"So, what happened?" Nick sat down opposite of Chris, his head down,
"I didn't get here as soon as she called." Chris nodded,
"You were on tour I'm sure you couldn't get a flight immediately." He loved that he was given the benefit of the doubt,
"No, I mean when she called I told her I couldn't make it until after the tour. I didn't get here and see MacKenzie until like a few days later, a couple of days after she told me she needed surgery." He looked up at her and saw the of confusion and disbelief,
"What? So, why did you finally come?" He licked his lips, he might as well be honest with someone,
"Elliott threatened to go to the press if I didn't." She stood up quickly,
"Nick, man I can't believe you." He stood up and nodded his head,
"I know, I know." He placed his hand on her shoulder but immediately removed it when she turned to him,
"I know and I'm sorry, it was wrong, I don't know what I was thinking but now she hates me." Chris shook her head,
"Good girl." He sighed and felt even more awful if that was possible. He just needed at least someone on her side, her family or one of her friends one his side, to understand that he wasn't a bad person. He knew he messed up and he knew it was awful but it was like one moment in time, it wasn't who he was as a father. He didn't really know what kind of father he was. He did know, he had been a bad one up until then and even he had to admit it,
"Look, I know I haven't been there for them but I want to, it's just hard, trying to get used to this." Chris shook her head, giving him an unsympathetic look,
"That's all bullshit Nick. You know, I'm just going to lay it out there because Quinn is more important to me than caring what Nick Carter thinks about me." He could see the tears in her eyes,
"She's been luckier than most that she hasn't had to struggle like some single mothers do but that doesn't matter. She would rather have you in Mac's life than your money. Quit talking about getting adjusted and just get adjusted already. About how it was a shock, well it's been months, the shock is over, act like it." He sighed and shook his head,
"You don't understand either." Chris frowned,
"What is there to understand Nick? What is it? Make me understand." He sighed and sat down,
"I don't want to be a dad. I'm not ready." She sat back down in her own chair,
"No one is ever ready to be a parent. Everyone learns as they go along, everyone." He licked his lips nervously and looked down,
"Yeah, but Quinn is so good with her." Chris laughed lightly,
"Do you think she was always like that? She had her tough times in the beginning too. She would cry for no reason. Well, she had her reasons. Stress, embarrassment, lack of sleep-" He frowned as one of those caught his attnention,
"Wait, embarrassed? About what?" Chris sighed,
"Getting pregnant. Being stupid, as she said." That was a feeling he had, he didn't know she felt that way too,
"I learned watching Quinn and listening to her that you can't try to be June Cleaver, The Cosby Show or any of that other stuff on TV. It does such a disservice to young moms. It made Quinn think that if she wasn't loving every noise Mac made and enjoyed 100% being a mom all the time that she was a no good parent. Then she'd cry about thinking she wasn't a good enough mom." He sighed,
"I didn't know that."
"Maybe if you would have talked to her, been apart of Mac's life more you would know. Nick, it's not some death sentence. Your life isn't over because you have a kid. I mean, look at that kid. You should be showing her off to evryone you see. Pulling out a wallet with like fifty pictures." He smiled a little,
"I know, you're right." She nodded,
"I know I'm right. And thank God she looks like her mother." Nick frowned and stood up so he could get a better look at MacKenzie,
"What? You're crazy. She looks like me. Ok, she has Quinn's color obviously but she has my." He stood there for a moment and Chris laughed,
"Your what? She doesn't have your eyes or your hari." Nick frowned even more,
"Ok whatever but she's pretty in general and that's me." Chris put her hands on her hips,
"Are you trying to say my girl isn't pretty? I'm telling Quinn." He shook his head and looked over at her,
"No, she's beautiful. You know I used to watch her sleep when-" He snapped his mouth shut quickly and shook his head,
"Um, I need to make a phone call um, you should visit with her." He walked off and left Chris to be alone with MacKenzie. He didn't know where that came from? That decision to tell Chris something so intimate about his feelings for Quinn. No one knew he used to watch Quinn sleep, not even Quinn. He would lay beside her and lightly trace her face with his finger. He walked down the hall and stopped by the waiting room to find Larry. He was sitting in the corner near the door talking to Quinn,
"Hey, I'm going to take a walk outside." Larry stood up and Nick shook his head,
"No, stay here." Larry shook his head a little more emphatically,
"You're not going anywhere by yourself." Nick sighed, he didn't have the energy to argue,
"Ok, Josh can go with me." Josh was a couple of inches taller than Nick and just as big,
"Hey man, wanna walk with me." He looked back over at Larry,
"I need a babysitter." Larry shrugged and Josh stood up,
"Sure, I'm getting restless." They walked out and Nick prepared himself for the second and final phone call he needed to make.
They were sitting outside on a bench underneath a tree,
"Dude, you don't have to be here with me." Josh frowned,
"You want some privacy?" Nick nodded as he tossed the phone back and forth between his hands,
"Yeah." Nick dialed the numbers of his dad's cell phone as Josh found another bench to sit on.
"Hello?" He took a deep breath,
"Hey Pop."
"Hi, where the hell are you?" His mother hadn't talked to his dad about being a grandparent,
"I'm in Miami. I have a baby and she needs surgery. So, I'm here at the hospital." Wow, he didn't mean to just put it all out there like that. He meant to take it slow, do a better job of explaining things than when he talked to his mom,
"What?" He was about to ramble again but had to take a deep breath,
"Quinn, the girl I used to date a while back. She got pregnant and had a little girl, her name is MacKenzie and she's mine."
"How do you know she's yours? Did you have a DNA test done?" That was something he never gave much consideration to, Quinn wouldn't do him like that. He sat there for the next thirty minutes and had a screaming match with his dad about everything from being irresponsible to making her sign a confidentiality agreement.
Chapter 49
Reunited
Stories
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