Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Reggie Taylor’s eyes shot open at the sound of his alarm going off. With a groan he rolled over to turn it off, somehow feeling even more exhausted than when he went to bed last night. He had a terrible night of sleep, thanks to a nightmare about accidentally leaving his soon-to-be-born newborn baby at the Orpheum after a Sunset Curve show. In the dream he had to race back to Hollywood from Los Feliz but kept getting lost, only to at last end up at his parents’ old house, where his father was screaming about how he knew Reggie wasn’t going to be able to take care of his own kid. The nightmare left him feeling shaky, and needless to say, he didn’t feel rested at all. When he looked over to see Flynn was already awake and on her phone, checking emails at 5AM, his heart sank as he realized she must have not slept well either.

“Morning, darling,” Reggie greeted, his voice groggy from sleep. He reached over, gently lowering her phone from her so she’d turn to look at him. Flynn looked completely drained. “Couldn’t sleep?”

She shook her head as he sat up, rubbing his hands against his eyes. Though dreams and nightmares about his unborn daughter weren’t uncommon, he hadn’t had a vivid nightmare about his father in a long time. It didn't exactly feel like his PTSD nightmares, which often made him wake up screaming and drenched in sweat, but he still didn't feel great about it.

“Stupid heartburn,” Flynn mumbled, rubbing at her chest. “Stupid restless legs. Stupid brain thinking of a million things I need to do before maternity leave at work. I finally gave up about 3AM. Turns out you can get a lot of work done if you start five hours early."

As soon as Reggie realized how uncomfortable Flynn had been all night, any residual nightmare-related anxiety fizzled away.

“You should have woken me up!” He whined. Leaning over, he planted a kiss to her shoulder, then her neck, then her cheek, then her lips. “Do you need anything? Water? Tea? Toast? Tums?”

His wife nodded over to her night stand, where she had her giant tumbler of water and the Tums bottle was already open.

“I’m fine,” she assured him with a tired smile. “It’s nothing new. I’m just glad at least one of us got so sleep. God I'd kill for my seven sodas right now."

“Yeah,” he managed, deciding to not tell her about his crazy baby dream. She was right, just that either of them was getting any sleep was important. “Just promise me you’ll try to nap later, okay? And you know Claire’s got everything covered at work so please stop triple checking everything. It's okay to be awake and not working, you know."

Flynn made a face before flickering her eyes back down to her phone. She worked in music business full time doing promotion work for bands. The nice thing was that Flynn was often able to work from home…the bad thing was that Flynn was a bad enough workaholic as it was before giving her the ability to work wherever she wanted.

“Yeah, Claire’s sweet, but she wouldn’t have exactly been my first choice to take over my clients,” Flynn admitted. “Girl really needs a step-by-step instruction manual, and Imma tryna make sure I think of everything so that I actually have clients left when I come back.”

“It will be fine,” Reggie insisted. He stole another kiss to her cheek and stole a moment to nuzzle against her, enjoying the silence before what would undoubtedly be a chaotic day at his own job. “Get some rest today, please?”

He captured her in one last kiss before leaning over to kiss the baby bump. “I love both of you.”

“I love you too,” Flynn smiled.

The clock for his own workday was ticking too, so Reggie wasted no more time in getting started on his morning routine. Usually, he lived for his routines and loved waking up early. His strict schedule and routine had worked wonders in helping his anxiety and PTSD over the past year, but per his therapist’s suggestion, he had already altered his routine in preparation for the chaos of having a newborn. Instead of jumping up and going for a run, doing yoga and journaling, Reggie went through his deep breathing routines while taking a hot shower. He kept a small journal with him and stole moments throughout the day- or to write song verses in (usually for his daughter). After showering, he shaved, styled his hair, pulled on his slacks and his favorite maroon dress shirt. Only somehow, his slacks were definitely tighter this morning. Smirking, he looked down at his slightly bloated belly and patted it.

“Ate too much,” he muttered to himself.

By 6AM sharp he was downstairs, where Ray was already making breakfast and Reggie’s dog Ren was dutifully waiting for scraps by the stove. As soon as the golden retriever saw he was up, she rushed over to Reggie, greeting him excitedly, and he instantly felt a lot better. It had been a couple of months since he and Flynn moved into the Molina house, thanks to Ray’s gracious offer for them to raise their baby here instead of in an apartment. It worked out for everyone, too. Stevie and Carlos were living in Flynn’s old apartment, while Julie and Luke had upgraded from their studio to moving into his and his brother’s old two-bedroom. His old room was now soundproofed and full of musical instruments.

“Morning, mijo,” Ray greeted with a smile. His smile quickly faltered. “You look tired, did you sleep okay?”

Reggie yawned on cue, unable to hide how tired he truly was.

“Just crazy dreams,” he replied, “but I don't think Flynn slept at all, can you check in on her later and try to get her to nap?"

“Of course,” Ray sighed, “I remember that stage well with Rose. Nothing helped her sleep, and her not sleeping stressed me out and then I didn’t sleep well.”

“So…this really is normal?” He asked hopefully.

 “Absolutamente!” Ray smiled. He dished some eggs onto a plate for him as Reggie poured himself a mug of coffee, and Ray quipped: “So, where did you leave the baby in this dream?”

Grimacing, Reggie confessed:

“The Orpheum. It always goes back to the stupid Orpheum.”

Placing the plate of eggs onto the counter for safe keeping, Ray turned to him and clasped his shoulders. He had this very dad way of making Reggie meet his eyes, studying him with concern his own father never had for him. He let out a long, low, breath, not letting himself remember how loudly his father was yelling in his nightmare.

“Reggie, everything’s going to go just fine with the baby,” Ray assured him calmly. “You're in the home stretch, it's only natural for both you and Flynn to have more anxiety right now. This is hard on Flynn right now because there’s nothing to do except wait for the baby to come and ride out all the final changes her body is going through. But you don't really have any clue what you should prepare yourself for, except for just what you've heard and read."

"Yeah," Reggie whispered. 

It felt like he had read every parenting book and website in the world. While it helped navigate pregnancy, he still didn't really feel like he had any clue what being an actual father was going to be like. Talking to Ray and Bobby, who had raised his five year old on his own most of her life, helped a lot, but he still just wouldn't know what it was like to be a dad until he was a dad...and it just didn't feel like there was room for trial and error here.

"When the baby does come sure, you’re going to be more exhausted than you’ve ever been in your life," Ray went on. "You're not going to know exactly what to do. No new parent is an expert, no matter how much they act like it. But you’re going to have a whole village of people helping you out. We’ll make sure the baby, you and Flynn are taken care of.”

Reggie attempted a grateful smile, but he couldn’t help the nerves that were eating his stomach alive. Logically, he knew Ray was right. This baby was going to have so much love in her life that she wouldn’t know what to do with it. He knew he wasn't alone. Still…he couldn’t help the nagging voice in his head trying to tell him he was going to screw this up.

“What if I do leave the baby somewhere?” Reggie blurted out. “What if I’m one of those parents that leaves their kid at the store like, right there in the cart! Or in the back of the car. Or at Disneyland or what if I lock myself out of the house with my kid inside, like my mom did with Stevie that time!”

“Woah woah woah,” Ray squeezed his shoulders, “breathe, mijo.” He made himself obey, letting out a few long breaths until he felt better. “That’s it. You’ve got this, Reggie. I have all the faith in the world in you that you’re going to be an amazing dad. And part of being a parent is knowing that yeah…sometimes you do make mistakes. Like the time I left Carlos at the mall.”

Reggie snorted, remembering; it was Ray’s favorite parenting flop story to bring up.

“Most of the time those mistakes are just stories that you laugh about later,” Ray continued. “You’ll get into your groove as a parent and learn as you go. All that's going to matter is that you love your daughter, you love Flynn and you're in this together. Your baby's going to know that. Your parental instincts will kick in and help you figure out the rest, I promise. And again- you're not going to be alone in this."

“Thanks Ray,” he sighed. This time, he managed a tired smile. “Sorry, I guess you’re right. I’m just a little extra anxious this week.”

Ray grinned at him.

“You have nothing to be sorry about, and you have every right to be extra anxious right now. Now eat, you can’t teach a hundred chaotic pre-teens on an empty stomach. Want some toast with those eggs?”

He nodded. Toast sounded like the perfect thing to help settle the tight pit of nerves in his stomach. Ray was right, of course he was going to be a bit more anxious this week- of all weeks in his life. That his father was in his dreams again didn’t mean anything. The only family that mattered had all the faith he’d be a good father, that was all he should care about.

“Toast would be great, thanks,” he replied. He looked down, admiring how he looked now fully dressed: his shirt was definitely fitting tighter than normal. “Hey…do you think I’ve been gaining weight?”

Bemused, Ray simply shoved the plate of eggs into his hands.

“One could only hope, mijo, you know you could stand to put on a little weight. But don’t worry, you’re about to burn it all off with stress.”

With a groan, Reggie made himself shove a forkful of eggs into his mouth, feeling a bit nauseous as he tried to not think about it.

The rest of the day, Reggie was on the struggle bus at school. Normally his job cheered him up, something he knew most people- including teachers- couldn’t say. But Reggie wasn’t just any teacher, he was a band director now. (Okay, so he was an assistant band director but still. ) It felt like he had the coolest job in the world. Seeing kids discover a love for music and helping them become better and more confident musicians was the best, most priceless experience in the world- and on top of that, he still got to teach some math classes too. Today though, he felt exhausted and unusually emotional. He felt especially proud when all of his students passed his midterm and on a whim, promised them a pizza party. When he caught an older student bullying a fifth grader he launched into a speech to the whole hallway about treating people with kindness. The video went trending on TikTok. By his seventh and eighth grade band class, he felt like everyone noticed that Mr. Taylor was acting Stranger Than Normal, and he was a little anxious about how he was going to make it through his favorite class of the day (with his most chaotic kids of the day).

“Yo Mr. T!” Isaiah called. The keyboardist was already waiting by the band room door with Ashton, his shyest and yet most vocally talented student. “Ash and I have been working on this duet for the dance, you gotta hear it! Can we play for you before class, please please please?”

Reggie let out a laugh, impressed by how enthusiastic Isaiah was before class even began while Ashton threw him an apologetic, this was his idea, kind of look.

“Sure!" He replied. He trying to stiffle a yawn, but his students noticed right away.

“Mr. T, you look tired,” Isaiah commented as Reggie opened up the band room and let the kids in. He yawned again as he turned on the lights and winced at the brightness. “I thought new parents were supposed to like, super catch up on sleep before the baby’s born.”

“Y-yeah,” Ashton stuttered. “You need all the sleep you can get, trust me. My baby brother cried like…c-constant.”

She immediately quieted, like she always did when she talked for more than a few words, and Reggie offered her a reassuring smile to show her he was grateful for the advice. 

“You could totally nap through class if you want,” Isaiah offered, “we won’t tell nobody.”

“I’m fine,” Reggie insisted. Even as he did a new wave of nausea hit him. He sat down casually in one of the chairs, trying to hide how bad he felt. “Now come on, I was promised a song. What ya got?”

Isaiah set up at the keyboard, with Ashton anxiously hovering beside him to sing along.

“We’ve been working on the spring dance set list for us band kids,” Isaiah explained. “Now you know me, I like the classics, and who’s more classic than Alicia Keys?”

“Okay…you know I’m all about the country, but I’ll take your word for it.”

“I’m right,” Isaiah replied sharply. “Anyway, this is what we got.”

The two of them sang a song Reggie did recognize, “If I Ain’t Got You”. Ashton sang it beautifully, with some impressive harmonizing by Isaiah. The two traded off verses and their voices soared as they sang the chorus with the passion of a couple who had been together for…a lot longer than a few months of middle school. Then Reggie's thoughts returned to his own daughter as he wondered what her voice would sound like, if she'd sing like her parents and would want to play music for him one day. 

“Mr. Taylor?” Ashton asked cautiously.

Reggie blinked, not realizing that he had actually gotten a bit teary eyed at the performance. Hearing his band kids play and sing was always touching, but he full on had actual tears in his eyes.

“Oh my god are you crying?!” Isaiah yelped, a goofy grin on his face as he held his hand to his heart. “Mr. T, we’re flattered!”

“It was just so beautiful,” Reggie choked back a sob.

He had no idea what even came over him, but suddenly he felt nothing but pride for these kids and how far they had come with the band program. He felt pride for himself. And he felt so beyond excited to raise his own kid and maybe even see her become a musician one day.

“Have your parents heard you sing that?” Reggie asked as he wiped at his eyes. “We gotta do a video! They’d be so proud.”

The two pre-teens practically leapt away from each other, nervously wringing their hands or rubbing their necks.

“Yeah…I uh…left something at my locker,” Isaiah blurted out. He was gone in two seconds, leaving Ashton awkwardly standing there, studying him with concern.

“Are you gonna be okay, Mr. T?” She asked.

Reggie nodded, sniffling.

“I’m totally fine! Perfectly peachy!”

Totally an emotional wreck was more like it.

It was going to be a long two weeks before the baby was born.

Chapter Text

A satisfied smile crossed Alex’s face as he perfected his drumkit setup in the studio. It had been ages since Sunset Curve last played together, and the band was getting ready to reunite for the first time since Bobby went off to tour the New York club scene. Luke was bouncing from foot to foot as he waited for Bobby to arrive, while Reggie was still in the studio bathroom. Willie was out with Flynn and Julie for a besties’ afternoon, getting Flynn’s nails done and pampering her as much as they could. Julie would be back later to be play some songs with the guys, but she had insisted they have some much-needed ‘bro time’. And truthfully, he couldn’t wait to play with the band again. Even though…

“I still can’t believe we’re playing a dance,” Alex mumbled. “I love Reggie’s students, but middle school dances just give me flashbacks to sad, closeted, Alex.”

With a sympathetic smile, Luke bounded over to grip his shoulder.

“Yeah, but now you’re ‘married to a super-hot dance teacher Alex’,” Luke reminded him, “and you know Reggie’s kids are so excited to see us play.”

Blushing, Alex had to admit, he was pretty excited at the thought of getting to re-do his and Willie’s famous wedding entrance mash-up.  

“Come on, I can’t wait anymore, I wanna run some of these riffs before Bobby gets here,” Luke announced, grabbing his guitar. “Reg, come on!”

There was an unmistakable sound of retching from the bathroom. “One second!” Reggie squeaked.

“You okay in there?” Alex called. He and Luke exchanged worried glances.

“Y-Yeah! Just give me a minute.”

“You sure, buddy?” Luke asked through the door.

“Yeah! It’s just, you know…peanut butter and pickles. Messes with the stomach, apparently.”

Luke mouthed to Alex ‘peanut butter and pickles?’ There was more retching, and they were both ready to burst through the door when Reggie insisted:

“All better! I swear!”

The sink turned on, signaling Reggie probably really wasn’t sick anymore. With a shrug, Luke returned his attention to his guitar, finding his chords and grinning as his trusty electric rang out in their old studio while Alex hovered by the door, just in case.

“You guys starting without me?”

“BOBBY!”

Alex’s heart leapt at Luke’s screeching, but he didn’t have a second to think before Reggie burst open the bathroom door, smacking him squarely with the door as the bassist rushed to join Luke in greeting their friend.

“Hey!” Alex whined, rubbing his shoulder.

“BOBBY!” Luke and Reggie cheered together, all grins as they hugged their friend so hard that Bobby stumbled to the ground. The three ended up in one big heap of a reunion, and, well, Alex never could resist a cuddle pile.

“Welcome back, Bobbers!” Alex grinned.

“Hey, Lex,” Bobby smiled.

They all stayed like that on the floor, holding onto each other, all smiles and giggles as they relished in the feeling of nostalgia that always came with everyone being back together…especially when everyone got to be back together here, in the studio.  

“How was New York, bro?” Luke asked. “Did you see John Lennon’s ghost?”

Bobby rolled his eyes as he ran a hand through his hair. A suitcase was on the floor beside him, along with his guitar case.

“No, Lucas, I did not see a dead Beatle,” Bobby snorted. “The tour was incredible, though, thanks for asking.”

“Mannnn, I know that! I follow you on Insta! Your tour clips rocked. And those videos of you singing to Carrie all around Central Park? So adorable!”

Reggie grabbed his friend’s attention this time. They all noticed how ghostly pale Reggie looked, and his forehead was a bit sweaty. His hands trembled as he held Bobby’s shoulders.

“Did you bring it?” Reggie demanded.

“Reg, are you feeling okay?” Bobby asked, studying Reggie with concern. Alex instinctively put a hand on his friend’s back to make sure he didn’t fall over; the bassist didn’t exactly look steady, even sitting down.

“He just threw up,” Alex informed him.

“Wait, seriously?!” Bobby asked.

“I’m fine!”

But Bobby was already in mom-friend mode, his eyes narrowing as he stepped up to study his friend. He held a hand up to Reggie’s forehead.

“You sure?” Bobby asked again, his voice soft. “Do you have any of Flynn's ginger chews on you? Alex, can you get him some water?”

Alex was already on it, grabbing some water from their trusty mini-fridge, which Julie had kept from the guys’ days of living in the studio.

Ignoring him, Reggie demanded again, shaking Bobby’s shoulders:

“Did. You. Bring. It?”

Bobby let out a dramatic sigh as he unzipped the suitcase he brought with him, revealing rows of carefully packed containers with authentic New York pizza slices in them.

“Dude, are you sure the greasiest pizza in the world is what you want to eat after being sick?” Bobby pointed out.

“The greasiest pizza in the world is the only thing in the world I want to eat right now.”

Licking his lips, Reggie looked like Christmas came early as he examined the pizza boxes and realized this was really happening. Then, without warning, Reggie’s eyes watered, and Alex thought he was going to lunge right for the pizza but instead he lunged at Bobby again, hugging him tight.

“Have I ever mentioned you’re my absolute bestest best friend?”

“Hey!” Luke and Alex shot.

“Have I ever told you that you’re my absolute bestest best friend?” Bobby replied, smirking at at Luke and Alex over Reggie’s shoulder.

Then Alex’s heart broke in two when he heard the soft sniffling sounds coming from Reggie. While Bobby gently disentangled himself from Reggie’s hug, Luke and Alex quickly moved beside him so they could get a good look at their friend. None of them ever wanted to be the reason that Reggie cried, but lately it seemed like the dad-to-be was constantly on the edge of a breakdown.

“Reg?” Alex helped Reggie sit back against the foot of the sofa. The guys quickly moved to sit with him, Alex and Luke wrapping an arm around him while Bobby sat in front, placing a supportive hand on his knee, his soft eyes studied Reggie with concern.

“Sorry,” Reggie trembled as he wiped at his tired, pale face. “I guess…I guess it just hit me. Everything’s about to change. I mean, we know that. But the baby could be born any day now, and e-everything’s going to be so different. This is the last time we’ll have all this in a long time.”

He waved around to the garage, and a pit fell in Alex’s stomach as he realized Reggie was right. This was their last big rehearsal before the school dance. He was already signed up to help Julie and Luke with a couple songs on their album, but aside from that, they had no plans as a band together in the near future. What if this was the true beginning of the end?

“That’s not true, Reg,” Luke insisted. “Remember, we were worried about that when the band first broke apart?”

“And then Bobby had a kid without telling us in Las Vegas,” Reggie pointed out. “And you met Julie and Alex met Willie and I went to college.”

“But we still found each other again!” Luke exclaimed. The two had run into each other in a laundromat, of all places, after not seeing each other for nearly two years. “Then we worried about the same thing happening again when we all got married and Bobby met Marcus-"

“And now Bobby’s on and off tour, you and Julie are going to start working on an actual album and once that takes off, you’ll be like…legit rockstars. And Alex, you and Willie…” Reggie stopped short, considering it. “Well, nothing big is happening in your life, but you guys have the studio! You guys have it made, you're like all set. You're practically an old marriage couple.”

Alex’s jaw fell open as he froze, realizing Reggie was right. He and Willie were in their second year of running their dance studio; most days simply consisted of keeping their business alive, and they were so exhausted when they came home, they just crashed on the couch and watched Netflix. Sure, Willie still had their skateboarding and their art, but they were basically settled down. He was twenty-four years old and his life was set. Reggie was starting a family, his friends were becoming famous and for him, an exciting day was having the energy to go to the beach in the morning. He and Willie were basically an old married couple.

“My life’s about to completely change,” Reggie went on, his eyes full of worry and fear. “I know you guys are always going to be there-“

“Of course we are, Reg,” Luke promised him, kissing his shoulder.

“But this could be the last time together like this,” Reggie said. They all huddled closer, clasping each other’s shoulders as they stole glances at each other. “It’s never going to be just us again, hanging out in here, eating pizza and rehearsing. And I know it’s selfish because Bobby’s already gone through this-"

“And that’s okay,” Bobby assured him. “It’s a huge adjustment, Reggie. I’m not gonna lie, it’s hard balancing the whole fatherhood thing and work thing and friendship thing. And I know I haven’t been around a lot lately-"

“I…I didn’t mean,” Reggie attempted, shaking his head feverishly, “you have every right to go after your dream, Bobbers. I’m proud of you. You’re like Super Dad, balancing it all.”

Bobby’s eyes brightened; clearly it was the first time anyone had ever called him a Super Dad, and his own heart melted on behalf of his friends.

“Thanks,” Bobby replied with a soft smile. “You’re going to be Super Dad too. I mean it when I say that when your kid’s born it’s like your whole life truly begins. You’re not even going to be thinking about us for awhile. But you’ll find your way, man, you and Flynn, and you know all of us are going to be right there with you. It will be different…”

“But different’s good sometimes,” Alex finished for him, “change is good.”

It was something they all knew he worked hard to accept himself; change had always terrified him. But after seeing himself fall in love, open his own business and get married, he’d gotten a serious confidence boost when it came to dealing with change. Maybe he was in some pretty deep denial over just how much things were about to change for their group, but maybe Luke was right and they were always meant to find each other.

“The universe seems pretty destined to keep us together,” Luke declared, like he’d read Alex’s thoughts. “Things might change, but it’s going to be for the best, man.  No matter what happens, it’s always going to come back to this. Let’s make this the best jam session yet!” He stuck his hand out. “Legends on three?”

Alex, Reggie and Bobby covered Luke’s hand with their own. “Legends!”

Flynn was trying to relax.         

She knew Julie and Willie meant well when they took her out for a bestie day to pamper her before the delivery, but honestly, Flynn wasn’t sure how she could ever feel pampered right now. Her feet were swollen, she constantly had to pee, just walking in from the parking lot made her short of breath, no position she sat in was comfortable, and she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open (she could not wait to indulge in all the caffeine again). But the other two were so excited to be out having one last spa day before the baby arrived that Flynn tried her best to be a good sport…and she had to admit, the prenatal massage felt amazing. Now they all gathered around the nail salon in the spa.

“What about this color for your mani?” Willie asked, holding up a bright yellow. They held up another orange color. “And this color for your toesies?”

“Love it!” She gushed. “And Jules, this rainbow pastel idea from pintrest would look amazing for your mani?”

“Those are gorgeous. Thanks bestie!”

“And Willie, this sparkling purple would look amaz-"

“Gimmie!”  

After leaving the spa, all three of them were more than ready for lunch. Nearly everything made her nauseous these days, but breakfast food was something she could almost always stomach, so she was grateful when they found a nearby restaurant with breakfast food on the menu all day. It was a cool day so they sat outside,. The fresh air felt amazing, butFlynn found it hard to focus. From her seat, she could see a woman holding a baby inside the restaurant while she tried to help her other kid and order food at the same time. Flynn smiled, knowing that really soon that would be her. Her hand fell on her belly as she imagined having a baby stroller beside her, trying to think of what her baby would look like staring up at her. She smiled, imagining Reggie sitting at a table with their baby though, making faces at their kid or making an ‘airplane’ with a tiny spoon to get their baby to eat.

“Flynn?” Julie called.

Shaking herself out of it, Flynn looked back to her friends.

“Hey, sorry,” she attempted. “I was just distracted.”

“You saw the cute baby inside, didn’t you?” Willie teased, wiggling their eyebrows.

“Yeah…” she sighed dreamily, gazing down at her bump. “I’m just really ready to be a mom.”

Julie and Willie both reached for one of her hands, both of them grinning ear to ear.

“I’m so ready for you to be a mom too!” Julie gushed. “I can’t wait until Georgie gets to tag along with us.”

“Yeah!” Willie cheered in agreement. “But are you sure there’s nothing we can get you?”

“I’m fine!” Flynn promised. “I do really have to pee though.”

With Willie’s help, Flynn got up, but as soon as she stood up a cramping feeling hit her, like the tightest, hardest menstrual cramp ever. Crying out, Flynn clutched Julie’s shoulder with one hand and the railing behind her with another.

“Flynn!” Julie cried.

“Maybe you should sit…” Willie said as he pulled out her chair.

“No, I just need to stand a minute,” Flynn pleaded, trying to not panic as it felt like muscles tightened across her belly. Then she realized what this must be: “I think it’s just Braxton Hicks. My midwife told me this would happen. It's not that bad, I promise."

She let out a long, low breath, trying to relax as much as she could through the cramping feeling. It didn't really hurt, she was just uncomfortable. Flynn shifted how she was standing, leaning more against Willie, which felt like it helped some.

“Are you sure?” Julie asked, taking her hand. “I can call 911.”

“Girl, I am not going to the ER, and I am definitely not riding in an ambulance. It’s just one little contraction. I’ve read all about them, this is totally normal.”

Just the thought of riding in a bumpy, speeding ambulance made her feel nauseous, but the idea of rushing to the nearest hospital, just to wait for hours and be told it was false labor sounded even worse.

“It probably doesn’t hurt to be safe though, right?” Willie asked. “I can bring the car around. We can call your midwife, I can call Reggie. I can run into the restaurant and ask if there’s a doctor in the house-“

“Guys, I’m fine!” Flynn insisted. Letting out a final breath, she realized the crampy feeling was gone completely; her body relaxed. “See? All better.”

Her friends still didn’t look convinced as they helped her sit back down, but Flynn felt proud of herself. She rubbed her baby bump.

“Are you absolutely sure?” Julie asked. “Because I still think you should at least tell Reggie.”

“I will,” Flynn promised, reaching for her phone. She smiled smugly to herself. “Imma tell him I kicked some Braxton Hicks butt.”

It was actually a relief, having had her first ever of any kind of contraction. This was really, really happening and soon- not today- but soon. After nine months of anticipation, Flynn was so ready to do this. Of course there was plenty she was nervous and even scared about, but she had always been confident in herself, and becoming a mom was no different. And she had Reggie, who had been the absolute best partner and dad-to-be. Together, they had done all the birthing and parenting classes, watched all the mommy vloggers and read all the books. She knew they were ready for this.

“We’re really in the home stretch, aren’t we?” Julie asked, like it was truly hitting her how clue to the due date her bestie was.

Flynn nodded, and the three of them gazed down at her bump. She took both of their hands, placing them right where she could feel her daughter kicking. Willie let out a laugh at the feeling, and Julie beamed.

“Home stretch!” Flynn repeated confidently. “I’ve got this.” She let out another calming breath before murmuring to her daughter: “I’m so ready to meet you, baby girl.”

Chapter Text

Reggie was exhausted when he went back to work the next day, barely managing to keep himself upright as he made coffee in the teacher’s lounge. Though Flynn’s Braxton Hicks settled down after her lunch, they returned that evening, and she never could get comfortable. On top of that she had terrible indigestion, and then he started feeling like he had indigestion, which didn’t help. When he finally got to sleep at almost 1AM, he had a nightmare where he came home only to find his daughter was now fifteen years old and Reggie had somehow missed her entire life.

“Hanging in there, Mr. Taylor?” He jumped at Principal Covington’s voice.

A hand clasped on his shoulder, keeping him from nearly stumbling over and spilling his mug. Letting out an awkward laugh, Reggie tried his best to look cool and collected as he replied:

“Yeah! Yeah just…working hard. You know me! I was just grabbing a cup ‘o joe before grading some papers.”

His boss chuckled as he ushered Reggie over to a table and, to his surprised, finished making his coffee for him.

“I was talking about the whole, having a baby any day thing,” he explained.

“Oh…” Reggie nervously rubbed at his neck. “Hanging in there would…would be one way to put how I’m doing.”

Absolute anxious nervous wreck would be another. How he even managed to get to school today and make it through his classes so far, he had no idea. He kept expecting a call from Flynn telling him to get home, now. The adrenaline rush from the false labor never really went away, it was like his body was keeping adrenaline on reserve, just under the surface so he’d be ready to go when he really had to jump into Dad Mode.

“Yeah…you look like you might puke,” Principal Covington remarked. “And for lunch you brought…a peanut butter sandwich, pickles and salsa.”

Reggie blinked, looking down at his open lunch box. He didn’t even remember packing any of that.

“I think it was supposed to be chips and salsa,” Reggie muttered. “Not that that sounds super appetizing right now.”

He hadn’t been able to stomach eating anything in the past couple days. He ended up throwing up during rehearsal yesterday…and again last night after his adrenaline crash once he found out the baby wasn’t coming.

“Are you feeling okay?” Principal Covington asked him. “You look a bit pale.”

“I’m fine!” He lied quickly, but his boss clearly wasn’t buying it. “I’ve been a bit nauseous lately…and a little achy and tired. But that’s all, really. I probably just ate something bad.”

Covington raised an eyebrow.

“Something bad like…those hot dogs that almost killed you?”

Reggie paled. His stomach burned just thinking about the hot dogs that nearly killed him and sent he and the guys to the hospital for an entire week. Maybe fibbing about what was wrong and blaming bad food wasn’t good karma for someone who narrowly missed a hotdog-related death.

“That…that was different!” Reggie attempted. “I know I haven’t eaten any food served out of any cars lately. Maybe, maybe I ate one too many of Bobby’s suitcase pizzas from NYC, but…I started feeling bad before then.”

He clamped his mouth shut, forcing himself to shut up before he embarrassed himself even more in front of his boss.

“I’m fine,” Reggie promised. “I just…”

“Have a lot going on?” Covington offered. He pulled up a chair to sit next to him; Reggie nodded miserably.

“I’m working through it,” he insisted. “Classes have been great! Testing this morning went great, and after lunch, I just have band and those kids are-"

“A handful?” His principal finished for him. Reggie was going to say ‘great’, but he couldn’t exactly argue. “Reggie, you look like death warmed over. You’ve got a lot on your plate with the baby coming. If you really are sick, it’s much more important that you focus on getting better before your child’s born than any class. Why don’t you head home? Mr. Childress can cover for you.”

Face falling, Reggie felt defeated as considered it. Mr. Childress was the band director that came over to their school to help him out with the music program. While Reggie had all the passion in the world and successfully managed to manage the music club on his own when it was still just an after-school program, managing an entire band department was a lot different. His co-worker was nice, he was just…quiet. And he never failed to remind Reggie that he was deadset on retiring in exactly four years. They’d worked a lot one on one so that Reggie could get up to speed on what it took to be a real band director, and Mr. Childress was going to take over all his music classes once he was on paternity leave. That was a lot to ask of his coworker, Reggie couldn’t also start leaving work early and asking him to cover for him then too.

“It’s just a few more classes,” Reggie stated. “I can make it through three hours. Thanks, though. I appreciate it.”

Reggie tried to offer his principal a reassuring smile, but he wasn’t sure his boss bought it. At last, Covington sighed and stood back up.

“If you insist, Mr. Taylor,” Covington replied, “but the offer still stands if you need to take it.”

“Thanks.”

As Covington left him to his lunch, Reggie felt defeated. Flynn had made it through nine months of pregnancy symptoms like a champ, even while working full time, and he was just…a wreck. He couldn’t still be a wreck when the baby came, he had to get it together.

