Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2005 18:49:37 -0800 (PST)
From: slpwriter <slpwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Nick Lachey: My Everything-80

Happy New Year, Everyone!

I'm back with another chapter of "My Everything."

Thanks for all of your support! Without it, I don't
think I could have written this story for this long.

Now on with the story.

First of all, let me just say that this is my first
time writing any kind of fiction like this.

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of total fiction and is
not meant to imply anything about the sexualities of
Nick and Drew Lachey or anyone else mentioned in
this story.

If you are too young to read this, or if
Homosexuality offends you, then please don't
continue any further and leave.

Other 98 Degrees stories I'd like to recommend are.

"Give Me Just One Night" by Unanoche.
"69 with Jeff Timmons" by Zachary Scott Pritt
"Nick Lachey" by Ken.
"98 Degrees Is Hot" by Gay Night
"The Reunion" by RinSong.
"Loving Nick Lachey" by Jordan
"Playing Doctor with 98 Degrees" by Brian
"This Gift" by Sprout

and finally:

"What I feel for you" by Thack.


Now, I"ll let you get on with the story.

Enjoy.


Previously on "My Everything".....


LATER THAT NIGHT.............

I woke up a little bit later to hear the sounds of
laughter coming from in the living room. I wondered
what everyone was doing at that moment.

I looked at the clock and was shocked to see that it
was almost 10:00p.m. I couldn't believe that I had
slept for so long. And I also wondered why nobody had
awakened me. But, I was going to find out.

I sat up and stretched, getting all the sleep out of
me so that I was more awake. I wiped the sleep out of
my eyes and got up off of the bed.

I then walked to the door and opened it, heading for
the bathroom. I went in, did my business, and brushed
my teeth so that I wouldn't have bad breath when I
went out to hang out with everyone, out in the living
room.

I finished up what I had to do and walked out of the
bathroom and down the hall towards the living room.

When I turned the corner, towards the living room, I
was stopped in my tracks from what I saw before my
eyes:

Justin, Jeff, Danny, Drew, and Casey were sitting on
the floor around the TV, and had a board game sitting
in the center of the circle. From what I was seeing on
the TV, they must be playing "Scene It?"

As I looked around the room, my jaw dropped when I saw
that Jessica was here. "When did she get here?" "And
why didn't anyone tell me that she was coming?"

I watched Jessica and Nick, who were sitting on the
sofa and talking softly to one another. I also noticed
that Jessica had brought Nicole with her. The little
toddler was asleep in Nick's arms

I darted back, out of sight before anyone could see me
and listened from around the corner

Since I was standing in the hallway, which led right
into the living room, and the kitchen was to my right,
the guys all had their backs to me. I could see the
back of the couch, since Nick and Jessica were sitting
on it, so their back were to me, also.

>From where I was hiding, I could hear Nick and
Jessica, both talking to each other.

"I can't thank you enough for bringing our little
angel here with you, Baby."

"Baby?" I thought to myself, when I heard Nick say
that. "What the hell?!"

I then heard Jessica speak next.

"I had to, Nick." Jessica said, quietly. "She missed
you. We both did."

"I missed you both, too." Nick said "And I'm really
glad that we talked earlier and got everything out in
the open."

I frowned when Nick said that. "What exactly did he
mean by that? "What had they talked  about?"

"So, does that mean that you'll come back home?"
Jessica asked him. "Will you give our marriage another
shot?"

When I heard her ask Nick that, I peeked around the
corner, wanting to see and hear what his answer would
be. But I ended up regretting it.

Instead of answering Jessica right away, I saw Nick
bring a hand up to her face and she brought her hand
up to his and cupped it. Then, Nick leaned in and
kissed her,  on the lips.

When I saw Nick, kissing Jessica, that was all it took
for me to lose it. But I wasn't about to lose it in
front of everyone. Especially not Nick.

I slowly shifted back into the hallway and tiptoed
back to my room. I snicked the door quietly shut and
went back over to my bed and crashed down upon it, as
I tried to keep control of my emotions.

"This can't be happening!" I whispered as the first
set of tears ran down my face. "Nick can't be getting
back together with her! She's not good for him!"

"But what was I going to do?" I couldn't just let
Jessica worm her way back into Nick's good graces.
Nick told me that he and Jessica were separating. I
guess I shouldn't have put it past Jessica to try and
make a play for Nick, in order to win him back.

Something had to be done. I had to stop her, somehow.
"But how? What could I do?"

My eyes narrowed, and an emotionless look crossed my
face, when I finally realized what I could do.

"The only way to stop Jessica from hurting Nick
again," I said, in a chilling voice. "is to get rid of
her!"


***********
CHAPTER 80
***********

BACK IN SEAN'S ROOM................

I took a moment to calm down the best that I could
before I went out there to settle the score with
Jessica and Nick. I had to be ready to stand up for
myself, but I also had to think about Nick's little
girl. I didn't want her exposed to anything ugly.

I gathered up whatever was left of my dignity, and
marched back to the door and opened it, heading back
out to the living room.

As I stomped down the hall, my anger grew, with every
step closer I got to the living room. Once I was
there, It all came out.

"What the hell is she doing here, Nick?!" I asked, in
a low, but angry voice.

My voice caused everyone to stop what they were doing
and look in my direction. I saw Jessica look at me and
frown.

"Well, Merry Christmas to you too!" Jessica said,
careful not to raise her voice, or she would wake
Nicole.

"I asked you a question, Jessica!" I hissed again.
"What are you doing here?"

Before she could answer me, I interrupted her. I
didn't want to hear it. I just wanted her to be gone!

