Cass held her breath. Did he just ask her what she thought he had asked her? She lifted her head from his chest and looked into his eyes.

“What?” She whispered.

Nick looked back at her and squeezed her hand.

“I know this is sudden, and I know we haven’t been together for more than a few months, but what happened tonight, made me realize something. I realized that life’s too short to wait for something you already know is going to happen sooner or later. I could’ve died tonight, Cass… I could have died without letting you know how I feel. I love you…. More than anything I ever thought was possible, and I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So why wait? I want to be able to look back at this moment and know that I did what my heart told me to do. And my heart tells me that I want to be with you forever.” He paused for a moment and bent down to kiss her forehead, before he continued. “I know this isn’t the most romantic setting to do this, I mean, I don’t even have a ring… You don’t have to answer me right now. I want to be able to do this properly as soon as I get out of here. But I’m dead serious Cass. I love you, and I want to marry you.”

Cass didn’t know what to say. A thousand thoughts were razing through her mind at that moment. “Nick, I….” She paused.

Nick shook his head and covered her lips with his fingers. “No, Cass. It’s ok. You don’t have to answer me right now. Just think about it, ok?” He leaned down and replaced his fingers with his lips, and kissed her softly. Cass felt almost numb, but in a happy way.

“Yes.” She whispered, as his lips left hers.

Nick smiled at her. “Ok, we should probably get some sleep now.” He said, leaning back.

Cass shook her head. “No, Nick….I mean, yes! I’ll marry you.” She smiled, and looked at his reaction.

Nick’s eyes lit up, and a big smile appeared on his face. “You what? You…?”

Cass nodded, and reached out to stroke his cheek. “I love you too Nick. There’s nothing else in the world I want more than to be your wife. I could never say no to that.” She said softly.

“Oh, Cass… I love you so much. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you had said no.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that now, do you?”

They shared a long and passionate kiss, both desperately wishing that they were somewhere else.

“You know, I never thought a night like this, could turn out this good.” Cass whispered once they had turned off the lights and were lying next to each other, ready to get some sleep.

Nick smiled to himself. “I know…” he sighed, pulling her closer. He had completely forgotten about the pain in his chest, and arm, and all he could think was that he was holding the girl that soon would become his wife.

‘”I can’t believe I’m engaged.” Cass said, laughing a little.

“Well, you better get used to the thought.”

“Nick?”

“Umm…”

“What do we tell the others? I mean… like, when? How?” Cass asked.

Nick thought for a moment before he answered.

“You know, I did mean what I said earlier. I want to do this properly, the traditional way, with a ring and everything. I think we should keep it to our self until then.”

“And when are you planning to do this?”

“Now, that I can’t tell you.” Nick teased.

“I figured you’d say that…” Cass sighed.

Nick laughed a little, and kissed the top of her head. “Well, you already know I’m going to propose, the rest of it has to be a surprise. But it will have to be in the nearest future. I don’t think any of us can hide it for too long. Everybody’s gonna wonder why we are acting this happy, when I almost died a few hours ago. But as I said, I’m not telling you when.”

Cass knew there was no point in arguing. He had made up his mind, she knew him that well. Instead, she leaned over in the dark and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“I love you Nicky.”

Nick chuckled. “Nicky huh? You’ve never called me that before.”

“That’s because you hate it… but I like it. I think it’s cute.”

“I don’t wanna be cute….” Nick pouted.

“Well, that pouting isn’t exactly helping you there.” Cass laughed.

“Aww… you suck!”

“Good night, Nicky.”

“Hey, I’m not done arguing here…”

“I am.” Cass laughed and gave him another kiss before she leaned her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

Nick sighed. “I love you Cass.” He whispered, reaching over to put his oxygen mask on.

A few minutes later, they were asleep, both with a smile on their lips.

The next morning, Cass woke up, finding Nick fast asleep next to her. She smiled as memories from the night before washed over her. She never thought that waking up in a hospital would feel this good. Giving Nick a quick kiss on his forehead, she got out of bed, and walked out of the room to find something to eat. It was almost noon by then, and as she passed the room she had been waiting in the night before, she saw that the guys were already there. Cass walked in and greeted them all with a smile.

“Hey guys.”

“Hey girl.” Holly walked up to her, giving her a hug.

The rest of the guys all gave Cass a hug and said their ‘good morning’s’ and ‘hello’s’.

“How’s Nick?” Kevin asked.

“Better.” She smiled. “He was still asleep when I left his room. But he was feeling a lot better last night.”

“That’s good.” Brian smiled.

They all looked like they had gotten the rest that they needed, and they were all in a much better spirit than the night before.

“We just talked to the doctor,” Brian continued. “Nick will be released this afternoon if all the tests come out ok.”

Cass grinned. “That’s great. I don’t think he likes it here too much.”

“How can anyone like a place like this?” Aj commented.

“Tell me about it…” Cass said. “So…” She continued. “Have you guys eaten yet? I was on my way down to the cafeteria. Wanna join me?”

“I’ll come with you.” Holly smiled, grabbing Cass’ arm and dragging her towards the door. “We have to talk.”

Cass looked at her curiously, “About what?”

“You’ll see.”

“So… what happened?” Holly asked once they were seated. The cafeteria was almost empty, but Holly had made sure to get a table in the far corner of the large room.

“What do you mean?”

“Cass…” Holly placed a hand on Cass’ shoulder. “We’re at the hospital. Your boyfriend almost died last night, and you’re grinning like you’ve just won the lottery. Something must have happened.”

Cass looked down and blushed. “It’s nothing. I’m just happy he’s ok.”

“No, no.” Holly shook her head. “I know you Cass. You can’t lie to me. Come on, tell me! I’m dying to know.”

“I can’t Holly.”

“So something did happen?”

Cass tried to hide her smile, but failed.

“I knew it!” Holly said excited. “Come on girl! I can tell that you’re dying to tell me.”

“If I do… You have to swear not to tell anyone. Not even Alex.”

“I swear!”

“Pinkie – swear?”

Holly laughed. “What are you, five?”

“Hol, I’m serious. You have to promise.”

“I’ll swear on what the heck you want. Just tell me!”

Cass grinned. “Ok…” She paused.

“Cass!”

“Nick asked me to marry him.”

There was silence for about two seconds, before Holly suddenly realized what Cass had just told her. She then let out a squeal, and jumped up form the chair, pulling Cass up and into a hug.

“Holly,” Cass laughed. “Calm down. People are staring.”

“I don’t care.” Holly said, jumping up and down, her arms still around Cass’ waist. “I can’t believe he proposed. You’re getting married! Oh my god. There’s so much to do. We have to find you a perfect wedding gown, send out invitations---“

“Holly!”

“What?”

“It’s not even official yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come here. Sit down, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

The next few days went by quickly. Nick had been released from the hospital, and was now resting at the hotel. He had been doing much better, but he still wasn’t allowed to perform. The two shows they were supposed to be doing in Paris had been postponed, with a promise from the guys that they would be back as soon as they had finished their touring in the US. No one quite knew what had happened to Nick, and that was why the guys now were on their way to a press conference where they would be explaining the situation. They had wanted to do this sooner, but because of Nick’s condition, they had decided to wait until he felt strong enough to join them.

They were now waiting backstage, ready to enter the small stage in one of the hotel’s conference rooms.

“Are you nervous?” Cass asked Nick, rubbing his back.

“A little. I don’t know what to say. I mean… you do know that I will have to mention you sometime during my explanation, right. And no one really knows about the engagement, heck, they don’t even know we’re dating… How do you feel about me telling them about us?”

Cass shrugged. “I guess they’ll find out sooner or later, right? Might as well be now.”

Nick nodded, and gave her a hug. “You’ll be waiting here, right?” He asked.

Cass felt so sorry for him. He was really nervous, about having to talk about what happened. She knew it was hard for him, and she wished more than ever that she could take his place.

“They’re ready for you now.” Johnny, the manager said. The guys all wished each other good luck, and walked over to enter the conference room.

“You’ll be fine, buddy!” Brian said, resting a hand on Nick’s shoulder.

As they entered, they were met with applause, and cheering. This made them all feel a bit more confident. Especially Nick.

Cameras were flashing, and people were shouting, trying to get Nick’s attention. The guys just sat down, and waited for Johnny to open the conference.

He cleared his throat to get attention, and started to speak.

