Wednesday 28 November 2012

13. Standing Strong

*Here you gooo guys! Hope this is alright! :)) Thanku so much for the comments you left on the last chapter! ^_^*

"You can't do that." Drake's face was dead serious as he stared at the stocky guy before him.

"Nigga, I'll do as I muthafuckin' please! Last time I checked I was the brother here. Shit ain't got nothin' to do with you!" The urge to just blurt out everything was incredibly strong but he knew that would just cause more problems.

"What about Auburn? You can't take her on a plane, she shouldn't even be leavin' the house just yet."

"Fuck, I ain't even think about that." Jelani ran his hand over his stubbly chin as he looked down.

"Don't you think Nic should have a say in this anyway?" Their eyes connected but soon turned to the stairs hearing Nicki speak.

"I should have a say in what?" There was an uncomfortable silence as she moved over to them, looking between their faces. "Can someone please say somethin'?" She was chuckling a little at first but when none of them laughed she turned serious. "Drake?"

"Ask your brother." Standing up swiftly he gave Nicki a remorseful look and stood by her side.

"Lani what's he talkin' about?"

"Look, I was just suggestin-"

"Suggestin'? You told me you had the fuckin' tickets and everythin'!" They continued to argue back and forth until Nicki's voice interrupted them.

"Can one of you please tell me what the hell you're talkin' about?!" Not hesitating to step in Drake spoke up.

"Your brother has plane tickets to Arizona, he wants you to move back with him." Her facial expression only showed mortification as she slowly turned to face Jelani.

"Seriously?"

"Well, yeah I mean since we figured things out I thought it would be best if you were with family, y'know?"

"Lani I'on wanna move to Arizona! We're fine here."

"I don't mind her stayin' with me, this is her home now." There he was again, sticking his nose into other people's business and quite frankly Jelani was sick of it.

"Who the fuck asked you?" He got to his feet quickly and moved closer to Drake with Nicki trying to stand in front of him.

"Jelani stop it!"

"No, I'm done with this guy throwin' his opinion in where it ain't needed or wanted!"

"It is wanted and needed-" She stopped quickly and turned quiet as her brother stared down at her.

"What?"

"I just meant that I-"

"Wait." He took a step back and stared between a silent but deadly looking Drake and his nervous little sister. "There's somethin' goin' on here..." He kept flicking his eyes from her face to his as he pointed at them. "The fuck is this?!"

"I was gonna tell you-"

"Tell me what?! That this nigga's takin' advantage of a sixteen year old girl?!" His nostrils flared with rage and Nicki knew that he'd worked it out already, it was only a matter of time.

Back upstairs Sandi could hear all the commotion and desperately wanted to go down and see what was happening but she didn't want to leave Auburn alone. There was no doubt that she could hear all the noise too and that was affirmed when she started fussing in her arms. Being premature she wasn't feeding properly but Nicki was told to keep at it even if it meant only feeding for five minutes and then have her stop only to want feeding again less than half an hour later. Luckily since she was expressing too there was bottled milk in the fridge and freezer but that still meant having to go downstairs. She just rocked her for a while in hopes that it would calm her but she was still unsettled. Just as she was about lay her back in the moses basket she heard even louder yelling but this time it was coming from Nicki before a series of banging happened which was soon followed by the slamming of the front door. Then it was just silent.



"Here just let me hold it to your face?" Drake let his reddened hands drop to the table as Nicki held the cool cloth to his swollen eyebrow. "I told you to just leave it, I know what he's like."

"Nicki he fuckin' hit you! You expect me to just stand there?!"

"Can you tone it down please? I'm fine, he didn't even get me that hard."

"That's not the point though! And you do know that he has rightful guardianship of you, so he could just drag you out there if he wants?!"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." He looked up at her face and cooled himself a little, her left cheek was a tinge of purply pink already. It wasn't a punch but it was a fairly strong backhand. That guy had issues.

"Let me look at your face." He pulled her hand away and sat her down, she just let him be the doctor as the reality of what just happened sank in. She always knew he'd end up like their Father. She didn't know why though, it was just a feeling she had and unfortunately she was right. "It's just gonna be pretty big bruise. You sure you're okay?" He stared down at her as she nodded. Interrupting their talk Sandi entered quietly with Auburn still in her arms, understandably she gasped as soon as she saw their faces.

"What happened?" She handed the baby to Nicki and she silenced immediately after being placed in her mother's arms. "I knew I shouldn't have let him in!" Sandi could feel herself verging on the tears but Drake quickly stopped her.

"Hey, this ain't your fault ma. Don't blame yourself." He rubbed her arm and turned to look at Nicki but she was too busy watching Auburn as she rocked her.

"You two are okay though?"

"Yeah we're fine, I think we're just gonna call it a night though." He kissed her forehead before they headed upstairs. "See you in the mornin'." She wasn't far behind them as she too went up to her room, they'd all had enough drama for the night.

It was quiet in their room, Nicki had finally got Auburn off to sleep and was just happy to be climbing back into bed. Unbeknownst to her Drake was watching her the whole time, there was something about the way she was with Auburn. Like it all came naturally to her which was odd considering she was merely a sixteen year old girl. Nevertheless she was already showing signs of being a great Mother.

"What are you lookin' at?" The hint of shyness in her voice caught his attention as he stared at her in the dark.

"Just you two, why? Am I not allowed?" She could only just see the outline of his smirk and was taken aback when his hand brushed over the soon-to-be bruise on her cheek. "How's your eyebrow?"

"Fine, how's your cheek?"

"Fine." She mimicked his answer and pulled her hand up to stop his from rubbing on her face. "What's gonna happen if he really does make me go to Arizona?"

"Don't even think about it, I'm not gon' let him take you. He'd have to kill me first."

"But you even said that he has rightful guardianship, so he could." He knew she'd been putting up a front earlier and now she was worrying.

"Don't panic, you're s'posed to be takin' it easy and all you've had is drama after drama. You're not goin' anywhere. Either of you." He kissed her gently to try and diminish her thoughts but it didn't do anything.

"Auburn won't have a Dad."

"Nicki. Stop it." Truthfully the more she talked about it the more he was beginning to freak out. She and Auburn could literally be taken away from him with the click of Jelani's fingers. She lay silently before attempting to talk again.

"I love you." She was still looking at the ceiling as she spoke. Hearing his head move on the pillow she waited for him to speak but he didn't. Her heart felt like it was beating twice as hard, why wasn't he saying it back? Before her mind had chance to answer its own question she felt him nuzzle into her neck as his arm draped over her middle.

"I love you too." He even heard the sigh of relief she breathed and kissed her again to try and wash away any other doubts that were plaguing her mind.

The next morning she was hardly planning on being woken up at 5am but she was. Auburn was crying and Drake was still practically unconscious next to her. She didn't mind though. Slowly rubbing her eyes she yawned and let her legs fall off the side of the bed after she'd pulled the covers back. Quietly moving over to the moses basket she looked down to see her squirming around as she cried out.

"Hey baby." She couldn't help but smile as she reached in and picked her up, she still weighed next to nothing but the doctor said she'd get better with time. She stood and rocked her for a while since the loud volume of her cries wasn't interfering with Drake's sleep. After she'd calmed her a little she headed downstairs and fixed herself some breakfast before wiping her chest area down and getting comfy on the couch ready to feed her. As she sat there simultaneously feeding Auburn and watching TV she noticed that this was the longest she'd ever fed for. "Wow, you were hungry."

"She's not the only one." Hearing his voice she jumped a little in her seat before smiling.

"Well go eat then."

"I'm gonna." He leant down and kissed her over the back of the couch before running the palm of his hand over Auburn's little head. His eyebrow looked and felt pretty tender, as did her slightly purple cheek as he studied it before moving through to the kitchen. It was really bothering him that being hit like that seemed like nothing to her. In fact he'd made a bigger deal than she had. It was sad to think that she was used to being treated so badly, but he was going to change all that.

"Wait, eat it through here." Even though he'd gone at that point he still heard her and took his mediocre breakfast through to the lounge room. Taking a seat next to her he tore the yoghurt lid off and licked it before sitting it next to him. "You can't just have that for breakfast, it's tiny."

"It's all good, it's healthy stuff." He spoke in between eating as she stared at him blankly.

"I'll make you somethin' when she's done bein' greedy."

"It's fine Nic, this is good and..." He paused whilst thinking of the word. "Filling."

"You suck at lyin' Drake, that ain't even real food."

"Neither is that." He used his head to nod at her exposed breast as Auburn was still feeding.

"Y'know what? Make you're own damn food." She shook her head embarrassedly and tried to hide the smile as she pulled her robe more over herself.

"I think I will, you always burn the toast anyway." He laughed and jumped up before she got chance to hit him playfully as she pouted. She could still hear him laughing to himself in the kitchen when her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

...
Auburn, I know it isn't a great pic but it's the best I could find!
*Hope this was alright :o I'm trying to do all three dricki fics tonight :) I'm prolly gonna be posting tomorrow too! Anyway I'mma go get the other chapters done! Thanku all so much for reading and special thx to the ppl who take the time to leave comments on my fics!! ^_^*

Saturday 24 November 2012

12. A Spanner In The Works - Part Two

*I'm officially free! Finished my first year at university! *sighs* Anywhooo on with the story :)) Thanku for all the comments on the previous chapter, also for Onikafaree readers I'm aiming to get a chapter done for 'Catch Me' too ^_^*

Sitting at the table with this stranger Sandi cleared her throat uncomfortably. He was a fairly big guy to say the least.