"You know what? I don't care what you're doing here!"
I snarled. "Get out! You're not welcome in my home!"

Jessica tried to look like she was hurt, but I knew
better. She was trying to play the innocent wife
routine, but she wasn't fooling me.

"Sean!" Nick exclaimed, in a shocked whisper. "What's
wrong with you?"

I shot an exasperated look at Nick when he asked me
that question. He shouldn't even have had to ask why I
was acting the way that I was. He had seen Jessica at
her worst, in Los Angeles and all the mean things that
she had said and did to me.

"Nick, are you really that dense?!" I asked, in
disgust. "After everything that Jessica has done to
me, you shouldn't be so surprised that I don't want
her here."

Nick looked down at Nicole, who was still sleeping and
then he glanced back up at me.

"Sean, please don't make a scene." Nick begged me. "I
don't want my daughter exposed to any stressful
situations."

I looked down at the sleeping toddler in Nick's arms
and reluctantly agreed with him. One thing I wouldn't
do is subject any child to an ugly situation. But, I
wasn't about to just let this go. Jessica was an
intruder in my home and she had to go.

"I understand that, Nick." I said. "I don't want her
subjected to this situation, either. But, we're not
through talking about this."

I glanced over at Drew and saw him looking back at me,
confused as to why I was so angry. Since he'd been
away, he had no idea what had happened back in L.A.
after he had left.

"Drew," I said, softly, addressing him. "Please take
your little niece into my guest bedroom and stay with
her for a while. I need to talk to your brother and
this dumb-ass wife of his!"

Jessica gasped, in shock and glared at me, in
contempt. Nick wasn't too happy with that insult,
either, for he shot me an annoyed look.

"Sure." Drew said, as he stood up and walked over to
the couch where Nick and Jessica were sitting. Nick
stood up as well and carefully handed Nicole over to
Drew, who accepted her and cradled her in his arms.

"Let me know when I can come back out with her." Drew
said, as he turned to walk towards the bedroom. He
started to walk and as he did, he had to pass by me.
Before he did, he stopped and whispered in my ear.

"Please try to play nice." He said. "I know Jessica
can be a handful sometimes, but I really don't think
that she came here to ruin anything for you. Just hear
them out and decide for yourself, ok?"

I nodded, as Drew laid a hand on my shoulder and
patted it, before he left the living room and headed
for my spare bedroom.

Casey took that moment to excuse himself too.

"I'm just going to go and help Drew." He said, quietly
and headed off to the guest bedroom.

Once I heard the door shut, I immediately turned back
to Nick and Jessica and prepared to read Jessica the
riot act.

"Alright, Jessica, I'll ask you again," I started
saying "Why are you here? And this time, I want the
truth!"

Jessica stood up and crossed her arms, as she
continued to give me the narrowed eyes.

"I came here because I felt bad about what happened in
Los Angeles and I wanted to bring Nicole here to be
with Nick. I wanted to surprise him."

"Well, obviously, I'm the one who got the surprise,
instead!" I snarled at her. "Waking up and coming out
to MY living room and seeing you all curled up here
with Nick, acting like you own the place!"

"Oh, please?!" Jessica fired back at me. "I have
better taste than you do in homes. My house is
beautiful and big! Yours is just some cramped, little
beach apartment! It's the perfect place, for a slut
like you, to turn into a brothel!"

Kandi, who was listening to us argue had finally had
enough.

"Shut up, Bitch!!" She shouted at Jessica. "Who are
you to judge Sean! You don't even know him!"

"I know him, enough!" Jessica sneered at her. "Well
enough to know that he can't stand the fact that I'm
married to Nick now and he's not! He's already wrecked
my marriage enough!"

Now, that I took offense to. There was no way I was
going to take ANY responsibility for hurting Jessica's
marriage, because none of it had been my fault.

"Oh, please!" I scoffed, in anger. "If your marriage
was as perfect as you say, I wouldn't have been able
to wreck it! So, if you're looking for somebody to
blame for all of this, take a look in the mirror!"

The tension in the room was building up, more and more
with every passing second. But we were not through
yet, I had only just begun!"

"I did not wreck my own marriage!" Jessica exclaimed,
as she lowered her hands to her hips.

"Yes you did!" I shot back at her. "With your stupid
lies and your stupid, unfounded insecurities where I'm
concerned!"

I then thought of something that I'd almost forgotten
about, and I was going to make sure that it was
brought to light now. I was not about to let Jessica
think that she'd won just because she'd kissed Nick
and got him to think about giving their marriage
another try."

"And speaking of lies," I said, as I looked down at
her stomach. "You still are trying to convince Nick
that you're pregnant, but I'm not buying it!"

I glanced over at Nick and saw realization dawn on his
face when he remembered that little piece of
information. He had obviously forgotten about that. At
least for awhile.

"Nick, I think that you should schedule that doctor's
appointment as soon as possible." I told him. "You
need to find out for sure if Jessica is telling the
truth about being pregnant."

Nick nodded at me and looked back at Jessica, who
looked back at Nick with shocked eyes when she saw
that he was actually considering it.

"I will, Sean." He said. "But that won't be until the
day after Jessica's performance, here in Orlando."

Now that was news to me. I hadn't heard anything about
Jessica having a performance here in Orlando. But I
was curious to find out.

"Jessica has a performance tomorrow?" I asked Nick. "I
didn't know that."

"That's why she came to Orlando, besides just to visit
me and let me see my daughter." Nick explained. "I was
trying to tell you that, but you wouldn't let me get a
word in, the way you and Jessica are tearing into each
other."

I took that news as my solution to get Jessica out of
my home. I knew that I didn't want her in my house any
longer than she had to be.

