I'm convinced the weather purposefully decided to match my mood. The little light that could escape past the grey clouds hardly had an effect on every surface it touched. It had been raining hard the night before and the leaves usually spilling morning dew had water droplets covering them.

Walking into that prison, head held high I wasn't willing to allow the guards to sniff the fear off me. I kept my expressions controlled as I was led to a separate area away from the visitation room. Eva had been unable to get herself out of the car when we arrived and insisted I go see him. She wasn't yet willing to see her child like that so I decided to go after having come so far and left her with Daniel and Leo. I soon found myself in an empty room with nothing but three chairs and a table.

Taking a seat on the hard surface I vividly remember having to ball my hands into fists to get the shaking under control. The last thing I wanted to do was fall apart especially when the door opened to reveal Nicholas in an orange jumpsuit with handcuffs on his hands and ankles. He still looked the same except for the stubble along with the bags under his dull eyes. Once he took a seat across from me, he took me in the same way I was taking him in except I was looking for any visible marks or scars.

"Thanks Matt," he said to the guard who nodded his head curtly before walking out and shutting the door behind him.

For the first time in weeks we were alone. There was so much I wanted to say but I didn't know where to begin with him an arms reach away such that I settled on a weak, "How are you?"

His brow quirked at the question, "I should be asking you that, but I'm okay. Not a fan of the orange unfortunately I'm not exactly spoiled for choice in here," he joked but I kept a straight face unable to laugh much less produce a fake one to show I had any ounce of strength to appreciate a joke when I heard one.

"No one's bothering you in here, I hope," I mumbled forcing the statement out to settle my anguish at the thought of him getting hurt. "There are some perks I got; no one will touch me in here. I even got some guards protecting me," he replied rather cockily seeming proud of the power he held despite being chained like some animal.

"Why didn't you mention you lost your pistol or the cop?"

His smirk dropped before he shifted forward, "I don't want to talk about that shit, It's bad enough I have to talk about it with Sonny and Joseph."

"Well you have to talk about it with me. You claim I'm yours but you fail to communicate."

"I didn't think it was necessary, yes I lost it but I didn't think it would come back to bite me," he shrugged nonchalantly and without hesitation I rolled my eyes making him frown. "I don't like it when you do that."

"You also don't like it when I fucking swear; I've heard it all before. But you have to meet me halfway. I can't just sit around waiting for something to happen," I retorted but Nicky could equally be stubborn and insist on having things always go his way. "I don't want you getting involved."

"I could at least help in some way to get you out of here faste –"

"Damn it, Liyah! Just do what you're told for once, we're appealing and taking this case to court."

"There has to be more you can do. Its obvious you're being set up and the public are looking for someone to quickly blame especially for killing a good cop. For god sake Nicholas..." I seethed pinching the bridge of my nose to control the sudden need to blow a gasket.

Taking a few calming breaths I looked back up to find him watching and waiting expectantly for me to finish. Though I wanted to tell him at a better time with the way things were going I had no choice but to finally tell him what I had found out in the hospital, "I'm pregnant."

As the words came out I watched his face drop at the news. I still couldn't believe I was with child. But the doctor herself had confirmed I was going to be a mother. It was quiet for a while; neither of us said anything until he finally spoke, "When did you find out?"

"In hospital after the attack," I replied, it had been surreal. I was shocked but happy about it even though an attack had happened. Swallowing hard anxious to hear more of what he would say, it would've crushed me if he didn't want the child. But I had already made the decision that I would raise and love that baby regardless.

He didn't say anything and with my mind functioning on resorting to the worst possible scenario I blew out a harsh breath and went on to say, "I-I know this isn't something we had really talked about. And I know you'll say that this happened at the worst time but I'm letting you know I'm not getting rid of it just because you may not wan –"

"I said no such thing nor would I ever say that," he breathed reaching across the table to grasp my hand. The gesture made me feel slightly relieved, "You weren't saying anything, so I just figured..."

"I was just processing it. And you're right, this happened at the worst time but... I'm happy," he breathed grinning from ear to ear, "we're having a baby." I found myself melting at the statement and knowing that he was willing to take on this responsibility made me love him more.

He leaned forward compelling me to lean forward and steal a kiss across the table to allow more sunlight to break through, "So you're really not going to stay out of this, huh?" he asked lightly pecking my nose.

"You told me to fight, so that's what I'm going to do. Plus I refuse to allow your mom to go through this again, "I replied retaking my seat. "How is she?" he asked.

