Chapter Twenty Five - A kiss to heal all wounds

There was an eerie silence as Brad walked out.

Victoria looked at her mother, she looked...she couldn’t really tell how she looked, weary, and upset, and worried.. maybe...

She glanced at her father who was standing at the fire place, not looking on Nikki or her, she saw his lips set in a tight line.. "This can’t turn out good" She thought.

Victor turned around quietly and his eyes locked with Nikki, she turned them away, avoiding his piercing gaze....not really knowing what to say to him.

He couldn’t help but say sarcastically "Well, how generous of him to stop by to keep you company"

Nikki titled her head and looked at him exasperated "Victor..." she said, "Don’t start, please"

Victoria tried to read the look on his eyes, he didn’t looked angry, upset.. sure... but not angry... jealous, that’s for sure... very, very jealous.

It almost made her smile, "Oh, why didn’t they realize how much they meant for each other?"

Victor slowly turned to his daughter and said "Sweetheart, could you kindly give me a few moments alone with your mother?"

Vicki shook her head "No" She answered flatly.

Nikki looked up at her and said "I think your father’s right, we have to talk about a few things"

Victoria said "Not if it’s going to turn into an unnecessary fight  over that annoying je..."

Nikki cut her off harshly "Victoria, that’s enough!"

Victoria breathed out air from her mouth in a frustrated gesture...looking at her parents, not really wanting to go.

Victor told his daughter "Victoria, I’m asking you..."

Victoria sighed deeply, and was about to walk out the door when she paused, turned to her parents, took a deep breath and said hurriedly "Just remember it’s Christmas, okay? And Brad is nothing worth to spoil the holiday over"

And walked out, door slamming behind her.

Victor and Nikki looked at the door and than on each other, Victor turned back to the fire, Nikki  told him softly "Victor...I didn’t invite him"

Victor said nothing, he tried to make sense of what he was feeling, and he was feeling quite a lot of things.

Nikki watched him from behind and asked him lightly "Well, Aren’t you going to say something"

Victor shrugged "What would you like me to say?" He asked quietly, not looking at her.

Nikki said quietly ‘What you feel, maybe"

Victor snorted "What, that I can’t stand him, you already knew that"

Nikki nodded in disbelief as she said, deliberately trying to get him to talk "So, that’s why you’re upset, because you don’t like Brad, sure"

Victor turned sharply to her "Are you trying to make us fight or what?"

Nikki shook her head "No, I’m just trying to figure out what you’re thinking..."

Victor s "Nikki, when I told you what I thought about yours and Bradley’s relationship the last time
you hardly spoke to me afterwards"

Nikki looked at him and said quietly and sadly "I hope you don’t still feel the same about it.. I thought we were over that...am I wrong?"

Victor’s look softened and he answered her "You’re not wrong"

Nikki smiled at him, a bit sadly "Oh,  then why did you said "relationship", you know I’m not involved with him anymore"

Victor said "He thinks so, He thinks he still has a chance to win you back"

Nikki said reassuringly "So he think so... so what Victor, I’ve told him, and you I don’t want him back, why isn’t that enough?"

Victor sighed deeply and turned away from her "Nikki, you know I’m not the kind of man who will deal with it very well"

Nikki couldn’t help but suppress a grin "Oh, I know... I know..."

Victor turned to her with a sigh "So?"

Nikki asked him "What do you want me to say to him? I can’t tell you about what’s going on between us right now, you know how I feel about that... and to tell you the truth, if there is a way I can make sure he would never find out my unresolved feelings for you were what got in the middle between us I would take it, I don’t want to hurt him and it would be better for everyone"

Victor sighed in frustration and turned his look away.

Nikki frowned and said "I know that if I was up to you, you would have rubbed it in his face..."

Victor returned his look to her and said "Nikki, I’m human, I can’t help being a little jealous"

Nikki let out a short laugh "Yes, a *little* jealous..."

Victor asked her "What would you like me to think, you bought him a present"

Nikki rolled her eyes "Yes, weeks ago, when we were still together"

Victor claimed "Nikki, you didn't’ exactly discouraged him from whatever he was thinking!"

Nikki said, a little upset "And how would I do that with you and Victoria standing right there?, Victor, I still care about him...I didn’t have the heart!

Victor asked her, hurt "Even when you know how I feel about it"

Regret covered Nikki’ s features, she could see he was hurt by her attitude toward Brad, even though he really didn’t have a good reason "How do I make him understand?" She thought.

She approached him and said "Victor, you have to understand how I felt,  you looking at me like that, excepting me to tell him that I want him to go away and never come back, while he just waited for any sign from me that we might have a future together... with Victoria looking on..."

Victor commented "Wanting the same thing I did, by the way, she really dislikes Brad you know"

Nikki said "She was never particularly  fond of anyone either of us got involved with, although I must admit, she does seem a lot more ...overt about it when it comes to Brad"

Victor smirked, he rather enjoyed his daughter’s reaction to Brad.

