The hot water pounded on his tight back as Nick willed it to untie the knots in his muscles. He and Lexie had barely slept all night; both restless and awkward in bed together.

He did not need to hear the actual words last night. He had all the proof he would ever need by the look on her face. He loved her and accepting that she had been with another man was nothing compared to living his life without her. So, he forgave her. Still, he had to deal with his own feelings before he could honestly be with her again. Nick closed his eyes as he remembered last night.

She had offered herself to him, but he had declined her tearful plea to make love.

Her lips were swollen under his kisses and her body bent to his passion. However, it had only been a week since he had seen her with Jake. Gently, he laid her on her back on the bed.

"Nick?" Her dark eyes opened onto his face above her. His face was flushed with the same warmth of their passions she was feeling.

"I love you, Lexie. I will always love you." He told her, his own voice a little tearful. He raised his eyes to look into her face, and her breath seemed to catch in her throat. "I promise."

She had been stunned speechless, and Nick just took her in his arms and felt her fight back the tears. He knew she did not want to cry in front of him anymore.

Nick pushed the water from his face and ran his hands over his head. He stepped from the stream and knotted the extra water from his hair. He reached down, turned off the faucet, and stepped from the shower.

There was no telling what the future held for them. He knew it would be hell trying to get back what they had lost. He was not willing to let go and by her almost confession, he knew she was not either.

It relieved some of the sickness in his stomach, but he still felt out of sorts.

He pushed his feelings aside for his performance today and focused on getting through this video shoot. It would simply have to be one thing at a time. When this day was over, Nick would deal with his marriage, wife, and family.

He reached for a towel and stepped from the shower, letting the thick fabric dry his body. He looked at himself in the mirror.

Jake had taken advantage of Lexie. Regardless of what Lexie thought of her friend, Jake had known she was vulnerable, and he had preyed on that. Nick could only imagine what he had said to her, but when this was over, he would deal with Jake Richardson, too.

They agreed to eat breakfast out, but while Nick was in the shower, Lexie had fallen back asleep on the bed. She was dressed in jeans and a tee shirt with her dark hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. She slept deeply and Nick didn't want to wake her. She looked so tired. She was thin again, too.

He leaned in the doorway and watched her sleep. Her face was so relaxed; not creased in the permanent scowl she had these days. All he could think of was having her beneath him and loving her; smoothing away the angry and scared lines of her face and enjoying her again.

I need to know, Lexie. Am I really the man you want now? I know you love me, but do you want me?

With a shake to clear his head, Nick walked to the edge of the bed and gently put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hon? You need to wake up. We need to get something to eat and get to the location." He softly said.

"Huh? Did I fall asleep?" She moaned as she sat up. He absently used his fingers to fix her hair and then leaned over to kiss her warm forehead. "I guess I did."

"You did." He smiled. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, I just need to grab a compact and my purse." She got off the bed, went through her makeup bag and took out the compact she wanted and then they went downstairs to get her purse and leave.

As he drove, Nick watched from the corner of his eye as she powdered her nose by the light of her visor. Her fingers danced lightly across her skin, blending here and there until she was done. The small gold case snapped shut, and she tucked it into her purse.

God, how he missed those little things.

The video shoot was long, and it was nearly 2 a.m. before they finished. Lexie had slept on and off in the trailer, and she had been relatively quiet all day. The shoot was about Nick, and he was the center of attention.

It gave her plenty of time to think about things. She thought about what Nick had said and done last night. She remembered how he didn't want to make love and how he had forgiven her. She had never truly known the depth of Nick's love until that moment. No anger, no blame, no threats. He had just given her the continued promise of his love.

She felt ashamed of herself. She had failed him. She had broken her promise to him and to herself. How could she do something like that? How could she have been so weak? How could she have been so stupid?

Nick was warm and attentive to her when he wasn't busy. He was amazing; utterly amazing. She knew she would spend the rest of her life making it up to him.

By the time they were back at the house, exhaustion took them both into a deep sleep. They woke a few hours later in order to make time to visit with Leah and the children for lunch before heading home.

"What time are they expecting us home?" Lexie asked Nick as they finished packing the last of their things.

"Some time after lunch." He replied, zipping his bag shut. "Cook is going to do dinner."

"That's great of her. We should give her Monday and Tuesday off."

"Well, with Victoria Winslow coming to the house, I doubt we could get her to take the day off." He smiled as he let his bag fall to the floor with a clunk. "Make sure you get everything. I have to leave the key on the counter and set the alarm when we leave. There won't be any getting back in once we're out."

"Sure thing."

He moved past her, stopped and gave her a friendly kiss on the lips with a warm smile. "I'll see you downstairs."

She returned his smile as he moved past her and carried his bag downstairs.

Lexie finished the last of her packing and joined him 15 minutes later. He loaded the car, locked up the house, and they headed to Leah and Howie's for lunch.

"So, you're going to be here Tuesday, right? For when your dad walks." Leah asked Lexie over the hustle of the kids scrambling out of the kitchen to play with Nick in the back yard.

"Wouldn't miss it for anything." Lexie smiled as she helped her mother clear the dishes from lunch. "I'm glad Lynne was able to wait the one day so I can finish that interview with Vicki Winslow."

"Honey, you look tired. Is everything okay?" Leah asked her as they stood at the kitchen sink. Leah didn't seem to notice Lexie's mention of the interview. She had done a few during her marriage with Howie. Lexie realized she had never told her mother about the situation with Christine and it seemed as though no one else had either.

"It's been a long couple of weeks." Lexie sighed as she looked out into the backyard watching Nick playing basketball with the boys.

"Lex, AJ. . .well, everyone actually, has been hinting that there is something wrong with you and Nick."

