Battle Of The Blondes

© Sweet Kisses™

~*~

Nick was humming softly to himself as he made his way into the hospital, feeling in very good spirits. For a number of reasons. The sun was shining, though it wasn't exactly a warm day. The sky was a cloudless blue. And he felt that life was treating him pretty good. But most of all, the real reason why he was singing to himself was for the fact that the woman he loved, loved him back. That made the world of difference to him. He had been waiting to hear those three little tiny words escape from her heart, and finally she'd said the words he'd been longing, dying, to hear.

There was a lot of things to consider, a lot of things to really sit down and think about. The most important thing to think about was that fact that Britney was pregnant. And Nick had thought about it. He'd thought about it a great deal and he'd come up with the conclusion that, as he'd already told her, whatever she wanted, he wanted. Whatever she decided, he would decide. It was just that simple. The second thing to think about was Justin and where the hell he was and what he was doing while Britney was in the hospital. Nick had guessed that he'd probably jumped the first plane. It was probably a really good thing, too. The further away that Justin was, the better it was for the both of them, so they could all get on with their lives and concentrate on their future. Nick had a few things planned for the future, for their future, but he decided to take it all one step at a time.

Nick took hold of the door handle on the door to Britney's room and opened the door, expecting to see her laying between the stark-white sheets. But she wasn't. The bed had been perfectly made, as though not a soul had even as much as touched the sheets with a feather, her bag placed on the floor beside it. He frowned, wondering where she was and what was going on.

"Britney!"

Britney came slowly walking out of the bathroom, her hair tied up in a tight ponytail, wearing a white shirt and grey track pants, her face sad. "Just looked in the mirror. Not pretty."

 "Not true," Nick said, moving closer to her to kiss her forehead. "I think you're just as beautiful as ever."

"Right. So true." She paused and turned away from him. "Beautiful as ever."

Nick sighed. "I hate Justin for doing this to you."

"The doctor said I can go home," Britney said, quickly changing the subject and disentangling herself from Nick's arms and taking hold of her bag off the floor. "He said my vital signs are healthy and that the bruising will disappear soon and, of course, no hospital exodus would be complete without medication." She picked up a white bottle from her bag and held it in the air, giving it a tiny shake.

Nick frowned. "What about...you know."

"Everything's fine," Britney said, zipping up her bag and hoisting it over her shoulder. "Surviving, he said that much. He or she had taken a mighty beating but it surprisingly wanted to stick around." She cleared her throat. "He told me I'm two and a half months pregnant."

 "Yeah," Nick said softly. He placed a palm on her stomach. "A little tiny baby."  

"Nick, don't you care that it's not yours?" she asked, seemingly suspicious. She was suspicious of all men these days, thinking that they were only after one thing. But she knew Nick wasn't like that. She knew Nick wouldn't do that, and she was still concerned about how easily he accepted all this, when she herself didn't. "Don't you care that it's not your child?"

Nick shrugged. "Hey, it would've been mine if you'd have let me," he quipped, giving her a gentle nudge. "And besides, I might as well be its father, I'm the one who's going to be around. Remember that, okay?"

"Sounds like you're convincing yourself here, not just me," Britney said.

"I don't need convincing. Do you?"

"No. Do you?"

Nick frowned, not really sure what she was getting at. She didn't seem to be making a lot of sense. Maybe what she meant was if he needed convincing to stay around, or if he had to convince himself to stick around, not because he loved her but because he felt sorry for her. Maybe that was what she was getting at and if so, she was incredibly mistaken. There was no way that she was right. He wouldn't stay with her because he felt sorry for her, he was staying with her because he loved her.

"No, I don't," he replied firmly. "So, I guess we should get you out of here, huh?"

Britney nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

Nick gave her a bright smile and linked her fingers with his, the warmth of his hand combating the coolness of hers and sending a nice warm spark through her body. "Feel like coming home with me?" he asked with a cheeky smile.

