Peter led Mike upstairs to rest, and I followed. Mike couldn't remember anything about why he was covered in blood. I went downstairs to get Mike some of the soup Micky was supposed to be starting for him (since he'd missed dinner).
Downstairs, Micky and Nicole were both perched on the sofa, immersed in the TV.
"What's going on?" I asked. The news was on, and they both seemed to be quite interested in it.
"There's this story," Micky began.
"About this lady," Nicole added.
"Who got attacked by some guys and rescued.."
"By this vicious animal thingie."
"Vicious animal thingie?" I asked. I looked at the TV. They showed a picture of the lady.
"That's the lady," Micky explained. "She looks familiar, but I can't place her."
I looked at the TV for a moment, and blinked. "That's Fiona," I said.
Shortly afterwards, Peter came downstairs and I explained what was going on. But before I could tell him that the lady was Fiona, he panicked.
"Vicious animal thingie?" he asked. "Davy, that could have been Mike!"
"Yeah, but Pete-" I began.
"And if it was that means Mike could have killed two guys!"
"Yeah, but Pete-" Micky tried.
"And that is.....not a good thing at all," Peter continued.
"Yeah, but Peter- "Nicole attempted.
"But what? This is horrible," Peter said. He sat down on the sofa, obviously distressed.
"But Peter-" I began. When he didn't interrupt me this time, I continued: "the lady is Fiona."
"Huh?"
"The lady... He saved her life."
"Oh," Peter said, and sighed in relief. He got up and went into the kitchen to get some soup. He came back a moment later with a bowl of soup, which he started to carefully carry up the stairs.
-CRASH-
Micky, Nicole, and I rushed up the stairs. "Peter what happened?" someone asked.
"Mike---" Peter began.
"Mike what?" Nicole asked. (She wasn't prepared for this)
"Mike's--" Micky began.
"Mike's what?"
"He's---Gone," we all said in dramatic unison. Nicole rolled her eyes.
"I should have expected this," she sighed.
Mike finally did return about an hour later. He opened the door and stood there calmly while we asked him questions.
"Where were you?" Micky asked.
"We were worried," Nicole said.
"Did you find her?" Peter asked.
"Why did you go out the window?" I asked.
Mike stood calmly. Then, when we'd all asked the questions, he finally spoke.
"I went to the hospital to see Fiona," he said, answering Micky's question first. "I'm sorry I worried you. I did find her, and I went out of the window because I knew you guys would've stopped me."
We took a few moments to digest the answers and then spouted a batch of new ones.
"Is she okay?" Micky asked.
"Was she expecting you?" I asked.
"Why did she come?" Nicole asked.
"What did she say?" Peter asked.
Once again, he waited for the questions to stop before answering.
"She's fine, she was expecting me," he said. We waited for him to answer the other questions, but he remained silent.
"Well?" Micky asked impatiently.
"And as for why she came and what she said, I can't tell ya," he said.
"Why not?" Peter asked, whining.
"'Cause she wants to tell y'all herself," he said. "But I will tell you this. She's got a baby with her."
"A baby?" Peter asked, and set off the next round of questions. "Where'd she get a baby from?"
"How old is it?" Nicole asked.
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Micky asked.
"Is it hers?" I asked.
"Man, I'm startin' to feel like I'm at a press conference," Mike remarked. "An' you're all the reporters." We all laughed. "But seriously. She got, as she said, a baby from where babies come from. It is a girl, only about a few weeks old, and it is hers. I don't know who the father is, she didn't tell me, and I'm not about to ask," he added, anticipating what the next question was.
'He's lying,' I thought to myself. 'He did ask.' I decided to keep quiet and ask him about it later.
When all the questions had been answered, everyone separated to do whatever they wanted. Micky went to watch some more TV, and Nicole and Peter went for a walk. I watched Mike as he watched them leave. I could tell he wanted to say something, but was holding himself back. I decided now would be a good time to ask him about Fiona.
"Mike?" I asked. He didn't respond, just looked out the window. "Mike?" I asked again. Finally, he turned around.
"What is it?"
"Can I talk to you for a second?" I asked. He softened a little.
"Sure, Davy. What is it?"
"Um, not here," I said, nodding toward Micky. He nodded, and we went outside to the beach. "Mike, about before..." I began. "I could, well, I guess it's none of my business, but..." I trailed off, unsure of how to begin. "I could tell you were lying."
