A/N: Hi lovelies :D

I'm sorry it's been a few days again, but I've been so busy this past week or so that I've barely had time to sneeze haha I didn't want to post another chapter until I'd finished writing another, but I didn't want to leave all you awesome people to wait any longer, so here you go :D

Let me know what you think! I'll try to get some more posted very soon!

Thank you!

xoloveJBox

Chapter Three

The next few days all followed the same routine; Kyle would get up, go to work, use his lunch break to take food to Phoebe, and when his shift was over, he'd head to her caravan and stay there with her until she dropped some not so subtle hints for him to leave. Kyle knew that his hanging around was starting to grate on Phoebe's nerves, but he found that he couldn't keep away. Mostly, they spent the time avoiding the one subject that played on both their minds: the fact that Kyle wasn't happy with Phoebe's decision about the baby. Nobody spoke about it, but everyone knew it. All three of Kyle's brothers, as well as Tamara, Bianca and Ricky, had offered to talk to Phoebe, to try and convince her to change her mind, but he'd declined them all. Kyle was painfully aware that he couldn't force Phoebe to keep their child, and Phoebe was as stubborn as they came. If she had her mind set on something, no amount of talking was going to change it.

This reluctant acceptance didn't stop Kyle from trying to be as involved as possible while he still could, and when he told Phoebe as much, she responded by handing him a stack a papers.

"What's all this?" He asked, his brows furrowed confusedly.

"Potential adoptive families." Phoebe informed him shortly "You want to be involved: Pick one."

Kyle stared, bewildered, at the suddenly daunting mound, a hollow ditch forming in his chest.

"You want me to..." He started, but found he couldn't finish. Phoebe rested her hands on her hips, her eyebrows raised expectantly at him.

"You're not the one who's going to pushing something the size of a melon from between your legs, so other than that, this is about as involved as you can get Kyle." She told him, her impatience more than evident on her face.

Kyle honestly couldn't think of a word to say in response, so he excused himself, saying he had to go to work, despite the fact that there was more than an hour and half before Angelo's even opened.

But the keys to the restaurant jangled in his pocket, so he gathered up the files and his things, and scurried out of the caravan, throwing a quick 'see you later' over his shoulder.

Angelo's was cool and silent when he let himself in, and for the first time since Phoebe had given him the files, still bundled in his arms, he could breathe. But even so, the papers in his grip, and what they meant for him, weighed more than he wanted to deal with. But, as Phoebe had bluntly reminded him, his role was already limited, and dwindling by the minute, so if this was something Phoebe was going to let him do, he would be damned if he was going to ignore it.

He dumped the papers on the table and sunk into a chair. He blew out a long, exasperated breath before pulling the first file in front of him and opening it up.

When Brax arrived a little over half an hour later, Kyle was looking over the lives captured inside the pages so intently, drinking in every single detail that they offered, he'd only worked his way through two prospective families, and was almost done with a third.

"What are you doing?" Brax questioned with Heath trailing behind him.

"Phoebe wants me to choose a family for the baby." Kyle explained sullenly, his face resting moodily on his fist.

"What?" Heath demanded, angry on his brother's behalf, since Kyle looked nothing short of miserable. Heath and Brax listened silently while their brother relayed the conversation he'd had with Phoebe that morning before Kyle scrubbed a hand tiredly over his face.

"It's like she's just trying to rub my face in it." He snapped, allowing himself a moment of frustration.

"Is that what you really think she's doing?" Brax asked calmly, ever the voice of reason amongst the boisterous Braxton clan. Kyle though for a moment, pulling together his thoughts, before blowing out a long, jagged breath.

"No," he answered quietly "I guess not."

"Look mate," Heath began, his voice uncharacteristically soft, especially considering he was speaking to one of his brothers "the ball is just as much in your court here is as it Phoebe's, no matter what she says." He jabbed an accusing finger at the pile of paper stacked in front of Kyle as he continued "And if you think you can find someone in here that's going to love your baby more than you, then go ahead, but if not, you need to rethink what you're doing. I've got two kids, and I don't have either of them with me, and let me tell you, it's not by choice."

Before Kyle could respond, Heath stood and strode out of the restaurant. Kyle looked to Brax, but his oldest brother only shrugged noncommittally and wandered out to the kitchen to check that everything was in order for the day. Kyle blew out a deep breath and put the papers away. He was already sure that he wasn't going to find anyone who loved the baby more than him, but that had never been disputed, had it? The problem he had was that for a baby, love alone was not enough. Surely Heath could understand that?

For a while, he decided to try and push the whole situation from his mind. He wasn't sure how well it was going to work, but he was on the verge of driving himself insane, trying to find a solution that wasn't there. He stowed the files in the office and shut the door, ready to get on with the days' work.

It didn't last long.

