Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 09:43:36 -0800 (PST)
From: slpwriter <slpwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Nick Lachey: My Everything-92

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.

NEWSFLASH: Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson are
officially separating after 3 years of marriage.
Whatever happens, I wish both of them, nothing but the
best!"


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

Enjoy.


**********
CHAPTER 92
**********

I felt as though I couldn't breathe. Here I was, being
arrested for a crime that I didn't commit. It made me
wonder what could have gone wrong.

"Do you understand these rights, as I have explained
them to you?" Detective Adams asked me, once he'd
finished reading me my rights.

"Yes." I managed to get out, in between sobs. I turned
around to face Detective Adams and the police officer
who had handcuffed me.

"Come on." Detective Adams said to me. "It's time to
be going."

"No, Detective." I said, desperately. "I need to talk
to my attorney first."

"You can do that down at the station." Detective Adams
said. But that wasn't good enough for me.

"No, I want to talk to her, now!" I said, about to go
into hysterics. "Detective Adams, you don't
understand, this is all a mistake. I have already told
you, I didn't do this! I didn't attack Jessica
Simpson! I had just arrived home by the time it
happened!"

"I know what you told me, Mr. Perry." Detective Adams
replied to me. "But your alibi is unconfirmed. No one
can place you here, at that time."

Hearing that, just made the reality of what was
happening to me, all that much harsher. I couldn't
believe it. Here I was, an innocent man, about to go
to prison for something that I didn't do. I didn't
know how things could possibly get any worse.

"Oh, God, this is a nightmare!" I cried out, in
despair. "This is a nightmare!"

I looked towards my friends for help. But I wasn't
sure if I would get help from them. Kandi, Jeff,
Justin, Danny, and Nick didn't know what to do at that
moment.

"Come on, Mr. Perry." Detective Adams said, once
again. "We have to get you down to the station for
booking."

I sighed, in defeat and turned to go with them. But
then, I realized that if I went out there, in
handcuffs, people were going to wonder what was going
on. I did live on the beach, after all.

"Wait, Detective Adams." I begged him. "I live on a
very public beach, I can't go out there, like this.
Can you please take off these handcuffs?"

Detective Adams wasn't sure how to answer that. He
looked up at everyone else for a second opinion. And
it was Nick that decided to speak up.

"Detective," He said, softly. "I'm sure that Sean
isn't going to try anything."

I looked at Nick and saw that he was looking back at
me. His expression was serious, which gave me no
indication of what was going though his head at that
moment. I could never figure him out when he had that
look on his face.

The policeman looked back at Detective Adams to see
what he'd decided. Detective Adams nodded.

"You can un-cuff him, Daniels." He said to the
officer, standing behind me.

Officer Daniels did as he was told and he removed the
handcuffs from my wrists. I rubbed my wrists to make
the feeling of being handcuffed go away.

"Thank you." I said, in gratitude. Then I turned back
to Detective Adams. "Is there anything that I need to
do before you take me down to the station?"

Detective Adams looked at me for a moment. I saw him
look down at something.

"Actually, yes." He said. "You might want to leave any
valuables you have on you, here. And you might want to
leave the necklace, and any other jewelery, that
you're wearing, here too. Otherwise, it'll just be
taken from you, at the station."

I realized at that moment that I had on my gold
necklace. I hardly ever wore it, but today I had felt
like it. But then, I realized that not only did I have
to take it off, but I would have to take off my
wedding band as well.

I looked around at the guys, and Kandi again. I wasn't
sure who to leave this to. But I got my answer in
seconds.

"Give it to me." Nick said, walking over to me,
holding out his hand. "I'll take care of everything."

I looked up at Nick, through tear-filled eyes,
wondering what he thought of me, at that moment. That
just made me realize that I had to tell him the truth
about what had really happened that night.

I tried to take off my necklace first, but my
trembling hands refused to do my bidding. I lowered my
hands to my sides.

"My hands are trembling." I said to Nick. "Will you
please undo the chain for me?"

"Sure." Nick said, quietly. "Turn around."

I turned around, facing Detective Adams and Officer
Daniels. I felt Nick's fingers on the back of my neck,
as he opened the clasp, and removed the necklace from
around my neck. Then, I turned back to him. I looked
down at my right hand, knowing that the next thing
that had to come off, was my wedding band. And this
was not going to be easy.

Taking off that wedding ring also meant letting go of
the past. Once I took off that ring, I knew that I was
never going to be able to put it back on again. And
that scared the hell out of me.

But Nick was the one who took my hand and started
pulling off the ring.

"Oh God!" I exclaimed, as the ring slid off my finger.
"My ring!"

Nick looked at me, sympathetically, as his hands
closed over my necklace, and my wedding ring, which
were now in the palm of his right hand.

Once that ring had been taken off of my finger, I
suddenly felt empty, inside. It was like I had lost a
part of my identity without that ring on my finger.

I started sobbing, immediately, as I covered my face,
in my hands. After a moment, I felt Nick touch my
shoulder.

I looked up at Nick, through my tears to see him,
looking at me, with that serious look on his face
again. I couldn't stand to see that look on his face.
I could see that he was starting to doubt me.

"Nick, please." I begged him. "Don't look at me, that
way. I swear to you, I didn't do this! I swear on my
own life! Come down to the police station later, and
I'll tell you, everything. The whole truth."

Nick didn't say anything. Instead, he nodded. I then
turned towards Detective Adams again.

"Let me just say one more thing to my friends,
Detective, and then we can go, ok?" I asked him.
Detective Adams nodded. I then turned back to the
guys, and Kandi.

"Danny," I said, addressing him. "In the Telephone
book I have, in the kitchen, I have a number listed in
it for an Attorney. Her name is Selina Edwards. She's
one of the best attorneys, here in Orlando. Please
give her a call and tell her that I've been arrested
and that I need her help."

Danny nodded.

"I will." He said to me. "I'll see to it that she
comes down to the station when we give her the news."

"Thank you." I said to him. "And, could you also go
next door and fill Jake and Michelle in on what's
happening? They'll want to know about this."

"Yes." Danny said to me. "Don't worry, Sean.
Everything will be taken care of. I will call Jason,
too, and let him know what's going on."

I nodded to him, as I wiped at my tears. Then, I
turned back to Detective Adams, and Officer Daniels.

"Alright." I said to them. "Let's get this over with."

I turned and walked towards the door. Detective Adams
opened it and he and Officer Daniels started leading
me, outside.

I walked with them, to the police cruiser, that was
parked in the parking lot, close by. Detective Adams
opened the back door and I got in. The door closed and
I looked back out the window, at my house, for the
last time. As I did, I saw Nick, Jeff, Justin, Kandi,
and Danny, standing outside, looking at me.

I heard Officer Daniels start the car and we started
pulling away. With tears streaming down my face, I
waved goodbye to all of my friends, as the car started
pulling away.


Nick, and the others waved back to me. I could see
that Kandi was in tears, and Justin was comforting
her. Danny was also upset. I saw Jeff bring a hand to
his shoulder, for a brief moment.

Once the car went around the corner, I couldn't see
them, anymore. I turned back around and sat back in my
seat and put on  my seat belt. After that, I couldn't
do anything but cry, and wonder what awful things I
was going to have in store for me, at the station.

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

BACK AT THE HOUSE........

"I can't believe that this has happened!" Kandi
exclaimed, as she and the guys re-entered the house.
"The idea of Sean trying to kill anyone, is absurd! I
don't care what Jessica put him through, He still
wouldn't resort to such extreme measures!"