Alex sighed as he settled onto the sofa beside his spouse, nursing his bowl of pasta. His muscles were aching after a long day of working on choreography and teaching dance, and Willie looked just as exhausted as they sank down next to him with his own pasta.

“Cheers,” Willie sighed as they clang their pasta bowls together.

It was their third night this week of eating a quick meal in front of the television after a long day at the dance studio. After this, they’d trade off taking showers while Willie would work on a drawing and Alex would read or work on his practice drum kit. They’d be in bed by eleven, both drained and desperately needing rest before getting up and starting it all over again…and again, and again, and again.

Co-owning am award-winning dance studio in Los Angeles was incredibly rewarding and their absolutely dream, but Alex couldn’t help but to think back to Reggie’s comment about them being an old married couple.

“So…the Bachelor or House Hunters International?” Willie asked. “Who do we feel like yelling at tonight?”

His spouse sounded just as unenthusiastic about their routine of dinner in front of reality TV as he felt; Alex didn’t even have the stomach to answer. Their friends were out recording albums and getting ready to have a baby and they were just…doing this.

“Wils,” Alex spoke up, nervously picking at his pasta with his fork. “Are we boring?”

At first Willie blinked, confused…then they placed a hand dramatically over their heart.

“Oh excuse me,” Willie shot playfully, feigning being upset. “My homemade super-secret vodka sauce recipe that I totally just stole from TikTok isn’t good enough for you anymore?”

“Nooooo,” Alex whined, blushing. He popped a piece of pasta into his mouth to prove he liked it. “It’s not the food. It’s just…how many times lately have we eaten like this in front of the TV? Then we just do the same things after dinner and wake up and do it all over again. I just…I don’t want our life to be too boring for you.”

Willie’s face fell, and Alex’s stomach sank with anxiety. Reaching out, Willie cupped his cheek to coerce Alex to look their way.

“Alex, babe,” Willie began softly. “You could never bore me. You are the absolute best thing that’s ever happened to me and I love our life together. Where is this coming from?”

Shrugging, Alex admitted:

“It’s just something stupid Reggie said, about how we’re basically an old married couple. He and Flynn are starting a family, Bobby has his kid and his career, Julie and Luke are recording their record, and we….we’re doing this.”

“Lex…we own a dance studio. If that’s not ultimate L.A. goals, I dunno what is.”

“I know!” Alex groaned, running a hand through his hair. Sitting their pasta on the coffee table, they both turned toward each other. As he gazed into his spouse’s eyes, Alex couldn’t help but to think of how they looked on their wedding night, standing on that beach at sunset. His life had never felt so full and hopeful than at that moment. “We’re just so…domesticated now. I’m not sure if Willies are meant to be domesticated.”

The beautiful laugh he earned from Willie sent shivers down his spine. His partner reached for his hand, holding it in between them as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

“I love being domesticated,” Willie declared, “Alex, I spent my whole childhood being bounced from home to home. I still don’t know how I got so lucky to find this home, to find us, but I could spend the rest of eternity sitting here with you and it would be a good life.”

His heart swelled at the comment, nearly taking his breath away. Maybe, once the dust had settled after their wedding and honeymoon, it was more intimidating than he thought it would be to adjust to life as a married couple. Not because of fighting or conflicts like people talked about- but accepting that this was it. This would be the rest of their lives and…Willie was right. If this was truly the rest of their lives, it would still be incredible.

“I-I feel the same,” Alex stammered. “I love you so much, Wils. I guess…everything’s just moving so fast around us, and we’re-“

“Constants,” Willie smiled. “We’re staying the same.”

“Yeah,” he sighed.

Willie’s hand fell to Alex’s knee, holding onto him supportively.

“I love that about us,” Willie assured him. “I love that we have a routine and jobs and come home to the same place every day. I love that every night I get to look forward to spending another day with you.”

Alex practically melted right into the couch. He bit his lip as he gazed at his partner, feeling silly for worrying.

“I love that too,” Alex replied. “I love you.”

Leaning forward, he captured his spouse into a gentle kiss and smiled to himself as they both settled back into the sofa and grabbed their pasta again. Willie turned on The Bachelor, and Alex snuggled up closer, deciding that maybe this was a routine that he should learn to relish, not question.

“Besides,” Willie snorted, stuffing their face with pasta. “If either of Georgie’s gay uncles are an old married couple, it’s Stevie and CarlosHalf their friends are middle-aged nurses at the hospital they work at and they go walking. For fun. We’re totally cooler than them.”

“Any day,” Alex agreed, leaning over steal a gentle, sweet kiss to Willie’s lips.

Alex felt his partner’s fingers ghost up his thigh, and he blushed, looking up to meet Willie’s sly smile. They sat down their pasta and reached for Alex’s bowl to sit it on the coffee table too.

“You know,” Willie wiggled their eyebrows, “if you’d like to change up our routine…I’m game.”

A hand came up to cup Alex’s jaw, brushing against his skin and making him shiver. Swallowing hard, Alex whispered back:

“I’m game.”

Taking Willie's hand, he let his partner lead him to the bedroom. 

Reggie felt miserable by the time he trudged through the living room door ready to throw himself down on the sofa for the rest of the night. He’d been nauseous and headachy the whole rest of the day, band class had been hell to get through between the chaotic children and the noise, and he still had papers to grade. But he stopped when he saw people were already on his beloved couch: his beloved wife, his brother and Carlos. Stevie was wearing his scrubs and had his stethoscope around his neck and a mini-notebook in his hands.

“Oh good!” Carlos announced, jumping up. “Your patient’s actual husband is here. Imma see if we have any of that cookie dough left that Papi bought.”

“Ohhhh, if you have chocolate chip left, bring me like…fifty?” Flynn called after him. She looked over at Reggie with a smile. “Hey baby. How was work?”

“It was fine,” he sighed, not sounding convincing at all.                        

He threw himself on the sofa beside her, sticking his feet up on the coffee table as he rested his head against hers. Reggie wasn’t sure yet if he wanted to tell Flynn about Covington trying to send him home today for looking ill when she had to deal with very real pregnancy symptoms 24/7, but… what if he really was getting sick? He didn’t want to put the baby at risk. His brother was working as a nursing assistant while going to nursing school. Maybe he’d know enough to let Reggie know what he should do?

“You don’t look very fine,” his wife challenged. Reggie fidgeted with his hands, unsure if he should tell her he was sick or not. With a sigh, Flynn announced to Stevie: “You know Nurse Peters, I actually have to pee for the five hundredth time today. Imma let you chat with my husband for a bit.”

He helped Flynn get up and kissed her cheek, but as soon as she was safely locked in the nearby hall bathroom, Reggie turned to Stevie, looking helpless.

“Come on Reg,” Stevie offered, a kind smile on his face, “the nurse is in. You know you can trust me.”

Letting out a long breath, Reggie confessed:

"My principal almost sent me home today. He thinks I’m really ill.”

Stevie studied him. “What are your symptoms?”

“I’m tired. Nauseous. I’ve gained weight even though it’s hard to find food I want to eat. Um. Headache and sore muscles? Covington thinks I have food poisoning.”

His brother stared at him long and hard…and burst out laughing.

“Hey!” Reggie whined. “Real nurses don’t laugh at their patients.”

“They do behind their backs,” Stevie muttered. He quickly regained composure, placing a supportive hand on Reggie’s shoulder. “Reg, you have couvade syndrome. Right?”

Reggie stared at him, heart pounding. Couv…what?”

“Sympathetic pregnancy.” Stevie explained. “Your hormones are changing because of the stress, like you were pregnant. Partners tend to feel their spouse’s symptoms, like it’s happening to them too.”

His eyes went wide, realizing:

“Last night Flynn had bad indigestion, and then I did too! And I’ve been having weird cravings.”

He grimaced just thinking about his peanut butter sandwich, pickles and salsa combo he had packed for lunch.

“Exactly!” Stevie grinned. “It’s totally normal. Nothing to worry about.”

“Nothing to worry about?!” Reggie yelped. “My hormones are all outta wack! I’m nauseous, I’ve been throwing up, my tummy hurts, I’m all achy, and I don’t wanna eat anything normal. I’ve been feeling weird for ages! And now you’re telling me it’s because my body thinks I’m the one who’s pregnant? I’m a mess and I feel like an idiot!”

“Real nurses don’t call their patients a mess,” Reggie mumbled.

Stevie rolled his eyes and offered: “Can I do an exam?”

He nodded, letting his brother walk through his usual questions, take his blood pressure (which was, not surprisingly, high), heart rate (also high), temperature (per usual, colder than most people), and examined his eyes, nose, ears and lymph nodes. All joking aside, Reggie had to admit that Stevie had that calmness and empathy about him that was going to make him a great nurse.

“Reg,” Stevie said as he sank back down beside him. “You’re fine. Well, your blood pressure is 140/80 which is absolutely not fine, but the rest of you is just doing what new father’s bodies do. You take on the mother’s emotions and physical symptoms because you can’t do anything to make their pain go away.”

Reggie swallowed hard, realizing how much sense that made. Flynn had been so uncomfortable lately and he couldn’t do anything to physically take the pain away from her. There was only so much that sweets, foot rubs, and ginger chews could do. He hadn’t really been thinking about what he was going through physically.

“I wish I could take the pain away from her,” Reggie agreed quietly. “I just wish there was more I could do.”

“And I get that,” Stevie assured him. “Her body’s getting ready to give birth to a human. A little human that she’s had nine months to get to know and feel growing inside her. You don’t get any of that. But you’ve been an amazing husband, and I know you’ll be there every second you can once the baby’s born. Your body’s dealing with all this stress too, and you probably haven’t been letting yourself deal with it, Reggie.”

A rueful smile crept across Reggie’s face at the accusation.

“And let me guess,” Stevie continued at Reggie’s silence. “You haven’t told Flynn how you’re feeling, either?”

“She’s going through so much! You just said so yourself!” Reggie immediately protested. His stomach, already nauseous, twisted uncomfortably at Stevie’s words. He couldn’t imagine burdening Flynn.

Stevie eyed him. “Reggie. She’s your wife. How do you think she’d feel knowing you purposely kept this from her?”

Reggie opened his mouth to object, but then slammed it shut. He remembered their terrible fight right before Julie and Luke’s wedding; how angry she’d been he hadn’t told her what he was going through. He’d promised her he’d never do that to her again. His shoulders sagged. “You’re right.”

“Damn straight.” His brother began jotting down notes on his mini notepad and tore off the page to hand it to him.

“Your treatment plan,” Stevie announced.

Reggie frowned as he read the short instructions.

“This just says…drink more water, do yoga, and talk to your wife.”

“Yeah,” Stevie snorted as he patted Reggie on the shoulder. “Oh, I forgot one-“ he threw his arms around Reggie, pulling him into a tight, comforting hug. “Hug your brother.”

“Always,” he laughed.

When he saw Flynn step out of the restroom, Reggie immediately felt more at ease. He’d never get tired of looking at her. She smiled as she saw the two of them hugging.

“We’re not being billed for hugging time, are we?” Flynn teased to Stevie.

His brother smirked and got up, running a hand through his hair. “Imma make sure my boyfriend saves us some cookies.”

As they were left alone, Flynn’s eyes narrowed with interest.

“Come on, baby,” Flynn encouraged him. “We’ve been doing this long enough for me to tell when something up. What’s wrong, Reggie?”

He reached for his hand and asked:

“Wanna get some fresh air?”

They settled down together on the swing on the back patio. At first, Flynn looked completely uncomfortable as he helped her sit down, like sitting like that was just not going to work. She shifted, then shifted again, then let out a gasp.

“Oh, the baby’s loving this swing,” Flynn smiled. She reached for his hand to place it on her stomach, and his heart swelled as he felt his daughter kicking up a storm.

Suddenly, all the emotion and stress he had been feeling washed over him.

“Reggie?” Flynn asked softly.

“I’m sorry,” he croaked out, tears swelling in his eyes “I just…I’ve kind of been a mess? And I’ve been trying to deal with it on my own because you’ve been going through so much and you’ve been so strong, and I don’t want to be a burden. But…it’s just starting to mess me up so much.”

She slipped her arm around him, letting their heads rest together. Her fingers came up, combing through the back of his hair and just that soft touch made him feel so much better- and he felt so guilty for it. It wasn’t like he could ask his wife to coddle him once the baby was born.

“You’re never a burden to me, Reggie,” Flynn promised. “If you’re struggling, I want to know. And if it’s too much, we can find a way to work through it, together. Just like we always have.”

Yeah, because I’m always a mess, Reggie thought, remembering Stevie’s teasing. The joke was actually true.

“Thanks,” he whispered, wiping his tears away. “I…I guess I thought I was doing okay. Well, okayish, considering. But lately, I’ve been feeling kinda bad? Like…like sympathetic pregnancy kinda bad. I know it’s really, really stupid.”

“Oh!” Flynn’s eyes lit up as she sat up straighter as she understood what he was saying. “You have been eating really weird things! I thought I was the only one who liked pickles with peanut butter..”

“Yeah,” he admitted with an embarrassed giggle. “I’ve been a bit nauseous.”

“And bloated,” Flynn commenting, reaching over to pat his stomach. He laughed at that, too.

“Yeah,” he sighed. He ran his hands over his tired face. “I feel like such an idiot.”

“Don’t!” His wife assured him. “Honestly, it makes a lot of sense that partners would go through these things too. It must be really stressful, being the partner who just has to sit and watch everything happen to the pregnant person.”

He nodded, feeling elated that she got where he was coming from.

“It is!” Reggie replied. “And I’m really not trying to demean what you’re going through or make this all about me. Really! I’m okay. It’s just…it’s so hard, not being able to feel the baby like you can. You have this like connection with our daughter already and it’s so amazing.” He hesitated, biting his lip as he contemplating confessing his deepest fear about the pregnancy. Flynn placed her hand on his knee, reminding him she was there for him; he placed his hands over hers. “I’m scared that I’m not going to have that same kind of connection with her. I’m afraid my daughter’s not even going to know who I am.”

His chest tightened into a knot at finally having said it out loud. It was a fear he barely even allowed himself to think- let alone talk about. Everything felt so real all of a sudden. This baby was coming soon…and even though he’d been there for the whole nine months his daughter wouldn’t actually know who he was. She might not want him as her father at all.

Reggie’s eyes fell to his lap. “I just really want to be a good dad. What if she takes one look at me and realizes that…that I’m not good enough for her?”

Something broke inside him, like he could just picture his baby girl clinging to Flynn and not wanting anything to do with him. He pressed his hands against his eyes, trying to fight the tears but they wouldn’t stop coming.

“That’s what you’ve been worried about?” Flynn asked softly. He nodded. “Reggie…this baby’s going to love you so much. I know it’s not the same as having the baby growing in you, but you’ve connected with our daughter so much already. She’s heard your voice and I know she knows when you’re there. She knows you’ve been taking care of us.”

Reggie bit back a smile, daring to hope that was true. He had been reading and talking to their daughter a lot, and though it felt a little silly, it definitely at least helped him feel closer to her. He had hoped she might recognize his voice that way.

“You really think she can sense that?” Reggie asked.

His wife nodded and reached for his hand again to sit on her belly. Instantly, he felt a much stronger kick than he ever felt before, almost like his daughter was trying to reach out for him.

“I know so,” Flynn laughed. “She always gets way more active when you read to her. Especially when you do the funny voices. She knows who you are.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “You’re going to be such an amazing dad, Reggie. No- scratch that- you are such an amazing dad.”

 Reggie smiled sadly. “I wish I could believe it.”

“Reggie,” Flynn spoke up again. “Do you think…maybe some of this self-doubt could be because of your father?”

And there it was. Reggie swallowed hard as he brought his hand back, dragging it through his hair instead. He’d tried so hard to work through his PTSD over the past year, he’d gone through so much therapy and medication and everything still came down to him. His father, who had never loved him, who hurt him. His father who at one point in time sat with his own pregnant wife just like this, thinking that he was going to have a happy, loving, family.

“I don’t understand how he could ever go through this and not love his kid,” Reggie admitted; his voice broke. “I still don’t know what went wrong. My parents were happy at one point. They loved their kids at one point, and then something happened and they just…couldn’t handle it. What if I can’t handle this?”

He felt like he was going to be sick. The air suddenly smelled like his parents’ old house, full of smoke and alcohol.

“Reggie,” Flynn called, holding onto him. It was the only thing keeping him from completely slipping away to the past. “I don’t understand it either, how anyone can go through this and hate their kid- and I still swear to god if your father ever gets out of prison in this lifetime,  I will actually murder him. You’re not your father, Reggie. You couldn’t be any more different than him. You’re full of so much love, you’re so excited to be a dad, and I know you’ll be there no matter what. I say this as your wife and the mother of your child…This baby is going to love you with all her heart.”

His wife smiled at him, and at last, the world felt a little lighter. He tried to let himself believe it- let himself believe in himself. Becoming a dad was his big chance to prove that he really wasn’t anything like his father; the last thing he wanted to do was let his family down.

“Thanks,” Reggie whispered. He wrapped his arms around his wife, her belly protruding between them. It felt like a little family hug, warm and comforting, and Reggie couldn’t wait until his daughter was there to really let them wrap their arms around her.

“Just promise me you’ll talk to your therapist about this,” Flynn added as they broke apart.

“Oh, I am talking about so much at therapy!” He let out a nervous laugh just thinking about it. Then his eyes fell back to Flynn’s baby bump. “Feel like singing to her?”

“Always!”

Reggie let her guide his hand to where he could feel little kicks from his daughter, and his face lit up at the feeling, and he began to sing:

Hush, little baby, don't say a word

Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird

Chapter Text

Luke woke up to the morning light peering through the studio’s stained-glass windows. It had been a long time since he’d woken up on the sofa in the studio, but this time it wasn’t because he ran away from home. His wife was in his arms, wearing his muscle tee, her hair plastered against his face. The two were meant to go home last night to their actual bed in their actual apartment after their recording session yesterday, but they were so wiped out after day one they had simply collapsed on the sofa around midnight, too tired to drive home.

After three years of writing songs together, gigging, making a demo and EP, and working like crazy at the diner, Julie and Luke were finally starting work on their first official album. They had gotten Trevor Wilson’s help to sign with an independent label, similar to the label Bobby was on. Maybe it wasn’t the major big-shot record deal they always dreamed of, but with an independent label, they could do their album their way. Trevor also helped set them up with an indie producer they would work with on certain songs and a producer to help them edit and mix the music, but ultimately, they were producing their own tracks. They had control. They were literally living the dream, and Luke was relieved to wake up and see that it hadn’t disappeared in the daylight.

He felt his wife stir awake in his arms and kissed the top of her head.

“Morning baby,” Luke murmured.

“’mmm too early,” Julie grumbled. She planted a soft kiss to his bare shoulder anyway, and his heart fluttered.

Then she shot straight up as she realized:

“We fell asleep out here.”

“Yup.” Luke yawned as he sat up with her and began littering her neck and shoulders with kisses. “Why don’t we warm up a little before we get started today?”

He wiggled his eyebrows, and she groaned and rolled her eyes at him even as she leaned in to kiss him deeply. His hands fell to her hips, encouraging her to climb into his lap, and Luke’s heart began beating in double time, knowing there was no way they were going to get back to the music anytime soon.

That was, until the door opened, and they both jumped apart when they saw her dad awkwardly lingering there.

“Papi!” Julie greeted nervously. Luke let out a defeated groan as he let his forehead drop against Julie’s shoulder.

“Morning mija,” Ray replied, an amused smile on his face. “I didn’t realize you two slept here.”

“We didn’t mean too!” Julie insisted. She climbed off his lap, pulling the blanket over her to cover up the fact that she definitely just slept in Luke’s muscle tee and no bottoms. “We were working pretty late, and you know what you always say…driving tired is as dangerous as driving drunk.”

Ray blinked, and his face softened.

“Julie, you two are professionals and married adults,” he offered, holding his hands up in defense. “I get that you’ll have some late nights as part of this whole album deal. Same rules apply as when you two lived upstairs…I just…I don’t need to know.”

Luke pressed his hands against his face, groaning again in embarrassment. He was pretty sure his cheeks were nearly as red as Reggie’s favorite flannel.

“I was just popping in to look for a medicine ball that I’m pretty sure is in the back, for Flynn,” Ray explained. “She hasn’t been sleeping great because she’s so uncomfortable at night. I just remember it helping with Rose a lot at this stage.”

“Maybe I should check on her,” Julie offered.

Once Julie started getting concerned about Flynn, there was going to be no getting her to concentrate on music. Grabbing his wife’s hand, he reminded her:

“We have work to do! Flynn is fine. Ray’s got it covered. Also, doesn’t Flynn have a husband somewhere?”

“Hey!” Reggie’s bright voice greeted as his friend appeared in the doorway too, right on cue, dressed for a day of work at school. “I didn’t know you guys stayed over! Sweet, it’s just like old times.” Suddenly, Reggie’s eyes watered. “Just like old times…when we were so little and hopeless and now we’re so grown up and I had no idea then that I would have a kid in a few years and I’d be happy and…and…”

He let out a dramatic, choked, sob, and Luke let out a sigh as he held his arms open for Reggie to run up to him and engulf him into a big hug.

“It’s okay, buddy,” Luke told him. “It’s an emotional time for all of us.” He swallowed hard, feeling the emotions build up again in his throat too. All he had to do was stay out here and record music; Reggie was preparing to have a kid.

“You’re not wearing any pants, are you?” Reggie mumbled.

Luke sighed. “Nope.”

“’S okay,” Reggie laughed as he lifted up, wiping his hands over his face. “Nothing I haven’t seen before.” He turned to Julie, offering an apologetic smile. “Hey Julie, sorry if I crashed any morning sexytimes.”

Julie squawked, covering herself with the blanket even more as her dad looked away uncomfortably. And then a third person appeared in the doorway.

“Hey fam!” Flynn announced as she waddled into the studio, beaming at them. “You guys are having an early start. Good for you!”

“They never left,” Ray sighed.

“We fell asleep,” Julie muttered through gritted teeth.

Reggie rounded on his wife.

“You’re supposed to be resting!” He yelped, pushing Luke away and jumping up to stand by her. “Are you feeling okay?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. I actually got some sleep last night.” Flynn grinned.

“What about your nausea? Or heartburn? Should I get your chews? Or your Tums? Or maybe I should…“

“I’m fine, Reggie, I promise,” Flynn insisted. Tilting her head, she stole a kiss to his cheek, making him blush. Then she held out an accusing finger at Julie and Luke. “You guys look awfully mostly naked for two people who are supposed to be recording a Grammy-winning album.”

“We are trying to!” Luke cried. “It’s like freaking Full House in here.”

“How rude,” Reggie mocked. He was back over to the sofa in a flash, practically climbing into Luke’s lap. Reggie threw him puppy dog eyes before innocently asking: “You’re not gonna blow your voice out before the dance tonight, right? The kids are really looking forward to seeing Sunset Curve again.”

“Please bro,” Luke rolled his eyes. “We’re professionals. We do not blow out our voices.”

“What about that show at The Hangout and when you had that sinus infection and when we played in the valley and-“

Luke planted a hand over his mouth to stop him; Reggie just licked his palm.

“Gross!” Luke whined, wiping his hand off on Reggie’s shirt.

“We’ll pace ourselves,” Julie assured him. She looked up to Flynn, who had taken a seat on the piano bench. “You’re still helping me get ready for the dance tonight, right? Just like old times?”

Butterflies danced in Luke’s stomach at the thought of seeing Julie all dressed up for a Sunset Curve show. Maybe it was just Reggie’s middle school dance, but he was really excited to get to play with her and the guys tonight…and possibly, even steal a dance with her.

“Always!” Flynn grinned, air-fiving her. “Plus, Imma need your help to get ready. It’s going to take forever to decide between the three fits I have that still, ya know, fit.”

They all stared at her, wondering if they had heard right. It hadn’t been easy for Flynn to go anywhere lately, let alone a middle school dance. Reggie looked mortified as he scrambled back out of the bed.

“Baby, I’d love for you to be there more than anything, but it’s going to be pretty crazy. I mean we’re talking a couple hundred middle schoolers stuffed into a gym with loud music and my nosy coworkers asking you a billion questions about your pregnancy.”

If Luke were nine months pregnant, he was pretty sure that would be his very definition of hell; but Flynn just rolled her eyes.

“First of all, your school’s new gym is one of the nicest gyms I’ve ever seen in my life. And the dance is only like three hours long. I can sit down the whole time, just like I would at home. Best of all, I can actually be out with my husband and best friends. I really don’t want to miss out. This is probably going to be our last chance to have a night out in a long time.”

She lifted her husband’s hand so to kiss his knuckles, and Reggie practically melted. Luke couldn’t help but to think back to Reggie’s worries about things changing with the guys once the baby was born. He couldn’t imagine what it was like for the two of them, knowing that within a couple of weeks they’d have a little baby by their side who would be in their life forever. Even if Luke had no doubt that he and the others would be right by Reggie and Flynn’s side, Reggie was right: everything really was about to change.

“As long as you feel up to it,” Reggie sighed. “You’ve been really uncomfortable lately.”

“Reggie, I’m almost thirty-eight weeks pregnant, I’m going to be uncomfortable no matter what I do,” Flynn laughed. “Going to the dance will take my mind off it. I don’t have to stay the whole time. Besides, I can’t turn down a chance to see my baby rock.”

The bassist blushed at the comment, throwing a shy look around to the others.

“I do love watching you watching me play bass,” he cooed as he leaned forward to kiss his wife sweetly.

Luke snorted at the comment, his own hand inching over to take his wife’s. Between thinking about Sunset Curve’s show later and working on the album today, Luke was more than ready to get started.

“Bro, don’t you have a job to get to?” Luke teased when Reggie and Flynn still hadn't broken apart.

“Oh right!” Reggie blushed as he slipped out of the kiss. “I’ve gotta go. Bye baby- and bye baby baby-“ he kissed Flynn on the cheek and her baby bump.

“Forgetting someone?” Luke pouted.

“Oh yeah! Bye Ray!” Reggie rushed over to kiss Ray on the cheek and wiggled his eyebrows. “Have fun on your romantic weekend with Trevor in Vegas. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

He threw Ray a big wink, and a shy smile crossed Ray’s face as he rubbed his neck bashfully. Ray and Trevor had been dating since his and Julie’s wedding; Luke thought the two were great together, but a lot of their relationship was long distance since Trevor started his latest U.S. tour. Although Ray had been able to join Trevor on some of the dates and the tour was only six weeks long, he knew Ray had to miss his boyfriend. Luke grinned, feeling happy for the two of them that they were getting a much-needed romantic weekend alone together. 

“Thanks Reggie,” Ray replied. “If you two need anything while I’m gone-"

“We will be fine!” Reggie promised. “We’ve got it totally covered. Totally!"

His voice squeaked a couple octaves too high on the second 'totally', and Ray looked over to him and Julie. Luke mouthed back 'we got this!', knowing he and Julie would be here all weekend and able to check on their friends.

“We’re just looking forward to using your TV and Disney Plus account all weekend,” Flynn announced with a grin. “And you know tía will be over to check on me like fifty million times.”

Reggie nodded in agreement.

“And not that we would ever expect her to bring food, but if you want to hint to her that we’ve been craving her flan de queso…” he added, nudging Ray.

Rolling his eyes, Ray offered:

“I’ll drop her the hint.”

“Score!” Reggie cheered.

Luke’s mouth watered just at the thought of the dessert. While he loved that he and Julie had their own place now, he did Molina family meals- and even Victoria dropping by with her famous entrees and desserts. Julie looked just as jealous.

“You know,” Julie sing-songed, “we’ll be here most of the weekend too, so if tía would maybe want to bring extra…”

“I’ll let her know,” Ray replied with a wink. He placed a hand on Reggie’s shoulder. “You’re going to be late for work, mijo.”

“Right!” Reggie’s eyes widened as he checked his smartwatch. “Gotta go, bye guys!”

Julie giggled when Luke’s jaw dropped in offense when his friend left without giving him a kiss to the cheek too. Reggie rushed out of the garage at first before suddenly reappearing, wearing a goofy grin. He rushed over, launching himself at Luke to knock him back onto the sofa. Luke squeaked as he was pinned down and Reggie placed a big, wet, kiss to both of his cheeks. He affectionally ruffled his best friend’s hair.

“Have a great day at school, buddy.”

“Have a great day working on your Grammy,” Reggie smirked as he waved his hand between the still half-naked Julie and Luke. “Or whatever it is you kids call it these days.”

He winked and cackled as Luke thrust a pillow after him as Reggie raced out to his car. Groaning, Luke buried his face into his wife’s shoulder and muttered:

“Pretty sure the Beatles never had to deal with this.”

Rock music blasted in the kitchen as Bobby whipped up a batch of his famous chocolate chip pancakes. Suitcases and his two guitars still in their cases from the tour still were strewn about his living room, the laundry had already been going for an hour, he had almost no real food in the fridge, but Bobby couldn’t have been happier to be home. After catching up on some much-needed sleep the past couple days, he was more than ready for the normalcy of cooking his own meals, taking Carrie on playdates, cleaning the house and general life admin.

“You look happy,” Marcus announced as he entered the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinets.

Bobby smiled to himself as he placed the first pancake on the griddle.

“I’m very happy.”

It had been nine months since he met Marcus at Alex and Willie’s wedding, nine months since he discovered that, like Marcus, he was an aromantic asexual. The realization had changed his life, but not as much as meeting Marcus changed his life. The two had clicked right away, he felt close to him- safe with him- in a way that he hadn’t with anyone before except the guys. Both of them traveled a lot for their careers, Bobby with his tour and Marcus with his acting career, but slowly, they were creating their own little life together, as queerplatonic partners. They didn’t do sex or even kissing or dates or pet names- they didn’t even share the same room whenever Marcus and his daughter Hailey stayed over. But these precious days together at home had become some of Bobby’s favorites. Marcus had stayed over the past couple of days but was getting ready to take Hailey in for the next week.

“Good,” Marcus smiled back at him. “I’m glad your homebody self is back in your happy place. You look like yourself again. Tour Bobby was one step away from becoming ‘if you don’t quiet down, I’m turning this car around’ Bobby.”

“Hey!” Bobby protested, flicking a chocolate chip at him. “I wasn’t that bad. You try touring New York’s darkest and drunkest clubs at a month with your five year old.”

“Oh please,” Marcus rolled his eyes. “Your daughter spent most of the past month watching Frozen in for the three-hundredth time with me in the apartment.”

Lucky, Bobby kept himself from retorting.

“Have I mentioned how much I appreciate you looking after Carrie?” Bobby said. “I still feel a bit bad you just played babysitter for a month.”

Marcus crossed over to the Keurig to make himself a coffee.

“I love hanging out with Carrie,” Marcus insisted. “It was really great getting to know her better. Plus, I had work to do in New York anyway and I loved being there with you. Even if I did mostly watch you sleep and read books on benches in Central Park like an old man.”

“Reading in Central Park was a dream!” He whined. As amazing as it was to be back by the beach again, he actually really missed Central Park. “I mean it, though. Thank you. Carrie really loved getting to hang out with you so much too.”

Bobby slipped his arms around his partner’s fit frame and let out a content sigh as he took a moment to just rest in his arms and take in being home. It was still a bit jarring to be back, and it was a little unnerving, not knowing exactly where his touring would take him next. Part of him could have called up his manager today and ended it all, go back to working from home and doing behind the scenes production work. But there was no mistaking the fire he felt on stage, the overwhelming validation and support he felt getting to share his songs with people who could connect with them. He wanted both lives, equally, his home and touring life. And for now, he supposed the best he could do was appreciate every day of each one while he had it.

“I guess I finally need to take some stuff back to the house,” Marcus sighed. “Can’t live out of my suitcase here forever.”

