As the figures neared Nick enough that he could make out what they were, he realized what had happened. The girls were always so connected, more than even he and Alex were, and, despite the two weeks that Claire was still supposed to have, given the day the rest of them had had, the baby's birth actually made sense. He walked to meet them and held the doors open for Alex, who was carrying Claire and the baby, and Tess. She looked glad to see him, which gave him hope, but their conversation could wait.
Alex carried Claire and the baby upstairs, almost oblivious to the fact that Nick was there, much less that Tess had stayed downstairs with him. He gently lay her down on her bed and she held the baby close. "Do you need anything?" He asked, not knowing how long she'd been out there, if she still hurt, or if she wanted to be left alone.
"Do you have a date?"
Alex paused, feeling guilty. It wasn't as if he'd been cheating on Claire, there was technically nothing to cheat on, but all the same, the guilty feeling crept over him. It was one of the reasons he never told her he'd slept with Sandra, that and he didn't want to upset her. Still, he'd been running around like a fool and now he couldn't picture ever wanting to be anywhere besides here with her and Charlotte. "No."
"Can you stay?" Claire hated herself for sounding so weak and wanted to blame it on how tired she felt.
"Of course." He smiled, not wanting to be anywhere else. He brushed a sweaty strand of brown hair out of the eyes he loved so much. "Hungry?" She shook her head, making a face. "Tired?" She nodded. "Go to sleep." He kissed her temple gently.
"Meg. Where are Meg and the others?"
"Nick and Tess will find them. Don't worry. Just sleep." He looked down at the sleeping angel that, mercifully, looked exactly like Claire and not a thing like Peter. "She already is." Claire smiled, looking down at the baby, and held the hand Alex had near her before falling to sleep.
Tess didn't quite know how to start. "Have you seen Meg and the others?"
Nick shook his head. "Not since Wilgul." He still couldn't believe how close he'd come to losing her, much too close. "Dave was here." He wanted to be fair, do the right thing in telling her that, but it irked him that Dave didn't even think Tess was worth waiting around for and he was the one who had her.
"I'm sure they'll come in."
Nick nodded. "Claire's okay? We don't need to call a doctor?"
"In the morning. You know Claire. I'm not a bit surprised she had Charlotte in a paddock."
Nick smiled, surprised Claire hadn't had the baby riding on a horse, if such a thing were possible. "Charlotte?"
Tess smiled as well, nodding. "Charlotte Prudence McLeod." She couldn't have been prouder to be an aunt and she was more than honored that her only niece was named after her.
"Tess..." He paused, not knowing exactly what to say. She was with Dave, he had no right to feel this way, yet he did. He cast a look towards the stairs where Alex had taken Claire. "He's already acting like a proud dad."
"Good." There was no doubt in her mind, even before she'd seen Alex with Claire, that he was a dad. "He'll be a good one."
"Yeah." Much better than Harry, he wanted to say, but didn't, out of some loyalty he still felt to his father. "So that makes me a new uncle and you a new aunt."
"Nick." Tess looked at him. "Not that I mind, but..." 'Why did you really come?' hung in the air.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay." It wasn't a lie, exactly; it just wasn't the whole truth.
She was glad Dave wasn't there, but she couldn't bring herself to say that or that she was glad Nick was there. "You wanna camp out?" She didn't want him to leave, was exhausted, and knew it probably wasn't a good idea for them both to sleep in her bed.
A few moments later, they had raided the ice box for a small supper of leftovers, set up a fan, and made mats in the floor in Jack's office. "Not exactly what I thought you meant by camping out," Nick said, not complaining, as he lay at a safe but comfortable distance from her.
Tess reached out and touched the desk, remembering being a little girl with Claire. "I just needed to be in here." Alex had never come down from Claire's room and Tess had decided to back off, give them space, hoping that they'd get back together.
"I never really believed in guardian angels, I always thought they were more your kind of bunk...stuff, but..." He was almost tempted to believe that the min min lights was Jack's way of watching over his girls. "With everything that happened today..."
"Yeah." Tess had been thinking the same thing. "I wish she could see him." There was no doubt in her mind that their father could see them, but she felt Jack's absence strongly that night and knew her sister did too. Nick reached out and put his hand over hers. She smiled, holding his hand, as they both fell asleep.