“Hey, any news from Wease,” Kris asked her over the phone while making coffee.

“Um no, I called to check and see if anything has happened yet and it looks like it’s going to be another one like Abby. She’s still there, but not much progress, at least that was what I got from Wease,” Carrie said as she was opening a small box of cheerios for Abby to eat and play with. She had Abby in a high chair, with a little sippy cup full of milk; all she needed was her cereal to complete her breakfast. She was glad she had the crib and highchair still. It just made it so much easier for everyone.

“How are you holding up? Do I hear Abby making that noise this morning,” she asked as she listened to little hands pounding on the plastic try.

“So far, so good. I haven’t run away screaming yet. She’s such an easy baby, luckily. Wease has no idea how easy they have had it with her. Let’s hope the next one doesn’t shatter that,” she said as she poured some cereal on the tray for her to play with and eventually eat. Kris couldn’t stand it anymore, she was going to have to ask her.

“How come you didn’t tell me you had a private chef,” she teased her.

“What? Oh, yeah. That was very nice. He brought all the stuff over here and that man can cook, even weird shit for me. Abby loved playing with him too,” she said. Kris could hear that there was more to be said, but she’d wait until she saw her next time to pry it out of her. This development was very interesting she thought. Maybe things were going to go right for Carrie for once. She seemed to have the crappiest luck in her personal life. She had a brief thought, wondering whether she owed John Cena a big thank you. Carrie had told her about her weekend, including her crying like a ‘big baby’ as she said. She had guessed the unspoken reasons for it and was surprised that John had managed to get through to her. She had missed what Carrie had just said.

“What? Sorry, I was thinking of stuff,” Kris said truthfully.

“Okay, I understand but don’t gross me out and tell me,” she laughed. She was referring to the fact that when David came home, he made sure to let his wife know how much he missed her.

“No, nothing like that. Sorry to burst your bubble. What did you say, I missed it,” Kris asked again.

“I said he’s coming over this morning to cook breakfast too,” she was still amazed by that fact. Kris smiled and almost laughed out loud, but knew she better not yet. She’d share this news with Dave, knowing he’d enjoy hearing it.

“Oh? What are you having for breakfast today,” Kris asked her. She was glad that it wasn’t going to be just coffee for once.

“He volunteered crepes and from there, I was a goner. You know how much I love them, so if someone offers to make me crepes, who am I to turn them down,” she laughed.

“Shit, you think he’d mind if we all came over,” Kris teased. This was just getting better, she thought. She really did need to call and talk to John and thank him somehow.

“I’ll call the hospital next time and give you an update, since you’ll be busy with your private chef,” she teased.

“Sheeiiiit. When did you get so mean?” she laughed. “Okay, I have to get a little more respectable before the private chef arrives anyway. Walking around half naked isn’t a good thing. Plus Abby needs a quick bath. Keep me posted. Talk to ya later,” she said to her best friend.

“Enjoy. Enjoy your crepes,” she couldn’t help laughing as she hung up. “Dave? You will never believe what the big kids have been up to,” she said. He was just pouring a cup of coffee for both of them and was still waking up, so he just waited for her to tell him. “It seems that Carrie has herself a private chef. One that cooks her dinner and breakfast,” she told him with a grin. He handed her the cup he’d made for her before he said anything.

“No shit? Dinner and breakfast? Did he stay?” he was amazed at his long time friend’s resourcefulness. He had a feeling how Mike felt about Carrie, but he never seemed to do anything about it.

“No, he went home and is coming back this morning to cook for her again,” she was almost giddy telling him.

“Looks like I might owe Cena a thank you, eh” he asked his wife. She had told him some of Carrie’s weekend. He had shared his worries about Carrie with her. They both understood her better than she imagined.

“Maybe. I’m just happy she’s not running around like a crazy women, trying to do millions of things at once and burning herself out,” Kris said honestly.

“Let’s hope Mike can help her in that,” he said. The more he thought back to some of his more recent conversations with Mike, the more he realized Mike had been asking him about Carrie more than usual. He just missed it at the time. He grinned, thinking about the interesting times ahead for his buddy if he did decide to follow that particular path. He loved his little sister in law, but knew she was a handful and could be the most aggravating woman on the face of the earth. He was grinning just thinking about it.

