Nick was in the kitchen listening to the radio and making breakfast when E wandered in the next morning. "What is this Carter, some strange bed and breakfast?" she teased, sitting down.
"Nope, this is me being hungry deciding I needed to eat. Then I figured you'd be up soon and made extra." he set two plates down on the table.
"Looks surprisingly edible. You mean in the almost year I've known you you've been hiding the fact you could cook?"
Nick laughed. "Trust me you'll probably wish I ended up hiding that fact."
"We'll see. So when are you going to see her today?"
Nick shrugged and looked at his breakfast. "I don't know if I am."
"You are, if I have to drag you up to her front door myself."
He laughed and looked up. "You're not kidding are you?"
"Did I kid about making you come home?" she smiled at him.
Brian woke up to an empty bed. He sat up partially in bed and surveyed the room, no sign of her anywhere. He walked down the hall and checked all the rooms but she wasn't there. Brian took the steps two at a time downstairs hoping nothing had happened. As he walked into the kitchen he spotted the door to the deck open. Just as he went to shut it he spotted her asleep on the chaise lounge. "Lis?" he asked, kneeling beside her.
"B?" she asked, still half asleep.
"That's me. How long have you been out here?" he touched her arm and was surprised to find it cold. "Come on, we're getting you inside."
"I'm okay really." she said, starting to sit up.
"You're going up to bed and that's final. I've gotta go for awhile but I'll be back with breakfast." he picked her up and carried her upstairs.
"B, I need Michael's baby monitor." she said as he tucked her into bed.
"I'll grab it. You want anything special when I come back?"
She shook her head. "All right, I'll bring up the monitor. If you need me I've got my cell." he kissed her forehead and left the room.
Lis sighed, snuggling deeper under the covers. She knew if that had been Nick he would have skipped the meeting and stayed with her.
Brian was just about to go upstairs with the baby monitor when someone knocked on the door. He stuck the monitor on the table and answered the door, startled to see Shan standing there.
"Hey Shan." he waved her in. "Lis is upstairs sleeping."
"Oh." She answered surprised, she hadn't figured Lis would have come home.
Bri looked at her. "Oh?"
"I would have thought she'd be up by now that's all."
"She didn't get home till late, so she's sleeping in."
"I'll watch Michael till she's up. Just needed to talk to her." Shan moved out of Bri's way as he prepared to leave.
"I'm sure she'll be happy to have you around." Bri smiled at her, "Could you take her up the baby monitor? She left it out on the patio and I was just going to bring it up for her."
"Course. Bye Rok."
"Bye Shan." he grabbed his car keys and headed out the door, giving her a final wave before he got in his car.
Shan took a deep breath, it was wrong really wrong to be jealous of her best friend. She took her denim jacket off, threw it on the couch and headed upstairs.
Lis heard footsteps on the stairs. "B, just set it on the nightstand."
"It's me." Shan said, walking around to Lis' side of the bed. "Why the hell are you here?"
"Because this is where I belong." she answered softly.
"As much as this kills me to say, you belong with Carter." Shan sat on the nearby chair. "What happened last night?"
"He's with someone else."
"Impossible. I've seen that tape he made you." she said shaking her head.
"I know what I saw...he's moved on, which is good." Lis rolled over in bed.
"Then why did you come home so late?"
"I drove around and I went to the beach. Nothing big. Why are you here?"
"I wanted to see what happened between you two."
Shan sat playing with Michael in the living room when she heard a key in the lock. "Either Han's back or Bri is." she informed him, glancing up at the doorway. "Oh no!"
"What? And nice welcome there Shan." Nick said, setting his backpack down.
"It's daddy's little man." he said walking over to his son.
"Man you really have a lot of nerve." she muttered, watching him pick Michael up and sitting down on the couch.
"Where's Lissy?" Nick asked, taking his eyes off his son for a minute.
"I think she's past the crying herself to sleep stage, now she's probably just sleeping."
"What happened?"
"I don't know, why don't you tell me?" Shan picked up Michael's toys and stuffed them inside the playpen in the corner.
Nick stood up and followed Shan into the kitchen. "Shan what the hell is going on?"
She turned around. "Why don't you just go back to wherever you came from and take your girlfriend with you?"
"Girlfriend? What girlfriend?" Nick asked confused.
Shan saw one of Michael's baby monitors on the table. "Let's go outside."
Nick nodded and grabbed one of Michael's blankets off the chair and headed onto the deck. "What are you talking about?"
"I don't even know why I'm doing this but Lis went over to see you last night."
Nick sat down, "No she didn't. I never saw her and E would have said if..."
"She saw you, you didn't see her." she interrupted.
"That doesn't make any sense." he shook his head, suddenly remembering hearing a gate slam. "Oh shit."
"Bravo Nicky."
Brian walked into the recording studio seeing the other three guys all ready there. "Hey guys." B greeted, taking his usual seat.
"Hey Frick." D said, "How's everything?"
"Good I guess."
"No surprises?" AJ asked, leaning back in his chair.
Brian poured himself a water. "Well Nick showed up."
D almost dropped his glass. "He's home? What's that mean for you and L?"
"Nothing. We're still together." Bri answered, looking at each of his friends. The look of surprise on each of there faces worried him. "You guys don't think we should be getting married do you?"
Kevin cleared his throat. "Well, it's just they went through hell there B and Nick clearly remembers their life...maybe he should have a chance to be with his family."
Lis rolled over in bed, hearing voices from outside the balcony. She kicked the comforter off her and headed to the doors, opening it slightly. The second she heard Nick's voice she shut the door again and went straight back to bed.
"Shan, please you have to help me!" Nick pleaded, staring her in the eyes.
"Why?" she stirred her coffee and smiled at Michael.
"Because..." he paused, "If Lis gets back with me you can go for Rok."
Shan looked at him startled. "What?"
"I remember you saying something about B once, you liked him didn't you? Maybe if you still do..."
Shan shook her head. "He's in love with Lis."
"Are you sure?" Nick asked, wondering if his best friend really did love her.
"I think so."
Nick studied Shan's face. "No he doesn't. Look Shan, please I need your help here, she trusts you. You can kinda tell her things...maybe get her to go away with me."
"Go away with you? Man you want a lot."
"I just want what we had back."
