"We've got a problem"

Mary uttered and walked towards Zayn, reaching inside her pocket then pulled out a piece of paper, and held it out to him. "Read this," She said.

With a slight frown, Zayn took the paper and as he began reading it, his frown deepened and his body tensed. "How and where did you get this?" He asked, fighting the rising panic in his voice as he lifts his gaze to meet hers.

"I went to a coffee shop looking to pass some time reading a book then the waitress dropped it on my table, that some man told her to give it to me"

"But how-how did he know who we are?"

"I don't know, and that's what scaring the shit of me"

Louis walked over to them and stood beside Mary with an uneasy expression. "I think he has been keeping tabs on us for a while"

"Fuck"

Zayn groaned loudly and started pacing then he realized he was still holding the baby who appears sleepy. He sat down near the head of the bed, fluff the pillows up against the headboard, then leaned the baby's back against it.

The baby snapped awake, whining loudly when he realized Zayn was no longer holding him, and lift his arms for Zayn to pick him up again.

"Not now MJ, I'm busy. Sleep"

Zayn whispered with a frustrated look then the baby let out a high-pitch wail, grating his ears. Zayn heaved a sigh and threw his hands in the air before picking the baby up again.

"Happy now?" He said in a monotone as the baby sniffles, hugging his neck and tucked the head in the crook between Zayn's neck and shoulder.

"I hope you know I'm not going to be spoiling you like your mama" Zayn whispered with a stern tone then the baby yawned softly and closed his eyes.

At that moment, Mary exchange a look with Louis, both surprised at the shared bond between Zayn and the baby, and that fuelled the nagging feeling in Mary's stomach again, creating an internal conflict within her. She knows even though Zayn has a reputation as a playboy, he's never careless when fucking around, however, one glimpse at the baby and there's no doubt the kid kinda looks like him.

"So what do we do now? Ignore and call his bluff?" She asked, gaining Zayn's attention.

Zayn read the note again, his lips thinning down. "No, we will meet up with him and find out what he wants"

"We all know what Horan wants," Louis said with a duh tone.

Zayn stared at Louis and spoke. "I don't think he's only after the tech, remember what Ricky told us the other day at the club?"

A snort left Louis's mouth in response. "And you believed the shit he said?"

"Wait, what did Ricky say?" Mary asked, her eyes shifting nervously between the two men.

"Word on the street has is that Horan wants to recruit the best and the most wanted car thieves, which is us, to work for him" Louis explained, causing Mary's mouth to drop open and her eyes widening.

"The fuck!" She exclaimed with a furious look. "We are not going to work for him, we work for ourselves"

"He will kill us if we don't accept his offer" Louis reminders her, then let out a loud breath.

"He won't kill us" Zayn chimed in. "He needs our skills and brains to make his force to be reckoned with. He won't waste our talents six feet under"

Mary raked her hands through her hair and took a moment to breathe deeply as her stomach twists in knots at the thought of working for Horan.

"Does Ezra know what's going on?" Zayn asked with a concerned look.

"Yeah, he should be here at any moment. I told him to use the underground entry, who knows they might be watching the house" Mary replied, and at that moment, they heard the door creaked open then Ezra popped his head around it.

They all averted their gaze in his direction as he fully opens the door and enters the room with a frown. "What's the baby still doing here?" He asked, casting a skeptical glance at the baby in Zayn's arms.

"We couldn't drop him off, the police were in the house" Zayn explained with a sigh.

"You could you have sneak at the back of the house....

"And risk getting arrested?" Louis retorted with a glare.

"Guys, we have a more pressing issue at hand, let's fucking deal with that first then we concentrate on taking the baby back home" Mary yelled, becoming exasperated with their childish bickering.

The room became quiet, then Zayn broke the silence. "I still think we should meet up Horan and hear what he has to say"

"Hell no!" Mary gave Zayn a dry look like he's a complete mad man.

"The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself" Zayn stated, trying to reason with her.

"Yeah, but we have to truly understand the enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, however, we know nothing of Horan. The only thing we know about him is that he's the leader of the biggest mafia in the city, that's it" Ezra uttered with a nervous look.

"Ezra is right, if we don't know the enemy we will surely suffer a defeat" Louis interjected.

"Guys, just trust me on this okay?" Zayn muttered, adjusting the baby into a more comfortable position.

