Disclaimer: I don't own Nic, or Dave or Charlotte or Claire. I own Natalie (sorta) and Michelle.
SPOILER WARNINGS: Up until the end of season 4. There's a single spoiler, ingrained late in this chap.
A/N: Ok, so there's about another four or five chapters to go. Let me clear something up though-I've been unsure as to how to refer to Claire/Natalie. So what I'm doing is- when she's referred to in the presence of someone who doesn't know she's actually Claire, I'm calling her Natalie. However, when only people who know her real identity are around, she is referred to as Claire. Make sense?
CSIcrazy: I wasn't actually talking bout re-doin the chap, I was talking bout the name for the chap.
reach94: Ok, so you got the Kate and Dave bit. . . I wasn't sure whether people would get it.
meggie-moo-has-fun: Dave being supportive was kinda hard to write.
Caitlin: I'm glad you figured out how to review... it makes life more fun!!!
LiarEpicteller: Ok, so I kinda took your advice... It's Nick this chap. I think that so far, Dave has been the hardest person for me to write. I'm glad you think I'm doing it well.
genevra: I was getting worried, you took so long to review! No, Natalie Durham wasn't the name of Tess' doll. Tess' doll was Annabelle, and she features in this chap. Dave's third wife is Kate. He's had two on the show, Tess was going to be his third. Ooooh!!! Thanks, the comment about the spoiler is useful, I forgot a spoiler warning.
droverssunrise: I hadn't really thought about the fact that Michelle and Charlotte were mimicing Tess and Claire... it was meant to be country mouse vs town mouse... I didn't watch the last ep, so I have no idea about what you meant by the Dave and Sally thing but it sounds EVIL!!!
On With The Show.....
As Nick walked past the cubbyhouse that he had build for his children and his niece, he noticed something rather unusual. He traced his steps backwards and peered through the doorway. Inside there was a small girl with hair that reached most of the way down her back. She was sitting on the rug in the middle of the small room, treating dolls that Charlotte seldom played with anymore to a tea party.
As Michelle began to pour "tea" from the small teapot, she felt someone watching her. She looked up, hoping that it would be either her mum or Charlotte's "Uncle Dave" and that they might stay and play with her.
She looked up, and up, and up! The strange man smiled down at her and she nervously smiled back. He stooped down to enter the cubby and she noticed that he walked funny. He lowered himself to the floor near her and she noticed he seemed to have trouble bending one of his legs.
She smiled at him again, and continued pouring.
"Well I recognise Annabelle and Kathleen, but who is this?" He asked, pointing the various dolls in succession.
"That's Stephanie." She said, passing out invisible slices of cake. "I've had her since I was born."
Nick was unable to place the small girl's accent. It was somewhat familiar but yet still unrecognisable.
"Who are you?" She asked, in the tone only a five-almost-six year old can manage. That mixture of curiosity and accusation.
Nick held back a chuckle, remembering the time he had laughed when his niece had used the tone. She hadn't talked to him for a week. 'She hold's a grudge almost as good as her mother did.' he had thought to himself at the time, with sadness.
"I'm Nicholas Ryan, but everyone calls me Nick." He realised that he still didn't know anything about this small child. "And you are?"
"I'm Marion Michelle Durham, but everyone calls me Michelle. Mummy says she named me after someone she once knew but they didn't like the name Marion, so she just calls me Michelle, except when I'm in trouble…" She carried on in her own unconscious way, not noticing the change that came over Nick.
'Oh, God.' he thought, remembering something from the very back of his mind. 'It's not possible, she's dead. I was there, I saw her dead and I carried her coffin.'
FLASHBACK"What are you going to call your children?" A five-year-old Nick asked seven-year-old Alex and Claire. They had just gotten "married", attended by Nick and a four-year-old Tess and various teddy bears. Claire had been obsessed with weddings since her father had gotten married again about five years earlier.
The proud "parents-to-be" had smiled at each other and began to both talk at once:
"Marion Michelle McLeod." Piped up the small Claire at the same time Alex had said: "Adam Louis Ryan."
While Tess had started laughing at what none of them knew, the two eldest members of the party glared at each other.
"I hate my middle name." Alex shot at the girl across from him.
"Why do you think I used it?" Claire allowed herself a gleeful look, and then registered what Alex had said. "I hate Louise. It's so girly."
"Why do you think I used it?" Alex shot back, smiling just as gleefully as she had moments before. He was wrapped in his world and didn't notice the look of cunning that overtook Claire's face. He found himself on the ground, being pummelled by the girl. he fought back bravely, trying to gain face in front of the other two children.
