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“Come on Maddie, we can’t be late,” Nick Carter said to the little girl that was sitting on the floor watching Veggie Tales. Picking her up and holding her like a sack of potatoes, he laughed, “You can watch that later.”

“But Daddy...Larry is funny,” five year old, Madelyn protested as he switched the television off and headed for the door.

“Well, Munchkin, Larry will just have to wait. Daddy has work to do and you have kindergarten,” Nick sat his daughter in a chair and stooped down to look into her eyes. “The first day is a big deal.”

Madelyn looked at Nick for a second before throwing her tiny arms around his neck. “Daddy, I don’t wanna go…I’m scared.”

Pulling back, Nick smoothed down her wavy blonde hair and smiled. “When you get there you will have so much fun. You won’t even remember me when I pick you up later.” He watched as her eyes flickered with doubt. “You’re gonna go and make friends and have the best time.”

“Promise?” she asked and held up her pinky finger.

“Promise,” Nick grinned and hooked his pinky with hers.

***

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Winifred Gaines greeted her grandson with a hug and a kiss.

“Gram, what are you doing here?” Nick asked obviously surprised that his grandmother was in the hardware shop that early in the morning. It was just after 8 am.

“I just thought I would stop by and help you out some. I know that you’re gonna be busy today.”

“That’s sweet of you, Gram, but you don’t have to do that. I can take care of things here.”

Ever since Winnie’s husband David had passed away two years earlier, Nick had been taking care of the hardware shop he owned. David had always told Nick that he didn’t have to keep the shop when he was gone, but Nick wanted to as much for himself as for his grandmother.

“How did Maddie do when you dropped her off?” Winnie asked as she sorted through a stack of papers.

Nick smiled. “She was scared to death before we left the house this morning, but as soon as she saw all the other kids, she was gone. I thought she was gonna cry, but would you believe I almost cried instead? I just can’t believe she’s getting so big.”

Winnie smiled and placed her hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Well, it’s all a part of growing up. I can remember when you started kindergarten,” she said nostalgically.

“Oh geez, Gram, I can’t even remember that,” he joked.

“I do. I remember it like it was yesterday,” he eyes sparkled proudly. “I remember how you cried and said you wouldn’t go. You fought tooth and nail not to go into that classroom.”

Nick sighed as his cheeks burned with embarrassment. “Yeah, and you made me go and I remember when I got home you had cookies, but I didn’t want them because all I could do was talk about how much fun I had.”

Winnie laughed heartily. “Well, I’m sure Maddie will be just as eager to talk about her day as you were.”

***

Nick pulled his car up to the curb so he could wait for Madelyn’s class to come out after their first day of kindergarten. Getting out of the car, he walked around to the front and waited for his daughter.

“Daddy!” Madelyn’s voice sounded a few minutes later. Within seconds she was wrapped around his legs.

“Hey, Munchkin! Did you have fun?” Nick smiled and lifted her up in his arms to give her a kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah, Daddy,” she said excitedly. Nick fastened her into her booster seat as she began to tell him the story of her day. “And they have a Larry, Daddy!”

“Really? Wow,” he grinned. Just as he was about to get back into his car, he heard someone calling to him.

“Mr. Carter?”

Turning in the direction of the voice, Nick saw an attractive woman striding quickly in his direction. He smiled politely and looked at Madelyn. “I’ll be right back, Munchkin.” Walking back to the curb he met the woman and accepted her extended hand.

“Hello, Mr. Carter. I’m Ms. Norris, Madelyn’s teacher,” she smiled and tucked a dark strand of hair behind her ear.

“Please, Ms. Norris, call me Nick. How was Maddie today?” he asked with a smile.

“Oh, I’m Melanie. And Madelyn was wonderful today; she’s an absolute delight,” Melanie smiled again and looked at the little girl who was peeking curiously out the window at her teacher. “I just wanted to tell you what a great little girl you have.”

“Believe me, I know,” Nick offered a sideways grin. “Thanks.”

“Well, if you ever need anything…any questions or suggestions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. Have a good afternoon, Nick,” Melanie smiled and turned to head back into the school.

Nick watched the young teacher for a second before he got into his car. “Okay, Munchkin, how was your day?”

***

“Here ya go,” Nick said as he scooped a spoonful of mashed potatoes onto Madelyn’s plate. “Gram, this all looks and smells great.”

“Thank you sweetheart,” Winnie smiled. Pouring a small glass of milk for her great-granddaughter she placed the glass on the table and sat down. “How did you like kindergarten?”

Watching Madelyn’s blue eyes light up, Nick smiled and listened quietly as she began to share the details about her day. Her features became animated as she talked about the new friends she had made during the course of her day and all the things she had learned.

“And I think Ms. Norris likes Daddy,” she said meekly.

“Madelyn Winifred,” Nick looked at his daughter with a shocked expression. “Where in the world did you get an idea like that?”

“She wanted to talk to you, Daddy,” Madelyn stated simply as she looked at him sweetly.

Nick looked at his daughter with a frown before turning to glance at his chuckling grandmother. “That’s not funny, Gram.”

“Nicky, it is funny,” she placed her napkin on the table and continued to laugh. “What makes you think that Maddie’s teacher isn’t interested in you?”

“Gram, this is Maddie’s teacher for Pete’s sake. Besides, I’m not interested in dating her.”

