Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2005 19:07:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: slpwriter <slpwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Nick Lachey: My Everything-84

Hello, Everyone!

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

Thanks for all of your support! Without it, I don't
think I could have written this story for this long.

Now on with the story.

First of all, let me just say that this is my first
time writing any kind of fiction like this.

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of total fiction and is
not meant to imply anything about the sexualities of
Nick and Drew Lachey or anyone else mentioned in
this story.

If you are too young to read this, or if
Homosexuality offends you, then please don't
continue any further and leave.

Other 98 Degrees stories I'd like to recommend are.

"Give Me Just One Night" by Unanoche.
"69 with Jeff Timmons" by Zachary Scott Pritt
"Nick Lachey" by Ken.
"98 Degrees Is Hot" by Gay Night
"The Reunion" by RinSong.
"Loving Nick Lachey" by Jordan
"Playing Doctor with 98 Degrees" by Brian
"This Gift" by Sprout

and finally:

"What I feel for you" by Thack.


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

Enjoy.


Previously on "My Everything".....


Nick turned back to Drew and looked him in the eyes,
frowning at him.

"Drew, would you just get out of my face!" Nick asked
him, harshly. "If I want your help, I will ask you for
it! But it will be a cold day in hell before I do
that!"

Drew stood there, looking at Nick, shaking his head.
He looked down at the floor and sighed heavily. Then,
he raised his hands, as he looked back up at Nick.

"Fine, I give up." He said, his voice all serious. "I
thought that things between us were starting to get
better with us, but I was wrong."

Drew looked back at Nick, his eyes saying it all: He
was through trying to reach out to Nick. Even he had
his pride and dignity. If Nick was going to be this
difficult, then Drew wasn't going to waste any more of
his time on him.

"I'm done trying to reach out to you, Bro." Drew said,
the pain, obvious, in his voice. "As much as I love
you, I can't continue to let you use me as your
personal punching bag anymore. So, I'm just going to
say that I hope that whatever you and Jessica are
going through, right now, that you can work it out. I
just want to see the two of you, happy."

With that, Drew turned and headed back to his room,
Before he got to the door, he turned back to Nick.

"I won't come to you, offering my help anymore." Drew
said to him. "I'll just have to wait until you are
ready to trust me again, before you can confide in me.
Until then, I'm just going to concentrate on my
relationship with Casey right now."

"You do that." Nick said. "Concentrate on your own
relationship and leave me the hell alone!"

Drew shook his head, as he pulled his key card out of
his pocket and swiped it through the door.

"I was only trying to be a good brother to you, that's
all, Nick!" Drew said, angrily.

"Well, with a brother like you, I certainly don't need
enemies!" Nick snapped back at him.

Drew had finally heard enough. The door unlocked and
he started to open it.

"Fine!" Drew said, a catch in his voice. "If you want
to stand out here and feel sorry for yourself right
now, be my guest, but I'll be damned if you're taking
me down with you!"

Drew went into his room and shut the door behind him.
Once he was gone, Nick's hands balled up into fists.

"I need some air!" He said, in exasperation

He then started walking towards the elevators.

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

BACK AT SEAN'S......

Jason held me in his arms, as I came to the end of the
story about everything that I'd been through in the
past.

"I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that."
Jason said, comforting me, as I cried on his
shoulders. "But, you don't have to worry now. You've
got me, now. I won't let anyone ever hurt you again."

I continued to just hold onto him. He rocked me,
slightly back and forth, as he slid his strong hands
up and down my back, comforting me. It was  very
relaxing.

"I'm so lucky to have found you, again." I said, as I
wiped at my tears. "I didn't know just how alone I
really felt until this very moment. I've longed for a
man's arms around me, again."

I pulled back and looked Jason in the face. I caressed
his cheek, lovingly.

"And I'm glad that you're going to be the man who arms
will be around me alot, now." I said, smiling at him.

Jason's face took on a look of surprise.

"Does that mean what I think it does? He asked me. I
nodded.

"Yes." I said. "I would love nothing more than to
pursue a relationship with you." I said to him. "But
I'd like to take it slow for awhile."

Now, Jason was curious. Usually taking things slow,
meant no sex until the other was ready, but in my
case, that wasn't what I was talking about.

"What do you mean?" Jason asked me. "We've already
been having sex, so how can we take it slow now?"

I took a  moment to enlighten him.

"Before you came into my life again, I had feelings
for someone else." I told him. "I still do and I
haven't resolved them yet."

Jason sat back and looked at me, wondering who I was
talking about.

"Who?" He asked me, wanting to know. I  sighed and let
the truth be known.

"Believe it or not, It's Nick." I told Jason. I saw
his expression change to shock.

"Nick?" He asked me, totally blown away by that
admission. "Even after everything that happened
between you two, you still love him?"

"I still have feelings for him." I said to Jason. "And
I probably always will."

"Does Nick know that you still have feelings for him?"
Jason wanted to know. I shook my head, no.

"No, he doesn't." I told Jason. "And he's not going to
because I am not going to tell him. He had his chance
and he made his choice to stay with Jessica. So, it's
definitely over between us."

I looked up at Jason.

