A/N: Another quick update, short chapter though :( Hope you'll like it and thanks again for your very encouraging feedback :D

Enjoy

Chapter 10 :

They say that you forget the suffering you've been through when giving birth the moment you hold your little bundle of love in your arms. I confirm. The first time I set eyes on my baby, I felt a whirlwind of emotions travel in my body, however, you're quickly reminded of the pain you've been through when you start your long collection of sleepless nights.

"Maybe we should take him to a doctor?" Nick panics "His face is crimson red"

I shake my head while I prepare a caraway decoction before I pour it in a baby bottle "No, it's just baby colic"

Nick sways the baby in his arms trying desperately to calm him down but in vain. Kelly is really upset tonight. I get the bottle ready and rush to Nick's side "I get it" he takes the baby bottle from me and helps Kelly drink the content, after a second or too, the baby finally stops crying and we're rewarded with an Olympian silence.

"Do you think we'll get some sleep, now?" Nick asks as he walks slowly to the couch and sits with Kelly still in his arms. No matter how tired he is, he's staring adoringly at his son who's still drinking the concoction.

I sit beside Nick and the baby, completely exhausted "Hopefully yes, I mean I've just changed him, I fed him and caraway should ease the pain, unless he wants to punish us for not being the parents he wanted, I guess he'll calm down"

"Not the parents he wanted! Are you kidding me? I'm the coolest dad ever" Nick strokes the baby's belly "You hear that buddy? when you get a little older, daddy will take you to the precint, then we'll ask uncle Wu to give us a ride in his super cool cop car…You like that, right buddy?" Nick laughs when Kelly gives him a big yawn

"He thinks you're boring" I say as I lie down on the couch and bring my legs to my chest to give Nick enough space "He'd probably rather go with Mommy to court and meet filthy rich people who believe that babies is a dangerous species, right little sunshine?" I grin at my baby who's already sound asleep

Nick puts him delicately in the crib we left in the living room, then walks back to the couch "He slept before you had time to finish, which opinion you think he has of you?" he teases

I snuggle on the couch, my eyes shut under the heaviness of my eyelids "I'll think of it tomorrow"

A distant familiar voice calls my name while I'm trying desperately to run away from the horde of zombies coming after me, in my race I stumble on a rock and fall to the ground, a dead body grabs my leg and brings me to him, but I won't let him eat my brain "I know my brain is the zombies' big Mc but I'm not letting years of hard work go to waste" I say as I kick him hard "Take this Frankeinstein"

"Adalind…Stop…Shit…" the familiar voice comes closer

The zombie grabs both my legs, rendering me completely defenseless as I try to grab the ground to stop him from dragging me "No, please…Don't eat my brain"

"What the hell?" Nick's voice brings me back to reality "Why would I eat your brain?" I open my eyes abruptly only to realize he's the one holding my legs. He's sitting on the opposite side of the couch, his hair completely disheveled and a furious expression on his face and God does he look good…Wait, why is his lower lip bleeding?

"Did I do this?" I sit up immediately

He lets go of my legs and touches his lower lip, grimacing a little "Yeah, I don't remember the last time I was beaten up like this"

"I'm sorry" I apologize, beyond embarrassed. I guess we both fell asleep on the couch, last night, when Kelly finally decided to let us have some rest. Speaking of the baby, as soon as he hears our voices, he starts wiggling in his crib. I hurry to his side and collect him in my arms "I'll take care of him"

Nick nods "Alright, I'll go have a shower and take care of my poor lip"

He disappears in the stairs while I change my baby and feed him quickly, few minutes later Nick emerges back in the living room and takes Kelly from me, allowing me to go clean up. The water on my skin feels amazing, washing away my fatigue. I grab a pair of worn out jeans that I love so much and a blue shirt.

I follow the tantalizing smell of coffee to the kitchen where Nick is sitting with Kelly in one arm, while he's drinking coffee from a pink mug that says Hello Gorgeous "Hey, nice mug; Pink is totally your color" I wink as I pour some coffee in a blue mug that says I'm the man.

"Thanks, thought so too" he stares at his mug then back at me "So, while you were under the shower, I called the real estate agent" I face him behind the kitchen counter while he carries on "We might have few visitor this week, is that ok with you?"

I'm totally taken aback by his question. I realize I ignore everything about Nick and I'm just discovering how considerate and attentive he is "Sure" I go closer to him to inspect the cut on his lip "Does it hurt?" I ask, feeling terribly guilty.

"No, it's really nothing"

Somebody alternates between ringing the doorbell and knocking at the door, Nick stares at me quizzically, then gets to his feet, hands me Kelly and rushes to open the door. I follow Nick with my baby in my arms, wondering who is crazy enough to try and destroy the door.

A way too familiar blond head with a very angry expression stares back at us when Nick opens the door "Mom?"

She brushes past Nick, completely ignoring him in the process "I'm glad you still remember me" she flares

"When did you come back from Europe?"

"Two days ago, only to discover your house is for sale and completely bare. I had to beg the real estate agency to give me your address, because I couldn't reach you over the phone" I must have forgotten to charge the battery. My mother casts a quick glance at Nick and assesses him with a frown, bringing me back to reality.

"Mom, this is Nick, my baby's father" for someone who's been dying to know who was the man behind my pregnancy, she doesn't seem to care anymore.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs Schade" Nick extends his hand and my mom shakes it reluctantly as if afraid to contract a germ

I roll my eyes then lift Kelly a little bit "And this is your grandson Kelly" I introduce him proudly

She barely glances at the baby "Kelly! What kind of name is that?" she's more interested in inspecting the house than in her grandson. I stare at Nick apologetically, then back at my mom.

