I swear I'm alive! Haha, it's just been a busy few days. I'm also trying to finish my cabin story (even though it'll be ridiculously late... Oh well, it turned into more of a project than a one-shot...) I was bad about review replies this time around, too... Definitely going to try and get better with that.

Chapter 13

Nick thought the next two weeks would drag on in his anticipation. However, the Friday that they were to leave came faster than he expected, and ended up catching him completely off guard.

"Are ya done yet?" Nick called from the door to Jess's apartment, anxiously checking the time on his watch.

It had apparently snuck up on Jess, too.

Jess popped her head out of her bedroom door. "I – uh, yeah, I think so. Just one more suitcase check."

"Suitcase… check?" He asked, skeptic. Aly came out of her room then, dragging a toddler-size suitcase behind her.

"It's so we don't forget our stuff," Aly explained. From somewhere in the other room, Nick heard Jess muttering off a list, presumably for the luggage. It sounded more like a survival kit than a suitcase for the weekend, but Nick didn't question it. This was one of those things that he would pass off as something that Jess just knew.

Finally, she trudged out of her room, Jess-approved bag in tow.

As Nick's luck would have it, though, they caught every red light on the way to the airport, and were borderline close to missing the flight altogether by the time they arrived at the security check.

Luckily, the airlines seemed to be much more understanding when they noticed a three-year-old in tow, and the three were able to get through security in time to make the first boarding call.

"I like this whole 'kids go first' thing," Nick mused as they boarded the still-empty plane. He pushed a duffel bag into the overhead bin, still feeling almost breathless from the scramble that it took to get there. Maybe Julia was onto something about going to the gym...

Jess rolled her eyes. "You like it until they start throwing tantrums at thirty thousand feet."

Nick felt his throat constrict a little. His go-to solution from past experience – putting in earplugs and promptly going to sleep – probably wouldn't fly this time around. Aly wasn't in a bad mood, so at least he had that going for him.

Aly wiggled into her seat, right between him and Jess, her inquisitive eyes following each passenger as they started filling the aisles.

"Are we gonna go really high?" She asked, almost apprehensively, her gaze flickering to the window.

Nick let his eyes grow wide. This would be a terrible time to find out his daughter was afraid of heights.

Jess was in to save the day, though. "It doesn't feel really high," she assured, "It'll be just like the birds."

Aly let a small cry escape, and Nick put his arm around her as the flight attendant began her safety speech. In that moment, his arm just barely brushed Jess's.

At first, he felt like she was about to sink into his touch. He felt the little tingle that her skin left on him, wishing that it could stay there just a little longer. He could almost feel the pull.

Almost.

Too soon, though, she ever so slightly leaned away. Surely that meant she at least noticed something between them. Nick glanced her way, not quite understanding why he so desperately wanted that to be the case.

However, her sights were still set straight ahead, like nothing had even happened.

He sighed, settling back into his seat. He tried not to be too disappointed, as his daughter was happily leaning against him. The flight attendants were starting to go over emergency procedures, and Nick started to tune back in, figuring that he actually had to listen to those now. He wasn't just responsible for himself anymore.

He had someone else that depended on him.

Maybe not a lot. Not yet.

But one day. One day she would.

Despite the initial apprehension, Aly's first flight went smoothly. As planned, she'd started in the seat between Jess and Nick – holding tightly to one of each of their hands as the plane took off – but ended up moving to Jess's lap once she realized that she could look out the window easier that way.

The first look had only been a peek – just to see what all the fuss was about – but once she saw out into the wide expanse of sky, she was sold.

"Look Nick! We're in a cloud!" She marveled, grabbing his sleeve with one hand and putting the other up to the window.

"Yeah, we are," he agreed, his eyes focused more of Aly and her childish wonder than on what was going on outside. Jess caught his eye and gave him a small, hopeful smile.

The moment caused a few goosebumps to travel up his arm.

Aly eventually settled back into her seat and started on Jess's pre-packed bag of travel activities. By the time they landed in Chicago, it was way past her bedtime, and she had grown quiet. She could barely muster up enough energy to lift her head to see out the window as the plane descended on the runway. She did, however, manage to crack a sleepy smile as the plane touched the ground.

Once they were given the all-clear from the flight attendants, Nick and Jess quietly got to work. She carefully picked Aly up, letting Nick pull their carry-ons down and lead them into the terminal. As they walked, Aly wasn't quite asleep, but her eyelids dropped menacingly every time Jess stood still for more than a few seconds. Nick kept on a few steps ahead, scoping out the crowds as they approached the luggage carousal.

His mother was waiting on the other side of the bag return, doing her best to peer past the people.

"Ma!" He called, waving her down. She spun around, her eyes briefly meeting Nick's before flitting over to Jess… To Aly.

She stopped in her tracks as they walked towards her, her eyes only for the now-sleeping form Jess was holding. Once they stopped, Jess readjusted her arms and turned so Bonnie Miller could get a better view of her granddaughter.

