My Everything

Hello, Everyone!

I'm back with another chapter of "My Everything, after a long four months off. I've reached a very difficult part of the story, making it difficult to keep on writing. But, I did the best that I could.

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.

Also, here is an updated list of a few more stories that 98 Degrees are in on Nifty.

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 "Shut Up" by Anonymous "What I feel for you" by Thack and finally:

"All that Matters" By Jason Phillips."

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

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

Enjoy.

********** CHAPTER 94 **********

DOWN AT THE FLORIDA STATE PENITENTIARY.........

I was exhausted, as I stepped out of the truck and followed the line of prisoners, who were being shuffled towards the jail house. All of us were shackled from our wrists to our ankles with chains, which were to prevent any of us from trying to escape.

After going through the final procedures, the prisoners and I were taken to a room where they passed us out our prisoner uniforms. They were all orange jumpsuits. Then we were all assigned a cell in which we would be staying for the time being.

One of the prison guards took me to mine and unlocked it so that I could get in. Once I stepped inside, the guards closed the big steel door. I could hear the jangling of the keys as he locked it.

I stood there, as I took in my surroundings. I took in two beds against the side of one wall, and a toilet near the other side of the room.

I felt disgusted just looking at the sight of this place. So, this was going to be where I was until I could get out on bail. Or not.

I was very exhausted, so I chose to lie down and try to get some rest. I lied down on the bed and tried to go to sleep. I had a feeling it wouldn't be that hard, given the extent of my exhaustion.

just before I nodded off, I heard someone opening up one of the jail cells, but I had no idea whether or not it was mine or the one beside me.

"This will be your cell for the time being." I heard someone say. "And I would suggest that you not bother your current inmate, either."

"Don't worry, sir." I heard another voice say. "I have no intention of doing that."

"Good." The guard said. Then I heard him walk off. Then, I was asleep.

Then, the inmate walked over towards his bed and scanned his cell partner over.

"I don't intend to bother him." He said, with an evil look in his eyes. "At least not yet."

Little did I realize that I was about to wake up to a dangerous situation.

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

SEAN'S BEDROOM...

Nick awoke with a start. He had obviously been having a nightmare. He looked around the room, as the final images of his dream faded from his memory.

"Sean." Nick whispered, out loud. Although, he couldn't remember what the dream had been about, all that he knew was that it had something to do with Sean. That something had happened to him.

While Nick tried to remember what his dream was about, there was a soft knock on the door.

Nick turned on the night lamp, got out of bed, and walked over to the door. When he opened it, He saw Jeff standing on the other side of the door.

"Hey, Nick." Jeff whispered, softly. "Did I wake you?"

"No, you didn't." Nick said, tiredly. "I just woke up from a nightmare right before you knocked on the door."

"Oh." Jeff replied. "I'm sorry, man."

"Don't worry about it. I'm alright." Nick said to him, then asked. "What are you still doing up at this hour?"

"I can't sleep." Jeff admitted to Nick. "I have too much on my mind right now, and I need someone to talk to about it. And I think that you might be the one person who will understand better than anyone else what I'm going through."

Nick was definitely curious now as to what Jeff meant by that. Of course he had no idea of Jeff's feelings for Drew yet. He was no doubt going to be in for a shock when he did find out.

"Come in." Nick said, stepping aside to let Jeff enter the bedroom. "I could use a friend to talk to as well."

Jeff entered the room and Nick shut the door. When he turned back towards the bed, He noticed that Jeff had sat down upon it. Nick walked over and sat down next to him.

"So, " Nick started saying to Jeff. "What's on your mind?"

Jeff looked back at Nick, as he tried to think about where to start. There were a whole lot of things that were bothering him. Not just his feelings for Drew.

"Well first I think that there's something that you should know." Jeff replied. "Do you remember when you and I had that conversation on Christmas Day about me not being in love with Danny anymore?"

Nick was a little surprised that Jeff was bringing that up now. Especially since he had just broken up with Danny, recently.

