Here is Home • The Pack

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lachlan had sent Mitch and Jerome out to get a new bed for Ruby. He specifically wanted one from Ikea, however inconvenient this was for Jerome, however, fucking ray of sunshine that he is, didn't mind at all. In fact he volunteered to push the stroller that they had Ruby in all through the warehouse of a furniture store.

"I don't see what's wrong with what she's sleepin' in now," Mitch grumbled under his breath.

They kept walking until they found the right section. And Mitch was less than thrilled. There were more cribs here than the entire city of Chicago needed. If it were up to Mitch, they'd go with the first one he sees and get out of there, but Jerome is here, which means he's going to look at every single one. And Mitch would probably pick the wrong one and get Lachlan all pissy anyway.

"Christ, you think they have enough here?" Mitch asked in an exasperated tone.

"You watch Ruby, I'll start looking," Jerome took off for the first row, leaving Mitch staring at the two dopes in the stroller.

"Ya know, you cause big trouble for me for such a little girl," Mitch pointed at Ruby.

After almost an hour- during which Mitch had gone to get snacks for him and Ruby and managed to find somewhere to sit and wait- Jerome showed up with a large box on a cart.

"I found the one!" He seemed pretty proud of whatever choice he made but Mitch was ready to get out of this European style shit hole.

Mitch swung the stroller around to lead Ian out to the parking lot. "Lachlan better like, I don't want to have to come back here again."

"He'll love it, I swear," Jerome grinned as he put the box in the trunk and Mitch put Ruby in her car seat, stowing away the stroller.

"Only good part about this place are the freakin' meatballs," Mitch said as he got in the driver's seat.

"Yeah, I know how much you love balls," Jerome laughed and slid in the passenger side.

"Haha, fuck you."

• •

"I don't need the fucking instructions, you put the pieces together until it can hold a baby. That's it." Mitch was adamant about not needing any help. Or at least the help of some piece of paper, his boyfriend on the other hand, he was more than willing to request (read: demand) the help of, "Now hand me those two little twisty things that go in this thing."

Jerome rolled his eyes. "There is no way you're going to be able to put it together right and especially not safely."

"The fuck do you mean 'safely'?" Mitch was busy banging two pieces of wood together.

"Would you stop that? You're gonna make it splinter and then we really won't be able to put Ruby in it."

"Splinters do not fuckin hurt kids. It builds character. I got splinters all the time and I barely even had a mattress when I was growin' up," Mitch said incredulously.

Jerome responded with a look on his face that Mitch understood meant "you're proving my point for me" and Mitch looked away with a scowl.

"I don't think that the Hughes parenting style is something we should be utilizing here. Or ever," Jerome explained as he looked over the instructions. "You have to crank that screwy thing into that screwy thing but you need a screw driver and also the other part to make them all fit."

"Like any of your dad's parenting methods are all that great," Mitch huffed, "No, I need those screws first so I can get this thing in the middle to fit."