Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:54:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: slpwriter <slpwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Nick Lachey: My Everything-94

Hello, Everyone!

I'm back with another chapter of "My Everything, after
a long four months off. I've reached a very difficult
part of the story, making it difficult to keep on
writing. But, I did the best that I could.

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.

Also, here is an updated list of a few more stories
that 98 Degrees are in on Nifty.

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
"Shut Up" by Anonymous
"What I feel for you" by Thack
and finally:

"All that Matters" By Jason Phillips."

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 94
**********

DOWN AT THE FLORIDA STATE PENITENTIARY.........

I was exhausted, as I stepped out of the truck and
followed the line of prisoners, who were being
shuffled towards the jail house. All of us were
shackled from our wrists to our ankles with chains,
which were to  prevent any of us from trying to
escape.

After going through the final procedures, the
prisoners and I were taken to a room where they passed
us out our prisoner uniforms. They were all orange
jumpsuits. Then we were all assigned a cell in which
we would be staying for the time being.

One of the prison guards took me to mine and unlocked
it so that I could get in. Once I stepped inside, the
guards closed the big steel door. I could hear the
jangling of the keys as he locked it.

I stood there, as I took in my surroundings. I took in
two beds against the side of one wall, and a toilet
near the other side of the room.

I felt disgusted just looking at the sight of this
place. So, this was going to be where I was until I
could get out on bail. Or not.

I was very exhausted, so I chose to lie down and try
to get some rest. I lied down on the bed and tried to
go to sleep. I had a feeling it wouldn't be that hard,
given the extent of my exhaustion.

just before I nodded off, I heard someone opening up
one of the jail cells, but I had no idea whether or
not it was mine or the one beside me.

"This will be your cell for the time being." I heard
someone say. "And I would suggest that you not bother
your current inmate, either."

"Don't worry, sir." I heard another voice say. "I have
no intention of doing that."

"Good." The guard said. Then I heard him walk off.
Then, I was asleep.

Then, the inmate walked over towards his bed and
scanned his cell partner over.

"I don't intend to bother him." He said, with an evil
look in his eyes. "At least not yet."

Little did I realize that I was about to wake up to a
dangerous situation.

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

SEAN'S BEDROOM...

Nick awoke with a start. He had obviously been having
a nightmare. He looked around the room, as the final
images of his dream faded from his memory.

"Sean." Nick whispered, out loud. Although, he
couldn't remember what the dream had been about, all
that he knew was that it had something to do with
Sean. That something had happened to him.

While Nick tried to remember what his dream was about,
there was a soft knock on the door.

Nick turned on the night lamp, got out of bed, and
walked over to the door. When he opened it, He saw
Jeff standing on the other side of the door.

"Hey, Nick." Jeff whispered, softly. "Did I wake you?"

"No, you didn't." Nick said, tiredly. "I just woke up
from a nightmare right before you knocked on the
door."

"Oh." Jeff replied. "I'm sorry, man."

"Don't worry about it. I'm alright." Nick said to him,
then asked. "What are you still doing up at this
hour?"

"I can't sleep." Jeff admitted to Nick. "I have too
much on my mind right now, and I need someone to talk
to about it. And I think that you might be the one
person who will understand better than anyone else
what I'm going through."

Nick was definitely curious now as to what Jeff meant
by that. Of course he had no idea of Jeff's feelings
for Drew yet. He was no doubt going to be in for a
shock when he did find out.

"Come in." Nick said, stepping aside to let Jeff enter
the bedroom. "I could use a friend to talk to as
well."

Jeff entered the room and Nick shut the door. When he
turned back towards the bed, He noticed that Jeff had
sat down upon it. Nick walked over and sat down next
to him.

"So, " Nick started saying to Jeff. "What's on your
mind?"

Jeff looked back at Nick, as he tried to think about
where to start. There were a whole lot of things that
were bothering him. Not just his feelings for Drew.

"Well first I think that there's something that you
should know." Jeff replied. "Do you remember when you
and I had that conversation on Christmas Day about me
not being in love with Danny anymore?"

Nick was a little surprised that Jeff was bringing
that up now. Especially since he had just broken up
with Danny, recently.