"So, are you still willing to give our relationship a
try?" I asked him. "Even after everything I just told
you?"

Jason thought it over for a moment. It seemed like an
eternity, but finally he looked at me and a smile
formed on his lips.

"I would love to." He told me, and held me close. "And
thanks for being honest with me about your feelings
for Nick."

I looked up at him, as I pulled back from our hug.

"You won't say anything to Nick, will you?" I asked
him. Jason shook his head.

"No, I won't." Jason reassured me. "If you're ready to
move on, and put the past behind you, than so am I."

"Thanks." I said to him. "Now, how about we make you,
becoming my boyfriend, official? What do you say?"

Jason grinned at me.

"Now, there's an offer I can't refuse." He said. "Come
here, you."

Jason pulled me into a very passionate kiss. We stayed
that way for a long time, kissing each other. Or so it
seemed. That is, until Jason had other ideas.

Jason lifted me up and started carrying me to the
bedroom. As he was getting ready to walk down the
hallway, the phone rang.

"I'd better get that." I said. "It might be
important."

Jason put me down and I ran over to get it. I picked
it up and answered it.

"Hello?" I asked out loud. I got no response.

"Hello?" I tried again. "Is anyone there?"

After a slight pause, I heard a familiar voice.

"Sean, it's Danny." I heard Danny's voice say.


**********
CHAPTER 84
**********

SEAN'S APARTMENT.............

I felt a huge wave of relief wash over me when I heard
Danny's voice on the phone. I had been really worried
about him, after hearing what had happened between him
and Jeff last night.

"Danny!" I exclaimed, clutching my chest, in relief.
"Thank God! I've been so worried about you, since I
found out what happened last night! Where are you?"

"I'm on my way to your place right now." I heard Danny
say to me. "Can you see me? Or is it a bad time?"

When I heard that Danny was on his way here, to my
apartment, to see me, I took every opportunity to
welcome him here. I wanted to see, and make sure, for
myself, that he was alright.

"No, Danny, of course I can see you." I said to him.
"Actually, Jason is here with me, right now, and I was
about to suggest that we go out looking for you."

"Jason is there?" Danny asked me, sounding strange.
"Well, maybe I should come over later then."

I could feel Danny slipping away at that moment. I had
to do whatever I could to get him here. Even if I had
to do something I didn't want to do.

"Why?" I asked him. There was a slight pause, but I
could still hear him breathing on the other end of the
phone.

"I just don't want to impose on the two of you if you
are wanting some time alone." Danny told me. "After
everything you've been through, you deserve some
happiness for a change."

"You let me worry about that, Danny." I said to him.
"Right now, I'm more concerned about you. Will you
reconsider coming over if you and I talk alone, just
the two of us?"

Danny was silent for a moment, as he thought it over.

"Actually, yes, I'd like that alot better." He said to
me. "Are you sure that Jason wouldn't mind?"

"I don't think he would." I told Danny. "Hold on, I'll
ask him."

I set the phone down a moment and turned to Jason.
When the phone was away from my ear, he decided to say
something.

"What's going on, Sean?" He asked me, concerned. I
looked at him, feeling guilty for what I was going to
ask him.

"Jason, Danny is on his way over here, but he wants us
to talk alone, just me and him. Is that alright with
you?"

Jason nodded.

"Sure." He said. "I'm going to head down to the gym
anyway for my morning workout. Do you want me to call
you later?"

"Yes, definitely." I said, giving him a quick peck on
the lips. "I'm going to finish talking with Danny."

"Alright." Jason said. "I'll just be in your room for
a moment, to give you some privacy. Let me know when
you're done so we can say a proper goodbye, ok?"

"I will." I said, picking the phone back up. "And
thanks, Jason. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome." Jason said, smiling at me. Then, he
turned and left the living room, leaving me able to
finish my conversation with Danny.

I put the phone back to my ear and proceeded to let
Danny know what had been decided.

"Ok, Danny, Jason is ok with it just being you and me,
right now." I told him. "He's headed out for his
morning workout at the gym, anyway. So, when should I
expect you?"

"I should be there in about 5 minutes." Danny said to
me.

"Cool." I said, nodding. I'll see you then. While I
wait, I'll call the guys and let them know that you're
alright."

No!" Danny suddenly said. "I don't want anyone else to
know that I'm going to be at your place!"

Now, I was confused as to why Danny was being so
adamant about me, not letting the guys know where he
was, all of a sudden."

"Why?" I asked him. "They're all worried sick about
you since what happened between you and Jeff last
night. Jeff is going crazy with worry, wondering where
you are."

"Fuck him." Danny said, bitterly. "Jeff can just go to
hell!"

I was saddened to hear Danny talk like that about
Jeff. Despite everything, Jeff was still a friend of
mine and I didn't like to hear anyone trashing him,
not even if they were justified.

"Danny, don't talk like that." I said,
sympathetically. "You know that Jeff never meant to
hurt you. He just got caught up in a weird situation."

"But he could have come to me!" Danny said to me. "He
could have told me the truth, but he didn't! And now,
I have to face reality and get used to having a life
without him, now!"

"Danny, you can't be serious." I said, in shock. "It
can't be over between you and Jeff!"

