Two weeks after the reveal.
The house was chaos. Not their chaos—Fernandez chaos.
Tita Gema: "THE NURSERY NEEDS TO BE PERFECT! BABY DESERVES PERFECT!"
Jasfer: "I'll paint!"
Tita Gema: "YOU'LL PAINT YOURSELF!"
Jasfer: "ARTISTIC CHOICE!"
Serina: "Let them handle it. They're the parents."
Jay's grandma: "I WAS A PARENT! I KNOW THINGS!"
Yuri's grandma: "I KNOW THINGS TOO!"
Jay's grandma: "YOU KNOW NOTHING!"
Yuri's grandma: "I KNOW YOU'RE ANNOYING!"
Jay's grandma: "I KNOW YOU'RE ALWAYS HERE!"
Yuri's grandma: "I'M NOT LEAVING!"
Jay stood in the doorway of the nursery.
Empty room. Blank walls. Waiting.
Keifer came up behind her. Wrapped his arms around her waist.
Keifer: "What are you thinking?"
Jay: "That this is real."
Keifer: "It's real."
Jay: "We're making a nursery."
Keifer: "We're making a nursery."
Jay: "For our baby."
Keifer: "For our baby."
Jay: "Tss."
Keifer: "OUR thing."
Jay: "OUR thing."
Section E arrived.
Ci-n: "NURSERY DAY! I BROUGHT DECORATIONS!"
Rakki: "He bought everything at the store."
Ci-n: "EVERYTHING WAS CUTE!"
Mica: "We're here to help."
Calix: "I'm here to carry things."
Freya: "I'm here to judge."
Edrix: "I'm here to agree."
Freya: "Shut up."
Edrix: "Never."
Rory: "I've created a layout. Optimal furniture placement for baby safety and parental convenience."
Drew: "I'm taking bets on how many arguments happen today."
David: "Infinite. 500."
Drew: "Safe bet."
Eren arrived with Kevin the Eighteenth. "Kevin wanted to see the nursery."
Josh nodded. Approved.
Baster hummed a "nursery" melody.
Aries and Ella came.
Aries: "What color?"
Jay: "We haven't decided."
Ella: "Yellow is neutral."
Aries: "Yellow is safe."
Jay: "Yellow is boring."
Aries: "Babies don't care about color."
Jay: "I care."
Aries: "Tss."
Ella: "There it is."
The debate began.
Ci-n: "BLUE! BOY COLORS!"
Rakki: "We don't know the gender."
Ci-n: "BLUE FOR BOY! PINK FOR GIRL! WE NEED BOTH!"
Mica: "What about green?"
Calix: "Green is safe."
Freya: "Green is boring."
Edrix: "Green is calming."
Freya: "Shut up."
Edrix: "Never."
Percy: "I HAVE PHOTOS OF OTHER NURSERIES! FOR REFERENCE!"
Honey: "He's been collecting them for weeks."
Percy: "RESEARCH!"
Jay's grandma: "I HAD A BLUE NURSERY! MY SON TURNED OUT FINE!"
Yuri's grandma: "I HAD PINK! MY DAUGHTER TURNED OUT BETTER!"
Jay's grandma: "BLUE IS BETTER!"
Yuri's grandma: "PINK IS PERFECT!"
Jay's grandma: "YELLOW IS COMPROMISE!"
Yuri's grandma: "YELLOW IS COWARDICE!"
They went back to arguing.
Grazel Jay ran in. Flower basket ready.
Grazel Jay: "WHAT COLOR BABY ROOM?"
Jay: "We don't know yet."
Grazel Jay: "FLOWER COLOR!"
She threw petals everywhere. Pink. Blue. Yellow. White.
Grazel Jay: "ALL COLORS! BABY LOVES ALL COLORS!"
Jay stared at the petals.
Jay: "She's right."
Keifer: "She's always right."
Jay: "All colors."
Keifer: "All colors."
Jay: "Rainbow nursery."
