Chapter 15

Author's Note: Hi all! I am SO SO sorry it took me so long to finish this story up. I have been without the net since a little before Christmas (here it is February). As if that wasn't bad enough, I had to bring my computer in to be completely wiped and everything needed to be reinstalled. Eek! Fortunately, I have my computer back up and running (better than ever, dare I say!) and the net has been returned as well! I hope you enjoy this chapter, along with the final two of this story. Feedback would be AMAZNG!

That night, Ephram awoke to the sound of the unhappy cries from the baby down the hall. Normally he was a heavy sleeper, always had been, however, he began to wake the moment he heard the baby's first stages of protest. Laying in bed with both ears on alert, Ephram waited for his dad to get up and tend to the baby. After a few moments of listening to he baby fussing, clearly working himself up as the seconds ticked on without anyone tending to him, Ephram stumbled out of bed and headed towards his dad's bedroom.

Quietly, Ephram pushed open the door which had been cracked open to begin with; the hallway light spilling into the room as Ephram walked in. He looked over at the large bed his dad slept in, barely able to notice the outline of a figure buried somewhere underneath the pillows and blankets, a faint but strong snoring sound somehow escaping through the pillows and blankets. Ephram smiled and shook his head as he walked over to the crib his father was borrowing from Nina. Reaching down, Ephram carefully scooped the baby up in his arms and quietly headed out of the bedroom. Once in the hallway, Ephram looked down at the baby, who had begun to settle down a bit.

"See, it's okay little guy," Ephram said, softly rocking him back and fourth in his arms. "Now, what's got you so worked up at four-thirty in the morning?" Ephram scanned the baby from top to bottom, looking for any obvious signs as to why the baby was crying. It took him all of thirty seconds to realize the awful odor coming from the baby's diaper.

"Oh god. I think I know what your problem is," Ephram said, making a face. Looking around, he tried to remember where he last saw the diaper bad filled with the supplies he would need to take care of the current problem at hand. Deciding to try looking downstairs, Ephram cautiously held onto the baby while slowly climbing down the stairs. He breathed a sigh of relief when his bare feet touched the living room floor and gave a small thanks to the higher powers for not falling down the stair with the baby. Squinting his eyes, which were still a little hazy with sleep, Ephram was able to spot the diaper bag fairly quickly.

Holding the baby close to him, he leaned over and turned a lamp on so that he could see what he was doing. Pulling the bag closer towards him, Ephram took a seat on the living room floor ad began pulling out a fresh diaper and wipes from the bag with his free hand. Finally, being extra careful of his movements, Ephram set the baby down on the floor in between his legs.

"Okay, lets get that smelly thing off you, huh?" With that, Ephram began the task of changing the baby's diaper. Having had his share of experience from the days before, Ephram was able to change the diaper a lot easier than previous attempts. He grinned as he looked down and surveyed his work, surprised himself at what he had learned to do. The baby, tired of sitting, began to roll over.

"Woah now, where do you think your going, huh?" he asked the baby, his hand resting softly on the baby's back. He sat there for a few moments and watched the baby, wondering if this is what his life was going to be like from here on out. It was hard not to like the little guy, he admitted to himself. He liked kids, he pretty much helped his mom raise Delia in his father's absences, he just never gave it much thought either way to having one of his own. Funny, he hadn't even thought it about much when he discovered the condom had broken that one time with Madison. He just assumed it was no big deal. He laughed at himself, at his stupidity, as he looked down at the baby, who was busy chewing on a toy that had dropped from the bag when Ephram had been searching for a diaper. Despite the baby being an interruption to his life the past week, he couldn't take it out on him; it wasn't his fault. None of it was. Ephram's thoughts wandered to Madison, wondering where she was at that very moment.

He wanted to hate her, a few days earlier if you had asked him his opinion of her, he wouldn't have held back as he let out a rant on how she had ruined his life. However, he had begun to cool down and look at things for what they were. He was sure she was just as scared and lost as he was when he found the baby that morning a week ago. She must have already left town when she found out she was pregnant since she never said a word to anyone, much less himself. No, he had let go of his anger for leaving the baby on his doorstep. However, he wasn't sure if he could ever forgive her for putting him in the position of having to wonder, and get a test, to find out of the baby was his or not. For cheating on him when he had been so in love with her. For taking the easy way out. That's what he was most upset with her about. He sighed, thinking of the mess that had become his life. He looked down when the baby had begun to fuss, getting bored with the toy that was now half slobbered on.

Smiling, Ephram lifted the baby up so they were eye to eye. "What? Huh?" He studied the baby's face, watching as the baby's gaze wandered all around, taking in his surroundings as he flickered his tiny fat tongue in and out of his mouth. "So, I know things have been a little crazy and confusing around here. Believe me, I get it. It was a shock to me too, this whole thing." He paused. "It's not your fault though, okay? We'll get this all sorted out. Once those tests come back…" he trailed off. What exactly was he going to do if they said the baby was his? He hadn't allowed himself to think about it, not wanting to face the reality of it. Giving the baby up seemed like the easy way out, not to mention he wasn't sure how he felt about that, given the bond he was beginning to form with the little guy. Then again, the baby could very well turn out to be Jay's… he wasn't sure how he felt about just handing the baby over to Jay, either. The guy wasn't exactly the type who seemed fit to be taking care of a baby.

