Chapter Twenty Four
“Daddy I’m bored…when’s Ellie gonna gets here?” Dakota whined, as she walked out onto the beach and found Nick lying on a blanket with Ashley, and Brian and Riley goofing off down by the water. She was just inside playing playstation with AJ and Howie. The minute she walked in the house she had begged Nick to get it out for her.
“I’m sure she’ll be here soon baby, just be patient okay?”
“Kay…” Dakota replied. Nick looked at her for a couple of minutes, than he kissed Ashley’s cheek before getting up and playfully scooping Dakota up in his arms so he is cradling her. She shrieked in delight as he took a run for it toward the water. When he got there he didn’t stop there. Instead, he ran straight through it meeting each wave as it came and Dakota held onto him tightly as she giggled uncontrollably. He Ran in a complete U-shape and then right back out again. When he came back out of the water and onto the sand, both were completely soaked. He ran back to the blanket he left Ashley on but now she is sitting up and watching the entire thing and laughing at her crazy boyfriend.
“WOO! Am I tired!” he said, pretending to be out of breath, and he fell backward onto the blanket with Dakota landing on top of him, his stomach as a cushion and she squealed before giggling even more. He smirked and then tickled her in the sides making her squirm about in his arms.
“DAAADDYYYYY THAT TICKLES! S-ST-OOOP!” She shrieked through endless giggling.
“AH hahaha!” Nick laughed that corny laugh that he has and he stopped. She calmed down some and turned so she’s sitting on top of his stomach and looking down at him.
“Daddy you’re silly,” She told him. He smirked and gently placed his hand at the back of her head and he brought her face down so that her forehead his rested against hers and he rubbed his nose lightly over hers for an Eskimo’s kiss and she smiled at him.
“Not as silly as you“ he told her. “My little Kota is the silliest little girl ever.”
“Hehe,” she giggled some more and she rested her head against his chest as he placed soft kisses on her forehead and was completely unaware that everyone had stopped to watch the father daughter moment. AJ and Howie had even come out of the house from playing Playstation to watch - Howie running back inside and grabbing his video camera as he insisted it was a Kodak moment that could NOT be missed. Nick looked at Ashley who was sitting there watching them with a small smile on her face and he grinned at her with a silly grin. She giggled.
“Well I think you both are silly.” She announced and Dakota smiled up at her.
“But daddy is sillier. Right Ashee?”
“Right,” Ashley replied.
“Oh I see how you’re. Are my two girls ganging up on me now?”
“That’s how it is, Nick.” Riley replied while laughing, as she and Brian walked over to them holding hands. Nick rolled his eyes, than he reached over and placed his hand gently at the back of Ashley’s head and he gently brought her face down to his, capturing her lips with his in a soft kiss.
“It’s okay, I love them nonetheless.” He replied between kisses. Dakota stiffles her giggles, and claps delightedly as her Daddy kisses Ashley. She was enjoying this fact ever so much. Nick finally pulled back from Ashley, smiling up at Dakota who still sat upon him ever so carefully.
"Daddy, you sures Uncle Kevy 'members where you live?" Dakota asked softly. She was kind of lonely without Elenore there, as she'd grown used to her friend being by her side 24/7.
"I'm sure, Honey," Nick assured his little girl. "They'll be here soon. Don't worry." Dakota sighed heavily.
"Well, they needs to hurry ups!" Nick chuckled.
"Yes, that they do. Uncle Kevin has all the food."
"And this is why we make Howie do the grocery shopping and not Kevin," Brian joked. "Howie knows how to get from point A to point B and back to point C."
"Hey!" Howie exclaimed. "Is that all I'm good for?"
"Nope," A.J. smirked. "You're good for noogies too!" Howie quickly handed the camera over to Riley, as he took off with A.J. hot on his heels, determined to give the older man a noogie. Brian laughed.
"Better his head than mine." Dakota giggled as Howie screamed.
"Uncle Howie sound like girl, Daddy.” Nick snickered.
"Yes, he does, Baby Girl." Ashley shook her head.
"Poor Howie," she stated, trying to stifle her own giggles. Riley kept the camera on the two running about the beach, as this was too funny a moment to pass up. Brian wrapped his arm about Riley's waist, pulling her closer to him protectively.
"I'll make sure you don't fall in the sand."
"Thanks," Riley replied, zooming in on Howie and A.J. "I swear you guys are all nuts!"
