Mercy

"James, for the hundredth time, I was at the hospital. Leland was in a very serious accident. I don't want to talk about this again. I just want to lie down and go to sleep."

Not fully satisfied with his fiancé's explanation, James pushes the subject once more. "Nicole, I'm going to keep asking you until I get the truth out of you. Where were you? If you're f**king that guy, I swear I'll kill him." He says seriously.

"You are such a f**king prick. Do you know that? He is in a coma, its hard to f**k someone that's barely alive, you asshole!"

"Get out of my house!" James screams, pushing Nikki out of the bed. "I won't be disrespected in my own home."

"I live here too. You can't make me leave my own house." She says pushing her self up from the floor. This fight had started out civil; James asked Nikki where she had been all day and Nikki tried to explain what happened. Of course, the part about the kiss and the I love yous that had been exchanged between the two of them had been omitted.

"Whose name is on the deed? Hmm? Is it yours or is it mine?" he asks with an evil laugh.

"I knew you would throw that in my face, bastard. I told you to have my name written into the contract. I should have known you wouldn't do it! This is over! Right here, right now, it's over! I hate you!" Nikki screams and pushes him away as he advances toward her.

"Don't do it. I promise you, I'll f**k your world up." He says calmly. "You'll walk away without a penny to your name if I have anything to do with it. Is that what you want, to be poor?"

"At least I'll be rid of you!" she says, spitting in his face.

Nikki didn't know what had come over her; she had never acted this way before. Suddenly being told to she had to leave the only home she had known for three years, sent her over the edge.

"That's it... out!" James yells in her face, pulling her out of the bedroom and practically pushing her down the stairs. He physically forces her out of the house, leaving her standing outside wearing nothing but her night gown.

She turns around quickly, beating on the front door as he locks it. "Let me in....open the door James. You're being ridiculous." She screams as loud as she possibly could."I'm not letting you in, you can forget it. Come by tomorrow and you can get your shit." He says as she continues to scream.

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Broken and disgraced she had no choice but to walk to the guard station at the front of their gated community.

Nikki knocked lightly on the door, praying that some one was still working. "Hey Kimo." She says to guard as he opens the door.

"Ms. Murdock, is everything alright?" he asks curiously, seeing her clothes, or lack there of. He let her come inside the cozy little station and sit down."It seems that I've been removed from my house by James." She says sadly, trying her best to pull her gown a little further down her legs.

"Oh. Um, is there someone I can call for you? Maybe the police or a friend?" he asks politely. She nods her head 'yes' asking him to call Duane Lee.

She sits by, listening to Kimo explain the situation to Duane. He hangs the phone up and turns to her. "He said he would be here shortly ... Can I get you a bottle of water...maybe some crackers?" he asks her as she stares down at her bare feet.

"I'm fine. Thank you." She says, trying to her best to smile.It didn't take long for Duane Lee to get there. He had been living only a few miles from her house. As he pulled up next to the guard station she noticed that he was not alone, his mother and Bailee were with him.

'Great.' Nikki thinks to her self as Duane Lee rushes to her rescue.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you? What happened?" he asks all at one time, as he helps her into the car.

"I'm fine... a little shaken, but I'm fine." Nikki says, looking over at Bailee who was sleeping in her car seat. "I'm sorry to call so late... I didn't know what to do." She says, as tears fill her eyes.

"Oh honey, don't you ever worry about what time it is. This one would drive to the end of the earth for you. Day or night." LaFonda says, patting her son on the leg.

Nikki's eyes meet Duane Lee's as he looks into the rear view mirror and winks at her as his mom continues to talk. "Actually we were just leaving the hospital when the guard called Duane. Nothing has changed with Leland yet...we've been praying all night for a miracle."

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"Thanks for letting me stay with you...I would have gotten a hotel room but I don't even have my purse with me." Nikki explains as Duane walks her into his bedroom.

"You know I would do anything for you." He says sweetly. "You'll have to share my bed with me. Mom and Bailee have the guest room for a little while."

"Do you mind if I take a bath, I feel disgusting." Nikki says, biting her lip.

"Go run the water and I'll find a t-shirt for you to wear." He says, and then points in the direction of the bathroom. "It's right through there."

The hot water was very inviting as Nikki dipped her toe into the bathtub to test the warmth. 'Perfect' she thinks as she slides her body into the bathtub, squirting some of Duane's shampoo into the running water to make bubbles.

