A/N- Haha, flashback time! In more ways than one. 'Tis a flashback for me because I'm revisiting WOL... but also it's a flashback in the literal sense. Yes, this is a flashback that was cut from the Words of Love series, namely the threquel, In Your Embrace At Last. I cut it because, as you may have noticed if you read the story, several people remarked to Nina that they hadn't seen her since she left the show, meaning that this wouldn't have happened. Also, Ryan acted extremely weird. Anyway, this chapter's original place was after the chapter where Nina found Mark's inseparable. Yay.
Nina parked the car, went around, and got the baby out of his carseat. He opened his brown eyes lazily and reached up to grab her face.
It was getting dark, and she was sure the show would be over soon.
The stage door was thrown open, and Ryan, John, and Mark came out, laughing and talking. Ryan saw Nina first, but he just smiled thinly. "Hey, Mark, look who's here."
"Nina! You brought the baby!"
"Yeah, I figured he's old enough to be introduced to some of the biggest weirdos he'll ever meet."
"You hear that, Ryan? She must be talking about you, because we know it's not Mark... or me, of course."
"Right, John," Mark said seriously, "we've already exposed the poor kid to you."
Amanda came running out of the theater, her wedding dress still on. "Nina!" she shouted. "You're a mother!" She rushed past the men and stopped short on reaching her friend. "Oh! ... Look at that baby..."
"Wanna hold him?"
She seemed to melt at the very idea, nodding enthusiastically. Nina slowly transferred Jehan into Amanda's arms. He blinked sleepily up at the new face, yawned, and clutched at one of her curls. "Look at those big eyes! What's his name again?"
"Jehan," Mark and Nina said simultaneously.
This inspired another fit of cooing from Amanda. Mark and John joined their group, and Ryan went quietly back inside. "You named him Jehan? How cute! Aw... Nina, he kind of looks like you!"
"I should hope so."
"Amanda... d'you know you're still in costume?"
"Ah! They'll accuse me of... stealing, or something! Who wants to hold the sweet baby?"
Sam had joined them. "I do," he said quickly.
"Foreman Sam!" Nina laughed as Amanda handed him the baby and hurried back into the theater. "It's been awhile."
"It has, hasn't it? He's cute, guys."
"I'm gonna go talk to Amanda," Nina announced, taking a step toward the building. "Mark, don't let them drop the baby... Meaning don't give him to John."
"John, John! Don't you kids think anyone else is capable of doing anything wrong? It's always me!"
"You're right," Mark said. "We don't think anyone else would cause problems – I mean, just look at you! You're a regular hoodlum."
Nina smiled to herself as she went backstage. She hadn't been to the theater in about a year. Nothing had changed... she ran a hand over half the barricades and wandered over to her place by the runaway cart.
"Nina?"
She looked up quickly. "Rob! Wait... where's your sideburn rash?"
"We switched to a different brand of spirit gum," he said, running his thumb down his jaw.
"You spent a year scratching a rash when you only needed to switch to a different type of gunk?"
"Two years."
"You know what? ... Never mind."
"I hear you've brought a kid here."
"Jehan. He's outside with Mark, Foreman Sam, and John."
"You let Val-John near your son?"
"I know, right?"
"I wanna go see him. Take care, Nina. And don't wait so long till you visit us again."
She hugged him. "Don't worry about it – I'll be back soon."
After Rob had gone, Nina went to find Amanda by the dressing rooms. Ryan was leaning against the wall, staring at the floor. He glanced at her when she approached him. "Have you seen Amanda?"
"She left already," he answered, not quite meeting her gaze.
Nina chewed on her lip. "I thought you were outside."
He nodded.
There was a pause, but he didn't offer any new information. Nina sighed. "Ryan... you used to be a lot more talkative. What happened?"
He shrugged. "I dunno... something changed."
"Well," Nina said quietly, "It's been nice seeing you. We had some good times in this show."
He blinked, then finally looked into her eyes. "We miss you."
Nina found that she couldn't keep eye contact with him. There was something... odd... about the way he seemed to stare at her... almost anxiously. She had always thought his eyes beautiful, for they seemed to change colors in different lights. Now they were dark brown: the same color as baby Jehan's.
The same color as Jehan's father's.
"I'll see you later," she muttered, hurrying back outside to Mark and John.