Hyperion Heights, Present Day
Lucy hummed as she waited near Nick's office. When she saw him walk out, she ran over to him.
"Hey, Nick!" she greeted with a smile.
"Oh, uh, hey, Lucy," he nervously replied, rubbing the back of his head.
Lucy furrowed her eyebrows before she tilted her head and asked, "Didn't my mom tell you I was coming after school?"
"Yeah…yeah, she did," Nick told her, rubbing the back of his head once more.
A silence then ensued that hinged on awkward, with Lucy giving Nick a curious look while he shuffled on his feet.
The dark-haired girl then broke it: "So, are we gonna go get ice cream?"
Nick looked down at her before he took a breath and answered, "Yeah, Lucy, we are. Let's go," attempting a smile.
Lucy regarded him curiously for a moment before she smiled and nodded in response. The two of them then began walking along the sidewalk toward the ice cream parlor.
Lucy then piped up: "I think I'll have moose tracks. It's my favorite. And my mom's."
Nick only hummed in response, his focus on the walk in front of him as opposed to the ten-year-old at his side.
Lucy couldn't help but sigh in response. She then tried again, "Do you have a favorite ice cream?"
"Uh, well," Nick began, pausing before he continued, "I don't know that I do."
The dark-haired girl rolled her eyes before she pointed out, "Everyone has a favorite ice cream, Nick."
With a shrug, he then told her, "I guess I just don't, Lucy."
"Okay," she replied, and she couldn't help but slump her shoulders and sigh.
Upon noticing this, Nick attempted to strike up a conversation: "So, Lucy, that book your mom mentioned. It's full of fairy tales, right?"
"Yep, it is," she answered with a bright smile. She paused before she continued, "I read it, like, all the time."
With a light chuckle, Nick then surmised, "So, I guess that makes, uh, Henry, a pretty good writer."
"Oh, he's the best," Lucy confirmed, smiling brightly once more.
Her smile turned slightly mischievous as an idea struck her. She then told him, "My favorite story is Cinderella. Do you have a favorite story, Nick?"
"Uh, well," he began, his nervousness taking over once more. He took a quick breath before he answered her: "I probably haven't read any stories like that since I was a kid, so I'm not sure I could tell you a favorite."
Lucy remained undeterred as she pressed on: "How about when you were a kid, then? What did you like?"
She paused to think for a few moments before she started listing: "Maybe the story of Snow White? Or Peter Pan? Oh! Or Jack and the Beanstalk?"
Nick only looked at her curiously as he commented, "I don't think those stories have anything in common, Lucy."
"More than you think," the dark-haired girl muttered. She then maintained, "You at least have to like Jack and the Beanstalk."
Nick ran his fingers through his hair before he tried to indulge her: "Doesn't he trade a cow for magic beans?"
With a smile, Lucy responded, "Yep! And then a beanstalk grows from the magic beans, and Jack slays the giant at the top."
"Well, it's interesting, I'll give you that," Nick told her, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"But you don't know if it's your favorite. Or if it feels familiar," Lucy supplied, her voice tinged with disappointment.
Nick looked down at her as he spoke, "Sorry, Lucy, I know you, uh, love this stuff, but I just, uh, haven't read any fairy tales lately," raking his hand through his hair.
"I can tell," Lucy quipped. She then took a breath and told him, "But it's okay. I know you'll remember."
That curious look appeared on Nick's face once more as he asked her, "Remember what, exactly?"
"Oh! Uh, well," Lucy began. She quickly recovered, "Your favorite story when you were a kid."
She then smiled and added hopefully, "But I know you will."
Nick couldn't help but tilt his head before he conceded, "I guess we'll see, won't we?"
Lucy only nodded in response. She then tilted her head as she pondered what else they could talk about.
It then came to her: "Since you don't read - well, you don't read fairytales - what do you do for fun? Like when you're not being a lawyer?"
Nick looked thoughtful for a few moments. He then answered, "Um, well, I listen to music. But I'm not sure it'll be anything you would like - it's not exactly, uh, like Disney music or whatever."
With a roll of her eyes, Lucy then pointed out, "Those don't even tell what really happened," eliciting a confused expression from Nick.
He then surmised, "So I'm guessing that the stories that Henry wrote are, what? More realistic or something?"