"I actually have no idea what I want to do either way. No offense, your actually a pretty cool baby," he admitted. "I'm just not sure I can be a good dad right now. I-I mean, I'm planning on being in New York in a few months, I'll be busy with school… I won't be the kind of parent you deserve, y'know? And trust me, no dad is better than one who doesn't have time for you." The baby reached out, towards Ephram's face. "I'm not saying I've made up my mind, I'm just saying… I have no idea yet. I still have to tell Amy about all of this." Amy. She must think I'm over being with her or something crazy like that, Ephram thought to himself.

"I've really got to get on that, by the way," he said, both to himself and the baby, who let out one gigantic yawn. Ephram smiled.

"I agree, it's pretty late. Let's get back to bed, huh?" Holding the baby carefully against his chest, Ephram got to his feet and walked over to turn the light off before heading back up the stairs.

"Sweet dreams," Ephram whispered to the baby after putting him back in the crib. He glanced over at his father's lifeless form under the covers, still snoring away. He shook his head. "Yeah, and he thinks I'm a heavy sleeper."

***

Across town, Amy looked up at the ceiling of her bedroom, arms crossed under her head as her mind raced with worry. Earlier, she had felt better, upbeat even, feeling as though she had figured out the big mystery surrounding Ephram's weirdness and absentness the past week or so. After her conversation with Hannah, she had even planned on calling him or stopping by and getting it all sorted out.

That was until she had talked to her brother.

She had dropped by earlier that day, hoping to find Ephram hanging out there with Bright. Normally, the rare times he wasn't with Amy, he would be over at Bright's house. Unfortunately that hadn't been the case, as Amy quickly discovered when she entered the small, messy, odd smelling apartment.

Bright had been fixing himself a bowl of cereal when she walked in.

"Hey," she said, closing the door behind her. Her gaze quickly searching around the small apartment for her boyfriend.

"Still confused about that knocking thing, I see," Bright observed, chewing the mouth full of cereal he had just popped in.

"So I take it Ephram isn't here?" she asked, ignoring her brother's question. She sighed, already knowing the answer as she took a seat on the couch her father had brought out from storage when Bright had moved out. The couch had seen better days, she wouldn't have taken it, but her brother wasn't all that picky.

"That he is not." He spooned in another bite of food.

"Yeah…" she trailed off, deep in throught. "Bright, have you noticed something, I don't know, off with Ephram this past week or so?"

Bright stopped mid-chew. He looked over at Amy from the corner of his eye, then back down at the bowl. "Uh.. I haven't really seen him lately, actually, so…"

"But don't you think that's weird?" Amy asked, shifting on the couch so she was facing her brother, who sat on the other side of the couch. "I mean, usually when he's not with me, he's here. Then there's the fact that suddenly he's been nearly impossible to get a hold of."

Bright put the cereal bowl down in the coffee table in front of him and picked up his game paddle, un-pausing the game and attempting to keep busy. He was one of the worlds worst liars, he knew his sister would pick up on something if he didn't attempt to busy himself with something. "Yeah, I dunno. Maybe he's got mono or something."

Amy shot him a look. "He doesn't have mono, Bright." She paused. "He's hiding something from me, I can tell. I just don't know what. I thought he was just freaked out about us moving in together in the fall, but I don't know… I feel like there's something else."

Bright could feel the sweat beads forming on his forehead as he tried to focus on the task at hand on the game. "Yeah. Yeah, I bet it's that," he said quickly, wincing as he knew he was about to get busted.

"Okay, you know something," Amy said.

"Amy-" Bright began.

"Bright! I'm like, freaking out wondering what's going on with my boyfriend and you know something now tell me! Is he okay?"

Bright sighed and paused the game knowing there was no turning back now. "Look, I ran into him earlier today. He was like, on the verge of a nervous breakdown or something when I ran into him so we talked. That's it."

"And?" Amy prompted.

"And… I told him he needed to talk to you about whatever is going on with him," he added.

"Is he okay? I mean, is it something serious? Is he going to break up with me?" she asked the questions in a rapid fire, one after another.

"He's got a lot going on right now," Bright admitted. Some heavy stuff. It's nothing like, he's not sick or anything. Everyone is okay," he assured her. "And I wouldn't worry about him breaking up with you. It's nothing like that he's just…"

"Got a lot going on right now. Yeah, I get that," Amy finished. "I just wish he'd talk to me instead of pushing me away."

"The only thing I can tell you is… the guys is really confused right now. He's got some things to figure out right now. I know it's hard, especially for you, but my advice is to step back, let him come to YOU and when he does… Support the guy. When I was talking to him, he was so worried about what you were going to say and how you were going to feel. I don't think he's told you yet because he doesn't have any answers himself." Bright studied his sister's expression, knowing she was confused and hurt. A part of him, the overprotective big brother part, wanted to tell her so she wouldn't have to keep guessing and worrying. However, he knew it wasn't something for him to tell her, Ephram needed to.

Amy sighed, looking over at the alarm clock on the nightstand beside her. She knew Bright was right; whatever was going on with Ephram, she needed to let him tell her about it when he was ready. However, her heart ached and her mind raced with different scenarios, horrible ones that made her chest ache just thinking about them.

She would wait for Ephram to come to her with whatever was going on, she just wished he'd do it soon…