Chapter One-hundred-Three
"Are you sure your parents are okay with the two of us sleeping in the same bed, Brian?" Riley questioned, as the two of them are getting settled into their room, which used to belong to Brian when he lived at home. It's just the two of them because Josh will be sleeping with Elenore for both hers and Kevin's sake.
"Yeah honey for the fifth time now, they're fine about it," Brian replied while grinning at her, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her so she was standing in front of him as he sat on the edge of the bed and Riley smiled down at him, biting her lip nervously — he's noticed lately that she does that a lot and he thinks it's just adorable.
"I just want everything to be perfect for you that's all, I know how excited you are to be home and the last thing we need is for your parents to hate me."
"They don't hate you I promise," Brian reassured, and he pulled Riley into his lap so she is straddling him and he placed a finger to her cheek and lightly caressed it as he gazed into her stormy blue eyes. "Infact my mom hasn't stopped telling me how amazing you are ever since you went into that kitchen with her to help out." Riley laughed.
"Nuh-uh, you are lying."
"I'm serious! And do you know what I said to her?"
"What?" Brian playfully flipped Riley over, so she lay on her back on the bed beside him and he rested his forehead against hers as she laughed.
"I said to her: so tell me something I don't already know."
"Is that so?"
"Mhm," Brian answered, as he intertwined their fingers together, as they lay curled up on the bed side by side. "You have nothing to worry about baby girl because they love you. AND they know we live together so us sharing a room was to be expected." Riley didn't reply, she only smiled up at him and he placed a finger to her chin, before capturing her lips with his in a passionate kiss. Riley closed her eyes and kissed him back as she pulled him on top of her. Just when their kisses were about to become more intense, they heard whistling at the door. Brian and Riley pulled apart and looked back at the door to see AJ standing there with Laila in his arms and he has a smirk plastered on his goofy face. Riley laughed and Brian rolled his eyes.
"Yes Alex?"
"If you two are going to be all kissy face with each other like that then I highly suggest you either A) close the door, or B) keep in mind that there are young and impressionable children running around here so you might want to keep it at least PG rated. There is also the possibility that your parents could be roaming these halls, and see what you naughty kids are up to."
"Okay Kevin, thanks for the advice. We'll be sure to remember that next time."
"What advice did I give now? And how did I manage to give it from all the way in my room without even having to open my mouth? Man! I must be getting good." Kevin teased, as he and Howie came up beside AJ.
"What is this, stand outside of Brian's door day and irritate him?"
"Well I figured since I've already done that to Nick this morning I would move on to torture somebody else." Kevin rolled his eyes.
"Oh no, not that again. AJ get a coat on that child and get a move on will you? And Brian I thought we were playing basketball tonight?"
"Apparently he found another way to entertain himself tonight. Featuring Riley." Riley laughed.
"Bite me, Aje." She shot back, and AJ looked at Riley with a look like he'd been shot, before covering Laila's ears.
"Careful woman, we've got the two-year-old tape recorder present!"
"Well you've already taught her the word jackass, I figured why not add bite me to her vocabulary too?" Riley joked, as she and Brian both got out of bed.
"Hey that was an accident!"
"Riiight," Riley giggled and AJ stuck his tongue out at her before grabbing the pink hoodie that Howie was handing to him and he began to put it on Laila, before finally following Kevin's orders and going downstairs. Brian and Riley followed them as Brian grabbed up his basketball. When they all got downstairs, they found that it was just as chaotic down there as it was for them upstairs as Dakota is in the middle of a very unusual tantrum — a mild one compared to the recent one she had, but still — it's not like Dakota. While Dakota is off in one of her unusual tantrums, Sarah sat on the floor bawling.
"For the last time, young lady, share your crayons with Sarah." Nick ordered firmly, as he was trying his hardest not to lose his cool.
"NO! They are MINE." Dakota insisted with an identical tone that her father had toward her, and she stomped her foot.
"What is going on here?" Brian asked bewildered, as he thought they had settled this whole Dakota and Sarah situation back at the orphanage.
