Good Things Come Chapter 3, a boy meets world fanfic

Slightly past my every two week goal, but I'm getting better. :-) Angela/Eric will be going back to more of the main story one they're back in Philadelphia. (I believe that's in the next chapter, definitely no later than chapter 5. My outlines and notebooks aren't in front of me at the moment.) I feel like Nina and Evan have been stealing center stage in these first few chapters. It will all even out for everyone in the end. There's quite a bit of Angela/Eric in this chapter, lots of fun (I hope) and flirty, if a little frustrating, moments with our favorite couple.

Thank you so much for your comments and messages on the previous chapter. I appreciate it more than I could ever possibly articulate. :-)

"Nina, what are you doing?"

She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the wall, smiling sweetly at the babysitter. "I'm not doing nothing, Kelsey. I'm just standing here."

The babysitter was suspicious, but was also busy trying to stop Milo from sticking a toy in Calum's mouth. "Well, come watch the movie with the rest of us. You and Evan picked Balto because you read the book."

"I'm going to get the book from my room to make sure they got it right when they made the movie."

"Okay, but come right back out here. Getting a book shouldn't take you more than a minute."

"But-"

"One minute, Nina. Milo, no!" She took the toy from the toddler. "No, your car does not go in Calum's mouth."

"Kelsey, can I have some more juice," Evan asked. "I can get it myself."

"Sure. Can you be a big help and get some more water for Milo?" She handed over the sippy cup. "I'd do it, but I think the second my back is turned he'd try to shove Legos up the baby's nose."

"Probably. He tried to shove dog food up there yesterday." On his way to the kitchen, Evan took a detour and stopped by Nina's bedroom. She wasn't looking for a book. She was sitting on her bed with a phone in her hands. "Do you have to call someone to help you find the book?"

She jumped. "Ah!" The phone nearly fell, but she caught it before it hit the floor. "You dummy, you almost got me in trouble again."

'No, not me. You're the one not doing what you said you would. What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Who were you going to call?"

"Nobody." She shoved a crumpled piece of paper into her pocket.

"Liar."

"Nina, it's been a minute," the babysitter called from the other room. "Come back with the book."

"Okay," she responded. "I have to go back out there." Nina was confused when Evan walked further into the room and pushed her aside to retrieve the phone from her bed. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Mom is always telling dad to put this back on the charger. I'm putting it back on the charger in the kitchen."

She frowned. "On the high counter?" It had taken her forever to get the phone down from there without anybody catching her.

"Yep."

"Nina!"

"You better go back by Kelsey," Evan said with a smirk. He didn't need Nina doing anything else wrong.

She punched her brother in the arm on her way out. "I don't like you very much right now."

"I don't care."

"...and thank goodness the school took the other girls' behavior into consideration and isn't threatening to kick Nina out."

"Kick her out for what," Rachel's brother asked. "Throwing crayons? Since when is that something that will get you expelled? It's not something Mister Rogers would teach, but she was sticking up for her brother. You don't punish someone for defending family."

"The school has a zero tolerance policy, but because the two girls she threw the crayons at were exhibiting signs of bullying, they are going to work with the three of them to modify their behaviors."

He made a face. "The school knows they're dealing with kindergartners, don't they? Impulse control and smart decisions are not things they're known for. I don't think their brains have made all those connections yet."

"Wow, and here I thought you'd be leading the charge against the other two girls."

"I am! I was talking about Nina. By five you know not to make fun of a deaf baby- or any baby. I don't care who you are. Those little b-"

"David!" His date, Tiffany, slapped his arm.

"I was going to say brats," he reassured her. "I think making fun of babies automatically qualifies someone as a brat."

"Okay," Jack began, pointing a finger at his brother-in-law, "you are forbidden from talking to Nina about this."

"Jack-"

"Why?"

"She doesn't need her own personal coach egging her on and saying she did the right thing by lashing out."

"So, you're telling me that you're not the tiniest bit proud of her," David challenged.

