My Everything

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.

Previously on "My Everything".....

"I ask of everyone," Nick said. "All of you in this room, and all of you who are watching this on television, Please bow your heads and join me in prayer."

Everyone in the room, bowed their heads and closed their eyes. Nick then continued.

"Dear Lord." He said, outloud, in prayer. "We all ask of you to help all of us as we go through this difficult time. Help me find the strength to go on and take care of my little girl. Help my friends and my family deal with their emotions during this crisis. Most of all, please aid Jessica in her recovery. We all love her and we don't want her to leave us."

Nick choked up a bit, during the prayer, but nevertheless, he kept going.

"She is too young to die. She has too much left to do. Too much to live for. There are so many people who care about her and together, I believe that our efforts will help her. But, ultimately, it is up to you, Lord. Please, don't take Jessica away from us. My daughter needs her. We all do.....

Nick couldn't think of anything else to say, so he decided to end the prayer there.

"Amen." He finished.

The world "Amen" echoed throughout the room, as everyone else ended the prayer with him. Then, Joe hugged Nick, briefly, and stepped back up to the podium, while Nick walked over to sit next to Justin, onstage.

"Thank you, everyone, for your time and your prayers." He said. "I have no doubt that they've helped my family, immensely. This press conference is adjourned."

Everyone got up and started heading for the exit. As they did, Joe turned and headed over to where Justin and Nick were sitting. Nick was drying his tears, and Justin was talking to him, softly.

"Are you alright, Nick?" Joe asked him. "That prayer was a little intense."

Nick nodded, as he stood up.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Nick said, looking up at Joe. "I just hope that this hasn't all been for nothing."

"Of course it hasn't." Joe said. "We did what we could. Now all we have to do is wait. and Hope."

Yeah." Nick said, looking very distant all of a sudden. "Come on, let's get to the hospital. I have to see Jessica."

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

Tina was sitting next to Jessica's bedside, watching her. Jessica still hadn't shown any signs of coming out of her coma. Tina was exhausted. She had been there, all night and all morning.

"I hate to see you like this, sweetie." Tina whispered, sadly. "I only wish that your father and Nick were here right now. But, they're at a press conference that they've held to see if they can get the public to pray for your recovery. I just hope it works."

At that moment, Jessica's eyes started to move. It looked like she was trying to open them.

"Oh my God!" Tina exclaimed, as she leaned in closer to get a better look. "Jessica! Sweetie, can you hear me?!"

Jessica's eyes continued to flutter. Tina got up and ran over to the door and flung it open.

"Get a Doctor in here, quick!" She shouted out. "I think my daughter is finally starting to wake up!"

Tina turned around and quickly moved back over to Jessica's beside. She grasped Jessica's hand and squeezed it.

"Honey, I'm here." She called out to Jessica. "I'm here with you."

Slowly, Jessica's eyes opened.

"Oh, Honey!" Tina exclaimed. "You're awake! Thank God you're alright!"

********** CHAPTER 91 **********

BACK AT THE BEST WESTERN HOTEL.....................

Drew stood up and started walking around a bit, while he tried to wrap his mind around the fact that Jeff was in love with him. It was quite mind blowing for him.

"Drew, say something." Jeff begged him. "Anything. I can't deal with this silence."

Drew turned around and looked back at Jeff.

"What do you expect me to say, Jeff?" Drew asked him. "You just told me that you're in love with me. That's alot to take in."

"I know it is." Jeff agreed. "But, I couldn't just keep my feelings under wraps forever. It was starting to eat me up, inside."

Drew nodded. He was starting to feel very awkward around Jeff at that moment. Who could blame him? He already had a man who was in love with him: Casey. And, now, here was another man who loved him, too. One of his closest friends, no less.

"Is this why you broke up with Danny?" Drew asked him. "Because of your feelings for me?"

"Yeah." Jeff replied. "But just because my feelings for Danny have changed, it doesn't mean that I still don't love him."

"No, it doesn't." Drew said, walking over to where Jeff was sitting. Drew took a seat, next to Jeff, on the bed and continued their conversation.

"You and Danny have great chemistry together." Drew said. "Feelings like that don't just go away overnight. Don't let these feelings, that you have for me, ruin the love that you and Danny had, together, and what you can have again."

Jeff frowned, wondering what Drew was getting at.

"What are you saying, Drew?" He asked him. Drew smiled, sympathetically, and put a hand on Jeff's shoulder.

"Jeff, you know I love you like a brother..." Drew started saying. Jeff didn't like the sound of where this was going. He sensed a 'but' coming.

"But?" He asked, bracing himself for the possibility that he was going to be rejected.

"But," Drew began again. "You know that I don't share the same feelings for you. I love Casey and I'm very happy with him. And as far as I'm concerned, that's not going to change."

Jeff's face took on such a look of misery that it made Drew feel bad for him.

"Drew, please don't." Jeff begged, trying to hold back his emotions. "You're breaking my heart."

"I know." Drew whispered, as he watched Jeff's eyes fill with tears. "I hate that I'm hurting you, but you have to be realistic. Your feelings for me aren't going to go anywhere. It would be best if you got over them."

"But I don't want to get over them!" Jeff wailed. "I couldn't even If I wanted to!"

"Jeff, you have to try." Drew told him. "Not just for all of us, but for Danny. And most of all, for yourself. If you don't get over these feelings, they could cause you to act foolishly and do things you normally wouldn't do. Believe me, I know."

Jeff frowned.

"What are you getting at, Drew?" He asked, wondering what the point was that Drew was trying to make.

"I've been in your shoes, before." Drew explained to him. "It wasn't that long ago that I was convinced that I was in love with Sean. It wasn't until after I was in New York City with Casey, that I realized that my feelings had more to do with loneliness than love. And that loneliness and desire to have what my brother and Sean had, together, made me do desperate things just to hold onto what I thought was love. In the end, all I'd ended up doing was hurting the people that I cared about, most. I just don't want to see you go down that same path that I did."

"I suppose you're right." Jeff said. "But, in the meantime, what am I supposed to do where my feelings for you are concerned?"

Drew thought about it for a moment but then realized that he didn't have any answers for Jeff.

"That's something you're going to have to figure out for yourself." Drew said. "Anyway, I've got to go. Casey's waiting for me."

Drew stood up and started for the door.

"Drew, wait." Jeff said, grabbing Drew's hand. Drew turned back and saw the look in Jeff's eyes.

"What is it, Jeff?" He asked, curiously.

Jeff swallowed, trying to get rid of the tight lump that was in his throat.

"Could you please keep what I've told you to yourself for right now?" Jeff asked him. "At least until I figured things out a little better?"

Drew didn't think that was too much of Jeff to ask. He, himself, didn't want Casey to know of this right now. But, on the other hand, Drew didn't like having to keep secrets from Casey, either.

"Alright, Jeff." Drew agreed. "I agree with you. There's no need for anyone else to know anything until you're ready. So, I'll honor your request."

Jeff breathed a huge sigh of relief. One thing he did know was that he was not ready to have to deal with everyone else's reactions to Jeff's being in love with Drew when they found out.

"Thanks, Drew." Jeff said, squeezing his hand. Drew nodded.

"I'll see you later, ok?" Drew said, as he turned and walked away. He left the hotel room and headed off to find Casey.

Jeff sat back on the bed and started staring off into space as he thought about how to deal with the love that he felt for Drew.

"What am I going to do?" He thought to himself. "Trying to get over someone that you're in love with is easier said than done."

****************************************************************** BACK AT THE HOSTPITAL...............

Joe, Nick, and Justin entered the hospital and headed towards Jessica's room.

"I hope things are better with Jessica today." Justin said, quietly. "She just has to wake up, or all of our efforts will have been for nothing."

"She'll wake up." Joe said, without hesitation. "I'm sure of it."

Just as they rounded the corner to Jessica's room, they heard someone scream.

"NO!!!!!!!!"

Just then, a doctor emerged from Jessica's room and yelled out to the staff.

"Code Blue! Code Blue!" He shouted. "Let's get some help in here!"

Panic-stricken, Joe, Nick, and Justin, started running towards the room, just as Tina came out. She had her hands over her mouth and was literally in tears.

The doctors and nurses started flooding into the room to assist Jessica and to try and save her life.

"Honey!" Joe exclaimed, pulling her close. "What happened?"

Tina was so shaken with tears that she could barely get the words out.

"Jessica opened her eyes just a few minutes ago and we thought that it was a good sign, and then they closed again and suddenly her heart stopped!"

"Oh God!" Nick said, running a hand through his hair. "I have to get in there and do something!"

Nick ran into the room, where the doctor was screaming orders to the nurses. Medicine was being pumped into Jessica's iv lines and the nurses were trying to revive Jessica. Nick scurried over to Jessica's bedside.

"Jessica, I'm here!" Nick yelled to her. "Please, come back to us! Come back to me! Please don't leave us!"

