Thank the Lucky Stars

Ch.6

Nicole was in the bathroom for a good twenty minutes before Tyler woke up. She went in the room and changed his diaper before taking him down to the kitchen to feed him. When she came down the stairs she saw Ira taped to a chair and a mess.

"What happened while I was gone?"

"Avery kidnapped his own sister." Ira said.

"Avery? But It thought..."

"I was helping him out. I'm so sorry Nikki." Max said sweeping up the last part of a vase then looked at her apologetically.

She couldn't stay mad at him for long, not when she looked him directly into his blue eyes.

"Do you forgive me?" He asked walking up to her with the broom and dust pan.

"Yeah." She sighed. "But if you ever do something like that again I won't be so forgiving."

"Hold on a minute. You forgive Max for being a part of a kidnapping but you won't forgive me for dumping you?"

"Yeah. Because you used me." She said before walking to the kitchen with Max right behind her.

Max put the broom up and stood behind Nikki.

"Hey there little man. Did you finally get some sleep?"

Tyler smiled up at Max and held his hands out to Max.

"You'd you look at that. His tooth finally broke through. You feel better?"

Max took Tyler so Nikki could dig through the diaper bag for some jar food. When she found it she popped the lid off and Max sat down next to her.

"So what's going to happen when we get Elise back?" Nikki asked giving her baby boy a small spoonful of baby goop.

"I'm going to break the engagement off with her."

"You proposed?"

"Yeah." He said almost shamefully. "It would've been a mistake. You're the only one that I want to marry."

"Max. Not right now. I'm exhausted. And everything that has happened in the past twenty-four hours has left me emotionally drained."

"I get it Nikki." He said putting a hand on her knee.

"So, Ira is taped to a chair because..."

"When Avery told everybody the truth, he went nuts. He broke half the vases in the living room and smashed the T.V."

"And all this time he was complaining about mud tracking through the house and us touching everything."

"I know."

The two of them laughed. Once Tyler was finished she made a little bit of formula and they went back into the living room. Max put Tyler in the playpen and Nikki put the bottle in there with him. She couldn't help but smile when she felt Max's hand on her lower back rubbing from side to side soothingly. He stopped and sat on the couch and Nicole followed. Brett got tired of hearing Ira talk so he just taped his mouth shut and Tyler whined when a clap of thunder sounded.

"It's ok sweetie." Nikki said soothingly.

"Ira. You are the man." Charlie said.

Then the power went out, again.

"Shit." Max muttered. "Again?"

"Go flip the breaker." Brett said to T.K.

"Why me?"

"Because you're the only one that knows where it's at." Brett said smartly.

"Fine." He sighed getting his shoes and leather jacket on before walking out the door.