"Thanks!" Nick and Brian chorused, causing the girls to laugh. As they were laughing, they heard a voice call out. "Hey! Somebody wanna grab the food out of the car for me?"
"ELLIE!!!!!!!!" Dakota shrieked, quickly rolling off Nick's stomach and running up the beach towards her friend, who was in Kevin's arms. Kevin smiled at his niece as she came running up to greet them - well, Elenore more so than him.
"Hey Sweetie. You having fun?"
"Uh-huh!" Dakota nodded enthusiastically. "C'mon Ellie!" She reached up for her friend, wanting to drag her off to play.
"Ellie and I need to talk first, then she'll be down to play, okay?" Kevin told the little blonde one, anxiously awaiting him to put the dark-haired little one down. "I promise to try and not keep her too long."
"Oh....What you gonna talks 'bout?" Dakota wanted to know.
"I'm sure Ellie will tell you when we come back out," Kevin answered, ruffling his niece’s hair, as A.J. and Howie flew by to go and get the groceries for him. "Now, go on. Ellie will be back shortly."
"Kay," Dakota said softly, eyeing her uncle and best friend curiously. Something was wrong, she could tell. Elenore hadn't even smiled or said hello to her, and she was sucking her thumb and looked as though she'd been crying. What had Uncle Kevin done to her friend? Was she going to have to yell at him and hurt him for it? Kevin took Elenore into the house and Dakota went back down to the blanket where Nick, Ashley, and the rest were still at.
“What’s wrong baby?” Nick questioned, noticing the worried look on his daughter’s face right away and wondering why she hadn’t come back with Elenore.
“Uncle Kevy says Ellie and him needs to talk before she comes out to plays with me. Ellie didn’ts look happy. She looked like she been crying…”
“Uh-Oh…” Riley replied worriedly, and she exchanged glances with Brian. “Something must’ve gone wrong at the store.”
~*~*~*~*~
When Kevin had Elenore inside the house he brought her into the living room where the playstation and games still laid sprawled out all over the floor. He sat her down on the couch and sat next to her. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it close to her as she refused to make eye contact with Kevin if she could help it. Her little thumb in her mouth and tears rolling down her cheeks. She’s in trouble now… she knows it. And now Kevin will never want to keep her. He is going to abandon her just like her mommy and daddy had done. Kevin was silent for a couple of minutes as he thought about things. When he finally knew how to approach this, he looked at her.
“Do you want to tell me what that outburst you had earlier was all about?”
“Nots really…” Elenore answered softly, hugging her pillow close to her.
“Why not?”
“Because you’ll hurts me….cause I’ve been bad….and then you’ll leave me all alone again.”
"Why would you think that?" Kevin demanded gently, knowing she still had a whole lot of issues - despite the fact she let him hold her and bathe her, and the fact that she loved to run off with Dakota and play. Elenore shrunk slightly, hugging the pillow even tighter.
"Just 'cause...."
"Because why, Sweetie?" Kevin asked, then thought a moment. "Is it because of what Josh said? What did he say, Honey?“ Elenore shook her head, refusing to admit it, and refusing to tell. Who knew what Josh would do to Kota if she told on him. Kevin sighed.
"Ellie, I can't help you, if you don't tell me what's wrong." Elenore just shook her head, still scared that at any moment he was going to start yelling and then punish her severely. She whimpered softly, popping her one thumb back into her mouth, though never letting go of the pillow.