Keifer: "Rainbow nursery."
The room went quiet.
Ci-n: "RAINBOW?! THAT'S PERFECT!"
Rakki: "That's actually really good."
Mica: "I love it."
Calix: "Really love it."
Freya: "Better than yellow."
Edrix: "Much better."
Freya: "Shut up."
Edrix: "Never."
Rory: "Rainbow has optimal visual stimulation for infant development."
Drew: "I'm taking bets on how many colors they actually use."
David: "All of them. 500."
Drew: "Safe bet."
The painting began.
Ci-n took the red wall. "I'M DOING RED! RED IS ENERGY!"
Rakki: "Red is aggressive."
Ci-n: "AGGRESSIVE ENERGY!"
Mica took orange. Calix took yellow. Freya took green. Edrix took blue.
Freya: "Why am I doing green?"
Edrix: "Because it's calming."
Freya: "I'm not calming."
Edrix: "You are to me."
Freya: "...Shut up."
Edrix: "Never."
Rory took indigo. Baster took violet.
Percy documented everything.
Percy: "RAINBOW NURSERY! HISTORIC!"
Keifer took the ceiling. Jay watched from the floor.
Keifer: "You're not helping."
Jay: "I'm supervising."
Keifer: "Supervising?"
Jay: "Critical supervision."
Keifer: "Tss."
Jay: "OUR thing."
Keifer: "OUR thing."
He painted. She watched. Happy.
Aries painted with Keigan and Keiren.
Aries: "Don't get paint on the floor."
Keigan: "We won't."
Aries: "Don't get paint on yourselves."
Keiren: "We won't."
Aries: "Don't get paint on each other."
Keigan: "That's not a promise."
They got paint on each other.
Tita Gema brought snacks. Jasfer brought music. Serina brought order.
Jay's grandma and Yuri's grandma sat in the hallway. Still arguing. Still watching.
Jay's grandma: "THEY'RE DOING RAINBOW! I APPROVE!"
Yuri's grandma: "I APPROVE TOO!"
Jay's grandma: "WE AGREED!"
Yuri's grandma: "MIRACLE!"
By evening, the nursery was done.
Rainbow walls. White furniture. Soft rug. Mobile with stars.
Grazel Jay stood in the middle. Spun in circles.
Grazel Jay: "BABY ROOM IS PERFECT! BABY WILL LOVE IT!"
Jay: "You think so?"
Grazel Jay: "I KNOW SO! FLOWERS ALWAYS KNOW!"
She threw her last petals.
Denzel: "That's all of them."
Grace: "The garden is a memory."
Grazel Jay: "BABY WORTH IT!"
Everyone gathered. Admired the room.
Ci-n: "WE DID IT! RAINBOW BABY ROOM!"
Rakki: "We really did."
Mica: "It's beautiful."
Calix: "Really beautiful."
Freya: "Acceptable."
Edrix: "Perfect."
Freya: "Shut up."
Edrix: "Never."
Percy: "I HAVE 347 PHOTOS! THIS IS MY MASTERPIECE!"
Honey: "The baby hasn't even arrived yet."
Percy: "PREPARATION IS KEY!"
Keifer stood behind Jay. Arms around her. Both looking at the room.
Keifer: "Our baby's room."
Jay: "Our rainbow baby."
Keifer: "Rainbow baby?"
Jay: "All the colors. All the joy."
Keifer: "I like that."
Jay: "Tss."
Keifer: "OUR thing."
Jay: "OUR thing."
That night. Their bedroom.
Jay's head on his chest. His hand on her stomach.
Jay: "The nursery is done."
Keifer: "The nursery is done."
Jay: "Next is the baby."
Keifer: "Next is our baby."
Jay: "I'm scared."
Keifer: "Me too."
Jay: "But happy."
Keifer: "The happiest."
Jay: "Tss."
Keifer: "Stop."
Jay: "No."
He kissed her. Hand on her stomach. Their baby. Their rainbow.