Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:36:34 -0800 (PST)
From: Kirk Landers <ilj4ever44@yahoo.com>
Subject: Phases- part 16

Copyright and Disclaimer:
1. This is a fictional story with fictional
characters.
2. No one is to steal this story under any
circumstances.
3. This story deals with relationships and not sex, so
if you're looking for a story with a lot of sex in it,
this isn't the story for you.


   Hope you are all doing well.  After this chapter
there will be one more installment before I take a bit
of a break to refuel.  It's not going to be over, but
it will just be about a month or so until I post a new
chapter.  I'm going to be wrapping up most of the
storylines that have been going on in this and the
next chapter and then will kick start the new chapters
with fresh storylines for the characters.  Thanks so
much for reading and hope you continue to read them!
Here's part 16 entitled, "End of the Line"

'END OF THE LINE'

It was a very somber morning, the rain outside was
softly falling from the gray sky.  Inside of Kurt and
Leo's apartment, Kurt was sitting on the couch wearing
a sweatshirt that Ryan had left behind and was
drinking a cup of coffee while he looked through a
photo album he had made the other day with pictures of
him and Ryan together.  He had just completed his
first week at West Coast Style and was relieved to
have a free weekend to unwind and relax.  It was a
tough week, he spent his first day writing his first
article, then he spent the next few days after
revising, re-writing, re-editing, re-everything to it.
 He had never had so much re-writing done for an
article.  At Update his editor for the most part was
always happy with what he turned in, but with a big
magazine like West Coast Style, Kurt soon found that
just being good wasn't good enough, everything in it
had to be amazing.  Kurt was completely drained and
was enjoying just kicking back.  His blissful,
stress-free, time however soon came to an end when Leo
and Nick came through the front door.

"I told you Nick, I'm not going," Leo said heading
straight to the kitchen to get something to eat.

"Leo, you turned into an alcoholic because of your
grief over Jesse," Nick said, "Don't you think it's a
good idea to at least talk to someone?"

"No," Leo replied. "Look at me.  I'm fine, I'm doing
good.  I haven't had a drink for the past few days."

"Leo, don't underestimate your problem," Nick
lectured.

"I don't have a problem," Leo said. "I'm doing fine
Nick.  You've been with me practically non-stop these
past few days and I've been okay right?"

"I can't always baby sit you," Nick said, "I want to
know you'll be fine if Kurt or I am not around."

"I don't need a babysitter," Leo said, "You're the one
who's been insisting that you go with me everywhere."

"So I'm guessing you guys didn't quite make it to the
AA meeting today?" Kurt asked.

"No, because someone thinks he doesn't need it," Nick
replied.

"I don't," Leo said.

"Kurt, you agree with me right?" Nick asked.

"Kurt, don't you think that Nick is being way too
overbearing?" Leo asked.

Kurt looked back and forth between both of them, he
always played middle man between the two and knew how
to answer them so they were both satisfied.

"Yes, I agree with Nick that it might be a good idea
to talk to someone," Kurt said to Leo, but before Nick
could gloat he quickly turned to him as well, "But I
also agree with Leo that you're being a little
suffocating to him.  Why don't the two of you just
come to a compromise?"

"Such as?" Nick asked.

"How about, you lay off of him a bit as long as Leo
agrees to go to a therapist," Kurt suggested.

"A therapist?" Leo asked.

"Well, maybe this whole drinking thing you went on has
less to do with being an alcoholic and more to do with
dealing with Jesse," Kurt said.

Nick and Leo both looked at each other, waiting for
the other to make the first move.

"Agree?" Nick asked.

"Agree," Leo replied as they shook on it.

"Thank God," Kurt said sitting back down on the couch.

Nick gave Leo a hug, "You know I'm only smothering you
because I love you right?"

"I know," Leo replied, "But just let me deal with this
on my own okay?"

"Okay," Nick replied.

"How about the three of us go to lunch?" Kurt
suggested.

