"Is that a baby?"

Ezra whispered in a stunned voice, blinking his daze eyes rapidly and looked at his friends, gauging their facial expression to see whether what he was seeing, is exactly what they were seeing, cause surely four people can not hallucinate about a baby at the same time.

He gasped in horror, seeing from their expressions that what he was seeing is real and not just a figment of his imagination playing tricks on him. Then he clamped a hand over his mouth, knowing they have fucked up big time.

Louis looked completely shaken at the scene in front of him then he turned his head to gawk at Zayn, who looked like his life was crumbling similar to a cookie in a child's palm. It took several seconds for Louis to take a slow deep breath, to try and calm his pounding heart. Even longer before he was able to utter a sentence.

"You kidnapped a baby?"

Zayn's brow furrowed, looking at Louis in utter disbelief. "No, I didn't, why would I kidnap a baby?"

"Then how come there's a baby in the backseat of the car?" Louis whispered yelled.

"How the fuck should I know, I didn't know there was a baby in the car"

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Ezra blurted out the odd question in the midst of their argument, causing Zayn and Louis to glare at him with an exasperated look.

"How the fuck am I suppose to know!" Zayn said loudly and angrily, startling the baby, then the baby squirmed, scrunching its face and let out a small whimper.

The four of them froze and held their breaths in tense silence, staring at the baby and praying he or she doesn't wake up. The baby somehow soothes itself back to sleep then they let out a huge breath of relief and slowly backed away from the car, with Mary leaving the door slightly ajar.

"Shit" Zayn mumbled, running his fingers through his hair and began pacing back and forth, his chest heaving as he draws shaky breaths to calm himself.

"Calm down, just drop the baby off somewhere. Someone will find it and take it to the police station and the baby will be united with its family. Problem solved" Mary suggested.

"What?" Ezra mumbled opposingly. "That's so cruel, what if that someone is a serial killer or pedophilia?"

Mary sighed and shrugged her shoulders in defeat, seemly out of ideas then Zayn paused and ran a hand over his face.

"I told you this was a bad idea" Louis grumbled, frustration and anger clear in his voice. "You should have waited, and investigated the owner of the car before stealing it. But nooo, I have to have her and now we have a baby" He said the part with a sarcastic tone.

"Wait, you broke the rules?" Mary said with raised brows, staring at Zayn with an unbelievable expression. "The same rules you set up for the team safety!" She whispered yelled.

Zayn rubbed his forehead, feeling sensations like a thousand bubbles exploding in his head, his tense frame never relaxing. "Look, I know I fucked up but we......

"Hold on Malik" Louis held his hand up. "You're on your own, there's no we in this situation. You broke the rules, so you fix your own damn mess"

Ezra stood behind Louis, nodding his head along in agreement.

Zayn's eyes widened at Louis's words, but he was even more surprised at Ezra, since he was the one who backed him to steal the car in the first place. Louis walked past him with Ezra following behind.

Mary sighed, folding her arms on her chest and staring at him. "Next time, follow your own damn rules" She said, following in suit.

Suppressing the urge to scream wasn't easy, but Zayn managed it and kick the gravel on the ground with frustrated rage. So much for them being a team. He thought bitterly and walked towards the car, resting his head on the passenger door, taking deep breaths while racking his brain for a solution to the problem.

He opened the backseat door, staring at the sleeping baby with exasperation, and notices how the baby's eyelids flutter as it's sleeps peacefully and how squishy the baby's chubby cheeks looks.

Cute

He blinked his eyes, frowning at the thought that crossed his mind. Why the hell is he thinking about the baby's cuteness when he's in a mess because of it. He let out a soft breath and carefully took out the convertible seat the baby was sleeping in from the car then held the portable carrying handle and carried the baby inside the house.

He placed the convertible seat on the center table in the living room before collapsing onto the sofa opposite it and glance over to Louis, who's watching a football match on TV and ignoring him.

Mary walked into the living room, wearing a different outfit indicating she's going out.

"Where are you going?" Zayn asked, knitting his brows.

"Out. I have a date" She responded.

"A date?" Zayn said with a look of disbelief "Or you're leaving the house because of the baby?"

Mary shrugged her shoulders and put her shades on.

"You're the female in the group, you're supposed to take care of the baby until we figure out what to do"

"Excuse me" Mary frown, taking her shades off and gaped at Zayn with a raised brow. "You expect me to clean poops and take care of the baby because I am a woman and not you cause you're a man?"

"Yeah" Zayn said unsurely causing Louis to snicker.

"That's sexist" Mary shot him a deadly glare.

