Craig slid out of bed well before Mandie's alarm even went off. He made coffee. He sat down at the table with a mug in front of him and held his head in his hands while the steam and aroma drifted up into his face. Things had not gone well between him and Mandie the night before. She was not tolerant at all of Charlotte and the baby. He felt sorry for Charlotte. He felt sorry for the baby. He felt bad that Mandie was suffering through this. He let out a big sigh. He felt sorry for himself. He was sure that anyone else in his place would have committed suicide by now ... He wouldn't even think of that. He loved Mandie too much. She just couldn't understand his pity for Charlotte and her baby. Or she wouldn't understand it. He didn't blame her. What would he do if the situation involved Mandie and another man? It would crush him. He got up and began preparing breakfast for her. When he was done he crept into the room and turned off her alarm. He slid into bed and kissed her gently. She barely stirred. He kissed her until her eyes opened.

"Morning, babe." He whispered. She just looked at him and then stretched.

"What time is it?" She asked, suddenly panicked. She sat up.

"Your alarm was about to go off. Come, I've made you breakfast." He took her hand and pulled at her. She pulled it back and got up herself.

"You're just trying to make up for pissing me off last night." She said snippily. He followed her out to the kitchen and pointed out that he'd already poured her some coffee. She sipped it.

"I'm trying to say I'm sorry for pissing you off. And I would have made you breakfast even if I hadn't pissed you off, darling." He pushed her towards the table and sat her down. He served her the omelette he'd prepared for her and then served himself. They sat down together and ate in silence. Every now and then Mandie glanced up at Craig. He smiled at her. She made a face. When she was finished she put her plate in the sink, showered quickly, dressed, and headed for the door. Craig was waiting to kiss her goodbye. He put his arms around her and kissed her lovingly.

"I love you, Mandie." He said. She opened the door and as she moved through it she said loudly, "I don't want to hear another word about it." And then she was gone. He closed the door and leaned against it.

"Motherfucker." He sighed. He busied himself cleaning up after breakfast and gathering up laundry. He would take his mind off things by cleaning up the apartment. He stuffed the cordless phone in his back pocket before heading down to the basement to fold the clothes that were in the dryer and put the clothes that were in the washer into the dryer. He was folding the towels when the phone rang making him jump. He answered it quickly. It was Brent.

"Didn't Mandie tell you to call me?" Brent asked, a little agitated.

"No, sorry, she didn't." He held the phone between his neck and shoulder while he folded the towels.

"Dammit!" Brent huffed.

"Well, we were sort of ... busy." Craig said in Mandie's defense.

"Doing what?" Brent asked and then felt dumb for asking. Of course, he knew what!

"Well, first we were screwing and then we were fighting."

"Fighting about what? Who's gonna be on top?" Brent snickered.

"No, fighting about Charlotte." He heard Brent sigh.

"What about Charlotte?"

"She wants me to take the baby to the doctor."

"What the fuck, Craig? Be rid of that bitch. She's gonna tear you and Mandie apart, I'm telling ya. This is such a bad thing. That whore! Change your fucking phone number!" Craig winced at Brent's anger.

"She doesn't have anyone to take her. I just feel sorry for her." He tried to reason with his brother. He should have known better.

"I'm telling you to dump the bitch, Craig. You're going to fuck things up. I'm sure if you don't take her to the doctor someone will! You're letting her mess things up! She's using you, man." Craig sighed heavily. Brent didn't have much of a conscience when it came to former girlfriends. Once they were gone and out of his life he wouldn't go back. Craig didn't burn any bridges until absolutely necessary. You never know when you might have to cross them again ...

"I'll just do it this time and then be done with it."

"No, no, no, no ...." He could hear the irritation in his voice, he could hear his footsteps as he paced around the kitchen. "Goddamn, Craig, you aren't listening to me!"

"Brent, I AM listening to you! You aren't listening to ME! I am not going to let this get in the way of me and Mandie. As far as I'm concerned, and this is for the record, this baby is not mine. I'm just helping her as a friend. That's all there is to it." Craig said strongly. Brent was silent a moment.

"Yeah, until she hits you up for some cash and then she's gonna want you to fuck her and ...."

"Knock it off! I won't let that happen. I love Mandie! I'm going to marry her." Craig sighed. "And, anyway I'm going to be gone soon - going to New York."

"Oh yeah! That's cool. I'm sorry for getting mad I just think you ought to tell that bitch to fuck herself. Remember, she dumped you - not you, her." Craig rolled his eyes.

"Hey, thanks for the reminder." He said sarcastically.

"Anytime, Bro!" They chatted a while longer as Craig folded the laundry and then carried the basket up stairs. When he was back in the apartment they hung up and Craig proceeded to putting the clean, folded clothes away. The phone rang again and he answered it. It was Charlotte.

"I could get him in to the pediatrician at 10:30." She said. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Charlotte, I can't do this. You can't call me and ask me to do these things." He said softly.

"Craig, this is your baby and you are obligated to help me." He shook his head.

"That is NOT my baby and I am NOT obligated to do anything. You don't have proof that your baby is mine. If you want to get ugly about it ..."

"I don't want to get ugly about it! I just want you to help me, as a friend." She said cutting him off. He heard Brent's voice in this back of his mind, 'she's gonna tear you and Mandie apart ...' He leaned against the wall. "Craig?" Charlotte asked when he didn't answer her.