At around eleven, when the breakfast crowd was dying down and he was getting ready for the heavier lunch rush, Kyle felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. If there had been customers around, he might of ignored it but the fact that only a small handful of seats were occupied, and that it was Phoebe's name that flashed on the screen, made him panic slightly as he answered.

"Phoebe, is everything ok? What's going on? Are you alright?" he blurted before he could stop himself, attracting Brax's attention from his place behind the bar.

"Kyle, calm down" Phoebe deadpanned in response "Everything's fine. I forgot to tell you this morning that I have an ultrasound arranged for this afternoon, that's all."

"Are you kidding me?" Kyle hissed irritatedly, annoyed at himself for being quick to worry, and annoyed at Phoebe for being so dismissive about it. "You tell me to pick a family, and you forgot to tell me you have another scan?"

"I'm telling you now, aren't I?" Phoebe retorted defensively. "I thought you might like to go, that's all."

"Of course I want to go, but I'm working." Kyle snapped. It felt good to be able to take out some of his frustration, especially since it was Phoebe it was directed at.

"What's the matter?" Brax asked quietly, and Kyle took his time relaying the information to his brother. Phoebe could wait, he thought bitterly.

"Go," Brax urged "Tamara's working this afternoon, we can manage."

"Are you sure?" Kyle asked sincerely, not wanting to leave the restaurant short-staffed. Brax nodded earnestly, and Kyle smiled a thanks. "Alright," he continued, going back to Phoebe "When is it?"

"In about half an hour," Phoebe answered simply, and Kyle internally grimaced. It shouldn't surprise him really; Phoebe had always been a last minute type of person, and he used to find it endearing. Now though? Not so much.

Kyle told her he'd pick her up and clicked the line closed. He bade goodbye to his brother, somehow managing to convince Brax to let him borrow the Ute. Phoebe was waiting outside her caravan for him when he arrived, and they drove to the hospital in silence. He didn't question why she had a scan scheduled so late in her pregnancy, and she didn't offer the information. It seemed to him that that just about summed the two of them up now.

They arrived just a few minutes before the appointment, and were lead straight through to an examination room that was sparsely furnished, only containing a bed, a counter with a sink, and a monitor on wheels. They were barely alone for a minute before they were joined by a nurse in plum coloured medical scrubs.

Her chatter filled the room, something that came as a relief to both Kyle and Phoebe, even if their responses were forced and minimal. But, as she busied herself with squirting a blob of cool, clear jell on Phoebe's belly, the talking lulled away to nothing for a while.

"Do you know the baby's sex?" The nurse asked brightly, filling the silence that had fallen over the three of them while she waved the scanner-no bigger than a bar of soap- over Phoebe's belly, trying to find a good reading of the baby.

"No." Phoebe answered shortly, and Kyle had to admit, he hadn't thought to ask her that himself. He had simply assumed that if Phoebe knew, she would have told him.

"I know it's late," the woman continued "but would you like to know?"
"No." Phoebe and Kyle answered quickly, simultaneously. Probably the only thing they had agreed on.

The woman nodded acceptingly, and opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, she was interrupted. Not by a voice, but by a sound that instinctively had all three of them shooting their gazes to the screen.

It took a moment for the image to clear up enough to be discernible, but Kyle felt himself suck in a deep breath as his chest swelled uncontrollably. The pictures that Phoebe had given him were nothing compared to seeing the real thing, seeing the movements and hearing the heartbeat of a life he'd helped create.

Heath's earlier words echoed around his head, falling into rhythm with the thump-thump of the baby's heartbeat. He could see tiny limbs floating on the screen in front of him, and realisation hit him like a brick. There was no other option for him, not now and not ever again.

He kept surprisingly calm as Phoebe wiped the gel from her belly and righted herself. His voice was steady as he answered 'yes' when the nurse asked if they wanted a dvd copy of the scan, as well as the picture. He managed to stop his hands from trembling as he shook the nurse's hand on the way out, and his strides were smooth and easy as the two of them made their way out of the hospital. Phoebe only momentarily glanced at the ultrasound picture she'd been handed by the overly cheerful sonographer, before handing it over to Kyle. He grinned warmly at it before tucking it into his wallet, along with the other two.

The drive back to Summer Bay was a quiet one again but, for Kyle at least, this time was different. His head was clear with decisiveness, no longer confused about anything that was going on. As he dropped Phoebe back at the caravan park, there was nothing to suggest that anything had changed, but as soon as she was back inside, Kyle could feel jitters forming rapidly in the pit of his stomach. But it wasn't fear he felt. It was something completely different.

It was excitement.

By the time he pulled up outside Angelo's, he could barely contain the words that were threatening to burst out of his mouth, to the point where he took the stairs at a run. Brax heard the loud banging of feet barrelling closer, and he couldn't help but be concerned when Kyle flew across the restaurant.

"Brax," he panted heavily, adrenaline rushing through his veins as he blew the words out on a single breath "I changed my mind. I want to keep the baby."