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.

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

Enjoy.

Previously on "My Everything".....

When Jessica hit her final note. The audience erupted with applause. They clapped and cheered Jessica, as she took a bow. Nick, Joe, and Tina, were clapping too. Nick was whistling and catcalling as well.

Just at that moment, the attacker struck. they pushed the knife down hard, slicing through the cable that held up the chandelier. It started falling.

Jessica was still down there, bowing to the audience, unaware of the danger overhead. All of a sudden, the audience started screaming and yelling, pointing upwards.

Nick, Joe, and Tina, wondered what was going on, as well. They all looked up at the same time to see the Chandelier falling towards Jessica's head.

"JESSICA, LOOK OUT!!!" Nick screamed at her.

Jessica turned and looked at him, and saw him pointing upwards. She looked up just in time to see the chandelier, falling towards her.

But, it was too late.

Before, Jessica could react, the Chandelier fell on her and came down, right on top of her head. Instantly, she and the chandelier fell to the floor.

At that same time, above, the cloaked figure jammed in all of the light switches that controlled the lights in certain areas, causing those lights to go off.

The light backstage went out, but the lights, in the auditorium remained on. But Nick, Joe, and Tina did not notice. They were too busy running to Jessica's aid.

The attacker then saw a chance and made an attempt to flee, but took a fall and cut one of their gloved hands on a raised nail that was coming up through the floor. The attacker grunted in pain, got up, and continued to flee the premises before they could be caught. Drops of blood were left behind where the attacker had fallen.

Nick, Joe, and Tina, pulled the chandelier up off of Jessica and what they saw was a pretty gruesome sight.

Jessica was unconscious, and covered in broken glass, as well as her own blood. She had large cuts and abrasions from where the chandelier had hit her.

Joe, Tina, and Nick were all going into hysterics. The audience was total chaos, as security tried to put up barricades to block off Jessica's fans. Some were shouting, some were crying, and some were even trying to get to her.

"Oh god!" Tina Simpson cried out. "My beautiful little girl! What has happened to my girl!"

Joe was kneeling down, cradling Jessica's bloodied and bruised form, in his arms and crying his eyes out.

Nick, meanwhile stood there, watching Joe and Tina trying to comfort their daughter, but not being able to, since she was unconcsious. Tears were sreaming down his face.

Just at that moment, the ambulatory services rushed through the auditorium and up to the stage to take care of Jessica.

Nick knelt down and picked up one of Jessica's hands and squeezed it.

"Jessica, you hang in there!" He sobbed into her ear,unsure whether or not, she could hear him. "If you can hear me, you hang on! Don't you die on me, do you hear me?! Don't you dare die!"

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

I opened the door and walked into the house. I locked the door behind me and headed towards the bathroom. Once inside, I shut the door behind me.

I put the bag down on the bathroom counter and looked at my watch. It read 10:35.

I then proceeded to pull down my sleeve, revealing my bandaged right hand. I took a moment to pull off the bandage, wincing in pain as I did. I stared at the long gash on my palm. It hurt like hell.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror and saw myself looking back at me. I did not like what I saw.

"What have I gotten myself into?" I whispered.

********** CHAPTER 87 **********

THE BEST WESTERN HOTEL...........

JEFF'S ROOM

Danny sat there, frozen in shock. He had just learned who the man was that Jeff thought that he was in love with. And he couldn't have been more shocked to know that it was Drew.

"I can't believe this." Danny said, once he was able to speak again. "You're telling me that you're in love with Drew?"

Jeff nodded.

"Yes." He said. "I'm sorry, Danny. I never meant for it to happen. I've always thought of Drew and I as just friends.

Danny stood up and started walking around a bit.

"What changed, Jeff?" He asked. "When did you start thinking about Drew as more than a friend?"

Jeff closed his eyes and let out a big sigh, as he prepared to reveal the hardest part of the truth.

"It was around the time that Drew took off after he told us all about when he broke up Nick and Sean's marriage."

"What?!" Danny asked, totally blown away by that admission. "And I'm only hearing about this, now? Why didn't you tell me about it, sooner?"

"Because, I wasn't sure about what I was feeling back then." Jeff said. "I wasn't sure if it was more than friendship, or if I was just feeling pity for Drew because of what he did to Nick and Sean."

Danny walked over towards the room window and gazed out of it. He looked down at the parking lot at all the cars that were parked below.

"We shared some the best years together, Jeff." Danny said. "These last two years have been some of the best years of my life. But...."

Here, Danny couldn't finish what he was going to say. Because he was starting to get choked up.

"But what?" Jeff asked, wondering what he was going to say.

Danny wiped at the tears that were starting to run down his face.

"But," Danny said. "My relationship with you, came with a very high price. The loss of my best friend."

Jeff walked over to Danny and put his arms around him from behind.

"I know." Jeff said. "And now that I think about it, I shouldn't have let you stay behind when Sean needed you, most."

Danny spun around and faced Jeff, as Jeff removed his arms from around Danny.

"Jeff, I loved you." Danny said. "Don't blame yourself for that. My staying with you, in Los Angeles was my decision, not yours."

"Yeah, but still." Jeff said. "I shouldn't have been so selfish as to let you stay with me. What we did to Sean, changed everything for him. It was bad enough that Sean had to lose us, but for him to lose the one person who was there for him his whole life? No, Danny, there is no excuse for that. I see that now. I wish I'd seen it then."

Danny sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"So do I." Danny said. "I guess we were both selfish. But there's no going back now. The past is the past, and we can't change it."

Jeff nodded, sadly. He knew as well as Danny that some fences couldn't be mended. In Sean's case, they probably still could. But it wasn't going to be easy, because, when you've trusted someone as completely as Sean trusted the guys and Danny, it wasn't easy to get that trust back, once it was betrayed. Especially in the worst way possible.

"Anyway, I don't want to talk about this anymore." Danny said. "I want to get back to what we were talking about before that. About your feelings for Drew."

Jeff frowned.

"What about them?" He asked, wondering what Danny wanted to know about that.

Danny walked back over to one of the beds and sat back down on it. At the same time, he picked up the tv remote and switched on the television set.

"How deep do your feeling for Drew, run?" Danny asked him.

Jeff wasn't sure how to answer that. As he thought over how to answer that question, he watched Danny flipping through the stations. As he did, something on the previous channel caught his eye.