"Well, it is now!" Danny said to me. "I can't be
expected to forgive Jeff for lying to me all of this
time!"

"Alright, Danny." I said to him. "I'm going to let you
go now, so I can be ready for you when you come to the
apartment. I'll talk to you when you get here, ok?"

"Alright, Sean." Danny said to me. "I'll see you in a
few."

"Bye." I said, ending the call.

I hung up my phone, just as Jason re-emerged back into
the living room, now fully dressed and his car keys in
hand. He had still been wearing my sweatpants that I'd
let him have, last night. Now, he was dressed in the
clothes he wore the night before.

"Well, I'm off." Jason said, walking over to me. "I'll
see you later, Ok?"

He put his arm around me and pulled me close to him. I
wrapped my arms around him and returned his hug.

"Alright, handsome." I said to him. Then I squeezed
one of his muscled arms. "Keep these biceps pumped for
me."

Jason grinned, as he flexed his arm.

"Always." He said, smiling at me. "I'll see you soon."

He gave me a final kiss on the lips and then started
walking towards the door to leave. I followed him to
the door to see him out.

"Will you be back today?" I asked him. Jason thought
about it for a moment and then shook his head.

"Probably not." He said. "Now that I think about it, I
have business to attend to, in Tampa, and a few
appointments as well. So, it looks like my day will be
pretty full."

I felt a little disappointed after Jason said that,
but I understood that a career could get very busy.

"Really?" I asked him. "What do you do for a living?"

Jason looked at me and grinned.

"Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." He
said. "Although one of my jobs you might."

I arched an eyebrow, in surprise.

"One of them?" I asked, curiously. "How many jobs do
you have?"

Jason laughed a little at my obvious surprise.

"I have 3 jobs." Jason said to me. "I'm a certified
personal trainer, and I work that job in the mornings.
I'm also a part time bartender and I work mostly 3
nights a week. And last but not least, I'm a Fitness
Model, too."

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised about that last one."
I laughed, lightly. "Fitness Model? I believe it. Look
at you."

I then thought of something.

"How do you even have time for a personal life?" I
asked him. "working 3 jobs has to be grueling."

Jason shrugged.

"Not really." He said. "I only work 3 nights a week
with bar tending, 4 days a week with my personal
training, and as for the Fitness Modeling, I take that
whenever good opportunities come my way. But it's more
of a hobby than anything else."

"Cool." I said. "Well then, Mr. Fitness Model, you'd
better get your sexy ass moving if you want to hit the
gym and get your day over with. The sooner you do
that, the sooner you're back here with me."

Jason laughed at me, again.

"In that case, I'm on my way." He said, opening the
door and walking outside. "Later."

"Bye." I said, as he closed the door behind him. I
sighed a content sigh, feeling really good right now.

I walked over and sat on the couch, waiting for Danny
to show up. As I waited, I thought over everything
that I'd been through in the last 48 hours.

I thought back to Christmas Eve when I came face to
face with Jason again after not seeing him in almost a
year. I flashed back to when I'd asked him to come to
my apartment and have some eggnog with me. I
remembered the sexual tension when I was touching his
chest when we were on the couch. And I also remembered
the night of great sex that I'd had with him.

Then, I remembered when Justin, Kandi, Jeff, and Danny
surprised me on Christmas morning when they showed up
on my doorstep. Then, there was Nick with his bouquet
of roses, and then Drew's appearance, which had been
totally unexpected.

Christmas Day sure had been a happy occasion. At least
until later that night.

I frowned as I thought over waking up after my long
nap and finding Jessica in my house. I thought about
all the events that had taken place that had lead up
to the restraining order being served on me.

"That bitch is going to pay for this." I thought out
loud. "If she thinks that a restraining order is going
to keep me away from Nick, she'd better think again! I
will not stand for it! And neither will Nick!"

I thought over Jeff and Danny's break up as well. I
felt so bad for the two of them right now. Especially
Danny, because he was the one who'd had his heart
broken.

"I'm just going to have to focus on Danny right now."
I said to myself. "He's really going to need a friend
right now. Someone who can understand what he's going
through."

As I sat there, deep in thought, I was interrupted by
the doorbell, ringing. I quickly got up and walked
over to the door and opened it.

When I did, I saw Danny, standing there, with his
suitcase in hand, looking back at me. He didn't say a
word. He just kept looking at me, and didn't move.

As I looked into his face, I could see the pain in his
eyes. One thing I always knew about Danny was how
expressive his eyes were. You could tell what he was
feeling just from looking in his eyes.

I sighed and moved in closer to him. I threw my arms
around him to give him a quick hug. When I did that,
he dropped his suitcase and returned my hug. After a
few moments, he released me and I pulled back and
looked him in the eyes. I saw him wipe a tear away,
that had started to roll down his cheek.

"Thanks for seeing me." He said, quietly. "May I come
in?"

"Sure." I said, and stepped aside for him.

Danny picked up his suitcase and entered the room,
while I took that same moment to shut the door behind
me and lock it. I turned back to him and saw him sit
down his suitcase beside the couch. Then, he sat down,
on the couch and looked back up at me.

"How are you doing?" He asked me. "Anything new going
on in your life that I should know about?"

