I am so so so sorry for the delay you guys, I seemed to have crontracted his deblitating disease called "Gettingsidetracked-itus". That and I have been sick all week:(, no fun.

Anyway, I really hate only getting one update a week out here for you guys, so I am going to TRY MY VERY BEST to get 2 updates a week for you guys. Just because I love you all so FREAKING much and I hate to keep you all waiting!

And again, you guys keep me going! I can never possibly thank you all so much for all the wonderful reviews and to everyone who has not only favorited and subscribed to my story. But when I see someone actually favorite ME and subscribe to me! To see that people actually want to hear more of my 3am caffeine induced ramblings, that forever holds a special place in my heart! I could never possibly thank you thank you all so so much for that, for everything!

From the deepest pit in my heart, thank you all so much, to everyone who reviewed, favorited and subscribed to not only this story, but to me as well!

I am nothing without the grace of God Almight, and I thank God for you all everyday!

God Bless you all!:D

Chapter 5: Playing With Fire

The group's reaction to the startling news was much like that of the Strider brothers. Of all the things that they expected and prayed to God that they wouldn't hear, the thought of their young friend being, pregnant, wasn't at all what they had prepared themselves to hear.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Egbert broke the awkward silence bearing down in the room.

"Listen, I know it all sounds crazy, insane, but it's true. Dave's pregnant," Dirk said as calmly as he could.

"How, in the world could he possibly be pregnant?" Mr. Egbert continued, "Did they check for tumors or anything?!"

"They ran every test there was to run, they checked him for every disease under the sun. But everything, kept coming up the same, Dave is in his first trimester of pregnancy," Dirk announced.

"Dirk, man, are you sure you didn't fall and bang your head on the floor or something on the way back here?" Jake shook his head in disbelief, "There is no humanly possible way that Dave can be pregnant. Last time I checked, guys can't get pregnant."

Oh all the crazy and idiotic things that have come out of the mouth of Dirk Strider in the nearly 20 years that they have known each other, Jake was sure that this takes the cake.

"Look man, I know what I'm saying sounds borderlines insanity, and if the doctor didn't show me the results himself, I wouldn't believe it either. But when the done the MRI, they found a womb and a partial ovary connected to his, you know what, through a fallopian tube," Dirk tried to explain to the deeply confused group of people before him.

"The doctor that seen Dave was the doctor that treated Mama when she was pregnant with him. The doctor said that Mama had a rough first trimester, and said that they weren't able to determine Dave's sex until Mama was about 14 weeks along. Apparently, in a normal pregnancy, a baby develops their 'parts' from between 9 to 11 weeks. He said what he thinks happened was during those 9-11 weeks, so didn't go right and it took longer for Dave's, boy stuff, to grow and form like they should have. In the mean time, the delay allowed partial female organs to grow. Now by the time that Mama was 14 weeks along, Dave's boy parts had finally grown properly, but so had a womb and a partial ovary, that for some hellacious reason or another, got connect to his ass through a fallopian tube," Dirk bluntly continued.

Dirk took a moment to let all the information settle in their friend's heads. It all seemed so surreal, like the plot out of a crazy fiction story. But it was truth, and they say fact is stranger than fiction. But who knew it would be this strange?

Dirk was about to say something, but Mr. Egbert, Dad as Dave and Dirk has referred to him for many years beat him to it,

"Do you know who the baby's 'father' is?"

"It's Noir," John answered, "Jack Noir."

"Jack Noir? You mean the biggest and most vicious loan shark in the state of Texas, Jack Noir?" Mr. Egbert questioned his son being the only one still left in the dark about Dave's deal with Noir.

"What on earth was David doing with the likes of that man?"

"It was all my fault Dad," Dirk admitted, "I borrowed money from Noir to open up the club five years ago. When I couldn't pay him back, Dave went to go see Noir to see if he could work anything out with him. Noir told him that if he 'gave himself' to him, then he would seal the debt, and he done what he felt like he had to do. Dave told me that if he didn't do it then Noir would burn down the club, and he couldn't bare to see my greatest accomplishment go up in flames."

