Author's note: Thanks to M.L. Shards for review #100!!!! I'm so excited that so many of you are reading and reviewing this story. It is really appreciated!!!
Chylea3784: Thanks, I'm flattered you thought so highly of that last chapter.
CoolDiva: Thanks a lot, I was really worried about that chapter being centered around the book so I'm glad it was so well received.
HarryPassionFan: Somehow, some way Nikki will be reunited with her friend Jen at some point in the story.
general-joseph-dickson: Yeah, there are parts of the story that are pretty obvious like the eventual court battle over Emma but I've got plenty of other twists up my sleeve so keep reading.
Alaskantiger: Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long for this next chapter.
welleg: Thanks, I'm glad that last chapter was so well liked.
GinaStar: I'm not sure about that but you haven't seen the last of Jen in this story.
moonlite-n-roses: I wish I could take credit for it but I borrowed the book idea from a tv show.
GracefulCrane: Thanks so much, I hope you like this next one as well.
"Hey Nikki, I was thinking about taking Emma for a walk in the woods and I was wondering if you'd like to come with us," Tommy said entering the living room where Nikki was sitting on the couch.
"Um, no you go ahead without me," Nikki said quietly as she shielded her face from him.
"You're crying, what's wrong," he said taking a seat next to her.
"It's nothing, I'm fine," she told him.
"You don't sound fine, haven't you been here long enough to know that you can talk to me about anything," he replied.
"It's Emma's fourth birthday tomorrow, I thought she might forget but she just asked me about a party and I had to explain to her that there wouldn't be a party this year," Nikki informed him.
"We can't let Emma's birthday just go by without celebrating, I'll call Hayley and I'm sure we can come up with something," Tommy said.
"Tommy you don't have to do that, Emma understands that things have to be different this year," Nikki replied.
"How would you be celebrating if you were back in Denver?" he asked.
"Well, Tim would have spared no expense, he'd rent out a petting zoo or a carnival, anything to impress the other parents, of course he'd act like the perfect father who only wanted to make his daughter happy but really it'd all be a show for whoever he needed to impress but it would make Emma happy so I'd smile and pretend to be the happy wife," she answered.
"I'm not sure I can get a whole petting zoo but I'll do my best to make it something special for Emma, that is if you'll let me," Tommy told her.
"Ok, I know it's the last minute but I'm sure you could get a cake or something," Nikki said.
"Then it's settled, why don't you make a list of presents that Emma would want and I'll call Hayley and she can go and get them and I'll handle the arrangements for the party," Tommy said.
"Seriously Tommy, don't go overboard, it's just a simple celebration with you, me, Emma and Hayley," Nikki told him.
"I'm gonna go call Hayley, you just make that list," Tommy said leaving her alone in the room.
"I'm finished with the list," Nikki announced as she walked into the kitchen where Tommy was hanging up the phone.
"Great, I'll go drop this off with Hayley and take care of some other details," he said taking the list from her.
"I'm sorry for not telling you about Emma's birthday sooner, I should have known that you'd want to do something for her, I just feel bad that we're taking up so much of your life," Nikki told him.
"You have nothing to feel bad about, I've really enjoyed having the two of you here, you've brought more to my life than you know," Tommy replied.
"You better get that to Hayley, I need to check on Emma," Nikki said.
"Ok, I'll be back in a few hours," Tommy said watching as she left the room.
Tommy left the house and headed over to Hayley's apartment where she was waiting for him.
"You really think we can pull this off?" Hayley questioned once he arrived.
"Yes, I made all the arrangements and all you have to do is get the presents that Nikki wants to give to Emma," he answered.
"I can't wait to see the look on Nikki's face when she sees what you've done," Hayley told him.
"Me either, it was really hard not to let on that I already knew about Emma's birthday, I just really want to make the day special for both of them," Tommy replied.
"If everything works out the way you planned, I know it'll be a day that Nikki and Emma never forget," Hayley said.
"I hope so Hayley, I really hope so," he said.
The next morning, Nikki woke up and walked into Emma's room. She was surprised to see that Emma was sitting at her small table eating cereal.
"Good morning, Mommy," Emma said happily.
"Good morning my beautiful birthday girl," Nikki said bending down to give Emma a kiss.
"Tommy said I have to stay in my room until my party," Emma told her.
"He did, did he, well you keep eating and Mommy will be right back," Nikki said leaving the room.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Tommy asked. He was coming up the stairs as Nikki was going down.
"To the kitchen to get something to eat and what's this about Emma not being able to leave her room," Nikki responded.
"Didn't you see the food I left on your dresser, you're not allowed to come down either," Tommy told her.
