Uh-oh, Chris is back. Ha. Did you really think he'd be mentioned as much as he was and then NOT show up? Please. Anyways, you'll finally start to see Nic a little more vulnerable and she's not even worried for herself. There are a few revelations towards the end that might make some people happy. And if you're not reading golfa chickie's 'Waiting For My Happy Ending,' you're crazy cause it's AMAZING! And reviewers, you're even more amazing.

"Chris?" Wally repeated quietly. "Like, ex-husband Chris?"

"No, Chris from 'Nsync," Nic snapped angrily. "Yes, he's my ex-husband. What are you doing here?"

Chris joined them on the deck, allowing for Spiederman to size him up. As predicted, the guy reeked of douche bag. He wore a Ralph Lauren polo shirt with the collar popped, dark wash jeans, and flip-flops with manicured feet. His dark hair was cut short and styled and he had on designer sunglasses that only added to the gay-factor he was giving off.

"I missed you, sweetie," Chris told her, rubbing her bare arm. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"I'd be happier to see all the money you swindled out of me once upon a time," she shot back coolly. "And this is private property, so you really should go."

He smirked. "I'm not staying. I just wanted to come by and let you know I was in town, so we should get together sometime this week or next."

"I don't think so," Nic shook her head. "Come on, guys, let's go down."

Chris grabbed Spiederman's arm and held him back as the group walked away. "Hold on a second, Cobain."

"I recommend you let me go," Spiederman warned. Even though he hated fighting, he could easily take the Ken doll in front of him.

"Stay away from her," Chris said with ice to his voice. "Nic Quincy made a mistake when she divorced me and I'm going to win her back to make her pay."

Spiederman made a face and pulled away. "Good luck with that." He gave a wave and walked down the steps, making sure Chris was gone before turning his back on him.

"Tommy, I didn't invite him here!" Nic was saying. "He just showed up."

"And how would he know where you were?" Tommy demanded. "I'll kill him. I'll find his seedy little motel and I'll kill him."

"Calm down," Jude advised, putting a hand on his arm. "Let Nic take care of herself for a change, Tommy. And she's always got the Dark Lord Spiederman to help."

Nic was now pacing. Pacing and talking to herself in French.

"What's she saying?" Sadie whispered to Tommy. "I do Italian."

"Me, too," he reminded her. "My French is bad and she's rapid-fire."

Jude watched in amazement as Nic threw her hands in the air and ignored them all. "It's like that scene in The Parent Trap."

"Nic!" Tommy yelled. "Would you stop ranting in French and look at me? Nothing is going to happen, all right? Chris is just trying to scare you but he has nothing on you. He signed a document during the divorce to never mention your marriage and if he goes against it, he owes you. What are you worried about?"

Nic stopped and looked at everyone as they stared back at her. For always being so calm, cool, and collected, the poor girl was a mess. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Tommy told her, pulling her into a hug. "I know you weren't expecting him to show up here, but you really have nothing to worry about."

Nic took a deep breath. "I'm not worried about me, actually." She glanced shyly at Spiederman. "I'm worried for you."

"Me?" he said skeptically. "Why?"

"Although Chris looks as scary as a teddy bear, he'll strike in the most bizarre ways and with that kiss from yesterday being public, he'll go for you," she explained. "I'm sure he, like the rest of the world, now thinks you and I are something and he's going to do whatever it takes to 'break us up' or whatever. And I'm not sure what he'll do to do it."

"Nic, I'm not scared of him," Spiederman told her. "Please don't freak yourself out by worrying about me."

She took a deep breath, wiped away a few stray tears, and sighed. "All right, sorry for the interruption. We can get on with our picnic now."

"Anyone up for some Euchre?" Tommy suggested half an hour later as they were seated around the table with their food.

"I will," Jude agreed. "But I'm no good."

"Then you have to be on Tommy's team and we'll play," Wally added, pointing to himself and Kyle. "How about we play for money?"

While the four of them discussed the terms of their game, Nic excused herself to take a walk.

"Want some company?" Spiederman asked her.

"Uhh, yeah," she answered.

They walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes, kind of bumping into each other purposely, just to touch, but they immediately would pull away.

"Can I ask a question?" he finally said.

"Sure," she nodded.

He took a deep breath. "Why do you care so much if he goes for me?"