"Oh my god!" Jeff said. "Danny, go back a station. I could have sworn I saw Jessica's name on the screen."

Danny turned back the station and saw that it was a news station. They could see a news reporter, standing outside of the auditorium where Jessica was supposed to be performing.

"Hello, everyone, this is Darren Marx, reporting live from outside of Powers Auditorium, here in Orlando." The reporter said. "We have just received word that Jessica Simpson was critically injured tonight, about 20 minutes ago, when a chandelier fell on her from above the stage. An ambulance has just taken Jessica to the hospital. The police and the maintenance staff at the auditorium have yet to determined what caused the chandelier to fall. We'll have more on this incredible story as it develops."

"Oh my God!" Danny exclaimed, in shock. "Poor Jessica. I wonder how bad it is."

Jeff glanced over at the phone. He then got an idea.

"Well, there's one way to find out." He said, walking over towards the bedside table.

"Who are you calling?" Danny asked. Jeff held up a finger, motioning for Danny to wait a second, as he dialed someone's number.

******************************************************* MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE AUDITORIUM......

Joe Simpson and Nick were both standing on the stage where Jessica had once been, observing the damage of the chandelier, as well as the mess that had been left on the stage. A police officer, and the stage manager were standing nearby.

The auditorium had been cleared out, which took awhile, because the police had to usher out all of the upset audiences. Now, the police and the forensics team were searching the place, top to bottom, looking for any clues as to what had caused the chandelier to fall on Jessica, earlier.

"I still can't believe this!" Joe Simpson exclaimed angrily, shaking his fist at the stage manager. "My little girl gets hurt and it's all because of your careless maintenance staff. How could you let something like this happen?"

The stage manager shook his head.

"I don't know what to tell you, Mr. Simpson." He said. "But, I can assure you that nothing like this has ever happened here at our auditorium before. Our maintenance staff are some of the best people in the business. We had no reason to believe that anything was wrong with the chandelier that could have caused it to fall. This was an accident."

"Well, did you check it to make sure that it wasn't damaged or loose?" Nick asked him. "Sometimes, loose connections can cause something as heavy as this chandelier to fall."

The stage manager was about to answer Nick, but was interrupted by a forensics detective from above, in the maintenance area.

"Excuse me, guys." He shouted down to Nick, Joe, the policeman, and the Stage Manager. "You all might want to come and take a look at this."

Nick and Joe followed the police officer and the stage manager up to the maintenance floor to see what was going on.

When they got up there, they saw one of the forensics members, holding up the other end of the cable, which the chandelier was once attached to.

"What have you got, Max?" The policeman asked him.

"Look at this." Max said. "This is what happened."

Nick and Joe looked at the cable, then back at each other, wondering what had happened.

"It looks like the chandelier had been damaged after all." Joe Simpson said, his temper starting to flare up again.

"Actually, sir, that's not the case." Max said. "The way these wires look, it appears that the chandelier was not damaged at all. It was in perfect working condition."

Nick frowned, wondering what Max was getting at.

"What are you saying?" He asked him, not sure he wanted to know the answer he was going to get.

"I'm saying that these wires had to have been cut with something sharp." Max said. "Because if the chandelier had been damaged, these wires would have stretched and ripped and the insulation coating would have cracked. These all look like straight clean cuts to me."

Then, Max leaned down and picked up something he had just noticed that was almost hidden underneath a tool chest there, in the dark. It was a knife.

"Bingo." He said. "Here's the knife that had to have been used to cut these wires."

He called over another of the forensics team memebers. The other member walked over to Max.

"Here, Brett, take this and get it tested to see if it was the knife used to cut the chandelier's cable.

As Brett accepted the knife and started taking it away, Nick and Joe were horrified when they realized what was happening.

"Max, this wasn't an accident, was it?" Nick asked him, in horror.

Max looked at Nick and shook his head.

"No, Mr. Lachey, it wasn't." Max told him. "It looks like someone deliberately wanted to hurt your wife."

Nick and Joe couldn't believe their ears. Someone had tried to hurt Jessica, in cold blood. It was very hard for both of them to make sense of the situation.

But, Nick couldn't stand there, any longer. He had to go to the hospital and see if Jessica was alright. Tina had already gone with her, in the ambulance, earlier.

"I'm really sorry, but I have to get to the hospital and see how my wife is doing." Nick said, turning away and heading towards the door.

"I'll come with you." Joe said. "There's nothing more that we can do here, anyway."

Before he exited the maintenance area, Joe turned back to the police officer that was standing nearby.

"Officer, will you please have someone contact me, at the hospital with any new information you have about this tragic event?"

"I certainly will, Mr. Simpson." The officer told him. "When anything new develops, I'll have someone either call you at the hospital, or I'll send one of our detectives out to find you and fill you in."

"Thank you." Joe said. "I'll be in touch."

Joe then followed Nick, so that they could leave the auditorium and head for the hospital.

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

NICK AND JESSICA'S ROOM

"Oh wow." Drew panted, as he rolled off of Casey, both of them spent from their intense love making.

"That's definitely one word for it." Casey said, his breaths coming out in quick gasps. " I don't think I've made love like that since..."

Casey cut himself off when he realized where his thoughts were going. His smile left his face at that moment and his happy mood vanished, completely.

Drew must have known what he was thinking, for he put a hand on Casey's shoulder.

"Since Paul?" Drew asked, as he ran a hand over Casey's pecs.

Casey nodded, as hie eyes filled with tears. Thinking about Paul was still hard for him. Drew knew why Casey was so upset about Paul, but he couldn't help but feel a littl bit uncomfortable talking about Paul since they'd just finished making love together.

"Look, Casey," Drew said. "I understand that you're still grieving where Paul is concerned, but you can't let that stop you from moving on with your life. Paul would want you to grieve for him, of course, and then he'd want you to move on."

Casey sat up and tried to stop crying, but he wasn't successful. The more he thought about what had happened between him and Paul, the more upset he got.

"How can I calm down, Drew?" Casey sobbed. "I lost the man I loved because of my own stupidity! I should have been there for him when he needed me that night!"

"Shh," Drew said, pulling Casey's head down to his chest, as he offered his comfort. "Don't think about it anymore tonight. I know it's hard, but evetually it'll get easier. It just going to take some time."

Before Casey could answer Drew back, the phone rang. Drew reached over and pulled it off of the hook. Then he put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Drew, it's me." He heard Jeff's voice say. "Do you have your tv on?"

