Chapter Three-Hundred-Seventy-Two
“Daddy I think there is something very wrong with Dakota,” Sarah announced after receiving and soaking up all of the hugs and kisses she could get out of him and now the two of them were just sitting there on the ground with her in his lap.
“I know sweetheart, me too. We are taking her to see Doctor Johnson after we get everything together here.”
“What is wrong with her?” Sarah asked worriedly. “Is she sick?”
“No…I just think that maybe she might be suffering Night Terrors.”
“What are Night Terrors?”
“They’re like Nightmares…but just a little more serious. She might have to go and see a therapist like Ellie and Josh for awhile so she can talk about what’s scaring her.”
“Oh,” Sarah replied worriedly and Nick hugged her close to him affectionately.
“How would you feel if we had you talk to a therapist too Sarah?”
“Why? I’m not having any night terrors.”
“No…but its better to be safe then sorry. I know you’ve been going through a lot too…what with me being attacked, Ashley kidnapped, your biological father…you know, its not such a bad thing to have someone to talk to about things like that.” Sarah was silently grateful when Nick didn’t mention her rape as an example.
“I guess so,” Sarah replied quietly and she rested her head against his chest.
“Well its up to you sweetheart, I don’t want to force you into doing something that you don’t want to do” Nick told her gently. “But if we don’t get you seeing a therapist will you promise me that you will at least try and talk to me about it? I know it’s not easy…but I would like it if you’d try.” Sarah nodded and snuggled against him some, just feeling happy that he is here. She loves her Uncle Brian very much but she can’t deny that she missed her daddy. He sat there with her for a few moments, and then spoke up again.
“Here I need you to get up now so I can get Bella,” he told her and Sarah did just that getting to her feet and allowing Nick to do the same. When he was up he walked toward Riley who had been sitting there silently listening to the father and daughter conversation. He instantly caught Bella’s eye without even having to try and her entire face lit up. It’s easy to tell just exactly who the apple of Bella’s eye is. She knows who her daddy is – whether he adopted her yet or not, she knows. Nick made a goofy expression at her causing her to squeal happily and wave her hands in response. Nick laughed in that playful way that he does and reached his arms out to her. Bella gurgled and held her arms up to him in return and Nick gathered her up playfully.
“Hi there sweet baby, how are you?” he asked while bringing her close to him and planting a big kiss on her cheek and she broke out into baby talk that no one could really understand even though Ashley would claim she could. Sometimes he wonders about it though when she manages to carry on an entire conversation with her. She’ll say something to her, and then the next thing you hear is a bunch of baby gibberish, and then Ashley takes her turn, and so on like a real conversation.
“You don’t say?” Nick asked when she finished taking on Ashley’s role. Bella smiled huge and went right on with her baby gibberish in response and Nick listened amusedly. “Really?” he asked when she paused again. “Well, aren’t you quite the talker this morning,” He told her while hugging her close to him affectionately and he looked at Riley who was sitting there smiling in amusement.
“It’s almost like looking into a time portal here,” she told him. “Flashback to Kota being that little and me sitting here in front of you listening to you carry on a conversation very similar to this one.”
“Yeah, its crazy isn’t it?” Nick asked while resting his cheek lightly against the top of Bella’s head as she had her hand cupping his cheek for no real reason at all except to simply feel his touch. “Back then at that moment, I can honestly say I never thought I would have two little girls and one who might as well be mine and the most beautiful girlfriend in the world who I’ve promised to marry someday.”
“I can honestly say I never thought it either,” Riley laughed. “I mean you had one girlfriend after the next and you just never struck me as the type who would be quick to have kids and a girlfriend that you plan to spend the rest of your life with. Then Ashley came along, you fell in love with her and proved me wrong.”
“Its funny how someone can come into your life and give it a completely different meaning,” Nick admitted. “So how was Bella?” He asked after a few moments of silence. “She’s the one I thought would do the crying and the missing Ashley thing the most, not Kota.”
“She did really well actually,” Riley answered with a shrug of her shoulders. “I thought she would cry all night too after what we experienced when Ashley was kidnapped, but she surprised us by sleeping all the way through the night – both nights.”
“That’s my girl!” Nick praised, looking down at Bella with one of his goofy grins and Bella cooed appreciatively.
