Thank you all so much for voting and reading the book. I honestly didn't think itll do this well in such a short amount of time.

A surprise is coming soon so prepare yourselves.

Ashley POV

"Alright... he should have enough milk right?" i say as i place Aidens pacifier in his mouth "if not there's some inside and ill have my m-" Israel cuts me off

"Ashley everything is fine" Israel says leaning against his car. "he will be okay... i got this" today i am going back to work and i honestly dont want to leave my baby. Izzy is taking him to his house since he hasn't been home in about a week and wanted to get Aiden used to his home.

"you're right..." i drag out looking at my baby

"Ashley" he says looking at me

"okay..." I give my baby one last kiss as he just looks up at me "yall be safe" i say before climbing in my car and starting the engine. It wasn't a long ride before i arrived to hospital. Everything the same of course but it felt different, maybe since i hadn't been there in so long. It isn't long before i am once again prepping for surgery and the day begins.

Half way through my shift i plop down in a chair in our lounge. When did this shit get so tiring? i used to do this job like it was the last thing i was going to do.

"Adjusting huh?" I hear a familiar voice say. I look up to see Michael standing above me. I get up and give him a hug before we both sit down.

"so how's parenthood treating you" he asks smiling

"tiring" i say honestly as my smile matches his. "No but its everything i though it'll be... Its hard at times but when i look down at my little boy i feel like everything is worth it"

"i know the feeling... its like you'll do anything for them" i nod my head in agreement since i didn't want to go any further. I know his situation with his daughter and i didn't know how he'd react.

"so... how's things been going around here" i change the subject.

"dont even get me started... i dont see how i ever put up with these crazy people before you left. Thank you for coming back to save me" he says dramatical covering his chest.

"dont worry ill keep you safe" i say playing along.

"well im sad i can't stay longer... looks like they need me" Michael says responding to his pager that is currently going off. I say a small goodbye and decide to call Israel to see my baby. This is the longest ive been away from him and i am low-key having some separation anxiety (If can even get that). I place my AirPods in my ears so that if any of these nosy ass nurses walk in they won't be in my business.

"Hey Ash" Izzy answers the phone.

"hey what yall up to" he pauses for a second before moving to let me see our awake baby sitting in his bouncer.

"Hi baby" i say causing him to look around trying to figure out where my voice is coming from. "I miss you so much bubby" i use the nickname that ive grown to call him. "ill see you soon baby" i continue to talk to him even though i know he can't respond.

"Should i come by and get him or yall coming back to my place" I ask Izzy

"you can come get him and ill probably be ova there a lil later" he says partially watching tv after agreeing i hang up the phone and proceed with my break.

"Hey mama" I hear Paris voice coming in. I let out a small squeal and almost jump on her. I haven't seen here in about 2 weeks since she does work a lot and i do have a baby but not hard feeling.

"oh how ive missed you girl" i tell her honestly. I need to get some other form of human interaction more often or im going to go insane.

"what's been going on with you" She says sitting down beside me. I fill her in on everything with the baby and she applauded me on how im doing so well.

"and Israel..." Paris says before taking a sip of her tea.

"umm..." i pause. "he's been a great father so far to Aiden" i begin before she cuts me off.

"now you know what i mean" she gives me a look.

"nothing has been going on with us... we've been doing good keeping our boundaries since the little incident..." i say looking down at my phone.

"well mama... dont let him get to you. If he wants to focus on your child then that's it. Maybe you should get out... a date maybe. You haven't done that in what... 3 years Ash" she begins. I haven't had a actual date since my last real relationship.

"what about Michael? That man obviously likes you."

"I know he does but i dont know if im ready yet" i say picking at my nails.

"well Ash... its up to you but i dont want to see my friend get her hopes up for a man who is toying with her emotions." she says before getting and hugging be before returning to work. After she leaves i gather my things and go to continue my day with what she said in the back of my mind. She was right.

After a few more hours, i am making my way over to Israels house playing H.E.R lowly in the background. Within a few minutes i am pulling up to his house. I get out and ring the door bell and wait.

"hey baby" Ms. Sharon answers before i hug her and enter the large house.

"how are you?" i ask in politeness.

"im fine baby... you hungry?" she asks me walking towards the kitchen.

"i was going so stop on m-" she cuts me off

"Girl ima fix you some food to take with you" she says grabbing a plate. "they up stairs in israel room baby" she tells me. I use the little knowledge that i have to navigate my way through the home. On my way to his room i see a room door open. I almost walk past it but i see a crib through the side of my eye. I turn around and take a look into the room to see a very simple nursery. I was very nice decorated with a black panel accent wall and white and grey furniture.

I am actually shocked. I knew Israel had good style since his house was decorated pretty nice but i didn't expect for the nursery to look like this. Then i thought about it. Why the hell was we staying in my small ass apartment?

I brush off my thoughts and make my way to his room. The door is cracked open but i can clearly see Aiden in his bouncer with his pacifier and Izzy playing his game. I knock slightly before just entering his huge bedroom.

"come in" he says not taking his eyes off the game.

