Nick rubbed his eyes and stretched up a bit as he poured coffee for the social worker, who had paid a courtesy visit this time, after hearing all about what had happened. “I'm sorry, Mrs. Baptiste—” “Lidya, please.” “Lidya... Val has not been feeling well. She's not sleeping, she's barely eating, and what little she does eat she throws up,” Nick said in despair as he sat down with his coffee in front of her. “That's normal.” Mrs. Baptiste sighed. “After all you've been through, nerves suffer a lot. Why don't you both take some time off? Take the vacation you had planned with Alice. Get away from this for a while.” Nick nodded, thoughtfully. “Yeah, maybe it's for the best. I need the troublemaker to think of something else.” Mrs. Baptiste laughed at Nick's moniker for Valeria and stood up. “If I may give you a piece of advice, drive. The road is quiet, there are nice little cabins where you can stay,” she told him. “And now with your permission, I have another social call to mak

“Val!” Nick didn't know how he stifled that cry, but he reached her in a second and lifted her in his arms, laying her on the bed. “Val, for God's sake!” He shook her as gently as his nerves would allow and felt his soul return to his body when he saw her react a little. “Nick?” “Troublemaker! Thank God! What's wrong, baby? What are you feeling? Valeria put a hand to her head and shook it slowly. “I—I don't know... I was just coming to bed… I think. My blood sugar must be low, it's nothing.” Nick helped her up a little. “How could your blood sugar levels have gone low, Valeria? You've literally just eaten! Troublemaker, I'm officially scared. We'd better go see a doctor.” Valeria nodded. The truth was that she had been feeling bad for too many days already. “All right, all right... but I'd rather go to my doctor,” Valeria murmured. “As soon as we get back to Los Angeles I'll go see her.” “Of course you will, or I'll drag you to her office myself. Is that clear?” Nick threaten

Saying that Emma was fanning Valeria was an understatement; she thought her hand would drop trying to get Valeria to recover. “Really? Are you sure, doctor? Couldn’t it be a reflection of that gizmo or something like that?” Valeria stammered. “No, honey, there are two of them, clear and sure. What I don't know is the sex, but if you want I can be your obstetrician, and in a few weeks we'll find out together.” Valeria threw back her head and sighed, but kept looking at the monitor. She didn't even understand what she was seeing, but she knew that this was the image of two little things she was going to love for life. She was still clutching Emma when she left the hospital, and Emma opted to take her straight home to see if she could calm her down a bit. She made her some hot tea and forced her to sit quietly on the front porch of the house. “Emma, my God, I'm pregnant! How could this happen?” Valeria exclaimed, covering her face. “That's what I'd like to know!” Emma answered. “We

Elliot shook Nick as if to vent his frustration. “Do you want to explain to me how my sister is pregnant?” he demanded. “I don't know!” Nick replied wearily. “What do you mean you don't know? Weren't you sleeping with her? Isn't it yours? “I don't know!” Nick shouted, and Elliot froze. “Don't tell me you're going to begin with that again!” he threatened through clenched teeth, and Emma hurried to stop him before he did something stupid. “Yes, it's his! It's his!” she said nervously. “Nick, it's yours.” Nick looked at her, dumbfounded. “How?” Emma sighed. It wasn't her place to say it, but she knew Elliot's temper, and she couldn't let them come to blows in the middle of the hospital. “Nick, Valeria is pregnant… with your child,” she assured him. “She's seven weeks pregnant.” “Seven weeks? But... Valeria and I weren't even together seven weeks ago.” “Aspen,” Emma said, and everyone's eyes widened in surprise. Nick, in particular, looked like he was on the verge of a breakdo

Valeria gave Alice a kiss and Zuzu another before they went to rest. It had taken Amelia just under twenty-four hours to discharge her from the hospital, and she was finally in the quiet of her home, but she knew well what that meant. She didn't bother going to her room, instead, she headed to the master bedroom, which she had shared with Nick before they took the vacation trip. She couldn't avoid him any longer and Andrew and the twins were no longer around to serve her as a protective barrier. She lay down on the bed but was unable to fall asleep, and two hours later she was tossing and turning and pacing around the room as if she were being chased by a hundred spiders. She did not hear the soft sound of footsteps approaching the door, but turned around as soon as she heard that voice. “You're going to dig a trench across the room, troublemaker,” Nick muttered, and Valeria saw him standing there. He looked like he had just come out of the bathroom, wearing pajama pants and drying