"Sorry, what did you say your name was again?"

"Jelani." He smiled tiredly. As soon as he found out where Nicki was staying he got a flight back home to sort out some stuff and came straight back. He was taking his sister home with him.

"And you're Nicki's brother?"

"Yes ma'am." Sandi folded her lips and glanced at the kitchen clock.

"They should be back any minute now." The way her sentence ended on a high note he could tell she wanted to say more.

"They?"

"Yes. Aubrey, my son and your sister..." She let her voice trail off slowly as she thought things over in her head. Nicki had never once mentioned a brother to her and along with that he obviously hadn't shown any interest in keeping contact with her even given her state. The dreaded thought washed over her as she realised he probably didn't know about Auburn, or Aubrey for that matter. She was right. Although Ashley had told him the reasons Nicki was admitted she never spoke of her pregnancy. She knew that leaving him in for such a shock would cause more drama, which is exactly what she wanted.

"They what?"

"Look I-" Hearing a car pull up they both switched their gaze to the bay window in the lounge.

"This them?" With no time to answer Sandi stood quickly to follow him as he went towards living room. He knew it was her as soon as they stepped through the door. Drake entered first with Nicki close behind him and Auburn held to her chest.

"Hey Mom-" He stopped instantly seeing this stranger stood before him. "Who's this?" The level of curiosity in his voice made Nicki look up to see a fuming Jelani. He looked beyond mad. Stuttering on a greeting she looked at Drake sheepishly before her brother's calm yet chilling voice broke the silence.

"Nicki, please tell me that ain't your kid?" It sounded more like he was stating rather than asking. Almost as if him saying that made it somehow true. Feeling Drake's eyes on her she looked back at him before looking at Sandi.

"Could you please take her?"

"Of course, I'll just be upstairs." She smiled comfortingly and took the tiny baby into her arms before ascending the stairs. After watching them disappear Nicki's face turned into complete and utter rage.

"Where the fuck did you disappear to?! You have any idea what you left me to deal with?!" She slapped her arms back down by her side and laughed humourlessly. "Oh wait! Of course you wouldn't 'cause you fucking left me in that dump with him!" Noticing the tears in her eyes, Jelani saw the hurt but Drake could only see anger. He'd never seen her like this before.

"Nicki, please would you calm down?" Drake's soft palm was warm on her forearm as she lifted her hands to her head.

"Well say somethin' then! I know you didn't come here to just fucking stand and say fuck all Jelani! Go on! Say what you gotta say!" She jerked her head back slightly when he turned away from her and sat down on the couch.

"Nic, we need to talk. Like adults. Could you come sit down?" She scoffed and rolled her eyes but catching Drake's expression she dropped her head. Maybe he was right? The air between them did need to be cleared but it wouldn't even need clearing if it wasn't for him bailing on her the way he did a few months ago. Honestly after the last few weeks with Auburn and all the issues surrounding her and her health she was exhausted. Mentally, emotionally and physically. Certainly too tired to start fighting with her brother. Slowly making her way over to the couch opposite him she looked up only to see Drake smiling at her before winking.

"I'll give y'all some space. Be upstairs if you need me."

"Don't go too far, I wanna talk to you." Nicki watched the back of Jelani's head as he rotated to make eye contact with Drake. Within a matter of seconds he was gone, leaving them in silence.

"So? What d'you want Jelani?" She kept her tone dry after seeing the vein in his neck throbbing, she automatically knew he was fighting the anger and if he was anything like their Father then that was a bad thing.

"I been gettin' phonecalls. People worryin' 'bout you and him and I get over there to find you not even livin' with him no more. Why'd you leave?"

"First of all could you drop the attitude? You ain't interrogatin' me." She curled her lip and sat back against the couch. "I was done with havin' to take care of him and shit. So I left."

"And you came here? How'd you know this nigga?"

"He's a friend, said he had a room goin' spare so I asked if I could have it."

"Why were you in the hospital then?"

"It was noth-" She paused dramatically and looked at him. "Who told you I was in the hospital?"

"Just a person I know. She ain't say nothin' 'bouta kid though, so I know it ain't yours. Right?"

"What would you know? You been gone for almost eight months. And she's not an 'It'."

"Why can't I have you just answer my question Nic?! Is. That. Your. Kid?" He slapped the back of his right hand into the palm of his left with each word spoken.

"Yeah." She kept a straight face as he stood up quickly rubbing his hands all over his scalp.

"No, no, no." He was shaking his head in denial before continuing on with his pointless rambling. "No, you just turned sixteen. That can't be right. You lyin'." He kept on shaking his head as he paced.

"I'm not lyin'. I had her two weeks ago. In fact, where you're stood now is where I gave birth to her." She knew what she was doing was cruel. She wanted to escape that house as bad as he did but she would never dream of leaving him if the roles were reversed. In a sickening way she felt like he deserved to feel guilty. The cards had definitely turned with this argument. Or so she thought. She studied his troubled face as he stared down at the floor as if he could see her giving birth right there.

"So, who is he then? Who's her Father?"

"You don't know him."

"Answer the goddamn question Onika!" He leant over to her and slammed his fists on to the coffee table. Her breath was caught in her throat as she inched away from his angry face. Noticing her drawback from him he stood up straight only just realising who he reminded himself of. He sighed before sitting next to her on the couch, taking her small hand in his. "I'm sorry, I just wanna look out for you."

"Well, what would you like? A medal? 'Cause you did a great fucking job Jelani." She wiped away the single tear on her drawn face as she snatched her hand out of his grasp and stood up. "Please? Just go. You sure as hell didn't care back then so what's changed now?" He felt terrible. The known fact that their Father was violent, verbally and physically and he still left her alone with him. What neither of them knew was Drake had overheard the last minute or so of their talking.

"Nicki, can I talk to you for a sec?" She looked back at Jelani before following Drake into the kitchen he didn't hesitate to pull her to him as he hugged her. "You should talk to him Nic."

"Drake he left me alone with that asshole who calls himself a Father and you want me to talk to him?" She was about to walk away but he kept her in his embrace.

"Think about it, who is this helpin'?" The answer was nobody and they both said the same thing in their minds before he asked the next question. "Do you not think Auburn deserves to have her uncle be a part of her life?" Again they both replied with the same answer in their heads. Yes.

"I can't just forgive him though. If he'd stayed then I wouldnt-"

"You wouldn't have Auburn. I know that's a sick way of lookin' at it. Nobody wants to have to go through somethin' like that. But it's true."

"I wouldn't have met you either." She looked up at him, he couldn't help but notice how drained she looked and she was supposed to be taking things easy.

"Exactly. Every cloud has its silver linin'. Now get in there and fix things, you never know what could happen tomorrow." He was clueless as to how accurate his last statement was. She sighed deeply knowing he was right. Her expression was obvious to him whilst he smiled and turned her around before tapping her butt. "Go."

She did as he said and walked back through, her calmness immediately improved the heated atmosphere as she began talking. They both apologised and kept things at a talking level as they discussed everything they needed to and before they knew it he was sat with his baby niece resting in his arms.

"This is gonna take a hell of a long time for me to get used to. I hope you know that Nic?" His voice was quiet and deadly serious as Nicki and Drake shared a worried look. He had no clue about them being together yet and honestly it was only a matter of time before he found out. Interrupting their silence Auburn let out a few grunts which soon enough turned into cries as Nicki scooped her gently out of Jelani's arms.

"I'mma go feed her upstairs. I'll be back down as soon as she's done." She held her protectively against her chest and headed upstairs, leaving Drake and Jelani in silence.

"Thanks, y'know for lettin' her stay with you. Your Mom told me you was a doctor, good to know she had safe place to stay for the time being."

"You don't have to thank me." He smiled before recognising what he just said. "The time being?"

"Yeah, I mean obviously since we patched things up I'm gonna take her back out to Arizona. At least she'll be with some family then."

"But she's fine here, she's no trouble. Plus she's still in school." Drake could feel himself becoming panicky at the thought of losing her.

"No, it's all sorted. I got our plane tickets sorted. We'll leave tomorrow night."

"You can't do that, you can't just pull her away from her life here. That ain't fair." Picking up on his tone Jelani sat forward some more.

"Oh yeah? Try me." He reached into his pockets and pulled out a folded up document. "I'm her legal guardian now. What I say goes. We'll be outta here by tomorrow night."

...

*Okay I'm not keen on this chapter...The next one will be better, well I'll try and make it better lol AND I know NOTHING about legal guardianship and all that so ignore any errors. This is a fiction so I can just make up what I want ^_^ Thanks again for all previous comments. I'm gonna post on Set Me Free and Picking Up The Pieces tomorrow :))*

Monday 19 November 2012

11. A Spanner In The Works - Part One

*Thanku for being patient with me guys :)) I tried to post in between revision but it was too difficult lmao! Please excuse any errors or nonsense sentences! I'm a little fried from my exams and stuff lol only one more and then I'm DONE! My first year at uni will be over! I can't believe it, anyway! Thanks to the ppl who commented on my new fic! I will continue it :)) Anyway hope this is ok ^_^*

Jogging up the three steps to the front door Jelani didn't hold back from knocking. There was no answer. Honestly he didn't really expect one, it was late and his Dad was probably nodding out in the lounge room whilst Nicki had to take care of everything else. He hated that he'd abandoned her but he couldn't cope with all the pent up anger he was constantly experiencing and it would only have been a matter of time before he exploded and that would have caused more damage, so leaving was the last resort and he took it. The night air lingered around him as he knocked again more furiously.