"Of course I'm proud of her, but Rachel and I can't walk around giving her high fives and encouraging that type of behavior in school. That would be the wrong message for us, as her parents, to send."

"Can I high five her? I'm just the uncle. I believe it's in the Uncle's bill of rights to encourage stupid crap like this. It builds a kid's character."

Rachel put her head in her hands. "Davy..."

"Not you, too. Don't act like little miss innocent, Rach. It's not like mom and dad didn't have to come down to the school and talk to the principal when you held...what was her name...Melissa? Anyway, they had to come because you held her head in the toilet and wouldn't let her out of the stall until she apologized for something-"

"Her name was Melinda."

"You held a girl named Melinda's head in a toilet," Jack asked in disgust. "Why?"

"She told our whole class I took steroids and that's why I was so tall and strong!"

"She what?"

"I had a pretty big growth spurt between freshman and sophomore year- and I had already been tall to begin with. When I came back to school that year I was taller than most of the teachers. The ironic part was I was most mortified about being taller than the captain of the varsity basketball team."

"Probably because you had a huge crush on him," her brother helpfully added.

"Shut up, David." She played with a napkin that was on the table. "Melinda told everybody that I did steroids and that was why I was so big. She said people should start calling me Ray."

"Bitch."

"It was bad enough already being stuck with the nickname Rachel the Rod but she-"

"Rachel the Rod," Jack asked. "I don't get it."

"I was a late bloomer, a very late bloomer. I was tall and gangly, super skinny with not a curve or anything to me until I was almost sixteen." She let out a wry chuckle. "After that I was Rachel the Rod no more."

"It sounds to me like that mean girl is lucky that you only stuck her head in a toilet," Tiffany chimed in. "I hope she has flashbacks and cries every time she hears a flush."

Rachel smiled. "Thank you." She actually liked this date of her brother's and hoped she would stick around beyond dessert.

"I don't know, I still think you overreacted. Was Melinda's name calling worth a week's detention?"

"Do we want to compare it to how you reacted when some kids called you Davy Dumpling?"

"You swore you'd never mention that," he grumbled, "especially in front of a date."

"You were a heavy kid, too," Jack asked, wondering how he had never seen photographic evidence of this. He extended his hand. "Hi, the mean jerks on the playground used to call me Jumbo Jack."

"I swear nothing beats that baby smell. She's not a new baby anymore, but it's still good stuff. Of course I say that now that we're past her post-nap diaper. That was not a pleasant experience, Georgia. No, it was not. Especially since your parents didn't see fit to warn me that you now like to roll around during diaper changes." Naomi grinned as the baby bounced happily in her lap and played with a toy. "Seriously, Shawn, come smell her head."

Shawn looked up from his laptop. He was in the midst of looking over Angela's latest article and picking the best of his pictures to accompany it before sending it along to the editor for approval. "Wha-no, that's okay, ya weirdo. I try not to go around randomly sniffing people. Even in the trailer park it was always considered bad manners. Unless you thought they had good food. Then the eater was fair game…no pun intended." Three months and counting until their wedding and his fiancée was showing the telltale signs of baby fever. Now she was sniffing babies to get her high? He was moments away from pulling a Cory and freaking out. Either that or pulling a vintage him and walking out- not far, he'd just get some air… air free of baby smells. "Just don't try to hide her when Eric and Angela come to pick her up. I like getting a full night's sleep. Last time I checked you did, too. Sleep is a huge plus in the land of no babies."

"What are you talking about? I'm not going to kidnap her."

"Just checking. Why did you agree to babysit without running it by me first? What if I made plans for us?"

"Then I'd mark it on the calendar because you haven't taken me out in a while. Besides, Cory and Topanga couldn't watch her because they both have huge days at work tomorrow. What's the big deal anyway? I thought you liked Georgia."

"I have nothing against the child."

"I'm sure the child here is happy to hear that."

"Between work and planning the wedding we haven't exactly had time for dates." He stretched and pushed his laptop away with a sigh. "And anyway, did you ever think it might be weird to have my ex-girlfriend's daughter in my home?"

