Nicole

I'm finally free... After all those months of darkness and isolation. I thought this day would never come but those dumbass cops finally came to their senses. As soon as I left, I was told that I have been released after 3 months. I would have never guessed that my time there has been that short. I thought it was much longer, half a year maybe.

Being held captive in that hell hole really made me forget what the outdoors looked like, what fresh air smelled like and it also made me realize how much shorter my temper has become.

As we rode in Rebecca's car, I watched as Dani tried to break the chains away from my cuffed wrists. Jaden and I were still in prison gear because as soon as they freed us, we celebrated early and forgot to give it back to officials. Something to be done real soon but first, I wanted to enjoy the freedom of life.

I've missed seeing everyone's faces, even the annoying ones. But most of all, I missed my family... Simon, Maria, Jaden...

I looked through the back window, seeing the other car that Jaden was riding in. Just looking at it put butterflies in my stomach.

"Hey, Rebecca?"

She looked at me from the rearview, "Yeah?"

"Drop me off at my house instead."

She raised an eyebrow as she turned her eyes back to the road, "Simon wanted to see you... Actually, yeah, why not." She decided to say instead.

She then pulled her phone out and called Tyler who was driving the other car following behind us, "Hey, Ty. We're making a U-turn back to Nicole's place... Yup... Don't question it, just do it... Yeah, they're gonna need it... Cool, bye."

She turned her car around with a small smile, "Make sure you get a lot of rest. Oh, and don't worry about Jaden, I'll make sure he gets to his apartment safely."

Yeah right.

I chuckled, "No, it's fine. I'll let him hang out here with me. We need to discuss something important anyways."

Her smile faded into a slight sneer, "Oh really... You're gonna 'discuss' something."

I narrowed my eyes at her. I didn't appreciate the sarcasm, "Yeah. That's exactly what I said, smartass."

"What are you going to tell him? Just out of curiosity." she faked a smile.

I laughed a little, "Is it your business?"

Dani broke the cuffs off of my wrists saying, "Rebecca, cut it out. Not everything involving Jaden involves you."

"He's my friend too and, not only that, but he also has a little thing for me. I just want to make sure nobody messes that up."

Oh please...

Dani rolled her eyes, "Give it a rest. I'm sure he-"

"No, if she really wants to know, then I'll tell her," I smirked.

Rebecca smiled at that.

"Jaden and I are just going to discuss work. You know, go over our schedules to get ourselves back in shape..." I lied. "Then, after that, I know he'll be tired so I'm gonna suck his dick until the sun sets."

Dani gasped with her eyes wide, "Dude!"

Rebecca only stared at the road in shock, "You're- what the hell?" she giggled without a tint of humor.

I shook my head, "Don't believe me? I'll record it for you and I'll try not to choke on it this time."

Dani laughed, hitting my arm, "You're gross, stop it!"

I laughed with her but Rebecca kept a serious face. I knew she was pissed off. I chuckled, "Chill, Red. We're not doing any of that."

She shook her head in annoyance as I told her, "Don't start crying like a little bitch, the point is that you need to keep your nose out of other people's business."

Rebecca huffed a small laugh, "Prison really does change people... I swear you weren't this annoying when they put you in handcuffs. Not to mention how stupid you've become. Can't you tell the difference between those who don't want shit to do with you from the ones right in front of you who's actually willing to babysit you and your trash mouth?" she rolled her eyes.

Oh, the poor bitch.

I laughed expecting Dani to join in but soon noticed that all of her humor had left her expression. Her wide eyes briefly met mine before she quickly turned to look out of the window, ignoring our conversation now.

I shrugged it off, telling Rebecca, "Instead of obsessing over me, why don't you get your own life together first." I glared.

"Real mature." She sighed, keeping her eyes on the road as she told Dani, "As I said before, you could do better than her... Much better-"

"How far is the house from here?" Dani asked impatiently as I smiled in amusement when I realized that she only asked that in an attempt to hide her attraction for me.

This'll be fun...

"It doesn't get any better than me," I responded to Rebecca's remark which only annoyed her even more and made Dani redden a bit, feeding my urge to continue my misbehavior.

Hell, all I've been doing in prison for three months was pissing people off and I found myself getting a huge kick out of it. I'll admit that Rebecca was right, prison does change people and I had no boundaries on how fucked up I acted there. But I enjoyed it. It was my only way of being entertained. Whenever I got out of those cells, I let my recklessness roam free with no control and I'm not sure if that left my system just yet.

"You two are ridiculous," Dani commented, keeping her eyes to the scene outdoors.

"Hey..." I smiled with a hand to her chin so she would look me in the eyes, "Wouldn't you agree? I'm as good as it gets..." I told her, catching her by surprise by pressing my lips to hers to begin a wild makeout session.

