Renee opened the door wide for her brother, worry galloping across her face. "Why aren't you in California with Nadine at Mom and Dad's?"

"Nadine's mother decided to crash Nadine's vacation time. She just blew into town and has nothing but sneaky sarcasm and back-handed suggestions for Nadine." Greg slumped onto the couch, dragging his hands over his face. "And to make matters worse, Marie-Fantine speaks only in French."

Renee joined him on the couch, passed him a glass of iced tea. "Which brings us to here. You want some tips?"

"I've been trying to learn from one of those audio recordings, but that's not my concern, it's…what, what, why are you looking at me like that?" he trailed off, seeing the big dopey grin on Renee's face.

"You're so in love with Nadine! That is too sweet!"

"Yes, yes, Greggo's a big love bug, can we focus here?"

"I know, I know, issues with the non-English speaking mother. What do you hope to accomplish with me, exactly?"

Greg drained his iced tea. Standing up to pace, he scratched his ear absently. "I want you to teach me how to say something."

"Alright, let's hear it."

He dictated his speech to Renee, who translated as she wrote it down. When she finished, she set down her pen, looked up at her brother.

"You're planning on saying this to her mother, in the hopes that you are going to magically win her over?"

"Yeah."

"Well, good luck man, 'cause you'll need it."

"Oh and you're also invited out for dinner next week to the mansion. Nadine forgot to ask when you were by last night."

Renee smiled. "Okay," she started, looked at her watch as it began to beep. "Oops, sorry I have to go wake Nick up for work."

She watched him get in the truck, then went into the bedroom where her man was sprawled on his back, snoring lightly. She stripped off her sweatshirt and crawled on top of him. The grin on her face was devilish as his eye fluttered open.

"Hey baby."

"What time is it?"

"Just after seven, you need to get up soon." Renee giggled as his arms wrapped around her waist and he rolled on top of her. "I didn't mean like that."

Nick just grinned has he kissed her. "Yeah you did."

Unable to stop the smile, she kissed him back. "Yeah, I did."

Once Greg got back to the mansion by the lake, his nerves had calmed somewhat as he murmured over and over again the words Renee had given him. He parked his Jeep in the driveway, pulled his luggage from the trunk and walked in. The scent of something spicy and delicious hit him immediately as he followed his nose into the kitchen. He knew it was male of him; he knew it was so stereotypical that Nadine, not to mention Renee Sara and Catherine, would have his ass on a platter if he admitted it, but there was something comforting about coming home to a meal being prepared so lovingly by his woman. Leaving his luggage by the island, he stood watching Nadine bustle around. She'd changed into a t-shirt and stretchy leggings which were covered in an olive green apron and she was singing along quite beautifully to Alan Jackson on the iPod she'd plugged into the kitchen speakers. The look of pure content mixed with concentration on her face as she mixed, chopped and stirred in putting together the meal made Greg smile; then he nearly doubled over when she turned her cooking utensil into a microphone.

"She don't know she's beautiful, no she's not that kind," Nadine sang into her wooden spoon, then stopped short when she looked up and saw Greg standing in the doorway trying his best to not laugh at her. "Oh hi, I didn't hear you come back in. Here try this."

She scooped up a bit of the spicy dish she was making, held it to Greg lips. "What do you think?"

"It's good," he managed. It felt like his tongue had been set on fire; when his eye began to water, his nose to run, Nadine grinned.

"Good?"

"If good means 'feels like I swallowed fresh lava' then it's very good."

Nadine tried some and just shrugged, making Greg's eyebrows go upwards. "Yeah, I'd say it's reached 'acceptable' for my mother. She likes spicy foods and chicken pilau is one of her favorites."

"That's cool, I think I'll just stick to something a little les hot, you know, like normal chicken or…ice."

"Don't worry; I've made chicken dumplings too, so long as you try a little at the table of the pilau, you'll be okay."

