Chapter One-Hundred-Eighty-Two
After spending about two hours at Olive Garden preparing for Nick’s romantic surprise for Ashley, Brian and AJ came back with all of the kids and Laney. When they arrived back at the house they said hi to everyone and then the two of them headed upstairs to tell Nick that everything is ready. When they walked into Nick and Ashley’s bedroom they found the two of them and Abbie lying in bed. Ashley is asleep and Nick is just lying there watching her like he promised while she lay on top of him. Nick looked up at them curiously as they walked in though.
“What’s up Brian? AJ?”
“Everything is ready for you, all you have to do is get her down there. We’ll get everything set up here while you’re gone.”
“Okay I just need to wake sleeping beauty up first and she’ll kill me if I don’t let her get ready.” Brian and AJ nodded in agreement and Nick looked down at Ashley as she lay there sleeping peacefully. She looks so comfortable he almost doesn’t want to wake her up. But he knows he has to so he forced himself to lightly nudge her.
“Ashley baby…wake up.”
“Hmm?” Ashley mumbled and she opened her eyes slightly and looked up at him.
“Hi sweetie…I’m really sorry that I’m waking you up but I need you to get up and get ready to go somewhere okay?”
“My surprise Nicky?” Ashley asked and he could hear the excitement in her voice even though she is still very tired.
“Mhm,” he answered while smiling some and he sat up with her causing her to sit up so she is straddling his lap. He smiled at her and tucked a strand of her messy hair back behind her ears as he kissed her forehead softly, and she noticed AJ and Brian for the first time.
“Hi sweetheart, did you have a nice nap?” Brian questioned.
“Mhm,” Ashley answered as she rested her head against Nick’s shoulder and she sat there trying her hardest to wake up all the way. When she finally did she crawled out of Nick’s lap and out of bed.
"What kind of surprise is this Nicky? A causal surprise or a formal surprise?" Nick looked over at Brian and AJ for this answer.
“An in between kind of surprise," AJ answered. "Wear something nice but it doesn't have to be too formal either." Ashley raised her eyebrow and glanced over at her boyfriend with a mixture of curiosity and excitement and he just grinned at her.
"Alex can you get my sister up here for me?"
"Do I have to?" AJ whined somewhat and Ashley narrowed her eyes at him. AJ groaned and then got up and walked out of the room. He went over to the railing of the stairs and shouted down there.
"KORI! ASHLEY WANTS YOU!"
"Coming!" he heard Kori call after him and he walked back into Nick and Ashley's room.
"She's coming."
"Well I could have done that," Ashley informed him while rolling her eyes some.
"Good then next time you can do it," AJ told her sweetly.
"What is going on between the two of you?"
"Nothing, she's the one who insists she hates me." Ashley shook her head and went over to the closet and she gazed into it indecisively and a second later Kori came into the room.
“What’s up sis?” She asked while ignoring AJ completely.
“I need you to help me decide what to wear. Nick, Brian, AJ…out!” Nick gaped at Ashley in surprise and she looked over at him with a sort of ‘yes?’ kind of stare.
“I can’t believe this, I am being kicked out of my own room,” Nick whined, making it sound like she is making him sleep on the couch for the night.
“Well of course I am! This is our first normal date out of our entire relationship I am taking full advantage of it. Out!”
“Do it Nick, this will give us a chance to talk to you” Brian insisted as he watched the young couple in love before his very eyes. Nick got up from the bed grumbling to himself and he kissed Ashley’s cheek before going over to the closet. He pulled down the nicest clothes that he has with him on the trip and he followed Brian and AJ out of the room, AJ patting him on the back though he is wearing a very amused look on his face.
“I love you Nicky!” Ashley called after him sweetly and he chuckled.
“Yeah, yeah…” he replied while walking away and Ashley smirked and shut the door locking it behind him. She turned and looked at her sister to find her already pulling clothes down from the closet looking very happy that her younger sister had picked her out of all the other females in the house to help her pick out an outfit to wear on her ‘first date’.
