She looked good in his shirt…damn good.

Too good!

Noah groaned. It wasn’t fair that she should be wearing nothing but his oversized button up blouse that was the identical color of her eyes when she was in the throes of passion and those tiny bikini undies….DAMN! How the hell was he supposed to make it through this lecture without taking her right there in the kitchen…on the table…on the counter…on the floor…on the window seat…WITH FOOD! Oh hell, this wasn’t fair! This was sheer torture and judging by the sway of her hips, Nikki was loving this.

She smirked. Of course she was loving this, who wouldn’t? The man of her desires was lusting after her so much that his boxers were getting tight! And now, to top it all, they had to spend the next, God knows how long, listening to his mother bitch. And there was no way in hell she wasn’t going to use this time to her advantage. She wasn’t Naught Nikki for anything!

“Nice of you to join us,” Grace growled as her son and Nikki entered the kitchen. Hank had recently joined Sam and Grace at the table, his steaming coffee in front of him. Both men, Sam and Hank, looked up and noticed Nikki in the shirt Noah had been wearing the night before. They watched as she pushed the long sleeves up her arm and sat in a chair, crossing her legs so the shirt would ride up her thighs. Noah stood behind her and massaged her shoulders.

Sam’s eyes opened wide; he had never seen this girl before. “Something I’m missing…”

Grace glared at him. “What the hell do you think?”

Hank chuckled. This was great. Not only had his nephew gotten his wish, but he was going to get reamed too. Best part: he was there to see it! Giving his nephew a quick thumbs up, Hank attempted to return to his coffee.

“Don’t salute him, Hank Bennett!” Grace glared at her brother-in-law. “He’s been immoral in my household!”

“Oh Grace, lay off the boy…”

Nikki went to open her mouth, but Noah covered it with his hand. “Don’t goad them on, princess.”

Hank laughed. Even he knew where that was going. Nikki had a very nasty mind. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing.

“What do YOU have to say about all this, Noah Gabriel?”

No last name: that was a good thing. Maybe, just maybe he would get out of this alive. “Umm…I don’t know, Mom.”

“Well, do you love her?” Grace asked.

Oh dear God, she didn’t just ask that! His mother did NOT just ask if he was in love with Nikki. “Ma!”

“Well, you slept with her. I want to know how you FEEL about her!”

“Times have changed, Mom, kids screw around for the hell of it,” he shrugged. Nikki looked a little hurt, but forced it away.

“Sam, say SOMETHING!”

“Oh hell no, the two of you made it MORE than clear that Noah was YOUR son since my little faux pas. This is YOUR problem now, Grace,” he got up.

“Yea well, you’d be a hypocrite if you tried to tell ME about premarital sex, now wouldn’t you!”

“Stuff if, kid,” Sam growled, glaring at his son.

“Make me!” Noah got in his face.

“You aren’t worth the energy,” Sam left the room.

“Wow, and I thought I got along poorly with my parents,” Nikki sighed, switching the position of her legs, the shirt again moving. She could tell by the sharp intake of breath that she had Noah’s undivided attention now. This was killing him.

“Would you at least cover yourself like a lady!” Grace gave Nikki a look.

“Sorry, Mrs. Bennett, but I’m not a lady, especially when some overprotective Betty Crocker has the incessant need to put her nose in my business. Noah and I got trashed, we had a good time and if it happens again I’m the lucky one.”

“Oh no way in HELL will it happen again!”

“Yea and how do you plan on stopping me!” Noah asked. “What I do with Nikki really ain’t your problem!”

“It is since you’re my son!” Grace replied, jumping from her seat.

“Oh yea, you’re just Mom of the year now! You can’t stop me from seeing Nikki…”

“I think you’ve seen quite enough of her!”

Hank laughed. “Oh yea, he’s seen every part of her.”

“SHUT UP HANK!” Grace screamed.

Hank opened his eyes wide. “Grace, get over it. He’s like his father. He found a pretty girl and now he’s sleeping with her.”

“NOT MY BABY!”

“I’m not a baby anymore!” Noah defended. “I like Nikki. We have fun together! Like it or not, she and I will go out again and IF we end up back in bed that’s not your problem!”

“It is when it’s in my house!”

“Then maybe I just won’t stay in your house!” Noah pulled Nikki from the chair.

“This isn’t over Noah Bennett! You get your ass back in this kitchen.”

Hank spit out his coffee. What the hell had gotten into this woman today? Damn, if seeing her son in bed with a girl did this to her, he’d had to see how she handled the fact Kay was trying to seduce Miguel at this very moment. This was just hysterical

“No, it is over. NIKKI and I will be in my room if you need anything. If the door’s locked, don’t knock,” Noah replied, showing no respect for his mother.

“NOT IN MY HOUSE!”

“Then I’ll pack my shit and be out of here. Would THAT make you happy?”

