July 08, 2005 Cleveland, Ohio

After talking to Brian on the phone that night Nick had waited. He waited a full week until he was contacted. Not by Tina, but by a lawyer in Ohio wanting to work out the details of his visitation with the kids. That's when it all had seemed incredibly real to him. In his head he had imagined that Tina would call him and he would recite a prepared speech apologizing for everything that had happened. She would accept his apology and they would work things out.

In reality though she didn't want to speak to him; she had moved home, back to Cleveland, and hired someone else to talk to him for her. She even went so far as to ensure that she would have money to hire the lawyer by cashing the blank cheque Nick had given her at Christmas. A few days after he'd come home his accountant had called him demanding to know what he had spent $50,000 on the previous day. He had been to Taco Bell for lunch but had certainly not spent fifty grand. He knew exactly where the money had gone though, and rather than raise any red flags he simply explained that the money was for his kids and left the other man wondering.

Nick got himself a lawyer as soon as he'd gotten the call from Tina's and had the two of them duke it out over custody. Nick didn't want to draw it out any more than it needed to be but he had his rights. He consumed himself in working on his solo album in the meantime to get through the hard times but the stress was powerful. He gave his all into promoting the record, ensuring that anyone who asked knew that songs like ‘I Got You’, and ‘Do I Have To Cry For You?’ were musical messages for his ex-girlfriend. Despite the hard work the album was a flop, just another thing to add to his list of growing failures. He found himself not even caring about the lack of success, only concerned with getting through the tour so he could see his kids again.

For three years he had seen them for a week every other month, and on alternating holidays but summer marked the end of their routine. They wouldn't be able to continue with Parker expected to start school in the fall, he needed the consistency of being in class.

The arrangement also meant that Nick had to fly to Cleveland each time to pick them up. They were too young to fly as unaccompanied minors and he didn't like the idea of spending all of his time with them in a hotel room; he wanted them to be in their home so they wouldn't forget about it.

Like clockwork he would wait in the arrivals area of Hopkins International Airport waiting anxiously for Lynn to arrive. The last words he'd spoken to Tina were during the last fight they'd had before he went to Sweden to record. He hadn't seen her or heard from her since. If he had issues with visitation that went through lawyers and the courts and if he had issues with the kids themselves it went through Lynn. She had become a face he actually looked forward to seeing if only because of who she always had with her.

Nick's face broke into a smile and he stood up from the plastic seat he was waiting in as he saw Lynn walking through the concourse, Parker holding tightly onto her hand while Zoey was held up against her hip.

"Daddy!" Parker exclaimed, pulling away from his grandmother so he could break into a run. Nick dropped to his knees in the middle of the airport, and Parker launched himself at his father, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck.

"I'm so happy to see you!" Nick smiled despite the tears that were pooling in his eyes, "I missed you so much. Look how big you are!"

"Daddy, look!" Parker pulled out of the hug and opened his mouth, reaching in to wiggle one of his front bottom teeth around, "Muh toof ist wiggy!" he announced around his finger with a goofy grin.

The sight made Nick both happy and depressed. Happy because Parker was growing up but depressed because he was going to miss the day that tooth finally fell out, and he wouldn't get to help him pull it the rest of the way out or tell him the story of the tooth fairy before bed that night. Instead it would be an afterthought that no one would think to tell him about.

Parker was going to be seven by Thanksgiving and he was every bit the rambunctious little boy that Nick was at his age. The split had been hard on both the kids but more so on Zoey. She wasn't even a year old when it had all happened so Nick had assumed that she wouldn't remember any of the drama but she had. The pediatrician had said it was stress but it was the day before her third birthday and Zoey still wasn't talking... to Nick. From what Lynn had told him she chatted up a storm with them but as soon as she was in his presence she clammed up for some reason. The only word he ever heard from her was Daddy, and it was usually said during fits of hysterical crying which is how she spent the majority of their visits.

He'd taken the girl to countless specialists back in Florida and they had all told him the same thing; give it time. Nick had explained to all of them that as a baby he had always been close to Zoey and one doctor was convinced that it was a contributing factor to her separation anxiety. He said that Zoey didn't have a way to express how she really felt so she clammed up. Nick felt like she hated him half the time but in reality it was just a reaction to how badly she missed him.

Nick stood as soon as Lynn reached them and he smiled at her slightly, having pledged to remain civil during their exchanges. Parker's arms were wrapped around his waist and Nick rested his hand on the boy's blonde head with a smile.

"Hi Nick," Lynn greeted, giving him the same forced smile in return.

"Was Tina too busy to come?" Nick asked with mock innocence, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He drew his attention to Zoey who had her face buried in Lynn's neck, "Hey Princess, you gonna come with Daddy?"

Zoey turned slightly, peering at him through a veil of straight, fine platinum hair. Her demeanor turned from hesistant to hysterical almost instantly and she burst into tears.

"Daddy," she wailed, holding out her arms to him.

Nick sighed heavily but still grabbed the girl from her grandmother's embrace, pulling her close. This was her usual routine. Every time he spoke to her she cried. She always opted to be carried over walking and when she wasn't crying she wasn't saying anything at all. She was clutching Jerome in her hand, the same giraffe that Nick had saved from her crib when they'd left. He'd returned it to her the first time they'd been reunited and now she was never without it. It was missing an eye and the head was floppy on the worn out neck but Zoey loved it. Nick liked to think it was how she kept him close even when he wasn't there.

Lynn was putting the kid's bags down at his feet and Nick caught her eye as she stood, "Tell Tina I hope she's really happy," he sarcastically said in a deadpan tone, barely audible over Zoey's cries.

Lynn held her hands up in defense, "I'm not getting involved," she stated and turned to start walking away.

"You couldn't have done that three years ago?" Nick called out to her retreating form, shaking his head. He turned back to Zoey and rubbed her back, "There's no crying on your birthday baby," he tried to ploy her, kissing her forehead, "We're gonna have lots of fun."

"Her birfday is tomorrow," Parker pointed out with a smile, proud he remembered.

"Yeah it is," Nick nodded then started picking up the bags, balancing them with one child in his arms and one still hanging on to his waist.

"Are we going on the plane now?" Parker asked as Nick hiked a duffel over his shoulder.

He grabbed the little boy's hand and started walking with him through the airport, "Nope, no plane this time," he told him, feeling the tear stain on his shoulder growing bigger, "We're going to our new apartment."