"The last time we did, you ended up with a baby" Louis said with a sarcastic tone, causing Zayn to roll his eyes.

"Why don't we sleep on it, tomorrow afternoon we will decide what to do" Zayn suggested glancing at them, and they all hummed in responses, agreeing to what he said.

"Um.. what time do we have to meet up with Horan, in case we decide to go?" Ezra asked with a slight frown.

"7 pm" Mary replied.

"7 pm?" Ezra repeated with wide eyes.

"Yeah, why?" Zayn raised his brows, looking at him.

"Well, Cara and I have dinner plans with her family tomorrow at 7:30 pm. She's finally going to introduce me to them as her boyfriend"

"You're having dinner with Cara's family? While we know nothing of her, not even how she looks like" Louis complained as his gaze scrutinizes Ezra's face.

"It's complicated" Ezra whispered lowly, avoiding his gaze.

"Complicated?" Mary raised her brows then narrowed her eyes at him. "Then enlighten us, why are you keeping Cara's identity a secret, and why are you always bringing up some lame excuse why we can't meet her?"

"I don't meddle in your business, right? So don't meddle in mine. I will tell you when I'm ready" Ezra said in a voice, a little louder than normal and defensive, then stomped out of the room.

Mary looked back worriedly over her shoulder as Ezra left and retracted her gaze to Louis then to Zayn. "Should we be worried?" She asked.

"Nah, I don't think so. Let's give him some time" Louis answered.

In The Morning....

Zayn stretched and yawned loudly in his sleepy state, extending his hand over to the spot where he had laid the baby to sleep last night and when he felt nothing, his eyes snapped open then he averted his gaze to where he had been touching and saw nothing but an empty space.

His heart skipped a beat, then he pushed himself up to a sitting position, looking around the room, and notices a note on the nightstand then picked it up and read it.

Dear shitty father of the year, we're with MJ in the living room.

Zayn placed his hand over his heart and breathe a sigh of relief. He thought he had slept on the baby and squash him.

He made a mental note to buy a cot but then he remembered he was supposed to return the baby back home this dawn. He glance at the clock on his nightstand which reads half-past ten then licked his lips and ran a hand through his hair, before he rose from the bed and went to the bathroom, did his morning routine, then took a shower.

Afterward, he got dressed and went downstairs to the living room where he caught the sight of Ezra, spanking Louis while the baby looks on, giggling.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

He asked with an astonished look, and immediately he spoke, Ezra stopped spanking Louis and the baby averted his gaze to him, beaming brightly, and began crawling towards him.

Zayn's eyes widen and his mouth open agape. "When-when did he start crawling?" He stutters, pointing at the baby while darting his eyes to Ezra and Louis.

They both shrugged their shoulders with a clueless expression.

The baby crawled to Zayn's feet and made a loud babbling noise to gain his attention. Zayn looked down, then the baby lifts his arms for Zayn to pick him up.

Zayn scoops him up as a sudden realization hits him. "You cheeky little monkey" He muttered and the baby giggled, seeing his shocked facial expression.

"You could crawl, yet you made me carry everywhere!"

"I gonna punish you" He roared in a robotic voice and began tickling the baby, causing him to laugh loudly.

He chuckled softly and stopped tickling the baby then for some strange reason he felt some sadness in his heart, that he's not going to be there when the baby takes his first steps and says his first word.

He's not going to be there for the baby's first Christmas and his first birthday.

He's not going to be there for the baby's first day at pre-school and when he graduates from high school and then college.

A small smile formed on his lips as he gazes at the baby. "How are you feeling this morning? Are you okay?" His tone softened to one of sadness.

The baby babbles as if he was responding to his question then Zayn placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

He realized the room had become quiet then he glances at Louis and Ezra who were staring at him and the baby dumbfoundedly. He observed how both men averted their gaze to Mary who was leaning by the kitchen door and in return, she gave them the I told you so look.

"What?" He asked confusedly as to why they were acting weird.

"Nothing" The three of them said in unison, causing Zayn to suspect they were hiding something from him but he didn't bother to ask further.

"Anyway, why the hell were you spanking Louis in front of the baby?" He directed the question to Ezra but Louis answered instead, with a slight scowl.

