Hugo left the gang after dropping the bomb. He wanted to give Hana time to think about his offer.

Hana mustered enough courage to look at Logan. “Logan. No matter what you’re going to say, I… I’m doing this.”

Logan looked back at her and tightened his jaws.

The two friends’ looks declared their different decision on the situation.

*

It had been a long day. A very long day for the gang.

Logan and Hana hadn’t spoken with one another since Hugo’s departure. They hadn’t been in the same room since then too. Hana was with the baby in the room while Logan stayed outside. Logan was upset at Hana for her ridiculous plan, and Hana was upset at Logan’s choice to give the baby away.

“You guys can go home,” said Logan to his friends. “Tomorrow, I’ll put an end to this for once and for all when Hugo comes.”

Seth agreed. He grabbed his and his girlfriend’s jackets. “Yeah. I think that’s for the best.” He headed out with his girlfriend and with a sad Jake, who had to break up with the console.

After Logan locked the door, he took a deep breath. He eyed the bedroom door where Hana was inside with the baby, and walked to it. Before he opened the door, he heard Hana play with the baby. He smiled to himself because he had never seen how she babysat. All he knew was that she loved kids. He peeped through the crack and saw the infant on his back, wide awake, as Hana hovered over him and talked to him in a cute manner. Of course, still an infant, he didn’t quite respond. There was no giggle, no laugh. Nothing.

Then, Logan witnessed the biggest smile he’d ever seen on his friend’s face.

Hana started kissing the baby all over. She picked him up, wrapped him in her arms, and hummed a lullaby. When she was done, she kissed his soft cheek. “Thank you…Lucas.”

Logan closed the door. That was all he needed to see. He didn’t want to invade their time.

*

Today, it was just Hugo, Logan, and Hana. The rest of the friends unanimously decided to stay home to give the involved parties personal space.

“Where’s the baby?” asked Hugo. He had just arrived and made himself comfortable.

“Sleeping as usual. Seems like he’s still adapting to the new environmental change from a mother’s womb to a place with light and air.”

She and Hugo laughed.

“Wow, I learned something unexpected today,” he complimented. “You should work with our dad. He’d love what you had said. It sounds…science-y.”

They laughed again until Logan made his presence, bringing back reality to them.

Hugo shifted in his seat. “So, I hope you two have talked it out between yourselves.”

“Actually,” Logan immediately said, “I want to speak with you, alone.”

Hana panicked. She didn’t like the idea of it. She watched the brothers go into a different room. Anxious, she grabbed onto Logan’s arm. Her eyes begged him. “Logan. Please.”

He let out a sigh and a nod to show her that he respected her decision before entering the room without her.

About ten minutes later, the door opened, and the brothers came out.

Hana watched the brothers bid goodbye, and Hugo left the place. She knew she had lost. She dragged her heavy body to him. She hit her friend’s chest as tears formed in her eyes. “Why? Why? Why?”

Logan attempted to hug her to stop her.

She shoved him away. “No! What kind of friend are you?” She sniffed and wiped her tears. “Why, Logan?” She could only ask why. It was the only question she wanted him to answer.

He grabbed her again and pulled her into a hug.

She hugged him back. She knew why he made the decision, so she couldn’t really blame him. “I hate you,” she said in his embrace. Her words were muffled. “Why, Logan? He’s only a baby.”

“Because he’s Lucas,” Logan finally said. He smiled while hugging her to not let her see.

She looked up from the hug and glared at him. “So, you’re taking him away because I was getting attached to him?” She aimed at his chest again but stopped when he held her hands.

“No,” he said. “I told my brother,” he laughed as he wiped her tears, “to let you keep him.”

Her world stopped. She had to make sure she was hearing it correctly. She was damn sure that with just the two brothers alone in the room, Logan would’ve convinced his brother.

“I can…keep him?” she asked, carefully.

He nodded.

She began to cry more, fearing that she was hearing wrong.

He panicked.

She dropped down to the ground due to emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion.

“What’s wrong?” He crouched down to her level. “Aren’t you happy?”

She looked at him. In between tears, she said, “You stupid jerk! These are tears of joy!” She nudged him. “How dare you do that to me!”

He got up and stuck out his tongue. “Well, that’s what you get for deciding that brat’s name without telling me. And why Lucas?”

