Coaster Shorts by evergreenwriter83

1. Story #1: A Father/Son Talk by evergreenwriter83

2. Story #2: The Pitter Patter Panic Attack by evergreenwriter83

3. Story #3: Back to the Studio by evergreenwriter83

4. Story #4: V-Day by evergreenwriter83

5. Story #5: Parenthood by evergreenwriter83

Story #1: A Father/Son Talk by evergreenwriter83
Story #1: A Father/Son Talk

Many of my readers were curious as to what Nick would say to Noah after the whole incident that took place in American Honey and Fallen Angel. That conversation is below.

_______________________________


-- Noah --

Last night when I had made love to Kay, the last thing I thought I would be doing in the morning was getting ready to go to the hospital to see her. The thought that she had tried to kill herself made me sick. And terrified.

I had almost lost her.

Trevor had gone home the night before. He had lost major points in my book. Who ran out on his girlfriend when she was that upset?

I spent the night tossing and turning. I had even contemplated sneaking off to go to the hospital.

But I was probably already in enough trouble.

Dad came into the room as I was typing my sneakers. Our rooms this time were adjoining. That was clue one that he didn't trust me.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey."

"We need to talk before we go," he said.

I sat back on the bed, using my hands to brace my upper body. Dad came over and sat down.

We both stared at the ground.

"So you were careful right?' he asked.

"Of course I was."

Dad rubbed his neck. "I excluded that little detail when I talked to Brian."

I looked over at him. He met my eyes. It was more man-to-man than father-to-son.

"You did?"

"I figured this was something the two of you needed to figure out," dad said lightly. "When she's ready."

That meant a lot considering he could have pulled the parent act.

"I didn't know...about all the other stuff," I explained. "I would never have done it if I had."

"Well, your first time ranks right up there with mine then," dad said. "My first time was with someone who grew up and still slept with teenage boys."

"Really?" I asked. Dad smirked.

"Yeah. Gross huh?"

"Totally." I ran my shoe over the carpet. "But Kay wasn't my first."

Dad raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I figured I needed a practice run."

The corner of dad's mouth twitched.

“We’re Carters. We don’t need practice runs,” he said. I laughed. We lapsed into silence. “But seriously, I promised your mother I would give you a talk."

I groaned. Dad had already given me a talk. It had concluded with my first condom which I had used as a water balloon. That’s what a stupid fourteen year old boy did.

Now I was fifteen going on sixteen. Times were different. Everything was different.

“I can’t tell you not to do it,” dad said. “Because my record’s pathetic. I’m surprised your mom even married me. But, just think about the consequences. Be safe. If you tell me I’m going to be a grandfather, I will kill you. I still deserve at least five more years of teasing AJ before it happens to me.”

“Deal,” I said with a smile.

Dad patted my knee.

“You really like Kay?”

“I love her.”

“Love’s a strong word,” dad said. “You’re only fifteen.”

“I’m mature.”

Dad laughed. “You get that from your mom.” He looked at me and his smile faded.

“But, seriously. Kay’s dealing with an amazing amount of stuff right now. I think you need to step back and let her figure out her own life before you add yourself into the mix.”

I nodded. I knew what he meant. I wanted to fix what happened, but I knew I couldn’t.

After all, I wasn’t Superman.

“I know. I can wait.”

Dad stood up. “Alright, good talk.”

“Good talk,” I agreed.

We both walked towards the door. Before dad put his hand on the knob, I smiled.

“Would you be this calm if Brooke just told you she had slept with someone?”

Dad looked at me.

“Did she sleep with Trevor?”

“I don’t know,” I said lightly.

Dad looked like he was weighing that in his mind.

“It’s stupid, but it’s kind of a right of passage with you,” dad said. “I mean you’re my son.

There’s Carter pride at stake. With a daughter it’s different. The whole damn thing’s complicated.”

I smiled. “Then can I just say I’m glad I’m a son?”

Dad laughed. “You and me both. Another daughter would kill me.”

We walked out into the hallway. Dad patted my back.

Our little moment was over; it was back to reality. On one hand, I wanted to see Kay so bad it hurt. On the other hand, I didn’t want to see her with her wrists bandaged and that broken look on her face.

This love thing was hard.
Story #2: The Pitter Patter Panic Attack by evergreenwriter83
Story #2: The Pitter Patter Panic Attack

Many readers were curious as to what Liv was going through as she was spazzing out in the bathroom.

