As Caitlyn came down the stairs with Niniel; he could only smile with happiness.  Every time she came around him; it was as if his world became a brighter place.  Even just wearing those comfy jeans and a thread-bare t-shirt did nothing to hide her beauty.  His smile for her and Niniel was pleasant and warm, but then she confessed how she had not slept well.  Confessed how she nearly had come back down the stairs to stay with him.  He really wished she had.  His thoughts and emotions had been filled with her all night long.  Having followed her into the kitchen made Nathan all too aware of something different coming.  He desperately didn't want to believe that a long time fantasy was about to come true, but every fiber of his being said it was.<br/><br/>Then, looking down after getting Niniel her food, the words came out.  All this time Caitlyn had been in love with him.  All these long years she had wanted him, and he had never known.  He had been too shy to ask her out...had waited until she was older, and then she had always been with someone else.  It had never been the right time it seemed, and now...she was the one telling him how much she had always been in love with him.  That it had all come rushing back from that simple gesture of playing with her hair last night.  Nathan remembered the night she talked about...the very first dance they had shared.  A piece of her lovely hair had come loose, and he had instinctively reached up to put it back in place...ever so gently.  It had been a tantalizing moment for him as his fingers had lightly brushed her face, but...between shyness and her being only fifteen at the time; Nathan had done nothing more.  They had simply danced the entire night together...something that had never happened to him before.  No woman had done that...been his partner the entire night, but Caitlyn had.<br/><br/>The confession of being so tired...of wondering what had become of her life made him ache to comfort her anyway he could.  The fact that she had just told him how much she was in love with him...had always been in love with him removed a barrier between them that had long been imposed.  As she stood there at the counter getting milk for Niniel...looking out the window...apologizing for her tears, her putting things on him, and in it all inviting him to come walk with her and Niniel this morning as was her habit on such beautiful mornings.  With the barrier gone, though, and Nathan no longer nearly as shy as he once had been - he came over to his best friend with great tenderness.<br/><br/>Slowly and softly, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and placed the softest of kisses against the left side of her neck...holding her tenderly in his arms.  He wanted so much to tell her everything would be okay...to take her sorrow and pain away, but words failed him for the moment.  An embrace of this kind might make her smile as it was new and rather more intimate than any other embrace they had before.  It felt good to hold her like this...to hold her so tenderly and with great love.  It was as if this was where he had always belonged...with Caitlyn.<br/><br/>Gulping hard, he whispered in her ear, "I have always loved you, Caitlyn.  I don't understand what happened with Jack...I really don't.  You don't deserve to be so unhappy, and I would be glad to do whatever was necessary to make you happy...I always have."<br/><br/>This was certainly true.  He had one time cashed in all his EE Gold Bonds - fifteen of them - just to help her out, because Jack had gotten them in debt, and he had not once asked her to payback the money for it.  He had done it, because he loved her, and had asked for nothing in return...despite his own finances not being the greatest.  There was nothing he would not do for her.  On some level - she must have known this, because he was always there for her when she needed him.  To have his arms around her waist like this...something he had not done since the last time they had danced, and not like this, was truly enjoyable.  And, the kiss to her neck was something he had never done before.  Hell, they had never kissed in all the time they had known one another.  Her kiss to him last night had been soft and full of promise - even if just to his hand.  This, however, was much more intimate.<br/><br/>Still, he did not withdraw from her for a long moment until he realize Niniel still had not gotten her milk.  So, he reached around to take the tipee cup, and went over to hand it to the little darling.  He adored Niniel deeply.  She was so beautiful, and he often sang to her when she was sad.  There were times he wondered if he spent more time with Jack's daughter than Jack did.  She was a wonderful little girl, and he knew Niniel meant the world to Caitlyn.  That was as it should be, but he really wished Niniel had been his instead of Jack's.  She needed a true father - not someone who was going to be stupid and ignore her.  Honestly, Nathan couldn't understand Jack at all.  He had a beautiful daughter, a fantastic house, an excellent job, and the most amazingly wonderful woman for a wife.  His life was practically perfect other than their finances not being great.  Not many people in the world could claim to have what Jack had, and yet Jack was throwing it all away.  His lack of attention to Niniel, to Caitlyn, the lack of attention to the needs of the household...such things had led other couples to divorce far quicker.<br/><br/>But, he turned back and smiled at Caitlyn, because she did not need his thoughts of trouble.  She knew the signs only too well.  Instead, he focused on making her happy, and turned back to Niniel with a bright smile.<br/><br/>"Want to go to the park," he said to her in a slightly silly voice as he lightly touched her nose with one finger.  Niniel giggled happily at the idea, and blew a kiss at Nathan.  She was so adorable at just over two years old, and so smart.  "Mommy wants to come too," he added with a laugh, and Niniel giggled again blowing a kiss to her Mommy.<br/><br/>Nathan went over to Caitlyn with an even brighter smile.  "I think Niniel agrees with the whole walk idea," he told her with mirth still showing in his voice.