9 months later
The last few months had been strange for Cain, he had to get use to having Lilly there. She seemed different from before, more moody and reserved, with good reason. But once her wounds started to heal, and she became more like the girl Cain remember growing up with, that little spitfire, so much like her brother, that things started to settle. And after a while, they all three became just one big happy family.
Cain walked out of the bedroom, covered in his robe that was purchased about the second week after Lilly moved in, after an embarrassing little episode on Cain's part. He smiled as he saw that Lilly was already making breakfast for the sleepy Tin Men.
"Hey, Lils, what are you making?" Cain said, walking up to her, kissing the top of her head before peaking into the pan to see what she was cooking.
"Just some pancakes, was in the mood for them, and was being sweet and making them for you and mother hen."
"Hey Lilly, stop that, just because he's a little protective...." Cain said leaning against the counter, watching her cook.
"I've been out of the apartment, like maybe five times since I've been here." Lilly said frustrated.
"Well you spent about three months of that in bed, Lils." Cain reached out to snag one of the pancakes she cooked before getting smack by her, with the pancake turner before she motion for him to sit at the table.
"Yes but I'm just board. How am I going to join the academy when I turn eighteen if Adrian never lets me leave." Cain just smiled at her as he sat at the table.
"I'll talk to him. So how's your studying going?" Cain asked.
"It's fine. Some of it is hard to get though, but I'm making it." Lilly explained.
"What are you having trouble with?"
"Just all the laws, you know codes and violations. It's just a lot to take in."
"Yeah, that's why it's better if you start early." Cain said with a smile. "When I come home tonight, I'll help you with it, OK?" A smile spread across Lilly's lips as she moved over to give Cain a hug.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" She said before she bounced back over to the stove, fixing Cain a plate of pancakes and placing it in from of him.
"Mmm Lilly pancakes, my favorite," Cain said before digging in.
---
Cain was on patrol, sin district. Not his favorite of beats but work none the less. There where out a while, when him and Morgan come across someone being rough with one of the girls. The perp was being stupid to begin with, but when he tried to hit Cain for trying to break it up, he just was being plain dumb. Cain had him on the ground, in cuffs, before the perp could blink. He looked up at Morgan with a sigh.
"I guess we can take him in." Morgan said, helping his partner off the ground, and pulling the man up, walking him to the station. They brought the man in, setting him on a bench, as Morgan went to start the work to get the man processed, as Cain watched the man. After a few moments, Morgan came back.
"Put him in lock-up, there is someone here to see you." Morgan said.
"Who?" Cain asked.
"Your Ex. That's all I know, she is in the conference room in the back." Cain just grumbled at this. He hadn't seen Adora, since he signed his divorce papers, about 7 months back. He put the man in holding before making his way through the station. He felt like he was a little paranoid as he walked to the room, for it seemed like some of the people in the station where staring at him, but he just brushed it off as being his imagination.
He opened the door to the conference room and saw her, looking out the window, back to him. He closed the door.
"Adora what the hell are you...." His voice trailed off as she turned to face him, a squirming infant in her arms. Cain's eyes went wide at this. "Ahhh, who......"
"Oh him? This is Jebediah, I named him after his great grandfather."
"That was my grandfather's name..." Cain said dumb struck.
"Yeah, which makes it his great grandfather," she said with a smile.
"But.... why didn't you tell me..."
"Would that have stopped you?" Adora said.
"I'm... not sure," Cain said, still in a state of shock.
"Well whatever. He has been changed and fed. He's good to go for a while." she said before handing him to Cain, who just held the squirming infant under its little arms, about a foot from his person. Adora placed a diaper bag as well as a duffle bag on the table.
"This is everything you should need. He needs a crib and all but I'm sure you can take care of that." She said as she started to walk to the door.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"Home. He's your responsibility now. You're the one with the job and family." She said, a little bitterness in her voice as she walked out of the room, leaving Cain alone, with his son.
Cain just stood there for a second, holding the infant, looking it over. He stared into the bright hazel eyes of his, almost curious on who this strange man who was holding him. When the baby let out a cry, Cain pulled the boy into his arms, letting him rest on his chest, patting his back. The baby cooed at that as Cain just stood there, shocked.
"Hey, I just saw Adora leave here like a bat out of hell and what the hell are you holding?" Morgan said as he came into the room.
