Nic
"I can imagine why you haven't told me." he says and shakes his head, while he still can't wrap his head around the fact that he - Dominic Bowker - is a father. "I... I know that I'm not completely innocent with that situation, but ... Hannah... I would never have left if you told me you were pregnant! I... I've always wanted to be a father, you know that... Why... why didn't you tell me?"

Nic
"That was not your decision to make!" he says and shakes his head. "God, Hannah." he sighs. He just can't believe that she did that. "You should have told me. I would have figured something out, Hannah! It was the hardest decision I ever had to make! Leaving you. But I would never have left you if I'd knew you were pregnant. I would have come back or we could have moved away together."

Nic
"I could never hate you, Hannah!" he says quietly but pulls away his hand. Then he gets up, because he desperately needs some coffee. Preferably Irish, but he'll take whatever he'll get. "I'm sorry Hannah. I know it is as much my fault as it is yours and I'm sorry for that. But this... is just too much to take in right now. After my mothers funeral and the thing with John and Mephisto. I just... need some time to wrap my head around this." he pauses for a second, before taking a step towards her and gently brushing a strand of her hair out of her face. "I'm going to get some coffee. Do you want one too?"

Nic
He leaves to get some coffee, but ends up just wandering around the hospital, while all this news terrorizes him. He is a father. Claire is his daughter. If he would just have been able to hold it together one day longer ten years ago, he and Hannah would now be a happy married couple with a daughter, possibly more than that. With kids and a house and he would never have been to war. But there is no point in thinking about what could have been. Because he has to deal with the reality. And the reality is, that his daughter is in surgery right now. this thought weirdly calms him down a little bit. He stops dead in his move and decides to really go and get some coffee. Because there is nothing else he can do for now. Just wait.... In the cafeteria he buys a cup of black coffee for Hannah and after drinking a shot of whiskey, buys himself a cup too, before returning to the waiting room. Seems like Markus is all right. And even though Nic knows the whole accident isn't Markus fault, he can't help but feel pure hatred bottling up inside of him. He forces himself to remain calm as he clears his throat. "Here." he says and holds out the cup of coffee for Hannah.

Nic
He just looks at Hannah and nods slightly as she tells him, that Markus knows about Claire. Somehow this makes it a little better. At least this guy in front of him knows, that he is just the second choice.
But all this looses importance as one of the doctors appears in the door and tells them about Claire. Nic didn't even notice how frightened he was, how worried about Hannahs.. HIS daughter, but the huge relieve he feels after the doctor leaves the room shows him, how anxious he was.
Now he sighs in relieve and actually smiles again. He doesn't care about the fact that Markus is in the room with them. It is a reflex as he pulls Hannah into a hug of relieve and happiness. After all it's their daughter. "She's okay." he repeats.

Nic
He catches Markus glance as they both follow Claire out the door and into another section of the hospital. There's pure hatred in them. It's the same hatred Nic feels everytime he looks at him. But they both know, that now isn't the time to work this out. So they look away and instead concentrate on Claire who seems to be fine, even though she has a few bandages around her body that indicate, that she isn't as physically fine as she seems to be. I bet they gave her some strong painkillers. But even though he is worried about her, he can't help but smile. Because he realizes, that this wonderful child is his. She is his daughter. He doesn't say anything, he leaves the talking to Hannah and Markus, but he smiles and smiles. He can't seem to stop. This whole situation is fucked up, yes, but... it is also one of the happiest moments of his life. Because he always wanted kids. And now he has one...

Nic
He let's Hannah pull him out of the room with her, but not after he took a last look at Claire and smile broadly. Then the door shuts and it's like he get's out of a trance. He looks at Hannah and sighs. He knows that she is right. They have to figure out what to do next. Somehow the idea of having a daughter is becoming normal very quickly.
He shrugs. "I really don't know Hannah. It's not like there is the right way here. She.. she shouldn't have to deal with this in her age. But... on the other hand.. she is going to find out eventually."

Nic
He takes his time to think about what she just said. On one hand he hates the idea of not being able to tell Claire, that he is her father. He hates the idea of knowing that she will continue to grow up with Markus as her father, but on the other hand he also knows, that Hannah is right about it not being fair to let a ten year old go through the shock and pain of finding out, that her father isn't the man she thought he was. So he sighs and nods eventually. "I guess you are right. But I hope, that Markus will be okay with that too, because I will not stand down just because his ego can't cope with my presence."

Nic
He looks at her and realizes how hard this must be for her. He decides not to make this unnecessary hard for her. So he just nods. "Agreed." and then listens to her talking about how Helen seemed to have loved her. He can't help but smile happily. "Of course she did." he says and then looks at Hannah. "Please tell me everything there is to know about my ...daughter."

Nic
Nic wears a big smile, as Hannah tells him all these wonderful things about his daughter. He can picture it in his head. This little beautiful baby with her blue eyes and that cheeky smile. But as happy as the thought of Claire as a little baby makes him, it hurts as well. He missed all that. And there is no chance of getting this missed time back. "God I wish I could have been there." he says and sits down on one of the chairs that are lined up on the wall. He sighs and looks up to Hannah. "She sounds lovely. I mean... How could she be anything else but lovely... But still.."