#a secret) and is like what the fuck happened to you. and they're like zhujun your beloved daughter is safe and perfect. here she is

[coquelicoq]

now obviously you don't have to hit all the plot points of 3 men and a baby for something to qualify as a 3 men and a baby au, but for the curious, here's the general outline of the film:

peter, michael, and jack are three roommates, generally living it up as attractive, unattached single men, sowing their wild oats and so forth.

jack, an actor, is out of the country shooting a movie and mostly incommunicado. a friend of his asks if he can have a secret package delivered to jack's apartment for safekeeping until he can pick it up. jack says sure and asks his roommates to look out for this package (not giving any details because he doesn't know what it is) and to keep it a secret (because his buddy had asked for it to be kept a secret for some reason) until somebody comes to pick it up. his roommates are like sure dude whatever, we gotchu.

shortly thereafter, a woman named sylvia leaves a baby on their doorstep with a note which reveals that she can no longer take care of the baby, mary, and so is leaving her in the care of mary's father, jack. the roommates assume this is the "package" and must frantically figure out how to care for a surprise doorstep baby, which is why they're distracted when the actual package shows up. they throw it inside somewhere and get back to business warming up milk and changing diapers and whatnot. cue series of charming scenes of them adjusting to coparenting their absent roommate's infant daughter.

a few days later, some guys come by for the "package". the roommates assume they're there for mary (the baby) and reluctantly hand her over; they've grown attached, but they know she's not theirs. only after this do they remember the other package, which they discover to be heroin, and realize they've just given a baby to some drug dealers who are expecting her to be drugs. peter tries to catch up with the drug dealers to get mary back and to hand over the actual package, but there's a kerfuffle with the police and long story short, he gets the baby but the dealers don't get the heroin, which they are none too pleased about.

jack returns from his shoot and is surprised to learn he has a baby, but he quickly joins in the coparenting.

the dealers send them threatening notes demanding they hand over the drugs (which they don't even have anymore; they were lost in the kerfuffle). the three roommates formulate a plan to trap the drug dealers...somehow. i don't remember the details. it's successful.

the three roomies are happily adjusted to their new life as mary's guardians when sylvia, the mom, shows up and takes her back. she says she has to go back to london for financial reasons and takes mary to the airport. the guys let her go, but they're depressed. cue a running through the airport scene, which is unsuccessful because apparently sylvia changed her mind and is waiting back for them at their apartment. they ask sylvia to come live with them so the four of them can raise mary together. she tearfully agrees and the five live happily ever after (until the sequel).

i don't think it's necessary that the baby be biologically related to one of the 3 buddies, but the whole thing where one of them is out of town when the baby shows up and the other two assume guy #1 (gender-neutral) knows about the baby and is asking them to take care of her when really guy #1 has no idea and has done nothing of the sort is very good. i also like the package mixup concept, though i don't think the added conflict of being pursued by drug dealers with a grudge adds much to the emotional beats so i would probably just have it be some other type of package. the conflict can arise from the fact that holy shit there's a baby and also is the person who left her here going to come take her back after we've gotten attached, etc. the fact that it ends up as FOUR guys (gender-neutral) and a baby is also very juicy. but none of it is required to qualify as a 3 men and a baby au except that there be a surprise baby and platonic coparenting. the rest is bells and whistles. you measure that shit with your heart.

I KEEP FORGETTING TO SAY THIS but my ideal au is always, ALWAYS a three men and a baby au. doesn't have to be men just yknow three adults and a baby. i know i have said this before but it was only the one time and it bears repeating, it bears so much repeating because i need it so bad for everything forever.