Yes, I Will:

Chapter 10: Two Signatures

8 Months Later

Nick took a deep breath as he looked down at his three-month-old daughter lying contentedly in his arms. She was wide awake but hadn't made a sound in hours now. He still couldn't believe what a wonderful child she was. He and Leah couldn't have made a more perfect baby.

At the thought, he turned to look at his wife and it felt as though all of the air had been sucked out of the room. He couldn't believe that in just moments she would no longer be his wife. He couldn't believe he had let it come to this. And yes, he blamed himself. Yes, in his mind, he was the cause of all that they had become... and all that they hadn't.

He had let Lisa do it to him again. He had let her get under his skin... not in a romantic way, but in a way that was almost as bad. He had started to feel sorry for her; had started to feel a guilt deep in his gut every time her eyes would fill with tears; had started to not want to have to tell her that he had to get home to his family, for fear of finding that look of heart-wrenching sadness in her eyes that he had begun to hate. He had let all of this and more keep him from his wife and baby girl when they needed him.

He had let his cowardliness tear his family apart.

"Mr. Carter... Mr. Carter... Mr. Carter..."

Nick looked up at his lawyer and could almost feel the color draining from his face. Two signatures and this was all over. Two signatures and the only time he would see the beautiful and perfect angel lying in his arms would be when he could make his way back to the house he had shared with Leah. He would miss most of her babyhood and when she was older he would spend every other weekend with her, he presumed... and of course the occasional holidays. He couldn't believe his life had come to this. Weekends, sporadic afternoons at the park, drop offs and pick ups at ballet or piano lessons or--he hoped--sports practices.

Two signatures and he was Dad On-Call.

He didn't want to sign the papers first. He couldn't sign the papers first. Shifting Nicolea in his arms, he reached for the papers and without a second thought slid them to Leah. And with a breaking heart he watched as she reached for the pen with a shaking hand and signed them without looking at him. If she had, she would have seen the tears on his face and the regret in his eyes.

5 Months Later

There was a slight tremor in her voice as he picked up the telephone and found his ex-wife on the line. Nick couldn't help but feel his stomach clench with worry. If Leah were calling him, and sounding so upset, there was probably something wrong with their now eight-month-old daughter.

"She isn't keeping down any of her food, Nicky." She had used the nickname subconsciously and didn't even catch her error. "I feed her and she just throws up a couple minutes later. And her fever... she has a fever, Nick, a fever. I called Nicci's doctor but she's out of town. I don't want to blow his out of proportion and be one of those panicky mothers and rush her to the ER, but I don't know what else to do."

"Okay... Leah?"

"Yeah?"

"Calm down." He could hear her taking a deep breath and quietly counting to ten. "You being upset will not help Nicolea at all. I'll be over in five minutes, okay? It's gonna be okay, Lee. I promise."

Leah felt her eyes water and she nodded even though he couldn't see her. Just as he had promised, five minutes later he was at her door and not even a minute later she had catapulted herself into his arms. "I'm such a terrible mother," she said between sobs. "She was crying a lot today and I kept thinking she was just cranky, but something was wrong and I didn't even know it, Nick!"

Nick pulled away and held her at arms length so he could look into her eyes. "You are NOT a terrible mother. You are a wonderful mother and Nicci's lucky to have you, so stop it."

"What do we do?" Leah whispered and looked up at him, her breath catching in her throat. He looked more gorgeous every time she saw him. But now wasn't the time to think of that.

"If she has a fever, we should take her to the ER. C'mmon, get your shoes on and I'll go up and get Nic."

Leah pulled on his arm and wouldn't let him go upstairs. "Promise me again, Nick. Promise me."

"Promise you what, baby?" Nick whispered as he looked down at her and fought the urge to kiss her tears away. She wasn't his anymore.

"Promise me our baby's gonna be okay."

To hell with self-control, Nick thought as he bent and brushed his lips against her cheeks, collecting her tears. She looked shocked when he pulled away. "She'll be fine."

Two hours later, they pulled back into Leah's driveway. Nick squeezed Leah's hand before getting out of the truck and unbuckling Nicolea from her car seat. The doctors had given her medicine that had broken her fever within twenty minutes and had calmed her stomach. She had slept peacefully all the way home from the hospital.

"She still asleep?" Leah asked as Nick made his way back down the stairs.

He'd just put Nicolea to bed and was now planning on leaving as quickly as he could. There was no way he could stand to spend any more time in Leah's presence. His heart broke to know how much he still loved her... and how much he couldn't do a thing about it.

"Yep. Completely conked out." Nick smiled and reached for his car keys that lay on the entryway table. "Well, I guess I'll..." He trailed off and pointed to the door, feeling awkward.

Leah finished his sentence for him, "Leave."

"Right."

She looked at him with sad eyes and her voice was soft, "You don't have to go, Nick."

"I know," Nick paused. "But I should."