I really did want to talk to him about Jason. I was so
excited about starting my new relationship with him,
that I had to tell someone. Even though Nick was the
first to know about it, Danny and I had more history.
We'd known each other longer. We had been almost like
brothers, until that heartbreaking day, years ago.

But I had to admit, It felt kind of nice that I was
going to try reconnecting with him, like old times.

"Yes, Danny, there is something that I want to share
with you." I said to him. "But first, I want to know
where you've been all night."

*******************************************************
BACK AT THE HOTEL, IN JEFF'S ROOM.........

Jeff, Justin, Kandi, and Casey had been talking
amongst each other, and watching Nicole, when Drew
finally emerged into the room again. When he did,
Casey saw the look on his face, and stood up.

"What happened?" He asked Drew. "Did you talk to Nick
and find out why he left Nicole here with Kandi and
Justin, earlier this morning?"

Drew threw his arms around Casey and sighed, in
frustration.

"I tried to." Drew said, looking pretty grim. "For all
the good it did."

"Why do you say that, Hon?" Kandi asked, from across
the room. She was sitting on the bed, next to Justin
and Jeff. "And what's going on? You're obviously very
upset about something."

"Yeah." Drew said, softly as he and Casey pulled back
from their embrace. "When I left this room to talk to
Nick, I found him, outside in the hallway, crying his
eyes out."

Everyone in the room, except Nicole, looked at Drew in
shock. Nicole was watching "The Bear in the Big Blue
House" which Jeff had turned on for her. She was so
fascinated by it, that she hardly paid any attention
to anyone else in the room.

"What?!" Jeff asked, in shock, standing up. "Is Nick
alright?"

Drew shook his head.

"That big brother of mine is anything but alright." He
said, the anger made obvious in his voice. "He's very
upset about something. When I tried to get him to talk
about it, all he could do was insult me."

"Are you kidding?!" Justin asked him, frowning in
anger. "I thought things between you two were starting
to get better."

Drew rolled his eyes, as he shrugged.

"I thought so, too." He said. "But if you'd heard some
of the awful things that came out of his mouth, you'd
know differently."

"What did he say to you?" Casey asked, looking
worried.

Drew sighed again and took a seat on the other bed. He
looked up at everyone as he prepared to give them the
full scoop on everything that had happened when he had
talk to Nick.

"First, he said that he'd left Nicole with Kandi and
Justin because he no longer trusts me around his
daughter.  He's worried that Casey and I will confuse
her and then she won't know what's right to her. To be
with a man or a woman? He doesn't want her witnessing
any intimate moments between Casey and me."

Everyone looked around at each other, all of them
thinking the same thing. They couldn't believe that
Nick was being so hard on him.

"That's insane!" Casey exclaimed, half of it in anger.
"We would never do that!"

Drew nodded at him.

"I tried telling Nick that." He said, putting a hand
to his forehead. "But it was like talking to a brick
wall. When I tried again to ask him what he was so
upset about, he just yelled at me to get out of his
face and to leave him alone."

Then, Drew turned away and shook his head, as he put a
hand over his eyes, trying to hold back the tears that
were coming.

"But, that's not even the worst of it." Drew said, his
voice shaky. "As I was leaving, I said to Nick that
all I was trying to do was be a good brother to him.
And do you know what he said?"

Casey walked over to him and put him arms around Drew
from behind.

"What's that, baby?" He asked him.

Drew started to lose his composure as soon as he felt
Casey's arms around him. He turned around and walked
over to one of the beds and sat down on it. Then, he
looked back up at Casey, and then everyone else around
him.

"Nick said that with a brother like me, he doesn't
need any enemies." Drew said, as the first sob escaped
his lips. "I mean, I probably deserve that, but it
still hurt like hell to hear it!"

Jeff threw his arms up, in frustration, then ran both
of his hands through his hair.

"I can't believe this!" He exclaimed. "How could Nick
say that? That's so cruel!"

"It sure is!" Casey agreed. "And when Nick gets back,
I'm going to have a little chat with him and
straighten him out!"

Drew looked up at his man, and shook his head, as he
wiped away his tears.

"No, sweetheart, don't." Drew begged him. "What's it
going to do? It'll probably just upset him even more."

Kandi walked over to where Drew was sitting and sat
down next to him. She put her arms around him and
pulled him close to her.

"Try not to take it too personally, Sweetie." She said
to him, lovingly. "Why don't you just give it a little
more time? I'm sure Nick didn't mean what he said to
you."

"Yes he did." Drew said, his voice full of emotion.
"All I wanted to do was help him. But he won't let me.
I hate it when we fight. I've been doing everything
humanly possible to avoid that. I'm trying to make up
for things with Nick and to respect his wishes for
wanting his space, but he's not making it very easy
right now."

Kandi looked around at Jeff, Justin, and Casey, who
all shared the same concern in their expressions over
how Nick had treated Drew. They weren't happy about
it, but they did understand why Nick was treating his
brother the way he was.

"Listen to me, Drew." Jeff said, trying to get Drew to
look at him.

Drew pulled back from Kandi's arms and looked at Jeff.
When he did, Jeff continued to speak.

