Call It Karma

“Auntie Ellie, I wanna get ice cweam,” Sophie mumbled under her breath, John’s ears perked up. Elliot smiled, looking down at Sophie. “Please?” Sophie jutted out her bottom lip and Elliot laughed.

“Alright, sweetie, maybe we can go when your mommy and daddy are done talking okay?” Elliot nodded, holding her knees so Sophie could sit up and use Elliot’s arms as arm rests. Sophie nodded, resting her head on Elliot’s chest and stared at John.

“Uncle Johnny can come too, wight?” Sophie added on with a mischievous smile on her small lips. Elliot raised her eyebrows and turned to John who had a forced smile on his lips and looked as if his eyes were dying a little bit. Elliot nodded as the glass door slid open as Madison and Kennedy came in. “Mommy! Uncle Johnny and Auntie Ellie are taking me to get icecweam!” Sophie ran into her mother’s arms.

“Oh really? Did you ask or did you just decide that, little girl?” Madison laughed as Kennedy wrapped an arm around her. Elliot felt satisfied as she looked on at them talking normally again. Elliot smirked, proud that she had suggested the solution, but that wasn’t the point. Everything was good for now and she was happy for them.

“I asked! I did! Daddy, can we go now?” Sophie smiled as she extended her arms towards Kennedy. He picked her up and smiled, looking at his step-sister and his best friend sitting as far apart as the couch would allow. John sighed as he stood up, adjusting his black skinny jeans over a pair of boots. Elliot simply crossed her legs and arms giving Madison a look that neither boys could decode.

“Alright, ice cream!” Kennedy smiled, bouncing Sophie up and down on his hip as she giggled loudly. Elliot stood up and linked elbows with Madison as they walked out behind Kennedy leaving John to lock up his house. They all decided to take Madison’s car because Sophie’s car seat was in it.

“Shotgun!” Elliot called out as Madison sat into the driver’s seat and Kennedy scoffed looking at her. Elliot wrinkled her nose, thinking for a minute, then shrugging and climbing into the front seat anyway. She had no intention of sitting in the back seat with John for the twenty minute drive it took to get to their favorite ice cream shop. “So I’m glad you guys have gotten everything all worked out,” Elliot chirped, resting her face on her chin.

“Yeah, um, unfortunately we can’t get ice cream right now,” Madison shifted uncomfortably.

“Wait, why?” John and Sophie asked in unison, Sophie’s more whiney. Elliot turned to face the blonde curiously.

“Well, I think I should go to the hospital seeing as my water just broke,” Madison remained calm, flipping her turn signal and driving a little bit faster than the speed limit towards the hospital where her OB/GYN practiced.

“Oh my God, oh God, oh God, oh God,” Kennedy started freaking out and John just looked awkwardly at Madison and Sophie wondering what they were going to do with her. “Maddie, baby, are you okay?! Breathe baby,” Kennedy hyperventilated rubbing Madison’s shoulder as she parked.

“Kennedy?” Madison said sweetly.

“Yeah baby?” He smiled, rubbing her arm even faster, his eyes clearly panicked.

“Stop touching me and get my overnight bag from home,” Madison snapped as she tossed him the keys and grabbed Elliot’s hand. “John, please watch Sophie, Elliot please help me walk to the emergency room,” She said sliding out of the car, panic starting to fill her voice. Elliot sat there for a minute waiting for Madison to say ‘just kidding’ or something, as did everyone else. “NOW PEOPLE! LET’S MOVE! Go, go, go, go!” She started yelling as everyone sprung into action.

“Ew, the seat is all wet,” Kennedy whined as he stood staring at the seat. Madison grabbed Elliot’s hand and started waddling towards the E.R. doors with her middle finger up, directed towards Kennedy. Elliot couldn’t help, but let out a laugh.

“God, what a freaking idiot, see who I married? For God sake’s Elle, never marry the first guy that comes along!” Madison started to explain, as a contraction began and her voice got higher with pain. “God, why! Why do people have babies.”

“Because they’re so cute?!” Elliot guess, shrugging her shoulders as she went up to the nurse and pointed to Madison, “Yeah, hi, my best friend is in labor… so if you could… I don’t know what you do…” Elliot shifted awkwardly and the nurse smiled and immediately told an orderly to escort Madison upstairs.

Elliot followed her awkwardly, feeling overdressed for the hospital where people were walking around in scrubs and casual clothes, except for the attending physicians who were wearing dress clothes. She turned into the maternity ward, where she looked around at some of nurses running around, distracting her.