"Little did he know that my greatest accomplishment was raising such an awesome kid," Dirk felt his chest swell with pride as he told the group the of the sacrifice his little man made for his big bro.

Mr. Egbert felt a pride filled smile slowly appear on his face, "That was a very brave thing for David to do. I'm real proud of him son," Mr. Egbert said, addressing Dirk, "I'm sure you are too."

"Thanks Dad, that means alot. He will never know how proud of him I am," Dirk smiled with pride.

"So what are you two going to do when the baby's born, is he planning on keeping it or..."

"We talked about it and he said he's going to give it up for adoption," Dirk finished for Jane, who couldn't help but ask the obvious question.

"I wanted him to have an abortion, but he said he couldn't kill a child for being conceived the way it was. And then he went on to say what would Mama say if she say either of us killing her first grandchild," Dirk said as he quickly wiped the tear forming in his eye.

"She would kill both of you," Jane smiled.

When she was alive, Cynthia and she would get along real well. Cynthia would often refer to Jane as her daughter in-law; and Jane recalled this one occasion where Cynthia asked both of them how soon she could be expecting her first grandchild after they got married. It was horrifyingly funny to the two teenagers then, and down right hysterical now.

Jane almost felt disappointed that she wasn't going to be the one giving Cynthia her beloved first grandchild. But doesn't mean that she can't be there to help raise it, right? Who knows, maybe by the time the baby is born, Dave will decide to keep it; and she could help raise it, like Cynthia would want.

'What are you thinking Jane?' Jane mentally slapped herself in the face, 'This is Dave's baby, this is his choice! If he chooses to give it up, that is his decision, not yours.'

"Yeah, she would," Dirk said, smirking alittle at the thought of mother beating him senseless with a rolling pin for even considering the idea.

"Dirk, son, I want to let you know that I am here to help you and David anyway we can; and if either of you need anything, anything at all, please let me know," Mr. Egbert informed Dirk.

"Well all are," Jane finished as she made her way over toward Dirk and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a warm hug.

The rest following suit.

Dirk could only smile at the support his beloved family of friends offered.

"Thanks you guys, that means alot to us. We'll certainly need all the help we can get," Dirk thanked them and hugged each one in return.

"Did the doctor say when he's going to be released?" Mr. Egbert asked before gathering up the kids to get ready to go home.

"Yeah, he said they were just gonna keep him over night for observation. They should let him go sometime tomorrow," Dirk said, removing his hat and ran a hand through his matted hair before placing the cap back on his head.

"Good, if he feels like it tomorrow, you two come over and we can talk about whatever needs to be taken care of in the mean time," Mr. Egbert said.

"I guarantee ya we probably will," Dirk said, "And thank you, for everything you know."

"The pleasure is all mine son," Mr. Egbert smiled, "Come on John, Jade, we need to get going it is way past you two's bedtime."

"Dad, We are 15 years old, don't you think we're alittle too old for bedtimes?"

"And you will continue to have one until the day you step out of that door for good."

"Yes sir..." John sulked, defeated, while Jade giggled.

"Good night Dirk, we'll see you and David tomorrow," Mr. Egbert said before leaving for the night.

"Night Dad, see ya tomorrow," Dirk replied.

"I need ta get goin' Dirky, it's Friday night and there's a party in meh liquor cabinet that Imma missin' out on," Roxy stammered.

"Oh God," Rose shook her head, "Hey Mr. E! Can I stay with you guys tonight?" Rose ran to catch up with the three now in the lobby.

"Well of course you can Rose...", the now three remaining adults heard Mr. Egbert as Rose caught up with them.

"Well, I suppose I better drive Rox home before she wraps herself around a telephone pole," Jane shook her head.

Before she left she gave the two men left a hug, "By guys, I'll see y'all tomorrow. And Dirk you call me if you or Dave need anything, you got it?"

"Yes ma'am! See you tomorrow, Janey," Dirk said as Jane walked her friend out of the hospital to driver her home.

"So Dirk are you going to stay here the night or do you need me to drive you home," Jake asked.

