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 ^_^*