{FIC} Twenty Tiny Fingers, Twenty Tiny Toes - 3/4 (Steve/Danny; PG-13)
Title: Twenty Tiny Fingers, Twenty Tiny Toes (3/4)
Author: simplyn2deep
Characters/Pairings: Steve/Danny, Chin, Kono, Lori, OCs
Rating: PG-13
Warnings/Spoilers: off screen character death (not anyone from the show)
Prompt: Somehow Steve winds up the guardian of twin baby girls (anonymous)
Summary: Steve waited a beat and watched as Danny grasped what he was saying. “They want YOU to take the baby?”
Author's Notes:
1. written for the Spring Fling.
2. This is set during season 2, there was no affair between Danny & Rachel, Rachel & Stan's son is 5 months old
3. Thanks to huntress69 for being my beta and bluedelft for my story cover/icons.
4. I tried to stick to the prompt as much as possible, but things might have gotten away from me (hence the length of the fic), also, timestamps are in the works! so far I have 3 in mind.
PART THREE
San Diego, CA
The first week Steve was in San Diego, Danny received almost daily videos and pictures of him with his daughters - and wasn’t that something? Steve had daughters. He was still trying to wrap his brain around that and knew that Steve was having an even more difficult time, but from everything he had gotten, and later shared with the rest of the team, he was doing an excellent job of getting to know them and learning the basics from Marcus and his wife.
The second week Steve was in San Diego, Danny got a text from Mary telling him to clean out her old room and prepare it for her nieces. Yes, Mary was fully on board with her brother being a father and from the videos he got this week, they had spent quite a bit of time together, probably the most time they’d spent since being shipped off to the mainland when they were teenagers. With the help of Chin, Kono and Lori, they cleaned out the room and gave it a good airing and scrub down.
Danny also heard back from Rachel in regards to Steve getting in more baby practice with Charlie. According to Rachel, Stan thought the idea was great and suggested that when Steve returned from San Diego, they’d go away for the weekend - their first weekend away since Charlie was born. Danny agreed with it as long as he was able to have Grace every weekend - barring any prior arranged plans due to sleepovers with her friends. Danny relayed the information to Steve who then suggested that his old room be cleaned out as well.
“I don’t know how much cleaning we’ll get done babe,” Danny said. “We do still have jobs. Where do you want me to put all of your old stuff?”
“Put it where you put Mary’s stuff,” Steve said. “Just get as much done as you can. I’ve been speaking with a lawyer out here and they said they could work something out to where I’d be able to take the girls home after Thanksgiving, but they want me to meet with a social worker for some observation or whatever. I’ll also have to have pretty regular visits from a social worker out there before the adoption can be finalized.”
“So, are you going to stay out there until after Thanksgiving?” Danny asked.
He sighed. “I wish I could,” Steve replied. “Danny you should see the girls…I mean in person. They’re so beautiful and smart for five months old too.”
“I’ve see the videos and pictures,” Danny responded. “We’re all anxious to meet them in person.”
There was so much Steve wanted to say in response to what Danny had said, and really about everything he’d been thinking about while being away, but he settled for, “Thank you, Danny. I’ll see you this weekend.”
“Enjoy your last few days there. The criminals here miss the heck out of you,” Danny laughed.
Steve laughed as well. “I can honestly say I don’t miss them. But I miss you…all of you, well not the criminals and not really Denning.”
“It’s late there. Put your babies to bed, hug and kiss ‘em from everyone here and get some sleep.”
“Will do, Danno. G’night.”
“Night, Steve.”
They hung up at the same time.
----
Honolulu, HI
Steve got back to Oahu late Friday night. He wanted to get in as much time with his daughters as possible, but he also really missed Hawaii and his family there. He knew it’d be late when he arrived and that Danny would have Grace, and possibly Charlie, so he took a cab home.
As he made his way to the house he noticed the flickering light coming from the TV in the living room and smiled to himself knowing that Danny probably fell asleep watching. He fumbled for his keys but before he could unlock it, the door opened and a very sleep-rumpled Danny was standing in front of him.
“Hey, Danno. What are you doing up still?” Steve asked as he pushed his way into the house then closed and locked the door behind him.
“Rachel and Stan decided to start the whole “let Steve practice with Charlie” thing and dropped him and Grace off about four hours ago, and he’s been crying for the last two hours.”