"You could say that," Lucy told him. She then paused and continued, "What kind of music is it that you like? My Aunt Sabine likes jazz."
"Uh, well, that's cool, I guess," he began, running his fingers through his hair. He then continued, "The music I like, that is, the music I listen to, is well…it's, uh…" trailing off, his nerves getting the better of him.
Lucy sighed before she stopped in front of him. With her hands on her hips, she told him, "Okay, we have to fix this."
"Fix what, exactly, Lucy?" Nick asked her, looking at her with a strange expression.
She sighed once more before she told him, "You don't have to be so, I don't know, like, so nervous around me."
She then shrugged and added, "I'm just a kid."
Nick took a deep breath before he bent down on her level. He then explained, "I'm sorry, Lucy. It's just…just that this is all new to me. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do - or say."
With a breath, Lucy then told him, "It's okay." She then offered him a knowing smile and added, "I think you'll be great at it."
Nick couldn't help but smile back at her as he told her, "Thanks, Lucy. You're a pretty great kid."
The dark-haired girl smiled at him once more. She then offered, "Can we go get ice cream now?"
Nick chuckled at her before he told her, "Yeah, let's go," rising to his feet.
The two of them then continued walking until they reached a small ice cream parlor. Lucy walked inside before she bounded up to the counter, with Nick right behind her.
She immediately told the server: "I want two scoops of moose tracks. With chocolate sprinkles and whipped cream, please."
"You got it," the server answered with a smile before turning to Nick. He wore a thoughtful expression as he browsed the menu.
He then spoke, "I'd like one scoop of chocolate chip and one scoop of strawberry," digging his wallet out of his back pocket.
Lucy couldn't help but smile widely at his choice of flavors before he said, "Why don't you grab us a table and I'll wait on the ice cream."
She bobbed her head before she surveyed the seating options. She spotted a booth nestled against the wall and hurried over to it.
When she sat down, she looked back over at Nick. She then muttered, "I have to help him see that Aunt Alena is his true love. Just like with my mom and dad."
Just then, he came and sat down across from Lucy, placing her ice cream in front of her.
He couldn't help but grin as he offered, "Should you really eating all this sugar before ballet?"
She only shrugged as she told him, "I'll be okay." She then took a huge bite of her ice cream, along with sprinkles and whipped cream.
Nick couldn't help but chuckle before he told her, "You got some whipped cream on your chin, Lucy."
"Oh!" she exclaimed before she grabbed a napkin. As she began wiping her face, Nick began eating his own ice cream.
Lucy tossed the napkin aside before she teased him, "I thought that you didn't know your favorite ice cream."
Nick shook his head at her, and he couldn't help the grin that appeared a moment later. He then shrugged and said, "Well, I guess I figured it out."
Lucy hummed in response. She then told him, "And now you can actually answer my questions."
Nick shook his head once more before he lightly chuckled. He then asked her, "Alright, Lucy, what do you want to know?"
She looked thoughtful for a few moments as she ate her ice cream. She then exclaimed, "Oh! The stories!" before she elaborated, "Tell me your favorite story when you were a kid."
Nick formed a thoughtful expression as well. He then answered, "Well, since you did mention it, I did like Jack and the Beanstalk. I thought it'd be cool to find magic beans and slay giants."
Lucy smiled at him as she told him, "I like that story, too." She then added, "I always wanted to know how to sword fight."
With a tilt of his head, Nick then surmised, "Sword fighting, huh? I don't think that'd be exactly safe - it probably wouldn't be actually."
She only shrugged as she told him, "I still think it'd be fun."
Nick chuckled lightly in response. A note of seriousness appeared in his tone as he then spoke, "Just don't get any ideas, alright?"
Lucy nodded her agreement before she pointed out, "I don't think anyone could teach me here anyway."
She took a bite of ice cream before she added, "I think I'll just stick with ballet."
"That's probably a good idea," Nick conceded before eating some more of his ice cream.
The two of them ate in silence for a few minutes before Lucy chimed in with another question.
"So, you know I'm in ballet, obviously. What did you do as a kid? Did you play sports or anything?"
He swallowed his sweet treat before he replied, "I did actually. I played baseball, and I was the pitcher. I started in middle school, and I played some in high school until I became interested in music."