So, this is a one-shot, off-shoot from Heartbreaker.

_______________________________


-- Liv --

It had been a long time since I had thought about my rollercoaster analogy, but I started to think about the whole phenomenon again right around the time Nick left on tour with Brooke. After sixteen wonderful years as Mrs. Nickolas Carter, it was hard to think of any real down moments.

And in hindsight, I guess the whole thing I'm talking about isn't really a 'down' event.

It was just shocking.

It wasn't that I hadn't had my suspicions, because I did, but I just hadn't said anything. Things had been so hectic. When you're a mother of four, time plays a lot of tricks on your mind.

Especially when you’re a mom with a little boy like Landon.

Landon was a complete whirlwind. Mom always remarked that Landon was kind of how she imagined Nick as a child. To me, Landon was the complete package. He had Brooke's attitude from when she was a baby, Noah's bright ideas, and Peyton's energy.

It was a scary trio in one little dark-haired package. Not that I would trade him for the world, of course.

Yet honestly, I had been happy being the mom of three. But Nick was dad of the year. He was amazing. And he had made the idea of one more sound so appealing one night over a bottle of wine. Even after everything we'd been through...or maybe because of everything we'd been through.

But after Landon, I had gone on the defensive. I had chosen the Mirena method instead. One painful doctor's visit was supposed to have me in the clear for five years. It was the perfect option. My doctor knew everything that didn't work for my crazy body. This, she was sure, was the sure-fire method against Nick's red-caped wonders.

But the key word was supposed to.

The first sign was the weight gain. I had gained a ton of weight with Landon. Admittedly, I hadn't been able to lose it all, but I had started a diet before Nick and I had gone to Australia. I was still (for the most part) keeping the streak going.

And yet I had gained five pounds in no time at all.

I broke down a couple days at Nick and Brooke left and scheduled a doctor's appointment with Dr. Tresher. I needed to make sure that my safety net was still working like it should. I went in, got a confirmation that everything was still where it should be, got some blood drawn, and went home.

When the phone rang right at eight a.m. one morning, I didn't think anything of it when I saw Dr. Tresher on the display. She was just following up. For all I knew I might have even been going into menopause. Sure, I was only 44, but that hadn't stopped white hair from cropping up all over the place.

"Hello?"

"Hi Liv, it's Dr. Tresher."

I frowned. I usually talked to the nurse about trivial things. The fact that Dr. Tresher was calling wasn't good.

"Oh," I said suspiciously.

"I got your blood work back," she said. "I'm going to need you to come back in."

"Why?"

I tucked the phone underneath my chin as I folded Landon's little underwear into neat piles that he would immediately mess up.

"We need to get the device out."

I frowned. "Is it defective?"

Dr. Tresher laughed. Yes, she laughed.

"This hardly ever happens," she added fondly. "Only you, Liv."

I stopped folding.

"What do you mean only me?"

"You're pregnant, Liv."

I closed my eyes. "You're kidding."

"Have I ever joked with you about that?"

I sighed. "No."

"Can you come in this afternoon? I want some more blood drawn and maybe an ultrasound. Any idea when this happened?"

I puckered my lips. Of course I had a hunch when it happened. Australia. Our honeymoon.

Feathers.

"Yeah, I'll fill you in when I get there," I said.

We hung up. I paused for just a moment. I seriously couldn't help myself.

I screamed.

I don't really remember hitting the steps.

"Oh my god, I can't believe this," I muttered to myself. "Nickolas Carter how could you do this again? Oh my god, you're not human."

I threw my hands up in the air and took a deep breath. I blindly walked down the hall.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god."

I found myself in the bathroom. The same bathroom I had locked myself in when I had taken the pregnancy test for Landon. I locked the door and sat down heavily on the toilet lid.

Another baby. Five kids. This meant we'd have to get a crib out again. There'd be diapers. And breastfeeding.

And more gray hair. A lot more gray hair.

By the time this baby would graduate I'd be 60. Nick would be 63. More likely than not we'd also probably be grandparents by that time. Brooke would be 32. Noah wasn't going to be far behind.

And Pey...

"Oh my god."

The thought caused me to throw my head down between my legs.

"Mom?"

It was Noah. I couldn't answer him. I just needed to be alone and away from the male Carters in my life.

---------------------------------

Of course, Noah was persistent. After about an hour I thought he had given up, but twenty minutes later the door opened. A cell phone flew in and then the door quickly closed.

"Liv?"

I stared at the phone. It was Nick.

