Sidney avoided the issue for a couple days, anxious to keep the peace. But she knew the longer they didn’t talk about it, the harder it would become to do so.

She cornered him in his office the day before New Year’s Eve, hoping to sound him out a little more on the subject. She left the baby with Mrs. B so they wouldn’t have any distractions thinking maybe they could sit down and talk.

“Hey, beautiful,” he grinned when she walked through the door. “Where’s Abby?”

“I left her with Mrs. B,” Sidney told him. She walked around to his side of the desk and slipped into his lap.

“Hmm,” Rob said as he kissed her. “Let me guess; you went to the doctor today and she said it was ok for you to come seduce me in my office.”

She laughed. “No, sorry. You still have a week or two left to suffer. Keep control of your hormones.”

He groaned in her neck. “Can’t. Especially when you waltz in her wearing those jeans and looking smoking hot.”

She clicked her tongue at him. “Please.” She shifted her body to straddle him so she could look into his face. “Rob, we need to talk.”

He tensed. “What’s wrong?”

She took a deep breath. “We need to settle the matter of my career. Do you actually expect me to retire before I really even begin?”

He chuckled. “Not in the least.”

“Then why are you so insistent that I can’t tour or even record now that I have a baby?”

He gave her waist a gentle squeeze. “I’m not, Sid. I just think you should take a little time off.”

“Shouldn’t you?” she threw at him. “She’s your child, too.”

“I am,” he said, surprised. “I talked to Chad the other day about taking Bruno with him for awhile so I didn’t have to leave you two.”

“I…oh,” she said, biting her lip.

He pulled her in for a kiss. “I just want us to be a normal family, at least for awhile. I know you want to finish your second CD and promote it, but, can it wait a couple weeks?”

She nodded, touched at his thoughtfulness and irritated at herself for not realizing it. “Of course it can.”

He smiled and kissed her again. “Good. Now, what do you want to do for New Year’s?”

“I thought we were going to Max’s. He’s having a party.”

Rob’s lips plunged down and he gently scooted her off his lap. “I’m not going to my dad’s.”

“Why not?” she asked, hands on hips.

“Because I don’t want to,” he said simply. “Don’t start on me about it either like you always do.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” she demanded.

“You’re such a big fan of my dad’s that you always get on my case if I don’t want to go over there once in a while.”

She snorted. “You NEVER want to go over there. You never want to do anything with him.”

“You don’t have a dad, Sid, so you don’t understand,” he said absently. He realized his words as she gasped.

Her face paled and her hands shook. “You’re absolutely right,” she whispered as she turned to the door.

“Sid, wait,” he pleaded but she ignored him.

Her cell rang as she pulled into her drive. She groaned as she wiped the tears away and checked the ID. It was Max. “Hi, Max,” she said with false cheerfulness.

“Are you coming over tomorrow night?” he asked. “You know you can bring that beautiful grandbaby of mine.”

Her lip trembled. “I’m not sure,” she said shakily.

“Sidney, what’s wrong, honey?”

“Rob…and I…” she stammered before completely giving way to her tears.

“Where are you?” he asked gently.

“Home,” she muttered.

“I’m not too far, I’ll be right there.”

She hung up and took a couple deep breaths before entering the house. She went straight to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face.

“Is that you, Sidney?” Mrs. B called from the living room.

“Yeah,” Sidney said as she exited the bathroom and went to collect her baby, hoping when she held her in her arms, she would ease the pain.

“What did he do now?” Mrs. B demanded when she caught sight of Sidney’s red, puffy face.

Sidney shook her head and took the baby from Mrs. B. “The usual.”

“I swear I’m going to whip that boy when he gets home,” Mrs. B threatened.

Sidney smiled sadly. “I’d love to see that but it won’t matter.”

The door bell rang and Mrs. B hurried to answer it. She returned with an anxious Max on her heels.

“Where’s Rob?” he asked.

“At the studio I guess,” she said as he hugged her gently and kissed Abby’s little forehead. They sat down and Mrs. B rushed out to bring them something to drink. He took the baby from her arms and smiled softly at her. “What’s going on with him?”

“I wish I knew,” she sighed, pushing her hair off her face. “One minute he’s fine and the next he’s in an ugly mood.”

“What were you talking about?” he prodded.

“We were talking about me taking a break for awhile to be with Abby and he said he was even taking a break from traveling,” she recalled. She bit her lip nervously. “Then we were discussing your New Year’s party and he said he didn’t want to go.”

Max nodded. “He has been avoiding me since I got back in town.”

Sidney’s eyes snapped over to Max. “Why?”

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I’ve tried calling him but he doesn’t always answer. He never has time to meet me for lunch and he even made an excuse to get out of going to a ball game with me and Conner.”

Rob strolled into the room, dark look on his face. “What’s going on?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Max said as he handed Abby back to her mom and got to his feet.

“You called my dad?” Rob accused Sidney.

“No, I called her and she was so upset and sobbing on the phone so I came over,” he stated.

“I appreciate it, Dad,” Rob started. “But this is between me and my wife.”

“No, I don’t think it is, son,” Max said. “You’ve been avoiding me for some reason and you fight with your wife when she mentions me. Let’s clear this up right now.”

“This has nothing to do with you,” he mumbled.

“It doesn’t?” Sidney cried as she jumped to her feet. She realized she’d raised her voice and cringed, peering down anxiously at the baby. Mrs. B returned with a tray of coffee and took the baby from Sidney once more.

Rob rubbed the back of his neck. “Why are you two ganging up on me, huh? Sid and I had an argument and I came home to talk to her about it. Now I have you accusing me of avoiding you.”

“You don’t think you have been?” Max asked quietly.

“No,” Rob said uneasily. “I’ve just been busy.”