“What? What’s got you smiling,” Kris asked before she kissed him.

“Oh, just thinking about the interesting times ahead. She can be so damn stubborn,” he admitted.

“Yes, should be fun to witness. What’s on your agenda today, baby? I have to call the hospital to see if anything has happened yet. Carrie called earlier, nothing was happening,” she said.

“Finish my coffee, grab some water and hit the gym for a bit. Why, did you need me to do anything,” he said as he looked her over from head to toe and back again. She blushed at his look. He was so wicked this morning, and she loved him for it.

“No, not yet. I was just curious in case Carla is able to have her baby today,” she said simply. He nodded his understanding, drained the last of his coffee and put it in the dishwasher. He opened the fridge and grabbed his large chilled water bottle. As he walked past his wife, he made sure to rub her ass, just to tease her. “Get out of here, mister,” she shouted at him playfully. “I have things to do this morning, babies to feed,” she said as she went back upstairs.

***

Carrie had showered long ago, while Abby was still sleeping. She finished feeding Abby her breakfast and had her cleaned up and ready for her visitor. She was just pulling on her respectable clothes, as the door bell rang. She didn’t bother with socks or shoes as she went to answer the door.

“Hi. Can I help you with anything,” she asked Mike who had an armload of stuff. She noticed it looked like different stuff from last night. He was in his usual jeans and t-shirt. She wondered where he found shirts that fit. Well, almost fit, she corrected herself. He smiled at her and just shook his head. “I have coffee. You need some,” she asked.

“Yes, please. As strong as you’ve got, straight up,” he said as he walked past her to deposit his box on the counter. She found one of her big mugs and filled it with coffee, not sure if he knew what he was saying when he asked for strong. She liked hers strong too, Kris said too strong. She passed him the full mug with a smile. He noticed the size of it and threw her a questioning look. “I use it for soup usually,” she explained. She watched him take the first sip, in case it was too strong. He smiled.

“Finally, someone who knows strong coffee. Thank you, God. I must have done something right today,” he said to her with a grin. He took a long drink of his scalding hot coffee and said, “I found some more interesting stuff at the store I want you to try. Don’t worry, I’m still making crepes, but I wanted sausage or bacon this morning for me to go with them and knew you should probably have some protein too,” he said. She could almost see the coffee kick in and watched him come alive.

“I’m fine with eating chocolate pie for my protein this morning,” she assured him.

“Bad girl. No, not this morning. Hey, any news on the baby watch,” he asked her.

“Yeah, nothing much is happening. Listen to that little one squeal, she knows someone is here to see her,” she said as she walked to pick Abby up out of her crib.

“She wasn’t sleeping, was she,” Mike asked as he started cracking eggs and getting milk ready.

“No, I just popped her in there while I threw on some clothes,” she explained. He cursed himself as he had to dig out some eggshells after her last comment. Thinking about her putting on anything was enough this morning to throw him off. He had thought his brain would be better this morning, but it obviously wasn’t. He looked up as Carrie walked in with Abby. He was amazed at the tiny lady and how she put babies on her hip without batting an eye. Abby giggled when she saw who her visitor was.

“Okay, I have to see my little girl this morning. Way more important that Auntie Carrie’s crepes,” he teased. He dried his hands and took the little girl from her aunt. “Hi sweetie, did you give your Auntie Carrie hell all last night,’ he asked the toddler

“No, she was great. She slept all the way through. You want a refill on your coffee while you flirt,” she asked him as he was talking to the baby in his arms.

“Yes please, that would be great,” he was smiling at Abby and she was putting her fingers in his mouth. He was pretending to eat them and then spit them back out at her with a silly face. They were both having a great time, Carrie noticed. She put his coffee cup on the counter for him and watched them play for a while. Carrie walked over to the fridge and grabbed another juice bottle so Mike could give it to her. Abby saw what he had in his hand and was happy to give up their game for some juice. He set her down on her blanket on the floor, surrounded by her toys. “That was cheating, no fair. We were having fun,” he said to the mean aunt.

“I know, but she was due for something and I couldn’t face more milk yet,” she admitted.

“Is there any food you do like,” he asked her.

