Kevin dragged the razor over his cheek and looked at his bodyguard in the mirror's reflection.

"Yeah, about 6am. Two of'em are both passed out on the floor." Carlos snickered. "J and Nick are going to have to be carried out of here this morning."

"J AND Nick? I thought it was AJ and his buddies that were partying?" Kevin raised his eyebrows. "Was Jessica with Nick?"

"Don't recall seeing her." Carlos answered. "Nick had plenty of chicks around him though. He wasn't hurting for attention."

"Asshole." Kevin muttered under his breath. He wiped his face with a towel and turned around. "I'm going down to see her, maybe they had a fight or something. Nick's usually a little more discrete about messing around on his girls."

"I'll get the happy duo up and moving, get lots of coffee in'em."

"You got it." Kevin offered a thin smile and pulled a Tshirt on. "I'll be back in a few."

******************************************************************************

"Jessica?"

Kevin knocked a few more times. "Where the hell are you?" he mused, as he leaned against the door, listening for movement inside.

"No answer?" Carlos rounded the corner and stood beside Kevin.

"No. She wasn't with Nick, you're sure?"

"Nope, positive. AJ did say something about her, he wasn't really making much sense though."

"Can we get a card for here? I'm kind of worried."

Carlos looked at Kevin questioningly, but nodded and called down for an extra card. "It'll be here in just a minute." he told him.

******************************************************************************

"Here you go, sir"

The bellboy handed Kevin the room card and stepped aside.

"That will be all." Carlos dismissed the eager young man standing not so discreetly off to the side of Kevin. "You'll be looked after when we leave."

As soon as the elevator doors slid shut, hiding their view of the frowning bellboy, Kevin slid the card into the door and pushed the door open slowly.

"Jessica?" He entered the room and stopped, frozen in place. "Oh my God!"

Carlos ran into the room and secured the doorway.

"Call 911. Now!" Kevin yelled.

He knelt down beside her and lifted her hand. "Oh my God, Jessica what did he do to you?"

Kevin grabbed a blanket from the bed and laid it over her. He saw the bruises on her face, and her stomach. The pool of dried blood underneath her worried him the most. How long had she been like this? He touched her cheek and she flinched, her hands moving to cover her face before she moaned in pain.

"Jess?"

"Don't hit me!" she cried out. "Please don't hit me again!"

"Jess, it's Kevin. I won't hit you. Who did this do you?"

"Ambulance is here, Kev. You going with her?"

Kevin nodded to Carlos and turned back to Jessica.

"Who did this?" Kevin looked at her scared face, hoping against hope his thoughts were wrong.

"N..N..Nick. But I...I made him mad. I let...I let...oh God!" Jessica started shuddering and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Shh...never mind. The ambulance is here, we'll get you all fixed up. I'm going to be right there for you."

"But Nick..." She whispered as the attendants hovered over her, looking after her injuries.

"Nick is staying the hell away from you." Kevin hissed through clenched teeth. "Carlos, keep him here, I don't care how. Make him stay here. I don't want him anywhere near Jessica."

******************************************************************************

Kevin paced the waiting room, anxiously awaiting news on Jessica's condition. Carlos had called several times for updates, offering the information that Nick had given him in his hung over state.

"What did he say?" Kevin asked incredulously.

"She's a bitch." Carlos repeated.

"Not 'how is she' or 'oh shit, I must have really hurt her when I kicked her'?" Kevin swore under his breath. "Damn bastard."

"I don't think he remembers much about last night. He's wasted." Carlos conceded. "I'll check in later, chief."

Kevin slipped his phone back into his pants pocket and whirled around when he heard Jessica's name being called out.

"I'm with Jessica Birch, how is she?"

"Can we go into my office?" The doctor ushered Kevin into a small room and settled into an overstuffed chair behind the desk.

"How is she?" Kevin asked again.

"Are you her husband? Boyfriend?"

"A friend, a concerned friend."

"Well, I'll tell you what her injuries are first and then maybe you could answer some of my questions."

Kevin nodded and nervously waited.

"She has a small fracture to a cheekbone, a broken left wrist, appears to have been raped anally, she is very badly torn in the rectal area, raped vaginally is a possibility, although there is no trauma there to support that, severe bruising of the stomach and..." The doctor paused to take a breath.

"What?" Kevin asked, breathless. "What else did he do to her?"

"She lost the baby, due to miscarriage which was most likely induced by the trauma to the stomach."

"The baby?" Kevin was stunned. She had been pregnant? Is that what the beating was all about? Was Nick upset about becoming a father? Or had he even known?" "I had no idea. I didn't..." Kevin was at a loss for words. He was shocked at the severity of her injuries, by the news of the pregnancy and by the thought that a friend of his could have done this to her, so coldly and brutally. "May I see her?" he asked quietly.

"After you answer my questions. Who did this to her?" The doctor folded his hands on the desk and stared at Kevin.

"I have reason to believe it may be her boyfriend." Kevin replied after a few moments silence, hanging his head as he did so.

"She was asking for a 'Nick'. I know you from posters on my daughter's wall. You're not Nick, are you?"

Kevin swallowed hard. He was hoping to not be recognized through all this. He finally nodded no.

"I would suggest you tell your friend to shape up. Legally, our hands are tied unless Miss Birch is willing to press charges. Otherwise this is considered domestic abuse. All we can do is suggest she charge him with assault."

"I understand sir. Does she know about the baby?"

"We waited for you to tell her. It's usually easier coming from a familiar face."

"Thank you sir." Kevin stood and shook hands with the doctor. "I appreciate your help."