"I just... Zayn let a loud breath and put both arms in surrender. "Never mind, have fun on your date"

Mary's eyes gleamed as she put her shades back on. "Don't wait up" She uttered, walking to the front door and pulled it opened, then cast a quick glance over her shoulder. "Enjoy your the rest of your day filled with baby cries" She said to Zayn then quietly close the door behind her.

Zayn shut his eyes and rubbed his forehead, feeling stupid for believing Mary. He glances at Louis again then spots Ezra with a backpack strapped on his back, walking towards him with a frightened look as if he was being haunted. "Where are you going?" He asked, gritting his teeth.

"To find where the curly lives so you will drop the baby off on his doorstep" Ezra replied.

Zayn's body slumped, losing its stiff posture as if a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders, though not entirely but at least, Ezra's idea is solid and there's a greater chance of it succeeding.

"Phew! Thank God for your brains, unlike someone I know" Louis murmured in a mocking tone.

Zayn shot him a ferocious glare, before averting his gaze back to Ezra. "Then why are you leaving the house? Can't you work on your laptop from here?" He asked, furrowing his brow.

"I can but the baby's presence in the house is giving me anxiety, I won't be able to do my search properly"

Ezra's answer was met with a puzzled look from Zayn. "You're scared of the baby?" He asked.

Ezra hesitated for a second then glance nervously at the baby's direction before responding in a whisper voice. "Remember Species, Rosemary's baby, Grace, the stranger within and Born/still?"

"Those horror movies we watched a few days ago?" Zayn murmured, trying to understand where Ezra was going with this.

"Yes, and they all involve cute innocent babies like that baby" Ezra gestured to the baby's direction. "Turning into blood spilling and sucking demons. If I stay here, I will be freaking out and imagining the baby sneaking into my room and trying to kill me"

Zayn finally grasps why Ezra looked so paranoid. He never understands why Ezra would watch horror movies when he easily gets triggered by it. He sighed and spoke. "Alright, text me the address when you get it and spend the night at Cara's place but I expect you to be home tomorrow morning"

Ezra hummed in responses and practically flew out of the room, slamming the door behind him with a loud bang, and startling the baby. Then Zayn went all pale when the baby squirmed and flung it's arms out.

He gave Louis a nervous look but Louis looked the other way, pretending not to have seen or heard what just happened.

Zayn rose from the sofa and peeked to see if the baby has fallen back to sleep, but unfortunately the baby's partial closed eyes flutter fully open. Then slowly, the baby opens it's mouth to a full stretch and yawns, rubbing the eyes and blinked.

Zayn swallowed nervously as the baby fixated up at the spinning ceiling fan above and looked to the side, before it's wandering gaze came up to his face. The baby frown, as if it was expecting someone else instead of him.

Zayn gazed steadily into the baby's green eyes as his brows curled down into a barely perceptible frown, and for few seconds, the baby and him locked gaze in a silent staring contest.

"Don't fucking cry"

He hissed lowly as if he could sense what's on the baby's mind, then the baby's face contorted and the lower lip began to quiver. Zayn let out a loud breath and palmed his face, knowing what's coming next, and within a couple of seconds, a shrill wail filled the air.

Zayn veered his attention to Louis with a helpless expression, knowing Louis is the only one who can help him since Louis used to volunteer taking care of babies back in the orphanage.

"Louis"

Louis continued ignoring him, feeling the frustration in Zayn's tone coming out full force but he could careless. He cautioned Zayn about the consequences of his actions but Zayn paid no heed to his warnings. He would have helped Zayn regardless of any situation but not when it involves cleaning poop and a crying baby.

"I swear to God Louis, if you don't help me with the baby, I'm going to tell Nam and Sarah that you're fucking both of them behind their backs"

That got Louis's attention. He whirled his head in Zayn's direction, narrowing his eyes at him. "Are you threatening me?" He asked with a slight frown.

"Yes" Zayn replied challengingly, as the baby's cries magnified.

Louis narrowed eyes turned to a scowl, meeting Zayn's pleading gaze. "Please just make the baby stop crying or tell me what to do" Zayn murmured, imploring him.

Louis sighed at a low grumble, seemingly having a change of heart, and slowly rose from the couch, making his way towards Zayn. He stood beside Zayn and stare at the wailing baby in the convertible seat. "He's probably hungry or wet, change the diapers, feed him and soothe him back to sleep" Louis muttered.

"He?" Zayn raised his brows.

"I'm assuming" Louis replied.

"What if it doesn't work?" Zayn asked, glancing at the baby as its face turned red.

"Then you'll end up in tears too, an inconsolable baby is your worst nightmare" Louis muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Pick him up and hold him against your chest" He added, instructing Zayn.