Steve paused and listened to the noises in the house. “I don’t hear a crying baby.”
“That’s because I finally got him to go to sleep not thirty minutes ago,” Danny grumbled. “I never had this much trouble getting Grace to sleep when she was five months old.”
Steve left his bags at the foot of the stairs and followed Danny further into the house. “Why don’t you go up and get some sleep. I’m kind of wired and want to burn off some energy.”
“Go up? And sleep where?” Danny asked. “There’s only two beds plus the portable crib for Charlie.”
“Okay, so use my bed. I’ll take the couch.”
“First rule of baby time, when the baby is sleep, everyone else sleeps,” Danny said. “So you take your bed, because you just got off a six hour flight, and I’ll take the couch.”
Steve was about to argue, but Danny gave him a sleepy, but effective glare so he kept his mouth shut, picked up his bags and headed up the stairs. When he reached the landing, Danny called out to him. “By the way, Charlie’s in your room so you get to deal with him if he wakes up. Welcome home!” He walked to the living room and flopped on the couch.
------
“Okay, Uncle Steve,” Grace began the following morning, “Charlie really likes pancakes for breakfast.”
Steve raised an eyebrow at the little girl. “I may not have had much experience with babies, but I did spend nearly two weeks with my daughters,” Steve gets a little thrill every time he says that, “so I know for a fact that five month old babies do not, in fact, like pancakes for breakfast.”
Grace gave a shy smile. “Okay so Danno and I really like pancakes for breakfast,” she conceded. “Mom usually gives Charlie a bottle from the warmer.” She pointed to the bottle warmer on the counter.
Danny watched as Grace instructed Steve on the things that Rachel did in the morning with Charlie and smiled when Steve nodded his head and went to retrieve one of the bottles. He and Steve had been up since 8 am going on some basics so that when Grace, and eventually Charlie, awoke at ten, Steve could take over and Danny would step in where needed.
“Monkey, I’ll make you some pancakes once we watch Steve feed Charlie,” Danny said with a nod and smile. “We know he can multitask, but this is going to be his first time feeding your brother so we should let him concentrate on that.”
Danny and Grace sat at the dining room table and watched as Steve tested the temperature of the heated milk on the inside of his wrist before he went to sit in front of Charlie. Charlie’s little legs kicked and caused the carrier he was sitting in to rock slightly. Steve set the bottle on the table, reached out a hand to steady the rocker and unfastened the buckle before picking him up. Danny corrected Steve’s hold on Charlie, and then handed the bottle to Steve to tease the baby’s lips with the nipple. Charlie eagerly opened his mouth, and Steve slid the nipple in for him to nurse from.
“It’ll be a while. You might want to get comfortable.”
“In that case, shouldn’t I be on the sofa?” Steve asks. “These chairs are hardly comfortable.”
“That’s true,” Danny says in agreement. “Think you want to try walking, holding and feeding him at the same time?”
Steve gave Danny an incredulous look before gracefully standing up and walking to the living room and sitting down on the sofa. Danny and Grace followed Steve and sat on either side of him.
“Now you’ll want to make sure to keep the bottle tilted so the nipple is always filled with milk.” Danny placed his hand over Steve’s to slightly correct the position, and then smiled at him.
After a while, Charlie finished the bottle and Danny instructed Steve on how to burp him. Grace placed a baby towel over Steve’s shoulder, (“Just in case he spits up some of the milk, Uncle Steve,” Grace said matter of factly). Steve placed Charlie on his chest, with his head position near his shoulder and gently patted and rubbed a soothing circle over his back.
Charlie let out an impressive burp before sighing contentedly and grabbing a hold of Steve’s shirt in his little fist.
------
Steve wasn’t able to practice nearly as much as he liked with Charlie, but he was comfortable enough that he didn’t feel like he would break the baby every time he picked him up and held him.
Danny grudgingly admitted that Steve wasn’t as bad with babies as he first thought. He knew already that he was excellent with Grace, but then again, Grace was an easy going kid, if he said so himself.
The Monday after Steve got back; Marcus called and invited him back to San Diego for Thanksgiving dinner. Steve said he would have to see if he could get the time off, and if he was able to, he would be there with a plus one. Marcus wanted to know more, but sensed that Steve would tell in his own time; however, he was fairly certain that his plus one would be whomever he was texting and calling nearly daily the last time he’d seen Steve.
