Kate cringed as she watched them put eight stitches in Julie’s head. They had already done x-rays to check her lungs and found they were clear. The doctor insisted she continue to breathe in the oxygen until she was released.

Julie had complained the entire time, saying she was fine and just wanted to get back to the party. The doctor informed Kate that Julie had a concussion and would potentially be acting out of character for a while. Kate laughed and explained she knew Julie better than anyone and he had nothing to worry about. He nodded at her, seeing she was completely right.

It had been almost two hours before Nick and AJ were able to join them. Nick had been texting with Kate trying to keep AJ updated on Julie's status. AJ had been frustrated that Julie wasn't responding to him until he learned that her phone had gone in the pool with her. When they arrived, both guys had a bag with them.
"We brought you some dry clothes." Nick explained.
Julie was so grateful when she saw the Alex had brought her some comfy clothes.

AJ went straight to Julie, grabbing her hand. He kissed her knuckles before he spoke. His voice wavered a little.

“I am so sorry I couldn’t be here for you.”

Julie looked over at him. They had just finished stitched up her head. Tears began to fall from her eyes.

“They shaved part of my head,” she cried. He couldn’t help himself, be began laughing, which caused Julie to cry harder.

“Oh, baby. It doesn’t matter. No one will see.” He looked to the back of her head. “It’s only a tiny bit.”

“But now I am ugly! And I am gonna be on a boat full of pretty girls in little bikini’s with big boobs and no bald spots!”

Julie was not normally this shallow. Kate knew she had hit her head hard, but this really wasn’t like her. AJ looked over at Kate, as if at a loss for words.
Kate shrugged her shoulders, "She has a concussion.”
"Tell you what, I'll shave my head, then will match." AJ said.
It took a few minutes for Julie to register what he'd said.
"Hey! Your head is already shaved," she said.
Nick, Kate, and AJ burst out laughing.

The doctor came back a short time later and finally released Julie. He gave her an antibiotic to take for a week and told her to see her family doctor when she got home. The nurse came in and gave her informations on how to care for the stitches, including how to wash her hair.

They all took one cab back to the hotel. There were still a few fans hanging out in the lobby, when they arrived. Kate offered to help Julie upstairs alone so that they could walk in without looking suspicious. But both guys insisted walking in together. AJ kept an arm around Julie to keep her steady. Kate was on Julie's other side in case she needed her and Nick followed carrying the bags of wet clothes.

The six girls were still waiting in the lobby when they arrived. They all jumped to their feel and slowly walked over to the four of them. One girl asked if Julie was alright. She felt terrible that it was her drunk friend that had caused Julie to be pushed in the pool. She was a very kind person and admitted her friend was a friend of convenience and she really didn’t know her well. She apologized a dozen times.

Julie reached to take the girls extended hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“Thank you for your concern. But if I see her on the boat…” Julie didn't need to finish, the look on her face said it all.
The girls shrank back a little. "You aren't going to kick us off the cruise are you?"
AJ looked at Julie.
"What'd ya think?" he asked.
"Well they didn't actually push me. But it's your cruise."
AJ gave her a devilish grin.
"Well I suppose that since you didn't actually do anything, you can still come. But spread the word that anyone who gets out of line will be kicked off. Now I really need to make sure Miss Flynn gets to her room safely. Thank you for your concern.”
He led Julie to the elevator and didn’t let go of her as the entered the opened doors.

“Do you think they suspect anything?” Julie asked, as AJ opened their penthouse door.
“No. They just think I am looking out for a fan that got injured. Don’t worry, our secret is still safe. Besides,” he said, as he headed to the bathroom to start her a warm bath. “For the rest of the cruise, anyone that saw what happened tonight will think I am just checking on you, like a good star should do. They won’t realize you are a huge part of my life.”

Julie just smiled at him. The local anesthetic they gave her was wearing off and her head was beginning to hurt. AJ began to help her out of her clothes. It was after three in the morning and she was exhausted. She was envious of Kate and the nap she had had earlier.

AJ helped her into the tub then quickly undressed himself. Julie had closed her eyes and didn’t realize he was joining her until his hand went to her shoulder to get her to move forward a little. He slipped in behind her, keeping his knees bent. Julie leaned her head back against his chest but instantly regretted it.

She hissed at the pain as the stitched up part of her head made contact with his hard chest. She sat forward, bringing her knees up to her chest and leaning forward to rest her chin on them. AJ grabbed a natural sponge and gently washed her back. He worked his way up squeezing the sponge out over her hair to wash the blood away. The stitches were low on the back of her scalp but the blood had soaked her hair. His hands were gentle as he lathered her hair. A whimper escaped her as his hands accidentally brushed against her stitches. He rinsed her hair out with

a cup of water and helped her out of the tub. He dried her off before worrying about himself.
Julie sighed as she slipped into the huge bed, trying to lie only on one side. For once she was grateful she didn’t sleep on her back.

AJ spooned up behind her, trying to comfort her. He was waiting for her to start crying again, but she just drifted off to sleep. He lay awake for hours, just listening to her breath. It was such a beautiful sound. He had spent the rest of the party so angry at Donnie when he really was angry at himself.

There was no reason for his anger towards Donnie. He was just upset that he had made the agreement with Julie to keep them a secret until the cruise was over. All he wanted to do was run to be by her side. Nick was the only one who understood. They stayed as long as they needed to. But when AJ had gone to talk to Donnie and a group of girls came up to ask how the Julie was, they had called her just 'the girl', he knew he had to go be with her.

