Chapter Four-Hundred-Thirty-Nine
"Kota, Sarah" Nick spoke up a half n hour later after sitting around and socializing with the adults and he turned to look at both of his girls who stopped amidst playing to look at him.
"Yeah daddy?" Dakota asked curiously.
"Why don't we start taking your friends upstairs and daddy will order you all a pizza for dinner? Jesse and Nathan will be here in a few minutes."
"Kay," Dakota replied happily, and she, Sarah, Ellie, Josh, Chris, and Spencer began to make their way over to Nick. Ashley looked at Nick then, who looked at her in return.
"Nicky I’ll be up there in a little bit okay? First I want to talk to Ryan."
"Okay," Nick replied curiously, and he watched as Ashley made her way over to the nine year old who currently lay on a bean bag reading while she still held Bella close to her. When she approached him, she sat down beside him and he peered at her over his book curiously, though a smile formed on his face at the sight of her.
"Treasure Island huh? How many times is this now?" Ashley asked conversationally.
"I've lost count." Ashley shook her head amused. "Don't you have to be upstairs to help Nick with that slumber party? That was a lot of kids who just left this room," he added.
"He'll do fine without me for a few minutes or so. I wanted to talk to my buddy Ryan for a couple of minutes. I haven't seen you at all since I’ve been back and I've missed you."
"Yeah?" Ryan asked eagerly and Ashley nodded.
"Of course. I haven't spent time with you in so long...if it's okay with your mom, what do you say you and I go have dinner and get some ice cream tomorrow? Just the two of us?"
"Just...the two of us? No Nick? Or Kota and Sarah? Really just the two of us?" Ryan asked not being able to control his excitement.
"The two of us and Marcus...will that be okay with you? I have to bring Marcus buddy...but otherwise yeah it'll just be us."
"That would mean a lot to me," Ryan insisted and Ashley smiled at him some.
"If your mom says it’s all right I will pick you up at your room by dinner time tomorrow night. Okay?" Ryan nodded and Ashley leaned forward after shifting Bella so she was under one arm and she hugged Ryan with the other and kissed his cheek affectionately. Ryan hugged her back, but just barely. The kiss he received on his cheek had just about paralyzed him. Ashley pulled back a few seconds later and got to her feet and he gazed after her as she went to Howie and Lindsey who had been watching in amusement.
"That was very sweet of you," Howie insisted quietly and he pulled her into a hug. Ashley returned it and she looked to Lindsey.
"Will it be okay if Marcus and I take him to dinner tomorrow night?"
"Of course…I'm pretty sure Ryan would never talk to me again if I said no. He just goes on and on about you."
"I'll be by your room at dinner time to pick him up then," Ashley informed and she hugged Howie once more before turning and walking out of the playroom while placing soft kisses on Bella's forehead. She went upstairs to see Nick holding Angel by the arm as she is attached to Conner as if he were keeping her from running off and he was on the phone just finishing up on ordering the pizza. Ashley arched her eyebrow and glanced at the kids who were all sitting in the living room with board games. When he hung up the phone he looked at Ashley.
"Hi baby, will you conduct the party for me for a bit? I'm taking these two out in the hall so we can chat." Ashley looked behind her double-checking that Marcus was there and when she saw that he was she looked at Nick and nodded.
"Thank-you," he replied, and then began to drag the handcuffed couple out into the hall, though he was sure to kiss Ashley on his way past. When he stepped out into the hall he shut the door behind him and rounded on Angel and Conner. Ashley shook her head and then went on over and began to supervise the kids.
"Let's make a bet," Ellie whispered mischievously. The others all eyed her warily, remembering what had happened last time they'd made a bet.
"Let's hear it," Josh sighed. It couldn't be too bad, right? Not since they were all friends now, least so he hoped. Ellie licked her lips, then whispered some more.
"If the girls win, the boys gotta kiss the girls they like." Josh cast a wary glance in Kota's diction, but otherwise said nothing.
"And if the girls win?" Spencer asked curiously. Ellie shrugged.
"I don’t know. You boys can decide."
"I know!" Chris smirked. "If the boys win, the girls have to kiss the boys they like!"
"Sure!" Ellie grinned, though spoke cockily. "But us girls are going to win, trusts me."
"Pfft," Chris scoffed. "In your dreams, Ellie."
"Yes, there too," Ellie nodded in agreement. Just then Jesse and Nathan arrived. "Hey!" Ellie exclaimed. "Your just in time to play Junior Monopoly withs us!"
