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Chapter Fifty Six



A couple of hours later, Ashley and Dakota were asleep and Nick lay awake in bed beside them, wide awake and still wondering what is going on with Dakota. He just knows it's something more then a headache. She was acting very weirdly. He lay there watching her sleep for a long while, until suddenly the little girl grew slightly restless.


"No…No…" she muttered softly in her sleep. Nick raised his eyebrow and he sat up some.


"No…No…stop it…you're hurting me." Ashley sat up suddenly and looked at her too, as she was lying next to her with her arm around her, so she felt and heard her moving. She looked at Nick who was staring at Dakota as if waiting for something - a hint, or a clue.


"Who is hurting you baby?" He asked softly, but not loud enough to wake her up. "Come on…tell daddy." he begged, hoping to god it isn't who he thinks it is - the aching feeling that's been nagging him all night. He'll kill him if it was him. He'll fucking kill him.


"I be a good girl, I be a good girl….I won'ts spy on you…promise!" she continued.


"Spy on who?" Nick wondered quietly, needing to know more before he can go next door and jump the man and drag him away from Sarah and beat him to a bloody pulp.


"No, No, No, NO, NO! NO! NO! STOPS IT!!!!! DADDY HELPS ME!!! DADDY SAVES ME!!!! HELPS!!! STOP IT YER HURTING ME!!!!" She screamed suddenly, arms suddenly flailing, as she squirmed about on the bed. Ashley having just about enough, pulled the distressed four year old into her arms.


"Kota! Kota sweetie wake up! It's just a nightmare" Ashley reassured, loudly over her screams. Dakota's eyes shot open and she looked around and saw Nick and Ashley sitting there, Ashley cradling her in her arms. She threw her arms around Ashley and hugged her tightly, and she cried in her shoulder. Ashley sat there rocking her.


"Shhh…. It's okay. It was only a bad dream. Your safe…" Ashley soothed. She sat rocking the four year old until she had calmed down some, than Nick scooted closer suddenly and he ran his fingers through her blonde hair as he looked her in the eyes.


"Kota…sweetie. Who was hurting you?"


"Nobody," Dakota answered distantly, and she snuggled more into Ashley. "Just bad dream."


"I don't think so," Nick replied. "Honey what were you doing earlier? Where did you go when you left the room? I checked with Kevin and he says you didn't go and play with Ellie. So where were you?"


"Downstairs," Dakota quickly made up. "I was downstairs playin' withs Sarah!"


"No you weren't sweetie, cause I was." Dakota grew quiet and even more tears fell from her eyes then as she snuggled even more into Ashley - if at all possible, seeking for comfort.


"Honey why are you lying to me? Why can't you just tell me where you were? Obviously someone was hurting you. So why cant you just tell me so I can stop them?"


"I CAN'TS tell you!" Dakota insisted, raising her voice some, as she cried. "I CAN'TS!"


"Sure you can baby, you can tell me anything. Anything, any time especially if someone is hurting you and daddy will put a stop to it right away. Daddy won't let anyone hurt you baby."


"NO!" Dakota refused, and she crossed her arms and looked away. She will not let Tom hurt her daddy! Never! She can never tell him.


"Dakota Ann, you need to tell me what is going on." Nick told her, his voice becoming a little firm now, as he is growing impatient.


"NO. I won'ts!" Nick got up and went and turned on the light to the bedroom, then he went over and resumed his spot next to Ashley. He then gently took Dakota into his arms cradling her. She moved to crawl out of his lap, but he pulled her back.


"Kota sit still," He ordered and she whimpered as he pulled her bottom back down in his lap. He noticed her flinch some as he made her sit and he saw the pain in her eyes. He raised his eyebrow at her and then turned her onto her stomach before pulling down her pants and underwear and he looked at her bottom to see it still red and stinging from earlier.


"If no one hurt you Dakota then why does your bottom hurt? Why is it red?" He demanded, pulling her pants back up and turning her around to face him, but gently so he doesn't hurt her. Fresh tears spilled out of her frightened blue eyes.