"Yeah." Nick said. "And you said that you were in love with someone else. You never did say who this "someone else" is."

"You're right, I didn't." Jeff said to him. "But I will now, since it's all out in the open anyway."

Jeff hesitated slightly, before blurting out the truth. Nick raised his eyebrows, in suspense.

"Well, don't leave me hanging here," Nick said to him. "Who is the other person that you're in love with?"

Jeff closed his eyes and swallowed nervously. He had no idea of how Nick would react if he found out that it was his little brother that Jeff was in love with.

Jeff opened and eyes. And summoning up all of his courage, he then gave Nick his answer.

"Drew." Jeff replied.

Nick's eyes widened a bit and his eyebrows shot up, in surprise.

"Drew?" Nick asked, in a state of shock. "As in, my brother, Drew?"

Jeff nodded.

"Yes, Nick." He said. "I broke up with Danny because I'm in love with Drew."

Nick frowned, in shock, as he allowed himself to process what Jeff had told him. He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing.

When the shock had wore off, Nick blinked and raised his eyebrows, in surprise.

"Wow." He said. "I had no idea that you were going through this."

Then, Nick thought of something and looked back at Jeff.

"Does Drew know that you feel this way?" Nick asked Jeff.

"Yes, he does." Jeff replied. "I told him the other night."

"How does Drew feel about all this?" Nick asked Jeff.

"Well, he says that he doesn't return my feelings the same way." Jeff replied. "He also said that it might be best if I try to get over these feelings that I have for him. But you know as well as I do that that's easier said than done."

Nick lowered his eyes, momentarily, as he took a moment to think about what Jeff had said. Then, he looked back up at Jeff.

"That's true." Nick said. "But Drew does have a point. >From what I've seen, he seems to be really happy with Casey. Why would you even want to interfere with that?"

"Nick, I don't." Jeff said to him. "I really don't. But I still at least had to tell him how I feel about him. I couldn't keep it bottled up inside, forever."

"Of course not." Nick agreed. "But you could have come to me and we could have talked about this before you went to Drew and told him that you're in love with him."

"I'd actually thought about doing that before," Jeff admitted to him. "But with you getting ready to go through a divorce, Jessica getting attacked, and Sean arrested and jailed, You were already under enough stress as it is. I didn't want to burden you with this, too."

"You wouldn't have burdened me, Jeff." Nick told him. "Just because I have to deal with both Jessica's and Sean's situations, doesn't mean that I wouldn't have had time for you. Jeff, you're my best friend. You can come to me anytime you need to talk. That's what I'm here for."

Jeff smiled, tiredly. He was very lucky to have Nick for his best friend. He knew he could always count on Nick to be there for him. And anyone else who had Nick's friendship, were just as lucky.

"Thanks, Nick." Jeff said, softly, as he wrapped his arms around Nick for a quick hug. "I'm glad I can count on you to be there when I need you."

Nick smiled, as he hugged Jeff back. He could feel Jeff running his hand up and down his back, which was making him feel a little better, since He'd woken up from that disturbing dream.

"Nick, are you sure you're alright?" Jeff suddenly asked, out of the blue.

"Yeah." Nick said, not breaking their embrace. "Why do you ask?"

"I can feel the tension in your back muscles." Jeff said to him. "They're tight. That dream you had must have really been something."

"Don't worry about it, Jeff." Nick told him. "I'm feeling better now."

Jeff let go of Nick and they both pulled back to look at each other. Nick was the first to speak.

"Why don't you head back to bed now?" Nick asked him. "You still look very tired."

"Yeah." Jeff said, yawning. "So do you."

"Boy, I'll say." Nick replied. "I've probably only slept about a couple of hours. We can talk more about your feelings for Drew tomorrow when I have more free time."

"Sure." Jeff said, getting up, slowly. "And thanks for listening."

"You're welcome." Nick said, with a warm smile. "Goodnight, Buddy."

"Goodnight." Jeff said, returning Nick's smile, before he turned and headed back to his room.