"Sir, you need to get out of here and let us do our job." One of the male nurses nearby said.

"But, I'm her husband." Nick protested. "Maybe I can help to bring her back?"

"I'm sorry." The nurse said. "You're going to have to wait outside."

Nick didn't like it, but he obeyed. He stepped outside and looked through the window into the room. Joe and Tina came up behind him.

"What's going on?" He asked. "Why are you back out here?"

Nick shook his head.

"Because they wouldn't let me stay and try to help revive my wife." he said. "I just thought that if I held her hand and talked to her while they were working on her, then maybe she would hear me and come back out of her cardiac arrest."

Joe shook his head, in disgust, as he continued to try to comfort Tina, who was still crying. Nick looked in the window and watched as the doctors continued to work on Jessica. Justin came up behind Nick and put a hand on his shoulder, letting Nick know that he was there for him.

"Please, Jessica, keep fighting!" Nick whispered, as tears streamed down his face. "Our little girl needs you!

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

I finished my shower and got out of the tub. As I stepped out, I reached for a towel that was hanging on the rack, nearby. I quickly dried off my body and then wrapped it around my waist. I was then ready to head into my bedroom to get dressed.

I opened the door and exited the bathroom. I walked down the hallway and headed into my room and shut the door. Once I had my privacy, I then set about to getting dressed.

As I raided my closet, trying to decide what to wear, my mind flashed back to a moment from last night.

<>

"Oh God, Nick!" I heard myself sob, in my thoughts. "I never wanted to hurt you like this! Please forgive me! I love you so much!"

<>

"Damn it!" I said to myself. "Why did I have to lose it like that and let the truth come out?! Now things are even more complicated than ever!"

I finally decided to wear one of my athletic jogsuits that I owned. Since it was a bit chilly out today, I thought that it would be appropriate to wear for the day.

I pulled one out of the closet and took it over to my bed. I laid my jogsuit down on the bed and walked over to the dressser. I opened a drawer and took out a clean pair of underwear, a pair of socks, and a clean undershirt to put on.

I walked back over to the bed with my underclothes and set them down. Then, I removed the towel from around my waist. I turned and grabbed my underwear from the bed.

Just as I was about to put them on, I felt someone's hands go around my waist, all of a sudden, startling me.

I whirled around and saw that it was Jason. I had whirled around so fast that I almost hit him in the face with my elbow.

"Whoa!" Jason laughed. "Take it easy, Tiger, It's just me.'

I looked at Jason with an annoyed frown.

"What are you tying to do? Give me a heart attack?!" I asked him, laying on the sarcasm, heavily.

"I'm sorry." Jason laughed. "I came to see when you were going to be ready to eat your breakfast. But after I saw you remove that towel and got a good look at the view, I just couldn't restrain myself any longer. I had to touch you."

"Well you could have given me some warning." I said, with my hand to my chest. "I almost jumped out of my skin."

"I'm so sorry, handsome." Jason apologized, giving me the injured look. "I'll make it up to you. What do you want me to do?"

"Hmm." I said, with a smile on my face, as I pretended to think it over. "I'm sure I'll come up with something."

"Very funny." Jason said, sarcastically, as I busted up laughing. "You sure know how to torture a guy, don't you?"

I looked up at him and grinned widely. I threw my arms around his neck and ran my fingers through his silky blonde hair.

"Just shut up and kiss me, will you?" I asked him, still grinning. In a moment Jason's grin matched mine.

"I thought you'd never ask." He said, as he leaned into me.

Our lips connected. We began to kiss, slowly and softly at first. But soon, the both of us were starting to get more into it. I could feel Jason start exploring my naked body with his hands as he continued to kiss me.

"You feel so good." Jason whispered, breaking our kiss, momentarily, to say that. Then, his lips were back on mine, again.

As much as I was enjoying the moment, I knew that I was going to have to break it or we would both start something that we would not want to stop.

Reluctantly, I pulled back from Jason. He looked up at me, the disappointment evident from the expression on his face.

"Why'd you stop?" He asked. "I was just getting warmed up."

"Sorry." I said, apologetically. "I had to. If we continued this, we'd start something that we'd never finish. Besides that, I'm starving. I need to eat breakfast before it gets cold."

"Well, alright." Jason said, the disappointment still on his face. "I'll leave you to get dressed."

With that, he turned and started to leave my room. But before he even got one step away from me, I grabbed his hand, forcing him to turn back and look at me.

"Hey," I said to him, with a warm smile. "Don't be so disappointed. We'll continue this later tonight."

"You promise?" Jason asked. Seeing the dopey look on his face, I just had to laugh.

"You know, for someone so big and muscular, you sure act like a kid sometimes." I giggled, as I kissed him, on the lips, again.

"I have my moments." Jason said, with a smile. "There's nothing wrong with that. Even though I'm almost 28 now, I still feel like a kid sometimes."

"It's cool to see that side of you." I said to him. "It's cute."

"Thank you." Jason said, as he laid another kiss on me. "That's nice of you to say."

"You're welcome." I said, then pulled back again. "Now, how about you go out and heat up my eggs for me, while I get dressed? They're probably cold by now."

"Sure." Jason replied, thumbing my cheek, lightly. "Come out whenever you're ready."

Jason turned and started walking towards my bedroom door. As he did, I gave his muscular ass a playful slap. Jason turned around and flashed me a grin.

"Careful." He warned. "I might end up liking that."

"Sorry, Sexy." I apologized, with a grin. "I couldn't resist. It was too tempting."

"Yeah, Yeah, whatever." Jason laughed. "I'll see you in the kitchen."

"Ok." I said, as he walked out of my bedroom and back towards the kitchen.

I then turned back to the bed and picked up my underwear again and proceeded to put them on. I grabbed my t-shirt and socks and put them on also.

Then, I reached for my jogsuit and started putting on the pants. Then, I put on the athletic jogsuit coat. I was finally ready to start my day.

As I walked out of my room and down the hall, I then wondered how Nick was doing. Since I had taken my shower, I'm sure that the press conference was over by now. Which reminded me, I had to ask Jason about what all I had missed.

I walked into the kitchen and saw that Jason was just finishing up, heating my my omelets that he'd made for me.

"Here you go." He said, setting the plate down on the table. "They're warmed up and ready to be eaten."

"Thank you, Sexy." I said, as I took a seat at the table. I picked up a fork and started cutting a piece of my egg.

Jason sat down at the table with a mug of coffee in his hand and watched as I took a bite of my eggs. They were very good.

"Mmm, Delicious." I said, after I'd swallowed my first bite. "You definitely have multiple talents, Jason."

"Thanks." Jason said, flashing me his sexy smile. "I do know my way around a kitchen. It's just one of many talents that I possess."

"It's definitely a great addition to your excellent lovemaking skills as well."

I think that statement caught Jason off guard, for he started blushing crimson.

"Come on," He said, with an embarrassed laugh. "I can't believe you just said that. But thanks. It's nice to know that I have what it takes to please you."

"So am I, Baby." I said, taking another bite of my eggs. "It's been awhile since I was the center of another man's world."

"You make it easy." Jason said, with a devilish grin. Seeing that, I threw my napkin at him.

"Oh, so now you're saying I'm easy, huh?" i asked, in playful amusement.

Jason nodded, with that grin still on his face.

"Damn straight." He said, with a laugh. "You're as easy as they come."

I sat there, with my jaw hanging to the floor, as he busted up laughing.

"Jason Madison!" I exclaimed, feigning sarcasm. "I am not that easy!"

"Oh, yes you are." Jason said, in between his laughter. "All I have to do is flex these big muscles of mine and you become putty in my hands."

I sat back in my chair and watched him laugh his ass off. I smiled at him, as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Man, you are so full of it!" I said, shaking my head, in amusement.

"So, what?" Jason laughed. "That's what you love about me."

"You'd better be careful, Mr. Fitness." I warned him, my grin getting bigger. "Keep it up and you'll have a very red ass when I get done with you."

"Promises, Promises." Jason said, with a grin.

Before I could say anything else, the door opened and Danny came in. He was breathing hard and sweating like a pig. He was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. Jason and I both looked at Danny, in concern.

"Hey, Danny." I greeted him. "Are you ok?"

Danny wiped at his forehead, which was wet with sweat and walked towards the kitchen where Jason and I were sitting.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said. "I just decided to go out for a morning run. I've had alot on my mind since what happened here, last night."

I of course knew that he was referring to the incident in the living room when Joe tried to attack me last night. Jason didn't know about that so, naturally, he was curious.

"What are you talking about, Danny?" Jason asked him. "What happened here, last night?"

When Danny didn't answer him and, instead, glanced at me, Jason turned to me for answers.

"Well, Sean?" he asked me, his expression getting all serious. "Are you going to fill me in on this mystery?"