“Welcome to this press conference here in Paris. We have asked you to come here today to inform about an incidence that happened two days ago. I know you have all been wondering why two of the concerts here in Paris has been cancelled, and we are here to explain the situation.” He paused for a few seconds before he continued. “Two days ago, Nick Carter and Aj McLean were caught in a fire when they were out having thanksgiving dinner. Nick got trapped inside the building, and had to spend the night in the hospital. He will have to rest for a week to get back to where he was before the accident, and that is why we had to cancel. The boys are now going to answer your questions.”

“Nick, what happened inside the building? Why did Aj get out, and you didn’t?” A reporter asked.

Nick raised his head to look at the people sitting in the room, waiting for his answer.

“Well… Umm, when the fire first started, all four of us ran outside and across the road, but then Aj and myself decided to go back inside to help the people that were still trapped in the building. I mean, there were lots of children in there that needed our help. Se we went back in, Aj found a boy, and helped him outside, and I went to search for someone who needed help. I found this little girl. She was so scared, and at first she didn’t want to come with me. And then, when she would finally let me carry her outside, we were almost trapped. I had to run through thick smoke, inhaling a lot of ash. Once I got outside, it was so hard to breath that I passed out.” He stopped to catch his breath. It was still hard for him to speak without feeing pain in his chest. He took a sip of the water, and signalled for the next question to be asked.

“How are you feeling now, Nick?”

Nick shrugged, “I’m ok… I have to sleep with an oxygen mask for a couple of more nights, and I have a second degree burn on my left arm. Sometimes it’s hard to breathe, but I’ve been very lucky, you know. I’m not complaining.”

“And Aj, what about you?” The reporter continued.

“I’m fine.” Aj nodded. “I was lucky to get out of the building in time. The worst part of it was to sit and wait for Nick.” He looked over at his friend and gave him a smile. “I’m just really glad he’s ok.”

Another reporter stood up, and asked a question. “How did you guys feel when you got the message that Nick had been taken to the hospital?”

Howie leaned forward, closer to the microphone to answer the question. “I think we all felt really helpless. We arrived the hospital, and no one knew anything. I mean, we were all crying, and praying that he would be ok.” 

“Nick, you said that there were four of you together when it happened. Who was with you? Are they ok?”

Nick knew this question would come eventually, and he felt himself blush a little as he answered. “Umm… Aj and I were there with our girlfriends who’s visiting us for a couple of days. And they’re fine, both of them.”

The reporter smiled. ”Girlfriends? Last time you were asked about that, you said you were single. When did this happen?” Nick looked at the reporter, unsure if he should answer the question. Then he realized that there was no point in hiding anything. It was better that the facts came from him, then from someone who just wanted to start another rumour.

“We met almost a year ago, when we were recording our album. Her name’s Cassidy, and we’ve been dating for about six months or so. I haven’t told many people, just because I’ve wanted to protect her for as long as possible.”

“And Aj, what about you?”

The press conference continued for another half an hour. The guys answered all the questions that were asked, and then went back to the hotel to get some rest.

“Are you ok?” Cass asked as she lay down next to Nick, resting her head on his chest.

Nick nodded. “Just tired….”

“I’m leaving tomorrow, you know.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want to.” Cass sighed and tightened the grip around his waist.

“I don’t want you to leave either….” He kissed her forehead gently.
”You’ll be home in less than tree weeks, right?”

He nodded.

“When are you leaving to see you family?” She asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re spending Christmas with you family, right?”

“Cass, I’m not leaving you. I’m staying in Florida.”

Cass looked up. “You are?” She looked surprised.

“Aaron and Angel are coming down to visit for a few days. I’m not leaving you alone on Christmas Cass. I want to spend it with you.”

Cass looked down, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Nick asked, sounding worried.

Cass sniffed. “Nothing…” She looked up and into his eyes. “What did I ever do to deserve you, Nick. I love you so much.”

He smiled and kissed her lips softly. “I love you to Cass.”

It was two days before Christmas. Cass was sitting in Nick’s living room waiting for him to get come home. The plane had landed two hours before, and she expected him back home any minute. She had missed him so much since she had left Paris, and the fact that he wasn’t fully recovered when she left, made it a lot harder for her to leave. The boys had two weeks off from the tour, and Cass would be spending everyday with Nick. Jive had decided to throw them a Christmas party the next day. All the guys were going to be there, as well as their family and friends.

Suddenly Cass heard the front door open, and she quickly stood up from the couch and ran over to Nick, who was standing in the hall.

“Nick!” She ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck before he even had the chance to drop his bags.

“Hey baby.” He laughed as she kissed him hard on the lips. “Missed me?”

“You have no idea.”

He dropped his bags and put his arms around her. “Oh, I think I know what you mean.” He picked her up, carried her into the living room and lay her down on the couch, placing himself on top og her. He kissed her passionately and let his hands run down her spine. Cass shivered, and moaned slightly.

“You like this, don’t you?” Nick whispered.

“You know I do.” She kissed him again, pulling him closer.

They spent the rest of the night on the couch, not leaving each others embrace.

“Cass, are you ready yet? We have to leave in five minutes.” Nick was standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for Cass. It was time for their Christmas Party, and they were both really excited, and anxious to meet their family and friends.

“Ill be there in a sec, Nick.” Cass shouted from the bathroom upstairs.

She took one last look in the mirror and walked downstairs. Nick looked up to see a long pair of legs walk down the stairs. He moved his gaze up to look at Cass, and smiled when he saw her. She was wearing a green halter style gown with a deep V neckline with a layered skirt and asymmetrical hem. Her hair was pulled up into a pony tail and soft curls were framing her tanned face.

“Baby, you look amazing.” He said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“You don’t look so bad yourself Carter.”

“You ready?”

She nodded. They linked arms and walked out to the limo that was waiting for them outside.

The party had been going on for a few hours, and everyone was enjoying themselves. All the guys were there together with their wives and girlfriends, as well as Brian, Kevin and Howie’s parents and siblings, Aj’s mom, Nick’s dad and wife, and Aaron and Angel.

They were in the middle of the dinner, when Nick excused himself.

“Where’re you going baby?” Cass asked.

“Nowhere…. I’ll be right back.” He whispered and kissed her cheek before he walked away.

“Wonder what he’s doing…” Cass said to Holly who was sitting next to her.

“Well…duh!” Holly rolled her eyes.

“What?”

“He’s proposing of course.” Holly whispered.  

Cass looked stunned. “No, he’s not. Not here. There are so many people here.” She said, looking around.

“He said he wanted to do it properly, right?”

“Well….” Cass hesitated.

“Well… now’s the time.”

“You think?”

Holly nodded. “Just wait and see.”

Cass looked down at her plate, suddenly not feeling very hungry anymore. Could he be doing this now? Maybe Holly was right. Cass felt goosebumps crawling up her back and smiled to herself. She had been wondering when he was going to do it. She thought that maybe he would do something while she was still in France, but considering his condition, nothing had happened.

“Cass!” Holly whispered, pointing towards the small stage that had been set up. Cass looked over her shoulder, and felt her hear skip a beat as she watched Nick walk up the stairs and over to the microphone that had been set up.

“Can I have everybody’s attention, please?” He said, as people looked up from their plates.

Nick took a deep breath. “Cass, baby, would you join me up here?”

Cass looked down, feeling herself blush.

“Don’t be shy, honey. Come on.” He grabbed the mic, walked down from the stage, and over to Cass, reaching out his hand for her to take. She took his hand, and Nick led her over to the stage, as music started playing. Cass felt her heart beat faster and faster, and when Nick started to sing, she thought she was gonna faint.

I stare at your face
Into your eyes
Outside there's so much passing us by
All of the sounds
All of the sights
Over the earth and under the sky
Too much cold and too much rain
Too much heartache to explain

Who needs the world when I got you
Switch off the sun the stars and the moon
I have all I need inside of this room
Who needs the world when I got you

Oh no no
I walk on the street
Talk in the dark
I see peoples dreams just falling apart
I open my arms
Tried to be true
Seems like my only truth is you
Am I wrong
Or am I right
All I want is you tonight

Who needs the world when I got you
Switch off the sun the stars and the moon
I have all I need inside of this room
Who needs the world when I got you

Who needs the stars so bright and the grass so green and the morning light
Who needs the wind to blow and the tide to rise
Who needs it...I don't know
I don't know
Yeah

Who needs the world when I got you
Switch off the sun the stars and the moon
I have all I need inside of this room
Who needs the world when I got you
Who needs the world when I got you
Switch off the sun the stars and the moon
I have all I need inside of this room
Who needs the world when I got you
Who needs the world when I got you

As he finished, Cass was almost in tears. Nick was standing an inch from her, looking directly into her eyes. ‘I love you’ he mouthed. Cass smiled, and looked down, blushing, as Nick turned to the party and started to speak.

