I just want all of you AMAZING readers (who have given me the most AMAZING feedback! THANK YOU!) to know that I do not own anything, that the ages are a little jacked up because of the timeline I have started things at, and that I love you all for clicking the link that lead you to this crazy story. Thank all of you that reviewed and/or favorite-ed and/or followed my story.

Important-ish: Soccer season has started up again, and I have either been busy at practice, with homework, or just too tired to write. So most of my chapters are probably going to be a little late... sorry.

So, yes, I do play a couple instruments, the piano and (kinda) the guitar. I am still learning with the guitar, but don't have much time right now. So, that's that.

Chapter 28: I've Got Her Tonight

Nicolette had never run so fast on an injured leg before. In no time she made it all they way down Main Street and turned on 3rd Avenue with Christian, Sawyer, Taylor, Ryan and Strong close behind her.

They may be older and stronger than her, but she had the advantage of knowing where all of the decent short cuts were. Nicolette pushed herself harder as she neared the Copperfield Bridge, in their one-horse town there were at least five bridges, four of which were known to be the bridges that one could jump off and safely swim to half the farms on the southwest side- where the hay and corn farmers were located.

Nicolette quickly hopped onto the railing of the bridge, and checked over her shoulder. Her father was now screaming for her to get down from the railing and Taylor was just meters away from her. With no other escape route, Nicolette closed her eyes and jumped.

Silently praying that there hadn't been a drought while she was away.

Her body slid into the water, the cool temperature of the water shocking her for a minute, but quickly relaxing her tense muscles. She lightly treaded the water to keep her head above the water, and attempted to regain her breath as she allowed the water to carry her downstream.

Minutes passed by and she began to pass by the farms, Carmichael's, Louis', James-Hopkins', her father's farm, and then finally Hartsville. Nicolette swam over to the edge of the water and walked barefoot through the mud, having deserted her boots and socks in her run from her family. She moved carefully through the corn field, avoiding stepping on sticks and pointy rocks.

Coming up behind the house she heard voices.

"Look man, I'm sorry that she ran from you because you were being a complete asshole, therefore I won't guarantee that I will call if she shows up. I probably will, but it depends on what her appearance is if she shows up. Because she will be more important to me." Max.

"Please just call, she jumped from a damned bridge." Christian- he sounded worried.

"Jumping from Copperfield Bridge is nothing. When we were kids we'd take tubes, jump from the bridge and float through the entire town. In fact the only bridge we aren't allowed to jump from is the Main Bridge down by Main Street. It's too high and the water is too shallow. The others are perfectly fine, even in drought season. Now go check somewhere else, there's no tellin' where she is." Max again, he sounded amused that Christian was worried about Nicolette jumping off bridges.

Nicolette heard doors slam and two SUVs pull out of the drive.

The she counted to 500.

And then counted to 350 just for good measure.

Before knocking cautiously on the door. Max swung the door open while speaking.

"Look, sir, I know you're- Nickks. Everyone's worried about you." Max breathed.

"Max." Nicolette struggled to keep her face straight.

"You were wrong. They didn't want me." She breathed back, Max's face softened and he pulled her into the house, his arms wrapped tightly around his girl's body as she started sobbing.

"He wants you baby, he just said things that he didn't mean. I'm telling you he's going through hell right now not knowing where you are." Max said softly. Nicolette sobbed as Max was left to pick up the pieces of Nicolette's heart break.

Twenty minutes passed as Nicolette attempted to calm down. When she could listen again Max began.

"He was so worried you got hurt after you jumped off the Copperfield Bridge. He looked like he was going through hell." Max whispered, Nicolette looked up at him.

"Really?" Nicolette whispered back.

"Nicolette he loves you, so so much. He was just frustrated that you snuck out and frustrated that you were challenging his parenting rights- believe me I know the feeling, Joseph's getting to be like that- but you are his little girl. He wants to believe that you are eight years old with pigtails while playing with dolls. But instead your a headstrong, do it yourself, playing with mud and four wheelers. He's struggling to understand that you don't need him, he's struggling for control, just as you are struggling to keep the freedom you had here. Johnson trusted you here, if you did something stupid nearly one hundred people will definitely lend a hand to help. He trusted everyone in this town. Christian, he can't trust half the people in Seattle as far as Ana can throw them. People there are much different than they are here. He's struggling to let you have some of your freedoms while keeping you safe. If you snuck out here Johnson won't worry much. He knows that half the town would be there to help you in a heartbeat. You can't say that about the people in Seattle. You know that more than anyone. He's trying to keep you safe and happy at once, and he's too heavy on the safe side. Give him time and patience, my sweet." Max whispered, Nicolette nodded and hiccupped. Max held her in his arms for a while longer before sending his -still- very muddy girlfriend to the shower.

When she came out in a towel thirty minutes later he handed her one of his shirts and a pair of her pants and underwear that was leftover from four months ago. Max watched as Nicolette slept for thirty minutes, when he suddenly stood and took out his phone, leaving the room.

"Hey, Mr. Grey."

"Yes, Nicolette is here."

"No, don't come over. She's asleep."

"Come apologize and so on tomorrow. I've got her tonight."

000...000 The Next Morning 000...000

Nicolette woke to a knocking on the front door. She frowned, trying to see if the knocking was real or not. When the knocking sound started up again she groaned and carefully removed herself from her sleeping boyfriend's arms.

