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.

And I will warn all of you who are male, this chapter deals with periods as it is usually the first sign of pregnancy... Have fun.

Chapter 31: Into The Trash

Christian paced in the lounge area of the Bed and Breakfast. Grace and Kate were in the bathroom with Nicolette helping her clean off the blood that was on her. Nicolette could barely function, she was so scared. The car trip to the Bed and Breakfast she stayed curled up in Christian's arms sobbing. Ana was sitting beside Christian, her just as much of a mess as Nicolette, between being sick and her daughter nearly being attacked by a shark- she was a crying, puking mess.

Just as Nicolette was finished in the shower, the town's only sheriff let himself into the living room, he nodded to Mr. Goodwin, who nodded and left the room.

"Hi, Nicolette I'm sure you remember me, but for you out-of-towners, I am Sheriff Douglas Michaels." His accent was thick, more southern than most of the people that Christian had met in the town.

"Hello, sir. I respect you and your authority, but I'm wondering why you are here. My daughter didn't feed the girl to the shark." Christian spoke, his I'm-the-CEO-so-don't-mess-with-me voice was coming out of its hiding place.

"I'm sure you are sir, and I'm sure sweet little Nicolette didn't feed Sarah Beth to that shark, but I have to ask questions. The people in the town wanna know what happened out there." Sheriff Michaels answered.

"We would like to know what happened too." Taylor cut in as Nicolette sat in between her mom and dad.

Nicolette could you tell me what happened?" Sheriff Michaels asked, Nicolette nodded.

"The leads, the raft was tied to long- so was the floaty Sarah Beth and Carissa were on." Nicolette looked at her family (and security) and shook her head, "We depend on the leads, they're ropes, tied to the boat on one end and the other end is tied to the floatation device. We depend on those so no one floats out too far. Ours were tied nearly two feet longer than they are supposed to be. So, all three of us- Sarah Beth, Lee Anne and I- floated out too far. Carissa had ditched Sarah Beth for her boyfriend before we made it to the edge." Nicolette shook her head and placed her hand over her mouth.

"Then what happened?" Sheriff Michaels asked.

"Sarah Beth made it to the edge before we did, Lee Anne and I were talking. About everything, Seattle, my new family, Max moving the boys to Seattle, the kidnapping. All of it. She was talking about the Richard boy again and how she thought he was gonna ask her to marry him soon. By the time we made it to the edge, we heard Sarah Beth scream. We looked up and we were at the edge and Sarah Beth was flailing. This dark mass, hooked onto her leg. Lee Anne and I were the closest ones to her. We had to help. Lee Anne grabbed onto one of the oars and started whacking the shark with it, as I tried to get the raft a little closer to Sarah Beth. I guess Lee Anne finally made the shark let go or something, because we are pulling Sarah into the raft. When we see her leg, we freak, I mean. It was one thing to know that a girl you've grown up with your entire life has her leg inside a shark, but it was another to see her leg and know that if you don't do anything, she could bleed out and die right in front of you. Lee Anne, she has always been stronger than me. I mean, I'm a hay and corn girl gone city, and she's a livestock girl. She's always been stronger, so it made sense that I try to tie the tourniquet while she tried to pull us to the boat with the lead. But the shark, it kept coming back. Every time it would come back and bump the raft. Lee Anne, she could barely reach for the lead before the shark bumped the raft again, causing her to drop the lead. We were so scared, scared that the shark would get us, scared that Sarah Beth would die in front of us, scared, scared, scared. And then the shark stopped bumping the raft. And Ryan, one of the security guys, pulled himself onto the raft. He freaking jumped into the probably shark infested area, to save us. The next thing I know, Max is pulling me out of the raft." Nicolette sobbed the last part, her green eyes shadowed with tears.

Sheriff Michaels nodded.

"Ok, little one, I want you to know that what you and Lee Anne did tonight, saved a girl who bullied you for years. You and Lee Anne saved her life, now get some sleep little one." Sheriff Michaels ordered. Nicolette nodded, her body still convulsing in sobs.

As Sheriff Michaels spoke to a newly showered Ryan, Christian and Ana tucked Nicolette into bed.

Ana kissed Nicolette's forehead and walked to the door to wait for her husband, who was kneeling by their daughter's bed stroking her hair as they spoke softly.

"Dad. I don't wanna be here anymore. Can we go home? Soon?" Nicolette whispered, Christian looked at her with worried eyes.

"Why do you want to go home sweetie? I thought you wanted to stay for the entire festival." Christian asked.

"Not anymore. I'm scared and I don't feel safe. I wanna feel safe and I feel safe in Seattle. Can we please go?" Nicolette begged.

"As soon as I know that the police don't want to talk to you OK?" Christian murmured, pressing a kiss to his daughter's crown. Nicolette nodded sleepily and closed her eyes before falling into a deep sleep.

000...000... Three Days Later...000..000 Ana's POV...

