"Moving On" Part 1

[CarolinaCutie]

[glow=yellow,2,300]Another Peaches & CC collabo[/glow]

[glow=red,2,300]“Flyin' high in the friendly skies/Feels so good sometimes it makes me cry/This love's got to be here for always/I can't give you up/I won't give you up/No way”
— Chante Moore: Love’s Taken Over[/glow]

1st Trimester…
"Dn!" Shauna exclaimed after walking out of her OB/GYN's office. The doctor had just told her some news that brought about mixed emotions.

"I'm what?!", Shauna asked dazed and confused.

"You're 3 and 1/2 months pregnant.", the doctor replied.

"Oh dn!”, said Shauna.

The doctor looked at her with a look of concern. "Is everything okay Ms. Hastings?"

Shauna, suddenly aware of her surroundings, smiled. "Oh, yes Dr. Thomas. Everything is fine."

The doctor gave Shauna the once over and then told her that she needed to ask questions about her and the father's background. As soon as the doctor mentioned the baby's father, Shauna began to feel a little nauseous and lightheaded. The doctor sensed something was wrong and told Shauna that if she liked, they could wait until her follow up visit in about 3 weeks to cover this part of the exam. Shauna greatly accepted. The doctor left the room and Shanua got dressed to leave.

Once Shauna was outside, she quickly headed to her car. After settling in behind the wheel, she began to figure out how she was going to tell the new love of her life about the gift that the old love of her life had left behind.

After pulling herself together, Shauna pulled out into the late morning traffic. While driving, she thought back to the night that she and Santiago, a CIA agent, had a big falling out before he left to go on a top secret mission with his job.

"Santiago, I juss don't undastand how you can leave me and your family behind like this without tellin' us anything! We're the ones that love and care for you!", Shauna cried as she followed him around their bedroom. He was busy packing the things that he would need to take with him on his out of country mission.

"Sean, we've been through this over a dozen times! You knew that when you met me I would have to do things like this. It just so happened that I never had to go out of the country during the past 4 years that we've been together. I love you and my family both, but I took an oath with my job that I wouldn't breathe a word of any of my assignments to anyone!", Santiago replied with a deep accent.

"But you're leavin' me for 6 months! Do you know how painful it's gonna be for me knowin' that I won't be able to know if you're livin' or dead?! How do you expect me to get through this? How, Santiago, how?!", Shauna sobbed as she grabbed him by his hand to make him turn around to look at her.

"Well...as much as it pains me to say this, I think it's best that we both go our separate ways and go on with our lives. I feel like this is the only way either of us will get through this. I'm sorry, Shauna." Santiago grabbed Shauna into his arms although she was angrily trying to resist him. But the more she fought to get away from him, the tighter he held on to her. When she realized that he wasn't going to let her go, she gave up the fight and they shared a brief but passionate kiss.

"So is this how it ends?", Shauna whispered as she looked up at Santiago with tear-filled eyes while breaking out of his embrace.

He wanted to tell her no. He wanted to tell her to wait for him until he returned; but he felt guilty knowing that she would be wasting her time away worrying about him and his whereabouts. Santiago took the cowardly way out. "Yes."

Shauna was jolted back into the present by the sound of a honking horn behind her. She looked up and realized that the traffic light was green. After going through the light, she pulled her car over to a curb to dial her friends up to see if they were free for lunch. She needed to talk with someone about the new situation she was in.

"Hello.", Cherrelle answered after picking up her phone.

"Hey, girl! Listen, I was wonderin' if you and Danni could meet me for lunch at TGIF? I need to talk with yall about somethin'.", Shauna wearily replied.

"Ok! Sure because Danni was on her way to meet me for lunch ova there anyway. You aight, Sean?", Cherrelle asked noticing the sad tone in Shauna's voice.

"Yeah, I'm coo'! I'll see yall in a few minutes. Bye.", Shauna answered.

"Bye.", Cherelle replied as a puzzling look came over her face. The last time she heard Shauna's voice like that, it was because of the breakup between her and Santiago. However, Shauna had been on cloud nine ever since she had met and became friends and then more than friends with Tamir a few months after Santiago left.

Shauna was sitting amongst the small crowd of patrons in the lobby of the restaurant while waiting on Cherelle and Danaysia. While waiting, she received a call.

"Hello.", Shauna answered.

"Hey, boo! Where you at? I been callin' ya all mornin'.", Tamir anxiously stated after hearing her voice.

"Oh, ummmmm...I had to leave work early today because I didn't feel like puttin' up with the drama from some of my workers. I'm meetin' Cherri and Danni for lunch though. I'll prolly see ya lata on this evenin', sometime. I see Cherri comin' in now. I love you too...buh bye!", Shauna smiled as she ended her call with him.

"Hey, girl!", Cherelle smiled when she saw Shauna sitting in the lobby. She proceeded to hug her.

"W'sup, Miss Thang! Where's Danni? Didn't you say she was meetin' you here?", Shauna asked as they both sat back down.

"Yeah! I juss talked to her and she said she wasn't too far away from here.", Cherelle replied.

The girls had been chatting for about 5 minutes or so when Danaysia came walking inside.

