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Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy =)
Chapter One-Hundred-Eight


When five minutes had gone by the house phone suddenly rang. Harold got up and went and picked it up.


"Hello?" He asked into the phone. "Yeah of course. See you in a second," he said, and he pressed a button on the phone and then hung up. When he did, he turned and looked at everybody who was looking back at him.


"They are here," he announced. Nick - now excited, jumped up and ran toward the living room, only to nearly bump into Laney who was on his way into the kitchen.


"Whoa. Nick! Where is the fire?"


"Sorry," Nick immediately apologized.


"It's okay...but anyway your brother and sisters are here," He announced. He knew because he and Marcus were watching the gate on the security screens upstairs. The Littrells said that they could hook them up in their room.


"Yeah I know, they called the phone to be let in," Nick replied, grinning from ear to ear, and with that he continued to run past him. Laney shook his head smiling and looked at everybody else.


"Would you, Marcus, and Q like some hot chocolate Lan?" Jackie questioned.


"Oh that would be great, thanks" Laney nodded.


"Come on Ash you and I will go outside to meet everybody - Nick gets a little excited when he gets to see his siblings because he doesn't get to very often." Brian spoke up, and he took her hand and led her through the living room and out into the front yard and Riley and Harold followed, as did Laney. When they got out there they found four kids wrapped in Nick's arms - BJ who is eighteen, Leslie who is fourteen, and Aaron and Angel who are thirteen.


"HEY guys!" Brian greeted cheerfully, and they all turned to look at him to see him coming out of the house with Ashley and his father and Laney.


"Briaaaan!" Angel greeted cheerfully, and she took off for a run to Brian, as did Aaron. Brian laughed and held his arms open for them just on time for them to come flying into them.


"Heey how are my two favorite twins?"


"Good," They replied in unision. Brian grinned and they moved on to greet Laney and Harold. Brian went over to the girls then, with Ashley's hand still in his.


"Hi ladies, where are my hugs?" he asked. BJ laughed and wrapped her arms around Brian next and the two other girls followed suit.


"Hey Bri," she replied.


"How was your trip up here? I bet it wasn't nearly as chaotic as ours." Brian questioned.


"Ha...are you kidding me? Try being stuck in a car all day with the human tornado over there," BJ replied, pointing over at Aaron. "I've already told him that he is cleaning out my car - there are wrappers and stuff all over the place because of him."


"And he pulled pranks on ALL of us...and was just a pain the whole time," Angel complained, as she walked over to them.


"Haha....well we had two just like him and our vans," Brian replied, motioning toward Nick and talking about Dakota too.


"Where is Dakota anyway?" Leslie asked, knowing he was talking about her too without him even having to say so.


"Upstairs sleeping. She tried her very hardest to stay awake until you got here but I put her to sleep by rubbing her back. She had her heart set on seeing Aaron." Nick answered.


"Aww...why'd you put my little buddy to sleep?" Aaron whined, as he finally joined everybody.



"She was exhausted. I'm surprised she lasted as long as she did. she's been awake since five in the morning," Nick replied.




"Well who is this? Are you going to introduce us to your friend?" Angel suddenly asked, indicating toward Ashley who was standing next to Nick holding his hand.




"Oh! Right! Everybody, this is Ashley. I'm her caregiver at the Orphanage - long story I'll explain it to you later. Ashley, these are my siblings - you really dont need an introduction do you?" Ashley shook her head.




"No, I know who they all are," she replied shyly, suddenly going back to her normal quiet self again, unlike how she's been for the past two days - all bossy and sarcastic-like.




"You are her caregiver huh?" Leslie asked, smiling a little. She knows there's a lot more going on between them then that.




"Yes, I am." Nick replied, rolling his eyes.




"He's her caregiver with benifits," Brian replied with a smirk.




"Anyway," Nick replied, giving Brian a look. "Lets go inside shall we? Jackie should have hot chocolate ready for us by now."