"She's trying to keep it together; I know she's worried about you but she is excited about having a grandchild," I smiled. Her reaction had been warm and whilst I was processing the news she had already begun proposing names in that hospital room. "Tell her I'm fine and I'm glad she won't kill me for knocking you up," he joked making me blush. For a split second we managed to gain some form of normalcy but just as soon as it came, it went away by the sound of the door opening.

The same guard from before peeked his head inside, "Sorry, but we're going to have to wrap this up," and clicked the door behind him. My smile dropped at our time coming to an end so quick.

We both stood up and I quickly came to his side to grab his face with both hands, I wanted all his focus on what I was about to say, "I know you think that me getting involved means I don't trust you, but it actually means that your battles are now mine. You're not fighting this on your own and I need you to promise me that you'll be there to hold our child the minute they enter this world."

He nodded his head firmly with a new determination sparking behind his eyes as the door opened again, "I promise you, baby," he assured and his eyes dropped down to my belly where our little one resided. His hand followed the path of his eyes and placed it gently against me. By then the pregnancy wasn't visible but there was a firm texture to my stomach and the tears swelled in my eyes seeing the smile on his lips as his fingers moved in a gentle motion. That moment established a new level of determination in me to ensure that more days with us as a family would be in our future.

***

I never considered myself the type to take any violent measures to get what I wanted. When it came to resolving a dispute I was the one who preferred ensuring both parties in the argument could walk away on better terms. The drive back from prison put things in a whole new perspective for me and where I wanted to be.

I had been on autopilot as a result of that visit mulling over what to do and where to even begin. Ultimately it took Aunt Elle pinching my arm to bring me back to earth where I found her and Eva eyeing me strangely. Instead of heading home we decided to take a quick detour and stopped by the bakery.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Aunt Elle asked.

"I finally told Nicky about the baby," both sisters briefly looked at each other as if sharing a hidden message behind the look and placed their attention back on me. "And?" she muttered looking expectantly at me.

A wide grin stretched across my lips and I felt no need to stop it the second it appeared, "He's happy."

"Good, I would've kicked him if he reacted in any other way," Eva chuckled. Unfortunately the bright smile fell away to a grave look that had me calling her name to get her out of that dark place, "sorry for zoning off a bit, just wish I hadn't stayed in the car," she cleared her throat clogged with regret of the past.

"I understand it's not easy to go through all you went through but you came far. Some people wouldn't have been able to wake up and get in the car to endure the drive in the first place," I pointed out, Eva had endured a lot that I'm not quite sure I would have been able to survive.

Her strength to raise her son in the circumstances she had been given could have taken such a negative toll on her. And yet she still had the strength to smile. Make no mistake it takes a lot more than simply wielding a gun to be deemed strong and the people especially the women in my life proved that to me.

"What else did you two discuss?" Aunt Elle asked and as I pondered on what to say the door to the shop swung open. It revealed the one man whose very existence had been extinguished from my mind, Roland. He waltzed into the room, his gait made up of long, confident strides to the counter. As if sensing eyes on him, he briefly glanced in our direction and instead of shrinking in fear the smile he directed at us caught me off guard.

The wide stretch of his lips was unsettling. There was a glint in his eye that had the hairs on the back of neck standing up. The man's behaviour turned from cocky to bizarre when he lifted up three fingers morphed in the shape of a gun. He placed two of the digits against the side of his temple showing the motion of him pulling some imaginary trigger.

The sign was reminiscent of the time Nicky pulled a gun on him and I felt unsettled at the reminder. But I was confident despite Nicky not being around that he wouldn't touch me.

However, I was mistaken on where to place my worry. Swallowing down more shards of glass down my throat I placed my attention back on the two women doing my best to brush off Roland's behaviour. "I told him, I'd do all I can to help him, which means –"

"You're not going to sit on the side lines," Eva concluded frowning when I nodded my head confirming that I would possibly get my hands dirty in the process. "Well what did you expect, Eva?" Aunt Elle teased staring at her younger sister. "Do what you think is best, but be careful," Nicky's mother pleaded.

Though I had been looking at Eva and Aunt Elle I was still aware of Roland's presence and I grew more relaxed once he left. "He's been coming around more regularly. I'm still shocked he's still married," Aunt Elle scoffed referring to Roland whom she'd also been watching equally annoyed by his presence. Brushing off her comment I looked back at Eva and asked, "Did Sonny make any mention of who the witness was to you?" Her eyes widened at the unexpected question but she quickly recovered giving me a suspicious look, "He didn't why?"

Taking a sip of my beverage at an idea that emerged in my head I decided to dismiss engaging on the subject should anyone try talk me out of it, "Was just wondering..."