Grace paused. Damn him for this. “When did you become your father?”

“The moment you started getting back on that God damn soap box of yours!” Noah looked at her.

“Don’t…”

“Take the Lord’s name in vain. Yea, too late for that. God’s already condemned me to hell…why don’t you add me to that prayer list you’ve got going!”

“What’s wrong with you?” Grace sobbed.

Oh damn, not the tears. He could handle ANYTHING but the tears. “Don’t cry…”

“I’m losing all my babies,” Grace sunk back into her chair.

“Maybe you wouldn’t lose us if you didn’t try so hard. Look, we’re not babies. Hate to break it to you, but Kay’s been trying to get Miguel into bed for nearly a year now. Hell, Miguel and Charity even discussed sex. This shouldn’t be news to you…”

“But they love each other.”

“Oh wait, so now it’s condoned because they’re in love?” Noah laughed.

“No, but at least they have a basis for it besides a nasty hangover.”

“Nikki and I knew what we were doing. We weren’t that trashed.”

“Just get out of here, Noah,” Grace closed her eyes and massaged her temples. This was killing her. When had her kids gone to hell in a hand basket?

“Fine,” he started to leave.

“Hey Noah?”

“Yea Uncle Hank?”

“Congrats man. FIIIIINE choice in a lady friend,” Hank fived him on the way to the stove.

“HANK I SAID SHUT UP!” Grace glared at him again.

Noah laughed and pulled Nikki upstairs. “You’re a bitch, you know that?”

“You didn’t like my little display?” she pouted.

“Oh baby, I loved the display. You were just so TERRIBLE to do so.”

“You’ll just have to punish me,” she whispered seductively.

And he groaned.

God he LOVED this shirt!

~*~Chapter Twenty: Truth Be Told~*~

Days later, only Heaven knows how many, the twosome had found themselves house sitting Sheridan and Luis’ new home while the newlyweds were off in Spain. It was a good thing that Sheridan and Luis wanted someone to stay at the house. It gave them a place to have some fun (AKA drinking, dancing and making love) without the chance of getting caught. Not to mention it kept Nikki away from the mansion and her controlling family.

The best news was that her grandfather had managed to keep the fiasco from the gala that weekend out of the papers, giving her time to be with Noah before she found a way to break the news to him. Sooner or later she had to admit to him that she was a Crane, her blood was that of Ivy’s. Nikki just wasn’t sure how, especially when it meant ruining her relationship with Noah. She actually stood a chance of having a damn good summer now.

So what was she doing? Staring at her crop top and Capri pants, which were incredibly tight fitting and therefore revealing. She twirled once in front of the mirror, her hands tracing her curves as she checked how perfect the outfit was for her dinner date at the Lobster Shack and then the pool hall.

DING DONG!

“Noah!” she giggled like a schoolgirl, grabbing her purse from Sheridan’s bed and making a run for the door. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was in love with him and she loved being with him. He was amazing in every way and everything she wanted. Throwing open the door, she found her handsome new party partner standing in front of her and grabbed him, dragging him inside for a hot kiss that lasted until they had to breathe.

“Damn girl, a man could get used to those kinds of greetings,” he mumbled as she pulled away.

“Well, my men SHOULD be used to them. I plan on making them hot as hell so that when we’re out they want to be inside me instead of inside a restaurant,” she winked, her hand traveling down his chest to the belt on his pants, tugging slightly.

He groaned, struggling for air. “Damn it, baby, you’re killing me.”

“Don’t die before dessert,” she whispered seductively, her body brushing up against his.

“Oh I have NO plans on dying until I hear you scream my name…LOUDLY.”

She laughed. “Why Noah Bennett, here I am talking about chocolate cake and you’re talking about sex. How evil!”

“Right, cake,” he winked, pulling her into his arms again. “I have something to tell you tonight…”

“Sounds serious,” she purred, nibbling on his neck.

“I think it is serious,” he moaned, his eyes fluttering closed.

“Can it wait?” she tugged on his earlobe.

“Oh hell yes…”

“Good, time for dinner,” she grabbed his hand and pulled him outside into the sticky, humid summer air. Nothing like some torture before dinner!

Dinner had been going well, they were laughing and enjoying each other’s company, not that they didn’t always but tonight seemed different. Something between them was different and Nikki liked it. They seemed so close, so perfect together that she almost told him everything she needed him to know…but she didn’t.

The Lobster Shack was busy that night, tons of guys attempting to please their girlfriends. Among those men were two Nikki had been avoiding: Brad and Josh. Brad was alone, his eyes following her every move, but Josh was with another girl. She looked familiar, but Nikki didn’t know why. Noah did; after all, it was Laurie.

Nikki’s attention was on Brad and how lonely he looked. She wanted to talk to him, to ask him why, but she didn’t really want to know.

