Nick stared out at the New York City skyline, not sure of why he had picked New York out of all the places. He could go anywhere in the world and he'd picked there, he put his hands in his pocket and walked back into the living room of his hotel suite. He'd tried calling Brian at home a few days ago but had only gotten his machine, so he left a quick message that he was okay and just let him be alone for awhile. He trusted B not to go hunt him down.
Shan looked at Lis one more time. "So you just want me to drop you off?"
"Yeah, trust me I'll be okay. I'll call if I need a ride back to your place." Lis said looking up at the house. She felt more nervous then she'd ever felt before.
"All right. You have my cell number right?"
"In my purse. Okay it's now or never." Lis said, getting out of the car.
"Good luck!" Shan called and drove away.
Aaron set his drink down on the coffee table and got up, heading to the door. "I'll get it." he called, in case his sisters thought they could beat him to the door. He hurried to the door and opened it, staring wide eyed at who was on the step.
"Aren't you going to let me in?" Lis smiled, hoping he would.
"Of course. Get in here!" he said happily. "I heard you left...I never thought you'd come here." he said, taking her arm and leading her inside.
"Well I'm staying with a friend for a few days." she brushed the hair out of her eyes. "And I thought I should tell Bob and Jane about the baby...and I need to talk to you too." she said softly.
Aaron nodded. "You're all right though? Baby's fine?"
"As far as I know." Lis looked around. The house was filled with so many memories of Nick and her there.
"Let's go outside...I'll just tell mom your here." he led her outside then went back upstairs where Jane was helping Angel with her homework. "Mom Lis is downstairs."
Jane's head shot up from the math she'd been looking at her. "She is? Should we call Rok?"
"No...I don't think she wants them to know...She said she needs to talk to you and dad though, later on."
"Sure. Call me when you two are through."
AC nodded and went back downstairs. He found Lis sitting on the patio, flipping through her notebook. "You were here all along?" he asked as he sat down.
She set her book aside. "No, New York first...I took the first flight out of Tampa. If it had been going to Toronto I would have been there. Just flew here a couple days ago, needed to sort things out."
Aaron didn't like the way she sounded. "Why? What do you have to sort out?"
"What I'm going to do with my life AC, and the baby." She saw the frightened look on his face. "I'm keeping the baby AC, it's the last part of Nick I have." she said slowly.
He smiled weakly. "He'd be a good daddy..."
"He would." Lis nodded, thinking of the time they'd gone into the baby store for fun a few days before his accident. She still had a sneaking suspicion he had bought the little football uniform he had been eying.
~~ Flashback ~~
Nick pulled Lis inside the baby store. "Nick, what are we doing in here?" she asked as he slid his arm around her waist.
"Well Mrs. C, since there could be a mini us in here," he patted her stomach, "Shouldn't we get an idea of what we would need?" His blue eyes looked straight into hers.
Lis smiled. "A baby for starters, and then a nursery..." she trailed off as Nick led her over to the array of cribs. They'd looked at each one when a saleslady made her way over.
"Can I help you two? Shopping for a gift or yourselves?"
Nick answered before Lis could open her mouth. "Ourselves."
"Congratulations, how far along?"
Nick looked Lis over, her baggy t-shirt and cutoffs created a good illusion. "About 4 months, right honey?"
Lis stared at him wide eyed. "Right sweetie." she replied, not believing what he was up to.
"Let me know if you two need anything." the woman said and disappeared into an array of diaper bags.
"Nickolas Gene Carter, what the hell are you doing?" Lis whispered as he pulled her into the baby clothes area.
"When you want something bad enough, you go after it. So what could it hurt having a nursery ready?" he replied, kissing her forehead. He looked over, "Now that...that is an outfit for a Carter!"
Lis followed him over, watching him go through the rack of baby clothes, holding up a little football jersey and matching track pants. "Oh no..."
"What? Not little Carter's colors?" he asked, looking down. "It's green..."