"My son, apparently," Cain said.
"You're kidding right? Did you know your ex was preggers?" Morgan asked.
"No, this is a total shock to me."
"So where did she go?"
"I'm not sure, I guess back to her folks."
"What!? Did she just leave you with the kid?"
"I think so."
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Well, I'll go talk to the chief."
"What for?" Cain asked
"You think you can stay here with him?" Morgan said, pointing to the baby. "You need to go home, get your house set up; buy yourself something for him to sleep in, food, diapers and maybe a crash course in being a dad. I'm sure the chief would give you a few days off to get yourself settled, seeing that this is some strange circumstances you found yourself in." Morgan said leaving Cain alone with the baby again.
He looked down at the baby, a smile now on the little boys lips, and at that, Cain smiled, staring at the little boy within his arms.
"Jebediah. That is such a big name for such a small person, don't you think?" Cain said, as the baby cooed again at his words. "I think I will call you Jeb, You like that?" Jeb let out s shrill laugh, which caused Cain to chuckle. "I guess you do."
Morgan returned soon after that to find the smiling Cain, holding Jeb.
"See, fatherhood already agrees with you. You have the next two days off. Tell Zero that he does too. You both need to get settled. Call your parents; I'm sure your mother will be down here before the night is over. It will help you. Do you need any help getting home?"
"Nah, it's just a fifteen minute walk from here." Morgan laughed at that.
"And how long is it when you have a screaming baby?"
"Nah, Jeb is just as happy as he can be."
"For now. And Jeb?"
"Jebediah."
"Jebediah Cain.... Yeah I like Jeb." Morgan said as he held out his hands to hold the baby. Cain was hesitant at letting the baby go at first, but then handed him over. Morgan cradle Jeb within his arms, and Jeb started to fuss at that. Morgan moved to hold Jeb against his chest, and then Jeb started to wail. Morgan looked at Cain before handing Jeb back to him, and the boy started to calm down.
"Well I'll be damned. He either knows who his daddy is, or you just happen to have that magic touch with babies." Morgan said, grabbing the bags off the table. "I'll walk you home, I'll take the stuff, and you take the little monster."
The trip home was made in near silence, as Cain watch the little boy squirm against him, looking all around, at the sights and sounds, not sure what to make of the noisy streets of the city. They made it to his apartment complex, up the stairs and to his door, before he even turned to look at Morgan.
"Thanks for the walk." He said, trying to transfer the bags from Morgan's shoulders to his own, while still holding the tiny package that was starting to doze.
"I'll be back later to check up on you. Might even bring the wife with me."
"Nah, there is no need for that." Cain protested.
"I'll still come by." Morgan said before walking back to the station.
Cain walked in, seeing the living area was deserted, most likely Zero was in their room, and Lilly was in hers. He sighed before dropping the bags on the couch before going to their bedroom.
"Hey, sweetheart." Cain said as he walked in.
"You're home early." Zero said, nose stuck in that damn book he been reading for the past few days.
"Yeah had a surprise show up at work, so the chief sent me home early."
"Really?" Zero said, looking up from the pages. "Um... what is that?" Zero asked.
"Ahh, the surprise. He's apparently my son. Jeb, meet Adrian, Adrian, Jeb." Zero's eyes were wide at this.
"Ahhh...Wait...What?" Zero said.
"Adora came by the station. She dropped him off, and then just... left."
"You have a baby." Zero said, shocked.
"Actually, we have a baby." Cain corrected.
"Wait we? She's coming back for him right?" Zero asked.
"She made it sound like she wasn't." Zero was out of his chair, book on the floor.
"You're kidding me! How the hell could she do that! She is his mother, how could she just abandon him like that. And not even telling you about him and then just dropping him off when..." Zero was barking out angrily but stopped when Jeb started to cry. All anger melted at the boy's cries. He moved over to Cain and Jeb.
"Shhhh little one, oh it's OK, I'm not angry anymore." Zero said softly.
"I think you just spooked him a little." Cain said, rubbing Jeb's back, soothing the boy.
"It's just a little overwhelming. I mean, you... we have a baby now." Cain laughed at that.
"You should have seen me when Adora handed him to me and left. I just stood there, speechless. At least you're speaking." Cain said with a laugh.