"Ok, I get that you want to surprise Emma with whatever decorations you're putting in the house but there's no reason I can't help you," Nikki said.
"You can help by staying up here and keeping Emma preoccupied while Hayley and I finish getting things ready," Tommy replied.
"Why do I get the feeling you ignored what I said about a simple celebration?" Nikki questioned.
"You'll just have to wait and see," Tommy said.
Nikki and Emma spent all morning in Emma's room and Nikki did her best to keep her daughter's mind off whatever surprise Tommy had planned for her. It was nearing lunchtime and Nikki was beginning to wonder what was taking so long when Tommy finally came into the room.
"Is it time for my party yet?" Emma asked.
"Almost, I just need to show something to your Mommy first," Tommy answered motioning for Nikki to follow him out the door.
Tommy led Nikki downstairs and she was surprised to find that not a single decoration had been put in the living room or the kitchen. Tommy then opened the back door and led her outside to the backyard.
"Oh Tommy, what did you do?" Nikki questioned as her eyes filled with tears.
"I hope that means you like it," he said.
"It looks just like Queen Nicole and Princess Emmaline's castle garden from the story, how on earth did you do this in one day," Nikki responded.
"Actually, I got the idea after Hayley found those books, you see Emma had told me her birthday awhile ago and when I realized it was coming up I decided that I wanted to do something special for her," Tommy replied.
"This is wonderful, Emma will be so happy when she sees it," Nikki said.
"Is it safe for me to come out?" Hayley asked dressed in a fairy costume.
"Hayley, who are you supposed to be?" Nikki asked.
"I'm Princess Emmaline's fairy godmother of course, now I know in the story Jen's the fairy but I hope Emma won't mind," Hayley said.
"Everything's all set all we have to do is get changed, we got Emma a princess costume and you of course will be the queen and I by default will be the prince," Tommy said.
"I can't believe you got us costumes on top of everything else," Nikki said.
"Well we figured since Emma can't spend her birthday with all of her friends, we'd try and make this party extra special," Hayley told her.
Soon, everyone was changed into their costumes and they led Emma into the backyard.
"Happy Birthday Princess Emmaline, welcome to your garden," Tommy said as he opened the door for her.
"Oh wow, Mommy it's just like the story!" Emma cheered.
"Yeah it is, thanks to Tommy," Nikki told her.
"Thank you Tommy, this is the best birthday ever," Emma said running over to give him a hug.
"Your welcome Princess Emmaline but there's just one more surprise left," Tommy said leaving her with Nikki.
"What's going on now?" Nikki questioned Hayley.
"It's just something every princess should have at least for her birthday," Hayley said with a smile as Tommy reappeared leading a white pony.
"Can I keep him?" Emma said running over to pet the pony.
"Only for the party," Tommy said picking her up and putting her on the pony's back.
"Hold on tight, Emma," Nikki said as Tommy began leading the horse around the yard.
"I'll bet you never expected this," Hayley remarked as she and Nikki watched Emma riding the pony.
"No I didn't, she is never going to forget this day, I can't believe Tommy went to all this trouble," Nikki responded.
"He loves that little girl like she was his own," Hayley told her.
"Tommy deserves to have a little girl of his own some day, he's the kind of man that I wanted Tim to be but he wasn't, all Tim ever cared about was looking like the perfect family but only if the right people were watching," Nikki said.
"That's all over now, you never have to worry about Tim again, I know you don't want to hear this but I still think you and Tommy could have something," Hayley replied.
"Tommy is a wonderful man but he deserves to be happy with someone that he can have a future with and that's not me, I can't promise him that," Nikki told her.
Later that night, Nikki and Tommy sat on the couch in the living room after tucking Emma into bed.
"Thank you for Emma's party, it was really special," she told him.
"I'm just glad I could do something to make her birthday nice," he replied.
"It was ten times better than anything Tim would have done," she said.
"So a little birdie told me that your birthday is the day after Emma's," Tommy told her.
"Yeah it is, the year she was born I thought she was the best birthday present I ever received," Nikki responded.
"Well don't worry, I'm not going throw you a huge surprise party because I know you probably don't want to make a big deal about it but I got you a little something anyway," Tommy told her.
"You didn't have to do that," she said.
"I know but I did it anyway," he said reaching for her hand and pulling her up from the couch.
He opened the secret panel in the wall and once again led her down to his former dino lair.
"You mentioned that Tim didn't allow you much time for your art so I thought maybe it's time you got back into it," he told her leading her over to where he had set up an easel and paints.
"Thank you but I really can't accept this," she said.
"I want you to have it and I won't take it back so someone has to use it," he told her.
"Well thank you, it's the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a long time," she said.