"Well, if that's true, then you'd better leave,
Jessica." I said to her. "Go back to your hotel and
get some rest so you'll be ready for your performance
tomorrow."

Jessica just crossed her arms again and squinted at
me. I could tell that she was still very angry with me
over the way she was being treated.

"I'm not finished with you, yet!" She said. "I have
alot more that I want to say to you!"

"Well, what's stopping you?" I asked sarcastically.
"I'm all ears, so let's hear it!"

"Actually, I think we all have heard enough out of the
two of you!" Jake said, standing up. "Michelle and I
would love to stand here and referee, but since we're
expecting our first child, we have to be away from
stressful situations like this! Stress is not good for
the baby!"

"Yeah, Jake's right." Michelle said. "We're going to
take off now."

"I'll walk the two of you, out." I said, as I slipped
past Jessica and headed towards the door.

Jake and Michelle got up and started bidding everyone
else, goodbye, while I walked over to the door.

As I opened the door and they walked out, they both
turned back to me.

"Good luck, Sean." Jake said to me, sounding serious.
"From what I've seen and heard of Jessica, you're
going to need it."

"Thanks, Jake." I said, looking back at him and
Michelle. "And thank you, both, for spending today
with me. It was a great Christmas Day."

"You're welcome, Sean." Michelle said. "We wouldn't
have celebrated Christmas, without you.'

I then remembered about the fight we had and took that
moment to clear things up and apologize for what
happened when Nick had come to Orlando after he found
out that Drew had betrayed him and I.

"Listen, guys," I started saying. "I just want to
apologize to the two of you for what I said the other
night. When I said that Nick had been there for me and
you two hadn't. I didn't mean it. I was just defending
Nick because I didn't think that it was appropriate at
the time to be laying into him for what happened
between us all those years ago."

Jake and Michelle looked at each other and then back
at me. I saw Jake nod.

"It's alright, Sean." Michelle said, grasping one of
my hands. "Jake and I both forgive you. Besides, we've
been through worse than this."

"That's certainly true." I laughed. "Anyway, you go
and take care of that little one you're carrying now."

"We will do that." Jake said, putting his arm around
Michelle. "Later, Sean. And Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, guys." I said, as I watched them go.
"Goodnight."

After they left, I went back into the house and shut
the door. Or rather slammed it.

"Now," I said. "The next thing on the agenda, is
throwing out the trash!"

I then glanced at Jessica after I said all of that.

"Meaning, you!" I added, glaring at her. "You've
caused me enough trouble, Blondie, and I'm not going
to let you cause me anymore pain!"

I then pointed to the door.

"Now get out and don't ever come back!" I said,
through gritted teeth. "Because if you do, I will call
beach security and have them throw you out on your
ass!"

Jessica's mouth dropped open in disgust. She looked
over at Nick, who was pretty much rendered speechless
as he stared at me, in awe, at the way I was acting.
He must not have seen this side of me that often.

"That's telling her, Sean!" Kandi said, clapping her
hands. "Way to go!"

I gave her a small smile and then turned back to
Jessica, who was still just standing there, staring
daggers at me.

"Well?" I asked her. "What are you waiting for? I told
you to get out, so move it, Blondie!"

Jessica didn't budge an inch. She looked over at Nick.
Seeing that, I did too. That's when Nick got his voice
back.

"Sean, please be reasonable." He said. "Jessica just
came here to let me spend time with our daughter. She
didn't come here to spoil Christmas Day for anyone!"

I shot Nick a disbelieving look. He sure had some
nerve to ask me to be reasonable. That's all I have
been is reasonable since the day I showed up in Los
Angeles when Nick was gone, to try to help Jessica and
the rest of the guys find him and bring him back home.

And all Jessica had been was a bitch! Not once had she
cut me a break. Well, except the time that she and I
had a civil conversation and gotten to touch base with
each other when Nick was concerned.

"You're asking me 'now' to be reasonable?!" I asked
Nick, in shock. "I've been reasonable enough where
your wife, here, is concerned! I gave her every
opportunity to clean up her act and start acting more
like a mature adult, rather than a selfish, lying,
spoiled little brat!"

I then gestured towards Jessica and laughed. but it
wasn't happy laughter.

"But I should have expected that, since she was
practically born with a silver spoon in her mouth!" I
said, viciously.

Finally, Jessica couldn't take anymore of my insults
and she really let me have it.

"SHUT UP, YOU ASSHOLE!" Jessica screamed as she lunged
at me.

Before anyone could react, Jessica had her hands
around my throat and was starting to choke the life
out of me, as she shoved me back against the door.
Then, she started to try to claw at my face with her
fingernails.

Before, she could do any more damage, Nick grabbed her
and yanked her away from me.

"Damn it, Jessica!" He swore at her. "That is enough!"

I couldn't have agreed with Nick more. But by then, I
had already lost my temper. This time, I didn't hold
back anything.

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT THAT IS ENOUGH! JUST GET OUT,
NICK!" I bellowed at him, then pointed to Jessica.
"AND TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU!"

I stomped past them and headed off to my room and then
slammed the door and locked it.

"Oh God!" I said, my hands clenched into fists, as I
paced my bedroom. "How much more can I possible
take?!"

*******************************************************
BACK OUT IN THE LIVING ROOM.........

Let's get out of here, Nick!" Jessica said, as she
grabbed her purse from nearby. "I don't want to stay
here a minute longer. Let's go!"

But as Jessica walked towards the door, she felt Nick
grab her arm and turn her around to face him.

"No!" He said, angrily. "You go back to the hotel and
wait for me, there! I will bring our daughter back
later!"

