A/N: Howdy folks!

I'm not going to babble too much, I promise haha

I haven't really thought out exactly when I'm going to be posting new chapters of this, but I just felt like it haha For anyone who's interested, I'm hoping to have the next chapter of Tenuous Fighter in the next few days or so!

Let me know what you think!

xoloveJBox

Chapter One

At Angelo's, the lunchtime rush was in full swing, and Kyle was working at a million miles an hour. Brax had left him in charge, which wasn't unusual lately, but today he was under staffed, and the restaurant was busier than usual. Tamara was the only other person working, and the two of them were struggling to handle all the people that demanded their attention. They weaved around each other, dodging customers as they went, and Kyle wondered if it was this close work relationship that had spurred their sudden increase in personal friendship. Things were becoming less and less awkward between the two of them every day, and as far as Kyle could tell, it was having no effect on his relationship with Casey either. It was the ideal situation for them all, to get on more than they ever had, and it made days like this run more smoothly than could be expected.

While the lunchtime period was intense, it didn't last particularly long, and soon enough, the place was nearly empty again. The two of them chattered casually as they cleaned up from the rush, and they even found themselves joking around with each other, something they had never really been able to do before. Kyle was in a better mood than he could remember for a long while. He was in such a good mood that he didn't even pay too much attention to the name on the screen when his phone started to ring.

"Hello?" he greeted cheerfully as he wiped down the bar.

"Kyle." a familiar voice replied, and Kyle froze.

"Phoebe?" Kyle questioned incredulously, unsure that he was hearing correctly. He hadn't spoken to Phoebe since she'd left months before, and he definitely hadn't expected her to call so unexpectedly. When he looked up, Tamara was watching him, seeming just as surprised as he was.

"It's so nice to hear your voice," Phoebe told him, sounding genuinely relieved that he hadn't hung up on her yet. Kyle remained silent, unsure about how to respond, so Phoebe carried on to keep the empty line from making her balk. "I know this is out of the blue..."

"You can say that again." Kyle scoffed "Phoebe, I tried to call you a million times; you weren't interested in talking to me." A million might have been an exaggeration, but it was so many times that he'd long since lost count, and it weighed on him just the same. He'd been devastated when Phoebe had left, and he knew exactly how long it had been since he'd last seen her- two hundred and sixty-five days- because every day he found a new reason to miss her.

"I know Kyle, I'm sorry." She replied, sounding honest, but Kyle was unintentionally dubious. "I need to talk to you," Phoebe continued, sounding anxious- something Kyle had never experienced from the most confident person he's ever met "Can I come and see you?"

"Phoebe, what's going on?" Kyle questioned, concern seeping into his voice.

"I just really need to see you." Phoebe repeated determinedly "I can't do this over the phone Kyle."

"Alright, alright, fine." Kyle relented "I'm at work, but you can meet me here."

"I'll be there in about an hour." Phoebe told him, glad that he had agreed.

The time seemed to trickle by. Kyle spent it pacing back and forth, trying to work out exactly what it was that Phoebe could need to talk to him about so urgently. When Kyle had called his brother, he was a little surprised when Brax came down to the restaurant himself. He was even more bewildered when Heath and Casey soon followed. Brax was doing all he could to assure Kyle, but it wasn't working. Brax had seen how hard Kyle had taken it when Phoebe left, and it had thrown him off guard that she was suddenly calling. Tamara was pretending to work, trying not to eavesdrop, but in reality there wasn't a lot for her to do.

"What do you think she wants?" Casey asked, breaking the silence that had settled over them like a thick, suffocating blanket.

"I don't know," Kyle muttered back, and Brax was sure that if the floor was carpeted, he's see track marks by now, the way Kyle was walking up and down along the bar. "but it sounded important."

"Mate, she probably just misses ya, if you know what I mean." Heath grinned mischievously "If that's the case, I'll even cover the rest of your shift. Maybe you won't be so grumpy all the time if you got a little action." Tamara quickly swung out her hand and punched him in the arm "Ow!" he exclaimed defensively "What was that for, you angry gnome?!"

"You know what for!" Tamara hissed, while Casey let out a chuckle.

"I was being nice!" Heath retorted "I offered to cover his shift, didn't I?"

Tamara rolled her eyes impatiently at him, but Kyle was too distracted to pay much attention to them.

Five minutes before the hour that Phoebe had promised was over, Kyle's phone began to buzz, and he snatched it up quickly.

"Phoebe?" he blurted, aware of four pairs of eyes fixed on him.

"Hi," she greeted softly "Are you still at the restaurant?"

"Yeah, I'm here." Kyle replied, nerves starting to make his stomach flip agitatedly.

"Kyle, before I come up, you should know that I never planned any of this." Phoebe told him apologetically.

"What do you mean?" Kyle questioned, his brow furrowing in confusion. He could hear Phoebe stumbling over her words for a second before she simply sighed "You'll see in a minute." She quickly hung up before Kyle could interrogate her anymore, and Kyle found more questions than answers swimming around his head. His brothers and Tamara looked at him quizzically for a moment, but before he had a chance to explain, they heard footsteps on the stairs. No one moved inside the restaurant, and Kyle barely breathed. It seemed to take forever for Phoebe to reach the top of the stairs, and Kyle was so happy to see her that he didn't even notice whatever it was that made Tamara have to suppress a gasp, and his brothers look at him in surprise. She smiled warmly at him, looking just as beautiful as she always did. He noticed straight away that she wasn't wearing her usual baggy singlet and shorts, and when he let his eyes wander over her, drinking her in and revelling in the familiarity of her being around, that was when he saw it. Kyle couldn't believe he hadn't noticed immediately, and if he'd had any air left in his lungs, it was gone now.

"I'm so sorry Kyle. I should have told you sooner."

Kyle couldn't keep his eyes away. They were fixed on Phoebe's stomach, distended but firm, not like she'd just put on weight.

"Phoebe..." he breathed, barely able to find his own voice.

"I'm pregnant," she told him quietly, confirming everyone's suspicions before her voice fell to a whisper "and it's yours."