Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 00:42:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: slpwriter <slpwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Nick Lachey: My Everything-95

Hello, Everyone!

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


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 95
**********

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

Nick pulled a chair from the visiting table and moved
it over to where he could sit in front of Sean. He put
it in place and sat down.

Then, he looked up at Sean, the tears starting to fall
down his face.

"Sean, can you hear me?" He asked, hoping that Sean
could hear him and know that he was there.

But Sean gave no indication that he had heard Nick
speak to him.

"It's Nick." Nick tried again. "I'm here with you."

Still, no response from Sean that he even heard Nick.

Nick's lower lip trembled, as he tried to think of
something else to say. But, he just couldn't find the
words. Then, he buried his face in his hands as he
sobbed his heart out.

"Why did this have to happen to you?" Nick sobbed out
loud. "Why now?"

Nick glanced at Sean once more, as he wiped at his wet
face. Then, he came up with a theory of why this was
happening to Sean.

"If I ever get my hands on that inmate who tried to
rape you," Nick said, angrily. "I'll send him to the
gates of hell, myself!"

Nick looked down at one of his hands, which was balled
up into a fist. When he saw that, he calmed down a
little and relaxed his clenched fist, causing his hand
to uncurl.

Nick then look back over at Sean, but this time, he
looked down at Sean's hands, which were sitting in his
lap.

Nick brought his hands forward and clasped one of
Sean's hands within his.

"Sean," Nick said. "If you can hear me, please come
back to us. You have to fight. Please, don't give up
now. Don't give up on all of us."

Sean still gave no indication that he could hear Nick.

"Don't give up on yourself, either." Nick continued.
"You still have so much left to fight for. You have
friends who are depending on you to be there for all
the important events that are going to take place in
their future lives."

Nick then thought of all the people that were going to
have certain events take place in their lives.

"Kandi and Justin are getting married." Nick
continued. "Jake and Michelle are doing the same, but
with a baby on the way. You have to be with us for all
of that. But you can't do that unless you come back to
us."

Nick stopped there. He had run out of things to say.
He didn't know what else to say. All he could do was
sit there and stare at Sean, in his catatonic state.

Finally, Nick could take it any longer. he let go of
Sean's hand and his head fell forward into Sean's lap.

"Please, Sean." Nick sobbed to himself. "Please come
out of this. I can't stand to see you like this,
anymore. You have to get better. You just have to."

Nick couldn't say anything more and continued to sob
in Sean's lap. Sean's one hand, that Nick had been
holding was right next to his head. Suddenly, it began
to move.

First, the fingers moved a little bit. Then the hand
started to lift off of Sean's lap. It slowly came down
onto Nick's head. Then a word was heard.

"Nick?"

Feeling something touch his head and then hearing
Sean's voice, Nick's head shot up.

"Sean?"

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

Cate and John Lachey entered Jessica's room and they
exchanged greetings with Tina and Jessica. Cate was
holding Nicole in her arms.

"Someone here misses her Mommy." Cate said, as she
handed Nicole over to Jessica.

Jessica accepted the little toddler and held her
close, hugging her.

"Hey, my little one." She whispered to Nicole. "Did
you miss me? I missed you so much."

Jessica looked up at Cate and John, wondering if they
had had any problems caring for Nicole while she was
in the hospital.

"I hope that she wasn't any trouble for you two?"
Jessica asked them.

"Oh, no." Cate said, waving it off. "Of course not. My
little granddaughter is never any trouble. She was a
very good girl for us."

Jessica nodded, with a smile.

"That's good, I'm glad." Jessica replied. "I thought
that she might have been a little fussy since I wasn't
with her for a few days."

"She was for a while." Cate told her. "Nick has said
that she  might be a little bit fussy because she
missed you."

Jessica then wondered how Nick was doing, taking care
of their daughter. She knew how much Nick loved his
little girl, but she also knew that even Nick got
tired out from taking care of Nicole. Especially since
she was a very active soon to be 2 year old.

"Has Nick had any problems caring for Nicole while
I've been in here?" Jessica asked Cate.

Cate shook her head.

"I don't think so." She said, softly. "Actually, Nick
has been taking care of Nicole almost exactly the way
you do."

Jessica smiled, as she nodded her head.

"That doesn't really surprise me." She said,
cheerfully. "I always knew that Nick would be a
wonderful father."

"Speaking of Nick," John suddenly said. "Where is that
son of ours anyway?"