Drew turned to see if the tv was on and saw that it wasn't.

"No, Jeff." He said to Jeff. "Why?"

"Well," Jeff started saying. "There's no easy way to tell you this, Drew."

Drew frowned. "Tell me, what?"

Jeff didn't answer him right way, which was starting to worry Drew. Drew sat up in bed.

"Jeff, you're starting to scare me." Drew said. "What's going on?"

"There was an accident at the auditorium where Jessica was performing tonight. They say that a chandelier fell on Jessica and critically injured her."

"Oh my God!" Drew exclaimed. "No! Jeff, how bad is it?"

"I don't know." Jeff said. "All I know is that an ambulance just took Jessica to the hospital about 20 minutes ago."

Drew was as a loss for words. He didn't know what to say at that moment. All he could do was think about Jessica. Then, he wondered about his brother.

"Jeff, Have you gotten ahold of Nick?" Drew asked him.

"No, I haven't." Jeff replied. "Do you think we should go down to the hospital and check on Jessica's condition?"

Drew thought that it was a good idea. Unfortunately, he couldn't go to the hospital. At least not until he found a sitter for the baby.

"That's a great idea, Jeff." He said. "But, I can't go because I'm watching the baby. No one else is here but me and Casey."

"Oh." Jeff said. In that case, how about Danny and I head down there, right now?" We can keep you updated on Jessica's condition when we know something."

"Ok, Jeff." Drew said. "If you see Nick there, please tell me that I'm thinking about him and that I'll be praying for Jessica's recovery."

We'll do that, Drew." Jeff said. "Danny and I are going to leave now. We'll talk to you later, Buddy."

"Alright, Jeff." Drew said to him. "Drive safe."

"I will." Jeff said. "Bye, Drew."

"Bye." Drew said, before hanging up the phone. Then, he looked back at Casey.

"Jeff and Danny are heading down to the hospital right now to see what Jessica's condition is."

Casey looked like he wanted to say something. The expression on his face seemed a little intense.

"Casey, what's wrong?" Drew asked him. "You look like you have something you want to say."

Casey nodded.

"I do, but it's only a suggestion." He said. "I'm wondering if I should go down to the hospital as well. Since I'm a doctor now, I might be able to find out more about Jessica's condition and maybe even help her."

"Really?" Drew aked him. "Well then, I say go for it. Jessica can use all the help she can get right now. So can Nick."

Casey smiled. Then he leaned in and gave Drew a quick peck on the lips.

"In that case, I'll do it." Casey said, warmly. "I'm going to grab a quick shower and then I'll change my clothes and head down to the hospital."

"Ok." Drew said, giving Casey another kiss. "Go."

"Alright." Casey said, getting out of the bed and walking to the shower.

As he walked towards the bathroom, bare ass naked, Drew whistled at him. Casey turned back and grinned at Drew. As he opened to door to the bathroom, he shook his ass a little bit. Drew laughed at him as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Drew laid back and sighed, contently. He had just had a great night with Casey and he felt really good at that moment. That is until his throught drifted back to what had happened to Jessica.

Drew turned on the tv and saw that the news of Jessica's attack was all over the tv station. Even on MTV. Drew stopped on MTV where Ryan Seacrest was reporting. He was getting the fans' reactions to the tragic event.

"Oh god, Nick." Drew whispered to himself. "What must you, and the Simpsons be going through?"

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

Nick and Joe entered the hospital and headed straight for the front desk. As they did, Tina came rushing over to them when she saw them coming in. She looked like hell. She had obviously been crying since what had happened back at the auditorium. There were still tears running down her face, even now.

"Joe, Nick, Thank God, you're here." Tina said to them.

Joe walked over to her and pulled her, into his arms, consoling her, as she sobbed into his chest.

"How's our girl?" Joe asked her. Tina pulled back and looked at Joe and Nick.

"I don't know." She said. "The Doctors took her into the E.R. for some tests to see how bad her injuries are."

"I'm going to go and see if I can find out anything about her condition." Joe said. "You stay here, with Nick, until I get back."

With that being said, Joe headed to the front desk to ask a nurse if there was any additional information on Jessica's condition.

Tina turned back to Nick and looked at him. She could see that Nick looked pretty torn up over what had happened to Jessica, despite the fact that he and Jessica were going to get a divorce.

"Nick, how are you doing?" She asked him. Nick shook his head.

"I'm trying to be strong for Jessica, but the truth is I'm really scared, Tina." Nick said. "Even more so because of what Joe and I found out from the forensics team, back at the auditorium."

What do you mean?" Tina asked, with a scared expression on her face. "What did you find out?"

Nick sighed heavily as he tried to keep his emotions in check. He couldn't fall apart now. Jessica's parents needed him.

Nick glanced back up at Tina, and gave her the truth.

"Joe and I found out tonight that the chandelier that fell on Jessica was not an accident." He said. "Someone deliberately set out to hurt Jessica tonight."

Tina glanced back at Nick, noticing the seriousness in his face. He wasn't kidding. Tina's jaw dropped, in horror. She was stunned beyond words.

"What?" Tina asked, in shock. "Someone set out to hurt my daughter on purpose?! But why? Who would do such a thing?"

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

After re-bandaging my hand, I went back into the living room and sat down on the couch. I was physically and emotionaly drained. This had been one hell of a night.

I stared at my injured hand and my mind flashed back to my scene with Jessica in the living room. Then I looked down at the broken ornament, which was still on the coffee table there. As I did, my anger resurfaced again. As I looked again at my wounded hand.

"Damn you, Jessica!" I cursed, outloud. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't shown up here, tonight, none of this would have had to happen!"

I looked down at my bandage and saw the blood starting to seep through it, making my wonder if maybe I should have gone down to the hospital and had it checked. I looked outside and saw that the storm had gotten even worse. I could hear the rain coming down like a freight train. And the lightning was getting worse. All I knew was that I probably wouldn't be getting any sleep, tonight.

I reached for the TV remote and switched on the television. As I flipped through a few stations, I came across a news brief on MTV. A reporter was talking about an attack that had happened at an auditorium.

"We are back here, live, to update all of our viewers on the tragic accident, here at the auditorium where Jessica Simspon was performing tonight." A female reporter was saying.

I sat straight up, in my chair, wanting to hear this. The female reporter continued.