"Aye, come on! Open up." He took a step back and stared up at the top window, expecting Nicki's light to come on. Nothing. Before he got chance to start knocking again the next door neighbour opened up her door briskly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"The fuck is all the goddamn shoutin' 'bout? It's almost midnight!" She stopped for a second and stepped forward some more. "Jelani? Oh my God. Is that really you?" Her angry stance soon turned into a small, sheepish grin.

"Aight Mrs P? It's really me." He gave her a little head nod before placing a hand on the tall metal fence separating their contact. "How they doin'? You seen much of 'em?" The way he tilted his head towards his old house she figured he meant Nicki and Robert.

"Oh, well you're Father' ain't too good. He don't go out much to be real honest and little Nicki? Well I ain't seen her since she went to the hospital that time. How's she holdin' up?"

"What?" The worry was as evident in his voice as his facial expression.

"Y'know?" She wrinkled her already wrinkly brow and tightened her robe around her elderly frame. "She told me she'd called you after she got home. She spent the whole day there and after she got home I saw her on the way in, told me she'd called you."

"Mrs P I haven't spoke to Nic in almost a year, what happened to her? Was it him?" His nostrils flared with rage before she extinguished the growing anger within him.

"No. No, I don't think so. I found her on the ground where you're stood right now, at a guess I woulda said she'd fainted but I called 911 just to be sure. They took away there and then, she seemed fine when she got back though-"

"When'd all this happen?"

"Oh, about three maybe four months ago." She nodded to herself to reaffirm her answer.

"Four months?! And you're tellin' me you ain't seen her since then?!"

"No. Nothin'."

As she filled him in on everything he'd missed he began running through all the places she could be or could have gone. Mentally noting to himself to check the hospitals first, that way he could try and find out when and why she was admitted. He knew all that stuff was confidential but he could only try.

***

Less than fifteen minutes away Nicki lay comfortably on Drake's couch, Sandi had headed to bed almost an hour ago and since then they'd just been lazing in a relaxed manner in his lounge-room. Hovering over her, Drake placed the final kiss on her lips. He'd spent the majority of the evening loving her and kissing on her as she blissfully accepted.

"You wanna head up for the night?" His eyes locked on to hers, she looked tired and worn out from the last two weeks or so.

"Mmm. I wanna stay here with you." He could tell how much effort was needed for her to just sit up and catch his lips with hers, lingering for a moment before the strain pulled her back down.

"I'm goin' with you." He smiled at her her before using the surface of the couch to push himself up and get off the furniture. "Come on." Extending his large hand he helped her up as she stretched and went straight to the stairs. "I'mma go clean up in there, I'll be up soon."

"Mkay, don't be long." She held on to the banister and swayed as she yawned before continuing upstairs to go shower and get ready for bed.

He was true to his word and entered her room just as she was about to climb in the shower. He remembered last time he'd accidentally walked in, she had a weird episode which still hadn't been explained. Suddenly feeling his presence she looked across the bathroom and through the doorway at him.

"It's aight Nic. Take your time, I'll just shower when you're done." Plopping on the edge of the bed he started peeling his shirt off. He flinched immediately after he removed the clothing as he was greeted with a stark naked Nicki stood before him. Trying to avert his eyes politely she moved forward and gently grabbed his face, turning it back towards herself.

"Or...You could just, shower with me?" Her voice was shy and timid as she waited for his response. He didn't need to verbalise his answer as he stood and pulled her close to him. Feeling her body for the first time. Obviously he'd felt her body before but not like this, not really felt her. Aware that she'd only given birth two weeks ago he didn't let his hands wander in that direction. Instead he focused his attention on her front, running his hands up and down on her skin from her neck to her collar-bone and gradually got further down as he kissed her slowly and meaningfully whilst she let her own hands explore his sculpted frame. He eased up on the firm feeling when he reached her chest, noting that she was probably sore. Guiding his fingers down from her boobs he let them trail over her stretch-mark free abdomen and down her sides before going to the small of her back and sliding down to rest on her ass. Pulling away from the kiss he paid attention to every inch of her body as she stood still, watching him as he watched his hands. His face was in complete awe of her anatomy, he was enchanted but was soon brought back to reality when he heard her stifled breath hit the air. Her eyes were now slanted, half shut and her soft lips parted as she enjoyed the feeling he was giving her at that moment.

"The water'll be gettin' cold." He was less than a millimetre away from her ear as he whispered lightly sending a chill down her spine. Gently pulling away he took her hand and guided her into the light of the bathroom before undressing himself fully and climbing in with her. They washed one another before exiting and threw on some light clothing and settling in bed together. The silence was comforting as they lay close to one another. He could feel her watching him and turned to look at her.

"Drake?"

"Mm."

"Can I ask you somethin'?" There was a hint of hesitation in her voice as she played with a loose thread on the duvet.

"Sure, what is it?" Giving her his undivided attention her rolled on to his side to look her in the eye. She carried on being silent for a few seconds as she tried to piece together what she wanted to say.

"Y'know us?"

"Well, I hope so!" He smiled with a slight chuckle as she let her dimples appear briefly before regaining her serious expression.

"No but really now, I wanted to ask you somethin' important." She licked her lips and continued. "I would really like for Auburn to grow up with two parents, y'know? Not just me and I know you'll always be there but I'm askin' you if you'll be there as her Father?" She got more and more quiet as her sentence progressed. He could sense she was worried about his response but honestly he had never felt happier. He wanted nothing more than to be an actual family and was more than pleased to take on that role.

"I would love that." A simple and honest statement which he gladly sealed with a kiss. He felt her sigh into the loving gesture. After pulling away there was silence for the longest time before she broke it again.

"There's somethin' else too." There was more nerves layering her words this time causing him to become instantly concerned. Without a word he looked at her as best he could in the dim light. "It's 'bout Auburn's real Dad." His brow furrowed seeing her lip quiver. She was fighting her own emotions as she spoke.

"S'ok Nic, if you're not ready to explain-"

"No, no I want to. I need to." Not making another sound he held her hand supportively, readying himself for what she was about to say. Nothing could have prepared him for it though. The sudden urge of hatred he felt run through his entire being was the most intense feeling he'd ever experienced. If he was to ever run into this Tyrone he'd surely kill him. Without a doubt. He realised now how difficult it must have been for her to reveal herself like she had earlier. He held her for the duration of the night, right up until the morning sun peeked through her curtains and slowly awoke them.

***

Slamming her locker door Ashley huffed in frustration at the news she'd just been informed of. Drake had taken a sabbatical, in effect as of today. She was more than irritated. It meant having to deal with a stand in replacement for more than two months and the reason for his leave was known to her. It was that little bitch and her baby. A friend of hers let her know about the birth since she worked in that hospital. In fact on the very ward that Auburn was on. Everyone was avoiding her as they could see her obviously sat stewing about something. Seeing a particularly riled looking man enter through the automatic doors she watched him attentively as he moved closer to her.

"Can I help you sir?"

"Yeah, I'm lookin' for my baby sister. She was in here a while back, so I was told."

"I'm sorry I can't-"

"Please? Her name's Onika. Onika Maraj. I just wanna know she's ok!" He slammed his fist forcefully on to the counter surface as she flinched a little. That is until she recognised the name. Smiling slightly deviously to herself she looked around to make sure nobody was watching before pulling out a drawer on the filing cabinet. It took a mere few seconds to flick through the files, landing on Nicki's she pulled it out and skimmed through it. Telling him everything. Including her new place of residence on condition that he never revealed who told him, to which he willingly agreed. That was sure to cause a bit of trouble or at least she hoped it would. It would never last anyway, she was just speeding up the inevitable.

*** Two Days Later ***

Holding her finger out she smiled wide as Auburn gripped on with her own little hand. She was safely nestled in Drake's arms as he looked down at her lovingly. There was something about seeing her in his arms that made Nicki feel warm inside. She blinked slowly, taking in the sight before her. He couldn't explain the feeling in any form of words but whenever he had hold of her he felt a strong sense of protectiveness come over him. Not just over Auburn, but Nicki too. Bringing his head up he locked eyes with her, she looked smitten which in turn made him feel even more a part of their lives. Another piece of miraculous news had been given the previous morning. Auburn had shown signs of attempting to breathe unaided, which with their permission of course, was acted upon. They removed the tube and admittedly that had been a huge risk but ultimately worth it when she continued to fill her own lungs without assistance. With hospital staff monitoring her for one more day she was allowed to go home with them once a doctor did the last final check. They were waiting on him both anxiously and patiently.

"You excited?" She could tell he was, it was written all over his face and readable in his eyes as they scanned her features.

"I can't wait to get her outta here. I'm scared though."

"I know, so am I. But she'll be fine, she's got both of us and my Mom." He grabbed her hand with his own and squeezed reassuringly. They were finally taking their baby home.

...

