Christian shook his head. “No, no, you can’t let that baby be put into foster care, Shea, especially if she’s yours,” Christian rushed to say, shooting to his feet.
“Without a paternity test, I can’t know for sure that she’s mine,” Shea said.
“When do you need to decide?” Christian asked.
“Jackie said she’s needs an answer by tomorrow morning.”
“Jesus Christ.” Christian groaned and raked a hand through his hair.
“I don’t know what to do, Christian, we have nothing for a baby - no crib, no clothes, no bottles, diapers, car seat…fuck!” Shea cried, clasping his hands together on top of his head.
Oh god, what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t take care of a newborn! He had no idea what to do with a newborn! Toddlers, yeah okay, he could do toddlers, they could at least say some words and point to shit they wanted. Christian grabbed him and pulled him into his arms. Shea clung to him, tucking his face in Christian’s neck.
“I’m not ready for a baby, Chris, and how can I possibly take care of an infant? I work too much…” Shea said hoarsely, trailing off before he really started to break down.
“Shea, don’t forget, you are not alone. I’m here and I’m sure my family will be more than willing to help. You can’t let that baby go into foster care when she can be with a loving family like ours,” Christian murmured.
Shea hugged Christian tighter. He knew that he could count on Christian to be reasonable and understanding. Even though Shea was scared out of his mind, he didn’t want to let the baby, his or not, go into foster care. He was so relieved that Christian seemed to be all for taking the baby.
“First things first, we need to call an emergency family meeting to see what kind of baby stuff we can borrow,” Christian said, taking charge as he pulled out his phone and started calling everyone.
Shea felt like his feet were stuck to the floor, he couldn’t move. He was in a daze while he distantly heard Christian talking to his parents, then Henry, Sebastian, and Quinn. When he was finished, Christian stopped in front of him, cupped Shea’s face in both hands and raised it to look into his eyes.
“Hey, we’re gonna be fine. We can do this, and if you think about it, it’s much easier than trying to adopt a baby,” Christian said softly.
“But I didn’t think I’d be a father at 28,” Shea whispered.
“Neither did I, but sometimes shit doesn’t go the way we expect,” Christian said and kissed Shea softly on the lips. “Everyone should be here in about twenty minutes, and they are curious as hell as to why we need baby stuff.”
Christian stood next to Shea in front of his stunned family who were all crammed into his living room. Shea had just told them what was going on, and they were all obviously in shock. Henry and Claire brought over a bassinette for them to use, along with a swing and all of Adalyn’s clothes from her first few months. Sebastian and Raelynn brought an extra infant car seat that they had, and also a diaper bag and bottles.
“So let me get this straight. You slept with some chick, didn’t know you knocked her up, now she’s dead and you’re left with the baby?” Sebastian said, squeezing the bridge of his nose.
“Basically.” Shea sighed.
“And the baby is going to live here, with you and Christian?” Anne asked, frowning.
“Yes,” Christian answered.
“How do you know the baby is even yours?” Henry chimed in.
“I don’t. We’re going to do a paternity test, but it takes about a week for the results to come back, and the hospital won’t keep her. So either I take her, or she goes into the foster care system,” Shea answered.
Anne gasped. “Oh, no! You can’t let that happen!”
Shea gave her a sad smile. “I know. That’s why Christian and I are going to take her.”
“What do you mean by ‘Christian and I’? She’s your kid, not Christian’s,” Sebastian asked suspiciously.
Christian glanced over at Shea to see that he had closed his eyes. When he opened them, he looked at Christian apologetically. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”
“It’s alright, Shea,” Christian assured him, placing a hand on his back.
“What’s alright?” Claire asked in confusion.
Christian glanced at Quinn, who gave him a subtle nod. Christian cleared his throat.
“Shea and I are going to raise the baby as a couple. We’ve been together for six months now,” Christian said with as much confidence as he could muster.
The silence afterward was deafening. Everyone seemed to stare blankly at them. Shea shifted nervously next to him.
“Together how, son?” his father asked uncertainly.
“Dad, I’m gay. Shea’s my boyfriend,” Christian said.
Christian watched as Claire and Raelynn’s mouths dropped open in shock. Quinn and Margot just smiled warmly. Quinn gave him a wink, his smile turning proud, blowing Christian’s mind. Sebastian jumped to his feet, a huge grin on his face.