“ELLIOT GRANT! WHERE DID YOU GO?!” Madison called out with another contraction and Elliot immediately perked up and went running towards a skinny blonde wrist waving in the air. Elliot ran to catch up and followed her into a room. “God, this kid better be amazing! My ass got huge, my feet got swollen and, ow, it hurts,” Madison whined after she changed into a hospital gown and laid on the bed, squeezing Elliot’s hand.

“Aw, honey, it’s okay. You can yell at Kennedy when he gets here for knocking you up! Besides, think about how much fun Sophie is! Then think about how lucky you are to even be married and having a family. Some of us are bitter and alone and might be future cat ladies,” Elliot smiled, patting her hand and trying to get Madison to at least smile.

“Yeah, when I had Sophie, I was yelling at Kennedy the whole time like ‘YOU DID THIS TO ME!’ and I then a couple hours later, we had this gorgeous baby girl and all was fine with the world,” Madison remembered fondly before grimacing at another contraction. “Did I tell you, it’s a boy?!” Madison added on quietly after it had passed.

“What?! No Maddie! Do you have a name yet?” She smiled as Kennedy came running in with a small duffle bag in one arm and Sophie giggling loudly in another.

“Baby! You’re here!” Madison sighed with relief. She rested her head back on a pillow and her in a bun on the top of her head. She held Elliot’s hand as she smiled similarly to how she had smiled during her wedding.

“Yeah, John is just parking the car then he’ll be right up! Here’s your oversized pink hoodie and here is your Evian water,” Kennedy smiled, passing them out and letting Sophie down, who sat in Elliot’s lap, rambling about how happy she was to meet her little brother.

“Damn, I was looking everywhere for you guys!” John smiled holding an ice cream that was partially melted, and held it up for Sophie with a smile, “Here sweetie, I got you chocolate with sprinkles,” He smiled passing it to Sophie in Elliot’s lap giving Elliot a smile like he had won the favorite Aunt/Uncle award.

“Really? Because you could’ve just asked where she was at the nurse’s station,” Elliot fired right back with a raised eyebrow in a slightly condescending tone. Kennedy laughed, then immediately stopped after John shot him a look.
“Oh my God! Holy sh-crap. Ow,” Madison groaned grabbing Kennedy’s hand with another contraction. “Take Sophie to the waiting room please, please, please. Hee-hee hoo,” Madison added on attempting to work in her lamaze breathing. Elliot picked up Sophie and placed her on her hip, and practically running out of the room as Madison let out another yell.

“Does Mommy have a boo boo?” Sophie asked, with chocolate smeared all over her face. Drinking it out of the spoon like soup.

“Uh, a little bit, but the doctors are gonna take care of her,” Elliot tried to explain without revealing about the whole nasty part of it that she had learned during sex ed in seventh grade. Elliot shuddered as she remembered the video she had watched and shook it off. “Let’s just go to the cafeteria, it’s dinner time, sweetie,” Elliot smiled, changing the subject.

“Okay, Auntie Ellie, how come you’re walking so fast. Is it ‘cause Uncle Johnny is chasing us?” Sophie asked inadvertently knocking the melted ice cream cup over and causing it to drip down Elliot’s legs, luckily her shorts were short enough to avoid getting creamed, but Sophie’s dress was completely covered.

“Oh honey, oh my lord. Alright,” Elliot gasped as the cold liquid traveled all over both of them. She heard a raspy laugh from behind them, she turned to see John cracking up almost turning red because of it. Elliot dead-panned her face and narrowed her eyes at him. “Okay, sweetie, let’s just get some paper towels. John could you please get some… NOW?!” Elliot started freaking out as she lifted up her hair, it was coated in melted ice cream.

“He-here you g-go,” John could barely speak because he was laughing so hard, his hand was shaking because he was laughing. Elliot snatched it and started dabbing Sophie’s dress and sighed.

“We have to go home and get you changed. Smooth move on the ice cream,” Elliot narrowed her eyes at John after they had gotten the majority mopped up from their bodies. “You drove right?” She stated expectantly.

“Yeah! Y-you have s-some chocolate on your face,” John giggled, his eyes were watering up. Elliot wiped her face with her elbow and frowned tilted her head picking up the toddler and sighed as John tagged along after them as Elliot tossed the cup away.

“Could you stop enjoying my misery? And maybe just get a soul?!” Elliot shrugged, speaking with a soft and kind tone, but her eyes were stabbing daggers into his.

