Chanyeol sat across from Baekhyun at the restaurant table. He kept glancing up from his menu whenever he heard the older sigh. Baekhyun finally put his own menu down and took a long drink of his soda. The sighing was ongoing.

Chanyeol put his menu down, having decided what he wanted to eat, while Baekhyun played with the straw of his drink, pouting ever so slightly. 

Chanyeol chuckled. "How are you feeling?"

"Not pregnant." Baekhyun replied. 

"It's obviously not gonna happen overnight, Baek."

Baekhyun groaned. "We've been trying forever. Seriously, how long does it take?"

Chanyeol shrugged. "We'd been having unprotected for almost a year before we found out you were pregnant with Mina."

Baekhyun crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "It's not fair. We're actually trying to have a baby and now I can't seem to get pregnant."

Chanyeol took that opportunity to reach across the table and give Baekhyun's hand a reassuring squeeze. 

"Just be patient. It'll happen when it's supposed to."

Baekhyun nodded as the waitress appeared to take their orders. Before Chanyeol left on a 3-day business trip to New York, they were enjoying a simple date night. 

If Baekhyun did get pregnant soon, they wouldn't be getting much alone time with a newborn and Mina to look after. They had to remember to treasure the alone time they had together. Especially as newlyweds. 

To get Baekhyun's mind off the baby or lack thereof, Chanyeol talked about his trip to New York. He was given a chance to assist on legal business but on a much smaller scale than Korea. 

"You better not have too much fun without me. Don't forget about that ring you have on your finger." Baekhyun said sternly. 

Chanyeol looked down at his wedding band and flashed Baekhyun a sincere smile. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Baekhyun smiled back at his husband. Whether he got pregnant soon or not, he was still the happiest man in the world. He didn't feel anything could ruin his happiness.

At that moment, Chanyeol's phone rang. He looked away from Baekhyun to see who was calling. No surprise, it was Luhan. Similar to when Minseok was pregnant, Luhan called Chanyeol for every problem. Only this time, he was calling his friend for baby problems. 

"What's up?"

"Ryder's crying and Minseok's at the store. What do I do? The neighbors are complaining."

Sure enough, a newborn baby could be heard screaming in the background. 

Chanyeol shrugged but knew Luhan couldn't see it. It's not like he and Baekhyun were experts on babies. They'd only had one.

"Uh, maybe he needs a diaper change. Did you check?"

"He doesn't need a diaper change, he smells fine." Luhan spoke over Ryder's crying. 

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. Luhan was smart but had a habit of not thinking straight when he was upset or nervous. "He may be wet. Did you check?"

"Oh, . I forgot." Luhan swore and Chanyeol heard the phone move as Luhan moved. After checking to see if Ryder was wet, he confirmed to Chanyeol that he was.

"Then change his diaper." Chanyeol stated plainly. He heard Luhan rummage around for a new diaper. A few minutes passed before Chanyeol added as an afterthought, "Be careful. Don't forget that he might-"

"He peed on me!" Luhan exclaimed and Chanyeol chuckled. His friend was hopeless. 

Eventually, the crying stopped and Luhan thanked Chanyeol for his help. But before they hung up, the latter had to ask something he had been wanting to ask for a while.

"Why don't you ever call Sung-Woo for help?"

"It's been 24 years since he's been with a baby. It's only been 5 years since you guys have been with one. I figured you could help us more."

"Alright, Luhan. Whatever you say. Hopefully you can handle things before Minseok gets back. Bye." They hung up and Baekhyun chuckled. He only heard one side of the conversation but had a very good idea of what it was about. 

"When you get pregnant again and we have our baby, he won't be able to call us all the time. We'll have our hands full." Chanyeol stated and Baekhyun nodded.

"You'll have to break it to him gently." Baekhyun teased. None of their friends knew they were trying for another baby. Baekhyun was afraid that if they told, it would jinx their chances. But once he did have the baby, it would change everything. Including limiting when and the number of times Luhan called them for help.

Once their dinner came, the baby talk had completely simmered away. They only focused on each other and the alone time they shared.

After dinner, they walked around the city. It was really cold for a spring night so Chanyeol walked with his arm around Baekhyun. The older stayed close to his younger husband, sharing their body heat.

They strolled down by the wharf, the street lights illuminating the dark water. 

It seemed like it was their first real date in what felt like a long time. It was no surprise that Baekhyun was sad when Chanyeol announced the date was over and it was time to get Mina from Jongin and Kyungsoo. 

"Let's just stay here a few more minutes." Baekhyun pouted. The next few days would be their first time being separated as spouses. The more alone time they got before then, the better. 

Chanyeol didn't protest when Baekhyun leaned up to kiss him. They were kissing right along the wharf where many tourists and people walked. It was no surprise they were told to get a room by a stranger. 

They both laughed and pulled away. 

Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun's hand as they began to walk again. "No more stalling."

Baekhyun finally agreed because Chanyeol also needed to spend a little time with Mina before he left.

The husbands made their way back to the university by 10pm. When they picked Mina up from Kyungsoo and Jongin, she was elated at the realization that she was up past her bedtime. That made it harder to put her to bed when they got back home.

"I'll only be gone for a couple days. You need to go to bed now." Chanyeol stated when Mina refused to go to sleep, wanting to stay up with her father before he left town.

She was dressed in her pajamas and all ready for bed. The only problem was, she didn't want to go.

"Can I sleep with you and mommy?" She asked, grabbing a hold of Chanyeol's leg.

"No, sweetie."

