Chapter 15

"Mommy…" Nicole's eyes fluttered open.

"Nicole, baby…" she whispered and the tears spilled from her eyes. "You're gonna be okay baby girl. You're safe, mommy's here." She pulled her daughter into a hug. She turned to Jeff and motioned for him to join them. He walked over.

"Jeffy" Nicole's eyes lit up when she saw him.

"Hey Shorty! How are ya feeling?"

"Tired and thirsty"

"I'll go get you some water." Jeff walked out leaving mother and daughter alone.

"Mommy, why are you crying? You haven't cried since Jeff came over."

"I'm just so happy that you're okay." The doctor and Jeff walked back in a couple minutes later. The doctor checked Nicole to make sure she was okay.

"Miss James, I just want to apologize for earlier. I should never have talked about that right now. For some good news though, Nicole seems to be doing amazing right now. Every thing is looking good and Nicole will be able to leave in about a week.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, we want to watch her just to make sure everything is going to be all right."

"Okay." Jeff walked over and put his arms around her waist. "I can take her home in a week!" She turned around to face Jeff.

"That's great! I'm going to call Shannon. He's over at Cassie and Taylor's. The will probably rush over here."

30 minutes later

Cassie, Taylor, Shannon, Matt, Amy, Crystal, and the rest of the Carvers walked into Nicole's room.

"Ally!"

"Cassie, thank you guys, for everything. It means so much to me."

"Anytime, we will always be here for you Ally." Taylor said.

"Where is Nicole?" Shannon asked.

"She's in the bathroom. Jeff just took her in there. Thanks for coming. You have no idea how much I appreciate this. Don't you guys have to be on the road?"

"No, we asked Vince for a little time off, just for you." Matt said.

"Crystal! I didn't know you were here!"

"Yea, I got here last night. I felt terrible and so I hopped on a plane." Alexis gaver her a huge hug.

"Thank you!" Jeff walked out a minute later carrying Nicole in his arms. The rest of the night they all spent talking in the room."

A week later

"Well, everything is ready. All you have to do is sign the release forms and Nicole is ready to go."

"Thank you for everything Dr. Rice." Alexis said as she shook the doctor's hand.

"And here you are Nicole. This is for being such a good girl." He handed Nicole a sucker and a balloon. Nicole smiled and took them.

"What do you say Nicole?"

"Tank you." Alexis smiled at the doctor. As they walked out of the hospital Jeff picked up Nicole and grabbed Alexis' hand. Matt, Shannon, Amy, and Crystal stood behind them.

"Well, it looks like Jeff did the right thing."

"Yea Matt, I've never seen him this happy." Amy said.

"I remember how they were right before she left. You could tell how much in love they were." Shannon replied.

"Two bad it took four and a half years for them to find each other and make things right." Shannon hugged his wife. The four friends walked out of the hospital.

Alexis' house

Everyone was at Alexis' house when they finally got Nicole back. George ha brought food for the party. He had even closed the café just so he could get ready for Nicole's homecoming. Nicole was his first granddaughter, even if she wasn't blood-related. She referred to him and his wife as grandpa and grandma. When Alexis walked in she noticed a 'welcome home Nicole' sign. Tears began to fill her eyes. She was so happy that Nicole was home safe and sound. She turned around to see Jeff and Nicole walk in. She couldn't believe how things turned out. The rest of the day people came in and out of the house to see Nicole and converse.

Later that night, after Nicole was asleep, Alexis and Jeff were sitting in the living room with Matt, Amy, Shannon, Crystal, Taylor, and Cassie talking about everything.

"Alexis, can I talk to you?" Jeff asked as he got off the couch. Alexis looked at him suspiciously, but got up and followed Jeff into her bedroom.

"What's up?" She asked as she turned around. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "What are you doing? Are you okay? Do you feel sick?" Jeff who had been staring at the ground looked up. She noticed tears filling his eyes.

"Jeff?" She was starting to get worried.

"Alexis James, you mean everything to me. I have known you for 17 years and you have been my best friend the entire time. You mean so much to me and when you left I thought I would die. I know that you left because of me. You may never know how sorry I am, but I will try and prove it to you for the rest of my life."

"Jeff…"

"Please marry me." Alexis started getting tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe that Jeff had just proposed. She was speechless. She had always imagined Jeff proposing, but she never thought it would actually happen. A couple minutes past and Jeff was starting to get a little nervous. He squeezed Alexis' hand. She looked down and he noticed her tears.

"Jeff…I love you so much. I will definitely marry you. I want you to be in my life and in Nicole's life." Jeff reached in his pocket and pulled out a ring.

"I've been carrying this around for weeks." He slipped the ring on and stood up. Alexis jumped into Jeff's arms. She couldn't believe how everything had turned out, but she was not complaining.