September 02, 2001 Tampa, Florida

Taking a deep cleansing breath Tina wiped her eyes one more time. It had been probably 15 minutes since she had overheard the conversation down by the pool and she was now trying to talk herself into leaving Parker’s bedroom. She didn’t want to go back down there because she was convinced that she couldn’t move in her own house without strange people judging her, and she hated that.

One more deep breath for reassurance and she walked out of the bedroom and straight into someone else in the hallway.

“Oh!” Tina exclaimed in surprise, quick to close Parker’s door so he wouldn’t get woken up by the noise.

“I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”

Wes, a tall, ginger haired man, was one of Nick’s closest non-celebrity friends and had been for years. He had been his confidante when everything had unravelled with Tina three years ago, and was a fairly regular visitor to the house when Nick was around.

“Yes,” Tina chuckled slightly, “You just startled me. I didn’t expect anyone else to be up here.”

“I was headed to the restroom,” Wes explained and the statement unnerved Tina slightly.

Looking towards the stairs then back to the man she looked confused, “There’s two downstairs, as I’m sure you know. Just off the kitchen and...”

“Right,” Wes interrupted with a nod, scratching his head quickly, “I know where they are. To be honest I came in the house and I heard you crying up here.”

“How long have you been in the hallway?”

He looked at her sheepishly, “A couple of minutes, I guess. I wasn’t sure if something was wrong but at the same time I didn’t want to interrupt in case you just wanted to be alone.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Tina dismissed him with a wave of her hand, “Do you need me to show you where the bathrooms are again?”

Ignoring her question Wes directed his gaze down to the end of the hallway, “Can I see the baby?”

Tina suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable being alone with Wes. She liked him well enough but she just couldn’t understand why he would be sitting out in the hallway listening to her cry, or why he would even be interested. He was giving off a strange vibe that she didn’t like, but as much as she wanted to just escort him back downstairs to the party her manners always managed to win her over.

“She’s sleeping, but, sure,” she nodded reluctantly, leading him down the hallway to the nursery where Zoey was napping.

Not wanting to turn on an overhead light and potentially ruin a perfectly good nap Tina hit the crib light, illuminating the baby in a soft glow and treating her to a few lullabies at the same time.

“Aww, she’s so adorable,” Wes smiled and Tina returned the sentiment, both of them looking over the side of the crib.

“Yeah she’s a pretty good baby,” Tina told him in a quiet voice, “She is finally starting to sleep through the night so Nick isn’t up and down all night.”

“He gets up with her?” Wes was clearly surprised to hear that piece of information.

Tina nodded, “Yeah, that’s our deal. I take care of them all day, he lets me get some sleep during the night and he gets to sleep in the next day.”

“She looks a lot like him.”

“She does,” Tina agreed, having heard that from every person that had laid eyes on the child. She truly believed that most people saw what they wanted to see in the baby, which were Nick’s striking features. When she looked at the baby she could see herself there and she thought that as Zoey aged she might start to look more like Mom.

Wes cleared his throat nervously and turned to Tina, “That must be hard for you.”

“Why?” Tina questioned, clearly confused, “She’s his daughter.”

“To spend every day looking at two replicas of the man who treats you like a second class citizen...”

Wes moved forward, his hand coming to rest on Tina’s elbow and she yanked her arm away, “You’ve been drinking all afternoon. I think you need to go back downstairs and back to the party,” she told him, not sure what he was planning to do.

West, considerably larger than her, continued to press forward until she found herself stuck between the wall and the crib. Taking a quick look to make sure the baby was still asleep Tina pressed her hand against his chest to push him away.

Taking it to mean something else he put his hand over hers, “It’s so difficult for me to be here when Nick’s here and not let on that we have this connection.”

“What connection?” Tina asked in all seriousness, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I really think you should go back downstairs.”

“What do you mean ‘what connection’?” he chuckled, “We have this intense chemistry and it’s undeniable. I know the only reason you’re with Nick is because of the kids.”

“That’s not true,” Tina defended, wishing she had some kind of way out of the corner, “I love Nick. I’m with him because I love him and I love our children.”

It was now Wes that looked confused, “But you’re always sending me these signals! You’re always inviting me over for dinner, or asking me to come help you with things...”

“Because you’re Nick’s friend!” she clarified, “I’m just trying to be polite.”

“I’m in love with you,” Wes boldly declared, his hands moving to cup Tina’s face and she tried to pull away.

She tried to turn away from the man and free herself from his grasp but he was holding too tightly. If it weren’t for the sleeping child she would have called out when Wes suddenly leaned forward and kissed her.

“Stop it!” Tina snapped, turning her head away again, “Get out of here! Get away from me!”

A noise distracted them both and Wes quickly pulled away as they realized it was footsteps on the stairs then down the hallway.

Tina was still standing frozen in the corner when Nick walked into the room, sending a curious glance between the two of them then down to the crib.

“What’s going on?” he asked, keeping his voice low as to not wake the baby.

“Nothing,” Wes said so quickly it was clear he was nervous, “Tina was just introducing me to little Zoey here.”

Nick nodded, his eyes still cutting back and forth between the two adults, “Right... well she’s not much for conversation yet so how about you chat with me for a bit?”

“Well...” Wes stalled as he walked towards the door, “We probably shouldn’t leave everybody downstairs alone. They’ll probably trash the place while you’re not looking.”

Nick smiled and shook his head, “It’s no worries, man. I sent them all home. It’s just you and me.”

Tina watched carefully as the two men walked from the room. As soon as the door had been shut she let the breath of air she’d been holding for the past minute out with a whoosh. She put her hand over her fast beating heart, and looked down into the crib once more. Somehow Zoey had managed to stay sleeping through everything that had just happened.

She readjusted the baby’s blankets and made sure the baby monitor was getting good reception before heading for the door.

“Oh my god,” Tina whispered suddenly, turning back to the crib once more, “the baby monitor,” she said aloud to herself, realizing that the receiver had been downstairs, outside, and that she wasn’t the only person overhearing conversations that day - Nick had heard everything.