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

The doctors and nursed were still scrambling around, trying to revive Jessica and get her heart beating again.

"Oh God, Please?" Nick whispered, in vain. "Please, save her!"

As Nick looked up at Jessica's heart monitor, which had flatlined, all of a sudden, he saw some activity happening on it.

It appeared that the flat line was now jumping again. The doctors and nurses stopped what they were doing. Jessica's heart was beating again!

"It looks like her heart is beating again!" Justin exclaimed out. "It looks like Jessica will be alright after all!"

All of them, let out a huge sigh of relief. They had come so close to losing Jessica. And now, it seemed that she was going to come through this crisis just fine. Or so it seemed.

"Thank God." Tina said, closing her eyes, in relief, as two tears fell down her face. "Let's go back in there and see what the prognosis is."

"I'll wait out here." Justin said to Nick. Nick nodded.

Tina was the first one to open the door and head into the room, with Joe and Nick, right behind her. The doctor who was examining Jessica, was the same doctor who had gave them the news about Jessica's condition the night of her attack.

"Dr. Messner," Tina asked, stepping over to him. "How is she?"

The other doctors and nurses who had been assisting the primary Doctor, left the room at that moment. The Doctor looked up at her. he looked exhausted, like he had been in the hospital all night.

"We've managed to ger her heart beating again." Dr. Messner said. "She's seems to be stabilized now. But, I'm going to have the nurses monitor her condition more closely now."

Nick then realized something significant that hadn't been brought up since Jessica's attack last night. He, and the family, had been so distraught over what had happened to Jessica, that he hadn't thought about it in a while.

"Dr. I just realized something." Nick said, all of a sudden. Everyone, including the doctor, looked at him.

"What is it, Mr. Lachey?" Dr. Messner asked him.

Nick looked at Joe and Tina, who were both looking at him, wondering what was up. Nick turned back to Dr. Messner.

"I just realized that there is a possibility that my wife may be pregnant." He said. "I'd like you to do a pregnancy test to see if she is or not."

"Certainly, Mr. Lachey." He said. "But to do that, I'll need a sample of your wife's blood."

"That's fine." Nick said. I'm sure that my father-in law here won't mind. We just want to be sure that my wife is indeed pregnant. If she is, we have to figure out where to go from there."

"Very well." Dr. Messner said. "But, I must caution you. If this girl is pregnant, I don't see how there is a chance for the baby to survive if Jessica continues to stay in a coma."

"I understand, Doctor." Nick said. "First, let's find out for sure if she really is pregnant. She said that she took a home pregnancy test and that it was positive. Even you will agree, those things aren't always accurate."

"That's true." Dr. Messner said. "I'll have a nurse draw some blood from your wife and have it taken down to the lab for testing."

"Thank you, Dr." Nick said, as he looked over at Jessica's unconscious form. "By the way, My mother- in law, Tina, said that Jessica opened her eyes, earlier before her heart stopped. Is there a chance that she's come out of the coma?"

"That's what we're hoping to find out." Dr. Messner replied. "I'd like to take Ms. Simpson down to E.R. for some more tests."

Nick nodded. Then he wondered if now would be a good time to spend with Jessica.

"Dr. Can we see her now?" Joe asked him. The Doctor nodded.

"that's a good idea." Dr. Messner agreed. "You can stay here and spend time with her until the aides come to take her down to E.R.

"Thank you, Dr. Messner." Nick said, as Dr. Messner left the room.

Joe and Tina sat on the right side of Jessica's bed, while Nick went over to the left side of it. Nick pulled up a chair next to the hospital bed, and sat down on it. He picked up one of Jessica's hands and set it in his.

"Jessica, it's me." He whispered to her. "It's Nick. I'm here with you. So is your Mom and Dad. If you can hear me, please open your eyes."

But Jessica did not respond. And she gave no physical indication that she could hear him at all. She was still out of it.

Nick closed his eyes, momentarily, allowing two tears to run down his face. He couldn't stand seeing Jessica the way she was. All battered and bruised, and completely helpless.

"I swear, Jessica." Nick whispered to her. "I am going to find out who did this to you."

Here, his other hand balled up into a fist.

"And when I do," He continued, through gritted teeth. "I will make them pay!"

Joe looked up at Nick. As much as he didn't want to, he had to bring up an unwanted subject.

"I'm glad you feel that way, Nick." Joe said, in a low voice. "Then perhaps now you'll help us bring Sean down and make him pay for what he's done to my daughter!"

Nick frowned at Joe, in shock. He couldn't believe that Joe still thought that Sean was responsible for what had happened to Jessica.

"I will do no such thing, Joe!" Nick whispered, angrily. "Sean didn't do this to Jessica! He's innocent!"

"Innocent?!" Joe whispered fiercely. "Sean Perry?! That man is anything but innocent! He's a menace to society!"

Nick was starting to get very agitated. Joe was beginning to get on his nerves with his continuing vendetta against Sean. He didn't know how much more of this he could take.

"Sean is not perfect!" Nick whispered to Joe. "Who the hell is?! But he's not a cold blooded killer either, and I am shocked that you could think that of him!"

"You know what?!" Joe said, lowly, as he brought a hand to his face, in frustration. "Just forget it! I can't expect you to be objective when it comes to Sean Perry, so I don't need your help! I'll bring him down, myself!"

"That's it!" Nick said, in a fierce whisper as he got up out of his chair. "I'm through listening to you! I'm out of here!"

Nick headed for the door. Once he got to it, he turned back towards Joe and Tina.

"When Jessica wakes up, call me." Nick said, in a low voice. "Right now, I'm going to go and check up on my daughter. I'm sure Kandi could use a break right now."

"That's a good idea, Sweetie." Tina said to Nick. "Give that precious little angel a hug and kiss for us, ok?"

"I will." Nick said to her. "Also, I think I should let Mom and Dad know about what happened here with Jessica, a while ago. I will go and see them after I've checked on Nicole."

"If you could do that, Nick, I would greatly appreciate it." Tina whispered to him. "Give your parents my best, ok?"

"Sure." Nick said. "I'll be back, later."

Nick turned and opened the door and stepped out of the room. When he was outside, he saw Justin get up from where he was sitting and come over to him.

"How's Jessica?" Justin wanted to know. "Is the prognosis good?"

Nick shook his head.

"We don't know, yet." He told Justin. "The Doctor said he wanted to take Jessica down to E.R. for some more tests. He's going to take a sample of Jessica's blood down to the lab so that we can find out if Jessica is pregnant or not."

"Good." Justin said, nodding his head.

Then, he looked at Nick again. He was starting to sense that something else was bothering him.

"Nick, is something else bothering you?" Justin asked him. "You seem a little on edge?"

Nick sighed, in frustration. If Justin wasn't sure then that something was wrong, he was definitely sure now.

"Joe and I just had a disagreement about Sean, that's all." Nick said, bitterly. "He still believes that Sean is responsible for the attack on Jessica."

"Oh." was all Justin said. But the way he said it, seemed to irritate Nick even more.

"Don't you start in on Sean too!" Nick warned him. "I already know yours and Jeff's opinions on this subject!"

"Nick, I didn't say a word." Justin complained. "And I wasn't going to. If you believe this strongly that Sean had nothing to do with Jessica's attack, then I will try to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"I know Sean would appreciate it if you did." Nick said. "Now, come on. I have to get back to the hotel and check on Nicole. Kandi deserves a break for a while.

"I hear you." Justin said. "Come on, let's go."

Justin and Nick then walked down the corridor together, talking amongst themselves, as they left the hospital.

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

"Well, Sean?" Danny asked, his arms crossed over his chest. "Are you going to tell Jason what happened here, last night?"

Now that Danny had brought it up, there was no way for me to back out of it now. It would only make him more suspicious of me and I hated to think of how Jason was going to react when he found out what I had been through.

I sighed, in defeat.

"Yes, Danny, I will." I told him. "Jason is going to find out sooner or later, anyway."

"Find out, what?" Jason asked me. I turned back to face him.

"Last night, when I blurted out to Nick that I loved him, he wasn't the only one who heard it. Joe Simpson, Jessica's father, did too. Justin, Jeff, and Danny were here too and heard it as well."

"Oh, man!" Jason exclaimed, putting a hand to his head, in shock. "How did they all react?"

"Well, Danny, Justin, and Jeff didn't say anything. But Joe did." I replied, with a twinge of bitterness in my tone. "He told Nick that he had told him that I wasn't over him. And he now believes more than ever that I'm the one who attacked Jessica that night."

"What?!" Jason exclaimed, shocked at my revelation. "How could he think that? You'd never try to kill anyone!"

I didn't say anything and turned away from both Danny and Jason.

"Sean?" I head Jason ask me. "Look at me."

I closed my eyes, in frustration. Slowly, I turned around to face Jason again.