They, however, were uninterested. They had seen this all before and wandered off on their own.
END FLASHBACKNick smiled at the memory. That had been one of the last fights between the two friends. Alex had eventually gotten too strong for his companion and they had had to resort to bets, originally being small amounts of property, then pocket money, and eventually a slab of beer. The day had never been spoken of again, but he certainly remembered it. He never let Alex forget the event, and he was sure that Claire hadn't, for two reasons. It was one of the last happy events that she had shared with her baby sister, for Ruth and Tess had left soon after. And because who else would have named their child that? It seemed too much of a coincidence.
Michelle was used to her mother phasing out at various times. She never questioned it; it was something that had happened for as long as she could remember. She had always passed it off as normal, and this man in front of her reinforced that idea. She watched him closely, and when his eyes began to glaze over with unshed tears, she impulsively hugged him tight.
Nick was shaken from his reverie by a pair of arms flung around his neck. he smiled down at the small girl, and hugged her back.
"What made you sad?" She asked cautiously, unsure as to how he would react.
"I was just thinking about something I have thought about for a long while." He answered cryptically. "Why don't you tell me more about your Mummy?" He asked apprehensively, trying not to hope too much.
"My Mummy's name is Natalie. She's really old."
"How old?"
"She's 34."
Nick smiled, he had forgotten how old people seemed when you were young. "It's not that old."
"Yes it is!" Michelle looked up at him hopefully. "How old are you?"
"I'm 32."
"Two years younger than my mummy." Michelle had a thought. "Will you marry my mummy?"
Nick definitely hadn't seen that one coming. He was about to reply when she continued.
"It's just that she's been unhappy lately and you look like a happy man who'd keep my Mummy happy."
Nick looked down at the small girl. He'd had talks about marriage with various members of both his and his various girlfriends' families, but never one this straight forward or from someone so young. "I'd love to honey," the short statement gained him a smile, that only fell soon after, "but I'm already married."
As her face fell, he almost wished that he could have said yes to her very unique offer of marriage. She began to cry, and he bent down to pick her up, carrying her out of the cubby, careful to pick up Stephanie, Annabelle and Kathleen at the same time.
"How about we go and see your Mum sweetheart?" He asked, knowing what her answer would be. He had had enough experience with his son and niece to know that sometimes only a Mummy or some other maternal figure could cure all hurts.
As Nick carried the small child towards the house, Natalie made her way down the stairs, looking for the small child. Charlotte had woken up from an excitement-induced sleep and Dave was explaining some maths while Natalie looked for her daughter. The two adults had talked about various things, not touching on the topic that both of them had really wanted to discuss, until they had been interrupted by the arrival of a small, blonde child.
She headed down the path towards the cubby that Dave had informed her was built by her brother-in-law before the birth of his son. When she had commented on the absence of another child in the house, he sighed and paused before telling her the story of Sally and Nick's son and how it had made the first couple of months of their marriage bumpy.
She looked up and saw a familiar tall man walking towards her, holding something in his arms. She smiled when she saw the slight limp he had and quickened her pace towards them.
"I was just coming looking for you." She said, startling both the man and the child in his arms.
"Mummy!" Michelle called, holding out her arms. Nick just stood stock still in his tracks. He knew that voice. He used to, at least.
"Mummy, this is Nick." Michelle commented from her mother's arms. "Nick, this is my mummy. We were just talking about you," She informed Natalie.
"Really?" Natalie asked, looking over at the younger man.
"Yeah, I asked him if he'd marry you, but he's already married." Natalie held back the laugh that threatened to corse through her. if only the small girl knew how like her grandfathers she was.
"Is that so?"
"Yes." Nick answered, finding his voice crackly.
"Pity." Came the cheeky reply from the older Durham. "Honey, Charlotte's awake." This bit was aimed at Michelle. "Why don't you go in and see if Dave's found the ice-cream yet?"
As her younger daughter made her way up the path, she turned back to the man in front of her. "Good to see you again Nick."
Nick was speechless. It was something unfamiliar to him, but he was definitely unable to speak. "You died." He whispered, unsure of what he was seeing.
"Actually, I didn't." Claire answered him, moving to help him to the ground as he turned pale.
The world went black and the last thing he saw was the face of a woman he thought he'd never see again. He wasn't sure if it was good or not that she wasn't.
A/N: This chapter was to be originally written about Alex, and then I realised that Michelle, being the bright kid she is, would have recognised him as her father. (Oh, sorry if you didn't catch that in the last chapter, but you should have been reading more clearly)