“That’s not true, Rob,” Sidney butted in. “You never want to do anything with Max.”

“Can it, Sid,” he growled, glaring darkly at her. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t take it out on her,” Max warned. “If you have a problem with me, then let me know but stop taking it out on your wife.”

Rob grunted. “This is so ridiculous. If this is about the party, Sid, we can go.”

“It’s not,” she said. “And you know it.”

“No, what I do know is that you can’t stop prying into my family and my life! You’ve got your own family now, pry in that!”

The silence in the room was deafening as his words sank in her head. Deep down, she knew he was hurting so he was only striking out. But it didn’t stop the blood seeping out of the gash he’d just made in her heart.

“Ok,” she whispered. “I will.”

He ran his hand through his hair. “Sid, you know I didn’t mean that.”

“You seem to be saying that to me a lot, lately,” she said. “I don’t have a clue what you mean anymore.” She kissed Max on the cheek and ran up the stairs.

She found Mrs. B in the nursery rocking Abby. Without a word, the other woman got up and handed the baby over, placing a kiss on Sidney’s cheek. She slipped out of the room and Sidney took her place in the rocker, singing softly to the little girl in her arms.

She stayed in the chair for a while, long after Abby fell asleep, and finally put her in the crib, making sure the monitor was on. She shuffled to her bedroom and pulled on a pair of comfy cotton pajama shorts and t-shirt on before climbing in the bed. She pulled the blankets to her chin and stared at the ceiling, wondering what was happening downstairs and if Max was still there. She sighed as she figured Rob would probably spend the night in the basement again.

But he proved her wrong when he opened the bedroom door and cautiously poked his head inside. “Sid? Are you awake?”

“Yeah,” she said quietly.

He crept to her in the dark and she was reluctant to touch him. “I need you, Sid,” he cried hoarsely, alarming her at once.

“Rob?” she said as she took him in her arms. “What’s wrong? Are you ok?”

He shook his head before hiding his face in her stomach. She held him and stroked his hair, frightened by the tremor running through his body. She waited until he settled before speaking again.

“What happened?”

He sniffed and lifted his face to her. She could barely make out his blotchy face and eyes in the soft moonlight filtering through the blinds.

“I’m so sorry, Sidney,” he blurted out. “I know it doesn’t mean much but I really am. I never meant to take it out on you.”

She held him close, tears prickling her own eyes. “I know.”

“I was so jealous, Sid. So damn jealous that I nearly hated that kid. And it killed me inside.”

“Shh,” she tried to soothe. “It’s ok, Rob.”

“It’s not, Sid,” he said as he sat straight up. “It’s not.” He climbed off the bed and began to pace. “I was so jealous and angry. I mean, how could he do all that stuff for a kid that wasn’t even his and he never did it for me?”

Sidney crawled to the edge of the bed and watched him. “Honey, I’m sure he never meant to upset you.”

Rob stopped pacing and kneeled in front of her. “I know. We just spent the last hour talking about it. He told me he realized what a bad father he’d been to Rachel and I after he met Karen and Conner. Conner’s father won’t have a thing to do with him.” Rob got off his knees and sat next to Sidney on the bed. “He said he decided to settle here, near me, so he could sort of make it up to me. He’s been trying to get me to do things with him.”

“He has, Rob,” she said.

“I know,” he sighed. “I know. I just didn’t see it then. I was too mad.”

“So now what?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Dad wants to spend more time with me, but he said he wouldn’t force it down my throat.” He kissed Sidney’s temple. “I told him we’d be at the party tomorrow night.”

“Good,” Sidney smiled, snuggling into him.

“It won’t happen overnight,” he warned. “But I promise to try.”

“I know.”

He pushed her away gently and took her face in his hands. “Sid, about what I said earlier, I’m really sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”

A few stray tears left her eyes and he brushed them away with his thumbs. “It’s ok.”

“No, it’s not,” he told her. “I was a total ass to you for months and I don’t expect you to just forgive me.”

“Just stop being an ass, ok?” she pleaded. “Just be my Rob again.”

He leaned in and kissed her gently on the mouth. Her hands found their way up his chest and around his neck. He eased her on the bed, never breaking the kiss.

When she finally came up for air, she smiled at him. “That’s a start.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

He handed her a glass of champagne before wrapping his arm around her waist. “Is Abby sleeping?”

She nodded. “I put her in the crib in the guest room.” She smiled. “I can’t believe your dad went out and bought a crib for his house.

Rob laughed. “He takes his grandpa role seriously. Ask Rachel.”

Conner came running excitedly up to them. “Sidney! Look what I got from my grandparents! It’s an Alex Rodriguez rookie card!”

“No way!” she exclaimed. “Let me see!”

Rob peered over her should curiously and gave Conner a wink. “That’s really cool,” he admitted. He took the card from Sidney and inspected it closely. “You should come over sometime while school’s still out,” he said. “I’ve got a ton of cards in storage you can look through. You can have them if you want them.”

“Really?” Conner asked, eyes wide.

“Yeah,” he said as he handed him his card back. “I don’t collect them anymore.”

“Thanks, Rob,” he exclaimed as he ran off to tell him mom.

Sidney wrapped her arms around him and smiled. “You just made his day.”

Rob shrugged, trying to hide his grin. “He’s a good kid. I figure he probably needs a big brother to look after him and make sure he stays out of trouble.”

Sidney kissed him soundly on the mouth. “I love you, you know that, right?”

“Yeah,” he said seriously. “I know. I love you, too.”

She snuggled in his arm, content smile on her face as they counted down the old year. The new one looked promising and much happier than she could ever imagine. She couldn’t wait for it to start.

A/N: Sigh. Sidney and Rob’s story is over. But they will live on in the new story, sort of.

Thanks for hanging on with me and encouraging me when I got stuck.

You guys rock!