*******************************************************
BACK AT THE PENITENTIARY.............

Nick put his arms around my shoulders and pulled me in
for a quick hug.

"Thank God you're alright!" Nick said to me. "I was so
worried about you when Selina told me what happened to
you, here, last night.

I frowned at him, wondering what he was talking about.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him. "What
happened to me, last night?"

Nick looked at me, in shock.

"You were attacked by an inmate, who was in your cell
with you, last night." He said, in shock. "Don't you
remember?"

I shook my head.

"All I remember was falling asleep in my cell," I said
to him. "and I just woke up now to seeing you sitting
here, with your head in my lap, crying."

Nick was speechless at that moment. I could see that
he was shocked by what I'd just told him. I couldn't
remember what had happened to me. But, I had a feeling
that it had to have been really bad for Nick to be
this upset over it.

"Sean, you don't understand." Nick said, when he'd
gotten his voice back. "After you were attacked last
night, you had a nervous breakdown and went into a
catatonic state. And you've been that way ever since
then."

I frowned at him, in shock, as he continued talking.

"Selina and Danny came down here to visit with you
earlier and the guards, who came to your aid, when
they heard your cries for help, said that you were
unresponsive after your attack. You didn't seem to
hear them when they were talking to you. And if you
did, you couldn't respond."

I was blown away by what Nick was telling me. I
couldn't believe it! But when I thought about it
again, I realized that maybe it was possible. Being in
this awful prison would make anyone go out of their
mind.

"Now that I think about it," I said to him. "I'm not
that surprised by it. If I hadn't had a nervous
breakdown from being attacked, I would have had one at
another time, anyway."

"How can you say that?!" Nick said, in a stunned
voice. "You're alot stronger than you give yourself
credit for!"

I shook my head, in disagreement. I didn't see my
situation the same way that he did.

"I'm sorry, Nick, but I disagree." I replied. "I'm not
that strong. If I were not in here, than maybe you
would be right. But you and I both know that I can't
fight my battles from inside a state prison."

I sighed, heavily, as I tried to keep from breaking
down in tears, over the fact that I could possibly be
staying here in prison if the issue of bail was denied
at my hearing, which hadn't been scheduled yet.

"I don't think that I have the strength to fight
anymore, Nick." I said, in an emotional tone. "The way
things stand right now, the only thing that can save
me right now, is a miracle."

Hearing the despair in my voice only made Nick more
angry. He looked at me and held a finger in my face.

"Don't you ever talk that way again!" He said to me,
his tone dead-serious. "I'm not going to let you give
up on yourself now! You WILL get out of here! It's
only a matter of time!"

I just buried my face in my hands as I tried, in vain
to hold back the sobs that were threatening to come
any minute.

"I really wish I could believe that, Nick." I said,
sadly. "But the longer I'm in here, the more I'm
starting to think that.."

I was interrupted by the sound of Nick's cell phone
ringing.

"Hold on." Nick said, as he grabbed his phone to
answer it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Nick, it's Selina." He heard Selina's voice say.

"Selina, hi!" Nick said, looking up at me. "What's
up?"

"I have great news for you," Selina said, with a smile
on her face. "Sean's hearing is scheduled for 9:00
a.m. tomorrow morning."

"Oh Selina, that is wonderful news!" Nick said, in
total relief. "Wait until I tell Sean. I'm visiting
with him right now."

seeing the look on Nick's face and hearing the
excitement in his voice, was starting to have an
effect on me. Although I didn't know what this good
news was yet, I could feel myself starting to find
hope again.

"You're visiting with Sean right now?!" Selina asked
Nick, in shock. "How is he?"

Nick looked up at me and smiled.

"He's doing so much better Selina." He told her.
"Sean's come out of his catatonic state and is now
back to his old self again."

"Nick, that is great news!" Selina said to him. "I'll
call the others back at Sean's apartment and let them
know what's going on. I'm just about finished with my
work, here at the office. When I finish up, I'm going
to head home and get some rest. I have to be up extra
early so that I can prepare for Sean's Defense."

"Alright, Selina." Nick said to her. "I'll see you
first thing tomorrow morning. Goodnight."

As soon as Nick got off of the phone, he looked up at
me and smiled that beautiful smile of his.

"It looks like your miracle has just happened." Nick
said to me. "Selina told me that your hearing has been
scheduled for 9:00 a.m tomorrow morning."

