Princess
Love - Chapter 27
"Nick, this is my sister." Jen said, her voice wavering and her hands running
through her sister's chestnut brown hair.
"Hello Sammi." Nick said and squatted down to her height and took her hand.
"I'm Nick, your sister's boyfriend." He looked at Sammi's face and then
up at Jen, the exchanged a warm glance and Nick looked back at Sammi.
"Would you like to stay at our house for awhile?" Nick asked and Sammi
looked over his shoulder.
"Is he going to be there?" She pointed to Howie in fascination and Nick
laughed.
"Yes, you can meet all of the people that live at our house in a minute."
Nick said and smiled at Jen, wondering why Sammi had asked if Howie was
going to stay there.
"Okay." She said in a small voice and Nick knew that this girl was important
to Jen. He wondered to himself where she would live, but he knew
they would figure that out when the trial ended.
"Okay, let me figure this out." Nick said, standing up at his full height.
Sammi looked up at him and Nick winked.
"You're tall!" She said and looked up at him.
"I know, but you will be tall sometime too." Nick said and looked around.
"Jump up." He extended he bended down and Sammi got on his back.
"Hold on and put your head down!" Nick said and held on to her legs that
were on either side of his waist. "AJ, tell the driver to pull up
and open the door." AJ nodded and ran out.
"She is adorable." Elizabeth admired the little girl.
"She looks a lot like Jen. It's so sad that she had to see all those
things in her few short years." Brian said and Elizabeth nodded.
"Okay, let's go!" Nick said and ran out the door with the little on his
back and ran to the van where he jumped in and put the girl on his lap.
"Made it!" She said breathlessly.
"Yeah! And everyone made it." Nick exclaimed and quickly looked around
the bus.
"That was fun, we should do it again sometime." Sammi looked up at Nick
and he burst into laughter. He slowly leaned over and Sammi looked
at him, he tickled her and she squealed with delight.
"Yeah, how about tomorrow?" Nick asked as he stopped tickeling her.
"Yeah! It's a date!" She said and Jen looked down at her.
"Hey, now she is stealing my boyfriend." She laughed and put her arm around
her sister.
"Okay, we're here!" Nick said jumped out of the van and looked around.
There were fans waiting but they really didn't have time. Nick looked
at Brian who shook his head and Nick nodded, running upstairs with Sammi
on his back once again.
"Why are we in a hotel? Don't you have a house?" Sammi asked curiously.
"I will tell you when we get in the room." Nick said patiently and stood
in the elevator as the rest of group came in. The were let out at
their floor and they all went to the room that Nick shared with Jen.
"Okay, now let's introduce ourselves to Sammi. I will start." Nick
said and sat on the bed with Jen at his side and Sammi ran over to Howie
and sat on his lap. He was more than a little surprised but he didn't
mind.
"My name is Nick Carter."
"I am AJ McClean and this is my girlfriend, Jasmine." AJ said as he sat
next to Jasmine on the floor.
"Hi." She said and gave a little wave to Sammi.
"I am Howie." Howie said to Sammi who was on his lap.
"I am Howie's fiancee, Valerie."
"I am Elizabeth. You will get to know me better at the trial." Elizabeth
smiled at the little girl from her spot on the floor next to Brian.
"I am Kevin, Brian's cousin. This is my girlfriend, Kim."
"Hi." Kim said and smiled brightly.
"I am Brian, Elizabeth's boyfriend." The introductions were over
and Howie put Sammi on the floor and stood up.
"Let's go to dinner, as a welcome party to Sammi." Howie said and they
all nodded.
"Okay, I'll call." Kevin said and went to the nightstand and dialed the
number for a nice restaurant down the road. Five minutes later he
hung up. "I reserved the whole thing so we won't be bothered." They all
nodded, it was a good idea.
"Where is my suitcase?" Sammi asked and looked around.
"I have it, but we can do some more shopping later." Jen said and Sammi
smiled.