------
“You never did tell me the rest of what your lawyer friend said about guardianship over Stephanie and Josie. How was that going to work?” Danny asked one afternoon.
“Foster to adoption. Curtis and Melanie’s will was pretty specific. Marcus would have had the girls until I was found and given the option to adopt them, and if I chose not to, then Marcus and Betty would be given the option. A last resort was to put them in the system.”
“This time next week we’ll be bringing them back home,” Danny said with a smile
Steve looked at Danny with an almost boy-like expression on his face. “You don’t know how grateful I am for all the help you’ve give me. Spending Saturday and Sunday with you, Grace and Charlie was a lot of fun.”
“It’s only fun when the real parents take their crying babies home,” Danny says with a laugh.
“Charlie wasn’t that bad,” Steve said. “I could have done without the pee on my shirt though.”
Danny laughed, fully remembering what happened when Steve went to change Charlie for the first time. It was his luck that he decided to video Steve taking care of the baby to show Rachel, so getting evidence like that would be great for days, weeks or months to come.
“Anyways…,” Steve said in a vain attempt to change the subject, “what did Rachel and Grace have to say when you turned them down for Thanksgiving?”
“They completely agreed with me that you’re a trouble magnet and it’s a good thing I’m going with you so that Stephanie and Josie come back in one piece and are able to meet the rest of the family.”
Steve snorted. “Are you sure Rachel didn’t give you a hard time about ‘meeting your boyfriend’s daughters for the first time’?” Danny turned red and Steve laughed.
Danny quickly schooled his features. “Wherever did you come up with that idea?”
“I may have been visiting with Grace and Charlie when you called to tell her…and she may have put you on speaker so I could hear,” Steve said with a sly smile.
Danny dropped his head into his hands and groaned. “Exactly how much of that did you hear?”
Steve leaned and whispered in Danny’s ear, “Enough to tell you that you aren’t the only one who feels that way.”
Danny closed his eyes and shivered when he felt Steve’s breath on his ear. “So this between us….”
“This between us is going to last a very long time Danny,” Steve replied. “I can’t raise Stephanie and Josie on my own and a wise man once told me that whatever choice I made, they’d be behind me all the way - partners - Ohana.”
Danny let out a shuttered sigh and turned his head slightly. If Danny moved a few more inches their lips would be in perfect alignment for a kiss. Danny’s eyes were fixated on Steve’s lips. He stuck his tongue out with the intention of licking his own lips, but somehow ended up licking Steve’s. The brief contact made Steve moan and move to kiss Danny.
Danny placed his hand on the side of Steve’s face and rubbed his thumb along his cheek as he eagerly kissed back. Steve nipped at Danny’s bottom lip and was about to deepen the kiss when Steve’s phone rang.
“Don’t answer….” Danny mumbled against Steve’s lips. “Whatever you do, please don’t answer.”
Steve pulled away though. It was the ring especially for the Governor and some kind of hell would rain on him if he didn’t answer. “I have to, D. It’s the Governor.”
Danny sighed and moved away to give Steve room to sit comfortably while he spoke with Denning.
------
“While you’re gone we’ll get the nursery all set up for Stephanie and Josie,” Chin said. “The pictures that you sent over of the nursery in San Diego are detailed enough that it can be replicated in Mary’s old room.”
“I’ll call Marcus and have him ship the dresser and some of the bulkier furniture,” Steve said. “Everything else I’ll have to go through while Danny and I are there.”
“Auntie Mean has a lot of clothes that her youngest has grown out of. She said you can have them if you want,” Kono said.
“That’s great,” Danny said. “We won’t have to worry about not having anything for them while we wait for their clothes to arrive when we get back.”
“I still want to get some stuff before we leave,” Steve said. He looked at Danny and motioned towards the door. “Store now?”
Danny sighed and looked at Chin and Kono. “Do either of you want to go with me…or take my place?”
“Boss can’t be that bad,” Kono said
Steve smirked and grabbed Danny’s arm to pull him along. “I beg of you…save me,” Danny pleaded. “I went to Wal-Mart with him yesterday and he nearly cleared the baby department of their bottles and diapers.”
Steve’s smirk became a blank innocent look. “Rachel said I needed to be prepared.” He looked at Kono. “The diapers had flowers on them. I was only going to get a pack.”
“That’s a lie. There were at least ten packs. I talked him into four when a very pregnant lady gave him the stink eye.” Kono and Chin laughed.