"Ellie and Dakota decided that they were going to color while we waited for you all to come downstairs so that we could go outside. Sarah was going to join them but then all of the sudden Dakota decided she was going to be rotten toward her and not let her have any crayons. So she grabbed the box away from her and shouted 'NO they're MINE!" and Sarah started bawling. I have tried reasoning with her in a more rational way, but she downright refuses to share with her." Nick explained angrily. "She is about to lose her crayons and all of her coloring books if she doesn't have a change of heart in the next five minutes — and she won't get them back until our trip home."
"But daddy they're MINE!" Dakota shouted at him suddenly, and she began to sob. Brian sighed, then he went over and kneeled down in front of his niece, and he gently took her hands into his and made her look at him.
"Yes, you are right sweetheart, they are yours. But you can share them with Sarah can't you?"
"No."
"Why not honey? I thought we talked about giving Sarah a chance."
"We can give Sarah a chance without her taking my stuffs. Why does she always hafta have my stuffs?"
"Sarah doesn't have any crayons of her own honey. I don't know how that is…but we'll have to fix that won't we? Until then I think you should be the nice and loving little girl that you are, and share your crayons with her — just for now. Okay?"
"I don'ts want to! I already hafta shares my daddy I am NOT sharing my crayons too!" Dakota insisted, her voice rising just a little bit now. She's trying her very hardest not to yell at her uncle Brian. She doesn't want to yell at him because he is the only one who seems to understand. But at the moment, he is frustrating her.
"Kota baby…please. Just for now so that you can make your daddy happy and then I will go out and buy Sarah her own crayons tomorrow and you wont ever have to share them with her again." Dakota's eyes began to water up again at these words.
"And what's about me? When can I be happy?" Dakota wailed, and she threw her crayons at a hysterical Sarah. "TAKES THEM! You might as well since you takes everything else!" she shouted at her, and she ran off toward the stairs.
"Dakota Ann Carter, stop right there!" Nick shouted at her, suddenly. This is the second time Dakota has thrown something at Sarah and this time he won't let it go.
"NO! LEAVES ME ALONE!" She shouted, and without looking back, she ran up the stairs and a few moments later they heard an unmistakable sound of a door slamming. Nick growled, and then started after her only to be stopped by Brian grabbing his arm gently.
"Do not go up there if you are going to shout at her. You need to be aware of her feelings Nick."
"I am very aware of her feelings Brian, and I get it. But she has to learn that she is not going to get away with treating Sarah like crap. There are other ways for her to vent and acting like this is not an acceptable one."
"And you need to learn that you can't just force her to share her stuff and expect her to be okay with it Nick — at least not right away. You can't force her to accept her, you need to let her do that on her own or it's never going to happen. She is used to having her daddy to herself, and she is used to her stuff being hers. Now she has someone she has to share it all with and it's a big change for her." '
"I know this Brian, I get it. But she is not going to get away with hurting Sarah. I get that this is hard for her but she needs to learn to express it without throwing these tantrums." Brian sighed and then finally let go of Nick's arm.
"Just don't go up there and scream at her. That is only going to make things worse."
"I'm not going to scream at her. Trust me, I am going to be very calm." Nick replied, and he went upstairs. When he got up there he went down the hall to the room that he is staying in with Ashley and the kids, and he opened the door to find Dakota sitting on the floor leaning against the bed. She's hugging her legs to her chest and she's sobbing. Nick shut the door and went over and grabbed the chair to the desk, and he brought it over to the nearest corner and placed the chair in front of it, so that it was facing the wall and he looked back at Dakota who was watching his every move in bewilderment. What is that chair for she thought to herself.
"Get over here Dakota, now. I never ever thought that I would have to do this, but you are going to sit in time out." He told her, and like he promised Brian, he remained calm though no one would ever mistaken that he is angry. Dakota looked at her father, suddenly with a shocked expression on her face. He can't be serious!
"Daddy no…" she pleaded, and she is crying so hard that everybody downstairs could hear her.
"Yes honey, you have got to learn that you are not going to treat Sarah this way. Now get over here."
"NO!" She wailed, and she pushed herself back against the bed more. Nick doesn't have any patience at all, though he promised Brian he was going to remain calm. He went over and gently gathered her into his arms and he carried her over to the chair.
