| Chapter 3 Tara woke up, sitting up in bed. She looked around. The guard was still with her and he smiled at her as she got up and walked over to the windows. The sun was just dipping under the horizon, and the sky was a beautiful collage of yellow and red, reflecting on the water. Tara rubbed her face, pushing her hair back. She looked at herself, for the first time realizing what she was wearing. She had her jeans on and one of Nick's t-shirts. She laughed, imagining what a sight that was. She turned back to the guard, "What's your name?" "Jacob," he answered. She nodded, "How long was I asleep?" "Several hours. Are you hungry?" he asked. Tara sat back down on the bed, "Yes." "I'll have something brought up for you," Jacob said, walking to the door and softly talking to someone outside. "Thanks," Tara said, when he returned. Jacob nodded, resuming his guard duties. "Jacob, can I ask you something?" Tara said. "Yes," he said. "What happened with Nick? Did they get through to him?" she asked. "Um, I think that maybe you should talk to Gideon about that," he answered, suddenly looking nervous. Tara became concerned, "Why? What happened?" "Let's just say that things didn't go quite as we had planned," Tracy said, walking into the room with a tray of food. She sat the tray down on the night stand and sat down next to Tara. "Tell me, did he hurt someone?" Tara asked. "Not seriously, no. He broke his restraints and fought us. I've never seen him fight like that. He had two swords, fighting two and sometimes three of us at a time, and he was winning. He got to the hall before we were able to stop him, with Angels help," Tracy said. Tara sighed, "I knew this was going to be hard, but he's so powerful now, I just don't see how we can hold him here without some sort of help." "We're getting it," Tracy said, "We're going to keep him drugged until he calms down. We just gave him the first dose not to long ago." Tara nodded her head, reaching over and taking the plate off the tray and beginning to eat. Tracy watched her eat. Tara was famished and quickly finished everything on the plate. "You still hungry?" Tracy asked. "No, I'm fine. Thanks," she said, "I could use a shower and some different clothes though." Tracy gestured towards the bathroom, "Go ahead, everything you should need is in there." Tara got up and walked into the bathroom, looking around. There was a change of clothes laying on the counter, plenty of towels and wash cloths, a couple different kinds of soap and shampoos, and her tooth brush and hair brush were there to. She walked out smiling, "Thanks, I won't be long." "Take your time, and when you're ready, we can talk about what happened while you were gone," Tracy said. Tara bit her bottom lip for a moment and shifted from one foot to the other, "Um, do we have to?" "Yes honey we do, but if you aren't ready yet, we can wait," she said. Tara nodded and turned, walking into the bathroom and closing the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin walked down the hall, checking each room as he went. He opened the door to the music room and looked in. Lyn was sitting with her back to the windows, leaning against them. She was asleep, her head tilted to the side. Brian was laying in the floor, his head resting in her lap, also asleep. Kevin quietly walked into the room. He had made it halfway to them when Lyn looked up, blinking a few times. Kevin smiled at her, "You guys have been gone so long we were starting to get worried," he whispered. "Sorry, we just needed to talk about things, and I guess we both fell asleep," she said. "Howie has supper done if you're hungry," Kevin said. "Starving," Lyn replied, looking down at Brian. "I hate to wake him," she said, "He needs his rest." "Yeah, he tries to hide it, but I know he's still weak," Kevin said, "I can carry him downstairs if you want." Lyn looked up at him, "Won't you wake him?" "Naw, usually when he's asleep, he's out. I remember one time on the bus, this was a long time ago, he fell asleep on the couch, and Nick and A.J. were having a water fight all around him. He never even stirred, but it was so funny when he woke up, he couldn't figure out how he'd gotten wet," Kevin said, smiling. Lyn laughed, "I could just see that. Him sitting there with this confused look on his face." Kevin nodded, "Exactly." Lyn pushed herself up, and helped Kevin get Brian to a sitting position. Then Kevin scooped him into his arms and stood up with him. "You got him?" Lyn asked. Kevin shifted Brian's weight a little then nodded. Lyn led the way downstairs. Howie and A.J. were sitting in front of the monitors, eating. They both looked over as Lyn and Kevin descended the stairs. "Is he alright?" Howie asked. Lyn nodded, "Just sleeping." "Aww," A.J. said, turning his attention back to the monitors. Lyn smiled and shook her head. They made it to Brian's room, and Kevin laid him down on the bed. Lyn pulled his shoes off, and pulled the covers over him. She and Kevin stood there for a moment, just watching him sleep. Kevin reached over and put his hand on Lyn's shoulder, "Come on, let's eat." She took one last look at