Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:37:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: slpwriter <slpwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Nick Lachey: My Everything-97

Hello, Everyone!

I'd just like to say, Happy New Year to all of you
devoted readers out there! 2007 is going to be a
better year for me! Hopefully for all of you, as well.

I'm continuing the story and I hope to finish it soon.
and hopefully this story will have a happy ending.

"But we'll soon find out, won't we?"


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."



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

Enjoy.


**********
CHAPTER 97
**********

IN SEAN'S HOSPITAL ROOM.........

"Jay Phillips?" Danny asked, in shock. "You think he
is the one who attempted to kill Jessica, by dropping
that chandelier on her?"

"Yes, I do." I replied. "After what happened to me,
tonight, I have to find out why he's here in Orlando,
Florida. The last time I saw him, was when he tried to
kill me in that abandoned house, back when I was
living in New York."

"That sounds a little far fetched, don't you think?"
Justin asked me. "I really don't think Jay is smart
enough to pull anything like that off."

I opened my mouth, in shock. I still couldn't believe
that Justin was still doubting me. This time, I
couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright, that does it." I said, anger filling my
features. "Justin, I want you to leave. I can't deal
with you anymore. Either you're on my side, or you're
not."

"But, Sean," Justin started to protest, but I didn't
leave him anything more to say.

"No buts, Justin." I said, loudly "Will you just get
out of here?!"

Justin shook his head in defeat. Then, he turned to
Kandi.

"I'll wait for you down in the waiting room." He said,
kissing her on the cheek. "Meet me down there when
you're done here."

"Alright, Sweetie." Kandi said, caressing his arm,
momentarily.

Then Justin turned and headed for the door. Before he
exited the room, he turned back to me.

"Sean, I'm sorry." Justin said to me. "I didn't mean
to make you angry. That was never my intention."

I just gave him my empty, emotionless look and he
definitely didn't like it. After that, He exited my
room and headed down to the waiting room.

Once he was gone, I turned back to Kandi and the
others.

"If any of you share Justin's doubts about me, you're
free to go as well." I said to them. "I will fight
this battle in court alone if I have to."

I looked Jeff, Danny, and Kandi, from one to the other
to see what they would decide. Whether to support me
or leave me to stand up for myself in court.

Looking over at Jeff, I saw a sad look on his face.

"You didn't even give Justin a chance to explain why
he feels the way that he does." Jeff said, in a low
voice. "Can't you understand that it isn't easy for
him to get those doubts out of his mind? You have alot
of damning evidence against you, right now. Come on,
even Nick questions your innocence at this point."

When Jeff said that, I frowned in confusion. I thought
Nick had gotten past any doubts that he'd had about
whether or not, I'd tried to kill Jessica.

"Jeff, that can't be true." I said to him,
defensively. "Nick told me that he no longer has any
doubts about my innocence. He told me back at the
prison."

"Yes, Jeff." Kandi said to him. "Nick said so himself
right after Sean was arrested back at his apartment.
You were there. You heard him."

"I know he said that." Jeff stated. "But, that doesn't
prove anything. We'll find out what Nick really thinks
when this case goes to trial.

"IF, it goes to trial." I pointed out. "I'm praying
that it doesn't."

After saying that, I yawned again. I was really
exhausted after what I'd gone through tonight.

"Alright, you guys." Jason said. "I think that's our
cue to leave. Sean needs his rest now."

But, before anyone could leave the room, Nick and Drew
appeared in the doorway. I was really glad to see both
of them.

"Hey, you two." I greeted them as they came in. "I
must be pretty popular tonight."

Nick walked over to where Jason was sitting and held
out his hand to me. I took it and shook hands with
him.

"Are you alright?" He asked me. "What happened to you,
tonight?"

"It's nothing serious, Nick." I tried to reassure him.
"I just got into a brutal fight with Jay Phillips down
at the prison tonight?"

Nick and Drew were definitely floored by this news.

"What?!" Nick asked, in shock. "What was that sick
bastard doing down there?! He was arrested and jailed
back in New York."

"Yeah, I remember." I replied. "And I have no idea
what Jay in doing in prison down here in Florida.
That's probably the greatest mystery of all."

"So, tell me about this fight you had with him." Drew
asked me. "You don't look that beat up. I assume that
you're the one who won the fight."

"I looked over at Jason and grinned at him. Jason took
that as his cue to tell Nick what he'd witnessed.

"You bet he won." Jason said to him. "If the Warden
and I hadn't gotten down there to find him, he would
have probably killed the bastard."

This raised a few eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" Drew asked Jason, then looked at
me. "Sean, how badly did you hurt Jay?"

"Well, first of all, I probably wouldn't have won the
fight if Jay hadn't punched me in the face and busted
my lip open. When I saw the blood on my hands, I
remembered the time he raped me and realized that this
was the second time he'd managed to draw blood from
me. After that, I really got pissed off. So I charged
at him as fast as I could and kicked him in the
chest."

"By now, I was practically running on adrenalin and I
think that's how I managed to win the fight. But, let
me tell you, it felt good to get revenge on him for a
change. And from the looks of it, Jay is going to be
bedridden for awhile. So, he won't be able to hurt me,
in the meantime."

"Well, thank God." Nick said to me. "It's about time
that lowlife got what he deserved!"

"I agree." Drew replied, looking at me. "I'm also glad
you lived to tell about it."

I laughed at that. I couldn't help it.

"Come on, Drew." I laughed at him. "Don't be so
melodramatic. Nothing keeps me down for long."

After saying that I yawned again.

"Ok, I'm ready to get some rest now." I said to them.
"I have a big day to prepare for, tomorrow."