The comment stung. Living with Marcus in New York had been amazing- never before had Bobby felt like he completely clicked with someone like him. Maybe their partnership wasn’t romantic or anything close to what any of his friends had, but things felt really good. It was like they were completely on the same wavelength, the best of friends but deeper than that, somehow. And it was nice, having someone else around after years of it just being him and Carrie. He loved living with Marcus in New York…and he didn’t want it to end. New York felt like a new chapter of his life, a chapter where he could have his career and this amazing partnership and his daughter…and he felt like he could have that in Los Angeles too. If he let himself.

He was going to let himself.

“Or you could just…keep your stuff here…forever.”

It was possibly the cheesiest thing Bobby had ever said, but the way Marcus’ eyes lit up made it all worth it.

“Really?” Marcus asked, sliding back over to him. “Because…I loved living with you in New York, but I just…I wasn’t sure if that was something you were looking for in a QPR.”

“It is!” Bobby blurted out, his hand flying to the back of his neck. “I…I mean…I just…I like having you on my team. And Carrie loves you- and she loves having Hailey as a sister. I think we should keep doing this…this thing, we have.”

Oh god someone stop me, he pleaded to the universe.

At that moment, Carrie piped up out of nowhere from the hallway bathroom, where she had clearly been hiding and listening in. She rushed over to her dad- still wearing her Frozen nightgown- and leapt right into his arms.

“Is Marcus moving in with us?!” She cried excitedly.

Laughing, he looked over to his partner, who stepped up to Carrie and brushed the curls out of her face.

“Is that okay with you?” Marcus asked.

Bobby looked to his daughter. Her eyes were lit up like Christmas morning, and though he wasn’t sure she fully understood their relationship, Carrie was smart. She was so much more intuitive than any five-year-old had a right to be, and Bobby knew if she gave her opinion, she would really mean it.

“Yeah,” Carrie told Marcus shyly. “Does Hailey get to live with us too?”

“When she’s not with her mom,” Marcus promised her. He stole a knowing glance to Bobby. “But I bet she’d love to share a room with you when she is over.”

“Yeah!” Carrie exclaimed. She wiggled right out of Bobby’s arms, tugging at his hand instead. “Can we get bunkbeds?! Can we paint?! Hailey really likes purple.”

He and Marcus exchanged a knowing glance; he already felt so excited for his daughter. Maybe they weren’t the most conventional family, but Carrie went from just having him and the secret life he lived in Las Vegas to a sister in Hailey, a grandfather in Ray, uncles in the guys, aunts in Flynn, Julie and Victoria. He wanted this, for his daughter as much as himself.

“Yeah, I think we can break out some paint,” Marcus laughed. “And I bet Hailey would love having bunkbeds.”

“Yay!”

Carrie planted a half dozen kisses to his cheek before wiggling out of his arms to hug Marcus too. She ran off to her room, babbling about needing to make space for her sister, and Bobby shyly stepped up to his partner.

“You can um, keep the guest room if you’d like,” Bobby offered sheepishly. “Or um…we could try the whole bunk beds thing. You know, whatever.”

He let out a nervous laugh, realizing he had no clue what they were supposed to do now.

“Yeah,” Marcus replied, clearly just as nervous. “We’ll figure it out. No pressure.”

“Right. No pressure.”

They embraced, and while Bobby felt completely relieved that he finally popped the big question to his partner…at the same time, he couldn’t help but to feel a little anxious. He had no idea what the rules were for queerplatonic relationships, and his friends’ relationships were all totally different than his. But…this felt right. And he had to hold onto that. This would be just like their short-term rental in New York except…at his house. Permanent.

“We can take this slow,” Marcus offered as they broke apart. “This is…really different."

“Yeah,” Bobby admitted. “It is but…we’ve got this. We’ll figure it out as we go.”

“Yeah!” His partner echoed, patting his shoulder. “So…I’ll see you later, at the dance?”

“Yeah.”

As Marcus left, Bobby felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders, and he smiled to himself, feeling proud for taking a leap of faith. Maybe things didn’t have to change so much after all.

Chapter Text

Flynn sucked in a breath as she admired herself in Julie’s old bedroom mirror. She was wearing a yellow floral dress with ruffle sleeves, long and flowy enough to give her breathing room but without making her feel like she was wearing a hospital gown. Granted, she still looked and felt as big as a freaking boat, but for once, she felt good, and she was beyond excited to go to this dance and see her friends and husband rock again.  

“I knew I still had these somewhere!” Julie announced triumphantly as she waltzed in the room holding a pair of golden hoop earrings that used to belong to Rose. She stopped in her tracks when she saw her bestie gazing at herself in the mirror. “Flynn! You look hot!”

“Thanks!” Flynn gushed. “But I can’t look hot my husband’s middle school dance. It’s too much.”

Feeling a bit defeated, Flynn turned back to the other two dress options on the bed: one looked almost exactly like a hospital gown and the other was a comfy and simple spaghetti strapped dress, but she wasn’t sure she felt like wanted to wear spaghetti straps tonight. The spaghetti strapped one was cute, but she felt like she could pop right out of it.

“I just meant that you look amazing,” her friend assured her. “You look like you feel good in that dress, and I love that for you.”

“I do,” Flynn admitted. “I feel great.”

“Then you’re wearing it,” Julie declared, “and these too.”

Julie carefully put the earrings on Flynn for her, and they both gasped at how gorgeous she looked in Rose’s jewelry.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to wear them?” Flynn asked.

“Of course. My mom would love if you wore them. She’d be so excited for you.”

“Thanks,” she whispered back.

Flynn swallowed back a ball of emotion that threatened to surge right up her throat. She knew if Rose were still here, she would have been by Flynn’s side this whole pregnancy, she really would be so excited for her- and likely would have also invited her and Reggie to live with her and Ray.

“Can I see the nursery again?” Julie asked, batting her eyes.

“Girl, yes. I rearranged her clothes for like the hundredth time today, and I need you to tell me what you think.”

Julie threw her arm around her shoulders, and they both headed to her old teenage bedroom turned nursery.

The school dance went off without a hitch. The kids opening for Sunset Curve was a hit with their classmates, and Reggie beamed with pride as he conducted them, amazed at how much his students had improved in the past year. It was nice, seeing the entire school get excited about the band program- even the kids who weren’t in it. He was the teacher who made band cool, and that would always feel good. Then, after changing into his famous red suit, Reggie got a kiss for good luck from Flynn and was welcomed back on stage to a sea of cheering students. The guys were going to do a couple of their “classics” before she joined them for a set full of covers, all voted on by the kids.

“Hello Los Feliz Middle School!” Reggie cried into the mic.

“We love you Mr. T!” Some of the girls cheered back. Flynn cheered a long with them, giving him a wolf-whistle.

“And I love all of you,” Reggie gushed, earning back a chorus of “awwwws”. “How about our Los Feliz Middle School concert band?” Everyone cheered, patting his band kids on the back as they settled into the dance floor. “And without further ado, this is Sunset Curve!”

The gym erupted into cheers and claps as the guys began “Now or Never” and the swarm of middle schoolers on the dance floor began jumping and dancing along.

Flynn would never not love seeing her husband rock it out with his band. While her husband would always be a teacher at heart, he was so in his element when he was playing bass and singing with the guys. Reggie radiated joy and passion as he played and jumped around the stage with Luke. She cheered from her seat on the sidelines, enjoying her punch and cookies, feeling so in her own element. It felt a little like being back in school, with Julie, and she loved that. And it was nice, feeling like a normal person again, though she admittedly felt a bit more uncomfortable than she thought she would. The cramping feeling was back, and Flynn tried to brave her way through it, switching positions often and distracting herself with small talk with Reggie’s coworkers. She couldn’t let a little Braxton Hicks ruin her last night out- or Reggie’s show.

Her husband kept throwing glances her way, grinning at her as he coolly ran a hand through his hair then effortless slung his guitar around his shoulders, in perfect timing Luke and Bobby- the kids and Flynn went wild. Julie was introduced next, and Flynn cheered on her friend as she joined the guys in a slow dance song…and out of nowhere, a much more powerful cramping feeling hit. Biting her lip, Flynn held onto the chair beside her. The room suddenly felt like it was suffocating her, she needed air. Carefully, she slipped away from the dance, heading toward the quiet hallway that led to the band room. The cramping feeling was worse than ever, not just in her stomach but in her back too- Flynn had to hold onto the lockers and walls as she walked, but it still didn’t feel so bad that she didn’t think she couldn’t get through it. She just needed a moment. She just needed some space, a breather. Then she could get back to the dance and Reggie, and everything would be okay. The pain would pass, just like it had before with the Braxton Hicks contractions.

It was Stevie and Carlos’ first Friday night off of work (and clinicals) in what felt like ages, and Stevie was living it up. He needed this, this break from studying and being at the hospital. He loved getting to see his brother in his element, playing with his band- and he loved getting to be at a dance with his boyfriend…even if it was a middle school dance that he was totally too old to be dancing at. It wasn’t like Stevie got to dance with boys at his own school dances though, so when Julie and the guys switched to a slower song, and some of the kids around them looked like they wanted to run for the hills instead of slow dancing, Carlos took his hand…and Stevie didn’t mind at all.

“Come on, lindo,” Carlos grinned, “let’s show these kids how it’s done.”

Stevie was blushing as he was pulled into an innocent, gentle slow dance with his boyfriend, and he relished in being in Carlos arms. Safe and sound. That is, until his boyfriend surprised him by spinning him around and Stevie yelped, blushing at being caught off guard.  

“You didn’t go to many school dances, did you?” Carlos asked him.  

“Not…not exactly,” Stevie admitted bashfully.

He was spun around again and pulled close to his boyfriend. His cheeks burned hot as he rest his chin on Carlos’s shoulder, admiring the dance around them as they swayed along with the band. Some of the kids had dared to ask their partners or friends to dance and nervously held onto each other shoulder’s, barely keeping in time with the music. Stevie wished he had this as a kid, supportive teachers like Reggie, real friends and the confidence to be social. Maybe it wouldn’t have taken him until nineteen years old to realize who he was. But seeing all these kids also made him more than grateful for what he had now, and he wished he could go back and tell his middle school self that somehow, eventually, it was going to be okay.

As they swayed and moved around so that Stevie was facing toward the band, he noticed a very empty table nearby, where Flynn should have been sitting.

“Hey, have you seen Flynn lately?” Stevie asked Carlos. He shrugged away from his boyfriend, looking around for any sign of his brother’s wife. There was a spideysense inside of him warning him he needed to check on Flynn.

“No, why?” Carlos asked.

Stevie looked up to his brother, who was happily jamming along now to a cover of “You Belong with Me” while Julie slayed at the vocals. Most likely, everything was fine with Flynn. There was no real reason for him to panic and assume something was going on with the baby and worry Reggie about it…but it would make him feel better to see for himself that Flynn was okay, especially on the chance she was having more false labor contractions.

“I wanna check on her.”

His boyfriend followed as Stevie into the adjacent hallway to find all of the nearby classroom doors were closed. Most of the school was locked up, but there was one place nearby Flynn would have had access to: Reggie’s band room. Sure enough, when they reached the band room door, they found Flynn bent over an arm of the sofa that was in the back of the room, clearly in pain as she breathed hard.

“Flynn?” Stevie asked, running to her. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head as he and Carlos rushed to help her sit down, but as soon as she tried to change positions her face scrunched up in pain as a contraction clearly hit her. Stevie started the timer on his smartwatch.

“I’ve been feeling contractions, but I thought it was just more Braxton Hicks,” Flynn explained. “I thought I just needed a minute, but they’ve been getting worse. I…I think I’m actually in labor.”

Carlos took her hand as she grimaced in pain again and glanced to Stevie with worried eyes. He knew from his nursing school classes that sometimes early labor contractions didn’t always feel super strong, and Flynn had handled false labor like a champ.

“Did your water break?”

“I don’t think so,” she shook her head.

“Doesn’t water break before labor?” Carlos asked him.

“Not always.” All at once, Flynn stopped, breathing hard as though the pain was subsiding. Slowly, she released her grip on Carlos’ hand. Stevie stopped his stopwatch and announced: “Fifty seconds. I think we should call your midwife.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Flynn agreed quickly, reaching for her bag to fish out her phone.

He started his timer again to time how far apart each separate contraction. Stevie let out a low breath while Flynn put her phone on speaker and called the number, trying to clear his mind and think through what they needed to tell the midwife.

When the midwife picked up, Flynn greeted her with: “Surprise! I think I’m in labor…at my husband’s school. Please tell me you’re near Los Feliz Middle School.”

“Hey Flynn,” a kind voice greeted on the other line. “Are you alone?”

“No, my husband’s brother and his partner are here. Reggie’s here, he’s playing a gig. I started having contractions...I thought it was just more false labor. I’m not due for another week.”

“They lasted fifty seconds,” Stevie informed the midwife. “I’m Steve, by the way. I’m uh…an ER nurse assistant. And Reggie’s brother.”

He blushed, feeling a bit stupid to be saying any of that to a certified midwife who didn’t know him, but the woman on the other line sounded relieved to hear Flynn was with someone with at least some medical experience.

“Fantastic! How far apart are your contractions, Flynn?” She asked, staying completely calm and collected. Stevie always appreciated it when the providers he was around stayed completely calm in a crisis, it instantly made him feel more focused. 

“I’m not sure…but not long. They just didn't feel that bad before, it was just like...being a little uncomfortable. But now. Yeah."

Stevie and Carlos exchanged nervous glances, realizing she was maybe even more farther along than they thought. Flynn winced, looking so guilty that she hadn’t realized what was happening, and Carlos placed a comforting hand on her back.

“It happens all the time,” Flynn’s midwife assured her. It wasn’t like Flynn had been pregnant before; she wouldn’t know exactly what to expect until it was happening. The midwife sounded like she was jumping up and getting her things together. “Traffic’s a nightmare right now, and you’re a bit far from the birthing center, I’m not sure I’d recommend you trying to drive the distance at this point if you think they’ve been pretty close together, but I can meet you at your house or at a hospital. You live close to Reggie’s work, right?”

“About fifteen minutes,” Flynn replied. “The house sounds like a good plan.”

“Okay, great,” said the midwife, “stay on the phone with me until you get home, okay? Steve, can you go with her and dad?”

“Of course.” He couldn’t dream of leaving Reggie or Flynn right now. He already felt protective of her as a brother-in-law, but Stevie was very much aware that he probably had the most medical experience out of everyone in the building. Which wasn’t saying much. But if it helped made Flynn feel supported, that’s what mattered. Flynn was family, he would always do whatever he could for her, and just like his patients, he would advocate for her and help her as much as he could.

“I’ll get Reggie and the car,” Carlos announced.

But before Carlos could even reach the door, Flynn let out a cry. He held onto her, watching as he face contorted into an uncomfortable grimace and she looked back up to him in a panic.

“My water just broke. This baby’s coming, Stevie.”

Heart pounding, Stevie turned to Carlos and cried:

“Go get Reggie, now!”

Reggie’s head spun with shock of the news as he ran through the hallways of his school at top speed, the guys and Julie right on his heels. One minute, he had been rocking out with the band and the next Carlos had come bursting into the gym, shouting for him to get to Flynn, now.

“Flynn!” Reggie cried as he raced into the band room. His wife was half sitting on the sofa, half crouched over the arm, grimacing in pain. He raced to her, not even noticing the rest of the guys were right behind him, hovering near the doorway. “I’m here. I’m right here. It’s going to be okay. Just breathe, baby, breathe.”

Everything came back to him from their Lamaze classes, and Reggie tried to help her breathe through the contraction. He kissed her shoulder and reached up, pulling the hair out of her face and for a split second could see how scared she was. And he was scared too. His heart was pounding out of his chest, but it was like his subconscious that was normally an anxious mess was completely shut off. Reggie was zoned in, hyperfocused on being there for Flynn.

“C-can someone pull the car around?” Reggie asked to no one in particular, but Flynn desperately shook her head.

“Hey, Reggie,” Flynn’s midwife spoke up from his wife’s speakerphone. “Since her water just broke and her contractions are already so strong and short, I wouldn’t recommend you driving her the distance to the birthing center at this point. I can meet you at the closest hospital or your house. We can do this just like a regular home birth.”

His chest tightened. The house wasn’t prepped at all for a labor- Ray wasn’t even home! Were you even allowed to have a birth at someone’s house without them being there?

At that moment, he desperately wished Ray was there. Ray had two kids and was like a father to him, too, he would know exactly what to do.

Suddenly, Flynn let out a breath of relief, like the contraction stopped. Stevie hit the timer on his phone.

“Sixty seconds,” Stevie announced. “Reggie, that was just five minutes since her last one.”

Reggie paled, realizing just how close they were to baby time.

“What do you need?” He asked Flynn softly.

“Just you,” she whispered back.

His heart fluttered as he didn’t hesitate to hold her close, wrapping an arm around her so he could both hold her and rub his hands up and down her arms. Reggie kissed the side of her head and whispered back: “I’m here. But we need to get you somewhere safe, okay?”

But Flynn didn’t look like she was in any shape to be moved at all, let alone driven in a car in L.A. traffic. He tried to not feel guilty that they were at the school in the first place (knowing full well they were only there because of him). They didn’t have time for one of him to feel guilty.

“Okay, so bad news, there is a lot of traffic out,” the midwife informed them. “Your kid decided to come the one night it’s pissing down rain in Los Angeles, and the interstate’s a parking lot. I wouldn't try to drive very far."

Carlos was already pulling up the traffic ETA, and judging by his face falling, it wasn’t great news. “Yeah, it’s standstill heading toward Dad’s.”

A pit fell in his stomach at the thought of trying to navigate rainy L.A. traffic right now with Flynn this far into labor, and he realized what the more realistic option would be.

“I know it’s not what you wanted for this, but I can call an ambulance, and we could go to Steve’s hospital,” Reggie offered as kept rubbing Flynn's back. “It’s closer, we don't have to take the interstate, it might be quicker to get to.” Might. Even he knew that wasn’t a guarantee.

“No!” Flynn shook her head feverishly. “The hospital was never part of our plan.  I’m healthy, the baby’s healthy. I don’t want to go to the hospital. I don’t even know anything about their hospital, I don't know the doctors or how reputable they are, or how insurance will cover it. I don't want to go to the hospital, Reggie, please."

“I know. I know, baby. But if it’s what’s best for the baby-"

“I know what’s best for the baby!”

“I know, but Flynn…” he trailed off helplessly, not wanting to add to her stress as he thought quickly.

She sounded so panicky, and clearly just the thought of being in the hospital was stressing her out, and Reggie understood why. He knew first hand how scary ambulance rides were, and having a bunch of paramedics surrounding his wife while she was in labor, trying to move her and take her to a hospital she wasn’t familiar with, with doctors she didn’t know, sounded like a huge extra stress. Plus, Flynn hated hospitals after seeing Rose die in one- and so did he, after nearing dying in one twice. He didn’t exactly like the thought of being back in one either.

But if he had to…

“I want my midwife,” Flynn pleaded. She swallowed hard and motioned for Stevie to hand her the phone. “I’ve been working with her for nine months, she knows me and our baby better than anyone. She can get here just as fast as an ambulance, and I’d rather have her do this here than just have a paramedic deliver my baby. This baby is coming fast, Reggie, I don't know if I can make it anywhere. Maybe...maybe we just do this here."

His eyes blew wide as he realized exactly what Flynn meant.

“Here?!” He squeaked.

Reggie felt a bit faint as he looked around his classroom. There were instrument cases everywhere from the kids getting ready for their show, backpacks strewn about the chairs from where most of the kids just stayed after school to practice. He had no medical supplies, no machines to monitor vitals, not even a blood pressure pump. Reggie had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

Fathers weren’t supposed to deliver their own babies.

Babies weren’t supposed to be born in schools.

A cold sweat broke out on his skin and adrenaline pumped through him as Reggie looked up to his brother, who was on the phone with the midwife, trying to take in her instructions. He looked over to the guys and Julie, who all looked more serious and worried than he had ever seen them. Everyone looked scared. The only ones of them who had even had kids were Bobby and Marcus, and it was a bit of a relief to see Bobby was his usual, calm self. But it wasn’t like they had to deliver their own kids.

“Here,” Flynn confirmed, nodded and asked her midwife: “If it's too risky to drive me, can you get here?"

“I’m on my way now. Reggie, just make sure Flynn’s as comfortable as she can be, that’s all that matters. This will still be just like a home birth,” the midwife assured them all over the phone, “but-"

“In Reggie’s classroom,” Alex cut in. “Oh my god.”

“Babies are born in a lot worse situations in this world every day,” the midwife reminded them, “but Reggie, this labor is progressing quickly. If this baby comes before I get there, you and Stevie are going to have to deliver her.”

His chest tightened.

Reggie swallowed hard as he looked up to his brother. He knew Stevie was super smart- and he was the only one of them with any medical experience. He had taken a mother baby class at school and did a clinical on the labor and delivery floor…but all that was a lot different than delivering your brother’s baby on your own at a school.

“Can you do this?” Reggie asked Stevie.

Stevie gave him a single nod; Reggie had a feeling he was a lot more nervous than he was letting on and it felt strange, needing to lean on his little brother so much. But he really, really needed his family right now.

“Yes,” his brother promised, “whatever you need, I’m here.”

“Us too,” Julie echoed, her arm around Flynn below where Reggie was rubbing circles. “I’ve got you, bestie.”

The two of them let their heads fall together and Flynn smiled, grateful. “Thanks Jules.”

The guys stepped over to them too, Luke wasting no time to clasp his shoulder supportively. Willie grinned at him and Flynn.

“A true chaos baby,” Willie smirked at everyone in their very chaotic group. “She fits right in already.”

“That’s my girl,” Flynn said with a nervous laugh.

“Yeah man,” Luke laughed. “You’ve truly got a Sunset Curve kid, Reg. If she wants to be a part of the show, I say we let her.”

“I think this is absolutely nuts,” Alex admitted; he slowly backed away to hide behind Willie when Flynn glared at him. “But I think Georgie knows her new family and understood the assignment.”

“She’s coming out in style,” Carlos grinned.

“These people family?” The midwife asked him and Flynn.

“Yeah,” Reggie smiled, letting out his own nervous laugh.

Bobby simply gave Reggie a firm nod of support and Reggie knew his friend would be there, whatever he need. He would make sure he and Flynn were okay. His hand inched over to meet Flynn’s and their fingers laced together between them. Their eyes met, his wife’s wide and fearful- but determined, and he tried to not show his fear. They were both strong, he knew it, even if he had been an anxious mess these past nine months. They could do this.

“Mr. Taylor?” Reggie looked up, surprised to find Covington’s head poking around the class room door. His principal looked more serious and concerned than Reggie had ever seen him- which was saying a lot. “Is everything okay?”

Reggie kissed Flynn’s hand before getting up to update his boss.

“The baby’s coming,” Reggie told him. “There’s not enough time to get to the birthing center, and traffic’s too bad to risk driving Flynn anywhere. The midwife’s coming to us.”

“You want to have the baby here?” Covington asked, his voice a pitch too high. “I can call an ambulance!”

Flynn glared daggers at him, and Reggie silently pleaded with him to understand. Covington’s face quickly softened.

“There’s no time,” Reggie explained, “and the midwife is already on the way.”

“O-okay,” Covington breathed quickly trying to process what was happening. “Well. This is quite…unprecedented, but I’m here for you, Reggie. Whatever mom needs, we can get her.”

“Who is that?” The midwife asked on speaker phone.

“My boss,” Reggie squeaked.

“Oh boy,” the midwife breathed. They could hear her car door ding as she opened it and then started up the engine. “Okay, well, believe it or not, not the first time I’ve had a boss at the birth.”

“At least we’re not in your old classroom,” Luke muttered, shuddering at the thought, “with the ghost and the falling ceiling tiles.”

This was true.

“That ghost just didn’t like you,” Alex mocked.

(This was also true.)

“Okay, Reggie and Mr. Bossman,” the midwife went on. “I’ll be there in twenty. I’ll have my med kit, but we need any towels and blankets you have. Extra gloves for these kids would be wonderful. The school nurse’s station will have them.”

“I have a blanket!” They all turned to find Viv was standing behind Covington, holding her girlfriend Mia’s hand. All his band kids were there, Reggie realized. “I’m like always cold, so I always keep a blanket around for class.”

She rushed out of the room to her locker.

“Who’s that?” The midwife asked over the phone.

“My students,” Reggie sighed. “It…it was supposed to be a school dance night.”

“…I take that back, this is officially a first. I’ve never had students at a birth- and I thought I’ve seen everything.”

The kids giggled as they all hovered nervously by the door, staring wide at Flynn, who still had Julie’s arm wrapped around her. Flynn was still fully covered- and gorgeous in her yellow dress, but Reggie inched over to try to shield her to try to give her some privacy.

“I told you kids to stay in the gym,” Covington warned.

Ignoring him, the kids looked back to their teacher. “We had to check on you Mr. T!.” Isaiah complained. “Besides, this baby is not allowed to be born in our band room without us there!”

"Yeah! Also does it have to be our classroom?” Zain asked. “That’s the couch I nap on!” Flynn threw a warning glare at him, and Zain backed away slowly. “N-nope…it your couch now.”

“Somehow, I don’t think Flynn wants a bunch of middle schoolers at her birth,” Mia piped up. “She needs privacy.”

Covington seemed relieved to hear that at least one of the kids understood, and Reggie was too. He loved his students…but he didn’t exactly expect them to be anywhere near the birth of his child. This was all starting to feel like a really bizarre dream- and worse, the clock was ticking down fast to Flynn’s next big contraction.

“Look guys, it means a lot that you’re here and you care about us and the baby,” Reggie offered, “but unless any of you has a medical degree I don’t know about-"

“Oh! I’ve seen a lot of births on Grey’s Anatomy!” Shana chimed in. She crossed her arms, trying to look around Reggie to Flynn. “How dilated is she? Has her water broke? Have you gotten her ice chips?”

“I like this kid,” the midwife announced, amused, “but actually, it’s okay if she has a little bit of food or water. The ice chip thing is an outdated rule. You’ll need the energy, Flynn. A snack is fine.”

“I have Oreos in my locker!” Isaiah proclaimed.

“A-and I-I have a protein bar,” Ashton offered shyly. They both disappeared before any of the adults could point out there was plenty of food at the dance and cafeteria, and he wasn’t sure either of those were what Flynn would want right now. But if it made the kids feel like they could help, he understood.

Reggie let out a long breath and held a hand to his forehead. The birth of his baby was supposed to be the most beautiful moment of his life- not full of complete chaos in his classroom, with all his students and principal there and his brother as the only present medical professional. But he couldn’t freak out at them, it wasn’t the kids’ fault their dance turned into a birth; as much as he loved his students, he also didn’t want to have to worry about them being involved on top of worrying about Flynn and the baby. His boss seemed to sense his stress.

“While I’m sure Mr. Taylor appreciate your concern, this is still a private family matter,” Covington stated. “We will all go back to the gym and finish the dance like normal and make sure this area of the school stays safe and clear of any disturbances. Got it?”

The kids all groaned but reluctantly nodded in agreement.

“Thanks guys,” Reggie told them all, genuinely. Maybe this wasn’t exactly how he imagined his daughter’s birth happening…but his family would be surrounded by people who loved them. People who believed in them- believed in him. He felt taken cared of. “I think we’re okay.”

“Here.” Viv returned to the room, handing him a soft, light green quilted blanket she had gotten from her locker. “My grandma made this for me. Maybe it’s not from the baby’s grandmother but…every baby should have something hand knitted from grandma.”

Somewhere out there, his own mother had no clue she was about to become a grandma. As far as Reggie was concerned, she could never find out; he couldn’t ever imagine her knitting something so beautiful for his child.

“Are you sure?” Reggie asked her.

She nodded.

“My grandma’s knitted me loads of blankets,” Viv grinned. “She kinda has a knitting problem.”

“It’s true,” Mia giggled, “she’s knitted me like seven hats, just this year.”

Reggie found himself laughing as he admired the blanket, overcome with emotion.

“Thanks,” Reggie told Viv. “This really, really means a lot.”

His principal threw him a final smile and a nod of encouragement before turning back to the kids.

“Good luck to you both,” Covington told them as he herded the students away. “I’ll get the supplies from the nurse’s office. We can move you in there if you’d like, Flynn-“

“I am not giving birth on a tiny cot meant for twelve year olds!” Flynn shot

“She’s fine wherever she’s comfortable,” the midwife assured Covington, “I’ll be there with my kit in a jiffy.”

A car horn blared over the speaker as the midwife navigated through traffic, and Reggie had a bad feeling her arrival wouldn’t be anywhere close to in a ‘jiffy’.

His principal held up his hands, not about to argue.

“Whatever mom wants, mom gets,” Covington offered. “Students back to the gym, now. Or the rest of the dance is going to turn into a swing dance lesson, taught by yours truly. And there will be a pop quiz at the end.”

The kids all groaned again, giving final waves and calls of ‘good luck!’ to Reggie and Flynn. His boss seemed much calmer once the kids were out, and honestly, Reggie felt the same.

“I’ll help you with those supplies,” Carlos said to Covington, “and we’ll keep an eye out for the midwife.” He turned to his boyfriend, taking a moment to try to check in with Stevie, and Reggie felt comforted, knowing someone was there watching over his brother too. "Do you need anything?"

Stevie shook his head. "I'm okay. Thanks, Car." His boyfriend gave his arm a supportive squeeze before disappearing out the door to help Covington. 

“We’ll help keep the peace at the dance,” Marcus offered, patting Willie's shoulder to encourage them to come with.

“Good luck besties,” Willie told him and Flynn, wiggling their eyebrows. “I hope there’s a baby next time I see you.”

“Me too,” Reggie sighed. All he wanted in the world right now was for his daughter to be born, for her to be healthy and for Flynn to safely make it through the labor. He couldn’t even let himself think of any other possibility right now.

“And I’ll guard the door,” Bobby said, “to make sure no one bothers you, but I will be right here. You need anything, let me know.”

He winked at Reggie, and it was a relief knowing his fellow dad friend would be right there.

“Steve, why don’t you step aside for a minute?” The midwife asked. “Give momma a minute to breathe, and we can talk.”

“You can go in my office,” Reggie told his brother, nodding toward the small office he shared with the other band director. He quickly turned back to his wife. “What do you need, darling?”

“To stand. I think walking would be good.”

He remembered learning that changing positions a lot was really helpful during labor; Reggie thanked his past self for taking so many detailed notes from all the parenting websites and all the time he spent studying them. With Luke’s help, Reggie carefully lifted her off the sofa, holding her hand to steady her until she signaled she was okay to walk. He stayed by her side, thinking movement might help him calm his nerves.

“Are you okay in your dress?” Julie asked Flynn.

“For now,” Flynn nodded. “It’s pretty flowy.”

She was right, the fluttery sleeves seemed comfortable and the dress was at least pretty loose.

“And very pretty,” Luke commented. “You’re doing amazing and you look amazing doing it.”

“Thanks!” Flynn grinned at him, seeming more like herself than she had been during the chaos so far. “I think.”

“You look beautiful,” Reggie murmured; he stole a kiss to her cheek. Luke gave him a thumbs up.

Then suddenly, Flynn gasped in shock as a new contraction clearly hit her. Julie hit the timer on her phone. Reggie guided Flynn back to the sofa, where she leaned nearly all the way over the arm. Reggie moved his hands lower, holding her hips and squeezing them gently while Julie rubbed circles on her back. The room was suddenly eerily silent, except for Flynn breathing through her contractions.

“Just breathe,” Reggie told her. He followed the breathing instructions himself, grateful that it actually seemed to help him too. He felt like he should be panicking way more than he was, but he felt oddly okay now. This was just what they had to do, as parents.