"DADDY NO!!! NO, NO, NO, NOOOOO!!!!" She shrieked, and she struggled with him, and beat her hands against his chest as she tried her very hardest to get away from him. Nick held on tight as his eyes threatened to water. When he brought her over to the chair he set her down in it so that she is facing the wall.
"You will sit there for four minutes. When your four minutes are up then we will talk calmly about this situation." He told her calmly, and then he immediately walked out of the room and shut the door behind him, before leaning his back up against it as he finally let the tears fall. He really never thought that he would have to do this. And it is the hardest thing in the world. One thing he knows for sure, once he makes his point and she learns her lesson he will never do it again. Suddenly Ashley appeared around the corner and Nick looked at her curiously as she looked at him worriedly.
"I've been sent up to ask why she is screaming bloody murder, and quite frankly, I wanna know why also."
"Because, I put her in time out," Nick answered and he darted his eyes away from her. Even though he is staring at the ground Ashley could see the tears rolling down his face.
"Seriously?" Ashley asked disbelievingly. Nick Carter would never punish his baby. Nick nodded.
"You can hate me if you want, but I knew if it wasn't done then she'd just continue to be rude to Sarah. But believe me, after tonight this will be my last time." Ashley went to the door and pushed it open — she has to see this for herself. She peeked in and sure enough, there was Dakota facing the wall crying her eyes out — though she is starting to calm down now. Ashley closed the door then, and she looked at Nick who she can tell is totally hurting over this just as much as Dakota probably is. Ashley moved in front of him and placed her hands to his cheeks before making him look at her.
"Why would I hate you? She's your daughter, it's up to you how you raise her. And to be honest…I'm proud of you. She needs this Nick…you are right, she can't treat Sarah the way she is treating her."
"She's not just my daughter. Not anymore and you know it. Everybody knows that she's basically become your baby too and you baby her just as much as I do."
"But when it comes to decisions like this…that's up to you not me. And anyway, like I said, she deserves this. There is a better way for her to vent other then treating Sarah badly and the only way she will learn this is if you be firm with her. We're trying to teach Ellie that you can't always get what you want just because you throw a tantrum…well Dakota needs to learn the same thing — even if her tantrums are rare." Nick rested his forehead against hers, and she wiped away his tears.
"Is Sarah okay? Did someone calm her down?"
"Yes, Brian and I did. Ellie was a little upset too because your yelling had frightened her a little…but Kevin took care of it."
"I better go take care of Kota now…four minutes is about up." Ashley once again placed her hand to his cheek, and she pulled his lips down onto hers for a soft kiss.
"I'll be downstairs — everybody took the kids outside so that they wouldn't have to hear Kota's crying."
"Kay…we'll be out in a minute." Ashley nodded, and then turned and went downstairs. Nick sighed and then pushed open the door and padded back into the room. As soon as the door opened Dakota looked away from the wall and at him with so much anger and heartache.
"Are you ready to talk to me now?" He asked her gently.
"Likes I have a choice, right? You're the daddy an' all…"
"You very well do have a choice. If you're not ready then I can go back downstairs until you are and you can continue to sit there while your friends are outside having fun."
"I'm ready." Dakota immediately insisted, as she just wants to get back down to Ellie.
"That's what I thought," Nick replied, nodding his head and he went and sat on the bed. "Come here then…" Dakota got up from her time out chair and went over and stood next to Nick. He patted his lap but Dakota shook her head and took a step back.
"Kota come on…sit in my lap so we can talk."
"We can talks just fine withs me standing here." Nick sighed heavily.
"Fine. Do you understand why I put you in time out?"
"Yes," Dakota answered, and she looked away from him and down at the floor.
"Why then?"
"Because you hate me an' love Sarah more."
"Dakota Ann, we've talked about this before. You know very well that I don't hate you. You know very well that I love you very much."
"You have a funny way of showing it. I thoughts I was your baby…then you went and punished me when you saids that you never would. You are a liar."
