He’d been watching some movie or other with Paris in her Simple Life trailer one night when they hadn’t been fighting, and, as the movie came to a close, something terrible happened to break up the couple. Something so horrible that it seemed as though all hope were lost. And then, of course, there was that minor miracle—because there was no way in hell something that happened in a chick flick could be termed a major miracle—and they’d ended up living happily ever after. The End.
Right. Like everyone who had problems in relationships ended up with a happily ever after. “Fucking bullshit” was what he’d been about to say at that moment, except that Paris had snuggled close to him—and by snuggle, he meant “jab her bony self into him and cause him much unwanted pain”—and announce that she just knew that, despite all the fights they had, she just always wanted him by her side. That he was her happily ever after.
Hey, he hadn’t been about to argue the point then. Not when there was absolutely no throwing of hairbrushes and screaming about the kind of rat bastard he was and blah-de-blah-de-blah. Needless to say, he had not been her happily ever after and he thanked every, single one of his lucky charms, God, and the powers that be that she hadn’t been his.
So, the point that he’d been trying to make by using the Paris example—insert shudder here—was that his life, right at this very moment, was being blessed with a minor miracle.
Rubbing his finger over the flash of gold on his left hand, he grinned gleefully at the rack of tabloids in one of the shops in the Nashville airport. He’d delayed his trip by a day, so he could spend it with his…Well, “wife” still sounded weird for him to say when connected with himself, so…He’d decided to spend the rest of his wedding day with his new family.
He’d taken Lily out to play in the snow as he’d promised her, and she’d loved it. They’d made snow angels and snowmen while Autumn had snapped picture after picture to put in Lily’s baby book as another first. Then, he’d pulled her into their midst, and they’d had a raging snowball fight, which ended with them soaked and snow-covered. So, they’d hurried back to their hotel room and crawled into bed with hot chocolate and watched every Disney movie the hotel had available in its menu for children.
It had been bliss.
But, it was back to reality, and the reality of the situation was that he had just married the newest darling of Hollywood in a random, and cheesy, shotgun wedding chapel à la Vegas style, and they hadn’t bothered to hide it from the people who worked at the place. So, imagine his surprise when he stopped at a rack of tabloids and saw nothing about the whole thing. Nada.
There had been no paparazzi all over him, no screaming phone calls from management or publicists or anyone—unless you could count the time Howie had called and demanded to know where the hell he was because they were on a tight schedule and couldn’t just expect their producers to wait on their every whim. Right.
“Maybe it’s all blown over,” Nick muttered, making his way to baggage claim and grabbing the small suitcase he’d brought. He ran into AJ as he stepped outside the terminal.
“Whooo-eee! You are in for it, now!” AJ grinned gleefully, slapping him on the back in lieu of a greeting.
Nick rolled his eyes. “Yeah, nice to see you, too. Thanks for picking me up.”
“Hey, better me than Howie or Brian. They start seeing red when your name is mentioned.” AJ led him out of the terminal and towards the parking garage. “So, where’d you disappear off to, anyway?”
Nick shrugged. “Stuff. Sorry I’m late and pissed those two off.”
“Okay, so you don’t wanna tell me where you were.” AJ tapped a finger to his lips thoughtfully. “Maybe you were partying and lost track of the days?”
“No.”
“You were picking out china patterns with the soon-to-be missus Carter?”
“Definitely not.” Had they even thought about china patterns? And what the hell were they anyway?
“Were you at all with Autumn and your soon-to-be stepkid?”
His lips curved at the thought of Lily covered in snow. His snowchild. “Uh…maybe?”
“Aha!” AJ stopped next to his car and pointed a finger accusingly at him. “You wanted extra TLC time with them! I knew it! I kept telling Brian and Howie that you were probably with them, but they checked in with Autumn’s people and were told that Autumn was in Chicago. Unless…” It seemed as though the proverbial light bulb had gone off in AJ’s head. “God, you are totally gone, aren’t you?”
Uncomfortable now, Nick shrugged. “Look, unless you want to spend all day chatting in the parking garage, could we maybe get into your car and get going?’
“Oh, boy. And testy, too. I think it’s kind of cute,” AJ commented as he unlocked the doors and they slid in. “I mean, I never thought big, bad Nick Carter would ever be tied down to one woman and a kid! Still can’t believe it, but, well, the facts are smacking me in the face.” He laid a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “I’m happy for you. Seriously.”
“Thanks.” He mustered up a smile and thought, I guess everything hasn’t blown over after all.
“So, are congratulations in order?” Brian asked quietly as he leaned against the railing on the balcony of the hotel room they were sharing.
Nick managed to prevent the jolt of surprise at the question. Ten hours ago, when he’d finally made it to the hotel where the four of them were staying, Brian had been spitting mad, and Nick’s temper, never well-controlled, had risen to match it. Only when Howie and AJ had intervened and broken the two up, had either of them been able to calm down. They’d spent six hours in the recording studio before having dinner at a local diner and had even been spotted by fans.
