Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2005 21:15:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: slpwriter <slpwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Nick Lachey: My Everything-85

Hello, Everyone!

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

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

Now on with the story.

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

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

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

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

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

and finally:

"What I feel for you" by Thack.


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

Enjoy.


Previously on "My Everything".....


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jessica braced herself for Drew's reaction.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jessica smiled at him, and nodded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


***********
CHAPTER 85
***********

Danny stood there, paralyzed, in Jeff's arms. He
didn't know what to do or say at that moment. He was
definitely feeling alot of emotions. Even though Jeff
was hugging him, Danny made no move to hug him back.

"I'm fine, Jeff." Danny said, bitterly. "Now remove
your arms from me."

Jeff pulled back and looked at Danny, in shock.

"Danny, why are you doing this?" He asked. "I thought
you would have cooled down by now."

"Oh you'd think so, wouldn't you?" Danny said. "After
all, it was only my heart you destroyed last night,
right?"

Jeff looked down at the floor, momentarily, feeling
really bad at that moment. Then he looked back up at
Danny.

"Listen, Danny, you have to understand that I didn't
mean to hurt you." He said. "I can't help that I have
feelings for someone else. I didn't expect for it to
happen, but it did. And I'm sorry that you had to get
hurt in the process. I don't know what more I can
say."

"There is nothing you can say that will even interest
me, Jeff." Danny said, his voice strangely calm. "So,
if you don't mind, please leave so I can go and get
some sleep. I haven't had much since last night."

"I'd really like to stay so you and I can talk." Jeff
said. "I'd like to see if there is any chance that you
and I can work things out."

Danny turned away from Jeff and walked back over to
the couch and sat back down. Jeff shut the door behind
him and walk over towards the couch, and stood in
front of Danny. Danny looked up at him.

"Jeff, there is nothing to work out." Danny said,
quietly. "It's over between us. I thought I made that
clear to you when I left last night."

"I thought you were just blowing smoke, Baby." Jeff
said. Before he could  say anything more, he was
interrupted.

"Don't call me that!" Danny said. "I am not your baby
anymore! So, why don't you just leave now! Go find
your other lover that you're supposedly in love with,
and crawl back in the sack with him!"

Danny stood up and started to walk away from Jeff, but
Jeff grabbed his arm and turned him back to face him.
When Danny looked back at Jeff, he could see the anger
flashing in Jeff's eyes, after his insult towards him.

"For your information, I have not slept with the
person I'm in love with!" Jeff snapped back at him.
"Actually, he has no idea that I'm in love with him!"

Hearing that was enough to shock Danny. Now, he was
getting somewhere with Jeff. At least now, part of the
truth was out.

"He?" Danny asked, then his face turned stony. "So,
it's another man that you're in love with, huh? Well,
who is he?"

Jeff could see that Danny was definitely curious, as
well as jealous, as to who the man could be that Jeff
was in love with. But, still Jeff couldn't bring
himself to tell Danny who it was. Because if he did,
all hell would break loose.

"I'm sorry, Danny, I can't tell you who it is." Jeff
said. "Not yet, anyway."

"Damn it, Jeff!" Danny swore at him. "Why can't you
just give me a straight answer?!"

"Because, I'm not straight." Jeff said, calmly, just
before he cracked a smile.

Danny just stared at Jeff, in disbelief. Then, from
out of nowhere, he started to laugh. Within moments,
he and Jeff were laughing together. But not for long.

Danny, realizing what he was doing, cleared his
throat, and his laughter faded and his anger took over
again.

"I fail to see what is so amusing in all of this,
Jeff." He said. "That remark may have been funny, but
it doesn't get you off the hook for what you've done
to us."

Jeff nodded. He knew he had done wrong, and that he
was going to have to give Danny answers sooner or
later.

"I know, Danny." He said. "I promise you, I will have
answers for you, but I don't have any right now. I'm
still really confused about my feelings right now."

Danny frowned when he heard this. Just a minute ago,
Jeff was telling him that he was in love with someone
else, and now he was saying that he was confused and
he didn't know what his feelings were for this other
man.

"Jeff, now you sound insane." Danny said, a little
harshly. "First you tell me that you're not in love
with me, anymore, and that you're in love with someone
else. And now, you're telling me that you're confused
about your feelings? Which is it?"