"hey" i say before going over to my baby giving him a kiss without touching him since i haven't washed my hands just yet. I quickly take in the area. The room contains a untouched king sized bed in the middle with a sitting area that they are currently in with a large television.

"wussap ash" Israel says before pausing the game and standing up.

"could i use your bathroom real quick i need to wash my hands."

"yea right through those doors" he says pointing to a pair of double doors on the opposite end of the room. I quickly make my way into the restroom seeing the bathroom that had a large soaking tub with a walk in shower that could hold about 20 people at the same time. I walk over to the sink and quickly wash my hands before looking in the mirror at myself. "damn Ash you look good" i say taking in my body shape in the scrubs. My stomach has snapped back into place but my hips and breast have grown and im not mad at it.

I walk out the bathroom to see Israel holding Aiden and trying to get his bag back together. I walk over and grab my small baby.

"hi my love. I missed you so much" i tell him. It isn't long before we are walking back downstairs and into the kitchen.

"bye ms.Sharon" i hug her as she hands me a plate of food.

"okay baby you take care" she says before going around to say goodbye to Aiden who is in the carseat that Israel is holding. After our goodbyes Israel helps me put Aiden in the car.

"you still coming by later?" i ask for clarification.

"yeah... if i dont ill let you know" He says placing the babies bag on the back seat. he then opens my driver side door signaling for me to get in.

"okay see you later" i say before he closes my door and i crank up the engine before heading home.

Izzy POV

"yeah man im about to make my way over there" i tell King through the phone as i walk back up my stairs into my room. I hang up the phone before going to take a shower. I am going over Que them house just to chill. I just need to lil time away. I been cooped up with Ashley and Santana for 7 weeks straight. Im not complaining but i need a lil time. After getting out the shower i put on some simple sweats and pick up my phone. I see that i have a few new messages on my phone.

Mom: I put you some food in the microwave

404-555-3289: when can i see you?

Ashley: could you bring Aidens pillow when you come, plz? You know he doesn't like to sleep with out it

I respond to Ashley saying yeah and my mom. I choose to ignore the second message cause i just dont feel like texting them back. Thats some girl Diamond i had met a the grocery store a few weeks back and been talking to. I really dont see nothing happening with her but i just haven't gotten around to cutting her off.

I hop in my hell cat and make my way to Que house. I aint got high in a minute so i hope these niggas got some weed or something.

When i get there i call king letting him know that i am outside and he meets me at the door. Walking through the house i see Que girl in the kitchen doing whatever she doing. I aint rude so i say a simple hey and keep it pushing until we get into the den.

"wussap nigga" Que says dapping me up before i take a seat on the couch Next to swae and dapping him up too.

"how's fatherhood" King asks me as Que begins rolling up i could tell these niggas was already high so i wasn't expecting them to smoke again.

"man... this shit aint that easy my nigga" i say truthfully. Im tired as hell and i aint had a blunt in a cool minute. It wasn't long after that Que passed my the whole blunt.

"yall niggas aint smoking" i ask them

"naa thats for you" Que says before i light it up.

"how lil man tho" Swae asks me

"he straight... lil nigga look just like me its crazy" i chuckle. "he pretty good though... he'on even be crying and shit like i thought he would... he pretty chill" i say before taking another hit.

"i gotta come see him. I think im the only one who aint seen him yet" Que says laughing a lil

"yeah... he gone mean mug the hell out of you" I joke slightly. Santana rude as hell forreal.

"how ashley?" King asks me

"she straight... she went back to work today" i tell them

"man ian trying to disrespect your baby moms or nun but she bad as hell. Ion see how you do it... i would've had another baby on the way already." Swae says

"sometimes ion know how i do it either" i laugh as i let my high take over me allowing the truth to slip out.

"nigga..." King says as they all look at me going silent before busting out laughing. "yo ass catching feeling" King says in between laughs. I aint find that shit funny tho. We continue talking as i tell them about the slip up Ashley and i had causing them to laugh even more.

"so wait... you mean to tell me she aint cuss you out or slap the shit out of you" Que says. I know him and his girl relationship toxic as fuck but that aint my place to say nothing. So i know why he would ask some shit like that.

"naa.. you can tell she was a lil hurt by it but we been cool" I tell them. I do feel bad for that but i dont want to bring old shit back up.

" deadass tho you know she gone find a nigga and you gone be mad when she do" King say "and watch it be that nigga from the baby shower with the daughter" he says making me suck my teeth.

"naa you can't get mad at us... you the one playing so when she get a nigga dont be upset" Que says before i look at my phone checking the time seeing it was almost 9.

"I aint... but look tho. Im about to head out" I dap them up before leaving the den. I bump into que girl on the way out. She had looks real suspicious but i aint in the mood for nun of that right now.

KK POV

"hey... its kk... Que girl" I say through the phone.

"wussap kk" she answers me

"i just wanted to let you know what i heard because i know if i heard my man talking about his baby mama i would want to know"

"Okay what he said" Zonnique responds

"He in there with the boys basically saying how he catching feelings for her n shit." i tell her. I hadn't heard too much but i aint dumb to know what they talking about so i feel like im doing the right thing.

