Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2006 23:44:54 -0700 (PDT)
From: slpwriter <slpwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Nick Lachey: My Everything-93

Hello, 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.

NEWSFLASH: Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson are
officially separating after 3 years of marriage.
Whatever happens, I wish both of them, nothing but the
best!"


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

Enjoy.


**********
CHAPTER 93
**********

BACK AT SEAN'S APARTMENT.....


"Jeff, is what Danny said true?" Kandi asked him, in
shock. "Are you really in love with Drew?"

Jeff nodded, sadly.

"Yes, it's true." He said, his voice barely audible.
"I'm in love with Drew."

Kandi looked over at Justin, who shook his head, in
disbelief. Then, she looked back over at Jeff.

"Does Drew know about your feelings for him?" She
asked Jeff.

"Yes, he does." Jeff replied, as he shifted his feet,
nervously. "I told him earlier today."

"How did he take it?" Jake asked.

"He was shocked as hell." Jeff revealed to Jake. "But
he still took it pretty well."

This time, it was Michelle who spoke up.

"What does that mean?" She asked Jeff. "Does Drew feel
the same way about you?"

Jeff hung his head.

"No, he doesn't." He replied, in a low tone. "He said
he's in love with Casey and that he and I will only
ever be friends."

"What did you expect, Jeff?" Kandi asked him. "That
Drew was just going to leave Casey for you? We all
could see how happy Drew is with him."

"So could I!" Jeff said, suddenly, his tone getting
louder. "But I can't help my feelings! I never meant
to fall in love with Drew! It just happened!"

Justin gave Jeff a stern look.

"There's no reason for you to get all defensive with
us, man." He said to Jeff. "We're just trying to
understand your situation better, so that we can help
you."

"Well, you can't help me!" Jeff cried out. "Nobody
can!"

As Danny had done earlier, Jeff also stormed out of
the apartment, in tears. The door slammed with a loud
bang.

Kandi sighed, as she took Justin's hand in hers.

"It's times like this that I really start to
appreciate what we have, baby." She said to him,
giving him a kiss on the cheek. "It just goes to show
how lucky you and I are to have found each other."

Justin smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the lips.
But it was just a loving kiss, not a sexual one. He
wasn't comfortable making out, in public, even if Jake
and Michelle were straight like him.

"I agree with you, Sweetie." Justin said. "As sad as
it is that Jeff and Danny are breaking up, that just
goes to show me that it could have just as easily been
us if we had taken our love for granted."

Kandi nodded.

"I know." She said. "But, I'm glad that we've managed
to work through whatever problems we did have. Our
love just got stronger with time. I just can't wait
for the day when you and I walk down the aisle
together."

"That'd be cool." Michelle said. Then she brightened.
"Hey! How would you two feel like having a double
wedding, since Jake and I are getting married too?"

"That would be nice." Kandi agreed. "But, it'd be even
nicer if there'd be a triple wedding. That'd be a
first in the history of weddings?"

Justin, Jake, and Michelle looked among each other, in
confusion. "Who would the other couple be?"

"Who would be the third couple to get married at a
triple wedding?" Michelle asked Kandi.

Kandi was silent for a moment as she thought of the
two people who she felt deserved a second chance, more
than anyone else.

Kandi looked up and revealed her answer.

"Nick and Sean."

She looked around the room to see everyone's
reactions.

*******************************************************
BACK AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, DOWN IN LOCK-UP....

I looked up at Joe and squinted at him, in
exasperation. I didn't know who I detested more right
now: Him? or his ever so precious daughter, Jessica.

"Just tell me what you're doing here, Joe." I said to
him. "Tonight was humiliating enough for me, without
you coming here to gloat, and to twist the knife some
more."

"Well, Gee." Joe said, with a laugh. "Isn't that just
too bad!"

I rolled my eyes and laid back down on my cot again,
not even bothering to look at him.

"Your bashing me is getting so old!" I said to him.
"It's not even worth listening to. But I don't have to
worry about that. As soon as I get out of here, I
won't have to deal with you again, anytime soon."

"That's what you think!" Joe replied back at me, his
voice getting louder. "You may not have to deal with
me, but you will have to deal with the media if you do
manage to get out of there. Why, I'll bet that there
will be reporters camped out, outside your door,
waiting to invade your privacy!"

"With your encouragement, I'm sure." I said,
sarcastically. "But, let me tell you something, Joe.
There are two sides to every story. I still have to
tell the people my side of the story."

"That won't matter." Joe said. "Because my daughter is
a star! You, on the other hand, are a nobody! So there
is no competition as to who will get the most sympathy
out of this tragedy. Jessica will!"

I smiled, as I listened to him.

"Oh please, Joe!" I exclaimed, breaking out in
laughter. "Your daughter is finished! There's no way
that her agents and the recording companies will keep
her now! Given the extent of your daughter's cuts and
bruises from the accident, chances are that she won't
ever be beautiful again! Unless of course, she heals
well!"

I could see Joe draw in his breath and clench his jaw,
in anger. I wondered if he was really going to fly
into a rage, right then. But, if he did, I wasn't
going to worry about it, because I was in this cell.
So, he couldn't get to me, even if he wanted to.

I saw Joe's right hand ball up into a fist, which he
shook, angrily, in my direction.

"So help me, God!" Joe suddenly said, in a low, but
chilling voice. "If you do manage to get out of here,
after what you've done to my daughter, you'll rue the
day you met me!"