“You know it’s not that, don’t you,” she asked him. She thought he knew why she didn’t eat certain things, but maybe he didn’t. He shook his head, indicating he had no idea what she was talking about. She just assumed he knew. “Okay, let me see if I can cut through the crap and make it real easy, even though it took the doctors many years to get there. I can’t eat certain kinds of protein, mostly animal protein without being violently ill. I can eat eggs and cheese and milk in moderation. Yeah, the crepes are pushing it. But they’ll be worth it. So, it’s not that I don’t like specific food, it’s just that it makes me sick, really sick. There have been times, particularly while on the road that some restaurant has lied about the ingredients and I was barfing before I had finished it. Not fun, as you can guess,” she said.

“Carrie, I had no idea. I just thought you were a vegetarian for moral reasons, not health reasons. That sucks, doesn’t it,” he asked her as he was tending to their sausages; hers looked very similar to his.

“I’m so used to it now that it’s not a big deal. But growing up before they figured it out was a trial,” she said honestly.

“Is there anything they can do, drugs, anything,” he asked since this was the first he’d heard of anything like it.

“Yeah, they can pump me full of drugs that work some of the time. I’ve tried them all with very little success. So my way is just to avoid foods that cause the problem. It’s not that hard, once you just shift your thinking,” she said.

He was quiet as he absorbed the piece of news regarding her dietary restrictions. No wonder she wasn’t bothered about food most of the time, she probably grew up hating it or afraid of it. When he put it like that, it all made sense. The lack of cooking, inattentiveness to meals, it made sense now. He was glad that she had told him, because it didn’t fit in with her meticulousness the other way. He made a personal vow to help her learn that food wasn’t always a scary thing. His family had most of their gatherings around food. What did she normally do, he wondered.

“Oh, someone’s finished and demanding some more, sounds like,” she said as she left him to his thoughts and cooking.

He served them some fresh strawberry crepes and sausages. Hers weren’t real ones, more of the fake stuff. She ate all that he put on her plate.

“I could really get used to being spoiled like this. Thank you, Mike for taking the time. I know you have a job that must require some of your time. I don’t want to impose on your good nature,” she said wistfully.

“Ah, that job isn’t my passion. It’s just something to keep me out of trouble really. Plus it was a handy excuse to get the hell out of the house and away from Lisa,” he said frankly. “I work from home most of the time now anyway.”

They had finished clearing up and cleaning up her suddenly well used kitchen, when she remarked, “I have been in my kitchen more in two meals that I have been previously in two months.” He didn’t say anything, but he was glad that she let him cook for her. The ringing phone broke their companionable silence.

“Oh, it’s Kris. I better answer in case it’s baby watch update,” she smiled at him as she picked up the phone. “Yes, Kris?”

“Just calling to let you now that Carla and Wease are the proud parents of a baby boy. Everybody is fine, momma is very tired of course, but he was born at roughly 7 am this morning. I don’t know his name yet. I think they were waiting to make sure the doctors were right this time before they picked one. Anyway, Wease asked me to let you know you can bring Abby to the hospital whenever you’re ready so they can both go home,” Kris was pleased to share the exciting news with her best friend.

“Oh, that’s great news, great news,” she said to Kris. Mike had perked up at her comments and was asking if it was baby time silently. She nodded and told him it was a boy. He smiled at the news. “I don’t think there’s a huge hurry to bring her down, but I’ll be there in the next coupe of hours so he can go home. If you talk to him again, let him know I’ll be there before noon, so both can have their afternoon nap,” she laughed. They exchanged a little more info, but Kris forgot to ask her about her breakfast before she hung up.

“Okay, so now I have to get into slightly more respectable clothes. But let me just check on something first,” she said as she grabbed her portable and tapped at a few things. She smiled as she closed it back up. “All done,” she announced.

Mike had talked her into all of them going to the hospital, because he wanted to see the baby too, he said. Once they got the baby seat switched over to his truck it left Carrie sitting in the middle. They loaded Abby into her seat and all her goodies behind the seats. She saw there was enough room for stuff, but the seats weren’t really useable. She had the same problem she had last time with getting her ass in to his truck.