"thank you fo-" i cut her off because i hear Izzy saying he is leaving

"I have to go" I say before hanging up. I turn around and accidentally bump into Izzy. I couldnt help but to look at him because he was so fine. God the things id do to him. He doesn't say anything to me as he walks around me and walks out the door.

Ashley POV

I hold my cranky baby as i warm up his milk. He hasn't been to sleep yet so i know that he is really tired. I know he will eventually wear himself out so im not complaining. I test the milk on my wrist to find its the perfect temperature and give it to him before i here the door opening. I look to see Israel walking in with a book bag.

"hey" i say to him before going to the nursery so after Aiden eats he can go to sleep.

"my bad took so long ... i had to go back for him pillow." Izzy says before laying the body pillow in the crib.

"you fine... he'll be out in a min i say rocking in the chair as the little boy slowly closes his eyes. Less than 5 minutes later he is knocked out and i place him in his crib. I walk back into the main area and walk into the kitchen.

"you hungry"i say before heating up the large amount of food Ms. Sharon gave me. I know he is because i can tell he high as hell right now.

"yeah.. how you know" He asks making his way to the kitchen island.

"a genius never tells" i joke before putting some on a plate for him.

"can i ask you sum?" he says as i nod to him

"why you aint got a nigga..." he says catching me off guard. " ian tryna be rude or nun but you a great woman, you independent... like why you single" he asks me.

"umm.." i think to myself. "i dont know... if you would asked me that over a year ago i wouldve told you it was because i didn't need a man. Not that i do but i was still hurt so i built a wall that i didn't want anyone to break down and now its like sometimes being a good woman isn't enough ya know. " i shrug before walking to the fridge for water. "eventually ill find someone but for now ill continue doing what i am doing" i sit down beside him.

I begin to eat as i feel his eyes on me but i try and ignore them. A piece of my hair falls out of my sloppy bun as before i can go to move it i feel a hand pushing it behind my ear. I look over to make short eye contact with him before Izzy turns his head and begins eating. I see that we are both finished so i reach for his plate but i am stopped by his hand on top of mine.

"i got it gone ahead and go to sleep." he says softly before grabbing both plates and beginning washing them. I slowly get up and walk into the room and grabbing my clothes to take a shower. I hate when he does this. Its not necessarily the words he says but his actions: the way he'll look at me or the slight touching. Its like whenever i decide to stop thinking about him, he always finds a way to keep me on edge; its not fair. Because if i were to make a move, it'll be a repeat of the last incident. Maybe i am just dumb and he means no harm.

After my shower with me stuck in my head i climb into the empty bed before setting my alarm and head to sleep trying to get him out of my head.

I wake up to a loud crack of lightening causing me to jump out of my sleep. I've never liked thunderstorms since i was a little girl. My first thought is Aiden so i jump out of bed and make my way to his room. I turn on the small lamp to see looking at me.

"that woke you up too baby" i speak to him before picking him up and taking him back to my room where i turned on the tv to my childhood show rugrats. I turned the volume down to where you could barely hear it which i liked to do.

"are you hungry?" i ask Aiden before pulling down my tank top and allowing him to latch on. I stay up while he eats and eventually falls asleep and continue to watch the tv with him in my arms.

"Ashley dont you have to work in a few hours" Israel says rubbing his eye standing in my door way.

"couldnt sleep" i say barely taking my eyes off the television.

"well let me put him back in his crib so you can try and get some sleep" he says making his way over to me. Another lightning cracks so loud you can feel the building shake a little causing me to jump a bit.

"he's fine..." i grip on to him a little tighter

"I know yo grown ass aint scared of the lightening" he says looking at me before chuckling as i roll my eyes.

"im not scared...i just dont like it" i say putting my head down a little.

"okay ash" he says before turning to leave

"wait..." i say lowly causing him to turn around. "could you...stay in here" i say in a soft voice. I watch as he takes a deep breath before running his hand over his face. "please" my voice slightly cracks. He turns all the way around before climbing into the other side of my bed and going to sleep. After a while i place Aiden of the other side of me with a pillow barrier so that he doesn't fall and we dont roll on him. I then lay down and try to get a few more hours of sleep before i have to go to work.

Izzy POV

I wake up feeling the warmth from the sun hitting my skin. Slowly opening my eyes i notice a smaller body snuggled against mine. Looking down i see my arms wrapped around her waist before i slowly pull back getting out of bed. I walk around to the other side and see my son wide awake. This lil boy dont even let nobody know when he is up.

"wussap boy" i say to him as he smiles before i pick him up. I make my way out of Ashleys room and into Santanas bathroom where my stuff is to brush my teeth. After freshening up i place him in his bouncer and walk into the kitchen tryna find some cereal or sum. I open to pantry to see that she restocked on all the cereal making me a lil excited. Not knowing which one to get i just grab the cinnamon toast crunch and make me a bowl. Santana started whining when i began eating so i picked him up while watching tv.

"i wonder if you can eat this" i say lowly. Ion think he can but it got milk in it so ion think its that bad like if i let it get soggy.

"no he cannot" Ashleys voice grows closer as she walks out the room in her night clothes.