“Three weeks ago, something happened in Paris, as you all know. When I walked out of that burning building, Cass was the first person I saw, and seconds before I fainted, I thought that it was the last time I would ever see her.”

He turned to Cass again and lifter her chin with his thumb to look at her.

“Cass… what I said to you at the hospital that nigh, came straight from my heart. What scared me the most when I was inside that building was the thought of not seeing you again. I know we haven’t been together for that long, but I don’t care. I know that I want to be with you, and my heart tells me that this is the right thing to do. I love you, and that’s all that matters. And like I said, life’s too short to wait for something you already know is going to happen. I said I wanted to do this properly, and I couldn’t find a better moment to do this.” Nick took a step away from Cass and pulled out a small box before he went down on one knee and opened the box. Cass could heart people gasping, but she didn’t care. All she saw was Nick, the man she loved, sitting in front of her, holding the most beautiful ring she had ever seen.

“Cass, will you marry me?”

She knew this was coming, but yet she found herself speechless. Nick smiled at her and took her hand.

Cass nodded. “Yes.” She whispered, bending down to kiss him as he slipped the ring on to her finger.

Six months later.

“I can’t believe this is our final show.” Nick said as the guys entered the NY Radio City Music Hall in New York. They had been touring for the past ten months, and were now very anxious to go home to their friends and family.

“I know.” Aj nodded. “It seems like we’ve been on the road forever.”

“Yea, but yet it’s like we just started.”

“It’s like this with every tour,” Kevin said as a cell phone started ringing. The guys all pulled out their phones.

“Mine.” Nick said, seeing Cass’ number on the display. “Hey baby.” He answered.

“Hi Nick.”

“How’s it going?”

Cass sighed. “Good. I just can’t wait until you get home.”

“I know, baby. Just a few more hours now, and I’ll be right there with you.”

He was catching a flight to Orlando that same night after the show, which meant that he would be home early the next morning.

“I’ll be up waiting for you.” Cass said.

Nick smiled. “You don’t have to do that. Just go to sleep, and I’ll be there sooner than you think.”

“I don’t think I can sleep Nick…”

“Just try, ok? For me.”
She laughed a little. “Ok… I’ll try.”
”Listen, I gotta go now. We’re doing soundcheck. The show’s in three hours.”

“Ok. See you soon.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too, Nick.”

They hung up, and Nick went to get ready for their show, happy that it was their last, and that he would finally be with Cass again.

It was just after 10 PM that same night, and Cass was sitting in Nick’s living room watching a movie. For the past few weeks, she had spent more time at his place than she had at her own apartment. Somehow, she felt safer there, having his stuff around her all the time.

She hadn’t gotten to see him as much as she wanted to for the past six months. She flew to London to surprise him on his birthday, and he had come home for a week to celebrate Easter with her in late March. It had been over three months since the last time she saw him, and knowing that he was only hours away, made her restless and very exited.

The rumour about her and Nick was… well, not a rumour anymore. Everybody knew that Cassidy Jacobs was Nick Carter’s fiancée, and surprisingly enough, his fans were fine with it. They had accepted Cass months ago, and though there would always be a few ‘haters’ out there, they left Cass alone.

Cass stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen to get something to drink. She stopped in front of one of the large windows and looked outside. From there she had a view over the neighbourhood and the driveway. Nick had been talking about getting a security gate once he got home, because for now, it was very easy to get access to the property. At first, it had bothered Cass that people could just walk straight up to the front door, but she had gotten used to it eventually. She looked down the driveway and spotted a car parked at the end of it. The front lights were on, and she wasn’t able to see the person inside. Cass frowned and felt her heart skip a beat. The car looked familiar to her, but she didn’t know where she had seen it before. She shrugged, and tried not to think about it, as she went over to the counter and got herself a glass of water. On her way back to the living room, she cast a glance out the window again. The car was still there, but the lights were now off, and in the corned of her eye, she could see a person standing next to it. She stopped dead in her tracks, recognizing the figure instantly. The glass she was holding in her hand dropped to the floor, breaking into small pieces.

“Noel.” She whispered.

Her step dad was standing right outside the house, looking up at her. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew he was staring at her. Cass quickly turned away from the window, feeling her heart raze, as she ran over to the front door, made sure it was locked and set the alarm.

“Oh god…” She whispered to herself, leaning against the door.

Why was he there? It had been a year and a half since she had ran away.

“I have to call Nick.” She mumbled, running over to the living room to grab her cell. He would be on his way to the airport by then. Her hands were shaking as she dialled his number and brought the phone up to her ear. After three rings, Nick answered, sounding tired, but happy to hear her voice.

“Hey baby.”

Cass didn’t answer him at first. She didn’t know what to say without sounding upset. The last thing she wanted was to worry Nick.

“Cass…? You there?” He asked.

“Nick.” She whispered, feeling her voice shaking as she spoke.

“Baby, is everything ok?”

No answer.

“Cass? Answer me. What’s wrong?” He asked again, slightly panicking.

“Noel is here….” She finally whispered.

“What?” He paused.  “Shi t!”

“He’s standing in the driveway. I don’t know what to do Nick. Why is he here?” She said freaking out.  

“Ok, don’t panic.” He said, trying not to sound like he was worried. To Cass, it sounded more like he was talking to himself. “Just make sure all the doors are locked, call the police and stay away from the windows. Don’t let him know you’re there.”

“He already knows, Nick. He saw me…” Cass started crying, not knowing what else to do.

“Baby, don’t cry. I’ll be home in a few hours, ok?”

Cass nodded to herself. “Ok…”

“Promise me that you’ll call the police.”

“Ok…”

“We’re boarding the plane now Cass. I have to turn off my phone… Are you gonna be ok?”

“I don’t know.” She said honestly.

“Call Holly and get her to come over.”

“She’s in Chicago visiting her grandmother.” She was crying so much that she was shaking now. She tried not to think about Noel standing right outside the house, but she couldn’t.

“Just stay where you are Cass. I’ll be home in a few hours. I’ll call you as soon as the plane lands.” He felt so helpless knowing that she was all alone in his house, scared to death. All he wanted was to be with her and make sure that she was alright.

“Ok…”

“I love you Cass. Don’t worry, everything’s gonna be ok.”

“I love you too Nick…” She whispered as she heard him hang up.  

She quickly dialled 911 and frantically explained the situation. They told her that they were going to send someone over as soon as possible, reassuring her that everything was going to be ok. Cass hung up, and slid down on the floor next to the couch, just as she heard a loud knock on the door.  

Cass felt her heart skip a beat as she crawled on to the other side of the couch where there was no way he could see her. Afraid to even breathe, she pulled her knees up to her chest and hid her face in her hands. There was another knock on the door, and a small sound escaped her lips.

“CASSIDY, I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE!” Noel yelled from outside. His voice was strong and loud.

Cass froze as a familiar feeling rushed over her. She had almost forgotten what he sounded like, and the image of him was getting more and more blurry every time he visited her thoughts, which was rarely now days. Cass closed her eyes. A part of her wanted to confront him and show him how strong and independent she had gotten over the past year, yet, she was afraid that if she saw him again, she would lose control and go back to her old self that couldn’t fight back.

“COME ON CASSIDY, OPEN UP! YOU KNOW WHAT I’M CAPABLE OF DOING IF YOU DON’T DO AS I SAY. I JUST CAME HERE TO TALK. LET ME IN AND I WON’T HURT YOU!”

Cass shivered. She knew he was right, in a way. She knew what he was capable of doing, and the thought of it made her sick.

“No.” She whispered to herself. She was not going to let him win this time. All she had to do was sit there and wait for the police to arrive. And maybe, if she waited long enough, he would give up and leave and Nick would come home and put his arms around her and make everything alright. Cass lifted her head and looked out of the large window in the living room. She could see the ocean from there. It was very calm, and the dark night sky was covered with stars, but this was not what caught Cass’ attention. The large windows showed a reflection of the front door down the hall, behind her. She could see the door handle moving up and down, as the banging became even louder.

“CASSIDY, YOU DON’T WANT ME TO DO THIS. OPEN UP YOU B*ITCH.”

She closed her eyes again, leaning her head back against the wall. “Please God, don’t let him in.” She prayed silently as tears rolled down her cheek. The banging continued for a few minutes, before it suddenly became very quiet.