"Sweet!" Aaron cheered, and he turned and bounded toward the house. Nick shook his head smiling and the Carter Siblings, Brian, and Ashley all began to follow him.




"His energy never fails to amaze me...." Nick commented. When they all got inside they went into the kitchen, and sure enough Jackie did have the hot chocolate ready. Brian went over, grabbed the one he made for Nick and he brought it over to him, himself.




"Here you go Nick! Hot Frick-style. Just for you!" Nick said nothing, he only took the hot chocolate and thanked him with his eyes, before sitting down. Everybody sat there talking and catching up as they sipped on hot chocolate and ate cookies and the girls all light heartedly interrogated Ashley. Normally they would be pretty tough, but they can sense that Ashley isn't like most girls their brother dates and have a feeling that they need to be nice to her. After awhile of them all sitting there, the kitchen door suddenly opened. They all looked at it to see a sleepy-eyed Dakota enter the room. She looked around and when she realized Leslie, Angel, BJ, and Aaron are there, she suddenly became awake as her eyes grew big in excitement.



"UNCLE AARON!" She shrieked excitedly, and she ran over and flew into his arms, throwing her little arms about his neck for a hug. Aaron laughed.



"Heeeey Pal!" He greeted in the same cheerful mood, and he slid his arms around her and hugged her back. He isn't in the least bit shocked that she had called him 'Uncle Aaron' because Nick finally told his siblings about him adopting her. Though it is a bit new to him to be an uncle. After awhile of watching Aaron hug Dakota, Angel spoke up.



"What are BJ, Leslie and I? chopped liver?" she teased. "Where are our hugs Ms Dakota Ann?" Dakota giggled and slid down from Aaron's lap and she went around giving hugs to everybody - literally everybody in the room because once she got through with hugging all three of the girls, she was on a roll and couldnt stop. When she got back to Aaron again, she crawled into his lap.



"So...Kota....what are you doing awake?" Nick spoke up suddenly. "Last time I checked I put you to bed a couple of hours ago."



"I tolds you I was gonna wait up for Aaron."



"Yeah Nick, she told you." Aaron replied in mock stubborness. Nick rolled his eyes grinning. Dakota crawled out of Aaron's lap then after giving him a kiss on the cheek and she went over and crawled into Nick's lap. she slid her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Nick slid his arms around her and returned it.



"An' anyway, I woke up to find you and Ashee gone an' I was lonely."



"Aww...i'm sorry baby," Nick replied, and he kissed her forehead. "But now you've left Sarah up there all alone," he pointed out, and he pulled back a little and looked into her eyes.



"Nuh uh, Marcus is with her," Dakota replied indifferently, and she snuggled close to him and rested her head against his shoulder. Everybody sat around for awhile and talked, then after a couple of hours, Dakota eventually started to fall asleep again. She had her head rested against his shoulder and her eyes are just barely open.



"Your tired baby...why don't I take you upstairs and lay you in bed?"



"I want Aaron to do it," Dakota insisted. Nick laughed.



"Of course you do," he replied, and he looked at Aaron. Aaron smirked and stood up and he went over to his big brother and niece. He held his arms out for her and Nick gently handed her over after kissing her one last time. "Straight to bed Aaron. No detours."



"Yes sir," Aaron saluted, and he carried the sleepy four year old toward the stairs. When he got upstairs Dakota pointed to which room to go to and when they got in there, sure enough, Marcus was in there baby-sitting.



"Hey Aaron, what's up?" Marcus asked, grinning at the Minature Nick who entered the room.



"Hey not much, just putting my favorite neice in bed," Aaron replied, and he carried Dakota over to the bed, pulled down the blankets in her spot next to who he assumes must be Sarah, and he lay her in it and covered her up before sitting on his knees next to the bed and he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as he looked down at her smiling some.



"Aaron..."



"Hmm?"



"Will you do me a favors?"



"Anything sweetheart."