Jeff thought it over for a moment and he realized that
he couldn't just keep things in, anymore. He had to
face the truth and deal with his feelings. He had to
tell Danny the truth, once and for all. And he came up
with the perfect solution.

"I know that, Danny." Jeff said. "And you do deserve
the truth. But first, will you agree to do me one last
favor?"

Danny was definitely intrigued now. Things were
finally getting somewhere.

"What's that?" He asked Jeff.

Jeff hesitated, wondering if it was such a good idea,
but finally got up the nerve to ask what he wanted
from Danny.

"Have dinner with me, tonight." Jeff said, suddenly.
That sure threw Danny for a loop.

"What?!" Danny asked, in disbelief, not sure that he
heard Jeff right.

"I'll tell you the truth, tonight." Jeff said. "I
promise you. Besides, it'll give us a chance to talk
and really get things out in the open."

Danny wasn't sure it was a good idea.

"I don't know, Jeff." Danny said. "I don't think that
going out in public to have dinner, and to talk about
something as big as this, is such a good idea."

"Why not?" Jeff asked, a confused scowl on his face.
"I think that we both owe it to ourselves to talk and
see if there is any chance that we can salvage what's
left of our relationship."

Danny remained silent. Jeff's request was asking alot
of him after what had happened last night. But, even
he knew that if he didn't do his part in making an
effort, nothing would be settled for either of them.

Danny looked back up and Jeff and prepared to give him
his decision.

"I'm not making any promises, Jeff." He said,
seriously. "I will meet you for dinner tonight so we
can talk and you can finally tell me the truth about
your feelings for this other man. But whether or not,
our relationship can continue, is my decision."

"That's good enough for me." Jeff said. "Thank you."

Danny didn't say anything. He just nodded, as he
looked down at the floor.

Then, there was nothing but silence. Then, when Jeff
couldn't take it anymore, he decided to be the one to
break it.

"Well, I think I'll go and let you get your rest now."
Jeff said. "I'll pick you up around 9:00 p.m. Is that
alright?"

Danny nodded. That was a good time for it.

"Yeah, Jeff, that's fine." Danny replied, quietly.
"I'll see you, tonight."

"Ok." Jeff said, turning towards the door. "I'll see
you later, then."

Jeff opened the door and started to leave.

"Jeff?"

Jeff turned back towards Danny, when he heard his
voice.

"What?" He asked, wondering what Danny wanted.

"About dinner," Danny started asking him. "Where are
we going?"

Jeff thought it over for a moment, then thought of the
perfect place.

"How about the hotel restaurant, back at the Best
Western?" He suggested. Danny seemed ok with it.

"That's good." Danny said. "They have great food,
there."

"Ok. The Best Western it is." Jeff said. "It's a date,
then. "I'll see you tonight. Bye, Danny."

"Bye, Jeff." Danny said, as Jeff left and closed the
door behind him.

Once Jeff had gone, Danny locked the door, then turned
around and leaned against it, sighing heavily. It was
only then that he realized just how exhausted he was.

"I'd better go and get some rest." Danny said.

He then walked down the hallway towards the spare
bedroom, which was next to Sean's and entered it.
After shutting the door, he walked over towards the
bed and lay down upon it.

As he laid there, he thought over his conversation
with Jeff. "Could he really trust Jeff to tell him the
truth about this other man that he was in love with?
Would it really be over between him and Jeff?"

As angry as Danny still was with Jeff, it was very
obvious that his love for Jeff hadn't wavered, even if
his trust had. That had to have been the reason why
he'd agreed to have dinner with Jeff later that night.

Even though he'd agreed to dinner to get the truth out
of Jeff about his mystery man that he was in love
with, deep down, he had to wonder if he really did
want to reconcile with Jeff.

Even as all of these thoughts plagued Danny, it wasn't
long before exhaustion took over and sleep overcame
him.

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

"You and Nick are having another baby?" Drew asked,
again.

Jessica grinned and nodded, her eyes sparkling with
joy.

"Yes." She replied to him. "And you know what that
means, right?"

"Yep." Drew said, his grin matching hers. "It means
that Nicole is going to be a big sister and that I'm
going to be an uncle all over again."

Drew hugged Jessica again, as he processed her news.