"Yeah." Nick said. "And you said that you were in love
with someone else. You never did say who this "someone
else" is."

"You're right, I didn't." Jeff said to him. "But I
will now, since it's all out in the open anyway."

Jeff hesitated slightly, before blurting out the
truth. Nick raised his eyebrows, in suspense.

"Well, don't leave me hanging here," Nick said to him.
"Who is the other person that you're in love with?"

Jeff closed his eyes and swallowed nervously. He had
no idea of how Nick would react if he found out that
it was his little brother that Jeff was in love with.

Jeff opened and eyes. And summoning up all of his
courage, he then gave Nick his answer.

"Drew." Jeff replied.

Nick's eyes widened a bit and his eyebrows shot up, in
surprise.

"Drew?" Nick asked, in a state of shock. "As in, my
brother, Drew?"

Jeff nodded.

"Yes, Nick." He said. "I broke up with Danny because
I'm in love with Drew."

Nick frowned, in shock, as he allowed himself to
process what Jeff had told him. He almost couldn't
believe what he was hearing.

When the shock had wore off, Nick blinked and raised
his eyebrows, in surprise.

"Wow." He said. "I had no idea that you were going
through this."

Then, Nick thought of something and looked back at
Jeff.

"Does Drew know that you feel this way?" Nick asked
Jeff.

"Yes, he does." Jeff replied. "I told him the other
night."

"How does Drew feel about all this?" Nick asked Jeff.

"Well, he says that he doesn't return my feelings the
same way." Jeff replied. "He also said that it might
be best if I try to get over these feelings that I
have for him. But you know as well as I do that that's
easier said than done."

Nick lowered his eyes, momentarily, as he took a
moment to think about what Jeff had said. Then, he
looked back up at Jeff.

"That's true." Nick said. "But Drew does have a point.
>From what I've seen, he seems to be really happy with
Casey. Why would you even want to interfere with
that?"

"Nick, I don't." Jeff said to him. "I really don't.
But I still at least had to tell him how I feel about
him. I couldn't keep it bottled up inside, forever."

"Of course not." Nick agreed. "But you could have come
to me and we could have talked about this before you
went to Drew and told him that you're in love with
him."

"I'd actually thought about doing that before," Jeff
admitted to him. "But with you getting ready to go
through a divorce, Jessica getting attacked, and Sean
arrested and jailed, You were already under enough
stress as it is. I didn't want to burden you with
this, too."

"You wouldn't have burdened me, Jeff." Nick told him.
"Just because I have to deal with both Jessica's and
Sean's situations, doesn't mean that I wouldn't have
had time for you. Jeff, you're my best friend. You can
come to me anytime you need to talk. That's what I'm
here for."

Jeff smiled, tiredly. He was very lucky to have Nick
for his best friend. He knew he could always count on
Nick to be there for him. And anyone else who had
Nick's friendship, were just as lucky.

"Thanks, Nick." Jeff said, softly, as he wrapped his
arms around Nick for a quick hug. "I'm glad I can
count on you to be there when I need you."

Nick smiled, as he hugged Jeff back. He could feel
Jeff running his hand up and down his back, which was
making him feel a little better, since He'd woken up
from that disturbing dream.

"Nick, are you sure you're alright?" Jeff suddenly
asked, out of the blue.

"Yeah." Nick said, not breaking their embrace. "Why do
you ask?"

"I can feel the tension in your back muscles." Jeff
said to him. "They're tight. That dream you had must
have really been something."

"Don't worry about it, Jeff." Nick told him. "I'm
feeling better now."

Jeff let go of Nick and they both pulled back to look
at each other. Nick was the first to speak.

"Why don't you head back to bed now?" Nick asked him.
"You still look very tired."

"Yeah." Jeff said, yawning. "So do you."

"Boy, I'll say." Nick replied. "I've probably only
slept about a couple of hours. We can talk more about
your feelings for Drew tomorrow when I have more free
time."

"Sure." Jeff said, getting up, slowly. "And thanks for
listening."

"You're welcome." Nick said, with a warm smile.
"Goodnight, Buddy."