"I want to believe that, Kandi." Justin said to her.
"I really do. But, you have to consider the facts, in
this case."

Kandi looked up at Justin, in shock. She couldn't
believe that he would think that Sean was capable of
murder.

"The facts are wrong, Sweetie!" Kandi said to him, as
she wiped at her eyes. "Did you see Sean's face when
they were arresting him?! No guilty man could ever be
that emotionally upset!"

"Maybe it was just all for show." Jeff pointed out.
"Everyone who's guilty says they didn't do it.
Besides, Sean was an actor at one time, you know."

Kandi turned around and looked at Jeff, angrily.

"Who's side are you on, Jeff?" She asked him. "Are you
Sean's friend or not?"

"Of course, I am." Jeff said to her. "But, come on!
Even Sean has his limits! I'm surprised that he held
it together this long to begin with!"

Nick had been standing, at the window, by the couch,
looking out of it. His thoughts were in a whirl. His
ex-husband had just been arrested for trying to kill
his wife. He was even more confused than ever. But,
somehow, he just had a weird feeling that something
wasn't right.

Nick turned to the others, after hearing Jeff's
earlier outburst to Kandi about Sean.

"Alright, that's enough, you guys!" Nick said, his
tone serious. "Instead of arguing about whether Sean
is guilty or not, we should be coming together and
figuring out a way to help him through this! He's
going through hell right now!"

Justin looked over at Nick and saw just how strongly
he still felt about Sean's innocence. But he was
surprised that Nick didn't seem to have any doubts
where Sean was concerned.

"Sean's going to be in for alot more hell after he's
been charged with murder!" Nick continued. "Joe
Simpson is going to have a field day with this, once
he finds out about Sean's arrest! Not to mention that
the press will be all over this! Sean's going to need
our support, and I intend to be there for him!"

"Nick! How could you not have doubts about this?!"
Justin asked him. "Sean's blood matched the blood
found at the scene of the crime! That is pretty
convincing evidence, if you ask me!"

Nick looked at Justin, an annoyed look on his face.

"I did have doubts, at first." Nick told him. "But
after seeing how devastated he was when he was
arrested, I don't anymore! Sean is innocent! and I'm
going to prove it!"

Nick pulled his keys out of his pocket and started
heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Danny asked him. Nick turned
back to him, as he pulled open the door.

I'm going down to the police station to arrange a
visit with Sean." Nick said. "He said he would tell
me, everything about what happened the night Jessica
was attacked. So, until I hear what he has to say, I'm
not going to judge him!"

"I'll go with you." Kandi said, walking towards him.

"No, Kandi." Nick said to her. "This is something I
must do alone. You and the guys stay here with Danny
and fill in Sean's friends, Jake, and Michelle, on
what has happened. Then, call his Attorney."

"Alright, Nick." Kandi said. "If this is what you feel
you need to do, then I wish you luck." She said to
him. "And tell Sean that my prayers are with him."

"I will, Kandi." Nick said. "And thanks.

Nick then left the house and headed for his car. Once
he was gone, Kandi turned back to the others.

"Well, we'd better get cracking, guys." she said.
"Danny, you call Sean's Attorney. Jeff, Justin, and I
will go and talk to Jake and Michelle."

"I'm on it." He said, grabbing the phone and walking
into the kitchen to get the number for Sean's
attorney, Selina Edwards.

Kandi then turned back to Jeff and Justin.

"Well com on." She said to them. "Let's head over
there."

Kandi, Jeff, and Justin left Sean's apartment and
headed over to Jake's and Michelle's, next door, to
fill them in on what was going on.

******************************************************************
DOWN AT THE POLICE STATION............

Detective Adams and Officer Daniels led me, into the
station and took me, behind the area where the police
worked. Detective Adams motioned towards an empty
chair, in front of a desk.

"Sit here, Mr. Perry." he said to me. "You will wait
here, until we get you prepared for booking."

Detective Adams left to attend to something else,
while Officer Daniels took a seat at the desk that I
was sitting in front off. I then saw that it was his
desk. His name block said "Officer Peter Daniels" on
it.

While we were waiting, Officer Daniels asked me what
my full name was, my age, date of birth, etc. He took
this information down as he filled out my paperwork.
It seemed to take forever.

Just as we were finishing up, A female police chief
came up to where I was sitting.

"Is his paperwork finished?" She asked Officer
Daniels. Officer Daniels nodded.

"Yes." Officer Daniels said. He handed the papers over
to the female police officer. "They're finished and
ready."

The female officer accepted the papers and looked down
at me.

"Come with me, Mr. Perry." She said. "We need to take
you down for booking."

I sighed and got up from my seat. I wiped away the
tears that were still falling down my face, as I
followed the female officer to the booking area.

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

"I still can't believe it!" Jake said, in shock, as
he, Michelle, Justin, Jeff, and Kandi entered the
house. "My best friend has been arrested for attempted
murder?!"

"I can't believe it, either." Michelle replied. "The
idea that he could resort to something this extreme is
just unfathomable."

Jake led Michelle over to the sofa where they both sat
down. Kandi and Justin took a seat, next to them. Jeff
walked back over to the twin recliner where Danny was
sitting.

"Did you get ahold of Sean's lawyer?" He asked Danny.
Danny nodded.

"Yes, I did." Danny replied. "She should be here any
minute."

Jeff sat back in the recliner, and placed his hands
behind his head, as he got comfortable.

"Good." He said. "Because one thing is for sure:
Sean's going to need a good lawyer to get them through
this."

Danny turned his head and looked at Jeff, with an
annoyed frown on his face.

"You still think Sean did it, don't you?" He asked
Jeff. Jeff shrugged.

"I don't know what to think, anymore." Jeff told
Danny. "I guess I should just take Nick's advice and
not judge Sean until we get the whole truth from him."

You do that." Danny said to Jeff, before he turned
away. Then, he looked over at Kandi, Justin, Jake, and
Michelle, who were sitting on the couch, talking
amongst each other about Sean's situation.

"Now that Sean has been arrested," Kandi was saying to
Jake. "What's going to happen to him now?"

Jake shook his head, sadly.

"I don't know." he said. "He could try to get out on
bail, at the police station, if they let him."

"What if they don't, Babe?" Michelle asked him,
worriedly.

"If they don't," Jake said, sadly. "Sean will probably
end up staying in jail, until his bail hearing is
set."

Everyone was devastated after hearing that news. They
knew that prison wasn't going to be a picnic for Sean
if he was denied bail.

"Well, he has to make bail." Kandi said, adamantly.
"We have to make sure that he gets out of that awful
place."

"I know, I'm going to do whatever I can to help Sean."
Danny said, from the recliner. "But, I do know a
certain SOMEONE who is going to do everything possible
to make sure that Sean is denied bail."

Kandi, Justin, and Jeff, all nodded, knowing exactly
who Danny was referring to. But Jake and Michelle did
not.

"Who?" Jake asked Danny. Danny looked at Jake, with a
serious look in his eyes.

"Jessica's father, Joe Simpson." He revealed. "He
blames Sean for the fact that Nick and Jessica are
getting a divorce. And he believes that Sean is guilty
of trying to murder his daughter."

"Well, that is preposterous!" Michelle told him. "Sean
is not a cold blooded killer! I don't care what kind
of evidence the police have on him! There's got to be
another explanation for this!"