"I wants Ashee…please daddy I wants Ashee…"


"Honey I'm right here," Ashley reassured gently, taking her hand into hers and she gently rubbed her finger over it lightly. "Tell us who hurt you. It's important that we know."


"I can'ts tell…I can'ts…" Dakota sobbed.


"Why not? What did he threaten you with Kota?" Ashley asked, looking at the four year old with a knowing look. "To hurt Lily? Is that what your afraid of? Did he threaten to hurt Lily like he threatened to hurt Lil' Rok?"


"No…" Dakota cried.


"Then what? Come on baby you can tell me." Ashley pressed on, and she pulled her out of Nick's lap and into her own. "Trust me, you can tell me. I've been there… I know all about being threatened, Kota. What did he tell you? Whatever it is, it's not going to happen cause your daddy is going to protect you."


"Daddy needs to protects himself," Dakota whimpered.


"Is that who it is? Did he threaten to hurt your daddy if you told?" Ashley guessed and Dakota nodded and whimpered some more. "Gots to protect daddy…"


"Honey I will be okay I promise. Laney won't let him hurt me and I won't either. I'll kick his ass before even tries." Nick reassured. "Say the name honey…and I can stop him from hurting you ever again. It's my job to protect you…not the other way around." Dakota sniffled some, but finally caved.


"Tom dids it…" she answered softly. "Tom hurteds me…he molested me," She told him, using the new word she had learned earlier that day. Nick kissed her forehead softly and he hugged her and Ashley close to him.


"Thank you sweetie…that's all daddy needs to know," he told her gently. "Daddy loves you so much…and I'm not going to let him get away with it." He promised. He kissed her forehead once again and then looked at Ashley.


"Keep holding her. Stay in here," He ordered gently, and he got up.


"Nicky wait - what are you doing?"


"Just stay in here," was all he said. "Don't move." He then went to the door and opened it up and he saw Laney and Q sitting outside the door talking. They looked at him curiously as he walked out.


"What's up Nick?" Laney questioned. "Shouldn't you be asleep? It's 1:30 in the morning and you've gotta wake up early." Nick didn't say anything, he only went into Sarah's room where he found the seven year old lying in bed naked and asleep, Tom lying behind her with his arms wrapped around her.


"What the hell?" Tom asked, sitting up some. Nick went over and grabbed him forcefully by the hair and he yanked him out of the bed and dragged him away from Sarah and into the closet shutting the door behind him.


"What the FUCK gives you the right to go and touch my little girl HUH?!?!" Laney and Q suddenly heard Nick shout, and they suddenly heard a bunch of crashing sounds, and Sarah start crying, as she had woken up when she felt Tom move. Laney and Q immediately jumped up and ran into the room. They looked at Sarah and then at the closet door, and they rushed over, opened it up and found Nick and Tom rolling around on the floor throwing punches at each other every chance they got, Nick is on top and had already beaten Tom's face in pretty bad. "I'll fucking KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!!!" He shouted at him, he raised his arm to throw another punch when suddenly Laney pulled him back.


"Unless you want to go to jail Carter I suggest you think twice about that," He told him, pulling him far from Tom's grasp. Tom jumped up and lashed out at Nick but Q grabbed onto him, pulling him into him and wrapping his arm around his neck to keep him from harming Nick. Suddenly Kori and Kevin came running into the room as they had heard the crashing sounds and Nick's shouting from all the way in their rooms.


"What is going on in here???" Kevin demanded to know, looking from a crying Sarah, to Nick, and then Tom highly confused. Kori immediately went over to Sarah and she wrapped a blanket around her and pulled her into her arms, her mother instincts telling her to get her out of the room and away from all the violence.


