Step 1

It was sweet to see Richie on the sofa with Harrison while I cleaned up the table after lunch. It was a moment he deserved, they both did.

I stalled in the kitchen as I watched Richie entertain Harrison with stuffed animals, making voices up for them and making Harrison laugh and clap. He was adjusting very easily to a new person.

When Harrison started to get tired and less interested in the stuffed animals acting silly, I decided to join them on the sofa.

"He's getting tired." Richie commented.
"It's naptime." I agreed with him. "Probably best to check his nappy before he falls asleep." I said, ready to pick up Harrison to go do so.

Richie picked him up and put him in his lap before I could.

"Let me do it. I'll get him to bed." He picked Harrison up and stood up with him. "Does he need pj's?"
"Just take his jeans off and he'll be fine." I told him. "Everything is at his changing table."
"We'll manage." Richie said before going to Harrison's room.

I heard him talk in the other room, telling Harrison that he had to go sleep and have some nice dreams. His voice was sweet and low, a soothing voice to get Harrison to sleep.

A few minutes later Richie walked back into the living room, pulling the bedroom door closed behind him, leaving it open for an inch.

"He's sound asleep." He said with a smile on his face as he sat down on the sofa next to me. "We need to talk."
I nodded.
"You should have tried harder to let me know about this-"
"I tried as hard as I could, Richie, I really did." I interrupted him straight away. He needed to know that I had done everything I could to let him know. "I wanted you to know about this because he is your son, you deserve each other."
"I know, I got it." He assured me. "But now we need to figure this out. I want him to be my son."
"He is your son."
"I mean on paper, his birth certificate and all that stuff."
I nodded, he was absolutely right. "We'll need to get that adjusted but then you need to be with me to sign those papers."
"We'll need to figure out how to do that."
I smiled and shook my head, watching him frown at me before I explained. "I did research, I asked when I registered his birth. They said that when the father wants to be on the birth certificate and recognize him as his child, we'd just have to go back, register him again and he gets a new birth certificate with your name on it."
"Just like that?" Richie frowned.
I nodded. "Yeah, we just need to go to the office and get it adjusted."
"So we could even do that now?"
"I think so."
"And how long does Harrison nap?"

We talked for the rest of Harrison's naptime. Agreeing on what had to be done.

As soon as Harrison was awake we'd go and get his new birth certificate, step one. With having that, I should be able to apply for a passport and afterwards,  work visa to get to the United States. Perhaps it wouldn't be on time to go with Richie but at least by the end of the summer to which he agreed. Knowing he was still busy during the summer and had another child at home that he needed to inform.

I agreed, while Richie was away now, I'd get everything in order. After the last concert in Scotland, he'd drop by London for a day or two before going home to Ava where he had to break some tough news to her.

Knowing that a work visa could take up to two years, he agreed to help out with it. After all, Harrison was his son which should be able to push the visa for both of us so Harrison could be with his father.

With that, Richie also agreed that Harrison and I could stay at his house until I could get by on my own. I wouldn't be his burden.

"You'd have to move to L.A., ,you're just okay with that? What about your friends and family? Your parents, wouldn't they miss you?"
I shrugged. "My parents live on the other side of the island, where I grew up, I haven't seen them since I started college here and I haven't heard from them since I told them I was pregnant and couldn't tell them who the dad was."
He frowned, as if he couldn't believe it. "What about friends?"
"They're all busy with school or jobhunting or being succesful. I have a child to watch 24/7, our lives are too different now."
"Oh." He didn't know what to say.
"Harrison is really the only person I have."

Step by Step

"A flat white."

I don't know how many orders I had filled that day but that was the first one that made me smile.

I made the cup of coffee and turned back to Richie.

"Is there anything else you'd like today?" I asked him politely.
"One of those paninis." He pointed at the glass screen at the one he wanted. "Maybe a croissant for your son and grab yourself something too."

A few minutes later I handed him his complete order to go.

"When do you get off work?" He asked me as he paid.
"Exactly at noon," I checked the time on the cash register. "three minutes."
He nodded. "I'll just wait then."

I helped the next person, watching Richie picking out a table to sit down for a few minutes. The coffee shop was small and there weren't much tables to pick from.


Just as promised, I caught up with him at his table a few minutes later.

"Finished." I smiled down at him. "Your panini is probably cold by now."
"It's fine." He said, pushing away his coffee cup and getting up with the bag of food.

Together we walked out of the shop and crossed the street back to the small space between two shops where my door was hidden. In unlocked it and showed him upstairs again.

"I'll go get Harrison." I told him after opening the door to the flat and letting him in.

When I returned to my flat with my little boy, the small table in the kitchen had been set and the panini were steaming heat. It made me smile.

"Thank you." I said to Richie as I passed Harrison over to him.
Harrison didn't mind at all and continued cuddling just as he had done with me.
"Where's his high chair?" Richie asked.
"Oh. I just hold him when I feed him or let him sit on the chair."
"Okay." Richie agreed and sat down, letting Harrison sit in his lap.

He grabbed the croissant he had bought and started ripping pieces off of it to feed Harrison.

I smiled and started eating the panini Richie had paid for me. Reheated twice but it still tasted great, they always did but I hardly ever bought them for myself, even with a 25% discount it was cheaper to make a sandwich.

"He'll nap after lunch?" Richie asked when Harrison had eaten most of the croissant.
"Yeah for about two hours." I told him.
"Okay, then we need to talk and figure some things out."
"We do." I agreed, knowing that it wouldn't be easy but Richie had a right to see his son. "What about the tour? You're quite busy right now."
"That's why we need to talk." He continued feeding Harrison pieces of croissant. "When the tour is over, this part, I want to see him and I want to keep seeing him."
"We're not exactly neighbours." I pointed out.
"We'll have to figure it out." Richie said sternly.

I knew he was right but how would we cover that much distance so he was able to see Harrison? There was no way I had enough money to take Harrison all the way to California whenever Richie wanted to see his son.

"His birthday is soon." I reminded him.
"When?"
"July fourth."
"Really?" Richie asked, a little surprised. "That's original. I like that. So he'll be 1, are you having a party?"
I shrugged. "Who would I invite?"
"I'll be here." He said determined.
"I guessed you would be."
"What does he need?" Richie asked.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Something he needs, like clothes, a high chair."
"We get by." I assured him. All the money I earned by working, was mostly spent on rent and supporting Harrison. Personal items for me came last.
"Anything he needs?" Richie tried again.
"A dad."