On that note, the guys, and Kandi, said their goodbyes
to me. Danny and Jeff shook hands with me, and Kandi
gave me a kiss on the forehead, telling me that she'd
see me soon. Then, she, Jeff, and Danny left the room,
telling Nick and Drew that they'd wait for them
downstairs.

Nick and Drew stayed behind for a moment. I turned to
Jason.

"Would you mind giving me a few minutes alone with
Nick and Drew, Jason?" I asked him. "There's something
I need to discuss with them before they leave."

"Sure." Jason said, with a warm smile. He leaned down
and gave me a gentle peck on my lips. "I'm going to go
down to the cafeteria and grab something to eat. Do
you want me to bring you anything?"

I shook my head. I didn't want anything, since I was
going to go to sleep in a moment.

"No, thank you, Babe." I said to him. "But thanks for
asking."

Jason nodded and then got up from his seat. He turned
towards Nick and Drew.

"Don't be too long, you two." Jason said to them.
"Sean should get some sleep."

"Don't worry, we won't." Drew said to him. Jason
nodded and then left my room.

Once he was gone, I looked up at Nick and Drew and saw
them both looking at me, with concern in their eyes.

"What did you want to talk to us about, Sean?" Nick
asked me.

There was quite a bit I wanted to talk to them about.
I had some questions for them. I decided to start with
Drew.

"First of all, I'd like to know why you're back here
in Orlando so soon, Drew." I asked him. "And why isn't
Casey here with you?"

Drew's eyes shifted to the floor. That was a sure sign
that something was wrong. Like Nick, it was easy to
read Drew's feelings.

"Well, things aren't exactly good at the moment." Drew
said to me. "Casey's so worried about his father that
he hardly notices that I'm around. Finally, I couldn't
take it anymore and I decided to leave and come back
to Orlando. I felt that I was needed more here than I
was there. Besides, Casey has his family he can turn
to if he needs anything."

I gazed at Drew, sympathetically, seeing the sad look
in his eyes. I saw Nick put a hand on his shoulder and
massage it gently, giving his brother comfort. I
smiled when I saw that.

"I'm really glad that you two are starting to become
close again." I told them. "That's one thing that I
always prayed would happen again, even after what you
did, Drew, sabotaging my wedding. I hated seeing the
two of you fighting all the time."

Drew turned and looked at Nick. Nick looked back at
him and managed a small smile. They he looked back up
at me.

"We're trying." Nick told me. "We're not back at the
best friend part of our relationship yet, but we're
working on it."

I nodded. I was glad that they were both trying to
repair their relationship as brothers. It meant more
to me than they both would ever know.

"And believe me, I couldn't be happier about that." I
said to them. "Especially since the estrangement
between the two of you is mostly my fault."

"What?" Nick and Drew both said, at about the same
time.

"Sean, how could this be your fault?" Drew asked me.
"I was the one who broke up your marriage to my
brother."

"Yes, I know that." I said to him. "But, I led you on,
back in New York, when Nick and I broke up the first
time. You remember when I had to leave after I found
out about Nick's infidelity with Matt Sheffield. If I
hadn't kissed you before I left, then maybe you
wouldn't have fallen in love with me."

"Sean, don't blame yourself for that." Drew told me.
"I knew exactly what I was doing when I broke you and
Nick up. Nothing about that is your fault. Love can
make you do crazy things and that was the case with
me."

I sat there and listened to him, as a few tears ran
down my face. I wiped then away and listened to Drew
as he continued, talking.

"I was so in love with you at the time, that I just
lost sight of everything that should have been
important to me. I took my relationship with my
brother, forgranted, and in the process, I lost alot
of his trust in me. And it taken a long time for us
just to begin to put it all back together."

I nodded. Then I looked over at Nick and saw the
sadness in his eyes. He still was hurt by what his
brother had done, despite the fact that he was trying
to become friends with his little brother again.

"And even though, I still have issues with Drew that
have to be worked out, yet, one thing has never
changed: How much I love my little brother."

Here, Nick turned Drew around and looked him in the
face.

"And, I want you to know this, little brother." He
said to Drew. "No matter how much you messed up or
will mess up in the future, I will always love you, no
matter what. You just remember that, ok?"

Drew nodded, his own tears getting the better of him.
Finally, he threw his arms around Nick and pulled him
close for a brief hug.

"Thanks, Nick." Drew said, softly. "I really needed to
hear that right now."

I watched the two of them, embracing, and kept quiet
for a moment. This was their moment and I was not
going to interrupt it just yet.

After a few seconds, Nick and Drew pulled apart and I
could see that they both had tears in their eyes. It
was then, that I chose that moment to speak.

"I'm glad we got that settled." I said to them. "And
now I have one last request to ask of you two."

"Sure." Nick said. "Anything?"

I knew what I wanted to ask them. It was concerning
Joe Simpson. With me here in the hospital, recovering
from my brutal confrontation with Jay, I was going to
need Nick's help to ensure that Joe didn't decide to
make trouble for me.

"Will you make sure to tell the guard at my door, not
to let anyone else besides you guys into my room?" I
asked them. "Normally, I can take care of myself, but
in my weakened condition, Joe would be able to do just
about anything to me."

"Done." Drew said to him. "We'll make sure that Joe
doesn't come anywhere near you, tonight. We'll let the
guard know."

"Thanks." I said to them. "Now that I know that you
two will take care of that for me, I can rest easy
now."

I laid back in my bed and pulled the covers up over
me. Then I looked back up at them.

"Goodnight, guys." I said to them.

"Goodnight, Sean." Nick said to me. "Get some rest."

"We'll see you at the bail hearing tomorrow." Drew
added.

Then, they both left the room and I closed my eyes and
tried to get some sleep. Before I drifted off, I could
hear Nick talking to the security guard who was posted
at my door.

******************************************************
DOWNSTAIRS, IN THE HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM.....

