Right - (boyxboy)

Chapter 18 - Goo Goo Ga Ga

"Who's the cutest little baby in the world?" Emmie cooed in that voice people always seemed to put on when they talked to babies, cradling little Jamie in her arms as they sat in Cash's front room. They'd been released earlier that morning, given the all clear from the doctor.  "You're the cutest little baby in the world."

The others just sat and watched her in confusion. Emmie hadn't really ever shown herself to be the maternal type, always one that suggested pushing over annoying toddlers running about and wishing for her tubes to be tied than oohing and ahhing over newborns in prams. 

"What's happening?" Will muttered, unsure what he was seeing.

"I think hell's frozen over," Kimi whispered in return.

"There's definitely a pig flying around by now," said Liv, munching on a chip as she sat with her legs over an arm of the armchair.

"You're aunties are very mean, aren't they? Very mean aunties," Emmie cooed again, a glint in her eye showing that she'd heard every word. "They're just jealous that I'm going to be your godmother. Yes they are, yes they are!"

This stirred a reaction from the other three, sitting up in protest as they questioned Cash about this new revelation. Cash, still fatigued from having given birth and looking after a newborn, just waved her hand as she enjoyed her rest on the sofa, adding, "we're not christening him anyway, why does it matter?"

"But I'll still be your fairy godmother," Emmie kept cooing, enjoying how much this was getting on the others' nerves. "Yes I will, yes I will!"

"What's gotten into you, Em?" Kimi asked.

"Yeah, since when did you go all goo goo ga ga over babies?" added Liv, returning to her previous position on the armchair.

Emmie just shrugged, enjoying the moment with the small little thing in her arms that she had a part in naming. Soon it would shit itself or begin crying and the moment will be gone. "I guess it's just nice. I mean, with Dash and Danny at home and this little one here, the thought of having some kids doesn't seem like such a terrible idea anymore. As long as they know how to go to the toilet by themselves."

Will, Liv and Kimi sat in quiet contemplation at Emmie's words. At 27/28, it hadn't really crossed their minds much about having kids. The three still felt like they were still trying to get a handle on this whole adulting thing that having kids just sounded preposterous. How could you look after a tiny little human being when it feels like you can barely look after yourself some days?

"I wonder if we'll all have kids by the time the next reunion come around?" Kimi pondered aloud. 

"Corey's still enthusiastic for more, so I'll probably have a herd of them by then," said Cash, eyes still closed but fighting off sleep. She had a feeling her bundle of joy was going to kick up a fuss soon and she couldn't be asleep on the job this early.

"I mean, if things between Oliver and I work out, I'll technically have a kid by then?" added Will, still not sure if he could ever wrap his head around the idea of being a step-parent. 

"Oh yeah, how did it go with the kid - what's his name again?" Emmie asked.

Will sat up properly in his seat, ready to tell the girls all about the afternoon he spent with Oliver and his son. "His name is Max and it went well, really well," he replied before launching into a recount of the afternoon. Max's dinosaur collection, one particular episode of Hi-5 he had recently become obsessed with, making slime, and eating pizza in the pillow fort they'd built before turning it - and everything in the nearby vicinity - into a complex obstacle course. 

The girls watched Will talk in wonder, amazed that he too had succumbed to whatever spell Emmie had also fallen into when it came to children.

"Sounds like you all had a great time," said Kimi once he was done speaking. "I'm happy with all went so well for you."

"Yeah, I'm sure Oliver is thrilled if it went as well as you said," Liv added, still munching on her chips.

Will nodded, a grin growing on his face as an undeniable feeling of happiness spread through his body. "Uh yeah, he was pretty thrilled, actually. He said he wanted me to be around to see Max grow up."

"Aww, that's nice," said Emmie. "Are you ready for that responsibility though? Taking on a kid and all that."

Will thought it over, more than he'd already had. Oliver, as idealistic as ever, had painted an easy picture of their lives together with Max, and their evening together made it that much easier to believe. But when the going got tough, would it be as sunshine and roses as it seemed now? Will would be deluded if he thought it was going to be problem-free. Life loved to throw curveballs when it came to his relationship with the blonde, but when he thought about it, settling down with someone he loved and cared about was what he yearned for. Will had almost had it with Dale, it was almost in his grasp before it went poof and disappeared. Will wanted stability and who knows, maybe that was what Oliver and Max needed too. 

A moment of instability as they readjusted to a new dynamic for a lifetime of happiness didn't seem like too heavy a bargain, or was Will being as idealistic as Oliver had been?

"I can't say, I really can't," Will replied honestly. "Who knows how I will be as a step-parent, if I'll do everything right for Max. All I can say is that I'm willing to try for all three of us. I want to be cautious but I also don't see a need in catastrophising the what-ifs, y'know."

A surprisingly large crunch from Liv and her chips caused Jamie to stir, fussing in Emmie's arms. A look of panic set in Emmie's face that screamed uncertainty of what she should do. Luckily, Cash sprung into action, getting up from her rest on the couch to pick up her son from her friend's arms. She had a quick sniff of her baby and deduced that a nappy change was needed.

As she prepared to leave the room, Cash turned to Will and added her own two cents to the conversation that she'd so far tuned out of in favour of a nap. "As long as you consider Max's needs as much, if not more, than what you and Oliver want, then you're going to be fine, Will," she said, before adding, "I'd say you'd make the right decision but if we're honest, your track record doesn't really support that," as she left the room.

"Rude," Will called out after her, too amused at being roasted like that to feel hurt by what she'd said. But she wasn't wrong either. Max's needs were paramount and it would be silly to think otherwise. If Will had truly turn over a new leaf and changed from the terror he once was, then he had to do right by Max no matter what. 

Hopefully him sticking around was exactly that. 

"Are you seeing them again before we go on Friday?" Kimi asked.

"I see Oliver again tomorrow, but not Max, no." 

"You two have a lot to talk about then, huh," was Liv's final input to the conversation before she got up and headed to the kitchen, readying things for dinner.

I guess we do...