Mandie had no longer been out the door ten minutes Monday morning when the phone rang. Craig hadn't yet crawled out of bed. He reached over to the nightstand and picked it up. He mumbled a 'hello.'

"Craig?" Charlotte said. She was all too awake for him. "Are you still sleeping?" He draped his arm over his eyes and sighed.

"Yes, I was." He said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You told me to call you."

"Well, I didn't tell you to call at 8 in the morning!" He heard the baby cooing in the background.

"I said I was sorry!" She said defensively. He sat up and leaned back on the pillows.

"It's okay." He said rubbing his eyes.

"Well, you called. What did you want, you said something about taking Charles somewhere today?" Charlotte said. He heard her moving around in the background, Charles' baby noises getting louder. She must have been picking him up.

"Uh, yeah. I want to know if I could take him to my Mom's."

"Oh, that would be great!" She said happily. She sounded so chipper, so pleased about it. If she had been within arm's distance he would have slapped her face.

"Don't be so happy about it Charlotte. If you wouldn't have sent my Mom that picture I would't be in this fucking mess you've got me in. It's beginning to piss me off. No, it's past beginning to piss me off, it's really pissing me off. It's over the edge pissing me off ..." He grumbled.

"I get the point." She snapped.

"Who watches the baby while you're at work?" He asked, not really caring.

"My cousin. She doesn't charge me very much. Do you know how expensive day care is?"

"Don't know, don't care." He muttered. His words stung her. There he was, the father of this baby, not a care in the world, thinking only of himself and that woman he is with. And here she is trying to work, take care of his child, and pay the bills. He had a lot of nerve! And if he wondered why she sent his mother the picture, well, this is one of the reasons!!

"Damn it, Craig! You say the meanest things!" He sighed.

"And sending my mother a picture of a baby and saying it's mine when it probably isn't -- that isn't mean?" She sighed loudly.

"He is your son." She said tightly. He didn't feel like arguing with her about it over the phone, especially since he'd just woken up after the most wonderful day he'd ever had with his future bride. And, mother of his legitimate child he noted to himself.

"Whatever. What time to do you go to work?" He asked.

"I have to be there at eleven." She said, a little irritated. Craig thought a moment.

"Okay, I'll pick him up at ten. Is that okay?"

"That's fine. See you then." She said and hung up on him. He hung up the phone and lay back down in bed. What in hell did she have to be mad about? He's the one who has to put up with all this mental stress thanks to her antics! And here he was, about to pick up a baby that wasn't even his and take it to his mother's house. What did he know about taking care of a baby? This was a very frightening thought ... he would be alone with this baby, this little human, for the better part of an hour on the way to Mom's and then again on the way back! He sat up in a panic.

"I don't know FUCK about taking care of a baby by myself." He jumped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. "Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into ..." He muttered.

He got himself a cup of coffee and sat at the table with his head in his hands. He wasn't up for this trip and he doubted he would ever be. Oh, he would do it. Mostly to get his mom off his back. Once she saw this baby and saw that it wasn't his she would be satisfied. He would, also, be satisfied. But Charlotte would insist Charles was still his until he proved he wasn't by DNA testing. And he couldn't afford that until Forest Fire made the record and got paid. He got up and sipped his coffee while he paced around the room. Everything was moving too slow. He wanted the testing over with so he and Mandie could get on with their life and put this whole 'baby' thing behind them. And then he would be rid of Charlotte once and for all ... He ate a bowl of cereal and then turned on the shower. As he was about to get in the phone rang. He thought about letting the answering machine get it but at the last minute grabbed the receiver by the bed and answered it.

"Hey!" It was Mandie.

"Hey honey." Craig said.

"What time are you going by your Mom?" She asked.

"I'm getting in the shower now. I told her I'd be there around eleven or so." He heard Robin's voice in the background. Mandie put her hand over the mouthpiece, said something to her and then turned her attention back to Craig.

"Did you say eleven?" She asked.

"Uh huh. Do you need to go?" He asked a little hurriedly. He hated when people talked to other people while he was on the phone with them.

"Oh, no! She said. "That was just Robin. We got the guys from 98 Degrees here in the studio today." He could tell from Mandie's voice that she was excited about that.

"Oh, boy!" Craig said, feigning interest. "Wish I could be there." He said in a homosexual voice. Mandie giggled.

"Well come on down baby, I'll introduce you!" Craig shook his head.

"Nawww, thanks though. I'm pretty sure that meeting them is really going to help my career though, I should think about it." Mandie sighed.

"Well, don't think about it too long, they won't be here but an hour or so." Through the silence Mandie heard the shower running. "Are you getting into the shower or did I interrupt you in progress?"

"Just getting in. In fact, I'm standing here buck naked." Mandie drew in a breath.

"Holy shit, do I wish this was a picture phone!" She teased. Craig smiled.

"So do I! I would be showing you what you're missing and what you're gonna get later!" She blushed and seconds later Robin stuck her head in the door again and began talking to her.

"Oh damn, Craig, I have to go. Nick is waiting for me." Craig frowned. That was a name he'd never heard her speak of before. He felt a pang of jealousy.

"Nick? Who the fuck is Nick?" He asked, not hiding his discontent.

"The lead singer of 98 Degrees, silly!" She said, giggling. She could hear by the tone of his voice that he was a little suspicious.

"Hmmph!" He said.

