“Ang,” Krista whispered from the doorway. She waved her friend over. “Come and look at this.”
Ang walked down the hall from the room she and Brian were sharing and stood in Nick’s doorway with Krista. In front of them, Nick and Katelin lay sound asleep on Nick’s bed, all wrapped around each other. “Never thought I’d ever see this again.”
“I know,” Krista agreed. “I honestly didn’t ever think that they’d work through their problems and get back together.”
“I’m still not convinced that they have,” Ang admitted. “But look how sweet they look.”
“We should probably wake them up,” Krista sighed. “I just wish there was better news to give them.”
“Yeah…” Ang breathed, walking into the room and over to Nick. She shook him, slightly. “Nick…Nick get up.”
“Hmmm…” Nick’s eyes slowly opened, focusing on Ang’s face. He sat up quickly. “Ang? What’s wrong? Did they find him?”
Ang’s shoulder’s sagged at the eager look on Nick’s face. “No. I’m sorry, Nicky. There hasn’t been any news.”
His face fell. “Oh…what time is it?”
“Almost nine,” she answered. “You guys slept for almost twelve hours.”
“She was tired,” Nick whispered, looking down at Katelin who was curled up next to him. “Should I wake her up?”
Ang shook her head. “No. Let her sleep for a while. I just thought that you might want to get up.”
“Thanks,” Nick replied, getting out of bed. Ang turned around and walked out of the room. He turned around and looked at Kate, still sound asleep on the bed. He carefully brushed the blond hair off of her forehead. “We’ll find him, baby. I swear.”
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
“Morning,” AJ greeted, sleepily, as he sat down at the kitchen table with Brian. “Anything?”
Brian shook his head. “I just talked to the detective. He barely told me anything.”
“Think think think,” AJ commanded. “If it’s not someone wanting money. Who the hell is it? Who do we know that would want Aidan? Or who would want to hurt Nick or Kate?”
The sound of the doorbell interrupted AJ. He and Brian got up and walked into the living room. Ang, who had been walking down the stairs, went to open the door. “Lanie? What are you doing here?”
“Is Nick here?” She asked, stepping inside. “I heard what happened and I just needed to know if he was alright.”
“I’m fine,” they heard from behind them. Nick had just walked down the stairs. “What are you doing here?”
“I needed to see you,” she stepped closer to him, putting her hand on his chest. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know this must be tearing you up. Do they have any idea where he might be?”
Nick shook his head, shrugging her hand off. “I don’t know.”
Lanie looked around at all of the faces staring back at her. None of them looked happy to see her. She turned back to Nick. “Nicky, can we go some where private? To talk?”
Wordlessly, he turned around and led her back to his office. From the top of the stairs, Katelin had witnessed the exchange, her brow suddenly furrowing in confusion. How in the hell….?
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
“Has anyone seen Kevin or Howie this morning?” AJ asked Krista, Brian, and Ang. The four of them had stayed at Nick’s house the previous night, not having the energy to drive back to Orlando and wanting to be close in case there was any news. Good or bad.
“Howie called a little while ago,” Ang replied. “He and Christine are on their way here. They were going to stop and get breakfast for everyone.”
“Does anyone else find it strange that Lanie is here?” Krista asked. “I mean, didn’t Nick kick her to the curb?”
Brian laughed at Krista’s expression. “Yeah. But she didn’t necessarily agree to that. So of course, she’s back to cause trouble.”
“You know what I’m surprised about?” Ang chimed in. They all looked at her, wondering what she was talking about. “I’m surprised that Jay hasn’t been here. I mean, surely Katelin’s talked to him and he knows what’s going on. Why hasn’t he been here with her?”
Krista shrugged. “Maybe he felt he’d just be in the way. I mean, with Aidan being Nick’s son and all.”
“What are you doing here, Lanie?” Nick asked. “I heard what you said about making sure I was alright…whatever…but I don’t really buy it. I don’t want you upsetting Katelin. She’s already been through enough.”
“Nicky…” she began, taking a step closer to him, trying hard not to scowl at the mention of Katelin. He held his hands up to stop her. “I’m not here to upset her. I just…I heard about Aidan. I just wanted to see if there’s anything I could do.”
Nick sighed, too tired to even argue with her. “I wish there was, Lanie. I wish there was.”
She finally moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head on his chest. Nick, in turn, brought his arms and wrapped them around her tiny frame. “I’m so sorry, Nicky. I’m so sorry that you have to go through this.”
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
“Are you ready?” Kevin asked, poking his head into the bathroom.
Adrienne looked over at him. “Almost.” She smiled a tiny smile, almost nervous to be around him. Kevin, sensing this, walked into the bathroom and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “You alright?” he asked, leaning his head on her shoulder so he could get a better look at her.
She looked over at him, slightly pecking him on the lips. “I’m fine.”
“You sure about that?” He asked. “I mean, you’re not having second thoughts, are you?”
