#survivors:atakingchancessequel

[nuggets-and-french-fries]

Survivors: Chapter One.

Note: This is the first chapter for the sequel to Taking Chances. 

Enjoy!

===

If you told six-year-old Nicola that she’d grow up, move to Wales, take in her (almost) four-year-old (at the time) sister, meet a sweet kind hearted little boy named Mikey, fall in love with that little boy’s father and have a baby with that boy’s father; not to mention finding out that the boy’s father is a celebrity, she would have accused you of lying. She wouldn’t have believed you in the slightest.

 Hell, if you told her all of that more than a year ago, she would have called you a fucking liar but here she sat on her sofa, wearing one of her famous boyfriend’s hoodies, watching him on TV whilst she was wrapped up in an ultra fuzzy blanket waiting for her and her boyfriend’s daughter to wake up from her usual afternoon nap; not to mention enjoying the silence while her now almost 6 year old sister and the sweet little boy spent time at her boyfriend’s parent’s place.

 It was all too crazy to think about sometimes.

 Especially since Nicola had a big tough decision to make in regard to Jasmine and the kinship care contract she had with the government which was up in September, however, now that Nicola and Jasmine’s parents were gone, Nicola had been told that she needed to choose what would happen with and to Jasmine next.

 Nicola sighed to herself and thought back to the horrid news she got whilst in Cannes.

 *Flashback*

"What did I miss?" Nicola asked, scaring the ever-loving shit out of Lindsay.

"Holy fuck, Nicola." Lindsay whispered, holding her hand over her chest.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just didn't want to disrupt anything." Nicola told Lindsay.

Lindsay smiled at Nicola and felt her heart soar for Taron. Nicola had shown after all.

"What took you so long?" Lindsay asked.

"I overslept and when I looked at the time on the microwave, I freaked out." Nicola explained, pointing to the rug burn she had gotten while she was trying to get her blasted jeans on.

"I'm just glad that you're here because I'll be honest, it's been a very long time since I've seen that level of heartbreak in his eyes." Lindsay said, making Nicola feel even guiltier for being so late.

Nicola wanted to say more but she knew that it was better saved for Taron. She looked forward and waited to see if Taron would notice her. She really hoped that he would and that he would know that she wanted this. She wanted them. She wanted this family dynamic.

Sure enough when Taron turned his eyes to the front, the first thing he noticed was Nicola's shy smile. The same one he fell in love with. He felt his heart soar at the sight of her but because he knew all eyes were on him, he simply winked at her discreetly to let her know that he saw her.

Nicola smiled back and leaned back in her chair. She was glad that she had made this choice. It was the right thing.

"Oh, before I forget, here." Lindsay said, handing Nicola her phone.

Nicola took it and clutched it to her chest.

"Oh my god, thank god." Nicola said softly, so happy to have it back.

"Where was it?" Nicola asked, attempting to turn it on.

"Luna's nappy bag. Apparently it fell in there." Lindsay answered.

"Shit, it's dead. I'll charge it later." Nicola said, placing the device on her lap so she could watch the rest of the junket.

"Here, use this." Lindsay said, handing Nicola the power bar she had in case of emergencies.

Nicola took it and plugged it into her phone, watching the device buzz to life.

While she was waiting for it to do its thing, Nicola listened in and heard Taron begin to talk about him and his girlfriend staying with Elton.

It made her blood boil as she once again thought of that vile woman and all that she put Taron and Mikey through.

"I hated her too." Lindsay said, taking note of how Nicola's breathing had deepened.

"She wasn't pleasant to be around." She continued.

"Lindsay, you don't know the half of it." Nicola said.

"I can imagine." Lindsay said as they both grimaced at the thought of Natascha De Silva and her disgustingly evil personality.

Once that question was answered, things were wrapped up and people were allowed to take their pictures of the actors.

Nicola wanted to go up and talk to Taron, but the ringing of a new voicemail alert on her phone stopped her from doing that.

