AN:

Whoo another update! Believe it or not were on the downhill stretch with this one. I know I was shocked too. But we still have lots to work out before then. Trust I know what I'm doing.

~Kelly~

Chapter Thirteen

(six months later)

Elizabeth had been right. Truth was she was nearly always right much to Nikolas's amusement. However, the only thing Nikolas was thinking about as he stepped off the launch was the end of winter.

The normal twenty-minute ride had been nearly unbearable the last few months. So much so, he was often tempted to stay at Wyndemere. Hiding away wouldn't have solved anything however. It would have only decreased his time with Elizabeth, which was of course unacceptable.

His winter had been filled with long walks and snowball fights. Dinner in front of the fire and movies curled up on Elizabeth's couch. They had talked about nothing and everything. Nikolas was sure at this point he knew nearly everything about Elizabeth Webber. Of course, there had been problems too. Mainly Emily. Oh, she had backed away from him as promised much to Nikolas's relief. Instead, she decided to fight with Elizabeth. It was not easy to watch from the sidelines as the two friends fought but he agreed to for now.

"Sorry I'm late," Elizabeth said interrupting his thoughts. She was carrying a squirming eight-month-old Cameron along with several bags. "Someone didn't want to get dressed." it had taken nearly an hour to put Cam in his outfit. Actually the long sleeve t-shirt and jeans had been easy it was the shoes and jacket that gave her problems.

Nikolas kissed both Elizabeth and Cameron on the cheek before saying, "I can't say I blame him after those ridiculous snowsuits."

"Hey, those things are meant to keep him warm."

"And having him look like a marshmallow is just a bonus then?" he teased knowing it would only aggravate her further. After all, he had spent the entire winter teasing her bout Cam's snowsuits. He did not understand why the infant had to look so ridiculous to keep warm.

"You are so mean," Elizabeth mumbled glaring at her boyfriend. During their teasing her son had grown more restless. He wanted down so he could explore. Unfortunately, the docks weren't meant for babies. "Here, Cam, go to Uncle Nik."

"He's getting so big."

"Yeah. I think he's going to start walking soon. He's already a terror."

"Awww, is Mommy keeping you in that cage again?"

Elizabeth slapped him on the arm and glared. "It's not a cage, it's a playpen and he likes it."

"Sure he does," Nikolas agreed even though he didn't believe her. He doubted Cameron or anyone could enjoy being locked up. So instead of arguing with Elizabeth he said, "I thought you wanted to have a picnic."

"I do, you're the one picking on a helpless woman," she replied pouting at the two most important men in her life.

"You, Elizabeth Webber, are anything but helpless," he said placing a light kiss to her nose. "Now, let's go have that picnic."

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"Everything is going according to your plans. Master Nikolas has completely shut Ms. Quartermaine out of his life. He hasn't spoken to her since their fight months ago," the man said quietly even though he was nearly certain he was alone.

"Excellent," Helena said smiling at the idea of finally being rid of that Quartermaine brat. For once, her plans were progressing without any interference especially from the Spencers. "How is your other goal progressing?"

"Surprisingly well. Considering I haven't had to do a thing," he admitted tempted to laugh at how easy this mission had been. Nikolas had done all the work himself with nothing more than a few encouraging words on his part.

"Is that so? And the Webber girl she seem receptive of his feelings?" The matriarch questioned carefully. The two had tried to fool her once before, much to her disappointment.

"Very receptive. The two are nearly inseparable."

"Perfect. Make sure no one interferes especially that worthless Quartermaine girl."

"As you wish madam. Shall I continue to update you?" He asked relieved that his mistress was happy. He did not intend to die anytime soon.

"No, I don't want to risk you being found out. It is vital my grandson trusts you."

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"This is the perfect spot," Elizabeth declared sitting down Cam's diaper bag. She had chosen a spot not far from the playground, which was holding her son's attention. The moment she sat him down Cam began to crawl away. "Hey get back here. We'll play after you eat."

