Sitting down at the table in his house, Alfred took another sip of coffee while watching the news. There was nothing more on the TV about the two men that were caught and put in jail to wait for their trial, but he knew that they were still there. It didn't matter for anything else, since they couldn't hurt anyone from there.

Just as he went to turn the TV off, the phone rang shrilly. With a sigh, he picked it up and grunted, fully expecting it to be Ismael since he was the only person he really talked to now. "What is it?"

"Alfred? It's Lili." The blond said. "Um, I'm outside your apartment, could you let me in?" It had been a while since she had been to this building, but she knew she had to come back.

Blinking, his mind went blank for a second before responding. "You're outside? Uh... Just a sec." With that he hung up and went down to the main floor. How come Lili was here? It wasn't like they had talked at all in the last three and a half months, so why did she want to now? Their break up wasn't really messy...

"Hey." He said as he opened the main door. "I'm sorry about when I answered the phone, I just wasn't really expecting it to be you..."

"I need to tell you something." She said quietly, but shutting him up easily. They had only dated about a month before they both realized that they just weren't right for each other, and that had been a bit before Alfred's brother had died. At the time she had tried comforting him, but he had pushed everyone away. Hopefully he wouldn't do that anymore.

Looking at her sideways as they went up the elevator to his apartment, Alfred said. "Ok... What is it?" Just what would she want to talk to him about? Unless it was that her older, intimidating brother wanted his head because he found out Al had sex with his younger sister, then he had no idea.

Standing beside him, Lili looked to her shoes. "Well, um I found out a little after we broke up... I hadn't wanted to tell you because you were dealing with everything that happened with your brother." She was skipping around the subject, hands absentmindedly going to her stomach.

"Yeah... You found out what?" Now it was making him nervous, seeing her get so skittish. After being with a few girls, he knew that looking around and fidgeting never were good things. Ever.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him. "Alfred, I'm pregnant." She swallowed, afraid of his reaction. "I-I just thought you should know. I'm not expecting you to pay child support or anything, but you a-are the father, so I wanted you to know..."

"Shit, really?" He asked, his face falling. "Sorry about the language but... Are you sure? We used a condom..." Alfred pulled at his hair, silently glad for the distraction as he opened his door and got them both in. "I mean... That was so long ago..."

Shrugging, Lili entered the apartment. "Yes, I've been to the doctor. It must have happened the last time we had sex, because it has been three and a half months." She sighed, glad she finally got it off her chest. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I didn't want to trouble you any more."

Getting her to sit down on the couch, Alfred brought up a chair so they could talk face to face without being too close. "I don't know what to say..." He admitted with a small laugh. "I mean, if it's mine of course I'll help however I can but... Lili..." He paused, not quite sure how to phrase what he was thinking. "First of all, does your brother have a headhunt on me?"

Wincing slightly, Lily laughed. "It might be a good idea to stay away from my trailer park for a while, but he has agreed to not go... looking for you." It had been bad enough when they were dating, never mind now that he knew she was pregnant. "But really, you have your life and everything, you don't need to help out."

"Yeah but... Sorry to be blunt, but how are you going to afford having a child? I know I'm not really any better off but at least I can help you..." He really didn't want to live with her since it obviously didn't work but something would work. Alfred stopped before asking. "Do you want any water or something to eat?"

"Pickles, if you have any. I swear these cravings drive me up the wall." She smiled as she rubbed her stomach, which reminded her that she would have to ask Vash to get some strawberries. "But really, you have your own problems. I just wanted to tell you because I thought you should know." Even though they were already worrying about money problems.

Getting up to get the jar of pickles, he took out a few with a fork and put them on a plate for Lili. "Thank you for that, I'm glad you told me and didn't just wait till our kid was born." Wow... He was going to be a father. An unexpected one, but one nonetheless. Handing over the plate, he murmured. "But what kind of a place is it to raise a child in a trailer park? You're only eighteen Lili, and unless you got a better job there's no way you can move out any time soon without some help." Or maybe... Maybe there was something else that could be done.

Sighing, she nodded. "I know. And when the baby is born it will be a while before I can work again. Vash will be there, but..." Then she realized that she was spilling her problems to her ex, and gasped slightly. "I'm sorry, you don't want to hear all this. Thanks for the pickles."