"W'sup, yall!", she smiled as she went over to hug Cherelle and Shauna.

"Hey, girl! We were wonderin' when you were gonna show up!", Shauna chuckled as they all stood up to go inside of the restaurant.

"I was comin'! I juss got held up for a hot minute by that dumb @$$ supervisor of mine! He's such an ol' turkey! His @$$ needs to go on and retire. He get on my dn nerves! Yall know he...", Danaysia rambled on until Cherelle stopped her.

"Dn, girl! We get the point! You hate your supervisor, jeez!", Cherelle laughed while rolling her eyes. Shauna was laughing too.

"I guess I need therapy to get over it, huh?", Danaysia laughed.

"Basically!", Shauna chuckled.

After they were seated and placed their orders, Shauna decided to tell them about her news.

"Yall, I'm in some deep isht!", Shauna stated with a shake of her head as she looked across the table at her friends.

"What's goin' on, girl?!", Danaysia anxiously asked as she and Cherelle quickly glanced at each other.

"I'm 3 months pregnant.", Shauna nonchalantly replied.

"Say wha?!!", Cherelle blurted out with widened eyes. "You and ‘Mir only been seein' each otha for about 2 months now!"

"I know that! It's not his...it's Santiago's. I calculated it from the time he left up until now. How am I gonna break this to Tamir?", Shauna asked as her voice began to tremble.

"Well, if 'Mir is as good a man as you say he is, he'll undastand.", Danaysia replied while smiling at Shauna.

"Yeah, Danni is right. Besides, the sooner you tell him the betta.", Cherelle agreed with a nod of her head.

Shauna thought on what her girls told her for a few seconds. "Yall are right. I need to go on and tell him, but how is the question?"

"Well, you could say 'Boo, guess what? I'm pregnant...but it's not yours!'", Cherelle stated while laughing uncontrollably.

"Smooth, girl! Reallllllllllll smooth! Don't listen to her, Sean! You can send him a telegram through Western Union that reads 'I'm havin' a baby but not to worry...it doesn't belong to you'!" Danaysia was laughing harder than Cherelle.

"Yall get on my dn nerves always bein' crazy!", Shauna laughed while shaking her head. "I'm serious about this! I love 'Mir and I don't want to lose him!"

"Awwww, we're sorry, Sean! We're gonna be coo' about this.", Cherelle replied as she reached across the table to pat Shauna's hand.

"Yeah, no more jokes!", Danaysia agreed with a nod of her head.

During lunch, they thought of several ways that Shauna could break the news to Tamir. Shauna decided that there was just no beating around the bush with telling him the news.

"I'm just gonna have to step up to the plate and juss flat-out tell him. I don't know any other way! I juss hope he loves me enough to accept it.", Shauna stated while fighting back tears.

"Of course he will!", Cherelle smiled.
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[CarolinaCutie]

"So yall got any big plans tonight?", Larry asked Mark and James as they sat together in Larry’s den.

"Nah...I'ma juss chill in the cut tonight with Sara.", James grinned.

"Yeah, that's what I'ma do with Cherri!", Mark grinned as well while placing his hands behind his head on the sofa.

"Oh, well excuuuuuuse me!", Larry chuckled. "I was gonna ask if yall wanted to hang out tonight to play pool or somethin'. With Denise bein' away at her mom's for the weekend, I have some free time on my hands. Maybe I'll ask Tamir or Ru what they're up to."

"You can fo'get about 'Mir! That na so in love right now you could throw an eight ball upside his head and he wouldn't notice!", Mark laughed.

"Man, leave 'Mir alone! Ain't nothin' wrong with that lovin' feelin'!", James laughed while shaking his head.

"Nah, I ain't sayin' that there's somethin' wrong with it because I'm in love with my Cherri, but yall seen how sprung this na been since he was introduced to Sean!", Mark chuckled.

"Regardless, I think it's burtiful!", Larry laughed. "I'ma call Ru in a lil' bit to see if he wants to hang out."
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Later on that evening while Danaysia was putting away some groceries, she kept a close eye on her two-year-old son, Rufus III, who was sitting at the kitchen table in his booster seat eating an apple that she had diced up for him. Meanwhile, Rufus crept into their home to surprise her like he always did from time-to-time. When he heard her singing along with the radio from the kitchen, he quietly stepped inside. She was standing at the kitchen counter with her back to the doorway. When she heard Ru-Ru giggling, she turned her head to the side to see what he was doing. She didn’t know that Rufus had already walked up behind her. All of a sudden, she felt two strong arms wrapping around her and a big kiss being planted on her neck.

"LL! How many times do I have to tell you that I already got a man?!", she giggled.

"LL can only wish to be this na!", Rufus laughed as he and Danaysia shared a kiss after she turned around to face him.

"How ya been today?", he asked as he went over to Ru-Ru to give him a quick kiss on the forehead. “W’sup, lil’ man!” He then proceeded to help Danaysia put the rest of the groceries away.

"Pretty good. What about yourself?", she asked.

"Coo'! You heard from Cherri today? Mark and I were juss talkin' at his place a few minutes ago and he hasn't heard from her since this mornin’.", he replied.