"Honey? It's Nick. Talk to me. What's going on?"

I took several deep breaths.

"I'm pregnant," I blurted out. "The Mirena failed. You broke through my last defense. Oh my god, Nickolas Gene Carter."

"You're sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! I'm 'Dr. Tresher' sure!"

At that point I lost it. Nick said something about coming home, but I was only half listening.

In less than nine months time, I was going to bring yet another Carter into the world.

-----------------------------

"While we remove the Mirena and do the ultrasound, I'm going to run these labs through really

quick," Dr. Tresher said. I nodded numbly.

Noah was watching Landon and Peyton. Nick was on his way home.

And I was at the doctor's office.

Dr. Tresher left for just a minute. When she returned, I settled back down on the exam table.

"How's Landon?"

"He's a wild child," I said. Dr. Tresher laughed.

"I would have expected Peyton to be the wild one," she mused. "Considering how she entered the world."

I smiled. "Well, let's just say she's a daredevil."

"Take a deep breath and give me a bared down exhale," she instructed. I did as she was told. She took the evil piece of trickery out.

"If you notice any bleeding in the next couple days let me know immediately."

I nodded. A couple more minutes passed. She moved equipment around.

"You get to try our newest technology today," she said.

"New?"

"It gives us a better picture of what's going on with you this early in the ballgame," she explained.

"We can zoom in for amazing detail."

The general set-up was the same. I jumped a little as the gel was applied. I glanced at the screen.

Dr. Tresher moved the wand slightly.

"Oh my," she said.

I groaned. "That's not good."

"Well," Dr. Tresher paused. "You're about nine weeks along already."

I sighed. "I figured this happened on the honeymoon."

"When was that?"

"The first week of July."

"That would be right," Dr. Tresher agreed. She tapped the screen.

"Do you see anything different?"

I looked at the screen. I had seen four other ultrasounds. I knew what it was supposed to look like.

This one looked different. I felt my mouth grow dry.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Dr. Tresher nodded.

"Twins."

--------------------------------

"Liv?"

Nick was knocking on the bathroom door. The moment I had gotten home, I had relocked myself in the bathroom. I was laying in the empty tub with my hands resting on my already protruding belly.

Twins.

I heard Nick's footsteps fade down the hall. Five minutes later I heard a key turn in the lock.

"Liv?"

I pulled the shower curtain closed. I heard the door close. Nick opened the curtain and sat down on the floor.

"How'd it go at the doctor's? How far along are you?"

I looked at him. We were going on two decade together and yet he hadn't aged a bit. When he smiled at me, there was still that spark in his eye.

"I'm nine weeks along," I said. I was surprised my voice sounded so calm. I knew I probably should have been strapped in a straight-jacket earlier in the day.

"And you and baby are doing okay?" he asked. I gave him a look. His forehead creased in worry.

"It's not okay?"

"It's...not a baby," I said.

He gave me a smile. "What is it then?"

"It's bab-ies."

It took him a second to process that. His eyes widened. "You mean--"

"Twins," I said.

"Oh my god!"

He jumped up and paced the small space.

"That's awesome!"

I stared at him incredulously.

"You know what's awesome?" I said. He turned.

"What?"

I smiled. "You getting a vasectomy."

The smile left his face. "Hey, now...wait..."

"No, I won't wait. Your little caped crusaders are getting cut off at the pass."

Nick blanched. We had talked about it after Landon was born, but after I had the Mirena, Nick talked me out of it.

But there was no changing my mind.

I had teased him years ago about having twenty kids.

I wasn't making that a reality.

Six kids were more than enough.
Story #3: Back to the Studio by evergreenwriter83
Story #3: Back to the Studio

-- Nick --

"Backstreet's back...alright!"

"That never gets old for you does it?"

Bri grinned. "Never."

I leaned back in my chair. We had been in the studio for five hours and had accomplished nothing.

That was always how it went on the first day.

"How's Brookie's tour going, Nickers?" AJ asked.

I grinned. "How do you think it's going? She's a pro."

"How many male groupies does she have following her?" Bri teased. I made a face.

"I'm not thinking about that."

It felt like a different dynamic in the room. I glanced around. Kevin was missing. Again. He had decided not to join us again.

He claimed he was too old.

I stopped thinking about age years ago.

"You're awfully quiet D," Brian remarked.