“Have fun shopping, brah,” Chin said with a wave.
PART FOUR
Author: simplyn2deep
Characters/Pairings: Steve/Danny, Chin, Kono, Lori, OCs
Rating: PG-13
Warnings/Spoilers: off screen character death (not anyone from the show)
Prompt: Somehow Steve winds up the guardian of twin baby girls (anonymous)
Summary: Steve waited a beat and watched as Danny grasped what he was saying. “They want YOU to take the baby?”
Author's Notes:
1. written for the Spring Fling.
2. This is set during season 2, there was no affair between Danny & Rachel, Rachel & Stan's son is 5 months old
3. Thanks to huntress69 for being my beta and bluedelft for my story cover/icons.
4. I tried to stick to the prompt as much as possible, but things might have gotten away from me (hence the length of the fic), also, timestamps are in the works! so far I have 3 in mind.
PART THREE
San Diego, CA
The first week Steve was in San Diego, Danny received almost daily videos and pictures of him with his daughters - and wasn’t that something? Steve had daughters. He was still trying to wrap his brain around that and knew that Steve was having an even more difficult time, but from everything he had gotten, and later shared with the rest of the team, he was doing an excellent job of getting to know them and learning the basics from Marcus and his wife.
The second week Steve was in San Diego, Danny got a text from Mary telling him to clean out her old room and prepare it for her nieces. Yes, Mary was fully on board with her brother being a father and from the videos he got this week, they had spent quite a bit of time together, probably the most time they’d spent since being shipped off to the mainland when they were teenagers. With the help of Chin, Kono and Lori, they cleaned out the room and gave it a good airing and scrub down.
Danny also heard back from Rachel in regards to Steve getting in more baby practice with Charlie. According to Rachel, Stan thought the idea was great and suggested that when Steve returned from San Diego, they’d go away for the weekend - their first weekend away since Charlie was born. Danny agreed with it as long as he was able to have Grace every weekend - barring any prior arranged plans due to sleepovers with her friends. Danny relayed the information to Steve who then suggested that his old room be cleaned out as well.
“I don’t know how much cleaning we’ll get done babe,” Danny said. “We do still have jobs. Where do you want me to put all of your old stuff?”
“Put it where you put Mary’s stuff,” Steve said. “Just get as much done as you can. I’ve been speaking with a lawyer out here and they said they could work something out to where I’d be able to take the girls home after Thanksgiving, but they want me to meet with a social worker for some observation or whatever. I’ll also have to have pretty regular visits from a social worker out there before the adoption can be finalized.”
“So, are you going to stay out there until after Thanksgiving?” Danny asked.
He sighed. “I wish I could,” Steve replied. “Danny you should see the girls…I mean in person. They’re so beautiful and smart for five months old too.”
“I’ve see the videos and pictures,” Danny responded. “We’re all anxious to meet them in person.”
There was so much Steve wanted to say in response to what Danny had said, and really about everything he’d been thinking about while being away, but he settled for, “Thank you, Danny. I’ll see you this weekend.”
“Enjoy your last few days there. The criminals here miss the heck out of you,” Danny laughed.
Steve laughed as well. “I can honestly say I don’t miss them. But I miss you…all of you, well not the criminals and not really Denning.”
“It’s late there. Put your babies to bed, hug and kiss ‘em from everyone here and get some sleep.”
“Will do, Danno. G’night.”
“Night, Steve.”
They hung up at the same time.
----
Honolulu, HI
Steve got back to Oahu late Friday night. He wanted to get in as much time with his daughters as possible, but he also really missed Hawaii and his family there. He knew it’d be late when he arrived and that Danny would have Grace, and possibly Charlie, so he took a cab home.
As he made his way to the house he noticed the flickering light coming from the TV in the living room and smiled to himself knowing that Danny probably fell asleep watching. He fumbled for his keys but before he could unlock it, the door opened and a very sleep-rumpled Danny was standing in front of him.
“Hey, Danno. What are you doing up still?” Steve asked as he pushed his way into the house then closed and locked the door behind him.
“Rachel and Stan decided to start the whole “let Steve practice with Charlie” thing and dropped him and Grace off about four hours ago, and he’s been crying for the last two hours.”
Steve paused and listened to the noises in the house. “I don’t hear a crying baby.”