"Jessica Simpson sustained injuries that occured when a chandelier that was suspended right abover her, broke loose from it's cables and came down on her, during her standing ovation. Police and forensics experts are at the scene now, trying to figure out what caused this terrible event to happen."

"Meanwhile, Jessica Simspson has been rushed to the nearest hospital and her condition is still unknown at this time. We'll continue to give you updates as this story develops. This is Trina Dawson reporting. Back to you, Dave."

I sat back and laid my head back against the couch and let out a heavy sigh. Finally, I was rid of all of my stress. I didn't have to worry about any more run ins with Jessica anymore.

I shook my head, sadly.

"Man, it really is terrible what happened to her." I said. "But, at least I don't have to worry about her, bothering me, anymore."

I laid down, fully, on the couch and closed my eyes, as I breathed a content sigh. Finally, the showdown betwwen Jessica and I was over. But, when another thought entered my mind, I opened my eyes and sat upright.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed outloud. "What am I thinking?! Nick must be going out of his mind right now! I'd better check on him!"

I reached over and grabbed my cordless phone off of the coffee table. I opened it up and dialed Nick's cell. I waited for a response. Instead of Nick answering, I got his voicemail.

"Hi, this is Nick. I'm unable to take your call right now." I heard his voice say. "But if you leave a message, I'll be sure to return you call as soon as possible. Thanks."

Instead of waiting for the beep, I hung up. I realized that talking to Nick, on the phone wasn't such a good idea. If was going to see Nick, it was going to have to be, in person.

"I'd better go down to the hospital and see him." I said to myself. "And there's no time like the present."

As I got up and started for the door, I stopped in my tracks momentarily. I realized that I had no idea which hospital Jessica had been taken to. "How was I going to find out which one?"

Then something else occurred to me. I realized that if I went down there, like this, with my wounded hand, Nick and everyone else were going to have questions. And they were questions I wasn't prepared to answer.

"I guess I'll just stay here." I said. "That's what's best for right now. If Nick wants my support, he'll come to me, I guess."

Then I yawned. I hadn't realized just how tired I actually was.

"I think I'll just lay down here, on the couch, and rest for awhile." I said. Knowing Nick like I do, I'm sure he'll show up, eventually."

I grabbed a blanket that was sitting on the other end of the couch and unfolded it. I covered myself up with it and laid down on the couch, my head rested against a soft pillow.

Despite, the steaking lightning, and the loud thunder rumbles, I was asleep within minutes.

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

"Nick, answer me." Tina asked him, again. "Who would do this to my daughter?"

"I don't know, Tina." Nick said. Then his hands balled up into fists. "But let me tell you this. When I find out who did do this to my wife, I'll tear them apart, limb from limb!"

Just then, Joe came back over. Immediately Tina and Nick's attention was on him.

"Honey, what did you find out about Jessica's condition?" She asked him. Joe sighed, heavily and wiped his hand down his face.

"Nothing yet, Honey." He said. "The nurse says that she still doesn't know anything yet. Jessica hasn't been brought out of the E.R. yet."

"Damn it!" Tina swore as she wrapped her arms around Joe and clung to him like a lifeline. "This waiting is driving my crazy! If we don't hear something soon, I swear to God I'm going to lose it!"

Joe hugged Tina closer, as Nick looked on. They all were going through hell right now. They were waiting to see what the extent of Jessica's injuries were and how severe they were.

Nick turned away and walked towards the waiting area, giving Tina and Joe time alone together to comfort each other.

Nick entered the waiting room and walked over towards the window and looked out of it. As he did, he saw a car pull up. And he recognized it.

Nick quickly walked out of the waiting area and headed towards the hospital doors. He waiting there until the door opened and he was greeted by the figures of Cate and John Lachey, his parents.

Nick's mother saw him and immediately threw her arms around him, offering him her comfort if he chose to take it. Nick returned her hug. At that same time, Nick's father wrapped his arms around both of them.

"We just heard about what happened to Jessica on the news, Sweetie." His mother said. "How are you holding up?"

Nick was trying to be strong, but he could feel that his emotions were starting to give way. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold them back.

"I'm really scared." Nick said to his parents. "Joe and Tina just told me that Jessica still hasn't come out of the E.R. yet. That can't be a good sign. Something is wrong. I can feel it."

"Shh, don't think about that, Honey." Cate soothed, rubbing his back gently. "What you need to do is have faith. You need to pray. Once you do that, everything will fall into place."

"Your mother is right, Son." John agreed. "You need to be strong for your family."

Cate released Nick, as John unwrapped his arms from around both of them. Nick then walked into his father's arms.

"I'm trying, Dad." Nick said, his voice starting to crack. "I'm trying to be strong and to stay positive, but it's really hard."

"I know it is, Son." John said. "But somehow we've got to try. Jessica is counting on us."

Nick hugged his father back, even tighter. Then, his mother wondered about something.

"Nick, where is your brother?" She asked him. "I thought he would have been here with you?"

Nick's father let go of him, and Nick turned back to his mother.

"He's still back at the hotel, Mom." Nick said. "He volunteered to watch Nicole while I accompanied Jessica to her concert."

At the sudden mention of his little girl's name, Nick put a hand over his eyes.

"My precious little girl." Nick said, as two tears slid down his cheeks. "What is she going to go through if...."

Just then, A doctor emerged from the emergency room doors. Everyone saw him coming and rushed towards him.

"Doctor." Tina said, as she and Joe headed towards him. "How is our daughter?"

The Doctor was a tall man, in his late 40s, with black hair and brown eyes. He was Caucasian and was a little bit on the overweight side, but not that bad. He glanced at everyone, who was standing around him.

"I'm afraid the news isn't good." he said, seriously. "Your daughter has suffered a severe head trauma. There is also the possibility of brain damage."

"Oh my God!" Tina exclaimed, in horror. "Doctor, can we see her now?"

"Yes, but at this point, we're trying to keep visits to a minimum." The Doctor said. "But before you go in to see Jessica, you need to know something first."

"What's that, Doctor?" Nick asked, stepped closer to him. "You sound so serious."

The Doctor nodded.

"I'm afraid this is very serious, Mr. Lachey." The Doctor said to Nick. "Your wife has slipped into a coma."

Everyone gasped, in horror when they heard this. It was definitely not what they were expecting.

"Oh no!" Tina said, as she turned and started sobbing into Joe's chest. "This can't be happening! Not to my baby! No!"

