…Chapter 6…
As Kozik was walking to Nicole's room, he stopped in his tracks and ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh, shit… Nicole's pregnant." he muttered, leaning up against the wall, taking deep breaths. The realization of him becoming a father, hit him like a ton of bricks. He wasn't ready for this, at all, but he knew he had to man up, and make this right, because of what he had said in the past. For the most part, he was starting to warm up to the idea of having a son. After a couple more breaths, he continued on to Nicole's room. Once Kozik got there, he slowly walked in, and saw her laying on her side with her back towards him, then stared at her for a few more seconds, thinking of what to say. "Uh, Nicky?" he whispered.
"What?"
"Are you okay?"
"For now." she sighed. "What do you want?"
Kozik walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down in the chair next to her. "Why didn't you tell me that you're pregnant?"
"Because." she opened her eyes. "I was afraid to tell you. I know you don't want kids and you don't want to be tied down like that. I was afraid you'd tell me to get rid of it." Kozik heavily sighed, but before he could open his mouth to respond, Nicole closed her eyes. "Can you just go?"
"Wait… why?"
"I'm not ready to have that conversation where you tell me that you don't want our baby and to get rid of it. I can't take it right now, Kozik." tears started falling down her cheeks, onto the pillow. "I just can't, so leave."
"Babe, come on."
"Just go." she cried. "Please."
"Alright, fine." he got up and walked to the door, then turned to face Nicole. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but walked out of the room instead. A few minutes later, Nicole heard the door open and shut. "Kozik?" she slightly turned around and frowned a little.
"No, sorry."
"Hey, Tara."
"I'm here to check your vitals." she went up to the machines and started writing on the paper she had on the clipboard. "Nicole, you should really keep your stress level down, it's not good for you or the baby."
"Fine, but to make that possible, it'd be best if Kozik or Happy wasn't in here. It's okay if Jax, Gemma, Tig, Chibs, Juice, or even the rest of the guys. I really don't want to see Kozik or Hap right now, they would be the ones to add to the unwanted stress."
"Okay, I'll let them know… overall, how are you feeling?"
"Tired, I guess." Nicole shrugged.
"Alright, I'll check on you later, and it's good seeing you again."
"Yeah, you too."
"I'll be back." Tara gave her a slight smile, then walked out, and went over to the waiting room. "Here we go." she muttered, then walked inside.
"How is she?" Gemma stood up and asked. "Can we go see her?"
"Yes, but to keep her stress level down, Nicole has requested that Kozik or Happy not go in there."
"WHAT!" Happy yelled. "Why not?"
Tara held up her hands in defeat. "Nicole didn't say, but regardless, stress isn't good for her and the baby."
"Bullshit." Happy stormed out.
Clay looked over at Tig. "Make sure he don't go in Nicky's room." Tig looked unsure, but nodded, and followed after Happy.
"Well, someone needs to stay with her at all times." Jax spoke up.
"I'll stay." Juice raised his hand.
Jax nodded, then went up to Tara. "Someone's been threatening Nicky, so is it okay if Juice stays in her room overnight?"
"Yeah." she nodded. "I'll have a nurse bring in an extra bed for him."
"Thanks." Jax squeezed her arm, then glanced over at Juice. "Go in there with Nicky… it's getting late, so we'll visit her tomorrow."
"I'm on it." Juice nodded and walked out, heading to Nicole's room, then walked in. "Hey, Nicky."
"Hi, what are you doing in here?" she asked, sitting up a little.
"As soon as a nurse brings in a bed." he sat down on the chair next to her and leaned back. "I will be your roommate."
"Good." Nicole laid back down and got a little comfortable.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm alright, just tired." she paused. "Did Tara tell Kozik and Happy that I don't want them in here?"
"She did." he nodded. "And Happy was pissed."
"What about Kozik?"
"He wasn't in the waiting room with us."
"Oh, well before I told him to leave, I told him not to come in here, so hopefully he listened."
Juice nodded. "So how come you didn't tell me that Kozik's the father of my godchild?"
"Because you probably would have kicked his ass before I was able to tell him." she shook her head. "I really didn't want him to find out that way."
"Do you really think Kozik would tell you to get rid of the baby?"
"He didn't say it yet, but I'm pretty sure he would… he don't want kids or to be tied down."
"He just told the whole waiting room - he loves you, don't you think that changes things?"
Nicole sat up, a little shocked. "He said that he loves me?"
"Yeah." Juice nodded. "Actually, he was Hap's face when he said it."
"Shit."
"So." Juice crossed his arms over his chest. "You've been dating him for over two years and you didn't even tell me? I'm your best friend."
"I'm sorry, I've been lying to you." Nicole laid back down. "I just didn't know what you or Happy would say or tell me that I shouldn't be with him, knowing his track record and all of that, so that's why we pretended to hate each other."
"Well, you had all of us fooled." Juice took a deep breath. "Are you happy?"
"Yes, I am, except right now. I just wish he'd change his mind about keeping the baby, you know? But other than that, he makes me very happy and I love him with all my heart." Nicole noticed the serious look on Juice's face. "What?"
"You know, I'm gonna have a talk with him… big brother style."
"Yeah, I know." she sighed.
"Hap too." Juice chuckled. "And you know how he's protective of you. I'm protective, but Happy takes the cake."
"Yes, he does." Nicole took a deep breath. "Kozik said that he really loves me?" Juice just nodded. "Well, maybe that does change things, and I do have to talk to him."
"Not tonight, Cupcake." he shook his head. "As soon as Tara gets a nurse to bring a bed in here, we are going to sleep, so you can rest."
"Alright, fine." Nicole pouted, then ten minutes later, a nurse brought in the bed, and both him and Nicole went to sleep.