A/N: Hi lovelies :)

I'm sorry I haven't updated this for a little while, but I was having trouble with the next chapter, and I wanted to make sure that was done before I posted this one :)

There isn't much I can say about this chapter. I kind of like it (as much as I can like my own writing haha) but I'll let you tell me what you think of it :D As always, I haven't particularly proofread it, so if you see any glaring mistakes, feel free to point them out :D

Thank you for sticking with me!

xoloveJBox

Chapter Six

The call came at night and, still half asleep, it took a minute for Kyle to recognise what it meant when Phoebe told him "My water just broke."

When it had finally dawned on him, Kyle was sure he felt all the air leave his lungs, and it seemed like someone else was using his voice to answer.

"I'll be there in five minutes."

Five minutes may have been a little ambitious, but Kyle was determined. So determined, in fact, that it made him frantic to the point that he couldn't for the life of him find his keys.

As he scrambled across his dark bedroom, pulling on the first clothes he could find, tripping over various baby supplies as he went, all he could picture was Phoebe giving birth in the van, alone and probably scared, and that made his disregard all reason that might have kept him from bursting into Brax's room any other time.

"Kyle, what the bloody hell are you doing?!" Brax exclaimed, started, pulling the covers over himself and Ricky.

"The baby," was all Kyle could manage to get out, but it was all he needed to. In one swift movement, Brax tossed Kyle the keys to the Ute, which Kyle caught with surprising ease, considering how much his hands were shaking. Kyle didn't even hesitate before taking off down the stairs, just about hearing Brax call 'We'll meet you there mate' before closing the door behind himself.

If Kyle was honest, he couldn't really remember the drive to the caravan park. Phoebe was pacing the small area of the van when he arrived, and as she huffed her way through a contraction, she wasted no time in letting Kyle help her to the Ute.

"Does it usually happen this fast?" Kyle questioned as Phoebe squeezed his hand while he guided her down the step.

"How am I supposed to know?!" Phoebe snapped impatiently, but immediately felt guilty about it.

When Phoebe was as comfortable as she was going to get in the Ute, Kyle went back for her bag and locked the van.

The drive to the hospital was quite possibly the longest one Kyle had ever experienced, and with each minute that went by, Phoebe's pain filled grunts were getting louder. They consumed his thoughts until he could feel his foot pressing harder and harder on the gas pedal.

He let out a sigh of relief when the hospital finally came into view, and he squealed the car into the closest spot to the entrance that he could find. He was more than a little surprised when he spotted Nate running towards them with a wheelchair.

"Ricky called me," The British doctor told him, sensing Kyle's confusion. Kyle was just relieved that there was finally someone who knew what they were doing with them. The two of them eased Phoebe into the chair, and Kyle hurried along next to them while Nate pushed.

"Kyle," Phoebe started breathily. Thinking she wanted comfort, Kyle reached for her hand, but Phoebe pulled it away before continuing "I don't want you in there."

The words hit Kyle like a tonne of bricks and halted him, completely stunned, leaving him to watch her disappear through the double doors without him.

It wasn't long before Kyle's family arrived. An old, motherly nurse had guided him to a seat he could wait in, and he heard them before he saw them, but for once, he was glad for the noise the Braxton clan emitted. The late hour meant it was fairly quiet in the hospital, and it was leaving Kyle with too much time to think. They bustled around the corner, a hum of overlapped voices that fell silent when they saw Kyle sitting alone, pale-faced and wide-eyed.
"Where's Phoebe?" Casey questioned, looking confused.

"Nate took her," Kyle answered simply, in a low, almost inaudible mumble.

"Why aren't you with her?" Bianca asked cautiously, worried that something had gone wrong.

"She didn't want me to."
Everyone but Kyle seemed relieved that this was the case, and not a worse alternative. However, Braxton brashness was always going to rear it's head somewhere, and unsurprisingly, it was in Heath.

"What?" he exclaimed loudly, shattering the relative peace around him "It's your kid! She can't stop you from being at the birth!"

"I'm going to have the baby for the rest of my life," Kyle snapped, barely taking his eyes from the doors that had swallowed Phoebe "If this is how she wants to do this, I'm not going to argue with her about it."

No one took Kyle's harsh tone to heart, understanding that he was worried, but it didn't stop them from falling into an almost indignant silence. Ricky tried to distract Kyle by attempting to convince him to go with her to get coffees, but he didn't want to leave, so Casey went instead. Kyle was more than glad that he had declined the distraction, because a minute after they left, Nate pushed through the door. Kyle shot to his feet, and Nate strode over to him determinedly.

"Is it over?" Kyle blurted hurriedly "Is Phoebe ok, and the baby?"

"I don't know," Nate answered honestly. Kyle's face fell with horror, and Nate quickly added "Kyle, I'm not a midwife. But someone will be out to update you soon, I promise."