"I don't think he likes that idea," Nikolas pointed out needlessly when the infant started to whimper. Cameron was stubborn just like his mother.

"That's just too bad," she said causing Nikolas to laugh. "It's not funny."

"Of course not," he said while trying to hide his amusement. Nikolas had found he loved watching Elizabeth with Cameron. "How is work? Emily isn't causing you anymore problems is she?"

"Work is busy, but good. As for Emily, I don't see her that often and when I do see her, we don't speak," she told him almost sadly. Nothing seemed to help Emily understand what happened. Truthfully, Elizabeth didn't understand it either, but she couldn't live her life apologizing either. Falling for Nikolas wasn't something she planned. Despite what Emily wanted to believe.

"Good," came his slightly pleased reply. To him silence was better than fighting that led nowhere.

"Nikolas!"

He leaned over to kiss her softly. Her lips were parted allowing their tongues to tangle. Nikolas pulled away reluctantly. Now wasn't the time or place to lose themselves. "I know the two of you were close but that doesn't give her the right to harass you either."

"She feels betrayed by me," the young woman explained in defense of her old friend.

"That's not an excuse either," he said softly brushing his fingers across her cheek. The perfect day, he thought as he watched Elizabeth settle Cam down on the blanket and get him occupied with one of the many toys that came out of the bottomless bag she carried. "It's a perfect day for a picnic," he heard a familiar voice in the recesses of his mind and he suddenly remembered that perfect day the voice was talking about so long ago.

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The beautiful summer day was perfect for a picnic at least according to Elizabeth and his mother. Nikolas watched with great amusement as his father went overboard yet again to please the later. Having Elizabeth there would hopefully make the afternoon bearable. Maybe.

Elizabeth was perched comfortably on a table swinging her legs. "That was a casual lunch? What do they do for dinner around here?"

Nikolas laughed from the bench he was lying on at the observation. He had to agree it was a bit much even for him. "Yeah, my father tends to overdo things, but now that my mother is here he's way over the top. I'm- I'm glad you came here with me though."

"Yeah, me too. Being with Lucky's family helps me feel closer to them."

"I think they feel the same way around you."

"You know, Laura is really special to me," she said sliding off the table. Elizabeth wandered restlessly around the small patio, "in ways other than just her connection to Lucky. Reasons that have to do with her connection to me. I hope we don't drift apart..."

"As what?" He asked sitting up for a better look at Elizabeth's face. She had gotten pretty good at hiding things, especially how she felt.

"Well as Lucky's death gets further behind us."

"I don't think either of you will let that happen. What?" He asked when Elizabeth let out a giggle. It was good to hear his friend happy again.

"I was remembering the first time I tried to come here. You and Sarah were dating and Lucky was convinced that you were this evil monster we had to come rescue her from. And of course, I believed him because I had this major crush on him. We ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere on this farm road. And I didn't even care if we got rescued just as long as I was with him."

"That's a nice memory."

"And the funny thing is you didn't turn out to be half as bad as he said you were. Not that you weren't kind of a snob," she said with a laugh. Teasing Nikolas was always fun and today was no different.

"I was used to doing things a different way that's all," he defended at the observation. "Besides it's not like you weren't kind of a brat."

"Oh, does that mean I don't get to drive the Jag home?" Elizabeth asked with a slight pout as she took the keys. She immediately raced off the patio leaving Nikolas to chase her.

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A soft familiar voice pulled him back from the pleasant memory. "Nikolas?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?" She question worriedly. It had taken a while for Nikolas to respond. It wasn't like him to get distracted this way. "You were zoned out for a moment."

He blinked several times ignoring the minor pain in his head that signaled the start of one of his headaches. Brushing his lips against her temple, he said, "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about something."

"Something good?" She asked watching Cam use Nikolas for a jungle gym. Thankfully, Nikolas never seemed to mind the infant demanding his attention.

"Yeah, very good."