A/N: I almost forgot to post this chapter today. I went to a Celtic Thunder concert in Jacksonville last night and oh my gosh! It was amazing! Especially the after-concert meet and greet. I got pictures and won a pair of Celtic Thunder sunglasses in a 20 Questions game! It was so awesome. And I didn't get back home until almost one in the morning. So yeah, I'm dragging a little bit today. But I still remembered the chapter!
Disclaimer: I hugged Damian McGinty! And he gave me hints to win the sunglasses!
"Hey, Piper," Priestly called softly while Ezra was out of the room answering a phone call. "You got the design all planned out for the baby's room?"
"Yeah," the artist whispered back. "And I've already gotten started on supplies. Paint won't be difficult to get since I already have a ton of that. All I'd really need to get is the primer and base color. I have pretty much everything else."
"Let's go to the art store tomorrow morning and get that," suggested Priestly. "That way you'll already have it when Ziggy heads back to Jamaica."
"Alright, sounds good," Piper agreed. Just then, Ezra came running back from the office, looking anxious. "Whoa, Ez, you okay?"
"What's going on?" asked Priestly.
"I just got a call from my buddy Josh," Ezra began. "He's also part of the team helping take care of Aaliyah. He said that those Braxton Hicks things, whatever they are, have gotten stronger, and the midwife says she could go into labor any day. So I've gotta go back to Jamaica a little sooner than planned."
"Oh wow," the other two gasped as Tish's jaw dropped. "Have you already booked your flight?" asked Priestly.
Ezra shook his head. "Not yet. I was thinking I wouldn't need to leave until the first week of July, not the third week of June."
"Yeah, babies do that," Piper commented knowingly.
"So I was wondering, Bo," Ezra paused nervously. "Um, would you go back to Jamaica with me?"
"Absolutely," Priestly agreed. Ezra sighed in relief. "When you planning on leaving?"
"I was going to book the earliest flight as soon as I got home tonight," said Ezra.
"Well, maybe when Jen gets back from the supply run, she can help you look online. Jen's good with computers, so she'd probably be able to find a good deal."
"A good deal on what?" Jen interrupted Priestly as the door shut behind her.
"I have to go back to Jamaica a little earlier than planned," Ezra explained again. "We think the baby might be coming sooner than expected."
"Oh wow. Yeah, of course I'll help you find a flight," Jen agreed.
"And, Jen." Ezra caught her arm as she was rounding the counter to her seat at the computer. "I already asked Bo, and he agreed. But will you come with us? I know I'm gonna be a wreck, even with Bo there to help me keep it together."
"Yeah, of course I will," Jen promised. She put a hand on her boyfriend's cheek to help him calm down. "Everything's fine, Ez. Take a deep breath." Ezra did as told and let it back out slowly. "We still have a little time before the baby's born, so don't start freaking out just yet."
"Right," breathed Ezra. "You do have a passport, right?"
"Yeah, I got one when I took a trip to England with my family."
"Okay, good. And I know you have one, Bo."
"Yep, from that trip we took to Mexico," Priestly remembered.
"What's going on?" asked Trucker as he came in from a morning of surfing.
"Ezra's baby's coming a little earlier than expected," Piper explained.
"Is that even normal?" Ezra asked nervously. "I mean, everyone was guessing the baby would be here around mid July. That's still two weeks away. Is that even safe?"
"Zig, calm down," Priestly tried to reassure his cousin. "I'm sure the baby'll be just fine. And you said yourself that this isn't an exact science and that mid July was just a guess."
"Yeah, I know I said that," said Ezra. "But that was before I found out that my baby would be coming two weeks early. Will he be okay, or will there be some kind of birth defects or something because he came early?"
"Ezra," Tish said calmly.
"And if he does end up having some kind of problems from being born early, what if I don't know how to take care of him?" Ezra continued, not realizing Tish had spoken. "I'd have to do research, and there'd be doctors and medical bills and all kinds of other things."
"Ezra," Tish repeated. Her tone wasn't quite as calm as before.
"I might even have to get another job to help pay for bills and medicine and treatments. What if I can't afford that kind of thing?" By now, Ezra wasn't ranting anymore. He was in a full blown panic and was starting to hyperventilate. "How am I supposed to do all this by myself?"
Ezra's ramblings were interrupted by a resounding smack, which rang out as the rest of the room fell silent. All eyes shot to find the source of the slap and saw a determined Tish standing in front of a stunned Ezra, who had a red handprint blooming across his cheek.
"Feel better now?" asked Tish, once again calm and relaxed as she'd been before Ezra started his rant.
"Y-yeah," stammered Ezra. He brought a hand to his stinging cheek as he came back to reality. "Thanks."
Tish beamed at her boyfriend's cousin, pleased with herself. "Anytime." It took a couple minutes for everyone to process what had happened. Priestly was the first one to recover.
"Remember what you said when you first told me about the baby?" the colorful man asked his dreadlocked cousin. "You said you came here to Santa Cruz because you knew you'd need my help with the baby once it's born. Right?" Ezra nodded, barely meeting the older man's eyes. "And I said I'd be there to help out with my new niece or nephew? Well that also goes for everyone else in here as well." Tentatively, Ezra looked around at all the faces around him. Every one of them was smiling. "We all care about you, man."
Tears stung Ezra's eyes. "Thanks, guys," he whispered, voice choked. "That means a lot."
"Anytime, Ez," said Piper. "And if it makes you feel any better, my daughter was born three weeks early, and she turned out fine."
"Really?" asked Ezra hopefully.
"Yep," Piper nodded.
"I was born almost four weeks early," added Tish.
"You've got nothing to worry about, Ez," Jen assured him.
"And even if you did, you'd have all of us here to back you up," Priestly promised his cousin. "So calm down and get on that computer with Jen and buy our tickets."
It took a little while to find the right flight for the three of them and figure out how long they should stay in Jamaica after the baby was born. Ezra volunteered to pay for all three flights using the fund he'd set up years ago to pay for his mission trips. Jen tried to pay for her own flight, but Ezra insisted since that's what the money was meant for anyway.
Piper suggested they stay for three weeks. That way, the baby would have time to get to know Ezra until he was old enough to travel. Jen was able to get three seats on the soonest flight, which was two days away. That gave the three of them plenty of time to pack their bags.
As he was packing, Priestly pulled a key off his key chain and handed it to Tish. "Here's my key to Ziggy's apartment," he told her. Then, he took a wad of cash out of his wallet. "And give this to Piper to buy stuff to decorate the nursery. Since I won't be here to go to the store with her, just give her this. It's $100. Hopefully, it'll be enough."
"It'll get a lot, for sure," Tish agreed. She tucked the key and money in her pocket. "I'm gonna miss you."
Priestly looked up and gave his girlfriend a tender smile. "You'll barely even notice I'm gone," he said as he pulled her close. Their lips met in a kiss, both of them savoring the presence of the other before their soon coming separation.
"Well, don't worry about anything here," Tish said as they parted. "I'll take care of both your places. And Piper said she'd take care of Jen's place. You and Jen just focus on keeping Ezra sane."
"Jen and I have the easy job," Priestly pointed out. "Zig's the one that's getting his life turned upside down."
"That's why I said you need to keep him sane," Tish said with a roll of her eyes. "Just make sure you bring him back in one piece."
"Yes, ma'am." Priestly gave his girlfriend one more kiss. "I love you, Tish."
"I love you, too, Priestly. Now, get going. Bring me back my niece."
"Or nephew," laughed Priestly as he walked out the door.
A/N: Poor Ezra nearly had a fit. Don't forget to leave me a review. Reviews are love!