"Nick is not going to stay mad at you, forever." Jeff
said. "Come on, I think I know Nick almost as well as
you do. When Nick is really mad about something, he'll
stew for awhile and it does seem like forever, but
really it's not. Just try to hang in there a little
longer. Who knows, maybe Nick will come back and
apologize to you for how he acted, earlier."

Drew looked down at the floor as he thought it over.
Then he looked back up at Jeff.

"And what if he doesn't?" He asked Jeff, hesitantly.
That's when he saw Jeff's expression turn more
serious.

"Then, I kick his ass!" Jeff said, half seriously.
That lightened up Drew a little and he started
laughing. So did everyone else.

Drew looked back up at Jeff and smiled at him.

"Thanks, Jeff." Drew said. "It's nice to know that
someone is in my corner for a change."

Jeff stood up and smiled at him. Then, he leaned in
and kissed Drew on the top of his head.

"Always, man." He said. "Now, I've got to head out. I
have to go and talk to Sean and see if he's seen Danny
or not. I also am going to ask him if he wants to help
me look for him."

"Do you want us to go with you?" Justin asked him. "We
could look for him, together?"

"No, that's alright, Justin." Jeff said to him. "I
think it might be best if I do this alone. In the
meantime, you guys all should go down to the hotel
restaurant and get yourselves some breakfast."

"That's a good idea." Casey agreed. "I'm starving."

"Ok, I guess that's what we're going to do, then."
Drew said, smiling at Casey. "Let's head down now."

Just at that moment, Kandi looked over at Nicole, who
was still watching television.

"I guess we'd better take Nicole back to her mother
now." She said.

"I'll do that." Drew said to her. "You just head down
with Casey and Justin."

Then, he looked at Jeff.

"Jeff, I will see you out." Drew said to Jeff.

"Alright, Drew." Jeff replied.

Drew got up and went over to get Nicole. He picked her
up and turned off the TV. Then, he walked towards the
door, where Justin, Kandi, Jeff, and Casey were
waiting for him.

Jeff opened the door and they all stepped out of the
room. Once everyone was out, Jeff locked the door and
put his key card into his pocket.

"Ok, I'll see you all later." Jeff said, saying
goodbye to everyone.

Kandi and Justin said goodbye and headed off towards
the elevators to head down to the lobby. Casey, who
was the last to go, turned to Drew and Jeff.

"Well, I'd better go too." He said. "I'll see you
downstairs, Drew."

"I'll be there shortly, Casey." Drew assured him.

"Alright." Casey said to him. Then he looked at Jeff.
"Jeff, Good Luck."

"Thank you, Casey." Jeff said to him. Casey nodded and
then turned away and started walking towards the
elevators.

"Ok, buddy." Jeff said to him. "You'd better get that
little angel back to Jessica. I'll see you later."

"Ok." Drew said. "We'll talk later."

"Count on it." Jeff agreed. "Bye Drew."

"Bye." Drew said, as he watched Jeff walk off. Then he
looked at Nicole.

"Well, come on, Cutie Pie, I'm taking you back to your
Mommy." Drew said to her. "She'll be really happy to
have you back."

Drew walked over to Nick's room and knocked on the
door. In a few seconds, the door opened and Drew came
face to face with a very emotional Jessica. Her face
was still flushed, and her mascara was a mess from her
crying. When Drew saw her, he grew concerned.

"Jessica, what happened?" He asked. "I saw Nick out
here, earlier, and he wouldn't tell me what was wrong?
I found him, crying, outside of this room?"

Jessica looked up at him.

"You'll understand why when I fill you in." She said,
then stepped aside. "Come in."

Drew stepped into the room and Jessica shut the door
behind her. She turned back to Jeff.

"How was my daughter?" She asked him. "Did she give
Kandi and Justin any trouble?"

Drew shook his head.

"No, she didn't." He told her. "She was a really good
girl for Kandi and Justin."

Jessica then reached out for Nicole and Drew handed
the baby over to her.

"She looks like she's ready for some more sleep."
Jessica said, when she saw the baby yawn. "Give me a
second while I go put her down."

"Sure." Drew said.

Jessica walked into the living room area to put the
baby down for her nap. Then, she walked back into the
bedroom, and she saw Drew, looking at a picture of
Nick, that was on the bedside table. Jessica had
brought it with her.

She saw how intensely Drew was looking at that
picture, and she could see just how much pain he was
still in over his estrangement from his brother.

"You really miss him, don't you?" She asked him, out
loud.

When Drew heard her voice, he turned to look at her,
and then he sat the picture down again.

"Yes, I do." He said, sadly. "I miss how close he and
I used to be. I miss our talks and I miss our
friendship. I'm not sure if Nick will ever forgive me.
It looks like that brotherly bond that we used to
share is gone now. Maybe forever."

Then Drew took another look at Jessica and decided to
bring up the subject of what happened earlier with
Nick.

"Jessica, what happened earlier between you and Nick?"
He asked her. "I found him outside this room, crying
his eyes out. And when I tried to ask him what was
going on, all I got was alot of attitude."

Jessica wiped at her face again, which was still
streaked with mascara.

"You're going to find out sooner or later, anyway."
She said, in defeat. "It looks like my marriage to
your brother is over. He wants a divorce."

