=Normal POV=
[Wednesday, 11/07/2018; 2:30 pm]
[Berk High School]

The friends and Trayden were convinced something was going on with Hayden that he wasn't telling anybody. Ever since Monday, October 29th, 2018; Hayden had been acting weird and a little distant. Hayden wouldn't reply much to text messages, and in school; his mind was in an entirely different place. Hayden was quiet during lunch, and sometimes in class too; he only answered if he got called on to do so. Hayden even canceled the date with Trayden on the Halloween night, the 31st of October. Originally, Hayden and Trayden were supposed to go to the counseling session; then dinner afterward. However, Hayden didn't come to school on Tuesday, the 30th. Nor did he show up for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Hayden didn't answer in messages, other than something came up.

Hayden returned on Monday the 5th, but he didn't right, and none of the friends could pinpoint quite why; they were only certain that something was different about Hayden. This continued onto the 6th, now it's the 7th, and the group wanted to know what was up. After the final bell, Hayden was seen briskly walking to the student lot.

"Hayden!" Trayden called to him. Thankfully, Hayden stopped and turned to face him.

"Yeah?" Hayden replied.

"Hey, is everything okay, babe?" Trayden inquired.

"I'm not sure I have the word to describe what I am right now…" Hayden admitted.

"Talk to me, baby. Please?" Trayden asked.

"We're all worried about you," Alicia added in quickly.

"I just…Have a lot going on right now. Some things have come up and unfortunately…They aren't ones I can push aside until later or ignore…" Hayden sighed as he checked his phone for the time. "I gotta go. Text you later," Hayden leaned up and kissed Trayden before giving a wave and hustling to the student lot.

"You tried, Tray," Katie offered.

"Yeah, maybe he'll say something in a couple of days," Ford tried, shrugging.

"Maybe," Trayden nodded. "Catch you later," he said before heading for the student lot as well since he had to meet his siblings there and give them a ride home.

. . .

[9:30 pm]
[Berk; Raseri Home]

Trayden completed his homework by 4 pm; then he relaxed, had dinner with his family, and was now relaxing on his laptop while talking on Skype with his friends.

(You hear from Hayden at all tonight?) Asked Syrus.

"No, not at all," Trayden replied. When they did these big chats; it was as little calls as possible. Meaning; Alicia and Syrus would call from either Alicia's or Syrus's account, but never both since they were in the same house. The same happened with Devon and Hailey, Rylee and Tyler, also Bryan and Katie. Or sometimes it depended on who was hanging out with who at the time.

(Can't you just go over there and check on him?) Wondered Alyssa.

"I'm not going to show up out of the blue and demand he tells me whatever is going on…" Trayden rolled his eyes.

(Only a suggestion.) Hailey muttered. Before Trayden could say anything else, his phone vibrated as he lifted the device and checked the alert; it was a text from Hayden.

Hayden, 9:32 pm
Hey, you on Skype with the others? Only asking because I see everyone online and I was invited to join. I can see the call still in progress.

"That's Hayden right now," Trayden informed as he started typing back a reply to his boyfriend.

9:33 pm
Yeah, we are. You wanna join us?

(What did he say?) Inquired Mindy.

"Wanted to ask if I was on Skype with you guys and I asked if wanted to join," Trayden said.

Hayden, 9:35 pm
Not tonight. Bit busy with something. But…I know you all wanna know what's going on with me, so I'll tell you on Friday after school. Think you guys can pop over for a bit?

"Hayden wants to know if we can go over his place on Friday after school, so he can tell us what's up with him," Trayden mentioned to the rest.

(I think we can all manage that. Right after school?) Alicia asked as others nodded, and were agreeing.

9:37 pm
Right after school, babe?

Hayden, 9:38 pm
Like around 3 pm?

"He said 3 pm," Trayden reported to the others.

(Can do.) Katie replied.

(Same.) Syrus nodded.

9:40 pm
We can, babe. See you tomorrow at school?

Hayden, 9:41 pm
I'll be there. Gonna get some sleep…I'm exhausted. Like you :heart: See you in the morning, baby!

9:42 pm
Like you too :heart: Sweet dreams.

"Guess he's going to get some rest, and we'll know on Friday what's going on," Trayden shrugged. The others nodded, agreed and hoping to get some answers. However, they knew they wouldn't know much more tonight, so best to leave it be and continued chatting as they were before.

