Nick was holding a sleeping Ariel as Roxie unlocked the door.  When Nick had called, it was too late at night for Roxie to find someone to watch Ariel, so she picked up the young girl and placed her in her car seat while she was still sleeping.  She was glad that Ariel didn’t wake up.  “Go put Ariel back in her bed and then come down here.  We need to talk.”  Nick nodded expecting what was about to come.  He put Ariel in her bed then returned to the living room.  He sat on the couch, and refused to make eye contact with Roxie.  “What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t.”

“That’s right, you weren’t thinking.  Now you were arrested for a DUI, you have a suspended license.  How could you be so stupid?”

“Stupid people do stupid things.”

“I didn’t say you were stupid.”

“Maybe not outloud.”

“You’re not stupid Nick.  You’re just at a rough spot right now.”

“Okay.  You know, we’re home now, you can give me my car keys back.”

“Not a chance.  From now on, consider yourself on house arrest.  You cannot leave this house without me.”  Nick nodded knowing it’d be pointless to argue with her.  “I’m going to sleep.  You coming?”

“No.”

“Nick, what good will it serve for you to stay down here and dwell on what just happened?”

“None.”

“Right.  So come on.”

“I didn’t think you’d want to share a bed with me tonight.”

“I’m not.”  Nick looked down.  “You’re going to sleep in your bed and I’m going to sleep in the guest room.” She said and turned around and headed to the spare bedroom that Roxie had been getting quite acquainted with these past few weeks.

The next morning, Roxie woke up and reached for Nick.  When she didn’t feel him, she opened her eyes and slowly remembered that she hadn’t shared a bed with him the night before.  Wanting to cuddle, she returned to the room she usually shares with Nick.

When she opened the door, she expected to see him fast asleep in bed.  She was shocked when his bed was not only empty but not even slept in.  She walked downstairs, wondering if Nick decided to sleep on the couch after all.  He wasn’t in the living room.  She found him in his office, hunched over his desk with a pencil in his hand.  “You’re up early.”  She said as she approached him.

“I didn’t go to sleep.”

“Why not?”  She reached him and placed her hands on his shoulders, subconsciously she began to rub his shoulders.  “You’re tense.”

Nick leaned back into her touch.  “How mad are you at me?”

“I’m not mad.”

“You were last night.”

“Yes, but I realized that me being mad at you won’t help you.  I’ve been thinking and maybe it’d be a good idea for you to go back to work.”

“Wouldn’t that put me under too much stress and make me want to drink more?”

“So, don’t work a 12 hour shift.  Maybe only work a six hour shift, or even an eight hour shift.”

“I have a suspended license.  I wouldn’t be able to get to work anyway.”

“I’ll drive you.”

“I don’t know Rox.  I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“Try for a couple weeks.  If you can’t handle it, then I won’t make you.  I just think it’d give you a sense of normalcy.”

“When do you expect me to go back?”

“First I want you to worry about resting.  If you’re rested by tomorrow then I think you should go back tomorrow.  What were you working on?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.  I was just doodling.”  He said and tried to hide the piece of paper under another paper.

“Let me see.” Nick bit his lower lip before handing her the picture.  “Oh Nick.  This isn’t doodling.  It’s beautiful.  Did you draw this by memory?”  Roxie asked as she stared down at the picture of herself looking very pregnant.

“It’s not hard to memorize every detail of a beautiful girl.”

“But I’m not this pregnant yet.”

“I know that.  I started drawing you and the next thing I knew I drew you very pregnant.  I guess I was trying to picture how beautiful you’d look when you were very pregnant with my baby.”

“So, when I’m actually this fat, will you still think I’m beautiful?”

“You won’t be fat and yes.  My baby would be inside you and that’s very beautiful.”

“Were you like this with Tracy?”

“Like what?”

“This mushy.”

Nick scoffed.  “Yeah right.  Tracy and I were a lot different then you and I.  I love you, and I can’t even begin to imagine my life without you and if I do, it’s certainly not pretty.  I was never sympathetic when she was pregnant.  If she asked me if she looked fat, I would say yes.  I never loved Tracy. She was convenient.  I’d like to be able to say that Ariel was a product of love even though she was unplanned.  But that’s not the truth.  The truth was that Ariel was a product of two people whose only common bond was the drugs and alcohol.”