Jessica looked at Nick, in shock. She couldn't believe
what Nick was saying to her. That, and the fact that
he wanted her to leave her daughter here, in Sean's
home. No way, in hell, was she going to allow that!

"The hell you will!" Jessica said. "I'm going to get
her right now! My daughter is not staying in this
house with that home wrecking, ex-husband of yours!"

She started to try to pass Nick to head for Sean's
guest bedroom, but Kandi stood in her way.

"No, you're not!" She said. "You owe Nick this time
with her and you're not taking her away now! You know
that Nick won't let anything happen to that little
girl and neither will we. You will get your daughter
back, later."

Jessica could see that she was outnumbered here, so it
was useless to put up a fight, since there were
Justin, Kandi, Jeff, Nick, and Danny, in the house.

"Come on, Jessica." Jeff said to her, nicely. "What
could it hurt, huh?"

Jessica looked at Jeff and finally sighed in defeat.

"Alright, fine, but just for a half hour, that's it!"
She said to Nick. "It's getting late and it's already
past her bedtime anyway!"

"Thank you, Jess." Nick said to her. "Now, how about
you go on back to the hotel and get some rest for
awhile? You look pretty tired. We will talk about what
you just did to Sean, later."

"Fine." Jessica said, tiredly. Then she look over at
Jeff.

"Jeff, will you drive me back to the hotel?" She asked
him. "I don't think I can drive myself."

Jeff brightened at that. Probably because she had
rented a shiny red Mercedes convertible.

"You mean I get to drive the Mercedes?" He asked, then
crowed. "Yahoo!"

Jessica laughed at him, as she turned to leave and he
followed her.

"Hold on, I'll come too." Danny said, as he started to
follow Jessica and Jeff.

"No, baby, you stay here." Jeff said, turning back to
Danny. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his
rental keys and handed them to Danny. "Keep my car so
that you can drive everyone else back to the hotel
later, ok?"

Danny accepted the keys and looked back up at Jeff.

"Are you sure?" He asked Jeff. "I could just come
along for the ride?"

"No, it's ok, Danny." Jeff said to him. "You stay here
and see if Sean is alright. I'll take Jessica back to
the hotel."

"Alright, I will." Danny said, finally agreeing to
stay.

"Good." Jeff said, then turned to go. "I'll see you
later."

Before he could walk out the door, he felt Danny
clutch his hand.

"Wait, Sugar." Danny said, softly. "Aren't you
forgetting something?"

Jeff turned around and faced Danny, frowning slightly.

"What?" He asked, confused.

Danny then pulled Jeff closer and put his hand behind
Jeff's head, pulling him in for a kiss. Once they
pulled apart, Jeff looked at Danny and smiled.

"Oh, that." He said, then gave Danny a hug. "I'm sorry
about that."

"It's ok, Jeff." Danny said. "I still love you."

Hearing Danny say that, Jeff happened to glance at
Nick, who shot him an understanding look.

"I love you too, sexy." Jeff said, as he felt the
guilt wash over him after saying those words.
Especially since he didn't mean them the way he should
have.

Jeff pulled back from Danny and then faced him.

"I have to go." He said, as he turned towards the
door. 'I'll see you back at the hotel later."

"Ok." Danny said. "Bye."

Jeff bid everyone else goodbye and followed Jessica
outside and closed the door behind him.

When Jeff and Jessica had gone, Danny turned around
and looked at everyone else.

"Does anyone else get the feeling that there's
something going on with him?" He asked, with a
concerned frown. "He's been really quiet all day."

Nick was looking down at the floor when Danny happened
to glance at him and see the look on his face.

"Nick?" Danny asked him. "Do you know what's going on
with Jeff?"

Nick looked up at Danny, a serious look on his face.

"You do, don't you?" Danny asked him. "What is it,
Nick? Tell me what's going on?"

Nick looked around at everyone else, then back at
Danny, trying to think up an excuse so that he didn't
have to tell Danny what was really going on with Jeff.
Danny needed to hear the truth from Jeff, himself.

*******************************************************
BACK IN SEAN'S GUEST BEDROOM........

"I wonder what's going on out there?" Drew asked,
nervously as he gazed down at the sleeping Nicole, who
was lying on the bed, next to him. "It's so quiet."

"I don't know, Drew." Casey said, frowning a bit. "But
I think Sean just slammed his door just a few minutes
ago."

"I "know" he did." Drew said, stressing the word
"know," his face full of concern. "I thought it was
going to wake up Nicole, but luckily it didn't. Sean
must have been really mad about something to slam the
door like that."

Casey looked over at the door, thinking about Sean.

"Do you think we should go and check on him?" Casey
asked, out-loud. "I hope he's alright."

Drew smiled at Casey's concern for Sean. It was clear
that Casey's friendship hadn't wavered a bit when Sean
was concerned.

"Sean will be alright." Drew said, with confidence.
"He'll land on his feet. He always does."

"He almost didn't before." Casey said, looking at
Drew. Drew knew what he was talking about.

"Don't go there, ok?" Drew begged him. "What matters
is that he did land on his feet after all that
happened. And you know how the old saying goes: "What
doesn't kill you, makes you stronger," right?"

"Yeah, something like that." Casey said, with a
straight face. "I just wish that Sean could finally
find the happiness that he deserves. God knows he's
been without it long enough."

Drew nodded, as he listened to Casey voice his
concerns for Sean. He definitely shared Casey's
concerns.

"I hear what you're saying, Casey, and I agree with
you." He said. "Sean does deserve to be happy after
all the shit I put him and my brother through. If I
could change things so that Nick and Sean could be
together again, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but I can't
now. All I can do is hope and pray that Sean does find
happiness again."