“She was a little confused in the mornings when it wasn’t Ashley who was waking up with her but I stuck to her routine like Ashley advised and everything was fine.”
“Sounds to me like you got a lot of practice then,” Nick replied as he watched Ashley come outside with Dakota and Sarah instantly let go of Nick’s pantleg and ran on over to greet her the way she’d greeted him. “Still excited about having your own after this experience?”
“If he or she is anything like the angel that Bella is, then definitely.”
“I can’t wait until after the end of April so we can plan a baby shower for you,” Ashley insisted excitedly as she took Sarah’s hand and brought her with her as she joined Nick and Riley.
“Have you and Brian set a wedding date yet?” Nick asked while giving Ashley a suggestive look.
“Not yet but we know its taking place in Kentucky in a church. Brian has his heart set on that. Its going to just be family and friends…he’s going to work very hard on keeping the fans from crashing it.”
“We could always tell the public that its one date when really it’s another,” Nick suggested with a smirk.
“Well we have to work on Brian telling me when the actual date is before we can even begin to plan on the best way to keep the fans from crashing,” Riley replied.
“Why is he taking so long when all he’s been able to think about for months is proposing to you and marrying you?” Ashley wanted to know as she gently shifted Dakota so she was rested on one hip and then she took Bella from Nick with her other arm wanting to say hello to her baby who had been trying her very hardest to get her attention ever since she spotted her. She looked at Nick for the answer then, and Nick shrugged as Riley answered.
“I think he has his heart set on Josh approving of it first.”
“He’s never going to get a verbal approval out of the kid, so he might as well just marry you and let Josh come to terms with it in his own time,” Nick replied, slightly irritated with his best friend when he saw the pain in Riley’s eyes.
“Yes I know, but you know how he is. Josh was his first child, his opinion is very important to him.”
“And what about Chris’s opinion?” Ashley wanted to know, as she’s always secretly hated it that Chris is always put second when it comes to the two of them.
“Chris is 100% okay with it. He and I have a very good relationship with each other. I’ve been hoping that Josh would see that and try to follow his example because he is so used to being first at doing everything but so far that hasn’t happened.”
“He gave Brian permission to propose to you and he even helped us pick out the ring. I think that should be enough for Brian to consider as a green light and get going already. Josh accepts you just fine, but if he is waiting for a verbal approval then it’s not going to happen. The kid is stubborn and he knows that. He knows he has to accept things in his own time and way, you can’t rush him.” Riley shrugged her shoulders.
“Tell him that not me.”
“I’m going to,” Nick replied firmly. “I’ll have a talk with him…tonight or something. Definitely before we go to Jersey.” Ashley moved closer to Nick then and rested her chin on his shoulder.
“But right now we have an appointment with our trusty Doctor and I have to talk to my sister or that trip to Jersey will never happen” she reminded him gently.
“Oh yeah that’s right,” Nick replied. He was having a good time catching up on his friendship with Riley that he almost forgot that he has to take care of Dakota – almost. He turned and gently gathered the four-year-old into his arms and hugged her close to him affectionately. Despite the fact that she is highly stingy about Ashley leaving her sight at the moment, she slid her arms around Nick, buried her face in his shoulder and snuggled into him. Ashley noticed one eye peeking out at her though as if she were afraid that if she looked away for one minute she’d disappear on her. Ashley gently ruffled her hair in reassurance and kissed the back of her head.
“Thanks for baby sitting Ri. Are you, Brian, and the kids coming to the Orphanage today at all?” Nick questioned.
“Yeah as soon as we’ve all showered and stuff – I’m sure that’s where Brian is at right now. Brooke isn’t expecting us there until just a little after lunch.”
“Kay, we’ll see you then” Nick replied and after he and Ashley exchanged hugs with their friend they proceeded to pack Bella and the kids up so they could head on over to Dakota’s appointment.
~*~*~*~*~
Somewhere in the middle of Sleeping Beauty, Kevin and Jerald had both fallen asleep. When Ellie first noticed that they were starting to doze off, Kevin had lain sideways on the couch with his head rested on the arm rest and his legs tucked sideways on the couch. Even in his sleep he was still conscious of Ellie sitting next to him and was careful not to kick her. Jerald on the other hand was still sitting in the upright position. Every now and then his head would lay back against the couch, he would be just on the verge of sleep, and then his eyes would fly open and he would go right back to watching the movie. Ellie, who was sitting there quietly watching them while Ann watched her, would giggle quietly. Soon enough, Jerald eventually lost his battle with sleep and was even beginning to snore softly.