"Will you make daddy let Brian come near me, please?" Dakota asked softly, and she looked up at her newfound Uncle with sad eyes and he could swear that she's going to cry. Aaron became confused and concerned.



"What are you talking about Kota? Why wouldn't Nick let Brian come near you?"



"I don'ts know...Brian did something to makes Daddy angry an' now he says he's not my uncle anymore an' can'ts come near me," Dakota explained, and just as he predicted, a tear rolled down her cheek. Aaron wiped it away and looked down at her sympathetically. How could Nick do such a thing to her? Even he knows Brian is her favorite.



"I will see what I can do...okay? Don't worry about it though...people say things that they don't mean when they are upset. I'm sure Nick doesn't really mean it."



"Kay..."



"Now come on...get some sleep and I will be here when you wake up in the morning."



"Kay..." Dakota closed her eyes and was out in not even a minute. Aaron sat and watched her sleep for a few moments, the he kissed her forehead before getting up and looking at Marcus.



"See you later Marcus."



"Later AC....its good seeing you." Aaron nodded, and left the room and Marcus remained behind and continued to watch over the girls.




~*~*~*~*~*~



Later on that night when everybody had gone to their rooms, Nick went into Aaron and Angel's room. The two twins are sharing a room with two beds in it, and BJ and Leslie the last available room which also has two beds.



"Everything okay in here?" he asked them, as he went over and sat on the edge of Aaron's bed as he sat in it with his notebook.



"Yeah fine," he answered quietly.



"What are we doing tomorrow, Nick?" Angel asked curiously.



"Well Brian and Kevin want to give the kids a tour of the town...so Ashley and I are going with them. You are more than welcome to come with us if you want. Aaron I eventually want us to have some brother time okay?" Aaron nodded and Nick looked at him curiously. It may be late, but Aaron is never this quiet.



"What's up Air?"



"What's going on between you and Brian?"



"Why?"



"Well because Dakota told me you two are fighting." Nick sighed and nodded.



"We are...but it's a long story and I don't feel like getting into it."



"Yeah, well, she's asked me to make you let Brian come near her." Nick rolled his eyes.



"Well with the way things are going right now, I dont see how that's going to happen."

<BR>
"How can you do that to her Nick? She was crying and everything. You know how much Brian means to her..." Nick shrugged.



"She'll find a new favorite."



"That's very unfair of you," Angel spoke up suddenly. "Just because you have a problem with him it doesn't mean you should bring your four year old in the middle of it."



"I'm going to bed. I love you both...see you in the morning." Nick replied, and he got up and left the room. Aaron rolled his eyes and slammed his notebook down on the nightstand.



"Only been here a couple of hours and I am already pissed off at him - how does that work?" Angel sighed and shook her head.



"Lets just get some sleep....it's late." She replied, and she reached over and turned the nightstand lamp off, before settling back into her blankets. Aaron did so too while muttering "stupid Nick..." under his breath.



~*~*~*~*~*~



Later on that night - four in the morning to be exact, Dakota tossed and turned in her sleep, until finally her body jerked and she shot up in the upright position. She looked around the room to see that everybody is asleep and her eyes began to fill up with tears. She wants her Uncle Brian, and she wants him now.



"BRI-AAAAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she wailed, causing Nick, Ashley, and Sarah all to wake up startled.



"Baby? Baby?! What's the matter?" Nick asked frantically. He reached over to grab her, but Dakota angrily shoved him away, only startling him even more. "BRIAN!!!!!!! I WANTS MY BRIAN!!!!!! I WANTS UNCLE BRIAN NOW!!!!!!!!!!!" She shrieked hysterically, as her little cheeks were soaked with tears.



"Honey Brian is sleeping right now...." Ashley tried to reason. "You can see him in the morning."



"NO!!!! I DON'TS CARE, I WANTS HIM NOW!!!!!!" Dakota demanded.