“You’re doing good sweetie,” Julie promised her.

“Yeah you are!” Luke echoed.

“You’re doing amazing,” Reggie echoed softly. “I love you so much. Just breathe. Feel this?” He squeezed gently at her hips, and she nodded. “Focus on that and breathe.”

Luke’s face was scrunched up like he felt in pain from seeing her in so much pain, and Reggie could relate. This whole pregnancy, he had wished he could take all the pain away from her. But nonetheless, even though he looked a bit scared, his friend knelt on the sofa in front of Flynn, holding placing a hand over one of hers while Julie took the other so that Reggie could keep massaging. Then Luke sang under his breath:

“We’ll rise, through the night, you and I will shine together.”

“Bright forever,” Julie sang softly behind Flynn.

Reggie smiled at them both, more thankful than ever he had the best friends of all time.

“That’s it,” Reggie encouraged Flynn as she kept breathing through the contraction as he massaged her. “You’re doing amazing, just breathe. Are you comfortable?” She nodded, squeezing her eyes tight.

“You’re both doing amazing,” Luke gushed at him. He reached out to hold onto Reggie’s arm too, squeezing it gently. “You’re both superheroes. Super mom and dad.”

His heart fluttered at the compliment, and whereas for nine months he had worried about being able to step up and be a father, he had no doubt he could do this now. It was like his body just knew what to do, like this Super Dad gene had switched on inside him. Ray and Bobby both had been promising him for months now that this would happen, and he could see now exactly what they meant. Reggie was ready for this.

Stevie popped out of his office, meeting his eyes and Reggie nodded to signal everything was okay.

Then all at once, Flynn slowly let out a shaky breath and readjusted positions. “I…I need to sit again. I’m sorry.”

“You literally have nothing to be sorry about,” Reggie assured her.

He and Luke quickly moved her to sit back on the sofa, where she leaned against Reggie again, letting him hold her like she had earlier. She was nearly bent over in half, trying to get comfortable, trying to breathe through it.

“You did so, so good,” he whispered, brushing her hair out of her face.

“You kicked that contraction’s butt!” Luke cheered, making Flynn laugh a little. Her laugh was beautiful.

“That one was sixty-five seconds,” Julie announced, “and barely four minutes from the last one. Wow this baby’s coming fast.”

“My mom always said I came super fast,” Flynn reminded them lightly. It was true, Reggie had heard the story many times from Mrs. Taylor. His stomach twisted as he tried to not consider he didn’t know a single birth story about him and Stevie; he had only been four when his brother was born, and he just remembered meeting his brother at the hospital. “C-can someone call her?”

“I’ll call both of our parents,” Julie offered. Reggie nodded appreciatively as she stepped aside to make the calls. Secretly, he still really wish he could talk to Ray- what he would give for one of his dad hugs or pep talks right now.

“How did that contraction feel?” The midwife asked.

“That felt much stronger than the last one,” Flynn replied, still looking a bit uncomfortable. He ran his hands up and down her arms.

“Can I get you anything?” Reggie asked. “Something to drink? A snack? Cute puppy videos?”

“Oh Reggie has plenty of those,” Luke teased.

Reggie threw finger guns at him. He may or may not have stocked up on his cute puppy playlists to prepare for potentially long hours of labor. He hadn’t considered they might instead have super fast, short labor...in his classroom. 

“Flynn, we should check to see how dilated you are,” the midwife instructed. "We can wait until I get there, but just in case you're farther along than we think, it would be good to have an idea."

“And I’m out!” Luke yelped, disappearing from the room in a flash to the hallway as he called back to Reggie: “Love you, bro!”

“Wow,” Julie muttered.

But Reggie was only concerned about Flynn; he kept rubbing her arms and back as he told her:

“I…I can do it. I don’t have any clue what I’m doing but…”

The thought of being the one in charge of figuring out how dilated his wife was should have terrified him, but Reggie was running on pure adrenaline and a surge of fatherly confidence. He knew he could trust Stevie, who had worked with so many patients before, but this was still his sister-in-law, and he didn’t want his brother to have to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with or sure about doing.

“No, I can do it!” Stevie blurted out, blushing. “I…I had to do this in school. The midwife and I just talked this through. Flynn, if you’re comfortable with this, I’m comfortable.”

"I know I've never met him, and I've only known him for ten mintes, but I have every bit of faith in Steve," the midwife assured them. Underneath his surge of fatherly confidence, Reggie also felt a surge of brotherly pride for Stevie. Though he always knew Stevie was super smart and saw his confidence grow with his hospital job, Reggie also knew of his brother's own battles with anxiety and panic attacks. This situation was so unlike anything they had ever imagined would happen tonight, but Stevie seemed to have it under control. All the work in the ER must have really helped him learn how to deal with this kind of chaos; he was already so in awe of Stevie. Reggie fully trusted his brother to help them through this. 

“It’s okay, I need you by me,” Flynn told Reggie. She looked up at Stevie. “You can check, I trust you."

"I'll make that call to our parents," Julie said as she disappeared into Reggie's office to give them some space.

Stevie shrugged off his blazer, draping it over the bottom half of Flynn to help give her some privacy as she hiked up her dress. Reggie knelt by Flynn’s side, never letting go of her hand. 

"I'm just gonna go wash my hands real quick," Stevie told them. He gave Reggie a look as though to say 'I'm giving you a minute'. He could imagine Stevie needed a minute too.

And at last, the room was quiet, save for the hum of the midwife's car on speaker and Flynn's breathing. He rest his hand against hers.

“You ready for this?"” Reggie asked his wife quietly. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. A small smile played at his lips. "We're gonna have a baby soon."

His wife let out a long breath and let a beautiful smile cross her face.

“Not exactly how I pictured this happening, but I'm so ready to meet our daughter. Let's do this, babe."

Reggie stole a soft, quick kiss from her and murmured in agreement:

"Let's do this."

Chapter Text

Bobby sat in the hallway near Reggie’s band room, his back against the wall and knees drawn to his chest. He was flipping through his phone, admiring the photos from when Carrie was born. She was so tiny and fragile looking, snuggled so perfectly in the crook of his arms as his nineteen year old self held her. To this day, he could still remember exactly how terrified he was, being a kid having a kid with a partner who was checked out almost as soon as she gave birth. It was a bit dizzying to consider how things had turned out and how much things had changed just five short years later- to consider how much he knew about himself that he didn’t know then.

The door to the band room opened, and Luke rushed through. He was a bit pale, like he might be sick.

“Stevie’s gonna check…” he pointed his fingers toward the floor. Bobby snorted, knowing exactly what Luke meant. But it was never not fun to have the chance to torment him.

“Stevie’s gonna check the floor?”

“No bro! He’s gonna check- you know! Her dilation of her…you know.”

Laughing, he scooted over to let Luke sit down beside him.

“Dude, you literally are married to a woman, and you can’t say the word cervix out loud?”

“I don’t wanna talk about my best bro’s wife’s…that word!” Luke whined. He let out a long breath. “It was intense in there. Poor Flynn. Poor women everywhere. I am so glad I’m never gonna have to be pregnant.

“Yes, thank god the world will never have to see a pregnant Luke Molina. That would literally be tragic.”

He shook his head; it never failed to amaze him that even though his friends were all grown up now, they were very much still the same at heart. Especially Luke. He flipped to the next photo of Carrie, one someone had taken of him and Carrie right after her birth. A soft smile crossed his face at the memory.

“What was Carrie’s birth like?” Luke asked him. His voice was softer, as though realizing it might be hard for him to be here and remember what his life was like back then, with Charlotte.

“It was a lot different than this,” Bobby sighed. A small smile played at his lips. “I think I was more stressed than she was. I was hovering over her like crazy, trying to convince her it was time to go to the hospital. I had read so many parenting books, the nurses were impressed I knew so much.”

Luke grinned.

“Of course you did. You always know how to take care of people.”

This comment made him melt a bit inside. It had always made him proud, being the person who was cool in a crisis and who knew how to help. He was always going to be there like that for his daughter, even if her mother wasn’t.

The next photo he swiped to was one of him, Charlotte and Carrie. It was the only photo he had of the three of them- the only reason he even kept it was because Carrie deserved to have some kind of picture of her parents. Just in case she asked one day, he kept it around. He and his ex didn’t look like they belonged together at all.

“You know…I think Charlotte already knew then that she was going to leave me,” Bobby admitted quietly.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of the two of you together,” Luke commented. He bit his lip for a moment, then dared to ask: “Have you heard from her? Like…at all?”

Bobby shook his head and quickly moved onto more Carrie photos.

“Nope, and I hope I never do.”

He knew that was selfish. He knew that eventually- probably soon- Carrie would have questions about her mother. And Bobby had no clue how he was going to handle that.

“I still don’t get how she could just want nothing to do with her kid,” Luke muttered. Then he stopped, realization flashing across his face. Luke hadn’t talked to his own parents since their falling out at his wedding, when they had disowned him- he knew exactly how parents could abandon their kids. “Actually I…I guess I do.”

Placing a hand on Luke’s shoulder, Bobby sat quietly with him, giving him a moment. His friend ran his hands over his face as his eyes swelled. After the wedding, Luke stopped talking about his parents altogether, like they never even existed. He called Ray ‘dad’, took on Julie’s last name, and so flawlessly became a Molina that one might forget there was ever an Emily. But Bobby knew no matter how much you buried that stuff down, it always came back to haunt you. Especially on nights like tonight. He knew how emotional Luke was and how hard he tried with his parents. There was no way their falling out didn’t still hurt.

“I’m sorry,” Luke announced, his voice breaking as he pressed his hands against his eyes. “I guess it just hit me…my parents went through this, you know? All this…birth stuff. I’ve seen the photos and home video from when I was born, and they were so excited about it. I still can’t figure out what happened to us. We used to be a family.”

“I know,” Bobby replied softly, pulling Luke toward him so his friend could rest his head on his shoulder. “I know. But you know none of that was your fault, right?”

Luke nodded, even though he looked totally defeated. They sat in silence like that for a long moment; he expected Luke to go on, but it didn’t seem like his friend could stomach talking about it.

“I don’t want to get all upset about it. Reggie needs me,” Luke finally said, rubbing his hands over his face. “Like I said I just…I’m glad I’ll never have to worry about any of this, this baby stuff.”

Bobby’s eyebrows furrowed as he studied him.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t think Julie and I will ever have kids,” Luke shrugged. “We have our music, you know?”

“I have music and a kid,” Bobby pointed out. “Lots of musicians do. I mean, it’s totally cool if you guys don’t want kids, but…I also think you’d be a great dad, if you wanted to be.”

Luke sniffled, his wide, wet eyes looking up at Bobby.

“You think I’d be a great dad?” He asked.

“Yeah, I really think you would,” Bobby nodded. As he studied his friends he thought about Reggie, and his own insecurities about becoming a dad and how tied they were to his own parents. It really wouldn’t be too shocking if someone with parents as emotionally abusive as Luke’s would question their own parental abilities. He asked gently: “Does any of this have to do with your parents?”

Luke flinched and pulled his knees close to his chest. Bobby didn’t hesitate to wrap an arm around him and let Luke rest his head on his shoulder.

“What if I pushed my kid away like they did to me?” Luke asked in a small voice.

“You wouldn’t do that,” Bobby insisted. “You’d never do that to a kid, Luke. You don’t have an abusive or neglectful bone in your body.”

“I am selfish though, sometimes, though,” Luke admitted. “I know I am. And I know kind of have a one-tract mind. When you have a kid, they’re your entire world, they’re always first and…I guess I just hear Emily’s voice in my head telling me that I only know how to put myself first.”

If Flynn wasn’t literally giving birth to Reggie’s child in the room next door at that moment, Bobby would have stormed right over to Emily’s house and slashed her tires.

“That’s funny,” Bobby commented, “because the Luke I know always puts others first. Yeah, you’re passionate, but it’s because you see the potential in others as much as you do yourself. You always want to help, I mean you literally know nothing about labor and delivery and it’s killing you to not be able to help Reggie and Flynn.”

“It is!” Luke leaned back into Bobby, who held his friend close.

“You’re a good, caring person, Luke, with a lot of love to share. All this stuff I get to do with Carrie, watching her grow up, seeing her discover the world, discover music…I think you’d love that.” His friend’s eyes lit up at the mention of music, and Bobby knew he was getting through to him. “But I also think you have a lot to offer to this world just being you. Whatever you guys decide to do with your life, you’re an amazing person, Luke. It’s a billion percent valid if you guys don’t want kids, but make sure you know why you’re deciding. If that’s what you want, that’s totally cool, but make sure that’s why and not anything you think your parents would say. You’re already a great uncle to Carrie and will be to Georgie to. I’m really glad you’re my kid’s life.”

“Thanks, Bobby.”

Luke let out a long breath as he buried his head into Bobby’s shoulder, and he held him there for a long moment. As they broke apart, he kissed the top of Luke’s head and ruffled his hair, making him blush.

“I’m gonna go see if they need any help with the supplies,” Luke stated, clearly needing a moment to himself. He jumped to his feet.

“Have fun.”

As Luke ran off, Bobby turned back to his phone and flipped forward to the photos he took during his New York tour, finding a photo of him, Carrie and Marcus eating ice cream in Central Park. He looked so much happier than in the photo with Charlotte, so much more himself. He looked like he was truly where he was supposed to be.

“Incoming!” Came Carlos’ voice as he slipped through the doorway, holding an armful of towels.

Reggie was seated again at the sofa with Flynn, after having helped her walk some more. She was breathing through another contraction as he pressed at her hips, trying to help with the pain as much as he could. But as soon as their private space was invaded, Reggie felt overly protective.

“Hey!” Reggie yelped, not moving from Flynn’s side even though all he wanted to do was jump up to hide her, despite the suit jacket doing a pretty good job of keeping her from being exposed. “We need a…a system here, or something! People can’t just barge in here. Bobby! You’re supposed to be hall monitor!”

“I told them to knock!” Bobby called from the hallway. “They’re literally children.”

“Come on, Reg,” Carlos snorted as he began to help place the towels beneath Flynn.

Alex and Luke were with him, Alex carrying not only a big cup of ice, heating pad and ice pack, and a bucket. Luke had a handful of rubber glove boxes, bandages and gauze, a stethoscope was around his neck and a blood pressure pump sat on top of his pile. Stevie gratefully took the stethoscope and blood pressure pump and put on a pair of gloves.

“We are all very, very gay and or married here,” Carlos went on, “we do not care what your wife looks like down there. No offense, Flynn.”

Flynn just let out a groan of pain, closing her eyes as she held on tightly to the back of the sofa and clutched Julie’s hand.

When the contraction finally eased, Julie gently extracted herself from Flynn’s grip.

“Luke, why did you bring Band-Aids and gauze?” Julie asked. She held up a little pill bottle. “And Tylenol?”

 “I…I don’t know! I thought it’d be useful?”

Having known these guys for most of his life, Reggie was not surprised at all by Luke’s cluelessness. In fact, a year ago, before he even imagined becoming a father, he probably would have been equally as confused about what supplies to collect for an emergency classroom birth.

“And Alex…why the bucket?” Julie snorted, pointing at the bucket in his hand.

“I…I dunno,” Alex replied nervously. He was looking a bit too pale and faint as he kept his eyes peeled away from Flynn. “For throwing up in? For Flynn. Also…possibly for my weak stomach. Yeah…I shouldn’t hang around long.”

Reggie knew from watching one too many horror movies with Alex that his friend was not lying about having a weak stomach. And as much as he loved his friends, all he wanted right now was to focus on his wife.

“The supplies are fine,” the midwife called over the phone. “Stevie, when this contraction stops, go ahead and take Flynn’s vitals.”

Stevie placed the stethoscope around his neck, just like Reggie had seen him do dozens of times when he was giving practice physical exams.

“Thanks, guys,” Reggie told his friends gratefully, “but really, we’re fine.”

The guys didn’t look convinced they should leave them. Reggie leaned over, kissing the top of Flynn’s head as though to prove a point. Julie dampened a washcloth and gave it to him to dab the sweat from her forehead while Reggie rubbed Flynn’s arm and back.

Stepping up to his boyfriend, Carlos gently squeezed Stevie’s arm and studied him in concern.

“Is there anything you need?” Carlos asked in a soft, caring voice.

“I’m okay,” Stevie assured him. “Thanks, for the stuff. It really, really helps. And just…thanks for being here.”

“Of course.” Carlos leaned forward to murmur into his ear: “You’re doing absolutely amazing, mi amor.” He stole a kiss to Stevie’s cheek as he pulled away, enjoying the blush it earned him.

Over by Flynn, Julie wetted one of the washcloths for her and placed it gently on her forehead, and Flynn sighed at the small relief it brought…but the relief only lasted for a second before another contraction hit. She yelped in surprise at how fierce this contraction felt, the pain was much lower, much more intense and…fiery. She breathed hard as she realized what was happening.

“Reggie, the baby’s crowning.”

“Okay, okay, just relax and don’t push,” Reggie told her soothingly. “You’re doing amazing Flynn, but if you push things might tear. Can you wait-“

She let out a cry as the pain intensified even more and she leaned back, trying to do what Reggie had said when her whole body was telling her to push.

“I’m at the school!” The midwife cried over the phone; Flynn let out a cry of relief. “I’m here. MIDWIFE COMING THROUGH!” She bellowed over the phone, seconds later she appeared in the band room. “Everyone who’s not momma, daddy, and a certified nursing assistant, OUT!” The midwife ordered.

“Julie can stay!” Flynn pleaded. “Let Julie stay!”

"Julie can stay!" The midwife confirmed.

The boys were unceremoniously shoved out to the hall, where Willie and Marcus now were with Bobby.

“The gym has descended into complete chaos. The kids won’t stop asking about Reggie and the baby.” Marcus informed them. He made a face. “Some of them even started asking about where babies come from and sex.”

Bobby smirked at his aroace partner.

“Did you inform them you’re literally one of the last people in the building who should give that talk?”

Marcus hi-fived him. “Oh yeah. We ran away and let Covington handle it.”

“Pretty sure that man literally is living out his worst nightmare tonight,” Willie laughed. “Was that the midwife we just heard come through? Any update?”

Luke’s eyes were wide, still in awe of what he just saw. He really, really shouldn’t have looked when the baby started crowning. He felt a bit faint but was determined to not pass out. Alex, meanwhile, threw up in the bucket he brought.

“I’m guessing the baby’s crowning?” Willie teased as they jumped to their partner’s side, patting his back.

Alex casually lifted up and wiped at his mouth as he stated: “I have a weak stomach, and I’m not ashamed.” He threw up again a little and then raised his head, white as a ghost. “Okay, I’m a little bit ashamed.”

Inside the classroom, Flynn cried out- but it wasn’t even a bloodcurdling scream, like that time he broke his wrist as a kid or any given time Alex saw a spider. Reggie’s wife was in there, giving birth with zero pain medicine, in a school classroom, and she was handling it like an absolutely queen. And his best friend, who had been fighting horrible anxiety for nine months now about having a kid, was handling this like a pro. Even Julie, the love his own life, just seemed to totally know what to do and was completely cool.

“We should be ashamed!” Luke declared, suddenly disgusted with himself. “Our best friend’s wife is in there, giving birth. We shouldn’t just be out here…freaking out and doing nothing.”

Carlos raised a hand.

“I haven’t been freaking out.”

“Neither have I,” Bobby replied coolly. Marcus pointed at his partner in agreement.

“There’s got to be some way we can help,” Luke muttered, thinking.

He had to be able to pull through and do at least something for Reggie and Flynn. Reggie was his best friend for life, his brother, was in there becoming a dad, and Luke…had never felt more useless in his life. He thought back to what Bobby said, about the things he thought Luke would like about parenting, like introducing music to a kid’s life, and suddenly, he had an idea.

“I actually know exactly how we can help.”

Reggie should have been freaking out as he encouraged his wife through her latest contraction. Flynn was curled up on the sofa of his classroom, but it was like he wasn’t even conscious anymore they were at the school at all. He was solely hyperfocused on Flynn. His heart was pounding, adrenaline pumped through him, more than he had ever felt before. The closest thing he could relate it to was, ironically, trying to escape from his father that fateful night- trying to do whatever he could to keep Stevie safe. It was like an out of body experience almost, like some magical force was pushing him on, getting him through.

It was almost an hour after the midwife came to Stevie’s rescue, but his brother had stayed right by their side the whole time, checking Flynn’s blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature. Julie was by Flynn the whole time too, bringing up Flynn’s birthing playlist on her phone, taking whatever photos and video clips for her. She let Ray and Flynn’s parents know what was going on, and Reggie almost burst into tears when he got to hear Ray’s words of encouragement for him and Flynn. He promised to be back home as soon as he could from Vegas, while Flynn’s mom was going to drive over to get the house ready.

Nothing about this was anything like what Reggie could have ever dreamt his daughter’s birth would have been like. Nothing about this was ideal. But he was this close to meeting his daughter, and any birth that led to their daughter getting here safely was perfect.

“I’ve got you, you’re doing so, so amazing,” Reggie promised to Flynn. “Just remember, the pain is good! It just means the baby is coming and…and the baby is coming, and we’re gonna do this- you’re gonna do this. I’m right here, and I’ve got you and you’re doing amazing and just remember your breathing.”

“Push!” The midwife cried, encouraging Flynn on as his wife pushed as hard as she could.

“You’re doing so amazing, baby,” Reggie kept telling her, gripping her hand. “You’re an absolutely queen.”

“You’re handling this like a boss!” Julie chimed in. Tears were in her eyes as she gripped Flynn’s other hand. “We’re almost there, Flynn, you’ve got this!”

“We’re almost there!” The midwife informed them, leading to a cheer of ‘push’ from all three of them. “This is it, here she comes.”

Flynn let out a final cry- and suddenly, his wife wasn’t the only one crying. His daughter was crying too.

The midwife lifted up from where she was squatted in front of Flynn, holding his baby girl in her arms. And she was absolutely perfect. Tears ran down Reggie’s face at the sight of the tiny infant, her brown- yet very pale- skin, the mess of dark curls on her head and her teeny, tiny little hands. The umbilical cord was cut by the midwife, and Reggie trembled as he watched Stevie and the midwife wipe her off before carefully placing her in Flynn’s arms to rest on her chest.

“She’s beautiful,” Flynn sobbed.

“She’s so perfect,” Reggie trembled. He leaned over, carefully placing a kiss to Flynn’s head.

Flynn was crying, Julie was crying, Stevie was teary-eyed but somehow managed to hold it together as he griped Reggie’s shoulder. This was his daughter, his child to take home and raise, his new family. All at once, all of his struggles…it was all worth it. This was what he was meant to do, all along. Survive so that he could be this little girl’s father.

Reggie felt like a brand-new person.

“You did so amazing, Reg,” Stevie whispered. “She’s so beautiful. Congratulations.”

He pulled Reggie into a quick embrace, and Reggie couldn’t help but to let out a sob of relief into his brother’s shoulders and let his brother hold him.

“Thank you so much,” Reggie trembled as he lifted up. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. “Thank you so, so much.”

It felt like he was smiling and crying and happier than he had ever been in his life and shaky with adrenaline all at the same time. He turned back to Flynn and his baby, totally overwhelmed that this was real. This wasn’t a dream. His daughter was really here.

“She’s really, really beautiful,” Julie told them, wiping away her own tears. She squeezed Flynn’s shoulders and murmured to her friend: “She looks just like you! But Reggie, I think she has your nose.”

Reggie let out a laugh as he realized Julie was right. Somehow, her teeny tiny little nose reminded him exactly of his own. Flynn smiled through her tears, carefully brushing her finger over their daughter’s tiny nose, her chin, her cheeks.

“Hi Georgia,” Flynn said softly through her tears, “I’m your mom.”

Reggie grinned widely even as he sobbed. He had never been so happy in his life.

“Hi Georgia,” he greeted, carefully cupping the back of his daughter’s tiny, damp head. “I’m your dad.”

Everything was perfect.

The first hour of his daughter’s life was a flurry of chaos as Stevie helped conduct the baby’s first exam, the midwife made sure Flynn was okay (she was), and Flynn got her first breastfeeding lesson. At last, Stevie went to update the others while the midwife did her paperwork, and Reggie got a moment to just rest with Flynn and admire their newborn. Both of them were running off of adrenaline, barely aware that the time was even passing, barely aware they were still in his classroom. The only thing Reggie cared about in the world was Flynn and the baby girl in Flynn’s arms, wrapped in the light green blanket Viv had given him. His heart swelled just watching the two of them, a smile lingered constantly on his face.

And for the first time, her dark little eyes pried open, unfocused and wild.

“Oh my god,” Flynn gasped, letting out a laugh and sob at the same time. “Hi baby.”

“Hi baby girl,” Reggie greeted, waving even though he knew rationally she was too small to focus on anything. “She’s perfect. So, so, so perfect. You’re so perfect.”

He leaned forward, relishing in getting to kiss both of them on the head.

“Would you like to hold her?” Flynn asked.

His eyes lit up. All this time, he had been very patiently letting Flynn get much-deserved time to bond with the baby she had been carrying for nine months, all while desperate to hold Georgie for the first time himself. Reggie nodded feverishly.

“Yeah.”

Carefully, Flynn shifted so they could carefully adjust the baby from her arms to his. Reggie had never held anything so cautiously as he slowly raised the tiny infant in his arms. It felt like she weighed almost nothing. He gasped as she settled safely against his chest, his hand cupping her head, her cheek rested against him. She squirmed, letting out a cry at first, but then she seemed content.

“Hi Georgie,” he greeted. Tears swelled in his eyes again. “I’m so happy to meet you.” Her unfocused eyes seemed to be looking everywhere, and even though he knew rationally everything was blurry to her, he laughed a little, realizing how strange this place must be to her. “I know this is all new to you, but you’re in my music room. This where daddy teaches. Hopefully, I’ll teach you here one day, too.”

“I hope you’re ready for a lot of music in your life,” Flynn whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks again even as she smiled down at her daughter.

Reggie cried as he cuddled with his daughter for a long moment, relishing in his new life as dad.

“Are you guys ready for your friends to meet the baby?” The midwife asked.

“Yeah,” Reggie smiled, more than ready for his best friends to meet his daughter, “but I want to do something else real quick first."

Stevie was shaking by the time he finally went back out into the hallway. The entire night had been a blur, like something out of a dream. An out of body experience he was just watching because there was no way, no way he actually did all of that.

He delivered a baby.

Well, he helped deliver a baby.

But up until the minute the midwife had gotten there, he had been the only medical professional available. He was the midwife’s assistant during the labor, he took charge in ways he had no idea he could take charge. All of his nursing assistant training, all of his mother baby classes and everything he remembered from clinicals came back to him. It was like he was on autopilot, his mind just knowing what to do.

It terrified him a bit, realizing what all he had just done…almost without even thinking about it.

Somehow, the fear didn’t hit him until afterwards, but it was like as soon as he was away from Reggie, as soon as he could breathe and as soon as he saw the love of his life waiting for him…everything hit. The weight of the responsibility he just put on his own shoulders, the amount that could have gone wrong. The amount that went right.

“Steve?” Carlos called softly, stepping carefully toward him.

Around him, the guys all got to their feet. Luke was holding onto Julie, protective and proud. She had stepped out as soon as Stevie and the midwife needed to do their assessments with the baby and Flynn, but up until then she had been an absolutely amazing birthing partner. Though he had known her for as long as he had known Flynn, he felt more connected to Julie than ever through this experience.

“The baby’s completely healthy,” Steve promised them all, earning a series of sighs of relief. “She’s eight pounds, thirteen ounces and eighteen inches long. Her heartbeat’s strong. She’s…she’s absolutely perfect. Mom and dad are resting with her. They’re all…they’re all doing amazing.”

Reggie’s friends all cheered.

“They’re going to rest a bit,” Steve said, pretty sure he was repeating himself. He felt deliriously exhausted, both mentally and physically. The adrenaline was wearing off.

“Can we see them?” Luke asked, bouncing from one foot to the next.

“What did he just say?” Julie sighed. “They’re resting. We’ll see them when they’re ready.”

Carlos looked deep into Stevie’s eyes. “Does that mean you get a break?” Carlos asked.

He nodded, and Carlos wasted no time in pulling him into a big hug. There was clapping for him all around. Luke let out a wolf-whistle, and though he blushed he still couldn’t bring himself to relax just yet. He was still so on edge.

“You did so amazing,” Carlos murmured as he held him tight. “I’m so proud of you. You’re a hero, Steve.”

The clapping got louder at the comment, but Steve didn’t feel like a hero. Reggie spent his whole life fighting for him, surviving for him. It only felt right that he be there when Reggie needed him the most. It felt like his whole life, all of his decisions about school and studying, all of his work at the hospital, it all led to being able to do this for Reggie.

“That the scariest things I’ve ever done,” Steve whispered.

“You did amazing,” Carlos repeated over and over. “I’m so proud.”

As they broke apart, his boyfriend studied him.

“What do you need?”

Steve could only shrug, and Carlos tugged on his hand and announced:

“Come on, lindo, let’s get you cleaned up.”

After washing up, getting a snack and a drink to hydrate and calm his nerves, and getting a lot of hugs and kisses from Carlos, Steve went back to the band room to check on Reggie, Flynn and the baby. His brother was holding Georgia when he poked the door open, and his heart melted at the sight of seeing his brother hold his daughter for the first time. Reggie was all smiles, his face pale and tear-stained.

“Hey,” Reggie greeted. “Would you like to officially meet your niece?”

Steve nodded, holding his breath as he approached the baby he just delivered. Flynn beamed at him. His heart pounded as he carefully took the baby from Reggie’s arms, and as soon as his niece was in his arms for the first time, the first tear finally slipped down his cheek.

“Hi Georgia,” Steve greeted tearfully. “I’m your Uncle Stevie. It’s really, really great to meet you.”

He let his niece latch her little finger around his hand, and he knew he’d just fallen in love.

“We wanted to let you know her full name, before we told everyone else,” Flynn explained.

He looked between her and his brother, confused. “I know you’ve named her Georgia.”  

Reggie smiled up at him. “It’s Georgia Stephanie Taylor. Stephanie after-"

“Steven,” he realized softly. “Are…are you sure?”

“Yes,” Flynn nodded. “Stevie, we’re never going to be able to repay you for how amazing you’ve been, the whole pregnancy and especially tonight. It was the least we could do.”

“We wanted to,” Reggie added. “I know my daughter’s going to be strong and brave, just like her uncle.”

Both brothers were crying now as Reggie carefully wrapped his arm around Steve as he cuddled his niece, overwhelmed with happiness.

“Georgia Stephanie Taylor,” he repeated. “It’s so perfect. This means so much.”

“You mean so much,” Reggie whispered back. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Reg.”

Luke was absolutely desperate to meet the baby by the time Stevie slipped out. They had all washed their hands and cleaned up, anxiously ready to meet their best friend’s daughter. Reggie’s brother didn’t say anything as he let himself be engulfed into his boyfriend’s arms and led down the hallway to sit against the wall and rest for a bit. He, Bobby, Alex, Willie and Julie poked their heads around the door, and Luke’s heart skipped beats the first time he saw his best friend with his daughter. It was like seeing Reggie as a brand-new person- Reggie was a dad now. And he already looked so perfect at it.

“Oh my god,” Luke sobbed, the tears already starting as he slipped into the doorway. He carefully hid their gift for the baby behind his back with one hand. Alex wiped a tear out of his eye, while Willie was grinning ear to ear and Bobby looked like a proud parent. “Oh my god, Reggie!”

“She’s beautiful,” Alex announced.

“That’s one really beautiful kid that you have,” Bobby stated. He smiled softly at Reggie and then at Flynn. “I’m really, really proud of you guys.”

“Thanks,” Reggie replied genuinely, grinning.

