already practically are."
Tyson grinned. "This kid is gonna have a ton of aunts and uncles."
"Max...," Hilary started, her voice breaking as tears gathered in her eyes. "Only if you do the same for us." Tyson, who had started rubbing his wife's back in support, looked up from Maddox to Max and nodded in agreement.
"Yeah Maxie, our kids are gonna be as thick as thieves! What do you say?"
"Hey, it's a deal!" Max laughed, clapping Tyson on the shoulder. His eyes lingered on Maddox for a moment, bustling with joy. Hilary gave Max a knowing look, handing over his son, who he held so carefully against his chest. His blue eyes bounced to Mariam with such pride before he regarded Rick again. "How about you?"
Rick frowned. "What about me?"
"You've always been like an older brother to me. Don't roll your eyes, I'm being serious." Rick crossed his arms, uneasy that everyone's attention was now on him. "We didn't start out in the best way, but you grew to be a big part of my life. It's important to me that... you're a big part of Maddox's life too."
Rick stared at Max, still unsure about everything happening. He wasn't easily moved and never knew what to say to the kid when he got emotional like this. His attention flicked to Mariam. She merely smiled, sympathetic with the man but also curious how he would respond.
"You're not... expecting me to cry, are you?"
Max sighed in disappointment. His attention quickly turned to Maddox, who had began to fuss, but Rick still felt a pang of guilt resonate in him. It didn't feel natural.
"Okay... I have one condition."
Max exchanged a look with Mariam. "What is it?"
"I don't babysit."
"Thanks Rick." Max cracked a smile. "Or should I say Uncle Rick?"
Rick wrinkled his nose at the comment, never thinking anyone would call him that in his lifetime. He still felt uneasy and backed away when Max tried to hand him Maddox, but something felt different inside at the sight of the kid. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew one thing, he was meant to be there.