My jaw dropped open in shock. Emotions of joy welled
up within my body over this news. It was the best news
I'd heard since I was brought into prison.

"Are you serious?!" I asked him. "This is for real?!"

"Yes, this is very real." Nick said, laughing. "By
tomorrow morning you could be out of this hell hole
and back into your own home again!"

I still sat there, with my eyes wide open and my jaw
hanging to the floor. But, once the good news really
sank in, I practically leapt into Nick's arms.

"I can't believe this!" I cried out, in relief, tears
of happiness streaming down my face. "If things go
well tomorrow, I could be coming home!"

Nick hugged me, tighter. It felt so good to be hugging
him. I finally felt like I could breathe again. And
that, little by little, my life was going to get
better. And I had Nick to thank for that, because,
once again, he'd come to my rescue when I'd needed him
most.

I pulled back from our hug so that I could look into
his face. And to my surprise, Nick also had tears in
his eyes. And that smile of his was infectious. We
both laughed again as we looked at each other and I
pulled him close to me again, wanting to enjoy this
moment as long as I could.

"Nick, thank you so much for believing in me." I said
to him. "I don't know how I could have gotten through
this without your support."

Nick pulled back from our embrace and wiped at his
eyes, momentarily.

"I will always believe in you, Sean." Nick whispered
to me. "As long as you remember that and have faith
that things will turn out alright, then there is
nothing that you can't overcome."

Before I could say anything else, the door to the
visiting room opened and two guards came rushing in,
followed by the Warden.

"Mr. Lachey, I thought we told you to tell us that Mr.
Perry came out of his catatonic state, the moment it
happened." The Warden said, with a stern look on his
face.

"I know." Nick said, still smiling. "I was just so
relieved that he was alright that we just got to
talking and we got carried away."

The Warden wasn't sure he liked that excuse, but
looked like he would accept it anyway.

"Very well." The Warden replied. "Since Mr. Perry
seems to be alright at the moment, I'll overlook it.
This time."

Nick nodded, in appreciation.

"Thank you, Warden." He replied to the Warden. The
Warden nodded back as his way of saying "Thank you."

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid I have to end this little
visit between you two right now." The Warden said. "We
need to take Mr. Perry down to the infirmary to be
examined by the doctor to see if his mental state is
alright now."

I felt my heart sink when I heard that Nick had to
leave. It'd felt like he had just gotten here. and now
our time together was being ended so soon.

"Alright, Warden." Nick said to him. Then he looked
down at me. "Get some rest, Sean. You have a big day
to prepare for, tomorrow."

I nodded at him, still smiling.

"Thank you so much for everything, Nick." I said, as
one of the prison guards started to turn my wheelchair
around to wheel me out of the room. "Give our friends
my love and tell Jason that I'll see him soon."

"I will." Nick said to me. "I'm headed back to your
place right now to give them all the good news. I
can't wait to see the looks on all of their faces when
I do."

By now, my wheelchair was turned around so that I
couldn't see Nick anymore, so I called after him.

"Goodbye, Nick." I'll see you in court, tomorrow." I
said, as I was being wheeled out of the room.

"You bet." Nick said. "Later, Sean."

Then the guards shut the door, leaving Nick alone in
the visiting room, with the Warden.

Nick turned back to the Warden, wanting to give him
the news about Sean's hearing in the morning.

"Warden, I've just been informed by Sean's attorney
that his court hearing is scheduled for 9:00 a.m.
tomorrow morning." Nick told him.

"Thanks for the info, Mr. Lachey." The Warden replied.
"I'll make sure that Mr. Perry is brought to the
hearing tomorrow."

"Thank you." Nick said to him. "And before we wrap up
this visit, there is something I'd like to ask you?"

"Certainly." The Warden replied. "What is it?"

Nick was wondering about how the situation was
resolved with the cell mate who'd attacked Sean last
night.

"Will Sean be staying in his cell again with the same
inmate who attacked him before?"

"No." The Warden said, shaking his head. "In order for
us to ensure that Mr. Perry is not attacked like that,
again, we're going to make arrangements for him to be
moved into a cell of his own where he will have no
contact with any of the other prisoners."

"That's a good idea." Nick agreed. "Sean has been
through enough hell, already."

The Warden then brought up something else.

"Also, we're going to have Mr. Perry transferred back
to the Orlando Police Department later this evening,
so that he can get some rest there and be ready for
his hearing tomorrow."