“Oh my god,” Luke repeated, cautiously stepping up to his best friend, as though afraid he might somehow hurt them both by running up to Reggie too quickly. “Reggie…you have a baby! A real baby. You have a child.”

“Yes Lucas,” Flynn teased, “what did you think I was carrying inside of me from nine months?”

“Georgie,” Alex said, as though testing out the greeting. He stepped up beside Luke, placing a hand on both his and Reggie’s shoulder as he very formally greeted: “It’s nice to meet you, Georgie. I’m your Uncle Alex. I officially apologize for everything your Uncle Luke is about to do, for your entire life.”

“Hey!” Luke whined. Nevertheless, he swallowed hard, preparing himself for what felt like one of the most important introductions of his whole life. He reached out, testing out to see if he could touch the baby, and Reggie allowed it. The baby’s skin felt so soft underneath his finger; his hand so gigantic compared to hers, but Georgie didn’t seem to mind as she latched onto it. He smiled through his tears. “Hey Georgie. I’m your Uncle Luke. It’s really, really awesome to meet you.”

He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

“Hey kid,” Bobby greeted. “I’m your Uncle Bobby. I officially apologize for everything all of these dorks are about to do your entire life.”

“Hey!” The rest of them protested. Flynn and Reggie just giggled, tiredly shaking their heads.

“Hey Georgie,” Willie greeted with a bright smile, “I’m Willie, and I’ll be teaching you all the coolest dance moves and skateboard tricks. I can tell you’ll be a good dancer cause, you know, you were born at a dance.”

They all giggled at that, thought Luke pointed out:

“Technically, she was born during our show, which means she’ll be a musician. Just like her dad. Which reminds me, we made you something.” He smiled with pride as he presented Reggie with the small Sunset Curve t-shirt the guys had made. They had taken the smallest shirt from their merch they could find and cut it down as much as they could. “One t-shirt, sized beautiful. With the sleeves pre-cut off, of course.”

“Oh!” Reggie gasped, reaching out to take the shirt. “Her first merch!”

“Her first shirt!” Flynn beamed.

Flynn helped him sit Georgie up so that she could carefully unwrap the blanket and tug the shirt over her head. Even cut down, it was still entirely too big but looked like a big, cozy sleep shirt. Julie snapped the absolute best photo as they all ‘awwwwwd’.

“This is absolutely amazing,” Reggie said happily. “Thanks so much. All of you, for everything. Thanks so much.”

“We’re here for you both,” Luke promised. “We…also kinda have a song. If it’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay,” Reggie replied.

Alex took out the piece of notebook paper he had written down the song they all wrote, and the guys and Julie gathered around Flynn, Reggie and the baby and quietly began to sing.

Everything was perfect.

Flynn was a mom.

Maybe her baby was born totally unannounced- and in her husband’s classroom, of all places- but she was born surrounded by nothing but love. Of anything, it was exactly on brand for the chaos that was her daughter’s family. Georgia was beautiful, healthy, and already as strong as her mom and dad. And Flynn couldn’t have been prouder of all three of them.

As they finally left the school to go home, Flynn found that a sea of students greeted them- apparently Reggie’s band kids had refused to leave until they could see the baby for themselves. It felt like they were walking the red carpet as they went down the hall with the midwife, as everyone clapped and cheered and smiled. She watched with pride as her husband was hugged by everyone, including receiving a very big hug from his boss, who was beaming with pride himself.

“Welcome to the Los Feliz family, Georgia,” Covington announced.

Her daughter started crying as soon as she was anywhere near the principal, and the kids burst out laughing. Flynn grinned, already imagining the trouble she was going to cause this man once she was in middle school. She couldn’t wait.

Then at last, in a blur, they were at home. Reggie kept a tight grip on the car seat handle as they led their baby into Ray’s home- their home- for the first time. She wished desperately that Ray had been there to see the moment and take pictures, but her parents were there at least. She hadn't even realized Reggie had arranged with her parents to get the final touches ready on their set up at home, even keeping Ren in a separate room so they could calmly introduce their dog to her new sister when they were ready. They took some quick photos with Georgie's grandparents, but the midwife ushered her and Reggie both upstairs. Flynn got all cleaned up with help of the midwife, relieved at being able to take a warm shower, while Reggie got the baby settled in with help of her mom. There were more nursing instructions, it was all much more overwhelming than Flynn expected, especially as exhausted she was, but Reggie nodded right along, taking notes for them both.

The midwife literally tucked her and Reggie into bed, with the baby in its bassinet right beside them.

“Get some sleep, while you can,” the midwife warned. “I’ll be back to check on you and the baby in a couple of hours.”

After they both gave her a million thanks, Reggie yawned behind her and Flynn settled into her familiar bed, in disbelief that they were just at home now. In their room. With a baby.

They were parents now.

“Get some rest, baby,” Reggie whispered in her ear, kissing her neck. “You did really, really amazing. Have I mentioned that?”

“So did you,” she whispered back. She gazed over to her sleeping daughter, in complete awe of her. “But I can’t sleep. She’s just…”

“Too perfect,” Reggie breathed. Flynn nodded. “But you need to sleep, for her.”

His words were the only thing that convinced her to finally let her eyes flutter shut after a long, impossible night.

“I love you, Georgia’s mom,” Reggie whispered, kissing the top of her head.

Flynn smiled against her pillow as she settled into it, letting out a tired but content sigh before replying:

“I love you, Georgia’s dad.”

Chapter Text

“Steve,” Carlos’ voice sing-songed, abruptly waking him up. “Wakey wakey.”

Steve let out a groan of protest and blinked opened his eyes, surprised to find himself in Carlos’ car, in the parking lot of their hospital. Carlos was beside him in the driver seat, radiating in the sunlight as he smiled back at him.

“As adorable as you look right now and as much as I think you should be sleeping,” Carlos continued, “if you’re going to make your shift, we’ve got twenty minutes to get in and get coffee.”

“Shit.”

He sat up in the passenger seat, rubbing his hands over his tired face. It was the morning after he helped deliver his niece, and after the adrenaline rush- and subsequent crash- that was last night, and only getting four whole hours of sleep, the last thing Stevie felt like doing was going to work. Just carrying himself from the car to the hospital felt like an impossible feat.

“You seriously should call out, it’s not too late,” Carlos pleaded as they both accepted their coffees from the café in the hospital cafeteria. Steve took a long sip of his iced coffee graciously sucking up the caffeine.

“It’s literally too late, I’m not calling out with no notice,” he pointed out, “besides, I have clinical after work. No excuse gets you out of clinical.”

“Cariño, you delivered a child.”

“I helped deliver a child.”

“You’ve got to own your awesomeness!” Carlos declared, quoting Reggie. “And you gotta take your credit. You were totally in charge until the second that midwife showed up, which was literally right at the end. You guided Flynn through her entire labor and helped take care of her and Georgie after. Pretty sure ‘I delivered a baby’ is not only your get out of work free card for the entire weekend, but you’re going to impress people with this story for the rest of your life.”

Blushing, Steve couldn’t deny that he did get a pretty great story out of last night. It still felt surreal that it even happened; there was still a bit of a dream-like feeling to the world as they rounded the corner to the emergency department. Steve held open the door to the breakroom for Carlos, only to freeze in shock as he was greeted with a chorus of clapping and cheering from his coworkers.  

“Carlos texted me and told me what happened,” his coworker Sandra gushed.

His jaw dropped as he spun around to his boyfriend, who looked incredibly proud of himself.

“It’s not every day that you get to brag on your boyfriend delivering a baby at a school,” Carlos beamed. “Couldn’t help myself.”

“I’ve been a doctor for thirty years and still have never delivered a baby,” Dr. Meyers shook his head. “Can’t say that I could have when I was twenty with no training, that’s for sure.”

“Remember that woman who went into labor and had that baby in the lobby?” One of the other nursing assistants teased to one of the male nurses. “You practically fainted.”

“I did not practically faint!”

“You’re right, he did faint,” his coworker Sandra laughed. She fist-bumped Steve. “But our Steve’s always cool in a crisis. I’m not surprised at all you could do it.”

“I was mostly just listening to the midwife over the phone,” he attempted.

“That you even understood what the midwife needed you to do and were comfortable doing it is huge,” Sandra assured him.

Her comments struck him. Cool in a crisis wasn’t exactly how he would describe himself- he had panic disorder! Just taking exams had brought on panic attacks before. Maybe he had gotten better since starting therapy, but dealing with his panic and anxiety still felt like a battle most days. Last night though, he realized, didn’t feel like a battle.

All through nursing school, Steve had worried how he would handle being an actual nurse, one who might have to take charge in the ER during trauma crises. Last night, he had basically been an actual nurse in an actual emergency, and it had felt like the most natural thing in the world to do. He had perfectly handled one of the most important, stressful, life-changing moments he had ever experienced.

“Have you considered going into labor and delivery as a specialty?” Dr. Meyers asked.

“I really like working in the ER,” Steve told her. As well as he handled himself last night, he couldn’t imagine going through what he did last night every day.

“He’s one of us,” his boss grinned.

“Well, you’re going to make an amazing ER nurse,” the doctor offered.

“Thanks,” Steve replied shyly.

Getting any kind of praise from anyone other than Reggie was foreign to him before starting this job. When he started working and started getting compliments during training or at meetings with his boss, it was a long time before he realized people truly meant what they said. Even now, he felt a bit overwhelmed at the attention and gravitated toward Carlos.

“I couldn’t have done it without Carlos,” Steve announced, smiling over at his boyfriend. “He was a huge help. He helped find all the supplies we needed and helped keep the whole situation calm and under control.”

“Thanks,” Carlos beamed.  

“Well, we’re proud of both of you,” his boss declared, “and we want to hear the whole story.”

“And I brought donuts to celebrate,” Sandra bragged, pointing at the boxes on one of the tables.

Carlos wasted no time striding over to the donuts as the two of them launched into the story from the beginning.

After the midwife checked on Flynn and the baby at midnight, Flynn didn’t get much sleep after that until after her daughter’s five AM feeding. She managed to nap for a couple of hours and woke up to find the bed beside her and the bassinet empty, indicating Reggie was still up with the baby. Carefully, she made her way downstairs to find Reggie in the kitchen, cradle-holding her daughter as he sang her a lullaby. Georgie wore a fresh onesie and was fast asleep in her dad’s arms. Ren the golden retriever was sitting dutifully at Reggie’s feet, gazing up protectively at her new baby sister. She was an amazing dog, she had been right by Reggie through the worst of his PTSD battles. It really wasn’t any surprise that she was already fiercely protective of the newest addition to their family.

“Good morning, Momma,” Reggie greeted. “Your parents went home to get some sleep. Did you get any rest?”

“A little,” Flynn yawned. “I’d take her, but I’m afraid I’d wake her up. She looks so at peace.”

She reached out, gently cupping her sleeping baby’s head. Her daughter looked so content, asleep in her dad’s arms, that it made her want to cry.

“This one has been sleeping hard,” Reggie nodded to the baby, “and while she’s sleeping, momma needs to eat.”

Her stomach growled, reminding her that she really hadn’t eaten much except for the snacks she had at the school. Breakfast was already plated for the two of them: French toast, eggs, and bacon, hers already cut into easy-to-eat bites.

“Have I ever mentioned how amazing you are?” Flynn asked. Leaning forward, she stole a kiss to Reggie’s cheek, enjoying how it made him blush, and kissed the baby too. “And have I mentioned how incredible you were last night?”

“Y-you were the incredible one,” Reggie squeaked. A soft smile crossed his face. “But thanks. I’m proud of all of us.” He kissed his daughter’s head. “Now I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for our first ever family breakfast.”

It felt surreal, settling down to the Molina’s coveted kitchen table for the first time together as a family. How many family dinners had she had here with Julie’s family? Now she had her own, and it felt like the three of them were right at home. Well, the four of them, with Ren still right at Reggie’s side. Flynn managed to stuff her face with breakfast for a quick five minutes before Georgia woke up. Not that she minded, as she quickly took her daughter to cuddle with her.

“I think she heard us say something about breakfast,” Flynn teased. “Hi Georgie, baby. Are you hungry too?”

Breastfeeding last night had been…a struggle, to say the least, but it was just day one. Maybe this morning it would go easier. She took a deep breath and tried to relax as she tried to coax her baby to breastfeed again, but Georgie had the same problems with not latching as she did last night. Eventually, Georgie got fussy again, not cooperating at all, and Flynn tried her best to not let her daughter see how frustrated she was and decided it was time to give them both a break.

“The midwife said it can take a bit to get the hang of it,” Reggie reminded her, rubbing a soothing hand up and down her arm. “Maybe we should try the spoon-feeding thing? And we can give her a bottle if we need to.”

She knew he was right, and she appreciated that he wasn’t judging her at all- and that he was quick to remind her there were other options. It was just hard to ignore the bundle of worry deep down that she was doing something wrong.

“It’s just morning one,” Reggie reminded her.

“Right,” she sighed, and repeated to herself: “Just morning one.”

Their first full day with their daughter was a blur of feedings, burpings, changings, spit-ups, and more changings. Between the hormones, sleep deprivation and struggles with breastfeeding, sometimes Flynn felt like an emotional wreck, but Reggie was always right there, reminding her how amazing she and Georgie doing. Reggie had his moments too, fumbling through some diaper changes and putting one of Georgie’s onesies on backwards. That evening, they sat together on the side of their bed, simply watching their daughter sleep in the bassinet, completely in awe of how amazing she was. She knew they were supposed to sleep when the baby slept, but all they wanted to do was gaze at her newborn. 

“This has been the best day,” Reggie murmured, kissing her shoulder.

“Remember sitting on the bathroom floor, surrounded by all those pregnancy tests?” She teased. He let out a tired laugh and nodded. She wrapped her arm around his back. “I had never been so scared, and you were so sure we could do this.”

“I was scared too,” he reminded her, “but I always knew you’d be an amazing mom. I never had any doubt of that. I…I wasn’t so sure about me.”

Flynn hesitated, knowing full-well that she had a lot of doubts at first if they could do this together. She knew Reggie had his doubts too, constantly second-guessing how he would handle being a father after his own childhood, with a PTSD diagnosis. Now she couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else. 

“I know it’s only day one,” Flynn told him, her voice wrecked with exhaustion. “But I hope you can see…Reggie, you’re an amazing dad. You’ve taken such amazing care of us. You make me feel like we can really do this."

“Thanks,” a sleepy smile crossed his face. “I love you and her so much. Like so much it’s just…I don’t even know how to describe it. I know we can do this now, both of us. You're such an amazing mom. I'm...I'm still kinda scared cause like, I know it will get so hard sometimes. But just look at her."

He waved a hand toward their sleeping daughter as though to say...how could they let fear win right now? They made it through the most chaotic birth she could have ever imagined. They made it through day one. Georgie made it. They should be proud. 

“I feel the same,” she whispered back. "I love her so much...and you too."

Their lips met in a soft kiss. She reached up, soothingly dragging her fingers through his thin dark strands of hair. Reggie looked so tired, like he could slip away into sleep sitting right there.

“You should get some sleep while you can,” she told him, nudging him. He was reluctant, shaking his head. “Reggie, you haven’t slept in almost two days, and you’ve let me nap plenty of times. Dads have to take care of themselves too. I’ll wake you up if I need to.”

At last agreed to lay down, facing Georgie so he could watch her until the last moment he finally shut his eyes and was out like a light. Flynn sat up, watching over her daughter, feeling like the proudest mom in the world. 

Everyone gave Flynn, Reggie and the baby some space for the next few days, letting them get their bearings at home before crashing their space (and the music studio next door). Ray stayed in Vegas with Trevor, at Reggie’s insistence, while Julie and Luke spent the weekend songwriting at home. Tuesday, the two musicians were back at it, in the studio bright and early with plenty of coffee and takeout food from the diner they used to work at. Luke was perched on the arm of the sofa, eating half his bagel with cream cheese in one bite as he jotted down some last-minute chord progression ideas.

“You’re getting crumbs everywhere,” Julie sighed, forcing a napkin into his hand. She shook her head, looking at the chaotic mess they’d managed to create in just a week of recording. “It looks like a tornado came through here.”

“Chill! The chaos is part of the process.”

“…is it?”

He answered her by stealing a kiss with his cream-cheese coated lips. Julie made a face, pretending like she didn’t enjoy that as she got up and began cleaning up some of their mess.

“You know what, I left my water in the car,” she realized. “I’m going to run out and get it and take some of this trash out.”

“Gotta stay hydrated to record a Grammy-winner,” he agreed with a grin.

She rolled her eyes.

“Is that why you literally never drink any water?”

“I have iced coffee! It’s liquid.” He took a long sip of his iced Americano to prove his point, ignoring the fact that it wasn’t refreshing or hydrating at all.

“That’s…that’s not…okay, neither of us are going to make it through this album if we don’t take care of our voices,” she warned. “Papi has extra water bottles in the house. Imma grab you one.”

“You just want to see the baby,” he sing-songed.

“I will text Flynn and see if it’s okay that I come inside to get you some water,” Julie told him, “and if a baby just happens to fall into my arms while I’m in there, I will not be sad.”

He stopped for a moment, wondering if that was supposed to be a cue to him to go see the baby as well, but she simply swirled around and waltzed out of the studio.

The thing was, Luke was dying to see Reggie and hear how his friend was finding fatherhood, but the idea of being around the baby and- gulp- being asked to hold the newborn baby…kinda terrified him. Luke loved Georgie with all his heart, and he couldn’t wait to be her uncle as she grew up, but Georgie was just so little now. What if he made some huge mistake trying to help or, god forbid, dropped her? What if he couldn’t handle it again, just like at the birth? And what if Julie saw again that he couldn’t handle it? 

Then Luke saw it: a notebook paper, full of lyrics in his wife's handwriting, was sticking out of Julie’s recording notebook.

The world looks brand new today

Your smile lights up my life in a new way

I never knew I was missing anything

But I see now, what a new life can bring

I have a whole new purpose

Luke’s heart skipped beats as his eyes skimmed the rest of the lyrics. The whole song was about realizing you had a purpose bigger than just you- a puropse like bringing a kid into the world. To him, music had always been his purpose- until he met Julie. Then Julie was his purpose. Julie and music. He shoved the song back into the notebook and leapt away from the table, as though just standing by that song was a threat. He had been so certain he and his wife were on the same page about not wanting kids, but of course Luke should have known that seeing her best friend give birth would change Julie’s mind. Julie and Flynn grew up talking about having kids that they would raise together. He should have known this would happen…he should have seen the signs. 

His wife had baby fever.

“How do I look?” Reggie asked Flynn.

It was Wednesday night. Ray was due home from Las Vegas at any moment, and as tired as Reggie was, he couldn’t wait to introduce Ray to their daughter. Julie came over after recording to help clean up, which finally gave him a chance to grab nice long shower, fix his hair, and find a clean shirt that didn’t (yet) have baby spit up stains on it after their super hectic day with the baby. When he came back downstairs, their laundry pile was mysteriously gone, the bottles cleaned up, even their own dishes put away in the kitchen. 

“You lot hot, babe,” his wife assured him. His face fell. It was one of the rare times he wasn’t going for hot. Rolling her eyes, she tried: “You look very fatherly. Mature.”

“That’s what I’m going for!” He cheered.

He wasn’t just greeting people anymore as Reggie Taylor, Flynn’s cute twenty-four year old husband and teacher. He was Mr. Taylor, Georgie Taylor’s dad. Reggie knew he didn’t need to impress his friends or the Molina’s, but he wanted to feel good about himself. Confident. He wanted his friends and family to see he knew what was he was doing as a young dad and husband. Or at the least, he wanted them to see him trying. He was proud of how he handled his first weekend as a dad and was full of nervous excitement to show off his parenting skills in front of Ray. He wanted Ray to be proud of him.

Reggie turned back to his wife, who was feeding Georgia some of the milk she pumped with a bottle, and Reggie was relieved to see his daughter gulping up the food.

“Someone’s hungry,” he smiled, leaning over to kiss the top of both his daughter and wife’s head.

“Yeah,” Flynn sighed. “She’s eating good. Being hungry isn’t the problem.”

Her voice was laced with guilt. Throughout her entire pregnancy Flynn was keen on trying to breastfeed. While Reggie couldn’t help but to be a little worried that their daughter wasn’t breastfeeding easily, it really only mattered to him that Georgie was fed. But it was different, he knew, for moms. To his wife, it seemed like a super natural thing she should be able to do as a mom. Reggie squeezed her shoulder supportively.

“It’s not your fault if she’s having trouble breastfeeding,” he told her gently. It felt like they were going around in circles with this, but he would keep saying it until Flynn believed it. “We can call the lactation consultant the midwife recommended, but as long as she’s fed, that’s all that matters.”

“Yeah.” But she didn’t sound so sure at all.

Reggie could quote all the parenting books he had read, suggest things they could try, but he wasn't exactly an expert either and he wasn't sure she wanted him pretending that he was one. Right now, she just needed him to be there with her. He kissed her cheek this time and took the empty bottle from her as she lifted Georgie up to burp her.

“You’re an awesome mom,” he promised her, jotting down how much the baby ate in the journal, “and Georgie’s doing amazing."

Right on cue, Georgie burped as though agreeing, and both parents giggled at the timing.

“I know I’m a good mom,” she sighed. “It’s just been…a lot.”

“I know.” They watched as her daughter buried her face against her mother’s shoulder, and his heart just melted at the sight. He reached out, placing one hand on his wife's shoulder and letting Georgie wrap her tiny finger around his other thumb. "She loves you so much. She knows how hard you're trying."

"Thanks," Flynn smiled sweetly at him, and they shared another kiss. "Sorry I'm so frustrated. I know it's stupid because she is eating. I guess...I dunno. I'm just frustrated. And tired. And just...worried. I'm all the things. I don't even know anymore. The hormone crash is real."

She trailed off, giving a tired shrug. Reggie remembered reading that the hormone crash after giving birth was one of the most drastic hormone crashes you could experience. He came around behind her, wrapping her arms around her and bringing a hand to rest over his wife's hand on their daughter's back. She sniffled and swallowed hard, trying to not cry. 

"It's okay," he murmured as he held her.

"It's not okay, I feel like a mess," she admitted. 

"I know it doesn't feel okay," Reggie told her, "but it's...normal. It's just been a lot all at once, but I'm here, okay? You can talk to me. I know what it's like to feel super anxious and scared and feel kinda different one minute to the next. I know what I've been through isn't exactly the same, but so much of this is just the horomone crash and being really, really tired. I just know it's a scary feeling, but you're an amazing mom. I'll say it a million times if I have to. You're an amazing mom, and I love you."

Reggie almost felt a little guilty that he was handling everything anxiety-wise better than he thought, while Flynn was struggling more, but he was just relieved that he was doing better so that he could be there for her. He'd worked so hard on himself over the past nine months, knowing what it would take to be there for Flynn and the baby. He'd gotten so anxious so many times about being able to step up once the baby came and being able to follow through on what he worked on, but so far...he was doing this. All he wanted was to be strong enough, for her and Georgie. What Flynn was going through was a natural hormone change he knew all new moms went through- he also knew some of the postpartum depression signs to look for. She couldn't help how she was feeling at all. All he wanted to do was be there for her and Georgia.

"After Ray meets her, why don't you go get some rest?" He offered. 

To his relief, Flynn nodded in agreement, which made him feel better. With Ray home and able to help, they would both catch up on more sleep. Right then the front door clicked open, indicating Ray was home, and his eyes lit up.

"He's here," Reggie announced, hesitatant. "If you're not up for it, I can go tell him-"

"No," Flynn shook her head, throwing him a small, reassuring smile. "I'm more than ready for Georgia to meet him."

"If anything is too much, just give me a sign. We'll kick Ray right out of his own house of we need to," Reggie teased. 

Flynn let out a small snort, looking grateful to realize that he understood. He brushed off a dab of milk from Georgie’s chin and stole a final look at himself in the reflection of the toaster to straighten his hair one last time before they walked with their daughter into the living room. Ray was waiting for them by the sofa; his whole face lit up the first time he saw the baby.

“Dios Mio!”  Ray gasped. Reggie beamed with pride as Ray walked over to greet them. Tears prickled in the dad’s eyes, and Reggie was already having to fight away overwhelming emotion himself. Flynn smiled proudly too, carefully turning so that Ray could see their daughter’s face for the first time. “She’s so beautiful. She’s so perfect. Congratulations to both of you.”

“Thanks, Ray,” they both replied. Flynn began tearing up as she said it, and her tears finally got him going too.

"How have things been so far?" Ray asked. His eyes fell to Flynn; Ray was one of the most observing and caring people Reggie knew, of course he would be able to tell how stressed Flynn was. 

"O-okay," Flynn managed. "It's just...it's just a lot, and today...let's just say, welcome to the chaos."

Ray chuckled, not at all nervous about the chaos he had stepped into, and Reggie instantly felt a little better about any worries he had for Ray seeing his parenting skills. 

"I'm sure you two have been doing an amazing job, and this house isn't exactly a stranger to chaos." His eyes fell back to Georgia, full of love. "Welcome to the family, nieta." He stopped suddenly, looking back up to them. “’Nieta means granddaughter. That came out on instinct, I guess I’ve been thinking about her like she’s my own biological granddaughter, just like I think of you two as family. You’ve always been like a daughter to me, Flynn, you know that, and Reggie…you’re like a son to me. I hope that’s okay.”

Reggie felt like breaking down, overcome with emotion, and jumping for joy all at the same time. Ray had always called him mijo, had treated him and Stevie like family, had even walked Reggie down the aisle at his wedding. There had always been a mutual, quiet, understanding that Reggie was basically a Molina as well as a Taylor but hearing it said out lout, knowing his daughter was like a granddaughter to Ray, meant the world.

“You think of me like…like a Molina?” He squeaked, just to be sure.

Ray smiled. “Of course, mijo.”

“You are not changing your name,” Flynn warned him playfully.

“Oh I’m a Taylor for sure!” He promised her. But he was also a Molina. He couldn’t hide the big fat tears of joy that slipped down his cheek as he told Ray: “You’re the closest thing to a dad I’ve ever had. All Georgie has from my family is me and Stevie. I’d…I’d be honored for her to call you abuelo.”

“Oh mijo.”

Ray didn’t hesitate to pull him into a hug, and Reggie let out a sob of happiness as he hugged him back. It was one of the best hugs he’d ever had in his life. This man, who wasn’t even his biological family, was prouder of him than either of his parents had ever been. He felt so beyond lucky and grateful and so, so grateful his daughter had such an amazing family. Reggie couldn’t help but to let out another sob of pure joy into Ray’s shoulder, his soul exploding like fireworks with the amount of love he felt.

“I’m so honored to be your dad- and your daughter’s grandfather,” Ray told him softly, kissing the top of his head as they broke apart. He turned to Flynn. “And Flynn, it’s been an honor watching you grow up and become a mom. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you, Ray,” she replied. She didn’t even try to hide her tears as she let Ray wrap an arm around her back and kiss her and Georgie both on the top of the head. “It means so much to get to stay here, Georgie’s already right at home.”

“I’m so glad.”

Georgie’s tired eyes gazed up at her grandfather, as though fighting of sleep after her meal to be able to spend as much time with this new person as possible. It was like she already knew how loved she was, and Reggie felt so relieved his daughter had no doubt from the beginning how much her family loved her.

“I love you both,” Ray told them. He smiled down at Georgie. “And I love you too, nieta.”

Reggie’s chest clinched hearing those words, the words his father never said, the words his mother never said enough. It had taken so long in his life to accept that other people could love him, that they meant it when they said they loved him and that he deserved their love. Now he not only got to hear those words for himself, but his wife and daughter too. He felt really, really happy for himself and his family.

“I love you too,” Reggie replied through choked tears.  

“I love you too, Ray,” Flynn echoed. “Thank you for accepting my daughter into your life. Would you like to hold your granddaughter for the first time?”

Ray looked like his heart exploded with joy as he nodded eagerly and sat down with them on the sofa. Flynn and Reggie sat on either side, and he was taken by how much it truly felt like he was sitting by his dad. He felt comforted, safe. Taken cared of. Loved. And as Flynn passed their daughter over to Ray to hold for the first time, she looked comforted and safe too. 

Chapter Text

Alex had spent countless hours of his life playing with Sunset Curve, but nothing could have prepared him for hearing himself play drums on a professional recording. Sure, they had the cheap demo the boys scraped together back in the day, but that sounded like a karaoke recording compared to this. The whole group gathered in the studio to listen to the tracks they recorded today. Luke was grinning like an idiot as he jumped around the stupid, Julie sat at the piano bench, clinging to every note her recorded-self sang. Bobby was in one of the chairs, taking notes like a true professional. On the sofa, Reggie was curled up to Alex, his head in his lap and his eyes closed; He wasn’t entirely sure Reggie hadn’t managed to completely fall asleep in the timespan of the past two minutes- he had nearly managed it while recording, standing right there at mic. On the other side of Alex sat Willie, who was practically bouncing in his seat as he gripped Alex’s knee. 

“Lost Again” ended with a powerful drum solo by Alex, which faded into Julie and Luke softly harmonizing on the last line:

I’m always up for being lost again with you.

They sounded so amazing.

He sounded so amazing!

As soon as the song ended, they almost all jumped up to erupt into cheers, but Bobby waves his hands desperately at Reggie, mouthing for them to ‘let him sleep!’.

“It’s okay Bobbers, I’m awake,” Reggie mumbled sleepily, with his eyes still closed. Somehow hearing them even though they were totally silent.

“How???” Alex asked, shaking his head.

“We sounded amazing!” Luke exclaimed, jumping around in bunny hopes. He leapt onto the coffee table, not even noticing he knocked over three different empty coffee cups. “Alex, bro!” He bowed down to Alex. “You are an absolute king. That was a killer solo!”

“I’m going to have to own my awesomeness on this one.” Alex beamed. “That was pretty tight!”

“We killed it!” Bobby agreed, reaching over to fist bump Alex. He looked up at Luke. “But I do have a few notes…”

Luke groaned, dramatically running his hands over his face, while Julie rolled her eyes as she got up and skipped over to Bobby.

“I’ll take any notes available from the only person in this room who has actually produced a record before,” Julie announced.

Suddenly Reggie’s alarm went off, and they all groaned while Reggie jumped up on cue, straightening out his hair and yawning.

“How can it be time already?” Luke whined.

It was almost a month since Georgie was born. Ray was staying at Trevor Wilson’s mansion, taking advantage of some couple time for a few days while his boyfriend was in town. Flynn had promised she didn’t mind Reggie working in the studio for that day, but the dad had insisted he check in with her and the baby.

“Duty calls!” Reggie chirped. “Luke is right though, Alex, you sounded amazing! Man I miss this.”

“Me too,” Alex admitted. Reggie yawned again, a couple of times, making them all yawn. “Reg…are you sure you don’t still need a break? Like, a real one? To take an actual nap?”

Bobby nodded in agreement as he gave Reggie a once-over, trying to take in how he had been taking care of himself. The bassist looked a bit torn, like there was nothing more in the world he needed right now then sleep. He had new bags under his eyes, he was swaying a bit on his feet. Even Luke bit his lip, like he felt guilty he ever asked Reggie to do extra work today.

“Flynn needs a break more than I do…”

“You both need a break,” insisted Bobby.

“We're fine!" Reggie yawned in the middle of saying it and wobbled a little on his feet; Bobby held him steady. Their eyes all narrowed in on the bassists giving him a 'don't lie to us' look. "Okay, so maybe I'm a bit tired. But that's parenting! Most of the time we’ve had Ray, and that’s more than most parents have. We got spoiled having him here."

“Yeah,” Julie chimed in, flashing Reggie a smile, “but it’s still been a chaotic month. Even with my dad’s help I know you two haven’t gotten a real break. I’m just saying you should take advantage of all of us being here to help.”

