Who's the father?

This chapter has been prompted by Cookie-Monster with the request Sinead is pregnant again but after spending the night with Robbie, who's the father, Robbie or Freddie?

She had been drunk. Drunk and convinced that Freddie was running behind her back with Lindsey of all people. If it had been under normal circumstances she'd never have gone near him, she'd never cheat on Freddie if she had a clear head, but she'd been drunk and her head was anything but clear.

Even as she kept telling herself all this, Sinead still felt sick to the stomach, absolutely disgusted with herself and what she had done, because in just over two days she was going to get married to Freddie Roscoe, the man she loved more than anything else and she had betrayed him in the worst way there was, by spending the night in bed with his brother of all people.

God, she was going to hell.

This thinking was only reconfirmed hours before the wedding when Freddie came charging into the former student flat, ranting and raving about Sinead's betrayal. She had thought that had been it, had thought it was all over, but by some miracle, some twist of fate, Freddie hadn't left her, and the wedding still went on.

He'd promised to talk about her betrayal in more depth after they'd exchanged their vows, but then Joe had been kidnapped and killed, and in the midst of all the lies and tears, Sinead's deed had been all but forgotten.

And the now newest member of the Roscoe clan knew it was for the best, she had been given a second chance, and she wasn't going to give it up.

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Sinead had had her suspicions the very first day she'd had to go running to the toilet to throw up, though they were only confirmed when she then went on to miss her period. Without taking any tests, Sinead knew she was pregnant. She was going to have a family with Freddie, Katy was going

to have a little sister or brother, and maybe things in her life would start going right once more.

She did the test of course, running to Freddie with a huge smile on her face when what she knew to be true was only confirmed. It was the first time Freddie had smiled in weeks, and Sinead couldn't help the slight feeling of pride that arrived at knowing she had put the smile there, not Lindsey but her. Because Freddie loved her, he wanted a baby with her, a proper family, with her.

But she was Sinead O'Connor, and if there was one thing she had learnt over the 19 years she had been alive for, it was that when anything was going even slightly well in her life, something would come along to ruin it, pulling her feet from out underneath and completely destroying any happiness she ever felt.

Her and Freddie had been at the Roscoe's family home, having dinner all together and sharing the news of the child they'd be having. It was a good afternoon, even Sandy looked pleased at the idea of having a grandchild related to Sinead, and the young Scouse girl couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"I'm just going to the loo, won't be a sec," she muttered to Freddie as Jason regaled Sandy with a story from something that had happened at school earlier that week. Lost in her thoughts about how she may actually fit in with the Roscoe's better than she'd originally thought, Sinead almost jumped out of her skin when she was stopped from leaving the bathroom from Robbie, the younger lad looking furious.

"Wh- what are you doing here Rob?" she asked, trying to keep her cool, though the cold look in the younger teen's look was so unnerving it was near impossible.

"Just thought I'd congratulate you on your good news. A baby Sinead, wow, that's really something, you're getting that family you always dreamed, you and Freddie must be so excited."

"We are, now if you'll excuse me, I best get back before anyone misses me," she had never used to be so uneasy around Robbie, they had a good friendly relationship and rapport with one another, but ever since their night together, all Sinead could feel was guilt when she was near him, he was the constant reminder of her betrayal to Freddie, the man she loved, the one who she was going to spend the rest of her life with.

"How far along are you?" Robbie asked as Sinead went to leave, shrugging with an annoying air of pure casualness when she turned to face him.

"About 10 weeks according to the Doctor, why?"

"So how can you be sure that the baby's even Freddie's?" Robbie muttered into Sinead's ear, causing the young Scouser to stiffen as the realisation hit her. "I'd think about it long and hard if I were you, because if that baby's mine I will know, and I won't be keeping my mouth shut about it either."

But Sinead was no longer listening, she paid Robbie no mind when he walked away, too caught up in her panic to be able to pay attention to what was going on around her. How had she not realised sooner? How could she have been so blind? And whilst there was less chance that Robbie was the father of her unborn child, Sinead knew that with her luck, it would probably be the outcome.

And even if it wasn't, the young Roscoe didn't seem to be willing to keep quiet, meaning no matter what, Freddie would find out, and if she wanted to keep her marriage, Sinead knew that she'd have to be the one to tell him, no matter how difficult it was.

Taking a breath to try and keep her composure, Sinead promised herself that she'd tell Freddie when they got back home, after all there was no point in ruining his day and causing even more drama in the Roscoe family, she was already enough of a homewrecker as it was.

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"Can we talk Freds," Sinead asked, wringing her hands as she took in the relaxed composure of her husband as he sprawled across the sofa. Ever since Joe's death he hadn't been the same, but as each day passed, Sinead saw Freddie opening up more and more, relaxing that little bit extra around her, and it broke her heart knowing that she was going to ruin all of that. But she had to tell him, because she knew if she left it any later, it would only hurt more.

"Course we can babes," Freddie said, turning to face the red-head and not picking up on Sinead's dour tone. "What's up?"