My eyes narrowed as I looked at him. I was not going
to be intimidated by him. He didn't scare me. Not
after the last time he tried to attack me.

"I already do rue the day I met you!" I said to him.
"But if you think that you intimidate me, think again!
I'm not afraid of you!"

"When I get my hands on you, I'll make you sorry that
you ever messed with my family!" Joe growled at me.

I crossed my arms over my chest and smiled at him,
smugly.

"Are you really sure that you'd want to try that?" I
asked him. "After the way you attacked me, last time,
I'd think that you'd know better by now!"

Joe didn't know what to say to that. It was easy to
see that he was getting even more enraged than before.

"If I were you, I'd watch my back!" Joe threatened me.
"Because one day you're going to mess with the wrong
person! And when you do, You'll regret it!"

I sat up on my cot and looked at him, starting to feel
even more tired than I already was.

"Oh, so you're stooped to making threats now?!" I
asked him, sarcastically. "Man, you really are
pathetic, Joe! Why don't you get out of here before
you say anything more that you'll regret later!"

Joe's face was starting to turn red. His temper was
reaching the boiling point!

"I'm going to leave now!" He said to me. "But you just
know this! I'm going to do whatever I have to do to
make sure that you get what you deserve!"

I was done listening to him. But, as I started to lay
back on my cot, I saw a guard come up to my cell.

"Mr. Perry," He said to me. "I've just been informed
that another suspect is being brought into custody,
and our holding cells are full."

I frowned at him, wondering why he was telling me
this.

"What does that have to do with me?" I asked him.

The guard looked at me, his expression serious.

"You're on the list of suspects who are going to be
moved to a local correctional facility, so that we can
make room for the other suspects that are coming in."
He explained to me.

I looked at him, in horror. Then, I looked back at
Joe, and saw that he was smiling.

"Splendid!" He said, rubbing his hand together. "That
orange jumpsuit is going to look so good on you!"

Then, with those last words said, he turned to leave.
The guard opened the door and waited for Joe to step
out. Before he did, Joe turned and looked back at me.

"I'll see you in hell, Sean!" He said. Then, he turned
and walked out the door.

I turned around, as I heard the guard close the door,
and lay back on my cot, staring up at the ceiling. I
blinked as I tried to fight the tears that were
coming.

"Where are you, Nick?!" I thought to myself. "You said
you'd come!"

*******************************************************
BACK AT THE HOSPITAL..............

Jessica was now asleep. Nick and Tina were both
sitting on each side of her hospital bed, watching
her. Then, Tina looked over at Nick.

"Honey, I'm going to go back to the cafeteria and get
a snack or something." She said to him. "Do you want
anything?"

Nick shook his head.

"No, that's ok." He said, managing a small smile for
her. "I'll grab something later."

Tina nodded. "Will you stay with her until I get
back?" She asked.

"Sure." Nick said, nodding his head again.

Tina then left the room and quietly closed the door
behind her, so Jessica would not be awakened.

Nick sat there and gazed at Jessica. He took a moment
to look over her cuts and bruises that she'd sustained
when the chandelier had fallen on her. It didn't look
good.

"Oh, Jessica." Nick thought to himself. "I just hope
that none of these bruises that you have are
permanent. Because if they are, I don't know what's
going to become of your career."

Just then, Nick heard a noise behind him. He turned
around to see the door opening and he saw Jessica's
doctor stick his head in.

"Mr. Lachey?" He whispered softly. "Will you come out
here, please? I need to have a word with you."

Nick rose from his seat, next to Jessica and walked
outside to see what the doctor wanted.

Nick stepped out into the hallway and snicked the door
shut behind him.

"Yes, Dr. Messner, what is it?" Nick asked him.

The doctor held up a Manila envelope.

"I have the results of your wife's pregnancy test." He
revealed to Nick. "Right here in this envelope."

Here was the moment of truth. Nick ran a hand through
his hair as he prepared to find out the truth.

"What are they, Dr. Messner?" Nick asked. "Is my wife
pregnant with my child or not?"

Instead of answering him, Dr. Messner handed Nick the
Manila envelope.

"See for yourself." He said, his expression giving no
indication of what the results could be.

Frowning, Nick took the Manila envelope and opened it.
He reached in and pulled a paper out of it. He then
started reading it.

As Nick read over the page, suddenly his eyes closed
and he sighed heavily.

"Mr. Lachey, are you alright?" Dr. Messner asked him,
looking a little worried."

"Yeah," Nick said. "I'll be fine. But, in the
meantime, it looks like I've got a tough decision to
make."

The doctor nodded.

"Excuse me, Mr. Lachey?" A woman's voice asked. Nick
and the doctor turned and looked in it's direction. It
was a nurse at the nurse's station.

"Yes?" Nick asked her, wondering what she wanted.

"There's a call for you on Line 1." She said to  him.

"Alright, I'll be there in a minute." He said to her,
then turned back to Dr. Messner. "Thanks for
everything, Dr. Messner."

"Sure." Dr. Messner replied. "Now, if you'll excuse
me, I'm going to go in and check your wife's vitals
before I leave to check on my other patients."

"Sure." Nick said to him. "And thanks again."

Dr. Messner nodded, and walked off. Nick walked over
to the nurse's station and picked up the phone,
wondering who it was that was calling him.

"Hello?" He said, as soon as he was on the line.

"Nick, it's Drew." He heard Drew's voice say.

Nick brightened when he heard Drew's voice.