Nick sighed and sat back on the bed. As he sat there, he glanced over at Sean's dresser again.

He got up and went over to it. He opened the bottom drawer and pulled out the wedding photo of him and Sean, for the second time that night.

"Don't worry, Sean." He said, out loud. "Everything is going to be alright. Just hang in there, Buddy."

After saying that, he hugged the picture close to his chest and sighed, trying to hold back his tears, feeling sorry for what his ex-husband was going through right now.

THE NEXT MORNING, AT SEAN'S APARTMENT........

Kandi and Justin were sitting in the kitchen, together. Justin was reading the morning paper and drinking his coffee, while Kandi was preparing breakfast.

As Justin was reading over the newspaper, something caught his eye.

"It looks like Sean's arrest is the front page headline." He said, to Kandi.

Kandi turned, momentarily, to look in his direction.

"What do you mean?" She asked him.

"See for yourself." Justin said, as he turned the paper towards her so that she could read the front page headline.

The newspaper read: "FORMER ACTOR, SEAN PERRY, CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER OF JESSICA SIMPSON."

"Oh no!" Kandi exclaimed in horror. "I can't believe this! Poor Sean! His good name is being dragged through the mud, already!"

"Yeah, it's really bad." Justin agreed. "I can only wonder just how Nick is going to react when he sees this."

"He's not going to be happy about it, that's for sure." Kandi replied. "But it's only going to get worse once Sean is out on bail. He's going to have to deal with reporters and photographers hounding him, 24/7."

"If he gets out." Justin pointed out. "I'm sure that Joe Simpson is going to do everything he can to make sure that Sean does not get out on bail."

"Well, that can't happen!" Kandi said, angrily. "If he does succeed in doing that, he will have me to answer to! And it won't be pretty, either!"

Justin put the paper down and looked at her. He didn't like to see her get upset. Especially given her heart condition.

"Babe, calm down." He said to her. "I know you're very protective of Sean, but don't worry so much. Sean can fight his own battles."

"Not from behind a jail cell, he can't, Justin!" Kandi said, a little loudly. "As a matter of fact, after I get through with my breakfast, I'm going to march myself straight down to Joe Simpson's hotel room and give him a piece of my mind!"

"You most certainly will not!" A male voice rang out.

Justin and Kandi turned to see Nick, standing in the kitchen doorway. he was dressed up in a gray business suit, complete with a white shirt and a blue striped tie.

Nick smiled at Kandi.

"Kandi, I really appreciate your wanting to help Sean, but dealing with Joe Simpson is my job." Nick said to her. "You don't need the stress of having to deal with him."

Justin frowned.

"Nick, how much of our conversation did you hear?" Justin asked him.

Nick looked at Justin, his face all serious.

"I heard you two talking about how how Sean's going to have to deal with all the reporters and photographers hounding him, as well as everything else you said, including going down to give Joe a piece of your mind." He revealed. "I was coming down the hallway and heard the two of you talking, loudly."

"Nick, sweetie, you and Justin don't need to worry about me." Kandi said, as she finished frying her eggs. "Dealing with Joe Simpson will be mere child's play for me."

Kandi took a moment to look Nick over. She could see how good he looked all dressed up.

"Nick, you look very handsome all dressed up like that." She told him. "What's the occasion?"

"Thanks, Kandi." Nick said, managing a grateful smile for her. "I'm actually heading to an early breakfast meeting with one of my lawyers to discuss my legal separation from Jessica. But before I do that, I'm going to go back to my hotel and see my daughter. Then, after I finish up with my meeting, I'm going to head down to the local jail to visit with Sean and see how he's doing."

Before you do that," Kandi said to him. "Would you please let us know, so that we can go with you? I'm sure that Sean would feel alot better if he gets to see all of us down there."

"I sure will." Nick replied. "But, I'm not sure that they will allow multiple visitors at one time."

"They probably won't." Justin agreed. "They have very strict visiting policies, and I believe the only time they allow multiple visits is for immediate family."