"Yeah, we had lunch with Shauna today. Maybe Cherri had to work late or somethin'.", Danaysia stated.
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Mark was coming out of his front door when he saw Cherelle pulling her car up into the driveway.

"W'sup, baby!", she smiled as she walked up the steps of the front porch to hug and kiss him.

"Hey, boo! Where ya been?!", Mark grinned. "I hadn't heard from you since this mornin'."

"I'm sorry, but I've been in and out of meetings all day long! I'm soooo glad it's officially the weekend!", she smiled as she followed him inside.

"So, what'cha feel like doin' tonight?", he asked as they sat down on the sofa in the den.

"Ummmmm...whateva is good with you, papi!", she winked as she snuggled up next to him.

"Stop! You make me feel dirty when you do that!", he joked as he backed away from her. He proceeded to grab his cap off of his head and cover his face with it.

"Yeah, right!", she giggled before he threw his cap to the side so he could pull her into his arms. They proceeded to share a passionate kiss.

"Anyway, you wanna go out to eat or should we order in and watch some movies?", she smiled.

"Let's order in and watch some movies and then lata on, we can make one!", he replied with a devilish grin.

"Now see...you makin' me feel dirty now...AND I LIKE IT!", she laughed as she climbed onto his lap to kiss him.

"Down, girl, down!", he laughed as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Whateva you say!", she giggled as she pulled him down with her onto the sofa.
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When Shauna reached her house, she noticed Tamir's car in the driveway. "Well, I guess there's no time like now to tell him.", she sighed to herself as she placed her key in the lock.

After walking inside, she noticed that there weren't any lights on in the house. However, she smelled the delicious aroma of some of her favorite foods. "'Mir? Where are you?"

"I'm in the dinin' room!", he answered.

"Why are you sittin'...in the dark?", she asked before she noticed that he was sitting at the head of her dining room table. He had prepared a beautiful candlelight dinner for her.

"I noticed the stress in your voice today so I decided to make dinner for us. Now all you have to do is sit down and be your beautiful self as always.", he smiled as he stood up and walked over to her. He proceeded to hug her tightly and give her a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"He is NOT makin' this any easier!", she thought to herself as she watched him pull out the chair for her to sit down.

"'Mir, thank you soooo much for this! But you really didn't have to do it!", Shauna smiled as she looked up at him.

"Yes, I did! I don't want my baby to be stressed out any more than she has to be.", he grinned as he leaned down to share a passionate kiss with her. "Now c'mon and let me fix your plate!"

Tamir was just about to sit down beside Shauna when he noticed her placing her hand over her mouth while heaving.

"Sean? What's wrong wit'chu?!!", he anxiously asked as he stood back up. He was about to help her up but she jumped up before he had time to and ran to the bathroom down the hall.

"Do you need to go to the doctor, boo?!", Tamir asked as he helped her stand back up after she had finished being sick.

"No, I'll be fine!", she stated with a shake of her head. She hadn't told him about her nauseous spells that she had been suffering from for the last few weeks.

Tamir proceeded to grab a hand towel from the towel rack to wet it with some warm water so he could dab her forehead and face with it.

"Are you sure?", he asked while looking into her eyes. He noticed that her eyes looked very tired.

"Yeah. I was waitin' for the right time to tell you this...", she began.

"Tell me what, Sean?!", he demanded to know.

"I'm 3 months pregnant...by Santiago. I found out today. I'm so sorry, Tamir!" Shauna began to cry and turned her back to him.

He stood in disbelief for a few seconds before speaking. "Sean...there's no need to apologize. We'll get through this. Okay?", he replied.

Shauna shook her head while continuing to quietly sob.

"C'mere, boo. It's gonna be aight.", Tamir stated as he turned her around to pull her into his arms. "I love you and I'll love this child as if it were my own.", he whispered while stroking her hair and kissing her forehead.

"Do you honestly mean that, 'Mir?", Shauna whispered as she looked up at him.

"I honestly do.", he smiled. "What's one man's loss is anotha man's gain. I will do whateva it takes to have you in my life. Besides, we can give this one a brotha or a sista lata on down the line. But for now we can have some fun practicin'!", he joked.

"I love you!", she smiled as she laid her head on his chest.

"I love you too!", he replied as his grip grew tighter on her. "I'll put dinner away until you're ready to eat. I think you should lie down and rest."

"Okay.", she stated with a nod of her head.
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During the late morning of the next day, the guys met up at the park to play some basketball. During a break in playing, Tamir decided to tell them about Shauna.

"She's pregnant with someone else's baby? Man, what in the world?!", Larry asked with a shake of his head.

"Na before you start thinkin' stupid stuff...this happened before we met!", Tamir snapped before taking a gulp of water from his water bottle.

"So what'chu're sayin' is that it's Santiago's kid?", Mark asked while looking over at Tamir.

"Yeah, man. I'ono why he would put her in that situation knowin' the type of career he had.", Tamir replied with a shake of his head.

"Dn! So does she plan to have it?", Rufus asked as he took a seat on the pavement next to Tamir.

"Yeah, Ru! There's no reason for her not to. I told her that I would claim this child as my own. That's how much I love her!", Tamir stated.