“Go on, you know you want to talk to him, Nik,” Noah took her hand is his. “Just remember whose bed you’ll be warming tonight.”

“I don’t want to talk to him, Noah, and you know that,” she leaned over, feeding him a bite of her lobster. “I’m here with you. My attention is all yours now.”

He smiled. “First time you’ve care enough not to go flirt with someone else. What have you done with my Nikki?”

She laughed. “Well I could go…if you really want,” she started to get up but he pulled her back into her seat.

“No, no that’s all right. Who am I to make you talk to someone if you don’t want to, babe?”

She giggled. “Maybe I should go flirt,” her now bare foot began to travel up his leg towards his knee. “I’m sure it would make his day.”

He swallowed hard. “You wouldn’t do it…”

“Dare me,” her foot continued higher, her toes caressing his thigh.

“Nikki, you’re being cruel,” he closed his eyes, trying hard not to think of the feelings she was stirring up or the memories of her body beneath his…above his…whatever.

“Oh, and here I thought you liked when I played dirty,” she batted her eyes, her voice a seductive whisper.

He groaned. “I do when we’re at home and I can act on it.”

She laughed. “Tough,” he foot ended up precariously close to a part of his body that would reveal just how turned on his was.

“Well if it isn’t Nikki,” Josh came over, stopping beside the table with anger in his eyes. She was *his* girl! The woman he was supposed to be with. He had found her first! From across the room he had watched her flirt like a hussy with Noah Bennett, her hands and lips in places they didn’t belong. She was his! Only his and he would make sure of that!

“Josh,” Nikki smiled slightly, seeing the anger in his eyes. A man ignored could be just as a woman scorned. He wasn’t worth her time though, being far too possessive with everything, including his women. There was no reason for him to be this way, especially here and now. He was up to something!

“So, have you told him yet?” Josh asked, his eyes meeting hers. He knew her secret, somehow he knew.

“Told…told him what?” her eyes were filled with panic. How did he know?

“Who you are…who you really are…”

“Duh, Josh, everyone knows I’m Nicholette Masterson,” she laughed nervously, her eyes daring him to say otherwise…

And he did.

Pulling out the edition of an old newspaper, he dropped it on the table. It was the one that announced her return to Harmony all those weeks ago. It had been in the Lifestyle section of the paper. “She look familiar?” Josh asked.

“Yea, that’s you babe!” Noah grabbed the paper before she could, a bright smile on his face. He seemed so proud of her

“NO! Noah, please! Don’t read it!” she tried to grab it from her.

“No, read it,” Josh laughed. “Read it out loud.”

Noah shrugged and opened the paper. He started to read out loud. “Nicholette Crane, the middle Crane daughter, will be returning to…Crane??” he whispered. “Nick, what the hell is this?”

“Noah I…”

“Are you a Crane?” he cut her off.

“I meant to tell you…”

“When?” he threw the paper onto the table. “When the hell were you going to tell me?”

“Noah, please.”

“YOU ARE A CRANE! YOUR mother is the reason my family has fallen apart. YOU are a lying, conniving little SLUT! How could I have been such an ass? You defended Ivy because you ARE Ivy…you’re a whore just like her!”

Her eyes began to tear. “Noah…”

“DON’T! When the HELL were you going to tell me…”

“I planned…” she didn’t get to finish.

“Were you going to tell me tonight when I finally admitted I loved you? Were you going to let me pour my heart and soul out before you came clean? Were you planning on using me like she did my father? Planned on ripping my heart out and crushing it beneath those hundred dollar heels?”

“You…you love…”

“I HATE you now…LOATHE you! You’re a God Damn Crane! I should have known! You’re TRASH…a ho! A bitch!”

“BUT NOAH!”

“Kiss my ass,” he stood up, throwing some cash on the table and walking out, leaving her in tears.

She turned to Josh, giving him a look so full of hate that it could have caused him to drop in his place. She was beyond angry…beyond hurt. This bastard had ruined her life and taken away the one thing she wanted in this world. She wanted Noah. “I HATE you,” she screamed at Josh. “I HATE YOU, YOU NO GOOD BASTARD!” she slapped him hard, her hand stinging from the contract. Grabbing her purse, she ran out, never once looking back as Alistair came out from a back room to congratulate the boy on a job well done.

~*~Chapter Twenty-One: A Shoulder to Cry On~*~

She collapsed on the couch in Sheridan’s living room, her body shaking in sobs. Dear God he loved her too and now he knew the truth…the truth that would break them up forever. She was going to tell him, going to admit her love for him. If he loved her there was no reason to hide the truth…but now.

RING! RING!

Her cell! Maybe it was Noah…just maybe he thought about it and was willing to forgive her…just maybe…

She grabbed the phone. If it was Noah, she’d forgive him in an instant. “Hello?” she sobbed, hoping and praying it was he.