"We are his family, Sweetheart." Kandi said to him. "We may not be flesh and blood relatives, but we're like family to him in all the ways that matter."

That's the way we all feel, Kandi." Nick said to her. "Sean is important to all of us."

Just then, the phone started ringing. Since Nick was closest to it, He volunteered to get it. He picked up the handset and turned it on.

"Hello?"

"Nick, it's Danny." He heard Danny's voice say. When Nick heard his voice, he then realized that Danny hadn't come back home last night.

"Danny?" He asked, in a shocked tone. "Where are you, man? Did you ever come back here to Sean's last night?"

"No, I didn't." Danny said. "I'm here at Selina's place, having breakfast with her." He said. "I'm calling because we have some news, concerning Sean that you're going to want to hear."

That news couldn't have been good, given the tone in Danny's voice. Nick was started to get worried.

"It's not good news, is it?" Nick asked him. "I can tell that something is wrong by the tone in your voice. What's going on?"

Nick couldn't hear anything else, except silence, on the other end of the line.

"Danny, are you there?" He asked, to make sure that the line hadn't gone dead.

"Yes, Nick, I'm here." Danny said to him. "I'm sorry I got all quiet on you. You're right, it's not good news. And it's also something that I can't get into over the phone. Selina and I are on our way over there right now to fill you in on what's going on. Later, Nick."

Then, Nick heard Danny hang up. Nick turned off the phone and set it back down on the table. He walked over to the window and looked outside, as he tried to get his thoughts together.

One thing was for sure, he was very worried about Sean. He just hoped that whatever this bad news was about Sean, that it wasn't tragic.

He then felt someone touch his shoulder from behind him.

"Nick, what did Danny have to say on the phone just now?" Kandi wanted to know. "You look so worried."

Nick nodded and turned to face her.

"Danny said there's been some news about Sean that we're all going to want to hear." Nick told her. "And it didn't sound like it was good news. Selina and Danny are on their way over here, right now to fill us in."

"Oh, God!" Kandi exclaimed. "I just hope that Sean is alright."

"I hope so too, Kandi." Nick replied. "Sean is one of the strongest people that I know, but even he can only take so much."

Nick remembered the state Sean had been in when he had gone to visit him at the Police Station last night.

"You should have seen him, Kandi." Nick told her. "As soon as the guards left us alone together, in the visiting room, Sean literally broke down in my arms. He was so frightened of going to prison, and I tried to tell him that everything was going to be ok, but I don't really know that he believes me. He said that if he goes to prison, he will die."

When Nick said that last part, and remembered Danny's phone call about Sean, he started to think the worst case scenario.

"Oh, God, No!" He suddenly exclaimed.

"What, Hon?" Kandi asked, worriedly. "What is it?"

"If Selina and Danny are coming over here to tell us that Sean is dead......" Nick started to say.

"Nick, Stop!" Kandi said, trying to calm him down, while trying to keep from breaking down in tears. "Don't think that way!"

"How can I not think that way, Kandi?!" Nick said, as he wiped at the tears that were falling down his cheeks. "We all know Sean tried to commit suicide once before. What's to keep him from doing it again?!"

"Nick, Sean wouldn't do that." Justin, who had come into the living room, said. "He knows what a mistake that was to do before. I really don't think he would try again. No matter how frightening his current situation is."

Kandi embraced Nick, briefly, hoping to make him feel better.

"Let's just pray that you're right, Justin." Nick said. "Because We have to figure out some way that we can help Sean out. Some way, Somehow, We have got to get him out of that prison."

Kandi pulled back to look Nick in the face. She could see how upset he was over Sean's current situation and it made her wonder about something.

Nick, can I ask you something?" She asked him.

"Sure." Nick said, nodding. "What is it?"

"Seeing how upset you are about what's happened to Sean, really makes me have to ask you this." Kandi said to him. Nick frowned.

"What?" He asked her.