"That's all good and err'thang, but are you sure you want to do that? I mean, what if ol' dude comes back and find out that anotha na is takin' care of his seed?!", Mark asked.

"That will be his cufkin' problem, not mine!", Tamir huffed as he quickly stood up. It was evident that he was becoming heated.

"I'ono, man! Mark has a point! What if you were in his shoes? Would you like the thought of anotha man takin' care of your kid?", James asked.

"If I know I was the one who cufked up the relationship? He!!!!!!!!!!! naw!!! Like I said, that'll be his problem! Now who's check is it?!", Tamir spat as he grabbed the basketball.

"It's mine, man!", Rufus stated as he stood up to catch the ball from Tamir. The other guys also stood back up to finish playing.
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[CarolinaCutie]

"Ru-Ru, put that down and get ova' here, lil' man!", Danaysia exclaimed when she saw him pick up one of the controllers to Mark's video game console.

"Vi'o game, mommy!", he squealed with delight as he held it up in the air.

"And you're sure you're ready to have one of these, Sean?!", Danaysia laughed as she went over to take the controller away from him.

"I'ono now that you ask!", Shauna giggled with a shake of her head.

"Leave him alone, Danni! He ain't doin' nothin'!", Cherelle chuckled as she waved her hand at Danaysia.

"Nah, girl! I ain't 'bout to pay for nothin' up in this piece that he might break! I was gonna leave him wit' ma and daddy so they could watch him, but they're gettin' ready for a church function tonight. These terrible 2's ain't no joke!", Danaysia huffed as she picked Ru-Ru up. She proceeded to go back over to the sofa to sit next to Cherelle.

"So, w'sup, Sean? Did you tell 'Mir yet?", Cherelle asked she looked across the den at Shauna who was sitting in the plush recliner that she always took a seat in whenever she visited Cherelle and Mark.

"Yup! And yall were right! He was so dn sweet and undastandin' about it!", Shauna proudly grinned. "He even said that he would claim the baby as his own!"

"Awwwwwwwwwww!!!", Cherelle and Danaysia exclaimed at the same time.

"That is too sweet, girl!", Danaysia grinned while trying to keep Ru-Ru still on her lap. He was becoming a bit fidgety.

"Come ova here to your aunty, sweetie-pie!", Cherelle smiled while holding her arms out to him. He quickly went to her. Danaysia noticed that he immediately stopped cutting up the minute Cherelle had him. Danaysia shot Cherelle a nasty look.

"Hey! Don't hate me 'cuz I got tha magic touch!", Cherelle giggled when she saw Danaysia's reaction. Ru-Ru looked at his mother and began to laugh while clapping his hands.

"Anyway!", Danaysia chuckled with a roll of her eyes. "I'm so happy for you, Sean! You're very lucky to have someone like 'Mir, girl!

"I'm glad that Cherri introduced us! He has been the reason why I'm enjoyin' life right now!", Shauna blushed.

"I told you that you two would hit it off in no time!", Cherelle grinned as she bounced Ru-Ru up and down on her lap.

"Girl, I owe you BIG time for the hookup!", Danaysia winked with a huge grin.

"It was my pleasure, girlfriend!", Cherelle smiled.

The girls chatted for another hour or so when all of the guys burst up into Mark's house to have some lunch.

"Thanks a lot yall!", Danaysia huffed when Ru-Ru woke up from his nap. She picked him up out of Cherelle's lap and quickly handed him to Rufus. "Here, go to your daddy!"

"Hey, lil' man!", Rufus grinned as he kissed his son on the cheek. "You been good for mommy?"

"Now what'chu think?!", Danaysia laughed as she walked past him.

"NOT!", Larry laughed.

"Man, my son knows how to act!", Rufus chuckled as he and the guys sat around in the den to watch some tv.

"Ewwwwwwwww...have yall heard of showers?!", Cherelle asked with a look of disgust after sniffing the air.

"You know you love that manly smell!", Mark laughed as he grabbed and kissed her, stanky scent, sweat and all.

"Stop it!", she shrieked after breaking out of his embrace and slapping his shoulder.

"You feelin' okay?", Tamir smiled as he grabbed Shauna's hand. She was on her way into the kitchen with the girls to see what they could fix the guys for lunch.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be back in a minute.", she smiled.

"Aight.", he grinned with a nod of his head.

"Dang! Yall work fast!", Shauna chuckled when she saw that the girls already made some sandwiches and drinks for the guys.

"You need to concentrate on gettin' your rest! You go back and sit down. We're handlin' thangs!", Cherelle smiled as she walked Shauna back over to the kitchen door.

"Aight, well holla if you need me.", she smiled as she headed back to the den. As she approached the den, she heard Mark still trying to convince Tamir that he was taking on a big responsibility by caring for someone else's child. Shauna stopped in her tracks and turned around to head back to the kitchen.

[CarolinaCutie]

"Cherri, can I go lie down in the guest room upstairs?", Shauna sadly asked.

"Hmmmm? Yeah, girl! Somethin' wrong? You don't look too good!", Cherri anxiously replied as she ran over to Shauna to help her up the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm good. I juss need to lie still for a lil' bit, that's all.", Shauna replied.

"I'll tell the guys to come in here and get their food.", Danaysia stated.