“Nikki?” Brad’s voice came over the line.

“Br…Brad?”

“Sweetie, are you all right?” he asked, his concern warming her heart. No one else had called in the forty minutes since her heart was broken. No one ever called. No one cared about Nikki Crane. She just wasn’t worthy of their love…their concern.

“Brad…” she just sobbed.

“Where are you, babe? Tell me where you are and I’ll be right there,” he promised.

She could certainly use the company…the shoulder to cry on. “My Aunt’s new place…”

“Don’t say another word, I know where you are. I’m coming, baby, I’m coming,” he smiled. She’d forgive him now and give him the second chance. This time he could prove he really loved her and seek her hand in marriage…this time she wouldn’t say no.

Noah sat on his bed, three beers in his lap but not one was open. He loved her and she had been lying to him since the beginning. Everything he had ever wanted was packaged in one beautiful girl with one big lie. His head fell back against the headboard, causing the wood to bag against the wall with a thud. This wasn’t how he planned tonight to go at all. He planned on wining and dining her, bringing her home to a romantic evening of lovemaking followed by the declaration of his love…

Love, how pathetic! How foolish! Only fools loved and never did they make it. Look at his parents! For god sake they had been in love for year. Twenty-two years of loving and caring, never once giving up…struggling to make ends meet and raise three children. What did it get them in the end? A bastard son with some rich bitch, a miscarriage and a marriage in tatters. And he thought that he would be able to win Nikki’s heart…right!

“Noah?”

“Mom?” he looked at the door. “Hey, sorry about the other day…”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, placing his folded laundry on a nearby chair. “You seem down…where’s Nikki?”

She remembered her name. He chuckled. She really was trying to get over the fact that she caught them in bed. Nikki had pulled some mean crap that morning, but Grace was still trying. In fact, the day before they had all gotten along at a barbeque in the back yard. They laughed and teased each other. Grace really seemed to like Nikki.

“She’s a Crane…”

“I know,” Grace smiled ruefully. “You’re Uncle Hank told me a few days ago…I remembered seeing her picture in the paper. I thought you knew.”

“Did everyone know but me?” he groaned.

“Does her last name matter?”

“YES! It matters!” he felt tears come to his eyes. “I LOVE HER!”

“Then why does her name matter, Noah?”

“She ruined our family…”

“She had nothing to do with that, Noah. That’s like saying Sheridan should be punished because of the lives Alistair and Julian ruined…or that Ethan should suffer because Ivy lied to him for all these years. No one deserves to be punished for their father’s sins.”

“How can you say that? She’s a CRANE…C-R-A-N-E!!!! Her mother screwed around with your husband! Her MOTHER caused you to lose my baby brother or sister. HOW CAN YOU FORGIVE HER?”

Grace shook her head. “The same way I’ll learn to forgive your father, Noah. Did you ever think that Nikki is suffering too? Have you ever thought that her lies were only attempts to let you know her without prejudging her?”

Noah sighed. “I’d like to be alone.”

“All right…if you need anything…”

“I know who to call,” he smirked and hugged her. “Love you, Mom.”

“Love you too, kid,” she winked and left the room.

He sighed and put the beers on the nightstand. Forgetting her would be hard…very hard.

Brad opened the unlocked front door and found Nikki sobbing on the floor. “Sweets, don’t let him do this to you.”

She just cried, clinging to him when he sat beside her on the floor.

“I still love you, Nikki…I always will.”

Still nothing but tears.

“Shh…I’m here and I have no plans on leaving until you throw me out,” he cradled her close and rocked her. “Shh, I’m here…I’m here.” And inside he smiled. Sometimes you had to thank God for being the shoulder to cry on.

~*~Chapter Twenty-Two: Oh Thrill Oh Joy…Oh Nausea~*~

“Welcome back, Aunt Sher,” Nikki hugged her favorite, and only, Aunt before sitting at the table across from her. “I’m glad you and Uncle Luis had a good time,” she giggled.

“We had a great time,” Sheridan was glowing. “How about you? What’s gone on these last few weeks?”

“I’m seeing Brad again,” Nikki sighed. “He was just always there after the fiasco with Noah. I mean Brad is cool and all; he’s become a good friend to me. But Aunt Sher, he’s not Noah. I fell in love with Noah months ago…”

“I thought you had feelings for Brad,” Sheridan sipped her glass of water and glanced around the restaurant cautiously.

“Well…some feelings. Not love though. It won’t ever be love,” she groaned. “Brad wants me to say yes to his proposal, Aunt Sher…”

“Don’t.”

“I wasn’t planning on it, but how much longer can I go on like this? I haven’t slept in the two weeks since Noah and I fought…and Aunt Sher, something’s wrong with me…”

“What?”

“My period is nine days late.”

“Oh dear.”