. . .

[Friday, 11/09/2018; 3:15 pm]
[Berk; Haddock/Forger House]

Like it had been for about two weeks; Hayden hurried away from school, but the friends didn't mind because they knew they were going to his house. They'd all arrived and found places to park before going up to the door and Trayden knocking first. The door opened revealing Hayden there.

"Hey, glad you could come," Hayden greeted, stepping aside to let them inside. "Head for the living room," he added while they started coming in. Hayden closed the door and met them in the living room. "Thanks for making time to come," he said.

"I always make time for you, babe," Trayden chuckled. "So, what's all this about?"

"Well…Something big kind'a happened, and I'm sorry I've been all super busy and distant. What occurred took some time to process and accept; then decide what to do," Hayden began calmly.

"And I take it that all of that is settled?" Miya questioned.

"For the most part…" Hayden shrugged. "So…You ready to meet my surprise?"

"I guess, yeah," Syrus nodded, smiling. Hayden went down the hall and opened a door; then returned holding a baby in his arms as everyone just stared in shock.

"Everyone…This is Spencer Gabriel Haddock," Hayden stated, turning a bit so they could see the baby better; he had darker auburn hair, but the same green eyes as Hayden. "And he's my son,"

"I'd…Ask for an explanation, but I think I already figured it out. This is the child Olivia was pregnant with during court, wasn't it?" Trayden inquired.

"That's right," Hayden nodded as Hayden sat down in the recliner chair, rocking it a bit with his right foot.

"Wait…Olivia was pregnant?" Tyler blinked.

"I thought she was just fat," Rylee chuckled.

"No, she was about seven months pregnant," Hayden rolled his eyes.

"So…I know Trayden made it obvious…But full explanation?" Alyssa questioned.

"Every time Olivia raped me…No matter how much I begged her to get off before I came; she wouldn't…And it was never protected," Hayden stated softly, looking down at Spencer in his arms. "When her trial started at the end of June; she was probably only about twenty-five weeks along or five and a half months if that's easier. I hadn't noticed her belly because of the black prison uniform, and I tried not to make eye contact with her. Anyway," he took a breath.

"Through July and August I noticed it more, and something nagged at me, assuming she had to be pregnant. It just never crossed my mind that it could be my baby because she slept around a lot," Hayden informed. "That girl has been having sex since she was 15 or so. Odin only knows how many sexual partners she's had," he muttered.

"You got yourself checked, right?" Miya inquired.

"Was checked in the hospital after the second suicide attempt, and again after she was arrested. Aunt Felicia took me to the hospital after leaving the school; I'm clean," Hayden nodded.

"When was Spencer born?" Hailey asked.

"He was due for October 11th, but came on October 7th," Hayden replied. "I think at 10:46 pm in the prison medical ward…"

"And they didn't give him to you right away?" Mindy questioned in surprise.

"There was a lot that went into it," Hayden sighed. "Because Olivia had several partners…They had to find who the baby belonged to; this is what took most of the time, and Olivia giving up her rights to him. Olivia gave a list of all the people she'd been with that would fit the pregnancy timeline; there were seven including me. After going through all of them; I was last,"

"So, obviously…He's your son…Now…Why did you miss last week of school?" Trayden asked now, curious.

"It started on the 29th, babe," Hayden informed. "My old caseworker from Child Services showed up at the house around 6:30 am and explained things in the shortest way possible, but the bottom line was that they needed me to go to the lab for a DNA test, standard cheek swab. It took about forty-eight hours for the results to come back; that's why I missed our date on Wednesday…"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Trayden smiled a bit. "I knew something big had have happened for you to cancel it," he added.

"I appreciate your understanding. So…Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday; I was just a jumbled mess of emotions, mostly fear. Around 1:30 pm on Wednesday…I got a call from the caseworker saying that I was baby's father; I remember dropping the phone I was so stunned. Gabriel took over the conversation while I had my couple minutes of just standing here in the living room having no idea how even to start processing the information," Hayden continued.

"What happened?" Ford asked.