"Let's hope so, Michelle." Danny said to her. "Let's
hope that Nick can talk to Sean before Joe Simpson
finds out about Sean's arrest."

Let's also hope that Sean will trust Nick enough to
confide in him about what really happened that night."
Michelle pointed out.

"Don't worry about that, sweetie." Kandi said, giving
Michelle a warm smile. "If anyone can get through to
Sean, it's Nick.'

Just then, there was a knock on the the door. Danny
got up and went to the door. When he opened it, he
came face to face with Sean's lawyer.

And she was a very pretty lawyer, too! She had blonde
hair and piercing blue eyes. And a gorgeous smile to
match!

"You must be, Selina Edwards." Danny asked her, with a
silly grin on his face.

"Yes, I am." She said, smiling back at him. "I was
glad to get your call about Sean. May I come in?"

"Sure." Danny said, and stepped aside to let her in.
"We've been expecting you."

When Selina walked into the room, she made quite an
entrance! She jerked her head, sideways, tossing her
long, blonde hair around. She got quite a few stares
from the guys in the room. Even Jeff, who was in love
with Drew, couldn't help but notice how pretty she
was.

"Hello, Everyone." She said, cheerfully. "You must all
be Sean's friends."

"Yes, we are." Jeff said, standing up from the
recliner. He walked over to where she was standing.

Justin and Jake got up too and walked over to join
Jeff and Danny, much to Kandi's and Michelle's
chagrin.

As the guys talked with Selina, Kandi and Michelle
both looked at each other and shook their heads, in
disgust.

"Would you look at them?!" Michelle whispered to
Kandi. "The way they are all drooling over her! God,
it makes me sick!"

Kandi looked over at Michelle and saw just how jealous
she was, seeing the guys, and especially her guy,
practically fawning over Selina.

"And how much do you want to bet that those are not
real?" Michelle whispered to Kandi, referring to
Selina's breasts. "She looks more like a playboy model
than a lawyer!"

Kandi couldn't help but snicker at that one. Michelle
looked over at her, and frowned.

"What's so funny?" She asked. When Kandi was able to
stop laughing, she told her.

"You really are pregnant." She said, in amusement. "It
sure brings out your jealous streak."

"Oh, please!" Michelle said, as she turned back around
and sat down on the couch. "I just don't think it's
appropriate for every guy in the room, including MY
fiance, to be staring at her, like they've never seen
a girl before!"

Kandi laughed, silently to herself. Then she saw that
Selina, and the others were headed their way.

"Shh," Kandi whispered to Michelle. "They're coming
over here, now."

Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Oh, great!" she muttered.

Selina, and all off the guys came back over to the
sitting area where they all went back to their
original sitting arrangements. Jake sat next to
Michelle, Justin sat next to Kandi, and Danny sat down
with Jeff, in the twin recliner.

"Selina, this is my fiance, Michelle Evans." Jake
said, introducing her to Michelle.

"Nice to meet you, Michelle." Selina said, extending
her hand out. Michelle took it and they shook hands,
briefly.

"Nice to meet you, too." Michelle said to her. Then
Justin introduced her to Kandi.

"And, Selina, this is my fiance, Kandi." He said to
Selina.

"It's nice to meet you, Kandi." Selina said, as she
and Kandi shook hands.

"You too." Kandi said. "So, you're Sean's lawyer,
huh?"

"Yes, I am." Selina said, with a warm smile.

"So, Selina." Danny asked her. "Is there anything that
you can do to help Sean get out of jail?"

"I'll do what I can." Selina told him. "Now, I'd
better get down to the police station and talk with my
client."

"I'll walk you out." Danny said, getting up and
following her, as she turned and headed for the door.

Danny opened the door for Selina. As she walked
outside, he walked out too, and closed the door behind
him.

"Hey, Selina," He said to her. "Before you go, I'd
like to ask you something?"

Selina turned back to him, with raised eyebrows.

"What?" She asked, smiling at him. Her smile was
definitely infectious. Danny couldn't help but smile
back.

"I'm not sure if this is the appropriate time to ask
you this," Danny said to her. "but I was just
wondering if maybe you'd like to have dinner with me,
sometime? Maybe after things settle down with Sean's
case?"

Selina smiled.

"Sure." She said, with another one of her killer
smiles. "I would like that. But you were right before
that this isn't the right time. How about we talk
about it later after I see if I can get Sean out of
jail, on bail?"

"That's good enough for me." Danny said. "Do you have
a pen? I'll give you my cell phone number."

"Sure." Selina said, as she reached into her briefcase
to get a pen. She pulled out two business cards as
well.

*******************************************************
AT THAT SAME TIME, BACK INSIDE........

Jeff was leaning over the recliner, looking out the
window, where he could see Danny and Selina, talking.

"Jeff, what are you doing?" Kandi asked him, from the
couch.

"I'm trying to see what Danny is up to." He said to
her.

When Jeff saw what was going on between Selina and
Danny, he frowned.

"What the hell?!" He asked, out loud.

"What?" Justin asked him. "What's going on?"

"I don't believe it!" Jeff exclaimed, in shock.
"They're exchanging phone numbers!"

Kandi was the one who spoke up, next.

"Well, he does have that right, Jeff." Kandi replied.
"You broke up with him, remember?"

"I know that!" Jeff said, getting defensive. "But I
didn't expect that he would be ready to date again,
this soon! Our relationship has barely been over for
two days!"

"Jeff, I was just making a point, sweetie." Kandi said
to him, seriously. "You don't have to get all
defensive on me."

"Sorry." Jeff apologized. "It's just that I can't
believe that he wants to date her!"

"Who says that he's going to date her?" Jake said to
him. "He probably just wants to get to know her,
better, as a friend."

"Oh, really, man?!" Jeff asked, sarcastically.
"Somehow, I doubt that!"

Kandi couldn't help but crack a smile. She could see
that it was driving Jeff crazy seeing that his
ex-boyfriend was interested in someone else. A woman,
no less.

As Jeff continued to watch, he then saw Selina leave
and Danny watching after her with a smile on his face.
Then Danny turned and headed back inside.

Jeff walked over to meet Danny, as he came back into
the house. Danny shut the door and turned to see Jeff,
standing in front of him, his arms crossed over his
chest.

"What?" Danny asked, with a frown on his face

Jeff looked at him, that seriousness back in his
expression again.

"You and I need to talk." He said, to Danny. "In
private. Meet me in Sean's room."

Danny frowned as Jeff walked away and headed down the
hall to Sean's room. Once Jeff was out of earshot,
Danny turned back to everyone else.

"What the hell crawled up his ass?" He asked, in
confusion.

"You'll have to talk to him and find out." Kandi said
to him. "But, I will tell you this much: Jeff may not
be as "out of love" with you as you think he is."

After hearing that, Danny frowned again, and then
headed down the hall to Sean's room to talk to Jeff.

*******************************************************
MEANWHILE, DOWN AT THE POLICE STATION...........

Nick entered the police station and walked up to the
front desk, where he came face to face with Detective
Adams, who was talking with an officer there.

"Hello, Mr. Lachey." Detective Adams greeted him.
"What brings you here?"

"I'm here to talk to Sean." He said. "Can I see him?"

"Yes." Detective Adams said. "But you'll have to wait
until he's through with booking. It could take
awhile."

"That's ok." Nick said. "I can wait."

"Very well." Detective Adams said. "Take a seat over
there and we'll let you know when you can see Mr.
Perry."

