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Nick's POV
"You sure you don't want us to hang around?" A.J. asked walking to the door.

"No, I'll call you in the morning."

"Well, man, I think you're doing the right thing. If anyone should be taking care of her, it should be you." He gave me a hug as did Trish and they went out to the car. I went back up stairs to where I left Hailey in her bed. I walked into her room and she was tossing and turning.

"Hey you," I sat on the edge of the bed and felt her head. "Hails where is your thermometer?"

"Bathroom," she pointed to the bathroom that was connected to her room. I got up and went into the bathroom and began opening the mirrors. It had her face wash, tooth paste, and three prescription bottles. I looked at the labels and had no idea as to what they were for. I looked under the sink and found a clear plastic bin and pulled it out. Inside was a bunch of first aid things including the thermometer.

I went back into the room and found myself laugh a little at her sight. She had taken her shirt off, wearing her bra still and her shorts were unbutton and unzipped. I sat back down on the bed and asked, "Why is your shirt off?"

"I'm too hot," she whined and threw her head to the side.

"Put this under your tongue."

"I'm not sick, I'm drunk." She said rolling her eyes and put the thermometer under her tongue.

"I'm just curious." She closed her eyes and brought her hands up to hear head. She didn't look well at all and I was doing everything in me not to take her to the emergency room. After a minute it beeped and I pulled it out. I was shocked at what I read, it was 103.8. "I need to get you to the hospital." I stood up and she took my hand.

"What is it?" She mumbled.

"Don't worry about it, here let's get you in something comfortable."

"Nick."

"It's almost 104."

"No, I don't want to go back." I was about to ask her what she meant and remembered that I needed to get her fever down right away.

"Um, okay." I picked her up into my arms and brought her into the bathroom. I placed her in the tub and turned on the cold water. I had the stopper in and the tub began to quickly fill with water. It brought back memories of when Hailey had to get me into the bath tub to get my temperature down when I was sick. I now almost wished A.J. hadn't left and I wanted to call Brian; someone, because I was scared of what was happening.

She seemed to relax though as the bathtub filled to the top. She wasn't moaning any more or tossing her body. I put the thermometer back under her tongue and it was down to 101.5.

"Just a little longer," I told her, pushing her hair out of her face. She nodded and her body began to slide down.

"Tired," she whispered.

"I know. I want to get you down to 99 though." I now had my arm behind her, holding her up. When I least expected it, her lips formed a small smile. "And what are you smiling at there killer?" I asked.

"I've missed you taking care of me."

"Someone has to and Brian's not here." It meant to come out as a joke but I knew he words kind of stung her. "I want to be here and I'm glad that I am. I wish it were under different circumstances however."

"Nick why?"

"Why what?" I asked and brushed her cheek with my thumb.

"Why did you break up with me? Was I that bad of a girlfriend?" Her voice was small and I knew that this needed to be talked about at some point eventually.

"Let's wait until you're sober to talk about this, alright?"

"You broke up with me when you were drunk, I think we can talk about why you broke up with me while I'm still well you know."

"I just want you to feel better and I promise, we will talk tomorrow if you want, okay?"

I felt her body begin to shake and took that as a sign that her fever was almost gone. I took her temperature one more time and sure enough it was down to 99.9. I released the stopper and the water emptied.

"Let's get you into some PJ's." I put a towel around her body and carried her into her room. Gently placing her on her bed, I looked into her bottom drawer and pulled out a pair of boxers and a tee shirt; both looked to have been mine.

"Hails, I'm going to help you get dressed. Are you alright with this?" Her eyes remained closed and she nodded her head. I placed the shirt over head and slid it down. I then un-clasped her bra and took it off. I slid off her wet shorts, along with her underwear and then slid on the boxers. Her body looked small but still incredibly sexy.

She really wasn't much help, as her life was lifeless and ready for bed. I slid her up onto her pillow and pulled a sheet over her body.

"Here drink some water," I put the cup to her lips, holding the back of her head with my other hand. She took a few sips and lie down. Glancing at her clock, it read 3:43 and was grateful to be getting some sleep.

"Nick," she whispered as I put her wet clothes into the bathroom.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you, for--"

"Shh, we'll talk tomorrow." I kissed her cheek and she nodded her head falling right to sleep. I took a seat in her popasaun that was across from her bed and watched as her breathing was quick at first but began to slow down as she fell into a deep sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hailey's POV
I woke up as the sun came into my bed room and it took me a minute to even realize where I was. I sat up a little and my head began to pound instantly.

"Good morning," I heard a voice say and I looked up and saw Nick sitting in the birds nest like chair.