"Hi!" Jesse and Nathan smiled at her, as Laney, who'd brought them upstairs for Kristin, left to return to his post. Ellie eagerly ran over to them and hugged them both tight.
"C'mon! It's girls against boys!" She enthused. "An' if the girls win, the boys hafta kiss whoever they like!"
"And if us boys win, then you girls hafta kiss whoever you like," Chris added, smirking confidently. "Ellie seems to think the girls are gonna win, but I doubt it. Especially since us boys are so much greater."
"Nuh-uh!" Ellie argued. "Boys aren't greater than Rapheal!"
"Okay, stupid, Raphael is a boy," Chris stated. "Therefore, you are playing a boy, and not a girl. So that just proves that you do think boys are better!"
"Ellie's not stupid!" Kota cut in quickly, before a fight broke out. "And of course she plays Raphael - Raphael is best! And he's no boy, he's a turtle!"
"Anyways," Josh stressed. "Let's play already."
"Yeah!" Jesse grinned. "So us girls can win!"
"Pfft. You'd like to think so," Nathan laughed. And so the game ensued, under Ashley's supervision. She'd caught snippets of the children's conversation, but deemed it completely harmless, so wasn't worried about their little bet at all. Eventually, the game was over, and sure enough, the boys had won - much to Ellie's dismay.
"Told yah we'd win!" Chris grinned. "Now you girls hafta kiss the boys you like! Haha!"
"And what if we don't want to?" Sarah demanded.
"Tough cookies," Chris replied. "A bet's a bet."
"What if we don't have a crush on anybody here?" Jesse asked curiously. It was a good question, since her and her cousin had just met everyone, minus Ellie, for the first time.
"Then just kiss whoever you think's cute," Nathan smirked, as he'd noticed her eyeing one of the other boys off and on throughout the game. "It's fair enough."
"I wasn't asking you, Nathan!" Jesse scowled.
"Don't be such sore losers," Chris goaded. "Now, c'mon. Pucker up and kiss whoever it is that you like!" Ellie scowled. She never thought she'd hafta kiss any boys - she always thought they'd come and kiss her. Though, she'd also been so sure the girls would win. Who knew boys could be good at Monopoly? She sure hadn't. She was sure Sarah would win, since Sarah's the smart one, after all - but, alas, no such luck. Dakota meanwhile, eyed Josh shyly. Sure, he'd kiss her cheek before, and she'd done the same to him - but this was different. This was going to be an actual kiss.
"C'mon Kota. This will be good practice for the play," Chris urged, knowing this was his brother's dream. "So hurry it up and kiss your Batman."
"I'll kiss my Batsman when I'm good an' ready," Dakota replied haughtily, her nose going into the air. "An' nots a moment before." Everyone snickered a little bit, as it was rather funny the way she'd said it.
"Oh, let's just gets this over with already," Ellie groaned, moving quickly and kissing Spencer on the lips quick as she could. "There! Happy now?" Spencer blinked in surprise. He hadn't thought she'd actually go through with it. He buried his face into a nearby pillow, as he could feel his cheeks getting warm. Ashley stifled a giggle, as she noticed her nephew blushing. She'd tuned in at the end of their game, and was slightly anxious to see how the girls took to losing - and how the boys took to the rewards of winning. Jesse shrugged.
"Okay," she agreed, moving to kiss Chris quickly, catching the cocky boy off guard completely. Chris' eyes were wide. He hadn't expected to be kissed at all! That was the whole point of this dare - so he could sit back and watch everyone else be embarrassed. Not for him to actually be kissed as well! Jesse giggled shyly. "Well, I had to pick somebody." Nathan, being the oldest, just laughed at his six-year-old cousin. She fit in quite nicely with this lot. Chris coughed slightly, trying to hide his embarrassment. Jesse flashed him an innocent smile. Dakota finally, with her cheeks bright red, summed up enough courage to kiss her 'Batman' and did so - though, her kiss was a little longer than all the others had been, it was still short. Josh turned beat red as well, amazed she'd actually gone and kissed him. They were both so shy about their crush on one another that he'd never even dreamed of her going ahead and kissing him. Even if it was just a bet, she'd still gone and done so all the same. Ashley smiled, as she was secretly taking photos of the kids - she was smart and had turned the flash off the camera she'd found on her bedside table. She knew Brian and Nick were going to love that one, though Nick might freak out over it a little bit - this was his little girl after all.
"C'mon Sarah, your turn," Ellie encouraged.