"Yeah well obviously I was young and didn't know what I was talking about," Nick replied, while rolling his eyes some. He pulled her into his lap then so he is cradling her. Dakota struggled with him, trying her very hardest to wriggle her way out of his lap, but he only held her tightly. He waited until she finally gave in, and when she did, he couldn't help but smile down at her a little bit. She only scowled right back. He leaned down and placed soft kisses on her forehead as he hugs her tight. "Just because I put you in time out that does not mean you aren't my little girl anymore. You will always be my baby Dakota Ann and I will always love you. But you need to learn that you can't treat Sarah the way that you are treating her. You need to learn that you aren't going to get your way by doing that, and I'm going to teach it to you one way or another. If putting you in time out is the way to do that…then so be it." He told her, even though he vowed he would never do it again. Doesn't mean he can't threaten to.
"Well that's too bad, cause I hates you." Dakota replied stubbornly, and she looked away from him. Nick gently cupped her cheek and made her look back up at him.
"I know you don't mean that."
"Yes I do. I mean it very much, Daddy."
"No you don't. You are just angry with me. And the faster you tell me why, the faster you can go downstairs and play with your friends. I bet Ellie is lonely without you. Don't you want to play with Ellie?"
"I already tolds you why and you didn'ts listen to me the first time because your still making me share with Sarah."
"I don't see what the big deal is. All you had to do was share them for one night honey. ONE night. Then Brian and I would've gone to the store and bought Sarah her own crayons."
"But then how long would it be until I haves to share something else of mine with her daddy? I'm already sharing you and I HATES it! Don't make me give her all of my toys too!"
"Brian told you that you would only have to share your crayons for one more night and then after we bought her, her own we wouldn't make you share anything else if you don't want to. If you weren't busy throwing your tantrum, you would have heard that." Dakota crossed her arms and looked away from him and he combed his fingers through her blonde hair. "I promise you baby, I won't make you share another thing with her after tonight. But you need to make a deal with me in return…" he told her, and he placed his hand to her cheek and once again made her look up at him. "You need to promise me that you won't throw things at her…or do anything else to harm her ever again…because I am not tolerating that anymore at all. The moment you do, you're going to end up back in time out. If you're angry you need to be a big girl and tell me so with your words. Do you understand?"
"Yes daddy…" Dakota answered softly, as another tear escaped and rolled down her face. Nick wiped it away with his finger, and he shifted her so that she is straddling him, but lying back against his legs and he placed his hands delicately under her head so she is looking up at him.
"And that shouldn't be so hard either…tantrums isn't a normal thing for you baby…it isn't like you at all. You know that you can come to me and talk to me about anything and that I will listen and try my very hardest to make it all better. You know that…right?" Dakota nodded while sniffling and she slid her arms around his neck, causing him to lean down and rest his forehead against hers.
"I love you daddy…I'm sorry…please don't hate me…"
"Hey, hey…" Nick interrupted, and he hugged her even closer. "I don't hate you…you're my little girl and it hurts me just as much as it hurts you when I'm tough on you…I don't like it. I love you too much to ever hate you so don't you ever believe that I could Dakota. It's not at all possible…you are my pride n joy. There is no me without you…" Nick sat there gently rocking her from side to side as she still lay back against his legs with his arms under her head for a pillow and he placed soft kisses on her closed eyelids. After awhile when he knew she had calmed down, he grabbed a tissue and dried her tears, than he got up with her and brought her out of the room and he headed downstairs as she kept her arms around his neck, and rested her head against his shoulder. When they got downstairs he took her out into the front yard where they found Brian, AJ, Howie, Kevin, and Wiley playing basketball, and Riley, and Kori watching the kids draw on the sidewalk with chalk. The guys stopped as soon as they saw them come out, and they looked at Nick, all four of them concerned. They had heard from Ashley what had happened upstairs, and none of them could believe what she was telling them.
"Is everything okay Nick?"
"Mhm, fine." Nick answered, not wanting to talk about it. He went to set Dakota down, but she only whimpered and clung onto him tightly. Nick hugged her even closer, kissed her forehead, and began to play basketball with her still in his arms — he's done it a hundred times since she was just a tiny baby, so it's nothing new to him.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy =)
Enjoy =)