Too quiet…

Cass sat still, afraid to move. Was he gone? She slowly opened her eyes, and looked around. She was sure he wasn’t inside the house, but she was also pretty sure that she never heard the car drive away, which meant that he was still around somewhere. She took a few minutes to calm herself down. Suddenly, there was a loud sound coming from somewhere outside. She froze again, looking frantically out the window and out on the balcony.

And there he was.

A scream escaped Cass’ lips, and she thought that she was going to faint. Noel was standing outside, looking at her through the window, waving to her with an evil grin on his face, and a look that said ‘hey babe, missed me?’

Cass wanted to move out of his sight, but it was as if she was glued to the floor. She couldn’t move, and she couldn’t even look away from him. Then, she remembered, she had forgotten to lock the door that led out to the balcony. She never thought that someone would be able to climb up there considering it was on the second floor. A wave of fright rushed over her, and she forced herself to look away from him and stand up. Her legs were shaking so badly, she could barely stand. As if Noel had read her mind, he looked over towards the glass door and started moving towards it. Cass ran across the room, feeling as if she was fighting for her life. They reached the door at the same time, Cass leaning against it, trying to prevent him from pushing it open and at the same time, struggling to lock it. But he was stronger than her, and with one thrust, he pushed it open causing Cass to fall backwards. She screamed as she fell to the floor. For a moment he just stood in the doorway, looking down at her, letting his eyes travel up and down her body.

“Hello Cassidy.” He said, “Missed me?” He walked over to her and bent down next to her.

Cass didn’t dare to say anything. She had learned over the years she had known him that whatever she said, he would use against her at some point.

“No?” He looked at her as if he was disappointed in her. “Well, I missed you.” He whispered into her ear. “Why don’t I show you just how much?”

“No, please….” Cass cried.

“You’re not scared, are you? We’ve done this so many times before. You know what I like, Cassidy.” He stroke her chin with his cold hand, and Cass shivered.

“How did you find me?” She asked, surprised that she even dared to ask him.

Noel laughed. “How did I find you…? Well that wasn’t too hard. You’re everywhere these days, Cassidy. That stupid Backstreet Boy isn’t exactly hiding the fact that you’re his little s*lut. All I had to do was find out were he lived, and it led me straight to you.” He laughed again. “But let’s not talk about that right now. I want what I came here for.”

Cass shook her head. “No…” She whispered, backing away from him a little. Noel reached out and grabbed her wrist, holding her down. Cass struggled to get away, but he was stronger than her and with one single move, he had positioned himself on top of her.

“No, please don’t…” She cried out. She knew there was no way she would be able to free herself from him now. All she could do was close her eyes, and let him have what he wanted.

Just as he was about to force himself into her, sirens could be heard in the distance. He stopped and looked down at her.

“You f*cking b*itch!!!! You called the police?” He yelled, slamming his fist in her face. Cass cried out in pain, but inside, she felt nothing but relief that her prayers had been heard. Noel quickly stood up and pulled up his pants.

“You’re not getting away with this, you little s*lut.” He grabber her wrist and pulled her up from the floor, dragging her with him towards the front door. It all happened so quickly that Cass didn’t have the time to react. She couldn’t understand why he was taking her with him, when the police was right outside the house.

Noel paused in front of the door, tightening the grip around Cass’ arm. With his other arm, he reached down and pulled out something from one of his pockets. Cass gasped when she saw that he was holding a gun.

“Now, let’s see if Mr. Officer wants to play!” He laughed, pushing the door open and dragging Cass with him outside.

From there, everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Cass could see the two police officers pulling out their guns, one of them rushing back to the car to call for backup. She could hear Noel yell something to them, and the two officers responding. Suddenly, one of the officers fell to the ground. There was silence for only a few seconds, and then everything went black.

A few hours away, Nick was sitting in his seat, looking out of the small plane window. All he could think of was Cass, and that she might be in danger. He had a bad feeling that something had happened to her. But not even in his wildest dreams would he be prepared to face what was waiting for him at home.

The plane finally arrived, and Nick hurried off together with Aj, who was on the same flight as him. They quickly collected their luggage, and headed outside to Aj’s car that was parked in a secured area of the airport. Nick kept on calling Cass in her cell phone, but there was no answer.

“Why isn’t she answering?” He said, sounding both frustrated and scared at the same time. “What if something happened to her, Aj…?”

“It’s probably nothing. Maybe he left, and she fell asleep or something.” Aj said as he unlocked the car, and they both got in. Nick wanted it so desperately to be true, but yet, he wasn’t convinced. He’d had a bad feeling ever since they got on the plane a few hours ago, and as they got closer to his home, he got more and more nervous. Aj started the car, and they drove off. Nick had begged Aj to drive him home and wait there until he was sure that everything was ok. He didn’t want to face whatever it was that had happened, alone.

Nick tried calling Cass again, but there was still no answer.

“DAMN IT!!!!” He yelled, banging his fist against the window, feeling the pain from the hit rush over him. “F uck!” He mumbled under his breath, shaking his hand to get rid of the pain.

“Relax man.” Aj said and placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Look, you can yell as much as you want, but it won’t get us there any faster, or undo what might have happened. We can only hope for the best.”

Nick sighed. He knew Aj was right, but at the same time, he just wanted to scream out loud.

The rest of the 45 minute ride was made in silence. Aj was driving as fast as he could, and Nick kept looking out the window and watching the landscape change until he could see the ocean ahead of him. They were only five minutes away from his home now, and his heart was razing so fast that it hurt. What if something had happened to her...? He couldn’t stand the thought of Cass having to go through more pain than she already had. She was doing so well on her road to complete recovery, and he was so proud of her for managing on her own while he had been away.

“You ok?” Aj finally spoke as they pulled into Nick’s street.

“I don’t know. I’m scared man…” His voice was shaking.

“It’ll be alright Nick. I’m sure she’s fine.”

“Don’t say that Aj… not until you know for sure.”

“I’m sorry man…”

Nick shook his head. “I just…” He looked up and felt his heart skip a beat as he spotted the scenario that took place in front of his house. “Shit!”

“Oh my…” Aj said shocked, and looked over at Nick who had suddenly gotten very pale. 

Aj drove the last 300 feet over to the house and parked the car. There were two police cars as well as several other cars parked outside. A large crowd had gathered around, and people were pointing and whispering to each other. Nick and Aj quickly got out of the car and ran over to the driveway. They were stopped mid-way by a police officer.

“I’m sorry you two. You can’t go there. This is a crime scene!” He stated, nodding towards several officers walking around.

Nick could no longer think straight. The worst possible thing that could have happened was there, right in front of him.

“I…I live here…” He said, feeling Aj’s hand on his shoulder.

The police officer looked down. “Oh… I’m sorry. You might want to sit down for this.” He proceeded to walk over to a bench a few feet away, but Nick didn’t move. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to know what had happened. Seeing that Nick wasn’t able to speak, Aj decided to do it for him.

“Listen, just tell us what happened.” He said, trying to sound firm, although his voice was shaking.

The officer paused for a moment as if he was trying to come up with the right words to use.

“There was a shooting episode here a few hours ago.”

Nick held his breath as the officer continued.

“Two people got killed, and one was badly injured.”     

“No…” Nick shook his heard. Panic was starting to overcome him, and he felt like he was having a bad dream. “NO!” He yelled and took a step closer to the officer as if he was going to hit him. Aj grabbed his arm and held him back. Nick started looking frantically around.

“WHERE IS SHE?” He yelled again, tears erupting from his eyes.

“The girl,” Aj asked, still holding on to Nick “what happened to her?”

“She’s alive. Barely.” The officer replied, looking at Nick, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

“She was shot in the chest at a close range. I don’t know if she’s going to make it. She your girlfriend?” He asked, looking at Nick, who couldn’t utter a word.

“Fiancée.” Aj said, answering the question.  

“I’m really sorry. I’ll get someone to drive you to the hospital right away.” He said, and walked away.

Aj stood next to Nick, feeling helpless as he watched his friend cry. He took a step closer to him and pulled him into a hug.

“I’m really sorry Nick.” Aj said, letting Nick cry on his shoulder.

After a few minutes, they were shown to a car that would take them to the hospital. Aj could have driven there himself, but seeing that Nick really needed him, and the fact that he didn’t know if he himself would be able to drive, they accepted the ride from one of the officers.