"It's about the baby," Sinead whispered, blinking back tears as she tried to think of her next words.

"What? What's wrong? Do you need to go to hospital?" Freddie asked frantically, up like a shot and already reaching for his car keys.

"The baby's fine, calm down," Sinead said with a smile as comforting as she could make it, wishing she could have started the subject a lot better than she had done. "It's just... I was talking to Robbie when we were at your mum's earlier and he said something... something which made me realise that this baby may not be yours."

"Wha- what are you saying?" Freddie asked, his tone instantly turning cold, hoping against hope that Sinead wouldn't say what he thought she was going to.

"I was looking at the dates and I realised, that, well I was with Robbie ten weeks ago too, meaning he could be the baby's dad."

Freddie didn't say anything for a moment and Sinead knew better than to push him, despite how much she wanted him to say something to her, to rid the awful silence that had fallen over the house.

"Does Rob, does he know about this?" Freddie eventually asked, unable to look to Sinead for her answer.

"He was the one who told me," Sinead admitted, knowing that for a second Freddie had had the same idea as she'd had. That they could pretend that there was no way Robbie could possibly be the father of the baby. That they could bury their heads in the sand until the problem was long gone and forgotten, but the couple knew Robbie would come looking for answers and he wouldn't rest till he had them. They had to acknowledge Robbie could easily be the baby's dad, no matter how difficult that seemed to be. "Look Freddie-"

"Can you not," Freddie interrupted, his voice soft, looking away from his wife, the recent news leaving his head spinning. "I just.. I need some time alone."
"Right... yeah of course," Sinead said after a moment, knowing in that moment it was best not to push Freddie, he'd come to her when he was ready.

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"Well this is fun," Robbie said dryly as he pretended to check for some dirt under his nails. He, Freddie and Sinead were all seated in the small hospital room, readying themselves for the first scan. It had been less than a week since Robbie had worked out he may be the father of newest Roscoe family member and to say the atmosphere had been a little tense since then was an understatement.

Freddie point blank refused to even step foot into the family home when he knew Robbie was in, only coming round when Sinead convinced him that they needed to tell the others about the baby's possible parentage. If the redhead could have had her way she wouldn't have told anyone, but at the same time, she knew if she kept quiet about this, it would only come back round ten times worse. She'd already experienced that one too many times.

Robbie was also being a considerable pain in the arse. Sinead had hoped he would deny any and all chances of him becoming a dad, eager to shy away from the possible responsibilities (which both Sinead and Freddie had practically wished for), but instead, the teen was eager to be involved, jumping at the chance to go to the first scan, which lead the three Roscoe's to their current situation.

Freddie looked ready to make a comment at what Robbie had said, though before he could say anything the nurse had whisked into the room, a file placed under her arm.

"Sorry I'm late," she said breezily, greeting the three with a sunny smile and seeming unfazed by the fact there was one too many people in the room. "Now Mrs Roscoe, if you'd just like to lie on the bench, we can see your baby."

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Robbie couldn't believe it. In his hands he was holding a photo of what could potentially be his baby. Ever since Sinead had announced that she was pregnant his head had been in a total spin, he didn't know which way was up and which was down anymore.

The teen remembered when Sandy had learnt that the baby may or may not be his, she'd sat him down for a little chat in the hopes of helping him out, Robbie didn't like to admit it had done nothing but made him even more confused.

Because it had made him realise that he had no idea if he wanted this child to be his or not. Robbie knew what the answer was meant to be, he knew that he was expected to hope it was Freddie's baby and part of him did. After all, Freddie and Sinead were together, in theory they'd be able to raise this baby right and in a loving environment, something he wouldn't be able to provide.

He wasn't even the right age to be having a kid. He was just one himself, how was he expected to be able to raise a child?

But there was part of him, a tiny, but oh so audible part of him that wanted nothing more than for this baby to be his. He wanted to be able to love and cherish this child, to call it his own and push Freddie to the wayside, no matter how stupid it seemed to be.

And Robbie doubted those feelings wouldn't fade till he found out who this baby's real Dad was, and that wasn't going to be after it was born. Oh brother, he was screwed.

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A boy. Sinead, his beautiful wife was going to have a baby boy. If it had been any other situation, any other day Freddie would have been so happy he could have cried. But there was no way he could be sure this baby was actually his, he may not be about to father a baby boy but rather become an uncle to him instead. That made Freddie want to cry again, though for a completely different reason.

And if this baby did turn out to be Robbie's, Freddie had no idea where that would leave him. Would he even have a part to play? He wasn't sure he wanted to, because being anything but a father would just hurt too much.

"Babe?" the soft scouse tone of Sinead hit his ears, and Freddie took a steadying breath before turning to face her. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Freddie replied, knowing that Sinead had seen through his lie as soon as it had left his mouth. "It's just... this whole baby thing, it's screwing with my mind."

"I think it's doing that for everyone," Sinead admitted with a small smile, moving so she was seated next to him. "Is this about the scan today?"