Drew saddened expression turned to shock, momentarily,
then to concern.

"Oh, Jessica." He said, walking over to her and
embracing her. "I'm so sorry."

Jessica wrapped her arms around Drew and held onto him
for dear life as she once again lost it and started
crying again.

"Me too, Drew." She sobbed. "I don't have a marriage
anymore. It's all over, he doesn't want me! He doesn't
want me!"

Drew rubbed his hand up and down her back, as he
comforted her, in his arms.

"Shh, It's gonna be alright, Jessica." He said, trying
to reassure her of that. "It's gonna be alright."

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

"Sean, I really don't see why my whereabouts are that
important right now." Danny said, evasively.

I looked at him and I was amazed as how he seemed to
be treating his situation like it was no big deal,
when it really was.

"Danny, it would make all of us feel better if we knew
where you've been all night." I said. "We were worried
sick. I was even starting to consider checking out all
the hospitals in the Orlando vicinity. We were
starting to wonder if you were hurt, or worse."

"Sean, come on." Danny complained. "I can take care of
myself."

"I know that." I said to him. "But even you aren't
invincible. Something could have happened to you while
you were out all night with no place to go. That
wasn't impossible."

Danny smiled at me. Then he leaned in and wrapped his
arms around me. I wrapped my own arms around him and
hugged him back.

"It's nice to you to worry about me, but you really
don't need to." Danny assured me. "I'm fine now."

I looked him over to see if he was telling the truth.
On the outside, he seemed alright, but something still
didn't feel right to me.

"You look fine, but my instincts tell me that you're
not really." I told him. "Not that I could blame you.
You went through something really heartbreaking last
night. You lost the man you love."

"Damn it, Sean, I don't want to talk about this!"
Danny said, standing up and walking towards the
Christmas tree, which I still had to take down today.

"But, Danny." I pushed him. "You can't just keep your
feelings bottled up inside. You have to let them out.
Otherwise, they'll just continue to eat away at you
until you can no longer stand it. You have to talk to
someone. And that's what I'm here for."

Danny turned back around to look at me, as I continued
talking.

"If you want to yell and scream or get anything off of
your chest, please do that." I begged him. "I'm here
to listen, not to judge you."

Danny thought it over for a moment. Then, he looked up
at me and nodded.

"You're right, Sean." He said, as he drew in a deep
breath, trying to hold back his emotions. But he
wasn't doing a good job. "I really do need to talk."

Danny sat back down on the couch, next to me and
grasped my hands in his.

"I still can't understand what went wrong in my
relationship with Jeff." Danny said, out loud. "Our
relationship was strong. It was strong for two and a
half years. I mean, sure, we had our disagreements and
our fights, but we never broke up over them. We always
managed to work things out."

I nodded at him. I understood how he felt right then.
I could relate to what he was going through right now,
because I had been there, myself.

"I know what you mean." I said to him. "I faced the
same situation with my own husband, which destroyed
our marriage, so I do understand. I was hurt too.
Terribly. But I realized that I still cared about Nick
enough to forgive him. Do you love Jeff any less?"

Danny frowned, thinking about something I had said.

"Sean, your situation was different." Danny pointed
out. "Nick was not in love with anyone else when you
two broke up. When you couldn't be honest with Nick
and tell him the truth about how you two weren't
legally married, and how Drew was putting the moves on
you, that's why you two broke up."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Danny put his hand
in front of my mouth to silence me.

"Shh, let me finish." Danny said to me. I nodded for
him to go on. "I don't mean to sound insensitive, but
I'm just trying to tell it like it was. Our situation
isn't the same thing. I didn't lie to Jeff about my
feelings for him. Jeff, on the other hand, lied to me
for weeks about his real feelings."

I sighed heavily as I listened to everything that he
was telling me. He was right. Our situations weren't
the same. Not really. The only thing that Danny and I
had in common was that we had both been hurt by the
men that we both thought had loved us.

"I know." I said to him. "But you and I have both been
hurt by the two men that we both thought would always
be there for us. That's the only thing we have in
common in this whole mess."

I then looked at the coffee table and saw the
restraining order documents, sitting there.

"Although," I said, reaching over and picking up the
papers. "I'm going through more hell right now than
you are, I'm afraid."

Danny looked at me, a slight frown on his face.

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked me.

I handed out the documents to him. Frowning in
confusion, Danny accepted them from me and looked at
them.

"What's this?" He asked me, curiosity setting in.

I looked at him, with my stone cold serious look.

"It's a restraining order." I revealed to him. When
that came out of my mouth, his head whipped upwards
and he glanced at me, in shock.

"What?!" Danny asked me, still in shock. "Who would
want to take out a restraining order against you?"

I looked at him, with a look that he knew very well.
When he saw it, he didn't even need to ask who I was
referring to.

"No." Danny said, not sure if he could believe what he
was coming up with. "Don't tell me. Jessica, right?"

I nodded at him. He set the papers down and looked
back at me, the anger undoubtedly apparent in his
eyes.

He then started reading the papers over. When he was
finished, he was burning mad.