Zayn let out a shaky breath and carefully picked the baby up, holding the baby securely against his chest with his hand covering the baby's back. He frowned, when he notice the baby smell a little funny and wrinkled his nose in disgust, realizing it's the smell of the baby's poop.

He grimaces his face and held the baby away from his chest and face.

"What the hell are you doing? You're supposed to place the baby on your chest and rock him" Louis muttered jerking his brows up with a slight frown.

"He has pooped" Zayn grunted with a whine, eliciting Louis to roll his eyes. "He's wearing a diaper and clothes, the poop won't get on your shirt"

Zayn groaned and held the baby back onto his chest, rocking him. He noticed Louis leaving the room and became alarmed. "Where are you going?" He inquired with uneasiness, still rocking the crying baby.

"To check if there's a diaper bag in the car"

He nodded then Louis went out of the room and he began pacing back and forth while rocking the baby. He felt overwhelmed and helpless by the cries of the baby as seconds turned into minutes with his uneasy task.

Louis came back, holding the diaper bag and placed it on the sofa. Inside he found a pack of diapers, two bottles of milk in a warmer, a small stuffed toy, baby wipes, baby lotion, powder, and two sets of clothing. He took the baby from Zayn and took charge, changing the diaper, and that's where they discovered the baby is a boy. Afterward, he fed the baby and burped him, but the baby kept fussy crying.

They took turns, strolling around the room, rocking the baby to calm him but it didn't work, and after thirty minutes of trying, they gave up and placed the baby back in the convertible seat and dropped on the floor, feeling exhausted and drained.

"I can't take this anymore" Zayn whined loudly and clamped his hands tightly over his ears, wondering how long this would continue before his head explode.

Louis stood up on his knees, grunting with the effort, and hovered over the baby and within a minute, Zayn realized the baby had stopped crying, bewildered by the sudden change of events he rose up on his elbows, curious to see what Louis was doing for the baby to stop crying. And to his surprise, he saw Louis making funny faces, so he joined in as they scrunch up their faces, bugging their eyes out, sticking their tongues out, and making all sorts of silly faces with different funny sounds.

The baby's darts his green eyes from Louis to Zayn with a blank look as they continued making funny faces. Then Zayn noticed the small stuffed Spongebob toy near the diaper bag and an idea pops into his head. He whispered what he had in mind to Louis then Louis gave him a ridiculous. But didn't comment and nodded, agreeing to it.

They both cleared their throats as the baby gaze silently at them, and Zayn could have sworn he saw the baby rolling his eyes as if telling them to hit him with their best shot.

Zayn took a deep breath then awkwardly and loudly, said. "Are ya ready kids?"

"Aye, aye, captain" Louis uttered along, complying with Zayn's idea.

"I can't hear yooooouuu" Zayn yelled but not too loudly.

"Aye, aye, captain" Louis said, raising his right hand to his forehead, saluting.

"Ooooohh... who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" Zayn sung making a funny face.

"Spongebob Squarepants" Louis wriggled his nose.

"Absorbent and yellow and porous is he?"

"Spongebob Squarepants"

And as they were singing, the baby flashed an adorable toothy smile and giggled.

They cheered loudly, giving each other high-five for finally figuring out the baby's tickle fancy and started mimicking Spongebob, Squidward, Mr Krabs, Sandy, and Plankton's voices, causing the baby to roar with laughter. They felt like idiot's, trying to please a baby but it was fun and at the same time tiring.

The baby's beaming green eyes made Zayn wonder if the curly has the same green eyes too, or if he's the mother since some men can give birth.

Louis noticed Zayn had drifted off in thoughts and used the empty baby bottle to slightly hit his head and asked in Mr Krabs voice. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing Mr Krabs" Zayn mimicked in SpongeBob's voice, rubbing the part of his head Louis hit with the bottle.

"Time is money! And if you're wasting time then you're wasting money and that's just sick!" Louis uttered in Mr Krabs voice and grimace his face causing the baby to laugh hysterically.

After some time, they manage to lull the baby to sleep and collapsed dramatically on the floor, overwhelmed with relief.

"I'm never having kids" Zayn murmured with a groan, causing Louis to chuckle softly.

"What happened to I wanna find the one and maybe have kids?"

Zayn let out a snort, denying the accusation then Louis clamped a hand over his mouth, muffling his laughter.

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I hope you like it.

I don't know much about babies so yeah let me know when I write something wrong 😕

Thought on the chapter

Thoughts on Zayn

Thoughts on Louis

Thoughts on Ezra

Thoughts on Mary

Thank you for reading. Stay safe ❤️