There was a bit of an awkward pause because they all knew Bobby had to pick up Carrie, and he was arguably the most qualified to watch a baby. Julie turned to Luke, but he was innocently looking around everywhere but his friends as though to say anyone but me! And truthfully, Alex knew next to nothing about taking care of babies.

Then Willie casually shrugged, confidently offering: “Alex and I can help.”

Alex nodded, though he was freaking out just a bit inside, thinking: I’ve never even held a baby…

Reggie cocked an eyebrow. “Do you actually know anything about taking care of babies?”

“Nope,” Alex admitted proudly.                                    

Willie simply grinned as they rolled up the sleeves of their hoodie. “Lemme show you how it’s done.”

Ten minutes later they were all gathered around Georgie’s changing table, jaws dropped as they watched Willie change her diaper in a minute flat, complete with basketball-tossing the diaper into the diaper bin. Georgie was totally calm the entire time, even when Willie grabbed the fresh onesie they had ready and effortlessly put it on her. Flynn’s eyes were wide with admiration as her daughter was handed back to her, freshly changed in clothes in just a couple of minutes.

“Woah!” Reggie and Flynn breathed at the same time.

“And I thought I was fast!” Flynn said in awe.

“I have to admit, I’m impressed,” Bobby admitted. “I mean try doing that one diaper explosion after another all day, every day for months- but still, impressive.”

Willie looked away, an odd look on their face, almost like they had done that before, which would have been news to Alex. He was equal parts thoroughly confused and absolutely fascinated at this discovery of his partner’s baby-changing skills.

“No one beats my dad though,” Julie grinned, “he used to change Carlos’ diapers so fast, I thought he had superpowers.”

“Ray is good, I have to admit,” Reggie agreed happily. “He also does one mean swaddle.”

A flash of longing crossed Bobby’s face. “I loved swaddling Carrie, she was so cute.”

“Awww, I wish we could have seen you with a baby, Bobbers,” Alex teased and mocked: “You know if you hadn’t been actually in hiding from us.”

Bobby rolled his eyes, but he did look regretful. He had never really thought about all they missed not seeing Carrie grow up, but after seeing Reggie go through fatherhood with a newborn…he really wished they could have been there. It hurt, imagining Bobby trying to go through all this alone after Carrie’s mom left.

“This one makes a whole routine out diaper changing, especially at nighttime,” Flynn nodded to Reggie. “It’s the most adorable thing ever.”

“Diaper changes are an important daddy-baby bonding time!” Reggie said, blushing.

“How can doing that ever be bonding?” Luke shot, waving his hand toward the diaper bin.

 “I don’t think it’s something you could ever understand unless you were a parent,” Julie pointed out.

Something about the comment made Luke pale, and he was practically a step further out of the nursery in a heartbeat. He clammed right up, not contributing anything else.

“Lots of things are bonding experiences that you wouldn’t imagine,” Flynn agreed. She let out a sigh, inching closer to her partner. “Like breastfeeding was supposed to be…”

They all fell silent, knowing that had been something Flynn had planned on doing and recently had to give up on. Alex personally didn’t get the significance- food was food, right? But he also wasn’t a mother. According to Willie, not being able to breastfeed could be really hard emotionally on some moms, who were already hormonal, stressed out, exhausted wrecks as is. And Flynn was someone who liked to be in complete control and call every shot she could, it was always hard for her to admit when a plan didn’t work out. Let alone something this big.

“Flynn…” Reggie attempted.

“It’s okay,” Flynn quickly cut, holding her hands up in her own defense. “I’m okay. It was my first big parenting decision…and I think I killed it. Cause this little one’s doing great.”

She kissed her daughter on the top of her head. Alex still thought Flynn seemed a bit more reserved than usual, but he was still getting used to Momma Flynn. She had been through a lot lately.

“She’s doing amazing,” Julie let out a happy sigh as she admired her best friend and her daughter. “I knew you’d make a great mom.”

“And that you’d make a great dad,” Bobby said to Reggie, leaning over to kiss his shoulder.

“Awwww, Bobbers!”

Reggie wasted no time hugging his friend, breathing in deeply as he buried his face in Bobby’s shoulder.

“Sadly though, I must leave you,” Bobby sighed. “My own Daddy Duty calls.”

“That’s never a sad thing,” Reggie smiled.

“Nope,” Bobby smiled too, “it never is. See you guys. Great job today.”

He fist bumped Alex, Willie and Julie and clasped Luke on the shoulder before heading back downstairs. They all turned back to Flynn and the baby.

“Someone’s gotta teach me their baby changing ways,” Julie said to Flynn, Reggie and Willie. “I’ve never changed a diaper. I was only three when Carlos was born.”

“I’ve never changed a diaper either,” Alex admitted shyly. “Or really been around a baby…ever…except just like, seeing them.”

“I can teach you guys,” Willie wiggled their eyebrows.

Alex stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, trying to hide just how overwhelmed he was seeing his partner being so good with babies.

“That would be amazing,” Julie offered, rubbing her hand up and down the sleeve of Luke’s flannel. “I want to learn everything so I’m ready for some serious Tia Julie babysitting.”

The comment made Luke squeak; he paled as he nervously scratched his neck and slowly inched out of the nursery. “Babysitting?!”

“Yeah! We’re over here all the time, might as well help out as much as we can. We can change a few diapers."

“Yeah, but…but I’m…pretty sure I’m allergic,” Luke blurted out. “To diapers."

Alex gaped at him, fighting the urge to smack Luke on the back of the head. 

“And what kind of allergy would that be, Lucas?” Alex chided, but Luke held his hand over his mouth to keep himself from saying anything even more stupid.

Julie looked more bewildered than anything as she simply shook her head at her husband. Luke had never been…great…around kids, but he had hoped working with Reggie’s students helped at least a little. This was a whole new level of awkwardness. Thankfully, Willie jumped in.

“We can be like the Baby-Sitters Club!” Willie declared. “Luke could be in charge of the phone, like Kristie. Everyone stared, and they shrugged innocently. “What? They were the only books one of my fosters had.”

Now that was information Alex was going to have to learn more about in the future.

“I loved those books! I had a huge crush on Dawn!” Reggie chirped, his hand rested on his daughter’s back as Flynn shoulder-held her. “Having our own Baby-Sitters Club would be sweet!”

“We are learning so many things today,” Flynn teased, glancing between Luke, Willie and Reggie. “Willie, if you really mean it and really want to watch the baby for a bit I…I guess that’d be okay.” She looked between Alex and Reggie. “If you guys are sure."

"It's okay with me," Reggie agreed. "Would you guys like to hold her?"

"Gimme!" Willie stretched his hands out for the baby.

Flynn carefully transferred Georgie to Willie; she settled right into their arms, making them all ‘awwwww’. His heart did somersaults at the sight of his partner holding a baby. Alex gazed at his spouse, stunned. Of course he knew that Willie was good with kids, he saw that every day at the dance studio- but being able to teach kids was a lot different than taking care of a baby. Willie and Georgie looked completely at ease with each other already.

“I mean…how can I say no to this face?” Alex said. He smiled at the sweet, quiet, baby, who blinked back at him. Willie made a goofy face at him, and Alex snorted. “Or this face?”

“What do you say, baby girl?” Reggie asked his daughter. “Wanna stay with Uncle Alex and Willie for a bit?”

Georgia made a cooing sound, snuggling against Willie’s shoulder like she was settling in right there for a name. Alex’s heart completely melted at the sight; his partner’s eyes twinkled as they looked up to meet his. He couldn’t get over how adorable the baby and Willie looked together.

“If it’s okay with you, of course,” Willie quickly offered to Alex. “Our classes are covered for tonight so I figured…we’re free.”

“No, of course. Yeah, we can watch her. No problem.”

He swallowed nervously, feeling just as anxious as Luke was looking (whatever that was about; he did note his friend looked positively relieved that he wouldn’t be expected to watch the baby). Willie did have a point- the other teachers taught classes tonight, and there wasn’t anything they had to do at the studio they couldn’t do tomorrow. Reggie and Flynn needed a break before he needed more time sitting on the sofa watching crap reality TV. Even though he knew nothing about babies, he trusted Willie’s judgement. (And, he reminded himself, they knew CPR from the class they took when they became teachers)

And…he was also a little curious to learn just how good with babies Willie was.

“Whew!” Luke cheered awkwardly, clasping his wife’s shoulder. Julie looked like she was trying very hard to not glare at him. “That’s settled. Back to the studio, babe?”

“Yup,” Julie replied stiffly, “but if you need anything, let us know.”

“We’ll be fine,” Willie promised for him, offering him a reassuring smile. “Looks like this lil one’s about to fall right asleep.”

His heart did flipflops watching as Willie gently rubbed Georgia’s back. It did look like the baby was falling right to sleep, and according to what Reggie had said about her, she would probably nap for a couple of hours.

“Sleep,” Reggie sighed dreamily.

“I could nap,” Flynn echoed.

“If you think we’ve got this…I guess we’ve got this,” Alex agreed to Willie. “You guys go nap and go out for dinner or whatever-“

But Reggie and Flynn were already out the door, ready to take advantage of their baby-free time.

“Hey, Jules, wait up!” Flynn called to Julie.

Reggie had already disappeared into their bedroom for his nap. Julie’s mind was racing, while Luke had disappeared down the steps in two seconds flat. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out what was going on with him. She turned back to her friend, admittedly grateful to get a moment of girl talk, even if it was just up in the hallway.

“Is…everything okay with you and Luke?” Flynn asked, studying her. “He seems pretty freaked out every time he’s around the baby.”

You think? Julie thought bitterly. Sometimes Luke didn’t always have the best filter…or any filter…but that was just bizarre.

“I don’t know,” Julie sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Honestly, he’s been like this any time I even mention the baby. And it’s not just that-” She looked around, making sure no one could overhear as she lowered her voice and confessed: “He hasn’t wanted to have sex in two weeks. Every time I try, he makes an excuse and run away! Last night he told me he forgot to take out the trash.”

Flynn stared at her. “We’re talking about our Luke, right? Luke Molina?”

“Yes!” Julie shot playfully, rolling her eyes. “He’s been acting strange, ever since the baby was born. I knew he had never really been around a baby before and they’re not his favorite, but this is just…next level.”

Her friend nodded in agreement at her wording.

“Maybe…” Flynn started, then paused, thinking. “Maybe this is all just hard, because of what happened with his mom. Just like Reggie’s had a hard time about his dad.”

Her heart sank as Julie considered it- she knew being a new dad was so hard for Reggie, after being mistreated by his own dad. It had to be incredibly heartbreaking, to see how precious a new life is, to hold his baby in his arms and realize at one point his dad chose not to love him. Just like Luke’s mom gave up on him. Her husband had been doing better, she thought, with the help of therapy and his new family supporting him, but this might have been a curveball for him.

It didn’t exactly explain the weird reactions to everything, but then again when something was bothering Luke, it often came across in very…indirect ways.

(and having the pressure of recording the album on top of any resurfaced trauma definitely wouldn’t help)

“Oh my god you’re right,” she breathed. “Oh poor Luke…”

Just talk to him,” Flynn told her. “If there is one thing I have learned about marriage girl, communication is everything.”

“We’ve literally been married the same amount of time,” Julie teased. She offered her best friend a kind smile and squeezed her arm. “But thanks. Now go enjoy your nap.”

As Flynn disappeared into what used to be Carlos’ room, Julie let out a long breath and headed back down the stairs, trying to figure out what she should say to her husband.

Hands stuffed in his pockets, Alex watched in awe as Willie effortlessly held Georgie and lifted the bottle to feed her at the same time. His spouse smiled as the baby began to eat; she looked so tiny in Willie’s muscular arms. They carefully left the kitchen and settled down on the sofa together, with Georgie in her boppy pillow but sitting up at a slight angle while she was fed. It was early evening now, a few hours into their babysitting duties, and so far it was going…okay. They had ‘danced’ with Georgie in the nursery along with some baby tunes, read to her, and took turns making lots of goofy faces and tickling her tummy.

“She’s so small,” Alex whispered. He couldn’t help but to reach over, letting Georgie wrap a finger around his own as Willie gave her the bottle. “I can’t believe we all start out this tiny.”

“I know.”

There was a flash of pain in Willie’s eyes, and his stomach turned to knots as he realized what his spouse might be thinking about. After years of growing up in foster care and assuming they were abandoned, Willie found out last year that for four entire years they had a family who loved them and cared for them, a family who tragically died and only they survived.

A family who raised them as a baby, just like this.

“Wils,” Alex called softly.

Willie drew in a sharp breath, like they were fighting back tears and whispered: “My parents held me like this.”

“Yeah,” Alex whispered back, his heart breaking for his spouse. “They loved you so much, Willie.”

“It’s just so surreal, thinking that they had this whole life with me I never really knew about,” Willie went on quietly.

They stopped, letting out a wounded whimper. Alex reached over, placing his hand that wasn’t holding Georgie’s finger on his partner’s shoulder. Willie managed to go on:

“It’s been nice, taking care of Georgie because it makes me realize what my life was like with them. They did so much for me, even if I don’t remember it. I was really taken cared of.”

“Yeah you were.” Alex leaned over, kissing Willie’s shoulder. “You still are. You have so many people that love you.”

He knew Willie knew it, but it felt so important to remind them in the moment. A distant smile crossed Willie’s lips as they nodded.

“Yeah, I know.” Georgie squirmed in their arms, turning away from the bottle for a second.

Willie brushed a dribble of milk away from her chin. When the baby seemed ready, they kept feeding her. Even with babies, Willie was so intuitive. They had always been on the same page about not wanting kids. Alex had never even been able to picture himself as a father- the anxiety alone with having kids seemed like an actual nightmare. He had no idea how Reggie was handling it. Willie was so full of passion for life and their career, so full of ideas on everything they could be as a couple, as dancers and artists…kids just never fit into their life picture, and they were both okay with it.

But now that Alex knew what their spouse looked like with a baby in their arms, when he really realized what a connection Willie had with kids, and how much they loved feeling connected to the feeling of family, he could really picture them as parents. Maybe he’d figure out his anxiety- if Reggie could heal from PTSD to the point of handling parenting, maybe he could work on himself too. And Willie…Willie would make an amazing dad. Alex could picture them reading to a kid at night, rocking them to sleep, teaching them to dance and skateboard, being so supportive.

“I had no idea you were so good with babies,” Alex commented. He brushed a strand of hair out of his partner’s face. “How did you learn all of this?”

Biting their lip, Willie hesitated for a thoughtful moment before confessing:

“I stayed in foster homes with a lot of babies. Once I got older, I had to help out with the babies a lot.”

Alex sucked in a breath, feeling a cold shock of sadness at the weight behind the confession. He knew that living in the foster system meant that Willie often felt lost, unloved, unwanted. They never usually had someone to care for them when they were sick or upset or to talk to them about growing up. But Willie rarely talked about what it was like living with the other foster kids; Alex always pictured it as a pretty lonely experience, but he never thought about Willie having responsibility for those kids.

“You know that was wrong of them, right?” Alex spoke up gently. “To expect you to take care of other people’s kids, when you were just a kid?”

“I know…but I liked that I could be family for them, even if it was only for a short time.”

He wanted to point out it wasn’t even okay for Willie to have felt like they should provide that sense of family for anyone, but Alex kept those thoughts to himself. Instead, he carefully asked:

“Willie…are you sure you don’t want to have kids?”

Their partner looked up to them, genuinely seeming surprised Alex asked. They let out a small, beautiful, laugh.

“Alex, we have a hundred kids! Why would I want anymore?”

“I don’t just mean dance kids!” Alex said exasperatedly. “Are you sure you don’t want to adopt a kid of our own? Or even foster.”

“Where is this coming from?” Willie asked, their voice softer than usual. “You know how I feel about this, Alex. I know I’m good with kids, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready for them- or want them. Are you sure you don’t want kids?”

He bit his lip, the idea never really having crossed his mind until right at that moment. He was sure Willie had thought of it, from the look on their face, but…fostering did somehow feel more appealing than having their own kids. Alex wasn’t sure why. He knew fostering kids wasn’t easy, by any means at all. It wasn’t cheap either. He knew it meant getting in kids who came from traumatic situations or bad living conditions sometimes…getting in kids who had just lost their parents. Getting in kids who were in trouble. That thought should scare him but somehow…it didn’t. He’d been in that situation, had been that kid who had been abandoned by their family and really needed somewhere safe to live. He’d seen the impact having someone like Ray did to Luke and Reggie.

“I…I…uh…” he stammered, nervously running a hand through his hair. “I mean…no, I still don’t think I want kids of my own but…fostering might be kind of cool.”

“There’s nothing cool about fostering.”

Alex winced at how dead-pan his partner said that.

“I know that,” he sighed, “that’s not what I mean. I guess…I can see us being good people for it. People who have been there and no what it’s like to not have family growing up. But, I know how broken the system is-“

“It’s really broken,” Willie replied, almost desperate. “No matter how much you want to help, how much true love you have, it’s very broken and so hard and it feels like no one is on your side.”

He wasn’t sure if Willie was talking about fostering or being a foster kid. He wasn’t sure it mattered. Maybe it was stupid- maybe fostering would bring up way too much trauma for Willie. Maybe it was an entirely unfair thought to even suggest to him.

“I know,” Alex repeated calmly. “I know how broken the system is, I’ve seen first-hand what that’s done to the person I love.” He reached up to brush hair out of his partner’s face. “It’s how I know how important it is to have foster families who really do care, and who care with love unconditionally. And I think…we could provide that. It’s just a thought though, it’s probably stupid. I don’t know where this is coming from.”

“Alex.” Willie cut in. They smiled a soft, reassuring smile at him. “You’re right, love. Foster kids need really strong, supportive people who are willing to care for and shelter each of them, no matter what. And I think we can do that. I think we’d be good at it. And maybe one day, I’ll change my mind. Maybe one day I’ll feel ready for something like that…or even for adoption. But I don’t think it’s going to be any time soon.”

Alex let out a breath of relief he hadn’t realized he had been holding in. As much as he could see them being good at this, Willie was right…he knew they weren’t ready. They were barely settled in as dance studio owners, let alone as business owners and foster parents. His mind was just racing, trying to mess with him.

As Georgie finished the bottle, Willie gave her a moment before lifting her up to burp her.

“Okay,” Alex finally breathed, “and it’s okay if you change your mind, you know. We can talk about this again, anytime.”

“Thanks,” Willie said, sounding genuinely grateful that Alex both understood and understood things might change. He went on: “There are a lot of ways that you can care for people in this world. There are lot of ways you can love people. You don’t have to have kids to do that, I’m a huge believer of that, Alex. Even as someone who grew up in the system. I want to help every kid but…I know that doesn’t have to be as a parent.”

He knew Willie was right. He knew for some of their kids, they were the only stable adults in their lives. Their studio was the only place where some of their kids truly felt like they could be themselves, it was the only place where other people truly supported them in every way. He knew that meant a lot more than he probably gave himself credit for.

“Maybe I’ve gotten too caught up in the business side of our business,” Alex admitted. “I’ve gotten caught up in the grind, you know?”

“It’s easy to do,” Willie agreed. They paused thoughtfully. “Maybe there’s more we can do to give back. We have been super competition focused.”

“Yeah, and I don’t always feel the best about that,” Alex sighed, running a hand through his hair again. “I mean don’t get me wrong, I love winning.”

“Hell yeah,” Willie laughed.

“But competition teams are so expensive. Just going to dance class, period, in Los Angeles is so expensive.”

“Well…maybe we can look at opening up more community classes,” they suggested. “We don’t even have to be a competition school…or maybe one day, we’ll be big enough that we can open up a second location, one entirely dedicated to the community. We could even try to get more sponsors and do scholarships or something."

Alex eyes lit up. The only way he and Willie both made it in dance as teenagers was through community classes, and they both had a great network they could reach out to for scholarship donors. CoughTrevorWilsoncough. “That would be amazing.”

“There are lots of things we can still do,” Willie reminded him. “We don’t actually have to do all the things at once in life, you know.”

“I know,” he sighed. He knew Willie was thinking of their talk about being too ‘boring’. “I guess I keep forgetting that we’re doing all of this pretty young. It kinda scares me to think of all that could still come next.”

“I think it’s thrilling.” Willie flashed him a bright smile that made his heart flutter.

Georgie burped as though chiming in, and they both giggled and carefully leaned forward to share a kiss over her. Then they both planted kisses to her cheeks.

“Would you like to take her?” Willie asked.

“Actually...I’ve never really held a baby.”

“It’s okay, I’ll help you.”

Willie gently adjusted Georgie over to him, showing him how to shoulder hold her and support her head. Georgie felt so tiny in his arms, yet he felt like he had the wait of the world on his shoulders. He was holding Reggie’s entire world. The thought terrified him…but it also made him feel good to know that people trusted him with the baby.

And Georgie seemed to take to him just as well as she did to Willie. She practically buried her head against his shoulder, rubbing her face against his hoodie until she settled in, resting against him as she closed her eyes. Alex held her close, one hand at the back of her head and one at the small of her back. How many times had he held her dad close like this, given Reggie a safe space to break down or have some kind of comfort or in celebration? Now he was holding his best friend’s daughter. Maybe Georgie looked just like Flynn, but she had so much of Reggie in her too, in her cheeks and chin. The way she rested right against him reminded him so much of her dad. She knew who her safe people were...and getting to be one of those people for his best friend's kid meant the world.

“I think she likes you,” Willie whispered.

Footsteps came down the stairs, and Alex heard Reggie before he saw him:

“Ohmygosh it’s her first Alex hug! I’ve got to get a pic!”

Alex didn’t argue as Reggie snapped the photo, wanting this captured himself. Flynn smiled at them as she checked on her daughter, cupping her head, but she seemed content that Georgie was so content with him. They were both changed into nicer clothes, Alex realized. Reggie wore his leather jacket, his hair was styled and he even had on eyeliner. 

“Did you have a good nap?” Alex asked. Reggie definitely looked a lot more well-rested.

“We had an amazing nap,” Reggie let out a content sigh. “Is it really okay if we go out to eat too? Because we haven’t had a date in like…actual ages.”

"And the school dance did not count," Flynn muttered.

“Don’t you live with another adult?” Alex pointed out. “Take advantage! Ray loves this kid.”

“I know,” Reggie said, fidgeting with the sleeves of his jacket, “and trust me, he has been a massive help and has been begging us to get out of the house. The idea of leaving her with without one of us home is just…kinda scary. It was hard just being in the studio. But I guess that turned out okay.”

“More than okay!” Flynn assured him. “I got lots of mommy-baby bonding time and gained two new babysitters.”

He and Willie both beamed with pride.

“Well Georgie’s been completely amazing,” Willie promised them. “She just ate. I’m sure it’ll just be another change soon and she’ll be back to sleep.”

“If you’re sure…” Flynn said, gazing longingly after her daughter. “We’d only be gone for like an hour, tops.”

“We’re sure,” Alex assured them. He smiled at Reggie. “We mean it! Go! Enjoy your date.”

“Lex-“

“I swear Reg, if your bony butt is not out that door in ten seconds, I’m gonna pick you up and put you in the car myself.”

Reggie squawked, quickly leaning over to kiss the top of his daughter’s head. “Bye baby!”

“Mommy loves you,” Flynn gushed, kissing Georgie as well. Her eyes narrowed at Willie and Alex. “If Alex and Willie cause too much trouble, text us.”

“Us, trouble?” Willie gasped dramatically, pointing at themselves.

As he dragged Flynn away, Reggie pointed fingers at both Willie and Alex. “No swearing around the baby, no television, and no crimes.”

“None?!” Willie whined playfully.

“You know what they say,” Flynn chimed in. “Be gay. No taking babies to crimes."

“That’s not the saying!” Willie pouted.

"We'll be gone less than a couple of hours," Reggie promised.

"Take your time!"

Flynn and Reggie both came over to give Georgie kisses goodbye. As they tiptoed away, trying to not make leaving a big deal to her (even if it was to them), Willie distracted Georgie by making goofy faces. As soon as the door closed though, she burst into tears- as though already sensing her mommy and daddy were gone. (There was no way newborns were that smart...right?)

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Alex promised. “It’s okay to be anxious, but Mommy and Daddy really aren’t going far, promise! They’ll be back before you know it.”

The car started up outside, and although rationally he knew babies couldn’t hear that well, it was like she knew and Georgie screamed louder. Willie motioned for Alex to pass over Georgie. They lifted the baby to their shoulder as they said to her:

“You know what helps me when I’m anxious?”

“We are not going to go scream in a museum! You literally just heard Flynn!”

Chapter Text

As soon as Luke got back into the studio, he strapped a guitar around his neck, hoping he could simply get lost into the music again and forget about every stupid thing he just did or said. He felt stupid, he felt useless- everyone else was being a help to Flynn and Reggie, and all he kept doing was the wrong thing.

But moreover, he felt scared.

“What is going on with you?!” Julie cried as she stormed into the studio after him.

Flinching, Luke felt caught.

“I…I just want to get back to work, okay?” He attempted.

“Well, I don’t!” His wife crossed her arms, and when he tried to sit on the sofa to peer over his songbook, she gently pushed the book aside and sat her hand on his knee. He squirmed, feeling trapped and almost immediately dashed away. “Luke! Just talk to me. You’ve been acting so…weird.”

“I’m acting weird?!”

“Yes! You can’t just say the crap you have about babies in front of Flynn like that! And you can’t just run out of the room every time I want to talk about my friend’s daughter. It’s one thing if you don’t want to help out, but you don’t have to be so rude about it. This isn’t even like you, I thought you were happy for Reggie and Flynn."

The comment was like a punch to the gut. He was so happy for Reggie, he couldn’t put into words how happy he was for his friend. But…he just felt a lot of other things too. Things he didn’t expect to feel about his friends being parents…or his own future.

“I am happy for them,” he replied, deathly serious. “I’m so happy for them.”

“Then please...what's going on? At least try to explain it to me."

As though she didn't know. Luke let out a bark of laughter, carefully setting his guitar aside, feeling way too antsy to hold onto it. As if he didn’t have a right to be scared right now! His words were flying around his head faster than he could control; the room kind of felt like it was spinning. It was driving him crazy, waiting for Julie to just come out and say it: I’ve changed my mind. I want to have your baby…now. And would he even get a say in it? How would she feel if he still couldn’t be ready to be a dad? He was going to say something stupid again, and he almost didn’t even care, he just had to get it out of his head.

“As soon as Flynn became a mom, it’s like…all you care about is babies!”

“You’re right, ever since my best friend had her daughter, I’ve cared a hell of a lot about her baby,” Julie replied, her voice shaky with fury. “Why is that such a bad thing?"

“Because I know you want one!” Luke finally blurted out. “And I…I don’t.”

Her jaw hit the floor. She was too flustered to say anything at first, he had never seen her this caught before. It had been a long, long time since he had seen her this livid…probably not since the day he went through her dream box. The studio fell so silent you could have heard a pin drop until Julie finally replied:

“All this is because you think I have baby fever?" She cried. "Luke, I thought something was really wrong! What makes you even think I want a baby? You know how I feel about having kids.”

“Do I?!” He huffed, rubbing his neck anxiously. 

“Yes, you do, we’ve talked about-“

“I saw your song!” He admitted at last. “I saw your song about babies and new meanings to life and how you’re finding your purpose now and-"

“That song is for Flynn!” Julie exclaimed.

“Oh.”

He was the worst. He was so stupid. But…he really didn’t think he had been that crazy to think Julie was thinking about babies. She just seemed so much more excited about them than ever before, and it wasn’t that out of line to think she was rethinking wanting to have a baby to raise with Flynn’s kid, right?

“The song just…it just seemed really personal,” Luke told her, “and I’ve seen how you look at Georgia, and when you’re helping to take care of her it’s like there’s this look in your eye like…like you really can see yourself be a mom. Like you want that now. Then I saw the song, and it just…seemed so obvious.”

“So obvious that you couldn’t talk to me about it?” Julie pointed out. “So obvious that you’ve been rude to our friends and have practically avoiding me? Ohmygod…is this why you haven’t wanted to have sex?!”

“Oh no, I’ve really wanted to have sex!” She gaped at him, and he immediately regretted saying that. “I mean…I just…I was nervous? Because I thought you assumed that maybe I changed my mind too and like…I thought that…you were just going for it.”

Luke grimaced as soon as he said it, seeing the hurt all over her face, but his fears over this had felt so real the past couple weeks. He knew he wasn’t making this up in his head- given what he knew, he had every right to be nervous, right? He had every right to be scared, scared that they had somehow so fallen off the same page about their future that they weren’t even in the same book anymore.

“Wow,” Julie breathed, brushing a hand through her curls. “I feel so stupid. You just...you decided for yourself that I must want kids and even though that idea scares you, instead of talking to me about that too, you decided it was better to just…avoid me? And you actually thought I would change my mind on something this big without talking to you? You really thought I would just decide we were having a kid and just…go for it?! Luke, this is not okay! We are married now, you’ve got to talk to me! How did you think this would end up?”

Biting his lip, he knew she was right. Ultimately, avoiding bringing up his fear was never going to lead to any good but…

“I…I wasn’t ready to talk about it. I was afraid, that if you really did want kids now and I wasn’t ready that it just wouldn’t be okay.”

She just looked so hurt and he hated it, but he was also hot with anxiety and shaking with nerves because he couldn’t say a single thing that wasn’t stupid and he was trying to make it make sense in his head because he knew he had a right to be worried about what he was worried about. He thought. Maybe he didn’t know anything anymore.

“It’s like you don’t even know me,” Julie finally muttered, shaking her head.

And she did the worst thing possible.

She turned away, grabbed her back and started to storm out.

“Wait!” Luke called, rushing after her. He managed to stop her right before she could storm out of the studio. “Wait, Julie, we can talk about this.”

“Oh, you want to talk to me now?!”

“Yes! Isn’t that what you want?” She glared at him. Okay, that was also definitely not the right thing to say. She started to turn around again. “Where are you going?”

She swirled around, and his heart stopped when he saw there were tears in her eyes. She was so upset. He’d hurt her so much- he put those tears there. How had he ruined everything so fast?

“I just…I need some space.” She started to turn away again but swirled back around, as though she was in so much disbelief she couldn’t even process what she was doing or thinking. “I just can’t believe you thought I would just…go there!”

“What was I supposed to think?”

“You were supposed to talk to me!” Julie threw her hands up, letting out an exasperated laugh. “You were supposed to trust your wife and assume that if I changed my mind about something as huge as having kids that I would talk to you about it and that I would value your opinion as my husband.”

“Well have you?” He challenged. “Have you changed your mind because everything is changing and you really seem to love that baby and-“

“She’s my niece!” Julie cried. “Georgia is basically my niece and basically your nephew, and I love her with my whole heart. If you can’t stand that without feeling threatened…I don’t even know what to tell you.”

This was all going so so wrong, but she wasn’t even giving him the chance to fix it. She was still just walking away.

“Julie, please, we can work through this-“

“If you wanted to work through this with me, then you wouldn’t have waited until I had to call you out on it,” she shot, and it hurt, like a slap in the face. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes like she was trying to keep herself from saying anything worse. “I just need some space and time. If you want to work on music, stay here, work on music for all I care. I can’t with you right now, I just…I’m going for a walk.”

“Julie, please!”

But the studio door slammed in his face. His stomach sank, he felt like he might throw up. Luke had no idea if he was supposed to run after her and fix this right now or if he was supposed to honor her needing space and time. They had arguments before but nothing that felt like this, nothing that left him feeling this helpless and stupid. He was supposed to be married, he was supposed to be an adult but still all he could do was ruin everything.

You’re just so selfish, he could hear his mother scolding him.