"Well, Gabriel ended the call and calmed me down. We sat on the couch and talked; he told me the caseworker was going to come by with the baby so that I could meet him and we could discuss the next move. Around 3:00; they arrived. I only had two choices, raise my son or give him up for adoption…Abortion was out since he'd already been born, but I'm against that anyway so that wouldn't have mattered," Hayden explained more.

"You couldn't give up your child, could you?" Evan questioned as Hayden shook his head.

"How could I?" Hayden looked at his friends and boyfriend. "I lost my parents at seventeen, and this little guy already couldn't have his mother because of her awful choices in life. I mean; he's just a baby. But…What kind of person would I be if I turned him away? It's not his fault…And he is my son," Hayden replied. "By 3:30 pm; I already knew my answer. I said I'd raise him and then started making the preparations to take him; this is also when I chose his name. I cleaned out my art room and turned it into Spencer's room by last Sunday night,"

"And then he was brought to you?" Rylee inquired.

"No, not until Monday," Hayden said. "I moved all my art stuff into my room, and then Gabriel and I went to the store to get a bunch of baby things. Crib, clothes, bottles, food, bibs…The works. We painted the room, set everything up…On Monday afternoon around 4 pm; the caseworker came with Spencer, and…That was it. He's been all mine since," Hayden informed.

"And…The name; that's your father and Godfather, right?" Katie wondered.

"Right. Spencer Gabriel, since my father and Godfather were my two major male role models growing up," Hayden nodded.

"That's cute," Miya smiled.

"Makes sense why you were so busy now," Trayden chuckled. "He looks just like you, Hayden,"

"That's what Gabriel said too, but then mentioned this is kind of a Haddock male thing…The green eyes that is, date way back to Viking times. The hair…I think that changes around between browns and red/orange-ish. But ironically, all the Horrendous Haddocks end up with auburn hair and green eyes; tell me that ain't weird as shit?" Hayden laughed a little.

"That is wicked cool," Tyler stated.

"So, how are you liking being a dad?" Alyssa inquired.

"It's interesting," Hayden said.

"You don't mind the late nights?" Miya questioned.

"I don't sleep much anyway, so no. But I've been working on getting Spencer on a better schedule for feedings," Hayden mentioned.

"How do you do school?" Mindy leaned forward now.

"Same way as always," Hayden stated.

"I'm here all day looking for things to do," Gabriel said coming into the room now. "I don't mind watching my Grand-Godson for the lad,"

"How was he while I was at school?" Hayden asked Gabriel.

"He was fine, laddie, and followed the schedule you started for him pretty well," Gabriel informed while setting some grocery bags on the counter and beginning to unpack; then put the food away. "After your feeding at 5 am; he was asleep until 7:30 am. I changed him and kept him content until 8 am; fed him, and he took three ounces before going back to sleep. Next one was at 11:45 am, he went right back to sleep after two and a half ounces. He should be ready any time for another," Gabriel informed.

"And if all goes well…Spencer won't need another until 6 or 6:30 pm, then again at 9:30-10 pm, and another around 1-1:30 am. From that…I should be able to push him to 4:30-5 am with a little infant cereal mixed in with the formula," Hayden nodded.

"Infant cereal? I thought newborns only did formula until about four to six months old?" Devon blinked.

"They do, but a few parenting tricks I looked up while waiting for Spencer to arrive is that if you put a little bit on infant cereal in the bottle with the formula; it keeps them fuller longer. Well, at least a little longer than the typical every three to four hours, so I use it at the 1 am or a little later feeding to help him get through the night," Hayden said.

"That's pretty clever," Trayden smiled.

"Not that you needed to look that up because it was my suggestion in the first place," Gabriel remarked. "I did that for you, kiddo," he smiled. "And for what its worth…While I know your folks wouldn't want you to be a teen parent…They'd be very proud of your choice to raise Spencer,"

"I mean if we're honest here…If my folks were still here; Spencer wouldn't have happened because I'm gay and don't sleep with women…Spencer happened because I was raped by Olivia while staying with her family in foster care due to my parents' untimely deaths…" Hayden replied. "Spencer is my son, no matter how he came to be. And one thing my parents did teach me was to own up to my mistakes and take responsibility for my actions,"

"This wasn't your action, son," Gabriel reminded. "You were raped,"

"But I could have fought back; I'm stronger than she is…The only reason I didn't is that she said she would tell the police I raped her," Hayden sighed.