She turned around fully in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. “No. I promise you, I’m not. It’s just that I haven’t felt like this…well…since….” She trailed off, not wanting to talk about her deceased husband.
“It’s okay, Adrienne,” Kevin assured her. “I know how much you loved him and I know you always will. If you don’t want this or you think it’s going to fast, just tell me. I’ll back off.”
Adrienne leaned in and kissed her. “I don’t want you to back off, Kevin. I really like you and I like this…whatever it is.”
Kevin grinned. “Good. Now how about we get back over to Nick’s. I wonder if there’s been any news.” Adrienne’s features darkened. “Yeah. God, I hope they find him soon. I hate to see either one of them go through this.”
***** ***** ***** ****** ***** *****
Katelin sat on one end of the couch with Ang, glaring at Lanie, who was practically sitting on top of Nick. “What the hell is she doing here?” she growled. “I mean, she couldn’t wait to get over here and act all sympathetic. ‘Oh Nick…’ It’s all bullshit. She couldn’t stand me and she couldn’t stand Aidan.”
“Kate, I’m sure she’s concerned,” Ang tried to reason. “I mean, even if she didn’t like either of you, she’s not that cold-hearted that she would be happy he was gone.”
“Whatever,” Katelin sighed, disgusted. “She’s not even here thirty seconds and he’s all wrapped up in her. How can he do that? Just be so hot and cold with that. With me and with her. As much as I can’t stand the bitch, he strings her along just like he does to me.”
Ang laughed, slightly, shaking her head. “Anyway, where has Jay been? I thought for sure he’d be around.”
Katelin shrugged, not taking her eyes off of the ground. “I tried calling him to tell him. He hasn’t been answering. I left a message on his machine to call me but I haven’t heard from him.”
“I would think he would have been over here as soon as he found out,” Ang commented, looking at her friend.
“He wouldn’t know unless I told him,” Kate told her, simply. “We haven’t released it.”
Ang scrunched her nose up in thought. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought of that.”
Katelin rolled her eyes. “It never crossed your mind that there were no reporters banging down the door?”
Ang giggled. “No. I hadn’t even realized.” She looked over at Lanie sitting on the couch with Nick. “Well, then how the hell did Lanie know?”
Katelin’s head whipped around, watching Lanie as she rubbed Nick’s leg. “You’re right…”
Before she could say anything, there was a whole lot of commotion coming from Nick’s kitchen. Katelin, Ang, Nick, and Lanie, all jumped up and ran into the room where the detectives were all located. “Twenty miles outside of the city…” They heard one of them say.
“What’s going on?” Kate questioned, pulling on one of the detectives arms. He shrugged her arm off. “Not right now miss.” Katelin roughly grabbed his arm and yanked him back to her. “That is my son out there!” She yelled. “What the hell is going on?”
The detective sighed, looking at the expectant faces around him. “A man was spotted at a convenience store outside of Atlanta. He had a blond boy with him who fit Aidan’s description. Someone’s on the case as we speak.”
Lanie looked over at Nick. “Maybe I should go. I feel like I’m just in the way.” Nick nodded, barely even acknowledging her. “I’ll stop by later to see how everything’s going.” All she got was a wave in return.
She sighed, dejected and all but ran out of the house and down to her car.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Brooke slammed on her breaks as a car came careening out of Nick’s driveway. She waved, seeing that it was Lanie, and shrugged when Lanie didn’t even acknowledge her in return. Pulling her car into the driveway, she sat there for a second, secretly hoping that, maybe, for some chance, Kevin wasn’t there. Sighing, she pulled herself out of the vehicle and walked nervously up to the front steps, mentally scolding herself for being worried about something so trivial at a time like this.
Brooke didn’t even bother to knock when she heard the commotion coming from inside. Instead, she just opened the door and walked inside the house, seeing Howie and Christine standing off to the side of everyone else in the kitchen. “Hey,” she greeted the two of them.
“Brooke?!” Howie was surprised. She was one of the last people he would’ve expected to see. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard what happened,” Brooke answered. “I got back here as soon as I could. Is there anything I can do?” Howie shook his head. “Nah. We’re all feeling pretty helpless right now.”
“I think that they might have a lead, though,” Christine spoke up. “Apparently someone may have spotted something outside of Atlanta.”
“God, I hope they find him,” Brooke nodded her head towards Nick and Katelin. “How are they holding up?”
Howie looked over at the two of them. They were standing off to the side just staring blankly at everything that was going on around them. Nick had his arms wrapped around her from behind and she was leaned up against him. “It’s hard to say. She was a disaster yesterday. I mean, she really flipped out. I think she’s just in a daze now. And Nick? Who knows…I mean, this is typical behavior for him. Whenever something goes wrong, he just shuts down. That’s what he’s doing now.”
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
“Hey…Where are you?”
He looked up at the sign on the side of the road. “Outside of Atlanta. Why?”
“They’re on to you. Get the hell out of there. And fast.”