"Gotta go! Have a good lunch ..." She said and hung up. He slammed the phone down. That was twice today women hung up on him! He didn't even get to say goodbye ... He got into the shower a little irritated by the way the phone call ended. He wondered about this "Nick" guy. What the devil did she have to meet with him for? He wondered what he looked like ...

He knocked on Charlotte's door at a little after ten. She opened it moments later and pulled him inside.

"You were supposed to be here at 10!" She said, irritated. The baby was all bundled up and placed in his carrier. "The baby's been sitting here in his coat for over ten minutes!" He looked at Charlotte and frowned.

"I said 'around' ten, Charlotte. Not AT ten!" He knelt down and looked at the little face peeking up out of the bundle of blankets. He touched his cheek gently. Little eyes watched him.

"Well, whatever. I have some instructions for you if you care to listen." He stood up and looked at her. "Here is my cousin's address." She handed him a piece of paper with a bunch of things written on it. She pointed to the address. "This is her phone number, this is my phone number at the Firehouse. This is my Mom's phone number, the doctor's phone number." He frowned at her. "In case of emergency." She said annoyed. "I have to work until 9 tonight so you'll have to drop Charles off at my cousin's when you get back."

"Okay, that's not a problem." He said stuffing the piece of paper in his pocket.

"All right. Now, about feeding ..." He felt a surge of panic. He'd forgotten all about feeding!! How the hell was he going to feed this baby? His eyes grew big and he stared at Charlotte. "Just as I thought." She said with a sigh. "Had you thought this out before you came up with this dumb idea Craig?" She said planting her hands on her slim hips. He shook his head.

"I, it ..." He stuttered. "It wasn't my idea!" He said running his hand through his hair. As much as he did that he was sure he would rub all the hair right off his head ... Maybe that's why some guys start losing it in the front. Because they rub it so much, he thought oddly.

"Well, it isn't difficult but you need to watch for the signs that he is hungry." He looked confused. She suppressed a giggle. "He starts to get cranky." She said.

"Well, what does he do then swear or something?" He asked, joking. Charlotte giggled out loud and then smiled at Craig. He grinned back.

"He fusses. His arms and legs start to crank around and he cries." Craig's eyes grew big again.

"What do you mean crank around? Like in the Exorcist or something?" He asked semi-serious. Charlotte laughed again and smacked his arm.

"You're goofy! No! He waves his arms and kicks his legs! Now, listen, he just ate so he ought to sleep on the ride there but by the time you get there he'll need to eat again." She picked up the diaper bag which was full of bottles and diapers. She held up a bottle. "This is breastmilk. Keep the bottles in the refrigerator when you get there, okay?" He was appalled.

"Breastmilk?" He asked. "Ewwwww ..." She made a face at him and then realized that even talking about feeding the baby had caused her nipple to leak. She looked down at it and his eyes followed hers.

"Oh shit, now look what you've done." She said looking up from the growing wet circle to Craig. He had a silly smirk on his face.

"Hey, I didn't do that!" He said pointing to it. She put her hands back on her hips.

"Now I have to change, I'm going to be late thanks to you." He didn't know why she was blaming him! It wasn't his milk. He sure the hell wasn't going to drink it! She smiled surreptitiously at him, one side of her mouth curling up. "Do you want some?" His face went pale and he felt flush. He grabbed the diaper bag out of her hands with one hand and Charles in the carrier with the other.

"Uhhh, no. We have to get going now!" He said heading for the door.

"Wait!" Charlotte said stopping him. "I have to go with you to give you the car seat." She headed down the hallway. "Let me change my blouse first, that way I can just leave when you leave." She called from the bedroom. When she came back into the room her blouse was open. She had one button in her hand at the bottom and was buttoning it. Craig stared at the size of her breasts, they were straining against her bra. She'd never been that big before. Charlotte noticed him watching her and played it up. She buttoned her blouse slowly, teasing. "Oh!" She said pulling a little round pad out of her pants pocket. She pulled back her bra and inserted the pad in front of her nipple. She did the same on the other side. "The pads soak up the milk that leaks." She explained. He looked away quickly, his cheeks glowing pink. She finished dressing and slipped her coat on. "I had to go up another whole bra size thanks to these breastfeeding tits." She said turning off the light in the dining room and grabbing her purse and keys. Craig was trying his hardest to ignore her. She opened the door for him and as he passed by her on his way out she said, "Okay, let's motorvate." He cringed. She said it again! Any excitement he'd felt from that little peep show she had just given him went right out the door with that last comment. He went to the truck while Charlotte retrieved the car seat out of her car and brought it to him. They snapped it into the passenger seat and then Craig climbed into the driver's side. Charlotte stood next to him before he closed the door. She put a hand on his arm. He just looked at it a moment then he looked over at her. She smiled slightly.

"Please be careful with my baby." She said softly. He looked at her there, she was quite pretty with her long, red hair that set off her pretty, pale green eyes. She didn't look like the mother of a little baby boy. She looked like a Playboy Playmate. Craig cleared his throat and started the truck.

"I will." He said. She leaned in and when she went to kiss him he turned his head and she kissed his cheek. "Have a good day at work." He said and shut the door quickly when she moved backwards. Charlotte watched him pull away and felt a gentle tugging at her heart. There went her baby with his father. Blinking back a tear she got into her car and headed for the Firehouse.

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