She wants more time, she says, to think before she answers him. Time he has, plenty of it. He lifts her up & carries her to the mats on the beach. When he puts her down, he takes her in his arms and, humming a little tune, he dances with her. Nicolas best expresses himself through music, and through his body. His dance expresses his joy: though she has not said yes, she still has not said no, and that gives him much to be joyful for. He's been invited to join her band, and tomorrow Bill Arthag will come & sign him onto the label, making it official. He has every reason in the world to be happy. "I wish you were as happy as I am...," he says to her, singing his words in tune with the song he was humming, keeping the flow of his dance. "I'm having the best time of my life, I'm in a great band, I've got this really incredible girl, and we're going to have a baby...." Jackie brushes against his bare chest and nuzzles his neck. It is time to change the dance...

Nico dips her down onto the mat & then follows her onto the ground. "I am happy, Nico, it's just..." she says, and then trails off into a sigh. Nico looks in her eyes, she loves him, he can see that. But she's afraid of something, and he thinks he can guess what she's afraid of.

"But you don't trust me," he says, taking her down to the mat, his face close to hers, covering her with his body, his hair a veil between them & the outside world. He smiles at her & kisses her beautiful face, her lovely neck, "When you tell me what I have to do prove myself to you, I'll do it, Jacklyn. Take your time, you don't have to answer me tonight, or tomorrow...I'm not going anywhere. I want you to enjoy what we have together, angel. We play together really well, and we make love beautifully. This should be the best time of your life. It is for me." She looks up him, her eyes full of love, but always with this edge of sadness. What is he not doing for her that would make her happy?

"Nicolas," she says, "I had such a crush on you, back when we were gigging in the clubs. But you never noticed me, you didn't know I was there half the time. I don't think you would have ever gone out with me if I didn't end up on MTV before you did..." Nicolas has to work hard to bring up memories of that time, at least memories of Jackie particularly. His life was a mess back then, much more so than even recently, and much of it is a blur to him now. He remembers an occaisional flirtatious exchange between them, he remembers the huge following her band had, the guys that would show up every time they played, he remembers she used to dance when he played certain songs, and she always had a different partner...But did she really have a crush on him?

"Did you really, Jackie?" he asks. Nico tickles her chin and laughs about how his band kept him preoccupied & his lifestyle made keeping girlfriends impossible, "But I did notice you, angel. I noticed you had a different boyfriend every gig, that you always had a gang of guys around waiting for their turn. I noticed the looks you would give me sometimes, but I didn't think for a second I was any different to you than the rest of them."

Jackie pouts up at him, "They weren't really 'boyfriends' Nico, and I would have scrapped them all to be with you," she says. It seems like another lifetime to Nico, like he's a completley different person now. He doesn't remember Jackie very well from those times, but it seems to him that she is different now, too. "I think it worked out better this way: back then, I would have screwed it up completely & you would have dumped me in the first week," he says, smiling at her. That was how any relationship he attempted went, anyway. "You're probably right," she says to him, and she smiles up at him. It is the most beautiful thing he's seen all day, all week, even all this year..She pulls him down into a passionate kiss, and they make love & spend the night on the beach.

Nicolas is on the verge of achieving everything he'd ever wanted, and he's getting it all at once. He plays the best guitar he's ever played, for his woman, for his new band, and for Bill Arthag, hanging out in the corner, bothering Matt's girl, Stacey.

Nicolas signs the contract with the record label: every musician's dream come true.

Bill immediately starts demanding photo shoots & a ton of promotional stuff to gety 'F Hole's' name out there & to help fix some of the tarnished image they were beginning to have, with all their misbehaviour. "Listen Bill," Jackie interupts Arthag, "You need to know, I'm pregnant right now..." Bill stands in shock, mouth hung open for a minute. "No," he says frmly, "No, absolutely not, Jackie. We don't need this right now...I don't need all the family groups coming after us for this one..."

That was a little more than Nico can take. "This is none of your business, Arthag," he says, gesturing angrily.

"Look, kids," Bill lectures, "If you are going to have a kid, you have to get married. I can't have them pulling your CDs out of the WalMarts because of your 'free love' lifestyle. Get married, or no baby." Nico wants to slap him. Yes, he wants to marry Jackie, but making it come down as a promotional gimmick for the record company isn't going to help him get that. Jackie's face turns red as she screams at Bill, "How dare you? Bill, my life is none of your business..if I want a baby & I don't want to be married, that's MY choice," and she runs out of the room.