“Hey Air,” Nick walked into Aaron’s room and greeted his young son with a smile. Brynn had been sitting there, reading with him, and stood up when Nick walked in. He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek before turning back to his son. “I have good news for you.”

“What?” Aaron asked, immediately perking up. He hated the hospital and hoped he was getting out of there soon.

Nick quickly glanced at Brynn, who took the hint and excused herself from the room, promising to bring Aaron some ice cream later. Once she was gone, Nick sat himself down in the chair she had vacated and pulled it right up to Aaron’s bed. “We found a person to donate the bone marrow for you.”

“Really?” Aaron asked. “Am I going to get better?”

Nick grinned, thrilled to finally have some good news for his sick son. “Yup. Once they give you the bone marrow, then you’ll start to get better.”

“Who’s giving it to me?” Aaron questioned, glancing at his father with wide, innocent eyes.

Nick cringed. He knew that he was going to have to say it. He couldn’t lie to his son. But he had hoped he would have a little bit more to explain to him before he told him what was really going on. “Um…actually…your mom is.”

“Mom?” Aaron’s eyes widened. “How…She’s here? Where?”

“She’s at a hotel right now,” Nick told him. Aaron looked so confused and there wasn’t anything Nick could do to clear it up because he was just as confused as he was.

“A hotel?” the little boy questioned. “Why isn’t she at our house? Is she going to stay? Can I see her?”

Nick’s heart broke at the look on his son’s face. He wanted nothing more than to put his family back to normal but that was completely out of the question at this point. He honestly had no idea what to tell him at this point because he didn’t have the answers himself.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

“Hey,” Brynn greeted Nick as he walked in the house. “I didn’t expect you home so early.”

“My mom is with Aaron for awhile,” Nick replied, collapsing in a chair at the kitchen table. “She told me I smelled.”

Brynn laughed, sitting down on his lap and placing a soft kiss on his lips. “You don’t smell, baby. But maybe you should clean up a little bit.”

“Thanks,” he chuckled. “Is that a nice way of telling me my mom was right?”

She shook her head, grinning. “Of course not.” They were both silent for a second, consumed in their own thoughts. Brynn watched him carefully as he played with the cordless phone that was sitting on the table. She had no idea what he was thinking or what was going to happen in the future. Would Nick still want her when all of this was over? Or would he want his wife and his family back? She was terrified that he would choose the latter option. How could she compete with what they had? She had heard stories from Leighanne about the rocky relationship Katelin and Nick had. But, even though Leighanne had never actually come out and said it, underneath all of that drama, there was so much love. A love like that can’t just end. And even though Brynn was sure that Nick cared for her deeply, she didn’t think she could ever compete with what he felt for his wife.

“What are you thinking?” Nick’s voice broke into her thoughts.

She glanced up quickly and smiled at him, running her fingers through his hair. “Nothing. I’m just glad that everything is going to work out with Aaron.”

“Hopefully,” Nick said, wistfully. “I just hope this works. She may be our only hope.”

“You told him that it was her, didn’t you?” Brynn asked.

Nick nodded, his eyes immediately clouding over. “Yeah.”

“How’d he take the news?” she questioned, carefully. She could tell that he felt awkward about talking about this with her but she wanted him to know that she was there for him no matter what.

Nick sighed. “He was confused.” He knew that was going to happen. Nick had nothing to tell him except that his mom had returned and she was staying in a hotel a few blocks away from the hospital. “He asked me so many questions and I had no answers for him. And, of course, he asked when he was going to see her. I didn’t even know what to tell him. I don’t want him to see her yet.”

She grabbed his hand in his, intertwining their fingers. “Don’t hate me for saying this but I think you should let him see her.” Nick went to retort but she placed her finger over his lips, quieting him. “Just hear me out, baby. I know you’re angry and you have every right to be. And I know you don’t know what to tell them about where she’s been and why but be honest with me. And with yourself. Is the only reason you won’t let her see them is because you don’t want to confuse them right now? Or does a part of you just want to punish her for leaving you guys?”