"Drew, hi!" He said to him. "Did you and Casey land in
New York safely?"

Nick could hear Drew laugh on the other end of the
line.

"Nick, we landed hours ago." He said. "I'm calling
from outside the hospital, here in New York."

Now, Nick was curious as to how Casey's father was
doing.

"How's Casey's Dad doing?" He asked his brother.

"We don't know, yet." Drew said to him. "He's not
awake yet. Casey and his Mom are in with him right
now."

"How is Casey holding up?" Nick wanted to know.

"He's a mess." Drew said, sadly. "He's been in his
father's room ever since we got here. I tried to get
him to go down to the cafeteria with me to get
something to eat, but he won't leave his father's
side." Nick, he's as close to any bottom as I've ever
seen him."

Nick could hear the sadness in Drew's voice. He
wondered if there was something else bothering him.

"Drew, you don't sound like yourself." Nick said to
him. "Is there something else bothering you, besides
what's going on with Casey's Dad?"

"As usual you know me so well." Drew said, lowly. "I
have so much going on right now, but we'll get to that
some other time. The reason I called was because I
wanted to know the latest on what's happening with
Sean. How's he doing?"

Nick sighed.

"I'm afraid there's more bad news." Nick said to Drew.
"Sean was arrested for Jessica's attack and charged
with attempted murder."

"Oh no!" Drew said, in horror. "Nick, I'm really sorry
to hear that. That had to be rough on Sean, too."

Nick nodded.

"He was devastated, Drew." He said, in a low voice.
"You should have seen his face when the police
arrested him. After seeing that, I know now that Sean
didn't have anything to do with what happened to
Jessica that night."

"Have you seen Sean since he was arrested?" Drew asked
him.

"Not yet." Nick said. "I'm actually going to visit him
at the police station after Tina gets back from the
cafeteria. She wanted me to stay with Jessica until
she got back."

"How's she doing?" Drew wanted to know.

"She's doing better." Nick told him. "Her vital signs
are improving, so the chances that she'll make a full
and complete recovery look very good right now."

"Good." Drew said. "I'm glad to hear it."

There was a pause, as neither Nick or Drew knew what
to say at that moment.

"Well, I'd better let you go so that you can go and
see Sean." Drew told him. "I'll be in touch."

"Alright, Drew." Nick said. "I'll talk to you soon."

Nick hung up the phone and thanked the nurse who was
sitting there for letting him know about the call. As
he was heading towards Jessica room, he saw Tina
coming out of the elevator at that moment.

Hey, Tina." Nick said, as she walked up to him. "I
have to leave for awhile."

"It's ok." Tina replied to him. "I'm back now. Go
ahead and do whatever you have to do."

"Thanks." Nick said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"I'll call later to check up on Jessica."

"Alright, sweetie." Tina said to him. "I'll see you
later."

Tina turned to head back into Jessica's room, while
Nick headed for the exit.

Nick exited the hospital and headed for his car. He
opened the door and got in, while fumbling for his
ignition key.

After finding it, he started the car.

"Alright, Sean." Nick said, out loud. "I'm on my way.
Hang in there."

Nick pulled the car out of the lot and started driving
towards the police station.

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

"Kandi, I really don't think you should get your hopes
up where Sean and Nick are concerned." Justin warned
her. "The chances of those two getting back together
is next to impossible."

"I agree with you, Justin." Jake replied, before Kandi
could say anything. "I can't see why Sean would want
to take Nick back after the way Nick treated him."

Justin looked back at Jake, in shock.

"Jake, that wasn't Nick's fault." He said, coming to
Nick's defense. "Drew was the one who broke up Nick
and Sean's relationship."

"That may be true," Jake said, as he picked up his
beer can from the table. "but Nick was the one who
ultimately kicked Sean out of his life. He treated
Sean like dirt, and quite frankly, I think that Sean
deserves better."

After saying that, Jake took a sip of his beer.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kandi asked, suddenly
getting defensive.

"Don't get me wrong," Jake said, pulling the beer can
away from his mouth. "Nick is a cool guy, but I don't
think that he deserves Sean. Nick has caused Sean way
too much pain. And, in case you've forgotten, Sean is
seeing Jason now. So, any chance that Nick may have
had with Sean is gone now."

"I guess you're right, man." Justin said. "And Jason
is a nice guy."

"Easy on the eyes, too." Kandi said, with a chuckle.

Justin turned and gave her a dirty look.

"Excuse me?" He asked, arching an eyebrow. "Babe, do I
need to keep an eye on you, now?"

Jake and Michelle started laughing softly to
themselves. Kandi smiled at Justin.

"Not a chance, Hon." Kandi said, giving him a kiss on
the lips. "I only have eyes for you."

Justin smiled.

"That's better." He said, wrapping his arm around her,
tighter, and leaning back into the couch.

Jake looked at his watch.

"Man, it's getting late!" He said. "It is well past
ten, and I need to get Michelle home for bed rest."

"Baby, I'm fine." Michelle complained. "I'm not
tired."

"No complaining, Girl." Jake said, kissing her on the
cheek. "You're pregnant with my baby, so you need to
start taking better care of yourself."

Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Alright." She said. "Come on, let's go."

Michelle got up from the couch and stood up. Jake got
up too and put his arm around her.

"Justin, Kandi," Jake said to them. "We want to thank
you for coming over and telling us about Sean's
situation, earlier today. We appreciate being kept in
the loop."

Justin and Kandi both rose from the sofa.