They arrived at the hospital only fifteen minutes later, and rushed inside to get the information on Cass that they desperately wanted.

Nick had calmed down a little on their way there, but his eyes were still red and filled with tears. Aj too had cried. Cass was a good friend of his and his girlfriend’s best friend. He also felt extremely sorry for Nick.

Once they had spoken to a nurse at the front desk, they were taken to a waiting area and were told to wait there for the doctor. No one would tell them anything about Cass’ condition. Half an hour later, a doctor approached them.

Nick quickly stood up from the chair he was sitting on, and walked over to the doctor.

“How is she?” He asked, holding his breath.

“Her condition is critical. We removed the bullet, but she’s lost a lot of blood and she’s very weak right now.”

Nick looked down, tears welling up in his eyes again. “Oh god…” He whispered.

“Will she make it?” Aj asked, knowing that they both needed to know.

“I don’t know…” The doctor answered honestly. “It’s up to her. Let’s just hope she’s a fighter.”

“She is…” Nick whispered to himself, wiping away a few tears. “Can I see her?”

“Are you family?”

“I’m her fiancée. I’m the only family she’s got.”

The doctor nodded. “You can see her. But I’ll have to warn you; she doesn’t look very good. You have to be prepared for that.”

“She’ll always look beautiful to me.” Nick stated, and turned to Aj. “You’ll be waiting here, right?”

“Of course.” He answered, pulling Nick into a hug. “Good luck buddy.”

Nick gave him a weak smile and followed the doctor out of the room.

Nick entered the room where Cass was lying. His whole body was shaking as he walked over to her bed. She was hooked up to different machines, and the beeping that was monitoring her heart beats was the only sound in the room. To Nick, it sounded hollow, and too loud. Beep… beep… beep… At least it was the sound of life.

As he sat down next to her bed, he felt tears forming in the corner of his eyes again. She looked so fragile lying there, but still, so peaceful. He gently took her hand in his. It felt cold against his warm skin. Déjà vu he thought to himself as he smiled sarcastically.

“Hey baby…” He said, stroking her hair with his other hand. He tried coming up with something more to say, but found that he couldn’t, so he just lay his head down next to her on the pillow, and cried silently. 

A few hours later, Nick was still sitting by her side. He’d only been out of the room once to go and tell Aj to go home and get some rest. As he was about to lay his head back down on her pillow, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out and looked at the display. Brian….

Nick cleared his voice, and took a deep breath before he answered.

“Hey Rok.” He said, trying to sound cheerful.

“Hey buddy.”

Nick could instantly hear that Brian had put on the ‘are you ok?’ voice that he used whenever something had happened.

“Are you ok?” Brian continued.

Nick smiled a little to himself. ‘I know him too well…’ He thought.

“Well, you know… I’m trying to hang in here.”

“Aj called me and told me what happened. How’s she doing Nick?”

Nick sighed. “Nothing new… she’s still unconscious.”

“She’s a fighter. She’ll wake up soon.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“You sound doubtful.” Nick could picture Brian frown on the other end. He paused for a few moments, trying to figure out what to say.

“I don’t know Bri. It seems like the only thing we do is spending time at the hospital crying over each other. Maybe we’re just not meant to be…”

“Nick, you love her, right?”

“More than anything…”

“Then you can’t give up on what you have. You’ve been through so much together. You have to give her the support that she needs right now.”

“I know Brian… I just don’t know what to say to her when she wakes up. I wasn’t there to protect her, and she counted on me, she trusted me.”

“Nick, you can’t blame yourself for this. There is no way you could’ve known. She knew you were on your way, there’s nothing else you could’ve done. And the fact that you’re there right now, may give her the strength that she needs to recover.”    

Nick nodded to himself and fought back a few tears.

“You’re right. It’s just that I desperately want to forget all the bad things that have happened over the past year, and now, I feel like I’m back where we started. It makes it so hard, you know.”

“I know Nick. Just promise me that you’ll stay with her, ok? She needs you now more than ever. Are you at the hospital right now?”

“Yea, I’m sitting right next to her. She looks so pale, Bri.”

“I’ll pray for her, Nick.”

“I know you will…”

“I’ll pray for you both.”

“Thanks Rok.”

“I love you man.”

Nick smiled a little. “Yea, yea… don’t get all girlie with me now. Love you too though.”

“I know. Call me if anything happens ok?” Brian said, glad that he had gotten his friend to speak to him.

“I will.”

“Ok. Bye Nick.”
”Bye Rok.”

A week passed, and nothing happened. Nick spent every hour of the day by Cass’ bed side, only going home for a few hours now and then to change and eat, usually at the crack of dawn after spending a sleepless night in the chair next to her bed.

It was now Monday, eight days after the accident and Nick had just gotten back to the hospital after going home to take a shower and get something to eat. He walked down the familiar corridor, and was met by Cass’ doctor just as he was about to enter her room.

“Nick,” He said almost cheerful, “I’m glad I found you. Let’s sit down for a moment, shall we?” He led Nick over to a bench down the corridor and they both sat down. They had had a few conversations over the past week, and Nick trusted that he would do everything in his power to help Cass.

Nick looked at him with a worried expression on his face. “Is something wrong?”

“Well… no. Rather the opposite actually. She woke up Nick.”

Nick looked at him in shock, as of he didn’t believe what he had just said.

“What?” He asked.

“Cass woke up about an hour ago.”

A smile spread across Nick’s face. “Really? And everything is ok?”

“Well…” The doctor hesitated. “Why don’t you go talk to her?”

Nick frowned. “Ok…” He stood up and walked over to her door. He looked back at the doctor, who nodded to confirm that it was ok for him to enter.

Nick opened the door and walked straight over to Cass’ bed. She was lying in the same position as she had all week, her eyes open, looking up at the ceiling. Nick let out a sight of relief as she turned her head to look at him, tears rolling down her cheek. He bent down and put his arms around her, as they both cried for several minutes.

“God Cass… I’m so sorry.” Nick sobbed, holding her head in his hands.

“Nick… I can’t feel my legs…” She said, looking into his eyes. “I can’t feel them…”

Nick looked at her in horror, as she began to cry even more.

“What?” He said confused.

“I can’t feel my legs… I’m paralyzed from the waist and down.” She said, her sad eyes filled with tears as she looked at him.

“Oh god…”

“What do I do Nick? I can’t feel them, I can’t move…”

Nick didn’t know what to do or say. He just pulled her closer to him, as she cried on his shoulder.

A few hours passed, and Nick could still not believe that Cass had lost the feeling in both of her legs. He had crawled up in bed next to her, just to be as close to her as possible. She hadn’t said a word for the past two hours, just lying there, staring up at the ceiling

“What happened to Noel?” She suddenly asked out of the blue, turning her head to look at Nick.

Nick looked at her and put a hand on her chin. “He’s dead Cass…”

Cass just nodded and turned her head to look up at the ceiling again.

“He was shot by a police officer right after he shot you and another officer.”

Cass didn’t respond.

“I’m so sorry Cass… I should have been there to protect you, but I wasn’t. This is all my fault.”

“No… Nick, don’t say that. You didn’t know this was going to happen… The fact that you’re here right now is all that matters to me.” She whispered, looking at him again.

Nick smiled a little. “You sound like Brian.”

“Well… that’s no surprise I guess.” She said. “I wish things were different though…”

“Hey…” Nick said, kissing her lips softly. “We’ll get through this together.”

A couple of days passed, and Cass was still feeling numb from everything that had happened. She had forced Nick to go home every night to get some sleep. Both because he was exhausted, and because she felt like she needed some time on her own to gather her thoughts. Dealing with the fact that she was paralyzed was hard for her, and she spent every minute of the day – and night, thinking about it. The doctors had ran a lot of tests and found out that if she worked hard enough, she might be able to walk again. There were still a few nerves in her legs that were working, but it would require a lot of effort to get them to function again. Cass wanted to believe that she could do it, but at the time, she felt completely helpless, and even if she tried, she couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

There were also other things taking up space in her mind. The thoughts scared her to death, but she knew she couldn’t reject them. She had thought about it for a few days, and had decided that it was the best thing to do.

As she was thinking about this one morning, Nick entered her room, looking more cheerful that he had in a long time. Cass felt really guilty for having to spoil his mood.

“Hey baby.” Nick said, sitting down next to her.

“Hi.” Cass couldn’t look at him, knowing what she was going to say.  

Nick sensed that something was wrong right away, and looked down at her forcing her to look at him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

Cass took a deep breath, and paused for a moment to gather her thoughts.