Cate had her hand to her mouth, in horror, and John had his hands around her shoulders and was gently massaging them. Nick swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the painful lump that was in his throat.

"Doctor, what are Jessica's chances of coming out of the coma?" Joe Simpson asked him.

"I really can't say." The Doctor replied.

"Yes, you can!" Joe Simpson said, loudly. "It's either good, fair, or lousy. Pick one and give it to us, straight."

The Doctor looked from Joe and Tina to Nick and his parents. And neither one of them liked the look they saw in his eyes. Then, the Doctor turned back to Joe and looked him in the face. Then he said the answer that everyone was dreading.

"Lousy." He said.

Everyone else just stood there, processing the news. They all had to face the fact that Jessica might never come out of her coma. And if that happened, then that meant that they could lose her.

"The next 48 hours are critical." The Doctor said. "If Jessica hasn't regained consciousness by that time, chances are, she could wind up being in a coma for a very long time."

Nick, his parents, Joe and Tina were all stunned beyond words to hear this. The thought that Jessica could remain in a coma, indefinitely, was very frightening for them.

"Listen, I've got to get back in the E.R." The Doctor said. "In the meantime, Jessica is being transferred to the ICU. Check with the nurse at the station here and she'll give you her room number in a few minutes after they finish getting Jessica settled in."

"Alright." Joe said. "Thank you, Doctor."

The Doctor nodded.

"If you need anything, please have the nurse page me." He said. "I'll be monitoring your daughter's condition very closely, and I will let you know if anything changes."

"Doctor, you said you wanted visits to be kept to a minumum." Tina asked him. "What do you mean by that?"

"I would like to limit Jessica's visitors to at least two at a time." He said to her. "Why don't you and your husband go in first to see her, and then Ms. Simpson's husband can go next?"

"That's good." Nick said. "Thanks, Doctor."

The Doctor the left to check on his other patients, leaving everyone else there to process the horrible news and to get their thoughts together."

"This can't be happening!" Nick said, as he stood there, trying to process everything the doctor had said. "Jessica is in a coma and my beautiful little girl is now left without a mother to care for her."

All of a sudden, Nick couldn't stand it, anymore. He had to get out of there.

"Joe, Tina, I have to go back to the hotel and check on my daughter." He said to them. "Will you please call me if anything changes in Jessica's condition?"

Joe and Tina both looked at Nick, sadly. They both didn't want to see him go, but they did understand. Jessica's little girl was going to need her father right now.

"I wish you didn't have to go, Nick." Tina said, reluctantly. "But, it's probably a good idea. You should probably let Drew and the rest of the guys know what's happened, if they don't already."

"I don't see why they wouldn't." Cate pointed out. "It's been all over the news. And that's not even the worst of it."

Joe frowned at her.

"What are you talking about, Cate?" He asked her. "The worst of what?"

Cate looked at everyone else, who was standing there, looking at her. She knew that this wasn't exactly the best time to tell them, but with the current circumstances, there never was going to be a right time. So, she decided to just tell them all, so that they'd be prepared for what was to come.

"When John and I pulled into the parking lot, there were a whole bunch of reporters outside. They obviously want news on Jessica's condition."

Joe, Tina, and Nick all groaned when they heard that news. They were not looking forward to an onslaught of reported badgering them and firing questions at them.

"I am so not ready for this." Joe said. "But, sooner or later, we're going to have to deal with them."

"You're right, Joe." Nick said. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Oh my God!"

"What?!" Cate asked, almost frantically. "Honey, what is it?"

Nick had come up with a really great idea. Even though, he knew it was a longshot, he still had to try it.

"I just got an idea." Nick said. "I think we should hold a press conference tommorrow morning."

"Why?" Tina asked him. "What good will that do?"

"Think about it, Tina." Nick said to her. "Jessica has a lot of loyal and caring fans out there. If we have the press conference, We can inform the public of Jessica's condition. If we can ask all of Jessica's fans to pray for her recovery, it might make all the difference in the world."

Joe and Tina looked amongst each other and then back at Nick. They liked his idea. Now they had some kind of hope to cling to.

"Nick, that's a really great idea." Tina said. "But, are you sure it will help?"

"It's our only chance, Tina." Nick said. "We don't exactly have alot of options right now."

Before anyone could say anything else, someone's voice rang out.

"Nick!" Someone shouted out.

Nick and everyone else turned to see Jeff, Danny, Justin and Kandi, hurrying towards the waiting area where they were all standing.

Jeff was the first one to grab Nick and pull him into his arms. Nick hugged him back, tightly.

"Thanks for coming, guys." He said. "Jessica's going to need all the support she can get right now."

"That's why we're here." Jeff replied. "We heard about what happened to Jessica on the news, so we rushed down here to see if we could help in any way."

"Well, there's not much you guys can do, except pray." Nick said. "Jessica is in a coma."

When Jeff, Danny, Justin heard the news, they gasped in horror. Kandi, on the other hand, was silent.

"Oh my God, Hon, that's terrible." Kandi said, as she hugged Nick. "What are her chances of coming out of it?"

"Not good at all." Nick said, as he pulled back from Kandi's embrace. "The Doctor said that the next 48 hours are critical. If Jessica hasn't regained conciousness by then, chances are she could wind up being in a coma indefinitely."

Jeff, Justin, Kandi, and Danny were all silent, momentarily. They weren't sure what else they could say or do.

"I'm glad you're all here." Nick said. "But, listen I have to get back to the hotel and check up on Nicole. Drew's still watching her."

"Speaking of Drew," Jeff said to Nick. "he knows what happened. He's still back at the hotel with Nicole. Casey's still with him there, too."

"Who's Casey?" Cate wanted to know.

"He's a close friend of Sean's." Danny explained to them. "And he's also our friend too."

When Danny saw the look on Joe's face when Sean's name was mentioned, he almost regretted even bringing Sean's name up.

"Don't even say that bastard's name in my presence!" Joe said. "I'll bet you any money, he's sitting back at home, in his little beach apartment, gloating over this whole thing!"

Jeff, Danny, Justin, and Kandi all looked at Joe, in complete shock. They did not believe that for a second. Sean was not that kind of a person. Even Nick didn't see it that way.

"Joe, come on." Nick said, trying to reason with him. "Sean wouldn't do that. He's not that kind of a person."

"Nick's right, Joe!" Kandi said, angrily. "Unlike your daughter, Sean doesn't take any pleasure in other people's pain!"

