Nick locked eyes with Quinn's father and smiled nervously before taking an interest in a spot on the wall. He wanted to talk to her parents, get to know them, but it was so awkward since he had this secret they knew nothing about. His parents didn't take the news of him being a father very well, maybe her parents wouldn't approve of him being Quinn's father either. He hadn't exactly shown himself in the best light. Sure, being here made him look like a good friend but when they found out he was MacKenzie's father things would be different. He leaned over to Larry and whispered,
"I'm going to MacKenzie's room." Larry nodded and Nick stood up and walked out of the room. He felt he should ask Quinn if it were ok for him to go see her but she was his daughter too. It only made him feel worse that he wasn't comfortable enough to go and check on his sick daughter, he wished he would have made the effort to be there for her more than he did and now it seemed as if it was too late.
He stood over MacKenzie's bed as she lay still in a deep sleep and smiled as he ran his finger over her face like he would do to her mother when she slept. He smiled as her mouth twitched from the feeling, just like her mother would do. He shook his head, she was such a beautiful little baby and Chris was right, he should be proud, he should show her picture to anyone who would stand in place long enough for him to get them out. He turned around to see Quinn's father walking through the door,
"Oh, I can leave." He began to walk but Robert held his hand up and shook his head,
"No, you're the one that I want to see." He pointed at a couple of chairs in the corner of the room,
"Have a seat." He didn't feel right about this, something about the look on his face,
"Yes sir." He slowly made his way over and took his seat,
"Now son, I know you're Mac's dad." Nick's stomach was now somewhere near his knees,
"Why aren't you being the father you're supposed to be? My daughter has worked hard to provide for MacKenzie but she shouldn't have to do it alone. She didn't make Mac alone." Nick nodded his head as he looked down,
"Yes sir, I've been sending money ever since I found out about MacKenzie." Robert nodded,
"You'll get no pat on the back from me, that's what you're supposed to do." He sighed as he played with his hands, her dad wasn't going to make this easy for him, in fact, no one on her side was going to make this easy for him.
"So are you going to be here or are you leaving to go join your band?" Nick looked up, it was something he never really gave anything thought to,
"I'll be here." Robert nodded,
"And what about when she is out of the hospital? Are you going to be around on a regular basis? Where do you live?" Nick licked his lips nervously, he felt like he was being interrogated for a crime,
"I'll be around. I'm not going back on tour and it's about to end soon anyway, in the next couple of days. I want to be there for her." He could tell nothing he said made an impact on Robert,
"Do you live in Miami?" Nick shook his head,
"No sir, I live in the Keys." Robert shook his head,
"How do you plan on being apart of her life when you live hours away?" He shifted in his seat,
"I've been planning to buy a house here." Where did that come from? He was so nervous and so eager to say whatever it was that was would make the interrogation stop. He didn't have any plans to move to Miami,
"We'll see, talk is cheap. I just hope you're man enough to take care of her, you were man enough to make her." Nick nodded as Robert stood up,
"I'll let you get back to my granddaughter, you haven't been in here that much." Boy, her family and friends really knew how to kick you when you were down, he thought as he sat there. This wasn't going to be an easy process for him, he knew it.
He was sitting in the waiting room talking to Josh when Chris walked over,
"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" He was really beginning to hate those words, especially coming from anyone that knew Quinn. He felt like they were all ganging up on him and trying to make him feel as bad as possible. He nodded as he stood up,
"Yeah." He followed her over to another part of the waiting room and looked at her,
"What's up?" She glanced over at Quinn and James and he couldn't help but notice the fronwn on Quinn's face as she seemed to be asking Chris what she was doing,
"What are your feelings for Quinn?" He glanced back over to see Quinn lying her head on James' shoulder as he rubbed her back. Whatever feelings he had for Quinn or what he wanted didn't matter,
"I care about her, I mean, she's my daughter's mother. We're friends." He could see the disappointed look on her face,
"Why?" She looked over at Quinn again and shook her head,
"Nothing, no reason." He looked over and caught Quinn's eyes. Did she have feelings for him? Is that why Chris was asking? He was so screwed up in the head about anything that concerned Quinn, she had totally turned his life upside down and inside out. He hadn't really thought of wanting a girlfriend until he met Quinn and when he found out about her boyfriend it only confirmed his thoughts that girls were nothing but trouble and he needed to keep them at arm's length. He always thought she would try to get him back, call, show up at a concert or event but she didn't; she just walked out and never looked back. Just as he was about to ask Chris if Quinn had said something about him her mother rushed in,
"Hurry, something is wrong with Mac." They all rushed towards the door, Quinn the first person out. They all stood outside the door, Quinn's attempt to enter Mac's room stopped by a nurse,
"You can't go in there." He watched Quinn cry and try to muscle her way through,
"That's my daughter." The nurse nodded her head and gave a sympathetic look,
"I know, it's procedure. We can't let anyone in, just let the doctors do their jobs, they are doing everything they can for her." He leaned against the wall and looked over when he felt a hand on his shoulder,
"She's going to be ok." He nodded and Larry and once he heard Quinn's loud sobbing he looked over to see her being held up by James and her father. He watched her beg for their daughter's life and something just came over him. MacKenzie couldn't be his daughter, if she was wouldn't he feel something like Quinn was feeling right now? Even Elliott and James had tears in theie eyes and they weren't MacKenzie's father. She couldn't be his, he felt nothing for her. He should have had a DNA test done on her, it was possible she wasn't his. He gave Quinn so much credit, defended her and told his father that she wouldn't lie to him, wouldn't deceive him but she had. The doctor walked out,
"She stopped breathing but we have her on a respirator, she can't breathe on her own." Quinn cried louder as she shook her head and buried her face in James chest,
"What's going to happen?" The doctor walked over to Quinn and placed his hand on her shoulder. Once she looked up he gave her the news,
"There is no way to say this but to just say it. The next twenty four hours are critical and she may not make it." That was it, that was all he heard before he zoned out. He bit his lip as he thought, if she didn't make it this would all be over for him. No more angry friends and family, no matter demands from Quinn and no more tension between him and his parents.
Chapter 51
Reunited
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