"Goodnight." Jeff said, returning Nick's smile, before
he turned and headed back to his room.

Nick sighed and sat back on the bed. As he sat there,
he glanced over at Sean's dresser again.

He got up and went over to it. He opened the bottom
drawer and pulled out the wedding photo of him and
Sean, for the second time that night.

"Don't worry, Sean." He said, out loud. "Everything is
going to be alright. Just hang in there, Buddy."

After saying that, he hugged the picture close to his
chest and sighed, trying to hold back his tears,
feeling sorry for what his ex-husband was going
through right now.

*******************************************************

THE NEXT MORNING, AT SEAN'S APARTMENT........

Kandi and Justin were sitting in the kitchen,
together. Justin was reading the morning paper and
drinking his coffee, while Kandi was preparing
breakfast.

As Justin was reading over the newspaper, something
caught his eye.

"It looks like Sean's arrest is the front page
headline." He said, to Kandi.

Kandi turned, momentarily, to look in his direction.

"What do you mean?" She asked him.

"See for yourself." Justin said, as he turned the
paper towards her so that she could read the front
page headline.

The newspaper read: "FORMER ACTOR, SEAN PERRY, CHARGED
WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER OF JESSICA SIMPSON."

"Oh no!" Kandi exclaimed in horror. "I can't believe
this! Poor Sean! His good name is being dragged
through the mud, already!"

"Yeah, it's really bad." Justin agreed. "I can only
wonder just how Nick is going to react when he sees
this."

"He's not going to be happy about it, that's for
sure." Kandi replied. "But it's only going to get
worse once Sean is out on bail. He's going to have to
deal with reporters and photographers hounding him,
24/7."

"If he gets out." Justin pointed out. "I'm sure that
Joe Simpson is going to do everything he can to make
sure that Sean does not get out on bail."

"Well, that can't happen!" Kandi said, angrily. "If he
does succeed in doing that, he will have me to answer
to! And it won't be pretty, either!"

Justin put the paper down and looked at her. He didn't
like to see her get upset. Especially given her heart
condition.

"Babe, calm down." He said to her. "I know you're very
protective of Sean, but don't worry so much. Sean can
fight his own battles."

"Not from behind a jail cell, he can't, Justin!" Kandi
said, a little loudly. "As a matter of fact, after I
get through with my breakfast, I'm going to march
myself straight down to Joe Simpson's hotel room and
give him a piece of my mind!"

"You most certainly will not!" A male voice rang out.

Justin and Kandi turned to see Nick, standing in the
kitchen doorway. he was dressed up in a gray business
suit, complete with a white shirt and a blue striped
tie.

Nick smiled at Kandi.

"Kandi, I really appreciate your wanting to help Sean,
but dealing with Joe Simpson is my job." Nick said to
her. "You don't need the stress of having to deal with
him."

Justin frowned.

"Nick, how much of our conversation did you hear?"
Justin asked him.

Nick looked at Justin, his face all serious.

"I heard you two talking about how how Sean's going to
have to deal with all the reporters and photographers
hounding him, as well as everything else you said,
including going down to give Joe a piece of your
mind." He revealed. "I was coming down the hallway and
heard the two of you talking, loudly."

"Nick, sweetie, you and Justin don't need to worry
about me." Kandi said, as she finished frying her
eggs. "Dealing with Joe Simpson will be mere child's
play for me."

Kandi took a moment to look Nick over. She could see
how good he looked all dressed up.

"Nick, you look very handsome all dressed up like
that." She told him. "What's the occasion?"

"Thanks, Kandi." Nick said, managing a grateful smile
for her. "I'm actually heading to an early breakfast
meeting with one of my lawyers to discuss my legal
separation from Jessica. But before I do that, I'm
going to go back to my hotel and see my daughter.
Then, after I finish up with my meeting, I'm going to
head down to the local jail to visit with Sean and see
how he's doing."

Before you do that," Kandi said to him. "Would you
please let us know, so that we can go with you? I'm
sure that Sean would feel alot better if he gets to
see all of us down there."

"I sure will." Nick replied. "But, I'm not sure that
they will allow multiple visitors at one time."