Brian, before turning and following Kevin out the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara emerged from the bathroom, feeling much better. It was amazing what a long hot shower does for your state of mind. She had put on the sweats and t-shirt that were laid out for her, relishing the feel of clean clothes. When she walked back into the room, Jacob was gone, and Tracy was sitting on the bed, waiting. "Feel better?" she asked. "Immensely," Tara said, walking over and sitting down. The two sat in silence for a little while. Tara knew that Tracy wanted to know what happened, but she wasn't ready to talk about it yet. "Honey, I know that you went through a lot. And I'm sure that it's going to be hard to talk about, but anytime you feel like it, I'm here," Tracy said. Tara smiled, looking down at her wedding ring, playing with it, "Thanks, I'm just not ready yet." "That's OK, I'm not trying to push you," she said. Tara nodded, looking out the window again. Her mind was replaying memories of what had happened to her. She closed her eyes, sighing. Everything had changed in the span of a week, and she couldn't understand how or why. All of her feelings, the things she was so sure about just a week before, were all in question. She was confused and torn. She felt guilty for what she had done, but then she didn't. She shook her head, trying to make her mind stop it's constant bombardment. Tracy put her hand on Tara's shoulder, "Maybe if you talk about it, it'll help." Tara looked at her and smiled, "You always could tell when I was dealing with something." "It's not hard to miss, it's written all over your face," she said. Tara sighed, "That obvious huh?" Tracy nodded. Tara started to say something, but stopped. She looked past Tracy, seeing the security camera for the first time. "Are they watching this?" she asked. "Yes, it was the only way to keep them from coming over here. We agreed that they could watch as long as they didn't come and interfere," she answered. "So they saw when I woke up? They saw me begging to see Nick?" Tara asked, feeling mortified. "Yes they did, but they understand. We told them what you did to get him back. They were shocked, but I think they understand that it was the only way at the time," Tracy said. Tara put her head in her hands, fighting the tears that were welling up in her eyes, "That just makes this harder." "What?" Tracy asked, putting her hand on Tara's back, comforting her. "I'm so confused. When I did what I did, I knew what it would do me. I knew that was something that I'd have to risk to get Nick back. But even before that, when we were there, he told me that he'd never stopped loving me, that he wanted me back," Tara said, letting her tears fall, "At first I was so angry at him. I tried reasoning with him, but it didn't work. Then I started thinking, I mean really thinking. Some of the things he was saying were true. I do still love him. It's not the emotions talking either, I was feeling this way before we ever did anything, and I feel so guilty about it. I don't want to hurt Brian and Lyn, but I can't ignore this anymore. I feel just like I did when Brian and I confessed how we felt about each other when I was with Nick. I'm so torn, I mean, I love them both. What am I suppose to do?" Tracy stared at her, shocked. "Honey, you know that it's forbidden. You and Nick can't be together like that," she said. "I know, but if we do truly love each other, then why not? I'm not saying that that's how it's going to work out, but has anything like this ever happened before? Have there ever been two of us that loved each other and wanted to be with each other?" Tara asked. Tracy thought for a long time, "No, I can't think of anything happening like that. But honey, you know what you're saying? Do you really feel strong enough about this, that you would risk your marriage and your best friend?" Tara looked up at her, "I feel as strong about this, as I feel about me and Brian. I'm so confused. I can't differentiate between the two. I love them both so much, how am I suppose to choose?" "Maybe you aren't? Maybe things will just work themselves out, and you won't have to make that decision," Tracy said, echoings of her conversation with her sister running through her mind. "Why don't you get some rest. Take some time with this," Tracy said. Tara nodded, crawling into bed and pulling the blanket over herself. Tracy got up and walked to the door, "Talk to Him about it, I'll see you in the morning." Tara closed her eyes as Tracy turned off the light, leaving her in the dark. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gideon and Jade stood in Nick's room. They had been waiting for the drug to completely get into his system before waking him again. They didn't want a repeat of last time. Tracy came into the room, shaking her head. "She alright?" Jade asked. "Physically yes, but emotionally she's a wreck. She has a lot to deal with," she answered, "She's resting right now." "That's good," Gideon said, looking back over at Nick. They had restrained him again, hoping this time with the combination of the drug that the chains would hold. "I guess now's as good a time as any," he said. Jade nodded, and walked over, waking Nick. Nick slowly opened his eyes. It took him a moment to get them focused. He moaned, feeling that familiar foggy feeling that he had come to hate so much. "No," he mumbled, looking at Gideon. "We had to, at least until you calm down and listen to us," Gideon said. Nick pulled against his restraints, "No! I can't be here! Let me go, now!" "Nick," Tracy said in a calm voice, "We want to help you, we aren't going to hurt you." "Yes you will, you'll hurt me until I do what you want, just like they did!" Nick screamed. "Nickolas, look at me," Jade said. Nick looked at her. "We will not hurt you, all we want to do is talk to you. We want to find out what happened to you, and we are here to help you," she said, soothing him with her voice. Nick shook his head, "No. You can't help me, no one can." "God can Nick, He loves you and wants you back," Gideon said. Nick laughed, "No He doesn't. He abandoned me, just like all of you!" "No He didn't. You walked away from Him. God is in the same place He's always been, He's in your heart Nick, you've just forgotten it," Tracy said. "No, you're lying," Nick said, struggling against the cuffs. "Nick, we don't lie. God never abandoned you," Jade said. "Then why did He let me go through that?! Why did He stand by and watch me suffer?! Is He that hard up for entertainment?" Nick spat. Gideon looked at Jade and Tracy, motioning to them to follow him out of the room. Nick watched them walk out, still pulling against his restraints. He looked over at one of the guards in the room, "What the hell are you staring at?!" The guard said nothing, but had a compassionate look on his face. Gideon turned to the girls once they were in the hall, "He's still not willing to listen." "We have to understand how he feels though. To him he was abandoned, and he did go though a tremendous amount of torture before he turned. He has every right to feel the way he does right now," Tracy said. "Yeah, but that makes what we have to do harder. We will never get through to him until he realizes that God does love him and didn't leave him," Jade said. "Then that's what we need to work on. We have to show him that before we can ever hope to get him back," Gideon said. "I say for right now, we focus on his physical needs first. He needs to eat, he needs to get cleaned up. We can't force him to do anything, otherwise we're proving him right," Tracy said. Gideon nodded, "Alright, have someone get him some food, and we'll go from there." The three walked back into the room. Nick watched them with fear and anger in his eyes. Gideon whispered some instructions to one of the guards, and he left the room. "What are you doing?" Nick asked. "We're getting you something to eat," Jade answered. Nick looked at her through narrowed eyes, "Why?" "Because you haven't eaten since noon, and I'm sure you're hungry," she said, smiling at him. Nick stayed quiet, glancing from one to the other. He wasn't sure what to expect from them, and he was afraid to. When he could use his powers he didn't fear them, but now that the drug rendered him unable, he was afraid of what they would do to him. Tracy put her hand on his arm, "Nick, we will not hurt you. We love you and we're here to help you through this." "Please, just let me go," he begged. "We can't," she said. The guard that had left, came back in with a tray of food, handing it to Jade. She took it and sat it down on the side of the bed, looking at Nick. "Do you want us to feed you, or would you like to do it yourself?" she asked. "I can do it," he said. "If we unchain you, you have to cooperate with us. Otherwise the chains go back on, understand?" Gideon said. Nick sighed and nodded. He watched nervously as one of the guards unlocked both his hands. Gideon held out his hand to help Nick sit up. Nick didn't take it, instead, he pushed himself up. Jade put the tray in his lap. Nick looked at them before he took a bite. "There's nothing in it, just eat," Tracy said. As much as he didn't want to, he was starving. Nick devoured everything on the tray in a matter of minutes. Jade handed him a bottle of water and watched as he drank the entire thing in one long gulp. When Nick finished, Tracy took the tray and handed it to one of the others in the room. "Now, I bet you'd like to get cleaned up huh?" Jade asked. Nick just stared at her. He didn't trust them, and was making no bones about it. "It's alright Nick, we aren't trying to trick you," she said. Gideon nodded to another of the guards and he came over unlocking the chains around Nicks feet. Nick looked at him shocked. "Go ahead, everything is in there that you need," Jade said. Nick slowly got up from the bed, still waiting for them to do something, but they didn't. He walked into the bathroom and closed the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyn and the rest of the guys, minus Brian, sat glued to the monitors. They were glad to see that Nick wasn't fighting them, but his lack of trust was disturbing. "Guys, do you feel guilty for watching this?" Howie asked. They