Howie was hunched over the mixing board. He looked up at us. I noticed quite a bit more 'salt' appeared in his 'pepper' hair. He also had deep bags under his eyes. Out of all of us, he had been aging the best (well, besides me - haha). Now, he looked his age. Or older.

"Stefie's sick," he said.

"Still?" AJ asked. I knew that Ally and Stefie had gotten pretty close lately. That's what happened when all of us decided to have kids at the same time. Friendships formed. And in some cases...romance.

"We have an appointment with the doctor in a few days," How said. He rubbed his forehead.

"So let's talk about producers and our vis--"

"BUTTONS! LOOK AT ALL THE BUTTONS!"

Howie turned around. I knew the moment I heard the little voice that we had visitors. Landon's bright eyes peeked into the room. Liv was right behind him.

She looked like a walking zombie, albeit a beautiful pregnant walking zombie.

"What's up buddy?" I asked. I walked to the doorway and squatted down. Landon ran over and threw his arms around me.

"Mommy said she's gotta poop," he said seriously. I glanced up at Liv. She smiled.

"I said I'm pooped," she explained. "We just got done at the doctor's and I figured I'd show Landon what daddy was doing."

I hadn't really done a lot of outside studio work since he was born. I scooped him up.

"Want the tour?" I asked. He nodded. "Yup!"

Liv sank down on the couch. Each of the guys took turns showing Landon something. He was especially interested in the pitch sliders that AJ demonstrated.

"You can sound like a mousie!" he shrieked. His little hand went and shoved the thing to max. A screech filled the room that made my eyes water. AJ quickly shoved it back down.

"Where's your girl?" Landon asked as if nothing had happened. AJ smiled.

"What girl?"

"The red one!"

I smiled. My sons were all about the girls. Like father, like son.

AJ looked at me. "She's in Kentucky."

"Why's she there?"

"That's where she lives."

"Why?"

AJ sighed. "Because that's where her mommy lives now."

"That's stupid!" Landon exclaimed. AJ smiled.

"Tell me about it."

Landon wiggled off of AJ's lap. He took AJ's sunglasses that were sitting in an empty chair and slid them on.

"Alright, we're out!" he said. He flapped his little hand in the air. "C'mon mom!"

I glanced over to the couch. Livvy was fast asleep. I didn't know how she could have dozed off with the screeching and the loud voices, but she had.

I didn't have the heart to wake her.

"Mommy's taking a nap," I explained. "Come with me."

"Okay!" he chirped.

Unfortunately, now that Landon knew how everything worked, he wanted to play with it. That made putting any vocals down impossible. The four of us sat around narrowlisting producers, and listening to some demos already sent in. After awhile Landon got bored and crawled up next to Livvy.

"Daddy!"

I leaned back in my chair and glanced over at him.

"What?"

"The babies are growling!" he said. He pressed his ear close to Liv's stomach and squinched his eyes shut. From the moment we explained to Landon about the babies, he had become obsessed with Liv's stomach. Even so, I knew babies didn't growl; Livvy's queasy stomach meant she was probably running on just crackers.

"Babies?" AJ said. I looked at the guys and smiled sheepishly.

"Surprise," I said lightly.

"Again?" Howie said.

"Babies?" Brian added.

"Twins."

AJ grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "Now you're the little old man who had so many kids he didn't know what to do," he chided.

"Liv told Leigh she was pregnant but she didn't mention twins," Brian said. "I'm surprised you're not dead."

I snorted. "Of course I'm not dead."

"He's not dead because he's getting neutered."

I glanced back at the door. Landon was dancing around Liv. She was rubbing her eye. I had a feeling that while my back was turned Landon ended up poking her to see if she was still alive.

He always did that whenever either of us were asleep and he wasn't.

It was the cause of many early mornings.

Liv walked over and kissed me. "I'm gonna go home with goober. Love you."

"Love you too. Eat something," I said. "Landon said you were growling."

"The babies were," he corrected. "I jabber-ed them with my elbowy bone."

He held up his arm. I laughed.

"Alright, crazy. Go take care of mommy."

He puckered up and gave me a noisy kiss. The guys started in on me the second the door closed behind Livvy.

"Neutered, huh?"

I scowled. "It's nothing."

"I think Nick's going to be singing our soprano parts this record," Brian said. He threw out his arms and bellowed like an opera singer.

I folded my arms and let them go.

"Hey, you know what a Christmas tree and a man who's had a vasectomy have in common?" AJ said. Everyone looked at him.

"They both have ornamental balls!"

Brian fell out of his chair laughing. Howie actually seemed to relax.