"Considering it hasn't been weird for you the other 312,962 times you've been around her? No, I didn't think you'd mind."

"There's always been a tiny bit of weirdness there," he admitted. After all, he never touched Angela's stomach when she was pregnant and he booked a job so he wouldn't have to see her in the hospital after she had Georgia. Though, the latter part had much more to do with him loathing hospitals than weirdness over Angela and Eric having a baby. "That's just a fact of the circumstances. But you're definitely not helping right now."

"Care to elaborate?"

"No, not really."

"Shawn?"

"I'm working."

"Please," she snorted, then smiled when the baby tried to imitate the noise. "Like I don't know you're done."

"What makes you say that?"

"The stretch and sigh."

"What?"

"Whenever you finish a job, big or small, you stretch and push your computer away with the same sigh. Every. Time."

"Do not."

"Hello, which one of us is the true Shawn Hunter expert?"

"Cory," he responded indignantly.

"Seriously, hon, what is going on? And don't tell me it has anything to do with Georgia, Angela, or Eric. Not when you've been cool with all of them in the past. Wasn't it just Christmas when you, Cory, and Josh were competing to see who could make Georgia laugh first?"

"I would've won if Mr. Feeny didn't stick those celery sticks up his nose," he said with a slight smile.

"Don't forget the orange slice in his mouth."

"Yeah, the cheater."

"How could anyone be expected to compete with that?" She lifted Georgia up when she began to squirm around and fuss. "Are you almost ready for your bottle?" She stood and walked over to Shawn. "Here."

He just stared. "What?"

"You have to be the one to feed her. Angela said she still only takes a bottle from guys."

"Still?" He took the baby. "You're definitely Angela's daughter- stubborn as hell just like her. Then again that trait could also come from anyone with the last name Matthews. Well, maybe not your dad. He's too…too…a little too Eric for that. Your Uncle Cory on the other hand…" He shook his head. "…wow. Stubborn is not the word. There's plenty of time for you to learn about that when you're older."

It was all Naomi could do not to outwardly gush at Shawn's attempts at baby talk. She would've thought after all the trips to see the kids in Texas he'd be better at talking to little ones, but he was damn near robotic with a baby. They needed to be a little older and more interactive before he was able to really make a connection. Still, he always tried and it was always cute. She knew if she said one word about it he'd clam up. She kissed his cheek instead. "I'm going to warm her bottle. I'll be right back."

Shawn stared at Georgia and found that she seemed to be watching him with equal curiosity. For as much as she looked like her father she had definitely inherited her mother's penetrating stare. It made him just as uncomfortable as it did when Angela used to have him under her visual microscope, maybe more. Babies were innocent. They didn't have preconceived thoughts and prejudices about the kind of person you were. When they looked at you, they saw you- the real you. You couldn't bullshit a baby. "Hi. This is good- no tears. I like that. Do you think we can keep it this way until Nomi gets back with your bottle?"

He realized this was probably the first time they had ever been alone together, just the two of them. It wasn't that he went out of his way to avoid the situation, it just hadn't happened. Volunteering to babysit Angela's daughter just never popped up on his to-do list, no matter how okay they were. He winced when Georgia latched onto his face with slobbery hands. "Ugh…I've been baby slimed." Shawn squeezed his eyes shut to keep her from digging her fingers in. "This is for the comment about your mom being stubborn, isn't it?" She warbled some sort of response in squealed gibberish. His only consolation was that it sounded like happy gibberish. "Okay, I get it. My sincerest apologies for offending you, kid."

"Hey, stranger." Angela grinned at Eric as he staggered over and took a seat on the stool beside her at the bar. "I was beginning to think I'd lost you for good." She handed over the bottle of beer she'd ordered for him. "Did everyone get their dances in? Are the interrogations about your intentions towards me finished?"

"Your fashion friends are nuts with all the questions...and very grabby. I feel like a cheap piece of meat."

"Who got grabby?"