She approached quietly, as if the noise of all of the other travelers already wasn't enough to wake Aly up.

"Wow…" she muttered. Wordlessly, she reached out and ran a finger down Aly's cheek. Aly stirred, and Nick's mother immediately drew her hand back. Aly blinked a few times, looking groggily up at Jess before turning to Nick. She stared at him for a moment, then finally saw Nick's mom.

Nick didn't know why, but his heart was racing at the two locked eyes. Here it was, ten o'clock at night in the middle of the baggage claim of Chicago O'Haire, and two of the closest people to his heart were meeting for the first time.

"Aly, it's rude to stare," Jess chided, but Bonnie shook her head.

"Just doing the same thing I am," she chuckled. Aly still appeared too tired to speak, so Nick took his cue.

"Aly, this is my mom. Remember, she's your grand - "

"Nana," Aly corrected. Bonnie's head turned slightly, and she glanced at Nick, waiting for an explanation. He picked up the bags and began to lead the group out.

"She wants to call you Nana," he replied. Aly nodded.

"Oh," she smiled warmly, turning to her granddaughter as they made their way out. "Call me whatever you want, dear."

Aly smiled shyly back, and Jess let a small yawn escape.

"Thank you for the tickets, Mrs. Miller, I – "

"Bonnie," she corrected, a playfully stern look on her face. "I've known you for five years, Jess, please, call me Bonnie."

Nick snuck a glance as Jess, and they exchanged sideways smiles.

"I've set up an extra cot in Nick's old room," his mother began as they got in the car, "and I replaced the sheets, too, so Jess could take the bed. Nick, you'll be on the couch, since Jamie is home for the weekend."

"Ma!" Nick protested, while Jess tried to suppress a giggle. "I'm here from Los Angeles. Jamie is from across town. He's just too lazy to drive over in the morning!"

She shrugged. "It's still his room."

"Fine," Nick grumbled, rolling his eyes. No matter how old Jamie got, he was still the baby. Nick looked at Aly, then back at Jess. "It sucks being the oldest sometimes."

They packed up the picnic baskets and left bright and early the next morning, with swimsuits and towels in tow; their destination promising some form of Miller Family Memorial Day. They had wound their way through the suburbs, until they arrived at his oldest cousin's house – one of his favorite day-trip spots as a kid.

It wasn't anything fancy, and the older he got, the more he seemed to dread family weekends. Still, he'd always kept a little soft spot for this place.

It took coming back to see that he'd forgotten how much he really had missed it.

They had a pool, though it was only about four feet at it's deepest, and the backyard faced a pretty man-made pond, but you couldn't swim in that (not that he'd let Aly get within ten feet of it, anyway).

He sat perched back on his lawn chair, watching Aly and her cousins (plus the oversized kid in Bobby) run through the sprinklers. Jess sat closer to action on a towel, volunteering to take the first shift watching the kids. She had taken the Millers in stride, just like she had the last Christmas she spent with him, and his family was equally as happy to have Aly around. Aly had been a bit of an attraction for the first few minutes after they arrived, although her interest in socializing waned considerably once the swimsuits were broken out.

Most of his other family was still gathered around the grill, always arguing over how to cook a perfect burger.

"What are you going to do, Nick?" A voice floated to his ear, and his mother's form plopped down into the chair next to him.

"What do ya mean, Ma?" He leaned back, taking a sip of his beer.

"I mean," she sighed, "what are you going to do when Aly's too old to need Jess to come along?"

She was entirely too smug about that.

Nick shook his head. "It'll be a long time before that happens."

"It's not as long as you think."

She pursed her lips, and Nick tried to ignore the implications in her voice. He hated it when she tried to get him to think.

"We'll cross that road when we get to it," he shrugged. He knew all-too-well where this conversation was heading.

Bonnie wasn't having his diversions. "I'm talking about you. What are you going to do?"

He caught himself involuntarily smiling at Jess's form as she slid in the pool, trying to coax a very anxious Aly into the water. Aly dipped her toes nervously, like the pool was just waiting to swallow her all up. He'd learned on the plane ride that Aly loved to play in the water… Just not in the pool.

His mother's gaze, that smug little I told you so look that he had inherited, was getting on his nerves.

"We can be adults about things when it comes to Aly, Ma," he warned.

"I know," she quipped. His brow furrowed, and she continued, "I talked to her last night. She thinks you're doing a great job."

He nearly knocked his drink out of the cup holder at her comment.

"You talked to her?" He groaned. "We haven't even been here 24 hours!"

"Calm down," she rolled her eyes. "I didn't hound her or anything. I just wanted to catch up!"

Jess had finally gotten Aly to sit on the step of the pool, and Aly cutely adjusted the two floaties on her arm, still gazing at the water like it was about to jump up at her. He hated that she'd inherited his aversion to anything new or adventurous… but it was still pretty adorable when dressed up like a mini-Jess.