“Nick… I think we need to talk.”

Nick shifted in his seat, and frowned.

“Talk? About what?”

“I… umm…” She had to force herself not to look away, “I don’t think we should see each other any more.” She said, tears forming in her eyes.

“What?” Nick looked shocked.

“I’m breaking off the engagement Nick. I can’t be with you.”

Nick sat there stunned for a few seconds. He looked away without saying anything, feeling his heart raze. She couldn’t be serious, could she?

“I’m sorry Nick…” Cass cried, covering her face with her hands.

“Why are you doing this?” He whispered, without looking at her. He knew if he did, he would start to cry.

Cass didn’t answer.

“You don’t mean this Cass. I know you don’t. Please say you don’t…” He was trying to fight back his own tears, but he knew there was no point.

“Cass?” He placed his hand on her arm, but she quickly removed it.

“Please just leave…” She said, trying to sound convincing.

“No,” Nick raised his voice a little to get her attention. This made Cass cry even more. “I’m not leaving until you look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t want me to be here!” He was crying now, but he didn’t know if his tears were out of anger or hurt.

“I want you to leave Nick…” She whispered, looking directly at him.

“I don’t believe you.”

“JUST GO!” She yelled with all the strength she had left.

Their eyes locked for a few seconds, before Nick stood up and walked out of the room. 

Nick entered his house after driving straight home from the hospital. He kicked off his shoes in the hall and walked slowly over to the kitchen. He seemed to be doing everything as if he was in a trance, and he knew that he had been lucky not to hurt himself or someone else when he was driving back from the hospital. It was a sunny day, but he could see only darkness and rain when he looked around.

“FU**!!!!” He yelled as he grabbed a glass on the counter and threw it against the kitchen wall. It shattered into small pieces. Tears were forming in his eyes again, and he leaned his back against the wall to let himself slide down on the floor where he pulled his knees up to his chin and covered his face with his hands.

The next day, Aj was sitting in his living room, once again trying to call Nick. He had tried calling the hospital too, to see if something had happened to Cass, but they could only tell him that Cass was fine and that Nick wasn’t with her.

Aj sighed as he hung up again, still no answer from Nick. He stood up and decided to drive over to his house to see what was going on.

One hour later, he was standing outside Nick’s house, knocking on his door. There was no answer. In a way, he wasn’t even surprised.

The door was unlocked so Aj decided to take the risk and enter the house. Once he was inside, he stopped and looked around. He’d only been there once after Nick had bought it, but the house wasn’t too big, so he knew his way around.

“Nick?” He said, quiet at first. There was no answer.

“NICK!” He yelled a little louder, as he started walking down the hall and into the living area.

No Nick…

“Where is he?” Aj said to himself out loud. He continued to check every room on the first floor before he decided to walk upstairs to check Nick’s bedroom.

Once he was there, he stopped outside the door, no sound coming from the inside. He knocked carefully. “Nick… you in there?”

No answer.

Aj sighed and slowly opened the door to enter the room.

Nick was laying on his bed, fully dressed, his back to Aj. There were empty beer cans lying on the floor, and on his bed next to him.

“Holy Christ…” Aj muttered under his breath as he walked over to Nick’s side of the bed.

He was staring straight into the wall with a blank expression on his face and his eyes were puffy from crying.

“What happened man?” Aj asked concerned. 

“She broke up with me…” Nick whispered without looking up at Aj.

“What?”

“Cass broke up with me…”

Aj looked shocked. “I heard you saying that. Why?”

Nick shrugged. “I don’t know.” He was still looking blankly at the wall.

“Nick, look at me! What did she say?”

No answer.

“Nick, you look like crap.”

“Thanks man…” Nick looked up for the first time.

“Wanna talk about it?”

Nick shook his head. “Not really…”

“Want me to talk to her?”

“I don’t know.”

“Nick, seriously! You can’t just stay like this forever. I’ll drive to the hospital right now and talk to her if you want me to.”

Slowly, Nick nodded his head. “Ok…” He whispered.

Aj took a few steps towards the door. “I’ll come right back here after I’ve talked to her. Then we’ll talk.”

Nick didn’t answer, so Aj just walked out of the room.

Two hours later, he was back. Nick was still lying on the bed, almost in the same position as he had when Aj had left. When Nick heard Aj enter the room again, he sat up, nervous about what his friend had to say.

Aj approached the bed and sat down next to Nick, staring at his friend for a few moments.

“You know, you look worse then she does…” He said.

“Well… she dumped me, not the other way around.”
”No… she has nurses to take care of her, you don’t. She’s as miserable as you are Nick. All I can say is that you have to go and talk to her.”

“She doesn’t want to see me.”

“Yes, she does. She asked me to tell you to come.”

Nick looked up. “She did?” He said, almost out of bed before Aj had time to answer.

“Yes.”

“Will you drive me there?”

“Well, I’d be stupid to let you drive by yourself anywhere right now, so yes.” He answered, refereeing to the empty beer cans in Nick’s room. “And for god’s sake man, brush your teeth…”

“Hi…” She said as he approached her bed.

“Hi.” Nick didn’t know where to look. He wanted to hold her so bad, but he didn’t know what she wanted, or was about to say, so he forced himself not to touch her.

There was silence for a few moments. Nick knew that Cass was trying to figure out what to say. He knew her well, but right at that moment, he had no idea what she was thinking.

“I’m sorry Nick…” She whispered, her voice breaking.

Nick could tell that she was about to cry again. There had been a lot of tears being shed from both of them during the past two days, and Nick didn’t even know if he had any left.

He was about to say something, when Cass stopped him.

“I don’t know why I said what I said the other day… I thought that it would make it easier for both of us if we weren’t together. And I thought that it was just a matter of days until you would break up with me… so I figured I’d do it to save you the time.” She paused and looked at him, tears rolling down her pale cheek.

“Cass… Why would you think that?”

“For god’s sake Nick. LOOK AT ME!” She cried, lifting her arms up only to let them fall helplessly back onto the white sheets. “I’m a freak…. I can’t walk; I can’t do anything on my own anymore.” She was sobbing uncontrollably now as she looked up at him for the first time. Nick could see his own pain in her eyes, and reached out to stroke her chin as she whispered, “I don’t want to be your burden.”  

Nick looked at her, tears filling his eyes. “Oh god… Cass.”

He stood up from the chair and sat down on the side of her bed, pulling her close to him. He stroke her hair gently while she cried into his chest, releasing all the pain that she felt.

“You would never be a burden to me… I don’t care if you can’t walk. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I love you. I can’t believe you would ever think that I was going to leave you because of this.”

“I’m sorry…” She cried again, shaking as Nick held her, rocking her back and forth.

“Promise me you won’t ever scare me like that again.”

She lifted her head, and nodded. “I promise. I love you Nick.”

Nick smiled and wiped away a few of her tears with his thumb. “You still want to marry me?”

Cass laughed a little a nodded.

“Good, cause I’d have a hard time planning a wedding on my own you know…”   

It was one week later, and Cass was on her way home from the hospital. She had been spending the past week meeting with different therapists that was going to help her on her way to recovery, both physical and psychological. Nick had spent every moment by her side, determined to convince her that he was not going to let her disability put a stopper to their relationship. They had talked a lot about what was going to happen when Cass was ready to go home, and they had decided that she was going to move in with Nick. She would need his help with practically everything, and living with him would be a lot easier than having to call him from her own apartment every time she needed to get out of bed. They had also set a date for the wedding. Nick wanted to do it before the group started working on their new album at the beginning of next year, and Cass agreed. It was now June, and they would be getting married in December, on Christmas Day. That would give Cass time to work on her program to get her strength back in her legs, or at least try. The doctor had given her no guarantee, but said that her chances were good.

“I can’t wait to get home…” Cass said anxiously as they were driving to Nick’s place.

“I can’t wait to have you home.” Nick smiled, glancing over at her from the driver seat.

Cass smiled back and placed a hand gently on his thigh.

“It’s gonna be weird though. I mean, I haven’t been there since… you know.” The memories form the night she was shot still haunted her thoughts every hour of the day. She was dreading to see the house for the first time, yet, she also wanted to get it over with so that she could move on.

“It’s gonna be ok Cass. He’s gone now. He can’t hurt you ever again.”

Cass sighed. “I know…”

Half an hour later Nick parked the car in the drive way, and turned the engine off. He looked over at Cass and took her hand.

“Are you gonna be ok?”

