C2 Daddy & Baby

“You do know that it’s impossible for men to give birth, right?” Chris said with a frown on his gorgeous face.

“Haven’t you heard of ‘Omegaverse’?”

“Omega-what?”

“Nothing. You don’t need to know.”

“Anyway, as I was saying, men can’t get pregnant,” Chris concluded.

“That’s not the problem!” he hissed.

Chris looked perplexed and couldn’t seem to understand why he was very bewildered. He found himself looking at the child in Chris' arms. The young boy seemed to be cold and his big round eyes made his heart melt. He was not heartless unlike most of the people thought of him.

He searched for an umbrella and opened the gate. “Come in.”

Chris didn’t say a word and walked past him. His eyes followed him until he entered the house. He sighed and closed the gate. His mind was a mess. He couldn’t think straight. How did he end up having a child? He even never thought of touching a woman in a romantic way. *Italicized* Jesus Christ. *Italicized*

“Do you want anything?” he asked Chris who had the young boy in his lap. He was comfortably sitting on the sofa and gently brushing the child’s curly hair. Was his sofa really that small? Or was his neighbor’s body just big and broad that it could make everything around it look smaller?

“Water’s fine,” he answered while still playing with the toddler’s hair.

He went to the kitchen and still couldn’t process what was happening. As much as he would like to dismiss everything and go back to sleep, there was something inside him that was holding him back. He sighed for the nth time. He went back to the living room and found the child soundly sleeping. He looked so comfortable in Chris’ strong arms.

“Here,” he said as he handled Chris the bottle of water. He sat on the chair in front of him and crossed his legs.

“Thanks.”

“So, what kind of prank is this?” he asked. His eyes roamed around his house and still suspicious. “Did you stall a camera somewhere?”

“Do you still think I’m playing with you?” Chris replied without a single trace of smile on his lips.

“You’re not really kidding?”

“I’m not.”

“Are you serious?”

“Dead.”

“Argh, whatever!” he surrendered and leaned on the chair before closing his eyes.

“Sshh, you might wake him up,” Chris warned him.

“If I’m still sleeping and dreaming, please wake me up,” he pleaded. To whom? He doesn’t even have an idea.

“Kei.”

He opened his eyes and looked at him. “Why do you think he’s mine?”

“Because you are listed as his mom’s contact person,” he answered. “Your full name’s Korrigan Gonzales, right?”

“Yes but I’m not the only Korrigan Gonzales in the world,” he replied.

“Ah, yes. But your address and contact number made me sure that you are the Korrigan Gonzales we were looking for.”

“‘We’?”

“Your phone’s number is 0955-594—”

“How did you know that?”

“Your house is next to mine, so, your address is Blk 64 Lot 2, Sunshine Street—”

“Chris! Will you keep on ignoring me?!”

“Sshh,” he said and carefully patted the sleeping child’s head. “Keep your voice down.”

“And whose fault do you think it is?” he blamed him.

“I don’t know what I should say to convince you,” he said in a calm voice. “But, finally, I got your attention.”

“You already have my attention, you—.” Thank God he was able to stop himself from saying ‘You, beautiful creature.’. After a while, he was able to regain his disposition. “Who’s his mom?”

Chris looked so relieved when he asked him that question. “Now, we’re talking.”

My mind was all mixed up that I forgot to ask the right questions, he said to himself. He realized that only if he asked that particular question at the very beginning, their conversation would be over right there and then.

“Jane Garcia,” he revealed. Chris was looking at him intently and waiting for his response patiently. “Ring a bell?”

“Where is she?”

“Oh,” he whispered and glanced at the young boy’s face. “Have you heard of the fire incident 3 days ago in the nearby city?”

“No, I actually don’t have the time to watch the news,” he answered honestly.

“Well, she’s one of the victims. She was inside her apartment and was rushed to the hospital but declared DOA. Luckily, her son was in the kindergarten. No one in her family wanted to take her son. They were all busy making excuses why they couldn’t take him in—”

“Of course, they’d do that. She’s adopted and they think of her as a parasite.” He wanted to keep it cool but her heart was beating so fast and he was sure that the blood was rushing to his head. He was so pissed but he didn’t know whose fault it was. Jane was his closest friend when they were in high school.

They’ve lost contact when he transferred to another school because of his mom’s job relocation. He never heard of her since then but to think that Jane would think of him as her emergency person made him want to cry his eyes out.

“How did she even know my contact number and address?” he asked himself. But Chris misunderstood and answered.

“You’re still the father of her child—”

“He’s not my kid, okay?” he cut him off. However, that’s not really his problem. He sighed and gave him a serious gaze. “But look at me, Chris, do you think I could raise that boy as a decent human being?”

“Why not?”

“Do I look like I have maternal instinct?”

“You don’t need to have that.”

He smirked and he found it amusing how he could react that fast. Maybe it was the nature of his job and he could say that being a firefighter suits him. “What would happen if I made up my mind to not take him in?”

He sighed before he answered, “He’d be sent to an orphanage. But before that, I wanted to try my luck and his as well when I decided to go to talk to you.”

“I’m not confident enough, Chris,” he confided. “I grew up with my nanny. My parents? They were busy working their asses off. I don’t know if I could—”

“I’ll help you.”

His eyes widened when Chris said that. He sounded so confident that it made him look cooler than he already was. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s raise him together.”

“Together?” he parroted. Was he thinking of raising a child as playing house? Was it just a simple matter to him and it doesn’t bother him at all? He looked at the child peacefully sleeping. *Italicized* Instant baby, *Italicized* he thought. And then, turned his eyes to Chris. *Italicized* Beautiful daddy. Hmm, not bad. *Italicized*