"Nah, you go ahead man," Dirk said, concocting something in his head, "There's some loose ends, I gotta tie up."

Even though Jake couldn't read his best friend facial expression, he could still read him like a book.

In the 20 years that two had been friends, Jake had developed the sixth sense to tell when Dirk Strider was up to something. And right now, that sixth sense was ringing like the bells of Notre Dome.

"Dirk what are you up to?" Jake suspiciously asked, crossing his arms, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna go give Noir his final payment," Dirk said, walking out the of the hospital.

"Dirk! No Dirk! Nononononononono, please don't do this! Dirk listen to me, you do not want to do this!" Jake begged his friend as he tried to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life.

But to no avail, Dirk shrugged him off and walked passed him as if he hadn't has said a word.

Jake follows him to the sidewalk where Dirk flags down a near by cab, trying to talk at least one iota of sense into the man before he went off to seek vengeance on the man who impregnated his beloved baby brother.

"Dirk! For once in your life, will you stop and think before you act?!"

"Oh I put A LOT of thought into this."

Jake grabbed his arm as the cab approached, "What about Dave? What do you think he would do if something were to happen to you because of the stunt you are about to pull."

"He wouldn't be in the situation right now if it weren't for me!" Dirk growled at his friend, snatching his arm back as the cab pulled up.

As Dirk got in the cab, Jake offered him one final warning, "You're going to regret this Dirk, I can feel it."

"This is one encounter with Noir that I won't regret," Dirk said slamming the door to cab shut.

As Jake saw the cab drive off, he quietly whispered to himself, "God, be with that idiot."

On the other side of town, not far from a shady looking with the neon letters "Jack Black Loans" slowly going out; a man by the name of Noir with a shadier background than the building behind him unsuspectedly walks to his car after a long day of threatening to beat people's faces in if they didn't pay him what they owed.

While another man waits patiently by his soon to be victim's vehicle. Like an angry lion stalking it's prey, the blond haired man waited patiently for the right moment to pounce.

And there it was.

Just as Noir opened the door to his car, the Dirk ran and lunged at his victim.

Before he had time to react, the Dirk slammed the door on the man's head and threw him on the hood of his own car.

The pinned Noir stared into the lenses of all too familiar pointy sunglasses in front of two glowing orange eyes.

Any other man would be pleaded for his life at this moment; no, this one just smirked.

The man that gives the word 'black' a whole new meaning just snorted as he said, "So I take it you didn't like the little agreement I made with that hot piece of ass, huh?"

A very wrong choice of words to say to the man that literally held your life in his massive hands.

"You son of a bitch!" Dirk growled as the fury that pulsed threw his veins ignited.

Once he raised his fist to deliver his first blow, there was no stopping him until he was completed drained out.

The fierce beating the now exhausted blond haired and currently blood splattered man bestowed was nothing short of the word brutal.

Bones were broken, teeth were missing, joints severely dislocated, the shriveled up broken mess on the pavement was clinging onto to the very brink of consciousness.

Dirk had no intention of killing him, he just merely wanted to make Noir wish he had.

The pain was unbearable, excruciating; but with every stubborn ounce of will left in the man's broken body, he hung onto that tiny thread on consciousness.

Dirk, who had so fiercely unleashed every ounce of rage that was coursing through his blood, leaned down to give the man one last message.

"If you ever draw breath near my brother or his baby; the pain you are feeling now, will be nothing in comparison."

With that, Dirk let the man be as he absconded into the darkness, back to the place where he was needed the most.

In the darkened hospital room, Dave peacefully slept in his bed, with an arm protectively cast over his belly.

The boy slowly shifts in his sleep as he feels extra weight adding onto the bed and feels two strong arms wrap themselves around his small frame.

"Bro?" Dave mumbles in his sleep.

"Shhh, it's okay Little Man, Big Bro's right here and he won't let anything or anyone hurt you or the baby for as long as I live. I'm right here," Dirk protectively whispered as he rested his hand a bruised and bloodied hand on his baby brother's stomach.

Dirk, you dumb son of bastard, God I just love you so much!

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I really like those!:D