"Sure," Leo replied.

"Sounds good," Nick said.

The three then grabbed their jackets and went to a
little restaurant near the apartment.  The three sat
down and the waiter took their drink order.

"I'll have lemonade," Kurt said.

"Coffee and water, please," Nick said.

"Can I have a beer?" Leo asked.

Kurt and Nick both shot Leo a look.

"Water is fine," Leo quickly changed.

"Good job," Nick said.

"So Kurt," Leo said, "We never got a chance to talk.
How was your first week?"

"It was good," Kurt replied, "Tiring, but good."

"And working with Reese is going well?" Nick asked.

"Yeah," Kurt replied, "I don't know."

"What does that mean?" Leo asked.

"Is it bad that him and I have gone back to flirting
with each other?" Kurt asked.

"Why would that be bad?" Leo asked. "He's hot."

"I know, but I'm still not over Ryan," Kurt replied.
"I mean look at me.  I'm wearing his sweatshirt."
Kurt pointed to the sweatshirt he had on.

"Well maybe Reese can help you with the moving on
process," Nick said.

"I just feel like I'm betraying Ryan in a way," Kurt
said. "I mean, him and I didn't break up because we
didn't love each other anymore.  Circumstances took us
away from one another."

"I know what that's like," Leo sighed.

"I'm sorry," Kurt said rubbing Leo's back, "You want
to talk about something else?"

"No, it's fine," Leo replied.

"Kurt, Reese is here," Nick pointed out, "And he's
interested in you.  No harm in going out on at least
one date, right?"

"I guess not," Kurt replied.

"By the way Kurt," Leo pointed out jokingly, "You work
at West Coast Style now, you might want to start
dressing the part."

Kurt looked down at his clothes, he was wearing Ryan's
old fades sweatshirt, an old pair of jeans that were
beginning to tear at the bottom seam and an old pair
of running shoes.

"I know," Kurt said, "I look like crap today.  I did
get a couple bags of free clothes."

"Yeah?" Leo asked. "Any of it my size?"

"Actually, I guess I'll be able to get a lot of free
clothes, so I think we can work something out," Kurt
smiled.

"Really?!" Leo asked excited.

"Like a little kid on Christmas morning," Nick
observed.

"It's some good stuff," Kurt said, "I've gotten some
stuff from Theory, Hugo Boss, D&G."

"Oh my God!" Leo drooled.

"Maybe the type of therapy you need is just some
shopping," Kurt joked.

"If I can get stuff like that then it sounds like good
therapy to me," Leo retorted.

After the server came with their drinks and took their
food order, Kurt and Leo turned their attention to
Nick.

"So how have you been doing?" Kurt asked, "Do you miss
Adrian?"

"Yeah," Nick replied, "But I know that I just can't be
a good boyfriend to him right now."

"Nick, I want to apologize," Leo said, "I know I'm
partly the reason you broke up with him."

"It's okay," Nick said, "I was the one who decided to
focus all my energy on you.  So it's not your fault."

"Wasn't it too hard to do the long distance thing
also?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, it didn't help," Nick replied. "I just need to
find someone I can just casually date here."

"Sounds like a plan," Kurt said.

"You know what I think the three of us should do?" Leo
brought up, "I think we all should just spend the
night in together and just hang out."

"That actually sounds like a perfect idea," Nick
replied.

"Definitely," Kurt added, "After all the stuff we just
got past, I think we can all use a night to relax
together."

"Great," Leo said, "I just need to do something real
quick and then we'll have the rest of the day
together."

"What do you need to do?" Nick asked.

"None of your business," Leo replied with a smirk.

"Leo," Nick said, not in the mood to get into another
argument.

Before they could get into it though, Kurt quickly
changed the subject, "Did I tell you guys that my
first article is going to be in next week's issue?"

"Oh really?" Leo asked, grateful to Kurt for changing
topics.

"Yeah," Kurt replied.