"Thanks." Nick said, before he turned away.

He walked over and took a seat, near the entrance to
the station.

He sat there and wondering how Sean was holding up, in
the booking area.

Just then, his cell phone starting ringing. He pulled
it out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Nick, it's your mother." He heard his Mom's voice
say. "I have good news. Tina and Joe just called from
the hospital. Jessica has regained consciousness."

Hearing that, Nick stood upright. This news was just
what he was waiting to hear.

"She has?!" He asked Cate. "Oh, Thank God! How is
she?!"

"The doctors say that she's doing fine." He heard her
say. "The test results that came back on her, showed
no signs of permanent brain damage. The swelling went
down. So, it looks like Jessica is going to make a
complete recovery."

Nick put a hand to his chest and sighed, in relief, as
tears started running down his face.

"It worked, Mom." Nick said, as he wiped at his eyes.
"Having everyone pray for Jessica's recovery worked.
I'm so glad I had the press conference so that I could
convince the public to help us out, by praying for
her."

"I am, too, Sweetie." His mother said to him.
"Jessica's been asking for you."

"Ok." Nick said. "Tell Joe and Tina that I'll be at
the hospital as soon as I can. I just have to take
care of something before I head over there."

"Ok, will do." His mother said. "Is your brother with
you?"

Nick was shocked to hear her ask him that. He was sure
that Drew would have told them that he was leaving
town with Casey.

"No, Drew isn't with me, Mom." Nick said. "I can't
believe that Drew didn't tell you."

"Tell us what, Nicholas?" Cate asked, in confusion.

Nick knew that she wasn't going to like what he was
going to tell her.

"Drew left town, again." Nick said to her. "He went
with Casey, back to New York City."

"What?!" His mother asked, in shock. "Why?!

"Casey's father had a heart attack." Nick said. "They
don't know how serious it is, and Casey is very upset.
Drew wanted to go with him so that he wouldn't have to
face it alone."

"That was nice of your brother to do that." She said.
"Casey seems like a very nice man."

"He is, Mom." Nick replied. "And before I forget, Drew
told me to tell you and Dad that he said goodbye and
that he'll be in touch soon."

"Ok, Honey." Cate said. "If he calls you, tell him
that we love him and that our prayers are with Casey
and his family."

"I will do that." Nick said. "Ok, I've gotta go."

"Alright, Sweetie." His mother said. "I'll talk with
you, later."

"Bye, Mom." Nick replied.

He hung up the phone and brought a hand to his face.
He sighed a huge sigh of relief. He felt as though a
great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, now
that he knew that Jessica was going to be ok. He had
to see her.

Nick got up and walked back over to the counter where
Detective Adams was standing.

"Detective Adams," Nick said to him. "I just thought
that you'd like to know that my wife, Jessica, has
regained consciousness. So, it looks like she's going
to be ok."

Detective Adams nodded.

"That's great news, Mr. Lachey." He replied. "Thanks
for letting me know. Also, find out from the doctors
when we can see her. I'd like to ask her a few
questions about the night that she was attacked."

"I'm headed down to the hospital, now." Nick said.
"I'll come back and visit with Sean, later."

"Sure thing, Mr. Lachey." Detective Adams replied.
"And I'm glad that everything is going to be alright
where your wife is concerned."

"Thank you, Detective." Nick said to him. "I really
appreciate you saying that. We'll talk soon."

With those last words, Nick turned and walked towards
the door. Just before he walked through it, He turned
and looked around the station.

"Oh God, Sean." Nick thought to himself. "What must
you be going through?"

Nick shook his head, sadly, and left the station to go
and see Jessica, at the hospital.

*******************************************************
MEANWHILE, SOMEWHERE ELSE, IN THE POLICE STATION......

I was going through hell. Here I was, down in the
booking area, getting my fingerprints taken.

"Ok now, press firmly down onto the paper." the Female
Officer said.

I did as I was told and made sure that I did it,
firmly enough, that they would get an accurate print
of all five of my fingers. My hands were trembling,
slightly, but somehow I got through it.

"Alright." The Officer said. "Now that your
fingerprints are taken, now we have to take some
mugshot photos of you."

I sighed and followed her to the mugshot room where
they took your mugshots. I entered the room and stood,
facing towards the camera. Someone handed me a black
pad that had my serial numbers on it.

I had to do a variety of different profiles, each
while holding the numbered pad in clear view of the
camera. I had to do front, left, and right profiles.

After that was done, the female officer told me to
follow her. We walked to another part of the booking
area and entered another room.

Only this time, I was in a room that was damp and
cold. It seemed like it was wet for some reason.

"Stay right here, Mr. Perry." The officer said. "I'll
be right back."

I stood where I was, as she walked into a room for a
moment. While, she was gone, I looked around the room,
as I thought about my friends, who had to be very
worried about me, right now. I also wondered when Nick
was going to show up.

When I finally turned around, I saw that the female
officer had returned and was standing in front of me,
now. She was holding a laundry basket in her hands.

"Here." She said, holding it out to me. I frowned as I
took it, not knowing exactly what I was to do with it.

"What's this for, Officer?" I asked her. She looked at
me, a very serious look on her face.

"Your clothes." She said. "Take them all off and put
them in the basket."

I looked at her, in horror.

"Why?" I asked, hoping that I wasn't going to get the
answer that I thought I was going to get.

"Because, we have to search you." She explained to me.
"It won't be a pleasant experience, but it's standard
procedure. The doctor will be in to examine you,
shortly."

I was starting to turn red, with embarrassment. From
what the officer was telling me, I was going to have
to be naked in front of complete strangers. And I was
not looking forward to that. But, on the other hand, I
just wanted to get this over with. The sooner this was
over, the sooner I could get out of here, on bail.

"Before you get undressed, though." The officer
continued. "We have to wait until a male officer
arrives. You can't undress in front of me."

"I wish I didn't have to undress at all." I said, in
an embarrassed tone.

In a few moments, the door opened and a Doctor walked
in, accompanied by another police officer.

And this officer wasn't the least bit friendly
looking. He seemed like a real hard nose. He was
Caucasian and appeared to be in his mid 50s. He had
very dark features and looked pretty intimidating. I
could see the name "Sargeant Burne Armstrong" on his
name badge.

The female Officer who was still in here, with me,
turned to them. The Sargeant looked at me and then
back at her.

"Has he been any trouble, Renaldi?" He asked her.

"No." She told him. "Mr. Perry has been very
cooperative so far."

"Well, that may change now that we're here to do the
body cavity search." The Doctor said to her. "Even the
most cooperative ones hate this part of the booking
process."

"Very true." Officer Renaldi said, nodding her head.

The Sargeant nodded towards the door.

"You can leave now, Renaldi." Sargeant Armstrong said
to her. "We'll take it from here."

Officer Renaldi left the room and closed the door,
leaving me in here, alone with the doctor and Sargeant
Armstrong.

The doctor turned to me, and said, in a authoritative
tone.

"Alright, Mr. Perry." he said to me. "Take off all of
your clothes and put them into the laundry basket you
are holding. It's time to perform the search."

Sighing, I reluctantly started taking off my clothes,
one thing at a time. I threw each item of clothing
into the basket. After the last item of clothing was
off, I stood in front of the doctor and Sargeant
Armstrong, in my full nakedness.

Then, the doctor came up to me, with a mini flashlight
in his hand.

"Open your mouth." He said to me. "I need to check
your teeth."