“Nick, you’re not the same as you were then.”

“Aren’t I though.”

“No, you’re not.  Now come on.  You’re tired and I want to cuddle.”

Nick chuckled as he let Roxie pull him to his feet.  “Ariel will be awake soon.”

“Who cares?” 

Nick smiled and willingly followed Roxie back to their room.  He collapsed almost immediately onto the bed.  Roxie climbed onto the bed, she smirked when she realized that his eyes were already closed.  She straddled him and kissed him while grinding into him.

“Roxie, what are you doing?”  He asked, opening his eyes to look at Roxie.

“What do you think?”

“I think I’m too tired.”  Roxie pouted.  “Please Nicky.”

“You said you wanted to cuddle.”

“Okay, so I lied.”

“You convinced me to go to sleep and now that I’m in bed, that’s all I want right now.”

“Fine, but you better be rested by tonight.”

“Deal.”  Roxie slid off him and he pulled her close.   He closed his eyes again and then immediately heard the obvious sounds of his daughter entering their room.  Nick groaned and whispered into Roxie’s ears.  “If you hadn’t made me get into bed I’d be perfectly fine with no sleep.”  He rolled over and forced himself to get up.

Roxie watched him get up and walk out of the room with Ariel.  Roxie bit her lip when she saw how tired he seemed now.  She couldn’t help but blame herself as it seemed that Nick was being dragged out of the room.  Roxie stood up and followed them out of the room.  By the time she got to the kitchen, Nick was already making a waffle for Ariel.  “Relax Nick.  I’ll finish this.”

Nick smiled.  “Thanks.”  He sat down at the kitchen table.

Two days later, Nick let Roxie drive him to his store.  It felt like forever since the last time he was there.  After a few minutes, and a few words of encouragement from Roxie, he opened his car door and stepped out.  He walked toward the building as Roxie rolled down her window.  “Nick?”  He turned around.  “Good luck.”

Nick smiled slightly then continued to walk toward his store.  He entered the store.  The bell over the door alerted Joann that the door opened.  “I’m sorry, we’re not…”  She looked up.  “Nick.  Are you back?”

“Maybe.  Roxie thinks it might be a good idea for me to be back at work.  So I’ll come in for like a week and see if it helps.  I might be leaving again.”

“Well, we’re happy to have you back, even if it is for a short period of time.”

“Thanks.  So, how’s things been going?”

“Pretty good.  I had to hire a few more associates.  I hope you don’t mind.”

“No.  I told you I trust your judgment.”

“Good, because at first my judgment said that we needed three associates, but one of the guys I hired, is good enough that I stopped at two.  He’s working today.  So, are you working your normal 12 hour shift?”

“No.  I’m going to do eight hours.”

“Okay.  Well, I haven’t gotten to paperwork yet.  Do you want to do it?”

“Sure.  I’ll be in the back if you need me.”  Joann smiled

An hour later, the door to the store opened again.  “I’m so sorry I’m late.”

“It’s fine Kevin.”

“But it’s Tuesday, we’re usually busy.”

“Don’t worry Kevin.  I wasn’t here alone.  The owner is here.”

“Oh great.  What a day to be late.”

“Oh, don’t worry Kevin.  He won’t care.”

“Okay.  What do you want me to do?”

“I haven’t had a chance to finish putting out some of the new releases.”

“Sure.”

“Thanks Kevin.”

Nick looked up when he heard the stockroom door open.  “Oh, I’m sorry, I…”

“Kevin?”

Kevin looked shocked.  “You’re the owner?”

“Yeah.  I am.”

“So, how have you been Nick?”

“I’ve been better.”

“You look good though.  Last time I saw you, you were…”

“Yeah I know.”

Kevin bent down to pick up the box.  Halfway through the motion, he stopped and turned to Nick.  “Nick, about what I said the last time we saw each other.”

“Kevin, don’t.”

“I’ve regretted saying it since the words came out of my mouth.  You never were nothing to me.  I’m sorry I wrote you off so fast.”

“You weren’t the only one.”  He paused.  “But you can make up for what you said.”

“How?”

“Well, I’m still at a really low point. I could use a friend.”