"Ellie," Kevin began softly. "I'm not going to hurt you, Sweetheart. I'd rather cut off my right hand than do that." Elenore eyed him skeptically, not fully believing a word he said. He gently reached out and brushed her hair back from her face, feeling horrible when he saw her wince. He would never hit her - other than maybe slap her hands if she'd done something awful enough to even deserve that. He didn't have the heart to - even if he had been spanked as a young boy, there was just no way he could ever spank a child. Especially not Elenore, considering all she'd been through. And of course, he'd never spank Dakota ever either - they were both too precious. Besides, Nick would kill him if he did - and that would be the only time he'd ever fear his littlest brother. Elenore started to cry softly, as she squirmed away from his hand. She was terrified he was going to slap her or spank her or something. She was so used to it happening, that she couldn't figure out why he was taking so long to go ahead and do it. Kevin scooped Elenore up carefully, feeling her tense even more than before, and stuck her in his lap, cuddling her close. "Shh....Don't cry, Baby....Please don't cry," Kevin soothed. "I'm not angry. I know you had to have a very good reason for your tantrum. But I promise I'm not going to hurt you. And I'm not going to ever leave you." Elenore began to sob then, burying her face into the pillow, though she leaned into Kevin. Kevin rubbed her back, knowing he was never going to get her to explain anything to him at this rate. He might be best to just let her go and play with Dakota, and ask his niece if Elenore had said anything, later on. He stood up, letting her keep the pillow, as he carried her on back outside. He was happy to see that Howie had fired the grill up and was currently cooking the hotdogs and burgers he'd bought. He made his way over to where Nick was lying on a blanket with Ashley and Dakota. Nick, Ashley, and Dakota all looked up as Kevin approached, having had heard Elenore's sobs, long before the two had even reached them. Even Brian and Riley, who were on the next blanket over looked mighty worried. Kevin sat down in the sand, not caring if he got sandy, and set Elenore on the blanket next to Dakota.
"There, Honey. You can go play with Kota, okay?" Elenore just sat there, sobbing into the pillow she still clutched tightly with one hand, her other hand having her thumb still set firmly in her mouth.
“What’s wrong with her Kev? What happened?” Riley asked worriedly.
“We had a situation at the store….a couple of fans noticed me and came up to me asking for my autograph and for photos and stuff…so while Elenore sat in the cart I interacted a little bit with the fans and Elenore seemed okay for awhile but then all of the sudden she started throwing a tantrum. She was throwing food items out of the cart and screaming and crying and she wouldn’t stop until finally I used her full name. When I reassured her that I wasn’t going anywhere without her she started crying again - reached for me and wanted to be held. So I held her for the rest of the time we were at the store. I tried to get her to explain her outburst but she won’t because she’s scared I’m going to hurt her and leave her.” Dakota scowled.
“Its because stupid Josh told her lies this morning.”
“What did he tell her Dakota?” Kevin begged to know.
“That you was gonna leave her n’ hurt her n’ was only bein' nice 'cuz of reporters 'cuz you had to be nice.”
“But how does that explain her outburst?” Kevin asked confused, as he watched Ashley scoop Elenore into her arms and cradle her, and Elenore lean into Ashley for comfort as she still cried.
“How far were you away from the cart, Kev?” Brian questioned.
“And how long did you spend with the fans? And did you pay any attention to Elenore during that time?” Nick added.
“Not even a foot. I glanced over at her a few times to make sure she was okay and I even tried to introduce her to the fans when they asked but then they distracted me. They were demanding a lot of my attention. I did explain to her that they were fans just like her because she had asked me who they were but after that, up until her tantrum that was the only chance I had to speak with her.”
“Maybe she was jealous of the fans. Maybe she didn’t understand why you were spending so much time with them and she was scared you were going to go off and leave her there in the cart.” Riley suggested.
"Maybe...." Kevin trailed off, wondering if this was all actually true. "I just wish she'd talk to me though. Then I could make her feel better, instead of upset."
"Maybe she'll talk to Kota or Ashley," Nick suggested. "She seems to have no problems with them." Kevin looked a bit hurt. He'd been making such great progress, and then Josh had to go and ruin it all by saying hateful things.
"Yeah, maybe....."
"Don't worry, Kev," Brian re-assured the older man. "I'm sure things will get better soon enough."
"FOODS READY!" A.J. hollered from where he was keeping Howie company, as he grilled their dinner. Everybody started to get up. All except Ashley who still sat Indian style on the blanket cradling Elenore who had somewhat calmed down by now. She was now just sitting there sniffling, her thumb still placed securely in her mouth.
“Coming Ash?” Nick asked curiously.
“Will you bring me and Kota a plate Nicky? We’re going to stay here and see what’s on Ellie’s mind…”
“Yeah sure baby,” Nick answered. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.
“Want a hot dog or hamburger?”
“Hot Dog please….no ketchup just mustard.”
“Okay,” Nick replied and he looked at Dakota.
“Kota?”
“Same please daddy? But withs ketchup.”
