i love...cake

Julie wasn't sure why Kaiden had asked her to meet him at the Kiborante, but he had, so here she was waiting for him. He said he had something to tell her, something important. She wondered what it could be, hoping it was nothing bad. Especially after all the good things that had happened lately. For example, her brother was home from the hospital! It was great to see him feeling better. Plus, this meant that it would soon be time to move out officially.

Her thoughts were shattered when she saw Kaiden enter the restaurant.

"Kaiden! Over here!" she called.

Kaiden heard his name being called as he walked into the Kiborante. He looked around and quickly saw Julie, who was easily the most pretty girl in the place, even with her belly that stuck out a good distance. He smiled widely at her and waved.

He walked to the table and sat opposite her. "Did you order yet?" he asked, picking up his menu.

"Just a drink," Julie replied, indicating towards the almost untouched tpink lemonade that sat on the table in front of her. "I haven't been here too long, so they haven't even asked to take a food order yet. But--oh, it looks like the waiter's on his way now."

Sure enough, the waiter came and took both their meal orders, plus a drink order from Kaiden. As soon as the waiter walked off, Julie turned back to Kaiden.

"So what did you want to tell me?" she asked curiously.

"Well, you know how last week we were talking about me looking for a job?" he asked.

"Yeah..." Julie replied slowly, easily able to predict where this was going. Had Kaiden seriously gotten a job? Already?

"Well, I was looking around in Dahlin, and then I had an idea," he said. "See, I've never been around babies, but I had never really thought about it before, but now that we're actually having one, I thought it would be good if I got some experience."

The waitress came back with Kaiden's drink and he took a sip of it, leaving Julie wondering for a second. "Well, I walked past the orphanage and it hit me," he explained. "So I got a job there, working with the little kids. I started yesterday."

"You got a job at the orphanage?" Julie repeated, sounding surprised, dubious and excited all at once. To be honest, she was really surprised, not only that Kaiden had actually followed through with getting a job, but also that he had come up with a good idea of how to get a job and learn how to take care of kids all at the same time.

"Wow, that's...that's great!" she exclaimed, smiling. If she weren't sitting across from him she would've hugged him. She was so proud of him, he was really stepping up.

He was happy that he had made Julie happy. He wasn't sure how excited he was about his job, but at least it would get him ready to be a dad. And make Julie happy.

"I figure one baby at home, has got to be easier than twenty there. It's like a mad house, I feel so bad for them." Because they didn't have birth control in Amelia, there were tons of unwanted babies. Kaiden was so happy they hadn't decided to give their baby up for adoption. Chances were, he would have been stuck there for a few years, and that would have been awful.

Julie nodded. "Yeah, I know, my mom grew up there," she told Kaiden. "She said she absolutely hated it. But you know, you're really doing a good thing by being there. Maybe you can brighten up their lives a little." Kaiden, for the most part, had a good sense of humor and a generally happy exterior. That probably differed from the rest of the orphanage staff, which consisted of sour old ladies. Kaiden would probably be like a breath of fresh air to those kids, assuming he would have patience with them.

He nodded. Kaiden was glad she thought it was a good idea. Basically he had just killed off three of his tasks with one stone. a-get a job, b-get experience with babies, c-make Julie happy.

Finally their food came. Kaiden had ordered spaghetti (because that's what all of my TAD/F characters order), so he happily twirled some onto his fork.

Julie had ordered something that she was allowed to eat, and that she could stand to taste and smell. They ate quietly for a while. She happened to glance up at Kaiden, and noticed how cheerful he seemed. She wouldn't have expected someone like Kaiden to be happy about having to get a job...unless it was something else that had made him happy today...

"So," she said, not liking the silence. "How is...everything going?"

She couldn't think of anything else to ask.

"Ev'rythin's been perty goo'," Kaiden managed, with his mouth full of skettis. Then he grinned, swallowed, wiped his mouth, and started again.

"I mean, everything's been pretty good. I mean, you and little Quill are perfect, as far as I know, everything's going great. What else could I ask for?" he said.

"I can't believe how much you've changed since I first met you," Julie told him, shaking her head in disbelief. Though of course she was smiling, because she liked New Kaiden a heck of a lot more than she liked Old Kaiden. He was so much more considerate and responsible. "You know, I really think Quill is lucky that he's gonna have you for a dad."

Quill was going to be lucky to have a lot of clio who loved him, but in the beginning Julie hadn't thought of Kaiden as the "good father" type. She wasn't sure many clio would have ever told him he would be a good dad, except maybe his crazy parents who didn't count, and Julie thought he should hear someone say it.

Kaiden's brow ruffled. "You really think so?" he asked. He hadn't heard that from anyone but his parents, and they didn't really count. He hadn't even heard that from himself, really.

"Yeah," Julie replied honestly. "I mean, a few months ago I wouldn't have thought so, but you've really grown up since then, and you're a really nice guy, and you obviously love Quill so much already. You're gonna be a great dad, I just know it." Maybe not a prefect dad, maybe not a conventional dad, but a great one nonetheless.

"Well, thanks..." Kaiden replied sheepishly, for maybe the first time in his life. It meant a lot to hear anyone, especially Julie of all clio, saying that.

He gave her a smile. He really had grown up, and as much as he would have hated even the thought of it before, it wasn't that bad. It was actually kind of nice. Or maybe that was just his butterflies talking, because suddenly he had a whole ton in his tummy. Another first.

"You're welcome..." Julie replied quietly, absent-mindedly playing with her hair, returning the smile. She knew she always liked to hear clio tell her she'd be a good mom, especially when she was having doubts. She wondered if Kaiden ever had doubts.

Kaiden felt a little awkward now, so he dove back into his spaghetti. This was so hard. So so hard.

"I don't want you to be unhappy anymore, Julie," he said. "If you ever need anything, ever. If you just want to get away, just let me know."

"But...I'm not unhappy," Julie replied, perplexed. What was Kaiden talking about? She felt the sincerity of his offer, but didn't understand it.

"I mean, with everything going on. If you feel too... overwhelmed, or anything like that." He wasn't sure if she felt that way, but he sure did sometimes. And when he did, he felt like just getting away from everything for a little while. And he knew that Julie had more to worry about then he did, considering she was the one that was pregnant, plus what had happened to her brother.

"Oh...well, um, thanks," Julie replied, still a little confused, but appreciative of his offer nonetheless. Of course she felt overwhelmed sometimes, all the time, but...the last time she had tried to 'get away from it all' with Kaiden's help she had ended up pregnant. Though she was sure that wasn't what he had in mind now. He really genuinely wanted to help her now, it seemed. She smiled. "I'll remember that. And hey, same goes for you. I'm here for you if you ever need someone." To listen, to talk to, things like that.