"Well, to begin with, no one deserves to have to deal with Chris Gibbons," she explained quietly. "And secondly, I like you too much to put you in harm's way. I'd like to keep you around for the next month."

"Oh," he nodded, looking over at her. "Well, I'm not going anywhere."

"That's good," she smiled, edging closer to him. "Cause who else can I destroy at putt-putt if you're not around?"

"Oh, so we're joking now?" he mused, eyeing her suggestively.

Suddenly, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder before running into the ocean.

"Put me down!" she squealed. "Spied!"

People spread out on the beach, whether flying kites or just hanging out, smiled as they saw the young pair play in the water happily.

"That's sweet," an older woman said to her husband as they walked by. "They look like us at that age, dear."

"Yes," her husband confirmed, "they sure do."

Jude and Tommy watched from up the beach as Spiederman and Nic chased each other around.

"I think he really likes her," Jude noted. "Which is nice cause he's had such issues with Karma over the last year."

Tommy sighed. "Vin's a decent kid, but I'm not sure he's right for Nic. In fact, I'd prefer to just send her away to a convent."

"Oh, Tommy," Jude laughed. "Cut her some slack. Besides, Spied's too nice to even hurt an ant, so I wouldn't worry about her."

"And what about us?" he asked her softly.

"There isn't an 'us,' Tommy," she pointed out. "I've just gone from hating you to tolerating you so far."

He sighed and looked out at the water. "If I tell you something right now, do you promise not to freak out or hold it against me or throw it back in my face?"

"All right," she reluctantly agreed.

"I love you," he whispered, still not looking at her. "And not in the way I used to, where it was young and innocent, but I'm in love with you. I just thought you should know."

Jude didn't respond. Instead, she turned away from him and headed back towards the picnic table, where Kwest was wowing Wally and Kyle with card tricks.

"What are you going to do about Chris?" Spiederman wondered later as he and Nic sat along the shore, still a few yards away from their group. "I mean, Tommy said he signed that confidentiality agreement, but will he stick to it?"

"Doubt it," she admitted. "But I don't really care about all of that. I just don't want him to hurt me, or you or any of them, anymore. I just wish he'd have never happened."

He wrapped an arm around her. "I'll protect you," he offered. "I am the Dark Lord Spiederman, after all."

"So I've heard," she laughed lightly. "What's that all about anyways?"

"Alter ego," he explained. "I created him in the 7th grade and he's been around ever since."

"Sounds like a good guy," she observed.

"He is a good guy," he assured her, "but he's an even better kisser."

And before Nic could ask any more questions, Spiederman was kissing her and this time, there was no bet involved.

"Aww," Sadie said, leaning her head on Kwest's shoulders as they all watched from afar. "Isn't that cute?"

"In all honesty, I think they make a decent couple," Kyle shrugged.

Jude nodded her head. "Yeah, they certainly do."

"Uh-oh, paparazzi at 8:00," Kwest pointed out. "Should we tell them?"

"No," Tommy answered, surprising them all. "Let them be happy for a night and they can deal with it in the morning."

Sadie looked at him in awe. "Really? Well, hells bells, maybe Tom Quincy is finally growing up."

"Yeah, maybe," he muttered, looking past her at Jude.

The night ended when a dog came running through the picnic area, terrorizing everything, so they packed up and went back to the houses.

"Does anyone wanna watch a movie?" Nic asked. "I'm thinking a little Devil Wears Prada maybe?"

"Eww!" Spiederman complained. "No chick flicks!"

Nic rolled her eyes. "All right, since you're gonna be a four-year-old, how about Jackass 2? It's better than the first one."

"Sweet!" Kyle cried. "We met Steve-O and Chris Pontius at an MTV party last year and I was so star-struck."

Sadie yawned. "I'm not surprised. But, I'm gonna have to pass cause I'm wiped."

"Yeah, I'm out, too," Kwest put in. "But have fun."

Everyone settled onto various couches and chairs in the living room of Nic and Tommy's house while Nic set the movie up. Once it was in, she turned and sat down between Kyle and Spiederman on the couch.

"This is a great movie," Wally sighed. "I mean, what better way to start it than to put a sock on his guy and let a snake bite it? Seriously, that's cinematic genius."

"Agreed," Kyle said. "But it's better when they put the cobra in the truck with Bam and he starts crying."

"No!" Nic exclaimed. "That's mean! Bam's too cute to make cry."

Tommy scoffed. "You are such a girl."