"Please, tell me that you didn't try to kill Jessica, last night?" Jason begged me. "Please?! I want so desperately to believe that you didn't do it."

I couldn't look him in the eye. Seeing that pained look on his face was too much for me to bear.

"I can't deal with this!." I said, getting close to tears. "I've gotta get out of here!"

I turned and grabbed my car keys from the hook, near the kitchen doorway and headed for the door.

"Sean, don't leave!" Jason called out to me. But I kept going.

As I got to the door and opened it, intent on leaving, I came face to face with Detective Adams, who was standing in the doorway.

"Detective Adams." I addressed him, with a serious tone. "What can I do for you?"

Detective Adams, eyed me, suspiciously. He sensed that something was wrong. he then looked down and saw that I was holding my car keys in my good hand.

"Are you going somewhere?" He asked me. I shook my head.

"I guess I'm not, now that you're here." I said to him. "What do you want, Detective?"

"I may need to ask you a few more questions." He said. "May I come in?"

I stepped aside and gestured with my arm for him to enter. He entered my living room and came face to face with Danny and Jason.

"Hello, Mr. Matheson." Detective Adams greeted Danny. "Good to see you."

"Hello, Detective." Danny replied. Detective Adams then saw Jason, standing there too.

"And you would be....?" He asked, trailing off as he gave Jason the chance to introduce himself.

"Jason Madison." Jason replied, holding his hand out for Detective Adams to shake. They shook hands briefly.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Madison." Detective Adams said. "I'm just sorry that it couldn't have been under better circumstances."

Me too, Detective." Jason agreed, as he withdrew his hand after they shook hands.

Detective Adams turned back to me, intent on getting started with his questions.

"Mr. Perry, I have a few additional questions to ask you about the attack on Jessica Simpson."

"Oh, great!" I thought to myself. "Just what I need right now."

I crossed my arms over my chest and went into defense mode.

"Alright, Detective, what is it that you want to know?" I asked him.

Detective Adams flipped through his notes for a quick review and then looked back up at me, as he prepared to start questioning me.

"Last night, when Mr. Simpson, Mr. Jeffre, Mr. Timmons, Mr. Matheson, and I came in here, We all heard you say that you "loved Nick Lachey so much. Why was Nick here in the first place?"

"Well, after I had my injured hand treated, at the hospital, I left. Then I called Nick and asked him to meet me here. I wanted to talk to him."

Detective Adams wrote that in his notes. Then he looked back up at me.

"What did you want to talk about with Mr. Lachey?" He asked me.

I didn't think that It was a good idea for me to talk about that with Detective Adams. That would mean that I would have to tell him how Jessica had threathened to out Nick to the public about his past relationship with me. The one thing I did not want to be responsible for was outing Nick.

"I can't tell you what we talked about, Detective." I told him. "It's very personal. If you're going to ask me about that, You're going to have to do it with Nick present. Please move on to something else."

Detective Adams didn't like that at all. But, he didn't press me on that subject any further.

"Alright." He said. "Last night, I asked you what your blood type was, and you said it was B positive. Is that still true?"

"Yes it is, Detective." I said, with a nod of my head. "And when I asked you "why" you needed to know that, you didn't tell me."

"Before I tell you that, I have one final question to ask of you." Detective Adams said, the expression on his face, more serious.

"What's that?" I asked him. After a slight hesitation, he asked me a question that I didn't know was coming.

"Would you be willing to take a blood test?" Detective Adams asked, as he watched me, closely, to study my reaction.

Now, I was totally blindsighted by that one. And it scared me because I knew that having a blood test done would bring Detective Adams closer to the truth.

"A blood test?!" I exclaimed, in shock. "What the hell for?"

Detective Adams just stood there, calmly, looking at me the way a cop does when they are interrogating a suspect. I didn't like it at all.

"We need to test your blood type and compare it with the blood that was discovered at the scene of the crime, last night."

I didn't feel comfortable with Detective Adams's request. But I couldn't just simply refuse him.

"Detective, with all due respect, I don't see what taking a sample of my blood is going to accomplish for you? It's only going to be a waste of time. Mine and yours."

"Let me decide that." Detective Adams replied. "Why don't you accompany me down to the police station and we'll take the test there."

Before I could answer him, Jason decided that he wanted to say something.

"Excuse me, Detective?" He asked, then added. "I don't see why you need to take a sample of Sean's blood. Sean is not the kind of person who would do something like this!"

"If that is true," Detective Adams told him. "Then Mr. Perry has nothing to worry about."

Detective Adams then turned back to face me.

"So, Mr. Perry, will you reconsider that test?" He asked me.

My thoughts were in a whirl. It was clear that there was no talking my way out of it. I was going to have to do the test, whether I liked it or not.

"Alright, Detective." I reluctantly agreed. I'll do it."

Detective Adams nodded.

"You've made the right decision." He said. "Since the police department is only fifteen minutes away, would you mind riding with me? I'll bring you back when we're finished."

"That's fine." I said, lowly. "Just let me grab my keys from out of the kitchen and I'll be right back."

"Sure." Detective Adams said. I turned away and headed for the kitchen. I entered and grabbed my car keys from the wall, then turned around and went back out into the living room.

"Are you ready?" Detective Adams asked me. I nodded.

"Yes, I am." I replied. "But first, give me a minute to talk to Jason and Danny, alone, and then I'll be right there."

"Alright." Detective Adams agreed. "But make it quick. I'm working on a strict time schedule."

After saying that, Detective Adams left the apartment and closed the door behind him.

I turned towards Danny and Jason, who were looking at me, with concern in their eyes. But, there was also something else in their expressions: Doubt.

"Danny, could you call the guys and let them know what's going on?" I asked him, as I ran a hand through my hair, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me.

"Sure." Danny said, just before he came over to me and hugged me. "Good luck, Buddy."

"Thanks, Danny." I whispered to him. "You have no idea what your support means to me at a time like this. Hopefully, this crisis will be over soon."

Danny and I pulled back from each other and I saw him smile.

"I sure hope so." He said. "For your sake."

I nodded. Then, I turned to Jason. He was standing there, looking at me, with uncertainty in his eyes. Not that I could blame him. I was being mysterious about what had happened to my hand. But I still didn't know what he was thinking for sure. But I knew that I wasn't going to like it if he told me.

I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him and hugged him, tightly.

"I love you." I whispered to him, as a tear rolled down my face. I felt him hug me, tighter.

"I love you, too." Jason said, rubbing his hand up and down my back, lovingly. "I just wish that you could believe that."

I pulled back from him and looked up at him, in shock.

"I do, Jason." I said, in shock. "Why would you even question that?"

Jason sighed, as he looked me in the eyes. It was clear that something was bothering him. It was written all over his face.

"As you told me, earlier, you still have feelings for your ex-husband." He said, sadly. "I know you love me, but you love him too. And you don't seem to want to confide in me about what's going on with you. You won't tell anyone about what happened to your hand, and that really hurts me. Especially because we just agreed to make a go at a relationship."

"I'm sorry, Jason." I said, sympathetically. "I don't want to hurt you, but I'm not ready to confide in anyone about what happened until I've gotten my head together and can make sense of all of this."

I released Jason and saw the sadness and hurt in his eyes. I hated to see him, hurting, like this. But I wasn't ready to share what I'd been through with him. Not yet.

"I have to go." I told him. "Will you keep Danny company while I'm gone?"

"I'd be glad to." Jason said, nodding. "Go head and do what you have to do. I'll be waiting here for you to come back."

"Ok." I said, as I turned away. "I'll see the two of you, later."

I turned and walked to the door. I opened it and stepped outside. Then I turned back to the door and closed it. I decided not to lock it since, both, Danny and Jason were there. I didn't get the feeling that they'd be going anywhere until I got back.

I walked to the Detective's car and opened the door. I stepped into the car and sat down in the seat.

"So, are you ready to do this?" Detective Adams asked me, as I reached for my seat belt.

"I can't say that I'm thrilled about it, Detective Adams, but yes I am ready." I told him, as I fastened my seat belt.

Detective Adams started the car and started driving out of the parking lot.

I was silent until we got to the streets. Then I thought of something that Detective Adams needed to know.

"Detective Adams?" I asked, as I turned to look at him.

"Yes, Mr. Perry?" He asked, not looking away from the road.

"Before I take the blood test, I feel that there is something that you and I need to clear up, first, when we get to the station."

Detective Adams looked at me, momentarily. He was definitely intrigued as to what I would have to say where we got there.

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

NICK'S ROOM

Kandi was sitting on the couch in the living room, watching little Nicole, playing with her toys, in the playpen. She glanced at the televison set and saw that the early morning news was on and that Jessica's attack was still the major headline of the news.

"You know, it's ironic, Jessica." Kandi thought to herself. "As much as I don't like you, for what you've done to Sean, I still feel sorry for you. Even you didn't deserve to go through this."

