Lexie woke the next morning to the alarm she set so she could get to the pool house and get CJ ready for school. Nick woke with her, but was still in bed when she headed down stairs in her robe.

She padded across the living room and headed into the kitchen to start some coffee. Cook wasn't there yet; she had a doctor's appointment and would be in a little later.

Lexie heard little knuckles rapping on the glass door and turned blurry eyes to find Scotty standing there and staring inside. He knocked again when he saw her. She made her way to the door and opened it up to let him in.

"Hey, baby." She yawned. "Are you ready for breakfast all ready?"

"My mommy won't wake up." He said plainly.

"What?" Lexie knelt down in front of him. "What did you say?"

"I tried to wake her, but she won't wake up. She's cold."

"Oh, Jesus." Lexie stood up. "Nick! Nick!" She yelled. "Nick, get up!"

She heard him run down the hall, and he leaned over the top of the stairs in nothing but his boxers. His hair fell about him like a curtain.

"I think it's time. I think she's gone." She told him.

"Where is CJ?"

"She's still over there."

Let me get a shirt." Nick ran back to the bedroom, pulled on shorts and a T-shirt, and with his hair still loose, he ran down barefoot to the pool house.

Lexie was checking for a pulse, but by her color, Christine had died sometime during the night. She had let the children sleep on the couches and she had gone to the bedroom.

"I'll call the ambulance."

"Dad? What happened?" CJ asked from behind him. He knelt down and picked her up into his arms.

"I'm sorry, CJ, but Christine passed away last night." He whispered.

"What?" She peered over his shoulder and when Lexie moved out of the way, she saw her mother asleep on the bed. "No, she's just asleep."

"No, honey, she's not." Nick finalized for her.

Lexie picked up Scotty and held him. "Do you want to say goodbye?" Lexie asked him.

"Why won't she wake up?" He asked her.

"Scotty, you're mother has passed away. Remember we told you that was going to happen one day?"

"Did she die?"

"Yes, honey, she did." Lexie told him.

"She looks really quiet." Scotty looked over at his mother's peaceful form.

"CJ, do you need to say goodbye, too?" Nick asked her.

"But she was okay yesterday." CJ stammered. She looked over at her Dad. "I had to tell her some more things."

"You can still tell her if you want to. That would be okay." Nick told her.

"But she won't hear me, she's already dead!"

"CJ, she can still hear you. Her spirit can still hear you." Lexie sat with Scotty on a chair next to the bed. "I can still talk to my mom, even though she's not right here with me."

Nick put CJ down, and they moved into the bedroom until CJ stood beside Lexie, next to the bed. Nick knelt on one knee beside her, one arm still around her tiny shoulders.

"I was just telling her stories about growing up with my dad and going on tour and stuff like that." CJ began and then she looked toward Lexie. "What do you talk to your mom about?"

"All sorts of things." Lexie shrugged.

"What are we going to do now?" CJ asked Nick.

"Well, we have to call the ambulance, and they are going to take her to the funeral home so we can have the memorial service."

"Are we still going to do that?"

"Of course." Nick nodded.

"Do I have to go to school today?"

"No, not today." Nick gave her a little squeeze. "Are you guys going to be okay?"

Both of the children nodded, 'yes'.

"Are you ready for Nick to call?"

"Can I give her a kiss?" CJ asked.

"Of course."

"Me, too?" Scotty asked from Lexie's lap.

"Yes." Lexie stood up and held Scotty as he leaned over and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you, mommy." He whispered in her ear.

CJ turned toward Nick, who picked her up, took Lexie's place, and leaned across Christine's body.

"No, I don't want to." CJ pulled back and so did Nick.

"That's okay." Nick set her down, and they all left the bedroom together.

Lexie set down Scotty and told the children to head toward the house and that she would be right there. She reached out laid a hand on Nick's arm to keep him from speaking out.

When they were gone, Nick asked her, "What's up?"

Lexie reached into the pocket of her robe and pulled out three large, empty medication bottles.

"I found these on the bed stand."

Nick picked them up and read the labels. "That selfish bitch."

"It probably doesn't matter. She was dying anyway."

"Fuck." He muttered as he turned toward the breakfast bar and picked up the phone. Nick dialed the number posted there and turned to face Lexie. She had already gone to the house to be with the children.

The children ate very little, but Lexie was able to distract them long enough to get them showered and into play clothes. Nick made all the arrangements, slipping into proper clothes by the time the ambulance crew arrived to remove Christine and take her to the funeral home. He filled out the paperwork, signed a release for the body, and told them to send the death certificate to him.

The children stood at the sliding glass door and watched with curiosity as Nick dealt with the crew removing the body. Eliza, the hospice nurse, arrived for work and Nick told her what happened as they stood outside of the pool house. She came in and gave her condolences to the children and left. The ambulance pulled away from the front of the house, and Nick entered from the front door and faced the three of them.

