Patrick keeps his eyes closed as he drags the vibrating phone to his ear. "Baby's sleeping," he hisses. He has no idea what time it is, apart from baby's sleeping, and therefore, by rights, Patrick is sleeping. But whoever's calling has the number to the new cell, the one they leave turned on, so it must be important.
"Fuck you," Gerard hisses back. "Your boyfriend knocked me up."
Patrick opens his eyes at that, twisting to look--but no, Pete's right where Patrick left him, fast asleep. "Didn't," Patrick yawns. "He's been here the whole time."
"You know what I fucking mean, Stump."
Patrick blinks. "Oh. He--didn't actually tell me who he was sending it to. But, I mean, you had to know..." Everybody knows by now that he and Pete have a baby whose mother is conspicuously absent, so the significance of the boxed-up machine would have to have been obvious to somebody who's read as many comic books as Gerard, even if Pete didn't include a note.
"There's knowing and there's fucking knowing, okay?" But Gerard doesn't sound really angry, and if Patrick had had anyone to call and freak out at, nine months and three weeks ago, he would have.
"Sorry," Patrick mumbles, distracted. Athena's sleeping on Pete's chest; he's got one arm curled carefully around her, and Hemmy is occupying the rest of Pete's torso. Patrick reaches out a hand to check that Pete's still breathing under their combined weight, and feels a reassuring rush of air against his palm. "Why aren't you yelling at whoever you touched it with, though? He's the one who knocked you up."
Gerard just sighs. "I can't fucking yell at Bob when he's this happy."
Faintly, Patrick hears Bob yell, Who are you talking to? We're supposed to tell people together! and Gerard yells back, half into the phone, "I'm telling Patrick his boyfriend--"
"Patrick?" It's Bob, and he sounds so happy Patrick has to smile, even though this phone call is cutting into his ninety-minute window of opportunity for sweet precious sleep. "Tell Pete that if it weren't for you--and also Gerard--I would absolutely blow him the next time I saw him. Not that there would be a reason for that if it weren't for Gerard, and I guess also you, so the point is pretty much moot."
Like magic, Pete's eyes open at the offer of oral sex. Pete automatically curves his hand over Athena's head, covering the ear that's not against his chest, and he frowns at Patrick and mouths "Okay?"
Patrick smiles and whispers, "Here, tell him yourself," and holds the phone to Pete's ear.
Pete's delighted "Oh, dude!" is a little too loud. Hemmy starts awake and jumps off him, and Athena's fists flail out. Patrick grabs her off of Pete and settles her onto his own chest before she can wake up all the way, and Pete gives him a bright grin and gets up to pace, whispering excitedly into the phone. Patrick watches him with a smile on his face as he hums softly into Athena's hair, singing their daughter and himself back to sleep.