"She took advantage of you in a vulnerable state, Hayden," Trayden interjected now. "You'd lost your parents, went through abusive homes, severely depressed, and scared to be hurt again or arrested due to the bitch's lies that she'd call rape. Yes, you could have fought back, but were you in a state of mind to do it?"

"I suppose not…" Hayden muttered.

"Last January, Hayden; you did not have the confidence you do now. If you tried to fight her; it wouldn't have been good attacks. She would have fought back and hurt you more, and that's why you didn't strike. You were scared she would hurt you worse. For example…What happened the day you stood up to her when she was giving us crap?" Trayden asked.

"She kicked my ass two days later…Then raped me," Hayden huffed.

"Hayden…You didn't fight her because you were scared of what she'd do to you. Whether she would have hit you back to abuse you more, or called rape on you, even if she went as far to say that you abused her and got you arrested…You didn't know what she would do if you fought, so you didn't take the chance to make a bad situation worse," Trayden said lightly cupping Hayden's cheek. "She took advantage," he kissed Hayden's forehead. "You did nothing wrong,"

"I know I didn't, but still…" Hayden shrugged. "Spencer is still my son, that makes him my responsibility despite how he came into this world. I wasn't going to abandon him," he added.

"And that's why your parents would be proud of you," Gabriel ruffled Hayden's hair.

"What would have happened if you didn't take him?" Rylee asked.

"I think he would have gone to Olivia and Bradley's parents, and if they rejected him…Back into the system of foster care or an orphanage," Hayden informed. "Spencer didn't deserve that life," he added as Spencer spat out the pacifier and began to cry. Hayden checked the clock on the cable box; it was 3:35 pm. "I guess it's time to eat, huh?" he got up and moved to the kitchen.

Hayden positioned Spencer into his right arm, bouncing him a bit while grabbing a small, four-ounce bottle, sticking a plastic drop-in liner inside; then adding warm water and two scoops of formula into the drop-in. Hayden put the formula away, twisted the nipple into place and shook it up. Of course, Spencer was crying a lot louder now as Hayden grabbed a blue rag and set it over his shoulder while moved back to the recliner chair and sitting down. Hayden set Spencer on his left arm now, then gave him the bottle which he instantly began to eat.

"Only a week into this dad thing and I'd say you're doing a pretty good job, lad," Gabriel chuckled.

"Pretty sure this is the easy part," Hayden replied. "Now, when they start talking and walking is when the tough stuff begins,"

"Hah, that's what your mother told your dad when he said you were an easy baby," Gabriel mentioned. "Odin above, we couldn't get you to sit still once you learned how to walk," Hayden shrugged a little, smiling.

"Well, we better get going, Hayden. Homework to do, and some of us have work later on," Katie stood up first.

"Catch you guys on Monday," Hayden nodded. The friends began to get up and leave, but Trayden stayed. "You hanging?"

"I can do my homework here, and you know I don't have a job," Trayden reminded. "I've missed you these past two weeks,"

"I've missed you too, Tray. And sorry about being all quiet and stuff; it was just crazy, and I didn't want you guys getting caught up in all of it," Hayden said softly.

"Oh, don't worry about it. We understand, babe. We're just glad you're okay," Trayden kissed Hayden's cheek now.

"Guess this means I won't be doing sleepovers anymore," Hayden laughed a little.

"Nonsense, boy," Gabriel informed. "All parents deserve a break, kiddo. Your parents used to do weekly date nights, and leave you with the Jorgensons or me. When you were older and had moved to the city, they'd leave you with a sitter or me if I wasn't working or deployed. You can still do your sleepovers with friends, and I'll babysit the little one,"

"I appreciate that, Uncle Gabe," Hayden admitted gently. Trayden broke out his homework and got started on it while still looking over at Hayden, who fed his son. It was surreal to Trayden that Hayden had a child, but he was a good father despite the situation of how this came to be. And Trayden was proud of Hayden for taking responsibility for the newborn son. But what Trayden loved the most was seeing the smile on Hayden's face when he looked at his kid. Maybe this would help Hayden get more out during sessions, a way to let himself get more help and work through what he'd suffered. It was hard to say right now, but Trayden knew that Hayden was recovering at a comfortable pace for himself, and of course, Trayden would present to help in anyway he could.