"Aight, thanks!", Cherelle smiled.

When Danaysia reached the den, she heard Mark and Tamir in a heated debate over something, but she couldn't tell what it was about because they were both so loud.

"Ummmmm...excuuuuuuuse me! Lunch is ready!", she announced while looking at all of them with a puzzled look.

"Thanks!", Tamir replied after looking up at her. "Where's Sean?"

"Cherelle took her to the guest room upstairs. She said she needed to lie down for a while.", Danaysia replied while looking over at Rufus.

"I need to go check on her!", Tamir stated as he stood up.

"Nah, man! You go on and have your lunch. I'll go check on her, aight?", Rufus replied as he handed Ru-Ru to Danaysia.

"What's goin' on, Ru?", she asked as she followed him to the stairway.

"I'll explain lata. Oh yeah, Ru-Ru’s Pull-Up needs to be changed.", he matter-of-factly stated as he began to climb the stairs.

"So you waited for me to do it? Yo @$$ ain't even right!", she spat as she glared at Rufus.

"Awwwwww, I'm sorry, boo! I'll make it up to ya lata, aight?", he slyly grinned as he made his way back down to her to give her a quick kiss.

"Maybe you will, maybe you won't!", she chuckled as she rolled her eyes at him.

"You can best believe that I will!", he winked.

As the guys made their way back into the den with their food, they ate in silence. However, Tamir was still heated over what he and Mark had been arguing about.

"Hey, Cherri! I was juss comin' up to check on Sean for 'Mir.", Rufus stated when he ran into Cherelle in the hallway.

"Oh, aight! Well you know where the guestroom is.", she smiled as she made her way back downstairs.

"W'sup, Sean! How ya feelin'?", Rufus asked upon entering the room. Shauna was lying down across the king-sized bed.

"I'm coo'. Thanks for askin'.", she weakly smiled.

"Good! Listen, can we talk for a minute?", he asked as he came to sit down next to her.

"Sure! W'sup?", she asked as she sat up on one elbow to look at him.

"You know you my girl and 'Mir's my boy, right?", he asked.

"Uh-huh.", she answered with a nod of her head.

"Well, he told us the news about your havin' Santiago's baby and...well...I was juss thinkin' about how I would feel if I was in Santiago's shoes.", Rufus stated.

"So you too, huh?", she sighed as she laid back down across the bed.

"You too? What are you talkin' about, Sean?", Rufus asked in a surprised tone.

"I heard what Mark and Tamir were arguin' about downstairs.", she sadly replied.

"Ohhhhh...well, you know. It's not that we don't care about you or your situation. But I wanted to know what you're gonna tell Santiago when he comes back in a few months?", Rufus asked.

"I'm gonna tell him the truth!", Shauna spat.

"Well, since I'm on a roll now, are you gonna go back to him when he comes back?", Rufus asked with caution.

"There's no goin' back to him, Ru! 'Mir is a part of my life now and I want to keep it that way.", Shauna stated with a roll of her eyes.

"That's all I needed to know! I juss wanna look out for yall because yall are like family and I don't want anything to come in between you two.", Rufus smiled.

"Thanks, Ru!", Shauna grinned as she sat up to hug him.

Shauna and Rufus had made their way back downstairs when they overheard Mark and Tamir arguing again.

"Man, what if he comes back to pick up where they left off?! You know Sean was dn near engaged to that na!!! I wouldn't be surprised if she leaves yo' @$$ to go back to him!!!! Think about this man!", Mark yelled.

"Wait juss a dn minute! How in tha' he!! are you gonna try and play me like that?! For your information, there is no goin' back to Santiago!!!", Shauna shouted as she quickly walked into the den to confront Mark.

"How tha' he!! is my boy here supposed to know that?!", Mark shouted back while pointing his thumb back towards Tamir.

"You wanna know what Santiago thought of my love for him, huh?!", Shauna cried as she walked up closer to Mark. "He told me that it would be best if we moved on with our lives! He broke up with me on the spot that night without so much as a goodbye! That's why I know there's no goin' back to him!" Shauna began to sob uncontrollably as she buried her head in her hands. Tamir shot Mark a nasty look as he ran over to embrace and console Shauna.

"See what'chu did?!!!", Cherelle shrieked as she pushed Mark in the back. When he turned around to look at her, everybody began to yell at him at once about making Shauna upset.

"I can't have my baby listenin' to this.", Danaysia thought to herself as she walked down the hall to the downstairs guestroom to close the door where Ru-Ru was taking a nap.

"Wait, yall! Hol' up!!! There's no need to yell at Mark. He's only tryna be a friend and I undastand that! I'm juss a lil' emotional right now.", Shauna stated while dabbing her eyes with some Kleenex that James handed to her.

"Sean, I'm sorry. We still coo'?", Mark asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, we coo'.", Shauna replied. They proceeded to hug each other.

"I'm sorry, man.", Mark told Tamir as they gave each other a pound.

"It's aight!", Tamir smiled.

Everybody began to make their way back to their seats when Shauna became lightheaded from feeling faint. She put her hand up to her head and stumbled. Tamir quickly grabbed up to her waist.

"Oh isht! You aight, Sean?!", Cherelle asked as she ran over to her and Tamir.