"Leo," Nick said, ignoring Kurt and beginning to dig
into him again.

"And then, in the next issue, depending on the
feedback they get I might be able to go and interview
some designers and actors," Kurt said changing the
subject again.

"That's awesome!" Leo exclaimed hoping Nick would lay
off.

Nick sighed and relented giving up.

After lunch the guys all went off on their separate
ways before they would meet up later to spend the
night in.  Kurt went home to rest, Nick went to his
apartment to work, while Leo went to his
destination....Jesse's apartment.

When Leo arrived he walked slowly around the living
room of Jesse's place, taking in the familiar smells,
the way he remembered feeling when he was there with
Jesse, the good memories, the fights they had, their
whole history together.  Leo was determined to make it
through with out feeling overwhelmed like he was
drowning, so far he felt all right.  He was doing a
lot better than he normally did.  He sat down on the
couch in the living room and just looked around at the
room, every where he looked held a memory that was
dear to him, he looked over at the kitchen area and
remembered the first time Jesse made him pancakes, he
looked on the coffee table and saw pictures of him and
Jesse that he had framed, on the couch where him and
Jesse shared their first kiss.

"You can do this," Leo said to himself as he took a
deep breath trying to remain strong.  He then sighed
to himself as he looked toward the bedroom door and
got up to go in.  When he walked in one distinct
memory came to mind, the memory of his first time with
Jesse, his first time with anyone.  It was back when
the two had been dating for a little over a month,
they were sitting in the living room of Jesse's
apartment kissing.  They had just spent a romantic
night eating a little Italian restaurant and were now
enjoying being in each other's arms.

"Do you want to go into the bedroom?" Jesse asked.

Leo thought it over for a bit, not too sure how to
answer.

"Is it too soon?" Jesse asked, "If it is, just tell
me, we don't have to."

"Oh no it's not that," Leo said, "It's just that..."
Leo was a little embarrassed to say.

"What is it?" Jesse asked.

"Promise not to laugh?" Leo asked.

"Promise," Jesse answered holding Leo's hand.

"Our first time, will sort of be my first time," Leo
revealed sheepishly.

"Really?" Jesse asked surprised.

"Yeah," Leo answered. "I've never had sex before."

"Wow," Jesse said, "I thought with that party
lifestyle you used to have-"

"I know," Leo interrupted, "I'm a lot of talk.  Not a
lot of action."

"Well if you're not ready," Jesse said, "It's fine."

Leo smiled as he looked at Jesse, never before has he
met a guy who was so sincerely kind and caring like
him.  He has hooked up with guys before, but whenever
they wanted to have sex and Leo stopped them, they
would immediately walk out on him.  This was the first
time someone was assuring him that it was okay.

"No," Leo said, "I'm ready."

"Are you sure?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah," Leo replied leaning in to kiss Jesse tenderly.
 The two slowly got up and walked into Jesse's
bedroom.  They went over and laid down on his bed and
began kissing again, tasting one another's lips.
Jesse slowly started to unbutton Leo's shirt and ran
his hands across Leo's smooth stomach.  Leo moved his
hands under Jesse's shirt and rubbed his back.

Leo shook his head to try and drown out that memory
from his mind as he looked around the empty bedroom.
He thought he could do it, but he was wrong.  Leo
quickly left the bedroom and went into the kitchen and
made himself a drink.

Meanwhile, Kurt was at home watching tv when his cell
phone rang, he looked and saw Reese show up on his
caller ID.

"Hey," Kurt answered.

"Hey, what are you up to?" Reese asked.

"Just relaxing. I had a tough first week.  My boss is
a real pain," Kurt joked.

"Well you did great," Reese said. "I actually wanted
to take you out to celebrate."

"Oh yeah?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah, are you busy tonight?" Reese asked.

"Actually yeah, I have plans with Nick and Leo," Kurt
replied.

"All right, that's cool," Reese said. "How about
tomorrow?"