When Kandi said that, it must have hit a nerve, because Joe almost exploded, literally.

"How dare you say that to me?!" Joe said, in a loud whisper. "My daughter is in there, fighting for her life, and all you can do is badmouth her?! Well, I won't have it! If you're not going to be here to support my daughter, then I think that you should just leave!"

Kandi was starting to really get ticked off and when she did, you'd better watch out. She was like a lioness, sometimes.

"You know what? You're right!" Kandi said, loudly. "What am I doing here? Your daughter is no friend of mine!"

Kandi turned to go, but then turned back to face Joe and the others.

"You think you know your daughter so well!" Kandi continued saying. "But, you still have a great deal to learn about her!"

Kandi then loooked over at Nick.

"Nick, since you're headed back to the hotel, will you give me a ride back?"

"Sure." Nick said, then he looked at Justin. "Justin, is that ok with you?"

Justin nodded. He didn't like the idea of Kandi having to leave, but he thought that maybe it was best right now. Kandi wasn't exactly getting along with Jessica's parents, and she didn't need the added stress, so he decided to let her go. She did need to get her rest after all, given her heart condition.

"That's fine, Nick." He said. "Make sure that she gets some rest when she gets back to the hotel."

"Ok." Nick said. "Come on, Kandi, let's go."

Before they started to walk away, Nick turned back to his parents.

"Mom, Dad?" He said. "I'll let Drew know what happening and ask him if he wants to come down here and visit with you for awhile."

"That would be great, Sweetie." Cate replied. "I hope that the two of you are getting close again. The family needs to pull together right now."

Nick wasn't sure what he should say about that, but he decided to say something about it, anyway.

"Don't get your hopes up too high, Mom." Nick said. "Drew and I still have alot of issues to work through, but I'm nowhere near ready to do that. The less I have to deal with Drew right now, the better."

Nick's words saddened Everyone involved, but his father grew angry.

"You know something, Son, you are going to change your attitude, because I demand it!" He said.

Nick took offense to that statement. He felt like his father was treating him like a child.

"Dad, I'm not a little kid, anymore." Nick said. "You can't tell me how to live my life anymore! If I don't want to make amends with Drew, that's my business! I don't know if Drew and I will ever be brothers again after the way he ruined my life!"

"You're upset with your brother because he broke up your so called marriage to Sean?" John asked, angrily. "Well, let me tell you something, Nick, he did you a favor! That marriage was wrong from the very beginning!"

Nick stared at his father, shocked at what he had just said. That made him wonder about a few things. As much as Nick didn't want to have to ask the question he wanted to ask, he knew he had to. He had to have the truth.

"What are you saying, Dad?" Nick asked him.

Cate walked over to Nick and put her arms around him.

"Honey, we both love you, very much." She said. "But, the truth is, we never fully accepted your wedding to Sean. We only went along with it at the time because it's what you wanted."

Nick's heart sank when he heard that. He couldn't believe that his parents had only pretended to accept his marriage to Sean, when in fact, they were still opposed to it. And not once had they said anything to him about their feelings on the matter.

"So, once again, my parents betray me." Nick said, pulling away from his maother. "This conversation is over. I'm out of here. Come on, Kandi."

Nick and Kandi turned and walked away, intent on leaving the hospital.

"Nick, honey, wait!" Cate shouted out to him.

But Nick wasn't hearing anymore. He'd had enough for one night.

"Goodbye, Mom and Dad!" Nick said. "I'll send Drew down here!"

Then, he and Kandi were gone. Then came an uncomfortable silence. That, is until Jeff decided to break it.

"I'm going to head down to the cafeteria to grab some coffee." He said, then looked around at everyone. "Does anyone want anything?"

Joe and Tina shook their heads. They didn't want anything. Neither did Cate and John. Danny decided he'd get some coffee too. Justin did think it was a bad idea, either.

"Alright then." Jeff said. "Danny, Justin, and I will be down in the cafeteria." He said to Joe and Tina. "Will you guys have someone come and get us if there's any changed in Jessica's condition?"

"Sure." Tina said. "And thank you all for being here." Your support means alot to us, right now."

Jeff, Danny, and Justin turned and walked down to the cafeteria, while Joe, Tina, Cate, and John walked into the waiting room to sit down and rest while they waited for a nurse to come and tell them when they could go and see Jessica.

******************************************************* MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE AUDITORIUM.............

The forensics team were almost finished scouring the maintence area for any evidence that Jessica's attacker may have left behind. they'd already retrieved the knife that had been used to cut the cables that the chandelier had hung from. But now, they needed something more concrete that they could use to identify who the attacker was.

Max, the first forensics man who had talked to Nick and Joe, earlier, was looking around at the light switches. The second forensics man, Brett, was looking around the floor to see if anything else had been left behind when the assailant fled the scene.

"I've checked these switches at least two times, and I haven't found a single fingerprint." Max said to Brett, in frustration. "They're clean."

"If that's the case, then the attacker was wearing gloves." Brett said, as he was shining his flashlight around on the floor there. "They didn't want to leave any prints. That just goes to show that this attack was planned."

"Damn." Max swore. "It looks like Mrs. Simpson Lachey's attacker had all his bases covered."

As Brett was moving his flashlight around the floor, he suddenly noticed something.

"Max, come over here and look at this! He called out to Max.

Max walked over and knelt down to see what Brett had found. On the floor, he saw a raised nail and around it were red droplets of what looked like blood.

"It's blood." Max said, frowning. "Isn't it?"

"It sure is." Brett said. "If we get this blood back to the lab and have it tested, we'll know what blood type it is, and it'll be exactly what we need when the police start looking for suspects.

"Let's wrap it up, then." Max said. "Let's get that blood back to the lab and analyze it."

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

Drew was sitting on one of the beds, reading a book, while he waited for Casey to get out of the shower. He sure was taking his sweet time.

"What is he doing in there?" Drew asked, outloud. "He usually never showers that long. He's been in there for almost half an hour."

Drew was starting to get concerned. He set his book down and then got up to walk over to the bathroom door. When he was in front of it, he knocked on it.

"Casey are you alright?" Drew called out to him. "You've been in there for half an hour now."

At that moment, the bathroom door opened and Drew was in for quite a sight. Casey stood in the bathroom doorway. The only item of clothing that he had on were a pair of white briefs underwear.

"Are you ok?" Drew stuttered as he was checking out Casey's lean body. "You were in there for quite a while."

