**** Nico sat down on one of the benches, and rested his elbows on his knees. Placing his forhead in his hand to massage the ache away. He was long past exhausted.
When was the last time he'd gotten some sleep? He couldn't remember.
"Dis is strictly on de level, chère! I am not funnin' you, bébé. De clinic's last CNA got married recently an' moved out o' state. Dey're havin' trouble findin' someone who's willin' ta live so fa' away from de nearest town, which is a couple hours away. Genny spoke ta Rowdy about ya and dey asked me ta give ya a call an' see if you might be intrasted, dey defiantly are in you. Dey almost begged me to call you."
He thought a moment, "In fact, chère....since our weddin's in a week or so, Genevieve and I were hopin' fo' ya ta be dere anyway. All o' her sisters ar' standin' up fo' her, an' Brett's my Bestman. Beau, Rowdy an' Tad will be my Groomsmen."
Nico fought back a yawn, "Oh, sorry....anyway, it would be a good chance fo' you ta join us out dere, see if you like de area an' would mind bein' so fa' from de city. You could do some volunteer work at first fo' Rowdy an' Trish if ya want, let 'em see whatcha can do. Show 'em what yer made of. It would be like a test run, give ya de chance ta learn whut all dey do an' see if y'all get along an' if you want ta be a part of it."
"Dis sounds betta an' betta, chère. I'd be dere yesterday if I could, Nico. But, I'm nearly broke an' I'm positive there's not enough money fo' a plane ticket, let alone a place to stay."
"Don't worry about dat, chère. I'll cover de cost o' de ticket, an' Beau's mother has already designated a room in de main house.
"My poor big brothe', you sound so tired."
Nico yawned again, and fought hard not to lay down like Brett had. He looked down at the floor where his best friend now lay sleeping, his head resting on his old duffle bag.
"Is Brett sleepin'?"
Yawn, "He's out like a light here on de floor." He snapped a picture and forwarded it to her cell, then to Trish's.
Yawn, "Anyway, dis was a tough one."
"I saw ya both on de news last night. You saved dose girls, Nico. Dey will be able ta spend Christmas wit' dere families."
"Not all o' dem." He thought he covered the grief of losing the one little girl, but his sister still heard it.
"Do ya want ta talk ab...."
"No. I'm just drained, in more ways dan one." He cleared his throat before continuing.
"Anyway, if ya decide ta take de job Rowdy's offerin', jus' call me. Afta debriefin' Brett an' I can take an detour t Louisiana ta help you pack up yo stuff an' we'll all drive back with it. I'll rent a U Haul trailer if I have ta. If you do take de job you'd go from the main house ta dat o' a friend o' ours. I tink you would rememba him....he brought ya from de airport for Ginny's birthday poty an' de double weddin' de one you couldn't keep you eyes off of. He really needs de live-in help, though he'd neva' admit it....as a matter a fact - he is de job. So what do ya say, chère?"
"Oooooh....you mean Bear? Dat great big...."
"Yeah! Dat's him alright."
Ummmm....yes. Sounds like a plan, I'll start packin'."
"Can't wait ta see ya, chère. I'll send ya some money by Western Union, for supplies."
"Dat sounds great! I can't wait. T'ank Genny fo' me please? An' Merci, Nico," (Thanks) "Yer de best."
"No...no, bébé. Merci beaucoup, chère." (Thank you very much, dear.)
"Wait, wait!....you said dis guy is Bear? Whut happened?" She asked remembering the huge, handsome Native American that she hadn't been able to get out of her mind.
"Well, ya remembe' he wus Army Range' Reserves? He was recalled an' was seriously injured durin' an opp, chère. He jus' returned from a long stay in de VA hospital. He's healed fairly well physically, but....still has a long way ta go."
She remembered the beautiful dark brown eyes. "He seemed like a great guy. A Deputy when he was home, right?"
Nico sighed. "Yeah. He's havin' a tough time dealin' wit' de fact dat he may neve' walk wit'out a cane or return ta his job in law enforcement again."
"I'm in, chère. I hope I can help 'im out, at least a li'le. I love ya, Nico. Get some sleep."
When Nico hung up the phone, he checked his watch and sighed. They still had a four hour wait.
When his phone buzzed, Nico looked down to find a text from Trish. He nearly burst out into heartfelt laughter at the picture.
A huge grin on his face he kicked his friend awake. "Hey, bro. Your wife is on my cell."
Brett rolled over and snatched the cell. "Babe, what's...."
Nico watched as his friend's face paled. "Are you sur...."
Brett ran his hand through his thick black hair. "Are you feelin' alright? You are ok, right? My God, a baby. We really made a baby? Is it a boy ir girl? What'd' ya mean ya don't know? The dr didn't tell ya? What kind of quack is he? Oh, yeah, right, Rowdy, too early....right."
Ok, that did it. Nico cracked up. He had seen the picture of the positive pregnancy test.
He began laughing all the harder at the glare Brett sent his way. Since his partner was now awake, and would most likely remain so, Nico thought this a good time to get some shut eye.
'Why not?' He thought, and tossed his old Navy duffle bag on the floor to use as a pillow. Once that was done he lay down for a combat nap.
He fell asleep to the sound of his best friend repeatedly asking his wife if she was well and was she sure about the pregnancy.
Nico remembered thinking as sleep overtook him, 'Oh, dis is gonna be fun.'