“Gosh Ash, think you have enough t-shirts here?” She asked while tossing stuff onto the bed.
“It’s all I wear. I haven’t had very many semi-formal events happen in my life you know.” Kori nodded and turned her back on Ashley to look in her closet for more clothes, and it made it a whole lot easier to keep herself from getting upset. She knows if it weren’t for her Ashley would have had more formal events. Like her homecoming…prom…all of those things that she had to miss out on because of her and Sean. Without even trying to or knowing it Ashley had made her feel much worse then she already does. But she can’t let her see this. She has to be strong for her on her special night. She doesn’t want anything to ruin it. If she has it her way, she will still at least get to have this and her special wedding day later on in her life. When she had the rest of her sister’s clothes out of the closet and in her arms she turned and dropped them onto the bed and she smiled at her.
“Well we’re in luck, my younger sister managed to bring something other then t-shirts on this trip. How about this shirt?” She asked while holding up a black metallic top with a chain mesh tank strap and a ruche shoulder with a three-quarter sleeve.
“What would I wear it with?” Kori looked her clothes over again and after a few seconds she grabbed up some black flare pants.
“These. You would look so-oo…nice. You should take a shower and get the little bit of hair dye that managed to stain your forehead off and then I will blow dry it and do something nice with it.” Ashley raised her eyebrow.
“Oh come on! Let me be a sister for once please? And where is your makeup? Let me look through it.”
“It’s in the bathroom,” Ashley answered while shaking her head a little bit, though she loves the very much needed sister time. Kori grabbed Ashley’s arm and pulled her into the bathroom suddenly with a look on her face like she is on a mission and she began to dump the little bag of makeup onto the counter and go through it.
“Take a shower! Don’t mind me I’ll just be looking at your makeup and deciding what you need.” Ashley rolled her eyes in amusement and she stepped into the shower and closed the curtain behind her before getting undressed. When she was she turned the water on and did as her sister told her to and took a shower.
~*~*~*~*~
“Where did you hide the promise ring at, Bri?” Nick asked when they were all kicked out and had gone into Brian’s room.
“Right here,” Brian answered while pulling the bag out from under the bed and he set it down on the bed.
“I want to see it! Let me see it please?” AJ pleaded, sounding almost as excited as Kori had earlier. Nick shook his head smiling.
“You and Kori are a lot alike I swear. It’s almost as if the two of you were siblings by blood and not by adoption papers.” AJ shook his head irritably.
“Don’t remind me.” Nick chuckled. “Are you going to let me see it or what?”
“I wasn’t planning on it. I want Ashley to see it first.”
“But he got to see it!” AJ pouted, pointing his finger at Brian accusingly. “And Dakota and Josh!”
“I’m the best friend, I get more privileges.”
“I’m the brother,” AJ argued and he looked at Nick with narrowed eyes. “Who is being very nice and supportive about your relationship with my young sister.”
“Only because if you weren’t, you would be called a hypocrite. And anyhow you seem to be throwing a lot of tantrums lately…it is like you and Nick have suddenly switched bodies or something weird like that.” Nick raised his eyebrow at Brian.
“Watch it you. Or I’ll start taking privileges away.”
“Come on Nick please? I at least deserve to see the ring, I helped you set this whole thing up.”
“You can see it when Ashley comes home and shows it off to everybody in sight.”
“You mean when we come home. We thought you should give her the ring when you’re here out in the backyard.” Brian spoke up again.
“Okay, so tell me how tonight is going to go,” Nick replied while turning his full attention on Brian giving AJ no chance but to let the subject be changed.
“However you want it to go,” Brian replied. “We were only your event planner. You have to use your imagination and be the romantic one.”
“Exactly. But I did use our Backstreet Connections to the max and managed to arrange a limo driver to come here and drive you to the restaurant,” AJ announced, hoping this will earn him more points and convince Nick to let him see the ring early.