With a cry of frustration, all Luke had the strength left to do was crumble to the ground, sitting with his back against the sofa and knees pulled to his chest, hating himself.

Unbeknownst to the drama going on in the studio, Bobby was having a perfectly peaceful night at home as he read to his daughter at bedtime:

“And so the Prince and the Prince lived happily ever after. The end.”

A sleepy smile crossed Carrie’s face and she yawned, but as tired as his daughter was, she clearly wasn’t ready to be left to go to bed. Lately, Carrie had been having trouble sleeping. He’d wake up in the middle of the night to find she had crawled into bed with him, and while he secretly didn’t mind his daughter still wanting to share a bed, he knew it was a phase she needed to grow out of. He hoped by getting them both back on a better schedule would help.

“Another story!” Carrie cried.

“No more story,” he sighed. That had been their third one. So much for their new bedtime routine. He was such a sucker. “Time for sleep. It will be tomorrow before you know it.”

“And we can see the baby tomorrow?" She asked.

He fell right into that trap. Bobby smiled; Carrie had been asking about the baby non-stop since Georgie was born. Her first two bedtime stories that night were about families. He loved how anxious his daughter was to meet the closest thing she had to a cousin, but he knew the last thing Reggie and Flynn needed was a wild five-year old in the house.

"We'll see the baby soon sweetie, promise," Bobby told her. "Georgie really needs a lot of time with her mommy and daddy right now. We'll see her when she's ready."

It looked like for a second she might have understood that, but then Carrie made a face and gazed up at him for a long moment before asking:

“Daddy…do I have a mommy?”

His heart dropped. He knew Carrie was getting older, and it was only going to be a matter of time before she asked about her mother. He just…thought he had more time to prepare.

And so much of how she began to process would depend on how he answered right now.

“Everyone has a mommy who gives birth to them, like Flynn gave birth to Georgie,” Bobby began, sitting on the edge of her bed. He reached over, gently brushing his daughter’s hair out of her face. “But not everyone is raised by a mommy and daddy. Some people are raised by two mommies or two daddies. Some people are raised by just a mommy or just a daddy. Babies can be raised by lots of different people who aren’t the mommy and daddy that gave birth to them.”

Carrie blinked, clearly trying really hard to understand. His counselor had talked to him about having this very conversation, and at the time it made sense how he could start by gently explaining the concept to her now, with the basis that she would keep learning and better understanding as she got older. But her daughter was always so smart for her age, nothing got past her. Life had forced her to be older than her years- his choices had- and the least he could do was treat her with respect for that and try.

“So…is Marcus my mommy?” She asked.

He let out a laugh, almost feeling relieved she was still innocent enough to think to ask that.

“No sweetie, Marcus is just my partner. Your mommy…” he stopped, breathing slowly through the memory of desperately begging Charlotte not to leave them. “Your mommy couldn’t raise you. So we decided I would raise you.”

“Why?”

His head dropped. It felt like someone kicked him in the gut. How could he possibly explain this when he still hardly understood Charlotte’s choices himself?

“We wanted was best for you,” Bobby managed, holding a hand to his daughter’s arm, “and sometimes…sometimes when you love someone and you want what’s best for them, you have to make some hard decisions. It was best for you that I raised you. All you really need to know is that I love you very much."

I'll never give up on you. Not like she did.

“And Marcus?” Her eyes shone bright, and he let out a laugh. Carrie never missed anything. “If some people have two daddys…is he also my daddy?”

“He loves you very much too,” Bobby promised her, “but for now, Marcus is just my partner. He cares about you a lot though, and you can trust him, okay?”

She nodded. “And you don’t date, right?” She remembered.

He smiled at her. “No, we don’t date. We’re just…together. Like friends but really, really close friends. Any more questions?”

Carrie bit her lip, clearly thrilled he didn’t mind answering her questions. He wondered if this was why she had so much trouble sleeping lately, almost since the birth- if she had been trying to figure out how to ask about her birth mother, in her own childlike way.

“What was my mommy like?” Carrie finally asked.

A long breath escaped him, and Bobby ran a trembly hand through his hair. Though one day she might understand, there was no way he could admit to his five year-old what her mother was really like.

“She loved to dance, like you,” Bobby told her, which made Carrie smile. He swallowed hard before asking: “Would you like to see a picture of her?”

She nodded eagerly. Bobby took out his phone, finding the photo he was looking at before, the only one he had of him, Charlotte and Carrie.

“She’s pretty,” Carrie whispered, her eyes wide as she gazed at the picture.

Bobby simply brushed more of Carrie’s hair behind her ears and leaned over to kiss her forehead again. He was surprised how quickly Carrie handed back the phone, like she mentally wasn’t ready to think about this at all. He was more than a bit relieved, for him and her.

“Daddy?” Carrie asked.

“Yes?”

“Does that mean Mommy left us?"

He bit his lip, knowing that Carrie knew kids whose parents were going through a divorce. Hell, she knew Marcus and his daughter and seemed to understand that sometimes Hailey lived with her mom and sometimes she lived with her dad. That was different though, he thought it was obvious enough that they both parented Hailey, just in a different way than parents who parented together. But his daughter was smart, and obviously she could understand...it wasn't just that they had to make hard decisions, her mother chose to leave her.

“Yeah,” Bobby finally confessed. “Yeah, she did. But I won’t ever leave you, okay?”

It felt good to say it, even though he knew this was way too big of a conversation for any five year-old to understand. But his daughter was smart. His daughter had been through way more than many kids ever did, and it felt better, at least to know she wouldn't grow up with him misleading her about her mom. And selfishly, he really did want her to understand just how much he loved her; he wanted her to see he was the one that chose to stay, that he would always stay. If Carrie kept having questions about her mom growing up or wanted to meet her, they would cross that bridge when they came to it. For now, he just wanted her to know how unconditionally loved she was by the parent she did have. 

She nodded and, to his surprise, leaned up and threw her arms around him. His heart melted as he hugged her back.

“I love you, Daddy,” she whispered.

“I love you too, Carebear," he whispered back.

“I’m sorry Mommy left.”

I’m not.

“We’ll be okay,” Bobby promised her instead. “I love you, okay? And so does Marcus.”

As they broke apart, Bobby let out a haggard breath, feeling emotionally numb but so proud of his daughter at the same time.

“Is Hailey still coming to stay next week?” Carrie asked.

“Yeah,” Bobby smiled. “Think you’re ready to go to sleep or do you have any more questions?”

Carrie just giggled and shook her head, her eyes fluttering shut as she drifted off to sleep, just like that. Bobby kissed her goodnight one more time before pocketing his phone and reaching over to turn the lamp off.

He let out a heavy sigh as he left her room.

Soft video game noises came from Marcus’ room, and Bobby gravitated toward the noise. The last thing he wanted right now was to be alone, even to go to bed, as tired as he was. Instead, he leaned in the doorway of his partner’s room and smiled at the sight of Marcus laying back in bed, playing Mario Kart.

“Hey,” Marcus greeted. He immediately paused the game and came to stand by him when he saw how upset he was. “Bobby, what’s wrong?”

“Carrie asked me about who her mother was.”

It was all he had to say. Marcus slipped his arms around him, and Bobby let himself fall forward, burying his head into his partner’s shoulder. He let himself be held.

How had he ever done this so many years alone?

“I think I handled it okay,” Bobby admitted after a few moments of quiet.

“I’m sure you did,” Marcus assured him. “You’re an amazing dad, Bobby.”

His heart fluttered hearing it. Selfishly, maybe he hadn’t heard that said out loud from other people enough over the years. But he wasn't anxious anymore, he realized, about facing these kinds of moments with Carrie or going through any big parenting hurdles alone. Because he wasn't alone anymore...and even when he was, he kicked butt at this fatherhood thing. Marcus was right. 

I'm an amazing Dad. 

Truthfully, Bobby couldn't say if leaving was a hard decision for Charlotte. It didn't seem like a hard decision for her at all. But staying...staying with his daughter was the easiest decision he had ever made. 

Julie went for a long walk. She walked through her old Los Feliz neighborhood, she walked into Hollywood and immediately regretted her decision as tourist swarmed around her. She caught a bus down to the beach, just like she and Flynn did in high school. Like she and Luke did so many times together. She plopped down in a quiet spot on the shore and just…cried. The sunset blinked back at her over the water, all cotton-candy colored and a breeze wrapped around her, but instead of making it shiver it almost felt like a hug. She felt frustrated, hurt and angry but at the same time a little silly for reacting as harshly as she had- and more than a bit guilty for dismissing Luke's feelings. Maybe he really had been scared, so scared that if he asked her if she changed her mind about kids and she said yes that his whole world would flip upside down. It was just that he handled this so badly, and she was entitled to be mad about that...right?

She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel right now. 

What Flynn said made sense, that this was about Luke's mom and it was just hard for him seeing his best friend become a father. How had a conversation that was supposed to be about that gone so wrong so fast and ended up with her here? How had she misread her husband so badly? She felt like she had no clue what was going on with him at all. She didn’t understand why he still did this, still felt like he couldn’t just communicate. And why had she felt like she had to run away? She ran out on him, just like him and Emily used to run out on each other when they argued. This should have just been a simple argument, they should have been able to talk through it, but it just exploded before she even saw what was happening. It used to feel so easy, for them to talk. They could talk for hours in the studio, up on the roof by her bedroom window, at the beach, sitting just like this. She wasn’t sure what had changed, except…

They were married now. The stakes were so high now.

What happened from now on, when they weren’t on the same page? What happened if she did change her mind about what she wanted for their future? Would they be able to work together and work through it? Was it always going to feel this hard? Was Luke always going to be this afraid to talk to her if he thought something was up? Would it always be this easy for him to hide, just because he was scared? Was she always going to just run away every time things got a little tense between them? 

"I don't know what to do, Mom," Julie half-sobbed as she listened to the crashing waves. "I don't know why I stormed out like that. I never saw you do that with Papi but...I guess now I'm realizing how hard this is. You guys made it look so easy."

Almost as though her mom was answering her by going 'not so fast, mija, it wasn't always so easy', she suddenly remembered a time when she was a kid, when her parents had some argument. It was about work or something, Julie couldn’t even remember. They didn’t know she could hear them, up stairs in her room, listening through the door. The next morning she had woken up to find them both perfectly happy again, their eyes shining again as they made breakfast together. Her mom was singing and every now and then her dad waltzed her mom around. Like nothing ever happened. Julie had burst into tears, admitting she heard about the fight; she didn’t understand how everything was so okay again.

Her mom had sat her up on the counter, dried her tears, and of her parents had held her hands as her mom explained to her:

"All grown-ups disagree sometimes. Sometimes, mommies and daddies just need to argue, like you and your brother do. But the important thing is that in the end, they’re able to talk through it." 

She sat on the beach and cried until it got dark, giving herself the space she knew she needed, but she also knew…she couldn’t go home alone and angry.

She couldn’t go home without him.

Standing up, Julie wiped at her face, brushed the sand off of her pants and for some reason, she felt the need to promise to the ocean:

"Don't worry, Mami, I'll talk to him."

Luke felt numb from tears by the time he finally gave in and left the studio. It was dark now and late. Alex and Willie's car was still gone, signaling the babysitting was likely long since over. His and Julie's car was still there, which gave him hope- maybe Julie was in the house. Instead of Julie though, when he opened the front door he found Reggie holding a crying Georgia.

“Hey,” Luke greeted, his voice tight with emotion.

“Hey,” Reggie greeted anyway as he readjusted the crying newborn in his arms. “You’re still here?”

Reggie stopped at the sight of him, clearly haven’t heard him coming in. He studied Luke with concern for a split second, noting his pale, tear-stained face and puffy eyes, but he quickly had to return his attention to his newborn. Of course he did…how could his problems ever compare to what Reggie was dealing with right now?

“Yeah,” was all Luke managed. Feeling utterly useless, he stuffed his hands in his pockets as he watched his friend try to calm his daughter down. “Sorry. I um…I didn’t realize you guys were still up.”

“I’m basically always up these days,” Reggie admitted. He rubbed Georgie’s back. “I’ve been trying to calm this one down enough to take her bottle. I’m sure that’s all she needs to help get her to sleep.” His eyes went wide with hope as he dared to ask: “Do…do you want to hold her?”

Luke swallowed nervously. “Me?”

“Yeah!” Reggie smiled. He could tell Reggie really needed the break, but nerves ate as his stomach at the thought of holding a newborn baby. “You haven’t yet and…I dunno...you always make people feel better. You always make me feel better, at least, so maybe that magic works on babies too.”

He should have felt flattered, but his heart sank right to the floor. Luke knew this was his chance though- his chance to prove that he did care about Georgie, he did love her. He wanted to be there for her and help. He could do all that and not let any stupid fear of his own future get in the way.

“I’ve never held a baby before,” Luke confessed.

“Neither had Alex until eariler, and now he’s a pro,” Reggie quipped. “Here, I’ll show you.”

First, he went to wash his hands and then Luke let out a long breath, trying to relax as much as he could as he sat down beside Reggie. But being this much closer to the squirming newborn only made his nerves worse- she was so tiny.

“What if I drop her?” Luke blurted out in one breath.

“You won’t,” Reggie assured him. “I’ll be right here. This will help.”

He sat a big pillow in Luke’s lap, one that helped hold the baby up, he realized. Then, ever so gently, Reggie passed Georgie over. Luke expected it to feel like a huge weight just plopped into her arms, but Georgie still felt like she weighed nothing. Reggie helped him prop the baby up with the boppy pillow, and almost as soon as she was situated and looking up at Luke, she calmed down a bit.

Suddenly from this angle, held this close, Georgia didn’t seem so scary at all. She was just a tiny Flynn, with Reggie’s chin and nose. He’d held a crying Reggie so many times…Reggie was right, Luke could take care of his crying daughter too.

“H-hi,” Luke greeted in a shaky voice. “I’m your Uncle Luke, remember?”

He let her touch her teeny tiny finger to his hand, and his heart skipped beats. His breathing calmed down a bit as he simply watched Georgia, admiring how she relaxed and how her eyes studied him back. He remembered Reggie once telling him dogs could sense when you were scared…he wondered if babies were the same.

Luke smiled down at her.

“You’re doing great,” Reggie promised, holding a hand to his back. It was obvious how relieved he was that Georgie was at least beginning to calm down. “Do you want to try to feed her?”

This was all moving fast, but Luke nodded anyway. Reggie handed him the bottle and showed him how to try to get her to take it and…Georgia began to drink. They both let out sighs of relief.

“Oh my gosh,” Luke whispered, not daring to move. “I’m…I’m really doing this.”

“Yeah,” Reggie grinned. “You’re a natural.”

For a split second, he wasn’t so sure what he was so afraid of, about babies. For a split second he could look down at Georgie and see instead, a tiny little Luke and Julie. He could imagine being up at night like this, trying to get Julie to sleep while he took over baby duties. His heart pounded just thinking about it, about how much their lives could change if they had one of these of their own…

So much change.

“Hey, Reggie?” Luke called softly.

“Yeah?” Reggie echoed.

“What’s it like being a dad?”

A soft smile crossed Reggie’s face. He held onto Luke’s shoulder as he gazed down at his newborn daughter.

“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Reggie told him. His voice broke a beat, but instead of getting teary he threw his daughter a big smile. “I never understood it, when people used to say that. I was so afraid of becoming a dad but…now I get it. She’s mine. Mine to introduce to the whole world, with the woman I love and it’s just…it’s a gift. It really is. It’s like this is what I’m supposed to be doing.”

Luke felt a bit ill because he knew immediately- he didn’t have any feelings like that. If any part of Julie really did want kids…no part of him truly felt like he was supposed to become a father. Why?

“Luke?” Reggie asked, sensing something was wrong.

Something was very wrong…he was about to break down crying while feeding this baby.

You're just being a big baby yourself, he heard his mother say. And that broke him. 

"I got really afraid about Julie having baby fever," Luke finally confessed in a broken voice, "and I handled that really badly and really screwed up big time. We got into a big fight about it."

He sniffled, managing to wipe his face on his sleeve as he kept feeding the baby. 

"Oh Lukey," Reggie sighed, wrapping his arm around his friend's back. "You guys will figure it out."

"Yeah...maybe." Or maybe I screwed up too much this time. "Reggie...I don't want kids. That's why the baby fever I thought she had scared me. You and Bobby talk about being dads like it's the best thing in the world...do you think I'm selfish because I don't want kids of my own? Not right now...maybe not ever...but definitely not right now. Even if Julie really had changed her mind. Does that make me a bad person?"

Reggie shook his head feverishly, looking mortified Luke would ever get that thought in his head. 

"Of course not!" Reggie said. "Luke...Georgie is the best thing that ever happened to me, but the timing was so bad. We're super young and just barely started our careers. We don't even have our own house! Bobby was nineteen when he had Carrie. Our daughters have totally changed our world and in all the best ways but...I don't think either of us would have ever chosen to do this right now. You and Julie shouldn't feel any pressure to have kids so fast or at all if you don't want to. It's your life and that's your choice."

Luke let out a long breath of relief, feeling much better now that he heard someone else say it...again. 

"Bobby said the same. I dont' know why I keep getting so worked up about it," Luke grumbled. "I guess...seeing my best bro become a dad, it just put everything into perspective."

"Tell me about it," Reggie said with that shy smile of his. "Deciding if you want kids can be scary, especially if you thought Julie had changed her mind. I get that. I mean...maybe you could have handled some things better, you have been acting pretty weird. But I mostly get it."

"Yeah," he grimaced. Georgie kept happily sucking away at the bottle, not another care in the world. " I'm sorry, man, I know I've been a bit out of line. I...even kinda stopped having sex with Julie because I was so afraid that she might...ya know...wanna try for a baby."

"First of all, little ears!" Reggie hissed, nodding toward his daughter. Luke rolled his eyes. "Secondly...dude that is not okay! Not okay at all!"

"I know!" He whined. "What do I do?"

"Talk to her!"

"Well I tried...after she called me out on it...and I screwed that up too!"

"Oh Lukey," Reggie sighed, combing his fingers through Luke's hair. "Look, it's getting late, and if there's one thing I've learned so far in years of marriage-"

"Bro, it's been less than one year. You've literally been married the same amount of time I have."

"-it's that you can't go to bed angry."

Luke stopped, looking up at him. He was pretty sure he had heard that advice before, and it made so much sense. His fights with his mom were always much, much worse when he just ran away or stormed off into his room to bed. The tension, the bitterness, the hurt after was often worse than the fight itself. Did that happen in marriage too?

"I just don't know what to say," Luke groaned, "everything I do or say makes it worse. That's why it was easier to not do or say nothing! She's so mad, Reg, she actually walked out on me and it just...

It hurts. He couldn't even say it out loud it hurt so bad. 

"I feel like I'm a freaking kid again, just scrweing everything up by overreacting. Everyone else has grown up so much and seems to know what to do and I don't. My brain has been so full of all this anxiety lately about this, like it's freaking eating me alive and the one chance I had to talk to her I still couldn't even and I'm just blowing it and I'm going out of my mind and...Reggie? Reg?"

He realized, suddenly, that he wasn’t getting any reaction out of Reggie at all. Glancing over, Luke found his friend curled up on the sofa, his knees pulled into his chest and arms wrapped around his middle. Out cold. A sloppy smile fell across Luke’s face at the sight of his friend resting- it seemed like Reggie really, really needed that nap right now.

“Guess it’s just you and me, kid,” Luke said as he smiled back down at Georgia. "Do you have any idea what I should say to your tía?"

Instead of answering, the baby finished the bottle, and Luke sighed as he stared at her, trying to think of what he should do next. Burping, he realized. Only... how did one burp a baby? It seemed risky to just...try hitting a baby's back. He stared at Georgia and she blinked back up at him like 'you really don't know what comes next'? He felt like an idiot and almost woke her dad, but then he decided...if Bobby and Reggie could figure this out with no baby experience, so could he. Maybe this was part of how he made it up to Julie: he show that he could step up his game. He showed that he could not only be around the baby and talk about the baby but help take care of her. He could be an adult and actually handle stuff instead of just being afraid. And while he was taking care of Georgia, he could figure out exactly what he was going to say to his wife. 

"Hey Alexa," Luke called quietly to his phone, "how do you burp a baby?"

A video popped up on youtube, easily explaining how and Luke let out a sigh of reief as he carefully hoisted Georgia against him, just like the person in the video. 

"I got this," Luke promised the baby, as he carefully started to burp her, "I know it doesn't seem like it, but Uncle Luke's got this."

Chapter Text

After finding the studio empty and seeing her and Luke’s car still there, Julie checked the house for him. Though she didn’t live there anymore that familiar feeling of home and warmth greeted her, immediately comforting her soul. Reggie was curled up on the sofa, napping. She tip-toed upstairs, where the nursery door was open but the room dark, save for the lamp light, and her husband’s soft singing filled the air. Stunned, she crept to the doorway and she smiled when she found Luke sitting in the rocker, a sleeping baby in his arms as he sung:

Now it's time to say good night,

Good night, sleep tight.

Now the sun turns out his light,

Good night, sleep tight.

Dream sweet dreams for me,

Dream sweet dreams for you.

“I don’t know that one,” Julie commented softly.

Luke looked up, his face tired and his eyes red-rimmed, like he too had been crying.

“It’s by the Beatles, my dad used to sing it to me,” he explained; he nodded to Georgia. “I came in the house, and she was crying her head off earlier while Reggie was trying to get her to take a bottle. I thought he was crazy when he wanted me to try, but I was able to feed her. Then Reggie fell asleep, and I figured he needed the rest, so I burped her and brought her upstairs to calm her down. I even changed her and put her in a new onesie.”

Seeing that her husband not only gave babysitting a chance but that he was realizing he could connect with Georgia made her heart flutter.

“I have to say, I’m impressed,” Julie admitted. “She looks like Uncle Luke took great care of her.”

“Yeah,” he whispered, “I can’t believe I could do all this. I really didn’t think I would be good with babies, they’re just so…fragile. I mean look at her, she’s so tiny. She’s Reggie and Flynn’s whole life. I was so afraid of screwing up but…it was totally okay.”

 Julie knelt down beside the rocker, resting on her knees as she gently reached up to rub a finger over Georgia’s onesie-covered arm. She placed her other hand on Luke’s flannel-covered arm.

“You’re an amazing uncle, Luke,” she told him. “You’re so kind and loving and warm, and Georgia can sense that. Reggie and Flynn know it too. They trust you with her.”

A soft smile fell across his face, though he still sniffled, as though still fighting back emotion. She could tell how badly he felt about their fight- and how much he was trying to prove himself.

“Sometimes I still hear my mom’s voice in my head,” he confessed quietly. Her heart sank, her blood boiled at the very thought of Emily. “Lately, she’s been saying…I don’t have any business having kids or taking care of them. I’m too selfish for that. I’d screw up. I guess I started to believe her. I really tried not to, but…”

He trailed off, sniffling again, and she brought up a hand to wipe away a couple tears that fell.

“That’s not why you don’t want kids, is it?” She asked.

She was relieved when he shook his head. “No. At first…maybe. But no, I know it’s not what I want in life. I love what we have going with us and our music. Maybe that makes me a bad, selfish person-"

“It doesn’t,” she insisted. God she wanted to slap Emily in the face for all the self-doubt she engrained into her son. “I don’t want kids, does that make me selfish?”

“No,” he shook his head again. "You’re right. I know you’re right.”

If he’d been walking around for weeks now with his mother’s voice plaguing him like that, no wonder he freaked when he thought she had changed her mind about kids. She knew she had every right to be frustrated and even appalled at some of his actions lately…but she could understand where he was coming from.

“I shouldn’t have said all of that earlier, it was really stupid,” Luke went on. “I’ve been really, really stupid lately. The avoiding sex thing, that was so shitty of me. You had every right to be upset. I’m so sorry, Julie. I got so freaked out and so scared but that was no excuse. I’m really sorry. I can’t believe I acted like that, I’m so sorry. I should have just talked to you. I'm so sorry."

Julie stood up so that she could wrap her arms around his neck in a loose hug, while he kept holding the baby; she kissed the top of his head.

“I forgive you," she told him softly. She could visibly see the relief wash over him. "I get why you were freaked out. I mean…I don’t, cause it was totally a stretch in the first place, but once you got it in your head that we might not be on the same page about this, I’d get why you’d be scared. Thinking about the future is really, really scary, especially if for some reason, you thought we weren’t on the same page about the future.”

“Yeah,” Luke sighed. His thumb rubbed back and forth over Georgie’s little hand. “I guess it felt like my life could change on a whim, and if I couldn’t get on board or be okay with it…I was toast. I felt so out of control. Then I felt like an asshole. You’re allowed to change your mind about what you want and…having a family with you shouldn’t scare me so much. I know you’d make a great mom.”

Her heart melted, and even though deep down she was still a little frustrated, she could emphasize. And she could see how suddenly feeling so out of control could make Luke suddenly act so…strange. And stupid. She knew he tended to spiral when he got anxious, but she was still shaken by how much he had spiraled.  

She sighed again as she ran her fingers through his hair.

“What if you change your mind, and you want kids and I don’t?” He squirmed, as though he hadn’t even considered that. “Luke…we have no idea how our lives will change. When I was thirteen, I never would have imagined losing my mom when I was fourteen. I never imagined finding a cute homeless boy in my new house that I’d fall madly in love with.”

A blush rose on his cheeks.

“A lot of things are going to change over the course of our lives” she went on. “What we each want and both want will probably change, but we’ll learn how to handle that. We know we can handle hard stuff. Whatever’s coming for us…we’ve got this. I need you to promise me that if you get freaked out like this again, especially over something you think I’m thinking, to talk to me.”

“I promise, Julie, I swear,” Luke told her desperately. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” she murmured. She squeezed his arm. “And I promise, as of right now, I still don’t want kids, and I don’t see that changing.”

“Oh thank god!” Luke let out a breath of relief and she giggled. "I don't mind babysitting, but I am so not ready to be a parent...anytime soon."

“Good,” she smiled, “so we’re on the same page, and if that page changes, we’ll talk about it.”

He nodded feverishly. “Will do, Boss. Have I mentioned how sorry I am?”

Her response was leaning up to plant a kiss to his lips. They both let out content sighs when they pulled away, and Julie couldn’t have been more relieved that their fight was over. She also realized…

“I think we just had our first fight as a married couple.”

“We did!” Luke agreed, his eyes lighting up. “And we kicked butt at that fight!”

“Well…..I did run away to the beach and cried on the sand for a few hours,” she admitted. Judging by his red, puffy, eyes, he wasn’t much better off before he came inside to talk it out with Reggie. “But we totally kicked butt at talking it out like adults after we got mad.”

“Yeah we did!” He tilted his head so he could kiss her again.

Julie was glowing as they returned their attention to the baby, who somehow was still asleep. She reached over to gently rub Georgia’s little belly, and that’s when she frowned, noticing…

“Luke, this onesie’s on backwards.”

“What?” He demanded, checking for himself. “I thought the zipper went in the back, like dresses!”

“Oh my god.” She snorted and laughed against her arm. Then she noticed how Georgia smelled, sniffed her closer, and made a face. “And I think she needs to be changed again. Maybe you can show me how to change a diaper, since you’re the expert?”

Right on cue, Georgia began to squirm in Luke’s arms and let out a cry as she woke up. Luke didn’t hesitate to readjust his hold on her and stood up with her to meet Julie at the changing table. Together, they managed to get the onesie off the crying baby…and Julie couldn’t help but to burst out laughing when she saw the state of Georgia’s diaper.

“Luke, I think the diaper’s on backwards too!” She giggled.

“What?!” He let out a frustrating sigh and rest his head on her shoulder in defeat. “I really tried, Julie!”

“I know, cariño,” she assured him. 

“What the hell are you two doing to my child?” Flynn’s voice exclaimed from the doorway.

Julie turned around to see her bestie, dressed in pajamas and a nightgown, her hair up in a wrap. Flynn wasted no time coming to her daughter’s rescue, and she and Luke stepped aside as soon as she was in her hands, not wanting to get in mama’s way.

“Do I even want to know why you’re up here?” Flynn asked, clearly more amused than mad. She made a face at Georgia’s diaper. “Or why my baby’s diaper is on backwards?”

“The onesie was on backwards too,” Julie teased, poking Luke’s shoulder.

“I…I tried, okay!” Luke squawked, scratching his neck.

“You did?” Flynn raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were allergic to diapers.”

“Well…turns out…that might have been a fluke that one time,” Luke muttered. Julie rolled her eyes.

Flynn cackled as she began to get the dirty diaper off Georgia. “Jules, where’s my hubby?”

“’m here,” Reggie’s sleepy voice greeted as he appeared on the doorway. Yawning, he stepped up beside his wife and quickly worked to help her soothe Georgia. “Hello again, baby! Did Uncle Luke scare you?”

“No Uncle Luke didn’t,” Luke protested, “Uncle Luke was doing just fine.” He waved at the baby. “Tell him, Georgie! You were loving your Uncle Luke time!”

Georgia only cried harder, and Luke mumbled: “That baby’s making me look bad.”

“He really was doing a great job,” Julie boasted. She placed a supportive hand on her husband’s shoulder. “I came up, and he had her changed and in a new onesie and everything. She was fast asleep in his arms.”

“I told you that you could do it, buddy,” Reggie declared proudly, clasping Luke’s shoulder. He turned back to his daughter. “Daddy was teasing; I know baby girl loves her Uncle Luke.”

Luke looked incredibly proud to hear it.

“Well, Uncle Luke gets an A for effort,” Flynn offered. “When did she last have a bottle?”

“A couple hours ago,” Reggie told her.

“I’ll go get her a new one,” Flynn said. She grinned at Julie. “Maybe this time, Tía Julie would like to try to feed her?”

“Yes!” Julie replied, eager to hold Georgie again.

When they got out into the hallway, Flynn stopped her to ask:

"Did you figure out what's up with your man?"

Julie stole a glance back into the nursery, where Luke was eagerly watching Reggie demonstrate his nighttime changing routine with Georgia. She smiled, watching how happy Reggie clearly was, how proud Luke was, and how more at ease he clearly was. He looked up at her at the same time and they both shared smiles.

"I did, actually. Believe it or not, it all started because of a song I wrote for you."

Her bestie's face lit up.

"You wrote a song for me?"

Julie grinned. "Yup."

The weeks after the baby was born were chaotic for Carlos and Stevie. Well, mostly for Steve, who was neck deep in nursing school clinicals and exams- on top of his job at the hospital. When at last his boyfriend had some time off, Carlos drove them over to his dad's to see their family and the baby. They entered the house to find Reggie and Flynn on the living room floor, doing tummy time with Georgie. Flynn was taking a video while Reggie was trying to demonstrate…

“See how daddy is holding up his neck?” Reggie asked the baby. He was on his tummy, awkwardly holding his neck up. Georgie stared at him, wide eyed from where she lay on her tummy. Her black hair had gotten curlier, Carlos thought. "And this is how you roll over!" Reggie rolled over on the rug, like a dog. As he did, he saw they had arrived and his eyes lit up. "It’s Uncle Stevie and Carlos!”

“You guys picked a good day to come over,” Flynn beamed, “someone turned one month old today.”

Carlos noticed there was a ‘1’ circle on the mat by Georgie.

“Well happy one month, Georgie!” Carlos awkwardly greeted to the baby.

Georgie simply squeezed her hands into fists and squirmed on the tummy time map. Reggie picked her up, letting the two of them come up to her.

“I can’t believe it’s been a whole month,” Steve sighed. “I’m sorry I haven’t been by.”

“It’s okay, I totally get it,” Reggie chirped. “You wanna hold your niece?”

“While you two catch up, Mama’s gonna grab a bubble bath,” Flynn told her husband. “Hey Carlos! Bye Carlos.”