"Did you guys eat some breakfast?" He asked them.

"I'm not hungry." CJ said sadly.

Lexie picked up Scotty, who was clinging to the hem of her long shirt.

"Why don't we go to the family room and read some books? We can just spend some time together." Lexie suggested.

"That sounds fine." Nick smiled softly for the sake of the children. "I'm going to get a cup of coffee first. You guys want some?" He asked all of them.

"We don't drink coffee, Dad!" CJ moaned.

"I just thought I'd offer." He smiled as he turned and headed toward the kitchen.

Lexie took the children to the family room and that was where Nick found them; sitting on the floor with all kinds of books spread out around them. Some of the titles were about death and losing someone, others were the standard children's stories. Nick brought his coffee cup and sank to the floor to join them. CJ crawled into his lap and together they read all the books they could find.

Nick was on and off the phone all day, making arrangements and calling family and friends and explaining what had happened. He had called Cook earlier and gave her the rest of the day off. He and Lexie wanted the children's full attention all day and they would take care of them.

Naptime was tearful for Scotty, but he finally fell asleep in Nick and Lexie's bed when CJ promised to lay down with him. She drifted off, too.

"When is the service?" Lexie asked Nick as they backed out of the room and closed the door.

"The soonest they could do it was Wednesday afternoon."

"That should be fine. The sooner, the better."

"I spoke with the therapist, too. She said we could call any time if we had any problems. I told her so far, things were quiet."

"So far." Lexie sighed as Nick took her in his arms. "Did you tell the medics about the pills?"

"No point." He rested his chin on the top of her head. "They don't need to know that."

"I agree." She nodded. "Well, they might not be hungry, but I'm starved."

"Yeah, me, too. Let's grab something before they wake up." Nick agreed and they walked downstairs into the kitchen.

Over cold sandwiches and more coffee, they shared their thoughts on what should and should not happen.

"Did you call mom?"

"Yeah. She understands you won't make it for a couple days. She's going to tell Howie a friend of yours died after a long illness and you had to help make arrangements."

"I'm sure that will be fine."

"I want you to remodel the pool house as soon as possible. Get rid of the furniture in there."

"Nick, I just had it done when we moved in. . ."

"I don't want any reminders in there. I want them to be able to use the pool house."

"Alright, but it may take some time. We still have to move the rest of Scotty's things into the house and pack away some of her things as mementos for the children."

"I'm sure Cook can take care of that."

"I think I'd better do it."

"Whatever." He sighed.

"Thanks for handling everything. I hadn't expected that."

"No problem. You had your hands full with the children. I don't know that I would have done any better with them."

"You've been fine."

"What should we do this afternoon after they wake up?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll let them decide."

"Well, she timed it right. At least I have the next couple weeks off before I have to start promoting the album." He sighed. "I had hoped we could fly back to L.A. and see Aaron and Jill."

"I'm sure all of this has thrown them for a loop. They knew her when she was with you."

"Yeah. She wasn't really close to anyone in the family. I guess maybe Jill." Nick shrugged. "Jill was sorry to hear she had died."

"Who else did you call?"

"Mom, Aaron, Jill, Sabrina. . ."

"Do you feel the same about the adoption?"

"Yes, we won't tell him until after it's final. Then he won't be able to do anything about it. I don't want Scotty tossed around between us. Kevin's in no position to take care of him. He doesn't even know Kevin."

"Are you really going to tell Kevin?"

"Oh yeah, I'm going to tell him." Nick sounded so bitter.

"Nick?"

"There are quite a few things I'm going to tell him." Nick lifted his coffee cup to tight lips. His blue eyes shone like steel.

"Nick, please don't make it worse."

"I won't. I'm just going to make some things very clear to those Richardsons, once and for all."

The children woke two hours later and asked to go to the pool house. They decided on their own to start packing Christine's things up. Nick and Lexie let them decide what things they wanted to keep and the things they didn't care for.

Scotty was clinging to both Nick and Lexie. Lexie was moved by Nick's tenderness, but not surprised by it. He always loved well and completely, once he fell in love. Her knuckles smoothed his cheek, and her heart swelled with love for him. Perhaps she was on the verge of understanding him; understanding how Nick Carter loved and why it was fulfilling every broken part of her heart ever since it was abandoned by AJ McLean.

Scotty decided not to keep too many of his old toys, and Nick did have to convince him he did have to keep most of his clothes. It was as if he was trying to rid himself of his past by telling them that he didn't need these things in his new house.

While the children sorted through things, CJ found a box holding two photo albums and when she saw pictures of her parents together, she insisted Nick tell her the stories. So much of those Scotty didn't understand, and he cried as Nick and CJ relived a past he didn't understand. Lexie was able to distract him, but to explain to a 4-year-old that his mother had a life before him was impossible.