Rebecca screeched her car to a stop and I heard the car behind us screech as well, stopping just before they could crash into us. She quickly turned around and gawked at us speechlessly.

I smiled at her and shoved Dani back against her seat and climbed onto her lap, shoving my tongue in her mouth and moaning dramatically.

For just a moment, I felt her lips kiss me back but before we could get too carried away, I pulled back with a satisfied grin, liking the mix of confusion and humor in her eyes.

That was until a voice in my head began to demand that I calm down.

You're not an animal, compose yourself!

I almost felt guilty for invading her space until I suddenly took the slightest bit of fucks I gave and shoved it in the ass. When we both turned to look at Rebecca's expression, I lost it, we both did. I laughed hysterically while Dani chuckled only for a short moment. It was clear that she was still shaken from our kiss seconds ago.

"What? Did you want some too?" I asked Rebecca, continuing to laugh while wiping the moisture off of my lips.

Her shock turned into a sly smile, "No, thank you! I'm fine..." she turned back to the road, "But you won't be..." she muttered as she continued driving.

I rolled my eyes, saying, "What are you going to do? Tell Jaden?" I scoffed, settling in my seat as she parked in my driveway.

He won't do jackshit about it since I'm clearly the man of this relationship.

"Looks like we're here... And hey," Dani said and grabbed my wrist before I could open the door. When she leaned in close to my ear, she whispered, "In all seriousness, make sure you talk to someone when you get to headquarters. I've dealt with PTSD myself and your showing signs of the manic stage... It'll only get worse." She then let go and said aloud, "It's good to have you back, Greene." I hardly took any of her words seriously and that last part was the only thing that seemed to process well in my head. Who was she to tell me I had a problem?

Rebecca nodded, "Yeah... See you later, Nicole!

I chuckled and flipped them both off before exiting. "I'll try to see you all at work tomorrow, Dickheads."

I laughed as they drove off but then I saw Jaden standing outside of Tyler's window, talking for a while.

"Nicole!" Maria squealed as she ran over to me. She was working on the plants in the front yard but stopped to give me a loving hug. Something familiar struck me once I felt it. Priceless memories of being home came back to me once she squeezed me like that.

Before I could absentmindedly tell her to fuck off and get back to work, my mind resisted itself, causing me to hesitate until I ended up hugging her back instead, "Oh uh... I missed you so much, Maria..."

She pulled back and cupped my face in her hands, "Ca fait tellement longtemps!" (It has been so long!)

"Je sais." (I know) I hugged her again.

She kissed my forehead, putting a flutter in my chest before going back to the garden. I could only stand there, longing for her to come back and hug me again. God, I missed her! I turned back to Jaden where he was finishing his conversation. I watched as they laughed and shook hands before Tyler started to back his car out of the driveway.

I smiled at the sight of Jaden when our eyes met.

He was ugly as fuck!

Being in prison for so long made him grow a longer beard and mustache, his eyebrows were bushier, and his hair grew longer and messy. But I still loved him. I could tell he felt the same by the way he looked at me as well.

I opened the front door while he made his way over to me, a grin stretching across my lips as I began to say, "Home sweet-"

"Home!" He finished, swooping me off of the ground and carrying me inside excitedly.

I laughed as he dropped me on the couch, "I didn't think I'll ever see this place again." I grinned as he began to settle over me.

"I didn't think I'll ever see you again." he kissed my lips tenderly and dramatically, making it evident that he missed me more than I expected him to.

I couldn't help but laugh for no reason at all. Just being here made my insides jump with excitement.

I kissed him back for a moment then pulled back just to admire him. He did the same with me, his gorgeous grey-brown eyes twinkling with happiness.

"I love you..." we both said, simultaneously.

And that made my heart melt.

His eyes softened for a moment then he just smiled, "I know you do, baby." he kissed my cheek. Both of his hands cupped my face and his thumbs gently stroked my jaw. He narrowed his eyes at me and his smokey eyes slowly moved from my eyes to my lips then back up as he whispered, "Damn... Damn baby, I almost forgot what you looked like. Fucking gorgeous!" his voice cracked as he gripped my face harder and forced his lips on mine.

I chuckled when his beard tickled me and had to push him back a bit, "You need to shave those pubes off of your face."

He smiled and huffed out a small laugh, "Oh yeah? And you need to start working out again."

My smile suddenly faded away as I began to remember... He still doesn't know about the baby. "Yeah... About that..." I uttered.

His eyes widened, "No, no, I didn't mean it like that." he laughed. "You're still sexy, mami. You just-"

I shook my head, "Jaden, we really have to talk..."

Oh shit... How do I tell him?

He got off of me and allowed me to sit up, "Nicki, I said I was sorry..."