"I think we'll let you two catch up" Nick says to no-one in particular as he takes the baby from my arms

"Thank you" I whisper when he's close enough, he simply nods in answer

Once they're out of sight, I direct my mother to the living room and invite her to sit. Before she does, she wipes the couch, making sure it's clean. Yeah, my mom is that despicable and impolite. I sigh and decide to be civilized, ignoring her mean manners.

"So, did you have a nice trip?" I try not to think of the fact that she hasn't asked me once about the baby's health or me.

She tucks a strand of platinum blond hair behind her ear "It was fine. Your Aunt Ilda says Hi" she looks around her "So, this is where you're living now?"

"Yes" I don't want to elaborate as I'm really not in the mood to listening to her reproaches

"He's a cop!" she snorts as her eyes land on Nick's badge sitting on the table

"Nick is one of the best detectives in Portland" I counter with a clear indication in my tone for her to stop there, but my mom is not the type to back off when asked to.

She brings a perfectly manicured finger to her chin "That doesn't change the fact that he earns a meager salary" she laughs condescendingly "What kind of life is he going to offer you and his son, Adalind?"

"That's enough, mother" I order her coldly

"You should aim for a better match, Adalind" she glares at me "Sean might not be very conventional, but at least he could afford to give you a beautiful life. Nobody's perfect, you know"

That's it, I don't think I can take it anymore. I get to my feet and head to the door "Goodbye mom"

My mother's shocked expression tells me she didn't expect such a reaction. She collects her bag and walks slowly toward the door, once she's at my level, I add "And don't bother to come back, until you show my baby's father the respect he deserves" I get closer to her ear and whisper "Unlike Sean, Nick is a good man" then I slam the door to her face and turn around to lean my back against the door, exhausted from this little altercation. Less than a second later Nick appears in the staircase.

"You ok?" he shoves his hands in his pockets as he walks in my direction

"How much did you hear?" I ask in a soft voice

He gives me a lopsided smile "I heard enough to dislike her"

I feel a flush creeping my cheeks "I'm sorry"

He shrugs his shoulders "It's not your fault"

"Kelly's asleep?" I feel the need to change the topic of our conversation. My mom's negative vibes are still haunting me, I really need to think of something else

Nick shakes his head "No, he's just lying in his crib. I noticed we're running out of diapers and other baby stuff, want to go to the supermarket?"

I nod "Yeah, that would be great, I need a few things too"

"Good, I'll go get Kelly"

Going grocery shopping with Nick is quite an adventure of discovery in itself. It's really funny how men and women do not shop the same way at all. Men just grab whatever they see, regardless of the price and the content and shove it in the cart, while we check every brand, every detail, every ingredient on the package, then make a comparison with all the other similar products to pick the most adequate one. Needless to say, by the end of our trip to the supermarket, Nick swore he was never coming with me again.

"Are we done?" he asks for the umpteenth time

"We still have few more things on the list" I lift two packs of diapers and try to decide which one is better

"Pick the one on the left" he orders

"I'm not sure, they're not absorbent enough. Besides, look that one has Nemo designs on it" I show him the pack with a grin

Nick flares unhappily with Kelly in his arms "They're just diapers, Adalind, once they're stocked with baby poop and pee, believe me the binman won't give a shit whether it's Donlad Duck or Nemo on the waistband"

"You're right, we're taking Nemo" I shove the diapers in the cart and start looking for our next item on the list.

Once we're back home, Nick is not pouting anymore. We stock the groceries in the kitchen which Nick seizes as an opportunity to show me where he keeps everything. By the time we're done, I realize it's past 1PM and I'm starving.

I check on Kelly who is having his afternoon nap then go back to the kitchen

"I'm making omelet" Nick informs me as I join him

"Do you need help?"

Nick puts the eggs in the pan and adds cheese to the mix "Could you set the table?"

"Yep, sure" I set the glasses, covers and white napkins on the table before Nick brings the plates of omelet. We sit across each other and devour our meal silently. When we finish eating, Nick insists on helping me clean the dishes. I think he's simply trying to keep himself as busy as possible, probably in the hopes of clearing his mind from the bad times he's going through. Sometimes, I can catch him staring at nothing in particular, eyes empty, face contorted with pain. Yet, he's being a wonderful father and a great help in my life.

As we finish clearing the last plate I turn to face him "Thanks for everything. I know you say Kelly is your responsibility, but I'm not, so thank you for what you're doing for me"

Nick simply nods

"Umm…When are you going back to work?"

He wipes the last plate "I took few more days off to…you know, adjust to this whole thing" this whole thing meaning Baby Kelly, his mom's death and me "I need to sell the house this week. I have already found a safer place, so I should probably be back to the precint by next week"

Kelly starts crying, interrupting our conversation. That was a very short nap

"I get it" Nick hurries to his son while I go get my ringing phone in the living room, I unplug the charger and bring it to my ear "Hello?"

"Congratulations, Adalind" Sean's honey voice echoes on the other end of the line "It's a cute little baby that you have" my blood turns ice cold "What is it? you're mute now? Didn't look like it earlier in the supermarket. I must admit, you make a very cute little family, too bad it won't last"

"What do you want, Sean?"

His sweet voice turns acidic "What I've always wanted…You, Adalind and I'll kill whoever gets in the way, your little darling should know that by now"

Bile rises to my throat "You're evil"

"That poor FBI agent, we didn't go easy on her" he continues with a joyful tone

Tears sting in my eyes, images of Kelly Burkhardt parade in my head, memories of her kindness and protectiveness.

"You're a monster"

He laughs wholeheartedly "I love you too, baby"