“That’s because I finally got him to go to sleep not thirty minutes ago,” Danny grumbled. “I never had this much trouble getting Grace to sleep when she was five months old.”
Steve left his bags at the foot of the stairs and followed Danny further into the house. “Why don’t you go up and get some sleep. I’m kind of wired and want to burn off some energy.”
“Go up? And sleep where?” Danny asked. “There’s only two beds plus the portable crib for Charlie.”
“Okay, so use my bed. I’ll take the couch.”
“First rule of baby time, when the baby is sleep, everyone else sleeps,” Danny said. “So you take your bed, because you just got off a six hour flight, and I’ll take the couch.”
Steve was about to argue, but Danny gave him a sleepy, but effective glare so he kept his mouth shut, picked up his bags and headed up the stairs. When he reached the landing, Danny called out to him. “By the way, Charlie’s in your room so you get to deal with him if he wakes up. Welcome home!” He walked to the living room and flopped on the couch.
------
“Okay, Uncle Steve,” Grace began the following morning, “Charlie really likes pancakes for breakfast.”
Steve raised an eyebrow at the little girl. “I may not have had much experience with babies, but I did spend nearly two weeks with my daughters,” Steve gets a little thrill every time he says that, “so I know for a fact that five month old babies do not, in fact, like pancakes for breakfast.”
Grace gave a shy smile. “Okay so Danno and I really like pancakes for breakfast,” she conceded. “Mom usually gives Charlie a bottle from the warmer.” She pointed to the bottle warmer on the counter.
Danny watched as Grace instructed Steve on the things that Rachel did in the morning with Charlie and smiled when Steve nodded his head and went to retrieve one of the bottles. He and Steve had been up since 8 am going on some basics so that when Grace, and eventually Charlie, awoke at ten, Steve could take over and Danny would step in where needed.
“Monkey, I’ll make you some pancakes once we watch Steve feed Charlie,” Danny said with a nod and smile. “We know he can multitask, but this is going to be his first time feeding your brother so we should let him concentrate on that.”
Danny and Grace sat at the dining room table and watched as Steve tested the temperature of the heated milk on the inside of his wrist before he went to sit in front of Charlie. Charlie’s little legs kicked and caused the carrier he was sitting in to rock slightly. Steve set the bottle on the table, reached out a hand to steady the rocker and unfastened the buckle before picking him up. Danny corrected Steve’s hold on Charlie, and then handed the bottle to Steve to tease the baby’s lips with the nipple. Charlie eagerly opened his mouth, and Steve slid the nipple in for him to nurse from.
“It’ll be a while. You might want to get comfortable.”
“In that case, shouldn’t I be on the sofa?” Steve asks. “These chairs are hardly comfortable.”
“That’s true,” Danny says in agreement. “Think you want to try walking, holding and feeding him at the same time?”
Steve gave Danny an incredulous look before gracefully standing up and walking to the living room and sitting down on the sofa. Danny and Grace followed Steve and sat on either side of him.
“Now you’ll want to make sure to keep the bottle tilted so the nipple is always filled with milk.” Danny placed his hand over Steve’s to slightly correct the position, and then smiled at him.
After a while, Charlie finished the bottle and Danny instructed Steve on how to burp him. Grace placed a baby towel over Steve’s shoulder, (“Just in case he spits up some of the milk, Uncle Steve,” Grace said matter of factly). Steve placed Charlie on his chest, with his head position near his shoulder and gently patted and rubbed a soothing circle over his back.
Charlie let out an impressive burp before sighing contentedly and grabbing a hold of Steve’s shirt in his little fist.
------
Steve wasn’t able to practice nearly as much as he liked with Charlie, but he was comfortable enough that he didn’t feel like he would break the baby every time he picked him up and held him.
Danny grudgingly admitted that Steve wasn’t as bad with babies as he first thought. He knew already that he was excellent with Grace, but then again, Grace was an easy going kid, if he said so himself.
The Monday after Steve got back; Marcus called and invited him back to San Diego for Thanksgiving dinner. Steve said he would have to see if he could get the time off, and if he was able to, he would be there with a plus one. Marcus wanted to know more, but sensed that Steve would tell in his own time; however, he was fairly certain that his plus one would be whomever he was texting and calling nearly daily the last time he’d seen Steve.
------
“You never did tell me the rest of what your lawyer friend said about guardianship over Stephanie and Josie. How was that going to work?” Danny asked one afternoon.