“Yea,” Nikki shrugged. “I guess it’s stress, right? I mean I’m on the pill and all the guys I’ve ever been with used protection…”

“Then that must be it,” Sheridan patted her hand. “Everything’s going to be fine, Nick, trust me.”

“I do,” she grinned. “Now, how about that lunch…”

She checked her box for the forth time, counting twenty-eight pills…that was fourteen too many! What the hell had she been doing that she missed two weeks of birth control?

“Oh I know WHO I was doing all right…damn it, all that partying made me forgetful!” She threw the case at the wall. Fourteen pills!! Fourteen days!! And a period that still hadn’t come! Damn it!

Dialing her Aunt’s number, she prayed no one was listening in. This was terrible…

No, this was WAY worse than terrible. Terrible was like leaving underwear behind at a man’s apartment and wearing a skirt that made that obvious. This was…well this was catastrophic.

“This better be really damn important to wake me up at four am…”

Is that what time it was? Nikki glanced at the clock. Damn, so this is what insomnia was like! “Oh this is really damn important, Aunt Sher…this is like my life on the line.”

“Nick?”

“Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner…Johnny, tell her what she’s won!”

“Cut the sarcasm, kid, it’s too damn early for it,” Sheridan groaned.

“I’m pregnant…”

“I said not to joke, Nicholette, now come on, what’s up?”

“I’m serious. I was just counting my birth control pills and I have fourteen too many…two weeks worth just sitting there laughing their pill asses off at me! And then I realized why my period is now TWELVE days late…because there was a time or two I didn’t take a pill and a guy might not have had a condom…”

“Nikki, this really isn’t funny…”

“DO I SOUND LIKE I’M LAUGHING??? Damn it, Aunt Sher. I’m screwed…”

“Literally,” Sheridan huffed.

“Thank you oh queen of perfection!” Nikki growled. “I remember you had a pregnancy scare a few years ago that I’m sure Luis would love to know about…”

“Shut up, Nick!”

“Oh so now I have your attention, right? I need an appointment with an OB/GYN…I need to find out if this is for real. I guess I need a pregnancy test too…”

“What will you do?”

“I don’t know, Aunt Sher. I just don’t know…”

“Look, Luis is working night shift, so get in your car, get yourself a EPT test and get your ass over here…we’ll figure this out together.”

“I’m scared.”

“I know, Nick. Pack some clothes too…you’ll stay over here for a while.”

“Thanks Aunt Sher.”

“I love you, Nick…” she hung up.

“Love you too.”

An hour later, Nikki stood in the hallway of Sheridan house, waiting for the damn egg timer to beep. How come these things took so damn long???

“Nick, why don’t we go sit and…”

“NO! I need to be here when it goes off. I gotta know soon!!!”

“Nick, calm…”

BEEP!

“Now or never, kid…”

Nikki took a deep breath and walked over to the home pregnancy test. Pink if pregnant, blue if not…oh it just had to be blue! “Please blue… Please blue… Please blue…”

Nikki lift the stick and gasped. “DAMN!”

It was pink…

~*~Chapter Twenty-Three: Pros and Cons~*~

He was torturing himself and he didn’t know why.

Noah walked sadly along the soft sand of the beach, his mind replaying many images of her here: in that bikini, in her shorts, in the torn dress…wearing nothing at all. He smirked.

Oh how he loved her in nothing at all…

Yes, they had made love many times at this very same beach in the dark of night: on the sand, in the water, in the alcove by the rocks. Ironically, he learned that’s the same place his father and Ivy would meet…Ivy Winthrop, now Ivy Crane. The bitch that ruined his life not once, but twice, had made love in the alcove where another Bennett made love to her daughter. A Crane! Could life have possibly pulled a crueler joke than to make the one he loved be a Crane?

Yes and it was doing it right now…

Looking ahead, he spotted Nikki in Brad’s arms, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Why the hell was she crying? She was the one that had broken his heart! He shouldn’t have cared that she was crying, but he did. In fact, just knowing that she was crying tore at his heart.

Damn him for caring…

Damn her for making him love her…

Damn Brad for touching her and being there to comfort her…

Damn Ivy and Sam…

Oh hell, damn it all!

Noah sighed again. Nikki seemed to have told Brad something that shocked him. What the hell could she have said? He could always go over there and ask…

What the hell was he thinking!

Then again, when had he thought about anything but her in the last two weeks? He had sought many forms of advice: his mother (God help him), his Uncle (the devil’s spawn), Father Lonigan (who rambled about an angel girl), and he even bowed down and admitted defeat when he sought out his father (Hell has officially frozen over, grab the ice skates). Each seemed to tell him one thing: if you love her, go back to her.

But he couldn’t love a Crane…for more than one reason.

Digging his hands into his pocket, he found that stupid Pros and Cons list that Jessica recommended he do (yes, he even asked his baby sister for advice). Only one con: Crane!

