The sound of a baby crying awoke Nick from his slumber. He turned to look at the empty space in the bed beside him. After regaining his focus, he rolled out of bed and quietly crept down the hall to the nursery.

Peeking over into her crib, Nick looked at one of the most beautiful things he had ever helped to create. His daughter laid there looking back at him with her baby blue eyes that were glazed over with tears. He picked her up gently, cradling the tiny being in his strong arms.

"What wrong, Gabby?...." knowing exactly what she wanted by her distinctive cry, he headed downstairs to get a bottle of warm formula for her. He kept talking to her softly as he traveled back up the stairs, bottle in hand, and into the nursery once more. Sitting in the corner, in a recliner, Nick rocked back and forth with his baby in his arms. As he fed her, he softly sang a melody from a new song he was writing, about her mother. The lonely nights in bed were starting to get to him. Nick had, countless times before, fallen asleep with his arms around a pillow, wanting them to be around Jessica.

Wishing they were.

He looked down at his little angel's face. Gabrielle Ariana and Jordan Thomas Carter were born to Nick and Jessica on Saturday, September 30th, 2000. The fraternal twins were only 7 and a half inches in length and weighed around 2 pounds each. Gabrielle had brown curly locks and blue eyes the same shade as Nick's. Jordan Thomas, who's middle name was carefully chosen by Jessica herself, had blonde straight hair like Nick's and the same brown eyes as Jessica. It comforts Nick to look into his son's eyes and see so much of himself and Jessica.

"Is my little girl done?" Nick said in a baby voice and gingerly took the bottle from Gabrielle. She yawned as he put her over his shoulder and patted her back to make her burp. "Awww... I guess I'll have to excuse you since I'm the only one here to," Nick sighed and swayed back and forth as he made his way over to her crib.

"She's excused," Jessica giggled from the doorway quietly. Striding into the room, she took Gabby from Nick and cradled her baby in her arms. "Sorry I got out so late tonight."

"It's all right. I'm used to it and I've been there," Nick creeped over to Jordan's crib to find the baby resting silently. "I thought boys were supposed to be the ones to keep you up till all hours of the night crying?"

"Obviously he takes after you then," Jess kissed Gabrielle's forehead and let Nick do the same before placing the sleeping baby back in her crib. "So, what did you do without me tonight?" Jess pulled Nick out of the nursery and down the hall to Kayci's room. The 5 year old was sleeping soundly.

"Well, while my amazing girlfriend was out recording her sophomore album until wee hours of the night, I was here with the godparents of our children. We didn't do much. Sanya just went ga-ga over the twins and me and Brian got to sit down and... talk," he paused and chose his words carefully.

"Oh, what did you talk about?" she was curious as she went in the bathroom to brush her teeth.

"Nothing really," Nick said from their bedroom.

She turned on the water and then spit. "Yuck... I'm so sure," Jessica drank a dixie cup of water to get rid of the taste of straight toothpaste and mouthwash in her mouth.

"It's the truth..." Nick defended as Jessica walked back into their adjoined room. "Really."

"I didn't say I didn't believe... you," Jessica took in the careful deliberation that had gone into making her normally extravagant bedroom look... well, more extravagant than before. "What in the world?"

"Do you know what today is? We met on May 1st of last year. Today is November 1st."

"You've been keeping track?" Jess was astounded. "It's our... 1 year and 6 months anniversary," she said and was clearly shocked. "I'm so sorry! I completely forgot. I've just been so busy that I-"

"Baby, Shhhh..." Nick laughed. "I know you've been busy, that's why I'm giving you this," there were candles lit everywhere and white rose petals scattered across the floor. "All I want is for you to be happy tonight."

"Nick, I'm happy every night that I'm with you. You didn't have to go through any of this just for-" he put a finger up to her lips.

"Follow me," he took her hand and led her out to their balcony that over looked their view of the water.

"Wow," Jessica breathed out the word softly not wanting to break the scene that lay before her. "It's so beautiful out here... Why doesn't it ever look like this during the day?"

Nick wrapped his arms around her from behind. "It's not the night that makes it beautiful."

"You're going to say something corny like 'it's me', right? I can feel something corny coming on here," she giggled.

"Well, pardon me for being undeniably corny when I say... it is you," he looked at her smirking face. "But that's not all it is. Tonight is special."

"I'm so sorry I forgot, Nick."

He ran his hands under the material of her shirt and rubbed her stomach, fondly. "It has nothing to do with the date it was... it's all about the day this will become. Tonight will go down in the history books."