"That is wonderful news, Warden." Nick said to the
Warden. He extended out his hand to the Warden and
they shook hands, briefly. "Thank you for your time."

"My pleasure, Mr. Lachey." The Warden said, with a
smile. "I hope that your wife will be alright."

"Thank you." Nick said, as he turned and walked out of
the visiting room.

As Nick exited the penitentiary and walked through the
parking lot to his car, he remembered that he had some
unfinished business to take care of.

"Now, Jessica, you and I have to talk about where we
go from here, now that I know the results from your
pregnancy test.' He said, out loud.

As Nick was about to get into his car, suddenly, a
strange feeling came over him. Almost like the feeling
you get when you feel as though you're being watched.

Frowning, Nick turned and looked in every which
direction to see if someone was nearby. But there
wasn't a person in sight.

Nick quickly got into his car and made sure that the
doors were locked, the moment he was safely inside. He
started the engine and started pulling out of the
parking lot.

Only once he had gotten onto the freeway and had
started driving back to Sean's apartment, did he
relax.

"That was weird." Nick said to himself. "I felt like I
was being watched, somehow." But there wasn't anyone
around."

Nick started to wonder if maybe he was just being
paranoid, considering the stress that he had been
under lately.

"Alright, Nick, get a grip." Nick told himself. "It
was probably just your imagination."

Nick reached down and turned on the radio to listen to
some music, while he drove. After about half an hour,
he pulled into the parking lot of the hospital.

He got out of the car and started walking into the
hospital.

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

Justin and Kandi were both sitting on the couch
together in the living room. Jeff, who was now up out
of bed, was sitting in the love seat, next to Jason.
Danny was sitting on the other end of the couch, next
to Justin and Kandi.

they were talking about Sean being in prison and how
terrible they all felt for him.

"I can't believe this has happened to Sean." Jason
said, sadly. "My heart breaks for what he's going
through right now."

"All of us feel that way, Jason." Danny said to him.
"I never, in my entire life, thought that Sean would
ever have any trouble with the law." So, you can
imagine what a shock it was to find out that my best
friend is being accused of murder."

Jeff didn't seem to be listening. He had a far away
look in his eyes, which obviously meant that he was
thinking about Drew. It was becoming more and more
obvious that Jeff's feelings for Drew were very real.

As Justin, Kandi, and Jason were talking, Danny looked
over at Jeff and saw the look in his eyes. And as much
as it hurt him to see, he felt he had to talk to Jeff
about it.

"Jeff, are you ok?" Danny asked him.

Jeff snapped out of his deep thoughts and saw everyone
looking at him.

"Huh?" He asked, looking over at Danny, thinking he
had heard his voice.

"I asked you if you are ok?" Danny repeated. "You
looked like you were a million miles away."

Jeff's eyes shifted to the floor. He couldn't look
Danny in the eye. But he had a feeling that Danny knew
exactly what was bothering him.

"Yeah, I was." Jeff said. "But, don't worry about me.
I'll be fine."

Danny didn't seem to buy Jeff's word. Neither did
anyone else. Danny then stood up.

"Jeff, let's, you and I, go for a walk on the beach,
ok?" Danny asked him. "I need to talk to you about
something."

Jeff felt a little uncomfortable right then. He was
pretty sure what Danny wanted to talk to him about.
But even if he was wrong, he needed to talk with Danny
anyway. They had some unfinished business to settle
between them.

"That's a good idea." Jeff said to Danny. "I could use
the fresh air. Besides, there's something I need to
talk with you about, too."

"Alright." Danny said, nodding. "Come on."

Danny and Jeff both headed for the door. As Danny
opened the door, Kandi called out to them.

"You both be nice, ok?" Kandi warned them. "If you two
cause a scene in front of a bunch of onlookers, I'll
kick both your asses! You got it?!"

That caused Jason and Justin to chuckle a bit. Danny
and Jeff both smiled at her.

"You have nothing to worry about, Kandi." Jeff told
her. "I'm tired of fighting. All I want to do is talk.
I'm sure Danny will agree with me."

Jeff looked over at Danny for confirmation.

"Right Danny?" he asked him. Danny nodded.

"Right, Jeff." Danny replied. "Now, come on. Let's go
for that walk."

Jeff nodded and they both turned and headed out the
door.

"Bye guys!" Jason called out to them. Danny and Jeff
both waved to him before they shut the door behind
them.