"They probably won't." Justin agreed. "They have very
strict visiting policies, and I believe the only time
they allow multiple visits is for immediate family."

"We are his family, Sweetheart." Kandi said to him.
"We may not be flesh and blood relatives, but we're
like family to him in all the ways that matter."

That's the way we all feel, Kandi." Nick said to her.
"Sean is important to all of us."

Just then, the phone started ringing. Since Nick was
closest to it, He volunteered to get it. He picked up
the handset and turned it on.

"Hello?"

"Nick, it's Danny." He heard Danny's voice say. When
Nick heard his voice, he then realized that Danny
hadn't come back home last night.

"Danny?" He asked, in a shocked tone. "Where are you,
man? Did you ever come back here to Sean's last
night?"

"No, I didn't." Danny said. "I'm here at Selina's
place, having breakfast with her." He said. "I'm
calling because we have some news, concerning Sean
that you're going to want to hear."

That news couldn't have been good, given the tone in
Danny's voice. Nick was started to get worried.

"It's not good news, is it?" Nick asked him. "I can
tell that something is wrong by the tone in your
voice. What's going on?"

Nick couldn't hear anything else, except silence, on
the other end of the line.

"Danny, are you there?" He asked, to make sure that
the line hadn't gone dead.

"Yes, Nick, I'm here." Danny said to him. "I'm sorry I
got all quiet on you. You're right, it's not good
news. And it's also something that I can't get into
over the phone. Selina and I are on our way over there
right now to fill you in on what's going on. Later,
Nick."

Then, Nick heard Danny hang up. Nick turned off the
phone and set it back down on the table. He walked
over to the window and looked outside, as he tried to
get his thoughts together.

One thing was for sure, he was very worried about
Sean. He just hoped that whatever this bad news was
about Sean, that it wasn't tragic.

He then felt someone touch his shoulder from behind
him.

"Nick, what did Danny have to say on the phone just
now?" Kandi wanted to know. "You look so worried."

Nick nodded and turned to face her.

"Danny said there's been some news about Sean that
we're all going to want to hear." Nick told her. "And
it didn't sound like it was good news. Selina and
Danny are on their way over here, right now to fill us
in."

"Oh, God!" Kandi exclaimed. "I just hope that Sean is
alright."

"I hope so too, Kandi." Nick replied. "Sean is one of
the strongest people that I know, but even he can only
take so much."

Nick remembered the state Sean had been in when he had
gone to visit him at the Police Station last night.

"You should have seen him, Kandi." Nick told her. "As
soon as the guards left us alone together, in the
visiting room, Sean literally broke down in my arms.
He was so frightened of going to prison, and I tried
to tell him that everything was going to be ok, but I
don't really know that he believes me. He said that if
he goes to prison, he will die."

When Nick said that last part, and remembered Danny's
phone call about Sean, he started to think the worst
case scenario.

"Oh, God, No!" He suddenly exclaimed.

"What, Hon?" Kandi asked, worriedly. "What is it?"

"If Selina and Danny are coming over here to tell us
that Sean is dead......" Nick started to say.

"Nick, Stop!" Kandi said, trying to calm him down,
while trying to keep from breaking down in tears.
"Don't think that way!"

"How can I not think that way, Kandi?!" Nick said, as
he wiped at the tears that were falling down his
cheeks. "We all know Sean tried to commit suicide once
before. What's to keep him from doing it again?!"

"Nick, Sean wouldn't do that." Justin, who had come
into the living room, said. "He knows what a mistake
that was to do before. I really don't think he would
try again. No matter how frightening his current
situation is."

Kandi embraced Nick, briefly, hoping to make him feel
better.

"Let's just pray that you're right, Justin." Nick
said. "Because We have to figure out some way that we
can help Sean out. Some way, Somehow, We have got to
get him out of that prison."

Kandi pulled back to look Nick in the face. She could
see how upset he was over Sean's current situation and
it made her wonder about something.

Nick, can I ask you something?" She asked him.

"Sure." Nick said, nodding. "What is it?"

"Seeing how upset you are about what's happened to
Sean, really makes me have to ask you this." Kandi
said to him. Nick frowned.