"No problem." Justin said, as he shook hands with
Jake. "You're both important to Sean."

Kandi gave Jake a kiss on the cheek, while Justin
kissed Michelle on the cheek. Then Kandi and Michelle
shook hands.

"Well, we're off." Michelle said. "Tell Jeff and
Danny, when they get back, that we said goodbye."

"We will." Justin said, walking to the door and
opening it."

Michelle and Jake walked outside and turned back to
Justin and Kandi.

"Goodnight, you two." Jake said, just before he and
Michelle turned to leave.

"Goodnight." Justin and Kandi said, as they watched
Jake and Michelle head to their apartment, together.

Justin and Kandi stepped back into the house and
closed the door. Both of them walked back to the
couch, in silence, and sat down together.

"I wonder what's going on with Jeff and Danny." Kandi
asked Justin. "It's been awhile since they left."

"They'll be back." Justin said, sure of himself. "I
think that they both just need to blow off some
steam."

"I hope that neither one of them goes out and gets
drunk." Kandi said, worriedly. "Because that's not
going to make the pain that they're both feeling go
away."

"Me too." Justin replied. "After seeing the way Jeff
got drunk because of his feelings for Drew, I'm really
worried about him. And the fact that Drew turned him
down had to hurt him, even worse."

"I'm sure it did." Kandi said. "But I'm hoping that
things will get better for him."

Justin sighed, as Kandi snuggled closer against him.

"For all of us." Kandi whispered, sleepily.

*******************************************************
ORLANDO POLICE DEPARTMENT..........

I was sitting there, in my holding cell, on my jail
cot. I had my arms wrapped around my knees, which were
brought to my chest. My chin was propped on my knees.

I sat there, having nothing to do, but to think.
Nothing to think about, except the traumatic
experience that I had gone through, in booking. Not to
mention the encounter I had, with Joe Simpson,
earlier. Tears were running down my face, even now.

I sat there, motionless. I didn't want to do anything.
I didn't want to move. I didn't want to look around. I
just wanted to die.

"I can't believe this is happening to me." I said, in
my thoughts. "I'm being charged with attempted
murder."

I knew that this was serious. But then, I thought of
something much more serious."

"And if Jessica dies," I thought to myself, as the
tears continued to fall down my face. "I'll be charged
with first degree murder. Oh God! That can't happen!"

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice
one of the prison guards come up to my cell.

"Mr. Perry?"

I looked up at the guard.

"Yes, Sir?" I asked him, wondering what he wanted.

"You have another visitor." He said. "I'm going to
take you up to the visiting room."

I felt a wave of relief wash over me. I was finally
glad to be getting out of this holding cell. Even for
just a few minutes. This place was giving me the
creeps, literally.

Without a word, I got up and walked over towards the
cell door. The guard was already opening it.

I walked out of the cell, and the guard closed the
door and re-locked it. then he turned and placed the
handcuffs on me. I sighed, heavily, knowing that I was
going to have to get used to those handcuffs being
around my wrists. I had no idea how long I was going
to be stuck in here.

The guard the led me out of the prison area, and took
me to the visiting room. The whole way there, I was
wondering who my visitor was.

The prison guard, opened the door to the visiting room
area. There was a table and two chairs set up in
there. I walked into the room, wanting to see who had
come and visited me.

When I looked up, I saw his beautiful face:

Nick was standing at the other side of the room,
looking back at me. I could see the worried expression
on his face. And given what I'd gone through, the last
few hours ago, I couldn't even smile at him. In fact,
I felt like I was going to lose it at any moment.

Neither one of us, said a word, as the guard removed
my handcuffs. Once that was done, the guard looked up
at me.

"You've got ten minutes." He said. "I'll be right
outside the door."

I nodded at him. The guard then exited the room, where
Nick had been brought in, and closed the door. He
stood just outside the door.

I looked back over at Nick and saw him looking back at
me, with a sympathetic expression on his face. Just
seeing that look on his face, made my emotions start
to give way again.

"Nick....." That was all I managed to get out, before
I lost it.

Within seconds, Nick was holding me in his arms,
hugging me, tight. I held onto him for dear life.

"Oh God, Nick!" I bawled, into his shoulder. "I feel
like I've been dissected, piece by piece! My privacy
was totally invaded! They did all these things to me!
They checked in my mouth,  made me lift my dick and
balls, and even stuck their fingers up my ass! You
name it, they did it! I've never felt more humiliated
in my entire life!"

"Shh," Nick said, softly, as he ran his hand up and
down my back to comfort me. "I knew that you would
feel this way after going through that. Booking is
humiliating for anyone."

The feeling of Nick's hand, rubbing up and down my
back, was starting to relax me, as I continued to sob
in his arms. He always had a way of making me feel
better when he did that. I could smell the scent of
his cologne that he had on. He smelled so good.

It was a welcome change from how terrible it smelled
down in the holding area.

"Just let it out." Nick soothed. "Get all of the
humiliation you're feeling out of your system. Then,
once you've calmed down, you can tell me what really
happened the night that my wife was attacked."

I continued to sob for a few more moments until I
couldn't anymore. I took a moment to compose myself
and then pulled back from our embrace.

"I'm alright now." I said to him. "Let's sit down."

I turned and sat down at my end of the table, and Nick
sat down on the other end.

"Can you tell me what happened, now?" Nick asked me.