When Kandi, Jeff, and Danny got down to the waiting
room where Justin was waiting, they saw him, sitting
in a chair, reading a sports magazine.

"Ok, Hon, We're ready to head home." Kandi said to
him. "We have to be up early tomorrow for Sean's bail
hearing."

Justin got up and dropped the magazine back down on
the table where he'd picked it up from.

"I'm ready to go home and head to bed." Justin said to
him. "But don't expect me to go to Sean's bail hearing
tomorrow."

"What?!" Kandi asked, in shock. "But you have to be
there to support Sean. He's counting on you!"

"After what happened upstairs, I don't think that Sean
would care if I was there or not!" Justin scoffed.
"So, I'm not even going to show up. If you and the
rest of the guys want to go, that's fine, but I'm
staying back at the hotel."

"Justin." Jeff said. "Don't be so hasty in your
decision not to go to the bail hearing. Sean's just
very stressed out right now, and is very on edge. It's
not exactly good to hear that one of his good friends
has doubts about his innocence."

"But, you had doubts too, Jeff." Justin protested.
"Don't even try to deny it!"

"I wasn't going to." Jeff told him. "But I really do
not believe that Sean did this to Jessica! He believes
that his rapist, Jay Phillips did this to her! And I
have to wonder if he is right, considering the fact
that Jay is here in the Florida State Penitentiary."

"Yeah, Justin." Danny chimed in, coming to Sean's
defense. "Give Sean a little more credit. If we had
doubts about him, still, he would have thrown us out
too. And I can't say I blame him. I would want to know
that my friends are on my side and not against me."

Justin was silent as he processed Danny's words. He
hadn't really thought about it that way.

"I guess I can see your point, Danny." Justin replied,
in a low voice. "But I can't help the way I feel. I
think it would be best if I wasn't there. I wouldn't
want to make things worse for Sean."

Kandi shrugged. She wasn't happy about Justin's
decision, but she did understand how he felt.

"Fine, have it your way, Hon." Kandi said to him.
"Just keep an open mind about it, Ok?"

"Sure." Justin told her, with a smile on his face.
"Let's go back to the hotel and get some rest."

Justin, Kandi, Danny, and Jeff left through the
hospital doors and headed for their cars in the
parking lot.

******************************************************
BACK UPSTAIRS.........

So, Nick, do you think that having the guard watch out
for Joe, will actually keep him away from Sean?" Drew
asked Nick, as they were walking to the elevators.

"I certainly hope so." Nick said. "For Sean's sake."

Nick pushed the button and they both waited for the
elevator doors to open.

"I hope so, too." Drew replied. "But you and I both
know what Joe can be like when he feels that his
family is being threatened. He's like a dog with a
bone, sometimes."

The elevator doors opened and Nick and Drew stepped
into the elevator. Nick pushed the button for the
lobby and the elevator doors closed.

"I know what you mean." Nick said, as the elevator
started it's descent. "I've had it up to here with
Joe's harassment of Sean. If he continues this, I may
even have to talk to Sean about filing a restraining
order of his own against Joe."

That revelation from Nick definitely got Drew's
attention.

"Are you serious, Bro?" Drew asked him. "Joe would
have a fit."

when Drew saw Nick glance over at him and saw the
seriousness in his brother's eyes, he got his answer
right away: Nick meant business.

"I'm very serious, Drew." Nick replied. "If Joe thinks
he's going to make life difficult for one of my best
friends, he can think again! I will not stand for it!"

Just then, Nick remembered something.

"As a matter of fact," He continued. "I'm going to go
right over to my hotel room and tell him exactly how I
feel about his treatment of Sean. I have to see him
anyway, since he called earlier."

Drew didn't think that was such a bad idea. He had a
few choice words for Joe, himself.

"I'm going with you." He said to Nick. "I have some
things that I need to say to Joe, myself,that are long
overdue."


******************************************************
OUTSIDE, IN THE VAN......

"Justin, why don't you and Kandi drop Danny and I off
at Sean's and then you and Kandi head back to the
hotel to spend the night?" Jeff asked him.

"Alright." Justin replied. "If that's what you two
want to do."

"Yeah, we do." Jeff said to him. But Danny didn't look
like he agreed to that.

"Actually, Justin, it's just going to be me staying at
Sean's tonight. Sean asked me to keep an eye on his
place for him until he's out on bail."

"But, Danny." Jeff protested. "There's plenty of room
there. I can sleep in the guest room if that's what
you want. And you can stay in Sean's room. I'm sure he
wouldn't mind."

Danny thought it over for a moment. He was still
having issues with Jeff, even though they recently
slept together. It had solved nothing, but they both
enjoyed it at the time.

Finally, Danny nodded.

"Fine." He said. "Justin can drop us off at Sean's so
you and I can talk privately. If I still am not ok
with having you there, then I'll bring you back to
your hotel room in Sean's car."

"Fair enough." Jeff said.

In a few minutes, they came upon Sean's beach
apartment complex. Justin parked the van and turned
back to Danny and Jeff.

"You two behave yourselves." He said to them. "And get
some rest. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

Danny looked at Justin and saw that he was still
feeling angry over how Sean treated him.

"I really hope that you reconsider coming to Sean's
bail hearing with us tomorrow. Sean could really use
your support." Danny said to him.

"I'm sorry." Justin said. "But I am not going to sit
in that courtroom to support Sean when I'm not one
hundred percent sure that he didn't try to kill
Jessica. So until I do, I'm staying away from him,
plain and simple. And there isn't anything that any of
you can say or do that will change my mind."

Jeff, Danny, and Kandi all looked at each other,
sadly. Justin just wasn't ready to give Sean the
benefit of the doubt.

"Then, I guess there's nothing more to say." Jeff
said, in a low tone. "Goodnight."