She wiped her tears. She was no longer sad. She was irritated that she was tricked. Tricked real good. “Because Lucas is the only name I liked from the “L” in your name.”

“My name?”

She paused. She didn’t plan on telling him, and she didn’t want to. Because it was embarrassing.

He was interested, so he came closer to her. “What do you mean the ‘L’ from my name?”

“Shut up.” It was a shy demand.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “So, if four more kids showed up at my doorstep, you’d give them a name starting with the letters of my name?”

She turned red, answering his question. She snapped at him. “I told you to shut up!” She grabbed a nearby cushion and started chasing him around to hit him for his teasing.

When they become tired, they dropped to the ground and rested. They looked at each other and laughed. They had had three straight days of worry, and it ended happily for them.

She looked at her friend. “Hey, Logan.”

“What?”

“Thanks.”

He sent her a smile and pinched her cheek. “Anything for you, Hana.”

*

Logan woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside. He remembered resting in the living room with Hana after their talk with his brother, and figured they had fallen asleep in the living room. He looked around the room to find his friend, but she was nowhere to be found. Fearing of her disappearance, he got up and checked every crook and cranny for her.

He stopped when he realized she was probably in the room with the baby. He went to the door, cracked it open, and confirmed his assumption.

She was asleep under the blankets with a soft pillow. As for Lucas, he was sound asleep beside her.

He crouched at the bedside opposite Hana. He laughed when he saw Lucas hold onto Hana’s pinky. “Sweet dreams, Lucas.” He gently caressed him and felt his soft skin. “You have a new mommy to watch over you now.” He smiled and looked at his tired friend. “The best mommy there is.”

*

Hana and Logan turned around to look at who was running with loud footsteps behind them.

As expected, it turned out to be their friends.

Hana and Logan stopped to let their friends catch up to them.

Jake arrived first, grabbed Hana’s water bottle, and capped it open.

Seth took it from Jake—who didn’t get a chance to drink at all—downed the water and gave it to his girlfriend.

Jake panted, “Hey, we saw the text.”

Seth nodded. “Yeah, what’s up with…”

“We’re going back to school today?” finished Hailey. She capped the empty water bottle and gave it back to Hana.

Jake saw the empty bottle and scowled. He was thirsty.

“I thought we wouldn’t do anything ‘til everything’s solved,” said Hailey.

“Speaking of the problem,” said Jake, “where’s the baby?”

“With my brother,” answered Logan.

Seth, Jake, and Hailey worriedly eyed Hana.

Hana gave them a smile as she side-hugged Logan. “We’re keeping him.”

*

It was lunchtime, and the friends were at their usual spot. They took this chance to finish the conversation from this morning.

“Logan got his brother to let the baby stay with us,” said Hana, cheerfully sipping her milk with a straw.

Seth said, “To be honest, it seemed that he was more for you guys raising it.”

Hana playfully hit Seth. “The name’s Lucas, not ‘it’.”

“Yes, Mommy,” joked Seth.

Hana slightly winced when she heard that word.

“Lucas?” asked Hailey. “That’s what you two call him?”

Logan scoffed. “She didn’t even discuss it with me.” He air-poked Hana’s head.

Hana put her milk down and blew a raspberry. “Because you were mean. You wanted to give him away.”

The two friends began to bicker.

“So, what’s next then?” asked Jake. His mouth was full. “Logan can go back home now, but what about you, Hana?”

Hana and Logan stopped their bickering. He looked at her as she answered their friend.

“I know…it doesn’t make sense that I’d want to keep a baby when I’m emotionally tired of babysitting, but this baby has no one right now. And for me to give it away, I can’t do that…especially now that I know we may have a chance of finding his mother.” She turned and looked at Logan. “I’ll go home with you to explain everything to your parents. I’ll—”

“There’s no need to,” said Logan.

“I have to. I told you that I’m going to go all the way with this.”

“I know.” He added a smile. “And I’m going to be with you through it all.”

*

“See you tomorrow!”

Hana and Logan bid their friends goodbye after school before leaving with Hugo. They got into his car and noticed that Lucas wasn’t with them.

“I have him with someone,” explained Hugo. “Don’t worry. He’s in safe hands.”

Hana and Logan nodded, believing the older guy.

