*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter and thank-you for being so patient while waiting for me to update. I'm going to try to update more often*
The next day John had gone to the gym to work out while Nicki spent the day with Ava. He wanted them to spend time together alone so that they could get to know each other better and so that Ava could be more comfortable with Nicki. Nicki took Ava to the playground for the afternoon. "Nicki, can you push me?" asks Ava as she looks up at Nicki.
"Sure," says Nicki as she takes Ava's hand and walks her over to the swing. "Do you like to go high or no?"
"I like to go high," says Ava as she sits down on the swing. "Can you push me high?"
"I sure can" says Nicki. "I used to push my son Judson high on the swing all the time," Nicki says before she starts to push Ava on the swing.
"You have a son?" asks Ava as Nicki continues to push her.
"I used to," says Nicki sadly.
"What is his name?" asks Ava.
"His name was Judson."
"Where is he now?" asks Ava.
"He's in Heaven," says Nicki as she thinks about how she used to push Judson on the swing. She thinks about how he would laugh and the wind blowing through his hair. He loved to go to the park and he loved being on the swings. He always told Nicki he felt like he was flying.
"What's Heaven?" asks Ava.
"Heaven is a place people go after they die," says Nicki. "There are angels and I imagine it is a beautiful place."
"So your son died?" asks Ava.
"Yes," says Nicki.
"How did he die?"
"He was very sick," says Nicki with tears in her eyes.
"Did he go to the doctor?"
"He went to the doctor and the doctor tried to help him but he was so sick there wasn't anything he could do to make him better."
"I'm sorry," says Ava. "I bet your little boy was fun."
"He was. He was a lot of fun," says Nicki. "You would have loved him and he would have loved you."
"So he is an angel?"
"I believe he is," says Nicki with a smile through her tears.
"That's pretty cool. I bet he has wings," says Ava.
"Probably the most beautiful wings anyone has ever seen," says Nicki before she breaks down into tears.
Ava stops her swing and gets off. She hugs Nicki and says, "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to cry."
"It's okay. You didn't make me cry, Honey. I was just thinking about Judson and that makes me cry. It wasn't you. I promise." Nicki hugs Ava back and wipes away her tears. "How about we go do something else?"
"Okay," says Ava.
They spent a while at the playground. They played on the slide, played in the sandbox and played on the rocking duck. Ava had such a good time. She was laughing and carrying on. Nicki loved to hear her laugh and she looked so much like her father. She was her father completely. Nicki enjoyed spending the time at the park with Ava because it brought back bittersweet memories of all the days her and Judson spent at the park together. "All right, Ms. Ava, I think it's time to go home," says Nicki.
"Do we have to? I am having so much fun," says Ava.
"Yeah. Your Daddy is probably worried about us," she says looking at her cell phone clock realizing they had been at the park longer than they expected to be.
"Oh man," she says standing up from the sandbox and wiping the sand off of her.
"Are you ready?" she asks.
"I guess," says Ava as she takes Nicki's hand and they walk to the car.
Nicki and Ava arrive home and walk into the house to have John greet them. "There are my girls," says John with a smile as he picks Ava up and gives Nicki a kiss on the lips. "Did you have fun?"
"Daddy, I had lots of fun!" says Ava with her blue eyes growing big. "Nicki is so cool."
"I think she's pretty cool too," says John with a smile.
"How was your workout?" asks Nicki as they walk into the living room.
"It was good," he says. "I met a woman while I was there."
"You did?" asks Nicki raising an eyebrow. She couldn't help to feel a tiny bit jealous.
"Relax," he says, "she's a dance teacher."
"Okay," says Nicki.
"And I managed to get Ava into her dance class. Ava, do you want to go to dance class?"
"Yes, Daddy," she says. "I want to be a ballerina and wear a tutu."
"Well, it's more than just ballet. It is a tap and ballet class. You just need a pink or black leotard, a skirt of either color which is optional, white tights, black tap shoes and pink leather ballet shoes. I don't know why I know all that about ballet," he says. "It was a long conversation."
"Sounds like it," says Nicki. "Are you excited for dance class, Ava?"
"Yes," she says with a big smile. "Thank-you, Daddy!" she says giving her dad a big hug and a kiss.
"You're welcome, Princess," he says with a smile.
"I'm going to put on my ballerina outfit," says Ava as she runs up the stairs to her room.
"Good job, Daddy," says Nicki with a smile.
"I try," he says with a smile. "Were you crying?"
"Yeah," she says.
"What happened?" asks John.
"Just thinking about Judson," says Nicki. "I miss him so much. I still can't believe he's gone. I wish he was still here."
"I know you miss him," says John as he wraps his arm around her. "I miss him too."
"We used to go to the park a lot and being there with Ava today made me remember all those times we spent at the park. He loved the park."
"I'm sorry," says John.
"And I'm scared, John," says Nicki.
"What are you scared about?" asks John pulling her closer to him.
"The baby," she says. "I just keep thinking that this baby will get sick too. I can't deal with another sick child. It was hard enough with Judson. All the pain I had to watch him go through and not being able to do anything to help him. It was so hard. I can't do it again, John. What if our baby is sick or gets sick too?"
"Nicki, I can see where you're coming from but I strongly believe that our baby won't get sick. There is no way God is going to put you through such heartache and pain again. Our baby is going to be health its whole life. Don't worry yourself over it. It will be fine," he says giving her comfort.
"But what it if it's not?"
"Then we will handle it the way we need to but like I said, God didn't give us this baby so that he can put us through the same pain as you went through with Judson. This baby is a gift for being so strong and patient through Judson's ordeal. I know you're scared but you shouldn't be. You have to look at the positive side," says John. "Okay?"
"Okay," says Nicki, "by the way does Ava know she's going to be a big sister?"
"Not yet," says John. "We'll tell her then but first I think you have a decision you need to make. Are you moving to Tampa or what?"
"About that," says Nicki, "I wanted to talk to you about that," she says.
"So talk about it," says John.
*A/N: So what did you think? Please review and thank-you for taking the time to read.