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



Meanwhile, at the Littrell Household, when Brian and Riley had gotten upstairs she pulled him down the hall to their bedroom and she pushed their bedroom door open before bringing him inside and shutting it behind her and locking it. She kept hold of his hand as she went over to the bed and she sat down on the edge of it. Brian grinned down at her before placing his hands to her cheeks and claiming her lips for his own in a passionate kiss. Riley slid her arms around his neck and lay back on the bed pulling him down on top of her as she kissed him back.



"How long has it been since we've been alone together?" Brian questioned when the two of them broke away and he rested his head next to hers after rolling over so he lay beside her.



"Like, a few hours," Riley laughed.



"That long?!" Brian exclaimed and Riley just laughed.



"Mhm," she answered and he placed his hand to her cheek before kissing her other cheek.



"It feels good just to lay here with you in a quiet room…I swear if I had to put up with Josh's tantrum anymore tonight I would have killed Kevin."



"I know…but keep in mind that Josh is traumatized honey…part of him can't help it – he really can't stand to be away from Ellie for too long…and vise versa."




"I know, but that's just it. I want to fix that but Kevin isn't exactly fond of the idea of Ellie seeing a therapist. I'm afraid we're going to be living with them forever and things will still be the same when our kids are 13."



"Well, until Kev adopts Ellie, he doesn't exactly have official say in that…Brooke and I can step in if we feel it's needed – and I do think Ellie should talk to somebody."


"Kevin will throw a fit…you know how he is with her, he is practically already her father but refuses to admit it if you point it out to him – and Ellie will not be so happy about it either."



"I'll break it to him gently. He can choose who she talks to, and he can even be there with her, but it has to happen and unless he signs the adoption papers he has to let us do it."



"I don't know Ri…I don't want to push him…"



"If he loves Ellie as much as he says he does, he will get her the help that she needs because it's good for her. It's going to be hard on her, and hell it's going to be hard on him too, but she needs it more then anything."



"Josh needs help too…he has his demons from the past to deal with and the kidnapping to deal with too – whoever you get to talk to Ellie, I want them to talk to Josh too." Riley nodded.



"I think it should be someone they know…someone they are familiar with talking to. Either Dr. Huang…or even Detective Stabler and Detective Benson. Both Josh and Ellie are very fond of them."



"Yeah, I was thinking about that too." Riley scooted closer to Brian and rested her head against his shoulder and she wrapped her arm around him and kissed his cheek as she caressed his other one.



"Speaking of Detective Stabler…did you call him about Chase yet?"



"Mhm, he says when we get back he will go and have a talk with him. He says either we can be there with him when he does, or he'll go by himself – which ever way is comfortable for you."



"I don't want to be in the same room with him – everytime I am, all he does is just upset me."


"Then we won't go with him baby that's fine. But I promise you, you will be divorced before Christmas I am certain of it. I won't rest until you are happy…" Riley smiled up at him some and she placed her finger to his jaw before turning his face so their lips were just inches apart and she brushed her own lightly over them.



"Just being with you makes me happy." Brian grinned a little and rested his forehead against hers.



"I'm taking Josh to the mall tomorrow…are you coming with me? I told him that I want him to show me what he wants for Christmas so that I can start planning our first Christmas together. It made him really happy."



"Aww…of course I'm coming. I love spending time with you and Josh."



"And I love it when you spend time with us too – especially if it's just the three of us. I want him to get used to you."



"Why?" Riley asked, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow and a small smile on her face.



"Because you are an important part of my life just as much as he is…that's why."




~*~*~*~*~*~




Meanwhile, back at the Motel that Cole and Max are staying at, the two of them sat at a table, both with horrified looks on their faces and Cole holding a cell phone and contemplating on whether or not he should call Trevor or not.



"How did they know we were there, Cole, how?" Max asked the unanswered question that he had been asking ever since they left the bushes at the Littrell House.



