Chanyeol had just disappeared into the bathroom after Baekhyun suddenly ran inside. He shut the door behind him, leaving Mina to wait alone.

She stood, rocking back and forth on her heels. She was concerned when the sound of her mother being sick reached her ears. And she was upset because Baekhyun was sick.

The 5 year old stood quietly and patiently. It was so unlike a typical 5 year old to be patient. 

When Chanyeol emerged from the bathroom, he shut the door and crouched down to her.

"It'll just be you and me. Mommy's not feeling well."

"It's because of the baby. Isn't it?" She asked resentfully. Chanyeol nodded. He and Baekhyun had both been unsuccessful in their efforts to convince Mina the baby wasn't "stupid" and she would enjoy being a big sister. 

Out of the two of them, it hurt Baekhyun the worst to think of his daughter resenting the baby before it was born. It was normal for an only child to be upset about their unborn sibling but he just hoped it changed once the baby was actually there.

"The baby's making mommy sick. That's not nice." She pouted. Just another reason for them to "take the baby back." Their family was perfect the way it was, she concluded. It didn't need to change. They would be fine without a baby.

Chanyeol kissed her head. "When you were in mommy's belly, you made him sick too. It's just apart of being pregnant, honey."

An awful thought suddenly popped into Mina's head and she gasped. "What if mommy is too sick for Monday?"

Chanyeol sighed. "Hopefully not. I'm sure he doesn't want to miss your first day of school." It was currently Saturday on the weekend before Mina started kindergarten.

Chanyeol was slightly worried since Baekhyun's morning sickness was already in full swing. He couldn't even remember if he had been that sick when he was pregnant with Mina. It seemed like he was in the bathroom all day and had missed enough work because of it.

He was definitely going to miss shopping for school supplies that day but Mina would be crushed if he missed her first day of school too.

Chanyeol felt bad, seeing Mina so disappointed. Of course Baekhyun wanted to go shopping with her and send her off to school. But he just wasn't up for it. At least not that day.

"Hey, cheer up. We'll still have fun shopping." He smiled brightly, hoping it would spread. His friends didn't call him happy virus for nothing. 

"Okay." Mina said quietly, not even cracking a smile.

"Oh, come on. You can do better than that." He teased. All it took was him tickling her sides to have her screaming and laughing, a smile spread wide across her face.

At that moment, the bathroom door opened. Baekhyun emerged, pale as a ghost. He looked awful. But when he saw Mina laughing, he smiled for her.

"Pick out some nice clothes and supplies. You can show them to me when you get back." He said to Mina, crouching down to hug her.

Then he addressed Chanyeol. "As for you, you better buy her whatever she wants. I don't care if it hurts your wallet or our bank account. It's for her first day of school. She deserves it. "

Chanyeol saluted in mockery. "Yes, sir."

On that note, Baekhyun crawled into bed. It was obvious he was exhausted. He had been up half the night throwing up. And it was obvious he wasn't leaving the apartment that day for anything. 

"Mina, go get your school supplies list. It's on the kitchen table." Chanyeol ordered.

Mina nodded, excitement restored at the idea of school shopping. 

Once she was gone, Chanyeol sat on the bed and kissed Baekhyun's forehead. He brushed away a strand of hair from his spouse's forehead.

"I'm sorry you feel so bad. It's my fault, I guess."

Baekhyun chuckled. "It takes two to make a baby. Or have you forgotten?"

Chanyeol smirked. "When you feel better you can remind me."

Baekhyun's smirk matched Chanyeol's. "I'll take you up on that offer."

As the slightly suggestive mood faded, Chanyeol became concerned again. "Maybe you should call Jongdae or Kyungsoo over."

"I just turned 24, Chanyeol. I don't need a babysitter."

"But you're sick."

"I'm pregnant. There's a difference."

Chanyeol exhaled in a huff but gave in. "Alright. But I'll be checking on you regularly. If you don't pick up the phone I'll become extremely worried."

"Yes, mother." Baekhyun teased even though it was hard to joke or laugh at the mention of anyone's mother. Mrs. Byun had finished her business, asking Baekhyun for help when needed but keeping much distance between them. After her work was completed, she went back to Korea without another word to Baekhyun.

It was a waste, her being in America in the first place. She and Baekhyun were no closer to improving their relationship than when he was pregnant with Mina. It was a sad but true fact and he just had to move on.

Chanyeol kissed Baekhyun's forehead once more in parting. "I love you, Baek."

"Love you too." He murmured. 

At that moment Mina returned, list in hand. Before leaving, she climbed onto the bed and hugged Baekhyun. Then she focused her attention on his belly. "Stop making mommy sick." She commanded. The baby was taking away valuable time she could have spent with Baekhyun. It .

"I hope it listens." Baekhyun murmured and kissed Mina goodbye.

In a few minutes, Baekhyun was left alone. Well, he wasn't technically alone. There was a developing fetus inside of him. He placed his hand on his belly right where Mina's hand had just been. "Please listen to your sister. I need some sleep."

With that, he rested his head on his pillow, wishing for sleep. The baby was months away from being born and was already causing him loads of trouble.

**

"Alright, Mina. Clothes or supplies first?" Chanyeol wondered as he retrieved a red grocery cart the minute they entered Target.

