Chapter Thirty Three
Meanwhile on the playground, Nick went and sat next to Dakota as she, Elenore, and Spencer still sat under the tree playing with her new un-named puppy. Dakota looked up at him curiously and she scooped the Chihuahua up into her arms and held her close protectively in fear that Nick is going to tell her she can’t have her.
“That was a very nice thing you did for Brian in there you know…and probably the bravest thing I’ve seen you do in your entire four years.”
“I loves my Uncle Brian daddy an’ Josh may be mean an’ scary but I can’ts let him be mean to my uncles or my daddy.” Nick smiled at her a little bit and he leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“I don’t know what it is…but a lot of good things are happening with you lately. New friends? Having the confidence to talk to some of the kids you’ve been afraid of for a long time? Standing up to Josh? You’re growing up right before my eyes Kota…” Dakota smiled up at him.
“Its cause of Ashee, daddy.”
“Ashley made you wanna stand up to Josh?”
“She helped me not be so afraid no mores.”
“How so?”
“Cant’s tell you. Secret between me an’ her.”
“Ooh I see,” Nick replied, grinning at her and he pulled her into his lap cradling her and he hugged her close as he kissed the top of her head.
“Can I keep’s my puppy daddy? Please? I really loves her a lot.”
“Mm hmm I suppose so. It wasn’t exactly the plan but I think I have a feeling why your crazy uncle bought her for you. So yes, you can have her.” Dakota smiled up at him happily and she leaned up and gave him a big slobbery kiss on his cheek.
“What are you gonna name her? Hmm?”
“I don’ts know I gotta think about it fer awhile. It’s gotta be special.” Suddenly Elenore took the Chihuahua from Dakota and she and Spencer continued playing with her. Dakota looked at them for a short moment, than she wrapped her arms around Nick’s neck and looked up at him. He grinned at her and leaned down and rubbed his nose lightly over hers.
“Just don’t grow up too fast young lady, you hear me?”
“Why nots?”
“Cause Daddy wants you to be his little girl forever and he doesn’t ever want to lose you.”
“You won’ts daddy. Promise! I will always be your little girl.” Dakota insisted, hugging Nick tighter. He chuckled a bit.
“I’m going to hold you to that promise. When you’ve grown up to be a beautiful young lady and are about to get married to your husband I will remember that promise. No matter how old you get you will always be my little girl.”
“Your worried about that now Nick? Just because she stood up to Josh?” AJ suddenly spoke up, and Nick and Dakota looked up to find AJ standing there grinning. “She’s four years old dude, don’t worry. You’ve got a long way to go before that happens.” He reassured, and he sat down and pet the Chihuahua who got excited at the sight of someone new.
“Years fly by Aje, trust me. You will understand when you have a kid. I remember it like it was just yesterday when I found her abandoned in that ally. When did you get here?” Nick asked curiously.
“Just now…me and Howie. Riley told us what happened. And yes, I know time flies, dude. For me, yesterday was you at age 13 annoying the crap out of me - and now look at you. You still annoy the crap out of me sometimes, but you’ve grown up so fast - and have a kid!”
“Well you’ve proven my point Aje - sort of…” Nick replied, hugging his daughter close to him once again.
“So what was crazy Brian thinking when he bought two dogs, huh? How does he think these dogs are going to get taken care of here? I mean, I know you can help Kota with this little cutie here, but what about Josh and his Golden Retriever? I think this is the craziest thing he’s done so far.”
“I don’t know, I was wondering the same thing myself. What I really want to know is, how’d he talk Brooke into it.”
“Well it sort of helps when you have a pretty good relationship with your boss. Brooke is pretty awesome. I’m not THAT surprised.”
“Why thank-you AJ,” Brooke replied, coming up from behind him and over hearing the last few things that were said. Nick and AJ looked up at her and AJ grinned.
“Quite welcome.” Suddenly Nick spotted Brian coming out of the Orphanage with Josh at his side holding his Golden Retriever. Nick grinned. Curious, both Brooke and AJ looked that way.
“Ten bucks says he’ll adopt the kid within a month.” AJ challenged.
“Didn’t you learn your lesson during your last bet? Mr. I bet ten dollars he’s dating her by the end of this month? Yeah I ended up hearing about that.”
“Hey I would’ve had that if Brian hadn’t cheated!”
“How’d he cheat?” Nick asked amused.
“I don’t know… I just know he did. I shouldn’t have betted with the best friend of the person we’re betting on! There’s just too much connection between Frick N Frack.”
“Exactly…so why are you betting with me? If you haven’t noticed you’re talking to Frack.”