I nodded, and tried to think about where the best
place would be to start. Once I knew where to start, I
then told him my story:

"After Jessica left my house, the night of her
concert, I was worried that she would make good on her
threats to out you to the whole world as well as take
your daughter away from you. I couldn't let her do
that to you."

Nick nodded, as he listened to me. I continued.

"I jumped in my car and drove down to the place where
she was performing. On the way, I was feeling all of
this rage building up inside of me over what she had
said and done to me, that night."

I looked up at Nick, with a horrified look on my face.

"Nick, I'm telling you," I said to him. "I've never
felt that kind of rage, before, ever in my life."

Nick's expression turned to confusion. It looked as
though he was almost afraid to know the truth.

"But anyway, when I got there," I continued from where
I left off. "I sat there, in the car, while I
contemplated over and over in my head what to do."

"Why did you go to the auditorium?" Nick asked me.
"What were you hoping to accomplish by going down
there?"

"I was hoping that I'd get a chance to talk to you." I
said to him. "But when I cooled down, I realized that
it was a waste of time. So, I decided to head back
home..."

Here, I stopped and sighed, heavily.

"But, unfortunately, I didn't make it." I finished.

Here, Nick frowned, in confusion.

"Why?" He asked me. "What happened?"

Now, I was getting to the worst part of the story. The
part that still haunted me since it happened.

"On the way back home, one of my tires blew out." I
explained to him. "So, I had to park in the parking
lot of this closed up little mini mart that was
nearby. It was dark and there was no light for me to
see what I was doing."

"Despite that, I got out the car jack, the spare tire,
and the lug nut changer, and attempted to start
getting the tire changed. It took awhile since it was
hard to see what I was doing."

I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat,
and attempted to go on.

"When I was done changing the tire, and I went to get
back in my car...."

I cut off as I remembered what had happened.

"What?" Nick urged me. "What happened?"

"When I went to get in my car," I continued. "I heard
a noise behind me. When I turned around, I saw
someone, in a ski mask, coming at me with a knife in
his hand. I asked him what he wanted and offered him
my wallet, but he slapped it out of my hand. He
obviously didn't want my wallet. He wanted to kill
me."

Nick stared, wide-eyed at me, when that part was
revealed.

"Oh, God!" Nick said, in shock. "What did you do
next?"

"He kept coming at me with the knife. I warned him to
stay away from me, but he wouldn't listen. He lunged
at me with the knife and I quickly jumped into defense
mode. I moved and grabbed his arm, in which he had the
knife, and started punching him with the other one.
But, he managed to yank his other arm away from me,
and the knife that he was holding in his hand, slashed
my hand, in the process."

realization started to dawn on Nick what that meant.

"That's how you hurt your hand." He said. "You were
attacked."

"Yeah."I said to him. "Anyway, I managed to disarm him
and I gave the guy quite a martial arts beating, until
he couldn't take anymore. After that, he ran off."

Nick sighed, in relief.

"Well, thank God." he said. "I'm glad that you weren't
hurt any worse."

"Me too." I said, nodding. Then, Nick wondered
something else.

"Is that everything that happened?" He asked me. I
nodded.

"Pretty much." I said to him. "After that, I got out
the First Aid kit and tended to my injured hand. Then,
I started the car and drove back home."

Nick got quiet for a moment, as he processed
everything that I'd told him. He finally knew the
truth about what had happened that night. But, he
still had a few questions.

"Why didn't you call for help after you were
attacked?" Nick asked me.

"Because my cell phone's battery went dead." I
explained to him. "And I couldn't find the charger to
it."

Nick realized something.

"That's why your phone was off when I tried to call
you, earlier that night." He said. "Just before the
attack on Jessica, I called your cell phone, but it
went to voice mail."

"Yeah." I said, lowly. "I got your message when I
snuck out of the hospital before to avoid answering
questions about my hand."

"That's another thing I'm wondering about." Nick
replied to me. "If you were innocent the whole time,
why didn't you just explain to the guys what happened
to you? Why did you feel the need to hide it?"

I knew that what I was going to tell Nick would sound
very stupid, but once he heard it, I knew he would
understand why I did what I did.

"For one thing, I didn't want to relive that
frightening ordeal all over again," I explained to
him. "as well as the fact that I was scared when
Detective Adams was considering me as a suspect in
this case. Even though, I didn't attack Jessica that
night, I still didn't have an alibi because I wasn't
home at the time of the attack. I got home at about
10:35p.m. I thought that if I lied and said that I was
at home, the entire time, then maybe I wouldn't have
to worry about being considered as a suspect."

Nick put a hand over his eyes and breathed a huge sigh
of relief.

"Nick, I didn't do it." I said to him, again. "I could
never try to kill anyone. You believe me, don't you?"

Nick looked up at me, again.

"Yes, Sean, I believe you." He said. "I knew you
couldn't have done this to Jessica."

Nick rose from his seat and came over to me. He leaned
down and hugged me, but only for a brief moment.

"Thank God." Nick said, as he hugged me. "Thank God,
you didn't do it."

I smiled, as I allowed myself to enjoy the comfort of
his arms around me. After the hell I'd gone through,
earlier, I felt a little better now that Nick was
here.

Nick released me and sat back down in his chair. I
then took that moment to tell him something else.

"Even though I told Detective Adams the truth about
what happened that night," I explained to Nick. "I
still don't have an alibi to back up what I've said."

Nick thought about it for a moment and then asked me
something I wasn't expecting.

