Chapter 5

Another wonderful day at the hospital.

It didn't help the twins had cried for her to stay at home today, Keela saying how they'd been missing their mother. Nalani scowled the entire ride to the hospital, wearing a pair of black dress pants with a pale blue top that had short sleeves, buttoning up the front. Her hair was down, curled at the ends for style, Nalani honestly not giving a damn what she looked like after dealing with two whining three year olds.

"How about we all go out for dinner tonight, my treat?" Keela had suggested with a soft smile while helping Matthew and Megan eat their cereal.

"Sure, that sounds fine. We can go to that place over on Fourth Street. The Jungle Gym or whatever it's called so the kids can play."

Nalani had wanted to take her children there for awhile, but she'd been too busy with work lately and felt guilty about it. She knew she was missing a lot of their childhood, but also had to support all three of them. There was no choice in the matter, she had to work and Nalani couldn't cut back on hours either, her finances were tight enough as it was.

"Cool, what time do you think you'll be off? Do you mind if I bring Glen along too?" Keela was almost hesitant, looking up at her friend and boss. "I'll understand if-"

"Not a problem, Kee. You know I like Glen and I'm sure the kids would love to see him." Nalani had smiled through the pain she felt inside, not wanting to upset her nanny. "I should be off around five or so. I can just meet you and the twins there, it would be easier that way."

"No problem, I'll call Glen at work and see if he can meet us too. Sometimes I wonder about this new job he's taken on recently."

Keela looked sad and Nalani made her escape while she could, knowing the woman could talk her ear off if given the chance. Nalani was already running late for work. She kissed the twins goodbye, promising to see them later, and headed out toward the hospital.

"Momma don't go, momma stay!" She could still hear the twins' cries as she drove away from the house, breaking her heart, while Keela consoled them.

"Damn it." Nalani muttered quietly to herself and pushed the memory of that morning out of her mind, needing to focus on checking patients in and out of the hospital.

She answered the phone, turning her back for a second because it was Doctor Robbins on the third floor, asking if a patient had arrived. She looked through the log book, informing the doctor her patient was currently in the lobby, waiting to be examined. Doctor Robbins had the patient sent up, who was an elder woman with a heart condition, and Nalani instructed her on where to go from the lobby.

"Well, well, look what I found." A voice sounded behind her, causing a bright smile to light Nalani's face, turning the chair around.

"Kaci!" Nalani squealed and walked around her desk, both women embracing tightly as tears streamed down their faces.

Neither cared, they were always emotional with each other and Kaci even more so because she was nearly six months pregnant. She was there today for an examination and ultrasound, alone of course. Her fiancé, Randy, was currently in the army and overseas in Iraq, so Kaci really didn't have anyone else to come with her. She didn't get along with her parents and Kaci insisted on coming to Dallas for her exams, saying she had an excuse to see her best friend.

"My god, look at you! You're glowing!" Nalani exclaimed with excitement, blue eyes glittering. "Where's my godchildren missy?"

"Please, there was no way I was bringing them here, are you kidding? A two and five year old in a hospital, bored out of their skulls and causing chaos? No, don't think so. They're at home with mom, who was more than willing to take her grandchildren for the day." Kaci explained with a smile, both of them walking to get a cup of coffee –Kaci getting just water or tea because of her pregnancy-, while Marissa took over the reception area for a few.

"So you seem like you're doing good here." Kaci commented, both of them sitting down in the waiting room, Doctor Mable running a little behind in her schedule today. "Though it's nothing compared to Houston…"

"Kaci," Nalani warned, sipping her coffee. "You know why I left."

Kaci sighed with a nod, placing her hand on top of her best friend's. "I miss you being in Houston, Nala, that's all." That was her special nickname, nobody else had ever called Nalani that and nobody ever would. "I mean, I don't have a lot of friends and the ones that I do have, they annoy the shit out of me."

Both women laughed softly, Kaci downing half of her water, having been somewhat dehydrated lately. "I'm sorry I haven't been there." Kaci didn't miss the guilty tone and hugged Nalani, completely understanding why she left Houston.