Casey put his arm around Drew, as they both watched
Nicole, sleeping peacefully on the bed, near them.

"And while we  wait for that to happen," Casey said,
as he brought his other hand up to Drew's right cheek.
"Let's celebrate, finding our happiness, together."

"I would love that." Drew said, with a smile. "I love
you, Casey."

"I love you too, Drew." Casey whispered.

Casey and Drew then leaned into each other and their
lips touched, as they engaged into a passionate kiss,
together.

*******************************************************
MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE HOTEL...............

Jeff and Jessica entered Nick's room and Jeff shut the
door behind them. Jessica sighed and dropped her purse
on the bed.

"Thank you so much, Jeff, for bringing me back here."
Jessica said to him, tiredly. "If I had to hear
anymore out of Sean's mouth, I swear I was going to
lose it, completely."

Jeff walked over towards the bed and sat down next to
Jessica, who had sat down on the bed, as well. He
handed Jessica the car keys to her rental Mercedes.

"I don't think that was cool what you did to Sean
earlier, when you had your hands around his throat."
Jeff said, with a serious look on his face. "Not that
I don't understand it, but it still was wrong. You
could have handled yourself much better."

Listening to Jeff take Sean's side, Jessica started to
get offended, but when she realized that he wasn't
angry with her, she calmed down.

"I know, Jeff." Jessica said, as she stood up and
walked towards the dresser, across the room. "But I
couldn't help it. Sean always manages to get to me,
and every time he does, I do something stupid, like I
did earlier when I literally tried to strangle him."

Jeff stood up from the bed and walked over to Jessica
and put his hands on her shoulders. He then pulled her
into his arms, hugging her close, trying to offer her
some sort of comfort, as well as try to show his
support.

"You just have to try not to let Sean get to you."
Jeff said. "If you could try to meet Sean halfway and
find a way to get along with him, then maybe you won't
have so much trouble in your marriage. Nick will
forgive you if you apologize for what happened with
Sean earlier, and try to make an effort. If you can
make peace with Sean, you can get your marriage back
on solid ground again."

Jessica turned around and looked up at Jeff. Then she
threw her arms around Jeff's neck and hugged him
close.

"Thanks Jeff." She said, as he hugged her back.
"You're a great friend."

"Your welcome." Jeff said, softly. "I love, both, you
and Nick and I just want to see you two happy again."

Jessica pulled back from her embrace with Jeff and
looked up at him, with a confused look on her face.

"But, how can I be happy again when Sean is such a
threat to my marriage?" Jessica asked, worriedly.
"Tell me, Jeff. What should I do?"

*******************************************************
BACK AT SEAN'S APARTMENT...............

"Nick, if you know what's going on with Jeff," Danny
begged Nick. "Tell me, please? I need to know what's
bothering him."

Nick looked away from Danny again as he thought back
to his earlier conversation with Jeff.

<<FLASHBACK>>

"Jeff, is there someone else?" Nick hears himself ask
Jeff.

"Yes, Nick." Jeff says. "There is someone else.
Someone I'm really close to."

<<END OF FLASHBACK>>

"Nick?"

Nick looks up at Danny, who just said his name just
now.

"I'm sorry, Danny." He said. "I kind of zoned out for
a minute. To answer your question, I think you should
be the one to ask Jeff what's bothering him. He's your
boyfriend, man."

Danny thought about how Jeff had been earlier that
day. He had been so quiet and Danny had wondered what
what on Jeff's mind. But he didn't ask or push Jeff
for any info because Jeff didn't always like being
pushed into talking when he wasn't ready. Danny had
decided to leave it go until Jeff was ready to talk
about it.

"You're right, Nick." Danny said. "I do need to talk
to him."

Danny turned and started heading towards the door to
leave. As he did, he realized that he didn't have a
car.

"Shit!" He cursed. "I don't have a car to use to head
to the hotel. I need to talk to Jeff as soon as
possible.

"Here," Nick said, as he leaned over and grabbed his
keys to the rental car that he had rented earlier that
morning, and handed them to Danny. "Take my car. Since
I'm going to go and check on Sean to see if he's
alright, I'll ask him if he'll give us a ride back to
the hotel."

But Kandi didn't think that that was such a good idea.

"Nick, hon, I think that it'd be better if I went and
talked to Sean, instead." Kandi said. "Why don't you
head back to the hotel with Danny, and the rest of us
will ride back in Sean's SUV, Ok?"

Nick thought it over and thought that she had a good
point. After the way Sean had blown up at him,
earlier, when Jessica had tried to choke him, he
wasn't sure if Sean even wanted to talk to him,
anyway. So, he decided to take Kandi's advice.

"Alright, Kandi." Nick said. "I'll do it. Danny and I
will go back to the hotel and wait for the rest of
you, there."

Nick started to follow Danny to the door, but then, he
stopped.

"I'd better go and get my daughter." Nick said,
turning around. "She's still in the spare bedroom with
Casey and Drew."

"Don't worry about her." Justin said to Nick. "She'll
be in good hands. Your brother will take good care of
her."

Nick knew that Justin was right. Whatever problems he
and Drew were having at the moment, Nick knew that
even though he wasn't ready to trust Drew again, that
he could still trust his brother to look after his
daughter. When it came to Nicole, Nick could still
trust Drew, where she was concerned.

"You're right, Justin." Nick said, quietly. "In that
case, just tell Drew and Casey to bring her back to my
room at the hotel when you leave her. Jessica will
probably be waiting for her, in my room when you all
get back."