*Sorry it's a wee bit short :/ I'm taking tomorrow off from revision too so I'll try and get a part 2 done ^_^ But now I gotta go do some Onikafaree :))))) Hope this was ok! OH and I'm gonna do Set Me Free at some point too lol and my new Dricki fic ^_^*



Tuesday 13 November 2012

10. Early Days (Full Chapter)

*Exam completed! Now I'm back sooo here's the full chapter, THANKU so much for the comments guys ^__^*


It was almost 6am and Drake was still sat watching Nicki sleep. The ambulance had taken them to a different hospital to facilitate the baby's needs, the NICU at this hospital was a lot more efficient than the one where Drake worked. He was glad Nicki was sleeping through the ordeal of trying to get the baby breathing again, the whole time he felt as though his heart was in his throat but they managed to bring her back. Hearing someone else enter the room he turned around to see his Mother walking towards him with two coffees.

"Thought you might need this?" She handed it to him as he never once took his eyes off of a completely worn out Nicki as she slept heavily.

"Thanks."

"How are they both?" She took a seat next to him.

"The first few days are gon' be touch 'n go with the baby but she's ok for now, Nicki's fine. Just exhausted."

"You did really good Aubrey." She shifted slightly and he could tell there was something else she wanted to say so he waited for her to spit it out. "I just want you to know I'm sorry for having doubted your relationship. I've never seen you like this with any of your other girlfriends, it's really nice to see you happy." She gently rubbed his forearm as he turned to face her.

"Thanks Mom, that means a lot. I am happy. Be even happier once I can have them both home with me."

"How long do they have to stay here?"

"Well, Nicki can be discharged in a couple days but the baby's gonna be here for a while." Looking down he swirled the coffee in his cup as he thought.

"Roughly how long is a while?"

"Usually it's until their due date which would mean around six to eight weeks." He heard her exhale sadly.

"Well, for what it's worth I'm gonna help out as much as I can, y'know? With Nicki and the baby. I know it isn't easy and I not havin' her own Mother around won't help much." He looked back at her gratefully and was about to speak when they heard bed sheets ruffling. Nicki was awake.

"I'll give you two some space." She smiled at them both before leaving, shutting the door behind her. They'd managed to get her in a private room to let her have some privacy. She looked drained, understandably as she tried to sit herself up.

"Here." Jumping up he let her use his arm as a lever to sit up as he re-adjusted her pillows. "How you feelin'?" He pulled the chair closer to her bed and sat down again.

"Tired." Suddenly remembering what had happened she looked around the room frantically before his soothing voice stopped her.

"She's in the NICU, and she's fine." He saw her body relax back into the pillows slowly. "You wanna go see her?"

"Can I?"

"Of course you can, you're her Mom." She half smiled, revealing one of her dimples before he helped her out of the bed extremely slowly, still aware that she was probably tender.

She held on tightly to his hand as he led her down the hall, not caring if people saw. She had an excuse, it hurt like a bitch to walk unaided. They made their way there slowly for Nicki's sake before he keyed the code into the wall pad and they both sanitised their hands before entering. It was eerily quiet to Nicki as she remained holding on to Drake's hand, walking closely behind him.

"Here she is, baby Maraj." Tugging her hand he encouraged her to come to his side so she could see better but she was glued to the spot. "Nicki what's wrong?"

"She's so small, are you sure she's okay?" He could see the tears welling up in her eyes before he pulled her gently to him.

"I promise, she's fine. Havin' you here with her will help her to stay healthy. Come on." He pulled away and wiped her tears whilst leading her over to where her baby was.

"What's wrong with her eyes?" She was still holding on to him and slightly behind him at the same time, her voice was quiet and shaky as she looked over her tiny body. She had tubes and wires all over and two cotton patches covering her eyes, secured by the little hat she had on.

"Nothin's wrong with her eyes, they're just a lil' sensitive to the light 'cause she was so early." He was glad that nobody else was in the room with them so he could talk to her comfortably and tell her everything she wanted to know. Although he'd wiped away her tears they were still rolling down her face, she didn't look like she was crying though. They were just kind of trickling out continuously as she kept her eyes fixed on the baby.

"Can we go now?" His heart felt like it had dropped into his stomach as he watched her quickly smudge her tears away and turn to walk out again.

"Woah, wait. Don't you wanna hold her?"

"No. I might hurt her."

"Nicki, you won't hurt her. Here, you can sit down and I'll pass her to you, is that better?" He rushed to grab a chair as she just watched him. "There, you sit on this and I'll get her out." She apprehensively did as she was told whilst he re-arranged the wires and tubes so they wouldn't get in the way. She looked even smaller in his arms. "Open your gown a lil' bit, you have to have a lot of skin-to-skin contact with her 'cause she's so young." She could feel her tears as each and every one of them dropped off of her face and onto the bit of skin showing on her chest. Weirdly, as soon as he placed the baby in her arms she relaxed almost immediately. Moving around the chair Drake stood to the side and just behind as he watched over them both, kissing Nicki on her head as she and her baby bonded.

"What are all of these for?" He looked away from the baby as she let her eyes wander over all the tubes and wires.

"Well, this one here is feedin' her and that one is helpin' her breathe." He smiled comfortingly but her face remained troubled.

"You mean, she can't do any of it by herself?"

"No it's not that she can't but she just needs a lil' help Nic." He brushed the hair away from her face gently. "She's a premature baby, just give her time. You'll see, she'll be fine." Kissing the side of her head he stood back up straight hearing the door click open. It was a woman in a nurses uniform, she was scrubbing her hands together after sanitising.

"Oh, I was just comin' to see how she was doin'. I didn't know you were in here." She smiled over them before explaining everything about the baby's health and what was going to be happening over the next few weeks. They really couldn't determine when they'd be able to take her home, it depended on how she responded to treatment and whether any complications cropped up. Since she was only a few hours old they were monitoring her closely, the first few days were going to be crucial. Nicki couldn't help but feel so grateful as she looked over at Drake, he was listening intently to everything the nurse was saying. Like he was absorbing all the information, like this baby was actually his daughter. Of course she wasn't though.

It had been two weeks and Nicki was visiting the hospital everyday without fail, Drake felt awful that he couldn't make it sometimes but he'd applied for his annual sabbatical so that when Auburn was finally able to come home he'd be able to spend that time with Nicki and her. He smiled thinking about the name choice. She'd completely surprised him with it and he was truly honoured that she'd chosen a name so similar to his. He squeezed her hand as they entered the hospital, today was the day they were going to be told whether Auburn could have her feeding tube removed. Understandably Nicki was anxious but there really was no reason for it. Auburn had been progressing miraculously over the last fortnight.

"It'll be fine." Although he'd had to let go of her hand he was still there for her as they waited for the elevator.

"I know it's just after this we're one step closer to gettin' her outta this place. Then it's just us. No nurses or other people helping."

"Well we've got my Mom for a while, she said she's gon' help out a lot, so stop stressin'." She smiled before they both stepped into the elevator and continued up to the NICU. Rachel, Auburn's primary care-giving nurse was already with her.

"I was wonderin' where y'all were! Take a look at this." She followed them with her eyes as they got closer, both were watching Auburn. "It's out, that was her last feed usin' the tube."

"Seriously?"

"Mhm." She nodded happily.

"So, no more feedin' tube?" He felt like he had to ask just to be doubly sure.

"No sir." Both Rachel and Drake looked at her little body, which was now secured against Nicki's chest as she held her. "That means you can stop usin' that awful breast-pump now and feed her yourself if you want. You can carry on expressin' though and bottle feed too if you don't wanna feed her directly yourself."

"Ugh good, I hate that thing." There was a mixture of relief and happiness in her voice as she looked at Auburn's tiny face. She'd had those patches taken off of her eyes too. The only thing left was the oxygen tubes.

"She's doin' really well, as soon as the oxygen tubes are out then I don't see any reason why she can't go home. Of course I'll have to talk that through with a doctor first and everythin'."

"Thank you so much."

"Not a problem, I'll come back a bit later to check her over." She gave them both a smile and stroked Auburns little head and left.

"Can you believe this?" Just by the way he said it she knew he was smiling. Instead of answering she turned around and kissed him. Nobody was looking, they were safe. They stayed for a few hours with Rachel returning momentarily to help Nicki feed her for the first time. It took a while partly because of the whole experience being new to both of them and the fact that Auburn had never actually had any of her feeds pass through her mouth but through the tube instead. Eventually they got the hang of it but at first Nicki was overwhelmed by it all, the only thing making her feel ok was knowing that Drake was by her side the whole time.

Leaving was always the worst and the first few times she cried but it was slowly becoming more routine and as Auburn grew stronger they didn't find themselves sat waiting for the dreaded phone-call.

"Do you think she'll be okay Drake?" The car had been silent up until she opened her mouth. He took his eyes of the road for a split second to look at her. She was just staring out of the window.

"Yes, I do. You even heard Rachel say so. She's doin' so good Nicki and she'll be home in no time."

"No, that's what I mean. When we take her..." She took a few seconds to say the rest of her sentence but she spoke it slowly. "Home." She'd never called his house home before but she was positive that as soon as Auburn was with them it would feel more like a home rather than a house.

"Of course. I'm gon' be there to help and I'll even do the whole gettin' up in the middle of the night stuff." He smiled, showing his teeth before resting his hand on her leg. There were no words to describe how she felt about him and the same went for how he felt about her. She rested her hand over his for the rest of the ride home before they pulled into his driveway. They entered the house quietly only to be greeted with the smell of food, their stomachs growled simultaneously.