She continued to sit there between them while enjoying the movie but still kept half her attention on her Uncle and Daddy until eventually she noticed Jerald’s body starting to tilt sideways a little. She sat there waiting it out until his head was just inches away from her shoulder and then she ducked and rolled off of the couch onto the floor. Just as she did, she looked up at her Uncle again and watched as he continued to slowly inch his way down until suddenly, his head landed comfortably against Kevin’s legs. Ellie’s hand flew to her mouth and she giggled quietly as she turned to look at her Grandmother who was watching her with amusement. She knows perfectly well that her granddaughter the conniving little sneak planned that whole thing.
“Nicely done,” Ann told her after laughing quietly and Elenore just beamed, got to her feet, and grabbed her blanket and she covered both of the brothers up before leaning forward and kissing each of them lightly on their cheeks.
“Sweet dreams, my sleeping beauties” She whispered. Pleased with herself that her plan had gone quite well, she turned and skipped on over to Ann, crawled into her lap and Ann just smiled and hugged her close to her affectionately.
“You are something else little one, something else indeed” he told her and she just giggled.
“Gramma can we goes in the kitchen an’ make cookies?”
“Hmm…I think we can do that,” Ann smiled, and she got to her feet and proceeded to carry her granddaughter into the kitchen. “I think Jer got all of the ingredients that we would need but if not we might have to run to the store.”
~*~*~*~*~
“Have you ever heard of the words short notice before, Steven?” Anna questioned as she and Doctor Johnson stood in the room that he told Nick he would meet him in to take a look at his favorite little patient.
“Well…yeah…” Doctor Johnson answered carefully and he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her near as an innocent look adorned his gorgeous features.
“And it didn’t occur to you that this amazing trip you want to go on tomorrow might be a little short of a notice?”
“I thought it would be fun to kind of be spontaneous…you know? I don’t get to do spontaneous things very often with how demanding my job has been – well, I guess I make it that way but that is beside the point.” Annabelle laughed amusedly.
“Baby I understand, but I’m not allowed to be spontaneous…I have a kid who is in second grade and I have a daycare to think about. I can’t just decide to up and leave whenever I want to go on vacation, there are people I have to talk to.”
“So go ahead and talk to whoever you have to talk to.”
“I would but then there’s that short notice issue again. My boss usually prefers that we give them at least a week notice if we want to go on vacation.”
“Your boss is Mrs. Jordan right?”
“Right…”
“Well there we go then. I’m willing to bet you anything that if you told her you wanted a couple of days off to go on a trip with me, she would tell you to go for it.” Annabelle raised her eyebrow suspiciously.
“And you are so sure of that, how? And how do you know Mrs. Jordan anyway?”
“I met her at the front desk at the daycare yesterday when Julie and I were signing in,” Doctor Johnson began and he tried to figure out how to answer her other question without giving her secret up. “And she just seemed really encouraging about our relationship. She told me she’s never seen you so happy before and she told me that you are really good friends.”
“One of the best of friends…but that still doesn’t make it okay for me to just give her not even a days worth of notice.”
“Come on Annabelle…be spontaneous with me,” Doctor Johnson pleaded while resting his forehead against hers. “You know you want to.”
“Honey I want to go on this trip with you more then anything, but with Julie and her school…”
“So gather up all of the work she’ll be missing and we’ll have her do it on the drive to Oklahoma.”
“How many days exactly would she be missing?”
“Just three and then the weekend. We’ll have her back on Sunday morning…right on time to get ready for school and work on Monday.” Anna gazed up at Doctor Johnson quietly considering this. She would like nothing more then a relaxing vacation with him but then can she really do that to Melinda? “Please baby, pleeeease?” Doctor Johnson begged and he stuck his lower lip out in a pout. Anna laughed a little and she cupped his cheeks in his hands, brought his face down closer to hers and brushed her lips lightly over his. Can she really make Melinda try to find a replacement for her for those three days? No. She’ll have to find the replacement herself or she’ll worry about it the whole trip and feel bad if she doesn’t manage to find anybody.
“Just let me make a few calls okay? I don’t want to leave Melinda without finding someone who is willing to take my place first.”