She said, “Don’t you dare laugh,” as she reached up to grab the handle next the window and she stretched to get her leg on the step. Mike wasn’t laughing but he was watching and couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from her small limber form. None of that buddy, you have to drive these two safely, he kept repeating to himself. Once she was settled in and buckled up, he climbed in next to her and realized it was a tight fit. He put his arm up and around her to give them both more room.

“Sorry, don’t mean to,” was all he got out before she cut him off.

“Don’t worry about it. Your truck is a better fit than my car,” she laughed. He concentrated on driving safely. He was very aware of her sitting next to him, her perfume, her body heat, her presence. He was amazed they made it in one piece, as distracted as he was. He hopped out and turned to help her out, so she didn’t have to jump. He put his hand around her waist and she put her hands on his shoulders. Before he even knew what he was doing, he leaned in and kissed her lightly and smiled in to her surprised eyes. She blinked but didn’t say a word. He finished helping her out and went around to get Abby. It gave him time to think. Why the hell did you just do that, he worried. Carrie was as surprised as him. She was silent as she mulled it over. She wasn’t angry or upset, just surprised. He came back around with Abby in his arms, smiling.

“Lead the way Ms. Martin. I’m sure you know this place better than us,” he said in a silly voice meant for Abby.

“This hospital is confusing. Let’s hope I can remember how to get there from here,” she said. Once she found the elevator, it was easy to get to the 10th floor where the new moms and babies were.

Kris couldn’t believe her eyes as she saw Carrie walking towards her with Mike carrying Abby just a few paces behind. She saw the far away look in his eyes as he followed her lifelong friend. She turned towards her husband and spoke quietly, “Oh, he’s got it bad, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah, kinda looks that way,” he said before the couple was in ear shot.

Mikie ran past his parents to hug his Auntie Carrie. “Mom says I have to ask you, can I?”

“Hi sweetie. Ask me what,“ as she returned his fierce hug. Give him a few more months and I’m going to be the shortest in the family again, excluding anyone in diapers, she thought.

“If I can ride home with you,” he explained.

“Oh. Well you’ll have to ask your Uncle Mike. He drove us here, so he’s the one you have to convince and you know how tough he is,” she said to her nephew with a wink. Cool, Mikie thought. His truck is cool. Liz hung back because she was way too mature to make a scene like her little brother. She did wave at her aunt, and Carrie waved back at her smiling.

In response to questions from Mikie, Uncle Mike feigned serious consideration at the request and scratched his chin. “Um, I don’t know Mikie. We’re not very cool. Think you’d risk being seen in public with us,” he teased.

“It’s a risk, yeah, but I’m willing to take it,” he said back at his uncle.

“Okay, you can ride back with us. Just so you know, your Aunt Carrie gets to pick the radio station,” he warned the nine year old. Cool, Mikie thought. She likes loud stuff, this ride was looking like it was going to be very cool. His friends would be jealous when he told then he got to ride in Uncle Mike’s cool truck.

Liz spoke up, “Is there room for me, too?”

Kris looked at her daughter in surprise. This was the first she’d heard of this, but let it go. She wasn’t sure if Liz knew she’d have to sit in the jump seats.

“Sure, if you don’t mind riding in the jump seat,” Uncle Mike said. He thought that’d be enough to turn her away, but he was wrong.

“Okay, cool,” was all she said. Mike slid his gaze over to David, in case he missed something. He was rewarded by a barely perceptible head shake. He had no idea what was going on with his own daughter. She was strange creature living in their house currently. They both missed the fact that Liz saw her Uncle Mike’s look at Carrie. She was curious, so she wanted to ride along. She knew Mikie’d never notice, even if she asked him later. So she figured it’d be worth it to see if her guess was right.

***
Liz was still turning over in her mind what she had witnessed and what her friends were always telling her about her Uncle Mike. They always bugged her to tell them when he was coming over to her house because he’s hot, as Jess would say. Whatever. He’s just Uncle Mike, she didn’t see it. They knew not to talk to her about her dad. That was just gross. She followed them out to his truck with Mikie running ahead, being a dork and trying to pretend that he wasn’t excited. He was talking a mile a minute, like always. He was so embarrassing. She hoped she didn’t see anybody or that anyone would think he was with them. She hadn’t seen Mike’s girlfriend Lisa in a long time, but that wasn’t unusual since Lisa didn’t seem to like kids. She’d just sit in the back and watch, just in case. They finally got to his truck and he unlocked both doors so everyone could get in.