“Who says I was even betting with you?” AJ asked with a sly grin. “What if I was betting with Brooke?”
“In that case, it’s on.” Brooke replied. “Ten dollars? That Bri adopts Josh by the end of this month?”
“No, not ten dollars. I’m changing it around since I’m now betting with you,” AJ replied grinning at Brooke. Brooke rolled her eyes.
“Okay, so what are we betting?”
“I bet he’ll adopt Josh by the end of this month.”
“Okay, and I bet by the end of next month. Josh is very traumatized and just because things are going okay now, it doesn’t mean he’s let his wall down. It’s going to take a while for the two of them to get that bond going. I’ve been working with traumatized kids since forever. I know these things.”
“And I’ve been working with Brian since I was fifteen and there isn’t any child that, that man can’t earn the trust of. No matter how traumatized they’re. So I’m sticking with by the end of this month.”
“I never said he couldn’t. I just said it’s going to take more time then by the end of this month. But anyway what are we betting on?”
“Well if I win you have to go on a date with me.”
“And if I win you have to shave both your hair and goatee completely off.” AJ’s mouth dropped at this.
“No fricken way!” Nick laughed in amusement. “Well, you had better win this bet AJ.”
“Oh I will win alright,” AJ replied smoothly. “And me and Brooke will be off on our little romantic date.”
“Not in this lifetime, Bone.” Brooke replied indifferently. Suddenly Riley and Brian walked over to them hand in hand. Brian had left Josh over with his friends and they’re all playing with the puppy.
“What are you all talking about?” Brian asked curiously.
“Oh nothing really, just about how time flies,” AJ replied innocently and Brian raised his eyebrow. “So, um, you and Josh….what’s going on there Bri? You two all buddy, buddy now?”
“Well that’s what I’m aiming for but I already know it’s not going to be easy and it’s not going to happen right away. He’s pretty traumatized so I’ve got my work cut out for me.”
“Yeah, I see what you mean. Those things can take time. Just be patient with him Bri, he’ll come around.” Brooke encouraged innocently. Riley looked from AJ to the Brooke highly suspicious. What are they up to? she wondered to herself.
“So Bri, what is your plan for these puppies? I can help Kota with hers no problem at all. But what are you planning on doing with Josh’s dog?” Nick asked, changing the subject quickly when he noticed Riley becoming suspicious.
“He is going to take care of that dog all on his own - with my supervision of course but he will be his responsibility. He’s going to learn how to feed him on his own and clean up after his messes, and play with him, and such…he is all his. I am just there to make sure he does it.”
“I had better not find any messes lying around this Orphanage, Littrell. You know that was part of our agreement.” Brooke reminded.
“Yeah I know, don’t worry. I will help him get him housebroken. I bought a bunch of dog pads that I will be putting down in several locations of his room and we will be teaching him to go potty on that - AND we will be bringing the dog outside a lot and encouraging him to go outside too. I got a bunch of dog treats for when he is a good puppy. Please be patient with me for the first couple of weeks though…you know how dogs are. I promise Josh will clean up the mess right away if the dog should go in an area he is not supposed to.”
“I’ll give you three weeks because I’m nice and I like you. But after that if I find any messes…three strikes and the dog is living with you.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
“You know what we should do…we should take the kids on a field trip - the whole Orphanage. We made all that money for them to be able to go on a field Trip…we should do it.” Howie suggested, as him and Kevin sat side by side in the grass near Josh and his group of friends who were happily playing ball with his new puppy and teaching him how to play fetch - trying to anyway. Brian had gotten all of the dog toys out of his car. Ashley and Kori are sitting nearby trying to have a conversation, but it’s not working out too well. They’ve exchanged a few words with one another, but mostly just sat there in awkward silence.
“Where would we take them?” Kevin asked curiously.
“Well, how about Disney World? It’s only about an hour away from here. I bet we could get a few of our tour buses - maybe all five of them if necessary to use as transportation.”
“Well that sounds like fun…but then we’ve got the Backstreet Factor to think about here. Do we request them to close it down to the public just for us? Or ask our bodyguards to go a long with us?”
“Well I don’t know…we might be able to make ourselves blend in. But then there’s the whole Nick and Ashley thing. How lovey dovey are they with each other?” Kevin snickered.
“Very…yeah that needs to be discussed.”
“Yeah then there’s you, Nick, and Brian who have kids who are permanently attached to you - well maybe not Brian just yet… but you and Nick definitely.”
“Well Kota is Nick’s daughter…and the fans are going to have to find that out sooner or later, so it might as well be now. Elenore is traumatized and the first person she saw at the Orphanage when her parents gave her up was me - so I was the first person she clung to and the only person she trusts. It’ll make a great sob story for the fans if we should have to explain. It’s not like she’s my daughter or anything.”
