In Hiding (Final Book in the Boss's Niece Series)

Big News

*Mel's POV*

It had been a week since we arrived in Las Vegas. Haley had settled in nicely, although she didn't like having to stay in the hotel room all the time.

We managed to leave once so Haley could meet Diane. Unfortunately, Diane was very sick and it was likely she could pass at anytime. She gave me a note to give Spencer. It was her final goodbye to him if she didn't get to say it in person.

Today was the official day 8 of being in Vegas. Haley had began to spend her time curled up on the couch watching something on TV. Usually her favorite kids shows and once, a crime drama that I was watching, and she wasn't afraid.

I exited the bathroom with a huge smile on my face. Haley looked at me and smiled back.

"Mommy! Come watch TV with me!" she exclaimed. I chuckled and sat down on the couch next to her. She rested her head on my lap and glued her eyes to the TV once again.

I wasn't really paying that much attention to what was on. I just stroked Haley's hair absentmindedly, thinking about my big news.

"Haley," I started. "would you like a little brother or sister?"

She looked up at me.

"I want a sister." she told me. "Because then we can play together. One of the girls in my daycare told me boys have cooties."

I giggled and kissed her forehead.

"Boys don't have cooties silly. Daddy doesn't have cooties. Henry and Jack don't have cooties, do they?" I asked. She shook her little head.

"Do you think daddy misses us?" she asked.

"Of course daddy misses us, sweetheart. We're his favorite girls, remember? Don't worry, we'll be back with daddy really soon, okay?"

She nodded and put her head back on my lap. We continued to watch TV for a while before the phone rang. Spencer had managed to call from a different pay phone every day, like he said, to talk to Haley.

I got up and answered with a cheery, "Hello!"

"You sound happy." Spencer laughed.

"I am happy." I told him.

"Why's that?"

"It's-" I put my hand on my belly and looked down. I decided not to tell him. Not yet. Not until we were face to face again. "Nothing. Nothing big, anyways. I'll tell you when this is all over."

"Oh come on. You got my hopes up." he teased.

"I'll tell you when this is all over!" I repeated, laughing. "Anyways, how's the search going?"

"Not too well. We don't have any leads and your mom, the only one who knows who hired her, did a good job of going into hiding."

"That's cause you scared the hell out of her by threatening to throw her behind bars and let the women in jail deal with her." I teased.

"Mommy swore!" Haley exclaimed.

"I'm sorry sweety. It slipped."

Haley smiled and lied back down.

"Mommy swore." Spencer mimicked.

I looked at Haley over my shoulder before muttering, "Shut up. Anyways, you'll find her when you're not looking for her. I know she loves me. She cried when she told me she had to kill me."

"That could've been an act."

"I don't know. I believed her." I said. "Besides, I'm not saying she's going to give her employer away. I'm just saying she might help you guys without you knowing. She might slip a name or an address or subtle hints."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Mind putting Haley on the phone before I run out of time."

"Yeah, one second." I held out the phone to Haley, who knew immediatly that meant it was daddy.

Once she finished talking to Spencer on the phone, we sat down and watched TV together for another hour until Haley fell asleep on my lap.

I turned off the TV and carried her over her bed, being careful not to wake her. I covered her little body up and closed the curtains and turned off the lights so the light wouldn't wake her. I then slipped into the bathroom once more.

A few days ago, I noticed I was beginning to feel weird. I knew I had felt this way before, but it had been a while ago. 5 years, to be exact.

I had been getting sick every so often, I had pains in my stomach and, to top it all off, my period was three weeks late. That's when I thought I knew what was happening.

When we went to visit Diane, I stopped at a local drug store and picked up a pregnacy test to make sure my theory was correct. I payed in cash, of course.

I had taken the test that morning once I had Haley settled away. I waited for 5 minutes for the results.

I left the test on the bathroom sink when I exited the bathroom to tell Haley. I guess she didn't exactly understand what I meant.

I looked down at the test, which beared two pink lines on the tiny screen. Pink meaning positive. Positive meaning I was pregnant once again with mine and Spencer's second child and Haley's little brother or sister.

I smiled down at the test, feeling happy tears in my eyes. If only Spencer knew what was going on. He'd be overjoyed, but he had to focus on what was going on right now. I didn't want to take his focus away from that.

I looked down at my tiny stomach, remembering how fast it grew when I was pregnant with Haley. I put the lid down on the toilet and sat down, taking a minute to take everything in once.

"Hey there little one." I whispered to my stomach. "Welcome to the family. I don't know if you heard what your sister, Haley, said, but you don't have to be a girl. Your daddy and I will love you no matter what you are."