Just then, the hotel room door opened and in walked Justin and Nick. Kandi rose from where she was sitting.

"Hey, guys." Kandi greeted them. "How did things go at the hospital?"

"Terrible." Nick said, with a heavy sigh, as he practically fell into the recliner chair, in the living room. He was exhausted. Two days now, he hadn't gotten very much sleep and it was starting to take it's toll on him.

"Why?" Kandi said, with a frown. "What happened?"

Justin walked over to her and gave her a proper hello, by giving her a kiss.

"When we got to the hospital, we were just in time to hear Jessica's mother scream and the doctors saying that it was a code blue. Jessica's heart stopped beating."

"Oh, my God!" Kandi exclaimed, in horror, as she brought her hand over her mouth. "What does that mean? Is Jessica...."

"No." Nick interrupted her, from where he was sitting. "Jessica isn't dead. The Doctors were able to revive her and get her heart beating again. But it was a very close call."

"Well, Thank God." Kandi said, in relief. "Listen, Nick, I hope that you know that despite my dislike for Jessica right now, I never would have wished anything like this on her."

"I know you wouldn't, Kandi." Nick replied, holding a hand over his forehead. "We all know that you're not like that."

Kandi sat back down on the couch and Justin sat down, next to her. He put his arm around her and pulled her towards him, where she lay her head on his chest.

"I saw your press conference on television earlier, Nick." Kandi said to him. "It was heartbreaking watching you go through that."

Nick removed his arm from over his eyes and looked at her. He attempted a weak smile.

"Thanks, Kandi." Nick said. "I don't know how I would have gotten through this, without you. You've really come through for me and my family."

"That's what friends are for." Kandi said, smiling warmly. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be right now. I will help you with Nicole as much as I can."

Kandi then thought of something more she could do to help Nick. Starting right now.

"Nick, you still look very exhausted." Kandi said, sympathetically. "So why don't you go and lay down for awhile? You could use some more sleep."

"That's ok, Kandi." Nick said. "I can sleep right here in this recliner chair. It's very comfortable. I'll have no trouble falling asleep here."

"But, Nick," Kandi objected. "You need to have your rest, without interruptions. Nicole has been very active this morning. What if she starts making noise in the playpen, here, or starts crying?"

Nick just laughed, tiredly.

"Don't worry about that." He said to her. "Remember, Jessica and I had to deal with her, alot, waking up at different times of the night right after she was born."

Nick smiled as he thought back to some of those memories of Nicole when she was just a small baby.

"I remember," He continued. "that Jessica and I used to sit beside Nicole's cradle, together, and sing to her until she fell asleep. Once she did, Jessica and I would just sit there and watch her sleep for awhile, before we went back to bed."

Nick suddenly buried his face in his hands. All of the emotions that Nick had gone through, that afternoon hit him like a ton of bricks. And the lack of rest wasn't helping him, either.

"Jessica has to pull through this!" Nick sobbed. "The two of us still have more memories to make with our daughter. Nicole can't lose her mother now. Not during the most important years of her life."

Nick raised his head and looked at his baby girl, who was still playing in her playpen. He saw her look in his direction. He wiped at his tears and managed to smile at her.

"Nicole is just starting to get to the stage where she is just starting to try to walk." Nick pointed out. "I want Jessica to be here when she takes her first steps. And says her first words....."

Nick couldn't go on and lose his composure again. Feeling sorry for him, Kandi got up and walked over to him. She knelt down to his level and embraced him in her arms.

"I have every reason to believe that Jessica will be here for all of those things." Kandi told him, as she comforted him. "You've just got to have faith that everything will turn out alright. Keep on praying every day. God is always listening."

Nick continued crying. Kandi just held onto him until he could get it all out of his system. After about a good 5 minutes, Nick calmed down and pulled back from her.

"Are you ok, now?" Kandi asked him. Nick nodded.

"Yes, Kandi." He said. "Thank you. That hug was just what I needed."

"Anytime." Kandi said, and got up from the floor. "Besides, it's a good thing you are done, because I don't know how much longer my knees could hold out."

Nick laughed, a little. Just then, he thought of Jeff who he had not checked in with, since earlier this morning.

"Oh, man." He said, putting a hand to his head. "I just remembered that we didn't check on Jeff when we came back from the press conference, this afternoon."

Justin stood up.

"Not to worry." He said to Nick. "I'll call his room."

Justin walked into the bedroom and picked up the phone. He dialed Jeff's room number. He waited for Jeff to pick up on his end.

"Hello?" Justin heard's Jeff's voice say.

"Hey, Jeff, it's Justin." Justin said, into the phone. "How are you feeling now?"

"I'm better now." Jeff said. "My hangover is gone. Thanks for asking."

"No problem." Justin said. "Listen would you feel up to coming over to Nick's room right now? Nick isn't doing so well right now."

"Why?" Justin heard Jeff say, in a worried voice. "Has something happened to Jessica?"

"I can't get into it over the phone, man." Justin said to him. "Will you come over here?"

"I'm on my way." Jeff said. "Bye."

Justin hung up the phone and waited for Jeff to come to the door. In seconds, there was a knock at the door. Justin went to it and opened it, revealing Jeff on the other side of the door, looking at him, with a worried look on his face.

Justin stepped aside to let Jeff in. Jeff walked into the room and Justin closed the door behind him. Justin then turned to face Jeff.

"So, what's going on?" Jeff asked Justin. Justin walked over to him.

"After the press conference, Nick, Joe, and I went to the hospital to see Jessica. On our way, we heard Tina scream. We asked her what happened, and that's when she told us that Jessica's heart stopped beating?"

"Oh my God!" Jeff exclaimed. "Does this mean that Jessica is....dead?"

"No." Justin told him. "The doctors managed to get her heart beating again. So, don't worry. Jessica is still alive."

"Oh, Thank God!" Jeff said, putting a hand to his chest, in relief. "Nick must be scared out of his mind."

"Yes, he is." Justin said to him. "But there is something else you should know. Before Jessica's heart stopped beating, Tina said that she had opened her eyes for a brief moment. But then she closed them again and that's when her heart suddenly stopped."

Jeff frowned.

"How is that good news?" He asked Justin.

"Well, the doctor said that he wanted to do some more tests on Jessica to see if there's been any brain activity since she opened her eyes. if there has been, then maybe there's a chance that she's come out of the coma."

"I just pray that you're right, Justin." Jeff said. "Because if something happens to her, it will kill Nick."

Justin nodded.

"Come on," Jeff said to him. "Let's go and check on Nick."

"Yeah." Justin said, as he followed Jeff to the living room. "Kandi's in there with him. She's been watching Nicole since Nick went to the press conference."

Jeff and Justin entered the living room. Justin saw that Kandi was sitting on the couch, again. Nick was sitting in the recliner, watching Nicole play in the playpen.

"Hi, Nick." Jeff greeted him.

Nick looked up and Jeff through tear-filled eyes. Jeff could see the hell that Nick was going through.

"Stand up and let me give you a hug." Jeff said to him. "You look like you could use one."

Nick got up out of the chair and wrapped his arms around Jeff, tightly. Jeff returned his embrace just as strongly.

"Actually, that's two." Kandi said, from the couch. "I gave him a hug just before you got here, Jeff."

"Well, considering what happened at the hospital with Jessica, earlier, Nick can use all the support and hugs he can get."

Nick pulled back to look Jeff in the face.

"So, you know what happened to Jessica, earlier?" Nick asked him. "That Jessica's heart stopped beating?"

"Yeah." Jeff said, as he let go of Nick. "Justin just filled me in."

Nick looked over at Justin.

"Thank you, Justin." He said, to Justin. "I don't think I could have gone through it again."

"You're welcome." Justin said. "We're here for you. We'll try to help you in anyway that we can."

"I appreciate that, guys." Nick said, addressing Jeff, and Kandi as well. "Your support means more to me than you'll ever know."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Just then, Kandi realized something.

"Hey!" She said. "Has anyone let Sean and Danny know what's going on?"

Nick put a hand to his head, feeling stupid that he hadn't thought of calling Sean earlier.

"Shit!" Nick cursed to himself. "I should have done it, earlier."

Nick pulled out his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed Sean's home number.

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

Danny and Jason were both in the kitchen, talking over coffee, about the situation with Sean.

"So, Danny." Jason said to him. "Do you believe that Sean could have tried to kill Jessica?"

Danny didn't answer right away. Before, he would have answered, "No." without a second thought. But, when Jason had asked Sean to tell him that he didn't try to kill Jessica, Danny had seen how Sean had reacted. So, now he was starting to have his doubts.

"No, I don't." Danny said. "Or at least I didn't until I saw the look on his face when you begged him to tell you that he couldn't have tried to kill Jessica. After seeing that, I'm starting to have doubts."

"You saw that, too?" Jason asked him, in astonishment. "He couldn't even look me in the eye and tell me that he wasn't the one who tried to kill Jessica."