“Okay,” Nick replied, smiling down at her and he walked off following the others. Nick, Brian, Riley, and Kevin all walked back to Nick’s house where the grill was at. Howie and AJ had placed two big plates of hot dogs and hamburgers on the table a long with all of the stuff people might want to put on them and a bag of sour cream and onion chips as well. Everybody made their plates - Kevin making a plate for Elenore guessing that she might want a hot dog with ketchup on it. He also put some chips on it as well. Nick made Dakota and Ashley’s plates like Ashley requested and had help carrying them from Brian when he was finished making his own plate. The two of them headed down to the area on the beach where they could make a fire at. It’s starting to get dark out. Kevin followed them as did everyone else.
“What’s wrong with Ellie?” Howie asked curiously, as he made himself comfortable sitting up against the cooler that Kevin had brought over with him. Riley explained the story to him as Kevin sat there eating his dinner with a depressed look on his face. When she finished Howie looked at Kevin sympathetically.
“You’ve gotta give her time Kev… you know what she’s been through.”
“Yeah but we’ve gotten so far D…and then Josh had to go and say such hurtful things and take us a step back again.”
“And that’s probably going to happen again and again until she finally realizes you aren’t like her parents, Kev. She’s never experienced being loved before…you just need to give her time and be patient with her.” Kevin sighed.
“Well thanks for cooking dinner for me, D…”
“Hey no problem. I figured you’d want me to since you were kinda busy. Besides, AJ over there was whining about how he was starving so bad.” Howie explained, looking at AJ who sat beside him, rolling his eyes at him. AJ scowled.
“Well I was!” Howie again rolled his eyes, but then he spotted Ashley coming up to the group holding both little girls so that they were rested on each of her hips. When she got to them Elenore squirmed from her arms and she looked at Kevin skeptically for a moment. Kevin looked up at her in return. He didn’t say a word, he just sat there looking at her. After a few moments, she walked over to him and she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her gently in return and rubbed his hand over her back as he looked at Ashley curiously.
"We talked a little," Ashley informed him. "She's not as scared now."
"Oh," Kevin replied, nodding slightly. He kissed Elenore's head softly. "I got you a hotdog, Sweetie. Do you like hotdogs?" Elenore nodded, moving to sit down in his lap. She snuggled into him, as he handed her the plate with her hotdog on it.
"I hope you like ketchup," Kevin told her. "I didn't know what to put on it." Elenore smiled some, and eagerly bit into her hotdog.
"Mm...." Kevin couldn’t help but smile at the little girl in his arms - even if things didn’t go great earlier. She is still very special to him and he isn’t going to give up on her. He is going to prove to her that he isn’t going anywhere. Ashley carried Dakota over to Nick and sat down next to him with Dakota in her lap. Nick smiled at her and handed the two of them their plates before leaning over and kissing Ashley’s forehead.
“You’d make a good caregiver for children some day, you know… they love you to death.” Ashley shrugged.
“Really? I never really thought about that… I guess interacting with children just comes naturally to me. I used to baby sit a few of them when my parents were alive.”
“Yeah, that’s what I read in your files. Dakota is attached to you and pretty much wants to be you, and Elenore who doesn’t trust very easily seems pretty fond of you as well. You’ve got a way with small children.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if one day she sat in the middle of the playroom and all of the kids would just come to her at once asking for a story and she would just take over.” Riley added.
“I can totally see you working at the Orphanage when you get older…you should put that into consideration.” Nick replied, wrapping an arm around her and she rested her head against his shoulder as she leaned into him comfortably. “When you turn eighteen you will be able to make your own choices as an adult. That’s in a few months, have you thought about what you’re gonna do?”
“I don’t think that I could leave the Orphanage… that’s become my home. I feel safer there then I do anywhere else and I’m finally starting to realize that the people there really do care about me and I haven’t had that in a really long time… I don’t think I could leave.”
“Heh, yeah, I know what you mean.” Nick replied. “I can’t seem to leave either.”
“Next thing we know it Kevin is going to be moving in…he pretty much already did since he sort of made Elenore his responsibility.” Riley added. “Good thing the place has a lot of rooms.”
"I think Elenore made herself my responsibility - even before we met," Kevin replied, grinning. That fact making him feel so much better inside. She may not be fully comfortable with him but she did deem him as her protector. He leaned down and kissed her forehead softly. “And I like having her as my responsibility. I’m not going anywhere,” He added, looking down at Elenore and talking to her more so then everyone else. “No matter what any orphanage bully says. None of it is true.” Elenore who was finished eating her hot dog sat her plate down on the sand and she cuddled more into Kevin, popping her thumb into her mouth.