"Which is how you met my mom," Lucy supplied, trying to hide the fact that she was less than thrilled with the curse's version of events.
"Uh, yeah," Nick told her, running his fingers through his hair and trying to not let his nerves take back over.
Before he could say anything else or try to change the subject, Lucy began holding the sides of her head.
"Ugh. Brain freeze," she complained. She quickly placed her tongue on the roof of her mouth, and the feeling subsided.
She then let out a breath and shook her head. Nick then asked her, "You okay?"
Lucy nodded before she elaborated, "I'm fine. I get brain freezes, like, every time I eat ice cream."
"Then maybe you shouldn't eat it so fast," Nick suggested with a grin. The dark-haired girl rolled her eyes in response.
She then told him, "Not so nervous anymore, huh?"
Nick only looked at her for a moment before he shook his head once more. He then commented, "I didn't realize you were so, uh, outspoken."
With a shrug, she replied, "I know. That's what my mom and…Henry always tell me."
She took another bite of ice cream before she added, "And Alena does, too."
Nick couldn't help but stiffen at the sound of her name, and he tried in vain to hide it. Lucy noticed, but she didn't say anything.
He then took a breath and said, "I can't say I'm too surprised by that - especially since Alena is good friends with J."
"Yep. You could say they're like sisters - sort of like my mom and Aunt Sabine," Lucy told him, and she couldn't help the knowing smile that appeared across her features.
Nick only nodded at her before he spoke, "I could tell. And she told me that Henry's like a brother to her," looking off to the side as he ate his ice cream.
A sadness appeared in Lucy's brown eyes as she simply looked at her uncle. It just wasn't fair that he couldn't be with Alena - along with Emma and Lily.
But, she was going to find some way to fix it.
She took a deep breath before she told him, "You're her friend, too, Nick. And I think she likes you."
Despite himself, Nick couldn't help but chuckle. He then told the precocious ten-year-old: "You're a little too smart for your own good."
His words didn't faze Lucy as she continued, "You guys danced at the masquerade ball - and then you found each other again."
A curious look appeared on Nick's face as he posed, "You make it sound like fate or something."
"It could be," Lucy stated as though it was the most obvious answer in the world. She paused before she asked, "You do like her, don't you?"
Nick sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before he tried to explain, "I know you're trying to help, Lucy, but it's not that simple."
He took a breath and gathered courage to admit this next part: "Alena and I are just friends, and it's gonna stay that way."
Lucy furrowed her brows in response. She then told him, "It sounds like you're just giving up."
Nick sighed once more before he spoke, "We both have a lot going on. Aside from our jobs, I'm getting to know you, and Alena is taking care of her little girls."
Lucy's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but gasp before she questioned, "You know about Emma and Lily?"
For a moment, her reaction didn't register with Nick as he observed, "So those are their names," a small smile forming across his features.
He then ran a hand through his brown hair. He then let out a breath before he addressed Lucy: "Uh, yeah, I do know about them. I saw Alena with them when she was leaving to go somewhere."
Lucy hummed in response. She then spoke, "Did you go meet them? I bet they would have really liked you."
"You think?" he questioned, a bit of uncertainty in his tone. He paused before he explained, "And no, I didn't meet them - I didn't really want to interrupt."
He ate some of the ice cream before he added, "But I could see that they look just like her - blonde hair and all," another smile appearing on his face.
Lucy smiled as well. She then told him, "They are pretty cute, even if they do get, like, overly excited about everything."
Nick couldn't help but chuckle at that before he told her, "That actually sounds a little familiar."
She rolled her eyes before she pointed out, "They're only three. I'm not nearly as excitable as they are."
A thoughtful expression formed on Nick's face before he surmised, "I could see where you wouldn't be." He paused before he continued, "At any rate, I'm sure they're great, just like you said."
With a nod, she then spoke, "And you'll immediately be their best friend." An idea then crossed her mind, and she continued, "And since you and Alena are friends, maybe all of us could meet up."
"All of us, as in who, exactly?" Nick then questioned, looking at her curiously.
"Me, you, Alena, Emma, and Lily," Lucy answered, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
As she ate some more moose tracks, Nick then began, "I mean, I'm not sure about that, Lucy…"
The dark-haired girl then interrupted, "Why not? Don't you think it'd be, like, fun?"
