"Joe...I'm pregnant." Those three words played over and over again in Joe's head as he sat staring up at Nessa in shock. "You're...pregnant?"
"Yes and to sooth any doubts in your mind, I'm six weeks along so there's no possible way it can be Brandon's...you're the Father Joe." Nessa told him, still waiting to see what his reaction was going to be.
"I'm going to be a Dad?" He asked, still trying to comprehend the major news that she had just given him.
"You're upset about it...dammit, I knew this wasn't the right time!" She stated sadly and began to walk away but he grabbed her wrist before she could get very far and Nessa turned around to find him standing there with a big smile on his face and tears in his eyes.
"I'm going to be a Dad!" Joe exclaimed, picking her up and twirling her around in circles as they both laughed then his eyes went wide in worry as he realized what he was doing and immediately sat her down gently on her feet. "Oh god! Are you okay? Is the baby okay?"
"I'm fine Joe, please don't start treating me like I'm made of glass again." Nessa begged him and he smiled.
"I won't, I just want us both to be careful...we're having a baby and that's the most important thing."
"Everything okay out here?" Allen asked, stepping outside.
"Yeah, we were just coming in anyway." Joe said, taking Nessa by the hand and they both walked back into the house following Allen. "Anybody leave yet?"
"No, why?" Allen questioned, noticing for the first time the excited expression on Joe's face.
"We've got some news." He replied, trying his best not to give anything away.
"They're in the living room drinking beers."
"HA! Why am I not surprised by that?" Nessa giggled. "Joe grab us something to drink, would you?" She asked, winking at him to let him know not to get her anything she shouldn't have and he nodded.
Joe grabbed a beer and a bottle of water from the fridge then turned around and handed the bottle of water to Nessa. "Here you go babe." He said, kissing her on the cheek. She smiled and they followed Allen on into the living room. "Everybody be quiet, we got something to tell you!" Joe shouted and they all stopped talking.
"Damn! I needed you around a long time ago baby." Nessa laughed, sitting down on Joe's lap after he sat down on a chair.
"Shove it Nessa." Chris spoke up, laughing.
"Hey! That's my line, don't go stealing it...you don't hear me going around saying 'And that's the gospel according to Vanessa' do you?" She teased him and dodged a couch pillow that came flying at her head only to have it hit Joe instead.
"You are so lucky I'm in a good mood Daniels!" Joe growled, trying to sound angry but failing miserably.
"Yeah, so, you're in a good mood...what happened? Nessa give you some outside?" Alex asked, grinning evilly.
"I swear I'm surrounded by a bunch of horny men!" Nessa grumbled, her head falling back against Joe's shoulder.
"No, but she did give me something almost as good." Joe stated, smiling brightly.
"What?" Andy questioned.
"You wanna tell them or should I?" He asked Nessa.
"You go ahead, I'm too comfortable to move." She murmured, snuggling closer to him.
"Ness is six weeks pregnant!" Joe exclaimed and saw them all doing the math in their head trying to figure out whether it was him or Brandon that was the Father. Chris was the first one to figure it out because he jumped up off the couch as his eyes went wide and he ran over to Nessa, grabbing her gently off Joe's lap and enveloping her in a hug causing her to laugh.
"You've got everything you want now." Chris whispered to her and she nodded against his shoulder.
"A wonderful, loving husband and a baby on the way...what more could a girl ask for?" Nessa asked, tears welling up in her eyes. She heard the front door open and close and looked up from Chris' shoulder to find Nick missing and Kelly giving her a look that she recognized instantly and her heart dropped. "Dammit!" She hissed, breaking away from Chris. "Joe, I've gotta go find Nicky and talk to him...I'll explain why later I promise. Kelly, come with me please?" She gave Joe a quick kiss then walked quickly out the front door with Kelly trailing behind her.
Kelly spotted Nick getting ready to get in his car and pointed him out to Nessa. "There he is Aness."
"Nicky, stop! Please!" She called out and sighed when Nick stopped, standing beside his car. "Nicky I'm so sorry! I got caught up in mine and Joe's happiness that I forgot momentarily the pain that we suffered." Nessa whispered, reaching out to touch his shoulder and winced when she felt his body tense up.