“And you’ll let me know as soon as you find someone?” Doctor Johnson asked hopefully and he lightly caressed her cheek with his finger. Anna closed her eyes briefly at the simple touch and rested her forehead against his.
“I’ll have an answer for you by the time you pick me up from work later. We’ll go get Julie from school together okay?”
“Kay,” Doctor Johnson replied and she gave him one last meaningful kiss. “I have to go, I have ten minutes to get there before my break ends.”
“Do you want me to have someone drive you? I have a couple of friends who just hang around the orphanage simply because they like to. I know if I asked them for a favor they’d do it because they’re like family.”
“If its not too much trouble.”
“Never,” Doctor Johnson insisted and he pulled his cell phone out, flipped it open, and sent a quick text message to AJ. A few seconds later his phone vibrated. He pushed the ok button and read the reply that said Shes in luck, I’m already sitting outside the orphanage. Send her over.
“AJ is waiting for you out in front of the Orphanage, he said to send you over there” Doctor Johnson explained. Annabelle picked up her purse and looked at Doctor Johnson again and he cupped her cheek in his hand and leaned down and gave her a brief but meaningful kiss.
“I love you,” he told her, and she smiled at him lovingly before turning and hurrying out of the room hurrying past Nick and Ashley on her way by.
“Doesn’t even say I love you too? Whats up with that?” Nick teased when he knew she was far from hearing point and Ashley playfully nudged him in the shoulder.
“Nick,” She laughed and Nick threw her an innocent look.
“She doesn’t have to,” Doctor Johnson shrugged with a small smile on his face. “She doesn’t have to say it back, I see it in her eyes everytime she looks at me.” He explained while reaching out and taking Dakota from Nick’s arms. “Besides, I started telling her that I love her way early in our relationship…I think I kind of took her by surprise and scared her a little bit. The last relationship she was in was when she was married to her husband and that didn’t go too well. I know deep down inside she’s afraid of getting hurt again. I’m hoping to change that during our vacation though.”
“You two are going on vacation?” Ashley asked in surprise as she watched him gently sit Dakota down on his examining table. “Since when does Steven Johnson take vacations?”
“Since he met a beautiful woman who came into his life and changed everything,” he answered suddenly all smiles.
“That seems to happen in these two conjoined buildings quite often, I’ve noticed” Nick replied looking just as happy as Doctor Johnson and he slid his arms around Ashley’s waist from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. They dropped Bella and Sarah off over at the Orphanage before bringing Dakota to the hospital wing.
“Mhm,” Doctor Johnson agreed, and then suddenly went into serious doctor mode. “Anyway, what seems to be the trouble here, hmm?” he asked while looking into Dakota’s deep blue eyes with that caring look in his own that always seems to make Dakota feel like she can trust him with her whole life because he is safe. And why shouldn’t she be able to trust him? He’s only been here to clean up every cut and bruise she’s ever gotten in her entire four years of life. He looked to Nick for explanations as he gently rubbed his finger over the back of Dakota’s hand as he held it in his own.
~*~*~*~*~
“Well Ellie, your two sleeping beauties must’ve really been tired because they slept right through the mixer and everything,” Ann commented after peeking her head out of the kitchen door to check on her boys who still slept soundly in the living room where they left them. Elenore giggled amusedly.
“That’s okay. They needs some cuddling time anyway,” She insisted while casually sticking her hand in the cookie dough bowl.
“Hey – Hey! Hands out of the bowl young lady,” Ann lectured while playfully pointing at her and Elenore giggled and innocently began to eat the cookie dough that she had not been so sneaky about stealing. Ann walked over, grabbed the bowl that was sitting beside her as she sat on the counter covered from head to toe in flower and she moved it out of her reach.
“I should’ve known better huh? You really are Kevin’s daughter.”
“Yes you shoulds have,” Elenore told her in a matter of fact tone causing Ann to throw her head back and laugh.
“Oh Ellie, you’re such a character.”
“Hehe. Thank you,” She told her politely. Just then the phone rang and Elenore’s eyes widened.
“I wanna gets it, I do, I do!” she insisted while hopping off of the counter and landing safely on her feet before making a mad dash toward the phone. She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, not wanting whoever is calling to wake her slumbering Uncle and Daddy.
Author's Chapter Notes:
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