Brian Haner Jr

Nicole glanced at her watch. Four minutes after six. Not bad, concidering he'd stopped at a local bookstore to pick up something for Brian. She pushed throught the swinging doors that seperated the hospital from the new wing still under construction. From there, she passed through an alcove and hanging sheets of plastic, then found herself in the middle of a beehive.

Despite the fact that for much of the city the work day had ended, dozens of construction personnel labored on. She could see the framing that in time would be the new pediatric floor. To her right was the lab set-up, still little more than an outline of a room. The only remotely finished section of the first flor was the new daycare center, probably because it would be opening first.

She turned right. Brian had left her a voicemail that afternoon telling her directions to his place. As she crossed the plywood floor, she saw a big sign warning that this was a hard hat area, then saw a stack of the yellow construction headgear on a table below the banner.

Nicole picked up one and plopped it on her head, all the while trying not to think about the last dozen or so people who have done the same. Thenshe made her way to the general direction of the exit.

It wasn't hard to find the way to his office. Signs spray-painted directly onto the unfinished walls pointed the way to various locations in the house. "Synyster Gates' office" was marked in red with a long aarow. She knocked lightly on the door and quietly let herself into the medium sized room with a desk, several chairs and album plans covering most of the walls.

Brian sat behind the desk, staring at lists and making notes. The overhead lighting was harsh but he still looked as handsome as she remembered. His friend, Matt was also a good-looking guy. Talk about a great gene pool in a band. Between her father's roguish appeal and her mother's model-perfect beauty, Baby Frase-make that Baby Haner-was going to be a looker herself.

Nicole leaned against the door frame and studied Brian. He was lost in his work and hadn't noticed her presence. She thought about all he was going to have to deal with over the next few weeks as he adjusted to life with a newborn. If nothing else, it would be a great test of his character. She just hoped he was up to it.

"Ready to go shopping?" she asked.

He raised his head, then smiled when he saw her. That same smile that made her feel sixteen and awkward. It also did funny things to her stomach and her knees, which she didn't remember from high school. Oh, Brian Haner Jr was a dealy combination of male beauty and charm, but she was fairly immune. At twenty-five, no man had really captured her attention and there was no reason to think anyone was going to now.

"Nicole," he said. His voice pleased. "Thanks for meeting me here, I had some guitar solos to finish up."

"It wasn't a problem. I had something I wanted to get before we went shopping anyway."

His gaze dropped to the bag she carried. "Generally I like unexpected presents, but this time I'm not so sure."

"Don't be scared. It's not going to bite you." She set the package on his desk, then waited while he pulled out the book.

"'What to expect the first year,'" he read, "It's really thick."

"Yes, but there are alot of pictures and a ton of valuable information. Everything you'll need to know to survive those first twelve months." She pointed to a slip of paper sticking out the top of the book. "I've marked the pages that talk about buying for a baby."

Brian opened the book. His expression shifted quickly from stunned surprise to amazement to shock. "This list is longer then all the material requisitions for the entire album."

She grinned. "Not quite. But babies need alog of stuff. How's the balance on your credit card?"

He flipped the pages, shaking his head slowly. "They're all fine. I pay them off each month and they have big limits."

"Oh, good. You're going to be needing that."

"I can tell."

He rose to his feet and grabbed his jacket from a nail sticking out of the wall, then took the book. "I guess we'd better get started." He looked shell-shocked.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I'm just trying not to think about it too much. If I let myself dwell on the fact that this time tomorrow I'm going to have a baby in my house, I might be tempted to head for the hills."

"You'll be fine. Just take things one step at a time."

"Easy for you to say. You're a doctor." He followed her back to the front door of the house. "I guess we should take my car," he said as they walked through the house. "I drive an Explorer, so there will be plenty of space for furnature."

"Good idea." She didn't dare tell him that she doubted they would fit everything in his sports utility vehicle in just one trip.

Brian shrugged into is jacket, then held the door open for her. He was parked in the drive way.

"I appreciate you helping me with this," he said, leading the way to a black Explorer. "I'm sure you're very busy and it's nice of you to give up your time."

"I'm glad to help," she said sincerely. "Most parents have several months to get used to the idea of having a baby around. They take classes, talk to other parents, buy slowly. You're going from zero to sixty in less than twenty-four hours. Its a daunting concept."

He flashed her a grin. "So you're trying to tell me that its okay to be terrified?"

"You wouldn't be normal if you weren't. But I have every confidence in you." Which she did, she thought with some surprise as he unlocked the passenger door and held it open for her.

She stepped up into the well-used, but clean vehicle. Her skirt rose up slightly on her leg and she had to resist the urge to cover up her thighs with her hands. Like Brian was even looking, she thought.