"What?" He asked her.

Kandi hesitated a moment, unsure whether or not, she
should even say it. But in the end, She needed to know
the truth.

"You still love him," Kandi revealed. "Don't you?"

Nick was so caught off guard by Kandi's question, that
he didn't know what to say. And, just as that moment,
the door to Sean's apartment opened, and Danny walked
into the house, with Selina right behind him.

"Danny! Selina!" Nick exclaimed, in relief. "Thank God
you're both here! Tell us what's going on? What's this
news about Sean that we need to know?"

Danny and Selina looked at each other and Nick didn't
not like what he saw in their expressions.

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

Joe Simpson walked into Jessica's hospital room. When
he did, he got quite a surprise.

"Well!" He said, with a smile on his face. "Look who's
up out of bed, already."

Jessica was standing up beside the bed, with her
mother right next to her. She was holding onto
Jessica's arm to help support her if she should get
dizzy or lose her balance.

"Well, you know our daughter, Honey." Tina said,
smiling at him. "She's way too stubborn for her own
good sometimes."

Jessica looked at her mother and rolled her eyes.

"Mom, come on." She said to Tina. "I think I've been
cooped up in that bed long enough. Right now, I need
to move around so that I can get stronger. The sooner
I get better, the sooner we all can get home to Los
Angeles. I think that flying back home is what my
family needs right now."

"But, we can't go back, until you're well enough to
travel." Joe Simpson. "Plus, the police want to
question you about the night that you were attacked."

Jessica sighed, heavily.

"I had a feeling that this would be happening sooner
or later." She said, in defeat. Alright. When do they
want to question me?"

"They're waiting outside, Sweetheart." Joe said to
her. He knew that she wasn't looking forward to this.
Neither was he. But it had to be done.

"Fine." Jessica said, quietly. "Wait until Mom helps
me back into bed and then you can send them in."

"Sure, Sweetheart." Joe said, kissing her on her
cheek. "Go Ahead."

Tina helped Jessica get back into bed, as Jessica was
still a little bit weak. Once she was in bed, Jessica
looked up at her father.

"I'm ready, now." She told him. "Send them in."

Joe Simpson turned towards the door and opened it.

"Come in, Detective Adams." Joe called out.

Detective Adams entered the room and stopped just at
the foot of Jessica's bed.

"Hello, Mrs. Simpson-Lachey." Detective Adams greeted
Jessica. "How are you feeling?"

Jessica managed a polite smile for him.

"I'm doing better every day, Detective." Jessica said
to him. "Thank you for asking."

"I'd like to ask you a few questions if you're feeling
up to it." Detective Adams said to her, as he pulled
out his notepad.

"Sure, Detective." Jessica replied. "Go ahead and ask
me whatever you need to. I will do the best I can to
answers your questions as honestly as I can."

First of all," Detective Adams started saying. "You
should know that Sean has been arrested and has been
moved to a State Correctional Facility until his bail
hearing is set."

"That's great to hear." Jessica said to him. "That
gives me peace of mind knowing that bit of
information."

"Here's the first question I have to ask you."
Detective Adams said. "Despite the fact that Sean has
become the prime suspect in your case, Can you think
of anyone else who might hate you enough to want you
dead?"

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

"I'm afraid there is no easy way to say this." Selina
said to everyone. "Sean was attacked last night by an
inmate, in his prison cell."

"Oh my god!" Nick exclaimed in shock. "Is he ok?!"

"Not exactly." Danny replied. "It was a form of
attempted sexual assault. The guards managed to come
to Sean's rescue and get the guy off of him before
anything happened, but that still didn't stop Sean
from having a nervous breakdown."

Kandi brought her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide, in
shock. Then the tears started to come.

"Oh, poor Sean!" She wailed. "He must have been so
scared! and there's nothing we can do to help him!"

Nick clenched his teeth, partly in anger, the other
part to keep from breaking down in tears over this
latest news.

"I have to go see him." Nick said, turning around and
starting to walk towards the door.

"That's not a good idea, Nick." Selina said to him.
Nick stopped and turned around, frowning at her.