"Don't worry about it, Nala. You come to visit me whenever you can and that's enough for now. Maybe someday you'll leave this place and come back home." Kaci always hoped for that, smiling softly, deciding to change the subject. "How are MY godchildren doing?"

"Good, though they kinda guilt tripped me this morning because they miss me." Nalani admitted with a heavy heart, staring down at her coffee sadly. "I feel guilty all the time, Kace. It's like…I know I'm missing out on their childhood, but I don't have a choice. I have to support us somehow."

"I know sweetie and they understand that, believe me. Tony and Jen are always asking about their daddy and I keep explaining to them he's a hero, that he's fighting for our freedom and country." Truth be told, Kaci silently prayed Randy left the military once he did his time because she honestly missed him, wanting the father of her children home to help raise them. "It's difficult, you just have to remember you're doing this for them, everything you put yourself through."

"I know, but that doesn't stop the guilt from consuming me at times." This is what Nalani really needed, talking to her best friend about her problems, which they couldn't do often. "Anyway, enough about me, how are you feeling?"

"Huge." Kaci laughed, rubbing her protruding stomach. "I still can't believe Randy and I are having our third kid and we're still not married."

"You're waiting for him to get out of the service, right?" Nalani asked, causing Kaci to heave a sigh, her shoulders slumping slightly.

"I don't know anymore honestly." Kaci replied truthfully. "I mean, part of me knows deep down inside he's going to marry me eventually, but I just don't want everything to fall apart at the last minute and I'm stuck with three kids."

Nalani grabbed both of Kaci's hands in her own, locking eyes with the woman who had gotten her through so much in her life, including her family's murder. "You've always been strong and good-hearted. If Randy ever left you, that would be the biggest mistake of his life and it wouldn't be your fault. He won't leave you, he loves you way too much. I've never seen two people more in love than you and Randy, it's almost sickening."

"What about you and…"

"No." Nalani stopped her before Kaci could utter his name, not wanting to think about him right now. "We're not talking about that right now."

"We never talk about it." Kaci pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "You do realize eventually you'll have to talk about it right? Otherwise, it'll eat you up inside and out."

This happened every time Nalani and Kaci got together, the subject of Mark surfacing. Nalani didn't want to talk about him, how hard was that to understand? It hurt her way too much to talk about the man she walked away from three years ago carrying twins that probably weren't his. It was bad enough Nalani barely got sleep at night because her dreams were always plagued with him and nine times out of ten, they turned into nightmares.

"You know I love you right?" Kaci nudged Nalani, who had grown considerably quiet, sighing softly. "I'm sorry for bringing him up, I'm just worried about you."

"I know, I just don't want to talk about it right now." She saw Marissa was becoming swamped at the reception desk and stood up, setting her empty coffee cup on the table. "I have to get back to work. I'm going out to dinner tonight with the twins and Keela, why don't you join us?"

Kaci smiled sadly, shaking her head. "Wish I could, but my mom has to get to work by eight tonight. Maybe next time I'm in town." She winked, both women embracing once again.

"Take care of yourself, Kace; call me if you need anything."

"You too, Nala."

~!~

"Mommy!" Both Matthew and Megan squealed, clapping their small hands as Keela pulled them out of their car seats one by one.

Nalani was all smiles in front of her children, lifting one up in each arm, kissing their cheeks. Matthew groaned while Megan giggled, their beautiful blue eyes glowing back at her with happiness. Nalani set them down on the ground, taking each of their hands, refusing to let them walk in the parking lot without strict supervision.

"Stay with mommy now, guys." She ordered, causing both twins to grin up at her, Keela and Glen following suit.

"It's nice to see you again, Nalani." Glen said by way of greeting, once everyone was seated in the restaurant.

"You too Glen, thanks for coming." Nalani smiled back, busy trying to get the twins to settle down a little bit, but all they wanted to do was go play in the jungle gym. "I thought you two wanted to spend time with me, huh?"

