~A few days later~
Dan's POV
I tense up as I hear the front door open and close again. Tess and Phil's voices echo through the apartment, the two of them already sounding like they've been married for years.
"I still can't get over how cute he is!" Tess squeals.
"Shhh!" Phil hushes her. "Not here." Their footsteps grow louder as they enter the living room where I've spent my day watching TV. "Hey, Dan."
"Hey, guys." I say, turning down the volume. "What have you two been up to? You've been gone all day."
The two exchange a quick worried glance and both wait for the other to speak.
"Um, we've just been out-" Tess begins before being cut off by Phil.
"-Looking for Christmas gifts. By December we'll be too busy prepping for the weeding and won't have enough time, so we're doing them early." Tess nods in agreement. I smile reassuringly.
"It's okay, guys. You don't have to lie. I know what you were doing." They look taken aback and exchange an even more worried look than before. "I know it's going to be hard living with your best friend when you guys are married and ready to start a family. I don't mind you guys looking for a new place. I'll even help you look."
I understand why they'd be scared of me finding out. The day they got engaged, I hit low again. I thought I was getting over Y/N. In fact, it had been a whole two weeks that I had thought of her. Looks like all it takes to go downhill again is a familiar looking stranger and your best friend proposing. Since getting back from tour I had barely left the house, have been so quiet that Phil has complained that it feels as if I don't even live here anymore, and had been eating very little. Today though, I felt good.
"Yeah, that's it," Tess says, breaking the silence as Phil nervously rubs the back of his neck. "We didn't want to upset you anymore."
"It's fine, Tess. Really. I was actually thinking of going for a walk today. I kinda miss the outdoors."
"You? Missing the outdoors?" Phil teases me. I launch a pillow at his face and rise from the couch. "Ow! Hey!"
"That's my queue to leave, nerds! Cya later!" I chuck on a hoodie, put on a pair of joggers and race out the door.
It's a nice afternoon. The air isn't too cold but you can feel the shift between summer and autumn. The leaves are still green and the sky is clear. I can smell coffee and freshly baked goods as I walked down the street. I think I can even smell pumpkin spice in the mix, making it feel more like autumn.
After walking for a while, I reach the park. I slow down, contemplating whether I'm ready to walk through it again. Why the fuck not? I turn onto the path and continue.
There's not many people around. There's a few mothers with their toddlers, some kids playing football on the grass and two or three teenage couples making out where they think nobody will see them.
I look down at the cracked concrete beneath my feet. It feels lonely walking down this path. Maybe I should turn back...
I snap my head up at the sound of a baby crying. I look ahead of me to see a mother struggling to bend down and pick a toy the baby had thrown on the ground from the stroller. I quickly jog ahead and reach down. "I'll get it." I reach down and pick up a soft teddy bear with a plaid bowtie. Funny, it looks a lot like the one I saw Phil with this morning.
"Thank you," the woman says. Huh...
I hand it to the baby. He's got the most adorable chocolate eyes and when he grabs the teddy he smiles, showing two deep dimples in each cheek.
I stand up to face the woman. "No prob-" I freeze and look into the most beautiful E/C eyes I've ever seen. "-lem. Y-Y/N?"
Her eyes widen in shock as she opens and closes her mouth, finding the right words to say. "Dan... hi."
I look back down at the baby. He smiles up at me. I furrow my eyes in confusion.
"You... you have a baby?"
She awkwardly rubs the back of her neck. I frown at how weak and sick she looks. Even after just having a baby, she looks like bones.
"Yeah."
"Shit. It's just, I heard about you and Jase and... well, I just can't believe... I mean, his son..."
I look into Y/N's eyes. They're glassy now and I can feel her pain.
"Oh... yeah. Um, I'm sorry, I've got to go. I need to get him to sleep. It was nice running into you." And with that, she hurries off.
Your POV
"Take him for a walk around the park. Maybe that will calm him down."
Following Marylin's advice, I push the pram down my most beloved park, which also happened to hold my most painful memories. It did calm James down though.
We had been walking for about ten minutes when he starts to cry. I look down to see he had dropped the new teddy Phil had brought to him this morning. It was a cute teddy bear, and of course my favourite part was it's little plaid bowtie. It reminded me of Phil.
I try to bend down to pick it up, but since having a baby, I've gotten weaker. It's a struggle to look after James on my own and I'm so grateful to have Phil and Tess come everyday to help me out. Pain rips through my spine as I bend over and I wince.
"I'll get it."
I stand up relieved and rub my back. I look down at the man the voice had come to and see a mop of curly brown hair. "Thank you," I say to him as he begins to stand up.
"No prob-" As the man meets my eyes, he stops. I feel my body start to shake. I look into his eyes that mirror my son's. "-lem." He finishes. "Y-Y/N?"
I'm at a loss for words. Everyday I had been wishing for Dan to be back in my life. "Dan... hi."
~Time skip~
When I finally reach the safety of my home, I put James down in his cott, already fast asleep and clutching his teddy. I tiptoe out of his room and into my own where I curl up on my bed and break out into a quiet sob.
I couldn't tell Dan he's the father. What would he think? I've kept this from him for so long. He'd feel terrible, or maybe he'd be mad at me. Maybe he won't believe me if I tell him I still love him.
Dan's POV
I get back home in a daze and follow the sound of Phil and Tess talking in the living room. I kind of just stand still, not knowing how to act or what to say. Just stand in the middle of the living room, looking at the ground.
"Dan, are you alright?" I look in the direction of Phil's voice. He and Tess wear looks mixed of confusion and concern.
"Did you two know?"
"Know about what?" Tess asks.
"Y/N... she's back. And she has a son?"
Phil sighs. "We're sorry. We didn't know how to tell you, neither did she. Please don't be mad."
"I'm not mad." My voice is calm. "I'm just shocked. She's back..."