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

“What am I doing here, Brendan?” Katelin asked, after the waiter had taken their drink orders.

“You’re helping your son,” Brendan stated, matter-of-factly.

Katelin sighed. “I know. And I know there’s no other choice. I would do anything to help him…But my life was so much easier back in New York.”

“Was it really, though?” he asked, sipping his water. “What was really better about it? I mean, I know you’re…healthier…now than you were then. But seriously, Kate, are you really better off in New York when everything that’s ever really mattered to you is in Florida?”

She thought for a minute. Of course that was the truth. She would never think any differently. But she was scared that now that she was back here, everything she had worked for in the past three years was just going to come crashing down.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Nick sat in the lobby of the hotel, bouncing his knee up and down. He checked his watch again. Where the hell were they? He had been waiting here for over an hour now. By the time he had actually worked up the nerve to enter the hotel, it was almost eleven o’clock. He didn’t need to be here. Where he needed to be was at the hospital with his son.

He heard the laughter before he even saw her. He knew instantly that it was her. He slowly turned around and spotted them sauntering, arm-in-arm, into the hotel. Every time he saw the two of them together his heart, literally, hurt. How could she have walked out on him…on their children…for another man? Maybe that wasn’t even the reason. He would love to say that he didn’t care but he knew he couldn’t lie to himself, or anyone else, for that matter.

She looked up and immediately stopped laughing. Blue eyes met blue. “Nick? Uh…what are you doing here?”

“I…” Nick couldn’t tear his eyes away from how close another man was to his wife. He felt his hand close in a tight fist. “I needed to talk to you about something.”

Her features immediately darkened. “What now, Nick? You already told me you want to move on, you want a divorce, I can’t see my kids…What else do you want? Do you want me to sign my parental rights over to your little mistress too?” She felt Brendan elbow her repeatedly during her tirade but she couldn’t stop. She didn’t even know why she was so angry. Nick hadn’t done anything wrong. Everything wrong in their relationship had been entirely her fault. But she couldn’t help herself. All that kept replaying in her mind was that last conversation between them in Aaron’s hospital room.

“Uh, excuse me,” Brendan interrupted, sensing the obvious tension between the two of them. “Kate, I’ll be in the bar. You two go upstairs and discuss this. I don’t think a lobby full of people needs to hear it.” Katelin nodded towards Brendan and pushed past Nick, at that point, not even really caring if he followed her or not.

***** ***** ****** ***** ***** *****

“Hey mom,” Leslie greeted, waltzing into Aaron’s hospital room. The Carter family and the rest of the guys all had a schedule so Aaron would basically not ever be alone at the hospital. Usually Nick was there at night, but Jane had called Leslie down tonight. “Where’s Nick?”

“He had some errands to run,” Jane replied. “I think he stopped by Kate’s hotel. Said he needed to discuss something with her.”

“A divorce, hopefully,” Leslie muttered.

“Les,” Jane warned. “We don’t know the whole story.”

“So?” Leslie wondered. “I can’t think of anything that would make what she did okay. Can you?”

Jane shrugged. “I don’t know, honey.” She just hoped that something…anything…would just happened that would make everything okay. That this whole, three-year nightmare would just end. Her family had been through too much. They had lost too much.

“Have you seen her?” Leslie asked.

Jane shook her head. “No. Have you?”

“No,” Leslie replied. “Apparently BJ has though. She saw Kate walking out of the hotel yesterday with that guy Brendan.”

“I can’t promise that I won’t strangle her if I see her,” Jane chuckled. “With everything she’s put my son through, it’s probably a good thing she and I haven’t crossed paths yet.”

***** ***** ***** ****** ***** *****

The tension was thick in the elevator on the ride up to Kate’s room. Nick was seething and wanted nothing more than to give his soon-to-be ex-wife a piece of his mind. But there were two young girls riding up with them and that’s all he needed at this point were repots of the two of them screaming at each other in the elevator.