"Should I call 911?", Larry asked as he picked up the cordless phone that was nearby.

"Nah, yall! I'm aight! I juss need to lie down for a while.", Shauna smiled after Tamir had helped her sit down on the sofa.

"You sure, ma?", he asked while gently pushing her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, I'm sure.", she replied with a nod of her head.

"I'll go get Ru-Ru so you can lie down in the guestroom so you don't have to go back upstairs.", Rufus stated as he quickly left out of the den.

"C'mon, boo.", Tamir stated as he helped Shauna back up so he could help her into the guestroom.

After Shauna had settled back on the bed, she and Tamir began to talk about their present situation.

"'Mir...I'm sorry to put you through that with your boys. I didn't mean...", she began before he interrupted her statement with a kiss.

"I don't want'chu to think about that anymore. I juss want'chu to concentrate on keepin' yourself and the baby healthy for me, aight?", he smiled.

"Okay.", she whispered as she looked up at him.
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[CarolinaCutie]

Over the next several weeks, Shauna and Tamir did quite a bit of shopping for the baby. They also worked on the nursery with the guys' help.

One Friday evening, the guys decided to hang out with Tamir at Shauna’s place to paint the nursery and put up wallpaper after having dinner with the girls. While they did that, the girls would hang out in the den while talking and listening to music.

"Man, it's been a while since we've done somethin' like this!", James smiled as he stood on a ladder to paint the border of the nursery white.

"I know right! It's been like 2 years now.", Tamir chuckled. "I wonda which one of us will be the next one to have a baby?" He slyly grinned as he looked over in Mark's direction.

"Don't even look ova here! Cherri and I are juss happy with bein' an uncle and aunty right now!", Mark laughed. "It may be a few more years down the line before we're ready to have our own crumb snatchers!"

"So is that what'chu think of Ru's kid?", Larry laughed with a shake of his head. He walked over to get some more paste to put on the back of some wallpaper.

"Yeah, man! Is that what'chu think?", Rufus chuckled as he looked over at Mark.

"Nah, nas! Ru's is a bad@$$ crumb snatcher! There's a difference!", Mark laughed. Without looking back, he went to turn around and stepped in a pan of paint. "Isht! Now look what'chall made me do!", he barked.

"That's what yo' crazy @$$ get for talkin' 'bout my son like that!", Rufus teased as the other guys laughed.

"Fo'get yall!", Mark laughed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Danni, will you c'mere for a second?", Sara whispered while giggling along with Cherelle and Denise. Shauna and Danaysia were putting the last of the dinner dishes away while the rest of the girls chatted in the kitchen's doorway while keeping an eye on Ru-Ru who was across the hall in the den.

"What is it?", Danaysia asked as she came rushing over to them.

"Will you look at your baby, please?!", Cherelle whispered while trying to control her laughter.

Danaysia stuck her head out into the hallway to see what Ru-Ru was doing. She shook her head while laughing. He was standing in front of the stereo trying to dance along with Bow Wow's "Let's Get Down". He was rocking from side to side with one arm straight up in the air. When Shauna came over to look at him, she burst out laughing and went into the den to pick him up and dance with him. Shauna and Ru-Ru were having a good time laughing and dancing.

"Awwwwww, girl! You're gonna make a good mommy!", Cherelle grinned as they all came into the den to join them.

"Thanks!", Shauna grinned. "But I juss hope I have lots of energy to keep up with the baby. This one here is a lil' handful!"

"You ain't neva lied about that!", Danaysia chuckled as she flopped down in an armchair next to the sofa.

"So, what else have you and 'Mir bought for the baby?", Denise asked as she made herself comfortable on the sofa.

"We bought a lot of nice blankets and bedding for the crib. Earlier today, I saw the cutest mobile to hang up over the crib. Tamir is all about buyin' toys for the baby! He's havin' more fun doin' the shoppin' than I am!", Shauna joked as she settled back in her rocking chair.

"Awwwwwwww!!! That's so sweet and adorable!", Sara sighed as she sat down next to Cherelle on the sofa.

"I know right! I couldn't ask for anything betta than him.", Shauna grinned.

"Yall are takin' a break already?", Danaysia asked when she saw the guys making their way into the den.

"He!!z yeah! Paintin' and puttin' up wallpaper ain't no joke!", Larry laughed as he came to sit on the floor in front of Denise. She leaned forward while giggling and kissed him on top of his head.

"Poor baby!", she teased.

"Poor baby, nothin'! He ain't do no more than we did!", Tamir laughed as he went to sit down on the floor in front of Shauna.

"Fo'get you, aight!", Larry laughed as he flipped his finger at Tamir.

"Ummmm...there are kids in here! I don't need him pickin' up on that mess!", Danaysia laughed as she scolded Jazz for what he had just done.

"Oh, my bad!", Jazz laughed.

"So what'chall been sayin' about us?", Mark asked as he sat down next to Cherelle.

"What makes you think that we were talkin' about yall? We could be down here talkin' about world affairs!", Cherelle giggled.

"Yall always on that innocent role!", James smiled with a shake of his head as he and Sara both decided to sit together on the floor.