Casey shrugged.

"I guess I had alot on my mind." He said. "I didn't realize that I was in there for very long."

Drew was starting to get worried about him. Casey hadn't been himself since Drew brought him to Orlando to visit Sean on Christmas Day.

"Casey, I'm really starting to worry about you." Drew said. "You haven't been yourself since I brought you here."

"Drew, you know why I'm not myself!" Casey snapped at him, suddenly. "I'm still grieving over the loss of my former boyfriend. Paul's death nearly destroyed me! You know that!"

Drew was very hurt by the way Casey had just ripped into him just now. All he had been trying to do was help Casey deal with his grief.

Casey walked past Drew and sat down on the bed, and took in deep breaths.

"I'm sorry, Drew." He said. "I really don't mean to snap at you. I just can't deal with this right now."

As Drew was getting ready to answer him, the hotel phone rang. Drew walked over and picked up the receiver

"Hello?" he said into it.

"Drew, it's me." He heard Nick's voice say.

"Nick!" Drew exclaimed, in relief. "Thank God, it's you! Casey and I are here in your room and we just heard about what happened to Jessica, on the news. How is she?"

"Not good." Nick said. "Listen, I don't want to get into specifics over the phone right now. I'm headed back to the hotel with Kandi right now. I'll tell you more about Jessica's condition when I get there."

Drew heard a strange tone in his brother's voice, making him wonder just how bad things were with Jessica.

"Ok, Bro." Drew said. "How soon will you be here?"

"In about five minutes." Nick said. "Keep an eye on my daughter until I get there, ok?"

"I will, Nick." Drew said. "I'll see you soon."

Drew hung up the phone and turned to look at Casey, who had a concerned look on his face.

"What did Nick say?" He asked Drew. "How bad is it with Jessica?"

Drew frowned and shook his head as he sat down on the bed, next to Casey.

"I don't know." He said. "Nick said he couldn't get into it over the phone, but I sensed something in the tone of his voice. I think that things might be much worse than we think."

Casey saw the turmoil that Drew was just beginning to go through, and he put his arm around Drew, offering his comfort.

"Try not to think the worst, ok?" Casey said to him, rubbing Drew's back, gently. "Let's wait until Nick gets here, ok?"

"You're right." Drew said. "We should just wait and see what Nick tells us before we jump to any conclusions."

Drew then leaned into Casey's chest and Casey then wrapped his arms around Drew, holding him close.

"I just hope that Jessica pulls through this, no matter how bad things are." Drew said, sadly.

Casey wondered himself just how bad things were. But, they were about to find out, real soon.

******************************************************* BACK AT THE HOSPITAL, IN THE CAFETERIA.....

Jeff and Danny were sitting at the table, drinking some coffee, while Justin was still over at the vending machine, trying to decide what he wanted to eat. He had alot of choices to choose from. That gave Jeff and Danny a chance to talk.

"Jeff, you never answered me before about your feelings for Drew." Danny said, keeping his voice down to a low whisper. How deep do your feelings for him, run?"

Jeff looked around to see if there was anyone in earshot that could hear what they were saying. But there wasn't anyone else, but Justin in the cafeteria, at the moment.

Jeff turned back to Danny, prepared to give him an anwer.

"They run pretty deep, I'm afraid." He said, sadly. "I did say that I think that I might be in love with him."

Danny looked down at the table, as he attempted to hold back his tears that were threatening to come. Jeff saw the devastated expression on Danny's face, and decided to let Danny know something.

"I'm sorry that I have to tell you that, but you said you wanted me to be honest with you." He said. "But there is something I do want you to know."

Danny looked up at him, wondering what that was.

"What?" He asked, in a low voice.

Jeff didn't hesitate when he gave Drew his answer.

"Just because I might be in love with Drew, doesn't mean that I still don't love you, just as much." He said. "I'm just confused right now. I don't know what else to tell you."

Danny nodded. He had thought alot about his relationship with Jeff, as they were driving to the hospital together. He had thought about how their relationship had been before he had learned about Jeff's feelings for Drew. And he'd thought about how it was now. He didn't like how things were now. So, he'd come to a decision, regarding his and Jeff's relationship.

"I can see that you're confused, Jeff." He said. "But, I'm no longer confused about what needs to be done where our relationship is concerned."

Jeff frowned, wondering what Danny was getting at.

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

Danny didn't like what he was going to tell Jeff, but he felt that it was the best thing for them right now.

"On our way to the hospital, I got to do alot of thinking about what you've told me about your feelings for Drew and for me. I do believe you when you say that you still love me. But, at the same time, I can't ignore the fact that you possibly are in love with another man. And with that man, being Drew, that really hurts. So, I've made a decision."

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked him. "What have you decided?"

Danny brought a hand to his face and let out a very heavy sigh. When Jeff saw that, he knew that he wasn't going to like what Danny was going to tell him.

"I've decided that under the current circumstances, that you and I need to be apart for awhile." Danny revealed. "You need to examine your feelings for both Drew and myself and find out what they mean. Until you've resolved your feelings and decide who it is that you want to be with, I can't be with you."

When Danny said all of that, Jeff felt a pang of hurt and guilt coarse through him. But, he understood why Danny was doing this. He probably would have done the same thing, had the circumstances been reversed and it had been Danny who was in love with someone else.

"I don't like it." Jeff said, sadly. "But I do understand. Maybe this is the best thing for us right now, like you said."

Danny nodded.

"I'm glad you see it from my point of view." He said to Jeff. "If the roles were reversed and I was in love with someone else, you would do the same thing, in my position."

Before Danny could get into anything else with Jeff, Justin returned to the table with a ham and cheese sandwhich, an apple and some cheddar cheese slices.

"Hey you two, what going on over here?" He asked, looking between the two of them. "You both look so intense."

Danny looked up at Justin and then back at Jeff, who was looking back at him, with tears shining in his eyes. He couldn't bear to see that another moment.

"Let Jeff fill you in if he wants to." Danny said, getting up. "Right now, I've gotta go."

"What?" Jeff asked, in shock, standing up from his seat. "Where are you going?"

Danny looked back at Jeff and saw that the tears were starting to come full force again.

"I'm going to go and see Sean." Danny said. "If you guys need to reach me, I'll be there."

Danny turned to leave, but Jeff called out to him.

"Danny!" Jeff sobbed out.

Danny turned around and looked at Jeff to see what he wanted.