"No prob, but I really don't mind. If you want... I could take care of it." There, he said it. Alfred knew it was rare to never that the man of a bastard child offered to raise the child alone, but being the hero that he always was, he couldn't stand to see how one little mess up would ruin two to potentially four people's lives. If he took care of it, at least then he would know that Lili and Vash would be financially ok for the time being.

Almost choking on her pickle, Lili made sure to put it down before speaking. "What? No Al, I couldn't ask you to do that..." Although she had to admit, raising a kid in this apartment building would be much better than in her trailer park.

Going beside her to rub her back, Alfred had an awkward moment of remembering when they were together before repeating. "Seriously, you don't have to ask me to do anything because I want to do this. I don't want anyone to suffer, and it would work out better if I helped."

Looking at him, Lili bit her lip. "But, do you know anything about babies? I mean I don't really either, but I was hoping on the motherly instinct thing." Even if she was only eighteen, she should still have that, right?

"Not really." He admitted with a half smile. "But, I have about five and a half months to prepare myself." Going back to the chair, he looked briefly at her stomach before smiling softly at her. "I just hope that you don't consider our child as a curse. Yeah it would have been better if we worked out, but life loves to play games."

Shaking her head, Lili rubbed her stomach. "No, it isn't the baby's fault it came at a bad time." She sighed, looking up. "If you are serious about taking him or her, then you have to promise to let me visit, and baby sit and all that."

Leaning back, Alfred asked incredulously. "How could you ever think that I wouldn't let you see your own child? Now that would be cruel. It's not like I'm saying you wouldn't be a great mother, if anything, you would be amazing, it's just that your situation isn't the best. Of course I'd let you see him or her." But she sounded like the idea was sinking in, and that was important.

Smiling, she nodded. "So... this is actually going to happen? I mean we have a few months to sort everything out but... you're going to take care of the baby?" Maybe when she got a better job, and her and Vash could afford a better place, the kid could come over for weekends and everything.

"If that's what you want, I'd be glad to take care of our child." The American smiled at Lili. "I can't lie and say that I love you, but it is not a lie when I say that I will love our child to the fullest capacity of my heart. Plus, a hero can never let somebody down once they made a promise." A guilty twinge wracked his heart as he thought of Matthew's last wish, but he quickly pushed it off as being different.

Pausing, she then stood up and went over to him, giving him a big hug. "I'm glad we didn't have a bad break up." They just hadn't been right for each other was all. "This... this is going to work out." She said quietly, optimistic.

Hugging her back with one arm, he smiled. "So am I, but it would have worked out no matter what. You're smart; you would have figured something out." Pausing for a moment as she backed away, he asked. "So... What does it feel like? Have you been getting morning sickness or anything?"

Shrugging, she sat back down. "Not for a while. But you can kind of feel where it is harder, want to feel?" Also, though it wasn't noticeable when she had clothes on, her stomach was starting just barely to start to get rounder.

"Can I?" As Lili had said, it was good that they were still able to talk now that this had happened. "When you go for your next ultrasound, could I come? Or at least see it?" When she raised her shirt a little, Alfred tentatively reached out and touched the small, hard bulge with his fingers.

Nodding, she laughed as he smiled at feeling it. "Maybe not come along, because Vash usually does. But I'll let you have a copy. But... I don't want to find out if it's a boy or a girl. I want it to be a surprise."

Leaning back with a smile, Alfred nodded. "Yeah, I guess that would be for the best if I didn't see him for a while..." Then he looked into her eyes. "And if you don't want to know, I'm not going to force you. You're the mom, and the mom knows best."

Laughing, she ran her fingers through her short hair. "Obviously not, if I can't even take care of the baby. But enough talk about this. How are you feeling?" They hadn't spoken for at least two months, because Alfred had pretty much curled up into his own shell.

Alfred's smile fell a degree. "I'm getting better. I cleaned out Matt's room about a week ago and it's helping me heal." He really didn't want to mention Ismael for some reason, but it was ok with him. He -according to everyone- still hated him, so it would probably surprise Lili that he was hanging around Matt's lover.