"The last two. I don't know their names. Let's call them tall girl in the short white dress and tall girl in the red shirt and short shorts."

She narrowed her eyes and scanned the crowd. "Kristine and Jeltje." They weren't friends of hers'. They were newer models. She didn't know them well. "Where exactly did they get grabby?"

"If the police need their fingerprints they can get them off my ass."

"Really?" She spun around and hopped off the stool. "Excuse me."

Eric took hold of her arm before she could get far. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to handle the situation. They think they can put their hands all over my man? They're sadly mistaken." It was different when Manon or her other friends danced with Eric or flirted with him. That was harmless and all in the name of fun. They knew where the lines of appropriate behavior were. He never knew what to think when they all talked and joked around him in French. That was why they did it. Some of the girls in this group had been the closest thing she'd had to family before settling in Philadelphia.

"Don't you think you're going a little overboard?"

"What would you be doing if our positions were reversed and some guy put his hands all over me?"

"I'd trust you to handle yourself."

She gave him a pointed stare. "How about you give me the non-politically correct, truthful answer?"

"I'd pound the crap out of him and made sure he lived to regret it."

"Exactly. You're always saying every guy's wildest fantasy is to have women fighting over him." She patted his cheek. "Saddle up, babe, your dream is about to come true. I'm going in."

"Is this the most fun party or what," Manon said as she came up to the couple.

"Let's go with the second one."

"What's wrong?"

Eric tried to follow their conversation- he'd downloaded one of those French language programs to his computer in order to brush up prior to coming to New York- but they went too fast for him. Before he knew it Manon kissed his cheek and hugged Angela before she stalked across the club and rounded up the non-grabby girls he'd danced with. "What just happened? Was that like a mob movie kiss of death thing? Are we safe here?"

"What was it you said once? I created a network of protective super model friends?"

"That sounds like me."

"If I have a network of protective super model friends that means you have a network of protective super model friends, too."

"There is no right way to respond to that so I'm just going to drink my beer." He reached around her and retrieved his bottle from the bar. "You were seriously going to kick ass for me?"

"Of course." Angela snaked her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest.

"As incredibly hot as that is- and trust me, seeing you all fired up like that- hot…" He set his drink aside and pulled her even closer so there was no space between them. "…I can't believe I'm saying this- but think about the potential consequences. For one, what if you got arrested?"

"Then Georgia would be able to say that both her parents have spent a few hours in jail?"

"Hey, I defended you to that jackass, Vince."

"You never did tell me what he said that was worth you, Cory, Shawn, and Jack getting beat up and arrested. It took weeks for your ribs to fully heal."

"What he said was never important. My point is if you got arrested we wouldn't be able to get Georgia tonight and she'd be wondering where mama and daddy are."

Not the Georgia card. "You're not playing fair."

"And I highly doubt you'd ever be asked back to cover Fashion Week again, in New York or anywhere else they throw it."

He had a point. She'd be losing out on a fun job and future big paydays. And while Eric has been nothing but supportive from day one about her decision to stay home with their daughter, it felt good to be contributing financially to their family- even temporarily. She liked having the option for the future. "I guess I would've been shooting myself in the foot."

"Yeah, and all over two dumb models who are very much not worth it. They're not even in your league."

"You think so?"

"Really, especially in this." He ran his hands up her body and traced the skin showing through the cutouts of her dark purple dress. "You're wearing this to drive me crazy, right?"

"That is part of the fun." Angela couldn't help the shiver that went up her spine in response to his touch. "You are all about what's going on in the back of the dress."

"It's not just the back…and not just the dress."

"Ah, you appreciate the cutouts in the front providing ample views of cleavage? Yeah, I was thoughtful that way, wasn't I?"

"Well, yes, but that wasn't what I was…" He trailed off when Angela looked across the club. Eric followed her gaze and saw Manon smile and give the thumbs up. "What does that mean? We're not going to hear about two models found unconscious in a dumpster tomorrow, are we?"

She leaned up to kiss him. "You watch too much TV. No blood, no bruises, no mystery poisons, and nobody unconscious in dumpsters."

