Nathan hobbled up the stairs trying to be quiet and not wake his mother or son who had fallen asleep on the ride over. Thankfully Lucas had brought him up to Nathan's room along with the portable playpen. When Nathan got to his room he saw Keith asleep on his queen bed surrounded by pillows so he wouldn't fall off. "Thanks Luke, for setting up the playpen," Nathan whispered to himself sarcastically. "Crap," he said hobbling over to the playpen he had never set it up before Lucas always did. In fact this was his first night with Keith alone ever, no Lucas, he smiled and looked at his son as he realized this. He had seen Luke set this stupid thing up a million times he could do it he thought to himself.
He took the cover off and threw it on his chair. "Ok I have to take this cardboard part off so it can go on the bottom," he thought aloud about the piece that wraps around the folded frame that becomes the bottom when flattened. "This is too easy," he thought all too soon though because once the cardboard was off he just stared at the frame. "Great now what?" He put his hand on the middle of the large folded frame and pushed toward the ground. The wheels pushed the sides out but the arms hadn't popped up like he had hoped so he picked it up by the two corners closest to him and shook it. Of course he lost his balance dropped the playpen with a loud bang it folded up again and Nathan caught himself on the bed before he landed on his son. He looked back at Keith quickly to see if he had woken him, he just rolled onto his side. "Phew," can't do anything with this stupid thing on my leg. Nathan stood back up and grabbed the playpen by the fold in one of the arms and pulled up on it and it snapped straight. "So that's how it works," he said and snapped the other three arms up then pushed the center back down and looked down at the rectangular playpen with pride. "Alright," he said as he reached for the cardboard part to lie on the bottom. He hobbled to his closet and took out a blue Duke throw blanket he had bought and had been saving just for this occasion. He hopped back to his bed, "how am I going to get him in there without waking him? If I pick him up I'm going to have to hop and that'll wake him." He stared at the playpen for a few minutes then he had figured it out. If he put it next to the bed then he wouldn't have to leave the bed to move Keith therefore he wouldn't have to hop. He got up and hopped over to the playpen it was only about four hops away. He pulled it with him as he hopped backwards toward the bed on the third hop he lost his balance again and landed on the floor with a thud. He jumped up quickly looking at Keith who again just rolled over. "I usually have good balance even on one leg, but I don't usually have a cast on the other leg either," he grumbled. He pulled the playpen all the way to the bed then got on the bed kneeling over his son, "man you must be daddy's little boy," he said picking him up, "sleeping through all this commotion." He kissed him on the forehead, "daddy loves you," he said as he placed him in the playpen and his son smiled in his sleep at the sound of his voice. Nathan placed the Duke throw over him and thought to himself, "he sure does look like a mini-me but that smile, even in his sleep he has her smile." He laid down thinking of Haley and fell asleep fully dressed.
Nathan woke up early and before his son. He rolled over and saw that Keith was still sleeping. Suddenly he thought of his mother, she hadn't seen Keith yet. Nathan went to Deb's bedroom and knocked on the door. There was no answer. He went downstairs and called out for her but again no answer. Nathan grabbed Keith's diaper bag and threw it over his shoulder and was about to hobble back upstairs when the doorbell rang.