"Sean, what I want to know is this." He said. "I know
you said that you didn't set foot in that auditorium,
but how can you explain the blood that they found at
the scene of the crime, being a match for yours?"

That was a very good question. I had no idea how my
blood could have matched the blood found at the scene
of the crime. But one thing I knew for sure is that
something very fishy was going on.

I shrugged.

"I don't know, Nick." I said to him. "That's the one
thing I can't figure out. All I know is that I've been
set up, somehow."

"Set up?" Nick frowned. "But how? Who would want to
deliberately set you up in order to get you thrown in
jail?"

"That's what I keep coming back to, over and over
again, in my head." I replied. "But, I can't come up
with anyone who would want to do this to me."

I was on the verge of tears at that moment. I couldn't
figure out who could be behind this whole thing. I
knew that I was being framed, somehow, but I had no
idea who would be vindictive enough to do that to me.

"And if I can't figure out who did this to me, I can't
prove my innocence!" I said, starting to sob. "If
that's the case, then all is lost, and I may end up
going to prison for the rest of my life!"

I brought my hands up to my face and started crying
into them. In a moment, I felt Nick grab one of my
arms.

When I looked up, I saw that he was standing up now,
and was standing beside me.

"I just..." I broke up there, as my sobs interrupted
my words. "I want to go home!"

"Come here." He said, pulling at my arm, urging me to
get up.

I got to my feet and stood up in front of him, still
sobbing. Nick looked at me and saw the turmoil I was
in. I could see from the expression on his face that
he really felt sorry for me for what I was going
through.

Finally, Nick put his hands on my upper arms and
pulled me closer to him. He put his arms around me. I
held onto him, tightly, as I broke down, crying.

"I don't want to be in here!" I cried out. "I want to
go home!"

I could feel Nick running his hand, gently, up and
down my back, as he did his best to comfort me.

"I know." Nick whispered to me. "I know. But, it's
just not possible right now."

I sobbed harder into his chest.

"I can't go to prison, Nick!" I wailed. "I will die!"

"Shh," Nick soothed. "Try not to worry about it.
Everything will be alright."

"No, it won't!" I sobbed to him. "I just found out a
while ago, that they're going to transfer me to a
local jail to make room for other suspects that are
coming in to lock-up!"

"What?!" Nick asked, in shock, pushing me back a bit
so that he could look at me. "When did this happen?"

"About 15 minutes ago, just before you arrived." I
told him. "And to make matters worse, Joe Simpson was
here, when the prison guard told me."

Nick frowned as he looked into my eyes.

"What the hell was Joe doing here?" Nick asked me.

"What else?" I asked, sarcastically. "He was here to
gloat about my current situation. When he heard that I
was being sent away to a local correctional facility,
he decided to rub it in, by saying how good that
orange jumpsuit was going to look on me."

"I can't believe him!" Nick said, through gritted
teeth. "He just doesn't know when to quit!"

"You got that right." I agreed. "He's definitely no
push-over."

I lost it again as the thoughts of spending the night
in a local jail with convicted felons, flooded my
mind.

"Oh God, Nick!" I cried out, as I pulled him close to
me, again. "My lawyer, Selina, told me that my bail
was denied here, so now I have to wait until my bail
hearing is set. She said that it could take anywhere
from 3 days to 2 weeks!" Nick, I can't handle going to
that awful place! It's even worse than here!"

"You can handle it, Sean." Nick said. "You are one of
the strongest people that I know."

"But, I'm not strong enough for this!" I sobbed,
hysterically.

"Yes, you are." Nick said, quietly. "Look at me."

I lifted my head up and looked at Nick, through my
tears to see him, looking at me with that serious look
again. He lifted a finger and pointed it at me.

"Don't give up." he said, the seriousness obvious in
his tone of voice. "Because I will not give up! This
is wrong, and we will prove it to be wrong! You will
be exonerated, if it's the last thing I do! I swear
that to you!"

As scared as I was of going to prison for this, just
knowing that I had Nick's support meant the world to
me.

"Thank you." I said, hugging Nick again, one last
time. "Thank you for being here, Nick."

"You don't have to thank me." Nick said, softly. "I
will always be there for you. No matter what. Don't
ever forget that."

"I won't." I said to him. Then I lifted my head from
his shoulder and looked at him, again. "Will you do
something for me?"

Nick smiled at me.

"Name it." He asked me.

I wiped at my tears to clear my face of them. I had
cried for hours. Now, I felt all cried out.

"Will you tell Jason that I'm thinking about him?" I
asked Nick. "And ask him to come and see me when he
gets a chance?"

"Sure." Nick said, nodding his head. "But, I don't
think that he'll get to see you, tonight. Detective
Adams said that I was going to be the last visitor for
the day."

My heart sank at that moment. I had hoped that Jason
could make it to see me. But, I guess I was just going
to have to deal with seeing him at the prison,
tomorrow.

"Well then, just tell Jason that I love him." I told
Nick. "And give the guys, Kandi, Jake, and Michelle,
my love, as well."

"I will." Nick replied. "Don't worry about a thing."

I smiled at him, for the first time since he'd gotten
here.

"There is something else I'd like you to do for me?" I
said. "And this is very important."

"What?" Nick asked, curiously, wondering what it was.

"I'd like for you to stay the night at my house,
tonight to keep Danny company." I said. "And when you
go into my room, I'd like you to look in the bottom
drawer of my dresser, and underneath my clothes,
you'll find something very special hidden there. I'd
like you to put my wedding band in there, with it."