"It's that stupid dog, that's how!"



"But…how did they even know the dog was out there?"



"Maybe they saw she was missing…or maybe they heard you step on a twig again," Cole answered while giving Max a dark look.



"I didn't I swear! I was quiet the whole time."



"Oh yeah? Then how did the dog know we were there?"



"I don't know! They always do! And it is really starting to piss me off."



"Yeah well…what are we going to do now? I have to call Trevor and Sean and update them on what's going on."



"No don't – their patience is running very thin with us right now…lets not call them again until we have something good to report."



"They'll be pissed if we leave them in the dark, Max."



"What they don't know can't hurt them…let's just wait okay?"



"Then what do you think we should do now? I am really sick of calling all the shots here…why don't you use that brain of yours for once and help us out of this!"



"Why does it have to be the gate that we hide outside of all the time?"



"Because that's the easiest place. We always know when they leave and stuff."



"Yes, but it's obviously not safe anymore – I think we should find another place to hide. Why not the backyard? Or something."



"But then we will never know if they are leaving or not! And if Nick and Ashley leave we have to follow them – and how do you suggest we get back there, sherlock?"



"We could sneak in through the gate – at night though because it would be harder for them to notice if we hide ourselves in a dark place – or we could climb a wall too you know…"



"But that still doesn't explain how we are supposed to know when Nick and Ashley leave or not." Max was silent for a few moments as he thought things over.



"We will split up." Cole laughed at this.



"Nice joke Max…that was really funny."



"I am being serious."



"Oh…well in that case, are you CRAZY?! We can't split up that would be suicide! The moment we do I'm sure you would give us up some way and then we would be screwed. No, you need to be with me where I can keep an eye on you."



"You know, your lack of faith in me is really starting to piss me off."



"Can you really blame me? Everytime we go hiding in that bush you step on some twig and then a puppy comes running!"



"ONCE! I stepped on a fucking twig ONCE, and it was our first time spying in that bush get over it already!"


"Yeah well that one mistake has made them suspicious of us ever since and has thrown obstacles in our way from left to right!"



"Well you wanted my opinion Mr. Fucking High and Mighty and I gave it to you. If you don't like my ideas then don't ask me for them – but I would like to see you try and figure out something better! At least with my idea we would actually be INSIDE the gates…and closer then ever too."



"I just feel like doing that would be a stupid mistake…I have a really bad feeling. I just want to know how they knew we were there."



"Like you said, they were suspicious of us from the beginning."



"Yeah, but that security guard was looking RIGHT at us. How did he know the exact spot that we were hiding in?" Max shrugged his shoulders and stood up and he went over and grabbed his hoodie.



"Where are you going?"



"Out for some donuts or something…I'm sick of being here and suffering your abuse. Let me know when you have a plan," Max explained, and he opened up the door and left the room.



~*~*~*~*~



Meanwhile at the Littrell Household, Nick and Ashley had just gotten out of the shower and they each got dressed. When they did, Nick took her hand and brought her over to the bed and he lay down on the edge of the bed and he gently pulled Ashley down next to him. When he did he lifted the oversized t-shirt she is wearing far enough to reveal her belly button and he peered down at it protectively. He had helped her clean it while they were in the shower.



"How's it feel?"



"Fine Nicky," Ashley smiled up at him and she slid her arms around his neck and he leaned forward and brushed his lips softly against hers, before leaning down and placing soft kisses on her stomach. After a few moments, he pulled the blanket up on them and he placed soft kisses on her neck and shoulders.



"How is Aaron doing? He was pretty upset earlier…"



"I think he's doing a lot better now that BJ explained things to him…he's hoping to win Stacy's heart back again – he had such a huge crush on her back in the day…it killed him when we had to move…but he was so little you know? It's hard to keep up with someone when you are just four years old."



"Yeah…" Nick placed his hand to Ashley's cheek and kissed her forehead softly. Just as he was about to capture her lips with his own, the door opened and he pulled back and looked at it, as did Ashley to see that Kori had walked in.