"That is wonderful news." He said, looking at her.

Then, he saw the grin that was on her face fade.

"Isn't it?" He asked, when he saw the serious look on
her face.

"I don't know." Jessica said, out loud. "Now that my
husband wants a divorce, I don't know what to think,
anymore."

Drew then pulled her close again and comforted her as
best he could.

"I know Nicole is tired, but you look like you could
use a little more rest yourself, Jessica. You need to
be well rested for your concert tonight."

"Yeah, you're right." Jessica said. "I think I will
take a quick nap too."

"Do that." Drew said. "In the meantime, I'll go into
the living room area and keep an eye on my little
niece in case she wakes up."

"Ok." Jessica said, then laid back onto the bed and
rested her head on the pillow. Drew grabbed a nearby
blanket and covered her with it. After doing that, he
leaned in and kissed her on the forehead.

"Sweet dreams." He whispered to her. Jessica's eyes
were already fluttering.

"Thanks Drew." She whispered. Then she yawned and
closed her eyes. She was asleep within moments.

Drew then walked into the living room area and looked
in on Nicole, who was asleep in the crib that was set
up  in there.

Drew looked down at his baby niece and smiled.

"You are such an incredible little girl, you know
that?" He asked, out loud as he watched her sleep. "I
sure missed you alot while I was gone."

Drew sat down on the couch, which was right next to
the crib and laid down on it. As he laid there, he
then thought about getting something to eat.

"Maybe I'll have a light snack while I'm here." He
said, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. "I'll
order something."

As he opened his wallet to get out his credit card,
his eyes fell of a picture of Nick that was in it. He
stared at the picture for a long time. Then he looked
up and sighed, sadly.

"I wonder what you're doing right now, Big Brother?"
He asked, out loud. "Wherever you are, I hope that
you're ok."

*******************************************************
MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE HOLIDAY  INN........

Everyone in the room, was shocked at the way Nick was
acting. Especially his parents, who could do nothing
but stare at him, in shock.

"Well?" Nick asked, loudly. "I'm waiting! Somebody had
better start talking and explaining to me how you
could do something so cruel as to stick a restraining
order on Sean?! He hasn't done anything to deserve
that!"

Nick looked around the room waiting for someone to
answer him. Then, someone did.

"Nick," His mother, Cate, said, as she stood up from
her chair. "First of all, do not take that tone of
voice with us! We're your parents! Second of all,
there was every reason in the world to serve Sean with
that restraining order. He got violent with your
wife!"

Nick could not believe his ears. His mother was
accusing Sean of assaulting his wife. Even he knew
that that was a bit far fetched.

"No, he didn't, Mom." Nick protested. "All he did was
push Jessica into the pool. That's not being violent.
Now, if he had punched her, then that would have been
violent!"

Then, Nick's father stood up and walked over to stand
in front of him.

"Son, in case you have forgotten, you wife is pregnant
with your second child! Sean could have harmed that
poor, innocent little baby!"

"That's only if Jessica really is pregnant with my
child or not!" Nick said to him. "It turns out that
she might not be, after all!"

Nick turned towards Tina and Joe and addressed Tina.

"Tina, how can you just assume that Jessica is
pregnant just by taking a home pregnancy test?" Nick
asked her.

Tina looked at Nick and proceeded to give him an
answer.

"Look, Nick, I didn't have any reason to doubt it,
because the pregnancy kit that we used was E.P.T. It's
over 99.9% accurate. I had no reason to believe
otherwise."

"Come on!" Nick was livid. "You know that even that
kind of pregnancy tester isn't always accurate either!
But we're going to find out, once and for all, if
Jessica really is pregnant or not!"

When he said that, Everyone in the room looked amongst
each other and then back to him, wondering what Nick
meant by that.

"Wait a minute here?" Joe asked, his eyes narrowing,
as he grew more and more suspicious. "Do you think
that my daughter is lying?! Nick, that's bullshit!
She'd never do that!"

Nick looked at Joe and shook his head.

"I don't want to believe that, anymore than you do,
Joe." He replied. "That's why, when we back to Los
Angeles tomorrow, I want to take Jessica to the doctor
and have it confirmed for sure."

Joe still wasn't convinced.