"But what I can't understand," Danny said, frowning in confusion. "is why Sean won't tell us what happened to his hand. He knows he can trust us to keep his confidence. I've been keeping one of his biggest secrets from everyone. Even from Jeff, who I used to tell everything to."

Jason had a hunch that he knew what Danny was referring to. He decided to put it out there and see if he was right.

"Are you talking about Sean's feelings for Nick?" He asked Danny.

Danny looked up at him in shock.

"How did you know that?" Danny asked him, totally blown away that Jason had guessed it so easily.

"Because Sean told me, everything." Jason said. "He told me about what you and the guys walked in on last night. You heard him say that he loves Nick."

Danny looked at him, feeling sympathetic towards him. He knew more than anyone how it felt to hear that the man that they loved, had feelings for someone else.

"How do you feel about that?" Danny asked him.

Before Jason could answer him, the phone rang. Jason started to get up, but Danny held up his hand.

"I'll get it." Danny said, getting up from the table. "It might be Sean."

Danny walked over to the side table, by the couch, where the phone was sitting. He picked it up and hit the "Talk" button.

"Hello?" he said, into the phone.

"Hey, Danny." It was Nick, calling.

"Hey, Nick." Danny greeted him. "What's up?"

"Actually, I needed to let you and Sean know about something that happened earlier." Nick told him. "Is Sean there with you?"

"No, Sean isn't here, Nick." Danny said to him. "Detective Adams was here and asked him to take a blood test. Sean agreed, so Detective Adams took him to the police station to have the blood test done there."

"What?!" Nick exclaimed. "How long ago was this?"

"About 15 minutes ago." Danny said. "I just pray to God that Sean didn't have anything to do with what happened to Jessica that night."

"Hold on a minute Danny." Nick said, all of a sudden.

"Ok." Danny said. Then all he could hear was Nick talking with Kandi and Justin in the background, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Nick wasn't talking loud enough.

Within seconds, Nick was back on the line.

"Danny, stay put, ok?" Nick said to him. "I'm going to take Nicole over to Mom's and Dad's hotel and ask them if they can watch her for awhile, and then Kandi, Justin, Jeff, and I will be right there."

"Ok." Danny said. "But what about Drew and Casey? Aren't they coming?"

"If I can get ahold of them, I will tell them both to come over there."

"Alright." Danny said. "Jason and I will see you all, shortly."

Alright." Nick agreed. "Later, Danny."

Danny hung up the phone and turned back to Jason.

"Well, Nick and the rest of the guys will be here, shortly." Danny told him. "In the meantime, I think that you and I should see what there is in the 'fridge' to make for lunch. I'm sure that Nick and the others will be hungry when they get here."

Jason nodded, smiling at Danny.

"That's a great idea." He said. "Let's do it."

Danny and Jason walked into the kitchen and prepared to get things started with lunch. Jason looked in the refrigerator to see what was in it that they could make for lunch.

"Sean has lunch meat from the deli in here." Jason said. "There's Bologna, Cheese, Salami, Lettuce, Tomatoes, and Mayo. He's got everything. There's enough here to whip up a bunch of sandwhiches. Now, to see if he has any bread."

Jason walked over to one of the cupboards and opened it up. Finding nothing in there but glasses and plates, he opened up another cupboard that was filled with cereals. He found what he was looking for in the space right next to the cereals.

"He's still got plenty of bread, here." Jason said, pulling down a loaf of bread from the shelf. He set it down on the counter, in front of him.

"You know, I wonder how things are going down there at the police station." Danny asked, outloud. "I just hope that Sean is doing alright."

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

I had just finished getting my blood drawn, and Detective Adams had ordered an officer to have it taken down to the lab and have it tested with the blood found at the scene of the crime.

"Well, Detective?" I asked him. "Now that you have a sample of my blood, are we done here?"

"Yes, Mr. Perry." Detective Adams said. "But, I have to stay here and work on the case, so I'll have one of my officers take you home."

He turned to a younger officer who was sitting at a nearby desk. When I looked over at him, I recognized the officer. He was the one who had served me with the restraining order.

"Officer, Derek Warren, would you be kind enough to escort Mr. Perry back to his home?" Detective Adams asked, the young officer.

"Sure thing, Detective." said the Officer. "Just let me finish up with this report and I'll be ready."

Detective Adams turned back to me. He extended out his hand to me. This time I accepted and we shook hands.

"Thank you for clearing things up for me." He said. "For what's it worth, you did the right thing."

I nodded at him. Then a thought occurred to me.

Detective, when will the results of the blood test come in?" I asked him.

"I'm going to put a rush on it." Detective Adams told me. "I should have them by tonight."

"Alright." I said to him. "Will you call when they're in."

"Yes." Detective Adams said, with a nod. "Try to make sure that you are there when I do call."

"I will, Detective." I said o him. He nodded and then turned and left the room that I was in, closing the door behind him.

I sat back in my chair and sighed, heavily. Then, I looked down at my right arm, with had a piece of gauze taped to the area where the needle had gone into my arm.

"You say I'm doing the right thing, Detective." I said to myself. "But I'm not so sure."

Just then the door opened and Officer, Derek Warren popped his head in.

"Are you ready to go, Mr. Perry?" He asked me. I stood up and nodded.

"Yes, Officer Warren, I am." I replied to him. "I'm very anxious to get home."

"Come on, then." He said. "I'll drive you back to your apartment."

I nodded and started walking out of the room. Once I was out, Officer Warren shut the door and escorted me out of the police station.

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

"Thanks, all of you, for getting here so quickly." Danny said, as Nick, Justin, Jeff, and Kandi walked into the living room. Danny closed the door and followed the rest of them into the living room.

"No problem, Danny." Nick said. "Mom and Dad are back in my hotel room, watching Nicole until I can get back there."

Danny frowned.

"I thought you said that you were going to take her over to their hotel room?" He said, confused. "at least that's what you said over the phone."

"That was the plan." Nick explained to Danny. "But, then I decided that maybe it would be best if they watched her, in my hotel room. all of Nicole's things are there. Her diaper bag, bottles, and the crib. I thought maybe Nicole would be more comfortable there."

"You may be right." Danny said. "Did you manage to get ahold of Drew and Casey?"

"No, not yet." Nick said. "Drew's phone keeps going to voice mail."

"Don't worry about it, too much." Danny said to him. "I'm sure they will turn up eventually."

"Eventually." Nick said."I guess they must have felt like they needed some time alone together."

Nick nodded, then looked around the room, for Jason. He didn't see him anywhere in sight.

"Where's Jason?" Nick asked him. "Wasn't he here with you, earlier?"

"He's still here." Danny said. "He's taking a shower."

"It's cool that Jason is here." Jeff said. "Now, Kandi, Justin, and I can officially meet him."

"You'll like him." Danny said, with a smile. "He's very cool. Not to mention quite a stud."

"Now, I really can't wait to meet him." Kandi said, with a shit-eating grin. "Then I'll get to see how much of a stud he really is."

Nick knew she was going to be in for a hell of a shock. Ever since the other night when he'd seen Jason come out of the bathroom, shirtless, and wearing a pair of gray sweatpants, he hadn't been able to get Jason out of his mind.

"I sure know hot Jason is." Night thought to himself. "But I can't allow my attraction for him to get the better of me. He's my ex-husband's new boyfriend. Besides, I've hurt Sean enough, in the past. I am not about to do it again."

"Nick?" A familiar voice interrupted Nick's thoughts. He turned towards the voice. He saw Jeff, standing behind him.

"I'm sorry, Jeff." Nick apologized. "What did you say?"

"I just said that if you're hungry, Danny just told us that he and Jason made some sandwhiches in the kitchen." Jeff pointed out. "He, Justin, and Kandi went into the kitchen to eat some."

"Oh." Nick said. "I'm starving, actually. Come on, let's go and eat."

"Lead the way." Jeff said. Nick turned and headed towards the kitchen.

Just as they were getting to the kitchen doorway, the doorbell rang. Nick turned back to Jeff.

"Go ahead and get your sandwhich, Jeff." Nick said. "I'll answer the door."

Jeff went into the kitchen, while Nick went to see who was at the door. Nick got to the door and opened it. When he saw who was at the door, he frowned, in exasperation.

Drew and Casey were standing on Sean's doorstep, looking at him.

"Where have the two of you, been?" Nick asked them. "I've been trying to get ahold of you two for a whole half hour!"

"We're sorry, Nick." Drew said to him. "Let us in and we'll explain."

Drew didn't look very happy, and neither did Casey. They both looked like they'd been crying.

"Come in." Nick said. "Sean isn't here yet, so we're all waiting for him to get here."

Drew and Casey entered the room and came face to face, with Kandi, Justin, Jeff, and Danny. Nick closed the door behind him and walked back over to stand in front of Casey and Drew.