all looked at him. "I mean, this is worse than any reality TV show out there. They are fighting for his soul and we're sitting here watching it, I just feel bad, but then I can't stop watching either," he said. "Yeah, I know how ya feel. On one hand I feel really bad cause I know that it's real, but then I'm like addicted to it. I have to know what happens next," A.J. said. "Exactly," Kevin said. Lyn didn't say anything, her eyes still glued to the screens. Brian came into the room, running his hand through his hair, and looking like he'd just woken up. "What's going on?" he asked. "They woke Nick again. He's not fighting them, probably because of the drug they gave him, but he's not happy bout being here either," A.J. informed him. "What about Tara?" he asked. "She woke up a while back. Ate and got a shower. Her and Tracy talked for a while, but we couldn't understand it. I heard Nick's name a few times, but that was it. She's sleeping now," Kevin answered. Brian nodded, "Did you guys eat?" "Yeah, we saved you a plate," Lyn said, getting up and walking into the kitchen. Brian followed her and sat down at the table, watching her take the plate from the frig and put it in the microwave for him. While it was heating, she fixed him something to drink, setting it down in front of him. Brian reached out and held her hand, "How are you doing?" She looked over at the guys who were firmly engrossed in the monitors, "I'm hanging in there. You feeling better?" He nodded, "Yeah, I didn't realize I was still so tired. How'd I get down here anyway?" Lyn laughed, "Kevin came looking for us. He carried you down." The microwave beeped and Lyn went to get his plate. She came back over, setting it on the table, and sat down. Brian started eating, looking up at her and smiling. Lyn smiled back, reaching under the table and taking his hand in hers. Brian squeezed it, still continuing to eat. They both knew they had to keep their relationship a secret, at least for now. Nick and Tara were in no shape to have it dropped on them just yet. "This is good, did you make this?" he asked. Lyn laughed, "No, Howie did." Brian laughed, "Oh, well it's still good. That boy should've been a chef or something." "Yeah, just think, Kira never has to cook," Lyn said. "Yeah, lucky girl," Brian said, taking another bite. A.J. walked into the kitchen and over to the frig. Lyn quickly let go of Brian's hand before he saw them. "I still can't believe that you guys drank all my stuff," he teased. Brian and Lyn both rolled their eyes. "Don't remind us Bone," Brian said. "Yeah, I am never drinking that much ever again," Lyn said. A.J. laughed, "Lightweights." "Whatever," Brian said, taking his plate and putting it in the dish washer. "Guys, Nick's out of the shower," Howie called from the other room. A.J. quickly grabbed his drink and ran back to the living room, not wanting to miss a thing. Brian looked at Lyn, "Do you want to watch this?" She sighed, "I feel like I need to." Brian nodded, following her back to the couches and sitting down next to her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick walked out of the bathroom, looking around. He wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to run, but knew he wouldn't get very far. He knew he couldn't fight his way out, not without the use of his powers. He ran his hand through his wet hair and walked back over to the bed sitting down. "You feel better?" Gideon asked. He nodded. "Do you want anything else to eat?" Jade asked. "No," he said quietly. "Is there anything else you want?" Tracy asked. Nick looked up at her, "Can I see Tara?" "No honey, not right now," she said. "Please, I need to talk to her," he begged. Tracy shook her head, "Not now. She's resting." Nick sighed and looked at the floor. He closed his eyes, trying to will the fogginess out of his head. "Do you feel like talking to us?" Gideon asked. Nick shrugged his shoulders, "Bout what?" "What happened to you? What made you turn?" he asked. "No," Nick said, crawling up on the bed and sliding under the covers. "Nick, if you tell us what happened, we can help you through it," Jade said. "I've already been through it. I don't want to relive that," Nick said, turning his back to them. Gideon motioned to the girls to leave and let Nick rest. "Nick, we're gonna let you rest. If you need anything, tell the guards, alright?" Tracy said. Nick rolled over and looked at her, "Why are you doing this?" "Doing what?" she asked. "Being nice to me. You know I don't want to be here, that I'm your enemy, and yet you're being nice to me. I don't get it," he said. She smiled at him, "Nick, we love you, and you are not our enemy. You've just lost your way, and we're here to help you find it again." "What if I don't want to?" he asked, "What if I like this and want to stay this way?" She searched his eyes, staring at him for a long time. "I don't believe you do. I think you say that to make it easier on yourself, but deep down inside, I think you want us to help you," she said. Nick sighed and rolled back over, "We'll see." "That we will," Tracy said, turning and leaving the room. Chapter 4 |