“Oh I’m not enjoying your misery, I’m enjoying the irony. I’m just glad there is a God and he’s on my side,” John laughed, wiping a tear from his eye. Elliot shot him another look and rolled her eyes, wondering what she had ever seen in him. She decided to be the bigger person and stop the bickering.

“John! We have to hurry, we don’t wanna miss the baby!” Elliot barked at him, trying to avoid either crying or punching him in the face. She sighed loudly, she never knew John could push her buttons so much. Maybe it was the fact that she had pictured them meeting again, and it went nothing like them acting like they were two five-year-olds fighting. Maybe they were more passive-aggressive than that, but it sounded right.

“Elliot, how would we miss the baby?! It’s coming, one way or another…” John muttered. Elliot whipped around and gave him the meanest look she had ever given, including her high school days. “Fine, let’s go…” John sighed as they made their way to the car. Elliot got in the back seat with Sophie as she laughed.

“Are you two mawwied like Mommy and Daddy? You guys act like Mommy and Daddy,” Sophie giggled, playing with her dress and kicking her legs up to be cute. Elliot frowned and held the urge to scream no from the top of her lungs, instead she smiled and shook her head.

“We were together, then Auntie Elliot ran away to France,” John spoke with an odd enthusiasm and Elliot hit her head against the window wishing that this moment was over.

Elliot changed Sophie into a casual outfit of t-shirt and shorts, since Sophie was apparently the messiest little girl in the world. She smiled patting Sophie’s back after telling her to go wait with Uncle John. Elliot groaned remembering she had melted ice cream clumps in her hair.

She climbed into the shower and washed the sugar from her body and hair, careful to avoid her face because she didn’t want to have to redo her makeup. Once she was done she climbed out of the shower and realized her suitcase was still in the living room. She prayed that John wasn’t in there, but of course with her luck, there was no such thing.

“I must say I like this new look you’re going for,” John said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his face. Elliot rolled her eyes and picked up the suitcase before returning to the guest bedroom. Elliot grabbed an oversized shirt that rested off the shoulder and a pair of denim shorts and they quickly returned to the hospital and went to the cafeteria to feed Sophie, the whole time John and Elliot were mocking and making quips to each other.

“Oh my gosh! You two have a beautiful daughter!” The cashier said with a smile, offering her a lollipop. Elliot’s jaw dropped and John started laughing before he choked on air, having to rest his hands on his knees to stay standing.

They both began sputtering and speaking over each other incomprehensibly, “Oh no, she’s not ours…”, “We’re not together”, “Yes! We are definitely not together”, and “We’re babysitting her,” John finally finished with an awkward nod as they both grabbed their meals and sat at a table after paying. Elliot buried her face in her hands ignoring her burger and fries.

“God, don’t you eat anymore,” John snorted taking a huge bite of his burger and Sophie preoccupied with her dinosaur chicken nuggets. His mouth full while he talked revealing everything he was chewing, Elliot scrunched her nose in disgust.

“I don’t know, are you still a disgusting pig?” Elliot shot right back before popping a french fry in her mouth and a smiling curtly. She tilted her head ignoring John’s come back as she started to wonder if she had stayed, would they have a kid together? Would they have broken up anyways? It was the what ifs that got her more than anything.

“Guys, guys! Oh hey Elle! How are you!” Jared rushed in looking around and kissing Elliot on the cheek, before remembering what he was so excited about. “So he’s here! Come on!” Jared jumped up and down, Elliot wouldn’t make fun of him because she felt the same way. John and Elliot began stuffing down their food and practically ran to the hospital room. Elliot ran back and grabbed Sophie’s food and picked up Sophie and ran to catch up with the guys.

They all stopped at the room to see Madison sitting up in bed with a small bundle in her arms, Kennedy sitting next to her with an arm wrapped around her. Elliot let Sophie down and almost dropped the plate of chicken nuggets. “Oh my gosh! Look at the baby!” Elliot cooed, tilting her head. “Good job, you guys, that is an awesome baby,” Elliot joked to Madison and Kennedy as Madison passed her the small boy.

“Meet Eric Harlow Brock,” Madison smiled, with tears swelling up in her eyes.

“Oh Mads, after your dad?” Elliot almost started crying as well, John and Jared came up on both sides and started cooing and fawning of the baby. It was strange how a tiny person could make every grudge and every bad thought go away. Elliot held him in her arms, not quite sure she had seen someone so fragile and innocent. “He’s so cute,” Elliot cooed, looking over at the rest of her friends with the same exact expression on their faces.

Elliot turned to Kennedy, even though he looked happy, he seemed to have a worried expression shining through. Madison looked at him too and Elliot was worried again.