"Did I hear a baby crying?" said Lilly through the door. "Oh my, there is a baby. Oh my gosh, he so cute!!!" The girl said as she bounced into the room, scooping him from Cain's arms without a second thought. "Oh my, he's so adorable. Whose is he? A friends?"
"Mine." Cain said and Lilly just looked up at him. "It's a long story, but yes, that is my son."
"Well he got daddy's smile, I'll give him that. He must get the rest of his cuteness from his mother. Yes, you must." She said to Jeb, who started to fuss again. "Oh I see how it is, you want daddy don't you, not auntie Lils. Well guess what, tough, I want to hold you." Jeb started to cry louder at this. "Oh yeah he wants daddy." Lilly said with a smile, handing him back to Cain. Jeb stopped the crying but he still was fussing.
"Oh, what's wrong with him?" Cain said a little worried.
"Well he didn't seem wet when I was holding him, maybe he's hungry? Do you have a bottle? " Lilly said.
"Ahhh maybe." He said, passing Jeb off to Zero quickly, to Zero's surprise, as he went into the living room, to the diaper bag. He was in luck, for on the side was a bottle, already prepared. Thank the gods for his Ex-wife's need to be prepared, he thought as he walked back to the room. He smiled at the sight he saw.
Zero was sitting on the bed, Jeb within his arms, bouncing him softly as the infant started to doze.
"So he was sleepy." Cain said softly.
"I guess so." Zero said, looking up, smiling, Jeb now asleep in his arms. Zero moved slowly over the bed, so that he was sitting, his back resting up against the headboard of the bed, as he held Jeb up against his chest.
"You OK with him Adrian?" Zero looked up from Jeb's sleeping form.
"Yeah. I'll just hold him, it's fine." Zero said, looking back down at the boy. Cain just smiled, and walked back into the living room with Lilly right behind him.
"If I didn't know any better, I would say Adrian's in love." Lilly said.
"I think he is." Cain said with a smile. "Ok. Let see what his mom left us with." Cain said. "Hey Lil's you dealt with babies before, right?"
"Yeah I used to babysit the neighbors kids all the time."
"So you would know what we would need, right?"
"Yeah, here let me help you get organized." She said as she started to go through the bags.
"Thanks, Lilly, I'll help you in a second. I have to make a quick phone call."
"Ok, take your time." she said as she started to pull clothes from the bag. Cain just smiled as he went off to the phone. He picked it up and dialed a number. It rang a few times before a familiar voice came on the other end.
"Hey, mom. Yeah, I have something to tell you? You sitting?"
---
One day later
Jeb was currently screaming, as Cain walked back and forth, rocking his son in his arms.
"Adrian, I think he needs that bottle like, now." Cain said.
"Hey, give me a break, it's my first time mixing formula."
"What so hard about it. Measure it, add water and mix."
"The lids not going on right." Cain turned to look and smiled, handing the crying baby to Zero.
"Wrong lid, that one goes to a different bottle."
"We have different bottles?" Zero said. And Cain just nodded, finding the right lid, tightening it before shaking up the formula. There was a knock at the door. Cain just sighed, before handing the bottle to Zero and heading to the door. Zero popped the bottle into Jeb's mouth, and watched as Jeb sucked on the bottle greedily, happy as can be. Cain went to answer the door.
"Mom, dad, you made it." Cain said, as he invited Samuel and Deanna Cain into the apartment.
"Where is that grandson of mine?" Deanna said smiling as she walked into the apartment as her husband followed her.
"He's being fed at the moment. Once he is done, you two can smother him all you want." Cain said with a smile. They all turned to see Zero, sitting on the couch, Jeb within his arms, feeding him.
"I still can't believe that she just dropped him off like that." Samuel said to Cain as he watched his wife sit down next to Zero, looking at Jeb. Zero just smiled down at Jeb too, watching him feed. "So he has been helping out with taking care of Jeb?" Samuel said, as he watched his grandson, being fed by Zero.
"Yeah, I mean we've only had Jeb for a day, but he has already grown so attached to him." Cain said as Samuel Cain watched Zero taking care of Jeb. Samuel placed his hand on Cain's shoulder.
"I think you made the right choice son." Samuel said as he watched Zero pick up Jeb, patting him on his back, burping the baby. "I think your both will be good fathers to my grandchild."
"Thank you dad, that means a lot to me to here you say that." Cain said, smile wide across his face.
