Safe and Sound (Book 4 of "The Story of Us" series) [Completed]

Chapter 1 - Do I?

[Nick]

I laid in bed last night thinking about everything we learned yesterday, especially the fact that Ella could still be alive. It was kind of mind blowing. I mean, this happened eight years ago. Ella would have turned eight last month.

Harley was pretty much quiet the entire night. We immediately called our lawyer, sending him all of the information for him to contact the hospital and police, hoping our names wouldn't come out to the press. I wasn't sure if Harley could handle it if it did.

I got maybe three hours sleep and when I woke up, Harley was sitting in bed on her laptop. I knew she was looking up information on the case. It was driving her crazy just like it was me. But I think it was affecting her more.

"Thinking about it?" I asked as Harley looked at me. She nodded and looked back at her laptop. "Do you think she could be alive?"

"I never saw her, Nick," Harley said as I looked up at the ceiling. "I want to find out if there's a chance. Don't you?"

"Yeah, I want to know, but..."

"But what?"

"What if she is and she's happy, with a nice family and stuff?" I asked as I looked back at Harley. "We weren't ready for a baby then. Neither of us were."

"But what if she is alive and she's not with a good family?" Harley asked, moving the laptop so that she could turn to look at me. "What if she's with people that hurt her? Could you live with yourself if that was the case?"

I shook my head and looked down at our comforter, trying to think of what to say.

Ella was always a sour topic for us, because of everything that happened during her pregnancy and the fact that I was in rehab when she was born. Harley went through so much getting over her death and even thinking about having Sadie.

"I just want to know, for sure," Harley said as I leaned over, kissing her cheek.

I wanted to know, too. I just didn't know how Harley was going to take it if we found out that Ella was alive.

While eating breakfast, our phone rung and I answered it, thinking it was Kevin calling me back after I called him this morning to talk, but it wasn't. It was our lawyer, saying that he had heard from the detectives in Atlanta.

Apparently the doctor had some kind of coding system on the hospital records that only he would know who was sold and who died. They were trying to decode the system, without the doctor's help, and they would let us know as soon as they knew something.

But it wasn't sitting well with Harley.

"I think we should go to Atlanta," Harley said, walking into Sadie's room as I sat on the floor, letting her brush and put bows in my hair. She kept telling me to grow up my hair out, or 'Long hair Daddy' so I was finally doing it, just to let her play with it.

"I don't know," I said as Harley knelled down in front of me. "Let the cops do their thing and we can once they figure out the code."

"I just feel uneasy sitting here doing nothing," she said as I stared at her.

"Fix Daddy's hair, Mama," Sadie said, walking over to hand me a bow. Harley laughed as I looked at myself in a mirror and shook my head. "Still, Daddy."

"Yes ma'am," I said as Harley smiled. "Babe, just, just let them do their job and once we find out yay or nay, we'll go from there. Okay?"

"Mama, you sad?" Sadie asked as she walked over to Harley, putting a bow in her hair. "Pretty."

"I'm not sad, baby," Harley said as Sadie walked back over to me. I felt her pull my hair a little and winced. "I should go Tweet a picture of this."

"Please, God, no," I said as Sadie started to giggle, walking up to me with play makeup. "Oh Sadie, I'm a boy. Boys don't wear make up."

"J does," Sadie said as I looked at Harley who stood up and grinned. I was now going to kill AJ McLean for being so different and trying to be emo.

"Night night, Daddy," Sadie said that night as I leaned over, kissing her on the cheek. "Love you."

"I love you, too," I said, kissing her forehead. "Sweet dreams," I whispered as I made my way out of her bedroom. I looked back, pulling the door to and looked down at the hallway to see Noah's door was open.

I walked down to his room, looking in to see Harley sitting in the rocking chair, rocking him back and forth. I smiled, knowing she didn't see me as she sung to him softly.

I felt guilty for telling her to just wait and see what he police and hospital figured out, but there was no use in getting worked up over nothing.

"You stalking me?" I heard Harley say as I shook my head and smiled, walking into the room as she stood up to put Noah in his crib. "He was fussy."

"I think the medicine the doctor called in is working though," I said as she nodded, leaning over the crib, resting her arms on it.

"She'd be eight now," Harley said as I sighed, leaning over the crib like she was. "Could you imagine? Sadie would have a big sister."

"Don't get your hopes up," I said as she looked at me, tears in her eyes. "I want her to be alive more than anything, because you know all the regrets I have when it comes to Ella, but..."

"I know," Harley whispered as she stood up and walked up to me. I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tightly as she started to cry into my chest. I held her tight, resting my chin on her head.

I wanted Ella to be alive, but there was a part of me that wished this news had never came out.

[/Nick]