Nick saw Kandi and Justin, both nod. Then he turned
back to Danny.

"Come on, Danny." Nick urged him. "Let's get you back
to the hotel so you can talk to Jeff, and I can have a
word with Jessica over what happened here, earlier."

"I'm way ahead of you, Nick." Danny said, as he turned
and headed to the door.

As Danny and Nick both left the house, Nick turned
back to Kandi, who was standing at the door.

"Tell Sean that I said goodbye and that I'll talk to
him soon." He asked her.

"I will, hon." Kandi said, with a small smile. "Don't
worry."

Nick smiled back at her. Then he leaned in and gave
her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Goodnight." He said, before he turned and followed
Danny to the car.

After Nick and Danny were gone, Kandi shut the door
and turned back to face Justin.

"You know something, sweetie." She said, with an angry
frown on her face. "I hope Jessica gets what's coming
to her! What she did to Sean tonight was beyond
unforgivable!"

Justin put his arms around her and pulled her towards
him, hugging her close.

"Sweetie, don't worry about it so much." He said to
her. "I believe that everything will work out the way
that it's supposed to."

Kandi sighed as she lay her head against Justin's
chest.

"I wish I were convinced of that." She said, softly.
"I just wish that Nick would finally see Jessica for
the spoiled, rotten ass, bitch that she really is.
She's caused so much pain for both Nick and Sean that
I think that Nick deserves better. Sean deserves to
have Nick back."

"I hear you, sweetheart." Justin said, comforting her.
"If things were different, I'm sure the two of them
would have had a second chance again, as a couple. But
we have to face reality. Nick is a married man. He's
also a father to a beautiful little girl. He has to
think about his priorities, concerning his family. Any
chance Sean and Nick had with each other is gone.
Maybe forever."

Kandi sighed and followed Justin to the couch, where
they both sat down, next to each other and cuddled for
awhile, while watching the TV.

While, Justin was watching television, Kandi had alot
on her mind.

"I have to do something." Kandi thought to herself. "I
can't let Jessica walk all over Sean and think that
she can get away with it! No! Somehow, someway, she
has to be stopped!"

*******************************************************
BACK AT THE HOTEL......................

"Well, the first thing you should do is talk to Nick
and make him understand that you didn't mean to
strangle Sean. He just got to you, that's all. I'm
sure Nick will accept that answer."

Jessica shook her head.

"I don't know, Jeff." She said, as she turned away
from him, and looked down at the floor. "Did you see
the look on Sean's face after Nick got me off of him?
He was furious. And did you hear him scream at my
husband to get out and take his trash with him,
meaning me?" After seeing that, I have to wonder about
Sean."

Jessica stopped when she realized where her thoughts
were heading when she said that.

"Wonder what, Jessica?" Jeff asked her, putting his
hands on her shoulders and spinning her around to face
him. "What are you thinking?"

Jessica looked up at Jeff with a worried expression on
her face.

"I think Sean could be dangerous." Jessica admitted to
Jeff, looking a little scared at that moment.

Jeff looked at Jessica with a concerned expression at
first, then he started to laugh a little bit.

"Oh no." Jeff laughed. "You don't have to worry about
that, Jessica. Sean's bark is worse than his bite.
He's not dangerous."

"I hope you're right, Jeff." Jessica said, as she
buried her face in his chest. "I just want things to
go back to normal. The way they were before Sean
became such a pain in the butt for me."

Jeff hugged her again, and rubbed up and down her back
as he tried to console her.

"It will, sweetheart." He said. "You're a very
beautiful, young woman, and if Nick can't see that and
get beyond his anger towards you, then it's his loss."

Jessica raised her head and looked at Jeff.

"You really think I'm beautiful?" She asked Jeff,
smiling through her tears.

"Yes, Jessica, I do." Jeff said, honestly. "Nick is
very lucky to have you. Don't give up just yet. You
still have a chance to make things right with him."

Jessica stepped closer to Jeff and raised her hands up
towards him. She cupped his face in her hands.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

Before Jeff could react, Jessica's lips were on his.
Instead of pulling away, Jeff found himself returning
her kisses.

They never heard the key card slide through the door.
And, they never heard the door open and someone enter
the room.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!!"

*******************************************************
MEANWHILE, BACK AT SEAN'S PLACE...............

Kandi finally convinced me to come out of my bedroom
after I'd refused to for awhile. When I finally did,
Kandi, Justin, and Casey were both out in the living
room, waiting for me.

"You feeling better now, sweetie?" Kandi asked me,
from the love seat, where she and Justin were sitting.

"Yes." I said, quietly, as I took a seat on the couch,
next to Casey. "Thank you for asking."

I then took a look around the room and noticed that
quite a few people were missing.

"Where are Nick, Drew, Jeff, and Danny?" I asked out
loud. "There were here a while ago."

I looked over at Kandi again and saw the angry look on
her face.

"Jeff took Nick's bratty wife back to her hotel,
earlier, and Nick and Danny left shortly after to go
and talk to them."

"And Drew is still in your spare bedroom with Nicole,
keeping her company." Casey added, as I turned to look
at him.


 "Nick's going to talk to Jessica about what she did
to you earlier," Kandi continued. "And Danny is going
to talk to Jeff and find out what's bothering him."

Now, that was news to me. I had no idea that anything
had been bothering Jeff earlier. He seemed fine when I
saw him. He seemed to be having a great time with all
of here here for Christmas.

"What's wrong with Jeff?" I asked her, my concern
growing. "He seemed fine when I saw him, earlier."