She nodded and gave him a small smile. “Yea… I think so.”

“Ok.” He opened the car door. “I’ll help you get out.”

Nick stepped out of the car and walked around it to help Cass.

That was when it struck her. This might be the life she had to live. Nick would have to help her out of the car every time she’d gone somewhere. He would have to carry her up the steps to the front door and inside, up the stair to their bedroom, out of the shower, down to the beach… everywhere. She looked down at her hands as Nick opened the door to the passenger seat to help her. She didn’t want to cry in front of him, she wanted to be strong, but moments like this made it hard to hold back the tears.

“Baby… what’s wrong?” Nick bent down and lifted her face with his hand. “Why are you crying?”
Cass shook her head and sighed. “I just… it’s nothing. Just glad to be home I guess.” She lied. Nick knew immediately that she wasn’t telling the truth, but he didn’t want to make things worse, so he let it go.

“Come on, let’s get you out of this car.” He said as he put one arm around her back and one to support her legs. Cass put her arms around his neck, and slowly, Nick lifted her out of the car.  

Cass looked up at the house, trying not to remember the incident that had happened there two weeks before. She was preparing herself to feel bad, but instead, she had to smile. Nick had installed a ramp that went from the driveway and up to the front door to make it easier for her to get her wheelchair inside.

“Aww, Nick you didn’t have to do that.” She kissed his cheek lightly.

“Of course I did. Only the best for you.” He kissed her back and started walking up the steps to the front door. “I’ll get your wheelchair later.”

Cass nodded and reached over to open the door. As soon as they stepped inside, they were met by cheers and applause. Cass gasped. She looked around the room, seeing a large banner that said “WELCOME HOME CASS!” All the guys and their girlfriends and wives were there and they all rushed over to her as soon as Nick and Cass entered the room.

“Oh… you guys…!” Cass felt like crying again. She was truly touched by how wonderful everyone had been to her ever since the accident and this proved to her that she had some amazing friends. “Did you know about this?” She looked at Nick, smiling.

“I had no idea…” Nick tried to look innocent.

“You’re a terrible liar.” Cass laughed and smacked his chest, as Nick carried her into the living room and sat her down on the couch.    

The party went on for a few hours after that. Everyone was having a good time, and Cass actually felt like she was one of them again, even though she would have loved to walk around, chatting with everybody, instead of sitting in a wheelchair trying not to hit the furniture or one of the guests. Baylee was enjoying sitting on her lap, pushing the wheels as fast as he could while everyone was laughing at Cass’ expression every time he went a little too fast.

Later that night, when everyone had left, Cass and Nick were sitting on the couch watching TV. Cass didn’t pay any attention to the show that was on; instead she let her mind wander again. She had a lot of fun that day, even though she could sense that the others were kinda uncomfortable with the new situation. They tried to treat her like they always had, but she noticed that they were a lot more careful when it came to what they said. Aj had excitedly told everybody how much fun he had had the night before when he and Holly had been out dancing. Cass noticed that Holly had kicked his leg and given him a look that said ‘Shut up! Cass can’t dance anymore, remember…?’, followed by a few seconds of awkward silence, before Baylee had started jumping up and down singing the chorus to Just Want You To Know, making everybody laugh. Cass had to smile. That little guy had saved her night.

“Cass? Cass, baby?”

Cass jerked out of her thoughts and looked over at Nick.

Nick smiled at her. “A penny for your thoughts…”

She laughed.

“What?” Nick asked.

“Nothing… I just remembered something you said one time.”

“What?”

Cass shook her head.

“Aww… come on! Tell me.”

“Ok… you said something like, don’t give me a penny for your thoughts, give me a quarter for your dirty ones ---“

“---so I can buy a condom…” Nick laughed. “I can’t believe I said that…”

Cass smiled and shrugged.

Nick looked at her more serious this time. “But seriously. What were you thinking?”

She sighed. “I don’t know. Just that I had a great time today, and that Baylee saved the night. It would’ve been a lot more awkward if he hadn’t been here…”

Nick nodded. He had noticed too. “He’s a kid, you know. No worries.”

“I wish I could be like that sometimes.”

“I know… But you gotta face reality, you know.”

They fell silent for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts.

“You wanna go to bed?” Nick asked.

Cass hesitated. “I kinda wanted to take a shower… but umm… you know, I’ll need some help, I think.” She almost felt like she was asking him to be her slave or something, and she hated it.

Nick sensed that she felt weird asking him, but he just smiled at her. “I’ll help you over to the bathroom. I wanted to show you something there anyway.” He lifted her up from the couch and walked across the room. They entered the guest bathroom and Cass was surprised by what he had done to it. He had installed a seat in the shower, so that she could sit down and shower on her own. He had moved all her toiletries downstairs and updated the bathroom to adjust her needs.

“Oh Nick… Thank you so much.” Cass suddenly felt like a big weight had been lifted off her shoulders. This meant that she didn’t need as much help as she thought she would need in the first place.

“You welcome!” Nick smiled and kissed her gently. He felt proud of himself for the way he was handling the situation, and he was glad that Cass was taking this so well. He was proud of her too, for not giving up, and for making the best out of the situation, even thought he knew it was very hard for her.

He left Cass alone, and told her that he would be waiting in the living room to help her upstairs once she was done.

As he sat down on the couch again, he had to smile to himself. Despite everything that had happened, it looked like they were going to make it through. Soon, she would be his wife, and there was nothing else he wanted more.  

Four months later.

It was now October, and Nick and Cass’ wedding was getting closer. The months since the accident had been hard for Cass. She was seeing a therapist three times a week to work on her legs, and twice a week, Nick would take spend two hours with her in the pool and do different exercises with her to strengthen her muscles. But still, despite all the hard work, Cass could not feel any changes in her condition. Nick was extremely patient with her, always telling her not to give up and keeping her hopes up and Cass was certain that if Nick hadn’t been there, she would have given up a long time ago.

Cass was now on her way to therapy together with Holly. The guys had gone off to New York for a week to do a charity concert and an appearance on TRL. Nick had almost refused to go, not wanting to leave Cass alone, but she had convinced him that she would be just fine and that Holly would be staying with her to make sure that she got to her appointments. Eventually, he had given in.

The girls walked into the building where Cass was meeting for her appointment. Holly followed Cass over to a door at the end of the hall and they walked in.

“Hey Lauren.” Cass said to her therapist, a woman in her mid thirties as she and Holly entered the room. The room was a like a gym, filled with different equipments that trained different parts of the body. A few other people were in the room, working on a treadmill and lifting weights.

“Hello Cassidy.” She approached the girls.

“This is my friend Holly.” Cass said.

“Hi, how are you?” Holly smiled and shook her hand.

“I’m good, thanks.” Lauren turned to Cass again. “So, Nick got tired of coming here, huh?”

Cass laughed a little. “Nah… he’s in New York this week, doing a charity concert with the group. He’ll be back again next week. You won’t get rid of him that easy.”

“Well, shall we then?” Lauren said, changing the subject and walking over to the machine that Cass was using. It looked like a stretched treadmill, with a lot of different functions so that it could be adjusted to fit Cass’ situation. There was a bar on each side, so that she could support her weight and have something to hold on to.

Before Cass went on the machine, Lauren spent thirty minutes, stretching Cass’ legs and doing different exercises with them.

“Ok, Cassidy. I think you’re ready to get on the machine now.”

Cass nodded and waited for Lauren to get the machine ready for her. She would be wearing a suite that had straps attached to the ceiling so that she could stand up straight. The suite would also support her weight if she wasn’t able to stand on her own.  

Once the suite was on, Lauren stepped back so that Cass could grab the bars and stand up from the wheelchair. This was the easy part. Her arms had gotten very strong after lifting her own weight so many times, so getting up from the chair was done in a few seconds.

“Good.” Lauren said, once Cass was on her feet, struggling not to fall back down.

“Now, remember what we’ve been taking about. Slowly adjust your body weight so that you’re resting it on your legs. Find the balance.”

Cass released the pressure on her arms and tried to shift it on to her legs.

“Come on Cass. You can do it!” Holly said next to her, watching Cass intensely.

Cass felt her legs disappear beneath her, as she fell back and let the suit carry her weight.

“Damn it!” She swore as she realized that she had failed, again.

“That’s ok Cass. Try again.” Lauren said, helping her back to the wheelchair. “Now, focus.”

Cass took a deep breath, as she once again, lifted her body up from the chair. She took a few seconds to find her balance but before she could continue, a sound across the room made her lose focus and she fell back down again.