When they were gone, Jason turned back to Justin and
Kandi.

"What's up with those two?" Jason asked them. "They
seem like they're having problems with each other or
something?"

"They are, man." Justin said to Jason. "Just days ago
they were a couple, but due to complications, they've
broken up."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Jason said, sympathetically.
"They both seem like nice guys."

"They are, Hon." Kandi said to him. "They were great
together. I just hope that they can work things out
between them. I believe that they belong together."

Jason nodded, in agreement.

"It sure seems that way to me." He replied. "Just like
Sean and I are meant for each other."

Then Jason thought of something that he had wanted to
do. But now wasn't the time.

"And speaking of Sean," Jason said. "I have a surprise
for him once he's out of jail on bond. I'm sure he'll
like it. At least I hope he will."

"What sort of surprise?" Kandi asked him, curiously.

Jason grinned.

"Sorry." He said to her. "This is a surprise only for
Sean right now. You'll find out soon enough what it
is."

"Aw, come on." Kandi begged him. "I'm dying to know.
Can't you give us a hint?"

Nope." Jason chuckled, shaking his head. "You're just
going to have to wait until Sean's out of prison."

Justin and Kandi groaned, as they could see that they
weren't going to get anything more out of Jason about
his surprise for Sean. Then Jason looked down at his
watch.

"Damn! Look at the time!" Jason said. "I have to head
out to work at the gym. I'm training a client in about
15 minutes."

Jason got up and headed towards the door. Justin got
up to see him out.

"Will you be back at all today?" Justin asked him. "I
was thinking of maybe asking Jeff and Danny if they'd
like to hang out on the beach for awhile today. We
could go swimming and maybe cook some food out on
Sean's grill. It'd be cool if you could join us."

Jason thought that was a good idea. He hadn't really
gotten to hang out with any of Sean's friends much
since before Christmas day.

"I'm not sure." Jason said to him. "I may have to work
tonight at my bartending job. But, we'll see how it
goes."

"Yeah, I guess we will.' Justin said. "Later, man."

Justin and Jason shook hands quickly and Jason left
the house. Justin closed the door and walked back to
sit beside Kandi on the couch.

"Do you have any idea what Jason's surprise for Sean
might be, Babe?" Kandi asked him.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Sweetheart." Justin
said, before giving Kandi a kiss on the cheek. "But
we're just going to have to wait and see."

Kandi sighed and leaned her head into Justin's
shoulder. She looked up at him and saw him looking
down, and smiling, at her. She smiled back. Then
Justin leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

"Well we have some time to ourselves until Jeff and
Danny come back." Justin said to her, with a grin on
his face. "So, let's go make the most of it!"

Justin stood up and pulled Kandi up with him. Then
they kissed again. After that kiss, they both started
walking, hand in hand, towards Sean's guest bedroom.

*******************************************************
OUTSIDE ON THE BEACH...............

Danny and Jeff walked along the beach, side by side,
in silence. They both knew that they needed to talk,
but neither one of them knew where to begin.

"Jeff?" Danny said, finally breaking the silence
between them. "When you looked a million miles away,
back at the house, you were thinking about Drew,
weren't you?"

Jeff looked over at Danny and looked him in the face.
He could see the seriousness in Danny's expression, as
well as the lingering hurt in his eyes.

"Yeah." Jeff replied, softly. "I wish I knew what was
going through Drew's head right now. I told him how I
felt about him before he went back to New York with
Casey. But I haven't heard from him since then."

Danny swallowed the lump in his throat that seemed to
be getting more and more painful with Jeff talking
about his feelings for Drew.

"Well, can you really blame him?" Danny asked him.
"That's alot for him to absorb. Not to mention the
fact that Drew now has to worry about how Casey is
going to react when he finds out that you're in love
with his boyfriend."

Jeff sighed in frustration. He knew that Danny was
right. This wasn't going to be a picnic for Casey once
he found out about Jeff's feelings for Drew.

"Yeah, I know." Jeff said. "And I don't know what the
future holds for me. All I know is that I've never
been more lost and confused in my life."

Danny saw just how much Jeff's situation was weighing
on him. Jeff was going through something that nobody
should have to go through. Being in love with two
people at one time was stressful for anyone. And now
Jeff was going to have to choose which one of them he
wanted to have a future with.

"Well," Danny said, as a tear ran down his cheek. "If
Drew really means that much to you, then why don't you
call him?"

