Begging You

*Ryan*

A loud knock on the door caused Ryan to jump out of his sleep. Who the hell is it, he asked himself. A glance at his bedside clock told him that it was around two am. Debating the pros and cons, he decided it would probably be best to answer.

He flinched as his feet touched the cold hardwood floor and walked as heavily as he did during the day. No longer did he worry about waking Patrick, who had been in Buffalo two days. Freedom was suiting him well. Maybe he would move out after the upcoming season.

No one was there when he opened the door, but a glance down made his heart drop so quickly that Ryan thought he had most likely died. Just like a movie cliché, on the ground was a small basket, covered in a baby blue blanket and a bag.

It moved, scaring the shit out of him. Slowly, as if at any moment, he would just wake up from a dream, he reached to pull the blanket aside and see what was in the basket. Ryan flinched as he felt soft skin skim his knuckle. In a quick minute decision, he pulled the blanket aside. His heart stopped.

Familiar blue eyes looked back up at him. The baby boy gurgled as it looked up at him. What looked like a dimpled smile absolutely confirmed his suspicion. Ryan looked down the hallway to see if anyone was still standing around. No one was in sight. His hands shook as he bent and carried the basket inside, grabbed the bag, and laid them both on the couch.

The baby was Patrick’s.

*Patrick*

His phone rang unnecessarily loud. The caller id told him it was Ryan. No way the kid would call me at two in the morning if it weren’t an absolute emergency, he told himself. He pressed the green button and cleared his throat to say hello.

“You need to come back to Chicago.” Ryan’s voice was panicky and quick. Was the kid afraid to stay in the city alone? He would have to get over that, Patrick started to get annoyed.

“Miss me already?” He knew he was being snarky but the kid called him at two in the morning. He was going to dish it out.

“No, Patrick. You have to come back to the city.”

“Look, Ryan, you’ll b-“

“Patrick!” His voice came loud and clear through the phone, Patrick’s sleep clogged brain made him flinch. “A baby just showed up at the door.”

His stomach dropped. That was really bad. A nineteen year old kid, just turning pro with a babt, was a horror story. “Are you sure?” Worry rushed through his body. How was Ryan going to do it? Why the hell hadn’t he been more careful? Even rookies should know to cover themselves up.

“Yeah, Pat. I’m positive.”

“Okay, I’m going to drive back now. I’ll be there in a couple hours. Hang on kid. We’ve got this.” He could hear Ryan sigh in relief on the other side.

“Thank god. Patrick…” The pause was enough to make him stop what he was doing for a moment.

“Your kid looks just like you.” With that, his phone clatter to the ground, with the rest of his life.

*Callie*

Callie giggled as Jon kissed her neck. “Mrs. Toews.” He whispered against her skin. She hugged him closer to her body. Never had she ever, love anything more than him. They fit together better than any puzzle.

Her phone buzzed on the table next to them. “Ignore it.” For a minute, Callie tried, but then it rang a second time. She pushed Jon off, who groaned and pouted like a little kid. Another giggle rose from her as she picked up the phone and checked the caller id.

“What does Patrick want?” Jon grumbled. “Better be important.”

She shrugged at her husband and answered. “Pat?” Suddenly, a panicked Patrick Kane started rambling into the phone. Callie couldn’t understand a word he was saying. “Pat!” she yelled. “Pat, what is going on, what’s wrong? Is Ryan okay?”

Jon scooted closer to hear, worry spread all over his face. Patrick seemed to be catching his breath on the other end of the phone. “Callie. I, uh, there’s a baby. I need someone who can help? Nanny, teacher, anything.” It was still fast but at least understandable.

“Oh, god, what trouble have you gotten yourself into?” Her voice reeked concern for her friend. How could this be happening?

“I don’t know, Callie. Just please help me… Just call someone, you have to know someone. Tell them to come to my apartment. Just please.” Her friend was begging and crying over the phone. Never had she heard him so distraught.

“I will, Pat. I know someone. It’ll be okay.” She heard Pat murmur a thank you and hung up. Callie sat there stunned. For a minute, Jon let her gather her thoughts. He knew her so well, sometimes it was scary.

“What happened?” Her husband’s soothing voice pulled her out of the fog. “Did something happened to Ryan? Come on, Callie. What happened?”

Tears rose to her eyes. What was happening wasn’t completely terrible, it wasn’t the worst thing that could happen, but she was so devastated for Patrick. His life was going to be flipped upside down. “Patrick, I think, he just found out he has a kid, Jon.”

