chapter nineteen; baby blues.

Chanyeol and Chen were out shopping for the babies. Ren's birthday was coming up soon and Chen just loved showering his friends' children with girls since he had no kids of his own. They had currently got lost in the baby boy's department when some cute booties with kittens on them caught Chen's eyes.

"Ooh Yeollie look! Look at the kitties, they're so cute~" Chen cooed holding the booties up to Chanyeol's face. Chanyeol was more than a little bit taller than Chen so it wasn't a surprise when Chanyeol looked down to see Chen on his tippytoes. Chanyeol chuckled and then his eyes traveled back up to the booties.

"Wow~ They are cute Chen, you're right." 

Chen smiled, "That's it, we're getting them!" 

They were supposed to be there for Ren but Chen just had a strong urge to buy something for Minki seeing that he would be arriving in two months. It's not that Chen was neglecting Ren because the cart was already over flowing with dresses and shoes with flowers and bows on them. Also there was an assortment of dolls and plushie animals lining the bottom of the cart. Chen was a little excessive when it came to baby girls. Chen wanted a daughter of his own but that wasn't happening anytime soon, so he spoiled Ren and Aeune to no end.

"Chen, don't you think you've got enough things?" Chanyeol asked.

Chen was currently flipping out over the animal print onesies with hats to match.

"Oh come on Yeollie," Chen skipped over to him and began rubbing his stomach, "You can't be selfish. I don't have anyone to spoil." Chen pouted cutely.

"Aigoo~ how can I resist a face like that." Chanyeol pushed Chen away.

"You can't." Chen smiled and bounced over to the girl's section quickly scanning before they headed to the checkout. Chanyeol rubbed his stomach Minki hadn't been too active in a  while; he was beginning to get worried. Chen peered over his shoulder. 

"You okay Chanyeol?" He asked. Chanyeol looked up inattentively.

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine it's just…" Chanyeol saw a familiar figure walking suspiciously through the store's entrance. Chanyeol grabbed Chen by the shoulders and they ducked down behind a rack of baby pajamas.

"Chanyeol what are you doing?" Chen whispered. 

"Shhh," Chanyeol put his finger to his lips, "I thought I just saw Xiumin."

"Xiumin?" Chen squinted, looking over the rack of pajamas and sure enough there was an anxious looking Xiumin. Chen crouched back down and stared wide-eyed at Chanyeol who was equally wide-eyed except his was by nature. Chen then frowned.

"Why are we hiding from our friend Yeollie?"

"Didn't he look like something was wrong?" Chanyeol asked.

"Well, yeah but--"

"I wonder why he's here. I wonder why he's so anxious looking." 

"Yeollie, Ren's birthday is coming up. Don't you think he'd be here to shop for Ren?"

Chanyeol thought about it. That could've been the reason why Xiumin was here but then why was he looking so suspicious?

"You could be right, Chen, but then why does he look like some splashed him with cold water and tossed an itchy blanket on him? Besides if some shopping needed to be done he would just send Baekhyun to do it anyway."

It was now Chen's turn to think. He quickly turned back to Chanyeol.

"You're right, Yeollie. There's definitely something wrong with this picture. What's he so nervous about?"

Chanyeol and Chen quickly shuffled to hide behind another rack as Xiumin left the girl's section and enter the boy's section.

"Chen, if he's here shopping for Ren then why is he in the boy's section?" Chanyeol harshly whispered.

Chen shrugged and they watched Xiumin brush his hands gently over each baby boy's shirt.

"Is there something he's not telling us?" Chen asked cocking a brow.

"Is he pregnant?"

Chanyeol and Chen watched Xiumin as he sighed and returned over to the girl's clothing side. Chen decided he could only spectate for so long and walked right up to Xiumin.

"Hey Xiumin!" Chen sang. Xiumin jumped knocking clothing off the rack.

"Shisus Christ Chen you scared me!"

Chanyeol approached towering over the two, holding his stomach up as if it was gonna fall if he let go. He waved and Xiumin bowed.

"How are you guys?" Xiumin asked.

"We're fine, thanks for asking." Chanyeol replied.

"What are you doing here?" Chen asked bluntly.

"I was uh… shopping for uh… Ren… Yeah. That's it. I was shopping for Ren." Xiumin stammered out like he was trying to convince to fools that he wasn't lying. Chanyeol and Chen were no fools.

"Really now?" Chen asked, his troll face beginning to show, "why do you look so nervous? Ren's a girl why were you in the boy's section?"

"And Ren's turning one. She's not that small anymore, why are you in the infant section?" Chanyeol asked.

Xiumin face started to heat up he was getting nervous at the interrogation by Chen and Chanyeol. Chanyeol looked Xiumin up and down and touched his stomach.

