Alex woke up thirsty at 5:30am.
She crept quietly downstairs to the kitchen, but was surprised to see light glowing from underneath the door. Jess looked up from the breakfast nook as she entered the room.
"Hey Alex. What are you doing up so early?"
"Ah, I was thirsty..." She looked at her in mild confusion. "Did you stay here last night? I thought I saw you leaving..."
Jessica smiled up at her sheepishly. "No, I went home. I just... Sometimes I can't sleep, and I find myself coming over here. It just feels more homey I guess."
Alex nodded sympathetically. Nick had mentioned that she'd only been divorced for a few months and she had her good days and her bad.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."
"Don't be silly. Pull up a seat."
Alex sat beside her and sipped her juice. "So, will I get to meet your... Son, wasn't it?"
Jessica nodded. "Possibly. He's with his dad's family this weekend, but Tom might bring him by."
Alex nodded, hoping she wasn't treading on uncomfortable ground. She knew that Tom, Nick and Jess had all been friends throughout highschool, so the whole situation was a little more awkward then normal. Alex tried to slip back to a safe subject- her son.
"I'm sorry, I can't remember his name..."
"Nicky. Brian Nicholas Campbell, actually, but we call him Nicky."
Alex smiled. "Oh yeah, that's right. The famous namesake. How could I have forgotten that one?"
"Yeah, Nick was proud as punch when we told him."
She grinned and then seemed to slip into her memories for a second. The sorrow sat behind her eyes once more. Alex tried to distract her.
"How old again?"
"Three. And he's a personable little fellow, if I do so say so myself. Definitely takes after his uncle Nick." She smiled warmly.
"Not that I disagree about Nick's personableness, but your whole family seems very friendly in general."
Jess grinned. "Yeah, we're not bad. Amanda's a little domineering, but she's got a good heart." She chuckled lightly. "In fact, I can't wait until she finds out Nick got her room this time."
Alex looked at her with concern. "It's her room? I had no idea... We can easily move if-"
"No, no. Don't worry, Alex. It'll be fine. It's not technically her room; she just claims it whenever she's here because it has the ensuite. She'll get over it. Plus..." She grinned at Alex with amusement. "It will be fun to see Nick and her sparring like old times. It's been too long." She smiled wistfully and Alex laughed.
"If you say so."
Jess nodded again and Alex questioned her. "I can't imagine anybody here not getting along. There's just such a sense of comraderie with everyone..."
"Hah, don't be deceived. 7 kids raised by two people who get paid to argue for a living? It was chaos!"
Alex laughed, trying to picture it.
"Nick and I used to fight about everything when we were kids. It was only once we were in our late teens that we got closer. And Nick was always the rebel anyway, so that put him at odds with half the family most of the time."
Alex was surprised to hear that. "Really? But he's so..."
"I don't mean it in the black sheep sense. He just liked to strike out on his own moreso than the rest of us. He always wanted to blaze his own trail, be different. Like, with Mike for example... Mike played football in highschool, so Nick went out for baseball even though he was amazing at football as well. And while everyone mostly stayed around Dallas, Nick needed to get away."
"But I thought 2 of your sisters lived outside Dallas?"
"Amanda's in California because her husband got a partnership in a law firm there, but Julia's only in Austin.She and her husband both teach at the University of Texas there. Nick always wanted to get out of Dallas, but he didn't get his chance until that job came up in Las Vegas."
Alex was finding all this information very interesting. She and Nick had never really discussed the reasons why he'd gone to Vegas. She'd assumed it was just about his job.
Jess went on.
"I think the only reason he became a cop was because it almost seemed to be expected of him- Mike's a cop, mom and dad are also involved with the law; Elizabeth's a lawyer, and so are Amanda and her husband... The pressure was a bit overwhelming. I knew it wasn't the right move for Nick, but he wasn't really sure what he wanted to do back then. And mom and dad actually didn't like the idea of him being a cop, in the end... Anyway, he finally found the career he was meant for and he's really happy now... I think?"
She looked at Alex in question and she nodded back, smiling.
"Yeah, he is. He loves his job. And he's really good at it." She smirked. "I know first hand."
Jess looked serious suddenly. "Yeah, of course you do. I'm sorry Alex, I'd almost forgotten about your whole ordeal. I can't imagine what that must have been like. You must be a strong woman."
Alex scoffed. "Hah, I don't know about that."
"I don't know. I'm not sure if I would have been able to handle all of that. What a nightmare."
Alex smiled slightly. "Well, one good thing came out of it at least."
Jess smiled back at her.
