Chapter Text
"You two..."
"Adopted a baby"
Jay and Carlos stared at the one year old toddler who was currently fast asleep in the crib. They visited the two to see if they wanted to hang out since they all have been busy with their jobs and well to their surprise, they found Mal and Evie happily staring at an unknown figure that they have never met.
"Yep! Her name's Ava" Mal told them happily. Just then the baby started crying and Evie slowly and carefully picked her up, hushing the baby to calm down. Mal immediately grabbed a bottle of milk nearby and handed it to Evie, feeding the baby which calmed her down. Jay and Carlos looked at each other, still unable to comprehend the scene that was happening before them, not that they were judging, but because Mal and Evie were both single, so adopting a baby together shouldn't be something they should be doing
"Uhm, why exactly did you two adopt a baby?" Jay asked curiously. "We're not judging. Just really really curious. and confused" he immediately added
"Well, E and I were tired of getting nowhere. I mean you and Carlos are engaged. Uma and Audrey are moving to a new house. Ben finally got promoted in his job. Chad finally got his act together and is now serious with Doug. Harry and Gil just adopted their second baby. Jane and Lonnie are married. We just thought maybe we can just skip ahead to becoming a parent and well here we are" Mal explained. "Also there was this one episode from How I Met Your Mother where Barney and Ted decided to adopt a baby, so I thought why not, and Evie agreed" Jay and Carlos rolled their eyes at the last sentence. Of course Mal would suggest such thing coming from the show. That's what she did when she once suggested a slap bet when the four of them were betting on how long Uma and Audrey would get together. Ever since then, slap bets were now a thing in their group.
Evie carefully placed Ava back in the crib and turned to Mal, Jay, and Carlos, "Let's move to the living room, guys". She picked up the baby monitor and walked outside the room with Mal, Jay, and Carlos following from behind, Carlos closing the door carefully. Evie placed the baby monitor on the coffee table and sprawled lazily on the couch, Mal settling herself on top of Evie, with Evie's arms wrapped around her. Jay and Carlos sat on the floor and turned on the tv, setting the volume low to avoid waking up the baby.
"Why are you two here again?" Evie asked glancing at the boys. Carlos turned to Evie, "We wanted to hang out" he simply replied. Evie only shrugged and looked at Mal whose eyes were closed. She ran her fingers against her best friend's purple locks, "You're tired, M?". Mal only nodded as a response
"When did you two adopt Ava?" Jay looked at them.
"Two days ago. She really kept us up all night, crying and everything" Evie said. She turned her attention to the tv where How I Met Your Mother is currently playing on netflix with the thanksgiving episode on season 7.
"Oh look, it's Mal's inspiration" Jay joked earning a kick on the back of his head. "Oww!" He turned to see who it was and saw Mal glaring at him, turning his attention back to the tv.
"Mal really loves this show" Carlos chuckled and watched Mal who was already watching the show, her lips mouthing the lines.
The four of them decided to watch the show in peace, Mal and Evie praying that they will get enough rest before the baby starts crying again. Jay had grabbed a bag of chips and he and Carlos are now currently sharing the food while watching the show. Carlos felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and checked it, "Hey, guys! Uma and Audrey wants to hang out"
"Tell them to come here" Evie said. Carlos nodded, typing a reply
"Also tell her to bring pizza" Mal added. "Pineapple and Ham". Carlos gave her an okay gesture as he sent Uma a text back before moving his attention back to the show, his head laying comfortably on Jay's shoulder while Jay feeds him some chips.
"What's up, losers!!" Uma and Audrey arrived, or more likely bursts in the apartment 30 minutes later, Uma carrying 2 cases of beer while Audrey was holding 2 boxes of pizza. Evie frantically shushed the couple afraid of what will happen next, "Guys, not so--" Just on cue, a loud crying was heard from the baby monitor, "--loud"
"I'll get her" Sighing, Mal got up from Evie and walked to Ava's bedroom. Uma and Audrey stared at each other and then to Evie, "Did you two got married that Audrey and I did not know about?"
"What? No. Mal and I are just friends" Audrey and Uma snickered when they Jay mouthing and air quoting the words, 'Just friends'. Mal came back with Ava in her arms, wide awake. "Hey, guys, meet Ava. Ava meet your Aunties, Uma and Audrey" She held Ava's hand and waved at Uma and Audrey, who both waved back happily. "Then your uncles, Jay and Carlos" She turned to the boys who waved at Ava, smiling widely. "And then...Mommy!" She turned to Evie who happily walked to them.
"Hello, my baby!" Evie greeted as she took Ava from Mal, carrying the toddler carefully in her arms. "Did you sleep well? Did you? I'm sure you did" Evie cooed. Mal stared at Ava and played with the child's tiny hands. The two completely in their own world.
"So you guys wanna explain why you have a baby or--?" Audrey asked, grabbing their attention.
"They thought it would be a great idea to jump ahead to parenthood" Jay answered for them.
"That's crazy" Uma exclaimed as she opened the a box of pizza that Audrey settled down on the table and grabbed a slice. "So does this mean you two will get married?"
Mal and Evie looked at each other confused, both shaking their heads "Evie and I are just friends. Just because we adopted a baby together does not mean we will get married"
"Besides this is normal. I mean friends can adopt a baby together and just be friends" Evie added.
"No friends have ever adopted a baby just as friends" Audrey told them, Uma and the boys nodding their heads. Mal shrugged, "We're the first then"
"I'm gonna get her some food. Here, Mal kindly hold Ava" Mal took Ava from Evie's arms and sat on the couch, placing the toddler on her lap, happily playing with the child. Evie soon came back with a bowl of baby food on one hand while dragging a folded high chair. Jay immediately rushed to Evie and took the high chair from her, unfolding it.
"Thanks, Jay" Evie said as Mal placed Ava down on the high chair. Evie had crouched herself to meet the baby's view and starts feeding her.
Mal grabbed a slice of pizza and sat on the couch near Ava and Evie. “Here, E” Mal fed Evie pizza who happily took a bite. Evie turned her attention back to Ava and continued to feed the toddler.
”It’s like watching a married couple with their child” Jay whispered at Uma, Audrey, and Carlos who chuckled softly. They continued to watch the scene unfold in front of them; Evie feeding Ava while Mal is feeding Evie. It was clear as a day that Mal and Evie have feelings for each other but are unaware of it.