Nick hung up the phone and, ignoring the looks that his best friend and his girlfriend were giving him, walked out onto the deck. He had no idea what to think or what to feel right now. It had been over three years. What was he supposed to think? His mind traveled to his little girl. Elizabeth. He wondered what she looked like. Did she look like him? Or maybe more like Kayleigh? Either way, he was absolutely positive that she was beautiful. She was two and a half, almost three, years old and he had never even seen her.

“Nick?” Brian approached quietly, throwing a nervous glance in Lisa’s direction. “Are you okay, man? Who was on the phone?” Nick continued to stare out at the ocean.

“Baby?” Lisa ventured. “What happened?”

“I have a daughter,” Nick whispered after a few minutes of silence. Brian nearly fell off of the chair he was sitting in and Lisa stared out at her boyfriend, eyes wide.

“What?” She asked. “What are you talking about?”

Nick looked over at the two of them, tears glistening in his eyes. “I have a daughter. Elizabeth Nicole Carter. She’s turning three years old this year.”

“Nick, how do you have a daughter?” Lisa questioned, glancing at Brian. “Did you know about this?” Brian looked down at his feet. He had no doubt in his mind that Nick would never speak to him again if he found out that Brian had seen Kayleigh and never told him.

“Will someone answer me, damnit!” Lisa exclaimed, sick of the silence that lingered around.

Nick abruptly stood up and began to walk inside. “I can’t deal with all of this right now.”

“Brian,” Lisa began, turning towards him, after Nick had stormed inside. “What’s he talking about? How does he have a daughter and why is he just finding out about her.”

Brian sighed, heavily, and sat down in the chair next to her. “Did you ever hear about Nick’s best friend, Kayleigh?” Lisa nodded. “Well a few years ago, those two slept together and she got pregnant. She was secretly in love with him. He was secretly in love with her and neither one of them ever knew. Before Nick had a chance to find out that Kayleigh was carrying his baby, she freaked out and skipped town. No one knows where she is.”

“You do,” Lisa observed.

“What?” Brian asked.

“You know where she is,” Lisa explained. “I can see it in your eyes. Maybe not the whole time but you’ve known for a while now.”

Brian hung his head. “Yeah I did. I was out in California last year when I ran into her on the beach. She made me promise not to tell anyone where she was or she would’ve left again, without a trace. And I have no doubt in my mind that she would have.”

“You son of a bitch,” they heard Nick say from the doorway. Both Lisa and Brian’s heads whipped around, eyes wide.

“Nick,” Brian began, walking towards him.

“Don’t,” Nick growled. “How could you do this to me? You’ve known where she’s been for a year and you’ve never told me?! You call yourself a best friend?!”

“Nick, I promised her,” Brian explained.

“I don’t care!” Nick cried. “Do you know what I go through every day? I lost my best friend, Brian. And not only that. When I lost my best friend, I lost almost three years of my daughter’s life. Don’t you think that would’ve been worth breaking your promise?”

“Nick she would’ve left again,” Brian told him. “I didn’t want to take that chance. As long as one of us knew where she was, that was better than no one knowing.”

“I want you out of my house, now,” Nick commanded, quietly.

Brian’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Get out Brian,” Nick growled. “I really don’t ever want to see your face again.”

“Nick, you don’t mean that,” Brian said, sadly.

“Yes I do!” Nick exclaimed. “Get the hell out of my house!” Brian shook his head, sadly, and turned around to walk out of the door. Lisa made a move towards Nick but he held his hands up to stop her.

“Don’t,” he said. “I can’t deal with any of this right now. I need to go to California.”

“You’re going to go after her?” Lisa questioned, surprised. “Nick, didn’t you hear what Brian said? She doesn’t want to be found.”

“That’s my daughter, Lis,” Nick explained. “I can’t pretend that she doesn’t exist. I have to at least try.”

“What about us?” Lisa whispered. “I mean, if you find Kayleigh and your daughter, where does that leave me?”

Nick just stared at her, not knowing want to say. “I don’t know, Lis,” he told her, regrettably. “I can’t think about that right now.”

“I get it,” Lisa said, a sad tone in her voice. She gathered her stuff together and placed a kiss on Nick’s cheek. “I’ll wait for you, Nicky. When you figure out what to do with your life and what’s right, I’ll be waiting.” Nick watched as she walked through his house to the front door. He wanted to yell and tell her to come back. Lisa was his safety. He loved her. In a way. But he couldn’t deny the fact that, even though it was three years later, he was still in love with the one who left him three years ago and broke his heart in the process.