"That's…almost disappointing. Almost as disappointing as not seeing you kick some ass."

"A minute ago you were all worried about jail."

"One of us had to think like an adult and be responsible. You know how much I hate when it has to be me, but we were desperate."

"We still have a little while before we have to go back to being full-fledged responsible adults and parents. You want to dance?"

"I'd love to."

They waited until the current song ended before moving to the dance floor. "Oh, Manon thinks she's so hilarious," Angela said with a laugh.

"What?"

"The song."

"What about it?"

"Hello, The Boy is Mine? The Brandy and Monica duet?" He looked clueless. "It was everywhere and won a bunch of awards. What did you listen to in the late '90's?"

"Music was just background noise to my pathetic love life. I was too busy trying to get a girl to want me to be hers' to pay attention to anything else."

She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. "It took you a little later than you hoped for, but mission accomplished. I want you to be mine. I want to be yours'."

'Was it now,' Eric wondered. 'Was she presenting him with the perfect moment to propose on a silver platter?' He stared at Angela, unsure if her warm smile and expectant look meant she was waiting for a response or simply enjoying his company. Everything else in the club suddenly became more amplified. The music was louder. The lights flashed brighter. And it seemed much more crowded. He may not yet have an ideal proposal in mind, but he knew this wasn't it. It wasn't her. It wasn't them. He jumped when she touched his cheek. "What?"

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. You look like you're about a million miles away."

He shook his head. "No, I'm here. I'm all here. I was just…thinking about how nice it is to be wanted by you. I'm very lucky."

"You're not the only one who feels like they won the big life lottery. I never imagined that this would be my life. That I would get to have all…" She blinked back happy tears. "…I love you."

"I love you, too." There was a break between songs and the floor cleared slightly. "We're a little sappy tonight," he noted in a light tone. "For us at least."

"I was going to say. It is the first time in a while we've been alone together without Georgia. That probably has something to do with it."

"Probably."

The opening chords of the next song began to play, Babyface's Every Time I Close My Eyes. "Would you mind indulging me in a little more sap? I love this song."

"Absolutely. Would you do me a favor?"

"Sure. What?"

"Get a little grabby during the dance," he asked with a sly grin.

Her hands slowly made their way down his back. "Try and stop me."

"Okay, I give up, where's her off switch? Are there batteries we can remove?" Shawn paced back and forth across the living room while Georgia screamed in his ear. Apparently all of that no crying stuff had gone out the window. Naomi had tried rocking her, but that didn't work. So they traded off.

"I don't know. Angela didn't mention anything about an off switch or batteries."

"Surely she must've said something about a trick she and Eric use or some special bedtime routine?"

She shrugged. "All I know is Angela handles the songs and Eric is the story guy."

"I'm not singing…and I'm not in a story telling mood." He grimaced and moved his head back when the baby let out a particularly loud wail. "Here," he said, handing her to Naomi. "I need some aspirin."

"Grab me some, too." She rubbed Georgia's back and swayed back and forth, humming quietly. "It's okay, Georgia. Your mama and daddy will be back soon." She glanced at the clock. "It's almost eleven…thank god."

"You know, we never did get a chance to celebrate Valentine's Day," Eric noted. They were on their way to pick up Georgia from Shawn and Naomi's. "I was home and you were here. And no offense, but the date you left me with did nothing but cry all night. It reminded me of how I spent my Valentine's days before I had someone in my life come to think of it."

She kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry about our little crying diva, but it's just a date on the calendar. I don't want us to become one of those couples like Cory and Topanga who act like we must be romantic on that day."

"Is that your way of saying you didn't get me a gift?"

"Of course I got you a gift. I'm just making a point."

Eric rested his hand on her knee. "We didn't get to properly celebrate my birthday either, because again…the crying diva. And then you had to come up here early the next morning." His hand crept up her thigh. "What are the odds we can call and see if Georgia has the most awesome baby-sitters ever who are willing to keep her a few extra hours?"