"Why?" She whined, bottom lip jutting out in a well-practiced pout.

Chanyeol shared a glance with Baekhyun. They couldn't exactly tell her they were trying for a baby and in order to have a baby, one needed to have lots of . They had been at it practically every night for the past few weeks. But surely they could spare a night and spend it with their only child.

"Alright. You can sleep with us." Chanyeol finally agreed, allowing Mina to climb into the middle of their big bed. Baekhyun and Chanyeol got on either side of her.

They both fell asleep wondering the same thing. How would she react to having a new sibling? It had always been Mina, her mommy, and her daddy. It was the only life she had known.

They hoped she would take the news well when it happened. They always knew they would expand their family one day but that day was coming very soon. They wanted to be prepared. 

**

Baekhyun thought, overall, preparation was relatively easy. He had no issues preparing himself for Chanyeol's absence that would soon take place. Once Chanyeol did leave for New York the next morning, after many goodbyes, Baekhyun prepared for work.

The 23 year old gathered his lesson plans, graded work, and anything else he needed before leaving. He also prepared Mina for daycare that day. He helped her pick out her clothes, get dressed, and eat breakfast. 

Once he dropped her off, he was prepared to go to work and teach. 

Even mentally, he was preparing. He was preparing for having a new baby. He was preparing for the emotional aspects of having a new baby and how Mina might react once she knew. If someone asked, Baekhyun would confidently say he was prepared for anything that might come his way. 

But what he wasn't prepared for was the phone call that caught him completely off guard. 

He was on his lunch break in the teacher's lounge with his psychology teacher/mentor. They were having a serious discussion about Baekhyun assistant teaching for a year before getting his teaching license. 

Baekhyun had never planned on becoming a teacher but it would take a lot less time than becoming a psychologist and he was enjoying his assistant teaching. He worked in a high school with seniors and because he wasn't too much older than them he was able to relate to the students. He had an advantage over the main teacher who was easily 50 years old.

"If becoming a teacher is what you really want, I'll be glad to help." She said to Baekhyun who nodded.

He was about to reply to her when his phone rang and cut him off. He apologized as he checked the phone, expecting it to be Chanyeol. 

His blood ran cold when he saw it wasn't Chanyeol. He was shocked by the caller and figured the call was a mistake. 

"Is something wrong?" The 50 year old teacher wondered. 

After opening and closing his mouth a couple times with no sound emerging, he settled for shaking his head.

He let the call go to voicemail and pretended it never happened. Well, everything was fine until his phone rang again with the same caller name popping up.

Baekhyun then excused himself and left the room. The school hallways were empty since the students were at lunch so he took that opportunity to answer the phone privately.

"Um, hello?" He wondered cautiously. 

"Baekhyun, hi." His mother replied. Why the hell was she calling him? What could she possibly want? Baekhyun was extremely confused because the last time he had talked to her had been about the wedding she had no interest in. 

"Uh, is there something you need to tell me?"

Mrs. Byun hesitated for a while. Baekhyun was tempted to hang up before she spoke again.

"Yes. I'll be traveling to America on a business trip soon and I told my boss that my son lives there. You know the language and customs well so I need your help. I need a place to stay as well."

Baekhyun couldn't believe his ears. Was his mother really asking him for help? After ignoring him for years, did she expect him to just forgive her?

"Get a hotel." Baekhyun responded and rolled his eyes.

"You're my son. It'd be impolite for you to turn your mother down when she needs help."

"I'm your son?" Baekhyun asked in disbelief. "I clearly remember you and dad saying I was no longer apart of your family when I refused to get an abortion." His grip on his phone tightened as his anger intensified. His mother was unbelievable. 

"That happened years ago. It doesn't matter anymore. I'll be flying into your airport tomorrow. Pick me up at 9am."

Baekhyun took in a deep calming breath before speaking. "You don't speak to me for years and decide to call me back when it's convenient for you. Give me one good reason why I should help you."

"Because I'm your mother!" She exclaimed in frustration. "I carried you for 9 months. I helped raise you for 18 years. Your father and I provided you with everything you needed and more."

"Yeah and then you kicked me out when I needed you the most. Mom, you can't do things like that to people and expect them to forgive and forget so easily."

She sighed on the other end. "I don't like what you've done with your life. I don't like you choosing to be with a man and I don't like that when the opportunity arose, you chose your unborn baby over your family."

"I chose to be with Chanyeol because I love him. And I wasn't going to kill my daughter just to please you." He hissed, ignoring the weird look he got from a passing teacher. It must not have been every day that an angry teacher's assistant stood in the hallway hissing in Korean. 

"Okay." She said, obviously disagreeing but not wanting to argue anymore. "I don't like or approve of your lifestyle but you're still my son, Baekhyun. Regardless of what happened years ago, I still love you, just not who you've become."

Baekhyun scoffed. "I've become a parent and most recently a spouse. I'm sorry you don't approve of that."

"Baekhyun, will you help me? Yes or no?"

He definitely wanted to say no and felt she deserved to be abandoned and forced to fend for herself like he and Chanyeol were. But he also knew he didn't want to stoop down to that level. If someone needed him, Baekhyun wanted to be the person who would always be there.

As angry as he was with his mother, he couldn't hate her. It wasn't in his nature to hate. 

"I'll think about it and call you back tonight." He finally said.

"Alright. Thank you."

They hung up and Baekhyun groaned. Why the hell was his mother putting him in such a difficult position? Why was she asking for his help after so many years? Maybe because she knew he would have a hard time refusing. 

Regardless of the reason, he