"I'm sorry." Jeff said. That was all. Danny nodded, with no emotion on his face.

"I'm sorry too, Jeff." He said. "More sorry than you'll ever know."

With those last words, Danny turned and left the cafeteria, leaving Jeff alone to beak down, and Justin there to figure out what was going on.

******************************************************* MEANWHILE, IN JESSICA'S HOSPITAL ROOM.............

Joe and Tina, entered Jessica's room and when they did, they were witnessing a gruesome sight.

Jessica was laying on the bed, totally unconscious. She was wrapped in bandages and had cuts and bruises on her arms and her face from where broken glass had cut her. She had bandages wrapped around her head from where the chandelier had fallen on her. She also had IV's in her arms, meaning she was hooked up to a heart monitor and a brain wave monitor, which were keeping track of her vitals.

Tina sat down next to Jessica's bed side, and grabbed one of her hands.

"Baby." she said, trying not to break down. "Sweetie, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand."

Tina waited to see if Jessica could respond to her. Nothing happened. Jessica's hand remained still.

Joe sat down next to Tina and wrapped his hands around Tina's hands, which were still on Jessica's.

"The Doctors are doing everything they can for you." He said to Jessica. "But the rest is up to you. You have to fight this! Please, wake up. Please, come back to us."

Jessica still didn't respond. This was killing them. Seeing their daughter just lying there, unable to respond to them, really tore at their heartstrings.

"Listen, Baby." Joe said to Jessica. "The police told me that someone tried to hurt you, tonight, on purpose. That's why you're lying here in this hospital bed."

"He's right, honey." Tina said. "And when we find out who did this to you, your father and I are going to make sure that they are put away for a very long time."

Just then, there was a knock on the door to Jessica's room. Joe and Tina turned to see who it was. The door opened, and a police officer poked his head in.

"Excuse me, Mr. Simpson," He asked, in a low voice. "Detective Adams wants to have a word with you."

"Alright, I'll be right there." Joe said, getting up.

The officer closed the door and Joe leaned down and kissed his wife.

"I'll be back after I find out what the detective wants." Joe said. "It could be important."

Tina nodded as she wiped away the tears on her cheeks.

"Go ahead." She said, softly. "I'll stay here with our daughter."

Joe walked out of the hospital room and shut the door behind him. Outside, stood the police officer and a Latino man, in his late thirties. He extended his hand out to Joe.

"Hello, Mr. Simpson." he said, as they shook hands. "I'm Dectective Adams. I need to ask you a few questions."

"Sure, Detective." Joe said. "I'd be happy to.

"But, before I do that," The Detective said. "there are a few things that you need to know."

"What?" Joe asked him.

"I'm sure you know that the cable wires that were holding the chandelier up had been cut. But that's not all the forensics team found. There's more."

"Well, don't keep me in suspense," Joe urged him. "tell me. What did you find?"

The Detective had a very serious look on his face. This must have been something important.

"One of our forensics team members found a raised nail that was coming up through the floor with it's point up. We found traces of blood on it, as well as droplets of blood, on the floor, near it. The attacker must have tripped and fallen when they attempted to flee the scene."

Joe was thrilled to hear that news. Now, maybe they'd be closer to finding out who attacked Jessica and why.

"That's terrific news!" Joe said, in relief. "Now, maybe that will give us some sort of clue as to who would have attacked my daughter."

"That's what we're hoping for, Sir." Detective Adams said. "We've taken the blood down to the lab to have it analyzed and tested. We're going to determine what bood type it is so that we can identify it with suspects who have the same blood type."

"That's not going to be easy." Joe said. "There's got to be millons out there who have the same type of blood."

"True." The Detective replied. "But, only the suspects that would want to bring harm to your daughter, which brings me to my first question."

"Alright." Joe said to him. "Ask away."

The Detective opened up his notepad so that he could get ready to take notes. Then, he looked back up at Joe and asked the first question.

"Do you know of anyone who would have hated your daughter enough to want her dead?"

Joe thought about it for a moment. Nick was totally out of the question because he had been there when Jessica was attacked. Joe also knew that Jeff, Justin, and Drew would never hurt her. They all loved her.

Then, Joe thought about Kandi, who he'd had a fight with, earlier. He knew that she didn't like Jessica, so she could be a possible suspect, but he still didn't think that she was capable of murder.

"Well," Joe started. "Nick, her husband, is definitely not a suspect because he was with us the whole time when it happened." He said. "So is Nick's brother, Drew, and the rest of his bandmates. They all have alibis, I'm sure."

Then, Joe thought back to something that had happened not that long ago. All of a sudden, the pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together for him.

"I think I know exactly who is responsible for my daughter's attack." Joe Simpson said. "Alright, Detective, If you want a suspect, I'll give you the number one suspect in my book."

"Who would that be, Mr. Simpson?" Detective Adams asked, as he put his pen to his notepad and started to get ready to write.

Joe's face started turning red with fury.

"A man named Sean Perry." He said, in a dangerous tone of voice.

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

DING DONG!

I woke up to the doorbell ringing, signaling the arrival of a visitor. I looked over at the clock and saw that it read 12:00a.m. Nick must have headed over.

I got up and stretched to wake myself up. Then, I quickly got up and headed towards the door to let Nick in. I'm sure he had to be going through hell right now.

When I opened the door, I wasn't greeted by Nick. Instead, it was Danny.

"Danny, hi." I said, tiredly. "Come on in."

Danny entered while I closed the door behind me. He turned and looked at me.

"Are you aware that Jessica was attacked tonight?" He asked me.

"Yeah, I am." I told him. "I saw it on the news about an hour and a half ago. How is Jessica?"

"Not good." He said. "Nick told us that she's in a coma and her chances of coming out of it are not good."

I opened my mouth, in shock when I heard that little bit of news. Things with Jessica were worse than I'd thought.

"So, you're saying that she could die?" I asked him, wondering what his answer would be. I saw Danny nod.

"It's very possible at this point." Danny told me. "If she doesn't wake up, in 48 hours, chances are she never will."

I shook my head and raised my hand to run it through my hair. When I did, I realized that it was my injured hand. I quickly lowered it, hoping that Danny had not seen it. But, I wasn't so lucky.

"Sean, what happened to your hand?" Danny asked, in shock.

"Oh no!" I thought to myself, as I looked up at him. "How am I going to talk my way out of this one?"

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