"Supplies!" She answered with no hesitation. Chanyeol laughed, at least she was happy despite Baekhyun's absence. 

He steered the red cart in the direction of the school supplies, remembering when he used to go shopping for school supplies with his parents. Once he got to college, he and Baekhyun did it together. 

Finally, it was Mina's turn.

They made their way down a long aisle full of any school supply known to man. It was also filled with kids and parents alike. Kids as young as Mina's age and as old as high schoolers.

After dodging a mother and her three kids, Chanyeol stopped the cart and pointed to the pencils.

"Get two of those." He said. Mina couldn't keep the smile off her face as she picked up the packets of pencils and put them into the empty cart.

"Good." Chanyeol stated and handed the list and a pen over for her to check off the pencils. 

It became a routine. Chanyeol would tell Mina what she needed and allow her to pick it up, put it in the cart, and cross it off the list. Before long, the cart was full of pencils, crayons, erasers, and notebooks.

But they made sure to save the best thing for last.

Mina stood in the middle of an impressive sea of backpacks. The backpacks were all around her, everywhere she looked. Chanyeol knew they would be there for a while because picking out the right backpack for the first day of school was like picking out the right wedding dress for your wedding.

Since he knew they would be there awhile, he got comfortable. He casually leaned against a rack that held a bunch of cheetah print backpacks and took out his phone. Keeping an eye on Mina, he called Baekhyun. 

He picked up after the 4th ring.

"Are you okay?" Chanyeol wondered. 

Baekhyun groaned and Chanyeol resisted the urge to pull the phone away from his ear when he heard Baekhyun throw up.

"No. I feel like ." He said once he could actually talk. 

"You couldn't be sick at a worse time. Mina's having a blast right now and if you can't be there on Monday, she's going to be devastated."

Baekhyun sighed over the phone. "Yeah. All the more reason for her to hate the baby."

"She doesn't hate the baby."

"She doesn't like it either." Baekhyun said sadly.

Chanyeol sighed too. It hurt him as well to think that Mina wouldn't like or accept her new sibling. But they had to stay positive. 

"We'll be home soon. Do you need anything?"

"No thanks. I just need some rest. That's all." Baekhyun replied and Chanyeol nodded.

Mina started waving him over to show him a backpack she liked. It was his cue to hang up the phone.

"I'll talk to you later. Love you, bye." Chanyeol hung up and made his way over to his daughter. She was pointing excitedly to a Disney themed Frozen backpack. Chanyeol certainly wasn't surprised by her choice as he handed it over to her. She just loved Disney so much.

The rest of their shopping trip lasted until lunch. Since Luhan had let Chanyeol borrow his car, he was filling up the trunk with Target bags. The bags contained everything from clothes to notebooks and anything in between.

After closing the trunk, he helped Mina into her car seat. After putting the Target cart away, he hopped into the driver's seat.

"What do you want for lunch?" He asked her while he put on his sunglasses and maneuvered out of the parking lot.

"Pizza." She responded. Chanyeol didn’t want to disagree with her request but he was worried the smell of the greasy pizza would be too much for Baekhyun's stomach to handle. 

"Maybe another time. Pizza might make mommy sicker." He responded. He glanced in the rearview mirror, sighing when Mina crossed her arms.

"It's not fair." She huffed, tears of frustration filling her eyes. "The baby ruins everything." The 5 year old girl didn't even know the half of it. She had yet to realize that once he got farther along in his pregnancy he wouldn't even be able to play with her like he used to. He would have a hard time picking her up or sitting her on his lap. Baekhyun would never be the same during his pregnancy as he was before.

Once the baby came, Mina's life would never be the same with her parents. 

Chanyeol heard her hiccups in the back and saw her wiping her eyes in the rearview mirror. 

In that moment, he his turn signal to get in the far left lane. He would make a U-turn and go back in the opposite direction. He would get the damn pizza, just to stop her tears that made his heart clench painfully every time.

**

He decided that eating the pizza at the restaurant was more convenient than taking it home. Mina's tears had long since stopped and she was somewhat restored back to her previous excited mood.

As they sat in a booth waiting for their food, Mina spoke. "Daddy?"

"Hm?"

"What's school like?"

Chanyeol smiled. "It's a lot like daycare except you'll learn to read books and write. And you'll make loads of new friends. You'll enjoy it, don't worry."

"Okay." Mina beamed. 

By the time their food came, Mina had completely forgotten about the incident in the car. Once they made their way back to the apartment, Chanyeol was pleasantly surprised to see Baekhyun out of bed, watching t.v. in the living room, and nibbling on crackers. 

He had regained some color and didn't look like he would pass out. For then, the morning sickness had passed.

"Show me what you got." He smiled when he saw Mina. And he laughed when he saw Chanyeol loaded down with bags that all contained Mina's stuff. She didn't even bother to help carry them.

Once all the bags were set down, she hurried over and took everything out. She was more than eager to prove she was ready for school.

The rest of the weekend went by too slow for Mina's liking. With each second that went by, she became more nervous and excited about school. She spent most of the days deciding what outfit to wear for Monday out of the endless new clothes Chanyeol bought for her.

"We just won't eat for a week." Chanyeol had joked when he showed Baekhyun the receipt from Target. 

Baekhyun laughed. "You only have the first day of kindergarten once. She