“Well, you say that now, but you really haven’t given her a fair chance, have you? But I suppose it wouldn’t be a good idea to get involved with her teacher.”

“Exactly. Thank you for understanding.”

“Well, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get back out into the dating scene, darlin’,” Winnie said as she placed a hand lovingly on Nick’s arm. “You’re young and quite good-looking; I’m sure there are lots of ladies who would be quite interested in you.”

“I’m just really not interested in dating anyone, Gram,” he replied quietly as he moved his food around on his plate.

“Why not, Nicky? It’s been a long time since you were involved with anyone. Don’t you think you deserve to be happy?”

“I am happy,” his voice became distant. He knew he wasn’t being completely honest with his grandmother, but he also knew that she was well aware of that fact. She knew he hadn’t been truly happy in six years; the day Elisabeth Walker walked out of his life for good, she took all hopes of his happiness with her. After missing Elisabeth’s plane, Nick withdrew into a shell and stayed that way for a few months. He didn’t talk to any of his old friends; Winnie and David were the only two people he saw for a long time. Then one day when he was driving down Main Street he saw Dee-Dee walking to her car, grocery bags hanging from her tired arms as she dropped them to the ground rubbing her swollen pregnant belly before stooping to sling the bags in the car. And that’s when he realized that she needed him. Their child needed him.

And so Nick asked Dee-Dee to be his wife. They had a small ceremony in Winnie and David’s back yard in the company of a few close friends and family members. Soon afterward, Nick and Dee-Dee moved into his new home across town where they settled into becoming a family.

Madelyn Winifred Carter was born at 6:05 pm on March 3, 2004 and she had been Nick’s universe since that day. From the minute he held her, Nick knew that Madelyn would be a Daddy’s girl; they quickly formed a father-daughter bond that was unlike any other and they were not the only ones to notice it.

Soon after Madelyn was born, Dee-Dee became jealous of the fact that Madelyn took so well to her father. She quickly became irritated by the time she had to spend at home; irritated by Nick's rules, his voice, his face. And most of all, she was irritated that her child didn't seem to want anything to do with her. Just before Christmas, when Madelyn was about eight months old, Dee-Dee confronted Nick with her opinion of the situation.

“Nick, I don’t think this is going to work out,” Dee-Dee told him simply as she filed her nails casually.

“What are you talking about?” he asked as he lifted a spoonful of strained carrots to his daughter’s mouth.

“Us. This just isn’t going to work.”

Nick carefully put down the spoon and turned to look at his wife. He would admit, this wasn’t the life he had always hoped for; he learned to care for Dee-Dee, but what they shared wasn’t the love he had always wanted. He had only had that with one woman and he knew he would never see her again, but Dee-Dee gave him a daughter and he was willing to make it work with her. “What brought this on, Dee?”

“I don’t want to be married, Nick,” she said with a shrug. “I just think we rushed into all of this.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“No, Nick, I’m being completely serious,” Dee-Dee said as she stood and began to pace the room nervously. “I’ve already got a bag packed and I’ve got a bus ticket; my bus leaves in two hours.” When Nick remained silent, she started to wring her hands. “Are you mad?”

“What do you think, Dee-Dee?” Nick’s voice was thick with sarcasm. “I completely gave up on the woman I loved so I could make it work with us…I wanted us to be a family and you pushed me into thinking this was what you wanted. Of course I’m mad.”

“Well, you’re the one who asked me to marry you,” her voice became shrill.

“You pushed me into asking you, Dee-Dee! We could have raised Madelyn without being married, but you wanted to get married. This was what you wanted.”

“Well, I just need some time to myself,” she replied curtly and ignored his quickly rising anger. “I’m leaving so I can catch my bus. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

Nick watched, speechless, as Dee-Dee disappeared from the room and re-appeared minutes later with a backpack slung over her slender shoulders. She bent down and placed a quick kiss on Madelyn’s head and then another on Nick’s lips before she left the house.

Now, almost five years later, Dee-Dee still had not called. Madelyn had asked about her mother only once and Nick told her what she wanted to know, but she had not inquired since. At five years old, Madelyn wasn’t sure about the situation, but she was happy and Nick knew that’s all that mattered. If she happened to ask about Dee-Dee again, he would gladly tell her anything she wanted to know, but unless she asked, he wouldn’t bring it up.

“Nick, hon, are you all right?” Winnie’s voice broke into his thoughts.

“Huh? Oh, yes ma’am, I’m fine,” he forced a smile and picked up his fork.

“What were you thinking about?” she inquired quietly.

“Nothin’. Ya know, this is really good, Gram,” he smiled and took a bite of his fried chicken.

“Now, Nickolas, I know you well enough to know you were thinking about something.” Winnie looked at him and sadness filled her eyes. “Was it her?”

“Her? Who are you talking about?” He tried to pretend he didn’t know who Winnie was talking about. He knew she was talking about Elisabeth. After she left, Nick spilled everything about his love for her and to his surprise, Winnie and David didn’t judge him or scold him; they understood and they never once rushed him to get over the loss. Sighing, he looked at his grandmother and nodded slightly. “Yeah.”

“Well, sweetie, don’t worry yourself. Promise me you won’t.”

“I promise,” he forced a smile. Looking over at his daughter, Nick grinned and hooked his pinky with hers. He knew he had to keep his promise.