They had slept like they did before that night. With her curled up against his shirtless body and his arms protecting her in his sleep. Nicolette tiptoed out of the room and toward the door.

Thinking it was the boys she didn't dare look in the peephole.

"Hey, guys where'd your key- ohhh..." Nicolette visibly flinched as she spotted her family and security detail hanging outside the door.

"Yeah. Ohh." Grace glared, she usually understood that teenagers did crazy things sometimes, but she knew that her granddaughter knew better than to sneak out and then proceed to run away, and jump off a bridge in one night.

"Morning?" Nicolette asked, shrugging.

"Morning. It's good to see that you are alright, your father told me about the bridge jumping thing." Ana smiled slightly, her eyes roaming her daughter's frame for visible injuries.

"The Copperfield Bridge is nothing. I've been jumping off of it since I was six." Nicolette said, stepping out of the way and letting everyone inside.

"Max is probably still asleep, the boys are at Martha's." Nicolette whispered as she flicked on the coffee pot and took out the newly bought coffee mix.

"Anyone else want some?" Nicolette asked.

Ana, Mia and Grace said no while Carrick, Elliot, Christian and Kate said yes.

Christian watched as Max shuffled into the kitchen wearing dirty blue jeans and boots, his shirt in his hand, and Nicolette greeted him with a coffee and a kiss. The scene seemed like something they did on a regular basis and it gave him a reality check. She wasn't a little girl who needed help with her pigtails, but a grown woman who could figure out good from bad on her own.

She was a child who grew up too fast.

Just like him.

"You working on the farm today?" Nicolette asked Max.

"Yeah. Need to re-fertilize the field soon. Gotta plow it first. Not looking forward to that." Max mumbled, Nicolette grinned.

"Was thinking about seeing the girls today, the mayor asked them to see if they could convince the rest of us to get on stage tomorrow." Nicolette said, it was obvious she was speaking to everyone, seeing if Christian would say something or not.

And of course, he did.

"You sneak out, run away, jump off a bridge, stay the night with your boyfriend, and then expect the rest of us to be ok with you hanging out with your friends as if these things are allowed in our house?" Christian challenged.

Max narrowed his eyes.

"I had her stay here. She wasn't ready to go back to your care last night." Max growled at Christian.

"My care? I'm her father." Christian ground out.

"The father that made her feel unwanted and unloved barely twelve hours ago. Now listen to each other and some progress might be made, I'm heading out to the field. Call if you need anything." Max pressed a kiss to Nicolette's lips and stormed out the back door.

Nicolette gave her family a tight smile before grabbing a rag and started on her work- cleaning the kitchen, for a girl who now lived in the city, she still acted like the farmer's wife.

"Do you have anything you want to say?" Grace asked.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for sneaking out, I'm sorry for running off, I'm sorry for worrying all of you sick. But look at me, look at this town. No one worried. If something happened and someone needed a kidney or a blood transfusion, the entire town would get tested to find a match. No one worried or cared. Half the time if I was going to get in trouble, half of the little old ladies in the café knew I was grounded before I knew. I had so much more freedom here, Seattle... Everything there is still new to me. The way people act, what they say, how they say it, what they are willing to do for money. It's all new. I'm still learning. I'm sorry. I didn't know all of you would worry yourselves sick. Mike used to show up on the front porch the next morning with his shotgun and a sly smile. He didn't care much. You guys do and I'm sorry." Nicolette breathed.

Christian sighed.

"I shouldn't have been so hard on you last night. You are still adjusting to less freedoms than you have here. We'll have to discuss limits and lines and compromise, but Nicolette I never want you to doubt that you belong in this family. We all love you so very much." Christian nodded.

Grace smiled as her son and granddaughter hugged, when Mia brought up a whole other topic.

"Who's shirt is that?"

Nicolette blushed as Christian glared.

"It's Max's shirt isn't it?" Kate giggled.

"Yeah, I had night pants and underclothes in his drawers, but no shirts, so he let me wear this one." Nicolette shrugged.

Christian groaned as Ana, Kate and Mia cooed.

000...000... Later That Day...000...000

Christian watched as his daughter and Max stood out by Max's tractor talking, she had taken out a pitcher of water and some food to him while the Greys, Billy, Joseph and the security team occupied the table in eating lunch.

"She's happy with him." Billy said.

"And he's happy with her." Joseph agreed.

"Yeah, they are." Christian mumbled.

"Nicolette's nicer that mama. Nicolette makes us food and sings to us when we're sad. Mama was a bad cook and awful singer." Billy shrugged, in his eleven year old mind, it didn't seem like what he was saying was a bad thing.

"She is? I haven't really heard her sing." Christian offered.

"I have some of her music on my IPod. She and the band are playing at the music fest too." Joseph said.

"Nicolette says that music is very important, that it will always be there when people are not. That the beat is always a constant in a world of inconsistencies." Billy fumbled over the word inconsistencies, but the rest of his words were spot on.

"She's right." Christian told them.

"Max says that Nicolette's always right." Billy wrinkled his nose. "But how can she always be right, but make mistakes at the same time?"

Ana, Kate, Mia and Grace held back a laugh.

"That's the thing about women, son, they find a way." Elliot joked. Billy tilted his head and made the understanding 'oh' face.

Ana, Kate, Mia and Grace didn't hold back their laughter that time.