"That's what we thought too, Sean." Justin replied.
"Until Danny pointed out how quiet Jeff had been most
of the day. We thought nothing of it until he
mentioned it. Then we saw that there was something
wrong. So, we convinced Nick to go with Danny, back to
the hotel so that they both could talk to their
partners."

I sat back in the chair and crossed my arms over my
chest, as my anger over what had happened earlier came
back.

"Well, I hope that Nick finally will see just how
undeserving of him, she is, after what she just did to
me." I said, the anger obvious in my voice. "He'd
better make it clear to her that she stays away from
me from now on! I don't want her anywhere near me
after what she did tonight!"

"Well, If Nick doesn't, then I will, Hon." Kandi said.
"I promise you that."

Then, she looked down at her watch.

"It's getting late." She said, standing up. "We'd
better be getting back to the hotel now. We promised
Nick that we'd bring Nicole back to the hotel."

"Yeah, she's right." Justin said, as Kandi got up. He
got up with her. "We have to get going."

I stood up as well, so that I could see them out.

"I'll go tell Drew that we're leaving." Casey said,
before he turned and walked down the hallway towards
the spare bedroom.

I walked with Justin and Kandi towards the door. As
Kandi started getting her purse out of the closet, she
realized that she had forgotten something.

"I just remembered that Nick and Danny drove the
rental SUV back to the hotel earlier." She said, as
she brought a hand to her forehead.

"Don't worry about that." I said to them. "I can drive
you all back. Just let me grab my car keys from the
kitchen."

"Thanks, Sean." Justin said. "We're really sorry about
this."

"No problem, Justin." I said, turning towards the
kitchen. "I'm more than happy to drive you all back."

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed my keys from off
of the wall hanger that they were on. I turned back
around and walked out to the living room.

By that time, Casey had returned to the living room,
with a tired looking Drew, holding Nicole in his arms.

"Ok, it looks like We're all ready to go." I said.
"After you guys."

Justin and Kandi exited the house, first, then Drew
and Casey, with me, following them. Once We were all
outside, I turned around and locked the door and
checked it to make sure that it was locked tight, and
wouldn't open.

"Man, I'm tired." Drew said, after a long yawn. "I
could sleep for a week straight."

"I'll bet you could." I said to him. "You've gotta be
tired after all that you've gone though lately."

Drew looked up at me when I said all of that. But, I
wasn't in the mood to talk about anything heavy. I was
still tired too, despite the fact that I'd slept
earlier. Let's just say that having to deal with
Jessica was enough to tire anyone out, physically and
emotionally.

"But, I don't want to talk about anything heavy,
tonight." I said. "It's still Christmas night and I
just want to keep the peace for now."

Drew nodded, as he looked up at me, through tired
eyes.

"I understand, Sean." He said, honestly. "And thank
you for everything, tonight. It was a great Christmas
and I had a great time, celebrating it with you and
everyone else tonight."

"Good." I said, with a serious look on my face. I'm
glad."

Drew wasn't quite finished yet. I could see that there
was still something that he wanted to say to me.

And, I was right.

"Sean, I just want you to know that I'm not expecting
too much from you right now." Drew continued saying to
me. "I know that I have alot to make up for with you,
and my brother, and I hope that I get that chance one
day. But only when you are ready. The same goes for
Nick. Just know that I won't pressure either one of
you, too soon."

I stood there, my expression all serious, as I
listened and took in everything that he was saying to
me.

"I just wanted you to know that." Drew said. "I won't
bring any of this up, again until you are ready to
talk about it."

I nodded at him. Although, I wasn't showing it, I was
truly impressed with him. I could really see the
change within him. Something had happened to him while
he was away. And whatever that was had had quite an
effect on him. It was like he grew up.

"I'm glad that you understand, Drew." I said to him.
"Because I am far from ready to forgive you just yet.
But just know that even though we're not friends right
now, we won't be enemies, either."

Drew nodded. I then decided that since it was
Christmas night, it was still a time for giving and I
decided to give Drew something to look forward to. I
decided to let him in on something that I'm sure he
would be glad to hear.

"Listen, Drew, I'm sure Nick will never admit it right
now, but he missed you while you were gone." I told
him. "And he still misses you now."

Drew's face lit up at that moment.

"Really?" He asked, his voice full of hope. "How do
you know that for sure?"

"I know your brother." I said to Drew. "I was married
to him. Even though he may not seem like he misses
you, on the surface, I'm sure that deep down, he
really does."

Drew's smile got bigger at that moment, and despite my
anger towards him, It was really good to see him happy
again.

"Ok, come on." I said. "Let's get you all back to the
hotel so Jessica doesn't send out a search party for
her daughter, and I can finally turn in and get some
more sleep."

"You read our minds, Sean." Justin said, yawning.
"Let's go."

We all walked to my SUV and I unlocked the doors so
everyone else could get in. Kandi decided to sit up
front with me, while Justin sat in the seat, behind
me, and Casey and Drew took the seat way in the back
of the van, so that they both could keep an eye on
Nicole.

I started the SUV and pulled out of the parking lot
area and started heading towards the hotel.

In about 10 minutes, we were there. I pulled the SUV
into the parking lot and turned off the engine. Then,
I unlocked the doors so that everyone could get out.

Kandi got out first, but before she did, she gave me a
kiss on the cheek.

"Good night, Sean." Kandi said to me. "Merry Christmas
to you.

"Merry Christmas, Kandi." I said to her. "And
goodnight."

Justin was next and as he moved towards the front to
get out, he extended his hand out to me, and we shook
hands, briefly.

"Goodnight, man." He said. " And Merry Christmas."

"See you later, Justin." I said, giving him a small
smile. "And thanks."

Then Justin and Kandi both started walking towards the
hotel, while Casey and Drew got out as well.

