She has a lot of time to spend alone in the baby's room. It's going to be a girl, which Nicolas was thrilled about, saying he knew it all along. He even has a name picked out, Trillare, which he says means 'she sings with a trill'. All along, he's been more excited about this, though he's not the one home alone with a baby inside him...But it's not like he's out goofing off: Bill has him busy. In these idle hours, Jackie plays over all the little arguments she & Nico have been having lately in her head. It's all her fault, she thinks, she nags him, whines at him & starts all the fights. She's becoming just like her mother, and that is exacly what she didn't want. But it's not too late, she decides. She CAN change, she can be different...

"Here you are," Nico says as he comes in: he's home a little earlier than usual.

Jackie gets up & throws her arms around him, embracing him tightly. She's going to start now, she decides, she's going to treat Nicolas better, and then their lives will be happy. They'll be a family.

"I love you so much, Nico," she sobs, beginning to cry, "I'm sorry I've been so horrible to you, you are always so good to me," she says, her words coming out between sobs. Nicolas tightens his arms around her & sighs, "Don't say that Jackie, please," he says, his voice tight & nervous. Jackie tries to rein in her tears: her emotions are too much for even herself & must be overwhelming for him.

"I'm so sorry, Nico, I promise it's going to be different from now," she says quietly, no more tears. "Don't apologize to me, please Jackie. You have nothing to apologize for," he answers, his brow deeply furrowed. Somehow, this isn't going right. Is he not understanding her? "No, Nico, I do have to apologize, I've nagged & whined at you since we've gotten together & I see now that I've been driving us apart. I don't want to do that anymore, Nico, I'm going to be better, and we're going to be happy..." This was supposed to make him happy, this was what he wanted, but he's looking at her like she's trying to hand him nuclear waste. "I don't want you to apologize, Jacklyn," he insists. Why is that so important? she wonders; she just wants to make amends & move forward. "We can get married right after she's born, Nico, I want to do this now, to be a family, for real...," she continues, though by now she's so confused, she's not even sure if he wants it anymore, now that she does.

He kisses her with a sudden surge of passion, "I love you, Jacklyn," he whispers, "Always remember that I love you." It's already getting better, Jackie thinks with relief. "I love you, too, Nico," she answers, and she feels a sweet rush of happiness & relief. Everything is going to be all right.

"Oh, guess who I ran into today?" Jackie asks excitedly, "Mary Strong, can you believe it?" she answers for him: there's no way he'd ever guess. He looks like she hit him in the head. "Mary?" he asks, completely confused. Jackie laughs, "Yes, Mary Strong, the actress, she has like 5 Oscars or something, she told me she danced with you at the Sam & Julie Valentine wedding..." Nico's brow furrows deeply, "I danced with her at the wedding," he repeats, like he's being told of this for the first time. "She told me she remembered you because she's working on her Italian accent, & she studied your voice. She kind of sounds like you, too, Nico," Jackie laughs, "You must have really inspired her."

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