Glen and Keela chuckled while the twins groaned, Nalani finally giving in as she set them down from their booster seats, watching them run off to play with the other kids. Glen chuckled while sipping a beer, Keela sticking with soda and Nalani having a glass of wine, needing it after the conversation she had earlier that day with Kaci. She glanced back at Glen, not believing how much he resembled Mark, though she would never say that aloud.

The man stood just a little under seven feet tall and had long dark brown curly hair that was currently pulled back in a loose tail, a goatee surrounding his perfect mouth. He had solid hazel eyes, though they were mostly blue with hints of green in them. Nalani wasn't sure what the man did for a living, though she'd recently heard Keela talk about Glen working for some kind of security company.

Nalani didn't really pay attention. She was more focused on making sure the twins were taken care of while she was gone at work, which she knew Keela did an amazing job of. They really enjoyed their nanny, always asking when Kee-Kee was coming back to see them whenever she left for the day. It both lifted and broke Nalani's heart, knowing she was the one the twins were supposed to be asking about and she was the one who was supposed to be taking care of them.

Once again, the guilt ate her alive.

"Excuse me ma'am?"

Nalani was jolted out of her thoughts midway through dinner, having been listening to her children yammering about the jungle gym. She looked up and into a pair of blue eyes, the man standing over her having a soft smile on his face. Nalani cleared her throat, setting her napkin down on the table, and raised a slow eyebrow while Glen and Keela grew silent.

"Yes?" Nalani folded her arms in front of her chest, tilting her head slightly.

The man stood a little over six feet tall and had fiery red hair that was pulled back in a braid, reminding her of both of her ex-boyfriends. He had on skintight blue jeans with a black beater along with a grey bomber jacket and black fingerless gloves, black shades on top of his head. He was definitely a looker, though Nalani wasn't even mildly interested, simply waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Hi, my name is Tommy and I was just wonderin' if I could take you out sometime?" His deep blue eyes were pleading, not even noticing the bantering by the two kids. "You look like you could use a night out on the town."

Nalani couldn't believe this was happening and glanced over at Keela, who bit her bottom lip, trying not to laugh. There was no way in hell she was going out with someone who reminded her of the man she loved unconditionally and the man she despised most in this world. Of course, Nalani wasn't about to be rude, knowing the man didn't mean any harm, but he had completely ruined her appetite and evening.

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass." She stood up from the table abruptly, ready to get home and away from this place. "You two ready to go?"

"But I…"

"Look buddy, I said no and I meant it. Go find someone else to pick up. I'm NOT interested." Nalani heatedly stated, lifting both twins in her arms and carted them out of the restaurant, leaving Keela behind to pay for the dinner since it was her treat.

"Mommy, you okay?" Megan asked, sensing her mother's distress, frowning slightly with those big blue eyes. "Mommy, love you."

"I love you too sweetheart, both of you." Nalani smiled, kissing each of their cheeks again while she strapped them in their car seats, knowing Keela and Glen would probably stay behind to stop the guy from walking out after her.

After they were securely fastened, Nalani slipped in the driver's side and sped out of there, being careful since her children were in the backseat. She couldn't stop the tears from sliding down her cheeks, knowing her children wouldn't notice because they were too busy bantering about the jungle gym again. Sighing, Nalani wiped her tears away, feeling the aching in her heart increase with each mile that brought her closer to home.

Why couldn't she just forget about Mark and move on with her life, not to mention Scott? Life would be so much simpler if she could just forget about what happened, but Nalani knew it would never cease. If anything, her feelings for Mark had only increased for the past three years, try as she might to shove them in the back of her mind.

It wasn't happening.

"Home sweet home." Nalani mumbled, cutting the ignition and slipped out of the Ford Focus, Matthew and Megan having fallen asleep.

She smiled and lifted them in her arms, used to it by now, but knew she wouldn't be able to do it much longer as she carted both of them inside the house. After tucking them in and kissing each of their foreheads, Nalani went to soak in a nice hot bubble bath, trying to forget about the man at the restaurant and the past. For once, she wanted a good night's sleep and vowed to do so, allowing the hot liquid to soothe her.

After all, tomorrow was another day.