A/N: Sorry it took me forever to get this up. I've been busy with life and other stories. Enjoy!

Chapter 21: Confessions

Nicky kept her hands over her ears, her eyes shut tight, her nails digging into her scalp. Mort led her into the hotel room, his arms around her as she breathed heavily. He had told the concerned desk clerk in the lobby that she had a really bad headache, which wasn't too far from the truth. He quickly turned on the light and Nicky began pacing in the room, angrily.

"Leave me alone!" she growled softly. "Get out of my head! I don't need you!"

"Nicky," Mort called softly, reaching for her after closing the door.

"Don't touch me!" she hissed, swatting his arms away and still pacing. He shrunk back but recovered quickly. She was going to hurt herself if this kept up. He had to stop her. Mort marched toward her and stopped her then pulled her hands from her ears.

"Nicky! You have to pull yourself together," he whispered. She shook her head, not looking at him. "Sweetness, please--"

"She's still in my head!" Nicky shuddered. Mort took her head in his hands and brought her gaze to his.

"I know, Nicky. I know," he whispered. "Look at me."

Her eyes finally locked with his and he saw her eyes filling with tears.

"She's never gonna leave," she breathed.

"She will," Mort insisted. "And Shooter will leave, too. You'll see."

Nicky shook her head again and stepped into his arms, beginning to sob. He held her close, smoothing a hand over her back to comfort her and nuzzling his cheek to the side of her head.

"Every time I go to sleep, I don't expect to wake up," she breathed. "I keep thinking that she'll take over and it'll be days, weeks, years before I come back."

"Not gonna happen, sweetness," Mort whispered.

"Don't you ever worry about that with Shooter?" she wondered.

"I used to," he admitted. "Not so much anymore."

"How did you get over it?"

"When you told me how you felt about me, I knew you would bring me back if Shooter ever took over."

Nicky looked up at him with questioning eyes and he smiled down at her reassuringly.

"Ever since you brought me back the first time, I knew I could count on you to bring me back again and again. I hoped you wouldn't have to, but I knew you could."

"Do you think, if we distract ourselves enough, like we've been doing, they'll finally leave?" Nicky wondered. Mort lifted one of his hands and stroked a piece of her hair from her face, then tried to dry the tears on her cheeks.

"Tell her," he told himself. "You know you want to! She needs to know!"

"But she's been through so much already!" he argued.

"Exactly! She'll need someone, won't she?!"

"Mort?" Nicky called softly, breaking through his thoughts. "Are you ok?"

Mort looked at her again and slid his arms around her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, concern written on her face.

"I was just thinking," he smiled, inching his face closer to hers.

"About what?" she smiled.

"How beautiful you are," he murmured. She shook her head a bit.

"I'm not beautiful," she insisted. Their eyes locked again and his expression became serious.

"Nicky," he whispered, his hands sliding to her waist. "I have something important to tell you--"

A knock on the door interrupted him and he sighed making Nicky giggle as he cowed his head.

"Coming!" Nicky called and slid from Mort's arms as she walked toward the door. She opened the door to reveal Jag standing in the threshold with a worried look on his face. He sighed in relief and pulled her into his arms.

"Thank God you're ok," he breathed then held her at arm's length to look her over. "When Mort said he had to bring you here, I got so worried."

"I'm fine, now," she smiled. "And Mort's the one to thank for that."

As Mort came up next to Nicky, the three jumped when they heard a bang from behind Jag. He spun around and the three stared at Jacque as she tried fumbling with the doorknob.

"Jag!" she whined in a slurred, drunken voice. "My key doesn't work!" She suddenly slipped and fell to the floor then burst into laughter as she leaned back on the door. Jag sighed, slapping his hand to his forehead as Nicky rolled her eyes and Mort cocked his head a bit like a curious dog.

"I gotta take care of our baby sister," Jag groaned, walking across the hall.

"Need help?" Nicky wondered, watching her brother pull Jacque to her feet.

"No," he sighed, opening the door. "She'll just have to sleep in her dress. If you can call it a dress."

Nicky giggled and waved to her brother as he nodded and they all went into their rooms.