Jeff stepped out of the van first. Then Danny stepped
out behind him. They both gave Kandi a goodbye kiss.

"Goodnight, you two." Kandi said to them. "I'll see
you both at the hearing tomorrow."

After saying that, Justin pulled the van out of the
parking space and he and Kandi drove away.

Jeff and Danny walked up to Sean's apartment door. As
Danny was fumbling with Sean's keys, they both heard a
familiar voice.

"Hey, guys."

Jeff and Danny turned and saw Sean's friend, Jake,
coming out of his apartment.

"Hey, Jake." Jeff greeted him. "Are you going
somewhere?"

Jake nodded.

"I'm actually heading to the supermarket to pick up
some ice cream for Michelle. She having her midnight
cravings again."

Jeff and Danny looked at each other and realized that
they had to tell him about Sean's situation.

"Before you do that, can you spare a moment for us?"
Danny asked. "We have something really important to
tell you."

Jake frowned. He could sense that whatever it was that
they were going to tell him, he wasn't going to like
it. And he had a feeling that this had to do with
Sean.

"This is about Sean, isn't it?" Jake asked them.

"Yes it is." Jeff told him. "And you're not going to
like what we have to tell you."

"I figured as much." Jake said. "What happened?"


Jeff and Danny looked at each other and Jeff nodded at
Danny, letting him be the one to tell Jake the news.

Danny turned to Jake and told him what he knew.

"Sean was attacked at the prison tonight, by an
inmate." He said. "He's in the hospital."

Jake's eyes widened.

"No!" He gasped, in shock. "How is he?"

"Actually, he's alright." Danny replied. "Just a
little shaken and weak from what he went through. He
had a brutal fight with the inmate, who happened to be
Jay Phillips, the man who raped him and tried to kill
him, two years ago back in New York City, when he
lived there."

Now, Jake was even more curious as to the outcome of
this story.

"So, tell me more about this fight." He said to Danny.
"How did it end?"

Jeff had a smirk on his face and Jake noticed it.

"Actually, Sean was the one who won the fight." Jeff
said. "And he hurt Jay really bad. Gave him broken
ribs I believe. He's going to be bedridden for quite a
while."

"Good." Jake said. "It's about time he got a taste of
his own medicine after what he's put Sean through."

"We agree." Danny chimed in. "Also we have some good
news too for change."

"Well, I'm all ears," Jake said. "so lay it on me."

After a slight pause, Jeff blurted it out.

"Sean's bail hearing has been set for tomorrow morning
at 9:00 a.m." He told Jake.

"That is very good news!" Jake said, in a relieved
tone. "Now, let's just hope that Sean gets out on
bail."

"We're sure he will." Danny told him. "Although, I'm
sure that Jessica's father, Joe Simpson will do
everything he can to keep Sean in jail. But if he
succeeds, he will have me to answer to!"

Jake nodded.

"Well, if you ever need my help to take him down,
count me in." He replied. "I refuse to let that man
destroy the life that my best friend had worked so
hard to achieve!"

Jake then looked at his watch.

"It's getting late, so I really need to get going if
Michelle wants that ice cream." Jake said. "But thanks
for the update guys."

"No problem." Jeff told him. "Sean's bail hearing is
going to be held at the "Orlando County Courthouse."

"Thanks for the info." Jake said. "Unfortunately, I
won't be able to be there since I have to look after
my pregnant fiance. But give Sean my best ok and tell
him that We'll stop by to see him once he's out on
bail."

We will." Danny replied. "Goodnight, Jake."

"Goodnight." Jake said. He then started walking off to
his car.

Danny then turned and unlocked the door to Sean's
apartment. Danny opened the door and he and Jeff
walked into the living room. Jeff pushed the door shut
behind them.

"Well, now that you and I are alone," Jeff said to
Danny. "we need to talk."

"Yes, we do." Danny said, nodding his head. "Let's sit
down.

******************************************************
MEANWHILE, OVER AT THE BEST WESTERN HOTEL..........

Nick and Drew were now outside of the door to Nick's
hotel room. Before Nick could even knock on the door,
Drew tapped him on the shoulder.

"Now, remember, just be cool." Drew whispered to Nick,
when Nick turned around to face him. "No matter what
Joe dishes out, don't let him get to you, ok?"

"I'll try." Nick whispered back. "But, with the way
that Joe keeps harping on Sean, it's not so easy."

"I know." Drew said, slightly nodding. "I'm not
exactly happy with Joe, either, right now. But dealing
with him, right now, is alot better than dealing with
my own problems that I'm having in my own life, right
now."

When Drew said that, Nick became concerned. He could
pick up on his brother's sadness.

"Drew, has Casey tried to call you since you got in?"
Nick asked him. Drew shook his head.

No, he hasn't." Drew said to him. "But, it's only been
a few hours since my plane landed here in Orlando, so
he probably doesn't know that I'm gone yet."

Nick looked at his watch.

"Drew, it's just after midnight." He said to him.
"Casey has to be home by now."

Drew was started to get a little uncomfortable talking
about Casey right now. So, he decided to change the
subject.

"Don't worry about it, anymore." Drew said to him.
"We'll talk more about this later. Right now, we have
to see what Joe wants to talk to you about, here."

"Yeah." Nick said. "The sooner we get this over with,
the sooner I can get some rest."

Nick slid his key card into the slot reader and the
light turned green. Nick opened the door and went into
the room, with Drew right behind him.

When they both entered the room, they came face to
face with their parents, Joe, and Tina.

"Drew, honey, you're back!" Cate said, walking over
and giving Drew a hug and kiss. After that, she gave
Nick a hug and kiss too.

After kissing and hugging his mother, Nick looked over
at Joe, his face all serious.