By dinnertime, they had moved all of Scotty's things to his room next to the master bedroom and sorted through Christine's things, which were few. CJ really wanted pizza for dinner and asked if they could go out. Scotty looked tired and stressed, but Nick and Lexie decided the distraction of a noisy pizza parlor might do him some good.

The distractions did him wonders, but he fell asleep at the table and as CJ and Nick played a little longer, Lexie sat with him nestled in her arms. They took him home a while later, put him down in his room, and then fell into bed themselves.

"So, how are the arrangements going?" Leah asked Lexie as she and Scotty stood in the PT room with her.

"The services are tomorrow. We're not expecting a lot of people."

"Let me know what time and I'll be there."

"Oh, Mom, you don't have to."

"I want to be there for CJ, at least. Any of Nick's family coming in?"

"His mother, Aaron, and Jane. Jill's getting too far along to fly now." Lexie told her. "BJ might make it up from Palm Beach, and I think Brian and Leighanne are coming."

"Well, as long you guys have a few friends and family around you. Maybe I should tell your Uncle John."

"Oh, don't get everyone involved."

"Well, someone should be there for you guys." Leah smiled as she tapped Scotty's nose. "Those are some pretty green eyes you have, sweetheart." Scotty was bashful and hid his face in Lexie's neck. "Have you explained the family to him, yet?"

"No, except that you're my mom. CJ told him that AJ was his Poppy, though." Lexie smiled.

"Well, all little boys need Poppys." Leah agreed.

"How's Dad doing?"

"See for yourself. He's made great improvement. They are pretty sure they can help him speak, but they won't let him go home until he gets a few words out."

Howie finished his session and Lynne put Caroline in his lap to hold as she wheeled them to where Leah and Lexie were.

"Here they are, all safe and sound." Lynne smiled at them. "Who is this little guy?"

"This is Scotty. He's going to live with me and Nick from now on." She smiled as Scotty continued to hide in her neck.

Howie's brow knitted up as he looked at her. Lexie noticed and said, "Let's get back to your room and I'll explain it."

Lynne headed back to his room and Leah asked her, "Are you sure?"

"I don't know why not. He has to know and he might get upset, but what else can we do?"

"Oh, alright." Leah agreed.

Once settled into Howie's room, Caroline played at his feet with some toys and shyly, Scotty joined her. Howie reached out and tapped Lexie's arm.

"It's a really long story, Dad, can I give you the short version for his sake?" Lexie nodded toward Scotty.

He nodded his agreement.

"Scotty's mother is Christine James, CJ's mother. She contacted us a few months ago because she was dying and wanted to see CJ. She has been living at our house for the last couple weeks. She passed away yesterday. Nick and I have agreed to adopt Scotty."

Howie shook his head 'no' and looked completely sad and then he was frustrated with not being able to communicate.

"You and CJ have a good day?" Lexie turned Scotty loose in the backyard as she and Nick stood on the deck.

"We stopped by her school and picked up her work for the next week. I'll keep her out until Monday." Nick told her. "How was Scotty?"

"He was shy, but after awhile he was talking to my mom. He tried to talk to Dad, but I don't think he knew that Dad couldn't talk back."

"I haven't seen Howie in two weeks. I need to go for a visit. Maybe that's something CJ will want to do this week."

"It sounds like he'll be home pretty soon. Mom's converting the office into a downstairs bedroom. The kids are moving things around the house for him. Uncle John and Aunt Angie are keeping things running over there."

"That's good."

"Grandma and Grandpa are pretty upset though at seeing Howie like this."

"I can imagine." Nick nodded. "It's hard to watch someone you love struggle so hard."

"It is."

"Cook has stripped the linens out of the pool house. I still want to remodel it. Cook told me it was wrong of me to do that and I should leave it."

Lexie shrugged. "We can update the furniture if we want later. Right now, everything in there is brand new. It really would be a waste of money to completely remodel it."

"I know, I know. I want other people to use the place without it creeping them out. I sure didn't think she'd actually kill herself in the damn pool house. I thought she'd die in the hospital." Nick grunted as he leaned over the rail on his elbow.

"The pool house is the least of our problems. Don't you worry about it." She chuckled as she put an arm over his hunched shoulders. "How about dinner on the beach tonight?"

"That's fine." He shrugged.

"I'll talk to Cook about arranging a little cookout for everyone." She turned and walked inside after planting a small kiss on his cheek.

He watched her slim, sexy form move across the patio and wished that he could know for sure that she was going to stay with him. That was the bottom line of it, really. If she really wanted him, then he would know if she would say. If he knew for sure, then he wouldn't have to worry about any other Jake Richardsons showing up in the future. Or Kevin Richardsons in his past.