Nick sighed as he looked down at his phone.

"God dammit! Call her already!" Aj groaned as he watched Nick
repeat the same actions he had repeated at least 50 times in the last 30
minutes.

"I can't, it's 2 am." Nick said laying the phone out of the reach of
his hands.

"Do you really think she's gonna care if you call her at 2 am?" Aj
asked with a yawn.

"No, but I don't want her to know." Nick said rubbing the back of
his head.

"Fine, but stop with the whole looking at the phone every second,
it's getting annoying!"

"You shut up!" Nick said smacking Aj on the arm.

"No!" Aj said and walked out of the back of the bus.

Nick bounced on the balls of his feet as the bus pulled to a stop
outside Melissa's house. He groaned loudly as the door pulled open with
a hiss and the cold Illinois air slapped him in the face.

"Fuck!" Nick said as he jogged toward the front door. This is never
going to work, she's going to wake up. He said to himself as he gently
slipped the key into the lock, quietly opened Melissa's front door.

"Hey there baby," Nick said bending down to pet Nicki, Melissa's
Chihuahua. "You ready to go on a trip with Mama and Daddy?" Nick
asked Nicki as he picked her up. He laughed quietly as she licked the
underside of his chin. "I'll take that as a yes." He said and sat her down
in the couch. "Lets get your cage, where did Mommy put it?" Nick
grinned as he spotted it in the laundry room. He gathered the cage,
Nicki's favorite toy, and a two blankets, one for inside the cage and one
to cover the cage from the blistering cold air outside. Nicki was waiting
patiently on the couch when Nick carried the cage back into the living
room. "Come on, in ya go." He said as he opened the metal door.

"Aj!" Nick yelled as he stepped onto the bottom step of the bus.

"I'm here. Hang on!" Nick heard Aj answer from the back of the
bus and heard him jogging to the front, "FUCK! It's cold!"

"No shit! Take Nicki into the back and make sure she stays warm
okay?"

"You got it." Aj said and took Nicki's cage back into the bus.

"Thanks!" Nick said and turned to head back into Melissa's house.

Once back inside he quietly packed Melissa's bag, trying to make
sure he had everything he thought she would need. He smiled down at
her sleeping form. He hated that she was sick, but he was grateful the
medicine she was taking was keeping her asleep.

Screw it! He said to himself as he finished filling a suitcase,
Anything else she needs I'll buy it for her.

Once he had her luggage out of her room he carried it to the bus.

"You go get her, I'll get this on the bus." Carl said as he stepped
down from the bus. "I've been sitting too long anyway, gets me a way to
move around." Nick thanked the bus driver and headed back into the
house.

He smiled down at Melissa again, as he came to a stop beside her
bed. He pulled favorite cover over her, making sure she was wrapped
tightly before picked her up gently.

She grumbled quietly under her breath as he settled her in his
arms and he stopped his movements hoping he wasn't going to wake
her. When she had settled back down, and appeared to be back asleep
he left the room and made his way out of the house.

"Come on man. I'll lock it." Aj said as he stood inside the house,
waiting for Nick.

"Thank you man." Nick said as he passed Aj at the door.

"No worries, go before she wakes up." Aj said as he pulled the
door together behind him. Nick nodded and walked as quickly as he
could toward the bus.

Once he made it onto the bus he slowly made his way down the
walkway toward his bedroom on the bus. As he slowly lowered her to
the bed he noticed her waking.

"Hey baby." Nick said softly.

"Good dream." Melissa said just as softly and closed her eyes.

"It's not a dream baby girl." Nick replied, and grinned down at
Melissa when she reopened her eyes.

"Nick?" She asked lifting her hand to his cheek.

"I'm here." He said taking her hand in his and kissing her palm.

"Oh." was all Melissa said as she sat up and wrapped her arms
around his neck.

He sighed deeply, realizing how much he had missed her in that
instant. "I couldn't stand to be away from you anymore." He whispered
to her softly. "I wanted you to spend your birthday with me." He said
when she pulled away from him.

"That is so sweet, but I can't just leave Nicki. I have to do
something..." Melissa grinned widely as she saw Aj standing at the door
of Nick's bedroom holding Nicki in his arms. "Nick! You thought of
everything!"

"Of course." Nick said with a grin.

"He had some help." Aj said with a smirk.

"Yeah, okay I had some help." Nick said with a shrug.

"Here is your mommy, she was missing you." Aj said as he sat
Nicki on the floor on the inside of the door. "See you guys later!" He said
and pulled the door together behind him.

"Thank you Nick. This means so much to me."

"You're welcome. I love you so much. I just couldn't stand to be
away from you any more." Nick said and wiped the single tear that was
running down Melissa's face.

"I love you too." She whispered as he kissed her gently.

They both pulled away from each other as Nicki bounced up on
the bed.

"We love you too." Nick said as he picked her up and handed her
to Melissa.

"Yes we do." She said as she kissed Nicki on the top of her head.

Melissa watched as Nick stood from the bed, and started to take
off his shirt. She stared at him as he stripped down. He looked up and
saw her staring at him in the mirror and smirked at her, "Don't give me
that Carter smirk." She said with her own smirk.

"Why not?" Nick asked turning to face her, "You like it."

"That's beside the point. I'm sick, and I can't do to you what that
smirk makes me want to do."

"Oh I'm sure we can come up with something." Nick said with a
grin, his voice dropping an octave as he pulled back the covers and
joined Melissa in the bed.

"Oh I'm sure we can." Melissa replied with her own grin as he
lowered his lips to hers.