I stared daggers.

"It's not funny," I said.

"No, what would be funny is if that still doesn't work," Brian said. "Livvy will become Ms. Hatchet."

He made slicing motions in the air.

"Can we just get to work?"

AJ was still chuckling. I was so glad he could amuse himself.

"The best part is it's probably genetic. I feel sorry for the girl who ends up with Noah."

The look on Brian's face was priceless.

It was my turn to grin.
Story #4: V-Day by evergreenwriter83
Story #4: V-Day

-- Nick --

"I think I'm going to pass out."

"Nick, it's not that bad."

I took a deep breath. Livvy didn't understand. It was that bad.

Today was Peyton's birthday.

It was also v-day. No, not Valentine's Day. It was the day my swimmers would cease to swim.

The world wept.

Liv leaned over and kissed my cheek. She smiled. "You don't know how much this means to me."

I closed my eyes. "I don't want you to ever doubt how much I love you ever again."

Liv laughed. I was far from laughing. My hand clutched the inside door handle.

The day before had been torture at the studio. AJ had hung plastic dicks all around the room with scissors clamped around them. Brian sang 'Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye.'

Howie was the only one that didn't do anything. Of course, that was because he hadn't been there.

I was too busy worrying about myself yesterday to worry about D.

The house faded away in the rearview mirror as Liv drove towards the hospital. I scratched my stomach. I scratched my arm. I scratched at my neck.

"What are you doing?"

"I think I'm having an allergic reaction," I lied. Liv smiled.

"It's not going to work, Nick." She reached over and took my hand.

"Look at it this way. After this is done you can have all the sex with me you want."

I licked my lips. "All I want?"

"Absolutely."

"You've never denied me sex before," I pointed out. Liv stopped at a red light. She looked down at her growing stomach.

"Tell me about it."

------------------------------------

"So what are we doing today, Mr. Carter?"

My eyes widened in surprise. I stared at the surgeon. "You don't know?"

The surgeon smiled. "We have to make sure you know what we're doing."

I shifted uncomfortably. I was in one of those stupid hospital robes. My ass was hanging out.

"I'm having a v...v...va...sectomy."

"A what?"

I groaned. "Please don't make me say it."

"So we're doing a vasectomy today, right?"

I nodded.

The surgeon pulled up a chair. He held up a pen.

"I've got to mark you."

"Mark me?"

"I have to mark the incision spot."

"You've got to be kidding me. Can't you do this when I'm unconscious?"

"I need you to see that you're marked."

"How the hell am I going to see that?"

As if on cue, the door opened. A nurse came in with a mirror.

Liv burst out laughing. If I didn't love her so much, I would have killed her.

I sat back. The surgeon lifted my robe and I felt a pen on my balls.

"Okay, Mr. Carter look down."

I didn't want to, but I did. It looked like Brian had played a practical joke on me in my sleep. Two blue x's glared back at me.

"We're going to make two small incisions after we numb the area. I'll be severing the vasa deferentia and then I'll tie it in a manner which prevents sperm from entering the seminal stream."

"So I'll be shooting blanks."

The surgeon smiles. "Basically."

"How effective is this?" Liv asked.

"Well it's more effective than a tubal in women. Failure occurs in every 200 to 300 cases. With a vasectomy, the agreed upon rate of failure is about one in 2000 cases."

Liv gave me a look. I knew what she was thinking.

"Of course, that failure rate usually occurs one or two months after the procedure." The surgeon smiled. "In your case, you won't have to worry about that."

"That's good to know."

The surgeon nodded. "Are there any questions?"

I raised my hand. He looked amused. "Yes?"

"How long does it take before I can...we can get back to normal?"

"You mean have sex?"

"Yeah."

"About a week."

I smiled. It was probably the only smile anyone was going to get out of me today.

"That soon?"

"It depends on pain, but yes."

"Good to know."

"So are we ready?"

Liv came over and kissed my forehead. I pulled her close and kissed her belly. My last little babies.

"I'm ready."

-------------------------------------

"Nick?"

I heard Liv's voice, but it sounded far away. The light broke through my eyelids. Her face swam above me.

"You're out of surgery. Everything went fine."

"It's done?" I said groggily.

"Mm-hmm."

I felt her hand stroking my hair. It felt nice. I closed my eyes again.

The next time I woke up, I wasn't feeling so hot. Actually, I felt worse than not so hot. I had been kicked in the balls before, but this was a million times worse.