"Tell him I'll be right back." Nicola said as she hurried outside so that she could take the call.

Lindsay knew that Taron had caught sight of Nicola leaving in a rush, so Lindsay stuck her thumbs up letting him know that everything was ok.

= 

“Hi, this is Nicola Ryan, I received a call from Detective Fellows in regard to an urgent matter. Can I please speak with him?” Nicola asked the person on the other end of the phone.

“Of course, one moment please.” The person replied kindly but firmly.

Nicola took a deep breath trying to calm herself. She had a feeling that whatever the urgent matter was had everything to do with her mother and her step father. Man she hated them with more than every fiber of her being.

“This is Detective Fellows.” The man said as he picked up the phone.

“Hello Detective, this is Nicola Ryan calling. You left a voicemail looking for me?” Nicola questioned.

Now, there were a million ways she could have answered him but there was a part of her that didn’t want to know what he was calling her for but if she was being honest, the police made her nervous and this was no exception. She felt like she was in trouble for something.

“Ah yes, I appreciate you calling me back. I assume you want to know why I called you, so I’ll get right to the point.” The Detective said.

Nicola nodded and listened to every word that came out of the Detective’s mouth and with each word Nicola’s heart sank more and more, feeling as though it was vanishing into a deep dark black hole, never to be seen again.

This was it, the moment Nicola had dreaded for part, if not, all her life. Her and her sister were orphans.

*End of Flashback*

Nicola wiped the tears off her face and went back to trying to focus on the movie that was still playing on the tv.

=

Meanwhile at Guy and Tina’s, the kids were happily keeping to themselves, well, except for Mikey who was quiet and sitting on the sofa watching cartoons on the tv.

Jasmine and Mari played upstairs while Rosie sat in a chair in the living room reading a book and occasionally looking up to see what Mikey was watching.

“Do you think we should all go on a walk, maybe take the kids to the park?” Guy asked as he made tea for himself and water for Tina who had started feeling unwell ever since the news of Taron.

It was like she was a ghost of herself. Sure she was starting to come around a little bit, but Guy had never seen Tina like this, at least not while they’ve been together.

Tina looked out the kitchen window at all the flowers Taron had planted while he was home. She remembered how happy everyone was and how beautiful the weather was. The sun had come out and there was not a cloud in the sky. It was warm and perfect. If Tina knew that was the last the time she’d see her son happy and smiling, she would have taken more pictures and given him more cuddles.

“Tina love, are you with me?” Guy asked, feeling concerned.

Tina turned to look at him and gave him a sad and weary smile.

“You enjoy it, but I think I’m going to stay here.” Tina told him. 

“Why don’t you call Nicola and invite her over. It will be good for the both of you to just be together right now.” Guy suggested.

Tina shrugged. It wasn’t that she was opposed to the idea, but she knew that Nicola had a lot on her mind with the loss of her parents, deciding what was to happen with Jasmine and on top of that, she was dealing with a very sad Luna who was constantly and heartbreakingly begging and calling for her dada.

“It’s up to you but I don’t think it’s good for any of us to be alone, especially now.” Guy said as he transferred his tea into a travel mug.

Tina sat there and let Guy’s words marinate in her mind but no matter how much she willed herself to pick up the phone and at least text Nicola, the more she wanted to lay in bed and have a good loud cry while no one was home. It was what she truly longed for in this very moment.

 ===

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[nuggets-and-french-fries]

Survivors: A Taking Chances Sequel.

They say that life after trauma is never an easy thing, especially when it brings up awful memories and old wounds.

Inspired by Selena Gomez's song of the same name, Survivors takes a look at the trials and tribulations of life after a traumatic event; and just how much stress the healing process can put on the shoulders of those closest to you.

Join Nicola, Jasmine and the Egertons as they learn to navigate life after a car accident that very nearly claims the life of Taron one fateful rainy day.