"Nick, when my daughter told you that she was
pregnant, you didn't exactly doubt her then. You
immediately assumed that she was pregnant." Joe
pointed out. "That's because you know that my daughter
would not lie about something that huge. Why would you
doubt my daughter's honesty all of a sudden?"

Nick was silent, as he thought about how to best
answer that question. Unfortunately, he was quiet for
too long. That's when it finally clicked for Joe.

"Of course!" Joe said, in anger. "It was Sean wasn't
it? He put all of these doubts in your head! He fed
you all sorts of garbage about how my daughter could
be lying about her pregnancy, didn't he? That's where
all of these doubts are coming from?"

Nick quickly jumped to Sean's defense.

"Hey! Don't you dare try to blame all of this on
Sean!" He said. "All Sean was doing was trying to look
out for me!"

"Oh, the hell he was, Nick!" Joe shouted. "He was
trying to take advantage of you! That's what he was
doing! That man is nothing but an opportunist!"

The tension in the room was starting to escalate, and
Nick was starting to become furious. He couldn't stand
to hear Joe, insulting Sean like this, anymore.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Nick asked
him, in disbelief. "You think that all Sean wants is
my money?!"

Joe raised his eyebrows, giving Nick a "you said it,
not me" look.

Nick looked around at Tina, Cate, and John.

"Do you all believe that as well?" He asked, out loud.

As Nick looked around the room, he could see that His
mother, his father, and Tina, all did indeed believe
that about Sean. They didn't say anything, but Nick
could see it in their eyes.

Nick then shook his head in amazement.

"If you all believe that," He said, a slight catch in
his voice. "then that just goes to show me how little
my happiness ever meant to you."

Everyone looked at Nick in shock.

"Honey, what are you talking about?" Cate asked, in
shock. "Your happiness means everything to us!"

Nick shook his head.

"I'm not talking about my marriage to Jessica." He
said. "I'm talking about my past relationship with
Sean. When he and I got married, I thought that it was
going to be a new beginning for the family. I wanted
to give Sean a chance at becoming part of the family
so that void in his life could have been filled, and
he wouldn't have felt so alone anymore!"

Then, once again, Nick's thoughts drifted back to
Drew's betrayal, and his anger came back.

"And thanks to Drew, that was ruined!" Nick said, as
he started to tear up, as he remembered everything
that he had gone through. "He changed everything for
me and Sean, forever! Not to mention, what I did to
Sean, by throwing him out of my life like I did! I was
so heartless!"

"Baby, no you weren't!" Cate said, coming over to try
to comfort him. "You did the right thing. Sean was no
good for you, and deep down,inside, I think that you
knew that."

Nick wasn't going to hear any of this. Nor, would he
accept any comfort from his mother. He pulled away
from her when she tried to put her arms around him.

"Don't, Mom!" Nick said, rather loudly. "I don't need
comforting! I'm not a child anymore!"

John didn't like Nick's tone of voice, or the way he
had just spoken to his mother, and he let him know
that.

"Son, I know you're upset, but that doesn't give you
the right to talk to your mother that way!" He said.
"Now calm yourself down!"

Nick looked back at his father and saw that he meant
business.

"For the record, Dad, things between me and Sean are
over for good." Nick told him. "Besides, even if Sean
did want me back, it wouldn't matter. Our relationship
would never be like it used to. Throwing Sean out, all
those years ago, changed him, dramatically. It was a
miracle that I finally managed to get back his trust
again. But only as my friend."

John and Cate looked at each other and then over
towards Joe and Tina.

"Nick, how can you be sure about this?" Joe asked him.
"Don't you think it's even remotely possible that Sean
still has a thing for you?"

Nick brought a hand to his forehead. The way that Joe,
Tina, and his parents, were pressing the issue, was
really driving him up the wall. But, he knew that he
had to resolve it or they would never get off of his
back about it.

"No, it's not possible, Joe." Nick said. "The reason I
know for sure is because Sean told me, after I broke
up his and Jessica's scuffle in the pool. He said that
he could never love me again, in the romantic way,
after what I did to him."

Joe thought it over for a moment and as much as he
hated to admit it, even to himself, Nick did have a
point.

"I'll admit that you do have a point, there." Joe said
to Nick. "But, don't you have any other kind of proof
that Sean is not pining away for you?"