Kandi hesitated a moment, unsure whether or not, she should even say it. But in the end, She needed to know the truth.

"You still love him," Kandi revealed. "Don't you?"

Nick was so caught off guard by Kandi's question, that he didn't know what to say. And, just as that moment, the door to Sean's apartment opened, and Danny walked into the house, with Selina right behind him.

"Danny! Selina!" Nick exclaimed, in relief. "Thank God you're both here! Tell us what's going on? What's this news about Sean that we need to know?"

Danny and Selina looked at each other and Nick didn't not like what he saw in their expressions.

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

Joe Simpson walked into Jessica's hospital room. When he did, he got quite a surprise.

"Well!" He said, with a smile on his face. "Look who's up out of bed, already."

Jessica was standing up beside the bed, with her mother right next to her. She was holding onto Jessica's arm to help support her if she should get dizzy or lose her balance.

"Well, you know our daughter, Honey." Tina said, smiling at him. "She's way too stubborn for her own good sometimes."

Jessica looked at her mother and rolled her eyes.

"Mom, come on." She said to Tina. "I think I've been cooped up in that bed long enough. Right now, I need to move around so that I can get stronger. The sooner I get better, the sooner we all can get home to Los Angeles. I think that flying back home is what my family needs right now."

"But, we can't go back, until you're well enough to travel." Joe Simpson. "Plus, the police want to question you about the night that you were attacked."

Jessica sighed, heavily.

"I had a feeling that this would be happening sooner or later." She said, in defeat. Alright. When do they want to question me?"

"They're waiting outside, Sweetheart." Joe said to her. He knew that she wasn't looking forward to this. Neither was he. But it had to be done.

"Fine." Jessica said, quietly. "Wait until Mom helps me back into bed and then you can send them in."

"Sure, Sweetheart." Joe said, kissing her on her cheek. "Go Ahead."

Tina helped Jessica get back into bed, as Jessica was still a little bit weak. Once she was in bed, Jessica looked up at her father.

"I'm ready, now." She told him. "Send them in."

Joe Simpson turned towards the door and opened it.

"Come in, Detective Adams." Joe called out.

Detective Adams entered the room and stopped just at the foot of Jessica's bed.

"Hello, Mrs. Simpson-Lachey." Detective Adams greeted Jessica. "How are you feeling?"

Jessica managed a polite smile for him.

"I'm doing better every day, Detective." Jessica said to him. "Thank you for asking."

"I'd like to ask you a few questions if you're feeling up to it." Detective Adams said to her, as he pulled out his notepad.

"Sure, Detective." Jessica replied. "Go ahead and ask me whatever you need to. I will do the best I can to answers your questions as honestly as I can."

First of all," Detective Adams started saying. "You should know that Sean has been arrested and has been moved to a State Correctional Facility until his bail hearing is set."

"That's great to hear." Jessica said to him. "That gives me peace of mind knowing that bit of information."

"Here's the first question I have to ask you." Detective Adams said. "Despite the fact that Sean has become the prime suspect in your case, Can you think of anyone else who might hate you enough to want you dead?"

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

"I'm afraid there is no easy way to say this." Selina said to everyone. "Sean was attacked last night by an inmate, in his prison cell."

"Oh my god!" Nick exclaimed in shock. "Is he ok?!"

"Not exactly." Danny replied. "It was a form of attempted sexual assault. The guards managed to come to Sean's rescue and get the guy off of him before anything happened, but that still didn't stop Sean from having a nervous breakdown."

Kandi brought her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide, in shock. Then the tears started to come.

"Oh, poor Sean!" She wailed. "He must have been so scared! and there's nothing we can do to help him!"

Nick clenched his teeth, partly in anger, the other part to keep from breaking down in tears over this latest news.

"I have to go see him." Nick said, turning around and starting to walk towards the door.

"That's not a good idea, Nick." Selina said to him. Nick stopped and turned around, frowning at her.

"Why not?" He asked her. "Sean needs our help."