"I'm going to be sick," I said.

I don't know who did it, but before I heaved I had a bucket tucked under my head.

It seemed to take forever, but finally the surgeon came back to check on me. They pumped some pain meds through my IV. A half hour later, I was feeling better.

Three hours later, they took the IV out. An hour after that, I was released. My phone rang before Liv even got buckled in.

It was AJ.

"Did they give you one of those plastic cones to wear around your neck?" he asked.

"Fuck you," I said. He laughed.

"How'd it go?"

"Fine."

"You sound groggy."

"I am groggy. You try getting your nuts clamped off and tell me how it feels."

"I don't have to," AJ said. "I stopped playing recklessly eight years ago my friend."

I groaned.

"All joking aside, rest up, okay?"

"Will do."

"Later."

"Late."

I winced as I put my phone in my pocket.

"Who was that?"

"AJ."

Liv smiled. "He had to get one last comment in, didn't he?"

"Of course."

"Well, it's all over now."

My eyes closed. I was still feeling loopy. She was right. It was all over. The surgeon had ripped the red capes from my guys.

My superpower was gone.
Story #5: Parenthood by evergreenwriter83
Story #5: Parenthood

-- Liv --

Time flies when you're having fun. At least, that's how the old saying goes. I still was on the fence about the 'fun' part.

In the past few days, my sixth sense told me that something big was about to happen. Call it mother's intuition, but I could tell Noah was hiding something. Then there was Brooke. I had awoken from a sound sleep the night before with a sudden worry about her. A call to Angel had calmed my fears, but nevertheless...

It was hard not to be paranoid these days. My heart was breaking for Howie and Leigh. After weeks of tests, doctors had confirmed what Howie admitted he had sensed all along - Stefie had lupus. Even after all these years, there was no cure. The only bright spot was that most lupus sufferers were living well into their forties these days.

But it was a life marred with pain.

All of these thoughts floated through my head as I stood in my closet trying to decide what I was going to wear. I wasn't even at the four month mark, but I was wearing my six month maternity clothes. I felt like one of Mr. Popper's penguins.

"Hey beautiful."

I turned. Nick was in the doorway.

"What are you doing back?" I asked. He smiled.

"I dropped Landon off at preschool and came back here," he said.

"I thought you were supposed to go to the studio."

His smile turned into a wolfish grin. "I thought I'd be late this morning."

Nick's recovery from the vasectomy had been stressful. He acted like the wounded dead for a whole two weeks. We were going on week three. I was pretty sure this might have been the longest he had gone without sex.

It appeared he was looking to rectify the situation.

"You won't need that," he said. He walked over and took the shirt from my hands. He pressed a kiss to my shoulder. His fingers pushed down the strap of my bra.

"You smell like oranges," he murmured. I tilted my head back. We really needed to paint the closet ceiling.

"Landon spilled his orange juice on me this morning," I murmured. Nick held out my arm and planted kisses down to my fingertips. He took my pinkie and nipped it. I watched him under heavy lids.

"I'm not sure how flexible I'm going to be," I said. My hands grabbed onto his shirt and I pulled him in for a kiss. His hands fell to my stomach.

"You're talking to the professional," he said. He backed out of the closet. I followed him, still holding onto his shirt. The back of his legs hit our cedar chest at the end of the bed and he fell backwards. I grabbed his legs to keep my balance. We both laughed.

"C'mere," he whispered. I safely avoided the chest and crawled over to him. I hovered over his head and kissed him. He wormed his way up. My kisses went from his lips, to his stomach, to finally the bulge at his jeans. As always, he kept me so preoccupied that he had me depantied and de-bra'd without me realizing it.

"You're a chameleon, old man," I teased. He gently play wrestled me around until I was on all fours. He bit into my neck playfully.

"Who are you calling an old man?" he said. I laughed. "You."

Nick clucked his tongue. His hands rubbed my lower back. It felt heavenly. I lowered my head to my chest.

"I'm not the one who found a gray hair in my head last week," he said. My head shot up.

"You said we'd never talk about it!" I complained. His hand drifted between my legs. The rest of my complaint disappeared. His other hand reached up to my breasts.

"Nick," I moaned.

"Let's see if I still got it," he said huskily.

There was no doubt that he still had it. Not just once, but twice. As we finished the second round, he pulled me down against him and held me tight.

"Survey says?" he asked. He kissed the top of my breasts.

"Ya still got it," I said breathlessly. He laughed against my skin.

