Oops (General Hospital)

Fries, Milkshakes, and Cribs

A Couple Months Later (September 15th 2018)

     "Welcome to One Stop Shop Furniture Wearhouse Store™, your one stop shop for all things furniture and interior and exterior decorating. I'm Matt, how can I help you today?" He asks in a bored, defeated tone.
      "We're setting up nurseries. Six, to be exact. We gave some basic ideas of what we want and need, but I have no idea where to start, I've never been here before." Julian tells him, showing him the list he has.
     "Six assinets, Six cribs, four changing tables, and lots of decorations. Alright, I know where this stuff is. Follow me." Matt instructs, starting to walk. Julian and his group follow.
     Leo grabs Julian's hand, not wanting to end up too far behind. Matt turns and starts to walk backwards. "So, tell me a little about what's going here and what you're looking."
     "We have a basic plan for each baby. This is Marissa, she's having twin boys, Tomas and Abel. We're doing muted greens for Tomas and muted oranges for Abel. For Paige, we're doing light purple with fairies and unicorns."
     "I wasn't going to find out what I'm having, but I caved and needed to know." Paige says, her eyes glued on Matt.
     Julian pauses, looks between them, and continues. "So, anyways. Rosie is having a little girl and the theme is gonna be pinks and reds with flowers. I figured our daughter should always have something to remind her of her mommy."
     Rose covers her heart, looking to her mother. Matilda places her hand on her daughter's bump. "She's a lucky little girl to have a father like him."
     "I already know that." Rose says, smiling at Julian. "So does she."
     Julian turns to Kim, somewhat surprised to see her. He forces a smile, an obvious longing in his eyes. He clears his throat. "And for our little mystery we're doing under the sea. Then for Allison's, who's not here because she's a bitch, we're doing white and grays with stars. Nice and gender neutral, cause the bitch transferred to a new doctor and won't tell me what I'm having. Stupid, irresponsible cu-"
     Kim covers Leo's ears, flashing Julian a warning glare. Marissa rolls her eyes at them and starts walking. Julian takes a breath and looks down at Leo. "Oh, then we gotta stop at the kids' section, Leo needs some big boy furniture."

Later

     Marissa digs into her veggie burger, groaning with satisfaction. "Thank you, Julian. I thought I was going to die if I didn't eat."
     "Me too." Rose says around her milkshake straw.
     Matilda nudges her daughter's arm. "Say thank you." She mumbles.
     Rose pulls away from her milkshake and swallows. "Thanks for bringing us all out for lunch."
     "It's the least I can do." Julian says, placing his hand over his heart. "I haven't said it enough, but I am so thankful to all of you for giving up these last few months for me and our children. These babies are my reason for living, my world. You've all decided to dedicate almost a year to growing these kids, even though you've also decided to step back. I know it hurts to think of someone else raising your child, trust me. I am indebted to all of you, and it's a debt I'll never be able to pay back because of just how much what you're doing means to me."
     "Oh, Julian." Paige beams, reaching across the table and touching his arm.
     Marissa puts her burger down and kisses her hand, tapping his cheek. Rose doesn't do anything, she just stares at Julian. Marissa elbows her. "Daddy." She chirps, covering her mouth. The women all turns to her, but Julian's too busy with Leo to notice.
     Kim takes a breath and gets up to see Leo. "What's going on?"
     "He fell asleep." Julian tells her, lifting Leo off the seat and into his arms. "I'm gonna take him to the car and get him in his seat, it's been an exciting day for him. He needs a nap."
     Not a second after he's gone, they burst into laughter. "I can't believe I just said that out loud."
     "Oh Rose, I'm so glad he didn't hear that." Kim chuckles, taking a bite of a French fry. "It'll inflate his ego."
     "I'm so embarrassed. I wasn't even thinking. Can we please forget this even happened?"
     "Absolutely not. I've already texted my wife." Marissa says, smiling down at her phone.
     "This is just a selfie of you drinking your milkshake." Paige tells the others.
     "Nark!"
     Kim smiles and looks down at her hands over her stomach. "We should do more, just hang out. It'll good for us to have a bond that's more than just the babies."
     "We should do a regular thing." Marissa suggests.
     "We could do a family meal every week." Rose says.
     "Ooh, lunch on Sundays." Paige pipes up. "That way church will never be a problem, it won't go late, and it's easy to schedule work around it for the most part."
     "It's a deal."

That Evening

     Julian picks up the napkin and wipes of Leo's cheek, pulling the plate closer to Leo. "Try to get the food into your mouth and not on your face."
     "I'm saving it for later." Leo laughs, looking over Oscar, who gives him a thumbs up.
     Julian shakes his head and goes back to his own food. His phone starts to buzz, making him grunt, his mouth still full. He swallows, pulling it out of his pocket. "It's the hospital. I'm guessing it's about my x-rays. Hopefully they didn't lose these too."
     He gets himself to his feet and walks a few feet away. Kim follows him with her eyes. Even from behind, she can see the color drain from his skin as his hand goes stiff and his phone falls. She jumps up and runs to him, grabbing him and pushing him against the wall before he can fall. "What happened, baby? Are you okay?"
     "Allison was brought in to the ER, she had to have an emergency c-section. My son's in critical condition."

Would I really go there?