"I know." Selina said to him. "But if you go over there and arrange a visit with him, you're not going to like what you see."

Now, Nick was worried. The way Selina was talking made it seem like Sean's situation was alot worse than she was letting on.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked her, the fear obvious in his voice. "What are you not telling us?"

Selina couldn't answer him. Instead, she looked over at Danny. Finally, Kandi couldn't stand the suspense anymore.

"Damn it!" She swore. "Will one of you just tell us what's going on? This silent treatment is driving us all crazy!"

"Alright." Danny said. "What Selina means is that if you go down to visit Sean, you'll see that he's in a catatonic state. When he had his breakdown, it was bad enough that he had to be sedated by the infirmary doctor, in order to calm him down. But now, things are alot worse. It's like Sean's lost inside himself. He just sits around like a zombie. And he won't respond to anybody when they try to talk to him. "It's like his body is there, but his mind is somewhere else."

This news, no doubt, devastated everyone. Their good friend needed help. And from where he was at this moment, getting that help was not going to be easy.

"Can anything be done for him, Selina?" Nick asked her.

"I'm not sure." Selina replied. "It's depends on how severe Sean's mental breakdown is. All we can do is wait and hope that he comes out of his current state before his court date is set."

"And what if he doesn't?" Kandi asked her. "How will this affect his chances of getting out of jail?"

"I'm not going to lie." Selina replied to her. "Sean's nervous breakdown may have a negative impact on his case. This could possibly make the Judge question whether or not Sean is fit enough to stand trial. That is, if this case does go to trial." And if the judge decides that Sean isn't fit to stand trial, then he will remain in jail for the duration of the trial."

Nick couldn't hear anymore of this. Bad news was piling on top of bad news, and he didn't know how much more bad news that he could take. But he did know that he had to do something to help Sean. And standing around his apartment was not going to get anything accomplished.

"I need some air." Nick said, heading for the door. "I'm going to go for a drive. I'll be back soon."

Nick opened the door and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

After he was gone, Selina turned to Justin, Kandi, and Danny.

"Will he be alright?" She asked them.

"Yeah, he'll be fine." Justin said to him. "He just needs time to think and clear his head. It always helps when he goes for a drive."

Selina nodded and then looked at her watch.

"Wow, look at the time." She said, suddenly. "I have to go back to my office and get started working on Sean's case."

"I'll walk you out." Danny said to her.

Justin and Kandi said goodbye to Selina and Danny walked outside with her.

When they were gone, Kandi put a hand to her forehead and sat down on the couch. She sighed heavily.

"I don't know how much more bad news I can handle." She said. "I wish we could get some good news for a change."

As Justin was heading over to the couch to comfort her, the door opened and Danny walked back in. But this time, someone else was with him.

"Hey guys." Danny said to them when he came back in. "Look who's here?"

Kandi turned around to see who their surprise visitor was. and she looked relieved when she saw who it was.

"Jason." She said. "You're back."

Jason nodded.

"Yes, I am." He said, sadly. "I just heard the news about Sean's arrest. I'm going to go and see him in a while. But before I do, I think you guys need to fill me in on how this could have happened.

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

Thank you, Jessica, for you time and cooperation." Detective Adams said to her, as he was leaving. "I'll do everything I can to make sure that your attacker is brought to justice."

Jessica nodded, grateful to him for everything that he had done up to this point.

"Thank you, Detective Adams." She said to him. "If anything changes in this case, please let me know."

"I will." Detective Adams said. "Good Day."

"Goodbye, Detective." Joe said, as he shut the door behind him.

Once Detective Adams was gone, Joe turned back to Jessica and Tina.

"I'm getting hungry." He said. "I think I'll run out and get us something to eat. What would you both like?"

"Food sounds good right about now." Tina said to him. "I'll have a McChicken sandwhich from McDonald's."

"Sure." Joe said, then looked at Jessica. "And what would you like, sweetheart?"

"I'd like a Chicken Salad." Jessica said to him. "And make sure to get me extra Ranch dressing for it."