Nikki had more money than God (hell she had more money than the people that said they had more money than God!) Her family would never allow her to marry him; that was a no-brainer. Hell, her dresses cost as much as his first car!

The Pros:
1) I love her
2) She laughs at my stupid jokes
3) She’s great in bed
4) She’s a great dancer
5) She’s beautiful
6) She’s smart
7) She’s funny

He had somehow managed to go on from there, listing some thirty-five things he loved about her in the two weeks he knew her. He loved how adventurous she could be, how her eyes twinkled when she saw him, how she kissed…

Oh God, he could die from those damn kisses!

But the thing he realized he loved most about her was her ability to find the good in him. Everyone else always remembered his screw ups, but Nikki always remembered how great he was.

And he had broken her heart…

But taking a few steps closer, Noah heard her sob out twelve words that made his heart freeze in his chest and changed his entire life.

“Brad, I can’t believe I’m pregnant…and the baby might be Noah’s.”

~*~Chapter Twenty-Four: Just Keeps Getting Worse~*~

She had needed someone, anyone, to talk to that night and Brad had been there. That morning, after the positive home pregnancy test, Sheridan rushed her into her OB/GYN, using the Crane name to get them an appointment.

Sometimes being a Crane had some great perks.

The doctor had immediately taken a blood sample and did an office exam, telling poor Nikki her worse nightmare was true…

She was pregnant.

Now what the hell was she going to do? She sure as hell wasn’t going to give up her baby and abortion wasn’t an option either. Her grandfather would drop dead from this news…

And there was her silver lining!

“Shh, baby, shh. Tell me what’s wrong,” he begged, rocking her. Brad had found her this way when he picked her up hours earlier. She still had yet to tell him what was wrong.

“Brad, I…I’m pregnant,” she sobbed.

“What???” he jumped back, looking at her. She didn’t just say…

“You know, pregnant, knocked up, with child, has a bun in the oven…DUH. Come on Brad, I’m pregnant! Use those little gray brain cells for once!”

He just looked at her as if she had eight heads, but she collapsed back in his arms in tears, ignoring the blank stare she was receiving.

Finally it sank in and he started rubbing her back. “Well, a baby’s a good thing, sweetie.”

“It’s not yours, Brad,” she sobbed. “Oh Brad, I can’t believe I’m pregnant and the baby might be Noah’s,” she continued crying.

“What?” Noah’s voice interrupted her sobbing. Oh Damn! Not exactly the way she planned on telling the baby’s father.

“Noah!” she spun to face him, her nervousness evident.

“What did you just say?” he demanded, stepping closer.

“I…I’m pregnant,” she looked away, fiddling with a ring on her pinky.

“What was all that shit about being on the pill??” he growled. “Not needing protection!”

“I…I missed a few days!” she defended.

“On purpose I bet! You did this to trap me into some relationship, right? To do what your mother failed in doing to my father? Smooth, Nikki!”

“No!” she shook her head. “I would never do this on purpose, Noah!”

“Were you even going to tell me that you were knocked up or were you going to let your rich boyfriend take care of the problem? Maybe pretend my kid was his like your whore of a mother did to Julian!”

She glared at him, her teeth clenched tight. “I just found out today!”

“Were you going to tell me?” he demanded.

“Yes!”

“When?”

“Tomorrow!”

“Right!” he laughed. “Slut…just like her mother…”

She slapped him. “Bastard! I hate you. I’m carrying your fucking child and you don’t even give a shit do you? I LOVE you…I LOVED you since the day I met you in the airport!”

“Like I care…”

“I HATE YOU,” she cried. “I hope to God you drop dead Noah Bennett,” she ran off.

“You’re an asshole, Noah,” Brad shook his head. “An asshole that not only lost a damn good woman, but his baby too. Congrats,” he walked away.

“Damn it,” Noah grumbled, kicking a nearby trashcan over. How the hell was he supposed to make this one better? Sighing, he sank onto a nearby bench and smile. He was going to be a father…he was going to have a baby with Nikki…

Nikki fell into the sand; the energy she needed to keep running just not there. She sobbed. He didn’t want their baby. He didn’t care that she was carrying his child…his baby. What was she going to do now?

“Nikki?” Brad caught up to her, collapsing beside her in the sand and taking her into his arms. “Oh baby.”

“What will I do?? What will I do??” she cried over and over, pounding her fists into the sand.

“Marry me, Nikki,” he whispered. “We’ll raise the baby together.”

“What?”

“Marry me, sweetheart. Please, Nikki, marry me…”

Nikki didn’t know what to say, but it was so very tempting. It was a way out! A way to keep her child and have someone to lean on. She could learn to love him! She could! So she did the only thin that made sense, she nodded. “I’ll marry you, Brad.”

“Soon?”