Lis sighed. "I'm going to teddy bears...and rattles." she turned and walked away, leaving him standing there.
Nick watched her go and smiled to himself, then looked down at the little outfit. The label said from 3-6 months. A year from now, he thought pulling his wallet out and heading to the counter, a year from now he could be holding his baby in that outfit.
The saleswoman looked up at him. "Find something?" she asked pleasantly.
"Yeah." he grinned and handed her the outfit.
"That's darling...you're having a little boy?" she asked as she rang it up.
Nick nodded. "We are...uhm could you put that in a small bag..."
"You want to surprise your wife." she said knowingly.
Nick nodded. "You must get that a lot."
"Once in awhile." she smiled and handed him the small bag with the outfit inside.
Lis stood staring at the teddy bears and rattles. Should she pick something up? Maybe it would give them luck...she looked the teddy bears over and spotted one right away. He was small and grey, wearing a little suit that looked like one Nick had worn on the last tour. Lis glanced around, she'd surprise Nick with it later. She picked him up and headed to the saleslady. "I'll take this." Lis said, glancing around for Nick. She could see the top of his head, behind the mile high stack of diaper bags.
The saleslady smiled at her. They were such a cute couple. "That will be $21.50."
Lis pulled the money out of her purse. "Could you put that in a small bag, I want to.."
"Hide it from your husband. Of course."
Nick dropped the bag he had been looking at when Lis walked over. "Hey honey." he said nervously.
"Hey Nicky." Lis glanced down at the diaper bag on the floor. "Winnie The Pooh...kinda cute."
"My thoughts exactly." he picked up his few shopping bags. "Shall we go?"
"Uh sure." Lis nodded and followed him out of the store and back into the mall.
"Where'd you disappear to in there?" he asked, as they headed for the Durango in the parking lot.
"Nowhere. Just got lost for a few."
"Oh yeah me too."
~~ End flashback ~~
Lis looked over when she heard Aaron say her name. "What? Sorry Aaron..."
"It's okay." he had seen how far away she'd been. "I just said I talked to Brian the other day...uh Nick left Tampa too."
Her green eyes went wide. "He isn't here is he?"
He shook his head. "That's the thing, no one knew where either of you were. Everyone was scared."
Lis sighed. Deep inside she knew why Nick had left. She'd practically forced him to with the lie she had forced everyone to live the last few months. "He hasn't called you?" she asked, surprised he wouldn't contact his family.
"No, not yet...I kinda, I thought maybe you two went away together."
"No..." she sighed and nearly jumped when the patio door opened and Jane walked out.
"Sorry to interrupt but AC you've got a phone call."
Aaron stood up. "I'll take it inside. You'll still be here?" he asked Lis.
"I won't leave without saying good bye I promise."
He nodded and went inside with the phone, leaving Jane and Lis alone on the patio.
Aaron closed the door to the study and sat down. Through the window he could see the patio. "Aaron speaking."
On his end Nick took a deep breath. "Hi little bro."
"Nick!" Aaron practically yelled.
"Whoa calm down and not so loud!"
"Sorry, but I've been worried, everyone's worried. Bri faxed me your letter. What the hell are you thinking?"
Nick smiled. "Aaron, I'm the older bro, I'm the one who's supposed to be giving you the lectures."
"Well when I see my big bro screwing up his life I'm gonna try and stop it." Aaron said truthfully.
"I'm not screwing it up AC, I'm doing what's best for all of us...Me, Lis, Bri...their...their baby."
"How stupid are you Nick, you've got your memory back...you know how much Lissy loves you, you honestly think her and B."
"Aaron, she was in pain, she needed someone to...to help her through it. Brian helped her the best way he knew."
"By being her friend. Her FRIEND Nick, not her lover, her friend!"
Nick looked out at the skyline. "AC, you don't know what went on...I saw things I probably shouldn't."