"Sarah don't gots no crushes on anybody here though," Dakota pointed out, though she was confused to see her sister now blush.
"Sure she does!" Ellie insisted. "Why else did she goes all red, huh?" Sarah moved quickly, squishing her eyes shut in nervousness, as she leaned in and kissed Chris. Once she'd kissed him, she'd scampered away from him as quick as possible and run for the bathroom to hide. She couldn't believe she'd just gone through with that! She should've just agreed with her sister, and denied even liking the boy! But, that would be lying....but it sure would've saved her the embarrassment of revealing her secret crush! Dakota, Ellie, & Jesse all squealed, as Chris turned an even brighter shade of red than before. What was with all the girls liking him all of a sudden? Josh laughed, as did Spencer and Nathan. Apparently, the tables had been turned on Chris, without him knowing it knowing it until it was too late. Ashley gave a soft laugh, setting her camera aside, figuring they were all done kissing one another.
"Hey, what about Nathan?" Ellie piped up. "He didn't get any kisses!"
"That's okay," Nathan assured her. "I enjoyed watching everyone else." Dakota eyed Ellie a moment, and suddenly the two moved quickly, tackling Nathan to the ground. Nathan cried out in surprise, as both girls kissed his cheeks affectionately.
"There! Now you gots kisses too!" They grinned. Ashley laughed again, setting her camera down once more - she'd snatched it back up when she'd seen the two girls exchange looks.
"Are we done kissing people now?" Josh demanded, feeling slightly jealous that his Batgirl had gone and kissed someone else as well - though, obviously, it was only in play.
"I sure am," Dakota replied.
"Me too," Jesse agreed. All eyes were on Ellie then, who'd suddenly thought of something.
"I'll be rights back," Ellie said finally, having had come to her decision. She jumped up and ran out of the room before anyone could stop her. She even ran right past Nick, who'd just finished arguing with Angel and Connor after all this time. He'd been trying to get Angel to un-handcuff themselves so he could interrogate them both separately, but no such luck. Nick saw the five-year-old making her escape, and called after her.
"Ellie! Get back here!"
"I'll be rights back, Nicky!" Ellie shouted as she ran. "I hafta do somethin' firsts!"
"Kevin won't be happy!" Nick threatened, as he'd promised to keep her at the party.
"That's okay!" Ellie replied, still running for the elevators. "I don'ts mind!" Marcus, whom was with Ashley, could be heard laughing loudly from inside the room that all the kids and Ashley were in at the moment. Nick groaned and hurried after his little charge, who by now was already in an elevator and on her way back downstairs. Everyone else was still in the playroom, just sitting around and chatting, and helping the random child with whatever they needed help with at the moment. They were all quite surprised to see Ellie suddenly come flying in, with Nick hot on her heels. Kevin stood, about to speak, when he noticed she wasn't running for him, but for Ryan instead. The boy was still sitting in the same spot as before, reading his book, completely unaware that he was about to be pounced on.
"Somebody grab a camera!" Kevin hissed, sensing a Kodak moment was about to happen.
"Here Kev!" Howie said instantly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his. He'd gotten into the habit of carrying it around, since Lindsey had returned home from the place she'd been in.
They all watched silently, as Ellie ran straight over to Ryan, and knocked his book out of his hands.
"Ellie!" Ryan exclaimed in frustration. "What'd you go and do that for?" Kevin prepared the camera quickly, afraid if he wasn’t fast enough he'd miss the moment that was about to happen - though, what that moment was, he wasn't quite clear on yet. But, he knew he'd recognize it the moment it happened.
"I gots to do something!" Ellie answered him, taking a deep breath. "An' no killing me for its! A bet's a bet, an' us girls lots to them boys up there."
"What's that got to do with me?" Ryan demanded in annoyance, eyeing her warily.
"This," Ellie responded, leaning in and planting a kiss on his lips quickly - she didn't even notice the flash of the camera Kevin held in his hands. Ryan shoved her away almost immediately.
"Ellie! Get offa me! I mean, Yeesh!" Ellie frowned some. That didn't go exactly how she thought it would. Not even Spencer had shoved her away so quickly when she'd kissed him, though he had turned red like a tomato. Ryan wiped his mouth off, making a disgusted face. Ellie quietly moved, and grabbed up the book she'd knocked out of his hands.
"Here Ryan," she spoke quietly, handing it over to him. "I won'ts bother you no more." Ryan took it from her, sighing some when he saw the crushed look she wore upon her face.