Before Kurt could answer he call waiting alert on his
phone, he looked and saw that it was Ryan who was on
the other line.

"Can I call you back?" Kurt asked, "I have to take
this phone call on the other line."

"No problem," Reese replied.

"Let me get back to you about tomorrow," Kurt said
before he clicked over to the other line, "Ryan?"

"Hey you," Ryan said.  Kurt smiled just hearing Ryan's
voice.

"It's so good to hear from you," Kurt said, "How are
you?"

"I'm okay," Ryan replied. "Just getting adjusted to
life out here."

"How is it?" Kurt asked.

"It's not bad," Ryan replied, "It's going to take some
getting used to."

Kurt and Ryan both grew quiet, wanting to say so much
to one another, but at the same time not knowing what
to say.

"How's your daughter?" Kurt asked.

"Kurt," Ryan sighed, "I can't tell you how amazing it
is to have her in my life."

"Yeah?" Kurt asked happy to hear the glee in Ryan's
voice when he spoke about her.

"She's just this amazing little girl," Ryan replied,
"I really don't know what the issues with her could
have been because she is such a sweet girl."

"I'm glad to hear that," Kurt said.

"It's only been a couple weeks, but I've been spending
so much time with her that I just feel like she's been
apart of me for all these years," Ryan said.

Kurt sighed, sincerely glad to hear that Ryan is
enjoying being with his daughter, but he was also sad
that Ryan was no longer there with him.

"Well it's really good to hear from you," Kurt said.

"I'm sorry if it's weird that I called," Ryan said.

"It's not weird," Kurt said, "I'm glad you called.
I've been debating calling you for a while."

"I just really wanted to hear your voice," Ryan said.

Kurt sighed, realizing just how much he missed Ryan.

"Ryan," Kurt began wanting to tell him how hard it's
really been for him since he left.

"Yeah?" Ryan asked.

But Kurt stopped himself, he didn't want to complain
to Ryan.

"It's really good to hear your voice too," Kurt said
instead.

"How's the new job going?" Ryan asked.

"It's good," Kurt replied, "It's different."

The two grew silent again, Kurt couldn't take it
anymore, he missed Ryan too much.

"I miss you," Kurt sighed sadly.

"Kurt, you have no idea how much I miss you," Ryan
burst after holding that in for as long as he could.

"I think about you so much," Kurt complained, "And my
friends are suggesting that I go on this date with
this one guy, but I don't think I can."

"Why?" Ryan asked.

"Because all I do is think of you," Kurt replied, "How
could I even think of dating someone else?"

"Kurt, I hate to say it, but you should try going out
with him," Ryan said.

"What?" Kurt asked, surprised Ryan would even suggest
it.

"Kurt, I'm not going to be back anytime soon," Ryan
replied.

Kurt sighed, knowing all along he wouldn't be back,
but wishing it weren't true.

"But Ryan," Kurt said. "What if you come back one
day?"

"What if I don't?" Ryan countered. "Just try it Kurt.
There's no harm in it."

"I hate this," Kurt said. "I really hate this."

"I know," Ryan replied, "I do too."

"Why couldn't we have just broken up like normal
couples and hate each other afterwards?" Kurt joked.

"It would have been easier," Ryan agreed, "But when
has life ever been easy?"

"True," Kurt replied.

"I should get going," Ryan said, "I just wanted to
call and say hi."

"Thank you," Kurt replied. "I'm glad you did."

"Take care okay?" Ryan asked.

"I will," Kurt replied, "You too."

"I lov-" Ryan began to say, but then reconsidered, "Do
you want me to say it?"

"No," Kurt replied, knowing it would just make it
harder, "But I do too."

"Bye," Ryan said.

Kurt hung up and considered going out with Reese.