"He's married, you know," Jude spoke up. "He had a TV show about it and everything."

"She's nice, too," Tommy added. "Met her at a charity thing in Vancouver last month."

Nic made a face. "Well, a girl can dream."

Halfway through the movie, the Spiederman boys were all snoring and Tommy was nodding off, so Jude and Nic found the opportunity to walk out to the deck.

"Tommy told me he loves me," Jude reported. "And I just walked away from him."

"What?" Nic shrieked. "Tommy is like, the least open person I know and he finally finds the courage to tell you and you bolt? God, Jude, cut him some slack!"

"How can I just 'cut him some slack' after what he did?" Jude shot back angrily. "I'm sorry for taking this out on you but it doesn't seem to be getting through to him."

"It's all right," Nic murmured, hopping up onto the railing. "Look, Jude, I don't know you well enough to tell you what to do, but I know my brother well enough to tell you what to do to keep him from killing himself."

Jude stared at her. "And what should I do to prevent that?"

"Tell him you love him back," Nic stated simply, as if she were talking about the weather. "Duh."

"But I don't," Jude shook her head.

"Right," Nic smirked. "And I don't completely hate my ex-husband. It seems to me that you love Tommy like an old lady loves orthopedic shoes."

Hiding a smile, Jude looked back into the house and saw that Tommy has disappeared. "I think he went to bed."

"Up the stairs, third door on the right," Nic directed her. "I'm sure he won't mind some company."

"Stop," Jude warned. "The only place I'll be sleeping during this vacation is my bed."

"Well, he knows that bed, too," Nic joked. "That was our favorite house when we were really little cause the basement has a slide from the steps to the TV room."

"Yeah, the boys found it last night at about midnight," Jude mumbled. "Kept me from sleeping."

Nic glanced down the beach at a bonfire taking place. "I know you don't want to talk about Tommy anymore, but do you know how much it will help to get it off your chest, even if only to one person?"

Tommy, who was secretly sitting on his balcony, leaned forward, waiting for Jude's response.

"Dude," Spiederman said, pulling back the sliding door. "The movie ended and I don't know how to turn it off."

"Shh!" Tommy said hurriedly. "Get out here and shut the door!"

"It's just complicated," Jude sighed. "I can honestly say that before he left, yes, I was in love with him. But three years, and one broken heart later, I'm not so sure. It's like, my head is telling me that if I let him back in, I'm setting myself up for regret all over again, but my heart, being the stubborn organ that it is, is fighting back, telling me I'll regret it far more if I don't explore things with him now that he's ready."

"Whoa," Spiederman breathed from his spot laying on the cool concrete above them. "She definitely loves you, dude."

Tommy didn't respond.

"All I'm gonna say about it now is I highly recommend you not spend your entire vacation fighting yourself over it," Nic advised. "Hilton Head is too much fun and has too much to do to worry about how you feel about Tommy. You know how you feel, Jude, you just have to tell him, whether it's good or bad."

"Speaking of feelings for boys," Jude interrupted, "what's going on with you and my guitarist?"

"No comment," Nic laughed. "No, I don't know."

"We all saw you kissing him on the beach," Jude reported.

Nic blushed. "Oh, yeah? Well, I like him, but now that Chris is here, I'm afraid to get involved because Chris will stop at nothing to get what he wants and he wants revenge on me. Spied could just be a road block to getting there."

"But you like him?" Jude said.

"Yeah, I do," Nic admitted. "He is so not my type and I actually like him."

Jude looked up above them. "Hear that, Spied?! She likes you!"

"How'd you know I was up here?" Spiederman called down.

"I heard you open the door and only you would have the nerve to spy on two girls," she explained.

"Oh," he replied sheepishly. "Sorry," he apologized.

"Just go to bed and don't wake Tommy on your way in," Jude told him. "He sleeps like a bear, so that shouldn't be a problem, just be careful."

Spiederman looked at Tommy with wide eyes and led him back inside. "She had no idea you were out there! And to think, only I would spy on girls and I wasn't even out there to spy."

Tommy sat down on his bed. "I'm too respectable to spy, or so they think."

"That's lame," Spiederman muttered, going to the door. "Well, see you in the morning, Squinty. And no dirty dreams about Jude, cause she is my best friend, after all."

"Then the same goes for my sister," Tommy called as Spiederman left the room. "Or I'll kill you."