"Will you pay attention to the road," she said through a fit of laughter. "If it was Cory and Topanga I'd be all for saying we're running a little late, but I would feel weird calling my ex-boyfriend and his fiancée to ask them to watch our baby longer with the ulterior motive of sex. I don't care how solid friendships are. Some lines will forever be too icky to approach let alone cross."

"I hate Cory and Topanga for both having big, early work days tomorrow."

"Yes, damn Topanga's new case and Cory's parent-teacher conferences."

"He's not a teacher. He's a guidance counselor."

Angela leaned over and placed a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth. "I'm sorry, baby. We'll plan a date night soon. Your parents are always angling for more Georgia time. Once I've recovered from being away from her for a whole week maybe we can let them babysit overnight, maybe…maybe an entire weekend."

"Swear to it?"

"Cross my heart," she said, miming the action.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

He mimicked her. "Your hands…the holes in the dress…draw my attention to them."

"Not holes, cutouts."

"You say that like it makes a difference."

She ran her hand through his hair before ultimately settling on the back of his neck. "You sound so sad right now, my friend."

"I know. I'm sorry." Eric worked to not close his eyes and lean back into her hand. "It was good feeling like us tonight, you know?"

"I know."

"I love Georgia and I wouldn't trade her for the world, but having a few hours where no one cried or spit up or peed or pooped on me was nice."

"You should stitch that on a pillow: the parenting anthem."

"Oh, and the biting!"

"What?! What biting? Who bit you? Was it one of those models? So help me…turn the car around. Jail or not, I'm kicking their asses!"

He kept his composure long enough to pull into the parking space in front of Shawn's building. After that he couldn't help but laugh. "Who are you calling?"

"Manon. Hey," she yelped when he took her phone away. "What are you doing? And what is so funny?"

"I didn't get bit by any models. I was talking about Georgia. Biting has become her newest party trick since she started teething."

"Oh." Angela stared down at her lap, already feeling the blush creep up her cheeks. "Right. Yeah. She got me good the last few times I've fed her. Not pleasant."

"You want me," he declared in a sing-songy voice.

She crossed her arms and bit back a grin. "Shut up."

"You want me and don't want anyone else to even catch a glimpse." He looked out the window and saw a small group of women walking by. "Ooh, do you think I should open the window and warn them not to look in my direction or risk the wrath of Angela?" She didn't respond. "You know I'm just kidding, right?" He didn't know what to think when Angela unbuckled her seatbelt, then his. After some slight awkward maneuvering over the center console, she was straddling his lap. "Hi," he said in a low voice.

"Hi." She held his face in her hands and kissed him hard, only breaking apart when they needed oxygen. "For the record, it's not the looking or the harmless flirting that I mind. It's the grabby hands and suggestive comments- so disrespectful to the both of us. "

How she was able to go back to rational thought and conversation after a kiss like that, Eric would never know. He's never been that good at compartmentalizing, especially now. Angela was in his lap, the scent of her coconut conditioner was in the air, and he could taste the martinis she'd had to drink at the club. Thought…of any kind seemed beyond him. He figured he should give it his best shot, however. "They creeped me out a little to be honest. Luckily I had my own Lady Hulk ready to go in for the kill." He rested his hands on her hips. "Have I said enough how hot you are when you're in kill mode and ready to kick some ass for me?"

"You may have mentioned it a time or two." She kissed him again, slower this time, not nearly as intense. "I love you and will fight for you any day."

"Ditto." He pressed his forehead against hers' and held Angela tight. "I spent several hours in jail and busted my ribs proving it, remember?"

"Considering we talked about it earlier tonight, yes." She laughed and grabbed Eric's wandering hands. "Hands on the outside of the dress, pal."

"But, I-"

"No…not in the front seat of the car. People will be able to see us."

"What if I recline the seat all the way back?"

"No!"

"I knew I should've gotten tinted windows," he grumbled. "The backseat," he suggested next in a hopeful tone. "It folds down."