I watched as Nicolette exhaled, her ridged body relaxing. She seemed to be thinking about something- probably the same something that made her beg Christian to let us leave Haven early. Nicolette shuddered, then muttered an excuse about needing to bathe, and left us at the elevator. I looked at my husband with worried eyes.

"Christian, maybe she should talk to Flynn again. I feel like we've gone five steps forward but three steps back." I whisper, I see Christian nod.

"Something is wrong with her. Maybe she'll be fine when she starts school again." Christian whispered back, I give him a wary look.

"I'll speak with her, see if she'll talk to me before we go running to the psychologist. I remember feeling like my parents weren't trying to talk to me when they instantly sent me to the psychologist instead of asking." Christian sighed, I give him a smile and nodded.

I felt the queasy-ness feeling come back again. God what is wrong with me? My body can do many things, but worry about my seventeen year old daughter and battle this sickness that is constantly plaguing me? Dear lord.

I shake my head at Christian's I-need-some-and-I-need-it-now-woman face, and feel my phone buzz, I laugh once more at Christian as I looked at my phone, it was a text from Nicolette.

OH MY GOD MOM! PLEASE COME HERE NOW! AND PLEASE DON'T BRING ANY MALES!

I stare at my phone for a second trying to understand the severity of the statement. Then it hit me all at once. Girl emergency. Tampons, she needed tampons. I almost laughed before rushing out of the Great Room and down the hall to my bedroom. When I reached my bedroom I instantly went for the joined bathroom- Christian hot on my heels.

"Babe, what's wrong, are you going to be sick again?" Christian asked quickly.

"Christian, don't worry about me. It's your daughter that's having the issues at the moment." I joked, pressing down my queasy-ness and grabbing the emergency box of tampons from under the sink. I'll talk to Gail about getting some under Nicolette's bathroom sink too.

"Issues? What is she ok? Do I need to call Dr. Greene?" Christian asked. I shoot him a look.

"She'll be fine, but I would control your temper around her for the next week or so. Because I highly doubt you would win any arguments if you tried." I shook my head again and reached Nicolette's bedroom door.

"Stay out here." Oh god this is going to be a fight.

"No, what if she's hurt?" Christian asked.

"Christian would I really be this relaxed about it if she was hurt? Just wait out here, I'll be out soon." I shook my head and entered her room, everything was neat- except for the music sheets, keyboard and guitar sitting out in the middle of the room.

I hurried towards her bathroom, and found her lying in her tub trying to relax.

"Hey, baby girl. You doing OK?" I asked. Nicolette sighed dramatically.

"You mean apart from the mini heart attack I had when I noticed no tampons anywhere in this bathroom?" She joked, I smiled. She was back with us.

"Better than the heart attack your father is having now. He nearly came unglued when I said that it was you who was having problems and not me." Nicolette shook her head at me.

"Does he know?"

"Probably hasn't put two and two together yet." I answer.

"Good, pa didn't even know when I was on my period... I had my own bathroom, took my own trash out, and Mackenzie took pity on me and bought my tampons. You should have seen me the first time I had my period. God, I was too embarrassed to talk to pa and too far from my phone to text for help." Nicolette laughed.

"Tell me about it. Luckily for me I was spending the night with one of my good friends when I first started, her mom broke it all down for me and helped me understand what was going on." I smiled at my daughter and placed the tampons on the vanity. When it hit me.

My last period was nearly two months ago.

...

Kate and Nicolette sat beside me on Nicolette's bed. I had Kate pick up a test on her way over here (as she and Elliot were joining us for dinner, though they took separate cars because they were coming straight from work).

"I'm so worried." I breathed.

"It would explain all of the sickness though." Kate shrugged. Nicolette gaped at her.

"What? I would, morning sickness is sometimes all-day sickness in the first few months." Kate shrugged, I glared at her and checked the time. 7:43, exactly six minutes after I peed on the damn stick.

Nicolette looked at me.

"C'mon mom, you already peed on the stick, what harm could checking the stick be?" I glared at my seventeen year old daughter- who took her turn to shrug- and checked the stick.

Positive.

Damn.

Oh shit.

POSITIVE.

I took a deep breath, and my belly filled with butterflies.

"Way to go Steele!" Kate laughed.

"Grey." I corrected on reflex. My mind was going a million miles per hour.

How would Christian react? Oh damn, how will he react!? I must have been hyperventilating or something because Nicolette is suddenly a breathing coach with her,

"Breathe in... And out... Breathe in... And Out.."

"C'mon Steele, you're pregnant. Tell me you didn't honestly think that you were not going to be pregnant so soon with the husband you have." Kate retorted.

"Mom, kids are a good thing. I was a kid once, and now you have me. A good thing." Nicolette grinned. I laughed, realizing that she was right... not in so many words, except the first six words, but right.

Kids are a good thing.

So I laughed.

And tossed the pregnancy test in Nicolette's trash.