"I never forget, it haunts me each and every day...I see her face every time I close my eyes. I still feel her tiny hand in mine, clinging to me as her life slipped from her body. Aness what did we do so wrong that Serenity was taken from us?" He asked, slowly turning to her and even in the dimly lit driveway she could see the pain and sorrow in his eyes.
"I honestly don't know Nicky but I wish to god that I did. Come back inside, please? There's something that I want to give you." Nessa whispered, holding her hand out to him and he slipped his hand in hers.
They walked back into the house with Kelly following them and no one said a word. By the look on their faces Nessa could tell that Chris had told them what happened and she looked over at Joe who was watching them both with sadness in his eyes. "We'll be right back." She mouthed to him and he nodded. Nessa grabbed her purse and bag that she always took to the arena as she led Nick to the bedroom. "Sit down Nicky." She said, pointing to the bed.
"You're not going to molest me are you?" He asked, smiling weakly and she laughed a little.
"Not this time sweetie." She pulled a photo album out of her bag and sat down on the bed beside him. "Here, I want you to look at this but you need to be prepared for what you are going to see."
Nick took a deep breath and opened the cover, gasping when he saw the very first ultrasound photo that she had done. "Is that..."
"Yes Nicky, that's our Daughter." Nessa whispered, sliding her arm through his and moved closer to him.
Nick thumbed through the rest of the pages that included other ultrasound photos, the announcement of her pregnancy, the paternity test proving him to be the Father, photos of Nick holding their Daughter after she was born and finally one last photo of her headstone. He closed the cover and sighed, wiping quickly at the tears that threatened to fall. "Is this mine?"
"Yes Nicky, I have another one that's exactly the same. There's one more thing though and I'm telling you right now...this is going to be a lot tougher than that book, are you okay with it?"
"Yeah." Nick watched as she picked up her purse and got something out of it that he didn't recognize right away until she placed it in his hand. He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath then looked down at the small cross necklace he had placed on his Daughter's neck the day she was born. "You kept this?"
"Of course I did, you gave it to her and I knew that one day you might want it back." She explained and watched him clinging to the necklace as if it were a lifeline. "Nicky she's still with us both in our hearts, she always will be and nothing will ever change that. A part of me will always love you for giving me her and for being there when I needed you the most."
"I'll always love you too Aness." He said, hugging her. "Kelly and I are staying in the guest rooms but we're leaving tomorrow night...I promise you that it won't be another five years before the three of us see each other again."
"I hope it's not Nicky, I really do."
"It won't be." Nick kissed her on the cheek and walked out of the room carrying the photo album and necklace with him. Nessa laid back on the bed and allowed the tears to fall that she had been holding in because of Nick.
"Babe?" Joe's soft voice entered the room and she could barely lift her head from crying so hard. "Oh Ness." He walked over to the bed, sat down and pulled her into his lap, holding her as she cried into his chest.
"Did Chris tell you the whole story?" Nessa asked when her tears had subsided.
"Not really, just enough for us to know what was going on and not harass you guys when you came back in. Do you feel up to telling me?" He questioned and she nodded.
"Monty and I were still married but we weren't...having sex anymore so that's why Nicky and I started an affair. By the time our affair ended, my marriage to Monty was also ending so we got divorced and not long after that I found out I was pregnant. I knew who's it was right away but Nicky wanted to be sure and I told him that was fine so I got a paternity test done and it did indeed prove that he was the Father. Well, Nicky moved in with me and took care of me while I was pregnant. Our relationship was going so good until after our Daughter was born...she caught pneumonia and wasn't strong enough to fight it off but I'll be damned if she didn't have Nicky's willpower and tried her hardest to fight it off...Serenity died when she was only three weeks old. After she died Nicky wasn't able to handle it and our relationship just fell apart, he moved away again and I stayed here." By the time she was finished telling everything Nessa was in tears again and could barely hold her eyes open.
"You're tired, get some sleep and I'll make sure everyone gets out okay then I'll come to bed." Joe lifted her off his lap and undressed her then put her under the covers.
"I love you Joe."
"I love you too Ness." He stood in the doorway of the bedroom until he heard her breathing even out then he turned around and walked out of the room.