"You still want me to help you read tomorrow? 'Cause it'll hafta be before dinner. I have plans for dinner and may not be back until you've already gone to bed." Ellie's eyes lit up some.
"Uh-huh! Please!"
"Alright after lunch?" Ryan suggested.
"Okay!" Elle nodded her agreement.
"You better get back to that party of yours," Ryan told her, opening his book to where he'd left off. "And Ellie?"
"Yeah?" Ellie answered, watching his every move with interest.
"You can hug me - just this one time," Ryan stated finally. "But just this one time and that's it." Ellie grinned and gave him the biggest hug she could, before finally letting go and running over to where Nick stood.
"I'm ready to go back upstairs now, Nicky!" She exclaimed, reaching upwards toward him. Nick laughed and scooped her back up.
"You kids aren't allowed to make any more bets about kissing. And if you do, please make sure everyone's in the room first, so I don't have to chase anyone." Ellie giggled, snuggling into him.
"Okay." Nick shook his head at Kevin, who chuckled in amusement.
"Your daughter...." He trailed off, his head still shaking, as he turned and carried Ellie back upstairs to the slumber party currently going on.
"Hey Nick! Your pizza's here!" Q. called out, from near the front entrance. "Wanna come and get it?"
"Oh, right! Thanks!" Nick replied, going over and taking the two pizzas from the security guard. "Almost forgot all about them, because I was chasing little Raphael here."
"Yes, little Raphael is quite good at running off," Q. chuckled, as he'd seen the whole Ryan incident on the cameras. "But she usually has good reason for it."
"Yes, well, little Ms. Raphael and I need to get back on upstairs, so we can eat and watch movies," Nick informed him, as he carefully balanced the pizzas in one hand and Ellie in the other.
"G'nights Q!" Ellie grinned, waving and blowing him a kiss, as Nick carried her off.
"Goodnight Raphael!" Q. waved, smiling at her. "Have fun!" Once Nick had gotten back upstairs to the slumber party, he set Ellie down and took the pizzas over to the kitchen area. He set them upon the table, and opened them up.
"Who wants pizza?"
"ME!" The kids all chorused, hurrying over to him eagerly. As they were waiting for their slice of pizza, Dakota pulled Elenore aside briefly.
"What'd you do, Ellie?"
"I kissed all my crushes," Ellie replied vaguely. Dakota's eyes went wide. "You kissed Ryan!?!?!" She exclaimed.
"Shh!" Ellie hissed. "The boys don't need to know! Especially Joshy! He'd kick my butt for it’s! And Spencer can'ts know either!"
"Buts - just - Ryan!?!?"
"He's nots so bad," Ellie smiled knowingly. "He can be sweets when he wants to be." Dakota frowned.
"But you’re always picking on each other."
"Kota, Joshy used to picks on you all the time too, remember?" Ellie pointed out.
"I try nots too," Dakota admitted. "I likes the nicer Joshy betters."
"Your Batsman, right?"
"Yes, my Batsman," Dakota nodded. "And nobody else's!"
"Girls? Pizza?" Nick interrupted.
"Cheese please!" They chorused both moving back over to where he stood.
"Alright, now take a seat at the table please," Nick insisted. "And no one is to leave the table until they're finished and their hands have been cleaned - except Nathan, since he can clean his own hands." The kids all sat around the table then, talking and laughing about anything and everything - just having a grand old time together.
~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile downstairs, Howie who had been playing dress up with Laila and AJ finally managed to get a break from it and he glanced over at Lindsey who was quietly sitting on the floor not too far from him leaning up against the wall watching Ryan who has not so much as even moved from his bean bag. He went on over and sat next to her before gingerly taking her hand into his own and rubbing his finger over the back of it and she smiled up at him some, though it looks like he had just pulled her out of some really deep thinking.
“That was quite a surprise he got earlier huh?” he asked conversationally.
“I would say so,” Lindsey answered amusedly. “Though I’m not sure who is more surprised, me or him.”
“Are you okay with the whole thing? It was just an innocent kiss Linz.”
“Oh I know, I’m fine…but what mother wouldn’t be surprised when witnessing their child’s first kiss?”
“From a five year old of all people,” Howie emphasized, as seeing Ryan’s first kiss was, though he won’t admit it, like watching his own son. And if he thinks about it, it had been his niece who kissed him. He is just glad she isn’t really his niece by blood or anything, just by adoption papers and he can take comfort in the fact that Kevin is his chosen family. So, if he marries Lindsey in the future and adopts Ryan as his son it won’t be considered weird and all soap-opera like. Howie shook his head in amusement and brought Lindsey’s hand up and kissed the back of it.