"Ugh, I love your Mom's cooking." Pulling her coat off she hung it on the rack and went through to the kitchen. Sandi had been so great with Nicki and Auburn, often going with her to the hospital whenever Drake couldn't go and he'd really noticed how well they got along.

"Aubrey."

"Yeah I'm comin' Ma. I'm just gon' go shower up first." He stood waiting for an answer but only heard the oven door open again as she put his plate back in to keep warm.

"So how's the little one doing?" Sandi sat her fork down as she chewed politely on some broccoli.

"Really well, she had her tube taken out today."

"Oh that's wonderful news! Now it's just the oxygen tubes left?"

"Yeah. Hopefully the aren't in for much longer either." She returned a smile back to Sandi genuinely. She felt so privileged that her own daughter was going to grow up with a loving family around her. Not like her own childhood. She understood that everything she was going through wasn't the average for a sixteen year old and obviously things were going to be difficult, but she really had never been happier than she was at that moment. But nothing compared to how she felt when she overheard Sandi refer to Auburn as her grandbaby, she felt as though she was smiling for days.

They continued to make small talk as Drake cleaned up and got himself dressed again. It was already eight in the evening and as always he'd had a stressful day at work but as soon as he saw Nicki he felt all the tension wash away. He'd been more on edge after seeing Ashley conversing with some higher staff members, not to mention the fact that she found out that Nicki had given birth already. How she discovered that, he had no idea. Jogging down the last few steps he entered the kitchen cheerfully, he didn't want for Nicki to be burdened with any other worries.

"What, how are y'all finished already?" He laughed seeing Nicki's jaw drop but leaned down to kiss her on the way past. That was something Sandi was still getting used to but she was being respectful of their relationship and never said an ill word about it.

"Aubrey take your plate through there, we wanna sit on somethin' comfy." Sandi ordered pleasantly before grabbing her wine glass and moving through to sit down. Nicki just watched him as he sprinkled more pepper over his food before she spoke up softly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just glad to be home after today." Suddenly feeling her tiny arms wrap around his torso from behind he relaxed into her hold before pulling her hands away and turning to face her whilst putting her arms back around him. She stayed limp as he moved her arms for her.

"Rough day?"

"Rough is an understatement, I felt like I had freakin' patient notes and files fallin' outta my damn ears."

"Well, they are big enough." She started laughing before she'd even finished talking.

"Ouch, that hurt Onika!" He playfully held his hand to his chest as she continued to cackle.

"Aw, I'm sorry baby. I didn't mean it." She bit on her bottom lip as she looked up at him. They were now pressed against each other with their arms wrapped around the other's body.

"Only I'm allowed to bite on them." He freed his hand and gently tugged her lip from her teeth before they were interrupted by Sandi clearing her throat. Immediately pulling apart Nicki felt her face starting to burn as she grabbed her plate from the table and began to wash it.

"Hope I wasn't interrupting anything." She knew she was but she'd finished her wine waiting on them.

"No, no 'course not. We're abouta come through now." He picked up his plate and grabbed a knife and fork out of the draw as Sandi re-filled her wine glass and disappeared again. She heard them giggling as she sat back down and couldn't help but smile. They were both so happy.

***

Shutting the car door Jelani squinted up at the house. It looked exactly the same as when he'd left. A complete dump, only now a few of the windows were missing glass and instead had cork-board replacing it. He'd been getting a number of calls from their next door neighbours, they were worried about Robert. His Father wasn't the reason he was visiting though. The only person he needed to know was safe was Nicki.

*Sorry if it's a lil' short! I finished the worst exam but now I have to study for Psychology :o I'm posting on some Onikafaree fics later though ^_^ Hope this was ok and thanku so much for all the comments on the sneak peek!! Oh and as you now know*



Saturday 10 November 2012

9. Early Days *Sneak Peek*

*Sorry it's just gonna have to be a sneak peek to hold out 'til after tuesday, I have a criminal justice exam which I am NOT looking forward to :(  ALSO I think it's safe to say I am NEVER having kids after writing that birth scene for the previous chapter -.- I was tired just after freaking typing lmao anyway thx for commenting guys :)*

It was almost 6am and Drake was still sat watching Nicki sleep. The ambulance had taken them to a different hospital to facilitate the baby's needs, the NICU at this hospital was a lot more efficient than the one where Drake worked. He was glad Nicki was sleeping through the ordeal of trying to get the baby breathing again, the whole time he felt as though his heart was in his throat but they managed to bring her back. Hearing someone else enter the room he turned around to see his Mother walking towards him with two coffees.

"Thought you might need this?" She handed it to him as he never once took his eyes off of a completely worn out Nicki as she slept heavily.

"Thanks."

"How are they both?" She took a seat next to him.

"The first few days are gon' be touch 'n go with the baby but she's ok for now, Nicki's fine. Just exhausted."

"You did really good Aubrey." She shifted slightly and he could tell there was something else she wanted to say so he waited for her to spit it out. "I just want you to know I'm sorry for having doubted your relationship. I've never seen you like this with any of your other girlfriends, it's really nice to see you happy." She gently rubbed his forearm as he turned to face her.

"Thanks Mom, that means a lot. I am happy. Be even happier once I can have them both home with me."

"How long do they have to stay here?"

"Well, Nicki can be discharged in a couple days but the baby's gonna be here for a while." Looking down he swirled the coffee in his cup as he thought.

"Roughly how long is a while?"

"Usually it's until their due date which would mean around six to eight weeks." He heard her exhale sadly.

"Well, for what it's worth I'm gonna help out as much as I can, y'know? With Nicki and the baby. I know it isn't easy and I not havin' her own Mother around won't help much." He looked back at her gratefully and was about to speak when they heard bed sheets ruffling. Nicki was awake.

"I'll give you two some space." She smiled at them both before leaving, shutting the door behind her. They'd managed to get her in a private room to let her have some privacy. She looked drained, understandably as she tried to sit herself up.

"Here." Jumping up he let her use his arm as a lever to sit up as he re-adjusted her pillows. "How you feelin'?" He pulled the chair closer to her bed and sat down again.

"Tired." Suddenly remembering what had happened she looked around the room frantically before his soothing voice stopped her.

"She's in the NICU, and she's fine." He saw her body relax back into the pillows slowly. "You wanna go see her?"

"Can I?"

"Of course you can, you're her Mom." She half smiled, revealing one of her dimples before he helped her out of the bed extremely slowly, still aware that she was probably tender.

She held on tightly to his hand as he led her down the hall, not caring if people saw. She had an excuse, it hurt like a bitch to walk unaided. They made their way there slowly for Nicki's sake before he keyed the code into the wall pad and they both sanitised their hands before entering. It was eerily quiet to Nicki as she remained holding on to Drake's hand, walking closely behind him.

"Here she is, baby Maraj." Tugging her hand he encouraged her to come to his side so she could see better but she was glued to the spot. "Nicki what's wrong?"

"She's so small, are you sure she's okay?" He could see the tears welling up in her eyes before he pulled her gently to him.

"I promise, she's fine. Havin' you here with her will help her to stay healthy. Come on." He pulled away and wiped her tears whilst leading her over to where her baby was.

"What's wrong with her eyes?" She was still holding on to him and slightly behind him at the same time, her voice was quiet and shaky as she looked over her tiny body. She had tubes and wires all over and two cotton patches covering her eyes, secured by the little hat she had on.

"Nothin's wrong with her eyes, they're just a lil' sensitive to the light 'cause she was so early." He was glad that nobody else was in the room with them so he could talk to her comfortably and tell her everything she wanted to know. Although he'd wiped away her tears they were still rolling down her face, she didn't look like she was crying though. They were just kind of trickling out continuously as she kept her eyes fixed on the baby.

"Can we go now?" His heart felt like it had dropped into his stomach as he watched her quickly smudge her tears away and turn to walk out again.

"Woah, wait. Don't you wanna hold her?"

"No. I might hurt her."

"Nicki, you won't hurt her. Here, you can sit down and I'll pass her to you, is that better?" He rushed to grab a chair as she just watched him. "There, you sit on this and I'll get her out." She apprehensively did as she was told whilst he re-arranged the wires and tubes so they wouldn't get in the way. She looked even smaller in his arms. "Open your gown a lil' bit, you have to have a lot of skin-to-skin contact with her 'cause she's so young." She could feel her tears as each and every one of them dropped off of her face and onto the bit of skin showing on her chest. Weirdly, as soon as he placed the baby in her arms she relaxed almost immediately. Moving around the chair Drake stood to the side and just behind as he watched over them both, kissing Nicki on her head as she and her baby bonded.

To Be Continued...