“Yet,” Howie emphasized. Kevin raised his eyebrow at the slightly younger man.
“Oh come on Kev, you can’t tell me you haven’t thought about adopting her at least once.”
“Try all the time….” Kevin replied softly.
“So why haven’t you? You’d be the perfect father. Don’t tell me you’re going to wait until last minute like Nick did…cause that would be incredibly stupid and I thought you were smarter than that.”
“Not last minute…just until she isn’t so traumatized. She still isn’t 100% comfortable with me yet.”
“But you told me that she told you she loves you yesterday…didn’t she?”
“Well…yeah…”
“And you’re the one she wants to be with 24/7 aren‘t you? You have not left this Orphanage at all since she arrived unless she was brought with you. So, Kev, I think it’s about time.”
“Well… I wasn’t going to tell anybody this yet… but I was kind of thinking about making it be a Christmas present from me to her. What better Christmas present is there than receiving a daddy?” Howie grinned at the older man.
“That is only the BEST present ever Kevin, I think you should do it. That little girl is going to be the happiest girl alive come Christmas day. She may be scared right now, but she knows who she wants and that’s you. She picked you out on day 1. If you look at it this way…fate brought you together.”
“Oh I have looked at it that way…and she picked me a lot sooner than day 1, D. She had me picked out long before we knew each other.” Howie looked at Kevin confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Remember the day she arrived and I volunteered to go and talk to her because I was anxious to prove she had bruises all over her body?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Well when we were talking…she told me that she had deemed me as her protector long before we even met. When she was living with her ’parents’. She’s been a Backstreet Boys fan her whole life, D.”
“So that’s why you were so determined to make her your responsibility.”
“Mm hmm…I felt it was my job. That she was brought to me for a reason.”
“Well I believe it too, Kev. And I think you should adopt her on Christmas day.”
“I think so too…but can you do me a favor and keep it a secret until then? I don’t want anyone else finding out before Ellie.”
“I think you should let Brooke know at least. That way the same thing that happened to Nick doesn’t happen to you.”
“Yeah your right, I will.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Ashley who got frustrated with the awkwardness between her and her sister got up and walked away from Kori. She looked around the playground and she found Nick still sitting under the tree with everybody minus Kevin and Howie. She went over there and she sat next to him. He looked at her curiously as he noticed the single tear rolling down her cheek and he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. She rested her head against his shoulder.
“What’s wrong baby?”
“I just hate how awkward it is with Kori right now…I hate it that we don’t get along. I hate it that things aren’t the way it used to be...” Nick sighed.
“I’m sorry honey…it’ll get better I promise. You just have to give it sometime. It’s been five years and the two of you went through a very horrible tragedy. It’s going to take some time to get to know one another again.”
“I just hate looking at my sister…the one I used to look up to the most and feeling like…and just feeling like….” Ashley trailed off, not knowing how to put her thoughts into words. She is still a little new at expressing how she feels. Nick gently pulled her into his lap so she’s facing him since Dakota, Spencer, and Elenore had gotten up and run off with the puppy to play and he wrapped an arm around her as he wiped away her tears.
“Like its all her fault?” Nick asked gently, helping her out a little bit.
“I don’t know…maybe…when I was 12 years old I used to look at my sister and think that she was just the greatest person in the world. Like she couldn’t do anything wrong…and then here I find out that she’s done almost everything in the book that you could possibly classify as wrong…and it just ruined everything. I feel like I never really even knew Kori at all…she‘s like a stranger to me.”
“Even hero’s falter baby… Kori is human and just like any human she made lots of mistakes…and just because she made those mistakes it doesn’t mean she’s a horrible person. I know its hard for you but you need to let go of the past. You need to let all of that go and focus on the future. You didn’t know Kori as well as you thought you did then…so why don’t you get to know her now?”
“I don’t even know what to talk about with her anymore…”
“What all did you talk about with her before?”
“Music…clothes…everything.”
“So why don’t you start with those things? Why don’t you concentrate on all of the good things about Kori? Completely erase the bad from your mind…start over and make it a brand new beginning. Find out what music she listens to now…maybe the three of us can go shopping sometime…I have to go with you because you’re my responsibility but we don’t have to think about it like that…I could be there for support. To help you out if you need it. As a boyfriend…not your caregiver. Can I help you out baby?”
“I could sure use it…” Ashley replied softly and he again wiped away her tears before rubbing her cheek with his finger.
“Well that’s what I am here for,” he told her gently and she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder.
Author's Chapter Notes:
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