Affairs of the Heart

Affairs of the Heart
Chapter 19
Written by Jayson Colin Vascardi

Legal Disclaimer: This story is fictional and not meant to reflect upon or imply anything about any of the celebrities mentioned herein. All other non-celebrity characters featured in this story are fictional and solely the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. If you are under the age of eighteen, offended by material of a homosexual nature, or if such material is illegal to view in your area, you should be leaving now. Otherwise, please enjoy the story.

Please send any and all comments, good or bad, and any suggestions to: JCVascardi@yahoo.com.
For those who don't use the above email link, please include "Affairs" in the email subject line. All emails will be answered. Or if you'd like to chat in real time with me, I can often be found in the #boybands room on the Nevernet IRC Network. My primary nickname is Jayson, however, I may also use my middle name, Colin, every now and then. Also, don't forget to have a look at my website at http://jcv.5u.com/all/worldofslash/.

Other works by Jayson Colin Vascardi: Nick and Brian and The Perfect Couple

This story is copyright ©2003 by Jayson Colin Vascardi. This story is the sole property of it's author and may not be copied, in whole or in part, or posted on any other website without the written permission of the author.

Author's Note: This chapter is still set before the events in the last scene of Chapter 17, in which Thomas Winthrop destroys the Smith mansion. The family will find out about the destruction of their home in Chapter 20, at which point the timeline will once again be the present time, well, present for the story at least. Please remember that this story is still set in mid to late August of the year 2001.

Previously

Zachary Smith wakes up in one of the guest bedrooms of the Imperial Palace on San Cristobel's main island, Everton. On his way to the island, he found out quite a bit from his Aunt Alexandra, such as the fact that San Cristobel is an absolute power monarchy, and that King Christian de'Montferrat has legalized same-sex marriages in the kingdom, possibly to accommodate his two sons, Princes Nickolas and Stephen, both of whom are gay.

Ashley Smith has a dream that he's had a few times before, in which his sixteen-year-old self is having sex with an older man. After reaching orgasm, the two men start kissing passionately and all previous thoughts that their actions are wrong disappear. Ashley has had this dream several times before, but this time it was different. This time the dream ended with a woman entering the room through the secret passages, and after screaming, frantically replies, "How could you do this to me?" After waking up, the voice still rings in Ashley's mind and he can't help but think that he has heard the woman's voice before. He can't place it no matter how hard he tries, but it definitely sounded very familiar.

Later that day, the state dinner at the Imperial Palace in San Cristobel takes place, with many world leaders and celebrities in attendance. After dinner is finished, the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and 98 Degrees give an imperial command performance as part of the evening's entertainment. After sharing a dance with Queen Alexandra, King Christian heads into a sitting room with other heads of state to discuss business, and Queen Mother Margaret excuses herself due to a headache. Kevin and Ashley end up in a small curtained alcove off the ballroom, thankful to get away from the crowd for awhile, and they are soon joined by Ashley's half-cousin His Imperial Highness Prince Adam de'Montferrat and His Royal Highness Prince William Windsor.

In another of the curtained alcoves, Don Smith and boyfriend/lover Nick Lachey sit on a sofa, kissing each other passionately, when Don's son Zachary walks in. It is then that Zachary not only finds out that his father is dating a man who is only a year older then him, but also that Don has known that Katherine Winthrop-Smith was alive for a year now, has divorced her, and intends to move on with Nick. Zachary is understandably upset by the news that his father knew that his mother, thought dead for seventeen years, was actually alive and never bothered to inform him.

And late one night in a long-term care facility in England, a woman wakes from a persistent vegetative state and starts muttering the name Don over and over again. The nurse calls the doctor in charge of the woman's case, who says he'll be right over. The woman is none other than Katherine Winthrop-Smith, former wife of Don Smith, daughter of the evil Thomas Winthrop, half-sister of Her Imperial Majesty Queen Alexandra de'Montferrat, and mother of Ashley and Zachary Smith.

Chapter 19

Early the next morning in the long-term care facility that has been Katherine's home for the last nineteen years her doctor walks into her room to find her laying in bed very much awake and showing no signs of ever being in a persistent vegetative state. Of course that's probably because she was never in one to begin with. In the nineteen years since the accident, Thomas Winthrop has donated a large sum of money to the facility which has allowed them to add two new wings to the facility, greatly increasing the number of patients they can serve. Of course this money came with the condition that they do as he says in regards to his daughter.

Katherine was indeed at one time in a coma following the car accident, but the coma only lasted about a week. Knowing that there was no way he could keep his head-strong daughter there after she recovered, he ordered the doctors to start administering a drug which would keep her asleep and to then falsify records and test results to show that she was in a persistent vegetative state.

"Who are you? Where am I?" asks Katherine, as she notices the doctor coming in.

"I'm Dr. Wallace," replies the doctor, "As for where you are, that's really of no concern of yours."

"No concern of mine?" replies Katherine, "Of course it concerns me! Now I demand you tell me where I am!"

"You really are not in the position to be making demands," replies Dr. Wallace, as he removes a syringe from his pocket, which he intends to inject into Katherine's IV tube.