Britney laughed for the first time in a long time and gave him a small shove. "Now I know exactly what's on your mind."

"Hey," Nick objected in mock-consternation and held the door open for her to walk through. "Can I help it if I have feelings for you?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "But since you asked..."

"I don't want to know," Britney said and took his hand and began the walk down the corridor and out of the hospital.

The scenery whizzed past her like lightning. Tree after tree rushed by her and the day was bright but not warm. Compatible silence washed over them both, seemingly easy to just remain quiet and enjoy each other's company. Maybe that was a sign that they were meant to be together, for she knew that if you could be silent with someone and not feel nervous but happy, then you had a close bond with each other. She stole a tiny glance at Nick's profile, and a little bolt of love ran through her.

She turned back to the window and smiled softly, her first real smile in a long time, and it was all because of Nick. Nick had made her happy, was making her happy, and she didn't know why. Or maybe she did. Maybe he really loved her like he said he did. Maybe he did. Maybe she could believe in all his promises and declarations. Maybe he was someone she could see herself with when she was old.

Maybe...

Suddenly, the car came to a stop and shook Britney out of her reverie and found herself at the front of Nick's house. She looked up out the window and stared up at the house that she loved. Coming home, just like he said...

She turned to face Nick, who was staring intently at her. "Thank you."

Nick chuckled. "I try," he said and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

Britney smiled again, not really wanting to stop smiling, he just had that affect on her, and opened the door and stepped out, grabbing her bag and hoisting it over her shoulder. She walked up the steps to the front door with Nick beside her and watched him as he unlocked the door and turned around to stare at her. "What?"

"You walk through, right?" Nick said.

Nick closed the door behind him after Britney had passed him. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She immediately fell back into his embrace and he heard a tiny content sigh escape from her lips and it made him happy, knowing that she was happy. "Welcome home, baby," he whispered into ear and placed a tiny kiss on her neck, eagerly awaiting her response.

But Britney was too happy to respond.

~**~

Britney jogged lightly up the driveway to Nick’s house, taking her running very easy, treading carefully. Now she was fully understanding the drawbacks of motherhood. Everything was changing so quickly. She couldn’t run like a freight train for miles and miles any more, like at one point she used to, and loved doing so. Everything in her life seemed to be changing. She had to eat better. She had to think happy thoughts. And now, she had someone watching over her constantly, making sure she was all right, making sure that she was happy and content and was getting enough love, support and comfort. And though she hadn’t told Nick, she secretly liked how over-protecting he was being with her. Though to some it would seem suffocating, but after everything she had been through, it was like a rainbow through dark looming clouds.

She jogged up the front steps and opened the door to walk straight in, frowning when she was greeted with silence and a dark house, though when she had left it, it was entirely the opposite. She walked slowly into the living room, finding no lights on and still more silence. Something was wrong. Had Nick just up and left? And if so, where did he go? What was going on?

"Nick?" she called out. And then she realised. "You playing hide and seek? Well, babe, two can play that game. If I was Nickolas Gene Carter, where would I hide..."

When she walked over to the stairs, she faintly heard the soft sounds of music floating down from upstairs to meet her ears. "Gotcha," she hissed triumphantly and bolted up the stairs like lightning, taking two at a time, and would’ve rushed down the hall as well, if it hadn’t have been for the rose petals thrown across the floor and what seemed like millions of candles lighting the way. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously and followed the trail of rose petals.

"Nick? You around?"

The music seemed to get louder with every step she took and she called out to Nick again. "Nick?" The music got louder still, though remaining seductively soft and finally, the rose petals and candles ended at the door to the bathroom. She carefully pushed the door open. "Nick?" she said softly.

What she was greeted with almost took her breath away, but made her speechless. What was standing there in the bathroom was a bath full of water and bubbles, candles placed in any place they could and casting a soft light across the room, a bottle of champagne and a tall glass filled with the bubbly contents perched next to the tub, soft, seductive music still playing. And finally, Nick - dressed in black with a small but happy smile.