"Ok." Joe Simpson said. "I'll be back shortly.

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

Jessica turned to her mother.

"Mom, I really wish I could get out of here." Jessica said to her. "The sooner, the better. My little girl needs me right now."

"That's true." Tina replied. "But we have to make sure that you are well enough to go home. You've only been out of your coma for a few days."

"I know." Jessica said, sadly. "But I miss my baby. I wish I could see her."

Tina then had an idea.

"Would you like me to call Cate and John and ask them to bring her by?" Tina asked her.

Jessica's face lit up.

"Yes, Please." Jessica said to her. "I can't wait to hold my baby in my arms again."

Tina nodded and smiled at her daughter.

"I think time with Nicole is just what you need right now." She said to Jessica. "And I'm sure Nicole is missing you right now."

Tina got up and kissed Jessica on the forehead.

"I'm going to go outside to call Cate and John, and I'll tell them to bring Nicole here."

"Alright, Mom." Jessica said. "I'll wait here for you to come back."

"Ok, sweetie." Tina said. "I'll be right back."

Tina then left the room and headed outside to make her call.

Jessica laid back down on her pillow and got as comfortable as she could. Then, she started wondering where Nick was.

"Where's my husband?" She asked herself. "Why isn't he here right now?"

She looked around her room and saw a telephone sitting on the table, right next to her bed. Luckily for her, it was within her reach.

She reached for it and pulled it from the table, onto her lap. She picked up the phone and started dialing a number.

******************************************************* THE FLORIDA STATE PENITENTIARY...............

A prison guard escorted Nick into the visiting area and Nick came face to face with the prison Warden.

"Hello, Mr. Lachey." The Warden greeted him. "I'm the Warden of this prison."

Nick extended his hand out to the Warden and they shook hands, briefly.

"Nice to meet you, Warden." Nick said to him. "I'm here to visit my friend, Sean Perry. Will I be able to see him?"

The Warden looked back at Nick with a serious look on his face.

"Yes." The Warden replied. "But before he's brought in, I think that you need to know what's going on with Mr. Perry."

"I already know that he was attacked by an inmate," Nick told him. "and that he's in a catatonic state."

"Oh." The Warden said. "So then, there's no need to fill you in."

"Sean's attorney, Selina Edwards filled me in on Sean's condition." Nick said. "But while we're on the subject, Is there anything you can do for him in here that will bring him out of it?"

The Warden shook his head.

"I wish there were." He replied, lowly. "The only other thing that we can do would be to release him to a hospital that may be able to find out what is wrong with him. We don't have the necessary resources here to care for him at this point."

"Then, please consider doing that." Nick begged him. "His Attorney is already working on talking to the judge about having Sean transferred to a hospital so that he can be better cared for."

Before the Warden could answer him, there was a knock on the door, across the room from them.

The Warden opened the door and in rolled a wheelchair, being pushed by another prison guard. And in the wheelchair was a pitiful sight. There sat Sean, in the wheelchair, completely motionless.

Nick's face took on a look of horror. He couldn't believe what he was seeing right in front of him.

"We'll give you a moment alone with him, Mr. Lachey." The Warden said to Nick. "But we'll be just outside the door. If he comes out of his catatonic state, you let us know right away."

All Nick could do was nod. The Warden and the guards left the room, leaving Nick alone with Sean.

Nick looked down at his ex-husband, sitting there in the wheelchair, completely out of it. Sean's eyes were open, but they weren't moving. They would blink occasionally, but that was all.

"Oh my God!" Nick whispered, almost close to tears. "Sean. What has happened to you?"

To Be Continued........?

Well, that's all for this one. I hope you all enjoyed it.

This may not be the best chapter, overall, but once I get closer to the end of the story, I'm sure it will be smoother sailing from then on. I am almost there.

"What happens next?" Oh, if you only knew!"

Stay tuned.

Send all feedback, whether it'd be comments or criticism to:

slpwriter@yahoo.com