The weather was a bitch. Somehow in the maybe three hours they’d gotten out of school, it had decided they’d had enough sun for the week. Tyler knew there had been some clouds in the sky, but he hadn’t expected a full on thunderstorm!

  It did make driving to the hospital a little slower, but they were there before Jade was too far along so he considered it a win. A good thing too, since Vicky had been more fidgety than she usually was during the car ride. And more quiet.

  His eyes narrowed on the seat beside him. She was still a little too quiet for his liking. And she’d started pacing every so often before slumping into the seat again. So, of course he had decided to wait with her.

  Her adoptive father was apparently at work and wouldn’t be able to arrive until ter. From the snippets he’d heard of their conversation at the door, apparently theirneighbourhad drove Jade to the hospital after overhearing her panicked call to her husband.

  The woman didn’t wait long after they arrived, telling Vicky not to worry to much before heading home. Not that it did any good. Tyler could safely say she was getting more panicked with every passing moment. Her face was pale, he noted. Even paler than earlier.

  “What’s wrong?” He couldn’t bare the silence any longer, feeling himself getting nervous as well.

  “Hmm?” Vicky blinks, jumping in pce as if she’d forgotten he was there. The thunder rumbles in the distance.

  Tyler frowns. That isn’t good. When she doesn’t answer, instead staring bnkly at him, he knows something is decidedly wrong. His heartbeat is thundering in his ears, mouth suddenly dry. Oh no.

  “Vicky?” She doesn’t respond and now he feels his panic grow. What is he supposed to do? Come on. Think! And in his stupidity, he blurts out the first thing he can think of. “Suppose this means we didn’t get to finish our date.”

  Uh oh. Tyler stifles a whimper. How the fuck was that supposed to make it better. Stupid. Stupid, dumb-

  “Pft.” His brain short circuits when she barks a ugh, a smile spreading over her face as her shoulders loosen

  Ah. Well then. “I mean seriously, I ask you on a date for days and now we’re in a hospital.” He shakes his head in mock offense. “I guess this means we’ll just have top redo it sometime.” Preferably when it would go a little smoother.

  That only seems to make her ugh harder, but that only makes him feel relieved. He’d prefer her ugh over the disconcerting smile any day. He doesn’t really know what about the out of pocket sentence she finds funny, but he’ll take the win.

  “Ridiculous,” she huffs on a giggle. “But I suppose we will.”

  A grin spreads over his face, heart beating fast for a different reason now. He smothers the feeling down. “Yep,” he nods, “the sooner the better.”

  She shakes her head in a way he would call fond. “Ah huh. But I’ll be the one to pn it if we do,” she grins at him a little, “it’s only fair.”

  “You mean when.”

  “I don’t know,” she shrugs, “I might change my mind.”

  He gres at her for the teasing. He hopes it’s teasing. The only response he gets is a wide grin. Sighing, he decides it’ll just have to be a conversation for ter. Current circumstances being as they are, the future is the st thing on his mind.

  “Vicky?” He’s relieved to note she hasn’t gone back to that bnk state. “Is there something wrong? You seemed a little unnerved and I don’t think it’s just because of Jade.”

  It wasn’t something he picked up at the start, but now he was reminded of it. On the first thundering rumble in the car, she’d jumped. And she’d almost stopped walking when they’d gotten to the hospital. It hadn’t been for long, but he’d seen the unease on her face before she’d steeled it and walked in.

  That, with the quietness…Well, it didn’t sit well with him.

  She stays silent for so long that he begins to worry she won’t reply. But then. “I…just don’t like hospitals,” she says quietly. “And the rain is just not the vibe.” The st sentence is followed with a weak smile.

  “The rain?” He pces a hand on the back of hers, “but you were fine with it the other day.”

  Not liking hospitals could be for any reason. Of course, he was still curious about that as well. However, he was smart enough to know not to push her. If she wanted to tell him, she would. So he’d wait until she was ready to. They had time.

  “That was different,” she tells him, “we weren’t in a car or going to the hospital then.”

  Okay. So the problem was the connection. Got it. “Is there anything I can do to help?” Again, pushing didn’t seem like a good idea. It had more than a little to do with the look on her face, like she’d revealed too much.

  “I…” She smiles slightly, “I’m not sure exactly. Just…” She takes a settling breath. “Just keep keep talking to me. It’s doing a lot to distract me.”