Nick then realized that this was the perfect
opportunity to bring up Jason, the man who he'd met
yesterday night when he stopped by Sean's place.

"As a matter of fact, I do." He said. "Sean is now
involved with a new man named Jason Madison. I met him
in person last night when Sean called me to talk about
the restraining order."

That seemed to satisfy all of them. Nick sighed in
relief that it was finally over.

"Alright, Nick, you've convinced us." Joe said.
"That's great news. Now, you can finally get your
marriage to my daughter back on track!"

Nick then realized that he had to tell them about his
fight with Jessica and where things stood for them.

"It's too late for that, Joe." Nick said, bitterly.

"Why?" Joe asked. "What's going on?"

Nick looked around at his parents and his in-laws and
prepared to drop the bombshell on them, that would
rock their world.

"Our marriage is over." Nick revealed to them. "I've
asked Jessica for a divorce."

Everyone whipped their heads up when they heard that,
all of them blown away by his shocking news.

*******************************************************
AT THAT SAME TIME, AT THE BEST WESTERN HOTEL, IN THE
HOTEL RESTAURANT..........

Justin, Kandi, and Casey, were sitting in the hotel
restaurant, eating their breakfast, and chatting
amongst themselves about what was happening within
their group.

"I wish I knew where Danny was." Kandi said. "I'm
really starting to get worried about him. This waiting
is driving me crazy."

Justin took a bite of his hash browns and looked up at
her. He could see that she really was stressed out
about Danny disappearance.

"I know how you feel, Babe." Justin said, around his
food. "But, please try not to think about it so much.
The stress isn't good for your condition."

Kandi looked up at Justin and gave him an annoyed
look. Ever since she and Justin had found out about
her heart condition, Justin had been constantly
fussing over her and she didn't like to feel pitied
upon.

"Justin, I'm not a helpless invalid!" Kandi said,
sternly. "I can still take care of myself, so stop
worrying so much. I hate it when you fuss over me like
this! I'm not at death's door, so settle down,
alright?"

Justin seemed a little taken aback by her harsh tone
of voice. He set down his fork and finished swallowing
his food, before he spoke.

"Baby, I don't mean to make you feel that way." Justin
said, quietly. "It's only because I love you so much,
and I don't want to see anything bad happen to you,
that's all. I'm doing my best to take care of you."

Hearing those words, Kandi softened a little. She did
know that Justin loved her, but still, she couldn't
help feeling like she was being pitied.

"I know you love me, Justin." Kandi said, giving him a
small smile. "I love you too, hon. But I'm sure you
understand why I'm so worried about Danny. We should
have heard something by now. It's getting close to
noon, and we still haven't heard from him."

Just as she finished saying that, Justin's cell phone
started ringing. He quickly grabbed it and flipped it
open.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Hey, Justin, it's me." A familiar voice said.

"Hey, Jeff." Justin greeted him. "Have you had any
luck tracking down Danny?"

"Actually, that's why I'm calling," Jeff said to him.
"I went over to Sean's to talk to him, and I found
Danny there."

Justin looked up at Kandi, his eyebrows raised.

"You've found him, Jeff?" Justin asked Jeff. "How is
he?"

Kandi stopped eating and stared at Justin, open
mouthed, as concern took over.

"How you might expect." Jeff said, sadly. "He's still
very bitter over what happened between us. Not that I
blame him. I probably would be too if I were in his
position."

Justin was deeply saddened to hear that. Danny and
Jeff had been together for so long and now it looked
like another good relationship was about to go sour.

"Don't give up on him, Jeff." Justin pleaded with him.
"Give him some time. He'll come around."

Justin then looked up at Kandi, who was waving her
hand in front of him to get his attention.

"What's he saying to you, Hon?" She asked. "How is
Danny?"

Justin then told Jeff to hold on a moment and then
placed his hand over the speaker, so Jeff couldn't
hear him.

"Jeff says that when he went over to Sean's apartment
to speak to him, he found Danny there."

"And?" Kandi and Casey both said, close to the same
time, both of them pushing for more info.

"And," Justin continued. "Danny is still bitter over
his break-up with Jeff."

Kandi and Casey looked at each other, both of them
sharing the same look. Sadness.

Justin pulled his hand away from the speaker and
continued his conversation with Jeff.