"There's no just talking with you," he grumbled. "You once tried to just talk to me about dad and it ended with admitting to me how marriage was 'an awful institution' and to 'never get sucked into the appeal' before you're ready."

Bonnie shook her head. "It wasn't like that. And I never said that. She just talked to me… You know, she's been through so much…"

Were those tears in her eyes?

"You've forgiven her, haven't you?" Nick asked, this time getting to show the sly smile.

"Nicholas, I'm never going to agree with what she did, but – "

"You have totally, one-hundred percent forgiven her." Nick finished. She sighed they both watched Jess put her arm around Aly, still trying to tempt her further into the water that her cousins had already began playtime in. "It's okay," he continued, softer. "I've forgiven her, too."

He'd never actually admitted that one out loud.

They sat in silence for a moment, while the two of them watched the kids play, and Nick shouted a few words of encouragement to Aly. He knew how being in her shoes felt, all too well. He was that kid when he was little. He was the nervous one, the one that was always left behind because he couldn't get up the courage to do the things that seemed so crazy or scary to him at the time.

"Julia called me the other day," Bonnie started, an edge to her voice that Nick wasn't used to. He had a sinking feeling that nothing good could come out of that.

"Please tell me it was a good conversation," he leaned back, closing his eyes. Why in the world would Julia call her? Was she really that upset over the plane tickets?

"She just called to tell me that you'd finally set a date. For your wedding," she went on, her eyes boring into his side.

His heart jumped up into his throat.

Great.

This is just what he needed.

"I was going to tell you," he assured, his eyes still closed. "It's just… given everything…"

"So you proposed to her without telling your family?" She was clearly hurt over this.

"I technically didn't propose," he corrected, sitting up. "We just kinda decided to…"

"You're joking," she scoffed. "You just decided to? Like it's some kind of legal agreement, the most important decision – "

"Niiiiick!" Aly called from the pool. Jess had finally gotten her off of the steps, and her little arms splashed happily around Jess's body. "Look at me!"

He took this moment to leave the chair, knowing full well that his conversation with his mother was far from over, but he had more important things to attend to at the moment.

As he approached the pool, he noticed that the other kids had tired of playing in the water. They had instead headed down by the lake to kick a ball around. Aly's smile, however, was radiant.

"I'm swimming! I'm swimming!" She giggled, and Jess had a smile to match.

"You are," Nick agreed. "Proud of ya, kid."

Aly beamed. "Come swim with us!"

Nick almost said no. Almost. The truth was, him and Jessica Day had a strange relationship with pools. It was where he'd let some stranger give him water therapy. It was where he'd brought Jess, hoping she'd find the same kind of comfort in it that he did. They'd fallen into one after trying to steal a kiss in the back at one of Jess's end-of-year teacher parties. On the very last date they had gone on, they'd sat in an old, abandoned empty one and counted down the New Year to the fireworks popping above them.

Now, they were teaching their daughter to swim in one, in the middle of suburban Chicago, caught in a limbo of their feelings.

He wasn't going to miss a moment.

"Why not?" He finally replied, pulling off his shirt and heading to the steps. He'd forgotten his own swim shorts back in LA, but he and Jamie still wore the same size and Jamie hadn't even noticed that Nick was wearing his swimsuit.

As he stepped down into the water, adjusting to the prickle of cold creeping up his legs, he saw a mischievous glint appear in one Jessica Day's eyes.

What is she up to this time?

Just as his feet touched the last step, he felt a hand pull on his arm. The last thing he saw before being pulled under was the satisfied grin plastered across Jess's face. When he came up, Aly's delighted giggles filled his ear. He chose to ignore Jess's smugness in light of Aly's happiness, so he swam over to the edge that Aly was holding on to, stopping just a few inches out of her reach.

Her arms grabbed for him, unsuccessfully, and she did quite a turtle-face in the process, but Nick wouldn't go further.

"C'Mon Aly, you gotta swim to me," he bargained. Jess came up beside him, playing along.

"But I can't swim!" she trembled, eying the space between them like it was the Grand Canyon.

"Aly, sweetheart, you were swimming earlier," Jess reasoned. Aly looked between her parents, biting her lip indecisively. Nick couldn't give in – she had to try it one day. He wasn't going to let her wait like he did. He didn't learn to swim until he was nearly ten, and only because he was tired of not being able to play with his cousins in the pool.

Finally, she conceded, and pushed off the wall with all of her strength.

Nick's arms were there to greet her as she glided into him, the puffs of air secured on her arms making a proper hug difficult. He settled for just holding her, and Jess came up from behind her to kiss her cheek.

It was nice, in that moment, with Jess and Aly at his side. Perfect, almost.

So, why then, was his brain choosing that moment to let his mother's words slip ominously back into his head?

I mean, what are you going to do when Aly's too old to need Jess to come along?

It's not as long as you think.

These chapters were pretty fun to write. Thanks again Newgirl78 for the all-clear - couldn't have made it this far without her input.

Hopefully the next update will come faster! It's a good chapter, so if not, I promise it's worth the wait!