As she lays her head back against the tub, she hears him crack the door open. "I've got a towel and a t-shirt for you. I'll just sit it outside the door." He tells her.

Nikki smiles, telling him to go ahead and come in. "I'm sure. I've got bubbles... not that you haven't seen me naked before." She says laughing.

Duane Lee sits down on the floor next to the large bathtub. "Wanna tell me what happened?"

"He kicked me out of the house because he thinks I'm sleeping with you or your brother...take your pick, it's a different person everyday." She says, turning her head to look at him. "He told me that I could get my shit tomorrow."

"Well..." he says, with a sigh. "I can't say that I'm happy about it, but I am happy that you're here with me." He tells her, as he drops his hand into her bath water.

Nikki raises an eyebrow as his hand rubs her thigh. His blue eyes are sparkling bright as she looks at him through her eyelashes. For the first time she felt that same tingly feeling she had always felt with Leland.

"I missed you Nikki, I missed you everyday. I missed coming to your house at night. I miss the way you whispered my name when we had sex." He says in a raspy voice. He was on his knees in an instant, leaning over Nikki whispering in her ear. "I've waited three long years to touch you. Please don't deny me." He says, nipping at her earlobe with his front teeth.He picks her up from the bathtub, soaking wet and covered in bubbles and carries her to his bed.

"I want to do this the right way, the way I should have done it years ago." He whispers against her mouth; kissing her pouty lips as he lays her down."You're beautiful Nikki, no one has ever appreciated you the way they should."

A content sigh escapes her lips as he runs a hand along her damp arm. "I know this isn't the most appropriate time, but I'm afraid if I don't take the chance, it may never come again." He says from his place at the side of the bed.

There's a soft knock on Duane's bedroom door, then his mothers voice calling his name.

"Don't go anywhere." He commands Nikki.

He slides on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt and steps into the hallway to speak with his mother. A minute later he's back, looking somewhat frustrated.

"What's going on?" Nikki asks, still lying naked on the bed.

"My mother the mood-killer, said Bailee is fussy and won't go to bed, and grandma is cranky from her flight." He says with a chuckle.

"Go get Bailee and she can sleep with us. And don't make that face, you said you wanted kids...this is what its like." She says, shooing him out of the room, while trying to find one of his t-shirts to sleep in.

It didn't take long for Bailee to fall asleep; she had quieted down as soon as she saw Nikki. It was obvious the amount of love Nikki had for the little girl, even if had been three years since she last saw her.

"She's finally asleep." Nikki says, laying her down between the two of them.

Duane Lee looks down at the sleeping child, a smile permanent on his face. "You know, a guy could get used to this; two beautiful girls in his bed..." he says, looking into Nikki's eyes.

"One day, you'll have children of your own." She says, reaching out to touch his arm.

Duane lets out a long sigh as a frown appears on his face. "I don't know, sometimes I think I'm too old to have kids. Too set in my ways." He says sadly.

"No, I don't think so." Nikki says confidently. "You're never too old to love a child. I know you would be a wonderful father. All of your nieces and nephews adore you, Duane...It's never too late.

Comfortable silence fills the room as they settle down in bed; Bailee snuggled into the crook of Duane Lee's left arm. Nikki fluffs her pillow just on the other side of Bailee, then lays her head down, trying to get comfortable in a different bed.

"There is something I need to talk to you about...incase something does happen to Leland." He says, pulling the cover over them. "After you came to work for him, and the two of you became friends, he told me that he amended his will, to include you as Bailee's legal guardian should he die."

"Me?" Nikki asks surprised as she props herself up on her elbow.

"He told me that he knew you would love her and raise her as your own. He has all the faith in the world in you, Nikki...and so do I."

She takes a moment then, letting this news settle in her mind. 'What if something does happen to Leland?' she asks herself.

She hadn't let the possibility of him dying even become a factor. She knew he was strong, she knew he would fight. But faced with this fact; she knew it could be possibility.

Looking at Duane Lee, she allows a few tears to escape, rolling quickly down her cheeks and onto the pillow. "What if he does die? What do we do then?" she asks, swatting away a few more tears.

Duane leaves Bailee sleeping on his side of the bed, and lies behind Nikki, holding her body close to his as she cried, eventually falling asleep sometime around midnight.