A/N: To all of my reviewers: Thanks so much. I enjoyed reading all of them. That's enough rambling from me. Now on with the story…


Headliner

Chapter 4

Nick opened his eyes and Sara held out her hand. He took it and pulled himself up. He was searching her face for any sign that she was joking. He found none.

"Sixteen years ago you were in Texas and a girl ran up to you claiming some guy was chasing her. You agreed to help her. Help led to dinner, which lead to more. You left her that morning with nothing but your phone number on a note. She didn't call you when she found out she was pregnant because she didn't know how you'd react and she didn't want to be disappointed. She didn't tell you ten years later when she showed up where you worked because you didn't remember her and she still didn't know you very well. She could've told you any time after that, but she just kept putting it off. She's really sorry. She knows she could've trusted you, but she didn't realize it then. I'm really sorry, Nick."

He didn't say a word. He walked back into the break room and looked at Greg. "You knew, didn't you? You knew I was her father. That's why you asked me the ridiculous question about my eyes, isn't it?" Greg nodded.

Sara raised a finger. It was too late. Lexi had turned stone-like. This was not the way Sara had planned on telling her daughter about her father. No, she had a much more sophisticated plan in mind. It just flew out the window, she thought. Catherine and Warrick were staring down at their shoes. Nick turned to them.

"You both knew too, didn't you? Why am I the last one to know that I fathered a child?"

Alexis stood up. "Technically, you're not," she whispered. He froze. She darted from the room. From the look on Sara's face, he knew what he'd done. His daughter had been in the loop no more than he had been.

His daughter. That had a strange ring to it. He'd always wanted to have kids, but he always pictured himself watching them grow up. He'd missed a lot of years with this one. Anger and resentment continued to build inside of him. How could she not have told him? There had been any number of chances to tell him, but no, she had chosen to keep the girl hidden. After one last look at Sara, he turned on his heels and walked out the door.

Nick felt the eyes of everyone in the lab on his back. Surely they had heard him yelling. It took all of his strength not to curse them. He continued on out of the building. Glancing around, he saw Lexi perched on the curb with her head in her hands. His insides melted. He stepped over and sat down next to her. "Hey," he said.

She looked up. "Hi, Nick."

"What are you doing out here?"

"I couldn't stand to be in there anymore, so I left. I don't have a car, so I didn't get very far. I guess I just have to wait until she comes out and takes me home." Her eyes were puffy.

"Tell you what, I don't really feel like going back there either, so I'll drive you home.

She stood up. "Thanks, I'd like that a lot. Do you know where it is?"

"Yeah."

"So she told you that. I suppose that's better than nothing."

Sara came out the door just as they were pulling from the parking lot. She sighed and returned to the break room. I better give them more of a head start, she thought. Each area of the building had silenced as she walked by. She ignored it as best she could. Greg was the quietest she had ever seen him. Apparently Nick's outburst had left him feeling terrible. Sara couldn't blame him; she felt terrible too. Catherine threw a look of sympathy her way. Warrick just shrugged and excused himself. Sara's insides were in turmoil. Her actions had not only hurt Nick and Lexi, but everyone else as well. It was definitely not a gold star moment.

When she threw her keys in that leaf dish a few hours later, she heard the familiar sound of music blaring. Sara could pick out a few words. Lexi was listening to a song about going far away to where no one knew who she was. A few weeks ago she had that right here. Sara was worn down. She crossed the floor to her bedroom and performed her usual ritual of flopping on the bed.

She awoke that afternoon to the smell of pancakes. This time, she found nothing but two pancakes on a plate and a note posted on the fridge. It was short and to the point. Alexis had gone out with friends. The red light on her phone was blinking.

"You have one new message: Hey Sara, it's Nick. We really need to talk. Call me back, okay? We've got some things to figure out."

She grabbed the receiver and punched in his number.

"Stokes."

Sara opened her mouth, but no words came out. She didn't know how to initiate a conversation with him anymore.

"Sara, is that you? Are you there?"

"Yes," she breathed, "I'm here."

"Good. Meet me at the café in twenty minutes, okay?"

She nodded and then remembered they were on the phone. "Yes, that's fine." She replaced the receiver.

She heard a key turn in the lock. Lexi entered, shortly followed by Courtney. Mother and daughter met eyes for a moment, but Lexi broke the connection and went to her room.

Sara was completely numb as she pulled open the door to the restaurant. She saw Nick and shuffled to his table. "Sara, are you okay?"

"What? Oh, yes, I'm fine."

They ordered and continued to sit without speaking. Nick looked at her. She had a death grip on her napkin. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded. Her gaze rose up and met his. She could feel moisture forming in the corners of her eyes. She shook her head. "No, I'm not. Everything's falling to pieces. My daughter won't talk to me, let alone be in the same room with me, my friends all think I'm crazy, and I'm seriously rethinking every choice I've ever made for the past six years."

Nick moved to the other side of the booth. "Sara, listen, you've got to stop beating yourself up. I was ready to explode yesterday, but I got home after dropping Lexi off and thought. Sara, I understand why you did what you did. I wish you had told me, but I can understand why you didn't. I wanted to tell you that you don't have to hide her from me anymore. I want to be her father. I've always been one to take responsibility for my actions, and I don't want to stop now. You and me, we'll figure something out. Let me be her dad, okay?"

Now she was really crying. She smiled through her tears and gave a quick nod.


Lexi sat on her bed with a photo album on her lap. Courtney was on a chair. "Every one of these pictures of the last six years doesn't feel real to me anymore," Lexi said, "It all feels like a lie."

"What are you talking about? Of course it's real."

"How many times did I lie awake at night wishing I knew who my father was? How many times did I dream that he'd come find us? I've lost count. I thought my mom didn't know where he was. I thought maybe he was dead. Now I learn that he's been here the whole time. She's spent every day for six years with my father and told me nothing."

"That doesn't mean your life was a lie. You know who he is now, don't you? Why don't you just put the past behind you and go on with your life? Hating your mother isn't going to change anything."

"I don't hate her."

"You're doing a real good job of showing that," Courtney pointed out.

"I don't hate her, Courtney. She's just not my favorite person. She's not even the one that told me he was my father, you know. Nick did."

"So what? You know now, so get over it. Think about this: Lindsey had a father, right? She knew him for all of ten years. Then he died. She doesn't get any more chances to know him. So you've missed out on sixteen years, so what? You've been given a shot to get to know your dad. Use it well."

"You remembered that about Lindsey?"

"No one could forget anything you say. Especially if it has anything to do with where your mom works. You've always thought she was a superhero or something."

"Yeah, well that's changing."

"Lexi, I love you to death, but you're driving me crazy. I'm going to leave now. Call me when you figure this out, okay?" Courtney exited the room.

Sara returned home two hours later. She heard music, but the mood was off. It was down lower than normal and the songs were slow and sad. Sara knocked on the door. She smiled when it opened. "Hey, kiddo, how's it going?"

Alexis didn't say a word, but gave her mother a large hug. "Now that's unexpected," Sara said, "Come on, get ready and you can come to work with me."


A/N2: I know it's short, but please forgive me. I wanted to give you all something today. Of course there's more to come. Let me know what you thought :)