Unnamed Baby:















*Sorry It's just a sneak peek but at least you all know the baby is okay ^_^ The name will be in the next chapter :)) Any suggestions? I'll do the hat thing again since I have no life lmao! I'm gonna do a sneak peek for one of my Onikafaree blogs tomorrow to be equal, then I really mean it! No more posts until after the 24th lmao! Thx to all who commented on chapter 8 ^_^ Hope this was ok!*

Thursday 8 November 2012

*VERY IMPORTANT NOTE*

Oh my God! I wasn't expecting so many comments with my first Dricki fic! Thanku all so much! ^_^......Also I feel I should tell you all now, I'm quite surprised nobody has caught me out yet LOL but It's me......Carlee! *steps forward from shadows* XD I wanted to see how I was with writing Dricki fics but didn't want to go against Onikafaree! SO I did what was logical, I made another alias account and started two Dricki strories :) I wasn't lying about the Kellie thing though, she really did those chaps for 'Set Me Free' and originally I was just going to have this one blog but oh well *shrugs* I'll manage with two of these fics and five other Onikafaree ones lmao

Anyway, I decided to do this because in a few of my comments and DM's I had people asking about Dricki storylines and I didn't want to rile my Onikafaree readers so I figured doing it this way for a lil bit and then telling you all would be ok. You're not mad though right? :o

So I'm gonna change my name back to Carlee on these and set up the links properly on all of my blogs! ^_^ I'm glad you guys like this fic haha I had to act like 'Cassie' was a friend of mine so now you all know she doesn't exist XD

ALSO, one last thing before I post the next chapter for this, Carlee is my blogger name. My real name is Charliee but when I was using my personal twitter account I had my Nicki hating friends wanting to know what I was doing on blogger so I made up a fake name and referred to myself as Carlee to fool them. But I go by either name so whatever you choose to call me is fine ^___^ I wasn't being a deceitful Barb, just testing the Dricki fic water! Lol

But I have exams coming up soon as well as seven fics now and I'm trying to share out chapters equally which is kind of working....I think! Especially since I'm over my writer's block! XD Mkay well, I'm gonna stop blabbering now! I hope I didn't bore you with that whole explanation! >_< And keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter coming up! :))

THANKU ALL!! Wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for you!! ^___^

xox Carlee

8. Finding More Than Expected

*Holy fuck! Like, seriously eleven comments!? Thanku guys so, SO MUCH! That's a lot for me and it means a lot to me!! ^-^ Glad You're liking it! :P Well, except Nic's whole situation which is super sad :''( Anyway, on with the chapter! Hope y'all like it! I tried to make it a long one without rushing things ^_^*

Hiking his hood up some more he tried her number again. Nothing. He was getting more and more worried as they neared the fouth hour of their search. He knew he was going to have to stop soon, his Mom's arthritis was bad and he didn't want to keep her out in the cold and the rain any longer.

"Any sign of her?" She yelled over the drumming rain as he tried calling her again.

"No, nothing." Pausing as he put his phone away he brought his eyes back to her. "Look, I'mma take you home and keep on lookin', she can't have got far."

"Aubrey, it's almost midnight."

"I know! But I can't just give up! She's out here somewhere, alone and seven months pregnant!" He caught himself and breathed out before talking more calmly. "I need to find her, just lemme do that. Please?" She said no more as he guided her to his car. It was silent all the way back, partly because he was having all sorts of disturbing images running through his mind and partly because Sandi wasn't speaking either. Feeling her eyes on him he kept quiet before she finally broke the silence.

"You really do care about her don't you?"

"I already told you that." By the tone of his voice she knew he was upset with her but what did he expect? She didn't want to drive the wedge any deeper and kept her thoughts to herself as they drove back to his house.

                                                               ~

Sitting on the stairway for a while she tried to collect herself before attempting to walk any further. Her tears now merging with the raindrops as they hit her face. She had no idea where she was going, she just knew she had to stay away from him and his life. It was for the best. Knowing his work hours she could get her stuff tomorrow and leave her key on the counter before she left. It was taking everything in her being to walk away from him but saving him from disaster was what she wanted to do. Tightening her jacket around herself she used the step behind her to stand up steadily before carrying on down the sidewalk. Nobody was around to hear her crying so she didn't hold back, the only thing that was there to remind her to keep things together was the cramping sensation she was feeling across her abdomen. It hurt more than any tightness she experienced before and as it got progressively worse it became more difficult to walk.

                                                              ~

He felt like his heart was beating as fast as the windscreen wipers as he kept his speed up on the road. He didn't know where else to search and his mind was running rampant with different places she could have gone. Suddenly catching sight of a small figure on the sidewalk he did a double-take and eased up on the speed.

"There! There she is!" The level of urgency in his voice made Sandi look around quickly, soon laying eyes on her too as they pulled up to the edge of the pavement. She hadn't seen them yet because she had her head down and the rain was coming down hard, drowning out any other noise. It was his headlights that gave them away as they reflected off of the path of water she walking on. Getting out of the car almost before it had even stopped he didn't bother shutting the door as he made his way over to her. "Nicki! The hell are you doing?!" Blocking her way he crouched down a little so as too look her in the eye.

"I'm going home." Looking away again she tried to get past him but he kept standing in her way. "Please don't?! Don't make this any harder than it already is!" She brought her hands up to her face and cried into them as he gently grabbed her upper arms.

"Your home is back there, with me. You can try and get past all you want Nicki, but you know I'm not gon' let'chu go." He was right, she could feel herself already giving in. The way he spoke to her just made everything ok again. "Come on, you're freezin'." He tried to pull her to the car but she kept her feet firmly planted on the ground. "Nicki? Come on."

"No, I can't ruin your life too. I won't."

"What are you talkin' about? You haven't ruined anyone's life, and you ain't gonna either. You give me life!"

"I've already destroyed my baby's life and she isn't even fucking here yet!" Coughing out a few tears she pulled her sleeves over her freezing hands before he got closer to her and brought her head up to look at him.

"Don't ever think that, you hear me? Now I'm not gon' stand here and listen to any more of this, get in the car Onika." She stood still before jumping at the level of anger in his voice. "Onika?!" Hesitantly doing as he said she snatched her hand out of his and got in the car carefully. The pain she was feeling had eased up a while ago but it still felt achy.

The whole ride home was silent apart from the odd shuddery breath from Nicki as Drake kept an eye on her through the rear-view mirror. He hated yelling at her like that but he had to get her to listen and at that point, raising his voice seemed like the only way. He made sure to get her some dry clothes as soon as they got inside as she took a hot shower to get warmed up.

"You didn't have to be so forceful with her y'know Aubrey?"

"You've changed your tune." He avoided looking at her as he made Nicki a hot drink.

"How could you even say that?! I told you I liked her, I think she's a really sweet girl!" She stopped herself and looked over at Nicki, she was sat in front of the fire in just her robe after showering. "I can't believe I'm about to say this but she obviously makes you happy and you care a lot about one another. I know you're going to stay with her anyway so I guess I'll just have to get used to it. I want you to be happy, but just be careful. This is dangerous territory you're roaming." He couldn't reply fast enough before they heard Nicki crying out from the lounge room. Darting through they stood staring at her as she struggled with the pain.

"Nicki what is it? What's hurting?" He immediately got on to his knees so he could see her properly but she had her head tucked down. His mind went into doctor mode as he checked her over with Sandi watching on worriedly.

"I'on..Ah, I don't know!" Panting to regain he breath she tried to stand up but Drake stopped her.

"Just sit still for a minute Nicki."

"No! No it hurts I need to stand up!" Not caring what he'd just said she managed to get herself up and leant on the arm of the couch as she rocked. Instinctively he started rubbing her back hearing her grunt in pain before Sandi pointed out something he was fearing.

"Aubrey, look at her legs." He did what she said and his heart dropped seeing the fluid trickling down her soft skin. Her water just broke.

"Alright, Nicki I need you to keep breathin' just like you are now, okay? I got'chu."

"Mmmmmmm."

"You want me to call an ambulance?" Sandi switched her eyes nervously between her son and Nicki.

"Yeah, tell 'em her water broke and she's only twenty-eight weeks." Nodding at the request she went straight to the house phone remembering that their cell phones had died on their search for her. It was like they'd all been struck with a curse of bad luck, as soon as she went to dial 911 the stormy weather cut the electric. Plunging them into darkness the only thing that illuminated the room was the roaring fire.

"Aubrey-"

"I know." He breathed out in frustration, the baby was coming way too soon along with the worry that she still possibly hadn't turned around yet. Nicki continued to let out soft moans before becoming quiet again, he'd been timing the contraction. Almost sixty seconds long. With his mind kicking into over-drive he began giving out instructions, Nicki was now his patient. "Mom, upstairs in the bathroom you'll find a pile of clean towels can you bring them down?" She nodded and quickly started climbing the stairs before he stopped her again. "And I'mma need some scissors too. Be careful though, it's dark."

"Okay." She proceeded to get the items as Drake tended to a distressed Nicki.

"Is it still hurtin'?" She shook her head no and stood up straight, only just noticing the fluid on the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry-"

"Hey, don't be sorry it's fine. Come here." He guided her back down to the floor after Sandi handed him the towels and he spread them under her. "I need to take these off, is that okay?"

"No!" He felt her hands grabbing his as he tried to pull off her underwear. "I don't want you to take them off."

"Nicki, you're in labour. You're water broke, y'know what that means?" She nodded her head shyly.

"It's the real thing Nic, you're havin' your baby." She looked at him unsurely before moving her gaze to a worried looking Sandi.

"Nicki, sweetie you have to listen to Aubrey. He's tryin' to help you." She sat down too and rested her hand on Nicki's leg. Without warning she cried out again as another contraction coursed through her. Drake took that moment to remove her underwear whilst she was distracted by the pain. At the same time as making sure to keep her covered Sandi  removed the robe Nicki was wearing, leaving her temporarily naked before laying a blanket over her whilst still allowing her arms to be free. That way Drake had the right access he needed and she wouldn't feel exposed.