The Next Day:

“Where are you rushing off to?” James asked, watching Nicole run around the house, searching for her purse.

“I have to pick up a friend from the airport,” Nicole answered.

“I didn’t know you were having a friend come out this week,” James replied.

“It was a last minute thing,” Nicole explained. She placed a kiss on his lips. “I’d love to stay and chat but I’m going to be late. Make sure Kayleigh and Elizabeth are here when I get back, okay? Love you!”

“Love you too!” James called after.

“Flight 322 from Tampa, Florida is now arriving at gate 16.” Nicole, hearing the announcement, put her magazine down and made her way over to the gate. She held up a sign reading Nicole Sanders. They figured it would attract a lot less attention than holding one up reading Nick Carter.

“Nicole?” A tall, blond man asked, approaching her.

Nicole smiled. “You must be Nick.”

“That I am,” Nick said. His eyes darted around. He almost expected her to be there.

“She’s not here,” Nicole explained. “She’s probably home by now. She took Elizabeth out to lunch earlier.”

“Well, shall we go?” Nick questioned, nervously. He was starting to feel really scared about how Kayleigh would react to seeing him.

“It’ll be okay, Nick,” Nicole assured him, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go!”

“Hi Uncle Jimmy!” Elizabeth called as she burst into the house.

James held his arms out to her. “Hey kiddo! How was lunch?”

“Yummy!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “Mommy took me to Mickey D’s.”

“High quality lunch there, Kay,” James laughed.

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Hey. I try. We went to the park for a little bit, too.” She glanced around. “Where’s Nicole?”

James shrugged. “I have no idea. She ran out of here earlier saying something about picking up a friend or something. She should be back soon.”

“Alrighty,” Kayleigh said. “Would you mind watching the munchkin for a little bit? I’m gonna go lay down. I have kind of a headache.”

“Sure,” James smiled. “We always have fun, right Lizard?”

“Uncle James,” Elizabeth said, exasperated. “That’s not my name!” Kayleigh laughed and began walking up the stairs towards her room.

An hour later, James and Elizabeth were settled on the couch watching a movie when Nicole and Nick arrived. Nicole walked in first, Nick trailing about five feet behind her, nervous to see Kayleigh and his daughter.

“Hey,” Nicole said quietly from the doorway. James glanced up and smiled. “Is Kayleigh home yet?” James nodded. Nicole walked in farther and Nick followed, now standing in the doorway. He was looking at the ground, afraid to see his daughter for the first time.

“Hi Aunt Nikki!” Elizabeth exclaimed as soon as she noticed her. Nick looked up, startled by the little girl’s voice and he noticed her for the first time. She was beautiful. Blond curls to her shoulders. Bright shining blue eyes. Tanned skin. Just the sight of his daughter for the first time brought tears to his eyes. She was the perfect mixture of both of her parents. Nick’s shaped face, his eyes, and Kayleigh’s beautiful features.

“Who’s this?” Elizabeth asked, quietly, breaking Nick out of his trance. Nick glanced nervously at Nicole. Should they say it without Kayleigh around?

Nicole bent down to Elizabeth’s level. “This is Nick," she told her. “He’s an old friend of your mom’s.”

“The man from the tv that mommy always talks about!” Elizabeth exclaimed, surprising everyone. So Kayleigh had been telling her about Nick all along.

“Where’s Kayleigh?” Nicole asked James.

He pointed upstairs. “Laying down. She had another headache.” Nicole frowned. They were getting more and more frequent.

“Is she okay?” Nick asked, worriedly.

Nicole nodded, not wanting to say anything she shouldn’t. “She’s fine,” she told him. “She’s just been run down lately.”

The sound of voices downstairs woke Kayleigh up from her nap. Nicole must’ve been back with her friend. Kayleigh slowly crawled out of bed and walked into the bathroom to fix herself up before she went downstairs. After brushing her hair and washing her face, she began to walk downstairs. As she neared the bottom of the stairs, she heard Elizabeth babbling on and on about some man on the tv. Laughing to herself at how silly her daughter was, she rounded the corner and stopped dead in her tracks as she spotted who was standing in the living room.

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