Even as she tried to casually glance at him, he was closing the door and heading up the driver's side. So much for bowling him over with her feminine charms, she thought humorously. So what if the man made her body react in ways it hadn't before. All that meant was that she wasn't dead. She should enjoy the occasional flickers and sparks. Feeling them didn't mean she had to do anything about them.

He backed out of the space then drown down the road. "Which way?"

"Do you know the big electronics store on the corner of Green's Way and Carson?"

"Sure."

"There's a place called Baby Town in the same shopping center."

He glanced at her and frowned. "Are you sure? I've never noticed it."

"I'm not surprised. We only see what's important to us at the time. You probably never noticed the designer outlet beside the electronics store, while I didn't knowthere was a sporting goods store there until I called for directions and they told me the baby store was next to it."

"Gotcha," he said, then concentrated on his driving.

Nicole leaned back in the seat and tried not to stare at her companion. Why was he so intriguing? Was it because he was about to take on a daunting task? Or was it more simple-had she just gotten tired of being on her own? She couldn't remember her last date. Certanly she hadn't been out with a man since she'd moved to Huntington Beach, and that was three years ago. Talk about pathetic.

"I talked to Val today," Brian said interupting her thoughts. "She said you'd called her."

Nicole pressed her lips together, not sure if she should apologize for that. Before she could decided, Brian continued.

"I appreciate that you wanted to check me out. I'm an unknown to you, some rockstar who suddenly wants to keep his kid. You're concerned about the baby's welfare. Thanks for that."

"Your welcome. I'm glad you understand why I did it."

"Sure. You wanted to make sure I'm decent father material." His mouth twisted down. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but I'll give it my best shot. Of course Val didn't help things."

"What do you mean?" She couldn't imagine her friend being difficult.

"The good news is that she said she would be happy to be the baby's pediatrician. That's a relief. I mean Val's going to be in the Avenged family and everything. Once she marries Matt at the end of the month, I'll even know how to get her at home. " he grinned, then the smile faded. "It the rest of what she said that scared me. She says she knows a couple of great baby nurses. Aren't babies too small to need their own nurse?"

"It's because they are small they have a nurse."

"Yeah, well, that's what Val said. She pointed out what we already talked about-that I can't put her in daycare for a while and that I have to be at work, so a baby nurse is a good solution. In a few weeks I can look into home day care until she's old enough for a regular place. I've even been thinking of getting a college kid or someone like that to look after her at my office. Not the one at the stuido," he said. "I meant after the project's done. There's room and I'll see her more."

Nicole impulsively touched Brian's arm. "I know it seems overwhelming right now, but you're taking things one step at a time. That's what's important. The baby nurse is a great idea. It will give you some space to make other decisions. As for bringing your child to work-I think it's terrific that you want to."

"Yeah?" He looked at her briefly, before returning his attention to the road. "I guess. Matt told me that Rose said she'd be available in a pinch. Rose is Matt's mother-in-law." He frowned. "Is that right? Her daughter was Matt's first wife. When Savannah died, Rose moved in to help with Kyle. She's still there and plans to stay. Anyways, she said she's happy to help out, but I figure shes got her hands full with Matt's kid. Plus, Val's pregnant, so thats ging to make two kids.

He pulled into the parking lot. "I wish I could take time off work, but with the album still behind schedule, it's not possible." He stomped on the brakes and swore under his breath. "I've never seen that before. Its huge."

Nicole glanced ou the window and saw the Baby Town store. Pastel blocks, the size of trucks stood above the entrance. Teddy bears and rabbits tumbled and marched across the painted windows.

After parking the car, he stopped the engine, but didn't get out right away. "I spoke to Lily," he said. "She's going to sign off on the kid. She doesn't want to be involved. I know the relationship was a mistake, but I'm kind of surprised shes just oging to walk away. It's not that she can do it so much as it seems like it's going to be easy for her."

Nicole didn't know what to say to that. After all, she'd given up a child, too. But for her, it had been anything but easy. In fact the pain continued to haunt her, nine years after the fact. "Not every woman finds it easy to walk away."

"Probably," he agreed. He looked at her. "Listen to me. This is the most I've talked in a month. I'm sorry for dumping it all on you."

"Brian, don't apologize," she told him. "Really. I'm happy to listen. You're working through a lot, and in my opinion, you're incredibly calm."

"That's on the outside."

"In time you'll be calm on the inside, too. You and your daughter will get used to each other. You'll develop a relationship with rituals that will be so meaningful, you don't be able to imagine what life was like without her. I'm happy to be a part of this."

"I have this bad feeling that the only reason I'm going forward with this is that I don't have a clue as to how hard its going to be."

Kelly couldn't help laughing. "Unfortunately, you're exactly right."