It was the middle of June and Nikolas could feel the humidity in the air; it flowed around the island like a thick blanket. Inside, however, it was comfortable as possible. The moisture and heat from outside didn't penetrate the walls of Wyndemere.
He was thankful for that as he walked into the main room, dressed in nice slacks and shirt. They weren't ideal clothes for summer days but they would do; he couldn't conduct business in casual wear, it wasn't done, especially among the Cassadines.
Just as he reached the desk, he heard a small cry. He'd only been away from an hour but already, he missed his son, even when he cried. Nikolas set the keys of his car down on the corner of the desk in the room and quickly walked upstairs to his bedroom. He knew this was uncharacteristic of a Cassadine, to have his son's crib in the same room he slept in, but he didn't care. His son had only been with him for a week and Nikolas was going to keep him as close as possible.
Little John's crying had gotten softer as Nikolas made his way upstairs to him. He could hear his sister's voice as well as that of the temporary nanny as they talked softly. When he came to the bedroom door, he could see that Lulu had her nephew in her arms and the nanny was handing a bottle to her. He stepped into the door frame and leaned against it, watching his sister with his son. She had practically begged him to be able to watch john while he went to the hospital to check on some things, but he had been nervous about letting the baby stay with her alone without adult supervision. Annie had then offered to stay a bit later than usual in order to help Lulu and he was grateful to her.
Annie caught hs eye when he looked at her and he nodded, telling her that she could go. "Thank you for staying here with them," he said as she made to leave the room.
"You're welcome, Mr. Cassadine," she responded quietly, smiling.
"Nikolas, please," he requested, but she shook her head at him. She never called the people she worked for by their first names, even when they asked her to. She didn't feel it was professional. Annie walked out of the room and down the stairs.
Nikolas stepped up to his sister and looked down at the baby in her arms, who now had stopped crying and was drinking from his bottle.
"Hey," she said to him as he came to stand next to her. "Everything go okay?"
Nikolas nodded. "Nothing big, just some paperwork I had to look over. They gave me his file from his check ups and from when he was born, since I have to catch myself up on his medical history."
Lulu nodded, keeping her eyes focused on John. She hated that her brother was just now getting to know him like he should. Nikolas didn't seem to be dwelling on it too much, but it was hard for her not to.
"So, do you need me to take you home to the Quartermaine's?"
The blonde bit her bottom lip a little before looking up at him with a coy smile. "I was kind of hoping that I'd be able to stay the night here. You know, to help out with him a little."
Nikolas looked at her, processing the request. "You don't have to, you've got better things to do than hang around here with me and a baby, I'm sure."
"No, I want to. I'm his aunt and I want to spend time with him. He's got to get to know the rest of his family, too," she insisted.
"Okay. Now, let me hold him, you had him while I was gone." he smiled at her and she transferred the baby into his arms. John wriggled and whimpered for a moment before he went back to drinking from his bottle. Nikolas sat at the edge of the bed with him and Lulu sank down onto it as well to watch.
It wasn't long before she spoke again. "Nikolas, I know you told me not to worry about it, but what are you going to do about Jax and Carly? They shouldn't be able to get away with what they did."
Her brother sighed heavily and turned to look at her. He thought that she'd let it go after the first time she asked, but apparently that wasn't the case. "To tell you the truth, I haven't thought about it. I've been more focused on John and the fact that he's mine than on anything else. He's more important than anything else right now." He paused before he continued. "When I lost Courtney, it felt like I had nothing left. And Jax was so against me spending time with her son and I couldn't see anything else. The world felt dark."
Nikolas stopped talking for a couple minutes while John finished off the rest of the formula in the bottle. When he did, Nikolas burped him and then placed him in the crib to sleep. He leaned against the railing of it, just watching him as he started to fall asleep. It took a few minutes before he spoke again. "All that's changed now, Lulu. John's my son, a part of Courtney and me that I'll have forever. I can see a future now, with him, and you and Lucky and Liz and Cameron as his family. That's all I want to think about now. Not about revenge; Carly and Jax will get what they deserve, they always do, in one way or another. But, not from me. John is my life now, our family. I, we, have something to look forward to.