"You know, I would, but Georgia's car seat. Do you really want to take the car seat out, fold the seat down, have our fun, and then deal with the aggravation of installing the base of her seat again? Not to mention we put our groceries back there."

Eric growled and hit his head again against the head rest. Installing that car seat had been a nightmare. "You owe me."

"Yes, I do."

"Like…a lot. Between my birthday fun we missed and tonight?"

Angela wrapped her arms around his neck. "I will make it up to you. I promise." When her phone buzzed indicating a text she looked around, trying to find where Eric had tossed it. "That must be Shawn or Naomi." She ultimately found it between the seats. "It's eleven fifteen," she said, reading the text aloud, "and your daughter is wondering where her parents are." She sighed and opened the door. "It's back to reality. Tonight's detour was fun."

"You go. I'll wait here."

"What? I can't carry her and manage all of her stuff by myself, at least not in one trip. There's no elevator here. It's all stairs and I'm wearing four inch heels."

"So get Shawn or Naomi to help you."

"What is your problem?" He was drumming his hands against the steering wheel. "Eric?"

"I can't just jump back to normal after a few hours of you kissing me, teasing me, and threatening to beat up other women- all in that dress." He saw that she still looked clueless. "Do you really not know the effect you have on me? I've been telling you all night how hot you are."

"I don't-" She found herself being pulled back into his lap and instantly discovered the source of the issue. "Oh. Sorry. I knew you were into it, but I didn't realize we'd passed the point of no return. Usually you warn me."

"That would've required rational thought."

"Still, you're right. You can't go up to Shawn and Naomi's like this. Very inappropriate."

"There are two choices."

Angela arched an eyebrow. "Two?"

"Either you finish what you started-"

"Eric-"

"I know, wrong place. Or undo it."

"Huh? How the hell does that work?"

"Talk about something completely gross and unappealing. Unarouse me."

Her mind was blank. All she could think of at the moment were things he liked. "This is hard…difficult…sorry. How about this? Think about that disgusting smell coming from the bathroom that took us two days to track down- the wet washcloth that ended up in the cabinet under the sink?"

"That was terrible. Okay, I need a little more."

"Remember when we were at your parents' house for dinner a few weeks ago and Nana Boo Boo called and insisted on telling us over the speaker phone all the details of her bunion surgery?"

He made a face. "Disgusting. Keep going."

"Seriously, nasty sink smell and old lady bunions don't take care of it for you?"

"You underestimate your power."

"How can you...we were eating during Nana Boo Boo's story, too. I've always hated peas, but now I will forever associate them with the dinner where I had to hear about her feet."

"Just one more."

"Umm…oh, I got it: the noise Thor makes when he coughs up a hairball."

Eric covered his ears and shook his head. "Ugh. That's the worst. Thank you. All right," he said with a sigh, "let's go get Georgia."

Nina tiptoed to the kitchen. The babysitter had just gotten Milo back to sleep and was now giving Calum his bottle. Mommy and daddy had called a little while ago and said they would be home later than they thought because her uncle's date got a flat tire and they were going to help her. After making sure the coast was clear she went to the table. She got one of the chairs and pushed it over to the counter. After checking one more time she climbed up to retrieve the phone- and a cookie for good measure. She jumped down and pushed the chair back as quietly as she could.

The tricky part was finding a place to make her call. Milo was sleeping so her room was out. Evan wouldn't want her to make the call so she couldn't go by him even though he was already asleep, too. And Kelsey was feeding Calum in mommy and daddy's room. She didn't want to go in the closet. Sometimes she had bad dreams about her old mommy making her sit in there when she wasn't on good behavior. Ultimately Nina went back to the kitchen and crawled under the table and tried to hide amongst the chairs.

She pulled the crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket. She hoped she wrote down the right phone number. Mommy caught her with her cell phone before she could double check. Nina had to lie about trying to play a game. She did one more check to make sure she was alone before she began to dial.

"I'm sorry she cried all night," Angela apologized as she swayed back and forth with Georgia in her arms. They could hear Georgia's screams all the way down the hall, before they even approached the apartment. Now, however, now she was just fussing intermittently.

