<em>~ Nicci at dinner getting to know her new family ~</em><br/><br/>Vince seemed to speak to her inner child as he answered her, a playmate who would urge her into all kinds of naughtiness, although she never needed much urging, she thought, not then and not now.  She felt the kick in her belly that meant she was also responding to him in another way entirely and her eyes flirted with him, quite happy to court any danger he represented.<br/><br/>She caught sight of Cathy bringing some rolls and sat back, catching Bo's eyes briefly and smiling back at him, he seemed a little more relaxed and she was happy that he was, she certainly hadn't wanted to spoil his evening in any way.   She nodded at his suggestion, it was a very good idea, she thought, she personally would love to know more about everyone.<br/><br/>Wow, she thought, ten children, what must that be like? She had always yearned for a family, how lucky Mari was to have had that. She respected her for stating so quickly about her desire for this kind of relationship, Nicci believed that commitment was going to be half the battle – none of this would work if they couldn't commit to each other as well as the rules of the experiment.<br/><br/>She wished she had been next to Mila as she started talking, she would have wanted to hold her hand as they had done earlier.  Some of what she was saying resonated with her strongly too, and she felt her pain and loss. Nicci's eyes felt all prickly as Mila  finished, how lovely, she had the soul of a poet, and she had to swallow against the lump in her throat before she spoke.<br/><br/>She took a sip of water and then took the plunge herself, thinking, well here goes......  “I grew up in quite a tough neighborhood, there was just my Mum and me,” she swallowed not ready yet to tell them just how how hard that had been or how much she had needed the support of a family or dreamed of having a father to protect her and cherish her,  “But I was very lucky, I was found by a scout and started modeling at 13, and that made our lives a lot easier as the income helped us be more comfortable.” And put food on the table, she thought.  "And since then I have worked as a professional model and body double ever since.  I'm not tall enough to be a fashion model but it worked out all right for me in the end.”<br/><br/>“I've known for a long time I wanted to find the special love that a polyfamily has the chance of creating.  I seemed to have been born with that need inside of me it just took me a while to realise it.” Nicci wished she could be as eloquent as Mila, she so desperately wanted to say how much it all meant to her, how hard she was prepared to make it all work and also just  how much she felt they had a real chance of succeeding and how drawn she was to every one of them.<br/><br/>“I agree with Mila, I feel that you are all what my heart would have chosen for myself, and I promise to try and make myself worthy of a place in this family," she ducked her head slightly, looking down at the table for a moment, slightly overcome, and then raised it smiling deprecatingly, and finishing by saying, “I'm sure it won't take us long to get to know each other very well indeed.”<br/><br/>She blushed slightly as she realised Cathy had come in and was about to put bowls of soup on the table, as she wasn't sure how much she had heard, but Nicci didn't mind, she was proud of her family already, she knew she would be happy to tell the world how special they all seemed.