"Your sister is…" Mort trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"Incorrigible," Nicky blurted and Mort chuckled. They were silent for several moments as they moved toward the bed, Nicky sitting on one side, Mort on the other as they took off their shoes and got ready for bed.

"You sang well, Nicky," he finally said, untying the black tie around his neck.

"You have no idea how scared I was," she laughed, taking off her jewelry. "I've never sang in front of anyone except you and my family."

"Well, if you were that scared, it didn't show," Mort replied, pulling off his jacket then crawled toward her on the bed. He stood behind her on his knees and ran his hands down her arms.

"Oh, good, you can help me," she said and pulled her hair from her back and over her shoulder. "Can you unzip me?"

Mort stared at the back of her head in complete shock. Did she know what she just asked him to do?! She had never asked him to do this before. They hadn't even seen each other undressed. Did she know what this was going to do to him?! She had to be teasing!

"Just do it!" he yelled at himself. "She's waiting! She's giving you this chance! Do it!" Mort's hand cautiously moved to the collar of her dress where the zipper began and slowly unzipped.

Nicky straightened as she felt the dress loosen and closed her eyes, taking in a deep silent breath. She hadn't realized what she had asked him before it was too late. In all those romantic stories she knew, whenever a man unzipped a woman's dress, it usually led to more. However, she trusted Mort to be a gentleman and not--

Her eyes shot open when she felt his lips on her neck, the shoulders of her dress down at her arms. She was about to get up but found it impossible because she didn't want to leave the feeling of his lips against her skin. She closed her eyes again and let her head fall back onto his shoulder as he kissed her shoulder. His mouth railed back up her neck and up to her ear.

"I have to tell you something," he whispered.

"Tell me," she breathed in ecstasy.

"It's kind of big," he murmured, nipping her ear lobe. "I'm not really sure how to tell you."

Nicky's eyes opened for a moment in a worry as her heart clenched. What could it be that would have him say that? She hoped it wasn't something bed.

"Why don't you count to three then say it?" She suggested melting at his touch again.

"Good idea," he smirked, nuzzling his nose to her ear. She counted with him silently and felt him breathe deeply.

"I love you."

Silence. Mort froze when she didn't say anything and slowly pulled away as Nicky sat still staring straight ahead in wide eyed shock. He crawled back to the other side of the bed and began unbuttoning his shirt. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair then turned around to see Nicky still not moving. After a few more seconds, she finally stood and ran to the bathroom then shut the door. Mort frowned at the action and stayed still to hear if there was any sound to indicate that something was wrong. He heard a crash and ran to the door.

"Nicky?!" he called pounding on the door.

"I'm fine!" she called back. Mort sighed and turned to lean on the door. It suddenly opened and he fell back onto the floor as Nicky gasped and stepped back out of reflex. She stared at Mort from above as he groaned in pain and tried to sit up.

"Mort! Oh, my God!" she breathed, kneeling down to help him sit up. "I dropped a glass and I was gonna get the trash can--"

"Please," stop talking," he muttered, his hand rubbing the back of his head. Nicky stopped and pouted slightly, feeling a bit snubbed.

"Well, what was that for?" she wondered.

"I tell you I love you and you run in here like I broke up with you," he replied. "You handle things weird."

"Well, how should I handle it, then?!" she shot back.

"Do you love me or don't you?!" he spat, and Nicky stared at him with wide eyes. "Do you want us to reach that level, or keep things the way they are?! I can wait for you to get where I am, I just want to know how you feel because it's driving me crazy not knowing!" He tucked his legs beneath him and faced her, gripping her arms. "Do you love me?"

"Of course I love you, you stupid man!" she finally spat. "What do you think I'm with you for a fling?!"

Mort stared at her in wide eyed shock. Well, he got the answer he wanted. Now what?

"Oh, stop staring at me like that and get ready for bed," Nicky ordered. "We have to see the lawyer about the will tomorrow."

A/N: As I finished this chapter, I realized Mort and Nicky kind of switch places. Usually it's the girl going "Where are we?!" but as I typed it up, it grew on me...lol! Reviews please.