"Well, what did you want to see me about, Joe?" Nick
asked him. "I'm very tired right now and am ready to
get some rest. So, whatever this is about, it had
better be good."

Joe stood up from where he was sitting and stood up in
front of Nick. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"First of all, I want to know what the hell you were
thinking when you told my daughter that you want a
divorce?" Joe asked him.

Nick rolled his eyes.

"Isn't it obvious, Joe?" Nick asked him. "Jessica lied
to me about being pregnant just like she'd lied to me
about a lot of other things. That one was one lie I
would not stand for!"

"My daughter did not lie to you." Joe said. "She
really thought that she was pregnant. It just didn't
turn out the way that she'd hoped."

"Yeah." Nick said, sarcastically. "Thank God."

Hearing Nick say that, really hurt Tina and angered
Joe.

"Nick, how can you be so heartless as to say that?!"
Tina exclaimed in shock.

Nick looked over at her.

"I didn't say that to hurt you, Tina." Nick told her.
"I said that because the timing was not right to be
having another child right now."

Joe frowned at Nick. Then, his expression changed to
something else. And it suddenly looked like fatherly
concern.

"Nick, are you really sure that this divorce is what
you want?" Joe asked him. "I can understand that
you're hurt because you were really starting to get
used to the idea of becoming a father again and my
daughter turned out not to be pregnant."

Nick nodded, with no hesitation.

"Joe, I'm very sure." Nick told him. "My marriage was
already on the rocks and I didn't see it getting
better anytime soon. Besides I'm not happy in this
marriage anymore. It has to end. It's best for me and
it's best for Jessica."

"But, it's not best for your daughter, Son." Nick's
father said to him. "For her sake, could you please
just put off filing for divorce for a while until
you've really had time to think things through without
any outside influences?"

The way his father said that, gave Nick an uneasy
feeling about where this was going.

"By outside influences, you mean Sean, right?" Nick
asked his father. John nodded.

"Yes." His father said to him. "I don't think that you
would even be going through divorce proceedings if
Sean hadn't suggested it."

"Come on, Dad." Drew suddenly piped up. "You can't
blame this on Sean! He's not the one who destroyed
Nick's marriage! Jessica did that on her own, because
of her own insecurities!"

"Drew's right." Nick said. "Jessica just couldn't
handle the fact that Sean was back in my life again
and that we were best friends again."

"It's more than that, Nick, and you know it!" Joe
said. "Sean wasn't just any other friend. If that were
the case, my daughter could have handled it. But Sean
is your ex-husband in case you've forgotten and the
two of you are still close. closer than you should be.
So, why wouldn't my daughter be insecure?!"

Nick frowned, crossing his arms over his chest as he
tried to figure out what Joe meant by that.

"When you say that Sean and I are closer than we
should be," Nick asked him. "What do you mean,
exactly? Help me understand this so I can explain
things to you, better."

"What I mean is this." Joe said to him. "For one
thing, you are too affectionate towards Sean. The two
of you hug too much. I've noticed it when you hugged
him in front of Jessica, back in L.A when we told you
that Drew was gone. It's almost as if you two had
never broke up. But you did."

Nick was starting to see what Joe meant now. Joe went
on.

"And if you and Sean are still "friends" as you put
it," Joe said, quoting the word, with his fingers.
"you shouldn't be hugging. you should just be shaking
hands like normal friends do. So, what I'm saying is
that you should tone it down or, better yet, stop the
hugging altogether."

Nick did see what Joe meant about his affection
towards Sean, that would make Jessica insecure, but he
also became angry because Joe was telling him how to
act around his friends. If he wanted to embrace Sean,
he would embrace him whether Joe liked it or not.

"I can understand why that could make Jessica
insecure." Nick replied. "But that doesn't give you
the right to tell me who I can and cannot be
affectionate with. If I want to hug Sean, I will do
that if I want to!"

Seeing that Nick wasn't going to back down from this,
Joe started to get frustrated.

"Alright, that's it!" Joe said, throwing up his hands.
"I'm done trying to get through to you about Sean!"

"Good!" Nick replied back, angrily. "I've heard enough
out of you about Sean and I don't want to hear
anything more from now on!"

Joe scowled at Nick.

"Well, isn't that just too bad!" Joe snarled at Nick.
"Because I'm going to do everything I can to make sure
that Sean goes to prison for what he's done to my
daughter!"

Nick couldn't hear anymore. He glared at Joe and
pointed to the door.

"Get Out!" Nick sneered at him. "I'm through listening
to you!"

Joe threw up his hands, in frustration, once more.

"Fine." He said, turning to Tina. "Come on, honey.
We're going back to our hotel. We've got a long day
ahead of us tomorrow morning."

"Alright." Tina said to him. She turned towards John
and Cate. "I'll be in touch."

John and Cate both nodded, but didn't say anything.
Tina was the first to head for the door. Before Joe
followed her, he looked back at Nick.

"If this is how you're going to treat my daughter,"
Joe snarled at Nick. "then you and Sean deserve each
other!"

After saying that, Joe walked to the door where Tina
was waiting for him. She opened the door and walked
out. Joe walked out behind her and closed the door
behind him.

Nick wiped his face with his hand, tiredly. Then he
looked over at his parents.

"Mom, Dad, it's been a long day." He said. "I'm really
tired right now and want to get some rest."

Cate and John nodded. They could both see that Nick
was indeed exhausted. Anyone would be going rounds
against Joe Simpson.

"Ok." Cate said. "Would you like your father and I to
take Nicole for the night?"

Before Nick could answer, Drew answered for him.

"You don't have to do that, Mom." Drew said to him.
"I'll be here for the night, as well, so I can watch
her while Nick gets his rest."