Nikki noticed the smile and commented "I wonder where she gets it from..."

Victor said "She’s been testing us all evening..."

Nikki nodded with a little smile "Yes, and she wasn’t even the least secretive about it..."

Victor said "We played right into her hands"

Nikki nodded "I know... do you think she knows?"

Victor teased her "Knows what?"

Nikki rolled her eyes "You know what I mean... she wouldn’t have asked from us to kiss unless she thought we would"

Victor said  "I don’t think that has anything to do with it, It’s Christmas"

Nikki said "You mean we probably would have kissed anyway, if she asked us to?"

Victor eyed her "You don’t think so?"

A smile crept up to her lips "I don’t know...that depends...you might have a point there, it is very much like Victoria to do something like that... and very much like us to, honor her request..."

They smiled to each other and the tension faded away.

There was a pause and Victor said "I could ask, you know"

Nikki asked "Ask what?"

Victor said "What you wrote to Brad..."

Nikki sighed and tried to get out of it "Victor, I’ve written it weeks ago, when we were still together..."

Victor asked "Then why do I get the feeling that it very much concern the present?"

Nikki turned away "I don’t want to tell you" she pouted

Victor asked "Why not?"

Nikki said, not looking at him "Because you might take it all wrong, and it doesn’t matter now"

Victor said quietly "It matters to me"

Nikki turned to him , not knowing what to do, but then said "Okay... hmmm... I told him that, hmmm...
I’m very glad he is in my life, that we’re good for each other, that he filled a void that was in my life for a very long time, and that... he helped me get over you, that I might be falling for  him" she sent her eyes up to him and immediately regretted ever saying something as she saw the expression on his face.

There was a long silence and than Victor said grimly "You might have been right"

Nikki asked softly "About what?"

Victor said "That I didn’t want to hear that..."

Nikki said "I’m sorry if that hurts you"

Victor turned to her and asked "Is it true?"

Nikki was silence and said "It was, when I wrote it..."

Victor asked her "Did you really come to care about *him* that way?"
He almost spit out the word "Him" as he said it.

Nikki answered "I thought I did...I hoped I did"

Victor looked at her with surprise "Why did you hope that?"

Nikki answered quietly "Because I wanted to move on, and, forget... I think"

Victor still wanted to hear her say it "Forget what?"

Nikki almost glared at him, but her voice was soft as she said "You know I mean you..."

Victor asked her "So, did it work?"

Nikki shook her head very slowly "Apparently not, otherwise we wouldn’t be standing here, having this discussion would we?"

Victor asked her tenderly "Do you regret it?"

Nikki shook her head "No, but it *scares* me..."

Victor asked her "Scares you?"

Nikki told him passionately "Victor... you, me, *us*, it’s the closest we’ve been in years, Victor, we have such an unstable relationship... we have ups and downs, and the ups are wonderful... but the downs... the downs are devastating, at least to me, and I think for you as well....we’re going through so much with Nicholas right now, I’m afraid to get in any deeper only to get more hurt later..."

Victor asked her "Don’t you think we should risk it?"

Nikki looked at him and said quietly "If you can say it this easily, than maybe it has been harder on me that it has been for you"

Victor said, hurt by her words "That’s not true"

Nikki said, a bit bitterly "Then I guess you just covered it a lot better than I do"

There was a long silence, they looked at each other, tears in both of their eyes and then Victor put his finger on her lips and said "Enough..."

Nikki asked him "Enough what?"

Victor told her "Victoria was right, it’s Christmas, our son called here for the first time, we shouldn’t
get into all of that right now, or at once, it’s a lot to work out"

Nikki closed her eyes, letting a tear fall on her cheek and said "You’re right, we shouldn’t, this is not how I wanted to end this evening...and I’m glad you’re realize those are things we’ll have to work out"

Victor smiled at her, trying to make her feel better "How did you want that evening to end?"

Nikki shrugged "I didn’t have any specific ideas... "

She looked up to him, as they have been standing very close to each other.. "Do you?"

Victor said "I was thinking... we can do a lot better..."

Nikki looked at him curious "Do what a lot better?..."

Victor pointed up, to the mistletoe and said "I think the audience kind of interrupted..."

Nikki couldn’t help but smile but said with a note of warning  "Victor..."

Victor said "I’m not pressuring you, okay?  I just think that... it might end the night in a better note.."

Nikki looked at him wordlessly for a moment, not wanting to do anything else but what he suggested as she nodded very slowly.

Victor took her head with his hands and kissed her on the forehead, Nikki closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as his warm lips touched her skin.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, their faces a mere inches apart, his brown eyes gazing into her
shockingly blue one.

They both closed their eyes as their lips touched, sending waves of passion through them.

Nikki wrapped her arm around his neck as they kissed, first tenderly, and then passionately, Victor arms hugged her around the waist as she moved her fingers through his hair while they kissed, savoring every moment like it’s the last one and not letting go.....