"Alright, guys, what's going on?" Nick asked him. "You never showed up at the press conference, and I've been trying to reach you for almost a half hour."

"We're sorry, Nick." Drew said to him. "But we were delayed from attending your press conference for a good reason."

"What reason is that, Hon?" Kandi asked him, from the kitchen doorway.

Drew looked over at Casey and saw that his tears were returning, full force. He put his arm around Casey's shoulder.

"We got a phone call from Casey's Mom earlier, right as we were driving to the hotel where the press conference was being held." Drew told everyone. "Casey's father had a heart attack."

"Oh God!" Nick exclaimed. "Casey, I'm so sorry!"

Nick eveloped Casey into a hug, which Casey accepted. after which, he broke down in Nick's arms. Drew looked up, at Kandi, Justin, Danny, and Jeff, who were standing nearby, looking at Casey, empathetically.

"Thanks, Nick." Casey sobbed. "Your support means alot to me."

Casey released Nick and looked at Jeff, Danny, Justin, and Kandi.

"I'm glad you are all here to support me." He said. "It means more to me than you'll ever know."

"Anytime, sweetie." Kandi said, walking over to Casey and hugging him. Casey hugged her back.

"Listen, we can't stay long, guys." Drew said. "Casey and I just came over to see what you wanted, after I got your messages, and to tell you our news...."

Here, he cut off, momentarily, looking down at the floor. Then, he said the rest.

"...and to say, goodbye." He said, sadly. When he looked up, he saw the shocked looks on everyone's faces. Even Nick's.

"Goodbye?!" Nick exclaimed, in shock. "Drew, where are you going?"

Drew looked at Casey, then back at Nick.

"When Casey and I found out what had happened to his father, he broke down in the car. I had to drive back to our hotel and pack up our stuff. Casey's booked on a flight to New York. It leaves in two hours. And I'm going back with him."

"But, Drew." Jeff protested, in shock. "You're needed here. You two don't even know about what happened to Jessica, do you?"

Hearing Jeff say that, sent Drew into panic mode.

"Oh my God!" Drew stuttered, looking at Nick. "Nick, what happened to Jessica?!"

Nick looked at him, seeing how frightened he was.

"There was an incident at the hospital, earlier." He said. "When, Joe, Justin, and I went back to visit Jessica, we heard Tina scream. Jessica heart stopped beating."

"What?! Danny exclaimed, in shock.

"What?!" Drew exclaimed, wide eyed. "Oh my God, Nick!"

He grabbed Nick and hugged him, hard. Nick returned his hug.

"What does this mean, Nick?" Drew asked him. "Is Jessica.....?"

"No." Nick said. "Don't worry, she's not dead. The doctors revived her and got her, stabilized."

"Well, Thank God for that, Nick." Casey said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What did the Doctor say afterwards?"

"Tina said that Jessica opened her eyes briefly, just before they closed again. After that was when her heart stopped." Nick explained. "The doctor is having some more tests run on her to see if there's been any brain activity and to see if there's a possibility that she's come out of the coma."

"Well, if that is the case, then I hope that is what happens." Casey said. "I know that sweet little baby girl of yours needs her."

Nick nodded. That made Drew wonder where Nicole was.

"Nick, where is Nicole, anyway?" He asked.

"Mom and Dad are watching her, back at my hotel room." Nick told him. "We had to come over here because Danny called us and told us that Sean was taken down to the police station."

"The police station?!" Drew exclaimed, in shock. "Why?"

"Danny called and told us that Detective Adams was here and asked Sean if he would take a blood test. Nick told him. "Why they wanted him to, I'm not sure."

"I know that part." Danny said to Nick. Drew, Casey, and Nick turned their attention towards Danny then.

"The reason Detective Adams wanted Sean to take a blood test is because he has the same blood type as the blood that was found at the auditorium after Jessica's attack." Danny continued. "I guess he must have wanted it to determine whether or not, Sean's blood matches it."

"But that is insane!" Nick said to him. "Sean could never had done something like this!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Nick!" A male boice rang out.

Everyone else turned towards the hallway and saw Jason come around the corner, wearing a tight white t-shirt and his Levi 501s.

"You must be Jason." Kandi said, looking up at him. "It's nice to meet you." She extended her hand out to him. "I'm Kandi."

"It's nice to meet you, Kandi." Jason said, shaking her hand. "I'm just sorry that it's not under better circumstances."

Jason then looked around at everyone else and realized who they were.

"You guys are from 98 Degrees, aren't you?" he asked them. "I already met Nick, but I haven't met the rest of you, yet."

Kandi made the introductions and Jason shook hands with Justin and Jeff. Then he walked over and shook hands with Drew and Casey. It was then, that he saw Casey's red eyes and tear-streaked face.

"What's wrong, Casey?" Jason asked him. You look like you've been crying?"

Casey nodded.

"Yeah." He said. "I just found out that my father had a heart attack."

Jason looked at Casey, sadly, feeling sympathy towards him.

"I'm so sorry, man." Jason said, putting a hand on Casey's shoulder and squeezing it, gently. That was his way of offering support to others. "Is your father going to be alright?"

"I sure hope so." Casey said. "Drew and I just came over here to say goodbye to everyone. We're headed to the airport to catch a flight to New York, which leaves in 2 hours."

Then Casey looked back over at Drew.

"But now that I've heard what happened to Jessica," He said to Drew. "maybe it would be best if you stayed here with Nick. Your family needs you, right now, too."

Drew looked at Nick to find out for sure.

"Nick, do you need me to stay behind?" Drew said. "If you need me to help out with the baby, I'll stay."

Nick thought it over for a moment and realized that it wasn't necessary. He had Justin, Jeff, and Kandi to help him out if he needed help.

"No, Drew." Nick said to him. "Justin, Jeff, and Kandi are here to lend a hand if things get rough. Go ahead and go back to New York with Casey. He needs you more than we do right now."

"Alright." Drew nodded. "Will you say goodbye to Mom and Dad for me? I didn't even have time to say goodbye to them and I didn't want to do it over the phone."

"Don't worry, Drew." Nick said. "I'll tell them, everything."

Then, Nick walked over to Drew and hugged him.

"Be safe." He said to his brother. "Call us when you land so we know that you both got to New York safely."

"I will." Drew said. "Will you call me and let me know if Jessica's condition changes?"

"You bet." Nick said, as he released Drew. Then, he hugged Casey one last time.

"Casey, be sure to let us all know how your father is doing when you visit him, in the hospital." Nick said. "Our prayers will be with you and your family."

"Thank you, Nick." Casey said. "I will let you all know what happening as soon as I know anything."

Casey pulled back from Nick's embrace and turned to Drew.

"We'd better get going." He said to Drew. Drew nodded. Then, he turned back to the others."

"Goodbye, all of you." He said. "We'll miss you."

Drew and Casey turned and headed for the door. Casey opened the door, and let Drew out first. Then, he closed the door behind him.

****************************************************************** OUTSIDE, SEAN'S APARTMENT..................

Officer, Warren pulling into the parking lot and stopped just in front of my beach apartment. It was then that I saw Drew and casey just leaving.

"Thanks for the life, Officer Warren." I said to him. giving him a grateful smile.

"No, problem." He said, smiling back at me. "And please, call me Derek."

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

I got out of the police car and Derek drove off. I walked up towards my house, as Drew and Casey were coming my way.

"Hey, you two." I greeted them. "What's going on?"

Drew looked at me, sadly.

"We're leaving for the airport." Drew explained. "Casey and I have to catch a flight back to New York. We just found out that his father had a heart attack."

I looked at Casey, my mouth open, in shock. Once the news sank in, I felt so bad for him.

"Oh, Casey." I said, pulling him into my arm. "I am so sorry."

Casey hung onto me, tightly. After a few moments, he released me, again.

"I'm glad I got to see you, before we left." Casey said to me. "How did things go at the police station?"

"It went fine." I said. "Detective Adams had someone draw some of my blood and then he had an officer drive me back here. Right now, I just want to go back into the house and have some peace and quiet."

"I don't know if you get that." Drew said. "Nick, Justin, Jeff, and Kandi are in there with Danny and Jason. And Jason seems to have doubts as well about whether you attacked Jessica or not."

"I already know that." I said to him. "I'll talk to them. But, in the meantime, you two have a safe flight back to New York."

"We will." Drew said. "We'll see you later."

"Ok." I said, as I watched them walk to their car. I waiting until the got into it and drove off, before I headed towards my house.

I opened the door and stepped into the house. Immediately, I came face to face with Nick, Danny, Justin, Jeff, Kandi, and Jason.

"So?" Nick asked me. "How did it go down at the police station?"

"Fine." I told him. They took my blood and told me that the results should come back by later, this evening. That's all I'm going to say on this subject. Right now, I just want some peace and quiet until we know the truth."

