Chapter 18

Alicia prepared some tea for Hiro and his aunt. Jake was happily playing with Baymax at the dining table. They were upstairs of Aunt Cass's café. Alicia had decided to stay for the night. Jake hugged Baymax's right arm, laughing happily. Baymax turned to look at the baby.

"I'm really sorry, Baymax," the mother apologized.

"It is alright. A child his age should be active," the robot replied.

Alicia smiled and nodded. Aunt Cass came up stairs to take a rest. Hiro's friends were helping out at the café like always. She sat down opposite of Alicia as she watched the girl poured some tea for her.

"Here you go, Aunt Cass," the girl said.

"Alicia…" the aunt started. "Have you considered marrying Hiro?"

"Wha?" Alicia chuckled.

"Why not? He loves you, you love him. You two have a son now," Aunt Cass remarked.

The girl played with her tea, smiling. She was embarrassed that Hiro's aunt brought up the question. She wanted Hiro to ask her himself. Baymax observed her face with full of curiosity. He didn't understand what marriage is. Jake kept on hugging his arm. He turned to the boy, ignoring the two women discussing. He let Jake climbed onto his back.

"If he's going to ask, I would never say no. I truly love him, Aunt Cass. I endured the rehab for his sake," Alicia explained.

"I'm really glad. You're the only girl who could make him smile like how he is now," the aunt said, taking Alicia's right hand into her left one.

Alicia nodded and smiled. She gazed at Hiro's aunt. They didn't know Hiro had overheard them. He smiled when he heard what she had said. He went back to the café. Wasabi came up to him with an annoyed face.

"What's up?" he asked, confused.

The man pointed towards a table. There were two girls there. Hiro raised a brow. The two girls giggled happily.

"Those girls requested you to send them their orders. That's the fourth time today!" Wasabi complained.

Hiro chuckled nervously and said, "Sorry. They're always like that."

Honey approached them after serving another customer. She asked, "How is Alicia?"

"She's been doing great. Baymax and Aunt Cass are keeping her company. Jake is playing with Baymax as well," the boy replied.

Hiro took the girls' orders and went to deliver them. The two girls squealed when they saw him up close. He forced a friendly smile. They pulled him to sit with them. The boy sighed. He caught sight of Baymax coming down the stairs. The robot was searching for Hiro. Jake was hugging on his back, riding him happily. The baby laughed and caught the attention of a few senior customers. Baymax came up to Hiro.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I need to recharge. Please take Jake," Baymax explained.

"I left your charger in the garage. Fred is there right now," the black haired explained, taking Jake into his arms.

Jake hugged him lovingly. He sucked on his right thumb as he watched Baymax heading to the garage. The two girls looked disgusted. They didn't like how Jake was clinging onto their Hiro.

"How shameful of her," he one beside Hiro said.

"Yeah! Forcing you into beliveing that this is your baby," the one in front of him said.

"This is our baby. I've never touched any other girl besides her," Hiro mumbled.

He kissed the boy's forehead. Jake pressed his right hand on his father's cheek. He cooed, trying to say something. The girls snorted.

"Urgh...he's just like his mother!" the one beside Hiro excliamed.

Coincedently, Alicia was at the counter. She heard them groaned and growled at her baby. The girl beside Hiro pushed the boy's hand away form his father's face. She looked annoyed and angry. Alicia sighed. She walked up to them, keeping her cool. They stared when they saw her. She smiled sweetly to them.

"I'll put our baby to sleep," she said in an attempt to make the two jealous.

"Sure... I'll be right up by your side," Hiro winked and chuckled.

Jake stuck his tongue at the girls before clinging onto his mother. Alicia smiled again and walked away. Hiro sighed, relieved that they didn't start a fight. The girls huffed angrily. The boy stood up to head to his room. The girls pulled his arms.

"Are you going to her side?" the one beside him asked.

"You shouldn't be mingling with her too much!" the other said.

Aunt Cass came up to them when she saw his situation. Alicia was surruonded by a few elderlies who wished to see her baby. They cooed and chuckled at how frightened Jake was. The boy kept his grip tight on his mother. He looked as if he would cry but his mother was trying her best to calm him.

"Hiro, go to your fiancee's side," she said to her nephew.

"Fiancee?!" the girls exclaimed in disbelief.

Hiro saw his aunt winked at him. He giggled to himself, nodded and walked up to where Alicia was. He greeted the elderlies and introduced Alicia and the baby to them. They remarked at what a beauty she was. She blushed and thanked them. Feeling a few cold stabs on her back, she decided to excuse herself. She knew that most of the customers were still uncomfortable with her around. She went upstairs to Hiro's room. Tadashi's part of the bedroom was turned into Jake's personal spot. It was decorated with toys made by Hiro, his team and Kate. Jake urged his mother to his bed.

"Is he asleep?" Hiro's voice was heard.

"No. He's playing with the mini Baymax," she replied, turning to him, "It's very thoughtful of you to turn this part into Jake's bedroom."

Smiling, he replied, "Yeah, well, I know Tadashi would want me to move on as well..."

He stood beside his wife. She rested her head on his side. He placed a hand on her shoulder. Her cologne was mesmerizing.

"Let's go out tomorrow," he suddenly said.

"Huh?" she as confused.