“You need any help there, Peanut,” Mike asked his oldest niece. She just shook her head and climbed in the small space behind his seat. “How about you, Bud,” he asked his nephew.

“Nah, I’m cool,” he said as he climbed in. Mike turned to Carrie with a quirky smile and just put his hands around her waist and picked her up and put her in the driver’s seat. She was so surprised she didn’t get a chance to protest.

“Sorry, we need leave before it’s dark. It’s a school night, ya know” he said to her offended expression.

“I can find my own way if I’m slowing you down,” she said quietly.

“Scoot over. I’m just teasing you,” as he slid in behind the wheel. They were even more crowded with Mikie, instead of the baby seat, so he just put his arm up and around Carrie. He rested his hand on her shoulder, not the seat, except when she leaned forward to mess with the radio. None of it was lost on Liz. She had a lot to think about on the way home. Her Aunt Carrie was so cool. She never seemed to have a boyfriend, even though she knew she went on dates occasionally. Maybe, just maybe she was right. Oh, that would be too awesome for words, she thought. Her friends were never going to believe this. They were all envious of her, since she had such a cool aunt. The more she thought about stuff, the better it was, if she was right. She couldn’t wait to get home and call Jess.

After they had all settled into their seats, Carried leaned forward to adjust the radio. She found the station she was looking for and turned up the volume accordingly. Mikie said,” cool” next to her, knowing that he didn’t normally get to listen to music that loud in the car. Liz was quiet, but she had stopped humming to herself, practicing for her upcoming recital. She was watching and thinking. A particularly raunchy song came on and Carrie leaned forward to turn it up even louder. She looked over to Mikie and smiled. They both knew the words and shouted them along with the song. Mike looked over at the two and shook his head. Mike saw that his review mirror was vibrating with the music. He never turned it that loud when he was inside his truck normally. He knew she liked loud heavy stuff, but was a little taken back by the fact that she knew all the words to a Limp Bizkit song. He was learning more about her every day, he thought. He watched her and Mikie laugh at each other as the song wound down. She leaned forward to turn the volume back to more normal levels. He thought about saying something about that, but decided against it.

Mike was trying hard to not be as distracted on the drive home as the drive out. The kids were in the car and he knew they noticed things. Because they had Mikie in the front with them, Carrie was sandwiched even more and that was distracting to him, more than a little bit. He liked the way she felt when he picked her up. He would love to put his hands on her again, he knew. But she’d probably never allow it, so don’t even think about it. He noticed her leg against his, her hip, her shoulder. Oh man, he knew he better not think about any of it. He needed to focus on the road.

They pulled up to Liz and Mikie’s house. The truck had barley stopped before Mikie hopped out with a “Thanks Uncle Mike” over his shoulder as he ran inside. Mike and Carrie had to get out for Liz to be able to go inside.

“Thanks Uncle Mike, see you later Aunt Carrie,” and she was gone. Carrie made sure to walk to the passenger side to get back in. Mike noticed but didn’t say anything to her about it. Liz almost ran into her mom as she came in the door.

“What’s the hurry honey?” Kris asked her oldest.

“Oh, nothing. Hey, how come we haven’t seen Lisa in a while,” she thought she’s ask, in case her mom answered.

“Mike and Lisa aren’t a couple anymore, so we won’t be seeing Lisa again,” thank god, she added to her self.

“Oh,” Liz couldn’t hide her excitement about this unexpected news. It just made her idea all the more likely. She turned to go upstairs so she could call Jess and ran right into her dad.

“Hey, what’s the rush,” he asked his almost teenage daughter.

“Nothing,” was all she said. It’s what she’d been saying to him for months now. He was starting to think that was the only thing she could say. She ran up the stairs to her room and slammed the door shut. Her parents both looked at each other in confusion.

“Sweetie, when did you say we’d have the real Liz back?”

“Probably not for a couple of years yet,” she admitted to her baffled husband.

“Oh, okay. Let me know when it happens, ‘cause she was fun and I miss her.” Kris walked over and hugged her husband. She knew he was lost and a little hurt by his daughter’s behavior. She had told him it wasn’t personal, but it was hard to believe sometimes.

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