"Knock, knock," Kori smiled and Nick could just see the devious look on her face and chuckled. He pulled Ashley's shirt down then and pulled the blankets on them more as he rested his forehead against hers.



"Hey Nicky, Hi sis!" She greeted in the same enthusiasm that Ashley greets her and Wiley and she went on over and sat on the bed beside them.



"How's it going?"



"Good…to what do we owe this pleasure?" Nick asked smirking a little.



"Oh, I just wanted to come see how my sister was doing, that's all."



"She's doing fine, so how about you leave now?" Ashley asked, not even bothering to play the role of Kori's irritated kindness that she receives from her everytime she does this to her. She is still very upset with her about earlier at the park and wants nothing to do with her.


"Aww…well you come and visit me every night little sis, I just thought I would return the favor for once." Kori replied sweetly, completely oblivious to her anger.



"Maybe we should have locked our door, Nicky."



"What's the matter? Don't like unexpected visits in the middle of the night? Well maybe now you will know how it feels."



"Don't worry, you won't be getting anymore visits from me - ever. So why don't you do me a favor and get out of my room?" Kori raised her eyebrow, as she suddenly began to realize that Ashley's hostility toward her has nothing to do with her barging into her room. The smile on her face faded and she raised her eyebrow.



"Honey what is your problem?"



"You are my problem! So will you just get the fuck out of my room now, PLEASE?" Ashley asked, trying her very hardest not to cry and trying her very hardest to stay quiet as she knows the kids are sleeping. Kori looked at Nick confused and Nick wrapped his arms around Ashley and hugged her close to him as he rested his forehead against hers.



"Now is not the best time to be teasing her Kor…I'm sorry but I think you better give her some space…"



"What did I do now?"



"Just go honey okay? I'll explain it to you later…"



"Kay…" Kori replied, and she gave her sister one last confused look before getting up and leaving the room and she shut the door behind her. Nick looked down at Ashley then and Ashley buried her face in Nick's chest. She can feel the tears wanting to form in her eyes but with a whole lot of effort she managed to keep them from coming.




"Baby, how long are you going to stay mad at her this time?"



"Forever…it is best to just not get close to her at all…if I push her away now, it will be a whole lot easier to let her go later…"



"I think you are being just a little too stubborn."



"I shouldn't have to tell her I want her to stay Nick, she should just know it! She knows how important it is to me to have my family near, and she obviously doesn't want to stay, so why push it? Her new life is obviously very important to her and by all means, why take that away from her? I would hate it if someone tried to take my life here with you away from me…"



"Honey…"



"Nick please…just hold me…" Nick didn't reply, he only hugged her closer and he kissed the top of her head softly, before burying his face in her shoulder.



"I love you…and I promise you things are going to work out in the end…I know it will."



"I love you too…" Ashley sniffled. "I just wish she and I could be a real family again…"



"Then you have to stop pushing her away."



"How can I stop when I know I am just going to lose her again?"



"You don't have to lose her…even if she goes back to Jersey. Baby families live in different states all the time…there's a thing called a phone, and you can always go and visit her."



"But I don't want her to live in Jersey, I want her to be here…where mom and dad raised us, where we grew up together…I want her to stop running. I want her to deal with what happened to mom and dad…I want her to face it like I've had to all these years…"


"Only she can make herself stop running baby…just like only you can make yourself get through this pain that you are feeling over your parents. It's a healing process…she will stop running when she is good and ready."



"I don't want her to leave me."



"Then tell her that honey…tell her how you feel. Things are never going to get better between the two of you until you both talk to each other."



"It's too hard…talking about how I feel…it hurts too much Nicky."



"I know it does honey, it took forever just for you to talk to me even. But one of these days you need to open up and I know you can do it. I believe in you…I always have."



"I know…and it's helped me so much…"