Adult Responsibilities

Chapter 24

It had been a few weeks since Andrew had met Lila and gone to Disneyland, and the relationship with Kate had progressed even more than he thought. Andrew and Kate had gotten into a nice rhythm, spending time together as much as they could, and every so often, including Lila in their plans. They'd taken the little girl to lunch, to the Grove, and out for ice cream, and Kate had invited Andrew over once and cooked for the three of them. The more time Andrew spent with Kate's daughter, the closer the two got. If he was being honest, Andrew loved the little girl and her precocious personality. When he'd told Kate he'd like to be friends with Lila, he hadn't really known what to expect, intent mostly on showing Kate how serious he was about her. But as he got to know Lila, they started to form their own bond, and Andrew was loving it.

Kate loved it too. Seeing Andrew interacting with her daughter made Kate love him even more, and her feelings for him were on a new level. She hadn't known how Andrew would do with Lila, as he was young and not at all experienced with kids, but he was a natural with Lila, surprising his friends and family and definitely surprising Kate.

One day, Kate was stuck at the hospital past the end of her shift on a day where one of her patients had serious complications and had to be rushed into surgery. Kate was stressed, as she was supposed to leave the hospital and go right to Harvard-Westlake to pick up Lila from soccer practice at her school. Kate's mom and dad had gone out of town for a short trip to Monterrey, and when she called Sally, the woman was stuck at her own doctor's appointment and couldn't get away. Sarah was at work and couldn't leave and neither of Kate's brothers or sister-in-laws could get there either. Kate thought quickly, trying to figure out if she should ask Andrew to pick Lila up. She was worried, not wanting Andrew to feel obligated to run Lila around, but she knew he was free, as his schedule was so flexible. She hesitated for a second and then decided that she needed his help too much to be cautious, and she called his cell, relieved when he picked up immediately.

"Hey baby, what's going on? Thought you'd be caught up at work," Andrew said sweetly when his girl called. "Um, I'm still stuck at work, but I'm having trouble finding someone to pick Lila up from soccer practice. My parents are out of town and Sarah and the Hendricks's and my brothers can't do it..." Kate hesitated and before she could even ask, Andrew smiled, telling her quickly, "No problem, baby, I'm on it. Just text me the details about where to go. And Morgan is in the car with me, so hopefully that's OK," he said kindly, and Kate smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. "Of course, that's fine. Thank you so much Andrew, I really really appreciate it. I promise I won't make this a habit," she added nervously, and Andrew smiled. "Sweetheart, its fine. I'm way more flexible than you are, and I'm happy to help you. I'm excited to see Lila's school." Kate grinned, thinking about how sweet Andrew always was. "Well, I'm really grateful for your help. I'll text you the details. Can you just keep her for me until I'm done here? It shouldn't be that long," she said softly, and Andrew nodded. "Absolutely, no problem. I love you angel," he told her, and Kate felt her heart leap out of her chest. "I love you too, Andrew," she said, her voice soft and sweet.

Andrew and Morgan had been heading from Morgan's Hollywood Hills apartment to lunch at their favorite deli, and he turned to Morgan, laughing as the blonde flashed him a huge grin. "We're going to pick up Kate's little girl?" Morgan asked excitedly, and Andrew nodded. "Yeah, Kate got caught up at the hospital, and no one can grab her. I've actually never been to her school before. I mean, I've never been alone with her before, you know, without Kate," he said, hoping Lila would be OK with him picking her up. "Oh my gosh! This is so exciting. And I'm the first one in the Squad to meet her!" Morgan said with a huge grin as Andrew got off the freeway, heading towards Bel-Air to pick up Lila.

When Andrew and Morgan arrived at Harvard-Westlake, both friends gasped at how beautiful the school was. It was set back with a view of the Hills, and there were trees and greenery everywhere along the sprawling campus. "This reminds me of 90210" Morgan said with a grin, and Andrew laughed, shaking his head. "This is the school Kate went to as a child," Andrew said, and Morgan glanced around with wide eyes. "Fancy!" she said with a grin as Andrew pulled up to the area where Kate had told him Lila would be practicing with her mini soccer team. As they got out of the car, the little girls were all gathered around their coach, and he was starting to dismiss them to the parents. Andrew and Morgan wondered over and joined the moms, and when Lila saw Andrew, her face lit up.