I obeyed, and opened my mouth as wide as I could.

"Your teeth seem to be clean." He said. "Now, lift
your tongue."

I lifted my tongue and he checked under it, too. I had
no idea why he was having to check my mouth. I had no
idea what they could be looking for.

When the doctor finishing examining inside my mouth,
he pulled back. That was when I decided to ask him
what they were looking for.

"What exactly are you looking for, that you have to
search in my mouth, Doctor?" I asked him.

"We're checking for weapons, drugs, signs of a
struggle on the body, things like that." He said.

"But, I've never done drugs." I said to him. "And I
don't own any weapons."

"And I'm sure that you're probably telling the truth."
The Doctor said. "Especially since your background
check indicates that you have no criminal record. But,
that's not the point. We have to do this, whether or
not you're telling the truth. As, I'm sure Officer
Renaldi told you, it's standard procedure."

"I understand." I said, with a nod of my head.

The doctor took a step back and looked down at my
feet.

"Wiggle your toes." He said.

I did, and then he stood back up again.

"Now, lift your penis and testicles up." He ordered.
"I have to check them, too."

I could feel my face, turning hot with embarrassment.
I was starting to feel like I was being treated like
an animal, but I did as I was told.

The doctor knelt down and examined my dick and balls.
As he did, I was starting to shiver. It was very cold
in this room.

As the doctor was touching and fondling my genitals, I
suddenly found out, in horror, that I was starting to
get an erection.

"Oh God, No!" I thought to myself. "Go down! Go down!
Why is this happening now? And in front of these
people, no less?!

I closed my eyes and tried to think of something.
Anything to get my penis to go soft again. But nothing
seemed to be working.

"Cough." I heard the doctor say. I opened my eyes and
looked down at him.

"I'm sorry." I said to him. "What did you say?"

The doctor looked up at me.

"I said to cough." He repeated

I coughed, as hard as I could. After I did, the Doctor
withdrew his hands from my genitals.

I was already so cold, I was violently shivering. I
hoped so badly that this was the last of the search.

"So, am I done now?" I asked, looking around from the
doctor, to Sargeant Armstrong.

"Not yet. The Sargeant said. "Clasp your hands behind
your back and stay that way until we tell you that you
can unclasp them."

I sighed, in frustration. What else was I going to
have to go through?"

I watched as the doctor walked back over to where
Sargeant Armstrong was standing. There was a table
nearby. The doctor walked over to it, his back to me,
and started pulling something out of a small box.

When he started to turn in my direction, I saw him,
snapping on a pair of plastic, disposable gloves. When
I saw that, I started to panic.

"What's going on?!" I stuttered, panic stricken. "Why
are you putting those gloves on?!"

The doctor turned back to me, as did Sargeant
Armstrong.

"We have to check, in your rectum, for contraband." He
told me. "Now, turn around, place your hands against
the wall, and spread your legs apart."

I recoiled back, in horror. I couldn't believe that
they were going to have to search in my ass. Now, I
understood what Officer Renaldi meant when she said
that they had to do a thorough strip search, and that
it wouldn't be pleasant.

"Oh no!" I exclaimed to them. "Forget it!"

I saw Sargeant Armstrong, giving me what was probably
an annoyed look. But to me, that look had "Death"
written all over it.

"No back talk, Mr. Perry!" He said, loudly. "Just do
as you're told!"

"NO!" I cried out, again, almost close to tears. "YOU
ARE NOT SEARCHING ME, THERE!

Instead of answering me, I saw the Sargeant look at
the doctor and saw them both nod. Then Sargeant
Armstrong went and grabbed a pair of disposable gloves
and put them on.

I was frightened, now. I wondered what he was going to
do. The Sargeant walked up to me and stood over me. He
was very tall. About 6'4" I think, maybe taller.

"There's no getting around this, Mr. Perry!" He said,
in an annoyed tone. "Either you cooperate and let the
doctor do his job, or I can do it for him and stick my
big fingers up your ass! And trust me, I might not be
as gentle!"

I gave him a blank stare, despite the fact that I was
afraid to him.

"The only way you are going to search up my ass is if
you....."

That was as far as I got, before I realized that I was
already turning and doing what the doctor had ordered
me to do. It was like my body had a mind of it's own.
I didn't voluntarily move.

My hands went against the wall, my fingers spread. I
then felt my legs spread out.

"What the hell?!" I asked, outloud. "I didn't
willingly do this?!"

"Alright, Doc." Sargeant Armstrong said. "Now's your
chance. Do it and get it over with."

I tensed up, when I heard Seargeant Armstrong say
that.

"This is insane!" I exclaimed. "You can't do this to
me! I didn't...."

I didn't get to finish my sentence, for suddenly, I
felt someone's finger go up my ass. I gasped, and my
eyes widened, in shock.

The doctor moved his finger inside of me, in and out a
few times. And the way he was doing it, didn't feel
very good.

"There appears to be nothing in there." The doctor
said. "Now, we can get him to the showers for
delousing."

I felt the doctor withdraw his finger from my ass.
When he did, I closed my eyes, feeling totally
humiliated at that moment. Luckily, my back was turned
so that they couldn't see the look on my face.

"Thanks, Doc." Sargeant Armstrong said to the doctor.
'I'll take it from here."

"Ok." The doctor replied, with a brief smile.

I heard the doctor leave the room and shut the door
behind him.

"Now, Mr. Perry," Sargeant Armstrong said, as I turned
around. "Follow me down to the showers. And bring that
laundry basket with you."

As he started walking towards the door, I picked up
the laundry basket, which had my clothes in it. Then,
I followed him.

He took me to a shower room and told me to sit my
clothes down near the door. I did that and turned back
to him.

"Now," He started to explain to me. "You're going to
walk through the shower area where delousing will take
place. Hold in your breath when I tell you to. The
same goes for exhaling. If you inhale, when the shower
heads are spraying you, it will mess up your lungs."

"Alright, Sargeant." I said to him. "I understand."

"Good." he said. "Go ahead and walk in now."

I walked in, slowly, with my legs apart. As I got
close to the shower heads, I heard Sargeant Armstrong
tell me to hold my breath. I inhaled and held my
breath. I then felt the shower head, delousing me. I
was mortified.

I heard the Sargeant tell me to exhale, as soon as the
shower heads stopped running. I did. But when I
inhaled, I got a taste of the fumes, which hadn't
entirely subsided, and it made me want to throw up.

"Alright, now turn around and come back to me." I
heard Sargeant Armstrong call out to me.

I turned around and came back to him. I saw him,
holding bath soap, and shampoo out to me.

"Here's some soap." He said. "Clean yourself up and
then we'll get you put up in a holding cell, until
your lawyer can see you, about making bail."

I accepted the soap and shampoo from him and walked
back into the shower area. I turned on the water and
set to work on washing away the smell of the delousing
spray.

It seemed to take forever for me to scrub the
nauseating fumes off of me. But when I finally felt
that I had done what I could, I then started washing
my hair.

It took me a few minutes to get done. When I was, I
turned off the water and headed out to where the
Sargeant was. He had a towel in his hands.

"Here.' He said. "Dry off and put your clothes back
on. Then, I'll take you back upstairs to the office
area, until we get a holding cell ready for you."

I nodded and quickly started drying myself off. Then,
I put my clothes on, as fast as possible. I didn't
want to be naked, another moment. I had been
humiliated enough.

I finished getting dressed and looked up at him. I was
more determined than ever to make bail and get out of
this awful place. After that, I never wanted to see it
again.