“Are you serious?” Nick asked while raising his eyebrow and he looked at Brian. Brian rolled his eyes.
“Mhm, he’s serious. I told him this would draw attention to you guys but he insisted that it would be more romantic this way.”
“He’s right it would be…and Ashley is going to be so overwhelmed from all the romance she is going to cry, I’ll bet you anything.”
“Well it’s a good reason for her to cry, it’ll be happy tears.”
“You think so?” Nick asked worriedly.
“I know so. She loves you anyone can see that.”
“How is the restaurant set up?” Nick asked, wanting to get an idea of how he is going to surprise Ashley and Brian and AJ began explaining it to him in full detail.
“Do either of you have any blindfolds? I want to blindfold her on the way to the restaurant. That way it will be more mysterious to her.
“You can use my blue bandana,” Brian answered.
“What did you and Josh buy when Dakota and I walked out of the jewelry store earlier? You said you would tell me,” Nick asked changing the subject as he suddenly feels butterflies in his stomach.
“I um…managed to let Josh talk me into buying diamond necklaces for the girls?” AJ raised his eyebrow.
“When you say…for the girls…do you mean our very own four and five year old girls, Dakota and Ellie?” Nick questioned.
“Yup…those would be the girls…” AJ gaped at him in surprise and Nick asked the very thing that he was thinking.
“Are you out of your mind? You bought diamonds for Dakota and Ellie?”
“Josh begged and pleaded and I couldn’t say no he looked so serious.”
“Can we see them?” AJ asked and Brian nodded, opened up the bag, and he reached inside and pulled out the two boxes holding the diamond necklaces that Josh had picked out. Nick went over and locked the bedroom door incase somebody decided to walk in. Brian opened the boxes and held them out for his two bandmates/brothers to see.
“Wow…” were AJ’s words of shock but Nick didn’t say anything. He remembers seeing those when he was looking in the display cases.
“My baby girl is going to go nuts over these…which one is hers?”
“That one,” Brian answered, pointing to the diamond necklace that looks similar to Ashley’s ring. Nick smirked and nodded.
“Figures.”
“I really believe they will take special care of these but I would still watch them with them. They’re not something they should be wearing to a playground or anything. Just for when they go to nice places.”
“Yeah I’ve given Dakota the speech on appropriate times to wear her nice jewelry…she’s never been given anything this nice before though, it’s making me look bad.” Brian chuckled.
“Well, now you will have competition in the jewelry buying department.”
“Yeah I guess so…the funny thing is, my competition is a six year old.” Nick laughed.
“When is he planning on giving it to them?” AJ spoke up.
“I have no idea. I think he is waiting for Ellie to come home first…but personally I think he should give Dakota hers now while she’s gone because, you know, she is his crush and it would seem more special if he gave hers to her first.”
“Nah, I think he should wait until they’re together and then you should video tape him doing it so that I can see it.” Nick insisted. Brian nodded.
“Good idea. But if you’re going to go anywhere Nicky you need to take a shower and get dressed into nicer clothes,” he insisted while indicating toward the clothes in Nick’s arms.
“Mhm. I was hoping to borrow your bathroom seeing as how I can’t get into mine at the moment.”
“Yeah go ahead,” Brian nodded and Nick went into Brian’s bathroom and shut the door. AJ looked at the bag of jewelry and he watched as Brian put Dakota and Elenore’s necklaces inside it. Brian looked at him when he noticed him eyeing the bag.
“Don’t even think about it,” he told him and he took the bag over to his top drawer, put it inside it, and he closed it. AJ pouted.
“You’re no fun.”
“You will survive.”
“She is my sister I should be able to see it.”
“She’s been your sister for only a day AJ. A day.”
“Not necessarily…” Brian raised his eyebrow at him.
“She’s been my sister since the day she walked into our lives. Mom just made it official by signing her name on a paper.”