"Hey, you made it," Nick said softly, stepping forward and meeting her gaze in a penetratingly knowing sort of way. "Thought you might need a little relaxation time, Mommy."

Britney rolled her eyes. "Don’t call me that."

Nick chuckled softly. "Well, this is for you," he said, motioning around him with a flick of his hand. "And just for you. Well, you know I’d share it with you, but..." He allowed his eyes to roam her body appreciatively, his eyes running up and down with such intense slowness that caused her to blush.

Britney diverted her gaze to the champagne bottle and glass. "I can't drink."

Nick shrugged. "A little won't hurt."

By this point, Britney was more than a little flustered. "Look, are you trying to seduce me? You want to get me in bed, is that it? If so, just say it."

Nick walked over to the door and opened it. "Believe me, I'm trying my best to seduce you. I'd join you, but...I don't think you're ready for me..."

As the door closed behind him, Britney collapsed onto the floor in a heap, her whole body a shaking mess, her hand placed over her heart. "Goddamn him straight to hell," she said to herself, though hardly angry, and stood up to take off her clothes.

Pulling off her shirt, shoes and shorts, she stared at her figure in the mirror and placed her hands over her abdomen. Nothing had really changed, though soon it would, and it would be then that stories and rumours would run rampant, questions would be asked, accusations thrown...

"Don’t think, not now," Britney said softly and stepped into the bath and allowed the heat of the water to take all her worries, sadness, and pain away. She gazed over at the glass that contained champagne. She could just have a little, that wouldn't hurt. She took the glass in her hand and took a sip. She closed her eyes and wondered if this was what it was like to have a happy moment.

She thought yes.

~***~

That night they had sat out on the deck, watching the stars twinkle in the black sky, watching the full moon beam its silver light down onto them, wrapped together tightly in a thick blanket. They shared each other’s company, talking about everything from their childhood to their careers and the expecting baby. And finally, everything had taken its toll on Britney and she had been the one to fall asleep first, her head placed against his shoulder, feeling the most content that she had in a long time. Nick, who hadn’t had the heart to wake her, had carried her to his bed, made sure she wasn’t cold and soon joined her, knowing that his place was firmly with her.

Her eyes flew open immediately. She was breathing heavily and felt beads of perspiration across her forehead. She had to remind herself that she had just had a nightmare. Involving Justin, of course. She was so scared that he would find her, try to kill her, try to kill Nick. She knew she would never rest comfortably or feel entirely safe until Justin was in jail. She wondered what she could do in order to get him there. She had tried restraining orders, everything. But what could she do with a piece of paper? Throw it at him as her defense?

Yeah, that would work...

Britney glanced over at Nick. He was sound asleep. She then stepped out of bed and walked downstairs. The house was dark and quiet. She turned the light on in the kitchen and sat down on a chair, her head in her hands. She was so worried, so confused, she knew that it wouldn't be healthy to be in the state she was in for her child. Now everything had changed so quickly, now everything had to be about someone else. What concerned her the most was that her child would look exactly like Justin and the child would be a reminder of him forever.

She knew that she would love that child, regardless. She knew that. She couldn't hold the faults of the father to the child. The child was innocent, and Britney would do whatever it took to make sure that the child was properly cared for and loved. She knew that she would do her best. Whether alone or with Nick, she knew that the child would be loved and adored, regardless of everything.

Britney turned off the light and wandered back upstairs. She crawled back into bed quietly and placed her head down on the pillow. She closed her eyes and told herself that it was time to start living for each day, to not worry about the future. It was important to focus on the moment right then, the day that she was living in. And that day, she was going to be a mother and she was living with Nick. She had to focus on that.

She then felt Nick moved closer toward her and wrap his arms around her waist. She felt immediately comfortable and safe. She was sure that, just before she drifted off to sleep, that this was indeed what it felt like to have a happy moment.

~****~