"No... It's not about you calling me fat." I chuckled, trying to hide my nervousness.

"Then what is it?"

I looked down at my hands to avoid eye contact, "Well... You see, I... I mean, in prison..." I shook my head, second-guessing this whole conversation, "You know what? I'll tell you later. Go take care of all that." I gestured at his face.

He frowned and moved my hand down, "You already started telling me. Just say it."

I shrugged and stood up, "Okay, I'll tell you after I shower."

He chuckled and grabbed my hand, "Nicki! Please... Just tell me. What happened at the prison?"

Should I just tell him?

Might as well, you're only going to get bigger.

I sighed nervously and sat back down. I didn't want to say the wrong words and freak him out but he might do just that no matter how I tell him anyway. There was no easy way to break this to him so I might as well tell it like it is, "Jaden, we're pregnant..."

When I looked up at him, he was gawking at me. Speechless

Oh, brother...

He blinked a few times before half-smiling and half-laughing, pausing for a moment with that smile quickly fading as he realized that I was not joking, soon he asked, "W- we... We're what...?"

I grabbed his hand and rested it over my belly with an awkward smile, "You're going to be a father..."

His face was still pretty stunned as his hands kind of felt around my belly. He then started to chuckle... Then laugh.

"Wait... I'm going to be a dad?"

I nodded, turning my eyes down to his hand.

I wasn't sure if I was ready for any of this. I was hardly even ready to tell Jaden I loved him, scared that it was the wrong decision.

Unexpectedly, I felt his lips press against my cheek, "Hey... Did you want this?" He whispered.

I shrugged, "I have no choice... Whether I want this baby or not, all children deserve to have a chance. A chance to be loved."

Something I never got to experience as a child.

He dropped his shoulders with a disappointed look, "Nicki... I made you do this, didn't I?"

I looked at him, furrowing my brows with a small frown. Why is he blaming himself for this?

He raked his fingers through his hair, "Damn... Dammit, Nicki, I'm so sorry... Uh... I guess we could always put it up for adoption if you really don't want it. Or we could... Get an abortion..."

I gasped, "Jaden! I'm not going to fucking abort my baby! And I'm not putting it up for adoption either..."

He slouched in his seat with frustration, "I just don't want you to feel forced into doing this. I was the one who wasn't careful enough."

"And I was the one who let it happen," I told him. "Maybe I'm not ready to do this now, but I have been thinking about starting a family before. I just didn't think you would be the one I'd do that with... No offense, but you get pretty irresponsible at times."

He chuckled, "Hey, I've babysat before... I can handle kids."

I smiled, "Hopefully you're good at it because I know nothing about caring for children and I know I can't do this alone." I rubbed my temples. "I'm kind of worried... I've already been a terrible mom so far... I've gotten into fights recently, car crashes during the mission and ate appalling prison food... I don't even know how much harm I've already done to it."

He kissed my hand, "For one, you're not being a bad mom. None of that was your fault. Except maybe the prison fight." he chuckled. "I'm sure the baby is okay, we'll go to the hospital sometime this week to check okay?"

I gave him a small smile, "I guess... I guess we can do this."

He let out a relieved breath of air, "Good. Because I really want to have this baby... I've wanted one for a really long time now." He grinned as he rubbed my belly.

I chuckled and put my hand over his, "I promise to love it with everything I have... I would never want any child to face the same hurt and neglect I had to deal with before." I then whispered to the baby, "You deserve a chance..."

A chance that I never had.

"I still can't believe it..." Jaden chuckled softly. "I can't wait to get started on the baby room."

I smiled, "I can't wait to tackle this new challenge. I've never done anything close to this before."

Maria walked into the living room with a bowl of spaghetti. Her eyes moved to our hands and she gasped, "Es-tu enceinte?" (are you pregnant?)

We both nodded.

"Ah mon dieu!"(oh my God) she put the bowl on the table and knelt down in front of me, placing her hands on my belly.

I chuckled as she rubbed it with both hands, "Je ne peux pas le croire! Je vais vous chercher quelque chose de plus sain à manger." (I can't believe it! I will get you something healthier to eat.)

She quickly headed back to the kitchen and began to prepare something for me. The sound of pots and bowls clinking together fringed as she worked.

Jaden grabbed the bowl she left on the table, "I'm taking the spaghetti then."

I laughed and stood up to begin heading towards my room, "Let's get out of these orange jumpsuits first, I'm tired of smelling like chains and depression."

He set the bowl back down and made his way over to me. His arm came around my shoulder and his free hand rested over my belly, "You're right... We should all shower together as a family."

I rolled my eyes, "No, I don't think-" On second thought, "Sure, Jay... Why not." I chuckled.