"For both of you, I think. I've never seen Nick this smitten, Alex. And I've seen him date a lot of girls, lemme tell you..."
She stopped, realizing how that sounded. "Oh, wow... I'm sorry. I know how that must sound but he's-"
Alex was laughing now. "Please, don't worry about it. I didn't expect that he'd been celibate before he met me." She smiled broadly at the other woman. "He's just way too hot for that."
Jess laughed. "And I'm sure you did alright yourself, huh?"
Alex hadn't expected that one and she blushed. "Uh, I guess."
"Well, anyway... He seems really, really happy, Alex, and I'm positive a lot of it has to do with you."
She seemed to get a little sadder again and Alex watched her carefully.
"Are you OK?" She asked gently.
"Yeah..."
She blew out a breath. "Yeah, I will be." She looked at Alex in bemusement. "I was just remembering the good times... Divorce really sucks."
Alex couldn't help but chuckle at the blunt statement. "Yeah, I bet it does. I can't imagine what you're going through right now. I'm sorry."
"Well, hopefully you won't have to find out. And if the way my brother looks at you is any indication, I doubt you'll ever have to."
Alex raised her brows in surprise.
"Whoh... We aren't... We've never even talked about marriage... I mean it's not like we're engaged or anything."
Jessica smiled. "Well, maybe not yet, but... Let's just say I won't be surprised when it happens."
Alex's brows went up again and she continued.
"No, I don't have any inside information or anything like that. It's just my intuition, that's all. I know my brother very well, and I can just tell. We don't talk as often as I'd like, but we email. He's crazy about you, Alex."
Alex didn't know what to say to that. She took a sip of her juice and grinned over her cup, mildly embarrassed. Jess laughed and shook her head. Then she looked at Alex with an air of consideration.
"Has Nick ever told you about Christine?"
Alex shook her head. "I don't think so."
"Oh, you'd remember if he did. They were engaged briefly."
Alex must have looked utterly shocked because Jess laughed again.
"Don't worry- It was so long ago I'm positive he didn't mention it because he just honestly forgot about it. It was seriously that brief. And she was utterly forgettable, lemme tell ya."
Alex leaned closer, curious. "OK, so tell me about her."
Jess grinned.
"She was gorgeous. Tall, built, dark brown hair, big blue eyes... Basically to die for. Nick met her in senior year at highschool and fell hard. She treated him like garbage, as do all self-absorbed women like her, but he ate it right up. Ah, hormones..."
Alex laughed, even though she was still mildly unsettled about this new information.
"So, anyway, we could never prove she was fooling around on him, but both Tom and I and assorted other friends knew she was. But Nick couldn't believe it. He'd already dated quite a few girls by this stage and let's just say he had never been the one to end up with a broken heart. I think he honestly believed he was in control of that relationship, even though the rest of us saw it differently."
She grinned as she continued.
"Well, one day he comes home and tells the whole family he's engaged. We were obviously appalled, but what could we do? He'd never listened to any of our opinions about Christine before, so it was hardly likely to be different this time. So, off he goes to college in Houston and she stayed in Dallas, working on getting some certificate in something I can't recall. One weekend in the fall, he decided he missed her too much and snuck home to surprise her."
Alex grinned. "Let me guess? Caught her with another guy in a compromising position?"
Jess' smile increased. "Two, actually."
Alex snorted increduously. "Are you serious? At the same time?"
Jess nodded and Alex shook her head in amusement. "Oh man..."
Jess nodded. "Mmmm hmmmm. So let's just say the engagement was off and we were all very relieved. Nick had a broken heart for all of, oh I don't know, say a week maybe..."
Alex laughed again. "I guess it was pretty serious then..."
"Yeah, very serious, obviously. Well anyway, let's just say Nick had a bit of an eye opener about women and decided to play the distance game after that. He's dated a lot of women, but I haven't seen him get very serious about many of them. There've been a few, but not many. So needless to say, when we heard you were moving in with him..."
Oh man, they're all hearing wedding bells.
Alex was suddenly feeling nervous all over again.
"Um, well... I... Jess, I really don't know what to say. Seriously, we've never talked about marriage. I swear. We're just... We're very happy right now and I'm more than content with how things are. Honestly."
"Oh, Alex... I'm sorry if I sounded like I was trying to pressure you. That's not the case at all. I just want you to know that I think my little brother really cares about you. Deeply."
Then she grinned at Alex again.
"But if you hurt him, I'll have to kill you."
Alex laughed and nodded. "Fair enough. I'll remember that."
