Nick sat there, stunned. He didn't know what to believe. Did Yvette get married and have this little girl? As soon as he thought this, he shook his head. This girl had his features. 'It couldn't be' he thought. 'Could it?'
"Momma, pleaaase! Can I keep the doggie??"
Yvette looked at her and then at Nick, then back at her daughter again.
"We'll talk about it later, honey". Soon enough, she motioned towards Ally.
Ally completely understood what she was begging her to do.
"Andrea, come play outside for a while. Mommy is talking to someone important here" Ally replied, taking Andrea by the hand. Having walked a few steps towards the door, Andrea turned around and looked at Nick straight in the eye. Her little jaw dropped immediately. "Are you... ? Are you…?"
"Ally, take her out" Yvette interrupted as Ally took her out of the office and closed the door behind her.
Nick looked at Yvette and opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.
"Nick… I-"
"What's all this? I mean, who's -" Nick said, sitting down on one of her chairs, breathing heavily.
"She's your daughter, Nick"
Those words rang in Nick's mind for what seemed like minutes.
"W-Why didn't you tell me anything? Why didn't you tell me that I had a daughter… That…that you were pregnant, when everything happened"
"Nick, I didn't know I was pregnant, when we broke up… One month after everything happened, I found out and I tried calling you, but you changed every phone number there was"
"Why didn't you call to my house? You know my family has always been there for you, Yvette. They would love to know that they have a damn granddaughter, don't you think?" Nick started raising his voice.
"What was I supposed to tell them? 'Hi Jane, Bob… hey Aaron, I got something to tell you. Nick and I are going to have a baby and your son behaved like the biggest asshole changing all his phone numbers, so I couldn't get a hold of him. Would you tell him that, so that we can live happily ever after?' Bullshit Nick! I'm not like that. If you wanted to know about your daughter and me, you should have called"
"How the fuck am I supposed to know something that I have no idea of?!?" Nick yelled, throwing his arms in the air.
"Why did you have to behave like an asshole? Why did you have to run away and be a coward, changing everything about you; from phone numbers to addresses, so that I couldn't find you? Why? I mean, it's not like you let me explain or anything"
"I didn't want an explanation, Yvette… I was mad. Besides, it was enough with what I saw"
"We didn't do a damn thing, Nick! How many times am I supposed to tell you that?" she said, overcome by frustration.
"How do I know for sure that she's mine?" Nick sneered.
Yvette's eyes welled up with tears. "I can't believe you just said that" she whispered, throwing the picture frame that she had in between her hands at him. "Can't you see that she's you?!? Didn't you see her when she came in? How she smiled? Her glare? Her eyes? What the hell happened to you Nick? I- I just can't believe you said that… I thought you were another kind of person. And you know what? You don't deserve shit with her if you don't even recognize her as your daughter… She's yours, Nick. I would have NEVER done anything to destroy what we had, because I loved it, and I loved you… and she's-" she said walking to Nick and pointing to the picture frame "she.. Andrea Marie, is a reflection of that… of the love that I had for you" she finished, sobbing.
Nick took a deep breath and looked at the frame in front of him. That was one stupid question, the one he made. He knew in his heart that she was his daughter. He still couldn't believe that she was talking about their love in past tense. Deep down inside, he thought that she still felt something for him. He looked up at Yvette, who was still crying, covering her face in her hands.
"I'm sorry" he remarked, putting his arm around her shoulders.
Instantly, she shoved them away. "Don't touch me"
Nick got his hands away from her and paced around the office. "Can I see her?"
Yvette looked at him, her eyes red from crying. "Are you sure?"
"Of course… I know she's mine" he half-smiled.
"Don't see her now and run away from her life later. If you're planning on staying, go see her. If not, don't waste your time. She gets acquainted with everybody very easily and she's going to love you from the minute she sees you. I don't want her to get hurt by you" Yvette replied coldly.
"I'm not planning on doing so"
"I hope so" she nodded.
"Please, can I see her?"
Yvette sighed softly and called Ally, who brought Andrea in her arms. Yvette took her, as her daughter buried her face in her shirt.
"Baby, there's someone who wants to meet you" Yvette whispered tenderly in Andrea's ear.
"Hey, Andrea" Nick said with a smile.
"That's Daddy, honey" Yvette said, starting to cry again.
Andrea looked from her mom to Nick and smiled. Nick extended his arms at her and she took them freely, going into Nick's arms and hugging him tightly.
Seeing the scene unfolding in front of her, Yvette started crying softly as she sat down. She had waited for this moment for four years and a half.
"Daddy, Nicky?" Andrea grinned, caressing his hair.
"Yeah, baby… I'm your Daddy" Nick breathed in awe. He definitely believed in love at first sight now.
"I love you, Daddy"
"I love you too, honey" he said, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.
"Can you play Barbie's with me?"
Nick couldn't do anything but smile. "Sure! Where are the Barbie's?"
"Back at home… Can Daddy go back home with us, Momma?" Andrea replied innocently, glancing at Yvette.
"Uh-" she stammered.
"It's okay… if you don't want me to come, I understand" Nick replied, putting Andrea on the floor.
"Actually, it's fine" she smiled. "You can come if you want"
Nick was definitely surprised at this comment. "Are you sure? I don't want you to be mad at me later"
"It's okay, Nick. You can come"
"Daddy! I'm going to call Auntie Val, so that she can meet you!"
"Who's Auntie Val?" Nick asked, looking at her little self.
Andrea put her hands on her hips. "My auntie, Daddy!"
Nick started laughing as he sat down in one of the chairs. "Okay, I guess I'll meet auntie Val, then"
"Ally!" Andrea screamed.
"Andrea! What did I tell you about screaming?" Yvette chimed in.
"I'm sowwwwyyyy" Andrea replied. "Ally!" she then whispered.
Yvette smiled lightly. "That's better"
Right then and there, Andrea walked out of the office to look for Ally. As soon as she slammed the door behind her, Nick looked at Yvette.
"It seems that I've lost so much"
"You have… She's an amazing little girl"
"I don't mean with her only… but with you too"
Yvette glued her eyes to the floor. "Nick…"
He walked closer to her and took her hand in his. "I've missed you"
"Nick, don't say that… It's been four years"
"I know, and it seems that I've missed out on so many things"
"Don't try to talk me into this, Nickolas"
"Why?"
"Why are you saying this? Last time I knew, you were against me and not letting me explain anything that happened that day. Did you suddenly change your mind?"
"Yvette, I want to start things over… I've been an asshole and I admit it"
"Now that you saw your kid? Now, it's too late, Nick… If you want to have a relationship, have a meaningful one with your daughter… It's too late to start over with me, Nick… Besides, we're divorced"
"That doesn't mean shit, Yvette. You and I both know that we can start over"
"You and I?" Yvette shook her head. "You and I are a lot of people. You think that we can start over. I don't think the same way. It's too late for that. Besides, you don't know if I'm dating or not."
"I know you're not"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I can see it in your eyes"
"You're wrong, Nick… If you want to be with Andrea, feel free to do it as long as you don't hurt her. I won't mind at all… With me on the other hand, it's over… I don't want to have anything to do with you. I'm completely dedicated to my daughter and her well being"
"Your daughter needs a father"
"And you're going to be there… I won't deny anything to you"
"Then why are you denying this?" Nick said, as he took her face in her hands and kissed her softly, something that Yvette didn't expect at all.