"Ok, Jeff, I'm back." He said. "Kandi and Casey just
wanted to know if Danny was alright. So, where were
we?"

"You said about giving Danny some time and he'd come
around." Jeff said to him. "And to answer your
question, it may be possible after all. Danny and I
talked and he agreed to have dinner with me tonight.
That's when I'm going to tell him the truth where my
feelings are concerned. We're going to see if there's
any chance we can work past this and maybe work things
out."

Justin was overjoyed with this news. He had been
hoping that those two could work things out between
them and get their relationship back the way it was,
again.

"That's great news, Buddy." Justin told him. "I think
that that's just what the doctor ordered. Dinner for
two is exactly what you both need. You need time
alone, together, to work out your problems."

"Yeah." Jeff said. "I'm headed back to the hotel right
now, so that I can get things ready for tonight." He
said. "Are you guys still at the restaurant, having
breakfast?"

"Yes." Justin said. "We'll be here for awhile longer
if you'd like to join us for a quick bite to eat."

"Oh, no thanks, I've already eaten." Jeff said. "I
grabbed something on my way back there."

"Ok, cool." Justin said to him.

"Listen, I have to go now." Jeff said. "I'll see you
guys back at the hotel."

"Alright, Jeff." Justin said. "We'll see you then."

Justin hung up the phone and looked up at Kandi and
Casey, who were looking at him, intensely.

"Well, it looks like Jeff and Danny will be having
dinner together, tonight." He said, with a smile on
his face. "Let's all keep our fingers crossed that
things work out for them.

"I know they will." Kandi said, excitedly. "They have
to. Whether either one of them realizes it or not,
they belong together."

After saying that, Kandi reached for her orange juice
and took a sip of it, as Justin started talking again.

"Hearing you say that, reminds me of another couple."
He said.

Kandi, not knowing who he was talking about, frowned.

"Who?" She asked Justin.

Justin looked up at her and then said it.

"Nick and Sean." He revealed. "I know you felt that
Nick and Sean belonged together too. Looks like that
didn't work out, either."

Kandi nodded, as she sat down her glass of orange
juice.

"I still do." She said. "Nick's relationship with
Jessica was nothing like what he had with Sean. When
those two were together, they had the kind of love
that everyone out there, gay, bi, or straight, only
dreams about. I believe their love was like a fairy
tale romance."

Thinking back to Jessica, Kandi's anger resurfaced
again. She still hadn't lightened up on Jessica any
since the last time she saw her and Sean go at it,
back at Sean's apartment.

"Nick and Sean had passion." Kandi said, bitterly.
"With the exception of that beautiful little girl of
his, all Nick had with Jessica was a life of lies!
Jessica doesn't deserve Nick, plain and simple. Not if
she constantly had to question his commitment to her,
every time she sees him around Sean! That's no
marriage to me!"

Justin looked over at Casey when Kandi had finished
saying all of that. I guess it was because he wanted
an unbiased opinion from someone who could be
objective.

"Casey, what do you think about all of this?" He asked
Casey. "Do you agree with Kandi at all?"

Casey shrugged.

"I don't know." He said. "Although, I won't deny that
Sean and Nick definitely did have something special
together." He said. "But, I never saw what Jessica and
Nick's marriage was like, so I can't really judge this
situation by what you're telling me. It's not our
decision to make anyway about who ends up with who.
This is a decision that Nick is going to have to make
for himself."

*******************************************************
BACK AT THE HOLIDAY INN................

"You asked our daughter for a divorce?!" Tina
exclaimed, in shock. "Nick, what were you thinking?!"

Nick looked at her, the anger, obvious, on his face.
He was not about to be lectured by Jessica's parents.
Not until they knew the whole story.

"What was I thinking?!" Nick asked, in disgust. "After
Jessica threatened to out me, to the whole world,
about my past relationship with Sean, that was it! I
am not reconsidering divorcing her, if this is the way
that she wants to play it!"

Everyone looked at Nick, shocked at what he was
implying about Jessica.

"Jessica threatened to out you, to the public?" Cate
asked, almost panic stricken. "Nick, that would ruin
your career!"

"I know, Mom." Nick said. "But that's not even the
worst of it."

"Wait, there's more?!" John Lachey asked.