"Uh, it's really hurting! Please? Make it stop!" Hearing her in so much pain as she continued to yelp was putting Drake off a little but he was soon brought back by his Mom's voice.

"Aubrey, her contractions are getting closer together." Bugging her eyes she encouraged her son to let the doctor in him take over and that's exactly what he did. Slowly getting quieter Nicki's groaning stopped as she tried to steady the rapid rising and falling of her chest. No longer caring that Drake was seeing and touching her whole downstairs area.

"She's almost five centimetres dilated." He removed his hand slowly and set the blanket back down on her raised and parted knees. "Please could you go get some water for her?" Obliging her son's wishes she jumped to the task, leaving them alone for bit.

"What's happenin'? Is she ok?"

"Yeah she's fine Nicki, but I need you to know that she's gonna be really small okay? It'll be a little scary to see, but she'll be fine and so will you." He hid all the uncertainty in his voice as she nodded back at him.

"I'm really scared Drake." The way her voice trembled and her lip quivered made his heart sink instantly.

"Don't be scared, I'm here and I'm not gon' leave you aight? I'mma be here all the way." He grabbed her small hand gently as he rubbed her leg in a loving attempt to comfort her. It seemed to work as her uncontrollably rapid breathing slowed down.

Almost another four hours had passed and the electric was still off, and there was no turning back now as Nicki was finally dilated enough to start pushing. Sandi knew she was of no help anymore and dedicated herself to keeping Nicki calm as Drake took control of everything else. Gently grabbing her under her knees he lifted her legs a little more and spread them apart, making sure she was still comfortable. They'd packed loads of pillows behind her back as well and Sandi's arthritic heating pad to ease her back pain caused by the contractions.

"Okay Nicki, this is it now. With the next contraction I want you to push, you think you can do that?"

"Mhmm." As her body stiffened she let out a series of humming and moaning sounds before sitting herself up some more. "It's starting again."

"That's fine, that's what we want so-" He was cut off by her loud cry as her body automatically took over. "Yes! That's it, keep going Nicki." He continued to coach her pushing before she fell back against the couch gasping.

"I can't! I can't do it!" Still breathing heavily she felt the sensation of the baby coming through. Drake could do nothing but sigh heavily out of relief. It was the head, she'd turned around.

"Yes you can, you're almost there." He paused for a moment, looking at her exhausted body and sweaty face. "Here, gimme your hand." She reluctantly reached her hand out as he guided it gently between her legs, letting her feel the top of the baby's head. "See, that's her head. She almost here." Smiling at her face as she felt her baby for the first time he looked around as the room lit up, the electric was back on. Without even having to ask her Sandi ran to the phone and dialled for an ambulance, but Drake knew there was no way they'd be here before the baby.

"Ugh! It's coming again!" She pulled her hand away and steadied both of them on either side of her body as Drake cautiously pushed her legs open some more.

"Push now Nicki." There was no need to tell her twice as she tucked her chin to her chest and gave it her all, this time there was no panting, groaning or humming. She just got straight to it, conserving her energy. It was all so surreal to him as he saw her baby emerging some more, now that the whole head was out he could try help her a bit more. With a loud groan she relaxed and struggled to catch her breath. "That's it, get your breath back. You can do this with one more push okay?" Nodding tiredly she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself as Sandi came back over. Completely amazed at the sight before her she couldn't help but commend how brave Nicki was being and how amazing her son was for doing this alone especially since this was a high risk birth with the baby being over eight weeks premature. She watched them as he kept her calm, rubbing her legs as he was positioned between them using the other hand to support the baby's tiny head. There was a few seconds of silence before Nicki's whimpering could be heard again. Sandi immediately moved to sit next to her, holding her hand as Drake focused his attention on getting the baby out. "She's coming Nicki, keep going." He counted to ten aloud so she could hear and as soon as he reached the double digit she felt a surge of relief as Drake delicately tugged the baby's legs out, not taking a moment to marvel at the tiny being in his hands he pulled the blanket off of Nicki's heaving body and lay the lifeless baby on her bare chest before covering them both again as Nicki instinctively reached up to hold her baby to her chest.

"Is she okay?" His Mother's worried voice reflected how he was feeling as he watched over Nicki's drained face. The only audible sound was her panting.

"I'on know, they need skin to skin contact. Hopefully Nicki's breathing and body heat will stimulate her, just give her a minute." They waited and waited for what felt like an eternity. Still nothing. He pulled the blanket back a little and looked over them both before he tried to clear her airways. Nicki was becoming more and more anxious with each silent minute as she watched him. To the relief of them all after a few seconds of working on her, the sound of her squawky cries filled their ears as she choked them out in small bursts before it turned into an actual cry. He left her where she was and covered them up again as Nicki winced again feeling a mild contraction.

"What about the umbilical cord?"

"We can leave that 'til the ambulance gets here, right now she's gotta deliver the placenta." After another few minutes Drake was still busy helping her get the afterbirth out as Sandi kept a watchful eye on Nicki and the baby, pulling the blanket back every minute or so to check on them. She couldn't believe how small she was, she'd stopped crying and was just grunting a little now an then. Finally seeing the red and blue flashing lights outside Sandi didn't hesitate to go and open the door for the paramedics, they got inside just as Drake was finished delivering the placenta. He couldn't believe she'd just done all of that, he wanted to do nothing more than sit by her and hold her and tell her how brave she was but they had to get them straight to a hospital. The baby needed to be in the NICU and Nicki needed to be checked over properly too. He moved to be by her side after covering her up as Sandi explained to one of the paramedics how they were both doing.

"Thank you." He tore his eyes away from the tiny bundle on her chest and locked eyes with her.

"Don't thank me, you did all of this." He kissed her whilst everyone was busy pulling the stretcher in.

"No, I couldn't have done it without you, either of you." She smiled weakly before looking back down at her tiny baby. He knew as soon as he saw them both together, this was where his heart belonged. Call him corny but it was true, right next to him was his little family. His life.


*Well, I don't know anything about like, giving birth and stuff so there will be mistakes in there lol and y'all will just have to wait and see if everything is ok! I'll try and post soon if that's what you guys want? Thank you again for all the comments you left on the last chapter, I hope this one didn't disappoint! :/*

Wednesday 7 November 2012

7. Back Tracking

*Thank you for commenting guys =] Also there is a bit of an unsettling scene in this chapter so be warned!*

Finishing off her toast Nicki cleared away the breakfast plates and wiped down the table and counters, the amount of time Sandi and Drake were upstairs she just knew they were talking about something in private. She felt as though she was getting in their way a little and decided that she could take this chance to go hand up some assignments she'd finished and pick up some stuff from her old house. Praying her Father wasn't going to be home. She was deep in thought as she made her way upstairs and to her room before stripping down and getting in the shower.

Back in Drake's room he was leaning against the wall as Sandi waited for an answer. He was shitting bricks, what the hell was he supposed to tell her? He shut his eyes and drummed his fingers against the coffee cup still in his hands as he ran through a string of things he could say.

"Aubrey?"

"Mom, just..." He stopped to put his cup down and moved over to the chair in front of her. Taking a seat he looked at her face, preparing to be honest with her.

"You slept on that old rickety camping bed in the study didn't you?" She shook her head. "Look, I don't want to put you out of your bed! I'll go to a hotel-"

"No, no Mom it's fine really!" His mind was cleared of all worry as he grabbed her small hands. "Please, I want you to stay! Plus you'll be some company for Nicki when I go back to work." He smiled reassuringly as she put her hands over his.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm positive. Nicki will appreciate it too." He smiled again, making her return the gesture.

"What's her story? Talk to me whilst I unpack." She put her cup down and started to pull out her clothes, waiting for him to start talking.

"Well, you already know she's sixteen and pregnant but she's havin' a girl, due in three months-"

"So what's going to happen when she has the baby? Will she still be living here?" Continuing with her unpacking, she had her back to him as he tried to think.

"Well, yeah. This is her home now Mom. Their home." In his mind he was saying our home.

"That's a lot of responsibility Aubrey." She trailed off before opening her mouth again. "Hasn't she got her own home and family to support her?"

"I know Ma, but I wanna help her. You didn't see the way her Dad was with her, he threw her across the hall. She was four and half months pregnant and he still lay his hands on her." He shook his head feeling the anger take over.

"Such a shame, she's a really lovely girl. Why does this always happen to the sweetest people?"

"I'on know but it's sick."

"What about the Father of the baby?" He frowned remembering that he had absolutely no knowledge of the Father.

"She hasn't said anythin'. I tried askin' but she wouldn't talk about it." Running his hand over his face he heard her stop unpacking for a split second before carrying on.

"You ever take a minute to think that perhaps she doesn't know who it is?"

"Mom, she's not like that. I'on think she'd sleep around, I mean she was fifteen when-"

"Not like that Aubrey." She turned to look at him sadly as it clicked. Why had he never even thought of that? it was blatantly obvious.

"You mean rape?" Just the word alone made him feel sick. But the thought of it happening to her made his blood boil.

"Well, it's a possibility right? But then again, the girls are getting younger and younger nowadays." She sighed and proceeded with her unpacking as Drake sat in deep thought.