"Why not?" He asked her. "Sean needs our help."

"I know." Selina said to him. "But if you go over
there and arrange a visit with him, you're not going
to like what you see."

Now, Nick was worried. The way Selina was talking made
it seem like Sean's situation was alot worse than she
was letting on.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked her, the fear obvious
in his voice. "What are you not telling us?"

Selina couldn't answer him. Instead, she looked over
at Danny. Finally, Kandi couldn't stand the suspense
anymore.

"Damn it!" She swore. "Will one of you just tell us
what's going on? This silent treatment is driving us
all crazy!"

"Alright." Danny said. "What Selina means is that if
you go down to visit Sean, you'll see that he's in a
catatonic state. When he had his breakdown, it was bad
enough that he had to be sedated by the infirmary
doctor, in order to calm him down. But now, things are
alot worse. It's like Sean's lost inside himself. He
just sits around like a zombie. And he won't respond
to anybody when they try to talk to him. "It's like
his body is there, but his mind is somewhere else."

This news, no doubt, devastated everyone. Their good
friend needed help. And from where he was at this
moment, getting that help was not going to be easy.

"Can anything be done for him, Selina?" Nick asked
her.

"I'm not sure." Selina replied. "It's depends on how
severe Sean's mental breakdown is. All we can do is
wait and hope that he comes out of his current state
before his court date is set."

"And what if he doesn't?" Kandi asked her. "How will
this affect his chances of getting out of jail?"

"I'm not going to lie." Selina replied to her. "Sean's
nervous breakdown may have a negative impact on his
case. This could possibly make the Judge question
whether or not Sean is fit enough to stand trial. That
is, if this case does go to trial." And if the judge
decides that Sean isn't fit to stand trial, then he
will remain in jail for the duration of the trial."

Nick couldn't hear anymore of this. Bad news was
piling on top of bad news, and he didn't know how much
more bad news that he could take. But he did know that
he had to do something to help Sean. And standing
around his apartment was not going to get anything
accomplished.

"I need some air." Nick said, heading for the door.
"I'm going to go for a drive. I'll be back soon."

Nick opened the door and walked out, shutting the door
behind him.

After he was gone, Selina turned to Justin, Kandi, and
Danny.

"Will he be alright?" She asked them.

"Yeah, he'll be fine." Justin said to him. "He just
needs time to think and clear his head. It always
helps when he goes for a drive."

Selina nodded and then looked at her watch.

"Wow, look at the time." She said, suddenly. "I have
to go back to my office and get started working on
Sean's case."

"I'll walk you out." Danny said to her.

Justin and Kandi said goodbye to Selina and Danny
walked outside with her.

When they were gone, Kandi put a hand to her forehead
and sat down on the couch. She sighed heavily.

"I don't know how much more bad news I can handle."
She said. "I wish we could get some good news for a
change."

As Justin was heading over to the couch to comfort
her, the door opened and Danny walked back in. But
this time, someone else was with him.

"Hey guys." Danny said to them when he came back in.
"Look who's here?"

Kandi turned around to see who their surprise visitor
was. and she looked relieved when she saw who it was.

"Jason." She said. "You're back."

Jason nodded.

"Yes, I am." He said, sadly. "I just heard the news
about Sean's arrest. I'm going to go and see him in a
while. But before I do, I think you guys need to fill
me in on how this could have happened.

*******************************************************
MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE HOSPITAL...............

Thank you, Jessica, for you time and cooperation."
Detective Adams said to her, as he was leaving. "I'll
do everything I can to make sure that your attacker is
brought to justice."

Jessica nodded, grateful to him for everything that he
had done up to this point.

"Thank you, Detective Adams." She said to him. "If
anything changes in this case, please let me know."

"I will." Detective Adams said. "Good Day."

"Goodbye, Detective." Joe said, as he shut the door
behind him.

Once Detective Adams was gone, Joe turned back to
Jessica and Tina.

"I'm getting hungry." He said. "I think I'll run out
and get us something to eat. What would you both
like?"

"Food sounds good right about now." Tina said to him.
"I'll have a McChicken sandwhich from McDonald's."