“Come out onto the playground with me?” he asked softly.
“But no one is out there right now,” Lindsey reminded.
“Exactly, so it would just be the two of us.” Lindsey looked pointedly at Ryan and Laila then.
“They’ll be fine,” Howie reassured gently. “I’ve already asked Alex to keep an eye on both of them.” Lindsey gazed up at him quietly and he got to his feet and helped her up before taking her out onto the playground where they could be alone and he could romance her. He feels like he has her right where he wants her. They’ve both been very flirty with one another all day, and she can’t seem to go too long without touching him in some way. As soon as they got out onto the playground he brought her over to the empty basketball courts and slid his arms around her waist pulling her near. She slid her arms around him in return partly because it’s a little nippy out, and because she simply just likes it when he holds her and he brought his lips to her ear and began to murmur sweet nothings in Spanish. Though she doesn’t speak it, he’s been teaching her some of it and she is beginning to understand it a little bit. She loves it when he speaks Spanish to her.
He made a trail of feathery light kisses just underneath her ear and along the side of her chin before cupping her cheek in his hand, resting his forehead against hers and he nuzzled his nose lightly against hers. She gazed into his brown eyes for a few seconds before placing her own hand to his cheek in return and she pulled his lips down on hers before cautiously kissing him – almost like she were testing the waters to see if she really wants this. Howie stood there letting her control the situation and make the decision and when she tightened her arm around him and began kissing him with a little more confidence, he kissed her back. Lindsey felt many different emotions at once as soon as he kissed her back. It was almost like an electric current shot through her body and she was feeling things she never thought she would feel ever again without Rick.
Safe, happy, warm, loved, needed, and beautiful and she doesn’t want it to end. She suddenly feels like if they stop now she’s going to get that feeling of loneliness and instability back and she doesn’t want to go back there again. She hasn’t been loved like this since Rick and she misses it – and damnit why shouldn’t she?
“Howie,” she spoke between kisses.
“Mm?” he mumbled, pulling her closer.
“I want…I need…I…” she struggled to get the words she wanted to say out as she just couldn’t seem to part from their kisses long enough.
“What love?” he asked softly, pulling back for her and she whimpered when he did so. “What do you want and need? I’ll give it all to you I swear it.”
“You,” was all Lindsey said, before grabbing his face in her hands and reclaiming his lips for her own once again. It was all she could say because forming a coherent sentence at the moment was proving to be impossible. With that being said, Howie lifted her up swiftly in his arms and he proceeded to take her into the building to their room not caring who saw them on their way through. AJ, Brooke, Denise, Ryan, and Laila who were just on their way to the cafeteria to set it up for dinner however, saw them and the three grownups all glanced down at Ryan who was gaping at them wide-eyed. AJ reached down and covered Ryan’s eyes then, even though all they are doing is kissing. Still, the image of them kissing on their way to the elevator implies a lot and Ryan is a smart kid.
“Alrighty then, let’s go to that cafeteria shall we?” he asked and then guided the grinning nine year old in that direction ignoring Marcus who was laughing at the whole thing. When they all got in there, a very happy Ryan went over and settled himself on the floor to read and AJ looked at Denise and Brooke incredulously.
“What is that man thinking? I mean really. Couldn’t he have waited till they reached the elevator first? There are young and impressionable children all around.” Brooke just laughed and walked off with Laila planning to get her going on a very small but helpful task and Denise just reached out and squeezed her son’s shoulder gently.
“Just be thankful it’s finally happening honey. With her and Howie together, we may not have to worry about you ever losing Laila.”
“So long as we can keep them together…everybody knows that those two like to fight,” AJ pointed out.
“Yeah, but they love each other as much as they love to fight. I’ve been watching them ever since their only communication was over the phone, I can see it” Denise pointed out. “Yeah, sometimes they just fight to get each other riled up and it’s fun to them. I hate to know what their making up is going to be like now,” Brooke added.
“Constant and torturing,” AJ insisted exasperatedly, acting annoyed though no one would be able to mistaken how pleased he is about this new relationship forming. And not just because Laila will be a permanent fixture in his life either, but because his best friend will finally have what he’s wanted for so long.
Author's Chapter Notes:
This chapter was co-written with Lenni
Enjoy =)
Enjoy =)