"Yeah. It is." He stood up slowly, he felt like he needed to speak to Nicki but he didn't want to pressure her to talk or make her feel uncomfortable. "Well I'mma go make us another drink, I'll bring it up in a bit." He smiled at her joyful face.

"What did I ever do to deserve a son like you?" Walking over to him she kissed his cheek and shooed him out of the room. "I need my space to unpack, that way I won't be distracted anymore." He laughed as he left and looked back at her shutting the door. Breathing out with relief he wanted to go tell Nicki that they should probably tell her soon before she really did find out by herself, which would be a lot worse. Knocking on her door there was no answer but he figured she was in there because he could hear the shower running. He sat patiently on the edge of her bed, having time to think he couldn't help but smile about where this relationship would head. Call him silly but he was actually excited about Nicki having her baby, he already knew that taking on someone else's child was a huge step but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to it. He knew he had to talk to her about the whole 'Father of the baby' situation at some point too, but he wanted to see if she'd tell him in her own time. He looked back to the bathroom door hearing the shower die down and the door open.

"Nicki I-"

"Holy shit! Oh my God! You scared the fuck outta me!" Holding tightly on to her towel with one hand she used the other to grasp at her heaving chest as she tried to recover from the fright.

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you." He looked so worried as he scanned her body without thinking.

"It's fine, just don't do that again." She immediately felt shy and nervous as he stared over her. That threw her off. Suddenly all the memories came flooding back to her, the hurt, the pain and most of all the fear. Feeling her breath quicken she shifted uncomfortably and looked down as she moved back a little. He noticed her change in body language as she started to stutter. "I-I'm just gon' g-go get dressed in here." Swiftly grabbing her clean clothes she shut herself in the bathroom before he even had chance to say anything. Moving over to the closed door he spoke to it as if it was her.

"Nicki? Are you okay?" He heard nothing in response. "Nicki?" He knocked calmly until her soft sobs made him stop. He had no idea what he'd done. Not giving up he called one more time but she didn't answer. The only option he had left was to sit it out, which is exactly what he did, for almost 3 hours. Everything he and his Mother had just discussed in his room was all starting to make horrible sense now.

Flashback

Turning the shower off she stepped out on to the bathroom floor mat before grabbing her little pink towel and wrapping it around her water beaded body. Her hair was still dry because she hated sleeping with wet hair. As she wiped down the foggy mirror she pulled her toothbrush from the holder and scrubbed at her pearly white teeth. Spitting away the toothpaste she ran the cold water to clean the sink before she exited the bathroom. She always hated that part because leaving the warm, steam-filled room and going into the cold hallway made her wish even harder for an en-suite bathroom. Getting closer to her room she heard footsteps behind her, not wanting to face whoever it was she opened her door quickly and slammed it behind her. Only it wouldn't shut. Looking down she started to panic seeing the boot trapped in her door frame. She pushed desperately at the wooden door to try and get them to move but they forced it back with such strength she couldn't keep her footing and fell hard to the floor. Trying to regain her breath she struggled since she'd landed on her chest, however her body acted without her effort as she felt a hand run along the back of her thigh, stopping at the hem of her tiny towel which she had managed to keep wrapped around herself. Scrambling to get up she heard her door click shut as Tyrone turned back to face her.

"Where you goin' Nika?" She literally couldn't speak for the amount of fear running through her body. Bundled in the corner she tried to shield her naked self with the towel but he snatched it from her before grabbing her wrist and roughly throwing her to the wall. Her palms grabbed at the peeling wallpaper as her stomach and chest were pressed up against the cold surface under the force of his body leaning on her. Aggressively closing the gap between them even more, he squeezed his hands between the wall and her trembling body, running his fingers all over her as she continuously cried out for him to stop. Growing ever impatient he yanked her back and pushed her over the bed, face down again. He didn't waste time checking if she was ready for him as he pushed into her forcefully. Her cries intensified as he continued to thrust into her. She felt him slow down with every plea she uttered, her tears staining the sheets. It felt as though it went on forever, she could hardly breathe due to the amount of crying she was doing and the pressure of his entire body weight on top of her tiny five foot two frame. She couldn't even get any noises out of her mouth any more. She gave in. She stopped fighting and squeezed her eyes shut just hoping for it to end. Hearing him groan breathlessly as he came he pulled out and staggered backwards. Leaving her laying vulnerably on her front as she whimpered endlessly. He still hadn't left and she was hoping, praying and wishing he would just go. But he didn't. Instead he slid down her wall with his head in his hands. He was crying. Not daring to move she lay still some more as the burning got worse. Shakily she pulled her arms down a little and steadied herself as she tried to lift her body up, letting out a few cries she managed to crawl to the corner of her bed, sitting safely between her cushions and the wall. Seeing the blood all over the insides of her legs and on the white sheets she started crying even more before resting her hand over the area that was burning. He looked up and started gagging at the sight of the blood and her dishevelled body, making her jump at the noise.

"Oh my God. Oh my God." He exhaled shakily and started pacing. "What have I done?" He got lower and lower to the floor before eventually ending up rocking in the corner as far away from her as possible. She didn't know what to do. Couldn't anyone hear her screaming? Or crying out in pain? She sniffed as the tears kept rolling down her face. She finally felt a tad less exposed since she'd grabbed her robe off of her bed post and used it as a blanket. "Nicki?I-"

"No, no don't come near me!" She pushed her body even further into the corner as he stood to walk over to her. He stopped immediately seeing her terrified face and heaving body. He dropped his head before biting his lip and looking back up at her. She could see the tears on his face. 

"I am so, so sorry." Pulling his hands into a praying position he brought them up to his face before shaking his head and leaving. She had no idea how but she managed to put her robe on before checking the hallway but she stopped as she heard her Father's voice. Tyrone was handing something to him but they couldn't see her. She realised what had just happened. Her own Father had just used her as a drug payment. 

End Of Flashback

Waking him up a little he heard the door cracking open as he quickly stood up and rubbed furiously at his eyes. It was obvious that she was crying but what she did next shocked him. With her head bowed and her face becoming buried in her hands she walked directly into his toned chest, it took a moment for him to react but when he did he pulled her close to him as she let out the most heart-wrenching cries he'd ever heard. This only made him grip her tighter before moving them over to the bed. She lay crying in his embrace for ages and honestly he was starting to get worried about the amount of stress she was putting on the baby. Hours passed and he knew he had things to do but he couldn't bring himself to leave her. Not the way she was. Although she'd finally stopped crying and was now sleeping, he didn't want her to wake up alone. He had soothed and calmed her as best he could but he knew she was going to have to open up to him sooner or later. Gently moving away from her he managed to get off the bed before shutting her curtains and pulling a blanket over her. He stood looking at her for a moment from the doorway before closing it. He felt deflated, exhausted and drained as he made his way back downstairs.

"Oh Aubrey! There you are!" She laughed cheerfully as she looked at him from the couch. She was sat with a cup watching a cooking show. "I thought you must have gone out without telling me."

"No, no I was upstairs. Sorry." He was as pale as anything and looked completely worn down.

"Aubrey? What's wrong?" Walking over to him she waited for an answer as she looked over his sallow face.

He explained everything that had just happened with Nicki upstairs and quite honestly he had lost all worries about what she would think at this point. Obviously she was quiet after he finished speaking, all that was heard was the clock ticking on the fireplace before it rang out a tune at 8pm.

"I want you to be honest with me now Aubrey. What's going on between you two?" She didn't look or sound angry. In fact she appeared concerned and bit disappointed, almost like she already knew.

"Mom-"

"And don't lie to me. Please? Don't insult my intelligence Aubrey. I'm not some silly old woman you can just fool with a stupid lie."

"Aight, I'm sorry." He shut his eyes and leant forward on the couch, resting his sleeveless elbows on his knees as he ran his hands once again over his pale face. "I met her at the hospital, she was a patient." She dropped her head and sighed before he continued with amore urgent tone. "She had nowhere else to go so I let her move in wit'me. It took me a while to realise that I had feelin's for her, and she felt the same about me." Her dry laugh made him look up instantly.

"Oh Lord! Aubrey, she's sixteen! She's an impressionable young girl! If you make her feel special then she's going to fall for it! She's underage, it's illegal! I can't believe how stupid you're acting! This is your career that's at stake here! Does that mean nothing to you? All the money I spent trying to give you the best possible education. The hard work and the endless hours of hell I endured! All to get you here and you're about to throw it all away?! Unbelievable!" She was in tears as she finished her rant. This was definitely not going to plan. Standing up quickly he stormed into the kitchen, leaning his hands over the sink and rocking slightly. She followed him and stood on the other side of the kitchen, this time thinking before she spoke since she wasn't usually a shouting kind of person.

"Please don't Mom. Don't say anythin' else." His head hung between his shoulders as he kept his position leaning over the sink.

"Aubrey." The calmness of her voice was a lot more comforting now. "Nicki is a wonderful girl and I really do like her, but she's just too young. Can't you see that? Not to mention being pregnant at such a young age." He was about to answer but hearing the front door shut loudly they both looked between one another before Drake moved speedily out of the kitchen. They had absolutely no idea that Nicki had been sat at the top of the stairs. She'd heard everything.

*Poor Nicki :''( Right? I hope this was OK, I'm going to try and post again tomorrow if you want and thanks so much for reading and to those who leave comments xox*