"Yeah!" She said, sitting on the floor by Howie's feet.
"Let's get dressed and go now." Kevin said and stood up. They all
went their separate ways except for Nick, Jen and Sammi who stayed in the
room. Nick went into the bedroom and put on a suit.
"Jenny, I like Nick. I like Howie too, I think he is cute." Sammi
said and Jen looked down at her sister.
"Oh really?" She asked, a smile on her face.
"Yes." The little girl nodded and put her little pink dress on.
"Jenny? Are you just visiting? Do you live somewhere else?" Sammi asked
and sat on the bed, looking at her sister.
"Yes. We live in Florida." Jenny said.
"Will I come with you?" Sammi asked, praying that her sister would say
yes.
"I don't know, maybe." She didn't know what she was going to do, she wanted
to get custody of her sister, but she wasn't sure how Nick would feel about
that.
"All done?" Nick said and came out.
"Wow! You look so handsome." Sammi ran from across the room and landed
in Nick's arms.
"And you look beautiful, just like your sister." Nick smiled at Jen. He
could see that she was happier than she had ever been. Her heart been broken
without her little sister and now it was back again.
They went to the restaurant and got a huge table. Nick sat next to
Sammi and Jen, next to Jen was Howie, then Valerie, AJ, Jasmine, Brian,
Elizabeth, Kevin and Kim. They made a handsome, and large, group.
Sammi sat at the table, not speaking, just watching. She watched
the body language that was expressed by each person. She watched
Nick and Jen closely and knew that she had never seen anything like what
they shared before. Nick constantly looked in Jen's eyes, always
smiled, held her hand and rubbed her back. Sammi couldn't help but
wonder if all people were like that or if Jen and Nick were just like that.
"How are you doing?" Kim bent down and looked at Sammi.
"I'm good." She smiled and Kim nodded.
"We are all happy that you are here with us." Howie said and smiled.
"I am glad that I am here. It is like a different life when I am
with all of you. You all seem so happy." Sammi said in a little voice.
"We have our moments." Nick said and Sammi nodded. They hadn't told
her about what they did for a career, but they thought that would wait.
"But not as many as I had with Daddy." Sammi said in a little voice.
"Hopefully those days are over." Nick said and looked at Sammi and then
at Jen. She was surprised to hear him say that, but she wasn't at
all disappointed.
"I hope so." Sammi said and they finished their dinner.
"You tired?" Nick asked gently and Sammi nodded, rubbing her eyes. Nick
picked her up and carried her to the car. They drove to the hotel
and went up to their rooms.
"Can she stay with us?" Jen asked, watching Nick hold Sammi in his arms.
"Yeah, that would be a good idea." He said and they put Sammi in her pajamas
and they got dressed.
Nick laid on the left, and Jen on the right with Sammi in the middle.
They pulled the covers up to her chin and turned the light off.
"I love you." Nick said and leaned over and kissed Jen.
"I love you too." Jen said and smiled to herself.
"No!" Sammi screeched in the middle of the night and Nick sat up and turned
the light on.
"It's okay sweetie." He said and looked down at her, she was sweating.
He got up and gave her a cup of water. Miraculously she hadn't awoken
Jen, who was in a deep sleep.
"Thank you." She said and Nick turned the light off.
"You're welcome." He said and put his arm around her.
"Nick, can you be my daddy?" She said in a voice full of sadness in confusion.
Nick's heart nearly stopped when he heard the words, he wasn't sure what
to say.
"No sweetie, not yet. Just go to sleep." Jen said and Nick was surprised
to hear that she was up.
"Will I ever have a mommy and daddy like normal kids?"
"Yes, sometime." Jen said and Nick felt bad that he couldn't say anything.
He was at a loss of words.
That night they slept peacefully, nightmare free. Nick smiled to
himself throughout the night, thinking about the little girl that had brought
so much joy to the woman he loved.