Nicholas came out of the room and met Yvonne at the door. She was already back. They had spent a while in the room it seemed.
"I just picked some clothes and came back," Yvonne said and Nicholas nodded. She looked very shocked it was as though she had heard what was going on inside the room. The look on her face said that.
"Okay, I will get going then, look after Brian for me," Nicholas said to Yvonne.
"Be a good boy, Brian," he said to his son who smiled.
"I will. I will make sure Mommy doesn't cry again, bye daddy," Brian said. He was really too smart for his age.
"Bye Brian," Nicholas said before leaving the hospital.
Nicholas got into his car and drove down to the court room straight. He sat in the almost empty court room, there were policemen, lawyers, but very few family. Thompson's mother was there, Nicholas spotted her, given what he was on trial for, he was not sure if he should go and see her.
He then sighted a dark skinned lady dressed in a black gown and a child with her, she looked around ten. Nicholas knew that it was Thompson's daughter. She was the one that was used to blackmail Thompson. Nicholas did not understand why Thompson did not want the world to know about the girl until he found out that the mother was a prostitute. Nicholas knew that what Thompson did was excessive as no one cared about your life well enough to dig into your child and your mother. Thompson was blinded though and Ray manipulated him.
Nicholas sat in the chair as he watched the entire court proceedings. Thompson pleaded guilty to all his crimes and it was his lawyer that brought up the issue of manipulation to reduce the jail term. It reminded Nicholas of while they were younger, Thompson had been quite the proud chap. He took responsibility quite easily while Nicholas rejected responsibility for a while until he had to face it eventually.
"Thompson Clinton is being charged with fraud, defamation of property, unlawful carrying of arms, and association with the criminal and murderer Ray Emerson who took his life while on capture. He has pleaded guilty to all these charges but claimed manipulation, which we have the evidence of, and so he will be sentenced to 8 years in prison," the judge said at the end. The entire court room came abuzz and Nicholas watched the lady and her daughter through it all.
The lady shed a silent tear at his sentence but the daughter cried more. It was as though she really understood it even though he doubted it. She was going to be an adult by the time Thompson would be out of prison. At least he would be out. Ray's son or daughter will never know him, but Nicholas felt that was for the good. He never knew his daughter, Brianna and she was already gone.
Nicholas looked at the woman and decided out of the blue to approach her, she might need his help.
"Good afternoon, ma. I am Nicholas Michealson, I was Thompson's friend," Nicholas said stretching his hand at the lady. She was quite stunning in fact. She took his hand and shook it.
"My name is Tiana, and I know who you are," she said. She was looking at him with eyes that said he was the reason why Thompson was in prison.
"Yes, Thompson and I were once friends and I like to return favors, he did a lot for me while we were young. This is my card. If you are in need of anything, you should call me," Nicholas said. He was not even sure what he is was looking for when he said that. He just wanted to be a good person. Nicholas figured that Thompson did not tell anyone about them and with him in prison, they might struggle. He did not want Ray to ruin anymore lives.
"Sure, thank you," the woman said. She was eyeing the card, but she took it. Nicholas figured she was the type of woman that was proud but had enough sense to know when to put pride aside.
"And your daughter's name is?" Nicholas asked her. He was curious.
"Her name is Aliyah," he said and the child smiled a bit at him even though her eyes were read.
"Good afternoon, Sir," Aliyah said and Nicholas smiled at her. He felt a bit better after what he did. Ray was not able to destroy everything.
"Happy birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday to you!" The combination of family and friends sang to Theo. It was obvious to Nicholas that the little boy was more interested in the cake than the people. Theo who was already walking, placed his hands on the butter cream cake and placed his hand in his mouth.
"Theo!" Sarah shouted before carrying him away from the cake. He had managed to scatter the design on the cake. Theo did not even look repentant or scared. He looked a bit happy that he was eating cake.
The party was in full swing as most of the family and some friends from work where there. Jared was playing father of the day and it was all cute. Stephanie seemed to be glowing, she was probably imagining her own baby's first birthday. Some of the children of Sarah's friends where there, and Brian was running around and making friends.
Yvonne came with Brian, but Astra was absent. Yvonne told him that she would have come but she was dealing with morning sickness. Nicholas was still reeling from what she had said the other day, that she did not want to be with him. He wanted to be with her when she had morning sickness and rub her back when she was throwing up. Nicholas wanted to participate fully in his second child's life. He had missed the development of Brian and his sister Brianna, but he did not want that to be the case for the child Astra was carrying, but he could not control how Astra was feeling and what she wanted. She had been through a lot and the least he could do was to respect her wishes.
"Theo has grown so much," his mother said and Nicholas looked at her. He had never been too close to his mother, but Sarah was his mother's sister and the person that he brought Sarah to meet to verify. She wanted to see her sister's grandchild on his birthday.
"Yes, he has," Nicholas said. His mother did not like Astra very much, but she did not hate her either. Overall Iris Michealson was a cold woman, she did not smile much and thought that emotion was a weakness, so Nicholas did not really expect that his mother would fall in love with Astra in the first place.
"And you now have a son of your own," his mother said. He introduced her to Brian during the party. To say that she was surprised was an understatement. It was the most emotion that he had seen from her in years. His mother had cried. Brian looked exactly like he did when he said was a child, and he was named after her late husband.
"Yes, I do. And another on the way," Nicholas said out of the blue. He had not even told Sarah about Astra's pregnancy because of the uncertainty.
"What? Astra is pregnant?" His mother asked and then shook her head.