After alittle more small talk, Alex decided to catch a few more hours sleep, knowing she'd be meeting more Stokes soon. She wanted to be refreshed for the rest of the day.
She snuggled back in next to Nick, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind. She grinned to herself.
My poor Nicky and his adulterous fiance.
She felt guilty but she almost giggled out loud when she tried to picture him walking in to find his fiance with two guys...
Just then Nick woke up partially and turned to face her. He kissed her forehead and pulled her tighter to him before falling back asleep.
Nick smiled as he heard the door open and a voice calling out.
"Yoo Hoo! Anybody here? The Ashfords have arrived!"
Alex looked at Nick questioningly across the kitchen table and he explained.
"Amanda and Rick." He looked at his watch and smirked. "Right on schedule, as usual."
Laura Stokes caught his expression and smacked him lightly on the head with her newspaper.
"Don't start Nicholas. Come out and say hi to your sister and her husband. She'll be happy to see you."
He grinned at Alex and nodded his head to the door. "Come with me, hon. I may need to use you as a shield."
"Nick."
His mother frowned at him as she opened the kitchen door and he tried to look remorseful. He laughed as she disappeared behind the door.
"Seriously, this should be interesting. I can't wait until she finds out I've got her room."
Alex laughed. "Wow, that's what Jess said too. Well, let's go. I don't want to miss this."
He grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him. "And I wasn't joking about that shield thing..."
She was chuckling as they finally entered the foyer and saw the group gathered there. Jessica and her father had shown up as well.
"Nick! You're home. I'm so glad to see you, hon. It's been way, way, way too long."
He moved over to her and gave her a big hug.
"Good to see you too sis. Rick." The other man nodded towards Nick, smiling. He looked back at Amanda. "How was your trip?"
"Oh, I'll be fine after I freshen up."
Alex watched surreptitiously from the sidelines and decided that most of the clan so far seemed to resemble their mother. Amanda's hair was blonde, but it was most likely dyed. She also wore more make-up then she'd seen on the other women in the family she'd met, but the whole affect was very tasteful, and business-like. She definitely looked like a lawyer.
Laura Stokes interrupted them. "Amanda, Rick... This is Nick's girlfriend, Alex."
She moved towards the couple and Rick grasped her hand warmly. "Nice to meet you, Alex."
Alex reciprocated and then Laura did the same.
"We've heard all about you Alex. I'm impressed somebody managed to trap this one." She motioned to Nick. "We didn't think he'd ever have a serious relationship."
Alex felt her brows go up slightly, but she tried to look neutral. "Well, uh... I had a big net. And I keep him tied up, so he can't get away."
Butch barked out laughter and Nick laughed beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. He looked down at her affectionately and added, "She feeds me well, though. And sometimes I can go out into the yard."
The whole family was laughing now, with the exception of Amanda who seemed vaguely unimpressed, despite the smile on her face. It almost seemed as though she felt the joke was on her or something. Alex hoped she hadn't offended the woman. She wasn't hear to antagonzize Nick's family.
Then the other shoe fell.
"Oh, Amanda dear... I gave Nick and Alex the big room, since it's Alex's first time in Texas and all. I wanted her to feel at home here."
While to all outward appearances everyone seemed to hold the same posture in the room, Alex could almost feel the anticipation in the air as everyone waited for Amanda's response. Alex chewed the inside of her lip and watched the woman in front of her.
Amanda's face seemed to chaneg for a split second, but it was so quick Alex began to doubt whether she'd seen the emotion on the older woman's face or not: Outraged disbelief. Her words belied any discontent however, and she smiled sweetly.
"Oh, well of course. That's completely understandable. And afterall, Nicky's taken this time away from his precious little microscopes and fingerprint powders to finally grace us with his presence. Surely that's reason enough."
Nick shook his head in amusement and looked at Rick as if to say, 'How do you put up with this all the time?' The other man just grinned at Nick, and he laughed.
"Yeah, it's nice to see you too, Amanda. Here, I'll help you guys with your bags."
He and Rick hefted the half dozen bags up the stairs and Butch nodded towards them as he questioned his daughter.
"You bring the kids, Mandy?"
"No dad. They had other things going on. They think they're too old for this stuff these days, you understand."
"Then what the hell is in all those bags? You packed enough for the whole family."
Amanda just looked at Alex and Jess as if to say, 'Men... they just don't understand'. Alex smiled back understandingly, trying to stay on the woman's good side.
Well, things just got a whole lot more interesting, that's for sure. Ex-fiances and melodramatic sisters. This holiday might be more fun than I thought...