Meanwhile, Nick was grocery shopping, he decided to
cook for the guys when they met up later that night.
While he was shopping he noticed an attractive man who
kept looking over at him.  The man was a little under
6 ft., sandy brown hair.  Nick gave the man a polite
smile and continued with his shopping.  Nick was
walking away when he heard a big crash.  He turned
around and saw that the guy who was looking at him was
standing among a pile of fallen apples.  The guy
quickly bent over and was trying to pick the apples up
when Nick came up to him.

"Hey," Nick said. "Everything all right?"

"Yeah," the guy answered frazzled, "I'm such an
idiot."

"I'm sure these things happen all the time," Nick said
trying to make him feel better.

"I'm Bradley," he said shaking Nick's hand.

"Nick."

"I've seen you before at Club 57," Bradley said.

"Oh yeah?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, I kept wanting to go up and say hi to you and
then when I finally decided to you stopped going
there," Bradley said.

"Yeah things have been kind of hectic lately," Nick
answered. "Well, I'm flattered you decided to come up
now."

"Took every fiber in me to come up to you," Bradley
admitted as they finished picking up all the apples.

"Well, maybe I can thank you by taking you out for
dinner next week," Nick said.

"Really?" Bradley asked surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah, of course," Nick said, "Want to give me your
number?"

"Yeah," Bradley said quickly taking a business card
out of his wallet and handing it to Nick.  Nick looked
at the business card and read that it said event
coordinator underneath.

"You're an event planner?" Nick asked impressed.

"Yeah, my own company," Bradley answered, "It's small,
but I do all right."

"Well I'll give you a call tomorrow okay?" Nick asked.

"Awesome," Bradley said, "And thank you."

"For what?" Nick asked.

"For not making me feel like an idiot," Bradley said.

"Well thank you for coming up to me," Nick said. "I'll
talk to you later."

"All right," Bradley said, "Take care."

Nick finished up his grocery shopping and even though
it wasn't that long since he broke up with Adrian, he
was very intrigued by Bradley.

Back at Jesse's apartment Leo finished his forth drink
and was finally beginning to relax.  He now looked
around the apartment and couldn't see why it was such
a big deal before, he felt fine now.  He wouldn't let
himself admit that it was the alcohol that made him
feel better, because he was determined to prove Nick
wrong that he didn't have a drinking problem.  By his
fifth glass he was starting to feel sleepy, Leo went
and laid down on the couch to relax and slowly fell
asleep.

That night Nick was just arrived at Kurt and Leo's
place with the food to cook.  He was just starting to
cook the food when he noticed Leo wasn't around.

"Is he in his room?" Nick asked.

"No," Kurt replied, "I haven't heard from him.  I
tried calling, but he didn't pick up."

"Are you serious?" Nick asked annoyed. "This was his
idea and he's not even here?"

"I know," Kurt replied, "I'm sure he's on his way
though."

"That boy has no sense of time management," Nick said
as he started to boil some water for the pasta he was
cooking.

"Maybe he just got held up doing whatever he had to
do," Kurt suggested.

"You don't think he's out drinking do you?" Nick
asked.

"I don't think so," Kurt replied, "He knows better.
After last time when he passed out at the restaurant,
I'm sure that was a wake up call for him."

"I hope so," Nick said, he then turned to a lighter
subject, "So I met someone today."

"What?" Kurt asked, "Really?"

"Yeah, at the grocery store when I bought this stuff,"
Nick replied.

"Wow," Kurt said, "You didn't waste any time."

"I didn't approach him, he approached me," Nick
defended, "He seems like a really sweet guy too."

"And he lives in California," Kurt noted, "Good
start."

"He has his own business as an event coordinator,"
Nick said handing Kurt Bradley's business card.

"Nice," Kurt said, "His own business, impressive."

"So how about you?" Nick asked, "You thought any more
about going out with Reese."

"I have actually," Kurt said, "It took a phone call
from Ryan to help me come to that decision."

"Ryan called?" Nick asked.

"Yeah," Kurt replied.

"How did that go?" Nick asked.

