Chapter 5

Sam Daniels was having trouble sleeping. Ever since his mom came to get him around ten from Mrs. White's house and he noticed that she had been crying, he couldn't seem to get his mind off of it. She walked him up to his room and kissed him on the top of his head like always. "Night baby." And she walked away, leaving him to get ready for bed.

Just as he was pulling the covers over his head he heard the snatches of an argument between his mom and Ray. Curious he got out of the bed, and walked over to his door. He opened the door slightly and heard Ray say "…Did you ever plan on going through with any of this, or with our wedding?"

His mom said, "Shhhhh!..." and he couldn't hear the rest of the conversation. He heard Ray's side of the conversation, his mother must have been whispering.

"Well, you've been doing a damn good job of just that for years!!! Why the hell have you decided to tell me this now? Huh, Hannah?" His mom was speaking again and he started thinking over in his head what they could be talking about. Something that had happened years ago. Did his mom do something bad? Ray sounded awfully mad at her.

Great, now Ray was speaking so low he couldn't hear anything. But then, all of a sudden, he was walking up the stairs. Sam quickly shut his door and pressed his ear to it, trying to make out what was going on. He heard some slamming around in his mom's room and was that Ray, crying? No, it couldn't be. Then Ray was going back down the stairs. Sam quickly scrambled to his feet and opened his door. He went to the top of the stairs but stayed in the shadow so as not to be seen. Ray started shouting.

"WHERE WE STAND….Where we stand? There is no we Hannah. I heard you this morning, did you know that? Sometimes you talk in your sleep and this morning was no different. You were laying in the bed that we share dreaming of another man. I told myself that if there was any hesitation tonight on your part I would leave. And that, Hannah, is what I intend to do. I don't need this. I loved you with all I had and I come to find out that you're nothing but a liar who could give a damn about me."

"Ray, that's not true…"

"Isn't it Hannah? I mean, you were going to marry me with this secret hanging over us? You lied to me repeatedly about Sam's father and you lied to me when you said I could adopt him. I may be divorced and not the biggest authority on matters of the heart, but I am damn sure what you did is not something you do to the people you care about."

Ray left and Sam watched as his mom looked at the door for what seemed like an eternity after he had gone. Sam just sat there in the shadows and everything started to click into place. So, they were arguing about his real father. But who was it? He hoped to God it was Nick, any other option would just be too much for him. Years ago he heard grandma and his mom talking about Gavin and he knew from that moment Gavin wasn't his dad. Sam wondered if his mom needed a hug. But he also worried that he would get in trouble for being out of bed. She wasn't crying, so he figured better go to bed. He'd give her a hug in the morning. It was Friday night and he wanted to make sure he wasn't grounded on Saturday!

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Hannah stood looking at the door forever. It was over. Ray walked away from her and soon word would get out about what she had done. People would talk and she would be an outcast like Ikey. Amazingly, Nick didn't seem as angry as she thought he would be. Now with just a little courage she and Nick would tell Sam tomorrow that he was his father. Hannah sighed. She figured she better get a good night's sleep, she was going to need all her strength in the morning.

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Ray drove to his house across town. He hadn't been there in weeks since he had all but moved in with Hannah. Thank God he hadn't sold it. Then he would really be up the creek. Thinking back over the night's events, he started to feel sick to his stomach. Who the hell was Hannah anyway? She had lied to him about all the important stuff. He shook his head, not able to believe he had almost made the same mistake twice of marrying the wrong woman.

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Aubrey finally closed her textbook, not able to concentrate. Ever since Nick told her he was on his way over, she couldn't focus. He had said he needed to "talk" and there was no mistaking that tone in his voice. She knew he was going to break up with her. It was inevitable. She could tell for months now that he wasn't happy. He was…coasting. They had fun together, sure, but it wasn't what it should be. All the effort was one sided, her side. She was always calling him to make plans, asking what he was up to. It was rare that he ever made that effort. Sure the sex was hot, but a real relationship should be more than just sex. You should be able to really talk to one another. Truth be told, she really loved hanging out at his place with the Commander and Ronnie. She would really miss those two. The Commander, even not in his best health, really showed her what it was like to have a real dad around. And Ronnie, well he was just so darn easy to talk to. She was really going to miss him. Just then she heard a knock on her door, she got up, put her hands through her hair to smooth it out and plastered on a smile.

"Hey Nick."

"Hey." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and never met her eyes and she knew that her suspicions were true.

"Come on, let's sit down and talk Nick. You said something happened today that you wanted to talk about, among other things?"

"Yeah, look Aubrey I got some news today and it kinda made everything fall into perspective for me…" Nick paused. He didn't know how to do this without hurting her. He knew that she was going to be hurt, but he didn't want to hurt her. He liked Aubrey and had been with her for almost a year but it was stagnant. There was just no fire, and he needed that. It's what made a relationship last as far as he was concerned.

"Nick? You were saying?"

"Oh, sorry. Look Aubrey, I don't want to hurt you, but I think I'm about to. I just found out today that Sam is my son and it got me to thinking…"

"Sam is your son? You mean Hannah finally admitted it?"

"Yeah, she did, tonight. She told me over at Janet's with Eddie there. It was surreal. I haven't even told my dad or Ronnie yet, I just knew I had to come see you first, to do this."

"Just say it Nick, I know you're breaking up with me, so just say it." She wasn't looking directly at him but he could see the tears in her eyes start to well-up.

"I'm so sorry Aubrey. It's just not working. Am I alone in this? I mean, is this what you want? I can't be the only one feeling this lack of…." He searched for the right words, "passion?"

"No, you aren't alone in this Nick. It's just that I have fun with you and I didn't want it to end. I thought I would have fallen in love with you by now, but I can honestly say I haven't. I don't mind the sex though…" She looked at him and smiled.

"No, I didn't mind that so much either…" He grinned at her and pulled her to him in a hug. "I'm so sorry Aubrey, it's not because of Hannah, honest, it's just I think we both deserve better than this."

"Now don't lie to me Nick. This has always been about Hannah."

"No, really it's not.."

"I think it is, maybe not consciously, but subconsciously you were always comparing your new women to her. She was the bar and no one has been able to compare to her, ever. And that's not a judgment or a bashing; it's just the truth as I see it. And it's not wrong to feel that way about her if she's the one for you." She looked at him now and he saw that she was smiling.

"You're an amazing woman, you know that Aubrey? I can see what Ronnie sees in you."

"What? What are you talking about Nick?"

"He's in love with you, surely you have to know that?" Aubrey was astonished. She had no idea where Nick was getting his ideas from.

"Ronnie? He's not.. I mean.. how could he…" Aubrey was sputtering when Nick cut her off as he stood up to leave.

"Look, I gotta run. I don't want us to be strangers. I still want to be friends, if you want that too?"

"Yeah… yeah, I'd like that Nick." Aubrey was still stunned by the whole Ronnie-is-in-love-with-you thing to even focus on what Nick was saying.

"Okay, I gotta run Aubs, I'll see you around." And with that he bent to give her a kiss on the cheek and smiled on his way out. Seed planted, he had done what he could for his little brother. Of course he could always tell how Ronnie felt about her, it was so obvious. The way Ronnie looked at Aubrey, well it was the way he probably still looked at Hannah. Hopefully those two might find happiness together. Starting up his car, Nick headed home to tell his dad that he was a grandpa.