--
"Are they still here" Robert asked as Lesley crawled into bed
"who" she questioned
"The love birds that roosted on the couch" he answered
"How long have you known" Lesley asked him surprised
"Since Ronnie brought her home with him"
"Robert, they have worried their selves sick about upsetting you, you should be ashamed of your self" Lesley only half way fussed at him
"I wasn't the one helping them sneak around" He picked at Lesley
"I made Nick get on the couch one time so you would think it was Ronnie, that's it I swear" Lesley answered pulling the covers over her legs.
--
"Where is Eddie" Nick asked after band practice and a explanation of events.
"He didn't come home last night" Phil added "I guess now we know why"
"I'm not surprised, him and Janet practicaly went at in the middle of Sully's last night" Owen commented
"I can't believe Eddie slept with Hannah and no one ever knew" Owen stated
"I knew" Ickey said quietly
"What" Nick asked
"I had to go get him out of jail one night,...Laush was drunk and wrecked his truck so they took him to the ER before the big house, when he saw Eddie there he flipped and Eddie ended up beating the crap out of him, those two just rub each other the wrong way" Ickey told them
"Why was Eddie at the hospital" Phil asked
"Sam was born that night" Ickey told them "That's why he had such a hard time with what I did to Big O" he added making Owen uncomfortable. Ickey knew it wasn't just Eddie being a hypocrite; Eddie had confided in him that night and Ickey knew what it had cost him but he had an affair with his best friends wife anyway despite knowing what it would do.
"How mad are you at him" Owen asked
"We broke up that day, so did him and Rory so it's not like it was some big romance behind my back" Nick told the group
"Don't let something that happened when you were kids get in the way of what you got now" Ickey commented
"I here you moved back home" Nick asked Owen ignoring Ikey all together
"Word travels fast in a small town" Owen replied and they laughed. It wasn't really a subject he cared to talk about in front of Ickey.
Band practice was over and everyone was heading out when Eddie made it back home. He went straight to the kitchen and grabbed a beer before heading back to the living room and plopping on the opposite end of the couch from Nick. Silence fell and Phil excused his self from the room leaving them alone.
"Go ahead let me have it" Eddie said then chugged back his beer. Nick could tell he was in a mood.
"You spent the night with Janet" Nick asked
"Yep" Eddie replied
"How was it"
"The best night of my life" Eddie replied
"She's got a way of making you see the light" Nick added
"Tell me about it, she's the only woman I know that you can't argue with, by the time she's says her peace, I've got nothing" Eddie chuckled a little
"She's also the only woman I've ever seen that could hold her own against Eddie Latekka, hell Janet's the only woman you've ever let put you in your place" Nick laughed
"And she'll be the only one you'll ever see doing it, Janet Meadows is one of a kind, Nicky" Eddie swigged his beer
"So what's he like, I mean I know he's smart and has a great since of humor but I barely know anything about my own son" Nick asked Eddie and they began to talk. Eddie told Nick about his first little league try outs and the time he cried watching the Nemo movie because he had to go to the dentist, the time Hannah thought she lost him in the grocery store when he was four among other things. Nick didn't want Eddied to stop being a part of Sam's life and he made that clear.
"How are you going to handle the whole Ray wanting to adopt him thing" Eddie asked
"I just found out I had a son I'm not about to hand him over to Ray Cataldo" Nick answered
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"What goes on with you" Hannah asked Janet as they sipped coffee sitting at her table
"Not much, what about you….how did Ray take the news" Janet asked. She headed straight to check on her and Sam once she went home and showered.