"But, Sean..." Jason asked outloud. I pointed my finger at him.

"No buts, Jason." I said to him. "I don't want to get into this anymore. If you can't deal with that, then I want you to leave."

Jason was shocked by my attitude, but, he didn't press me any further.

"Fine." He said. "I won't bring it up again. For now."

"Good." I said to him, then turned to everyone else. "In the meantime, all of you feel free to hang out here, if you want. Watch TV, or rent some movies to watch on my DVD player. Right now, I need some time alone, so I'm going to my room. I'll see you guys later."

Nobody said a word as I walked down the hall to my room. I opened the door and entered my bedroom. I shut the door, behind me, and walked over to my bed and lay down upon it.

I laid there, thinking about everything that I had gone through since the night of Jessica's attack. Of course thinking about all of that, made me feel even more exhausted than I already was.

The next thing I knew, I was asleep within minutes.

****************************************************************** LATER THAT EVENING..........................

I woke up, feeling renewed and refreshed. I looked over at the clock and saw that it was 7:00p.m. I was shocked that I'd slept that long. But I guess I must have been exhausted. After all, I hadn't slept well last night.

I sat up in bed, and stretched to get all of the sleep out of me. One thing I knew for sure is that I was hungry. I decided to get something to eat.

I walked to the bedroom door and opened it, heading out towards the kitchen. When I rounded the corner and entered the kitchen, I came face to face with Nick, Justin, Jeff, Kandi, and Danny. They were all sitting at the kitchen table, eating dinner.

"Well, look who's up." Nick said, smiling at me. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, Nick." I said to him. "Thanks for asking."

I looked around and saw all of the food that was sitting on the counter.

There was homemade mashed potatoes, Green beans, Macaroni and Cheese casserole, Corn, and steak."

"Who did all of this?" I asked them. "There's enough food here to feed an army."

"We all did." Jeff told me. "Everything you see is something we did. I made the Macaroni and Cheese casserole. Justin did the corn, Kandi made the mashed potatoes, Danny made the green beans, and Nick cooked the steaks."

I gave everyone a grateful smile.

"Thank you, all, for doing this." I said to them. "I was so exhausted, I didn't know what I was going to make for dinner."

"Well come on," Danny said to me. "Fix yourself a plate of food and join us."

"Sure." I said. I walked over to the cupboard and got out a plate. I then reached into the drawer and got out some silverwere. A fork and a sharp knife for my steak.

I got some Mashed potatoes, Green beans, Macaroni and Cheese, and a large piece of steak. Once I had my plate filled with what I wanted, I walked over and sat my plate down, at the end of the table, in between Justin and Jeff.

I started first with my steak. I cut a piece off and tasted it. It was delicious. Nick had really outdone himself.

"Nick, this steak is delicious." I told him. "You've really outdone yourself."

"Thanks." Nick said, smiling at me, just before he put another piece of his steak into his mouth.

I then tasted the macaroni and cheese casserole, then the green beans and then the mashed potatoes.

"Everything is so delicious." I said. "You've all outdone yourselves."

a round of "Thanks" from Kandi, Justin, Danny, and Jeff came around the table. I sat back to enjoy the rest of my food.

We all ate our food, in silence, enjoying it, as well as each other's company. Then, I noticed for the first time since I came out that Jason wasn't there.

"Hey, where's Jason?" I asked outloud. Nick, was the one who answered that question for me.

"After you went to your room, earlier this afternoon, he said he had to go to work." Nick explained. "He told us to tell you that he would be back later."

"Alright." I said, as I got up from the chair and headed back to the cupboard to get a drink. I got down a glass from the shelf, in the cupboard and set it down on the counter. Then, I reached into the refrigerater and pulled out a bottle of "Pepsi."

"Sean, have you talked to Jake and Michelle, lately?" Kandi asked me, as I was pouring my cola into the glass.

"No, I haven't." I told her, not looking back at her. "I haven't talked to them, since the other night when Jessica attacked me, here at the house. Why?"

"I was just wondering why they haven't come over here since then?" Kandi said. "Didn't you make up with them since the fight you had with them, about Nick."

I finished pouring my soda and put the cap back on the bottle. I left it on the counter in case anyone wanted more. I turned around and walked back over to my place at the table.

"Yes, I did." I told Kandi. "We apologized to each other and made up just before I blew up at Nick and Jessica and told them both to get out."

I looked over at Nick at that moment, wanting to set things straight with him about that night. I owed him an apology.

"Nick, I'm sorry I blew up at you." I said to him. "My anger was meant for Jessica, not you. I shouldn't have taken all of my anger out on you too."

Nick just shrugged it off.

"Forget bout it." He said. "I already have."

"Ok." I said. "I'm glad we got that settled."

Nick nodded and went back to eating his food. Then, an idea came to me.

"I'll give Jake and Michelle a call after I finish eating and see what's going on with them."

We all agreed that it was a good plan, and we resumed to eating our dinner. After about 5 minutes, we were all finished. Everyone was stuffed.

Kandi cleared the table of our plates and took them to the sink to rinse them off. Once that was done, she put them in the dishwasher. Nick stayed behind to help her clean up.

Danny, Justin, and Jeff went to sit on the couch to watch TV, while I walked over to sit in the twin recliner, alone.

I sat there and watched, as Jeff, Justin, and Danny starting making noise over a football game. But I wasn't watching it. I was too preoccupied at the moment.

"Sean?" I heard a familiar voice say. "Are you ok?"

I looked up and saw Nick, standing in front of me, looking down at me, his blue eyes filled with concern.

"I'm fine, Nick." I said to him. "Here, sit down beside me."

Nick sat down in the twin recliner, right next to me. He turned and looked at me.

"So, did you really enjoy your dinner?" he asked me. I smiled at him.

"Very much." I said to him. "You make the best steaks, Nick."

Nick smiled, showing off his pearly whites. Once again, my heart skipped a beat. He still had that effect on me.

"Thanks." He said. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"I did." I said to him. "but more than that, I'm glad that I had dinner with you and the guys. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed myself like this. With the exception of Christmas Day, of course."

Nick chuckled, slightly. Then, he looked at me, again, the smile still on his face.

"You know it's good seeing you like this." Nick said to me. "I haven't seen you light up like this, in a while."

"Yeah," I said to him. "I haven't really had much to smile about lately."

"Well, you did when I gave you that bouquet of roses, on Christmas Day." Nick replied.

"And that was a very sweet gesture." I told him. "I was very touched by it."

I reached over and put my hand over his and squeezed it, gently.

"Thank you." I whispered to him. Nick smiled back at me.

"Anytime." Nick whispered back, looking into my eyes. I looked back into his.

Before I could get lost in them, the doorbell rang. I saw everyone turned towards the door, including me and Nick.

I got up and went to the door. I opened it and came face to face with Detective Adams and a police officer, whom I didn't know.

"Hello Detective Adams." I greeted him. "I've been expecting you."

"Hello, Mr. Perry." Detective Adams. "May we come in?"

"Sure." I said, stepping aside to let him and the officer in. They entered the living room and I shut the door behind me and turned to face them.

I saw Jeff, Danny, Justin, Kandi, and Nick, all get up from where they were sitting and came over to stand near me.

"We have the results of your blood test, Mr. Perry." Detective Adams said to me.

"You do?" I asked him.

"Yes." Detective Adams replied. "We tested your blood and compared it to the blood that was found on the floor of the maintenance room, in the Auditorium where Jessica Simpson Lachey was performing that night."

"And what did you find out?" I asked him.

Detective Adams looked around at everyone else in the room. He saw the worried looks on all of their faces. then he turned back to me.

"The test proves beyond any doubt, "Detective Adams announced. "that it was your blood that was found at the scene of the crime."

When I heard that, I could feel my whole world falling apart. To say I was shocked, was not the word for it.

"What?!" I asked, in shock. "No! No, Detective, it can't be!"

The police officer advanced towards me, with his handcuffs in his hand.

"Mr. Perry, I have to search you to make sure you're not carrying a weapon." The officer said, and started frisking me.

All I could was stand there, in shock, as I felt my emotions start to give way. Then, I felt the officer pulling my hands behind my back. A second later, I felt the handcuffs go around my wrists.

"Sean Perry." Detective Adams started saying. "I, hereby, place you under arrest for the attempted murder of Jessica Simpson Lachey."

My eyes closed, as the tears started falling down my face.

"Oh God!" I sobbed out, to myself. "This can't be happening!"

I looked up and saw Jeff, Kandi, Justin, and Danny, looking at me, with expressions of shock and confusion, written on their faces. I looked over at Nick and saw that he had the same expression. But, there was something else I saw in his eyes. What it was, I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

Detective Adams, continued reading me my rights.

"You have the right to remain silent." He said. "Anything you say can, and will be held against you, in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you, and you may have him or her present while you are being questioned.....

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