"I can't believe this shit!" Danny said, his voice
rising, as he looked up at me. "When did Jessica find
the time to get a restraining order filed against
you?"

"Actually, it was her parents who got the restraining
order against me." I told him. "They had it all
planned out before Jessica came to Orlando. And if
that wasn't bad enough, Joe and Tina Simpson showed up
on my doorstep with two police officers so they could
see my reaction when they served me, personally. They
also had Cate and John Lachey come along with them.
So, it turned into a family affair."

Danny clenched his jaw in anger. For a moment, I saw
the best friend that he had once been to me, emerge to
the surface.

"Damn them!" Danny swore, through gritted teeth. "Does
Nick know about this?"

"Yes, he does." I said to him. "And trust me, he's not
happy about it, either."

Danny sighed, in frustration and set the papers back
down on the table. Then, he leaned back into the couch
and put both hands over his face and wiped them down
it.

"What are you going to do?" He asked me. "Are you
going to fight this thing?"

I looked at him, my eyes saying it all: The battle
lines between Jessica and I had been drawn! If Jessica
wanted a fight, well then she was going to get one.

"Damn right I am!" I said, standing up and walking
towards the window on the right side of the room, near
the door.

"Jessica Simpson is going to regret the day that she
ever tried to take me on!"

*******************************************************
AT THE HOLIDAY INN METROPLEX, IN ORLANDO........

Tina and Joe Simpson were sitting at the table, in
their room, having coffee and talking amongst
themselves. That also included Cate and John Lachey,
who were there with them.

"I hope this restraining order will work and that it
keeps Sean out of Nick's life!" Joe said, as he sipped
his coffee. "My daughter deserves to be happy and work
things out with Nick, and the only way that's going to
happen is if Sean is neutralized for awhile."

"I'm sure it will, Darling." Tina said to him, then
turned to the Lacheys. "Sean's going to have to
realize that this is a battle that he can't win."

"I'm sure Sean does see it." Cate agreed. "Although, I
know he's not happy about it, I have to believe that
if Sean really does care about Nick as much as he
claims to, then he will do the right thing. He will
convince Nick that he can't see him anymore and then
things will be alright again."

As John was getting ready to say something, he was
interrupted by a knock on the door. Tina frowned and
turned to Joe.

"Are you expecting anyone?" She asked him. Joe looked
at her, in confusion.

"No, I'm not." He said. Then he turned to Cate and
John.

"What about you two?" He asked them. Cate and John
looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Well, then whoever it is, I'd better find out what
they want." Joe said, getting up.

He walked over to the door and opened it, revealing
who was on the other side of the door. He was
surprised when he saw who it was.

"Nick!" He said, in surprise. "What brings you by?"

Nick looked back at his father-in-law and Joe could
see the anger in Nick's eyes.

"Are my parents here with you and Tina?" He asked him,
the bitterness very obvious in his voice.

"Yes, they are." Joe said, frowning at Nick's angry
look. "Is everything alright? You seem very angry
about something?"

"Well, why don't you let me  in and I'll tell you!"
Nick snapped at him.

Joe hesitated before stepping aside. When he did, Nick
entered Joe and Tina's room. Once he was inside, he
came face to face with Tina, Cate and John, sitting at
the table across the room from him.

"Hi, Son." John greeted Nick. "What's going on?"

As Nick looked at his parents, sitting there, looking
at him, as if nothing ever happened with Sean, he
shook his head, in disappointment.

"How could you?" He said, lowly. "How could you, my
own parents, betray me like this?"

Cate and John looked at each other, in confusion, then
back at Nick.

"What are you talking about?" Cate asked her son. When
she did that, it set Nick off.

"YOU ALL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" Nick
bellowed. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING SERVING
SEAN WITH A RESTRAINING ORDER?!"

*******************************************************BACK
IN JESSICA'S HOTEL ROOM............

Jessica pulled back from Drew's embrace and wiped at
her eyes. She looked up at him, and managed a weak
smile for him.

"Thanks, Drew, I really needed that." Jessica said as
she sat down on her bed.

"No thanks needed." Drew said. "I'm glad at least you
will allow me to be there for you. My brother, on the
other hand, won't even confide in me."

Jessica looked up at him, a sympathetic look on her
face. Despite her devastation over what happened with
Nick, earlier, she really felt sorry for Drew. And she
felt sorry for Nick because he couldn't bring himself
to forgive him.

"Nick still hasn't come around yet?" She asked him,
softly. "God, what is wrong with him? Doesn't he
realize that he has the greatest little brother in the
world?"

Hearing those words, Drew looked at Jessica and
smiled.

"You really think so?" He asked her, through
tear-filled eyes.

"Yes, I do." Jessica said. "You've been a great
brother to me since Nick and I got married, even
despite our disagreements about Sean. Even though you
won't be my brother anymore because of the divorce, I
hope you will at least still be there for me, as my
friend."

Drew sat down next to her and put his arm around her,
hugging her close.

"I will." He said, in a soothing voice. "I promise, I
will."

Jessica leaned into him, as more tears fell down her
face, as she thought back to her earlier conversation
with Nick when he'd told her it was over between them.

"There's one thing I'm curious about, Jessica?" Drew
suddenly asked. Jessica sat up and looked at him.