"But, before I take you up there," Sargeant Armstrong
said to me. "you're entitled to ONE phone call. Do you
want to call anyone now?" Your lawyer, maybe?"

I thought about calling Selina, but I was sure that
Danny had called her by now. She was probably waiting
in the police station area until she could see me.

I then thought about calling Danny and decided that
maybe it was a good idea after all. I knew everyone
was worried about me.

"Actually, my lawyer should already be here." I told
him. "But, I'd like to call my friends back at my
apartment, so that they know that I'm alright."

He took me down to the phone area and stood behind me.

"Five minutes." He said. "No more."

I nodded at him. But when my back was turned, I rolled
my eyes. I picked up the phone and dialed the number
for my apartment. I just hoped that my friends were
still there.

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

"Alright, Jeff." Danny said, as he entered Sean's
bedroom. "What the hell is your problem?"

Jeff, who was already in the room, turned towards
Jeff. He had an angry look on his face.

"What exactly are you doing?!" He asked Danny. "Our
relationship has barely been over for two days, and
already you're getting a total stranger's phone
number?"

Danny frowned, and crossed his arms over his chest. He
was annoyed that Jeff was the least bit bothered by
it. After all, it was Jeff who had feelings for
another man. And it was Drew, of all people.

"What the matter, Jeff?" He scoffed. "Are you
jealous?!

"Hardly." Jeff said. "I just don't think that you're
ready for dating just yet."

Danny shook his head, in annoyance.

"You have some nerve, you know that, man?!" He said,
giving Jeff that look of anguish. "First, I find out,
on Christmas night, that you're in love with Nick's
baby brother, and I use that term loosely! Then, when
I want to meet someone new, and possibly make a new
friend, my former boyfriend has to give me grief about
it, as if we were never broken up! "Who the hell do
you think you are!"

"I'm someone who still cares about you!" Jeff yelled
back at Danny. "That's who I am! I just don't want to
see you end up hurting that girl, if she were to fall
for you, just to get back at me for hurting you!"

Danny glared at him.

"Do you have any idea how incredibly self-centered you
sound right now?!" Danny asked, in disbelief. "And
what right do you have to come down on me for wanting
to date someone else?! If I want to date other people,
it's my decision! You don't have a say anymore!"

Jeff sighed and brought a hand over his eyes for a
moment. Then, he brought his hand down and looked back
at Danny.

"Danny." Jeff said, his voice softer now. "I know I've
hurt you, terribly. But I'm just trying to look out
for you. And if you date this Selina, before you've
had a chance to come to terms with our break up, you
will only end up hurting her, and yourself, in the
long run."

Danny's angry frown, softed, and his expression took
on a look of pain. The pain from his break up with
Jeff, still stung in his heart.

"Do you have any idea how much I hate you right now?!"
Danny asked him, softly, as a tear ran down his right
cheek. "You've ripped out my heart!"

Danny's words cut through Jeff, like a hot knife
through butter.

"Danny, I know." Jeff said, unable to stop his own
tears from falling. "And you love me. How can that
just disappear?"

Danny shook his head. He knew, as well as Jeff did,
that the love that they shared together, hadn't
totally gone away.

"It doesn't." Danny admitted to him. "That's why this
hurts so much."

Danny walked over to Sean's dresser, where the stereo
was sitting. He placed his hands on the dresser, and
leaned forward a bit, as his tears started flowing,
more freely."

"What can I do to make this up to you?" He heard Jeff
ask him. "I'll do anything for you."

After a brief silence, Danny wiped at his eyes and
turned back to Jeff. He could see that Jeff was very
torn up over how he had hurt Danny.

"Can you stop loving Drew?" Danny asked him.

Jeff looked at Danny, stunned that he'd asked him
that. In response, Jeff lowered his eyes to the floor.
In that same moment, Danny had his answer. No words
were necessary. Jeff's body language said it all.

"That's what I thought." Danny said, sadly. "You can't
stop loving Drew, anymore than I could stop loving
you, right now."

Jeff's emotions were starting to get out of control.
It was finally starting to sink in for him, what he
was giving up. A man who still loved him, beyond all
reason, all for another man, who didn't love him the
same way.

"Oh God, Danny!" Jeff exclaimed, trying to keep from
sobbing. "Will you ever be able to forgive me for
this?"

Danny's eyes lowered. He wasn't sure how to answer
that. But he knew that he had to.

"I don't know." He said, as he looked back up at Jeff.
"Some things can't be forgiven. Some pain can't be
undone."

Just then, the phone rang. Danny wiped his eyes and
walked over to get it. He picked it up and turned it
on.

"Hello?" He asked, sniffling as he did.

"Danny, it's Sean." He heard Sean's voice say. And he
sounded terrible.

"Sean?!" Danny exclaimed, looking up at Jeff. "How are
you holding up?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know." "Danny heard him
say. "Words can't even describe what I'm feeling right
now."

Danny then realized that maybe everyone else would
like to hear what Sean had to say.

"I'm in your room with Jeff right now." Danny said, to
Sean. "I'm going to take the phone and go out into the
living room with it. Jake and Michelle are here, with
the rest of us."

"Alright." Sean said to him. "But, make it quick. I
only have about a few more minutes left for this
call."

"Ok." Danny said. He lifted the phone from his ear,
and looked up at Jeff, quickly.

"Come on." He said to Jeff. "Our conversation will
have to wait. Sean only has a few minutes left to talk
and I thought that everyone else would like to hear
how he's doing."

Jeff nodded, and he and Danny quickly left Sean's
bedroom and headed out into the living room. Kandi,
Justin, Jake, and Michelle were talking.

"Guys!" Danny said, as he and Jeff entered the living
room. "Sean's on the phone! Put the phone on speaker
so that we can all talk to him."

Justin reached over and pushed the speaker button.
Then, he spoke into the phone to see if it was on.

"Sean, it's Justin." Justin said, into the phone.
You're on speakerphone "Are you there?"

"Yes." Everyone heard Sean's voice say. "I'm here,
Justin."

Everyone could hear just how terrible Sean sounded.
They all knew how devastated he was over what was
happening to him.

"Sean, you sound awful." Michelle said,
sympathetically. "Are you ok?"

"No, Michelle I'm not." Sean's voice said. "I've been
through the ringer, tonight."

"I'm so sorry, sweetie." Michelle replied. "I wish
that there was something we could do for you."

"Actually, there is." Sean's voice replied.

Kandi, Justin, Jake, Michelle, Danny, and Jeff, all
looked around at each other, wondering what Sean
wanted. It sounded important.

Sean's voice continued.

"I'm hoping I'll be out of here, by tonight." He said.
"But, if not, could you and Jake watch over my place
until I can make bail?"

"Of course we will, buddy." Jake said to him. "Don't
worry about a thing. Michelle and I will take care of
everything."

"Thanks Jake." They heard Sean say. "I knew I could
count on you guys! The same goes for the rest of you,
too!"

Sean was, of course, referring to Kandi, Justin, Jeff,
and Danny.

"Sean, hon?" Kandi asked him. "Has Nick been by to see
you, yet?"

"I don't know." She heard Sean say to her. "He might
be waiting in the station."

"What about your lawyer?" Danny asked me. "Selina just
left here, about five minutes ago?"


"She's probably here, by now." Sean's voice replied,
again. "An officer was just about to find out if she's
here or not. If she is, they'll take me to the
visiting room, so that I can talk to her."