Smiling, she nodded. "That's good. I always thought... Oh no, is that the time? Vash is going to be home soon!" She stood up, biting her lip. "I'm sorry, I didn't tell him I was coming here. I really have to go... you can call me any time you want."

Getting up as well, he escorted Lili to the door. "Ok, I'll phone later just to catch up." Thinking for a second, he added. "If anything ever happens to you or our kid, don't hesitate to phone. I want to do whatever I can to help, since I'm not a dick like most guys can be." Well, he honestly wasn't expecting to be a father, but now that it was happening he was strangely ok with it.

"Thanks Al. I'm glad it was you." There were a lot of guys who would be angry at her for being pregnant, if that made any sense. But if was obviously him, because she hadn't been with anyone since.

With a wide smile, they said their goodbyes before Alfred went back inside. He was actually going to be a dad. It really didn't seem like it was possible, but it was happening. Before he could think of just why he was doing it, he grabbed his phone and dialled Ismael's number. After it rang and rang and rang, he didn't bother leaving a message. Where was the bastard if he wasn't home?

Grabbing his coat, Alfred figured it out fairly quickly. Obviously he would be at the cemetery, since he pretty much existed in one of the two places. The plate could be washed later he reckoned as he set out through the snow. It wasn't too bad anymore, but it was still annoying. Matthew was the only reason he put up with it instead of cursing it as usual.

When he was close to the grave, he automatically knew that Ismael wasn't there from the lack of a large shape hovering around it. The new snow had been brushed off so it was obvious that he had been here recently, but the Cuban was no where to be seen. Well, all that left was his house, so Alfred set off for there.

The only real reason he was going to see him is because he needed to tell someone, and he was the only person he was really talking to. Sure there were people at work, but why would they care? Plus Alfred knew that the bastard would have to deal with him sometime anyways, so why not now?

Reaching his house, he looked around before going to the door and almost knocking it down. When there was no answer, he rang the door bell and continued to knock. If he wasn't here, where else would he be? It wasn't like he would be working on a weekend, and there was nowhere else that Alfred could think that he would be. In an act of desperation, he sat down on the steps and made himself comfy. If he wasn't here now, then he would have to return some time.

Getting out of the car, Ismael grabbed his grocery bags before heading to his doorstep. It was then he saw a hunched shape on the step, breathing out clouds of condensation in the cold air. He rolled his eyes, walking up to him. "How long have you been here?"

"Better yet, what took you so long?" He retorted, his teeth chattering slightly. "You weren't at the cemetery and I phoned you so then I decided to wait here." Standing up, Alfred rubbed his hands together. "Are you gonna go inside or do you want both of us to freeze."

Unlocking the door, Ismael waited for Alfred to go inside before putting the bags on the kitchen table. "I have other places to go besides the cemetery and home, you know. Help me put these away and I'll make you a cup of coffee."

Waiting until his fingers became responsive, Alfred started finding homes for all the food Ismael had bought. "It better be good coffee cause you made me wait out there for a while."

"You didn't have to come over. Why are you here, anyway?" Not that it was unusual for him to be here. There had been nights where Alfred had come over, and they hadn't said one word to each other the whole night.

Remembering why he was here, Alfred smiled. "You wouldn't understand being a 'non-breeder' and all, but guess what I just heard?"

Looking up at him, Ismael lifted an eyebrow. "Non-breeder? What the hell do you mean?" Well it was fairly obvious, but he had never heard it used that way before. Usually it was what the gay community called straight people, 'breeders'.

"What do you think I mean?" Alfred asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you of all people would know what I meant. But anyways," He continued his grin back. "You probably don't remember her, but my ex just told me she's pregnant and I'm the dad."

Eyes going wide, Ismael almost couldn't believe what he heard. "Haven't you ever heard of condoms? God, I thought you straight guys would be more careful." As long as both parties were free of disease, it was fine for gay guys to do it without one. It was just a bitch to clean up.

Holding up his hands, Alfred explained. "Hey! I always use one thank you very much! I don't know what happened, she just came over and told me that she got tested and the kid was already three and a half months old, which works out to being me. Plus she's not the type to go slut around so I know she's not trying to take advantage of me."

