Title: Yesterday to Tomorrow: Chapter Forty-five, Mama Lyssa
Rating: NC-17 [violence, swearing, nudity, sexual situations]

Summary: Toni is found, Nick speaks for the first time, and Chris finally gets to see Lily.

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Her heart had ceased working. There were no words in any language to describe the panic coursing through her veins.

She had lost Chris's daughters.

Her hands quickly shoved dresses aside, checking the interior of every rack. Andrew had gone to speak with the boutique's staff while Alyssa searched for the girls. The dressing rooms were her next stop, but they too were vacant of two little girls. Heading towards the door, she found Lily sitting on a bench in the small shoe department, feet kicking back and forth, her thumb in her mouth.

Alyssa knelt before the little girl, embracing her without a thought, "I thought we lost you."

"I right here, Auntie Lyssa," she replied, thumb popping out of her mouth.

"Where's your sister?" she asked, relieved to find one of them in the store, hoping the younger would be as well.

Lily shrugged, "Dunno."

Coming to Alyssa side, Andrew smiled, "Lily! You sure scared us. Where's Toni?"

The girl shrugged again.

"Oh god," Alyssa muttered, standing up. "Andy, you stay with Lily."

Without another word she pushed the door open and stepped out onto the sidewalk. She really had no reason to think that Toni had left the store, but she felt that she had. Brown eyes danced along the street, left first then right. No sign of the little girl.

Her eyes cast over the busy street. Had her heart been functioning then, it certainly would have stopped. Toni was standing in the middle of the street, in the median, cars whirling by her. With Lily's hand in his, Andrew stepped out of the shop with the manager just as Alyssa stepped into the street. Paying no mind to uncoming traffic, which did in fact screetch to a halt, she headed towards the little girl.

"Toni!" Alyssa shouted. "Stay right where you are!"

The toddler turned around. Seeing Alyssa she grinned, arms going up in the air and she toddled forward. Alyssa's steps quickened, her arms wrapping around the child and barely sweeping her out of the way of an unintentive SUV driver. Tears streamed down Alyssa's cheeks as she kissed the little girl, muttering all sorts of unintelligible words to her. Turning back to where Andrew, Lily, and the manager stood, Alyssa waited for the traffic to ease up before returning to the sidewalk.

"I'm so very sorry, Miss Morgan," the manager began.

Alyssa shook her head, cutting the woman off, "Don't apologize to me. It's my fault. I shouldn't have let her go."

She then showered the toddler with kisses once more.

"I'll be back tomorrow. Without the kids," she declared, heading down the street.

Andy trotted to keep up with her, "Lyss, you okay?"

"I have no idea how I'm going to explain this to Chris."



With the girls playing happily in Toni's room, Alyssa paced the length of the living room. Andrew's blue eyes watched her every pass. After about the thirtieth pass, her reached out and grabbed the bottom of her skirt, causing her to stop in her tracks, eyes flicking to hers.

"Calm down, Lyss. Nothing happened. Everyone is all right. Nothing happened," he declared.

"Nothing happened!? I lost Toni! I lost my husband-to-be's daughter! I lost my daughter!" she turned fully to him. "Don't tell me nothing happened, Andrew."

"Okay. So Toni slipped away. She's not hurt. Lily's not hurt. You're not hurt. Everyone is all right," Andrew repeated.

"Everything is not all right!"

"Lyssa?" Chris's voice interrupted her nerves, causing two pairs of eyes to swivel to the doorway.

"Hey, Chris," Andrew smiled, his fingers dropping from Alyssa's skirt finally, figuring she wouldn't run away.

The location of Andrew's fingers was not missed by Chris and jealousy flashed in his eyes briefly, "Is there something you need to tell me?"

Andrew stood, "I'll leave you two alone. See you tomorrow, Lyss?"

"I would rather you stay," Chris stated.

Ice travelled Alyssa's spin at the tone in his voice, and she wasn't really sure of the cause of such, "Chris, something happened today. When we were out."

His eyes went to hers, shifting a sleeping Nick on his hip, "Just have out with it, Alyssa. Tell me how you don't want to marry me because of some in depth conversation you had with him following your dressing room sex."

Her mouth dropped open, mirrored by Andrew's as well, "Is that what you think I have to tell you?"

"Isn't it? Did I not just walk in on him playing with your skirt?"

Alyssa took a breath, "If that's what you think you saw, I'm not going to convince you otherwise. But I thought you trusted me more than that. I would surely never stray from you, my love, and especially not while shopping for a wedding gown for our wedding. But think what you will."

"Then what is it?"

Andrew stepped in before Alyssa could reply, "While looking at dresses, which by the way you happen to be the luckiest man in the world to be marrying her, the girls slipped away. Lily sat in the store, but somehow Toni slipped out. It was all my fault as I was supposed to be watching the girls while Alyssa attempted to make up her mind. Alyssa found—"

"Where's Toni?" Chris interrupted.

"Up in her room with Lily," Alyssa answered calmly. "She wasn't hurt at all, Chris. How I don't know, but she wasn't hurt."

Relief flooded his features, before he said, "Are you okay, Lyssa?"

She nodded slowly, "My heart still won't beat, but I'm okay."

He sighed, glancing at Andrew, "My apologies, Andrew, for assuming the worst of you."

Andrew shrugged in response, "It's all right. Afterall I did lose your daughters. Stealing your wife seems just as bad."

Nick stirred in Chris's arms, his blue-green eyes turning to Alyssa, his arms reaching for her, "Mama."

The room went completely quiet. All of the adults looking at the young boy. Chris was the first to move, grinning as he held his son towards Alyssa.

"Mama," the boy declared again, slipping into Alyssa's arms.

"And here I thought my son was never going to speak," Chris kept grinning. "He was just waiting for the right moment apparently."

Alyssa held the boy close to her, kissing his forehead, "You are adorable, Nicky. And, Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"I think there's someone upstairs wanting to see you."

He nodded and bounded up the stairs, Alyssa and Nick a few steps behind. Poking his head into Toni's room just as Alyssa stepped into the doorway, his eyes fell on his oldest child. Alyssa could just feel the emotions emanating from him.

"Lily?" he muttered softly.

The girl's eyes darted up, "DADDY!"

A moment later Chris's arms were wrapped around her, swinging the girl in the air. He kissed her cheeks, forehead, nose, and chin. Lily giggled, kissing him right back. Toni peeked around her father's legs, a little jealous at his attention to the older girl. Without a second thought she hurried over to Alyssa, wrapping her short arms around Alyssa's leg.

"Lyss-lyss, I sorry," she muttered into her leg. "I sorry I bad girl."

Alyssa squatted, forcing Toni to release her leg, "Not bad girl at all, Toni. One of my favourite princesses."

The girl grinned and wrapped her arms around Alyssa's neck, pushing her brother out of the way to do, "Je t'aime, Lyss-Lyss."

"Mama," Nick agreed.