Nick laughed.

"Ok." He said. "Are you sure you can't tell me what
this special thing is?"

"You'll know when you see it." I said to him. "Will
you do what I've asked?"

"Of course I will." Nick said, smiling at me.

I couldn't get over just how beautiful he was when he
smiled. I took the time to admire it. I wanted to
remember that smile, so that when things got rough, I
could look back on his smile as the glimmer of hope
that I needed to be sure that everything would be
alright in the end.

At that moment, the door to the visiting room opened
and the guard stepped back in.

"Time's up." He said. "I have to take you back down to
the holding area now. They're preparing to take a load
of prisoners down to the Correctional facility now."

Here came the moment I was dreading. I looked back to
Nick for help. Nick seemed to know what I was
thinking.

"I will take care of all of your requests." He said.
"In the meantime, stay strong. "I have every reason to
believe that you'll be out on bail soon."

I nodded, as the prison guard came and started putting
the handcuffs back on me, again.

"I hope so." I said to him. "Take care of yourself.
Nick."

"I will." Nick said to me. "You try and do the same."

The guard was already leading me to the back door.

"I'll try." I said. "Goodbye, Nick."

"Goodbye, Sean." I heard Nick say as the door shut
behind me.

Back inside, the holding area, the guard led me to my
cell and let me in it again. He told me to wait here,
until they were ready to take a group of us down to
the local prison.

I could only hope that Tomorrow was a better day. But,
somehow, I doubted that it would be.

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

Justin and Kandi were sleeping on the couch together,
when the sound of the door opening awoke them. They
both turned to see Jeff come into the house.

"Hey, you two." He greeted them. "Where is everybody?"

"Danny hasn't come back yet." Justin said to him. "And
Jake took Michelle home so that she could get some
rest."

"Oh." Jeff said. "Alright."

Kandi could see that Jeff looked drained. He had
obviously gone through something.

"Jeff, where did you go when you stormed out of here,
earlier?" She asked him.

"I went to a "24 Hour Fitness" gym to get in a late
workout." Jeff told her. "It was just what I needed to
clear my head."

"So you feel better now?" Kandi asked him. Jeff
nodded.

"Yeah, a little." He said. "But I won't really get to
deal with everything that I'm feeling until Drew
returns from New York City."

Kandi frowned at him.

"Sweetie, I really think you should let go of these
feelings that you have for Drew." She said to him.
"They're not going to go anywhere. Not as long as Drew
is with Casey."

"I know that, Kandi." Jeff said. "But you have to
understand that this is not easy for me. These
feelings will not go away overnight."

"Of course not." Kandi replied. "It won't be easy for
you, but you'll only end up hurting yourself more, in
the long run if you hold on to false hopes."

"I know." Jeff said, in a low voice. "I just need time
to deal with this in my own way."

Kandi and Justin each grew silent, as did Jeff,
neither of them quite knowing what else to say at that
moment. They were all pretty tired.

"Well, I'm beat. I'm going to go to bed." Jeff said.
"When Danny gets back, tell him that I'm sleeping in
Sean's guest room, so that he won't be caught off
guard by it."

"We'll let him know." Justin assured Jeff. "Go ahead
and get some sleep."

"Ok." Jeff said, turning towards the hallway.
"Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Justin and Kandi both said, as Jeff
walked away and disappeared down the hallway.

Justin and Kandi resumed their earlier position, on
the couch, while they waited for Danny to return.

They both must have fallen asleep again, because the
next thing they knew, they heard someone calling their
names.

"Justin? Kandi? Wake up, you two." They heard someone
whispering.

When Justin and Kandi both had opened their eyes, they
saw Nick standing over them. Immediately, they both
scrambled to sit up.

"Nick? How is Sean?" Kandi asked, looking at him. "Is
he alright?"

"Physically, yes." Nick said, sadly. "But,
emotionally, he's a mess. I really feel for him right
now."

"I'm sure." Justin agreed. "We all do."

"Sit down and tell us more." Kandi said, patting the
seat on the couch beside her.

Nick walked over to the other side of the sofa and
literally slumped down on it. It was clear to them
that Nick was exhausted.

"Man, what a day!" Nick groaned, rubbing his eyes a
bit. "It's bad enough that Sean got arrested, but it's
even worse now that I have to deal with my relentless
father-in law!"

"Why?" Justin asked him. "What has Joe done now?"

Nick looked at Justin, the anger evident on his face.
He knew that they both were going to be just as angry
as he was when they find out about what Joe had done
to Sean earlier.

"When I visited Sean, at the jail," Nick said to them.
"he told me that Joe had been there and was gloating
over his arrest!"

Kandi shook her head, in disbelief. But she wasn't
really all that surprised over it.

"I can't believe the audacity of that bastard!" She
said, angrily. "Someone needs to put him in his place
once and for all!"

"No." Nick said, feeling guilt ridden. "If anyone's to
blame here, it's me."

"Why you, sweetie?" Kandi asked him. "What did you
do?"

"I'm the one who told Joe about Sean's arrest." Nick
said. "I just didn't think that he was going to go
down there and harass Sean over his arrest." When he
left the hospital earlier, he said that he was going
back to his hotel room to take a shower."

"Don't blame yourself for that, Nick." Justin said,
quietly. "Joe was going to find out about it sooner or
later, anyway. It's been all over the news."

Nick sighed.

"But, it's a moot point, anyway." He replied to
Justin. "Because Sean didn't do it. He told me what
happened that night."