Flynn kissed Reggie’s cheek, making him blush, before hurrying upstairs.

“Would you like to hold her?” Reggie asked his brother.

Steve stepped around a laundry basket to get to his niece and, expertly, let Reggie carefully pass her over. Carlos’ heart turned to goo at the sight of his boyfriend with a baby. The newborn was perfectly calm as Stevie cradle-held her, his strong hand on her back. She hic-cupped, his eyes red and puffy but recovering from her crying. With a sigh of relief, Reggie placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“She really loves you,” Reggie whispered to Steve.

“And I really loved her back,” Steve replied, smiling at his niece. He nodded to the sofa. “Take a breather, Reg. I’ve got this.”

He couldn’t have been prouder of his boyfriend over the past few weeks. It seemed like the panic that used to grip Steve on a daily basis had subsided, like his boyfriend was finally not only realizing but believing what a strong person he was. Carlos loved Steve more than words could say, their connection was stronger than he ever knew was even possible, and it felt like that had only increased tenfold lately. At the same time, something made Carlos’ stomach turn to knots when he imagined what an incredible future Steve had in store for him. Maybe it was seeing his sister get married and Flynn have her first kid, maybe it was seeing his dad so excited to be a grandfather or Steve successfully getting so far along in his nursing program. But deep down, Carlos was beginning to recognize what the knots in his stomach felt like: it was the fear of not being good enough.

And he had to talk about it with somebody or he was going to burst.

Leaving Steve with Reggie and the baby, Carlos wandered into the kitchen, where he found his dad leaning over the counter, scrolling on his phone and eating leftover cake right out of the container. His eyes lit up when Carlos came in.

“Hola mijo!” His dad greeted, hiding the leftovers as he went to hug his son. “It’s so good to see you. I've been doing the dishes.”

“Uh-huh,” Carlos laughed, eyeing the leftovers. “So you weren't binge-finishing that cake, then?”

“Clearly, dishes have to be cleaned off to go in the dishwasher. Help yourself,” his dad teased as Carlos took it upon himself to dive in for a bite. 

“How have things been in dad-land lately?” Carlos asked through a mouthful of cake.

"Good! Things have been good, just a bit..."

“Crazy?”

“Sí,” his dad laughed as they both took more bites of the cake. “Either I’m heading out of town to catch Trevor on tour or I’m here and well, things have been a tad crazy around here.”

Carlos snorted.

“How weird is it to have a baby in the house again?”

“So weird,” his dad admitted, “but I’ve absolutely been loving every second of it. It reminds me so much of you two being that age. I’m so happy for Reggie and Flynn.”

So was Carlos- though selfishly, he was thinking again of how good Stevie looked holding a baby.

“Anyway,” his dad went on, jerking him out of his thoughts, “I was actually in here trying to figure out how to invite Trevor to stay here next weekend instead of me staying at his. Things really are kinda crazy for me to be gone again so soon. Plus I…”

He stopped short, fidgeting nervously, and Carlos didn’t hesitate to finish for him, sensing where this was going:

“You want him to meet your granddaughter and see your grandfather self in action?”

His dad nodded, smiling sheepishly as he pushed his phone over to Carlos. “Without actually sending it…what do you think I should say?”

He noticed his dad’s phone on the counter, with a draft text, but his dad only got as far as ‘hey Trevor’.

“How long have you been working on this?” He quipped as he began to draft a new text.

“Way too long,” his dad groaned. “I don’t know why this is so hard, I know Trevor. I know I’m good with words! I’m a romantic!”

“But this isn’t you being a romantic, this is you inviting your boyfriend to take a big step in your relationship.”

In seconds, Carlos finished drafting his text and showed his dad:

Hey Trevor! I know this is a big step, but if you’re up for it…would you want to come stay with us next weekend? I’d love for you to meet Georgia.

His dad blinked. “It can be that simple?”

Carlos nodded confidently, as though he were the expert. With a shrug, Ray hit ‘send’ and let out a long breath of relief. A smile played on his own lips; as strange as it was sometimes seeing his dad in another relationship, one that was already so serious and devoted, he did kind of love seeing his dad navigate dating in the 2020s.

“So I take it things are going good with Mr. Rockstar?” Carlos asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“They’re really good,” his dad replied, blushing a little. “It’s hard, doing the long distance thing and saying goodbye every time, you know? But I like this groove we’re in. It’s different but…it’s nice. It’s kind of perfect for both of our lifestyles, but I would like Trevor to feel like he can stay here, if he wants to. If he’s ready to be more apart of the family…I think I’m ready for that.”

“Good!” Carlos declared. He pat his dad on the shoulder. “I’m really, really happy for you, Papi.”

“Thanks, mijo.” His dad really looked like he meant it too, which made Carlos feel proud of himself for being able to help. Then his dad switched gears on him: “How about you and Steve? I’ve heard all about how you two helped at the birth. That was really amazing, Carlos.”

His cheeks felt warm as a bashful smile crossed his face and he let out a content sigh.

“You should have seen Steve, Papi!” Carlos gushed. “I still can’t believe my boyfriend did that! He was so calm and cool and believed in himself, in a way I’ve never seen him do. He was so in control and just…amazing!”

“He’s going to make an amazing nurse,” his dad smiled. “I’m proud of both of you, that was a pretty crazy situation and it sounds like you both handled it perfectly."

A sheepish smile crossed his lips at the praise. The front door open and closed; Reggie and Stevie must have taken the baby out to walk her around. He shifted in his seat, knowing this was his chance to really have a good heart to heart with his dad about what had been on his mind lately.

“I’m proud of us too,” he sighed, fidgeting in his seat. “I…kinda can’t believe he’s mine, you know? Like he’s so perfect and amazing and…Ithinkhe’stheone.”

His dad stopped eating, leaning back against the counter. As Carlos joined him, his dad pulled him into a side hug.

“You and Stevie make a fantastic couple,” his dad told him. “The love between you two, the way you two seem to just get each other, it reminds me of me and your mom, when we were young.”

The comment made his heart skip beats, flattered. It had to be the biggest compliment in the world to have his relationship compared to his dad and his mom. And truly, Carlos didn’t mind admitting to himself that his relationship with Stevie did feel that strong. Hearing his dad validate his feelings just made him feel even more confident.

“That means a lot,” Carlos admitted, fidgeting. He finally let out a long breath. "He’s so amazing,  I…I guess I…” he drew in a deep breath before convincing himself to say it already: “Stevie’s going to be this amazing nurse and have this super long career where he can basically have any super cool, really well-paying job he wants. He's so, so smart and capable and I’m just....me...what if I never make more money or figure my shit out?"

He felt a bit stupid as soon as he confessed his anxieties out loud, but his dad didn't miss a beat:

“Carlos, you're twenty years old," his dad pointed out gently, "most people don’t have their lives figured out by twenty. But know that you are so capable. And don't worry too much about money, true love isn't about money. God knows your mom and I didn’t have much money when we got married." He stopped for a moment, clearly lost in a memory, deciding if he wanted to let Carlos in. “You know the story of our proposal, right?”

He had heard the story of his parents’ proposal loads of times: it happened during a thunderstorm during a power outage in his parents’ crappy old apartment. Carlos was sure the full story was way more romantic than his parents let on, but let’s just say it involved candles and sharing a quilt on the sofa.

Grinning, Carlos replied: “Of course, Papi. The thunderstorm, power outage. Candles everywhere. Hollywood couldn’t have written a more romantic proposal.”

His dad grimaced.

“Yeah, so…the romantic thunderstorm was more like…us forgetting to pay the power bill. We had our first big fight that night, in almost complete darkness it was…well, looking back it was mostly completely ridiculous,” he chuckled, while Carlos stared wide-eyed and mind-blown. “I sat up the sofa to sleep on. We lasted a whole twenty minutes sleeping apart before Rose came back in to talk. We were both so stressed and upset over money and jobs and life, I think it just hit us that night how real everything was. But we realized that life was always going to be that real and that scary, regardless if we were together or apart, and we both proposed at the same. In the dark, with no rings."

Most of his childhood, his parents had been like these icons that Carlos had looked up. Those two were soulmates, like Disney prince and princess level except cooler. And way more romantic. They were the ultimate definition of couple goals. Always in tune with each other, always trusting one another, always having fun together. Completely in sync. It was reassuring, realizing that at one time they had been a regular, ordinary, young couple, trying to make it in the world, with no idea what they were doing.

“Okay, now that’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” Carlos finally told him, playfully hitting his dad in the shoulder. “Steve and I have talked about our future together and what we want...and that does include marriage.” His dad's eyes twinkled as he beamed at Carlos, but he didn’t interrupt. “We want to wait until after Steve graduates, but that’s so long, and…what if…” he swallowed hard. “What if by then, he realizes that I’m never going to be more than I am, right now?"

“Breathe, Carlos,” his dad instructed calmly. Carlos did, taking some long breaths as his dad took his shoulders to turn him toward him. “Steve loves you for who you are. The most important thing is that you be as open and honest with each other as possible. It’s okay to feel scared and a bit insecure about the future and-"

“Completely stuck,” Carlos mumbled.

His dad pulled him into a big hug, and Carlos didn’t mind sinking into it.

"You're good enough, just as you are," his dad promised him.

Carlos let out a shaky breath, hanging on this dad's every word. He didn’t realize he felt this insecure until he started talking about it. The past few weeks, he had been riding on the high of that night, at the school, feeling nothing but pride for his boyfriend and nothing but happiness for Reggie and Flynn. Seeing his family starting to get married and have kids made the idea of marriage and the future and a family of his own feel so real and tangible...and it also terrified him. It especially terrified him, when his anxieties started reminding him of all he hadn't amounted to, in comparison to the rest of his family. 

“Just talk to him,” his dad told him, “be completely honest, about everything. He’ll appreciate it, and I bet he’ll understand a lot better than you think.”

As they broke apart, his dad ruffled his hair and winked at him.

“You really think so?”

“I do,” his dad declared. Then he stopped, rubbing the back of his neck. “And um…if you don’t mind, never ever tell tía the truth about me and Rosa’s proposal story.”

He fist-bumped his dad and laughed as he replied:

“Deal.”

Chapter Text

Reggie settled into the porch swing with Stevie, his brother cradle-holding Georgia carefully. Georgia nuzzled against Stevie’s arm, letting out a small whine as she squeezed her eyes shut, fighting off going back to sleep, as though wanting all the Uncle Stevie time she could get.

“She really loves you,” Reggie told his brother. His heart swelled, just thinking back to the night of the birth. It was all a bit of a blur now, but he knew he would always remember how calm and safe his brother made him feel. “I really can’t think you enough for everything for that night. I don’t know how I would have done that without you. I’ll never forget that.”

“Me neither,” Stevie replied. “That was one of the best and craziness nights of my life.”

“Tell me about it.”

Biting his lip, he thought back to that night, the adrenaline rush and the fear that could have consumed him…only it was like his brain was completely prepared to deal with a situation that serious and scary. He had wondered if Stevie had felt the same, that night.

“To be honest,” Reggie spoke up, “I think I was only able to deal with that night because…I’d dealt with much scarier. It was like my body knew exactly how to react when someone I loved needed my help. All I could focus on was Flynn and my daughter. The only time I’ve felt anything like that was that night, with our father…when I had to get you somewhere safe.”

“Get to the Myserson’s, you'll be safe there,” he remembered his teenaged self saying. “Now, Stevie, go!”

Falling quiet, Reggie felt his chest tighten up with emotion and old fear. But it wasn’t outright panic like he used to feel, remembering that night. All he could do now was be grateful that his little girl would never know anything of how horrible her birth grandparents was (he even had a restraining order in place for both his parents to make sure they never got anywhere near Georgia).

“You always seemed to know exactly what to do,” Stevie stated. “I don’t think I would have survived that night without you.”

Reggie’s stomach dropped at the very thought, but he couldn’t let himself go there. He shook his head.

“Just like you seemed to know exactly what to do at the birth,” Reggie pointed out. “It was amazing, watching you work. We felt totally taken cared of.”

“Thanks,” it was his brother’s turn to blush now. “I still don’t know how I did it, but ever since it’s like my panic and anxiety has been better. I guess after handling a birth in my brother’s classroom, I feel like I can handle everything.”

“Right?” Reggie snorted. He placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder and declared: “I’m proud of us. Dad devoted his life to making us feel small and useless and scared. When my PTSD was at its worse, I was so scared he won, but he didn’t. We beat him.”

“Yeah we did,” Stevie’s voice shook a bit, as though still overwhelmed thinking of their dad. Reggie gave his brother a side-hug. “Can I ask…does it still affect you, your PTSD?”

Sucking in a breath, Reggie tried not to show his fear at getting asked that. He really did know fatherhood would only keep getting harder. Right now, they had barely settled into a nice routine with Georgia, and his brain thrived on routine. He was pretty sure it was one of the big reasons his PTSD had been at bay lately- well, that, and very helpful therapy and meds. He was more than a little scared of what would happen once Georgia’s routine changed more. Once every day of parenting looked totally different, once they weren’t safely confided to their house, where Reggie felt so in control.

Reggie settled for:

“Right now, it’s okay, but I know it’s probably not always going to be this easy. I’m still in therapy, I still take the meds. I probably will always have to. It scares me, a lot, to think about how I’ll handle things in the future…but I guess I’ve gotten better at realizing I can’t control Future Reggie, and I can’t change anything about Past Reggie. I can only control Present Reggie.”

Stevie nodded, as though he understood perfectly.

“It’s like that with my anxiety,” Stevie agreed. “Sometimes it’s hard to accept things are just okay. Carlos has been so proud of how much better I’ve gotten, all the work I’ve done. What if my panic disorder gets worse again or school gets worse?”

“Then he’ll understand and he’ll support you,” Reggie promised, “just like Flynn understands that she has a husband with PTSD. It’s scary, trusting someone will get you like that-“

“And not feeling like a burden,” Stevie muttered.

Reggie gently pulled his brother closer.

“You're never a burden” he assured his brother, "and I'll always be here for you, no matter how old we are."

“Same, Reggie. Same"

They shared a final smile. The front door opened, and right on cue and Carlos stepped out of the house.

“Someone looks safe and sound in her uncle's arms,” Carlos commented, nodding at Georgia.

“She's been absolutely perfect," Stevie bragged, "but now, I must pass her back to Dad. Study duties call."

“It’s okay,” Reggie said as he took his daughter back in his arms. “We’ll be here whenever you wanna stop by.”

“Love ya, Reg.”

“Love ya too, Stevie.”

The car ride back to the apartment was quiet. Steve was lost in his head, reeling from how much his life had changed over the past two years. Sometimes, things felt like they were so good he kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. For so many years, every single day felt like a trying time. For years, Steve had watched as his brother went through the motions of life still as a ghost, the both of them having seemingly given up hope that they could be something.

Now Reggie was a father, a teacher, a husband, and he was really making it. Steve had a full-time job and school and though somedays he still felt like an imposter who didn’t deserve to be there, everything simply…kept being okay. He had an amazing boyfriend, who he loved more than the world itself and his own apartment. It was really starting to his him that this was his life. The future was now. He was going to be okay.

“Steve?” Carlos called from the passenger seat.

Steve had been so lost in his head that Steve didn’t realize Carlos had pulled over to a gas station. Nerves were written all over his boyfriend’s face, and his boyfriend’s hands fidgeted nervously in his lap.

“Car, is everything okay?” Steve asked.

“Yeah,” Carlos nodded anxiously, “yeah, um…there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

They both relaxed in their seats, turning toward each other. Carlos reached over to take both of his hands; his boyfriend’s palms were sweaty. There was a long, quiet moment as they both breathed quietly, and though Steve didn’t know what Carlos had to talk about, it felt big. Like as soon as they opened this can of worms, it could change everything.

“Steve, I love you,” Carlos declared. Though Steve had heard it a thousand times before, the declaration still sent shivers down his spine. He squeezed Carlos’ sweaty palms. “I know we’ve talked a lot about our future, and what we want…marriage…kids.”

Oh. This was that kind of talk. His eyes went wide, his heart pounded with anticipation.

“I can’t wait to have those things with you, cariño,” Steve assured him.

Carlos bit his lip and hesitated, like he was both fighting back the biggest smile and a stomach full of butterflies. He looked adorable.

“That’s the thing,” Carlos went on, “I don’t want to wait.”

Their eyes met. Steve’s chest tightened impossibly, he felt a bit dizzy with shock and joy and confusion and excitement as he realized Carlos was on the exact same page about their future together.

“I’ve been feeling all kinds of uncertain about my future,” Carlos confessed. “I don’t have any idea what I’ll end up doing or if I’ll ever be anything or even make a lot of money. To be honest…it’s been pretty scary to think about. It’s given me a lot of anxiety.”

“Car, no matter what you do, you’re going to be amazing,” Steve promised him. “I could care less about how much money we’re making- I come from nothing. Money’s probably the last thing I care about.  I just want to be with you."

His boyfriend was visibly relieved, and so was Steve. Hearing Carlos put it like that, realizing they truly were talking about a whole future together, it was both the scariest and the most comforting feeling ever. The anxious part of him wanted to take a step back, consider all the ways they were so not ready for this or all the ways this could go so wrong. But the bigger part of him, the part of him that was healing and learning to accept that people truly did love him, that he truly deserved good things, wanted nothing more than to dive right into that future with Carlos.

“So…is this a proposal?” Steve dared to ask playfully.

“Yes," Carlos stated, wiggling his eyebrows. "We don’t have to rush into anything, we can be engaged until you graduate or however long we need. So yes...this is a proposal, if you want it to be."

Steve did want this. He wanted this more than anything, and as unsure of how he felt about the future sometimes, as sure as he used to feel that it was a good idea to wait, all that made sense in the world right now was saying…

“I do want this...but you have to ask properly.”

His partner scoffed playfully and let out another laugh. Then his eyes trailed over to the gas station, and he shut the car off.

“I have an idea.”

They both got out of the car, and Steve was told to wait by the car; as he waited, Steve was so nervous he couldn’t breathe.

Then Carlos raced back out a few minutes later, holding two packets of Ring Pops.

“Oh my god!” Steve laughed. “What are you doing?”

“Trust me!” Carlos laughed too as he fumbled with the packaging trying to open one of the Ring Pops. 

Then Carlos got down on one knee.

Time stood still.

Carlos reached out for his hand. Emotion swelled up in Steve’s throat. His partner’s soft eyes lifted to meet his as he lifted a purple Ring Pop up with his other hand.

“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life than I am about how much I love you. There’s only one thing I’m sure about when it comes to my future…and it’s that I want you in it. Steven Peters, mi amor, will you marry me?”

"Yes, Carlos," he replied, "of course I'll marry you.",

All of the emotion brimming inside rushed to the surface. They were both laughing and crying and smiling messes as Carlos slid the candy ring onto Steve’s ring finger and Steve pulled his partner- his fiancé- up and into a passionate kiss.

As people erupted into cheers and clapping around them, it was the first time they both realized people were watching from nearby cars and gas bumps. It was also only then that Steve recognized where he was. They both broke apart, beaming, and Steve boasted:

“I’ve been here before! The day we met, after Reggie and I came over for dinner we had this big heart to heart on the way home. Reggie had to pull the car over, we talked about so much. I was having a total gay crisis.” He laughed at his own expense; he was blushing madly. “That's when I came out to him- and told him I liked you. We were actually sitting at this exact same 7-11. In this very same parking spot.”

“Holy shit!” Carlos exlaimed. “That’s amazing! This is literally fate! I love you so much."

"I love you too!"

With a cry of joy (and minding their candy rings), Steve threw his arms around his fiancé, lifting Carlos up in the air a bit as he spun them around in celebration of their happily ever after.

Ray felt like he was twenty years old again, busting with anxiety and excitement as he awaited Trevor to arrive for family dinner. Victoria was in the kitchen, finishing up the cooking, casting the house in a scent of spices and herbs.  

Trevor had been over to his house before, of course, but it usually wasn’t for this kind of occasion- and never when he had a granddaughter. Baby Georgia lay in her swing, staring at him with unfocused, dazed, eyes, fresh from a nap, watching as her abuela checked himself in the hallway mirror one last time.

“How do I look, nieta?” Ray asked. He spun around, holding out his hands in a pose. Georgia just stared, and he smiled back. “I’ll take that as ‘you look very handsome, abuelo’.”

Letting out a breath, Ray shook out his arms, trying to get all the nervous excitement energy out. Trevor would be staying over tonight, sleeping in his bed, waking up with him. Doing all the domestic things Ray felt so ready for after ten months of dating. He stole a glance up to a photo on the wall of Rose and the kids, and he placed a kiss to his fingers before placing his fingers to the photo.

“Wish me luck,” he whispered to Rose.

He could imagine her beaming down at him now, cheering him on.

Footsteps pounded down the stairs. Reggie and Flynn appeared, all dressed for dinner.

“You two look nice,” Ray commented.

“As do you, Papi,” Flynn teased, raising her eyebrows at his brand new sweater and dark jeans. He wore a couple of his nicer rings, that he rarely wore around the house, and a casual silver chain Carlos got him for his birthday a few years ago. 

“Gracias, Flynn,” he replied sheepishly.

“But no one looks as beautiful as this one!” Flynn announced.

She waltzed over to pick up Georgia from the swing. The baby was dressed in an adorable onesie with a giraffe on it. An orange bow held her curly hair back.

“Agree!” Reggie chirped. He leaned over, blowing kisses against his daughter’s stomach. Georgia afforded him a teeny attempt at a smile back, and the dad beamed. He wiggled his eyebrows as he turned back to Ray. “Ready for your domestic weekend with Trevor?”

Ray grimaced. Were his nerves that obvious.

“I think so. I haven’t felt this nervous in years.”

“You’ll be fine!” Flynn promised. “If you two can handle hooking up after meeting at a bar and you inviting him to your daughter’s wedding the next day, you two can handle a little family dinner and a weekend at home.”

He felt his cheeks go hot at the comment, but Ray knew she was right. He knew it was perfectly normal to be a little nervous, after all, this was a much bigger step than their usual weekends of him joining Trevor at a hotel on tour or staying at his partner’s mansion. He just really hoped this weekend went well- he wanted to prove to himself, and for Trevor, that he could be ready to move forward with someone in his life, beyond dating.

The doorbell rang, and the Taylors both gave him winning smiles. Ray smiled back and looked again to his granddaughter.

“How about you, nieta?” He asked Georgia. “Are you ready for your first big family dinner?”

Flynn gazed down at her daughter, and Reggie looked a bit overwhelmed for a second, as though remembering his own first Molina family dinner.

“I think she’s more than ready,” Flynn replied.

Letting out a long breath, Ray walked over to open the door. His heart fluttered at the sight of his partner on the doorstep, holding up a vase of dahlias. A duffle bag was slung over his shoulder, full of items for he whole weekend.

“Hi,” Trevor greeted awkwardly. He was clearly as nervous, which instantly made him feel better.

“Hola, Trevor,” Ray greeted. He leaned forward to plant a kiss to his cheek; his partner blushed a bit, which made him smile. “The flowers are beautiful.”

“I know your family loves dahlias,” Trevor said with a wink.

Ray’s heart fluttered at the gesture, and he took the flowers to sit on a nearby plant stand and led Trevor into the house. His partner greeted Flynn and Reggie, but when he saw Georgia he stopped. Flynn carefully passed Georgia over for Ray to hold.

“Trevor, I’d like you to meet my granddaughter, Georgia. You can call her Georgie.”

He smiled as his partner’s eyes lit up and Trevor let out a little laugh, impressed.

“Hi Georgie!” Trevor said softly, waving to the baby. “It’s so nice to meet you, I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Good things I hope!” Reggie replied for Georgie, speaking in a baby voice.

Trevor laughed. “All good things.”

As the family gathered around in the living room and more people arrived, all of them ecstatic to see each other- and especially Georgia. Everyone was there, including Flynn’s parents, who were taking their baby-holding turn now. Alex sat in a nearby armchair, with Willie perched on the arm, their hands playing with their partners hair. The two were filling everyone in on the latest updates from their competition dance teams and the plans for the big summer recital coming up.

Bobby and Marcus came over next, with both Carrie and Marcus’ daughter Hailey in tow. Both girls were a bit shy as they held their dads’ hands, their eyes big and fascinated when they realized the baby was nearby.

“Hey Bobbers!” Reggie grinned as he rolled off the sofa to hug Bobby and fist-bump Carrie. “Hi Carrie! And hello again, Hailey.”

Instead of being her usual cheery, hyper self, full of the most random updates ever to fill him in on, Carrie kept her eyes fixated on the baby Flynn’s mom currently held.

“They’ve been begging us for weeks to meet the baby,” Bobby explained, “but I think they’re a little shy.”

“It’s okay, I totally get it,” Reggie promised. “Would you like to come meet her?”

Both girls eagerly nodded. Flynn’s mom handed Georgia back over to him, and Reggie sat on the sofa by his wife. His daughter lay in his arms, gazing up at her two cousins, trying to figure them out. The girls both had their hair up in pigtails and wore matching yellow dresses. They already looked like the best of sisters…and both of them were already clearly enamored with their newest cousin.

“Georgia, meet Carrie and Hailey,” Reggie told his daughter. “Carrie is the daughter of one of my bestest friends in the whole world.” He smiled proudly over to Bobby, who was doing a bad job at hiding how emotional he was seeing his daughter meet Reggie’s daughter. “Hailey is his partner’s daughter. They’re your cousins.”

“Would you girls like to say hi?” Flynn asked them gently.

Carrie nodded and spoke up in a soft voice: “Hi.”

“Hi,” Hailey echoed, waving at the baby.

Then, without warning, Carrie carefully leaned over to hug both Reggie and the baby.

“Awwwww!” Reggie gushed.

His eyes felt wet with happy tears as he looked up to Bobby, feeling so excited at what their fatherhood journey had in store for the both of them and the friendship their kids would have.

Luke and Julie came in next, fresh off a day of working in the studio. Alex jumped up to greet his best friend…with a playful smack to the back of the head.

“Hey!” Luke whined. “What was that for?”

“Oh, you know!” Alex scoffed.

All of them giggled, having already been filled in on the Julie and Luke baby confusion drama. Luke blushed, rubbing his head as he sheepishly looked to Ray. Julie just rolled her eyes and laughed, clearly well over being mad as she placed an arm around her husband and kissed his head.

“Maybe I deserved that,” Luke mumbled.

“It’s okay, mijo, Rose and I actually had a similar fight,” Ray spoke up casually.

Trevor stared at him, fascinated. The two stood behind the sofa, Trevor’s arm around his partner.

“Really?” Trevor asked. “Do tell!”

Flustered, Ray launched into the story of how he found a What to Expect When You’re Expecting book at Rose’s apartment and freaked out- very similar to how Luke did- only to find out the book was a gift for one of Rose’s friends, who was pregnant.

“No way!” Julie cackled. “Papi, I can’t imagine you freaking like that.”

“Oh I freaked,” Ray quipped.

“Well, I guess it’s fortunate we don’t have to worry about me getting pregnant,” Trevor teased, planting a kiss to his partner’s cheek.

Ray looked like he might melt right to the floor.

Julie got to play Flynn her song, which brought the new mom to tears as they hugged each other after. Luke and Julie shared a couple of other songs from the record, with the guys joining in on backing vocals. Tia brought around appetizers, looking more than happy to have a crowd to host for. It felt like a holiday- and it was just another Friday night at the Molina house. 

Then Steve and Carlos arrived. The two were holding hands, holding each other a bit closer than normal, both looking a bit more anxious than normal. As Reggie rushed over to greet his brother with a hug, he froze.

“Are those rings?!” Reggie squealed, holding up the happy couple’s left hands.

They both had what looked like plastic Ring Pop rings- with the candy eaten off, of course.

"I said yes," Steve informed Reggie, grinning ear to ear.

Reggie nearly fell to the floor he was so happy for his brother. He couldn't process words or anything he was feeling, he could only jump up and down, cheering in excitement with his brother and Carlos. And Julie and Victoria who immediately rushed to join them.

“What?!” Julie cried, coming over to join them, bouncing up and down. She squealed too when she saw it was true. “YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED!”

“I’M GETTING MARRIED!” Carlos cheered back. The two of them jumped up and down in circles, laughing and giddy with excitement. “You’ll be my maid of honor or whatever you call it, right?”

“Whatever you want to call it, you bet I will be it!” Julie cried, hugging her brother. “Congratulations, Carlos.”

“Gracias, hermana.”

“Mijo?” Ray stepped through the crowd in the living room to meet his son. His eyes softened, immediately getting teary when he saw it was true.

“We’re engaged, Papi,” Carlos announced. He held up Steve’s ring-clad hand. “He said yes!”

Reggie had never seen his brother look so happy and proud, blushing madly as he clutched his partner’s hand. Reggie rushed forward, tackling his brother into a hug so fierce they nearly fell to the floor.

“I’m so happy for you,” Reggie whispered, “and so proud. So, so proud.”

"Thanks, Reggie," Stevie whispered back. "Thanks so much."

Beside him, Ray was hugging Carlos, telling him the same. Victoria cut in next to hug Carlos, and Reggie stepped back long enough for Ray to give Stevie a hug too. Beaming with pride, Reggie stood back and watched Stevie with admiration. When he took custody of his brother, all Reggie cared about was keeping Stevie safe. Reggie never imagined being a guardian would mean not only getting his brother through the rest of high school but seeing him get into nursing school, realize his dreams and capabilities, teaching him about becoming an adult and not only surviving but thriving on his own. Seeing his brother fall in love, get engaged and start a family of his own. 

Reggie knew the odds were always against him and Stevie. They never should have survived that house- or living on their own, raising themselves as teenagers. But as he stood back, watching his grown baby brother get showered with love, praise and congratulations- with his own wife and child joining him by his side- Reggie felt more than ever like they were going to be okay. They had survived. They won. And they weren't alone anymore. For two kids who grew up never knowing the love of the family, they had more love than they could ever ask for. 

And Reggie couldn't have felt happier for Stevie when he overheard Ray tell his brother:

“Welcome, officially, to the family, mijo.”

That evening, Flynn was all smiles as she swaddled Georgia in the new blanket her mom gave her and placed her in the bassinet. The first ever Molina-Taylor family dinner, starring Georgia, was absolutely perfect. Flynn was buzzing from the outpour of love and support she, her husband and daughter received that night; it only made her even more excited for many more family dinners to come. 

“You were the star of the show tonight, Georgie,” Flynn told her daughter. “Mommy’s very proud. I love you so much.”

“So does Daddy.”

Reggie appeared beside her, wrapping his arms around her. He stole a kiss and they both stood back, holding each other as they admired their sleeping daughter. The past month had been a whirlwind, more chaotic than she could have ever expected, but she felt like she handled it with absolute grace. And so did Reggie.

“It’s hard to believe so much happened in one month,” Flynn announced.

“Yeah. Makes you that much more excited for all the months to come, doesn’t it?” Reggie grinned.

“I literally can’t wait!” Flynn agreed. She turned back to her daughter, pleading softly: “But don’t grow up too fast, baby girl.”

Seeing Carrie and Hailey look so grown up in their matching dresses, seeing them effortlessly holding Georgia and run around, playing when they weren’t, threw Flynn for a loop as she thought about her own daughter growing up. She knew it was going to happy way too fast- so she didn’t mind basking in these precious moments together as a family while they had them. They both gazed down at their daughter in awe, Flynn’s hand rubbing soothing circles on Georgia’s stomach as the baby lulled to sleep.

“What do you say, Dad?” Flynn asked. “Want to help me sing this baby to sleep?”

“Always.”

Flynn began to sing softly:

Hush little baby, don’t say a word.

Reggie reached out, gently brushing his daughter’s cheek with his thumb as he sang:

Papa’s gonna buy you a mocking bird.