"It fine," Kurt lied.  Nick shot him a look that knew
Kurt wasn't telling him the truth, "Okay, it was the
hardest phone call I've ever had to go through in my
life."

"Thought so," Nick said, he then went by Kurt and put
his arm around his shoulder, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Kurt said. "A part of me was always hoping
that he'd be back soon.  It just seems like such a
waste."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.

"Well, there was so much work just for him and I to be
together and then it was all taken away from us so
quickly," Kurt replied, "I just feel like, what was
the point?  If it was all going to be so brief between
us."

"Is that something you're just throwing out into the
cosmic universe?" Nick asked, "Kurt, these things just
happen.  I know you're big on fate and destiny, but I
really don't think any of that holds true.
Sometimes, people are taken from us for no reason and
it's tough, but it's just something we have to deal
with."

"That's so comforting," Kurt deadpanned.

"So what did you decide about Reese?" Nick asked.

"Ryan encouraged me to go out with him," Kurt replied.
"So I think I'm going to.  One date, no harm right?"

"Right," Nick said. "You might have fun."

"Yeah," Kurt said, trying to be optimistic.

Nick finished cooking dinner ad the two waited another
two hours for Leo, but still he didn't show up.

"You really think he's not drinking?" Nick asked
looking at his watch, "It's now ten."

"I'm sure he's not drinking," Kurt said, but not
really believing him.

Nick took his cell out and for the tenth time tried
calling him, this time however, Leo picked up.

"Hello?" Leo answered groggily.

"Where are you?" Nick barked.

"Huh?" Leo asked.

"It's ten o'clock at night," Nick said, "You said you
wanted to hang out tonight.  Kurt and I are here
waiting.  Are you drinking?"

"I'll be right there," Leo said then hung up.

Leo quickly jumped out of bed, he couldn't believe how
long he slept at Jesse's.  He ignored the throbbing
headache he had and the urge to throw up.  He grabbed
his keys and headed back to the apartment.  When he
got there, he threw a piece of gum into his mouth to
try and subdue the smell of alcohol on him and went
inside.  When he opened the door he faced a very
pissed off Nick and a very worried looking Kurt.

"Where the hell have you been?" Nick asked. "Your
dinner's cold."

"I'm sorry, I lost track of time," Leo said, "You know
me."

"I know and I know you're lying," Nick said going up
to Leo and smelled him, he smelled the alcohol.
"You've been drinking.  Don't try and hide it with the
gum."

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked playing dumb,
he looked over at Kurt for help, but saw the
disappointed look on Kurt's face and knew he wasn't
going to get any help from him.

"Were you drinking?" Kurt asked gently.  Kurt didn't
want to believe it, but he knew that this drinking
problem Leo had was worse than he thought.  Leo looked
at the two of them, but said nothing.  Kurt gently
approached Leo and tried putting his arm around him,
but he moved away. "Leo, you need to stop."

"Leo, you said you had this under control, and you
obviously don't," Nick said. "Let us help you."

"I do not have a problem!" Leo shouted.

"Yes you do!" Nick shot back.

"Hey, why don't we just all calm down and talk about
this rationally," Kurt suggested.

"Rationally?" Nick asked, "You think after all this we
can talk to him rationally, Kurt?"

"I'm just saying-" Kurt began, but Nick cut him off.

"No, we're done doing this rationally, because it
obviously doesn't get through to him," Nick said and
then turned back to Leo, "You're going to rehab."

"You can't tell me what to do," Leo said, "You're not
the boss of me."

"Yeah, but I'm your best friend and you obviously
can't look out for your best interest so I'm going to
do that for you," Nick said.

"Okay, we all just need to calm down before someone
says something they'll regret," Kurt said coming
between them.

"You are not my best friend," Leo said ignoring Kurt,
"I don't want anything to do with you."

"Leo," Kurt said gravely.

"I'm out of here," Leo said as he turned and walked
out of the apartment.  Leaving a stunned Nick and
Kurt.