"Charlotte, I will do this for you this ONE time. And that is it. Do not ask me to do this for you again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal!" She said and they hung up. Craig showered and went to Charlotte's. He leaned against the side of the door and knocked. When she opened it he was surprised at how radiant she looked. She had her hair up and she looked freshly showered. She sure hadn't lost her figure after having the baby! He eyed her in her body-hugging jeans and baby doll t-shirt. Charlotte noticed this and smiled. She stepped aside and motioned for him to come in. He moved past her and she purposely moved forward so his arm brushed her breasts. She smelled his cologne and it sent shivers down her spine. He noticed the baby on the floor in a carrier, all wrapped up and ready to go. He knelt down beside him and pulled the blanket aside to look at him. He was sleeping. His face was pink and squished up. Funny, he didn't look very sick.

"I have a car seat that we can put in your truck to transport him." She said lightly. He was suddenly aware of her standing right beside him. He covered the baby and stood up, he moved away from her. He put his hands on his hips.

"That would be fine." He said nervously. She grabbed her black leather jacket off the couch and handed it to Craig. He held it up for her to slide into. She tied the leather strap around her waist, grabbed her purse, the diaper bag, and then the baby.

"Well, let's motorvate." She said. She had always said that, 'motorvate.' He always hated it. She indicated the car seat on the table as she made her way to the door. Craig grabbed it and headed out. She tried to lock it behind her but was fumbling.

"Give me the baby." He said taking the infant carrier from her. She locked the door and headed down the hallway. He carried the car seat and the baby to the truck .

The waiting room was crowded with adults and noisy kids. Craig carried the baby in and sat way in the back. Charlotte signed the appointment list and then joined him moments later. She sat dangerously close to him. He scooted over a few inches. He looked at her, if she noticed she hadn't shown it. He set the baby down in front of him and uncovered his face again. He stared at the infant. He tried to see any resemblance to himself, Brent, or any of his family and he couldn't. He couldn't even see any resemblance to Charlotte. He didn't understand where people thought babies looked like their parents. They didn't look like anything! He sat back against the seat and folded his arms over his chest. He looked around the room. People looked at them now and then and he became uneasy knowing that they were thinking he, Charlotte, and Charles were a family. He stood up and moved away from them. Just then Charles started to cry. Charlotte reached down and lifted him out of his seat. Craig went back and sat down. Charlotte handed the baby to him. He held him on his shoulder and patted his back. The nurse called them in and Craig carried Charles while Charlotte was left to carry everything else. The nurse weighed the baby, made some notes in the chart and then guided them into the exam room. Craig held the baby while Charlotte answered the questions. Before the nurse left she pointed to the exam table.

"And, Dad, you can undress him and lay him on the table. The doctor will be in shortly." Craig's eyes got big and he felt a jolt go through him at the nurse calling him 'Dad.'

"I, uh, I .." He stuttered as the door closed and she was gone. "not the Dad ..." he said softly. Charlotte smiled to herself. Craig set the baby down and opened the blanket he was wrapped in. He looked at the pajamas the baby was wearing. It was all snapped down the front and looked complicated. He looked over at Charlotte. "You're gonna hafta do this." He said. He stepped aside as she approached and still she brushed against him. He went to a chair in the corner of the room and sat down. Charlotte undressed the baby, except for the diaper, then wrapped him back up in the blanket. She held him until the doctor came in, smiling and cheerful. The doctor smiled and said 'hello' to Craig then examined the baby. Afterward, she instructed Charlotte to dress him again and then turned to Craig.

"Nothing to worry about, just a little cold." She instructed Charlotte to give him some PediaCare cold medicine and use steam at night, perhaps introduce him to some clear juices. "Not much, and cut it with some nursery water." She went over to Craig and held out her hand. He stood and shook it. "It's nice to finally meet you, Dad. Take care. And if he's not better in a few days, give me a call." The doctor left. Craig planted his hands on his hips again and stared up at the ceiling. He really hated everyone assuming he was the Dad! He decided he would never do this again. He looked over at Charlotte who was putting Charles back in the carrier.

"Need some help?" He asked coming over to her and taking the baby carrier from her. She gathered up the other stuff, put on her coat and headed out to the check-out desk. The girl behind the desk took the bill from her and asked Charlotte for a payment.

"I don't have one today." Charlotte said, a little embarrassed. Craig watched the confrontation with interest.

"You'll have to start making some sort of payment, Mrs. Jones." The girl said. Charlotte was growing uneasy.

"I will send one in. Would that be okay?" Craig began to feel a little uneasy himself.

"Even just ten dollars would be good ... do you have ten dollars?" The girl said, not backing down.

"I, I .. don't." Charlotte said. He could hear her getting upset. He sighed disgustedly, held the carrier in one hand and reached into his back pocket for his wallet. He set the baby down, pulled a $20 out and handed it to the girl. The girl took it, wrote the payment down on the bill and ripped off the back copy and handed it to Charlotte. Charlotte took it, folded it up and stuffed it in her jeans. Then they left. Craig snapped the carrier into the seat in the truck between them and then climbed in and started the engine. Charlotte got in and closed the door. Craig looked over at her.

"I will never do this again, Charlotte. I hope I am getting through to you." He said. She had tears in her eyes as she glanced at him and then away again.

"Yes." She whispered. He put the truck in gear and drove her home in silence. He helped her into the apartment with the baby. "Thank you, Craig." She said as she set down the diaper bag and her purse and then hung up her jacket on a coat tree. He almost blurted out 'no problem' but it had been a problem. A problem he vowed he wouldn't repeat.

"You're welcome. I'm going to go now." He turned toward the door. She grabbed his hand and pulled at him.

"Please stay and talk to me for a little while." She begged. He pulled his hand away and turned to her. "Just a friendly little chat." She said motioning to the couch. "I want to hear all about your fiancee, and how your career is going ..." At first he looked like he was going to take the bait and then he turned.

"No, I can't. I have to go. Some other time." He said and bolted out the door before Charlotte could touch him again. She closed and locked the door behind him. 'Some other time,' he had said. She smiled to herself. She would see to it that there was another time ...

Return To Top