  “Sure!” He grins. That he could do. “We never did finish that game of twenty questions, how about we do so now?”

  “Right now?” She scrunches her face in confusion,

  “Why not?” Tyler runs his thumbs comfortingly over the back of hers. She looks down at it and then up. “We have time and it’ll get your mind off whatever is worrying you.”

  And also stop him from overthinking and saying something more than a little stupid. Like push her for those answers. He could freely admit he was more than a little nosy. He bmes it on his friends and the situations they drag him into.

  “Okay,” she says at st. “I believe it was my turn?”

  “It was,” he narrows his eyes on her pyfully, “And I won’t even mention that it would be your third question.”

  “It is not!” She ughs a little. “You’re just being petty.”

  “I am not.” He raises his eyebrows, dramatically putting a hand to his chest. “I’m offended you would accuse me of such.”

  She snorts and it has something fluttering in his stomach. Whether it’s indigestion or something else, is still to be decided. Although he supposes Nina would call it butterflies. But she’s a hopeless romantic who’s crazy enough to try those schemes in person, so what did she know?

  “Jerk,” she smiles. “I’m still taking the question.”

  “I would expect nothing less.”

  “And counting yours in the tally.”

  His brows raise. “Now that’s petty.”

  “Perhaps,” she says in a singsong voice, “but there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  There is in fact a lot he could possibly do about it, mainly tickle her until she concedes. And he’s just about to tell her as much when he notices the twitching of her lips. His eyes narrow. “You’re messing with me.”

  “Again, I’m surprised it took you this long to realise.”

  “That was days ago!” And it wasn’t even just the one time. She’s been doing that more often these days, and he will not admit that he hasn’t gotten much better at telling. His pride will not survive it.

  “Still.” She shrugs. “Anyway, back to the game. Why do you walk to school when you have a license?”

  “Parking issues,” he tells her. “And it’s really not that far, so I don’t want to pay for fuel.” Not to mention, the obvious risks of hitting something in a crowded road. They had insurance, but it just wasn’t worth that risk.

  “Hmm. Okay. Your turn.”

  “What’s your favourite movie?” He somehow doubts it’s How To Train Your Dragon.

  Vicky gives him a strange look before it fades into a grin. “The Parent Trap.”

  His brows raise. “Really?” It wasn’t a bad movie by any means, but he hadn’t…Hm. What was that? A flickering thought raced past before he could grasp it.

  “Really,” she nods. “I used to watch it a lot as a kid. It’s what made me want a twin. My parents said it wasn’t possible. But they wouldn’t give me the little sister I wanted either.”

  Tyler smiles but it fades at the same time as hers does. Tears repcing the happy glow faster than he can process. Oh. He’s moving to pull her into a hug before he consciously makes the decisions. She freezes in pce.

  “Go on,” he murmurs over her head, “Just let it out.”

  “Most people would just say it’s okay,” she says against his chest, sniffling a little.

  “But, it’s not,” he says just as quietly. He wouldn’t dare suggest otherwise.

  “But it’s not,” she repeats before breaking into a sob. She immediately buries her face in his chest, and he keeps his arms wrapped around her as his shirt gets wetter. Making comforting sounds comes easier than he thought he would.

  God. He didn’t know what to do to make this better. Was this why she didn’t like hospitals? Jade had mentioned her parents passing, but didn’t seem to know much more past that. The puzzle pieces were there, but Tyler didn’t feel equipped to put them together.

  Her hands scrunch up his shirt and feels a jab go through his chest. Feeling sorrow overtake him at the strength of her pain. She missed them. It was such an obvious fact, but somehow he’d missed it all the same. He felt like an idiot. Even more than usual.

  So instead of making pointless ptitudes, he stayed there. Offering a shoulder to cry on until the weight in her chest lifted. There was nothing else he could do.

  He supposes this meant their game was over. That was fine. It didn’t matter in the least. As much as it hurt to feel her sobs and not be able to do anything about it, this was much better than the quiet. Being that still and haunted didn’t suit her.

  As abundantly sappy as it was, she was like a ray of sunshine in his day. Making it brighter with just her presence. He internally groaned at the thought. Jesus Christ. He really had to stop watching and reading so much romance.