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Before they went inside, Kevin leaned over and gave Adrienne a light kiss on the cheek. “You alright?” he asked, pulling away.
She shrugged. “I’m just nervous to find out what’s going on in there. I just don’t want to hear any bad news.”
“They’ll find him,” Kevin reassured her. “I swear.” He reached up and rang the doorbell, waiting patiently for someone to answer. A minute later the door swung open and everyone stared uncomfortably.
“Hey Brooke,” Adrienne greeted nervously, just wanting to break the uncomfortable silence. “When did you get in?”
Brooke held the door open for the two of them, trying to keep the hurt off of her face as she noticed how they were holding hands. “I flew in last night and came over here just a little while ago. I wanted to be there for them.”
Kevin smiled, genuinely. “I’m sure they appreciate it.” He nodded towards her and then led Adrienne into the living room.
Brooke watched them go and then leaned against the door, sighing heavily. “You alright?” She jumped at the sound of Brian’s voice.
“I’m fine,” she smiled.
“I think everything’s worked out for the best,” Brian told her. “Not that you and Kevin weren’t good together. You were great. But sometimes things just aren’t meant to be. And I think that maybe you and JC are and maybe Adrienne and Kevin are.”
“You’re a good guy, Brian,” Brooke told him, pulling him in for a hug. “Ang is lucky to have you.”
Katelin disentangled herself from Nick and walked over to the window in the living room, glancing outside at the neighborhood. She watched the neighbors outside. The little kids playing out in the street. They had no idea that her world had turned upside down in the last two days. She turned back towards the kitchen, looking at everyone. She didn’t want to get her hopes up about anything just to have them crushed when they realized it wasn’t him.
Nick had barely noticed that Kate wasn’t in there with them anymore. He looked and saw her staring out the window, blankly. Torn between wondering what was going on with Aidan and worried about Katelin’s sanity, he reluctantly turned around and went into the living room where she was sitting.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked.
Katelin could barely tear her eyes away from the window. Something had been sticking in her head ever since Lanie had left. “Nick, why was Lanie here?”
Nick sighed. “Kate, I really don’t want to argue with you about this.”
She shook her head. “No…I don’t mean it like that. I mean, why did she say she was here?”
He looked at her funny, wondering why the hell it was so important for her to know all of this. It was like she wanted to pick a fight with him. “Now is really not the time, Kate. Come on.”
“Just answer me!” She exclaimed, jumping up. “Why did she say she was here?”
“To check and see if she could do anything,” Nick answered, completely confused. “She heard about what happened to Aidan and she wanted to see if she could help.”
Katelin’s mouth dropped open a little and she turned her head away. “Oh my god…” Her hand flew to her mouth.
“What is it?” Nick asked, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her back towards him. “What the hell is going on, Kate?”
“She’s behind this,” Katelin realized. “Holy shit, Nick! She did this! She took Aidan.”
“What…no way, Kate.” He shook his head, frantically. “There’s no way Lanie would do something like this.” He looked up at the doorway and noticed that they had attracted an audience.
“I have to agree with Nick on this one,” Brian spoke up. “There’s no way that Lanie would take Nick’s son away. No matter what hostility she has towards you, she would never kidnap your son.”
“You don’t understand!” She yelled, looking at all of them standing there. They all stared back at her, looks of pity plastered on their faces. “Stop looking at me like I’m crazy! I’m not fucking crazy! How in the hell did she know?”
“Kate, you need to calm down,” Adrienne said, taking a step towards her. “I know this is hard for you, honey. Your son was taken. But you have to…”
Katelin shrugged out of her grasp and, instead, turned towards her best friend. “You said it yourself, Ang. How did she know? Nothing was ever released that it was Aidan. And unless someone in this room has talked to her, then there’s no way she could have known.” She looked back towards Nick. “Had you talked to her before she came over?” Nick shook his head ‘no.’ “Did anyone?” Everyone mumbled some sort of negative answer and she pleaded at all of them with her tear-filled eyes. “Then how did she know? No one outside of this room has any idea what’s going on and all of the sudden Lanie shows up acting all sympathetic? It just doesn’t make sense.”
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
“Do you think she could be right?” Krista asked Howie, AJ, and Christine as they sat outside on Nick’s deck. “I mean, what if Lanie is behind all of this?”
“I wouldn’t put it past her,” AJ replied, always willing to take Katelin’s side over Lanie’s. Ever since Katelin returned, he could see how Lanie acted towards she and Aidan. “I mean, she was the one who told the social worker all of that stuff and almost had Aidan taken away. Maybe she did have something to do with it.”
“But if she is involved, she’s not doing this alone,” Howie pointed out. “If she was here earlier, then where the hell was Aidan?”
“You don’t believe me?” Katelin asked Nick, blinking back tears. “She did this, Nick. I know she did.” She stepped towards him, reaching out for him and he all but jumped back, throwing his hands up in defense. “Well, I guess that’s my answer then.” She turned and ran from the room before he could say anything else.