"You're not so bad yourself there, momma."

His hand pressed against my stomach.

"Sorry to get mommy all worked up there little ones," Nick whispered. "Maybe we'll let her take a nap now."

I snuggled into him. "Then don't go."

His eyes crinkled. "Never."

He kissed me softly and we fell back into the pillows. The little ones gently did a tumble of their own.

For as much freaking out as I did in the beginning, I really couldn't wait to see our twins.

-------------------------------------

"What do you mean there's a tape?"

Our perfect lazy love-in morning had given way to problems of nightmarish proportions. Nick had just been ready to pick Landon up from preschool when he got a phone call from Brooke's

PR squad. The panic on Nick's face reminded me of my dream. I knew something was going on with my baby girl.

"Send it to me," Nick said tensely. He hung up and looked at me.

"Can you call you mom and ask her to pick up Landon? Ask her if she can watch him 'til three."

I nodded. "Sure. What's going on?"

Nick opened his laptop. "I'll tell ya in a minute."

While Nick checked his e-mail, I called mom. As always, she was more than happy to pick up Landon.

I knew she said she didn't have a favorite, but there was no doubt that she adored Landon. She claimed his hyperness kept her young.

I blamed him for my gray hair.

"Liv?"

I walked back into the living room and sat by Nick. He had his e-mail open.

"What's going on?"

"Brooke's got a sex tape," he said tensely. I looked at him increduously.

"What?"

"Brooke's PR team just called and said it leaked late last night. It was taken in one of the hotel gyms. It's her and Trevor."

"And it's actually her--"

"I haven't watched it yet, but that's what the description says."

"Who leaked it?"

"PR thinks it was Trevor. I guess Brooke broke up with him. Again."

I glanced back towards the screen. Nick's finger hovered uncertainly over the Enter key.

"She's sixteen, Nick. That's child porn."

Nick's jaw tensed. "I know."

"Do we have to watch it?"

"PR said we need to in order to file charges."

The thought was making me ill. My daughter was playing grown-up games at an age where I had still been worried about the acne that dotted my jawline. She had already admitted to sleeping with Nate. Now Trevor? I hadn't seriously thought about sex until my twenties.

It was her Carter side. It was a stupid reason, and it wasn't sitting well with me. I watched Nick press the enter key. The video loaded quickly.

The quality was horrible. The camera was high up on the wall. No close-ups. But you could still see what the two of them were doing.

On a weight bench.

Nick quickly clicked through it. He couldn't watch more than two frames at a time. His skin was a horrible mottled red by the end.

"This is a nightmare. The whole world's going to see her lose her virginity," he groaned.

I bit my lip. "Well, actually..."

Nick looked at me. "Actually, what?"

"She lost her virginity about a month or so ago," I explained.

"With who?"

"Nate."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Brooke was upset. She just needed her mom. We both know you would have flown off the handle."

"WHY DO YOU SAY THAT?"

"Because you're shouting now," I said calmly.

Nick looked back at the blank screen. "So she's slept with two guys while Angel's been with her?"

"It's not Angel's fault," I said. "Nick, she's sixteen. What did you do on a tour bus at sixteen?"

A look of horror came over his face. He scratched at the stubble that had already erupted along his jaw. "But Brooke's a girl."

"Brooke's your daughter."

"She's our baby."

"With hormones. And a body that I never had in my entire life."

Nick stood up and began to pace. "You still should have told me," he snapped.

"I'm sorry. I should have," I admitted. "But it wouldn't have changed this."

Nick stopped. "Do you think Brooke knows?"

I looked at him. "Do you think Brooke would have let him tape it?"

We both knew the answer to that.

"I need to make a few phone calls," Nick said.

Before I could say anything else, Nick headed down to his studio. I glanced back at the screen and sighed.

-----------------------------------------

As soon as Noah got home from school, he locked himself in his room. When I knocked and asked him what was going on, he told me he was okay.

I didn't believe it. Unfortunately, we had the Brooke dilemma to worry about. Nick and I agreed that we would call her after I picked Peyton up from soccer practice and we had dinner. I slipped Pey a five to watch Landon and Nick and I went down to the studio to make the call.

It took all my willpower not to start crying. Brooke sounded so distraught. Nick was still raging with anger. He was flying out to her that night. By the time the call was over, we were both tense.

"Are you going to be okay here?" Nick asked.

"Of course," I said. He helped me up. Our eyes met.