Nick turned and looked back at Drew, just as Drew
glanced at him. Nick mouthed "Thank you" to him and
Drew nodded.

"Alright, then, we're going to go too." John said to
them. "If you need anything, you two call us, no
matter what time it is."

"Thanks, Dad." Nick said, managing a weak smile. "You
and Mom both get some rest."

"We sure will, Honey." Cate said, as she walked over
to him. She gave him a hug, then said: "I love you,
sweetheart."

"I love you too, Mom." Nick said, as he hugged her.

Then Cate let him go and went over to hug Drew, while
Nick's father shook hands with him.

"Drew, honey, we just want you to know that it's great
to have you back here where you belong." Cate said to
him. "With your family."

Drew smiled. "Thank's Mom." He said, as he accepted
his mother's hug.

"Ok." Cate said, softly. Then she turned to John.
"Darling are you ready?"

"Yes." John said, as he came over to where Cate was
standing. He shook hands with his youngest son. "It's
good to have you back, Son."

Drew nodded.

"Thanks, Dad." He said. "I'm glad to be back."

John nodded. Then he and Cate headed for the door. As
they were opening it, Nick called back to them.

"Goodnight!" He said to them. John and Cate, both said
goodnight and closed the door behind them.

Now that Nick and Drew were alone, Nick turned to his
little brother and looked at him.

"Thanks for offering to watch my daughter for me,
little brother." Nick told him. "I really appreciate
your help at a difficult time like this."

"Don't mention it." Drew said to him. "You know how
much I love my little niece. I'm always happy to help
out with her."

Nick nodded and then he yawned a big yawn.

"On that note, you'd better get ready for bed." Drew
said to him. "I'll go into the living room area and
check on Nicole."

As Drew headed towards the door, he realized that
something was missing.

"Shit!" Drew cursed, out loud.

"What?" Nick asked, as he was pulling off his shirt.
Drew turned to him, feeling like an idiot for what he
had to tell him.

"I left all of my luggage over at Sean's." Drew said
to him. "I assumed that we were going to head straight
back there after we saw Sean at the hospital. I didn't
know I was going to be staying here, until just now."

Nick of course, had the solution to that.

"No, sweat." He said to Drew. "I'll call Danny and see
if he's at Sean's by now. If Jeff is with him, I'll
ask Jeff if he can bring your stuff by here. He has to
come back to his hotel room anyway."

"Alright." Drew replied. "Thanks, Nick."

Drew walked into the living room area to check on
Nicole, while Nick grabbed his phone and dialed the
number for Sean's apartment.

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

Danny and Jeff were still sitting on the couch
together, talking.

"Listen, Danny." Jeff said to him. "I know how much
you're hurting right now, but couldn't you please put
your feelings aside for tonight? Sean's going to need
all the support we can give him right now. I'd really
like to stay here with you, tonight."

Danny looked up at Jeff and shrugged, feeling
uncomfortable at that particular moment.

"I don't know..." He trailed off.

"Please?" Jeff begged him. "Besides, I don't really
like the thought of you being here, alone, tonight."

Danny looked back up at Jeff and saw how much Jeff
wanted to stay there with him.

"Well, what do you say?" Jeff asked him. "Do I stay
here? Or do I go back to my hotel room?"

Danny opened his mouth to give Jeff his answer, but
just then, the phone rang. Danny looked at the clock.

"Man, who can that be at 12:30 in the morning?" He
asked, as he grabbed the phone. He turned it on and
put it to his ear.

"Hello?" Danny said, into the phone. "Hey, Nick,
what's up?.......Yes, Jeff's here with me. Why?"

Jeff looked at Danny, intensely, wondering what Nick
wanted. Then, he saw Danny look at something. He
looked over in the direction that Danny was looking
and saw a travel bag sitting by the twin recliner.

"Ok, Nick," Jeff heard Danny say to Nick, on the
phone. "tell Drew that Jeff will be there in a few
minutes with his stuff. Ok, goodnight."

Danny hung up the phone and looked back at Jeff.

"Drew left his things here, and he wants them, so I
told Nick that you would run them over to his hotel
room so that Drew will have them for tomorrow." Danny
told him.

Jeff then realized that this would be the perfect
opportunity to settle some unfinished business.

"Alright, I guess that's my answer." Jeff said to him.
"I will let you have your space tonight. Besides, I
need to talk to Drew so that we can figure things out
and make some important decisions."

Danny nodded. Then, he stood up.

"Come on, I'll drive you back there." He offered. Jeff
shook his head.

"No, it's ok." Jeff said. "I can walk."

Danny opened his mouth in shock.

"The hell you will." Danny protested. "After what Sean
went through the night of Jessica's attack, there's no
way in hell you're going to walk those dark streets
alone."

"Danny, don't worry." Jeff tried to reassure him. "I
can take care of myself. I promise you I'll be
alright."

Danny wasn't taking no for an answer. He may not be on
good terms with Jeff, right now, but still he didn't
like the thought of Jeff roaming the streets alone.
anything could happen at this time of night.

"I don't want anything to happen to you, Jeff." Danny
said to him. "Please, let me drive you back to the
hotel?"

Jeff could see the pleading look in Danny's eyes as he
looked at him. Their eyes locked on each other for a
moment. Then, Jeff smiled.

"Even after all that's happened between us, you still
care what happens to me." Jeff stated, softly.

"I never denied that." Danny said to me. "Now, come
on, let's get going before I become too tired to
drive."

Danny grabbed Sean's keys and Jeff followed him to the
door. Danny opened it and waited for Jeff to exit
first. Then, he closed the door and locked it up.

******************************************************
BACK AT NICK'S HOTEL ROOM......

Nick was just putting on a pair of pajama bottoms when
Drew came into the bedroom, from out of the living
room area.