Nate clapped Kyle on the shoulder and gave him a sympathetic look before leaving again. For a second, Kyle felt a surge of rage rush through his body. It didn't last long, but it was long enough for him to kick a chair, sending it crashing down the corridor.

"Calm down, would ya!" Heath exclaimed, startled by the sudden outburst from the usually most collected of the four of them.

"I have no idea what's going on!" Kyle argued exasperatedly "I feel helpless."
"Mate, there's nothing you could do even if you were in there." Brax told him, feeling sorry for his brother's situation.

"Kyle," Bianca began gently "I know Phoebe said she didn't want you with her, but do you want me to go and sit with her? So she's not alone?"

Kyle wanted to decline. If he couldn't be there, he wasn't sure he wanted anyone else to be either, but he also didn't want Phoebe to be alone.

"Thanks," Kyle muttered, giving a small nod. Bianca was glad for something to do, so she hurried off to find Phoebe. Kyle slumped, disheartened, into a seat in the row his family had been occupying, burying his face in his hands. Without looking up, Kyle felt Heath and Brax sit either side of him, and a few minutes later, Casey and Ricky joined them, and for just a second, the world didn't seem quite so daunting.

Every second that ticked on felt like a minute, and every minute slinked past like an hour. Kyle's head shot up every time the doors swung open, but it took two hours for a woman in purple scrubs that Kyle recognised from the ultrasound a few days before to come over.

"Mr Braxton?" She asked, a warm, bright smile on her face.

"That's me," Kyle replied quickly, darting from his seat with his brothers just behind "Are they alright; Phoebe and the baby?"

"Mummy and baby girl are doing just fine." The nurse assured him kindly, and Kyle felt all the air leave his lungs.

"A...a girl?" he stammered breathlessly

"Congratulations Mr Braxton," The midwife nodded "You have a daughter."

All of a sudden, Kyle was surrounded by his brothers, who each shook his hand eagerly.

"What about Phoebe?" Kyle asked, breaking through the chatter "Does she need anything?"

"Mate, go and meet your daughter," Brax told him gently "We can go and see if Phoebe needs anything, and come and see the baby in a little while."

Kyle nodded, grinning gleefully as he started to follow the midwife. The hallways seemed tauntingly long until all of a sudden, he was there, staring through the window at his daughter, lying in a transparent cot.

The last time Kyle Braxton could remember crying was when he'd been fourteen, when his mother had died. He'd been hit with the knowledge that his father wasn't committed enough to him to help, and he was all alone. But now, looking at his daughter, he felt a few tears escape. They were different. These tears were because he'd never felt happier, with everything he thought was good in the world wrapped up in one tiny pink bundle.

"Would you like to hold her?" The midwife asked softly, and Kyle nodded, unable to talk over the lump in his throat. He followed her in, somewhat gingerly as nerves gripped at him, and sat in the large, slightly worn armchair that in the corner of the nursery. The nurse reached into the cot and carefully lifted out the tiny baby, patiently telling Kyle the best way for him to keep comfortable and still support the little girl's head.

She was warm. Kyle wasn't sure why he was surprised but he was. Her skin was red and a little blotchy, but when Kyle ran a finger lightly over the thin, almost invisible hair on her head, she was soft. Kyle slipped his little finger into her tiny palm, and she gripped it instinctively, like he was the only thing keeping her on the planet. They were still like that when Brax, Heath, Casey, Bianca and Ricky arrived.

The ladies cooed over the two of them, but Kyle barely noticed, not able to pull his gaze away.

His baby.

"Kyle, she's beautiful." Bianca told him tearily.

"Does she have a name yet?" Ricky asked, and Kyle shook his head.

"I don't want to rush it and give her one she hates." He explained, dragging his eyes away from his daughter just in time to see Ricky snap a picture of them.

"I'm sure whatever you choose will be perfect," Ricky continued with a mischievous grin.

"Does anyone else want to hold her?" Kyle asked, albeit begrudgingly. As with the ultrasound pictures on the day he'd found out Phoebe was pregnant, Kyle knew that if he didn't let her go soon, he'd hold her in his arms forever.

All three of his brothers stepped forward willingly, but Brax held out his arms to stop Casey and Heath.

"Fall back boys," he instructed playfully "Uncle Brax is first."

Kyle stood up slowly, careful not to jostle the baby too much, which made Bianca chuckle.

"She's not as fragile as she looks Kyle," his sister-in-law told him "She won't break."

Kyle was still careful as he lowered the baby into Brax's arms, and Ricky eagerly caught a picture of them too. Kyle hadn't even noticed that the nurse had left until she came back to check on the new family addition.

"When can he take her home?" Brax asked as he too took the child's hand.

"Well," the nurse began "We'd like to keep her here for at least twelve hours because she's a little small, but you should be able to leave by this afternoon."

No, Kyle thought warmly to himself she isn't too small, she's perfect.