"Here we are," Howie said, after their long trip back to Florida. Savannah, who was now awake, jumped out of the car and ran inside. Howie and Regan started to grab their bags and lug them inside Howie's house. Regan stood in the hallway and looked around. It was exactly the same.
"Can I go swimming?" Savannah ran in and asked. Howie looked at Regan.
"She's in her second year of lessons," Regan told Howie. "Sure honey, go ahead." Savannah smiled and ran to get changed.
"I'm going to go call everyone and see if maybe we can all get together tonight," Howie said.
"Okay, I'd love to see everyone again," Regan agreed. Howie went in to his kitchen and started to call Kevin.
~~~~~~~~~~
Nick handed Connor the baby basketball and told him to stay there. He ran up the steps two at a time and reached Brian just in time to see Gwen storm off. He pushed past Brian and tried to reach Gwen but it was too late. She was already in her car and driving away. Brian slowly walked down the stairs and onto the court. He saw the little boy throw the ball into the basket and miss. The ball rolled over and stopped right in front of Brian's shoe. He bent down and picked it up.
"Here you go, fella," Brian said, smiling to the boy. Nick appeared behind him.
"We need to talk," Nick said to his best friend.
"Yes we do," Brian said. Nick walked over and picked up his son and carried him inside. Earlier that morning, right after Ashleigh left, Nick went to the toy store and bought almost every Fisher Price toy possible for Connor that afternoon. They walked into the house and Connor ran over to his new toys and Brian waited to Nick's explanation.
"I have a son," Nick said.
"I figured that much," Brian said, still in shock. "And he's not Ashleigh's."
"No," Nick said, slowly and sadly.
"How could you let this happen?! How long have you kept this from everyone?" Brian said, getting mad.
"I didn't know until two days ago," Nick confessed. Brian sighed.
"You didn't know? Oh that's great," Brian said.
"Brian, please," Nick begged, "I don't know what to do." Brian began to soften up.
"Does Ashleigh know?" Brian asked.
"Not yet," Nick said, as tears started to form in his eyes. Brian looked over and did a double take. The last time he saw Nick cry was when he was 15 and Kevin punched him when they got in a fight. "Two years ago I had a one night stand after a concert while I was still with Ashleigh. I was drunk but that's not an excuse. I woke up the next morning and realized what a huge mistake I made and vowed to myself no one would ever find out and my punishment would be to live with my guilt. Until two days ago when I got a call."
Brian stood speechless. For the first time, he didn't know what to tell his best friend. They had been through everything together but nothing as extreme as this. And it couldn't have come at a worse time. If the press even found out right before their record release, they were done. But he had to support Nick.
"What about the girl?" Brian asked.
"She has a bone disease. She's gonna die, Brian. I'm going to be a single dad," Nick said. Brian had never heard Nick sound so scared before in his life.
"Daddy?" Connor interrupted. Nick looked over at his son.
"Yes, Sport?"
"Barney," Connor said, pointing to the TV. Nick walked over and put on a Barney tape for him and kissed his forehead. Brian sat down and tried to take in everything that just happened.
"What am I going to do?" Nick asked his best friend, desperately wishing he had the answer like always.
"I do not know."
The silence was interrupted by Brian's cell phone. He looked at the caller ID and saw Howie's number. He hit "talk".
"Hey D," Brian said.
"Hey Bri, Leigh told me to call your cell," Howie said. Brian looked at Nick and Nick nodded.
"Hey D, we need to have a meeting tonight..."
~~~~~~~~~
"AJ!!" Gwen screamed, storming into their house and slamming the door. AJ ran into the hall.
"What?!" he asked.
"Nick has a son!" Gwen screamed.
"What?" AJ asked, thinking he heard wrong.
"Nick has a son. He has a goddam son!" Gwen screamed. AJ grabbed her shoulders to calm her down.
"Whoa, Baby, breathe. Now say that again..."
"Nick is a father," Gwen said, looking into AJ's eyes.
"Nick...our Nick?" AJ asked.
"YES!" Gwen shouted.
"Shit..." AJ breathed, looking down at the floor in shock.
"AND HE ISN'T ASHLEIGH'S!" Gwen screamed. "That BASTARD cheated on my sister and now has a son!"
"Whoa, Baby, you gotta calm down," AJ said.
"Calm down?! I can't calm down! NICK IS A DAD! He lied to Ashleigh!" Gwen screamed.
"How did you find out?" AJ asked.
"I saw him playing with him. Brian and I must have gotten there at the same time because he was standing in shock too," Gwen said.
"Holy shit..." AJ whispered. The weird way Nick was acting last night came into place.
"I gotta call Ashleigh," Gwen said, picking up the phone. AJ grabbed the phone from her.
"Whoa, no, you can't," AJ demanded.
"Why not?" Gwen asked.
"Because Ashleigh probably doesn't know about it yet and it isn't our business to tell her," AJ told her.
"Not our business? She's my sister!!" Gwen screamed.
"I know Baby, but she's Nick's fiancee. We got to let him take care of it," AJ said. Gwen collapsed into a leather chair in their family room and sat with her head in her hands. AJ came up behind her and rubbed her back. Their phone rang and AJ picked it up.
"Yeah?" he asked. He listened to the other line. "Alright, I'll be there." AJ hung up the phone and wrapped his arms around his wife.
"Who was that?" Gwen asked.
"Brian," he answered. "We have a meeting tonight."
~~~~~~~~