“You got it.  We’ll talk later but I should get this out.” 

~*~

“So, Ariel, we’re going to have someone over for dinner tonight.  What do you want to wear?”

Ariel went to her dresser drawers and pulled out a denim ribbed scooter and a shirt that had a puppy on it and said adorable, pretty princess and super cute.  Roxie smiled and helped Ariel get dressed.  As she pulled Ariel’s shirt into the right spot, the doorbell rang.  Roxie looked confused; she wasn’t expecting her father for another hour.

She headed downstairs and to the front door.  Her eyes opened wide when she saw who was at the door.

“Hi honey.”  William, Roxie’s father, said.

“Hi Dad.”  She looked at the young man standing next to her father, “Derek, what are you doing here?”

“Dad told me that you were pregnant.  I wanted to meet your boyfriend too.”

“Oh, why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”  She directed her question to her older brother.

“You don’t want me here?”

“It’s not that it’s just…”

“Just what?  I’m allowed to be concerned about my little sister; that includes meeting the guy who got her pregnant.  So, uh, where is he?”

Roxie was glad that she convinced Nick to go back to work.  At least he wouldn’t come across as a jobless loser.  “He’s at work.  I was actually about to go pick him up.”

Derek looked at her strangely, “He doesn’t drive?”

“He let me use his car, since his car is the one that has his daughter’s car seat.”  She knew it was a lie, but she also knew that telling her father and brother that he had a suspended license would make them formulate a negative image about him before even meeting.

“Daughter?” 

Apparently, the knowledge that he has a daughter also gave a negative impression of Nick.  Roxie was trying to think of a what to say when Ariel walked into the room.  Seeing the two strange men, she became shy and hid behind Roxie’s leg.  “Well, I should go get him.  Come on Ariel, let’s go get Daddy.”  Roxie didn’t quite feel comfortable with leaving them alone in Nick’s house but she also knew that it wouldn’t be fair for Nick if she took them with her.  “I’ll be back in a little more than a half hour.”

“Well, why don’t we come with you?”

“I think it’s only fair that he gets warned that he’s meeting more than just my father today.”  Roxie said and left the house with Ariel.

~*~

Nick and Kevin were sitting behind the counter.  There were no customers in the store and nothing for them to do.  “Damn, I forgot how dead this store could get.”

Kevin chuckled.  “At least you get to go home in like a half hour.”

“Yeah, and my girlfriend’s father is coming to my house for dinner.  I think I’d rather be here.”

“Please tell me that you are not still with Tracy.”

Nick shook his head.  “I broke up with Tracy when I stopped doing that shit.”

The bell over the door rang, signaling that customers were walking in.  Nick and Kevin sat up straighter and looked at the customers.  Kevin smiled.  “Hey guys, over here.”  Kevin said calling the group of 3 over to the counter. 

As they got closer, Nick realized who it was that entered the store.  His hands became clammy.  He tried to busy himself doing anything to avoid listening on the friendly conversation right next to him.

AJ McLean noticed Nick first.  He didn’t say anything to Nick but to Kevin he said.  “I feel bad for you.  You have to work with him.”

Nick wished the door would open and that Roxie would come in so that he could go home.  He looked at the clock and realized that wouldn’t happen because he still had 25 minutes before Roxie would be there. 

“Things are different now, he’s sober.” Kevin said coming to Nick’s defense.

“He’d have to be to hold down a job.”

Nick finally got fed up.  “You know, he’s right here.”  There was a hint of hurt in his voice.  When Kevin forgave him, he hoped the rest of his former band would have forgiven him, but obviously they hadn’t.  He stood up and left the counter going into the back room

When he was gone, Brian finally spoke up.  “Kevin have you forgotten what he did to us?”

“No.  I felt bad for what I said to him.”

“He ruined our chances at getting a record deal because he didn’t show up for the audition.”

“And we’re all doing pretty well for ourselves now, so why should we care about that?”

“Why are you defending him?”

“I’m not defending him.  I just don’t understand why you can’t forgive him.  Even though he’s off the drugs, he still has a lot to go through.  He needs friends now, probably more than ever.”

“Well, it’s your choice if you want to forgive him.  I don’t forgive him.  If it wasn’t for his actions, we’d probably be famous by now.”