"I'm sure it would be, but I think we should just leave it, okay?" Nick told her, giving her an earnest look.
Lucy sighed in response, but she wasn't quite ready to give up. So, she asked, "Will you at least think about it? Please?"
Nick could see that this was important to her - and he had a pretty fair idea of why - so, he relented, "I won't make any promises, but I'll think about it."
Lucy smiled at him before the two of them continued eating ice cream and talking until it was time for her to go to ballet.
Shortly after Nick decided to drop Lucy off at ballet, he received a call from Jacinda. She sounded concerned about some custody paperwork that her stepmother had dropped off.
He agreed to ease her mind and look over it for her, and he now held it in his hands at her apartment.
He flipped through it and read over it as Jacinda looked on nervously. "Well?" she then asked him.
With a smile, Nick told her, "The paperwork's legit."
"For real? Lucy's mine?" Jacinda questioned, her tone a combination of excitement and disbelief.
"Lucy's yours. Belfry conceded," Nick assured her, genuine happiness etched across his features before he glanced back down at the paperwork.
He looked back up as Jacinda said, "Don't mess with me." He then reassured her, "It's true. It's finally over."
She couldn't help but let out a chuckle as she admitted, "I-I wasn't I wasn't sure that it was the- the right thing to call you - especially since I sort of sprung Lucy on you this afternoon - but I'm so glad I-so glad I did."
Nick smiled at her as he replied, "Well, knowing that you and Lucy are together is worth any work on my part." He paused before he added, "And we had a lot of fun - she's a great kid."
"Yeah, she is," Jacinda agreed, smiling back at him. She then told him, "I owe you my future life," chuckling before she continued, "Lucy-Lucy and me both!"
She wrapped him in a hug before she excitedly spoke, "Oh, my God!"
The two of them then pulled away. They locked eyes for a few moments before they leaned in and shared a kiss.
Jacinda quickly backed up from him and protested, "Whoa. No, I, uh - I don't want to do this."
"Uh, no," Nick awkwardly told her before he cleared his throat. He then shook his head and clarified, "I mean, yeah, I don't think we should, uh, do this either."
Jacinda couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief before she offered, "I think maybe that - that we just got caught in the moment?"
He nodded his agreement as he ran his fingers through his hair. He then said, "You were excited about getting Lucy back - we both were - and I helped you so…"
He trailed off as he tried to think of a way to salvage this conversation when Jacinda intervened, "I am - I'm so grateful that you're back in our lives. And I want you to have a relationship with Lucy."
Nick chuckled lightly as he told her, "Me too." He then rubbed the back of his head and took a deep breath before he apologized, "And I'm sorry for kissing you - that shouldn't have happened."
"It's really okay, Nick," Jacinda began. She paused before she told him, "I know things got a little, uh, complicated, but I'm hoping that, just maybe - for our sake and for Lucy's - that we can try to be friends?"
Try as he might, he couldn't quite stop himself from bristling at the word "friends," as it rang a little too familiar.
Jacinda noticed his change in mood, and she asked him, "Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Nick began, trying to placate her. He then ran his fingers through his hair and admitted, "I'm sure you heard about what happened with me and Alena. I mean, I understand where she's coming from, but the word "friends" just stings a little too much."
A sympathetic look crossed over Jacinda's features as she sincerely told him, "I'm sorry about that. I can see how hard it is for you." She then took a breath and spoke, "Though I did figure as much - even though I haven't talked to her since she left with Henry and Roni for San Francisco."
"San Francisco?" he questioned. A moment later, he then sighed and surmised, "But I get why she had to get away."
Jacinda simply nodded in reply. She then offered, "Maybe time away will be good for all of us."
"Yeah, maybe," Nick agreed. He then said, "Hopefully, by the time they get back, things won't be so awkward."
The brunette couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle as she told him, "You know, you're starting to sound a little like Lucy."
He couldn't help but chuckle in response. He then told her, "I should get going. I'll talk to you later, J."
She nodded at him before he headed toward the door. She then let out a sigh as she heard the door open and close.
A smile then made its way on her face as she thought about the fact that her daughter was now home for good.
Jacinda then glanced over at the table and spied the mixtape still sitting on it.
She then walked over and picked it up, turning it over in her hands. Her smile didn't fade as it seemed that she now realized exactly what she wanted.