He took a long glance, gaze roving over the length of her. "I don't really understand," he said. "It's not mine, is it?" It was a stupid question, even to his own ears. It'd been some eight months since they finally ended things and around the same time they'd stopped sleeping together. There was no way.

"Of course not," she wished she had the energy to roll her eyes to the moon and back but just withdrew completely from his arms instead before brushing past to sit in the park bench to the side of the porch.

Nigel watched her brows get furrowed in frustration, hands shoved in the deep pockets of her parka as she stretched her legs out in front of her. He went to occupy the space next to her. "Lead with that next time," he muttered, staring at the side of her face. She looked thinner than usual, wan even, her once precious hair pulled messily behind her. "When'd you find out?"

"Last week," she related succinctly.

"Who is it?" he asked and when her unfocused gaze turned on him, he arched a brow. "Can I not ask?"

"Aries," she muttered, cheeks filling with color as she averted her gaze abruptly. "You don't seem too surprised."

Nigel wasn't. He was at least already seventy percent sure of the hunch. When her scarf had first come loose on their way back from the lakeside, his gut had told him it was someone pretty close to him. Alfie's drugs and booze were all the action he had the time for. Plus with she and Aries going at an unnatural silent war that was out of place even for them, the conjecture only seemed right.

"It started the night I found out about you and Hayley," she began, thumbs digging into the soft layer padding the inner part of her jacket. "He was there and it just sort of happened."

"Why come to me?" he asked, resigned.

"You're you," she said. She didn't need someone that would badger her with the how and why. "I just need someone who'd come along with me, no questions asked." Nigel was the only one that fit the bill for her.

"Accompany you where?" he wondered.

"I made an appointment in a private clinic upstate," she hadn't wanted to risk her father tailing her to one in their immediate surrounding and finding out. "I just need to get rid of it." The test she managed to take in her bathroom had been dangerous enough. He'd kill her if she so much as further thwarted his efforts to seek a greater alliance for his business.

Nigel knew her well enough to know she'd made her mind up already. "Sure," he reassured. "When?"

"Next Friday," she said, swallowing thickly.

Nothing more was said between them and they passed the next half hour in silence, watching the buds of the row of potted flowers in front of them gently sway in the wind.

Cassandra knew she couldn't afford to settle on any other decision other than the one she'd made already. She had her whole life ahead of her and couldn't afford to just sit back and let it pass her by. If she didn't do this, then perhaps her father would make the decision for her and end up killing her afterwards in a disappointed rage.

She snapped out of her musings at the sudden vibration of her cell phone and pulled it out, heart stuttering at the sight of the missed messages asking where she was and why she wasn't back yet to prepare for her blind date.

She was still mulling over what to reply to temper the atmosphere and gloomy clouds probably already looming over her father's head when her phone started ringing.

It was snatched out of her hands before she could worry herself to tears and glanced up, dazed, at the sight of Nigel calmly turning off the phone for her.

"I don't want him to worry," she mumbled even though she knew the only thing he'd probably be worried about was the embarrassment he'd face at her standing the other party up when they'd been the one to propose talk of an alliance in the first place.

"You know you're not missing much," he said. "Why not come in and relax for a while?"

She glanced down hesitantly at her blackened screen and soon felt his hand coming to lightly cover hers where they were clenched in her laps. Warmth seeped from his palm into her skin and she suddenly felt a tad bit stronger at heart.

Patting down her clothes, she got to her feet and followed him in.

While Nigel picked out a couple snacks from the pantry, he listened to Winona enquire about his and Cassie's well-being from where she was seated on the island, sampling some of the already-made baked potatoes while her husband furiously worked himself behind the cooker.

They both reassured them that everything was fine but Winona's attention span had already been stolen by her husband and her need to replenish her baked potatoes.

Nigel watched Paul try to swat her away and left them to it, he and Cass walking up to Alfie's room. When she paused at the sight of Aries seated on the floor, he nudged at her elbow to snap her out of whatever daze she'd fallen into and watched her step in, lips pursed.

Aries was seated on the floor with Alfie, a tray of coconut chips in his laps the latter ignored in favor of chugging the can of beer to his side. He glanced up at their entrance, gaze quickly moving to linger on Cassandra.

"What sort of strong wind blew you here?" he asked as he collapsed next to him since Cassandra had gone to drop cross-legged next to Alfie. When he only earned a snort, he arched a brow at him only to see he was steadily watching an ignorant Cass as she slid her phone back from him to return to her pocket.

Nigel knew his friend a little too well and was well versed in identifying his every emotion, jealousy being the easiest. All he wanted to tell him to not be so foolish.

"Who wants to play a game?" Alfie suddenly asked, words slurring over so messily they were hardly recognizable. "It's been a while we were all together. Yeah, let's play a game."

Nigel exchanged a look with Cassandra then shrugged. He knew she needed the distraction but he was too tired. He'd had too long a day.

"What do you have?" Aries pointedly ignored the duo across from him to ask. He got up when he directed him to the cards in his closet cabinet.

Nigel half-heartedly listened to them haggle over which card game to play, pulling out his phone and then his chat record with his girlfriend. After hesitating a while, he still dropped a message and put his phone aside to see they'd finally settled on blackjack.

"We'll drink up if we lose," Alfie grinned as he materialized a pack of beer from who knew where.

Nigel shot him a look. Of all of them, Alfie had the most horrendous plays when it came to card games and could even ruin a good hand all by his lonesome. He thought this idiot was just looking for an excuse to drink without getting any more pointed looks from him.