"Oh, well if that's what'chu think, I'll juss sit back up here then!", Sara huffed as she began to stand back up.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!", James smiled as he pulled her back down into his arms.

"Nah, seriously, we juss been talkin' about the baby and stuff.", Shauna grinned as she looked down at Tamir who had his head resting up against her legs.

"So, yall come up with any names yet?", Mark asked as he picked Ru-Ru up and placed him on his lap. They began to play wrestle.

"Nah, not yet...but that's not a bad idea! Where's that book that we bought the otha' day, Sean?", Tamir asked in reference to the baby name book that they had picked up from Kids 'R Us.

"It should be on the nightstand in my room.", Shauna smiled.

"Aight, I'll be right back.", Tamir grinned as he made his way upstairs to get it.

When Tamir came back down with the book, everybody decided to make a game out of choosing different names for the baby. In order to narrow down the votes for a boy and a girl's name, they decided to write their choices on a slip of paper that they folded up and placed inside of Mark's cap that he had been wearing.

One by one, everybody passed the cap around to place their slip of paper into it. However, when it got to Danaysia, she was about to place her vote in the cap when Ru-Ru pulled on her large hoop earring while playing. "Ouch, boy!", she screamed as the cap fell from her hand onto the floor scattering the paper everywhere. Ru-Ru started laughing non-stop.

"See? Bad A crumb snatcher!", Mark laughed along with Cherelle. Rufus couldn't help from laughing as he gathered up the paper from the floor to put back into the cap.

"Juss for that! You and Cherri are gonna keep him next weekend!", Danaysia snapped before she popped Ru-Ru's hand. He began to scream and yell as if someone had killed him.

"Awwwwww, you didn't have to do that! C'mere, lil' man!", Tamir cooed as he walked over to him to take him from Danaysia. "You were juss playin' won'tcha?", he smiled as he held Ru-Ru over his shoulder while rubbing his back. Ru-Ru stopped crying and began to grin. Shauna couldn't help from laughing.

"I guess 'Mir has the magic touch too!", Shauna giggled.

[CarolinaCutie]

"Anyway, let's get back to the vote, puh-leeze!", Danaysia chuckled with a shake of her head.

After James had placed the last slip of paper into the cap, he passed it to Shauna. Tamir went back over to the floor to sit down in front of her while he rocked Ru-Ru to sleep.

Shauna opened up each slip of paper from the cap and read the names aloud. After the last name had been read, it was decided that if the baby was a boy, he would be named William and if it was a girl, Cierra.

"Thanks guys! This was a pretty coo’ game.", Shauna smiled as she sat back in her chair. "So now that this is outta the way...what should we do about the Christmas party comin' up? December will be here in no time!"

"Yeah, girl! I know that's right! Mark and I were thinkin' that we should have it at our place if everybody is coo' with it.", Cherelle replied.

Everybody nodded their head in agreement.

"Aight, well our place it is!", Mark grinned as he placed his arm around Cherelle's shoulder.

"Well, I guess we'd betta get back upstairs to work on the nursery some more!", Larry huffed as he stood up.

"Yeah, man! Guess you're right.", Rufus replied as he lifted his head up from Danaysia's lap. "Sean, is it aight if I take lil' man to the room down the hall since he's asleep?"

"Now you know you don't have to ask. Go on and take him in there. It’s coo'.", Shauna smiled with a nod of her head.

After another two hours or so, the guys had finished with more than half of the nursery.

"Yall need to come up and see what we've done!", James grinned after walking into the den.

"Oh yeah! C'mon, yall!", Denise smiled as they all stood up and followed James back upstairs to the nursery.

Shauna let out a deep sigh when she walked into the room. The blue and pink wallpaper that was decorated with ABC blocks was absolutely beautiful and the white paint on the wall's borders really brought it out. The white baby furniture and crib that she and Tamir had purchased during the last few weeks went really well with the room.

"Guys, I can't thank yall enough for this! You DEFINITELY did a good job!", Shauna grinned as she went around the room to hug all of them. However, when she got to Tamir he also received a kiss from her.

"We're glad you like it!", Mark smiled while stretching.

"Okay now, Sean! It's time to get'cha outta here so the fumes from the paint won't bother you.", Cherrelle smiled as she took Shauna's hand to lead her out.

"Yeah, that's right!", Sara agreed with a nod of her head. The girls began to make their way back downstairs. The fellas followed out behind them.

"Once again, I thank yall so much for keepin' me company tonight! We're gonna have to do this again real soon!", Shauna grinned after everyone had made their way downstairs.

"It was no problem! We were happy to join ya tonight even if our men did have to work!", Sara smiled.

"We heard that!", Larry answered as he and the guys came back into the den. "But we were happy to do it!"

After everyone said their goodbyes to one another, Shauna and Tamir had the house all to themselves.

"You're stayin' ova at my place tonight, boo. I don't want the paint to bother you and the baby. You stay here and I'll go upstairs to get you a few things to take with you. I'll be back down in a lil' bit.", Tamir stated. He proceeded to help her sit down in her favorite chair and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks.", Shauna smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After arriving inside of Tamir's house, he helped Shauna upstairs and told her to lie down and relax while he ran her a bubble bath.

