~*~The Next Day~*~
"Y'know, if you don't stop fidgeting I'm gonna smack ya upside the head," Nick mumbled as Kindlin shifted from one foot to the other, nervously twittling her fingers, as they waited their turn at court.
"Shut up - I'm just nervous cuz I'm about to commit the rest of my life to the stupidest guy on earth," Kindlin rolled her eyes as she ran her slim fingers through her hair... her one and only nervous habit.
"That's not what you said last night," he smirked.
Kindlin laughed, tauntingly. "Yeah, that's the only thing you got going for you... well, that and you're attractive... and rich... and have a happening career... and a huge house... a nice car." she glared at him, "other than that... Um, nothing! You're a conceited jerk."
Nick rolled his eyes at her, "Yeah, well let's start your list... Okay, you got the whole bedroom thang, you're pretty... and ooh! That's all!"
Her nostrils flared, "I can not believe I am marrying you, you selfish... selfish... p-person!"
Nick laughed, "Calm yourself, li'l lady, or you'll give yourself an ulsur."
"Ugh! You drive me insane!"
"Fine! We'll change the deal... Once everything's finished with getting our son back, we'll get divorced after a month so the public doesn't get suspicious."
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"So um, how much longer till our turn?"
Nick sighed, "I dunno."
~*~5 days later~*~Seattle, Washington~*~
"So why aren't you two on your honeymoon?" Kindlin's mother asked.
Her father replied before she could, "You know kid's these days... they always do everything before marriage, so why go on a honeymoon and waste the money? What I wanna know is why you kept this guy away from us for so long!"
Kindlin was still blushing from her father's statement about 'kids' and pre-marital sex, so Nick spoke up for her. "Well, I kept telling Kin that I wanted to meet her parents, but she kept sayin' it wasn't the right time."
Kindlin glared at him, feeling pissed that Nick was sucking up to her parents so badly... and that they were buying it! "Well, mom, dad, I think it's time Nick and I head on over to the hotel," Kindlin stood up, grabbing her purse and jacket in a hurry.
"Sweetie, why don't you two just stay here in the spare room?" her father asked, clueless to the fact that she was trying to get the heck out of there.
"Because."
"Because?"
"Because... Because I wanna have sex with my husband." Hey, it was the only thing she could think of.
Nick looked at her curiously, her parents standing there look dumbfounded.
"Alright, well let's go Nick," Kindlin hurried him out of the house, yelling back to her parents that she'd call in the morning to get together some time.
"So'd you mean what you said in there?" Nick grinned slyly, once they were outside.
"Heck no, Carter." she walked hurriedly to their rental car.
"Why not? We used to do it every time I was in Vancouver," he got into the drivers side, starting the engine.
"Don't remind me... Look Nick, 5 days ago at court things changed, if you didn't notice. Now it wouldn't just be sex, it'd be like... well... well, you'd still be there in the morning!"
"Technically... you'd still be there in the morning, since it will be my house we'll be living in."
Kindlin rolled her eyes.
"Geez, turn the heat on... it's like freaking cold here."
"Well, it is Seatte, you idiot... you're the dumbass that only brought shorts when I told you to bring jeans." Kindlin lectured.
Nick smirked, "I know. I did it on purpose."
"Ugh. Figures."
~*~That Night~*~
"Okay. Let's make a game plan... where should he go to college?" Nick was sitting on the bed, Kindlin in front of him, and a bag of Dorrito's in-between them.
"Don't get so ahead of yourself, Li'l guy. We don't even have him yet... and he hasn't even start pre-school."
"Yeah, you're right," Nick nodded, popping a chip into his mouth without chewing it while he continued talking. Every word that came out of his mouth was muffled.
"What?? Gosh, would you chew first?"
Nick chewed up the chip, "Whatever... Anyway, I asked where he should go to pre-school then... I hear there's a really good one about 15 minutes from my house."
Kindlin laughed and stood up, "Nick, this conversation is pointless."
Nick sighed, his blue eyes looking disappointed, "You're having doubts that we'll get him back... aren't you?"
He sounded so depressingly pathetic it made Kindlin turn to look at him from where she was standing, looking at his CD collection. "I don't know, Nick... I mean, I want him back. I just don't know if it's possible." she sat back down in front of him, this time moving the Dorrito bag onto the floor.
"Kin, I'll get our son back if it's the last thing I do... Although, as much as I hate to admit it, I do need your help."
Kindlin smirked, "Ya know... suddenly $10,000 doesn't sound like very much money."
"Yeah, yeah... I'd make it 10 million to get him back."
She grinned evily before laughing, "Nah, I'm just kidding. 10 thou oughtta be enough."
"I don't even know what you're gonna use the money for... I mean, you're obviously just gonna eat the food at my house - meaning you don't have to buy food... Housing's obviously already taken care of... Need clothes? I'll buy 'em... I mean, I am your husband. I need to provide for my 'family'." he looked away, feeling a light blush creeping over his face.
Kindlin laughed slightly, "I can buy myself clothes... Don't worry about that. You sorta like the idea of taking care of someone, don't you?" she smirked at the thought of Nick actually being... well, nice.
Before Kindlin met Nick she had seen him in TV interviews and always thought he looked nice, or whatever... Then she met him in person and her opinion totally changed. Now she was beginning to think maybe all this time he really had just hated her. Just thinking of that made her frown as she stood up and walked to her suitcase, digging through it to find her PJ's. No one she'd met had ever really disliked her. She was a sweet girl... Just not to Nick.
"You okay?" Nick asked, leaving her previous question unanswered.
"Fine... Peachy. I'm going to bed and... crap! I forgot to pack pajamas!"
Nick smirked, suggestively.
"Oh, shut up, Carter!"
He laughed, "Nah, I'm just playin'. You can wear a pair of my boxers and one of my t-shirts, since they'll be big on you."
She nodded, took the clothes that Nick was handing to her and went into the bathroom to change. Once Kindlin was finished, she went back into the bedroom section of the hotel and got into her side of the king sized bed. "Night, Nick," she reached to turn off the lamp but didn't when Nick gently grabbed her arm to stop her. "Scared of the dark?" she didn't turn to look at him.
"Well, kinda, but that's not why I stopped you."
Kindlin tried not to smile, thinking it was kind of cute that he was afraid of the dark. 'Stop it! This is Nick you're talking about!' it was no use... she smiled to herself. Wiping it off her face she turned to look at him, "Then what's the matter?"
"Do you have a picture or anything of our son?" Nick asked, looking hopeful.
Kindlin looked at Nick and sighed. 'Gosh, I hope we get him back... for Nick's sake.' she thought to herself. "Um... in a little card thing like a birth certificate. But he had just been born, so he obviously looks totally different now."
He nodded, "Can I see it?"
Kindlin stood up and got it out of her wallet. She handed it to Nick and he stared at the photo for a few minutes before handing it back to Kindlin, turning over on his other side, and flipping off his bed-side lamp.
Kindlin's eyes watered as she stuffed the card into her wallet again, crawled into bed, and turned off her lamp, finding it almost completely impossible to fall asleep that night.