“Yes, soon,” she gave in. It was an out and at least she had her baby…Noah’s baby.

~*~Chapter Twenty-Five: Breaking the News~*~

Nikki called her aunt and begged her to come to the mansion; she needed all the moral support she was going to get. This was going to be hell and she was going to love every minute of it.

She smirked. Nothing was better than telling her grandfather and parents that she was having Noah Bennett’s bastard child…

Unfortunately it would be followed with: “And I’m marrying Brad…”

“Damn it,” she threw her pillow across the room and got off of her bed. She hadn’t been staying here, but she needed some time to prepare herself while Brad talked to her parents. She needed time to think this through.

Suddenly her cell phone rang.

“Nikki Crane,” she sighed.

“Nikki…It’s Noah.”

“Noah?” her eyes teared. “What do you want?” she tried to be angry, really she did, but he was calling her!

“I want another chance, Nikki. I was an ass at the wharf tonight. I still love you, Nikki, even more now…”

Oh god! He was so sincere. She needed to hear those words from him too. “I love you too, Noah, but I…I can’t give you another chance.”

“Why not?”

“I…I’m going to be marrying Brad, Noah. He offered to help me take care of the baby and I need that right now. I want this baby, Noah. He or she is as much mine as it is yours…”

“But Nikki I want another chance! I want to make this up to you!” he begged. “I love you!”

“I’m sorry Noah. But if I don’t get married before the baby is born, the Cranes will do some evil shit to make sure he or she is never born…you blew it, Noah. I gotta go,” she hung up and left the room with tears rolling down her cheeks. She wanted to give him another chance, really she did, but it was too little, too late.

“So, what have you called us all together for, Nicholette?” Alistair asked, settling in his favorite armchair. He had chosen to remain in Harmony after the engagement party, constantly attempting to set Nikki and Brad back up.

“Brad and I have some announcements,” she sighed, sitting beside Brad and scanning the room quickly. Even her new Uncle Luis, whom she had found to be a great confidant to her, was there to offer support tonight. Brad squeezed her hand reassuringly and she gave him a weak smile.

“What is it Nikki?” Ivy asked. In the last few weeks she had seen her daughter’s eyes sparkle with happiness at the mention of the Bennetts. It didn’t take a genius to see that Nikki was falling in love, or already in love, with Noah. She only hoped that whatever her daughter had to say was a better decision than she had made all those years ago. She and Nikki may not be close, but she would never want to see her suffer.

“Yes, Nicholette,” Julian droned. “What do you have to tell us?”

Swallowing hard, Nikki look at her Aunt and Uncle and saw Sheridan shake her head no. Sheridan knew what she had planned; Nikki didn’t know how she knew, but she did. But this was her only option. This was her only chance to give her baby a life…

“I’m pregnant,” Nikki whispered, so softly even Brad barely heard her.

“Excuse me?” Alistair growled, his voice literally shaking a nearby glass.

Luis glared at him. No wonder Sheridan was so afraid of this man. He was a cold hearted bastard!

“I…I’m pregnant…” Nikki said louder this time, though only slightly.

“I…I think I heard you wrong,” Julian laughed.

“I SAID I’M PREGNANT!” She screamed, standing up. “Pregnant…you know that’s when a woman carries a baby because some man SCREWED her,” she glared at her father and then her grandfather. “Pregnant! AS IN having a baby in NINE MONTHS!” she rolled her eyes. “For rich people we sure are dense!”

“Watch your tone, child…” Alistair stood as well.

“And what will you do old man?” she stepped towards him. “Or have you forgotten I have a COP present,” she looked right into his cold blue eyes. “I smell fear, Grandfather, and it’s yours, not mine.”

“Enough!” Julian jumped from his seat.

“Oh look, a Jack-in-the-box,” Nikki laughed. “I’m not afraid of you anymore either.”

“You should be,” Alistair threatened.

“I’m not,” she replied, returning to her seat. “I’m pregnant and you know the best part,” she smirked. “The baby is Noah Bennett’s…the baby belongs to a NO BODY!” she laughed wickedly, high on finally showing them up, finally giving them a taste of their own medicine.

Alistair could only be described one way right now: PISSED OFF! He was so red that he’d give tomatoes a run for their money! He walked over to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her from her seat. “YOU SLEPT WITH A BENNETT.”

Nikki would have none of that and pushed him away. “I didn’t only sleep with him, I screwed his brains out…and more than once,” she gave him a hate filled look. “And now I’m carrying his child and I damn well plan to have it.”

Alistair clutched his chest and stumbled backwards. NO ONE had ever spoken to him like this.

“Father!” Julian led him to a nearby chair.

Sheridan laughed. Oh the theatrics were high tonight.

“Why are you laughing?” Luis looked at her like she was nuts.

“He pulled that trick on me when I first told him something similar to Nikki…except I wasn’t pregnant.”