“I’m sorry Aje, but Nick doesn’t want anyone seeing it before Ashley and seeing as how I am his best friend I have to respect his wishes or he’ll never trust me again. And I’ve experienced him not trusting me; I almost lost my niece. It’s not going to happen again.”
~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, Dakota who had not forgotten the mental note she had made in her head earlier to talk to Ashley went upstairs and down the hall to the bedroom that she shares with her, Sarah, and her daddy. She had left Josh downstairs and when he tried to follow her she told him not to because she wanted to be by herself. He seemed to be a little worried about her, which only made that ‘whoosh’ feeling in her stomach worsen. Dakota reached up and tried the doorknob only to find it locked. She frowned. She does not like being shut out from her Ashee. She then began to knock on the door. A minute later the door opened just a crack and Kori peeked out. She smiled at her sweetly.
“Hey sweetie, what’s up?”
“Is my Ashee in there?”
“Mhm, she is.”
“Can I talk to her please?”
“Let her in Kor,” Ashley spoke from inside the bedroom not wanting to make Dakota feel like she doesn’t have time for her. And anyway it sounds really important. Kori opened the door more and stepped inside allowing the four-year-old to walk into the room. When she did she saw Ashley sitting on the bed with all kinds of hair supplies and make up spread around her. Kori shut the door behind her and locked it again and Dakota walked over to Ashley and crawled up into her lap and she slid her arms around her and hugged her. She has not seen her all day and has missed her. Ashley smiled a little and hugged her back and she kissed her forehead softly.
“What can I do for you sweetie?”
“I came to ask you an important question,” Dakota answered seriously.
“Okay I’m listening.” Dakota was silent for a couple of minutes, trying to decide the best way to ask her question. When she thought of one she looked up at Ashley.
“Earlier today…when we were in a store…Josh said something and it made me feel this weird feeling in my tummy.” Ashley smiled a little though she managed to stay serious so that Dakota wouldn’t get the feeling that she is going to make fun of her.
“What kind of weird feeling?”
“I don’t know…just weird…” Kori smirked and sat down next to her sister.
“Was it kind of like one of those feelings that you get when you’re going down a really big roller coaster?”
“Yeah! That feeling…what is it?”
“Well darlin’, I think you have a serious case of the butterflies.” Kori answered.
“Butterflies?” Dakota asked, and she looked up at Ashley. Ashley smiled down at her and ran her fingers through her blonde hair.
“Mhm, the butterflies in your stomach.”
“But what’s that? How can I get butterflies in my tummy? I don’t remember ever swallowing them…” Dakota asked worriedly, and she placed her hands to her stomach. Ashley and Kori laughed.
“It’s just a figure of speech honey,” Ashley reassured. “I promise you didn’t swallow any real butterflies, don’t worry.”
“Then what does it mean?”
“It’s a feeling you get when you’re feeling really nervous about something…or in your case…crushing over a cute boy.” Dakota gaped at her.
“I am nots crushing over Joshy!” Ashley giggled.
“Are you sure about that? What was Josh saying when you got this weird feeling?”
“That the people who gaves me up had to be very evil pirates…” Ashley raised her eyebrow trying to determine what they were talking about for Josh to say something like that but she smiled nonetheless.
“That was a very sweet thing for him to say…and it’s just enough to give a little girl who is crushing on him butterflies in her stomach.”
“I am not crushing on Joshy. I would knows it!” Dakota insisted.
“Well…not necessarily. Sometimes our feelings can get a little bit ahead of us…especially when you’re a young four year old girl such as yourself. It’s always been there, you just didn’t know it.” Dakota thought it over for a couple of moments and then she smiled a little bit.
“Well Joshy is cute…” Ashley and Kori laughed and Ashley ruffled her hair playfully.
“That he is sweetie…you’ve got great taste in friends.” Dakota smiled to herself and snuggled into Ashley some. She loves talking to her…she always knows just the right things to say to make her feel good…and she is all hers. Hers and her daddy’s…the fans were just going to have to get used to it.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy =)
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