"Good." Danny said to me. "Hopefully, she can get you
out of that hell hole."

"That's what I'm praying for, Danny." Sean's voice
souned like he was crying."

Then, Everyone heard a voice in the background:

"Time's up, Mr. Perry." They heard Sargeant Armstrong
say."

"Well, that's my cue, guys."  Sean said to them. "I
have to go."

"Alright, Sean." Jeff said to him. "Keep it together,
man. I'm sure you'll be out, soon!"

"Thanks, Jeff." Sean said. "I love you guys!"

"We love you too, Sean." Jeff said to him. "Take it
easy, ok?"

"I will." Sean replied. "Goodbye, guys."

Then, everyone heard the phone click, signaling the
end of the call.

Justin shut off the speakerphone and sighed, heavily,
as he sat back in his chair and put his hand over his
face.

Everyone in the room looked amonst themelves, in
silence, all of them feeling the same way about what
Sean was going through.

At that moment, the silence between everyone was
interrupted by the phone, ringing, again. Justin
answered it, again.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Hey, Justin." It was Nick, calling. "Can you put me
on speaker? I have news that all of you should hear."

"Sure, Nick." Justin said, pushing the speaker button
again. once it was on, he hung up the handset. "Ok,
buddy, what is this news that we all need to hear?"

"I just thought that I'd call and tell you guys that
Jessica has regained consciousness." Nick revealed to
everyone.

A round of gasps were heard around the room. It was
like the oxygen was being sucked out of the room.

"Nick, that is great news!" Jeff said, from where he
was standing. "How is she doing?"

"Mom and Dad called me, when I was at the station to
see Sean." Nick told them. "They said that the tests
the doctors ran on Jessica, showed no signs of
permanent brain damage. So, it looks like Jessica will
make a full recovery."

Sighs of relief could be heard around the room.
Everyone was relieved to hear that Jessica was going
to be alright.

"We couldn't be happier about that, Nick." Danny
replied to him. "We're glad that Jessica is going to
be alright."

"Thanks, Danny." Nick said back to him. "Thanks to all
of you. Your support has helped me, immensely, through
this difficult time."

"Don't mention it, Buddy." Justin said to him. "You
know we're always going to be there for you, no matter
what."

"I appreciate you saying that, Justin." Nick said.
"Anyway, I've got to go. I'm getting close to the
hospital now."

"Alright." Justin said. "We'll see you later, Nick."

"Alright." Nick said. "Bye guys!"

"Everyone voiced their goodbyes before Justin shut off
the speaker phone, cutting the call short.

"It's really great that Jessica is going to be
alright." Kandi said, out loud. "Now, I just wish the
same could be said about Sean."

"Yeah." Michelle agreed. "I agree with you. I just
can't stand the thought of Sean, rotting behind bars.
It just isn't right."

"That's not going to happen, Babe." Jake said to her.
"Sean is going to beat these charges. Selina seemed
pretty determined, so I'm sure that she will succeed
in getting the charges against him, dropped."

"I sure hope that she does." Michelle said. "At least
now Sean doesn't have to worry about being charged
with murder one, since Jessica didn't die."

"True." Kandi said, to Michelle. "But Sean will still
have to deal with Jessica's constant dislike for him.
I'm sure that her father is going to tell her that he
believes that Sean did this to her. And when he's done
with her, she'll believe it, too. And since Nick's
going to divorce her now, I wouldn't put it past her
to blame it on Sean just to keep him from reconciling
with Nick."

Not wanting to talk about Jessica anymore, Kandi
elected to change the subject. She turned to Jeff and
Danny.

"So, what's going on with you two?" Kandi asked them.
"We could hear you guys, arguing, in Sean's room. Is
everything alright?"

That subject was not a good one to bring up at that
moment, because it only reminded Danny of how angry he
was with Jeff, over breaking up with him, for Drew.
Not to mention the fact that Jeff was trying to tell
him that dating Selina was not such a good idea.

"It will be." Danny said, as he looked up at Jeff.
"When Jeff stops acting so possessive of me, and gets
it through his thick skull, that he doesn't have a say
in what goes on in my life anymore!"

Jeff glared at Danny.

"I was not being possessive of you!" Jeff shot back at
him. "I was just trying to get you to see that dating
Selina is not such a good idea right now, given that
you still have feelings for me! You even said,
yourself, in Sean's room that you still love me!"

Danny frowned at Jeff, angrily.

"Do you know who you sound like, right now?!" He
asked, Jeff, in an annoyed tone. "You sound the same
way Drew did, when he was in love with Sean? So self
centered and selfish! Well you know what?! Fine! If
you want Drew so bad, you can have him! You two
deserve each other!"

"WHAT?!" Everyone asked, shocked by Danny revelation.

But Danny wasn't sticking around to hear anymore. He
had brushed past Jeff and opened the door to leave the
apartment. The door slammed behind him.

Jeff was shocked that Danny had let the cat out of the
bag, about his feelings for Drew. He wondered how
everyone else was going to react to that bombshell.

"Jeff, what is going on?" Justin asked him. "Is what
Danny just said true? Is Drew really the man that
you're in love with?"

*******************************************************
BACK AT THE ORLANDO POLICE DEPARTMENT............

Sargeant Armstrong opened the door and led me into the
visiting room. As I entered, I looked up and saw
Selina standing on the opposite side of the room.

"Selina,"I greeted her. "Thank you for coming."

"You're welcome." Selina said to me. "Your friend,
Danny Matheson called me and said that you needed my
help."

Then, she turned to Sargeant Armstrong, who was
standing behind me.

"I need to talk with my client, alone."She said to
him. "We have alot to discuss."

"Very well." Sargeant Armstrong said as he led me to
the table, where there were two chairs, sitting. "You
have 10 minutes, while I go and check to see if
there's a holding cell, available for Mr. Perry. We're
getting pretty crowded as it is."

I sat down in the chair, with handcuffs still around
my wrists. Sargeant Armstrong had put them back on
after I was done with my phone call.

I watched Sargeant Armstong leave the room. As he did,
he told the guard to watch us, until he got back.
Then, he shut the door behind him.

I turned back to Selina.

"Will you be able to get me out of here, on bail?" I
asked her.

"I will do my best." Selina replied, to me. "But,
first I need to know the whole story about how you got
into this mess."

I sighed, heavily, and sat back in my seat. I knew
that she was going to be in for one hell of a story.

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

Nick walked up to Jessica's room and stopped, just at
the door. He peeked in the window to see what was
going on in there.

He saw Joe and Tina, each holding one of Jessica's
hands. He could see that Jessica was awake and she was
talking to themm. It looked as though they were
talking about something, upsetting, because Jessica
was crying.

Nick opened the door and stepped into the room. Joe
and Tina looked his way when they heard the door open.

"Nick." Tina said, standing up. "I'm so glad you're
here. Jessica has been asking for you."

Nick looked down at his bedridden wife, and saw that
she was upset about something. He wanted to find out
what it was.

"Well, I'm here now." Nick said, smiling down at her.
"How are you feeling?"

Jessica looked up at him, through tear filled eyes.

"Terrible." She said to him. "Now that I know the
truth about what happened to me."

Nick frowned and looked around at Joe and Tina.

"What are you talking about, Jessica?" He asked, when
he'd brought his eyes back on her.

Jessica looked over at her father, who nodded at her.
Then, she looked back at Nick.