Lexie let out a huge sigh and tipped back her head. She finally leveled her gaze at her mother. "Yeah, we've been having some problems." Lexie admitted. "I didn't want anyone to tell you because of Dad and all. . ."

"Honey, what is it? You can tell me."

"I. . . Christine is at the house. CJ's mother."

"What?!" Leah gasped.

"She contacted us a few months ago, back when we were still living in L.A. She wanted to see CJ because she's dying. Nick refused, and she left L.A. to return home." Lexie explained.

"He's letting her now?"

"Yes, but only. . .I kind of forced him."

"Lexie, what did you do?"

"I hired a private detective to track her down. I went to her, invited her to stay at the house during her last days. She and her 4-year-old son, Scotty, are living in the pool house."

"And you never told Nick?!"

"Not until she was almost in Tampa. He was a little upset."

"I can just imagine. How could you do a thing like that, Lexie?" Her mother admonished her.

"I thought I was doing the right thing. I wanted CJ to know her mother before she passed away. Nick didn't care. He wanted to wait until after she was dead, and that wasn't right. What if CJ found out the truth? What if she found out that her father knew where her mother was and that she was dying and never gave her a chance to know her? That wasn't right, either." Lexie defended herself.

"I gather Nick was angry with you." Leah crossed her arms as she faced her daughter.

"He's been living on and off here in Orlando for weeks."

"What about CJ? Does she know now?"

"Yes. She figured it out, and we hired a professional to help us all with the transition and Christine's death." Lexie lowered her eyes to the floor at her mother's judgmental stance. "I screwed up, Mom, I know. I almost lost him." She added quietly.

Leah thought she was talking about Christine, but Lexie knew she meant what she had done with Jake. That was something she would never tell her mother.

"Yes. He moved back last weekend. CJ insisted. We just used this weekend to let Chris and CJ spend time together and for us to get away. Cook has been at the house all weekend keeping an eye on things for us."

"You make things sound like they are under control, but I can't believe you would do something like that, Lexie." Leah sighed. "It was incredibly stupid to try and trick Nick like that."

"I know." The tears began to well up in Lexie's eyes. "I'm sorry, Mom. I thought I was doing the right thing."

Leah reached out and took hold of Lexie's arms. Tears ran down Lexie's face as she looked up at her mother.

"No, I'm sorry, Lexie. I should have known something was wrong." Leah began. She wished she had something left to give her daughter, but almost losing Howie had drained her. Leah shared the one piece of wisdom she had gained over the last couple of weeks.

"I've almost lost my husband." She reached up and wiped Lexie's face. "Every day is so precious, Lexie. Treasure every moment and don't let one slip by you. There is no way to tell how much time that you have left. Don't squander it with childish behavior. He's the most important man in your life, Lexie, outside of your father, of course."

Lexie chuckled with her mother over the thought of Howie's indignation at the thought he was less important in her life than her husband. In Howie's eyes, no man would ever be more to her than he was. There was a time when Lexie might have agreed with that, but after Nick's love and forgiveness the other night, there would be no denying Nick's rightful place in her heart.

"You have a good talk with your mom?" Nick asked as he drove them back home to Tampa.

"I told her about Christine and what I did to get her to Tampa."

"What did she say?"

"Other than how disappointed she was with me?" Lexie sighed tiredly. She leaned her head back on the leather headrest. "Wait, there isn't anything else. That about covers it."

"She said that?"

"In so many words." She closed her eyes.

"I can't agree with what you did, but I understand it." Nick told her.

Nick said, "What are you going to do about AJ? Did she ask how you two were getting along?"

"That bastard?" Lexie snapped.

"He is your father and he loves. . ."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll talk to him." She moaned.

"I don't understand what the problem is."

"Of course you don't, you're too close to it." She snapped.

"Excuse me?" He snapped back.

"My own father took the side of his best friend rather than the side of his daughter."

"He thought you were wrong."

"He should have stayed out of it. " Lexie sighed. I know where his loyalties really lie.

"You're his daughter, he can't stay out of it." Nick smiled. Lexie refused to comment. "I think the problem is you two are too much alike for your own good."

"I wouldn't go that far." She said coldly.

"No, really you are."

"I'm nothing like my father." She mumbled.

"Sure you are. You're both hotheads and very emotionally driven. AJ has always been that way. You're both as stubborn as the day is long." Nick chuckled.

"I never abandoned anyone, Nick. I might fuck things up, but I've never abandoned anyone."

Nick was taken back, but then he asked her, "What about when you ran to Seattle?"

"I didn't wait 10 years to come back. At least I can admit when I fuck up." She snapped. "My real father taught me that."

Nick was never going to understand. Sure she and AJ had found each other and had reconciled, but it didn't erase the pain. Whenever he turned on her, like he did when she had problems with Nick, it just twisted the knife in her heart.

"AJ is your real father, Lexie."

"He was the sperm donor. A father is someone who raises you, gives you a home and teaches you what is important. If I was anything like AJ, really like AJ, I wouldn't even be here right now." She looked over at him in the car. "I would have left you ages ago, but I didn't."

"No, you didn't." He admitted with a nod of his head. "AJ doesn't stand a chance against Howie, does he?"

"It's never been a competition, Nick. I've always been willing to accept AJ for who and what he is. AJ is the one who makes it a competition. He's the one who can't deal with his mistake."

"He did come back. He does love you."

"If you left CJ, even if you came back and she forgave you, do you really think you'd forgive yourself?" Lexie asked him.

"I don't think so." He moaned softly.

"So, what makes you think AJ has?" Lexie shrugged as she looked out her window at the passing scenery. "What makes you think that Christine has?"