  The sobs subsided not long after that thought. It was probably not much more than a few minutes, but felt like an eternity as she pulled back. Unbidden, his hands moved to cup her face, running gentle thumbs over the puffy redness beneath her eyes. There was still a sheen of tears over them, making her eyes look like gssy blue kes.

  “Feel better?” He smiled softly when she nodded. “Good.” And he meant it. “Do you need some water?”

  His bottle from earlier id untouched on the seat. The nurse had given them each one as she’d come out to reassure Vicky that Jade was fine. He supposed with the price they were paying, it was the least they could do. Vicky took it with a small smile.

  “I look like a mess, don’t I?” Her voice is still hoarse as she wipes at her eyes.

  Personally, he thinks she looks great, but…“Maybe wash your face? I don’t think Jade will buy those were happy tears.” And he’s come torealisehow much Vicky doesn’t like worrying her over the past month.

  “Probably a good idea,” she nods. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Kay,” he smiles, taking a seat again. “I’ll watch your bag until you get back.”

  She throws him a small smile over her shoulder. “I know you will.”

  That was a lot of trust in him, and he was honored. But without her there to distract him, he also found himself feeling guilty for her tears. If he hadn’t asked her about the movie, she wouldn’t have cried so much.

  But no, his mind immediately poked at him. It wouldn’t have changed anything. They were her parents, so they’d come up sooner or ter anyway. Yes, he sighed at the thought, but he’d have preferred ter.

  Tyler slumps in his seat, eyes still trained on the bag. Worst date ever. Not only had he not thought things through, but she’d also cried. He smiled self-deprecatingly. Maybe Zach was right after all.

  Vicky walked back out before he could dwell further on that thought. And then the sound of cries filled the room. But this kind wasn’t sad. On the contrary. His smile turned more genuine as Vicky’s eyes widened, turning to the room as a nurse walked out. These were the happy kind.

  “Can we go in,” is the first thing out of her mouth when the nurse walks forward.

  “She’s still very exhausted, but there’s no harm in you going in.” The nurse smiles, “You have a baby sister, congratutions.”

  “Thank you,” Vicky murmurs in a stupor.

  Well, well, well. It seems she’d be getting that little sister after all. He’s all set to sit down and wait for her to get back, but then she’s grabbing his hand and pulling him behind her. He doesn’t even get a chance to process it before they’re in the room.

  Shit. He doesn’t know what to do in a situation like this. Was Jade even okay with this? But Vicky had-

  “Tyler,” Jade soothes his worries with a smile. “It’s good to see you again.” Her eyes are half-cast and she’s obviously tired, but she waves them both over. “Come on over.”

  They do. Tyler is very happy that he hasn’t found himself in an awkward situation as she shows them the baby. He’d seen enough medical dramas to know what he could have seen. But thankfully, Jade is fully covered and not breast-feeding currently.

  Wrinkling his nose, he pointedly makes an effort to divert his thoughts from the strange track they're on. He respects her too much for that. Instead, he focuses on the baby, which…Well. It’s certainly a living being.

  “Aw!” Vicky coos at the bundle from a distance. Which, he supposes is fair, but he doesn’t know what about the little potato is cute right now. She’s so wrinkly.

  Deciding he doesn’t want to offend anyone, Tyler asks the only safe question he can think of. “Have you chosen a name for her yet?”

  “Yes we have,” Jade smiles, “V, Tyler, meet Raine.”

  He blinks. “Raine?”

  “Yep,” the smile widens, “it suits her doesn’t it?”

  Is that because of the weather outside or just because? Somehow he doesn’t have the heart to ask. So he simply returns the smile with a nod. It’s not a weird name in any case. Almost cute if he were being honest.

  “Raine…” Vicky grins at Jade, pulling a chair and leaning her head in her hands. “She’s beautiful.”

  Tyler’s eyes roam over her face, at the brightness of her eyes and the easy smile. The way the dress floats around her and her blonde hair glows under the light. “Yeah,” he says softly. “Absolutely beautiful.”

  And if Jade throws him a knowing gnce before focusing on the baby, he thinks nothing of it. What a weird night. He grins, taking a seat as well. And as he hears Vicky’s ughter among the nurses coming to check on them and the door opening to reveal a dishevelled man, he has to rethink his earlier opinion.

  Maybe it isn’t such a bad date after all. All things considered, a birth wasn’t the worst way to end the night. He’d just have to make the next one even better.

  Mercury_Rose