 "You shouldn't have pushed him so hard," Kurt said.

"He needed it Kurt," Nick said. "He needs to realize
how big of a problem he has."

"I know that, but the way it left things," Kurt said,
"What if we lost him?"

"I'm not giving up on him.  No matter what he says."

"You don't think he'll do anything stupid do you?"
Kurt asked.

"I don't know," Nick said.

"Maybe we should have followed him," Kurt said. "Who
knows what he'll do now?"

Nick buried his face in his hands regretting the way
things went down between the two.

Leo went and got in his car a drove back to Jesse's
place.  When he got there he fixed himself a drink and
sat down on the couch crying.  For the first time he
felt really alone and he desperately wished Jesse were
with him.

"Jesse, what should I do?" Leo asked hoping somehow
for an answer.

 Leo sank into the couch and thought of everything,
Jesse, the fight with Nick, everything.  He felt bad
for how he left things with Nick, but he felt even
worse at the thought of Jesse laying in a hospital bed
in a coma.  He then thought of the dream he had with
Jesse when he was at the hospital with him.

****FLASHBACK****

Leo was in a white room with a white bench resting in
the center.  Leo went over and sat down.  He was
obviously dreaming, but at the same time something
about it felt very real.  He heard faint footsteps and
out of no where he saw Jesse walk up to him.  Jesse
was no longer bruised and bandaged up, but looked as
good as he ever did.

"Jesse!" Leo exclaimed running and hugging him
tightly.

"Hey baby," Jesse said holding Leo in his arms.

"What's going on?" Leo asked.

"Leo, I know you've been visiting me every day," Jesse
replied, "I can feel you there with me."

"I've been here in case you wake up."

"I'm not waking up," Jesse said.

"What?" Leo asked in horror.

"At least not now anyway," Jesse said. "Not anytime
soon."

"Jesse," Leo started to cry, "You have to wake up."

"Leo, you know if I could, I would be with you in a
second," Jesse said, "But some things are out of our
control."

"We just got back together," Leo sighed.

"I know," Jesse said holding Leo in his arms, "I know
it's not fair, but it's what we have to do for now."

"What are you saying?" Leo asked.

"I'm saying, you need to move on with your life,"
Jesse said, "You have to live your life.  For the past
month you haven't been living.  Let the world see your
smile again."

"I can't," Leo cried. "Not while you're here."

"Leo I don't want you to be there with me every day,"
Jesse said, "You're going to miss everything life has
to offer.  If you can't live for yourself, do it for
me."

"For you?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Jesse said, "Live for me.  Being in a hospital
room every day is not living.  Can you do that for me
baby?"

"I guess," Leo cried.

"I love you so much, don't you understand that?" Jesse
asked. "I want you to go on with your life.  Continue
your acting, have fun with Kurt and Nick, date."

"Date?" Leo asked.

"Yes," Jesse said, "Date.  I don't want you to hold on
to hope of me waking up because I might not and if I
don't then I want you to date and not be alone
forever."

"No one will ever compare to you," Leo said.

"Don't compare them to me," Jesse said, "Each
individual is their own person.  No one is alike, so
you can't compare them to me because they won't be
anything like me.  But you can kind happiness with
someone like you did with me.  I want you to find that
happiness."

"I can't say goodbye to you," Leo said.

"Don't say goodbye," Jesse said, "I'm always here."
Jesse put his hand over Leo's heart. "I love you."

"I love you too," Leo said kissing Jesse.  They kissed
very passionately, both knowing that it might be the
last time they ever kiss one another.

****END FLASHBACK****

As much as Leo wished he could, he couldn't live with
out Jesse.  He couldn't do it.  He missed Jesse too
much.  He finished another drink and got up and headed
to somewhere he had to go.  He heard his cell phone
ring, he saw Kurt's name show up, he ignored the call
and turned off his phone.

Back at the apartment Kurt frustratingly tried calling
Leo again, only this time instead of the phone ringing
it went straight to voice mail.