"Well, Nicole is fast asleep, Bro." Drew said to Nick.
"Did you get ahold of Danny?"

"Yeah." Nick told him. "He and Jeff should be here any
minute."

"Cool." Drew said, as he stifled a yawn. "I hope
they're quick, because I don't know how much longer I
can stay awake."

Nick agreed. He knew the feeling. He was just as tired
as Drew was.

"Before they get here, though, it'll give us a chance
to talk a little more about your situation with
Casey." Nick pointed out.

Drew looked up at Nick in surprise. He wasn't
expecting that particular subject to be brought up
again, tonight.

"What's there to talk about?" Drew asked him. "Casey
shut me out, I left and came back to Orlando, end of
story."

Drew was hoping that Nick would let it go after that,
but no such luck.

"Drew." Nick said, in that tone that Drew knew all too
well. It was that tone that meant that Drew had to
talk about this. Otherwise, he would never have any
answers.

"Nick, do we really have to talk about this, tonight?"
Drew asked him.

"Yes, we do." Nick said. "I know how you get when
you're hurting Drew. You hold in your emotions and
that's not good. Just tell me what you're feeling. I
want to help you get through this, anyway I can."

Drew sat down on the other bed, across from Nick's and
tried to find the right words to begin.

"I'm feeling...."Drew said. "I don't know what I'm
feeling. I guess I'm just numb. How are you supposed
to feel when your boyfriend shuts you out and won't
confide in you about what he's feeling?"

Nick knew exactly what the answer was to that. He'd
been through it before.

"Exactly the way you're feeling right now." Nick said
to him. "I've been there. I was in the same place when
I found out about my marriage to Sean being legal and
that he wasn't able to confide in me about what he was
going through."

Drew looked up at Nick, surprised that he had gone
back to that point in time.

"That was different, Nick." Drew said to him. "You and
Sean broke up over that. Casey and I are still
together."

"But, I still felt the same way then as you do now."
Nick told him. "You remember, don't you?"

Drew nodded.

"Yes I do." He said. "I also remember how often you
sat by the phone, waiting for Sean to call since the
day he left. But, with you being so stubborn, you
wouldn't actually call him, until I forced you to do
it."

"I know." Nick said to him. "But by that time, I had
waited too long and Sean's cellphone number was no
longer in service."

"Yes." Drew replied. "And when we tried to contact him
in New York City, we'd found out that he was no longer
living there."

Nick's eyes shifted to the floor and Drew picked up on
something that Nick was keeping to himself.

"What is it, Nick?" Drew asked him. "I sense that
there's something you're not telling me?"

Nick looked back up at Drew.

"That's not all I found out." He said. "There's
something I never told you or any of the others at the
time."

Now, Drew was intrigued. "What?" He asked.

Nick looked over at Drew and Drew could see the pain
in Nick's eyes.

"When I called and found out that he wasn't there, I'd
also found out from his landlord that he'd
specifically told him that he didn't want to hear from
any of us, and most especially me, ever again. The
landlord wouldn't even tell me where Sean had moved
to."

Drew could see that Nick was still very emotional
about that time.

"And that's when I knew...." Nick said, trailing off,
momentarily. "that he was never coming back. And by
the time, a year went by, I'd given up any hope I'd
had of ever seeing him again and decided to move on
with my life."

Nick wiped at a tear that had started to run down his
cheek. Drew then wondered something.

"Have you told Sean any of this?" Drew asked him. Nick
looked at him.

"No." He told him. "What's the point of telling him
this now? Sean and I are over. We don't love each
other anymore."

Drew nodded, sadly. He was the one other person
besides Kandi who had hoped that his brother and Sean
would be back together.

"I understand, Nick." Drew said to you. "But I'd be
lying If I said that I didn't wish that the two of you
could be together again."

Nick stared at Drew in surprise when he heard what
he'd said about him and Sean reconciling. He almost
couldn't believe it.

"Are you serious?" He asked Drew. Drew nodded.

"Very." Drew said to him. "The love that you and Sean
shared was magical. You were truly happy when you were
with him. Even though, you and Jessica, have more
history, it was ultimately Sean's love that changed
you. You became an even better person because of it."

Nick thought back to the times when he was with Sean.
As he did, he smiled, as the memories came flooding
back.

"Yeah." He murmured. "We did have some amazing times
together. God, how I adored him, then."

As Drew gazed into his brother's face, he could see
that Nick's thoughts were a million miles away.

"I can remember our wedding like it was just
yesterday." Nick continued, with a far away look in
his eyes. "That was one of the happiest moments of my
life."

((FLASHBACK))

Nick and Sean's Wedding Day.......

"Nicholas, do you take Sean Perry to be your lawfully
wedded husband?" The minster said. "To have and to
hold? In joy and in sorrow? for richer or for poorer?
in sickness and in health? for better or for worse? Do
you promise to love and to cherish him? And keep
yourself only unto him, for as long as you both shall
live?"

"I do." Nick said, lovingly. Then, he turned to Drew,
who gave him his ring. He turned and held it up to
Sean.

"And as a symbol of my promise, I give you this ring."
Nick said, slipping it on Sean's index finger.

Then, the minister, turned to Sean.

"Sean, do you take Nicholas Lachey to be your lawfully
wedded husband?" He asked. "To have and to hold? in
joy and in sorrow? for richer or for poorer? In
sickness and in health? For better or for worse? Do
you promise to love and to cherish him? And keep
yourself only unto him, for as long as you both shall
live?"

"I do." Nick could hear Sean say. He remembered how
happy Sean was at that moment. Sean turned to Danny,
who gave him his ring. He turned back to Nick and held
it up to him.

"And as a symbol of my promise," Sean murmured. "I
give you this ring."

He slipped it on Nick's third index finger. Once that
was done, the minister continued.