“So, I brought a house already and did all the necessary paperwork. Everything will be sent to me to manage.” He reversed out of the spot and went onto the main street. “But there’s one more paperwork that needs to be discussed.”

“What is it?” the teens asked together.

“This one needs us to talk face to face.”

*

“I can’t believe they’re going to do it for real,” said Jake as he kicked a pebble off the sidewalk. He was walking home with Seth and Hailey. “What’s gotten into them?”

“Don’t you mean Logan?” asked Hailey.

Her boyfriend and Jake looked at her for an explanation.

“We know why she’s doing it, but Logan… He hasn’t said anything. It seemed like he dodged all the questions we threw at him.”

“It’s probably a sensitive subject for him to talk about,” said Seth. “Like Hana’s.”

Hailey peered to the side with disbelief. “What kind of problem would that player have?”

Seth stopped walking and looked at the ground. “Like, maybe…having a family.”

*

Hana rolled down the car window as soon as they arrived in front of the house she would be living with Lucas. “It’s so big!”

It was a two-story house with a porch and with plenty of space in the front lawn. It was better than she had imagined.

The trio got out of the car and headed to the house. They waited as Hugo punched in the passcode.

“You guys can change the passcode once everything’s more official and put into place.” Hugo stepped inside and led the teens in after him. “I’ll give you a tour.” He closed the door behind him and locked it. “By the way, all the furnishing are new.”

Hana was relieved. She thought she’d have to buy them from her own expense. “Thanks!”

“You did a good job picking the house,” added Logan. He raised two of his thumbs.

Hugo turned shy. He wasn’t used to compliments. He only did what he should. “There are five rooms. Three are upstairs, and two are down here. The master bedroom is upstairs. The kitchen’s here, and down this hall is a bathroom. There is one upstairs too. Over there is the entrance to the garage. You can enter the backyard from the garage’s side entrance or from the kitchen.”

They walked up the stairs and straight to the master bedroom.

“I’m planning to have a small fridge installed,” said Hugo. “I did a quick research on newborns, and they cry a lot for milk, so I think a fridge will help you with that.”

“Hold up,” said Logan. He scowled. “She’s getting this big room?”

Hugo raised a brow at him. “Well, she got the baby. She’s going to need all the space she could get for her stuff and his.”

“Fine, take it.”

Hana threw up two peace signs for her victory.

Logan pretended to look displeased.

After the tour was finished, Hugo led them to the kitchen table. He asked them to sit in front of him, and they did so. He then took out a paper from his work bag. As he was about to zip his bag closed, he looked at a thick burgundy book as the size of a thesaurus. He paused and zipped the bag closed. He placed the paper face-down on the table and slid it to the teens’ direction.

“Flip it and see,” Hugo said.

The teens looked at each other, and Logan decided he’d do it.

It was paperwork for a marriage license.

“This is what we need to discuss about,” said a calm Hugo.

Hana stuttered with her words. She didn’t know what to ask. “Umm, why a—why do we…”

“We don’t need this!” exclaimed Logan, tossing the paper to the side. “Marriage wasn’t part of the conditions you said.”

“That’s because I didn’t have time to explain everything,” answered Hugo.

“Okay, then, here. Have the entire time to lay it all.”

Hugo leaned straight in his chair as if he was negotiating a business trade. “I didn’t think you’d be agreeing to this, so I didn’t mention it at the time. But when you decided to stay with Hana to help her because—” he stopped himself from telling something he wasn’t supposed to say and then continued, “But now that it’s come to this, you two should have a marriage license.”

The teens stayed silent.

“This is the best protection I can think of for the three of you during my time away,” added Hugo. “I personally don’t see a problem with this because both of you are good friends.”

The teens did not budge.

His lips formed a thin line. “Think of it as a role.”

“A role?” the teens repeated.

“Like a position for this job I’m hiring you two for. Think of this document not as a marriage license but as a job application.” He pointed to Hana. “Yours is Mommy.” He pointed to Logan. “Yours is Daddy.”

The friends looked at the paper on the table and then at each other.

Hugo coughed to bring the friends’ attention back on him. He put his hand on the form. “What is your answer?” He slid the form back to him. “Are you backing out?” He slid the form back to the teens. “Or will you become the virtual Hart family?”