Chapter 2.5 - Baby Crazy

“So you’re…”

“Pregnant. You can say it, Dylan.”

“I’m sorry, it just hasn’t quite sunk in yet. I mean… we’re going to be parents. That’s… kind of a big thing.”

“Yeah, I’m still kind of shocked too. But we’ll make the best of it, won’t we?”

Looking at her hopeful face, Dylan nodded. “Of course we will.” Then he cracked a smile. “I guess you will be moving in after all, won’t you?”

She laughed. “I will. But for now, I’m really tired. Mind if I go to sleep?”

“Of course not. It’s your house too, after all.”

She smiled at him as she left the room.

As soon as he was sure she was asleep, Dylan dialed a familiar phone number.

“Sam?”

“Dylan? What's going on?”

“Um… so you know a lot about babies, right?”

“I should think so. Why?”

“Because I'm going to have one in about six months.”

“Seriously? Tara's pregnant? Congratulations!”

“Well, I know nothing about babies, so I was hoping you could help me out.”

Sam paused. “How about you come over sometime? You can play with Lenny and I'll help you if you have any trouble. Tara can come too if she wants.”

“Thanks. You're a lifesaver.”

After he hung up, though, he was still nervous. He knew nothing about babies. How was he supposed to deal with this one?

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A few weeks later, Dylan and Tara were at Sam and Kaylynn's house. Dylan was playing with Lenny, as promised, while Tara sat on the couch with Kaylynn.

“How did the appointment go?”

“The doctor says that I'm having a boy, so we're going to start decorating the nursery soon. What about you?”

“We want to be surprised. I didn't realize your house had a nursery.”

“It doesn't, but we renovated Dylan's office to make one. Now he paints on the back porch, but at least the whole house doesn't smell like turpentine anymore.”

Kaylynn laughed. “Trust me, I know all about that.”

Meanwhile…

“You're doing great.”

“This is actually surprisingly easy.”

“Well, Lenny's an easy baby. But if genetics has anything to do with it, yours will be too. You were about the easiest baby on the planet.”

Dylan tickled Lenny, who burst out in adorable giggles. “He looks just like you.”

Sam laughed. “Yeah, Kaylynn always says that if she hadn't given birth to him, she doubt he was hers. We're both hoping the new baby looks more like her. What about you?”

“I hadn't really thought about it. It would be great if the baby got Tara's eyes, though.”

“Yeah, they're a nice color. But all that really matters is that the baby's healthy, right?”

“Of course.”

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“It looks great, doesn't it?”

“Uh-huh.”

“We did a good job, didn't we?”

She didn't respond, so he turned to her. “Tara?”

“I think we have bigger problems at the moment, Dylan.”

He went from satisfaction to sheer panic in less than a minute. “But it's too early!”

“Tell that to the baby!”

“What do I do, what do I do?”

“How about you take me to the hospital?”

“Right.”

They entered the hospital just after midnight. When they emerged, the bright morning sun illuminated their shell-shocked faces.

“I didn't realize there was even a chance we'd have triplets.”

Tara was silent.

“I mean, you'd think they'd tell us something like that, wouldn't you?”

She still said nothing, so he lapsed into silence.

After he laid his three babies in the extra cribs he'd managed to get last minute, he sighed.

“There might be three of you, but your Mom and Dad love you anyway. Between the two of us, I’m sure we’ll be able to handle you.”

But when he woke up at about noon, Tara was nowhere to be found.

Author's Note: Yes, I planned for them to have triplets. Dylan's Number of Children roll was 3, so this is all he gets. Let's meet them, shall we? In birth order, we have:

Alaric, who is evil and disciplined;

Jade, who is artistic and absent-minded;

and Beckett, who is easily impressed and loves the outdoors. He is also in possession of some epic throwback genes. By the way, Lenny's baby sister? Her name is Jaimee. I kid you not. Also, my version of Kerry Harris has a son named Joesph. EA is incapable of naming children.