“Daddy,” Dakota suddenly spoke up as she was done eating as well.
“Yeah baby?”
“Can me an’ Ellie goes swimming now?”
“Sure baby…if that’s alright with Uncle Kevin.” Dakota looked at Kevin eagerly.
“Please Uncle Kevy, Pleeease?”
“If your daddy will go down there with you. I will catch up later but first I want to hang with Ashley for a bit.”
“Yup - I’ll take them,” Nick replied, knowing exactly what Kevin wants to talk to Ashley about. Nick got up and scooped Dakota who was already in her bathing suit up into his arms and he looked at Kevin.
“Ellie has her swimsuit on under her clothes,” Kevin announced and he looked down at Elenore. “Can you let Nick take you swimming for awhile sweetie? I want to talk to my good friend Ashley for a little bit. But I will catch up I promise.” Elenore nodded. She stood up and reached for Nick’s hand allowing him to take it and he brought her down toward the ocean. Kevin looked at Ashley who was looking at him curiously.
“So…what’d Ellie tell you earlier? And do you maybe have any suggestions on how I can get her to open up to me like she does to you?”
~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile at the Orphanage, as Kori sat in her room in her bed she sat there watching TV. She and Doctor Johnson had talked for hours while they ate dinner and she learned a lot about her sister. She now knows that Nick is Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys (she knew his name sounded familiar but she just couldn’t put two and two together at the time) and that the two of them are now dating. She also now knows about the hell that Ashley has been through with first Sean and then Doctor Adams and how he was now in jail. Her thoughts when finding out what that bastard had done to her was he sure as hell is lucky he is in jail or if she found him here when she recovered she would definitely beat him to a bloody pulp for laying a hand on her sister. Infact, if she ever sees Sean again she’s going to beat him to a bloody pulp. And this time she will be prepared. It was all fine when it was just between him and her, she was able to walk away and forget he ever existed, but he messed with her family and that’s going WAY too far. One thing she knows for sure is that he is going to pay. And what is up with Scott calling her and warning her about Ashley ‘being in trouble’? Was that all a setup? Did he know that it was a trap and he was selling her out to the creep? That’s lower than low. Despite the fact that he refuses to be the father of his son she always thought that she could trust him. She always thought that he was on her side. She would like to know just exactly where his loyalty is and as soon as she’s better and on her feet she is going to find out. Suddenly there was a soft knock on the door and then it opened. Kori looked over at it to see Wiley, Chris, and Isabel walking in, Isabel holding Spencer.
“MOMMA!” the little boy shrieked happily, as he had missed his mother so much. He squirmed his way out of Isabel’s arms and he ran over to Kori’s bed. He hopped up onto it and wrapped his arms carefully around her for a hug. Kori wrapped her arms around him too and suddenly burst into tears of joy as she was afraid she would never see him again. “Momma what happened? Why are you hurt and how come you’re crying?” He asked.
“A bad man hurt me baby…but I’m okay now. And I’m crying because I’m just very happy to see you.” She answered, kissing him on the forehead. He rested his head against her chest as he laid on top of her. She looked at Wiley, Chris, and Isabel and found Isabel standing there with a single tear rolling down her cheek. Just by looking at Isabel Kori can tell she’s still dreading the fact that she let Kori go.
“Libby come here…” She replied softly. Isabel looked at her for a moment, than went over to her. Kori took her hand and gently pulled her onto the bed beside her and she pulled her into a hug. “I love you Lib…please don’t blame this on yourself. It’s my fault…I should’ve listened to you. This was not your fault at all and you know it. I would have found a way to go even if you handcuffed me down.” Isabel didn’t reply, she only hugged Kori tightly - but not tight enough that she would hurt her. Wiley and Chris pulled chairs up beside the bed and sat down. Wiley reached over and took her hand into his gently rubbing it with his finger.
“Hey love…how are you feeling?”
“Kinda sore…but I’ll live. A little depressed too since my sister is angry with me and wants nothing to do with me…”
“Angry at you for what?” Chris asked curiously, as he doesn’t yet know the full story. Kori began to explain to them the entire story - about her past but leaving out as much as she could about her past mistakes and then about her reunion gone wrong with her sister and they listened carefully as they’ve wanted to know all of this since the day they discovered she had run away.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter
It was co-written with Lenni
Enjoy =)
It was co-written with Lenni
Enjoy =)