"I'm obviously in a hospital," replies Katherine, looking around, "But why? And what is in that syringe?"

"Well, as I said before, that doesn't concern you."

"If you're going to inject me with something that most certainly does concern me!"

"No, actually it doesn't. Now shut the hell up you stupid bitch," replies Dr. Wallace as he takes Katherine's IV tube in his hand and prepares to inject the contents of the syringe into it.

Before he can do so however, Katherine, who despite being asleep and not moving for almost nineteen years, somehow manages to muster enough strength to lunge at Dr. Wallace and grab the syringe from his hand, which she then plunges into his arm and pushes down the plunger, injecting him with the sleeping drug which he was going to administer.

----

"Hey Zach," replies Ashley, as Zach comes into his room at the palace, "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? Yes, Ash, something is very wrong."

"What is it Zach? Why are you so upset?"

"I just found out that dad is dating Nick Lachey."

"What? Dad and Nick? Are you sure?"

"Yes, Ashley, I'm sure," replies Zachary, with an acid-like tone in his voice, "I walked in on them kissing."

"Why do I get the feeling that there's more?"

"Ashley, dad is dating Nick. That means that he's cheating on our mother, doesn't that upset you at all?"

"Zach, we only just found out that mom is alive, and even then do you really expect dad to stay faithful to a woman in a persistent vegetative state? Based on the facts, I don't blame dad for wanting to move on with his life."

"Well, I have another fact for you," replies Zachary, "Dad also told me that he's already had his marriage to mom legally dissolved. And before you ask how that is possible due to the fact that we just found out that mom is alive, it's because while it's true we just found out, dad has known that mom was alive for a year now and failed to mention it to us. Now are you gonna tell me that you aren't even the slightest bit upset?"

After several moments of silence, Ashley replies, "He knew mom was alive for a year?"

"Yes, Ash, he knew. He admitted it."

"That's not possible," replies Ashley, "He couldn't have kept something that important from me."

"Well, Ashley he did. I know that you're his favorite son and all, what with the two of you always being so close, but regardless, he still neglected to mention that he knew our mother was alive and divorced her."

"I can't believe this," replies Ashley, "Not until I hear it from dad's lips."

----

"Oh Donny," moans Nick, as Don thrusts himself into Nick's tight hole, "That feels so good."

"I know, you're so tight, Nicky," replies Don, as he leans down and kisses Nick passionately on the lips as he continues his thrusting.

Normally Nick would be running his hands all over Don's back or through his hair, but tonight they decided to try something different, and Nick is handcuffed to the headboard. Of course Nick and Don are also still wearing clothing. Don certainly never complains about it, but Nick has a somewhat voracious sexual appetite and at times Nick and Don end up having sex before they can even remove all of their clothes. Of course part of the reason that Don never complains about it is because his sexual appetite is just as strong as Nick's, as Don was always very active with Katherine during their marriage and with Alexandra for the two years he thought she was Katherine.

At any rate, both Don and Nick are both shirtless, but they're both still wearing pants, socks, and shoes. Don's pants are only undone enough to allow his tool exit from them, while Nick's are around his ankles, with Don between his legs. Don continues his thrusting as he continues to passionately kiss Nick, their tongues dancing around in each other's mouths in a practiced dance which they're still working on perfecting.

Suddenly, there's a loud thud, as the doors to the room fly open. While Don did lock the doors, he neglected to engage the floor and ceiling bolts on the right-hand door, so it doesn't take much to cause the double doors to buckle inward and break the lock. Startled, Don and Nick look toward the door to see Ashley and Zachary standing in the doorway, both of them looking angrier then Don has ever seen them.

"Is it true?" yells Ashley, obviously angry, "Is it true that you knew mom was alive and didn't tell me?"

"Ashley Christian Smith don't you dare take that tone with me," replies Don, "Now get out of here, because in case you haven't noticed, you've interrupted a very private moment."

"I don't give a rat's ass what I've interrupted," yells Ashley, as he storms over to the bed, "Now just answer my fucking question! Is it true that you knew mom was alive and had the audacity not to tell me?"

"Yes, damn it, I knew," replies Don, "I didn't tell you..."

Don doesn't get the chance to finish his explanation, because almost as soon as he admitted knowing that Katherine was alive, Ashley's fist connects with Don's face in such a forceful blow that it would probably normally cause Don to go sailing across the room as he was very much caught off guard, but with Nick's legs under his arms and Nick's pants and underwear behind his back, Don is held in place as Nick screams out in pain as the jolt caused his arms to be pulled on sharply. Due to the sheer force behind Ashley's punch he has just succeeded in breaking his father's jaw and dislocating Nick's right arm.

----

To be continued...

Well, there's Chapter 19 of Affairs of the Heart. I know that the ending is pretty violent, but I think Ashley's anger is justified. I mean for Don to find out that Katherine was alive and then keep that information hidden from his children with her for a year is undoubtedly wrong. Also, what did ya'll think of the twist that Katherine was never actually in a persistent vegetative state? That her evil father has kept her drugged all these years and paid doctors to falsify test results?

Other works by Jayson Colin Vascardi: Nick and Brian and The Perfect Couple