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» CHAPTER SEVEN «

Mary, who had been relaxing in the tub, heard a knock at the door. She put on a bathrobe, combed her wet hair, and answered the door.

"Hi," Nick said.

Mary was in shock. "Uh, hi," she said. "Come in. So what’s up?"

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to hang out today. I mean I just came back from a press conference and I have nothing else to do the rest of the day so I thought we could."

"Well what about Mandi?" Mary asked. "She can come too."

"No, she’ll be at work all say, ‘till about eight tonight, so I’ll see her later," Nick explained.

"Okay then, what do you wanna go?" Mary asked.

"I was thinking we’d drive to Ruskin, my home town, and we’ll take a ride on my boat," Nick said.

"Great, but just give me a minute to get ready," Mary said.

"Kevin, are you ready to go?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah, let’s go," Kevin said.

They climbed into Kevin’s car and set out for the adoption agency. "I’ve wanted a baby since I was 16 years old. Now I’m finally getting a chance at one," Rebecca said. Kevin smiled at her as they pulled into the parking lot.

"Daddy!" Stacey said excitedly.

"Hi sweetheart." A.J. blinked back his tears. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he stroked her hair.

"Bad," she said quietly.

"I’ll be right back," A.J. said. "Pamela, tell me straight up, what’s going on with Stacey?"

"The cancer has completely taken over her body. There is nothing else we can do," Pamela said softly.

"How long does she have?" A.J. said, swallowing hard.

"She’ll be lucky if she makes it through the night," Pamela said, almost in a whisper.

A.J. shut his eyes as tears spilled down his cheeks. Stacey, his little girl, would be gone soon, just as his wife.

"So this is Nick Carter’s boat," Mary said.

"Yeah, but it’s nothing special," Nick said modestly.

"I think it’s great," Mary said.

"I think you’re great," Nick said.

"Thanks," Mary said, smiling shyly.

"I want to take you to my favorite place," Nick said.

"Okay," Mary said.

"They rejected me," Rebecca said angrily, slamming the door.

"Yeah, me too," Kevin said sadly.

"They said that the child would need a father," Rebecca continued.

"They told me the child would need a mother," Kevin said.

"That’s it. I have no hope," Rebecca said.

"There are sperm banks."

"But I want to personally know the person whose sperm I have. They have to be good enough to be my baby’s father."

"Well, what if you specifically asked someone to donate sperm?" Kevin asked.

"Like who?"

"Well, me. Or am I not good enough to be your baby’s father?"

"Oh no, you are, but I don’t like needles, so why don’t we just try having sex?"

Kevin looked very uncomfortable. "I haven’t done it in awhile," he admitted.

"Big deal, neither have I. So do we have a deal?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah, we do," Kevin sighed.

"Good. I’ll be at your room tonight," Rebecca said as she left.

¤ Chapter 8 ¤
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