"What?" She asked, wanting to know what he was
thinking.

Drew wondered whether or not he should even ask it,
but his love and concern for his brother as well as
Jessica, won over.

"What made Nick decide he wants a divorce now?" He
asked her. "Something must have happened in order for
him to even consider it."

Jessica realized that Drew did not yet know about the
retraining order that she'd filed against Sean. She
knew that he would be angry, but she had to believe
that maybe Drew would be a little more objective and
understanding than Nick had been. So, maybe he
wouldn't be as angry with her as Nick was right now.

"Actually, it was because of something I did." Jessica
said, the guilt written all over her face. "And it's
something that you're not going to be happy with me,
either, when you find out what is it."

Drew braced himself for it. Judging by the look on
Jessica's face, Drew somehow knew that this was going
to be major. And he had a feeling that Sean was
involved, somehow.

"Alright, Jessica." He said, in a sharp tone. "What
have you done this time? And please tell me that it
has nothing to do with Sean."

When Jessica looked up at him, Drew could see that her
facial expression gave her away. She couldn't lie. It
was written all over her face.

"I can't, Drew." She said. "I can't because it has
everything to do with Sean."

"Alright." Drew said. "Tell me what you did."

Jessica sighed heavily and decided to just get it over
with.

"With my permission, I had my parents take out a
restraining order against Sean."

Jessica braced herself for Drew's reaction.

Drew sat there, motionless, for what seemed like an
eternity, processing this news. He sat there, in
shock, for so long, that Jessica couldn't take the
silence anymore.

"Drew, would you say something, please?" Jessica asked
him, a little bit afraid at the moment.

When Drew finally let it sink in what she'd done, he
looked at her, frowning a bit. But it looked more like
confusion than anger.

"You took out a restraining order against Sean?" He
asked her, a confused tone in his voice. "Why?"

Jessica was shocked at Drew's reaction. He wasn't the
least bit angry with her. But then she realized that
he had just came back to everyone, so there were alot
of things that he still didn't know. Especially one
thing in particular.

"Because, he's considered an endangerment to me and my
unborn child." Jessica told him.

"Unborn child?" Drew gasped, in surprise. Then he
smiled. "Jessica, you're pregnant?"

Jessica smiled at him, and nodded.

"Yes, I am." Jessica said. "Nick and I are going to
have another child."

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

I was still pretty wound up, from what had happened
with Jessica last night and I couldn't get it off of
my  mind. My nerves were still pretty shot. Especially
when I thought back to Jessica's attack on my family
jewels last night.

"Here." I heard Danny say from behind me. "I think you
could use this."

I turned around and saw that Danny had made me some
chamomile tea to calm my nerves. He was holding it out
to me.

"Thanks." I said, accepting the mug from him. I slowly
took a sip of it and swallowed. I then felt a little
better, but not totally.

"You're welcome." Danny said, sitting down on the
couch and laying his head back, against it. He did
look exhausted.

"Danny, you looked exhausted." I said. "Did you sleep
at all last night wherever you were?"

"Not much." He said, tiredly. He wiped at his face,
which was tearing, half from hurt, and half from
sleepiness.

"Well, why don't you take your suitcase and go into my
spare bedroom and catch up on some sleep?" I asked
him. "You could definitely use some sleep right now."

"Thanks, Sean." Danny said to me. "I think I'll do
that."

Danny stood up and grabbed his suitcase and started
walking towards the hallway with it. Before he walked
down the hall, he stopped and turned back to me.

"Look, Sean, I know that you and I aren't really the
close friends that we used to be, to each other."
Danny said. "But I just wanted you to know that I
really appreciate having your support right now, at a
time like this. Thank you for that."

I nodded at Danny, but didn't say anything. At least
not right away.

"I'm going to go and get my morning shower." I said to
him. "If you want to, you can sleep on the couch here,
in case you want to watch some TV, or listen to the
stereo. It's up to you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Danny said. "Go on ahead and
take your shower."

"Alright." I said to him. "I'll see you later, ok?"

I then left the room and headed to mine to get ready
for my shower.

Danny sat back down, on the couch, and grabbed the TV
remote. He flipped through the channels, trying to
find something entertaining to watch. He finally found
something and sat back to watch it.

But, he couldn't watch the television, because his
mind kept wandering back to what had happened last
night between him and Jeff, back at the hotel. His
mind flashed back to the moment that he had decked
Jeff and he'd fallen down.

"Damn it, Jeff!" Danny whispered to himself. "I loved
you so much! How could you do this to me?!"

Just then, the doorbell rang. Danny waited for a
moment to see if I would come back out and answer it.
When I didn't, he got up and walked over to the door.

When he opened it, he came face to face with Jeff, who
was standing on the other side of it. Danny stiffened
when he saw him.

Jeff, on the other hand was shocked that he was
staying at Sean's. Especially because Sean had said
last night that he hadn't seem him and if he had, that
he would call.

When Jeff saw Danny standing there, he threw his arms
around Danny, as the emotion of relief flooded over
him.

"Oh, Danny, Thank God." Jeff said, in relief. "Thank
God you're alright."



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.

slpwriter@yahoo.com