"You are so good to me.", Shauna giggled after he shared a brief kiss with her.

"That's my job, girl!", he smiled as he stood up from the bed. "I'll let'chu know when your bath is ready, boo."

"Okay.", she smiled with a nod of her head. She began to think about how well things had been going for her in the last few months. It didn't even bother her that she had somehow forgotten all about Santiago as she began to fall asleep.

A few minutes later, Tamir came back into the room. "Sean? Your bath awaits you, sweetie.", he whispered as he bent down in front of her to wake her up. He gently rubbed her arm.

She slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Aight, I'll be right there."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"That Ru-Ru is a tiny terror but he's such a sweetie!", Cherelle grinned as she and Mark collapsed across their bed right after they arrived home.

"Yeah, but the beauty of it is, when we get tired of him, we can give him back to his momma and daddy.", Mark laughed while looking up at the ceiling.

"True!", Cherelle laughed as she looked over at Mark. She then rolled over onto her side and sat up on one elbow while looking down at him. A slow grin spread across her face and she proceeded to gently stroke her thumb across one of his eyebrows.

"What?", Mark smiled as he looked up at her.

"I was juss wonderin' if our kids would have the same cute qualities that you have.", she replied.

He immediately sat up in the bed. "What'chu mean by that?", he anxiously asked as he looked down at her.

"No, na! I'm not pregnant if that's what you're thinkin'!", she snapped while rolling her eyes at him. "I'm juss sayin' that I was wonderin'. I'm gonna go on and take a shower." She jumped up off of the bed and walked over to the dresser to get a change of clothes.

"I'm sorry, boo! I didn't mean to jump to conclusions like that, okay?", Mark smiled as he came up behind her to wrap her up in his arms.

"It's aight. I guess I'm beginnin' to wonder what it would be like to have a baby since my two best friends have one.", Cherelle quietly stated.

"Well, it would be nice to have a lil' Mark runnin' around here. But we can talk about it some more after our practice session tonight.", Mark chuckled as he nuzzled Cherelle's neck.

"Get away from me!", she laughed as she broke out of his embrace. However, before going to take her shower, they shared a passionate kiss.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After taking a shower, Danaysia stood in the doorway of her bedroom as she watched Ru-Ru and his daddy play wrestle with one another on the bed. Rufus happened to look up and saw her standing there.

"Hey, ma! Lil' man and I were playin' around for a lil' bit since he's tryna fight sleep. I thought maybe this would tire him out.", Rufus grinned. "Care to join us?"

"No! I told you that boy is spoiled enough as it is, Ru! If you don't wanna put him to sleep, I'll rock him to sleep.", she sighed as she went over to Ru-Ru to pick him up. When he saw her coming he began to giggle and scream while crawling behind Rufus.

"Uh oh, man! Here she comes!!!", Rufus warned with laughter as he scooped Ru-Ru up into his arms.

"Stop playin', now!", Danaysia giggled as she tried to take Ru-Ru from his daddy.

"C'mon, Ru-Ru! Let's get mommy!", Rufus shouted as he placed him on the bed before jumping up to pull her down onto the bed with them. They both began to shower her with kisses while she laughed uncontrollably.

A few minutes later, after their playing session was over, Danaysia managed to get Ru-Ru to sleep as she held him in her arms and rocked him. "Now he's mommy's lil' angel!", she whispered to Rufus as she kissed the top of her son's head.

"That's my baby boy.", he smiled before he leaned over to share a kiss with Danaysia. "I'll take him to his room."

"Nah, I want him to stay in here tonight.", she stated as she continued to rock her baby. She didn't mention it to Rufus, but watching her baby grow up so quickly was making her want to have another one. And to see her best friend pregnant only assisted in her having this feeling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"That bath really has me relaxed now!", Shauna grinned as she walked back into Tamir's bedroom to join him.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet.", he whispered as he pulled her down onto the bed. After removing her robe and making her lie down on her stomach, he began to give her a gentle body massage through her gown. By the time he was finished, he had ended up at her feet.

"They felt sooooooooooo good! Thanky, boo-boo!", Shauna sighed as she rolled over to look at him.

"I know the perfect way for you to thank me.", he replied with a wink.

"And juss what would THAT be?", she giggled as she continued to look at him.

He answered her with a deep and passionate kiss.

[glow=red,2,300]“We’ve got it good/We have it all it seems/We’re living dream”
— Hi-Five: The Kissing Game[/glow]

[Nina]

Dammmmmmn girl!I wish i could do the things you do(storys and fan fiction).Ya lucky dowg.This is a great story and it got me all into it.Wow,thats great.I think i'm gonna print it 4 i can read it all the time.Much love to ya both.Keep up the good work cuz every one can't write thing like that and you know it girl.
shoot,I readin the other one too.Thank 4 bringin your talent to the dru net.

[CarolinaCutie]

Thanky, girl! ;D

[sexysmile]

I'm feelin that one in more ways than one! All my friends have kids and I feel like the last of a dying breed... This is a good one i can't wait to read the rest!!

[DruDiamond]

Good work! I'm goin to read the next part now ;D

[Drulady03]

Good Job girl ;D okay, on to part two..lol