They both walked around to the driver's side of the
SUV so that they were face to face with me. I rolled
down the window so that I could hear what they were
saying to me.

"I hope that we can see more of you." Drew said, as he
held the sleeping Nicole in his arms. "I'd like it,
and I think that Casey would too."

"We'll see." I said, softly. "Now, please take that
little angel up to Jessica so that you don't get any
flack from her about being late. I have to go home and
get a shower and then get ready for bed soon.

"Alright." Casey said, then asked. "But would you be
up to doing something tomorrow?"

I thought that it was a great idea, since he wasn't
going to be in town long and I wanted to take the time
to get to know him again like I used to and get back
on track with him again.

"Sure." I said. "Why don't you stop by tomorrow and
we'll talk about it more then, ok?"

"Cool." Casey said. Then he looked at Drew and the
baby in his arms and then he started yawning.

"Come on, Drew." He said. "Let's take this little one
up to her mother and then let's turn in and get our
sleep as well."

Drew flashed Casey a grin that I knew too well. Drew
obviously had other things on his mind, other than
sleep.

"Alright." He said. Then he turned back to me.
"Goodnight, Sean."

"Goodnight." I said to them, as they both turned and
headed towards the hotel entrance.

I started the SUV and headed for home.

*******************************************************
AT THAT SAME TIME, BACK IN NICK'S ROOM............

Jeff and Jessica, both startled, stopped their kissing
and whipped around to see both Nick and Danny standing
in the doorway. And they did not look happy at all.

"Nick, this is not what you think." Jessica said to
Nick, who had just yelled out, earlier.

"Oh really?" Nick asked, in an angry tone. "It looked
like my best friend and my wife, making out together."

Jeff, who was at a loss for words, didn't know what to
say. He looked over at Danny and  he did not like what
he saw.

Danny was standing there, looking at him, through
tear-filled eyes. He was devastated. But, little did
he know that he was about to be devastated alot more.

"Nick, Danny, please don't be upset." Jeff said, when
he'd gotten his voice back. "It's no big deal, it was
just a kiss."

Nick found this a little too hard to swallow. He
didn't buy it for a second. Then, it clicked for him.

"Oh come on, Jeff." Nick said, his voice starting to
rise. "You tell me earlier today that you don't think
that you're in love with Danny anymore and that
there's someone else. And now, I find out that this
someone else is MY wife?! How am I supposed to believe
that this was just some stupid kiss? It sure as hell
looked like alot more than that."

"Nick!" Jeff said, in shock, as he glanced up at
Danny.

When Nick realized that he had let Jeff's shocking
secret out of the bag, his eyes widened.

"Shit!" He cursed, as he whirled around to look at
Danny.

Everyone in the room, could see that Danny was beyond
devastated now. For his tears were falling freely now.
He glanced over at Jeff.

"Is this true, Jeff?" Danny asked him, his voice
cracking with emotion. "Are you really not in love
with me, anymore?"

Nick looked back at Jeff, who looked visibly guilty at
that moment, and Jessica had her hand to her mouth, in
shock, unable to say anything at that moment.

The silence in the room was unbearable. But it wasn't
silent for long.

"WOULD SOMEBODY PLEASE JUST TELL ME THE TRUTH?!" Danny
screamed. "I DESERVE TO KNOW THE TRUTH!"

*******************************************************
BACK AT SEAN'S BEACH APARTMENT.............

I pulled into the parking lot and parked the SUV and
shut off the engine. I got out and locked the doors.
Then, I headed towards the apartment.

I unlocked the doors and entered the house. Then I
turned and closed the door behind me.

I then entered the kitchen and hung my keys back up on
the wall hanger. Then I headed for my bedroom to get
undressed so that I could get that shower that I said
I wanted, earlier.

I went into my room and got out of my clothes. Then I
took them to the laundry room and threw them into the
hamper to wash in a while.

As I was heading for the bathroom, I heard the
doorbell ring, suddenly. I frowned.

"Who could that be?" I wondered. "I'm not expecting
anyone."

Before I went to the door, I walked back to my room to
grab my bathrobe. I put it on and then headed to the
living room to answer the door.

When I opened it, I came face to face with two police
officers. One was Caucasian with dark hair, dark eyes,
and an athletic build. He look anywhere between mid to
late 20s. He was cute too.

The other one was African American, with jet-black
hair and dark brown eyes. He was heavyset. He was not
cute at all. He appeared to be in his mid to late 40s.
I was really curious as to why they were standing here
on my doorstep.

"May I help you, Officers?" I asked them, curiously.

"Are you Sean Perry?" The cute officer asked me.

"Yes, I am." I said. "What can I do for you?"

The younger officer handed me a manila envelope.

"This is for you." He said. I accepted the envelope
from him, curious as to what it was.

"What is it?" I asked, as if it were dangerous.

There was silence, but only for a brief second. Then,
the older officer spoke.

"A restraining order." the younger officer stated.

My eyes widened in shock. "What was going on?! Why was
I being served with a restraining order?"

"A restraining order?!" I asked, shocked as hell.
"Why? What did I do, officers? Please explain this to
me?"

The older officer started to say something, but
someone interrupted from behind them.

"Yes, officers, please do." A voice rang out. "This
little home wrecker needs to know what he's dealing
with now!"

When the owner of that voice appeared in my doorway,
my eyes narrowed.

"I should have known that you were behind this!" I
snarled at my intruder.


To Be Continued........?

COMING UP NEXT: Christmas night is full of fireworks!

"What happens next?" Oh, if you only knew!"

Stay tuned.

slpwriter@yahoo.com