"Yes." Nick said. "Jessica said that she would also
file a petition for full custody of Nicole. That way,
she wouldn't have to grant me any kind of visitation
rights, while Sean is in my life."

Cate and John were stunned beyond words when they
heard all of this. But this time, it was Joe that
spoke up.

"Speaking of Sean, what does this mean for you, Nick?"
He asked Nick. "Are you planning on getting back
together with Sean? Because if you are, you're crazy!"

Nick squinted at Joe, in annoyance.

"No, Joe." Nick said, his voice all serious. "Sean and
I are not getting back together. As I said before,
Sean is involved with Jason. As for me, I don't plan
on dating anyone, man or woman, anytime soon."

Nick hung his head, trying to hold back his tears. He
couldn't break down in front of his parents.

"I have to go." He said. "Since you obviously aren't
going to drop this restraining order against Sean,
there's nothing more to talk about."

Nick turned away and started to leave.

"Nick." His mother called out to him. Nick turned back
around and looked at her.

"Yes, Mom?" He asked, wondering what she wanted.

He could see the sadness in his mothers eyes and
wondered what she was thinking at that moment.

"Could you please let your brother know that we'd like
to see him here, before Jessica's concert tonight?"
Cate asked him. "We haven't really had a chance to see
him since Sean told us that he's back."

Nick didn't like the idea of having to see his brother
again, this morning after the fight they'd had,
earlier, just before he came over here.

"Mom, If you want to see Drew, call him, please." He
said to her. "With a brother like him, I don't need
enemies. I told him so, to his face, earlier this
morning. I want nothing to do with him!"

Hearing Nick talk down about his brother like that,
really hurt his mother and father to the core. He saw
his mother's eyes fill with tears.

"Honey, It really breaks me and your father's hearts
to hear you talk about your brother this way." Cate
said, sniffing. John put his arm around her and held
her close.

"I'm really sorry, Mom." Nick said. "But what Drew did
was unforgivable. I seriously doubt that we will ever
be close again."

With those last words, Nick turned and left the hotel,
leaving Joe, Tina, and his parents to process
everything that had transpired since he had gotten
there.

Cate and John turned to Joe and Tina, their concern
for Nick, growing.

"I hope that Jessica didn't mean what she said about
ruining my son's life." Cate said. "If she does, then
maybe my son really is better off without her."

Joe shook his head.

"Cate, I really don't think it's going to come down to
that." He said. "I think Jessica was just blowing
smoke. She was hurting about the divorce and she just
wanted to hurt Nick back. I don't think that she'll
follow through on her threats. She loves him too
much."

"I hope you're right, Joe." John said. "Because this
family has gone through enough turmoil. We don't need
anymore added stress, right now."

"If it makes you feel any better, Joe and I will talk
to her, tonight, before the concert and see what frame
of mind she's in then. Hopefully, she'll have cooled
off by then."

"That would be great." Cate said to him. "I just want
this family to have peace. As much as I don't want to
lose Jessica as my daughter in law, I'd rather have it
end, peacefully, than with all of this pain and
bitterness."

Tina nodded. She, and everyone else knew that when it
came to keeping the peace between two families when
their children were about to go through a divorce was
easier said than done.

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

I had finished with my shower and gotten out of the
bathroom, with a towel wrapped around my waist.

As I walked to my room, I peeked into the spare
bedroom and looked in on Danny. He was fast asleep, so
I let him be. After what he went through, last night,
I'm sure he needed it.

I walked into my room and prepared to get dressed. As
I did, I heard the phone ring, near my bedside table,
so I walked over to get it.

"Hello?" I said, answering whoever it was that was
calling. No answer.

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

Instead of getting a response, I was answered by a
click, which signaled that the caller, whoever it was,
had hung up.

"Hmm," I thought to myself, out loud, as I set the
phone back down. "it must have been a wrong number."

I then walked over to my dresser and grabbed some
clean sock, underwear, and a t-shirt out of it. I
pulled on my underwear, then sat down to put on my
t-shirt and socks.

I thought back once again to Jessica's assault on my
balls, the other night. All I knew was that I'd had
enough of her!

I stood up and walked over to the window and looked
out of it, my eyes narrowed and my anger growing.

"You have messed with me for the last time, Jessica!"
I said. "We're going to settle things between us, once
and for all! And we're going to do it, tonight!"


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