"I just keep thinking about how this baby may not even be mine, and I don't know I could handle that. I already love him so much, and thinking about not being able to be a dad to him is killing me Shey," Freddie said after a moment of silence, ultimately coming to the decision that Sinead needed to know what was bothering him.

"You have nothing to worry about Freddie. Even if you don't turn out to be this baby's biological father, you'll still be a dad to him, just like you are to Katy. That is just a piece of paper and it means nothing okay? If Robbie is serious about being part of the baby's life like he says he is, then that's fine, but that doesn't mean I'm kicking you to the kerb, because I love you Freddie Roscoe. And you are going to be an amazing dad to my child, no matter if you're the father or not."

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The hospital room stank of lavender. Sinead knew it was meant to help keep her calm so she would be less likely to focus on the pain, but all it was succeeding in doing was making her want to puke.

"Ah," she winced as another contraction shot through her, trying to breath through the pain.

"Are you okay?" Freddie asked, jumping to the younger girl's side and smoothing down her wild and slightly sweaty hair.

"Of course I'm not okay, I'm having to push a person through my-"

"Okay then!" Robbie shot in, wincing as Sinead dug her nails into his arm. The former schoolboy wouldn't be surprised if she had managed to draw blood.

"I swear to God, I'm going to kill the one who's made me like this," Sinead gasped, trying to not scream as another shot of pain hit her. "Or better yet, I'll just do you both in and be done with it."

"You've got a right catch here Freds," Robbie smirked, instantly regretting it when Sinead smacked him, so hard he was almost winded.

"Shut up Robbie!" Sinead yelled, so loud that the others who were all waiting out in the ward could hear her shriek, wincing at her tone.

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He was absolutely gorgeous, Robbie couldn't help but think as he held the newborn close. For just a minute he thought what it would be like for him to be this baby's father, and he physically ached at the thought, because he had no idea what he'd do if he wasn't. He was only 30 minutes old and already Robbie was smitten. But that dream, well the dream could all be over in a weeks time when the results came through.

"I know how much you want to be part of his life," Sinead said softly. It was only her and Robbie in the small room at the moment, with Freddie having left to tell the others the good news. She hadn't said anything as she watched him interact with the babe, but seeing the heartbroken look on his face made it impossible for her. "And you will be."

"Not if I'm not the Dad, hell even then," Robbie snorted with derision.

"Even if you're not the Dad I wouldn't try to separate you from him now. You've had plenty of time to run away Robbie and you haven't once, and I can see how much you love him. It's why I still want you to be part of his life no matter what, you deserve this and so does he."

Robbie didn't say anything for a moment, he didn't know what to reply with, too shocked to even begin thinking of a suitable response.

"Sinead- I.. I," he started, fully aware he sounded like a gibbering idiot.

"You don't have to say anything," the young woman cut in softly, the look on his face showing just how grateful he was. "You just have to be okay to do this, and I know you will. Because you love him just as parent does, and that's all that matters."

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With shaking hands, Sinead tore open the brown envelope, pulling out the official document without tearing it too. On either side of the couch sat Freddie and Robbie, both looking tense and pale, fully aware that what information was on that one piece of paper had the potential to change their lives forever.

"So? Who is it?" Freddie asked after almost thirty seconds of silence passed, Sinead frantically reading through the paper.

"You. It's you Freddie, you're the dad," Sinead said with a teary smile, whooping as her husband jumped off the sofa and picked her up, swinging her around the room with a huge smile on his face.

Robbie didn't say anything as he watched the happy couple, didn't think he could if he even wanted to. Because despite knowing that it was for the best that he wasn't the father, Robbie's heart was still breaking.

"I was serious you know," Sinead's voice broke the young Roscoe out of his stupor, and he couldn't help but show the confusion he was currently feeling. "About you having a lot to do with the baby, that is if you want."

"Of course I want to," Robbie admitted with a smile, for once not caring about keeping up a cool and hard facade, it had been a long day, hell it had been a long nine months and he was too exhausted to keep up pretences.

"We were hoping you'd say that," Freddie took over, placing a hand on the small of Sinead's back as the couple shared a look that only filled Robbie with nerves. "Because we were thinking, and well we'd love if you could be the baby's godfather. That way you have all rights to him if anything happens to me and Sinead, and you'll be proper part of his life regardless."

"Are you serious?" Robbie asked, not daring to believe what he was hearing, because he knew if he did, it would just hurt even more if it all came crashing down.

"Of course we're serious," Sinead laughed, pulling her brother-in-law into a tight hug, hoping to calm his obvious nerves. "That is if you are? So, what do you say?"

So what decision do you think Robbie would have made? ;)

It seems like every other chapter I'm thanking you all for you kind words, but last chapter I reached a milestone of passing 700 reviews, so thank you all so much!

Next Chapter - After celebrating his daughter's second birthday, Ziggy realises he wants another child with Ruby, so they can become a proper family – prompted by sdic