Jeff turned and looked at Danny, in shock. Why was
Danny saying this? It was like Danny was encouraging
him to go after Drew.

"Call him?" Jeff asked, in shock. "Why? It's not going
to solve anything. And I really should be talking to
him in person, not over the phone."

Danny took in a deep breath. He was about to suggest
something that would no doubt shock Jeff.

"Then you should go to him." Danny said to Jeff.

Jeff stopped walking and looked over at Danny in
complete shock. He was amazed that Danny would even
suggest that.

"What?" Jeff asked him in shock.

"You heard me." Danny said, seriously. "Hop on a plane
and pay Drew a visit in New York. It's the only way
you're going to get your answers so that you can start
making some decisions about your future."

Jeff frowned, in confusion, still stunned by Danny's
new found attitude. It made him wonder what was going
on inside Danny's head at that moment.

"Danny, why are you encouraging me to go after Drew?"
Jeff asked him. "I don't understand."

Now, Danny was starting to get upset over Jeff's
questions.

"Well, if you go to see Drew to talk to him," Danny
said, angrily. "You will either get the chance to find
out if he feels the same way you do, or if you'll get
shot down with one blow by Casey and be sent back home
to lick your wounds and start the healing process so
that you can move on!"

Danny looked at Jeff in the eyes and again wiped at
the tears that had started falling down his face.

"I just want you to be happy, Jeff." Danny said to
him. "Whether it's with Drew...."

Danny cut off here, as his tears started to overwhelm
him. When he felt like he was ready to speak again, he
looked back up at Jeff.

"Or with me." He said, finally. Jeff looked at Danny,
sympathetically.

"I'm sorry." Jeff said, hanging his head. "I know how
much it hurts you to know that I have feelings for
someone else."

"Yes, Jeff, it does!" Danny said, harshly. "And as
much as I hate you right now...I still love you just
as much."

Jeff's mouth fell open a little bit when he heard
Danny's revelation. But before he could say anything,
Danny continued.

"As I said before, Jeff, I just want you to be happy."
Danny said, again. "Even it if isn't with me."

Jeff stared at Danny, intensely, his blonde hair
fluttering in the wind.

"So, Go!" Danny said, above the sound of the waves
crashing against the shore. "Go and find the man that
you love! Get on with your life!"

Seeing just how much it took for Danny to say all of
this to him, given how hurt he was over the situation,
really made Jeff realize that Danny was a stronger man
than he gave him credit for.

Jeff stepped towards Danny and cupped his face in his
hands. Then he leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on
Danny's lips. Danny made no move to resist it, and
kissed Jeff back, as his tears continued to fall down
his cheeks.

After pulling back from kissing Danny, Jeff hugged him
close.

"Thank you." He whispered into Danny ear. "You really
are the best, you know that?"

Danny didn't respond to that. Then Jeff pulled away
and looked Danny in the face.

"I'm going to go back down to the house and book a
flight to New York City." Jeff said to him. "Do you
want to come back with me?"

Danny shook his head.

"No, I think I just want to hang around out here for
awhile and clear my head." Danny said to him. "You go
ahead."

"Ok." Jeff said, nodding. "I'll see you later to say
goodbye."

Danny nodded, and Jeff kissed him, again, this time,
on the forehead.

"I love you." He said to Danny. "that will never
change. Whether we're a couple or not, I will love you
until the day I die."

Danny stared into Jeff's eyes and saw that there was
still some truth to those words. He could see that
Jeff had meant them. But it didn't seem to make any
difference now. Not now that Jeff's heart belonged to
someone else.

"Goodbye, Danny." Jeff said, patting Danny on the arm,
as he walked by him and headed back to the apartment.

When Jeff was about 5 steps away, Danny turned back
towards him.

"Jeff?!" Danny called out to him. Jeff turned around
to see what he wanted.

"What?" Jeff asked him.

Danny stared at Jeff for a moment, taking in the
beauty of Jeff's blue eyes, as well as his hair. Not
to mention his fine chiseled physique. It was like he
was looking at Jeff for the last time before he
finally let him go.

"Good Luck." Danny said to him. Jeff smiled.

"Thanks." He said. "I'm sure I'm going to need it."

With those last words spoken, Jeff turned around and
continued walking towards the apartment.

Danny walked over to a nearby rock and sat down on it.
He looked out at the blue waters of the ocean and
watched the waves that were crashing in the distance.
He saw some surfers here and there, riding the waves
on their surfboards.