Shaking his head, Ismael opened up the fridge to start putting things in it. "Well, are you gonna marry her? Or are you just gonna pay child support for the rest of your life?" Either would suck, really. But at least he would have a kid. The Cuban knew that for obvious reason he would never have one, and he was kind of disappointed.

"Neither. I'm going to take care of it for her." Alfred stated softly, watching as Ismael turned around. "I suggested it since she's not really in a good situation to be taking care of a kid, and I didn't want to be a douche and abandon my child."

Mouth hanging slightly open, Ismael really couldn't believe what he was hearing this time. He hadn't expected that! Once the shock wore off, he sighed, leaning against the counter. "Well, I guess I'll move in, then."

Now it was Alfred's turn to have his mouth hang comically wide. "What the hell are you talking about?" He asked, his eyebrows knitting together. "What does me having a kid have anything to do with you moving in?"

Shaking his head, Ismael continued putting away the food. "What, you don't think you could take care of a baby by yourself, do you? You obviously came over here, hoping that I would offer to help. Even if you don't realize it." Then he turned around, an easy smile on his face. "And anyway, I've been looking for an excuse to stop smoking."

Feeling the tension ease away at the smile, Alfred shook his head. "You got it all wrong there. I came here just to tell you I was going to be a dad. I don't want you doing anything you don't want to do. Plus, we still 'hate' each other, remember? We can't live together..."

"Sure we can. We don't like each other, but we don't hate each other really. And, unlike with a relationship, our feelings for each other aren't likely to change suddenly and leave one person to take care of the kid." He started making the pot of coffee, now needing some himself. "It would make Matthew happy."

Sitting down at the table, Alfred asked. "Yeah, but you have no reason to do this. You do know what that is gonna look like then, right? Not only are people going to think we're some sort of gay couple, but the baby will cry all the time and need a lot of care and stuff." Pausing, he added in a quieter voice. "Plus we can't keep doing things for Matthew."

Looking at him, Ismael sighed. "Well, what if I'm not doing it for Matthew? What if I'm doing it for the kid?" He got a few mugs, putting them on the table. "And, do you really want to be the only one taking care of a baby? You just said yourself how hard it's gonna be."

Taking the mug between his hands, Alfred stared at it. "But you have no reason to want to. Yeah the help would be nice, but I'm doing this because she would be worse off if she had to take care of our child. She's only eighteen, and her family barely has enough money as it is."

"Eighteen? God Alfred, young enough?" The coffee finished, so he poured some into the cups. "And anyway, as you have already pointed out, it's not like I'm going to have a kid any time soon. This will probably be my only chance." Sure, adoption, but it just wouldn't be the same.

Twitching, Alfred defended himself. "At least she's out of high school and legal!" Still, he continued to stare down at his mug until Ismael reached over and poured coffee into it, making him look up. "Are you sure? I mean... If I get used to the help then you have no way of backing out."

Sitting down with him, Ismael took a gulp of his coffee. "Look, I'm not saying it will be easy. But it'll be a hell of a lot harder if you raise this kid on your own. Just agree already." He was renting his house, so it wasn't like he would have to sell it or anything, so that was good.

Drinking some of the coffee but in a smaller sip, Alfred sighed. "Fine, I just don't want you to be doing this if you don't want to. But... I'm sure Lili will be glad to know that I will have help. As long as you promise to quit smoking." He added with a wry grin.

"Yeah yeah, if I have a reason I'm sure I can." Also, even if he didn't mention this, he had promised Matthew that he would quit one day. But, as Alfred had said, they need to stop doing things for Matthew.

Leaning back in the chair, Alfred said. "Ok, well now that it's settled, I should probably phone her and tell her." He paused, his face blanching. "Maybe you should phone and ask for her instead, then I'll talk to her."

Raising an eyebrow, Ismael thought it would be better not to ask. He handed over the phone and waited for Alfred to put in the number. Then he waited for the rings, and then was surprised at a male voice yelling in his ear. "Um... can I talk to Lili please?"

"Who the hell is this and how do you know Lili?" Vash yelled threateningly into the receiver. "If you're another man trying to take her innocence then you have another thing coming! I'll trace your call and personally dispose of you!"