“Yea, what did you tell him?” he looked over at her.

“That I was marrying you!” she grinned.

Nikki laughed as well. This was better than she ever expected! “Oh lay off of him, Father,” she rolled her eyes. “I’ll believe he has a heart condition the day I believe he has a heart. None of you give a shit that I’m pregnant…it’s the fact that the baby is Noah’s that bother’s you…”

“But good will come of it,” Brad stood and revealed Nikki’s left hand. “She and I will be wed and raise the baby as ours.”

Alistair laughed. He had won anyway. Nikki may be carrying a no one, but the Lauers would finally be merged with the Cranes. Alistair had gotten what he wanted once again.

~*~Chapter Twenty-Six: Setting Things Straight~*~

Noah looked at the newspaper heading: CRANE PRINCESS TO WED!

Nikki and Brad were getting married in two weeks time, thanks to Alistair Crane and his amazing connections. Two weeks. Noah had two weeks to convince Nikki that what she had made the wrong choice. Two weeks to win her heart back and make her his again…

But did he want to marry her?

He would if it meant keeping her and his baby. Besides, he did love her. This only meant marrying sooner than he ever planned…

But he would marry her if it meant getting her away from the Cranes and Brad…

ESPECIALLY Brad.

“What’s wrong, Noah?” Sam asked, bringing his morning coffee over to the table. They weren’t on the best of terms yet, but they were civil (well as civil as they could be anyway).

“She’s getting married,” he showed his father the paper. “Dad, if you knew that Ivy had been pregnant with your baby, would you have gone after her?”

“I don’t know, Noah. I hadn’t met your mom yet, so I might have. I mean Ivy was the love of my life at that time and if I knew she was carrying my child and not Julian’s, I probably would have made her come back to me…Why are you asking?”

Noah sighed. “Nikki’s pregnant and the baby’s mine…but she’s being forced to marry Brad…”

“And you want to go after her.”

DUH. “Of course I do! That’s my baby!”

“Do you want to go after her just because of the baby, Noah? Or is there another reason?”

“I love her. I love her more than anyone I’ve ever loved before. I want to be with her…I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”

“Then I think you know what you have to do, Noah,” Sam cupped his son’s shoulder. “Don’t make the same mistakes Ivy and I made. Maybe we wouldn’t have hurt so many people if we only would have followed our hearts!”

“Thanks,” Noah smiled. “You ain’t so bad after all, Dad. Hell, we’re all screwed up anyway…we’re Bennetts.” He left.

Sam laughed. “Yea, but maybe you can set us straight, kid.”

Noah arrived at the bridal shop and snuck inside, heading straight for the sound of Nikki’s voice.

“It’s beautiful, Nikki,” Ivy’s said excitedly. “Perfect!”

“Yea,” Nikki sighed.

“I’ll be right back with Maureen! She can begin fitting it!”

“Yea.”

Ivy passed Noah, not even noticing him, and headed for the front rooms. Noah grinned. Now was his chance. Stepping behind the curtain, he watched Nikki twirl before the mirror.

“Stupid gown…stupid wedding…stupid family!” she sat on the red felt covered pedestal. “I don’t want to marry him!”

“Then don’t,” Noah came up behind her. “You look stunning.”

“I feel like shit and morning sickness isn’t all fun and games either…wait a minute! What the hell are you doing here?”

“I came to save you from making the stupidest mistake of your life…”

“Oh, so this was the stupidest? I was thinking of many others, but thanks for trying.”

“Don’t marry him, Nikki. We can do this together if you give me a chance!” Noah knelt beside her. “Please, just give me a chance.”

“I want to Noah, you don’t know how much I want to. But there are so many things to consider. Hell, you broke it off with me because of my last name…look Noah…”

He kissed her before she could continue. A deep, passionate kiss that left them both breathless in the end.

“I love you…can you say the same about him?”

“Cranes can’t marry for love, Noah. We don’t have that luxury,” she looked down. “I’m sorry, Noah, but I can’t break off my engagement for a maybe. I’m sorry.”

“This,” he pointed to himself and then her, “isn’t a maybe. This is a hell yes! What we have, Nikki, isn’t a one night stand or a few parties…this is real and true! I LOVE YOU! I want the entire world to know it…”

“You go back to school soon…”

“I’d take you with me…”

“You don’t want a permanent relationship…”

“I want you.”

“You had me.”

“I want your heart…”

“I can’t give you that,” she sniffled. “Not on a whim…not on a maybe! I can’t leave something solid for something I can lose when you grow tired of it. I’m pregnant, Noah, and I can’t pass up a chance to give my baby a family…”

“This isn’t over,” he looked at her with tears in his eyes. “I’m not giving up!” he vowed as he left.

“I didn’t think you would,” she watched him leave. “In fact…I hoped you wouldn’t.”

Part Five