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Chapter 9

"Can I still take you up on that offer?" Nick questioned his daughter as he stood in the door way as Clare looked up and put the book she had been reading down on the bed.

"What offer is that dad?" Clare asked, wanting to hear her father tell her what she wanted to hear from him.

"Getting in touch with the other two guys," Nick said without hesitation. Clare sat up and looked at her father as he walked into the room closing the door behind him.

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately," he replied as he glared through the window, to see the block he lived on as peacefully as it had been the day that he and Erin moved into the house. "I want to know... I really want to know what might have been but we can't know that," he sighed. "Honestly, I just want a friendship. Those guys are like family to me. I'm sick of wondering how they are." Clare smiled as she watched her father speak. "What?"

"I knew you were going to change your mind dad," she replied. "So I already started looking for these guys. When I went for that walk the other day, I ran into Howie and he's been kinda helping me out."

"What were you going to do if I came in here and told you that I finally had closure on my past and I didn't need to see these guys anymore?"

"Then I would have told you that you're a big fat liar. There is no way that you could get over how you felt that fast. Besides dad, I know you well enough to know that you were going to come to talk to me about this anyway. It was only a matter of time."

"Am I that transparent?"

"To me you are," she replied with a smile. He returned her smile and began to speak.

"So, what do you have?"

"Not much. We really don't know much more than we did when we started."

"Do you know how Alex found him?"

"No. He's getting in touch with him and he's going to call me back when he knows something," Clare explained.

"How long ago did you talk to him?"

"This morning."

"Oh. So it might be a while before he calls you back."

"I guess. I really don't know dad. Like I said, he'll let me know when he finds something out then I'll let you know, don't worry."

"You think this is the right thing to do? I mean digging up the past. Everything has been fine for years. What if they don't want to see me? Maybe they didn't keep in touch because they didn't want to talk to me? What if..."

"Dad relax, everything is going to be okay. You don't need to get all paranoid over this. I'm sure they meant to stay in touch, ya know, things happen and maybe they just couldn't."

"Has your mother asked you about anything?" Nick questioned as he looked at Clare.

"No but Christian and Grace were asking me questions a few days ago. I'm sure they figured that something was up and I had to tell them something."

"And that was?"

"That I'm getting married. I told them that I needed to talk to you about it because I wasn't sure you'd aprove and all that good stuff," she answered.

"They brought it?"

"Of course they did. I mean you really aren't too fond of Brad and they know that."

"So you're really getting married?"

"Yes we are. I love him dad."

"You don't have to get married so young though," Nick commented.

"Weren't you about my age the first time you got engaged?" Clare asked, remembering her conversation with her father days before.

"Okay okay, you got me there," Nick replied. She smiled.

"Don't worry dad. Despite what you think, Brad really is a good guy. I know you don't believe that, but he's going to take care of me dad. I'm all grown up and I can take care of myself, ya know?"

"I guess you are all grown up now huh?" Nick commented as he sat on the bed next to Clare and put his arm around her. "I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. Your mom had gone out with your aunt Sandra. I didn't want her to go out because I knew you were due any day, but she said 'it's okay Nick, we'll be fine.' I caved and figured what the hell. So I was sitting downstairs on the couch when the phone rang. It was your aunt, she was yelling, 'the baby, the baby! You got to get to the hospital, the baby's coming!' I dropped the phone, I didn't even think about hanging up, and I went right to the hospital. There was no way that I was going to miss that. They took me to the delivery room where your mom was. I could hear her calling me before I even got there," Nick said pausing to smile. "I ran inside and she was just so happy to see me and I was so glad that I didn't miss it. Your mom cussed a little, the doctors said that was normal for a woman in labor and a little while later, I was holding you. You were so beautiful and so tiny. I remember thinking to myself, wow, I can't believe we made this. We made little person that was so perfect. I fell in love with you right then."

"I'm always going to be your little girl if that's what you're afraid of losing dad," Clare responded. "That's never gonna change."

"I know," Nick sighed. "I just didn't think that you would grow up this fast."

"But aren't you glad that I did?" she questioned. "Who else would you have gotten to help you with your past?" Nick laughed softly and kissed the top of her head.

"I have to go. Me and your mom have some place we need to be," Nick stated when he stood from the bed and walked towards the door.

"Dad?"

"Yeah Clare?"

"I love mom and everything but I don't think that you should sacrafice your happiness any more. You desirve to be happy too." Nick smiled at her again as he walked out of the bedroom. She sighed knowing that her father was going to continue his behavior. Clare reached for her cell phone when she heard it beginning to ring.

"Hello?" Clare answered.

"Clare, this is Howie. I talked to Age... Alex and he already talked to Brian and Kevin. What's your dad doing tomorrow?"