"Sure." Joe said, then looked at Jessica. "And what
would you like, sweetheart?"

"I'd like a Chicken Salad." Jessica said to him. "And
make sure to get me extra Ranch dressing for it."

"Ok." Joe Simpson said. "I'll be back shortly.

Joe then turned around and left the room, closing the
door behind him.

Jessica turned to her mother.

"Mom, I really wish I could get out of here." Jessica
said to her. "The sooner, the better. My little girl
needs me right now."

"That's true." Tina replied. "But we have to make sure
that you are well enough to go home. You've only been
out of your coma for a few days."

"I know." Jessica said, sadly. "But I miss my baby. I
wish I could see her."

Tina then had an idea.

"Would you like me to call Cate and John and ask them
to bring her by?" Tina asked her.

Jessica's face lit up.

"Yes, Please." Jessica said to her. "I can't wait to
hold my baby in my arms again."

Tina nodded and smiled at her daughter.

"I think time with Nicole is just what you need right
now." She said to Jessica. "And I'm sure Nicole is
missing you right now."

Tina got up and kissed Jessica on the forehead.

"I'm going to go outside to call Cate and John, and
I'll tell them to bring Nicole here."

"Alright, Mom." Jessica said. "I'll wait here for you
to come back."

"Ok, sweetie." Tina said. "I'll be right back."

Tina then left the room and headed outside to make her
call.

Jessica laid back down on her pillow and got as
comfortable as she could. Then, she started wondering
where Nick was.

"Where's my husband?" She asked herself. "Why isn't he
here right now?"

She looked around her room and saw a telephone sitting
on the table, right next to her bed. Luckily for her,
it was within her reach.

She reached for it and pulled it from the table, onto
her lap. She picked up the phone and started dialing a
number.

*******************************************************
THE FLORIDA STATE PENITENTIARY...............

A prison guard escorted Nick into the visiting area
and Nick came face to face with the prison Warden.

"Hello, Mr. Lachey." The Warden greeted him. "I'm the
Warden of this prison."

Nick extended his hand out to the Warden and they
shook hands, briefly.

"Nice to meet you, Warden." Nick said to him. "I'm
here to visit my friend, Sean Perry. Will I be able to
see him?"

The Warden looked back at Nick with a serious look on
his face.

"Yes." The Warden replied. "But before he's brought
in, I think that you need to know what's going on with
Mr. Perry."

"I already know that he was attacked by an inmate,"
Nick told him. "and that he's in a catatonic state."

"Oh." The Warden said. "So then, there's no need to
fill you in."

"Sean's attorney, Selina Edwards filled me in on
Sean's condition." Nick said. "But while we're on the
subject, Is there anything you can do for him in here
that will bring him out of it?"

The Warden shook his head.

"I wish there were." He replied, lowly. "The only
other thing that we can do would be to release him to
a hospital that may be able to find out what is wrong
with him. We don't have the necessary resources here
to care for him at this point."

"Then, please consider doing that." Nick begged him.
"His Attorney is already working on talking to the
judge about having Sean transferred to a hospital so
that he can be better cared for."

Before the Warden could answer him, there was a knock
on the door, across the room from them.

The Warden opened the door and in rolled a wheelchair,
being pushed by another prison guard. And in the
wheelchair was a pitiful sight. There sat Sean, in the
wheelchair, completely motionless.

Nick's face took on a look of horror. He couldn't
believe what he was seeing right in front of him.

"We'll give you a moment alone with him, Mr. Lachey."
The Warden said to Nick. "But we'll be just outside
the door. If he comes out of his catatonic state, you
let us know right away."

All Nick could do was nod. The Warden and the guards
left the room, leaving Nick alone with Sean.

Nick looked down at his ex-husband, sitting there in
the wheelchair, completely out of it. Sean's eyes were
open, but they weren't moving. They would blink
occasionally, but that was all.

"Oh my God!" Nick whispered, almost close to tears.
"Sean. What has happened to you?"



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


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

This may not be the best chapter, overall, but once I
get closer to the end of the story, I'm sure it will
be smoother sailing from then on. I am almost there.

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

Stay tuned.

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

slpwriter@yahoo.com