"Xiumin are you… pregnant?" Chanyeol asked.

"What?!" Xiumin was astonished.

"Xiumin you can tell us, we're your friends too." Chen chimed.

"What? N-no. Chanyeol stop t-touching me!" Xiumin pushed Chanyeol's hand away. Chanyeol looked at him with suspicion. 

"You're a little jumpy… is it the hormones?" Chanyeol asked.

"I am NOT pregnant, CHAN YEOL." Xiumin said sternly.

"Then what's going on?" Chen asked.

"Oh my god." Chanyeol's pants became wet and he grasped his stomach even tighter. Chen and Xiumin looked up from the interrogation to see a panicking Chanyeol's who's water just broke.

"OH MY GOD YEOLLIE," Chen grabbed his stomach and started rushing him out of the store, "We gotta get him to the hospital Xiumin his water just broke!"

Xiumin stared at them with awe. He wasn't sure what to do so he was just following orders now but he knew that Chanyeol's baby shouldn't have been coming now.

"How can he have the baby now? It's not time yet right? He's still got two months right? This can't be happening." Xiumin chanted as they arrived to the car. Chanyeol and Chen were in the backseat. Chanyeol was breathing heavy already. Xiumin didn't know if it was because of contractions or if it was because of the shock.

"He can't come now," Chanyeol shook his head, "I'm not ready. He's not ready. You still have 2 months Minki what is wrong with you?" Then the contractions started. Chanyeol hissed. Chen was panicking himself but was still trying to keep Chanyeol as calm as possible.

"It's gonna be okay Chanyeol. Just breathe." Chen whispered while rubbing his stomach, "We're almost to the hospital already."

"Somebody call Dr. Han." Chanyeol hissed when another painful contraction hit him. Xiumin instantly dialed the doctor's office on the bluetooth in his car. Chanyeol was worried to death on the inside. All day Chanyeol knew something didn't feel right. This morning when he was with Kris and Ren, when Chen picked him up, and when he saw Xiumin. He knew something wasn't right all of that time but he just ignored it. Chanyeol shook his head, regretting that he ignored Minki. Something is wrong now because Chanyeol didn't pay attention. He started to cry as Xiumin parked.

"Chanyeol, it's gonna be okay." Xiumin pat him on his back trying to soothe him as the three of them hobbled into the ER.

"I'm so stupid." Chanyeol cried.

"What no--" Chen started.

"I ignored Minki. I'm such a bad mother. I ignored him all day. I knew he was too calm. He wasn't moving at all. Oh my god! What if my baby is dead?" Chanyeol sobbed uncontrollably. 

A nurse approached and put Chanyeol in a wheelchair. Chanyeol screamed in pain as a contraction traveled through his body. The contractions were coming more frequently but not yet 10 minutes apart. Xiumin and Chen followed the nurse to the emergency room where Dr. Hanwas just entering.

"Chanyeol Wu, what's the matter? I got your call and--" Dr. Han started only to be interrupted by Chanyeol.

"My water broke! Minki's coming now. I'm a bad mom. He hasn't moved much all day! I thought this was just a calm day but I was wrong. I was so so wrong. I'm a bad mother. My baby please don't tell he's… he's…" Chanyeol broke down as Xiumin and another nurse lifted him up on the emergency room table. Another nurse helped Chanyeol out of his pants and then covered him up while Dr. Han put the cold gel on his stomach to take an ultrasound.

Between his sobs Chanyeol screamed in agony as another contraction washed over him. Dr. Han had just found Minki and made a face. Chanyeol was too scared to ask but Chen couldn't stay quiet.

"What? What is it?" He asked. Dr. Han swallowed and then looked at Chen with worry in her eyes. She tried to keep her composure but Chen could only assume it was bad news.

"It seems that the boy is a breech and that--"

"Breech? What's a breech?" Xiumin asked.

"It means that the boy is in the wrong position to give birth. His head is up and his feet are downward."

"Will he be o-okay? Is h-he okay?" Chanyeol stammered.

"I've handled breech pregnancies before, I'm confident that he will be fine," Dr. Han announced and the whole room sighed in relief, "But, there's another problem."

Chanyeol eyes popped open and he virtually held his breath as Dr. Han continued talking.

"The boy has not only managed to get turned the wrong way but he also has gotten his umbilical cord stuck around his neck. We need to operate fast he may have already lost too much air and may… be stillborn."

Chanyeol nearly out and Chen began to cry. Xiumin took a deep breath and stepped out of the room so that he wouldn't pass out too. The doctors and nurses pushed Chen out of the way and started bustling around Chanyeol. Xiumin closed the door behind him and started tapping numbers on his cellphone's screen. After a couple of rings, the call was picked up.

"Kris, I've got some bad news."

♕