"Nick?" The club, dancing, drinks, mixing with pills...again.

"How are you feeling?" He asked now getting up in the chair.

"Umm, I just need to take a shower." I pulled the sheets off. 'How did I get into my pajamas?' I asked myself. Standing up, my body felt shaky and I reached for the wall to balance me.

"Hey maybe you should lay down. You had a long night." Nick had his hand on my waist. I spun around, placing my hands on his shoulders and locked eyes with him.

"No, a shower will help." I went around Nick and into the bathroom. I turned the shower on and let the waited until the steam began to pour out and I looked into the mirror. I had dark circles under my eyes, my skin looked pale and my eye make up was smeared. Letting out a sigh,I slipped my clothes off and climbed into the shower.

After ten minutes, I got out, brushed my teeth and ran a brush through my hair. I slipped on a pair of shorts, a tank top and an over sized sweat shirt. I went down stairs into the kitchen where I heard Nick moving around.

"Hi," I said softly and opened up the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

"I'm making some eggs and toast, you should probably get something in your tummy." He smiled as he pushed around the eggs in the frying pan. I was taken back to memories of us making breakfast for each other, usually it was me making it, and Nick having his arms around my waist.

"Thanks." We ate breakfast together, in silence both of us thinking of what to say or how to bring up the previous night. After cleaning up, we went into the living room and took a seat on the couch. I tucked one leg under me and faced Nick.

"I'm sorry you had to take care of me last night, but I'm glad you were there and thank you."

"Did you know you weren't supposed to mix drinks with your medicine?" His blue eyes were full of concern. I slowly nodded my head and ran a hand through my hair.

"I drank two nights ago with Howie and Brian and it only left me with a bad headache, so I thought I'd be fine. But I mixed my drinks and drank more in a shorter period of time."

"What's wrong with your heart?" I took in a deep breath and let it out shaky. Only my brother knew. "Hailey, is it another heart murmur?" I looked away from Nick an down at my hands and Nick reached over and took my hand into his. My butterfly friends flew around in my stomach and for the first time in a while, I felt as though I could trust.

"I need a new heart," I said simply and shrugged my shoulders.

"What? Like a transplant?" I nodded my head and looked up at Nick.

"The murmur they fixed, it became bigger and there are more."

"Once you get the transplant though, you'll be fine?" His fingers tightened with mine.

"Maybe. I'm not at the top of the list though. It's going to be a while. The medication is supposed to slow down the enlargement, fight infections and keep the palpitations some-what regular."

"Hailey, I'm sorry."

I shook my head no and sat up a little straighter. "I'm fine, I'm going to be fine. I just have to be smarter with the drinking. I hadn't drank since before I went to the hospital until I did with Brian and D. I think I just let this weekend get to me." I pulled on a smile and tucked my hair behind my ear.

"I truly never wanted to hurt you. It just wasn't working." Nick told me.

"Honestly Nick, I can't buy that. I don't know how you can because things between us were amazing and then because you thought I was back into not eating-"

"You had to be put into the hospital for anorexia Hails."

"I wouldn't have had to be if you didn't break my heart," I bit my lip as soon as I said that. I didn't want to blame Nick.

"You really think you would've been alright if we stayed together?"

"I'd like to think I would've been," my voice trailed off.

"I just wanted you to be happy."

"I was with you Nick. My life turned upside down when we broke up. I thought I made you happy."

"You did, I thought I was doing the right thing."

"And now?" I looked into his eyes trying to read him.

"Now, you're healthy, for the most part and I have a girlfriend."

"You didn't answer, do you think you did the right thing?"

"What do you want me to say?" His voice rose a little.

"Tell me what you feel or felt. Nick you always were able to tell me what you were feeling." There was a long pause and then he spoke up.

"I didn't know how to save you. I hurt you so many times and then when I thought you were going down that path again I didn't know how to handle it."

"Obviously." I mumbled.

"I'm sorry."

"Well, you did what you had to do. I'm healthy, for the most part, like you said and well, yeah happy when I'm working. And I only want you to be happy. Truly." I felt my emotions getting the best of me and did the best to keep back the tears that were forming behind my eyes. I blinked a few times and licked my lips.

"Hailey-" Nick put his hand on my knee.

"I'm fine." I smiled.

"I want to us to be friends. Do you think that's possible?"

"Sure." There was a few minutes where we didn't say anything.

"I think I'll call A.J. to come pick me up," he reached for is pocket to take his phone out.

"I"ll take you back to the hotel. It's the least I can do for last night." We stood up and I was about to walk towards the door when Nick pulled me to him. His arms wrapped around me and it took me a moment to relax. I took in his familiar scent and squeezed him a little.