"He turned his phone off," Kurt said hanging up.
"Nick, we have to do something.  Where do you think he
went?"

"I don't know," Nick sighed, "We know this has to do
with Jesse, so he's going to go somewhere that has to
do with him."

"You think he's at the hospital?" Kurt asked.

"No," Nick replied, "That's too much for him.  He's
going to go somewhere where he has good memories with
Jesse.  Somewhere that will make him feel better."

"That restaurant they always went to?" Kurt asked.

Nick thought that over, but then realized, "Jesse's
apartment."

"Jesse's place?" Kurt asked, "Do you think?"

"I think so," Nick said, "I'm going to go there."

"I'm going with you," Kurt said grabbing his jacket as
the two headed out.

Ten minutes later they arrived at Jesse's place and
quickly went up to his floor, when they got there they
knocked on the door, but there was no answer.  Nick
tried his luck by turning the lock and found that it
was unlocked.  The two walked inside.

"Leo," Kurt called out. "Are you here?"

When Nick and Kurt walked into the living room they
saw am empty bottle of Kettle One and an ice filled
glass sitting on the table by the couch.

"There's still ice in the glass so he was here a
little while ago," Kurt noticed.

Nick went into the bedroom, but Leo was no where in
the apartment.

"Well he's not here anymore," Nick said, "Okay, lets
think Kurt, where could he have gone?"

"Wherever he went, he's drunk," Kurt said, "And what's
worse, he's driving."

"He's drunk now so obviously his thinking is skewed,"
Nick sighed.

"Nick," Kurt said gravely, "Do you think he might have
gone to the place where he and Jesse got in the
accident?"

"What?" Nick asked.

"Think about it," Kurt replied, "He has not adjusted
to life with out Jesse.  He's drunk now, so maybe he's
going back to the place where Jesse was taken away
from him."

"For what?" Nick asked.

Kurt looked at Nick and both shared the knowledge that
Leo might go over the edge.

"If he's on his way there we might not have much
time," Kurt said.

"Come on," Nick said as they hurried and left Jesse's
apartment.

Leo was driving fast, swaying back and forth between
lanes as he made his way to the place where the
accident happened.  When he got there he parked on the
side of the street near the club where him and Jesse
went to the night of the accident.  He sat there
quietly and thought back to the last moment he had
with Jesse.

****FLASHBACK****

After dancing most of the night away at the club Leo
and Jesse left the club around two in the morning.

"Thanks so much for tonight," Leo said holding Jesse's
hand as they walked to the car.

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun," Jesse said kissing Leo on
the forehead.

"I'm not even tired," Leo said.

"Me neither," Jesse said giving Leo a mischievous
smile.

"Lets hurry home," Leo said, knowing full well what
Jesse wanted to do the rest of the night.

The two got in Jesse's car and headed home.  As they
pulled out of the parking lot they came to a stop
light.  While they were waiting Leo looked over at
Jesse and just saw everything he could ever want, he
couldn't express how happy he was to be with him
again.  He was so consumed in looking at the man he
loved that he barely had time to notice the headlights
shining into his face before a car slammed into them.
Everything went black.

****END FLASHBACK****

Leo sat in his car crying.

When Nick and Kurt arrived at the place where the
accident occurred they saw Leo's car parked on the
side of the street.  They both let out a sigh of
relief.

"Thank God," Kurt said, "He's there."

"Let's go bring him home," Nick said as they got out
of the car.  The two headed over to Leo's car, but
right as they started to walk towards it, Leo's car
sped off, picking up a lot of speed before crashing at
full force into a brick wall towards the end of the
street.

"Oh my God," Nick said in shock frozen in fear at what
he just saw.

"Leo!" Kurt screamed as he ran towards the car.

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

To Be Continued...

With any comments, questions, or feedback please
e-mail me at ilj4ever44@yahoo.com.  Thanks so much!