Mercy

The trip back to Hawaii was long, and Leland didn't speak the entire time, which made it twice as long for Nikki. Thankfully, Bailee slept most of the time, which left her time to speculate on what had set Leland off. No good conclusion came to mind. She looked over at Leland as the plane landed. He was still staring out the window, just like he had been for the past six hours.

Her hand on his arm brought him out of his trance. "Let’s go." she says softly, picking Bailee up and stepping into the aisle. Leland walked closely behind the girls, pushing them through the airport, his hand on Nikki's back the entire time. "I can only walk so fast with a child in my arms." she says, becoming a little aggravated while trying to balance a baby, a diaper bag, a purse and her luggage. Leland wheeled the other large suitcase in his hand.

A few people asked him to stop and take pictures. "I'm sorry. He's not feeling well today." Nikki would have to tell them as he ignored them and continued to walk through the airport. When they finally got back to his truck Nikki put Bailee and their luggage inside before getting into the passenger seat and slamming the door.

The short trip back to his house was much like the plane ride; silent. Nikki was becoming increasingly frustrated the more he kept to himself. It had to be unnatural for someone not to speak for an entire day, she decided. As they got out of the truck and walked into the house Nikki went straight to Bailee's room, thankfully it was nighttime and the little girl was already asleep.

She jumped when she heard something shatter in the kitchen. Running down the hall to investigate, she saw Leland's back turned toward her, standing over the sink and a shattered crystal vase in the floor. "What the hell is going on?" she yells as she bends over to pick up the broken pieces.

His hands were shaking, she could tell that much. She was almost afraid to touch him as she walked over to where he was standing and put a hand on his back. "Leland." she says softly. He looks up, tears in his eyes. "You're bleeding!" she says grabbing his hand. There was a large crescent shaped cut in the middle of his palm.

Nikki cleaned the cut on his palm, praying that it would stop bleeding soon. He still hadn't said anything. It was starting to worry her. "Maybe you should sit down." she says, walking him into the living room and over to the sofa. "Here..um, I'll get you some water." she tells him, not really knowing what she should do in this situation. She had never had this much drama in her life!

"I'm fine." he says quietly. She spins around, walking back over to him. "You sure?" she asks. He nods.

"My mother gave me that vase last time she came to visit." he says, staring straight ahead at the wall. "I broke it." he says in a very monotone voice with no emotion on his face. "Ive never done anything right."

"You're scaring me." Nikki says looking at him from the corner of her eye.

"I would never hurt you." he tells her. His stare never faltering.

They sat there quietly, neither of them speaking. Nikki worrying about Leland and what was going through his head. She could hear Bailee's crying some time later and left Leland sitting there to go check on her. When she got back , he was gone and the door leading outside was open.

The warm, tropical air felt suffocating as she walks onto the deck calling for Leland. He didn't answer. She ran down the stairs and into the sand, but didn't see him. Her mind was racing, what if he went crazy and walked out into the water and drowned. She spun around, looking left and right, calling his name.

"I'm right here." he says standing behind her. "Shit!" she screams, clutching her chest. "Don't sneak up on a girl like that."

"I didn't. You called me." he says, looking over her shoulders out to the water.

"Lets go inside." she says taking him by the hand and walking back into the house. He follows her in, like a lost puppy might follow someone home. She walks Leland into his bedroom and pulls his shirt over his head, then pulls his jeans off. "Lay down." she instructs him. He does as he's told.

"This was not how I pictured you taking my clothes off for the first time ..." he says pulling the cover up to his chest.
"Don try to be cute now." she says folding his clothes up and sitting them on the dresser. "Not after the way you've acted over the past eight hours... Care to tell me what happened?" she asks, sitting on the edge of his bed.

He moves over and pulls the cover back, patting the spot next to him.

"Might as well..." she says, laying down beside him, figuring the night couldn't get much weirder. "Turn the light off." he says. Nikki reaches over and turns the light off.

"I hate my life." Leland says as soon as the room goes dark. "You couldn't say that with the light on?" she asks, turning onto her side.

"No... I didn't want to see the look on your face." he says sadly. She closes her eyes and sighs, knowing this would be a long night.

"My dad didn't want me to bring you next time we came to Colorado because the other kids have to share a room when we're all there. I told him I would put Bailee in my room, but its hard to share a twin bed with a baby." he explains.

"I didn't know you were sleeping in a twin bed... I had a queen." Nikki says, pulling the covers over her shoulders. She figured she might as well get comfortable.

"Thats because I wanted you to have the bigger bed."

"This has to be about more than just beds, Leland. Something else is bothering you because I have never seen you that upset before. Its not like you." she says.

He doesn't answer, but moves closer to her. His leg brushes against her leg. "Will you think I'm weird if I ask you to hold me?" he says, laying his head on her pillow. "After today, no, nothing would freak me out." she says honestly, with a small laugh.

He lays his head on her shoulder, his body pressed against hers, she wraps an arm around his shoulder and one around his waist and holds him. "Ive never held anyone before." she admits as he puts his arm around her waist.

"Really?" he says surprised.

"Ive only had one boyfriend and that was right after High School. He just used me for sex." She says sadly. "And money." she thinks to herself, but doesn't say it out loud. "He always got what he wanted and left me laying there. I was too stupid and naive at the time to realize what was really going on. So I let him do it because I thought he loved me."

"So... you've only slept with one guy?" he asks her.

"Two." she says, correcting him, not really prepared for this conversation.

"Who was the other one?" he questions as his fingers trace imaginary shapes on her arm. "He was just this guy I met." she tells him, trying not to give away his identity. "Did you love him?" he asks, moving his head closer to hers, trying to get comfortable.

"Ha... no. I barely know him...knew him... I mean." she says, correcting herself. "Well...." he says quietly.

"What about you? How many women have you slept with."

"Not as many as most people think. Probably .. I don't know six." he tells her.

Nikki wanted nothing more than to change the subject. If he found out she had slept with Duane Lee she would probably lose her job and the friendship she was forming with him.

"Why do you hate your life? You have a loving family and a job that you obviously love, that pays you well. You're famous... You have a beautiful, healthy daughter and nice home, tell me whats wrong with that?"

Leland's hand reaches out to twirl a strand of Nikki's long hair around his finger. She knew he was ignoring the question, but at the same time she was enjoying the attention. She always wondered what it would be like to cuddle with someone who cared about you.

"Maybe you need a vacation." she says, while dragging her nails lightly up and down his back. She wished the light was on; he had such a beautiful body and Nikki wanted nothing more than to see it; especially if he was giving her permission to touch it.

"It would be nice to go somewhere without my family. I spend so much time with them... mmm that feels good." he says as Nikki runs a hand through his hair and starts massaging his scalp. "Its supposed to relieve stress." she says quietly, concentrating on what she was doing.

"Its working." he says, closing his eyes and leaning into her. "Would you keep Bailee if I wanted to go somewhere alone?" he asks. "You know I would. Its my job." Nikki says moving from his head to massage his shoulders, or what she could reach of them.

"Sometimes I forget you work for me. Lately Ive just felt like you're part of my family." he says sweetly.

"Thank you. You don't know what that means to me." she tells him. She had never felt part of anyone's family, even her own.

"You're skin is so soft." Leland says, pushing his hand under her shirt. "And you always smell so good." he whispers. "You know...this would be better if we were both naked."

"Aren't most things better when you're naked?" she says giggling. "And I'm not going to let you trick me into getting naked, not after what you did to me a few days ago. I still owe you a little thing we call payback, so don't forget that!" she says as he rolls on to his back, pulling her over with him. "It'll be coming when you least expect it."