"I will always love you," he kissed the top of my head and I wanted nothing more than to tell him that I was still so in love with him. To pull him into me tighter and kiss him as though we've never spent a single day apart. Instead, I nodded my head, pulled one of my famous half grins and walked to the door. I slipped on a pair of sandals, grabbed my keys off the hook and held the door open for Nick.
Hailey's POV

I had dropped Nick off at his hotel. Our good-bye's was short and as I pulled away, I couldn't shake the the sudden emptiness I felt inside of me. I beginning to day dream and think about the previous nights events. I was angry with myself for getting that drunk and for Nick having to take care of me once again. There was however a part of me that felt happy that Nick had been the one and he did it on his own will. I was stopped at a traffic light when my phone began to ring.

"Hello?" I picked up not looking to see who it could've been.

"Hey there Hails," Brian said into the other line.

"Uh hi, what's up?"

"Did I catch you a bad time?"

"No, I'm just heading into work soon."

"I just called to see how you were doing? I talked to Alex this morning." Great, I was hoping to keep this between Nick, myself and whoever else was with us last night.

"I'm fine thanks, just a little too much to drink."

"Something about a heart medicine?"

"Just the same stuff I've been on from the last surgery." There was a short pause.

"Nick went home with you last night?" There was a tone of jealousy in Brian's voice, or maybe it was more a long the lines of him being upset or mad.

"Well, he, yeah. I honestly don't remember much, he slept in a chair all night."

"I see." And another pause. "You two get another chance to talk?"

"A little. He says he wants to try the friends thing. We'll see if that is possible."

"That's good. I mean really, you two should be friends." Brian no sounded s if he were sad.

"You okay B?"

"I'm good. So do you have any vacation time?"

"Hmm, not really. I mean in July the gym is closed for a week for the fourth because a lot of the kids go away."

"That's forever away. How about I come see you next week."

"Brian don't you have to be with Bailey?"

"No Leigh is taking him the next three weeks because she's going to California for a movie for a couple of months."

"Oh." I paused for a moment, wondering if it would be best for Brian to come out. "Can I get back to you on that? I just want to make sure that I don't have anything really going on besides work." It wasn't a total lie.

"That's fine. Alright well I have an appointment to go to. Give me a call later tonight when you're done with work."

"Okay Bri, have a good day."

"You too." I hung up and drove to work thinking about Brian, the kiss and Nick and our past.
Nick's POV

On the plane back to California I sat staring out the window. My thoughts of Hailey were interuppted from my phone vibrating. It was a text from Ashley, my girlfriend.

:Can't wait to see you! Mmuah: I sighed, closed the phone and closed my eyes. I hadn't slept the night before at all. I was too worried about Hailey and watched as she slept.

"What are you going to do?" A.J asked.

"About what?" I kept my eyes closed.

"You know about what Nick."

"There's nothing to do. I'm goinb back home to Ashley."

"You don't love her though."

"She's a great girl. She's sweet, caring and isn't with me for my money."

"But it's not fair to her if you're in love with someone else still."

"I'm not in love with anyone and I could be falling in love with Ashley. We've been together for six months now."

"You can't base love on how many months or years you've been with someone. I saw you how you stepped up last night and took care of her. And before that I saw how into her you were dancing with her. You neve once looked at Ashely the way you have with Hailey."

"I just want to sleep for the remainder of his plane ride. I'm tired."

"Okay but sooner or later you're going to hae to face your feelings."
~*~*~*~ Nick's Home~*~*~*~
I dropped my bags at the bottom of the stairs and could hear movement in he kitchen. I rubbed my tired eyes and saw Ashely moving around the kitchen as if it were on fire.

"You're not trying to cook are you?" I laughed.

"NIIIICK!" She squeeled and jumped into my arms. "I missed you so much!" She kissed me.

"I was gone for a week." I put her down on he ground.

"Well, I am making a home cooked meal for you. Hope you're hungry."

"Smells good. When do you think it will be ready?"

"Not for an hour."

"I'm going to go up stairs adn take a nap. Is that okay?"

"Sure thing baby, I know it was a long flight," she came over and pecked my lips. I smiled and headed for the stairs. I picked up my bags and carried them up to my room. I opened my carry on bag and pulled out the blue scrap book. I ran my fingers over the first page of Hailey on my back, kissing my cheek, her arms wrapped around my neck and me grinning like an idiot. I closed the book and tucked it under my pillow; I lay my head down on the pillow and closed my eyes. I let the single tear roll down my cheek and I fell into a deep sleep. I never saw my door open slightly or see Ashley stand at the door way.