"Why?" she asked as he came in front of her. They stood facing each other with the water's sounds and colors as their backdrop.

"Tonight, is special because..." he slowly dropped and perched himself up on one knee. "... it will be the night I finally dig up the courage to ask you to marry me."

Jessica stared back down at Nick and could feel her knees begin to weaken. "What?" her well trained and perfected voice, cracked.

Nick smiled. "Jess..." he paused. "I had planned exactly what I had wanted to say but I can't remember a word of it now, so I'm just going to wing it... Ever since the first time I saw you, I've wanted you to be mine. I remember when you told me Kayci's father looked a lot like me, it made me happy because I couldn't help but think that one day, we'd have children as adorable as her. Now look at what we have. Two gorgeous babies, that are ours. We made them together... I can't tell you how much I feel like I owe you... But it's more than just that... I want more. I want more from you. I want more from our relationship," he laughed. "I even want more kids if it's at all possible, one day... I want to be able to go out somewhere with you in public and have every man jealous because you're the woman on my arm and not theirs. I want to tell our fans that we're together and I don't care if they get upset. I don't need them... but I need you. I want you... But most of all, I love you. And I want to know, and I need to know that you'll always be mine... Will you marry me?" he looked hopeful... like he needed to be.

"Since you put it that way..." Jessica was in tears and it was all because she was happy. "I'll think about it," she said and he jumped up and tickled her sides. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" she giggled. "Yes!"

Nick stopped. "For real? You weren't just saying that to get me to stop?"

"Silly boy," she said in a cute accent and wrapped her arms around his neck. "How could I refuse when I feel the exact same way?" she shook her head at the thought and covered her lips with his own.

It was soft.

It was sweet.

Most of all, it was good. Any reluctance that either of them had had before, dissipated the day that they had been able to hold their children together for the first time.

"So, I'm gonna guess you made our room look all pretty because you wanted something in return?"

"I want it, yes, but I more or less expected it," he kissed her lips again sinfully slow.

Jessica whimpered at the touch of his lips, among other things. Playfully, she pulled on his arms towards the direction of their room. Before entering, Nick whisked Jessica into his arms and stepped over the threshold. Upon entering the well decorated room, he carefully put her back down again. "Ya know..." she said as their lips separated. "Isn't doing that before you're married bad luck?"

"I don't believe in luck," he stated before kissing her again. "I make my own," he gave her a devilish grin and began to kiss her neck while running his fingers through her hair.

"Down big boy!" she giggled and grabbed him by the band around his boxers. "You're a trip, you know that?" Jessica shook her head and noticed for the first time, the small, circular object on his pinky finger. She took his hand and looked down at the piece in astonishment. Nick cradled her hand in his own and slipped it onto Jessica's finger.

It was a simple yet elegant engagement ring. A white gold band, with a diamond solitaire in the center and a simple engraved, wave design around it.

Slowly and gently, Nick brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her hand softly. Growing impatient, Jessica kept his face at her level and kissed him with such a high magnitude of lust that Nick could feel his body giving way from beneath him. Gaining back his strength, he continued to where they were headed in the first place.

The bed.

After a while of kissing and groping, Jess murmured the words that Nick had been wanting and waiting to hear since she had begun the recovery from her surgery.

"Nick, make love to me, again."

He stopped everything that he was doing and gazed deep into Jessica's eyes that reflected the candlelight that bounced and burned across the room.

"Are you sure?"

He didn't want to hurt her, especially since Kate had warned her of doing this sort of thing for a couple of weeks.

"Positive," she lazily glanced over his figure through the golden hues that seemed to accentuate every part of his body.

Not wasting another second, Nick reached over and opened up the drawer in the night stand. Pulling something out and setting it on the countertop, Jessica laughed anxiously as Nick...

Turned up the volume on the baby monitor.

"It's always best to be safe," he smiled and she rolled her eyes at him.

"What did I say about being corny?"

"You think I'm extremely sexy when I'm corny," he pulled off his wife beater and laid back down on top of Jessica.

"I think you mean horny."

"That too," he mumbled against her lips. Jessica could do nothing more but giggle at their lame attempts at humor. But that's all life was to them. One long journey and with every new corner and turn comes a new obstacle to face.

But as long as they were together, that's all they needed to make the bumpy roads a little easier to bear.

So in the end, Jessica had Nick, he had her in return, and Kayci had a father. Actually, she came out of the deal with a whole new family... that just happened to be some of the most caring and influential figures in her life. They brought her happiness on even her most dismal days.

Kayci and her Sunshine Band.

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