"I wish we could make her two again," Nick said softly. I felt tears spring to my eyes. Hormones.

"That would be nice."

Nick glanced around. "Remember when everything was her's? The TV was a 'veevee.'"

I laughed. "She had that habit of jutting her bottom lip way out and just glaring at someone when she didn't get her way."

Nick kissed me softly. "Maybe I can just lock her up for a few years."

I touched his face. "If only it were that simple," I said.

Nick took my hand and we headed out of the studio. He packed a bag and checked in on Peyton and Landon. Noah was still locked in his room. I heard him holler a goodbye through the closed door. Nick gave me one last kiss before he headed out to the car.

The evening was turning out to be steamy, but in a vastly different way from the morning.

-----------------------------------------

Nick called me when he got to Kentucky. To say that Brooke was upset was an understatement.

They were busily trying to repair the damage and get to the bottom of the tape leak. After seeing the video, Brooke didn't think it was Trevor.

I just hoped she wasn't being overly optimistic.

The next afternoon, I was watching Landon make fake hamburgers out of Play-doh and lazily listening to Pey practice her clarinet when Noah got home. I glanced at the clock. School had been out for an hour.

"Where have you been?"

Noah dropped his bag by the door. I could tell just by looking at him that something was really wrong. He glanced at Landon and then over at Pey.

"I need to talk to you," he said.

I had been trying to talk to him for days. As always, Noah did things in his own time. I grabbed onto the couch. Noah walked over and helped me stand up.

"Thanks hon," I said. I looked up at him. It was a sad day when my own son was taller than me.

"Want me to watch Landon?" Pey asked hopefully. I could see dollar signs in my little brunette's eyes. I smiled.

"Go for it. Bill me," I said.

I followed Noah outside. It was one of those beautiful fall days in Florida that I cherished. We sat down on the white two-person swing Nick had gotten for me the year before.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Noah clasped his hands together. He stared up at the sky.

"I have something to tell you and you're not going to be happy," he said.

My heart began to pound. My mother's intuition was never wrong. And, as always, my BooBoo and NoNo always seemed to get into trouble one right after the other.

"What's going on?"

Noah let out a shaky breath. He was my calm boy. My sweet boy. I rarely saw him so shaken up.

"When I went to see Brooke in L.A.," Noah said. "Kayleigh and I hooked up."

I knew he was 'seeing' her. The pictures of her in his room were a dead giveaway, as if I hadn't already known how infatuated he was with her.

"By hooking up, you mean--"

"I had sex with her. Actually, we've done it before."

I studied my son's profile. There were times when I seriously felt like I was seeing Nick fifteen years ago. They looked that much alike. Now was one of those times. My little NoNo suddenly looked like a man. I had tried to block that image out for so long. Now I couldn't.

"So what happened?" I asked. Noah ran his hands over the knees of his jeans. The sneaking truth was already rolling around in the back of my mind.

"I was careful," he said. "But we were in a pool. And I didn't know that there was a chance."

I closed my eyes. With Carters, there was always a chance.

"Noah, is Kayleigh pregnant?" I asked. I opened my eyes. Noah's pretty, pretty Nick eyes stared back at me. They were glistening with tears. He nodded.

"She didn't think she was but then they took a blood test too and--"

He didn't have to say anymore. I had lived through that. My sneaky baby had made another sneaky little baby.

My grandbaby.

"Oh Noah," I said softly. I reached over and took his hand. For a long time we just sat there and let the swing rock us back and forth.

"This is why teenagers shouldn't have sex," I said.

"It's easier to say than do," Noah said. "I couldn't help it."

It was a lame excuse. But it was a boy excuse. Truthfully, it was a Nick excuse.

"Do Brian and Leigh know?" I asked. Noah nodded.

"Kay just got out of the doctor's and called me. That's why I didn't come home right after school.

I was waiting for that call. Her mom and dad took her."

I exhaled. I had a feeling I was going to have a long phone conversation with my best friend tonight. An awkward conversation.

"We have a lot to talk about," I said. "We're going to have to tell your dad."

Noah nodded. "What's going on with Brooke? I heard something about a tape today..."

I figured there was no use in keeping secrets. Nick and I had always tried to be open with the kids before. There was no use stopping that now.

"Your sister has a sex tape," I said.

Noah's eyes widened. "What?"

I stood up and stretched. I was pregnant. I was tired. I was going to be a grandmother. My daughter's cootchie was all over the Internet.

It was just another day in the life of Liv Carter.


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