Now, Justin and Kandi had Nick's full attention. They
were both very curious to know what had happened the
night of Jessica's attack. They all knew that Sean had
been acting so secretive about it. Especially about
how he'd injured his hand.

"Would you care to elaborate on that?" Kandi asked
him. "We'd really like to know what Sean said."

Nick nodded, just before he yawned, sleepily.

"If you don't mind, can this wait until tomorrow?"
Nick asked, tiredly. "I'm too exhausted to get into it
right now."

Justin took a good look at Nick.

"Yeah, you do look tired." He said. "Why don't you
head back to the hotel and get some rest?"

"Actually, I'm going to be staying here, tonight."
Nick told him. "Sean asked me to keep Danny company so
that he won't be alone."

"Speaking of Sean," Kandi said to Nick. "When will he
be out on bail?"

Nick sighed, heavily.

"Unfortunately, he won't." Nick said, sadly. "His
request to post bail, at the police station was
denied. So now he has to wait until his bail hearing
is set before the issue of bail can be brought up,
again."

Kandi hid her face in her hands, shaking her head in
despair.

"Things just keep getting worse and worse for him."
She whimpered. "When is this nightmare going to end?"

Nick shook his head.

"I don't know." He said. "But it's only going to be
worse from here on in. As we speak, Sean is probably
being transferred to the local jail, right now."

"What?!" Kandi asked, in shock. "Why?"

Nick looked at her, sympathetically.

"Because, the holding cells, at the police station,
were getting too crowded, so it looks like they're
going to be taking a load of suspects down to the
prison to make rooms for other suspects that are
coming into the station."

"Oh God, Poor Sean!" Kandi wailed. "He's got to be
scared to death right now!"

"He is, Kandi." Nick replied. "And I have no idea of
what I can do to help him through this. I guess all I
can do is be there for him."

Justin nodded, in agreement, while Kandi wiped her
tears from her cheeks.

"I guess that's about all that any of us can do right
now." Kandi said, sadly. "In the meantime, why don't
you go and try to get some sleep now?"

"I will." Nick said. "I'll see the two of you, in the
morning."

With that, Nick walked off towards Sean's room.  He
heard Justin and Kandi say goodnight to him as he did.

Nick entered Sean's bedroom and sat down. on the bed.
He ran his hands through his hair, in frustration. He
felt so helpless, and he didn't know what he could do
to help get Sean out of this mess.

As he thought about Sean, he remembered what Sean had
told him, earlier, about something special being
hidden in his bottom dresser drawer.

Nick got up from the bed and walked over to the
dresser. He opened up the bottom drawer and lifted up
some of Sean's clothes so that he could see what was
hidden underneath them.

And then, he saw it: A framed picture of him and Sean,
on their wedding day.

"He still has this?" Nick asked, in shock, yet with a
smile on his face. "I can't believe it!"

Nick picked up the picture and took a closer look at
it. He could see how happy he and Sean had both been
in that picture.

"You and I sure did have some wonderful times,
together, Sean." Nick said, softly. "Oh, how I adored
you, then."

Nick turned on the stereo, that was sitting on the
table, near the bed. A song came on that sounded
really pretty, so Nick decided to listen to it.

The song played as Nick thought back to happier times.

"You can say you love me,
And I'll believe that's true."

"Trusting you is easy,
Cause, I believe in you."

"There is nothin' I would miss,
As long as we're in love like this."

"All I have, is all I need,
And it all comes down to you and me."

"How far away this world becomes,
In the harbor, of each other's arms."

"I feel like I've known you, Forever and Ever,
Maybe that's how close we are."

"Right here, with you is where,
My life has come together."

"And where love has filled my heart."

"You know I'd go, anywhere,
As long as I have you to care."

"All I have, is all I need,
And it all comes down to you and me."

"How far away, this world becomes,
In the harbor, of each other's arms."

"All I have, is all I need,
And it's all comes down to you and me."

"How far away, this world becomes,
In the harbor, of each other's arms."


As the song ended, Nick smiled as he wiped a few tears
from his face. The song has really touched him.

He reached into his pocket and pulled something out of
it: Sean's wedding band.

Then, Nick turned over the picture frame and opened up
the back of it. Once it was open, he placed Sean's
wedding band, inside the picture frame and closed it
back up. Then, he put the picture back in the bottom
drawer, where he'd found it, and covered it back up
again.

Nick then took off his shirt and pants and hung them
on the foot board, at the end of the bed, leaving him
dressed in only an A shirt and his boxers.

He pulled back the covers on the bed and crawled into
it. Once he was under the covers, he reached over and
turned off the night lamp on the bedside table.

"Tomorrow, Sean." Nick said. "Tomorrow, I will figure
out a way to help you through this."

Nick closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.

*******************************************************
SOMEWHERE ELSE IN ORLANDO..............

There is a knock on someone's door. A blond haired
woman is seen going to the door to answer it.

When the door is opened, Danny is revealed on the
other side of the door.

"Hi." He said to her. "I know it's late, but may I
come in? I really need someone to talk to right now."

When the woman's face is shown, it is revealed to be
Selina.

"Sure." She said. "Come on in."

Danny nodded and entered the house. Selina then closes
the door behind them.



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


Well, that's all for this one. I hope you all enjoyed
it.

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

Stay tuned.

Send all feedback, whether it'd be comments or
criticism to:

slpwriter@yahoo.com