"You saw them in bed?"
"No...but..."
"You're just going to assume...and throw your marriage and your family away...great, good older bro you are!"
"I still have my family AC, you and mom and dad and the girls." Nick said, not looking at his wedding band he was still wearing. He didn't want to take it off, it was the only thing that made him feel close to her.
Aaron shook his head, deciding to step in. "Nick you know I'd never lie to you right?"
"Yeah...you've always been good with that."
"Good so believe me now...that baby...the one Lisa's carrying inside her right now is a Carter. The baby is yours Nick! You're gonna be a daddy."
Nick leaned back into his couch. "AC...no, you're wrong."
"Lis lied before right, to protect you like you said in the letter."
"Yeah...."
"And to protect you again she was going to get Rok to say the baby was his...can you honestly see Brian doing anything to hurt you like that? And Lis...damn it Nick she wouldn't do that if she had even a small hope you were coming back to her."
"Oh god...AC...that night in her room..."
"That's right Nicky, that night in her room after you came home. The night you guys watched the old rehearsal vids...Lis told me about it before I left..."
"How..." Nick got up and paced around the room silent for a few minutes.
AC sighed. "Where are you Nick?"
"I'm not going to tell you Aar."
"I swear I won't tell anyone anything. Not even it was you on the phone, how did you fool mom?"
"I used my Australian accent...you swear AC? You or B or Lis won't show at my door tomorrow?"
"I swear Nick, now where are you?"
"Right now, New York City."
Aaron laughed.
"What?"
"Lis was just there." he replied.
"Just here? What..."
"She's outside Nick, talking to mom. She's probably going to be on the run from everyone just like you."
Nick sighed. "She shouldn't, damn it she should be at home..."
"Well she's not...so look I won't tell anyone where you are, but Nick you gotta promise me something."
"I'm not going to see Lis right now AC...I have to sort things out."
"I know...but if you go somewhere else you gotta let me know. You have to keep in touch."
Nick sighed. "Fine, I will. AC, make her promise to keep in touch with you okay? I don't want to think she thinks she's all alone out there."
"I swear Nick. I'm gonna try to get her to stay here or go back to Tampa."
"Good...I'm gonna go..I uh well I'm gonna go. Call you later. Bye." and before Aaron could say anything else Nick had hung up the phone.
Jane stared wide eyed at Lis. "You...you're pregnant?" she asked, smiling.
"Yeah." Lis answered, twirling her wedding ring around her finger. "But Jane...Nick thinks the baby's Brian's and uhm I think I'm going to go along with that."
"What? Why? The baby is Nick's?"
"Positively Nick's. But he wants to move on and I don't want anything to hold him back. Especially me."
Jane stood up. "He's going to know Lis...when that little baby has the Carter eyes and smile, he's going to know in a heartbeat."
"I don't want to force him to be with me... he has a right to his own life. I'm not saying I don't want him in our lives." Lis started crying.
"It's okay Lis. I understand what you're saying." Jane sighed, she wanted to go kick her son in the butt and drag him home. "Now why don't you go lay down for awhile? Hmmm, you and the baby don't need to be upset."
Aaron walked out onto the patio and stared at Lis. "What happened? Mom, Lis?"
"It's okay AC...pregnant women get very emotional." She smiled. "And now I'm going to go lay down, you want to keep me company for awhile?"
"Sure...you can lay in my room."
"If there's room in there." Jane said shaking her head.
"There'll be room." Aaron answered, leading Lis inside.
Nick sat on the bed, staring in his suitcase. He'd taken all his belongings from the beach house...including the things he'd found of their wedding day. He hadn't wanted to leave those behind. And there was something else he'd taken but didn't know why. Carefully he pulled the bag out of his suitcase and opened it, revealing the baby football jersey and the little track pants he'd bought months before. Nick swallowed the lump in his throat and fell back against the bed, holding the little jersey to his chest.