"It wasn't all night," Naomi reassured her. "Just the last hour or so."

"It's not you guys. She's teething and that makes her miserable. She reaches a point where nothing makes her happy."

"Still, you'll understand if we pass the next time if you ask for babysitters. Or at least wait until she's able to talk and fully explain why she's crying and yelling in my ear."

"Shawn!" She hit her fiancé's arm.

"What? I wasn't the only one popping the aspirin."

"Nah, I get it," Eric chimed in. "It can be pretty maddening when she's crying and you can't figure out why. You feel helpless." He looked at Georgia. Her face was red and tear-stained, and buried in the crook of her mama's neck. She started to settle down the moment she was in her mother's arms, something he knew Angela relished- being the only one able to comfort Georgia- even if she wouldn't admit it. He realized the baby seemed to be moments away from falling asleep. "Should we wait until she's out to get her in the car or…"

"Probably. You guys don't mind, do you? It'll probably only take a few laps around the apartment."

"Whatever it takes so I don't have to hear the cries," Shawn said.

"While we're waiting for Sleeping Beauty to pass out," Naomi began, "why don't you help Eric carry-" She stopped talking when her cell phone began to ring. "Ugh, if that's the hospital…I'm not even supposed to be on-call tonight." She frowned when she saw the caller ID. "It's Jack and Rachel's house," she said to Shawn. "It's a little late for a call from them." The last time they called this late was when Milo was sick and they wanted to double check with Naomi how high his fever had to be before they got concerned. Hello?" Nothing. "Hello? Rachel? Jack?"

"Aunt Nomi?"

The voice on the other end was so quiet, practically whispering. "Nina, Nina is that you?"

"Yes."

"Is everything okay? Why are you calling so late? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Please don't tell mommy and daddy," she pleaded. "I don't want to get more bad behavior and get in more trouble."

"Honey, is something wrong?"

"What's going on," Shawn asked, concerned.

Naomi shushed him. "Nina?" She didn't hear anything. "Nina, are you still there?"

"Sorry, I thought someone was coming but it was just one of the dogs."

"Why are you calling past your bedtime?"

"I have a big question for you."

"Ok-"

"Will you and Uncle Shawn adoption me and Evan? And maybe Milo, too, if mommy and daddy changed their minds with him."

She took a seat on the couch, flabbergasted by the question posed to her. She had expected Nina to be calling with what she thought was some flower girl dress emergency that she didn't think could wait. Wasn't that what most five year old girls would consider a big question? "Why do you think your mommy and daddy changed their minds? They love you and your brothers very much. They would never give you up."

"Me and Evan found papers saying they already adoptioned Calum, but only him. Not the rest of us."

"Oh."

"I know we're not supposed to go in daddy's desk, but Evan thought that's where daddy put the Valentines for my class party. He was helping me look for them."

"Why don't you just ask your dad about the papers?"

"No! Then he will know me and Evan went into his desk when we weren't supposed to and we will be in trouble. If we do bad behavior mommy and daddy might change their minds more."

"Nina-"

"Will you and Uncle Shawn please adoption us if mommy and daddy changed their minds? Please?"

The only thing that stopped Naomi from breaking down in tears was the knowledge that it would freak the little girl out even more than she already was. "I promise that Uncle Shawn and I will do everything we can to help us all stay a family, okay?"

"Telephone pinky swear?"

"Telephone pinky swear."

"Okay. I need to go to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodni-" Naomi heard the dial tone before she could finish her farewell. She set the phone aside and stared straight ahead. Shawn, Eric, and Angela were watching and waiting for some sort of explanation, but she had trouble finding the words.

"What's going on," Shawn asked. "What's wrong with Nina?" He listened as she relayed the story, having to pause at a few intervals to keep her emotions in check. "But that doesn't make any sense. Why would she think they changed their minds? I don't get it."

"All I know is you'd better call Jack and figure out what the hell is going on in that house."