Jon pulled her into his arms. “Holy shit, are you sure?” She nodded in his arms. Callie could feel the worry radiating off him. “We’re going back. We’ve got to help him. Callie, you need to call whoever he told you to call, they need to help him.” He pushed her shoulders away from his body to look her in the eyes. “We’ve all got to help him.”

Callie knew they would, without a doubt. Patrick was their best friend. A primary reason they were even together. “Can we book a flight out tonight?” she asked. The honeymoon was over, neither of them would enjoy it worrying about Pat. Jon just nodded. The sooner they could get to their friend, the better.

*Scarlet*

The annoying buzz of her phone woke her up. Who in the hell was calling her at three in the morning, she asked herself. The caller id was Callie. “Hello?” her voice was thick with sleep. Scarlet flinched. She was so attractive.

“Scarlet, you love me, right?” With that, Scar sat straight up. Her friend wouldn’t do this unless it was an emergency. Worried seeped to her bones.

“Of course, Cal… What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Scar… I know… I know what happened between you and Patrick, but he needs our help. Your help. I just…” A wave of annoyance and curiosity flew threw her. What did the city’s party boy need from her? “He, there’s a baby, in his apartment. I don’t know the details… but you work with kids. You can help him.” A wave of sympathy flew threw her. Sure, he’d accused her of a lot of bad things but he didn’t deserve to have his life thrown into shambles. She didn’t feel sorry enough to confront him.

“Cal, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Scarlet, please, just go. He’s not even there yet, he’s driving back from Buffalo. Stay with Ryan the night. Only until Jon and I can get into the city.” Her friend was begging her. She was coming home from her honeymoon. One night helping her friend out wouldn’t be so bad. Hopefully, they got on a flight and arrived soon because she didn’t know how she was going to deal with seeing Patrick Kane.

----

Half an hour later, Scarlet was standing in the doorway that she ran out of just a couple days before. Quietly, so she didn’t wake the baby if it was sleeping, she knocked on the door. A young, slightly panicked Ryan answered. “Thank fucking god.” He uttered. The boy wrapped his huge arms around her in a hug and she just sunk in, feeling bad for him.

“Where’s the baby?” she asked. He grabbed her hand and led her to the living room. On the couch was a small blue bundle and a baby tote bag on the couch. “What happened, Ryan?”

Scarlet sat on the couch and looked down at the tiny baby. His eyes were closed and he was sleeping peacefully, she thanked her lucky stars. “There was a knock on the door and I almost didn’t answer it, thank fucking god because there was a goddamned ba-“ he stopped and looked remorseful. “I should be cursing there’s a baby.”

She relaxed, the rookie was so concerned. “It’s okay, kid. He… he only looked a couple weeks old. They don’t pick anything up for a year.” You could see how all the muscles in his body relaxed. Scarlet picked up the baby boy and cradled him in her arms. With her other arm, she searched for a pacifier in the bag.

Ryan continued when the baby boy was sucking on the tiny fake nipple. “I didn’t see anyone. Who does that, Scarlet? Seriously, a baby in the middle of the hallways, I don’t even know who’s it could be. I mean, it’s Patrick’s obviously but what the hell.”

“How do you know it’s Patrick’s? We won’t know until they test to make sure.” Ryan gave her a look before continuing to pace.

“Trust me, it’s his kid.” He paused again. “When he wakes up…. You’ll just see.”

Scar let it go. No one could be sure it was Patrick’s unless they did a paternity test. Maybe she was just giving him the benefit of the doubt. “Did you check for a note?”

“A note?” Ryan asked like the thought never fathomed. It probably didn’t, the kid was so scare. She reached into the bag again, with one hand, she pulled out everything. Diapers, baby clothing, bottles, and toys. When the bag was empty, there was a small slip of paper attached to a huge folder, which she hoped would be some identification for the baby boy..

Scrawled in messy writing was, sure enough, “Sorry, Patrick. –K” She handed Ryan the note, the instant it registered, he turned green. “What is it?”

“That’s Patrick’s kid. He’s so fucked, Scarlet.” He stopped pacing and started to bite on his nails. She was worried that he would go into shock. As she was about to tell him to calm down, the baby shifted in her arms. The baby opened his eyes. Staring back at her were bright blue eyes that were all too familiar. Any doubt, that this was Patrick Kane’s child, was gone.