Now, though, it was nearly eleven, and the stars were out over Nashville. Nick had been watching them and wondering if, wherever they were, Autumn and Lily could see the same stars. Knowing it was a stupidly sappy thing to think, he’d continued to think about them.
Miss them.
“Congratulations?” he asked Brian, a confused look on his face. “Congratulations for what?”
Brian’s eyes narrowed. “Really, Nick. How stupid do you really think I am?” He gestured towards Nick’s left hand. “I know a wedding band when I see one. I’m assuming Autumn’s wearing one, too?” When Nick said nothing, he nodded. “I thought so. If you’d just told me you were late because you decided to get married yesterday, I wouldn’t have been as pissed. I mean, I would have been mad that you got married and we weren’t invited. That’s not so nice, Nick.”
It took him a few moments to find his voice. “It’s Elvis’ fault.”
“What?”
A giggle was bubbling in his throat. “It was Elvis’ fault that we got married. What’s he doing marrying people off, anyway?”
“Oh. My. God.”
“Yeah.”
“Tell me you didn’t.”
“We did.” The giggle broke loose, and his laughter bubbled out.
Brian shook his head. “Incredible. Why isn’t it in the papers? I didn’t hear a single mention from any tabloid, radio station, or anything.”
“I know! I couldn’t believe it either.” Nick bit his lip to stop the chuckles. “It was a spur of the moment thing. I mean, she’s going off to Peru for the next two months, and we’ll be bouncing Lily back and forth between us. In all of that, we didn’t see when we could actually plan a wedding. And we just didn’t want to wait until after because then the Boys will probably do a tour. So…” He wiggled the fingers on his left hand and made the gold wink and sparkle in the moonlight.
“Wow. I don’t quite know what to say. Last time I saw you, you were just Nick. Now you’re a husband and father. And I still haven’t met your daughter.” Brian patted his shoulder. “Welcome to the Married Club.”
“There’s a club?”
“Oh, yeah. We have bi-monthly meetings where we sit around and tell each other tales of our marital bliss.” Brian grinned. “Bring your own beer.”
Nick smiled back. “So, you’re not so mad that you weren’t invited?”
“Hey, I’m not the one who’s going to be super angry with you. Have you thought about what your siblings are going to say when they find out that you got married? How about management, publicists? Nick, once news gets out, and you’re not naïve enough to think it won’t, it’s going to be bad news for you.” Brian sighed. “Tell me the two of you at least thought about having a reception for five hundred of your closest friends. Or something like that.”
Nick gulped and reminded himself that a big hoop-la over the marriage was the whole point of this arrangement. “Well, yeah, of course. Right now, though, it’s looking like it’ll probably be late March or early April before it happens, though. Besides, look at the bright side of things, Brian. Think about all the publicity this will give our album.”
“Nick.” There was a definite tone of disapproval in Brian’s soft voice. “Your marriage should be between you and Autumn. Not the rest of the world. Don’t sell it as the next big story because it’ll only hurt both of you.”
It was amazing that the man could still make him feel ashamed. “I didn’t mean to, but it’s definitely going to be a by-product of whatever media attention we receive.” But he sighed, genuinely tired now. And not just physically. “Nothing’s going exactly the way I’d planned, but, then, when have things gone according to plan for me anyway?”
“What do you want, Nick?” When Nick looked over at him, confused, Brian’s face was serious. “You’re a married man, a father, and an entertainer. You’ve got an obligation to all three and to yourself, too. Juggling all of those roles is a hell of a struggle, and I could tell you horror stories. I just want you to succeed, though. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. I want you to be happy, and I know Autumn and Lily make you happy.”
“How? How can you know something like that?”
Brian smiled. “Because you lit up when you talked about them. Kinda like the way you used to when you went on and on about video games. And, because they make you happy, I hope you make them just as happy.”
Nick thought briefly of the resistance Autumn showed anytime he tried to convince her to do something that went along with their sham marriage and life together. Happy wasn’t the word he’d use. Ever. “I hope so, too. I guess I do want to just succeed at all those things. I like that you’d want that for me, too.”
“Always. So…Enough of the chick flick moments,” Brian said with a grin. “It’s sweet and all, but, uh, I can imagine we’ll be breaking out the tissues soon enough if we keep going down this road.”
“You’re so weird, Frick.” He smiled inwardly at the nickname he no longer used.
Brian looked pleased, too. “Right back at you, Frack.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late, and we’ve got an early start tomorrow. We should probably get to bed soon.” His eyes flicked to Nick’s ring again before shifting to his friend’s thoughtful face. “You planning on telling AJ and Howie about your wedding?”
“Uh, yeah.” He doubted he could keep much anything secret around the guys anyway. “In the morning, before we get started.”
“’Kay.” Brian patted his shoulder. “Don’t stay out too long. ‘Night.”
“G’night.”
When Brian had disappeared back into their suite, Nick continued to lean against the railing and watched the city. His thoughts winged back and forth from his wife and stepdaughter to the looming media frenzy. Not once, though, did they touch on Liz.
AN: All credit for the inspiration behind Brian's "chick flick" comment goes to the writers of Supernatural LOL