He had found Nick quickly and they had left as soon as they could. It had been so hard for him to see Donnie be the one to breathe life into her, when she had been the one to breathe life into him.

She moaned lightly in her sleep. He gently pushed a lock of hair back behind her eyes. They didn’t need to be on the boat until after one pm, so he didn’t set an alarm.
He text Donnie.
ALEX: I want to say I'm sorry.
DONNIE: For what, bro?
ALEX: For being an ass because Julie got hurt.
DONNIE: Hey no one can think straight when someone they love is hurt.
ALEX: It wasn't your fault though. And I'm sorry I wanted to blame you.
DONNIE: It's all good brother. Take care of her and let me know how she's doing.
ALEX: Thanks brother.

He just lay back, listening to Julie breath, drifting off to sleep.

Kate and Nick continued down the hall to their room. Nick put his arm around Kate pulling her close. She wrapped her arm around his waist.
"How's your head?" he asked.
She looked up at him, confused.
"You had a headache earlier," he reminded her.
"Oh," she said, remembering, "I guess adrenaline cures headaches.”
Nick chuckled softly. "Yeah. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I saw you dive in that pool."

Brian opened the door to his penthouse, having heard voices in the hall. His room was across from Nick's.
"Hey, how's she doing?" he asked.
"She's going to be ok. She has a concussion and got some stitches but there wasn't any water in her lungs so that's good," Kate said.

Leighanne came out then, standing next to Brian. The concern on her face touched Kate.
"We've been praying for her," Leighanne said.
Tears slid down her cheeks. It amazed her that they cared so much. Leighanne stepped up pulling Kate into a hug. Kate finally let loose all the emotion that she had been holding back all night. Her body trembled as she silently cried.
Nick looked over at Brian confused. Kate had never broken down like this with him. Not even when she told him about the baby.
"Leighanne has this effect on people," Brian said, a smartass smile on his face.
"Oh hush, you," Leighanne said, swatting at him.
Kate pulled back, wiping her eyes. "I'm so sorry," she apologized.
"It's ok." Leighanne said, smiling at Kate, "We can’t be strong all the time. Sometimes you just need to let it out."
Kate smiled.
"By the way, I'm Leighanne."
"Hi, I'm Kate."
"It's nice to meet you, finally."
Kate looked confused.
"Brian told me that Nick had a girl. I'm glad they convinced you to come on the cruise. Us girls can hang out together while our guys do their thing."
Her smile was so reassuring to Kate.
"Well, we all better get some sleep," Brian said.
Nick opened the door to their room, leading Kate inside by the hand. She went to the bedroom and slipped out of her jeans and slid into bed, lying on her back. Nick undressed and crawled in next to her.
"You ok baby?" he asked, lying on his side, propped up on his elbow.
She smiled over at him. Her hand rested on his cheek as she gazed up into his blue eyes. A tear slid down her cheek. Nick wiped it away.
"I almost lost her tonight."
"I know. But we didn't and she's going to be ok."
Kate didn't miss that he included himself and AJ in that. She smiled at him.
"She's like a sister to me, ya know."
"I know," he said, stroking her hair, soothingly.
Kate wiped her tears away angrily.
"Augh! These hormones are killing me," she said trying to explain away her tears.
"Katy, why are you afraid to show me how you are feeling?" Nick asked, hurt that she could cry on Leighanne's shoulder but not his.

She searched his face. "I don't know. I've had to be tough for so long that it's hard to let my guard down. Guys don't want to date cry baby girls."
"Honey, you aren't a cry baby. This was scary for all of us. I just want you to be comfortable with me to be yourself."
They gazed into each other’s eyes. Nick leaned down kissing Kate. His lips were soft and gentle. Kate's arms went around him pulling him closer, her kisses becoming more urgent.
Nick's body responded to hers as his hands slid up under her shirt. Her skin was so soft and inviting. He pulled her shirt off, his hands returning to her breast. Kate's hands moved lower, finding him hard and ready. She slid her hand into his boxer briefs feeling his swollen cock. Nick groaned in pleasure.

He sat up and lifted Kate's butt sliding her panties off. He leaned over, kissing her belly. Kate smiled, running her fingers thru his hair. He moved lower pushing her thighs apart. Kate gasps as his tongue flicked against her. He teased and suckled her till her body exploded in an orgasm. He crawled back up her, proud of himself. He lay down next to her, propping himself up on his elbow. Kate pushed him over on his back and moved over on top of him. She trailed kisses down his chest pausing to swirl her tongue in his belly button, which he found surprisingly erotic. She moved down his happy trail. He groaned as she kissed on either side of his penis, torturing him.
"That's not nice," he whispered.
Kate gave a long lick up the length him. He sucked his breath in thru his teeth. As she took him into her mouth, swirling her tongue around the tip, Nick gripped the pillow behind her with one hand the other squeezing her shoulder.
It was her turn to pleasure him. She loved the sounds he made when they made love.
She moved up him placing her wet core above him. His hands went to her hips. He rolled his hips beneath her. She moaned tilting her head back. Nick took in the breathtaking sight of her above him. She leaned down repositioning herself and sliding down onto him. Kate moved her hips, slowly riding him. She loved the feel of him. As the pleasure began to build, she increased her speed. Nick raised his knees putting his feet flat on the bed. He lifted into her, driving himself deeper. Kate cried out as her orgasm rocked her. Nick gripped her hips increasing their speed till his own orgasm exploded inside her. He held her there as his body shuddered.
Kate collapsed onto him. He stroked her hair as she lay there still joined to him.
"As I was saying, I don't want you to hold back with me."
They both laughed.