"Honey..." Nick replied, and he went to grab her again, but Dakota once again pushed him away, and threw herself to the otherside of the bed. She lay on her stomach and began to kick and scream, her arms flailing about. "YOU GIVES ME MY UNCLE BRIAN, AND YOU GIVES HIM TO ME NOW DADDY!" suddenly the door burst open, and Brian, Jackie, Harold, Riley, Kevin, AJ, Howie, and all three bodyguards came rushing in, and Angel, Aaron, BJ, Leslie, Kori, and Wiley were right behind them.



"What is going on in here?!" Kevin demanded. A beyond hysterical Dakota looked up from her tantrum and at all of the new faces in the room - when she recognized Brian's, she got up and ran straight for him. Brian crouched down, held his arms out to her and she flew right into them. She flung her arms about his neck, hugged him tight and she continued to sob. Brian hugged her back very tightly.



"Honey what's the matter? What's going on?" He asked her, just as Elenore, Josh, Spencer, and Ryan joined them. Laila was already there, because AJ is holding her.



"I don'ts want daddy to takes you away from me..." she sobbed into his shoulder. "I don'ts want you to leave me!"



"Honey I am not going anywhere, I promise." Brian reassured gently, and he pulled back a little so he could look at her. He placed his hands to her damp cheeks and stared into her eyes seriously. "I love you too much to ever leave you. You are the best little girl in my life Dakota. Why would you think that I would leave you?"



"Cause Daddy says you can'ts come near me anymore," Dakota sniffled. "I heards you an' daddy fightin' out in the hallway, an' I had a bad dream that daddy took me far aways from you." Brian sighed heavily and he sat down on the floor then so she is standing between his legs and he once again wrapped his arms around her waist as he pulled her into a hug.



"It was only a bad dream baby, i'm right here and your not going anywhere without me. Do you really think Id let Nick take you?" He asked gently, and he wiped away her tears, before kissing her cheek and she rested her head against his shoulder as she snuggled into him. "It was just a crazy fight honey. People can't always get a long...it's impossible. Your daddy is angry with me right now, but he'll calm down eventually and when he does he knows i'm right here with open arms - cause he's my Frack and I love him and I know deep down inside that he loves me too. You have nothing to worry about." Dakota tightened her arms around him as she sniffled into his neck and hiccuped. Brian rubbed his hand over her back as he placed soft kisses on the top of her head. Seeing that Brian has everything under control, everybody else began to go back to their beds - Kevin, Kori, Howie, and AJ ushering the rest of the kids. It took a couple of minutes to convince Ellie that Dakota will be okay and that she needs to get back in bed, but eventually she listened. Riley stayed behind and waited for her boyfriend. Brian sat there quietly holding Dakota until she was calmed down, than he gently cupped her chin and carefully made her look up at him. "I love you Dakota Ann." he informed her.



"I loves you too Brian..." she spoke softly, and he can hear the slight faulter in her voice that tells him that she is still a little upset. He dried her tears with his shirt then and combed his fingers lightly through her hair as he looked into her sad blue eyes.



"How about you crawl back into bed and get some sleep now okay? everything is going to be alright."



"I wants to go get in bed with you....please?" Brian looked up at Riley then for approval and she nodded. Brian looked over at Nick and Ashley then for permission. Nick silently held Dakota's teddy bear and blanket out to him. Brian stood up with her and brought her over to the bed and he looked into Nick's teary eyes, as he took the blanket and teddy bear from him. He handed Dakota the bear and wrapped her blanket around her as she still has her face buried into his shoulder and is holding onto him with a very tight death grip. He turned around then and followed Riley back into their room as he placed soft kisses on Dakota's forehead. Nick looked at Ashley then and she didn't say a word, she only lay down then and turned her back on him as she wrapped her arms around Sarah who snuggled up close to her again, and the two of them went to sleep. Nick sighed, and settled back into his own blankets, and he closed his eyes and after a long while he eventually went to sleep also.