"Dad told me that Sean could have been the one who did
this to me." Jessica said, as she started to sob. "And
if that's the case, I'm scared to death of what he'll
do next when he finds out that I'm still alive."

Nick looked over at Joe and glared at him.

"You had no right to tell her that!" Nick snarled at
him. "Especially, since it isn't true!"

Joe rolled his eyes.

"And how do you know that for sure?" He asked Nick,
angrily.

"Because I know Sean!" Nick replied back, harshly. "He
wouldn't hurt anyone! I'm so sick and tired of trying
to run that throught your thick skull!"

"Then, stop trying!" Joe shot back at him. "Because
until you have any kind of solid proof of his
innocence, He's still the number one suspect in my
book!"

Nick shook his head, in defeat. He was tired of having
to go head to head with Joe, over Sean.

"Well, I'm sure that this news will please you to no
end!" Nick muttered to him. "Sean has been arrested
and charged with attempted murder!"

hearing that news, Joe shot upright out of his chair.

"When?" He asked, in shock.

"About a few hours ago." Nick said. "I just came from
the police station. I was there to visit Sean, but he
was still going through booking, so I didn't get to
see him. While I was there, I got the call from my Mom
and Dad about Jessica."

Joe started to laugh, when he heard the news about
Sean's arrest, making Jessica and Tina look at him,
strangely. Nick could only frown at Joe, getting angry
over him, taking pleasure in Sean's pain.

"I'll bet it's all over the news now." Joe laughed, as
he turned on the TV.

Sure enough, Sean's arrest was all over hte news. Nick
had been right before. The media was all over this
story.

Then, Joe turned to Tina.

"Honey, I'm going to head back to the hotel now and
grab a shower." He told her. "Would that be alright?"

"Sure, Darling." Tina said, getting up briefly and
kissing him. "Come back when you're finished, ok?"

"I will." Joe said to her.

Joe looked down at Jessica. Then he leaned down and
kissed her on the forehead.

"I'll see you later, Sweetie."He told her. "Your
mother and Nick will keep you company until I get
back."

Jessica smiled at him, tiredly.

"Alright, Daddy." She whispered to him.

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

Outside the room, He stood there a moment, with a
strange look on his face.

"But before I go back to my hotel room," He said.
"There's someone that I need to see."

He then started walking towards the hospital
elevators.

*******************************************************
MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE POLICE STATION......

I was still in the visiting room, sitting at the
table. Seline had gone out to see what the status of
my bail situation was.

She hadn't been gone long, but it seemed like it was
taking forever. Probably because I was anxious to get
out of this awful place.

In a few moments, the door opened and Selina came back
into the room.

"Well?" I asked her. "When can I get out of here?"

Selina looked at me, sadly.

"Well, it doesn't look like you'll be getting out of
here, tonight." She said. "your request to post bail
here was denied."

No!" I exclaimed, in shock. "Does that mean I have to
stay here?!"

Selina nodded.

"Until your bail hearing is set." She replied to me.

"How long will that take?" I asked her.

"I don't know." She said, with a shrug. "It could take
anywhere from a couple of days to 2 weeks."

"Oh God!" I said, as my eyes closed, in horror. "3
days will be bad enough, but I can't stay in here for
2 weeks! I will go out of my mind!"

I buried my face, in my hands, and lost my composure
right there.

"Sean, you have to stay strong!" Selina said, her tone
serious. "If you act like someone who could lose it,
you may end up staying in jail, pending trial."

When I heard that part, I raised my head and looked at
her, through my tears, in horror.

"You think that this could go to trial?!" I asked her,
feeling scared at that moment.

Selina gave me an even more serious look that before.

"Given everything you've told me, I don't think that
it will come down to that." She said to me. "But we
need to prepare ourselves. YOU need to prepare
yourself."

I sighed, and buried my face, in my hands again, as my
fear grew over the possibility that my case could wind
up going to trial.

Just then, the guard at the door, opened it and came
in.

"Time's up, Mr. Perry." He said to him. "Sargeant
Armstrong said that your holding cell is ready. I'm
going to take you down now."

I nodded at him as I stood up. He came over to me and
took ahold of my arm.

As the guard started to lead me away, I looked back at
Selina.

"Selina, please!" I begged her. "Get me out of this
awful place before I lose it, completely!"

"Stay strong, Sean." She said to me. "You'll be out of
here, before you know it."

The guard pulled me behind the door and closed it. I
couldn't see Selina anymore.

The guard then walked me down to a holding cell which
was empty. He looked through his keys, until he found
the right one. Then, he unlocked the cell door and
pulled it open.

I slowly entered the cell, looking around the place,
as I heard the guard slide the cell door shut and lock
it.

I walked over and sat down on the cot that was set up
there. I then thought about Nick, who still hadn't
shown up yet. I was starting to wonder now if he
really was having doubts about my innocence.

"Nick, where are you?" I whispered to myself.

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

Nick was in the room, talking with Jessica, while Tina
had run down to the cafeteria to get some coffee and
something to eat.

"Jessica, I'm so glad that you're alright." Nick said
to her. "When I saw that chandelier come down on you,
my heart almost stopped cold. I thought that I'd lost
you, forever."

Jessica managed a tired smile for him.

"Well, I'm still here, aren't I?" She asked, softly.
"How is our little girl doing?"

Nick took her hand in his and brought his other hand
over her palm, caressing it gently.

"Our daughter is fine." He told her. "She misses you,
though."

Tears came to Jessica's eyes when Nick told her that.
She missed Nicole too. And it was only natural. She
was the child's mother after all.

"I want to see my baby so bad!" She said, starting to
sob. "But I don't want her to see me like this! What
if I scare her?!"

"Hey, Hey." Nick soothed her, bringing a hand up to
her cheek and brushing the tears away. "You won't
scare her. Our daughter will be so happy to be back in
her mother's arms again, she might not even notice
your cuts and bruises."

Jessica brought her hand up to Nick's, which was still
resting on her cheek, and caressed his hand, showing
her appreciation for his support.

"That's very sweet of you to say, Baby." She said,
softly. "I just hope that it's all true."

"It will be." Nick said, smiling down at her.

Then, Jessica yawned. She was definitely getting
tired.

"I'm so tired." Jessica said, her eyes fluttering.

"Go ahead and rest, Babe." Nick said to her. "I'll be
here."

"Ok." Jessica whispered, yawning again. Within
moments, she was out like a light.

Nick sat there and watched her sleep. As he did, his
thoughts drifted back to Sean. He remembered that he
still had to visit him at the police station. later.

*******************************************************
BACK AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.......

I was laying there, on my cot, thinking about what my
friends must be going through, at home. They had to be
really worried about me, right now.

I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment, as my mind
continued to wander and flood with questions.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I
knew, someone was talking to me.

"Wake up, Sean!" I heard a man's voice yell. "I have
something to say to you!"

My eyes opened and I turned around to see Joe Simpson,
standing on the other side of my cell, looking down at
me.

"Oh great." I thought to myself. "More hell to have to
go through."

I sat up and turned to look at Joe, through tired
eyes. I didn't feel like fighting right now.

"What the hell do you want now?" I asked him,
bitterly. "Haven't you caused me enough trouble?"

Joe crossed his arms over his chest and smiled at me.
But it wasn't a pleasant smile.

"I never thought I would see this day." He said, with
a sastisfied smirk on his face. "But now that it's
come, I couldn't be more pleased to see that you're
finally getting what you deserve!"



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