"As Nick and Sean have stood before us and pledged
their love for one another, I now pronounce them,
Husband and Husband. For those whom God has joined
together, let no one put asunder.

Then, the minister looked over at Nick and said:

"Nick, you may kiss your groom." He finished.

Nick leaned in and shared the most passionate kiss
with Sean that he'd ever experienced in his life.

((END OF FLASHBACK))

Nick wiped at his eyes and looked over at Drew, to see
that Drew was also wiping at his eyes.

"That was one of the most beautiful weddings I'd ever
been to." Drew said to him. "And I'm so sorry that I
ruined that for you. One of the best moments of your
life and I had to be selfish and hurt the two people
that I always swore that I'd support and protect, no
matter what."

Drew hung his head, in shame. Nick saw how much Drew
still hurt over how he'd ruined his and Sean's perfect
wedding. Sympathetically, Nick put a hand on his
brother's shoulder.

"Drew, don't think about that, anymore." Nick said to
him. "I know how sorry you are for what you did and
I've forgiven you. Let's just put that behind us, OK?"

Drew nodded. But he still had something to say to Nick
that he'd wanted to say for awhile.

"Alright." Drew said to him. "But Nick, if you and
Sean ever could get back together again, I promise you
I will make up for what I did. I will give you and
Sean an even better wedding than you had before. I
swear it."

Nick was touched that Drew would do something like
that for him. He smiled at Drew and stood up.

"Come here." He said to Drew. Drew stood up and
stepped over to Nick. Nick then pulled Drew into his
arms and hugged him strongly.

"I'm touched that you would want to do something like
this for me and Sean." Nick said to him. "Thank you
for that. But, unfortunately, that's something that
may never happen for Sean and I again."

Shocked, Drew pulled back from his embrace with Nick.

"What do you mean?" He asked Nick. "You're divorcing
Jessica, so you're free to date Sean again if you want
to."

"Drew..." Nick started to say, but Drew continued.

"I'm not saying that you two should get married right
away and pick up right where you left off." Drew
pointed out. "Even I know that's not realistic. You
and Sean have both changed. You need to rediscover one
another. And the best way to do that is to start
hanging out with him, more often. Start seeing him
again. See if the magic is still there."

Nick thought about what Drew said, but only for a
moment. Then, it was back to the cold hard truth.

"Drew, I appreciate what you're trying to do." Nick
said to him. "But Sean and I are just friends now. I
don't have any interest in rekindling anything
romantic with him."

"But," Drew started to say, but Nick held up his hand,
cutting him off.

"Don't get me wrong, little brother," Nick told him.
"I will always have a special place in my heart for
him, but that's all. I'm more interested in moving on
with my life and starting over fresh."

"I see." Drew said, in a disappointed tone. He was
silent after that and didn't say anything else. Nick
kept talking.

"Nicole has to be my main priority right now. I want
to make sure that Jessica and I raise a happy and
healthy little girl. I love my little girl more than I
can ever put into words. So, no more talk about dating
and rekindling any past romances, ok? My life is fine
the way it is right now."

Drew nodded. Then, before he could say anything else,
there was a knock at the door.

"That's probably, Danny and Jeff." Nick said, getting
up.

He walked over to the door and opened it. Sure enough,
Danny and Jeff were standing on the other side of the
door, looking at him.

"Well, that was fast." Nick said to them. "Thanks for
coming."

"No problem, Nick." Danny said, as he and Jeff entered
the room. Nick shut the door and walked back to sit
down on the bed.

Jeff sat down Drew's bags at the end of his bed.

"Here's your stuff, Drew, just as promised." Jeff
said, with a smile on his face. Drew smiled back at
him.

"Thank you for bringing them over." Drew said, looking
at him, then over at Danny. "Both of you."

Danny nodded.

"Well, I need to get back to Sean's." He said. "I need
to get some sleep so I'll be fresh for Sean's bail
hearing in the morning."

Hearing him say that, Jeff turned to him.

"I thought that you might consider staying the night
in my room for the night." Jeff said, in shock.

"I never said that I would for sure." Danny told him.
"Besides, I really need my space tonight. You
understand, don't you?"

Jeff didn't like it, but he did understand. Danny was
obviously uncomfortable around him right now.
Especially with Drew sitting right there. No doubt
Drew could pick up on it. He knew that Jeff was in
love with him and he knew that Danny knew it too.

"Yeah." Jeff said to him. "Well, if that's the way you
feel, then have a safe drive back to Sean's. We'll all
see you in the morning, before Sean's bail hearing."

"Alright." Danny said. Then he looked over to Nick and
Drew. "Goodnight, Nick, Drew."

"Goodnight, Danny." Nick said to him.

"Take care, Danny." Drew said to him.

Danny left the room and closed the door behind him.
After he was gone, Jeff turned back to Nick.

"Well, I should be heading back to my room too." Jeff
said. "I have to get some rest as well."

"Sure." Nick said. "Sleep well, Jeff."

Jeff nodded. "I'll try." He said, softly. He then
walked to the door and opened it. He exited and closed
the door behind him.

Nick turned to Drew.

"Do you think you should go and talk to him?" He asked
Drew. "I know how he feels about you."

"So do I." Drew replied back. "But I don't think that
I should tonight. Tomorrow will be a better day. Right
now, let's just get some sleep."

Nick and Drew both got out of their clothes and
stripped down to their boxers. Nick got into bed and
Drew went into the living room area to sleep on the
couch so that he'd be there if Nicole woke up.

Nick turned out the light and got underneath the
covers. As he lay there, he couldn't help but wonder
what tomorrow had in store for him and the rest of his
friends. Most especially, Sean.

Nick closed his eyes and given how tired he was, it
wasn't long before he drifted off to sleep.



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:

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