Fireproof

Monday rolled around and brought with it some awesome reviews in the local newspaper about the airshow as well as throughout the aviation world. Several aviation magazines had called wanting to do interviews with the three of us which I thought was kind of cool. What wasn’t cool was the fact that I was still thinking about the incident with Nikki. I hadn’t seen them since the airshow so I had no idea if they were still in town or not. Well, not until I pulled up at the airport to claim my plane and saw them getting ready to board their jet home.

“Well hey. I wasn’t expecting to see you here today.” Nikki said.

“I had to leave my plane Saturday after the storms popped up. You guys headed out?”

“Yep. Time to get back on plans for the last tour and all of that good shit.”

“Fun stuff.”

“Everything okay?” He asked, a concerned look on his face.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just extremely tired and not feeling too hot today.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you feel better and don’t get sick.”

“Thanks. I’m going to get the mustang home and go to bed.”

“When you get a chance, come out to LA and let us take you out on the town. We owe you.” He smiled.

This guy was so confusing! To me he was flirting, but I guess that was just him being a gentleman.

“Sounds fun. I’ll do my best.”

I said goodbye to all of the guys and waited until they had taken off before I got in my plane. I got home and got it in the hangar just before the afternoon thunderstorms rolled in. This was perfect sleeping weather and with Criss gone for a night with a girl he had been talking to, I was going to do just that.

Or so I thought. I had been asleep for a while when my cell phone went off. I had to feel around for it in the dark, but I finally found it and answered.

“’Ello?” I mumbled in my sleepy state.

“Parker, I need you at my house, like now.” Criss said frantically.

“Really, Criss? I’m so not in the mood. What time is it?”

“It’s like one am or something, I don’t know but I really need you. I’m desperate.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll be over there in a minute.”

“Hurry, Parker.”

“Okay, Criss.” I said, getting annoyed.

I stumbled out of bed and to my truck, wondering what the hell could possibly be so urgent. That girl must have been a bitch if she had broken his heart that fast after just the first date. But then again, Criss wasn’t an emotional person. He was more of the suffer in silence type like me. I had no idea what the issue was.

“Criss?” I called as I let myself into the front door of his apartment.

“Shh!! Don’t be so loud.” He whispered as he came running from his bedroom.

“Criss, what the fuck is going on?”

“Okay, so Mia and me went to dinner and then went out for a few drinks and there was something waiting for me by the front door when we got back.” He said.

He had a truly terrified look on his face and his voice trembled as he spoke, like he was about to cry or something. He turned around and started walking back to his bedroom and I followed. What I found laying on his bed I would have never expected in a million years. Laying on Criss’ bed was a sleeping, very newborn infant. I jumped when I saw it, and then looked at Criss.

“What the hell is that?” I asked him

“I don’t know! I have no idea. But it came with a birth certificate saying I’m the dad.”

“Okay. So is there any chance at all that this kid is yours?”

He looked me as if I had just busted him and he now had no choice but to admit his actions. “Yes and that’s all I want to say about that.”

“Well, congratulations, Dad because this kid looks just like you.”

“What the fuck am I going to do, Parker? I can’t take care of a baby by myself! Maybe I could put it up for adoption or something.”

“Really Criss? You deserve a kick in the nuts for saying that. If this kid is yours, it’s not going anywhere. You can just move in with me and I’ll help you take care of him.”

“Parker, I can’t raise a kid!”

“Yeah, well, you should have thought about that before you went sticking your dick in places.”

He had nothing to say back to that and I really just wanted to punch him in the face for being such a pansy about this. The more the situation started to sink in, the more excited I was getting. It had been a long time since I had had access to a baby except for here recently when Jimmie became a dad.

“So what do I do now? Can you just offer me a little advice since you’re not helping any other way?” Criss finally asked.

“Yeah. I would say we take him to the emergency room to get checked out because I’m guessing he left the hospital here pretty recently. Then, if he is really yours, we’ll be making a run to target for baby stuff.”

He stared at the floor and then at the unnamed baby on his bed. “Are we really going to do this?”

“Yes, Criss. You made this. He’s yours and he needs you. You are the only thing he has left because apparently the chick you screwed didn’t want him. We will do this together, okay?”

“Okay.” He said running a hand through his hair.

After a trip to the emergency room, a simple blood test of both Criss and the baby confirmed that Criss was indeed the little guy’s dad although you could clearly see the resemblance between them. Before we left the hospital we both decided on a name. Criss picked Memphis and I picked Blaze. Little Memphis Blaze was an absolute sweetheart and I looked forward to helping raise him.

“So, dad, are you ready to drop an insane amount of money?” I asked Criss as we made our way to Target.

“Do I have a choice?”

“Nope. Let’s go shopping.”

We spent the rest of the night buying everything Blaze would need. We picked out the furniture and then moved on to the clothes and other necessities. I was enjoying myself a whole lot more than Criss was, but I could only imagine how he was feeling right now. He looked like he was on the verge of shock, and the paramedic in me wanted to keep him talking to prevent that. It was safe to say that I was falling in love tonight and it wasn’t with Nikki.

“You look like I just gave you a million dollars.” Criss said after we had finally gotten home as the sun was coming up.

“You did. In human form. A lot more than a million dollars, too. C’mon. Let’s get a few hours of sleep. I’ll block him off in the bed with me until we can get the furniture put together.”

He ran a hand through his hair and looked at the living room full of stuff that we had now. “ You two go ahead. I highly doubt I can sleep right now so I’m going to get started on some of this stuff.”

“Okay but you need to get some rest too. Night.”

“Goodnight. Hey, Parker?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for talking some sense into me and being willing to help me. I’ll come around, this is just all a big shock to me. My life changed in one second.”

“I know, but it changed for the better. Trust me.”

“I know. You’re going to be a good mom.”

I smiled at him as I turned around and took Blaze to my room, getting us both settled in for the night. I knew there were rough times ahead for both me and Criss, but I also knew that the good times would far outweigh the bad. Blaze gave me a small smile his sleep and I think my heart completely melted. I rubbed his little hand triggering his grasp reflex as his little hand wrapped around my finger and held on tight. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.