"Uh... I'm... from her work... and want to talk about... her maternity leave?" She worked right? Hopefully she wasn't going to school, or else he would have just made this angry man even angrier. But there was a small grunt and then a female voice, so he handed the phone to Alfred.

"Hey Lili, sorry about that." Alfred apologized, turning away from Ismael so he could concentrate on the call. "I know we just talked a few hours ago but I wanted to let you know that my... Friend wants to help out. Would you be ok with that?"

Going into her room with a smile to her brother, Lili smiled. "Yes, that would be a good time for my maternity leave. Thank you." Once she was in her room, she let her voice go lower so Vash couldn't hear through the thin walls. "I would like to meet her first. I don't know if I would feel safe with one of your 'friends' raising our kid, because no offence but you don't stay in relationships long."

Looking over to Ismael, he corrected. "Uh, he's a guy and we aren't together by any means. Actually... It's the same guy that Matt was dating before... Yeah." It was pretty much obvious that Lili would know who he was talking about, since it was a common thing for him to rant about the guy that had 'turned' his brother gay.

"In that case I really need to meet him. You didn't exactly paint him in a good light when we were dating." She wouldn't be against having a gay guy help raise her child, as long as he wasn't obvious about it and brought guys over and things. She still wanted her baby to have a good life.

"Yeah, that makes sense; you are the mother after all." Alfred replied, leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his blond hair. "But he was the one who offered to move in with me to help, and we've somehow managed to patch things up a bunch."

Nodding, Lili bounced slightly on her bed. Her friend from work would love to hear that her baby was going to be raised by a gay guy. "That's good. But I still need to meet him." Then her brother walked in, and her voice went to the normal pitch again. "Anyways, Mr. Brats, I would really enjoy doing that. And it would be easier on me, since I'm pregnant. See you on Monday!" And hung up.

Hearing the dial tone, Alfred sat back up in the chair and put the phone down before taking another sip of coffee. "Before anything is set in stone, she wants to meet you. Other than that, I think she'll be glad that our kid will have two people taking care of it." Breathing in the smell of the steaming drink, he sighed. "I'm just glad this isn't worse. I've had way worse breakups then I had with her."

"The only guy I ever really dated was Matthew, so I haven't broken up with anyone." Before him, it was mainly one night stands and friends with benefits, and before that he had slept with a few girls, but had only figured out after why he had been disgusted.

With a sigh, Alfred said. "I don't really want to know that, thanks." But it did make him feel better somewhat to know just how careful Ismael was with his brother. Before, all he could think was that he would be really rough with him and Matt just didn't want to tell anyone.

Finishing up his coffee, Ismael put his mug in the sink. "So, when should I meet her? And who was that angry guy that picked up first?"

"Who knows? She had to hang up for some reason." Taking another sip until the mug was empty, he said with a shudder. "And that was the reason you had to phone. It's Lili's older brother Vash... Highly protective and he would probably castrate me and hang it in their trailer if he knew I was the one to knock her up." Well, he probably guessed it, it was just that he didn't know where he was... Yet.

"Why does the fact that someone wants to castrate you not surprise me?" He said with a laugh. Even Matthew would sometimes come to his house, fuming about how stupid his brother was. But he would soon get over it, and run back to his side once again.

Snorting, Alfred got up to get more caffeine. "Because you're a dick and like to see me in pain." Which was quite obviously the truth due to their... Fights.

Ismael silently agreed and sat back down. "Well, give me warning and I promise I will make as good an impression as possible. She needs to approve, right?" It would be a good time to quit smoking. Even if he would really like one at the moment...

"I'll make sure you know, but we're gonna have to wait for approval before the moving train gets into gear." Sitting back down in the living room, Alfred turned Ismael's TV on as if he lived there and dropped the conversation.

They both sat down to watch the screen, having minimal argument over what to watch. Well, minimal for them, meaning it didn't become physical.


Alright everyone, so yes Lili is Liechtenstein. And we know that Vash is rich and everything but he's not in this one lol. Well, since this chapter was kinda out of the blue, we would like to hear your thoughts!