"The mother fucking bastard molested my little girl!" Nick shouted, attempting to free himself of Laney so he can attack the man he so badly wants to kill. No such luck. Laney held onto him tightly. "AND Sarah if you haven't noticed! Riley and Brooke said we needed the proof, well THERE IT IS!" he shouted, pointing to where Sarah used to be. "And Kota just confessed to me too! That is enough to arrest his ass!"


"I'm calling Brooke," Kevin replied, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and he dialed Brooke's phone number. Nick looked at Tom then who was across the closet still being restrained by Q.


"I may not have been able to kill you, but that's okay. You'll get a taste of your own medicine in prison when someone makes you his bitch."


~*~*~*~*~*~


Meanwhile, after leaving Sarah with Ashley, Kori had gone into Elenore's room and gotten Elenore who was asleep, before going in her own and scooping up Spencer, and she carried them both back to Ashley's room with her. When she got in there she placed the two sleeping children on the bed, than she looked on the floor at Lil Rok who had followed her in there when he saw that his Ellie was being moved. She lifted the pug up and placed him safely next to Elenore and he curled up beside her. Kori sat down on the bed then next to Ashley who is cradling both Dakota and Sarah in her arms - Sarah wrapped up in her blanket and both girls with tear stained cheeks though they are no longer crying.


"Are you okay?" Kori asked, looking at Ashley concerned. Ashley nodded.


"I'm fine… it's Kota and Sarah who aren't."


"Yeah…but they will be. I've got a feeling Nick won't rest until justice has been brought to them." Kori got up then and she went into the bathroom and got a piece of toilet paper and she went over and sat next to Ashley again, before drying Dakota and Sarah's cheeks.


"What if Tom hurteds daddy?" Dakota asked suddenly, looking up at Ashley scared. Ashley brushed some of the hair out of Dakota's face and leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "He'll be okay honey, I promise. Your daddy knows how to take care of himself. Besides, he's got both Laney and Q in there. They won't let that happen." Kori sat with Ashley and the kids for an hour, then suddenly Nick and Kevin walked in, as did Brooke.


"Tom has been arrested," Nick answered, a satisfied look upon his face. "They just escorted him out now."


"Are Sarah and Kota okay?" Brooke asked worriedly, and she went over to the little girls who still sat in Ashley's lap.


"I don't know…you might want to have Doctor Johnson look them over," Ashley answered softly as she hugged both girls close to them.


"Just let me get Sarah dressed, then I will take them up there," Nick replied and he gently took her from Ashley, cradling her. Sarah snuggled into him resting her head on his shoulder and he carried her into her own room to get her dressed. Kori and Brooke stayed with Ashley and the kids. When Nick returned he took Dakota from Ashley too and he hugged her close to him and kissed her forehead. Dakota wrapped her arms around him tightly.


I loves you daddy…" She told him softly.


"I love you too baby…you're daddy's special girl and I'm not going to let anybody harm you ever again," He promised. He then looked over at Ashley and then at Kevin and Kori.


"Will one of you stay in here with Ashley so she can get some sleep?"


"I'll do it," Kori immediately volunteered.


"Kay," Nick replied and Kevin gently scooped Elenore and Lil Rok up into his arms and he carried the two out of the room, following Nick and Brooke who took the two kids up to the hospital wing. Ashley went and scooped Abbie and Lily up and she brought them over to the bed. She lay down next to Spencer and got under the covers too and Kori crawled in on the other side of Spencer. Suddenly Laney came in the room and he went and sat in the lazy boy chair. Kori and Ashley looked at him curiously.


"Nick has asked me to come in here and sit with you guys just incase."


"Oh, okay," Kori replied, and she lay her head back down and wrapped her arm around Spencer. Ashley lay there staring at the wall, though she couldn't sleep. All she had on her mind was poor little Dakota and Sarah, wondering if they were going to be okay. How far did this bastard go with them? And did he use a condom? She can't believe something so horrible had happened to two innocent little girls. They didn't deserve this. Especially not her precious little Dakota, who she's grown to love very much like she were her own. She hopes Nick did a lot of damage to that evil man.