She was sitting in Mac's room with James thinking of what she always thought of MacKenzie and Nick. She wanted so much for him to be there for her but she knew he wouldn't. He just didn't have it in him. James was right he was weak.
"You want something to drink?" She nodded,
"Dr. Pepper thanks." He kissed her on the forehead,
"Be right back." She stood up and looked down at her daughter, she seemed to be the same. The doctors told them she needed to breathe on her own before she could have the surgery and she hoped that happened soon. She spent a lot of time talking to her with the hope that Mac would hear her. The door and she turned expecting to see James but instead she locked eyes with AJ. For some reason, she was expecting this face off. She hardly talked to AJ, they weren't close but she knew what was said earlier about Nick got underneath his skin.
"Is it ok if I come in?" She nodded and turned her attention back to her baby. She stiffened as AJ stood near her,
"I've never seen her before. She's beautiful, like an angel." She smiled slightly,
"Thank you." He nodded,
"She looks like Nick." Was that supposed to make her angry or hurt her? She looked over at him but he didn't look at her, he kept his eyes on Mac.
"What do you mean she looks like Nick?" No one ever said that to her before.
"The shape of her eyes, yours are more round but hers are smaller like Nick's. Her mouth, that's definitely Nick's. I'm sure you can tell that." She understood that one. That was a hit at her intimacy with Nick. She looked down at Mac and she realized for the first time that she did have some of Nick's features. She never paid attention to that before, she only paid attention to her skin color and her eyes she never examined Mac before. Tears rolled down her face as she realized every time she looked at her daughter she would be looking at Nick and that was something she didn't know if she could handle. He looked at her,
�Nick isn�t a bad guy and I think you guys are ragging on him just a bit much.� She sighed,
�You don�t know what�s been going on.� He looked back down at Mac,
�He told me.� She shook her head. Nick wasn�t going to tell him the things that made him look bad, only the things that made her look bad but honestly she hadn�t done anything wrong,
�Oh Nick told you? And you believe everything he says?� She didn�t bother to give him time to answer,
�AJ, it�s a complicated situation. Well, actually it�s not. Did Nick tell you that when I first told him Mac needed surgery he told me he wasn�t coming? That he had to do the tour?� He looked down and she knew he was torn,
�The tour is a big thing. A lot of people are involved, it�s a lot of money. A lot of people depend on us.� She couldn�t believe what she was hearing,
�So your alcoholism is more important than my daughter�s life? You have a lot of nerve. The tour shut down and your band mates lost money because you�re too weak to handle your alcohol. My daughter is dying and you�re talking about the repercussions of delaying a tour?� She was beyond harsh, she knew it but she couldn�t take it anymore. She couldn�t take being made to feel like the uncaring bad guy.
�What changed his mind? Did you guys tell him he would have to leave and lose money because you wouldn�t stop the tour? What are you guys doing here now?� He shook his head,
�He didn�t tell us anything, he just told us he had to leave the tour. He didn�t tell us why. He just left Canada leaving us to wonder what was going on. It caused a big argument, a lot of problems. If we had known why he needed to go we wouldn�t have tried to stop him.� He ran his hand through his hair,
�Hell, we didn�t even know he had a kid.� Her eyes widened and she frowned,
�What? What do you mean you didn�t know?� She knew he could tell he had said something that maybe he shouldn�t have said but it was too late,
�He called D and told him what was going on and D told us.� He kept it a secret. He kept his daughter a secret? Even after she was sick in a hospital he still couldn�t step up and admit she was his. Not even to tell his band mates why he was leaving them in the middle of a tour. He would rather they be mad at him and lose money than acknowledge her daughter. That was it, that�s all she could take of Nick,
�I can�t believe him. He never told you about her. That asshole. See AJ? Weak, you may not want to hear it but he is weak. He wouldn�t even tell people he is close with that he had a child. This is the man that I�m supposed to let raise Mac? He isn�t a damn man.� The tears fell harder as she dealt with the fact that her daughter�s father was ashamed of her. She couldn�t let him anywhere near Mac. As she grew up she would sense he wasn�t completely there for her that is if he ever came around.
�Nick was going through a lot at that time I�m sure. He was trying to come to terms with it himself.� The more AJ talked the more he angered her,
�Come to terms with it? Come to terms with it AJ? She is his daughter not a damn terminal illness. Stop it, I wish you all would stop trying to defend him and his actions. He isn�t doing what he�s supposed to be doing.� He seemed to become a little irritated,
�What is he supposed to be doing right now? Unless Nick is a doctor that can cure her I think he is doing what all he can do and that�s be here for her. Give the kid a break.� She rolled her eyes,
�I will not give the kid a break. I haven�t done anything to him.� He sighed, obviously getting tired of the entire conversation,
�All I�m saying is that he�s a new dad and he�s scared-� She snorted,
�He�s scared? Imagine how I feel. I�m a new mom, a new single mom. Imagine what that was like for me. I�m the one that had to work, take care of her, and provide for her. All he has to do is have his lawyer send a damn check. Yeah, I can see what there is for him to be scared of.� She shook her head and sat down, she was exhausted and she didn�t want to talk about Nick anymore. The door opened and in walked James, when he handed her the drink he could see the tears,
�What�s wrong? Is something wrong with Mac?� She shook her head,
�No, she�s ok. I�m just tired.� He turned and looked at AJ,
�It�s time for you to leave.� He didn't fight it; he didn�t bother to say anything he just walked out. She watched as James stood over Mac�s bed and watched her sleep. He was what they needed and she was convinced more than ever that he was the perfect father for Mac.
Chapter 64
Reunited
Stories