“Yes, he screwed up with missing the audition and causing us to lose the record deal but that was years ago.  It’s not fair to him to completely write him off because he made a mistake.”

“Whatever Kev.  We’re going to go shop.  Talk to you in a few.”

20 minutes later, Roxie entered the store, holding Ariel’s hand.  When she didn’t see Nick anywhere in the store, she approached the counter where Kevin, AJ, Brian and Howie were talking.  “Hi, sorry to interrupt but do you know where Nick is?”

Ariel was looking around the store hoping to spot her father.  When Nick stepped out of the back room, Ariel said.  “There he is.”  She pointed to the back of the store before running to him screaming, “Daddy,” as she ran to him.  The four young men at the counter looked at each other and each mouthed “daddy?”  When Ariel reached him, he picked her up and put her on his shoulders, while he walked out.

Nick placed Ariel in her car seat and then got into the passenger side of the car.  “Are you okay Nick?”

“I’m okay.  I guess I’m just a little nervous.”

“Well, not to make you more nervous, but um, my older brother showed up.”

“You’re brother?  I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“We were never very close.  We fought all the time as kids and grew even further apart as we got older.”

“So, what should I expect?”

“Expect everything you say can be taking in a negative light.”

“You’re not helping.”

“Sorry.  Don’t worry so much.  I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“I hope so.  I’m not exactly the type of guy that fathers usually want for their little girls, or the type that older brothers like for their little sisters for that matter.”

~*~

20 minutes later, Nick, Roxie and Ariel walked into the house.  They found William and Derek drinking beer in the living room.

Derek turned around when he heard them enter the room.  He stood up and went over to them.  “You must be Nick.”  He said extending his hand.

“Yeah.”

“I’m Derek, Roxie’s older brother.  Would you like a beer?”

“No.”

Roxie smiled.  She was glad that he had found the strength to say no even though the alcohol was less than 10 feet away from him.  “I’m going to go work on dinner.  You guys talk.”

“You know, it’s nice that you’re not drinking because Roxie can’t.”

Nick took a shaky breath.  That wasn’t the reason.  He knew what he was about to say would not look good for him.  “Um, actually, that’s not why I’m not drinking.”  William and Derek looked at Nick confused when he paused.  “I’m a recovering alcoholic.”  He said and looked down.  He didn’t want to see their reaction to that news.

“How long have you been sober?”

“Um, it was 2 years, but now its 5 days.”

“5 days?”  William said.  When Nick nodded, William said.  “I’m going to go help Roxie in the kitchen.”  He walked into the kitchen.  “Do you need any help Rox?”

“No.  Why aren’t you in the living room with Nick and Derek?”

“Roxie, I don’t trust him.”

“What do you mean?”

“A recovering alcoholic.”

“He made a couple of bad choices.  That’s no reason to not give him a chance.”

“You must see something in him; otherwise you wouldn’t be having his baby.  I’m afraid that he’ll hurt you.”

“He wouldn’t hurt me intentionally.”

“I hope you’re right.  I’ll give him a chance for you.”

“Thanks Daddy.  And, he’s going to get help.”

Meanwhile in the living room, “What are your intentions with my sister?”

“I love her.”

“Are you even capable of love?”

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s my experience that people like you are not capable of love.”

“How much experience do you have with people like me?”

“Roxie’s ex-boyfriend was just like you and he almost killed her.”

“You don’t even know me.  How can you say I’m just like him?”

“Abusers are all the same.”  He turned around quickly and headed into the kitchen.  “Dad, let’s go.”

“Derek, what’s wrong?”

Nick walked into the kitchen.  “I refuse to spend any more time with him.”

“So, you’re not going to give my boyfriend a chance because he’s had a problem with alcohol?”

“A recent problem Roxie.  He’s going back to his old ways.  He’s going to hurt you just like the creep before him.” He turned on his heel and began walking out of the kitchen.  “Dad, you coming?”

William sighed.  “I’m sorry Rox.  I’ll come back another day.”  He hugged Roxie and whispered in her ear.  “Don’t worry, I’ll give him a chance.” He followed after Derek.

Roxie looked up at Nick.  “I’m sorry baby.”

He smiled weakly.  “I told you they wouldn’t like me.”