"Because apparently, MJ likes it when Ezra spanks my ass"

Louis waited to see Zayn's reaction, but only got a blank stare in return, so he continued his explanation.

"When you were supposed to wake up early and do your fatherly duties, I went to your room while you were sleeping like a log and picked the baby up, bath him, fed him, and gave him his medicine on time. He started crying afterward and we tried to calm him down, but the kid won't shut up until Ezra accidentally spanked my ass, and that's when he stopped crying and giggled"

Zayn's brows arched in disbelief and glance at the baby who looked back at him with innocent eyes, then he averted his gaze back to Louis.

"So you were spanking each other to make him stop crying?" He asked, his voice laced with amusement.

Louis groaned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yes, however, when I spank Ezra, he cries but when Ezra spanks me, it makes your pervert baby happy" Louis mumbled the last part with a playful glare towards the baby.

The baby giggled at Louis's expression and hid his face in Zayn's chest.

"Oh, come on" Zayn said with a soft chuckle. "He's just a baby, your actions are amusing to him, he doesn't know what spanking is"

"If you say so, that kid is a mini Christian Grey" Ezra picked his backpack from the couch and slung on his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Zayn asked him.

"To see Cara, I will be back before 2 pm" Ezra uttered.

"Alright, be careful"

Ezra nodded with a small smile and left the room as Louis sprawled on the couch opposite Zayn with his arms pointing out at odd angles.

"I thought you were supposed to take the baby back this dawn?" Mary asked, sipping on her orange juice.

"Yeah, I overslept, I will do that this evening" Zayn murmured with a sigh.

"Can one of you please watch him?" He asked, glancing between Mary and Louis. "I'm meeting up with the nurse from yesterday, we are getting some stuff for him at the mall"

Mary frown. "I thought you said you're taking him home tonight?"

"Yeah" Zayn replied.

"Then why are you going shopping for the kid when you have enough diapers and baby food which can last for a week. Are you planning on keeping him?" She asked, raising her brows.

"No!" Zayn quickly denied. "Why would you say that?" He asked with a slight frown.

"Because you're going to buy stuff for a kid you're supposed to return to his mama in a few hours, it doesn't make sense" Louis interjected.

"I... Zayn paused before continuing. "I just want him to be happy while he's with us"

Mary and Louis gave him a ridiculous look.

"You're getting attached" Louis warned.

"What? No" Zayn snorted. "I just don't want him to feel traumatized during his stay here. Besides, I took him from his family and I'm making sure he's happy, safe, and not sad"

Louis sat up and laughed out loud at Zayn's absurd explanation. "You do realize he doesn't even know he has been kidnapped, right?" Louis asked slowly.

"All this kid does is to, eat, poop, eat, poop, and make us do shit for his amusement. Just look at him, does he look like someone who's traumatized and sad?"

Zayn rolled his eyes as a snicker came out of Mary's mouth.

"Well, I can't watch him. I have some errands to do in town" She said.

Zayn turned to Louis with a pleading look. "Please"

Louis rolled his eyes and nodded. "Give him to me"

Zayn crossed over to Louis and gave the baby to him before hunching to the baby's level. "I'm going out, be a good boy for uncle Louis okay?"

"I am not his uncle" Louis argued.

Zayn glance up at Louis and rolled his eyes. "Just play along" He said, before shifting his gaze back to the baby with a smile.

"And don't cry too much okay, play with your toys and when I came back I will have a surprise for you alright?" He said, kissing the baby's forehead.

"Say bye-bye to Papa" Louis held the baby's arm and waved it.

Zayn chuckled in amusement and played along. "Bye-bye" He cooed, waving back and blew a kiss to the baby while grabbing the car keys on the center table. He walked to the front door and turned around then waved again before closing the door behind him.

The baby looked up at Louis, sulking.

"Aw, don't be sad, he will be back before you know it" Louis cooed, handing him his SpongeBob toy to play with then took a long look at the baby's face before retracting his gaze to Mary.

"You're right, with Zayn's numerous hookups and meaningless one-night stands, there's a possibility this kid might be his"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I hope you like it.

Don't worry Harry will be in the next chapter😅

Thoughts on the chapter

Thoughts on Zayn

Thoughts on Louis

Thoughts on Mary

Thoughts on Ezra.

Thanks for reading. Stay safe ❤️