The elevator arrived at Kate’s floor and she stalked off without so much as a glance in his direction. He rolled his eyes and followed her, waiting as she unlocked the hotel room door. The door slammed behind them and she threw the keys on the dresser. She turned around to face him and folded her arms across her chest, waiting for him to speak. “Well?”

“Don’t look at me like I’m the bad guy,” he growled. “I’m not the one who walked out. All I’ve tried to do in the past three years is what’s right for my children.”

“She’s not their mother, Nick.” She glared at him. “I am.”

He rolled his eyes. “She’s been more of a mother to them in the last few months than you have in three years. You hardly have any room to talk.”

“What do you want from me?” Katelin yelled, throwing her arms up in the air. “You wanted a divorce, I’m giving you one. You want me to help Aaron, I’m helping him. You want me to stay away from all of them, I have. What else do you want? Why are you here?”

Why was he there? He could barely even remember anymore. He was torn between grabbing her and shaking her, asking why she felt the need to walk on their marriage…on their life. And there was option two: pulling her into his arms and never, ever letting go. Instead, he took a step back and ran a hand through his short blond hair.

“I talked to Aaron this afternoon,” he explained. “I told him you were here and that you were the one that was going to help him get better.”

Katelin’s head snapped towards him. “What?” She thought for sure he wouldn’t have said anything to their son about her. She figured he would’ve let Aaron think that the donor was just some random stranger.

“He wants to see you,” Nick told her.

Her eyes teared up and she quickly wiped at them, not giving the tears the chance to fall. “He does?” she asked, watching as he slowly nodded. “What about Bri…”

“Just Aaron,” he quickly interrupted, inwardly flinching as her face visibly fell. “I already told him that you were helping him. But I don’t know what I’m going to do about the twins yet. I don’t know what to tell them still. So, right now, just Aaron.”

She couldn’t argue with that right now, no matter how badly she wanted to see Brian and Kayleigh. “Thank you,” she whispered, tearfully. She tentatively stepped towards him and wrapped her arms around him, suddenly not wanting to ever let go.

Nick tensed up as he felt her envelope him in her arms. He nervously reached up and put his arms around her small body. And, all of the sudden, it was as if nothing had changed. She fit so well in his arms. So comfortable. So familiar. And he didn’t want to let go.

Katelin was surprised. She knew she was taking a chance by reaching out ot him. Bu the had let her. She pulled away, slightly, and looked up into his eyes. He glanced down at her and couldn’t look away. Slowly, his hands came up and he took her face into his hands. His head bent down towards hers and, suddenly, his lips were upon hers.

Shocked only for a second, she relaxed into his kiss and opened her mouth to him, allowing his tongue to meet hers. Her hands reached up to play with the hairs on the back of his neck, while his slid down toward her lower back, drawing her even closer to his body.

Nick couldn’t contain himself and began kissing her with such a fervor, he almost didn’t recognize himself. He found himself lifting her slightly off of the ground and slamming her back against the wall, his lips moving from her own down to her neck. He heard her moan and was suddenly jolted back to reality. He quickly pulled away. “I…I can’t do this.” Before allowing her to say anything, he quickly began moving to the door. “I have to go. Come by the hospital around noon to see Aaron.”

Katelin watched in stunned silence as the door slammed behind him. She gingerly brought her right up and touched her lips. Feeling tears sting her eyes, she slid down the wall to the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest and beginning to cry.

Brendan saw Nick as he came off of the elevator and could tell, just by the look on his face, that something wasn’t right. He quickly unlocked the door and was surprised to see her huddled on the floor in tears. “What happened?” he asked, kneeling down next to her and pulling her into his arms.

Katelin hiccupped. “He kissed me…and…then he just walked out. I can’t do this, Brendan. I don’t know if I can be here and not be with him.”

As much as it pained him to say it, Brendan knew it was the right thing to do. “Then fight for him, Kate. That’s your family. Tell Nick everything and fight to get your life back.”

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