"Nadine, from what I've heard you say about your mother, I highly doubt anything I do will be good enough."

"That's not your fault, honey, but I can tell you if you try the hot dish for me," she added jumping up to sit on the kitchen counter so she could be eye to eye with Greg, "I'll try on my hot lingerie for you tonight."

Greg let out a low chuckle, leaned in to kiss Nadine. They became lost in the passionate embrace, not really aware of their surroundings until the sharp, disapproving sound of a throat being cleared jolted them apart. Greg looked over his shoulder, his face burning hot as the chicken, to face Marie-Fantine. She looked as pleased as a sat-on porcupine.

"Nadine! What are you doing?"

"Making dinner, Mama," Nadine said, sliding down off the counter. "It should be ready shortly."

"It would be ready now if you could control yourself."

Nadine glared at her mother, rapping the spoon hard against the rim of the stock pot. "I must have been crazy to think I could kiss my boyfriend in my kitchen. Can you imagine if we'd been having sex in here? I'd have forgotten about dessert too."

"Well at least it would mean the possibility of you having children, young lady."

Nadine's winced a little at this, something which didn't go unnoticed by Greg. "If I want kids Mama, believe me you'll be the first to know. Now why don't you go pick out a bottle of wine? I've made chicken pilau, your favourite."

Marie-Fantine stalked off, muttering about what her daughter meant by 'if', leaving Greg to stare at his girlfriend.

"What was that about?"

"Greg, you know about what happened with me and Seth, and the…medical problems that ensued."

"Right." Greg's blood sizzled a little at the mention of Nadine's last boyfriend, who'd come up in a conversation about their future together.

"Well, my mother doesn't know."

"What?"

"I didn't want to tell her, because when I told her I was in the hospital because he'd hit me, the first thing out of her mouth was something to the effect that perhaps if I had actually been pregnant, then it was less likely he'd have hit me. So I didn't tell her."

"And she didn't take into account the suspicion of being knocked up was the reason he hit you in the first place?" Trying to find the logic of it made Greg's head hurt but it was short lived as Nadine slumped against the counter, weary with defeat. She was perilously close to tears as she scooped the fiery meat into a serving dish.

"I better get this out there before she accuses me of giving you oral sex in here."

Later that night, when he was finished readying himself for bed, he carefully opened Nadine's door and shut it soundlessly. He pulled his loose t-shirt over his head, his thin white scars looking silvery in the moonlight, then crawled in beside Nadine. He wrapped his arms around her to gather he close, kissing her lightly as he looked at her face. She looked so peaceful here, almost angelic, where the stress of everything she was facing seemed to slip away.

Greg found his thoughts slipping back to what she'd said before dinner, about the problems she now face because of her boyfriend from three years before. Seth Balder, the bastard who'd thought Nadine had gotten pregnant when she was a few days late, had taken it to mean she'd been cheating on him and had beaten the crap out of her. She'd wound up in the hospital with two cracked ribs, a blackened eye and worst of all, a ruptured uterus courtesy of the kick to the stomach he'd given her. Nadine hadn't been pregnant – blood tests had confirmed it – she'd simply been under stress which had thrown off her cycle by a couple of weeks but the shot Seth had taken at her left her with only a thirty five percent chance of ever having her own babies.

When she'd told this to Greg, he realized that this was the woman who he wanted to be with, to show her that not all men would react to the possibility of a baby like that. What was more, he realized he also wanted to have children with her, and a quick trip to the doctor's revealed that if they were considering it at all, they should waste no time in trying. That had been two months before, two months without luck but Greg and Nadine both knew it wasn't from lack of trying. But when each pregnancy test she'd taken came back negative, Greg could see a little of that pain come back to her. And he knew that she wanted to have her own children, not just adopt or have a surrogate, despite all her mother's pressure to start a family. It was something Nadine really wanted.

As she let out a little sigh, her fingers curling on his chest, Greg felt a little tear slip down his cheek.