He looked out at the beach, pensively and didn't answer for a minute. "About when I asked Fiona about the baby?" he asked. I nodded. "Yeah, I was," he said. "I did ask her about whose baby it was."
"That's what I thought," I said. "Whose is it?"
"She wouldn't tell me," he answered, and this time I could tell that he was telling the truth. "She said that I shouldn't worry about it."
"And that's it?"
"Yeah." He looked out at the beach. Peter and Nicole were walking along the beach, talking, and we could see them from there. We watched them for a second.
"You're worried about 'er, aren't you?" I asked.
"And you're readin' my mind, ain't ya?" he asked, grinning.
"No, I'm not," I said honestly. "Anybody could tell from the way you watch 'er. You're worried about 'er and you're worried about 'er being with Petah."
"You sure you ain't readin' m'mind?" he asked.
"No, I'm not. I don't want to," I said.
He sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I am worried about her. She's m'kid sister, and it's m'job to look after her," he confessed.
"Mike, you think it's your job to look out for all of us, too. Don't you think you can let Petah 'andle some of the job?"
He sighed. "I suppose it could be worse," he grumbled. I nodded.
The next day, Mike went to the hospital again and brought Fiona and the baby back from the hospital. She had never seen our pad before, and was quite intrigued. She didn't get to see much of it though, because as soon as she entered the house 'the reporters' gave her a barrage of questions and hellos and general other things. She looked a tad overwhelmed at first, but we calmed down and she was okay. Everyone spoke at once. "Why are you here? Peter asked.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Did you know it was Mike?" Micky asked.
"Quiet," Mike said, holding up a hand for silence. "Y'all are gonna overwhelm her. Relax, reporters."
"Could someone hold the baby?" she asked. "My arms are getting tired."
"I will," I volunteered before anyone else made a move. I took the little bundle from her arms and held it the way that I assumed babies were supposed to be held.
"Support the head," Nicole advised, and I nodded, moving my arm to do so.
Peter could hold out no longer and the moment the baby was safely out of Fiona's arms and into mine he lunged forward and hugged her.
"Man, I thought I'd never see you again," he said, smiling. "It's great to see you."
"You too, Peter," she said, and went on to greet Micky and I in the same manner. Then, Mike introduced his sister.
"This is m'sister, Nicole," he said. "She-she came to stay with us 'cause she's," he began.
"Pregnant," Fiona finished. "With a beautiful baby boy. "
"How'd you know?" she asked, stunned.
"I have my ways," she said.
"Is it really a boy?" she asked. Fiona nodded. Nicole looked at me. "Davy?"
I looked surprised. "Oh, I never thought to check," I said. "But you can trust her. She's better than me." I grinned.
Nicole seemed satisfied with the response. "Nice to meet you," she said, politely.
Fiona smiled. "I can tell you're Mike's brother. Even without him telling me. I can definitely see the resemblance." She looked at Peter, and then at me. I saw the question she wanted to ask and nodded.
"Well, we should get you settled," Mike said, breaking the silence. "I suppose you can sleep in the spare room with Nicole."
She nodded. "That'll be fine," she said, and followed Mike and Nicole to the spare room.
Micky and Peter came over to get a better look at the baby, sticking their faces towards the bundle I held in my arms. She was a rather well behaved child, and hadn't cried at all.
"Aw, what a cute kid," Micky said, and for once, he wasn't joking. I could see the seriousness in his face.
"I know this is hard to believe, but she's got your eyes, Davy," Peter said.
"She's got what? I asked. Micky peered closer.
"He's right," he remarked. "Is she yours?"
"What?" I asked. "No!"
"Now that I think of it," Peter said. "She's got eyes like Fiona, too. You both have the same color eyes. And shape, too." He looked closely at my eyes and then at the baby's. He looked pensive for a moment.
"Well, I don't care either way," Micky said. "She's a cute baby." Peter gave him a weird look. I gave him the same look. Micky didn't notice though, because he was still practically mesmerized by the baby. I looked at Peter, who looked at me and gave me the 'he's lost it' sign. I shrugged and grinned.
"I know it's not much," Mike was saying. "But it's all we've got."
"It's fine," Fiona said. "I've never seen California before and I'd like to experience the warm weather."
"Now, I have something for you all," she said. "A gift." Peter snapped his fingers in front of Micky's face, snapping him out of his trance. I giggled, and so did Peter. Mike gave us a weird look, but said nothing.
"What is it?" Peter asked when he had regained control.
"A cure."