“Foster to adoption. Curtis and Melanie’s will was pretty specific. Marcus would have had the girls until I was found and given the option to adopt them, and if I chose not to, then Marcus and Betty would be given the option. A last resort was to put them in the system.”
“This time next week we’ll be bringing them back home,” Danny said with a smile
Steve looked at Danny with an almost boy-like expression on his face. “You don’t know how grateful I am for all the help you’ve give me. Spending Saturday and Sunday with you, Grace and Charlie was a lot of fun.”
“It’s only fun when the real parents take their crying babies home,” Danny says with a laugh.
“Charlie wasn’t that bad,” Steve said. “I could have done without the pee on my shirt though.”
Danny laughed, fully remembering what happened when Steve went to change Charlie for the first time. It was his luck that he decided to video Steve taking care of the baby to show Rachel, so getting evidence like that would be great for days, weeks or months to come.
“Anyways…,” Steve said in a vain attempt to change the subject, “what did Rachel and Grace have to say when you turned them down for Thanksgiving?”
“They completely agreed with me that you’re a trouble magnet and it’s a good thing I’m going with you so that Stephanie and Josie come back in one piece and are able to meet the rest of the family.”
Steve snorted. “Are you sure Rachel didn’t give you a hard time about ‘meeting your boyfriend’s daughters for the first time’?” Danny turned red and Steve laughed.
Danny quickly schooled his features. “Wherever did you come up with that idea?”
“I may have been visiting with Grace and Charlie when you called to tell her…and she may have put you on speaker so I could hear,” Steve said with a sly smile.
Danny dropped his head into his hands and groaned. “Exactly how much of that did you hear?”
Steve leaned and whispered in Danny’s ear, “Enough to tell you that you aren’t the only one who feels that way.”
Danny closed his eyes and shivered when he felt Steve’s breath on his ear. “So this between us….”
“This between us is going to last a very long time Danny,” Steve replied. “I can’t raise Stephanie and Josie on my own and a wise man once told me that whatever choice I made, they’d be behind me all the way - partners - Ohana.”
Danny let out a shuttered sigh and turned his head slightly. If Danny moved a few more inches their lips would be in perfect alignment for a kiss. Danny’s eyes were fixated on Steve’s lips. He stuck his tongue out with the intention of licking his own lips, but somehow ended up licking Steve’s. The brief contact made Steve moan and move to kiss Danny.
Danny placed his hand on the side of Steve’s face and rubbed his thumb along his cheek as he eagerly kissed back. Steve nipped at Danny’s bottom lip and was about to deepen the kiss when Steve’s phone rang.
“Don’t answer….” Danny mumbled against Steve’s lips. “Whatever you do, please don’t answer.”
Steve pulled away though. It was the ring especially for the Governor and some kind of hell would rain on him if he didn’t answer. “I have to, D. It’s the Governor.”
Danny sighed and moved away to give Steve room to sit comfortably while he spoke with Denning.
------
“While you’re gone we’ll get the nursery all set up for Stephanie and Josie,” Chin said. “The pictures that you sent over of the nursery in San Diego are detailed enough that it can be replicated in Mary’s old room.”
“I’ll call Marcus and have him ship the dresser and some of the bulkier furniture,” Steve said. “Everything else I’ll have to go through while Danny and I are there.”
“Auntie Mean has a lot of clothes that her youngest has grown out of. She said you can have them if you want,” Kono said.
“That’s great,” Danny said. “We won’t have to worry about not having anything for them while we wait for their clothes to arrive when we get back.”
“I still want to get some stuff before we leave,” Steve said. He looked at Danny and motioned towards the door. “Store now?”
Danny sighed and looked at Chin and Kono. “Do either of you want to go with me…or take my place?”
“Boss can’t be that bad,” Kono said
Steve smirked and grabbed Danny’s arm to pull him along. “I beg of you…save me,” Danny pleaded. “I went to Wal-Mart with him yesterday and he nearly cleared the baby department of their bottles and diapers.”
Steve’s smirk became a blank innocent look. “Rachel said I needed to be prepared.” He looked at Kono. “The diapers had flowers on them. I was only going to get a pack.”
“That’s a lie. There were at least ten packs. I talked him into four when a very pregnant lady gave him the stink eye.” Kono and Chin laughed.
“Have fun shopping, brah,” Chin said with a wave.
PART FOUR