"When did you become so fucking boring?" Alfie groaned when he reached over to snatch the pack from him though he didn't debate him on it this time and even accepted the cup of water he was handed.

Nigel left them to it after this hazard had been dissuaded and leaned against the foot of the bed, sleep finding him quite easily. When he woke up, his right arm felt numb from the weight Alfie had propped on it, his body limply draped against his side.

He rearranged him to the side, lips pursing at the sight of can that dangled down from his hand.

A soft sigh suddenly blanketed the sight and he drew his gaze away from this troublesome person and Aries who was stretched out on the bed.

"Cass?" he called at the sight of the open door to Alfie's connected balcony and followed the sound to see she was leaning against the rail and just staring into space. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she'd felt a little nauseous and now smiled slightly at the quietude and security he brought when he came to sidle up to her side. "Just needed a little air."

Nigel found himself asking the same question the following Friday at the sight of her pallid face after they'd checked in at the reception desk and she was given the paperwork to fill. When he saw her hands shaking too much to even hold the pen straight, he took it to help her, only needing her to relate a little information as he worked his way down.

He kept an eye on her out of his peripheral. She was in a white turtleneck, hair falling in rivulets behind her, legs in baby blue jeans that brought out her eyes but she'd only been rubbing her sweaty palms off on. When she raised the manicured fingers of her right hand to her lips to nibble at nervously, he took the hand in his.

"We have a counselor on standby," they were told after handing the papers back. "If you don't have any questions or doubts, then we can skip straight to the procedure."

Cassandra was even whiter than a ghost. Skip straight to it? She just felt sick to her stomach.

"I'd like to talk to the counselor," she said, eyes wet as the hand around hers stroked reassuringly. Maybe she was stalling or just needed someone to properly dissuade her from it. "Can he come with me?"

"Of course," the receptionist, Cynthia, reassured with a perfect service smile before calling someone over to lead them away.

Cassandra didn't feel any better with the so-called talk. The counselor they were directed to was professional, cutthroat and spoke without any embellishments, that it'd be easier since she was only a few weeks along. She'd apparently only need a few tablets and then a follow-up observation to ensure the process had been complete. If she waited any longer, then she might have to use a D&C to try and flush it out. Any longer than even that and she was just looking to die.

She knew she wouldn't find any dissuasion here. They were an establishment looking to earn their money, not turn paying customers away.

"Cass," Nigel called softly after walking her to sit in the waiting area to catch her breath.

"Just a minute," she mumbled, voice muffled with how she'd buried her face in his shoulder, heart shuddering in a nervous staccato and threatening to crumble when she felt the weight of his palm falling on her head, gently stroking.

Or perhaps she didn't need to be dissuaded. Tears burned behind her eyes at the nervousness and completely wrong feeling pooling in her gut.

Nigel just accompanied her quietly, helpless, and when she went along with changing into the hospital gown, checking her vital signs and taking the necessary medications, still he stood by her side. Or rather, it'd be more accurate to say he couldn't leave since she was clasping his wrists too tightly.

"I don't think they'd let me be here," he said gently, not even mentioning how she was hurting his wrist with all her pulling. He'd meant to check it at the hospital when he went to see Saxon but suddenly hadn't seen the point since he'd made his mind and soon found himself taking the route to the overpass.

"Nigel," her lip trembled slightly and he thought he'd never seen her look so small. "I'm scared." The first tear fell then and Nigel just swallowed, quiet. "Will it be okay?"

"Yeah," he managed. She'd brought him along to bury his head in the reviews on their sight and since it boasted a good reputation, he thought they should at least know what they were doing. He didn't want to think of the little off chance there was that things could spiral out of control.

"Promise?"

It wasn't in his power but seeing the absence of spirit in her eyes, still promised with the assistant's urgent prompting from the side.

"Nicolas?"

He glanced up, confused at the sight of the doctor— Anders, her name tag read— staring fixatedly at his face. She was looking at him with so much familiarity, a confused frown instantly tugged at his lips. Before he could think further about it, his attention was usurped by Cassandra who had begun trembling.

"Do you," he hesitated because he knew how much she wanted this over and done with and the resolution she'd come here with. "Do you want to think it over?" She was only about three to four weeks along according to the preliminary tests they'd conducted earlier. It'd be easiest to do it now but if she still wanted time to think it over, then it wouldn't be too late to do it in another week or two, according to the doctor from earlier.

Kheri wasn't meant to turn up for work today but she desperately needed the distraction. Nash and Rhett were looking to get in touch with him over the weekend and she needed something doing to get rid of her nerves. She just didn't expect to suddenly meet him here, at her workplace no less, where she'd decided to take on a couple surgicals.

She turned to the nearly hysterical brunette he was accompanying, crossing over so she was by her other side and promptly uttersd soft words of reassurance. When she was calm enough to understand she probably wasn't ready for this yet and definitely better off thinking it over a while more, she turned to her brother.

"Nicolas," she called, smile easier as she watched him split his worried glance from his friend. "Can we talk?"

Nigel was sure he didn't know this woman from anywhere. She was completely unfamiliar with her poised features and sparkling honey brown eyes.

"I don't really. . ."

"Biologically speaking," she related. "I'm your sister."

His eyes darkened.

—

rewrote this a couple times. don't know what to feel about it to be honest. let me know what you think <33