He looked back towards Jeff, who was now quite a
distance away. He was almost to the house.

"Goodbye, Jeff." Danny whispered. "And I love you,
too."

Finally, Danny couldn't hold back any longer. He broke
down, crying, and buried his face into his hands.

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

Nick walked through the hallways of the hospital and
headed to Jessica's room. He stopped just at the door
and peeked inside.

There, he saw Jessica sitting up in bed. Nick also
noticed that his parents, John and Cate were there, as
were Tina and Joe. Nicole was there too, sitting right
in Jessica's lap.

Nick smiled when he saw that his precious little baby
girl was there. He hadn't seen her since last night
and he'd missed her.

Nick chose that moment to make his presence known. He
entered the room. Once he did, all eyes were on him.

"Hi, Son." John said to Nick. "Where have you been?"

"Just taking care of some personal business, Dad."
Nick replied to him. "Now if it isn't too much to ask,
would you all mind giving Jessica and I a moment alone
together? We have alot to talk about."

"Sure thing." John said. "Tina and Joe, will you see
us outside?"

"Sure." Tina said to him. "Just let me get Nicole,
first."

Tina reached over and picked up Nicole from Jessica's
lap. Once she dis, she leaned down and kissed Jessica
on the cheek.

"We'll be out in the waiting room until you two are
finished talking." Tina told her.

"Thanks, Mom." Jessica said, softly. "I just hope that
Nick and I can work things out."

"I hope so too, Baby." Tina whispered to her. then she
turned and walked out of the room with Nicole.

Cate kissed Nick on the cheek, and John touched Nick
on the shoulder briefly, before they both left the
room. Joe was the last to leave.

"I hope that what you and Jessica have to talk about
is good news for a change." Joe whispered to Nick. "My
daughter's been through enough, already."

Nick nodded at Joe, but didn't say anything. Joe
turned to Jessica.

"I'll talk to you in a bit, Princess." He said to
Jessica.

"Ok, Daddy." Jessica said, with a smile on her face.

Then, Joe left the room, leaving Nick alone in the
room with Jessica.

When, everyone was gone, Jessica looked back at Nick
and saw him looking at her, his face all serious.

"So, Baby," She said to him. "what did you want to
talk to me about?"

Nick walked over and sat down in the chair beside her
bed. He looked up at her and saw how happy she seemed
to see him. It only made what he had to tell her alot
harder.

"First, I need you to look at this." Nick said to her.
He reached into his inside suit coat pocket and pulled
a piece of paper out of it. He handed it to her.

"What's this?" Jessica asked, frowning, as she
accepted the paper from Nick.

"It's the results of your pregnancy test." Nick told
her. "While you were in acoma, I took the liberty of
having the doctor draw some of your blood so that we
could find out for sure if you were really pregnant or
not."

"And?" Jessica urged him on. "What's the verdict?"

Nick gestured towards the paper.

"Read it for yourself and find out." He said to her.

Frowning, Jessica looked down at the paper and started
reading it. When she came down to the final results,
her mouth fell open and she looked up at Nick, her
eyes wide. But before she could say anything, Nick
spoke for her.

"How could you lie to me about a pregnancy that was
never true?" Nick asked her, the hurt evident in his
voice. "That's the one thing I thought that you would
never do."

Jessica continued to gaze at Nick, totally speechless,
as tears started falling down her cheeks.

"Nick, I'm so sorry." She said to him. "I was sure
that I was pregnant."

Oh, don't give me that!" Nick said. "You knew as well
as I did that that neither one of those home pregnancy
tests could prove that you were pregnant for sure!"

"But, Nick!" Jessica said, as she wiped at her tears.
"You know that home pregnancy tests are more accurate
now these days! I had no reason to believe that I was
wrong!"

"Well you were!" Nick said. "And the way you had to
rub your pregnancy in Sean's face, when it wasn't even
true, was even more cruel!"

Jessica couldn't say anything else. All she could do
was cover her face in her hands and sob.

"I've had it, Jessica." Nick said to her. "You and I
can't go on like this, anymore!"

Jessica looked up at Nick, through her tears and saw
just how serious Nick was at the moment.

"What are you saying, Nick?" Jessica asked him, not
sure she even wanted to know the answer to her
question.

Nick looked up at Jessica, sternly. He was finally at
the end of his rope with her.

"I'm saying that I want a divorce." Nick said to her.



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