"I don't know"
"Hannah you have to tell him, he deserves to know to" Janet answered
"I did tell him, but he acted like it wasn't a big deal and pretty much blew it off, it's weird because even though I know deep down it bothers him, I don't think he cares nearly as much as he thought he did, I think he's really just glad it wasn't Eddie" Hannah answered and Janet's face immediately looked pained
"How is he" Hannah asked truly concerned
"He's Eddie" Janet returned
"I know and that's why I'm worried"
"You should of thought about that before your crawled into his truck" Janet was blunt
"Ouch, I guess I deserved that" Hannah tried to swallow it
"You really do, but right now he's got so much on his plate that this is just another side dish" Janet spoke harsh "But, I think he's finally going to have the chance to clear it this time" Janet spoke a little lighter
"What about Sam"
"I have the best little boy in the world and last night I had to tell him I've been lying to him his whole life about who is father was, what kind of mother does that, and do you know what he said" Janet shook her head drinking her coffee " He asked me if I was sorry"
"What did you tell him"
"That I had never been so sorry in my life but that I was scared and did what I thought was best for him then he asked if he could talk to Nick so I left them alone….I don't know what they talked about but I'm not about to ask either"
"He's a great kid" Janet replied
"Yeah, but I can't take all the credit because you and Eddie have helped me so much" Hannah said humbly
"me and Eddie" Janet mumbled to herself
"How is Janet and Eddie"
"Janet and Eddie will be fine" Janet replied
The next day Nick and Aubrey went to talk to the Commander and break the news. He was happy for Nick but could tell there was a strain between him and Aubrey. He was right they were strained but mostly it was Aubrey's concern over where she would fit in the whole picture. Being Nick's girlfriend was one thing but being the person he wanted around his son had given her reason to worry. Once they left and made it back to her place she decided to talk to him about it.
"I think it's great that you have a son" Aubrey started
"And it doesn't bother you that his mother is Hannah" Nick asked bluntly
"I didn't say that…while I don't like the fact, I can't change it and I like Hannah, I'll like her more when she's Hannah Cataldo, but that's beside the point, Sam's a great kid and more importantly he's your son, Nick and how could I not love that" Aubrey replied
"I know my son, that's strange to say, and a whole lot of responsibility" Nick sat dazed
"I wanted to talk to you about that……. If you're his father and I'm your girlfriend is that going to cause a problem between us" She asked
"Are you going to have a problem with Sam" Nick was already protective
"No, but is Sam going to have a problem with us"
"He asked me about you, yesterday….he wanted to know if we got married would you be his step mom like Ray's going to be his step dad" Nick told her with a slight laugh
"What did you tell him" Unsure she really wanted to hear the answer
"I told him that for now you were my girlfriend and that we would figure out how to work everything in time, and that you were pretty cool" Nick answered playfully
"For now" Aubrey asked shocked
"Yes, for now…why are you in a rush to get down the isle" Nick asked
"I wouldn't exactly call it a rush, but I would like to know we might see it down the road, someday, maybe" Aubrey stuttered out
"Someday, maybe" Nick picked at her
"Preferably before we end up like a certain couple next door" Aubrey added
"It can't be all that bad, their the happiest people I know" Nick answered laughing
"They really are but I think we can beat that" Aubrey was well on her way to seducing Nick when he stopped her
"I can't I promised Sam I would stop by to see him" Aubrey handled it gracefully
--
A few weeks later Hannah and Janet ran into Allison in the produce section of the grocery store and they stopped to talk. Kaitlin and Connor were running around and Allison had about reached her wits end. She told them the kids had been acting like that since Owen moved back in. Her and Hannah both had buggies rounded off, Janet a mere hand basket. Hannah requested that Kaitlin be the flower girl and Allison accepted.
"I better get going, it's going to take all day to unload these groceries" Hannah stated
"I know the feeling, just wait Janet your day is coming" Allison joked
"Are you kidding me, try feeding Eddie Latekka" Janet laughed and the girls talked for a minute before going their seperate ways.
"I'm going to be late for work" Janet said as she loaded her single bag and Hannah loaded her twenty.
"Are we still on for tomorrow night" Hannah asked
"Yeah, I'll see you at seven" Janet replied then left