"We can take Jake around town and buy him new clothes. We can watch a movie, eat at your favorite restaurant," he said rather enthusiastically.

Alicia smiled and nodded. "I'm sure Jake would love that, but will Aunt Cass be okay?"

"I'll talk to her first," Hiro replied.

He kissed her head and rushed back down to the cafe. Alicia gazed at her son who was busy talking to the mini version of Baymax. It was made for him only, by Hiro. Alicia sat down beside him. He immediately climbed onto her lap.

Alicia put on her finest dress and got Jake ready as well. Aunt Cass had agreed to let Hiro off that day to take his soon-to-be family out. Hiro was waiting for her at her door with her father. She gulped when she saw the two together. Mr Koizumi smiled at his daughter. She smiled back. She hid behind Hiro, confusing the guy. Jake was even more confused when his mother's face turned beat red.

"Be sure to look after her, Hiro," Mr Koizumi reminded him.

"I will," Hiro replied.

He turned to his daughter next and said, "Be alert at all times, Alicia."

She nodded once. Mr Koizumi sighed. Kate suddenly came out from the living room, insisting that Jake should stay home. Alicia shook her head rapidly, holding her baby tighter. Hiro chuckled at the sight. She was very overprotective of her baby. They said goodbye and headed off.

"Sorry you have to wait for a week to go on this date," Hiro apologized.

"I don't blame you. The cafe is always busy," she replied with a smile.

Hiro brought her to his car. She was amazed that he even owned a car. Baymax's suitcase was in there too. Alicia had an idea of what Hiro had in mind. She placed Jake on the babyseat Hiro had gotten for him.

"So, where are we headed?" she asked him.

"I thought we could have lunch and I'll treat you to a movie," Hiro said.

"I like that. We can shop for Jake's clothes after that..." she muttered.

Her boyfriend nodded to her words. They arrived at Alicia's favourite restaurant. She picked Jake up into her arms. They entered and all eyes were on them in an instant. Alicia let out a nervous chuckle. Hiro gestured her to their booked table. He already asked for a babyseat, so Jake was seated there. They ordered their food.

Placing a hand on Alicia's, he said, "Don't mind them. They're just jealous that you're on a date with me."

Alicia giggled when he winked. She nodded, reassuring him that she was fine. She ordered some food for Jake was well.

"I've designed a suit for Jake," Hiro suddenly said.

"What for?" she asked, worried.

"If you let me take him for a fly..." he drawled.

Alicia sighed, replying, "If you really want to."

They ate quietly after that, taking turn to feed Jake. The baby giggled happily. Alicia smiled at her son. She loved him so much. Hiro gazed at his beloved. He was glad that she was fine and that she survived the therapy session. As they were busy talking about what to watch, the young man felt a stab on his back. He cooled down, acted calm but was on full alert. He placed a hand on Alicia's left one. She glanced up at him confusedly.

"Eat up. I knoe what we're going to watch," he said.

She nodded without showering him with questions. He paid for the meal and got the car ready. They were off to the cinema. They decided to watch a Barney and Friends movie. Jake sat on Hiro's lap, clapping happily at the purple dinasour. His father patted his head once in a while to calm his excitement. Alicia rested her head on his shoulder. He kissed her head, cherishing her scent.

"The movie was great. Jake loved it," Alicia remarked.

"I know but he's asleep. We have to get going back," Hiro replied.

"I guess. I need to go to the ladies' first," she said, placing Jake into Hiro's hold.

Hiro sat down on a bench to wait for her. He stared at his sleeping son, thinking how much he resembled his mother's sleeping face. Three men suddenly surrounded him. Hiro sighed, keeping his hold on his son tighter. He glared at the men.

"We need you to cooperate," one of them said.

"What do you mean?" Hiro demanded.

Alicia's scream were heard. The shopping mall was in chaos in less than a second. The man who was standing in front of Hiro punched him in the gut. Hiro gasped but his grip on Jake was still firm. He fell to his knees. A kick landed on his face. Jake woke up and started crying. His father tried to sooth him and told him to hold on tight.

"Hiro!" a scream was heard.

The woman he loved was forcefully dragged out of the toilet. A chop landed on the back of Hiro's neck. He cringed, keeping his hold on Jake. He wanted to go after her but he could barely stand up.

"Hiro!" Alicia cried.

"Ali..cia..." Hiro muttered.

"He's holding the kid too tight. We can't get him," a man reported.

"We have the mother. We can get the baby anytime," another one said.

They left Hiro before he could do anything. Hiro got himself up to his knees. He staggered to his car. After activating Baymax, he told the robot to take Jake and head back to the cafe to get help. He rushed to follow the men and Alicia.

"Let go!" Alicia shouted and thrashed about.

"We won't hesitate to hurt you," the man holding her warned.

She kept still, trembling. They shoved her into a van. Someone was sitting beside her. She turned and was surprised to see who it was.

"You're one of the girls from before...!" she exclaimed.

"So you knew. The name's Samantha," the girl said, flipping her dark red hair.

Alicia froze, still in shock. She could not believe that the girl would go as far as kidnapping her. Samantha smirked at Alicia. She knew that the young lady was shocked to see her.

Hey, guys! Sorry for the long wait again. So I thought of one last challenge for them before they can be a happy family~

Stay tuned and enjoy! - (12/7/2017)