“Argh…!!!! I almost had it.” She said frustrated, turning her head to see who had made the sound.

“He just dropped on of the manuals on the floor.” Holly said, pointing towards the guy that was lifting weights across at the other end of the room.

“I was so close this time. My balance was perfect. Damn!”

“Try one more time Cass. And this time, if you feel confident that you can do it, try moving your legs. Take a small step. I know you haven’t done it before, just try.”

Cass nodded and took a few moments to focus and catch her breath. She put her hands on the bars again, and lifted herself up. She found her balance almost right away and little by little, she could feel her legs taking over and supporting her body.

“Good Cassidy.” Lauren said, as she saw that Cass was standing straight up without much support from her arms. 

“Come on Cass!” Holly didn’t exactly know what Cass was supposed to be doing, or what it was supposed to look like, but as long as Cass didn’t fall, she guessed it was a good thing.

Cass suddenly felt very confident in what she was doing, and as if someone was telling her exactly how to do it, she shifted her weight on to her left leg, and pushed her right one forwards.

“YES!” Lauren shouted excitedly as Cass pushed her other leg forward, shifting her weight over to her right leg.

“ONE MORE TIME CASS!”

With all the strength she had left, she took one small step before she fell back and let the suite support the weight of her body.

“YES!” Lauren rushed over to her and gave Cass a hug.

“Oh my god, Cass! You walked!” Holly was nearly on the verge of tears as she too gave her a hug.

“I did it!” Cass said, not knowing if she wanted to laugh or cry.

“Let me help you back to you chair.” Lauren grabbed Cass’ arm and helped her sit down.

“I can’t believe you walked.” Holly was even more excited than Cass.

Cass wasn’t even sure if she realized what had just happened. 

“I think that’s enough for today Cassidy.” Lauren smiled. “You should go home and get some rest now.”
Cass shook her head. “Rest? We’re going out shopping for a wedding gown. I can’t rest now anyways. I’m way too excited. I gotta call Nick! Thanks Lauren.”

Holly laughed and followed Cass out of the room. Cass immediately pulled out her phone and dialled Nick’s number.

“Hey baby.” He answered cheerfully.

“Nick, I did it!!!”

“Did what?”

“I WALKED!”

There was a few seconds of silence.

“Are you serious?”

She could picture him smiling at the other end of the line “YES!”

“Oh my god, Cass. That is great!”

Cass laughed. “I know! I mean, it was only like a few feet, but I did it all by myself. No help from Holly or Lauren or anyone. I just lifted myself up from the chair, held on to the bars and moved my feet. It was as if someone just told me how to do it.”

“I’m so proud of you Cass! I wish I could’ve been there with you to see it…” He sounded almost sad that he wasn’t able to be there.

“It’s ok Nick. I’ll show you once you get home in a few days.”

“I can’t wait!”

“Me neither. Listen, I gotta go. We’re going shopping for a wedding gown.”

“Ok. Have fun. Find something nice for me.”

“I will.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

The girls made their way out to the car and drove away to go and do some serious shopping.

Three hours and four bridal shops later, they still hadn’t found anything that they liked.

“How about that one?” Holly pointed towards a shop on a street corner as they were driving past. Cass turned her head to look at it.

“Vera Wang? No way!”

“Why not?”

“Do you know how much those dresses cost?”

Holly rolled her eyes. “Didn’t Nick tell you not to worry about the cost of the wedding? I thought he gave you his credit card.”

Cass sighed. “Well… he did. But I’m not gonna spend that much money on a wedding gown.”

“Cass…” Holly pulled over and parked the car, turning her head to face Cass. “Honestly. Do you think Nick would care how much you spend on the dress? Because I think that all he wants is for you to be happy, and look your best. It’s the most important day of your life Cass. You’re supposed to sweep him off his feet. Make him speechless. Drool… or whatever.”

Cass looked at Holly for a few sec before she answered.

“Ok.” She simply said.

“Ok? You’re not gonna argue with me? Come on… you’re no fun.”

Cass laughed. “No, you’re right. It is the most important day of my life. And I really wanna make him speechless, or as you so nicely said it… drool.”

Holly laughed. “Alright! Let’s go!”

She helped Cass out of the car and together, they crossed the street and entered the bridal shop.

One hour later they had found the perfect dress. The sales lady in the shop had been extremely helpful and patient. It was hard for Cass to try on the dresses, and she needed support and a lot of time to get it right. The dress she found was only a basis gown, but that way, Cass was able to get it customized and personalized to make it just the way she wanted it. They took her measures, and draw a sketch of what it was going to look like once it was done. It was an elegant strapless A-Line satin gown. It had a floor length skirt with semi cathedral train with built in crinoline and hand beaded bodice and skirt inset with sequin, clear and pearl beads.

Holly was almost even more excited than Cass when she what the gown would look like.

“Oh my god, Cass. Not only is Nick going to drool once he sees you in that gown, he’ll need a bucket to collect the water dripping out of his mouth so that he won’t be standing in a pond once you reach him.”

Cass laughed. “It is kinda nice…”

“Kinda nice? It’s gorgeous.”

“I just hope I’ll be able to walk down the aisle. That would make him even more speechless.”

“You will Cass.” Holly said, placing a hand on Cass’ shoulder.

Cass sighed. “God, I hope so…”

“I’m home!” Nick shouted as he stepped through the front door and into his house.

“In the kitchen.” Cass replied.

Nick smiled. He had only been gone for a week, but he had missed her terribly every minute of the day. When she had called to tell him that she had walked by herself, he felt so guilty for not being there beside her, and he swore that he would never leave her like that again.

He walked into the kitchen and walked straight over to Cass who was sitting by the table, reading a magazine.

“Hey baby!” She greeted him.

“Hey!”

Nick bent down and kissed her gently before he sat down next to her.

“Missed me?” She smiled.

“You have no idea.” He leaned over and kissed her again.

“Well, you’re just on time. I have an appointment with Lauren in one hour. You’ll come, right?”

Nick nodded, and grabbed her hand. “Of course I’ll come. I believe you have something to show me?” He grinned. “I’ll just take a quick shower, and we’ll leave.”

“Ok.”

Nick stood up and started making his way out of the room.

“Nick?”

He turned around.

“I missed you too.” Cass smiled.

“Ok, Cass. Are you ready to do this again?” Lauren asked, as Cass was ready to start her session.

Cass nodded and looked over at Nick who smiled reassuringly back at her.

“Now, don’t get your hopes up Cass.” Lauren continued. “I know you showed a lot of progress last time you were here, but that doesn’t mean that it will happen straight away again. Things like this take time. So be patient, ok?”

Cass nodded again. “I know I can do it Lauren. Last time… it was as if someone was talking to me, telling me how to do this, and I haven’t forgotten those words.”

Lauren smiled. “Good. Whenever you are ready, Cass.”

Cass took a few seconds to focus before she grabbed the bar in front of her and pulled herself out of the wheelchair.

“Good, now find your balance.” Lauren said.

Nick was holding his breath, watching every move that Cass made. He knew that she was really eager to show him that she could do it, but at the same time, he didn’t want to get his hopes up.

He watched her struggle to find her balance, but only seconds after she had stood up from the chair, she fell back, letting the suit she was wearing catch her fall. He could instantly see the disappointed look on her face, as he stood up from where he was sitting and walked over to stand next to her.

“D*amn it.” Cass said to herself.

Nick grabbed her hand and kissed it gently.

“You’re doing great Cass.”

“Try one more time.” Lauren said, helping Cass back in her chair, ready for another try.

Cass took a deep breath, and prepared herself to stand up again. Once she was on her feet, she took a few seconds to find her balance, and once she felt she had it, she carefully tried to let her legs carry her weight.

“Yes!” She could hear Nick whisper under his breath, as she struggled to focus on moving her legs. She knew perfectly well how to do it, but nothing happened once she tried.

“Come on Cass.” Nick said to her.

“I can’t…” She whispered.

“Yes you can!”

“No, they won’t move. I don’t know how.” She was on the verge of tears as she realized that she couldn’t do it. She felt her legs shaking from supporting her weight, and before she could react, she felt her body once again fall back.

After one hour, she still hadn’t shown any sign of progress. Every time she tried, and failed, hope drained out of her, and she got more and more frustrated.

Nick watched her, and wished there was anything he could say or do, but he knew it was all up to her. He could only be there to support her, and right now, that didn’t help.

Cass was quiet all the way home from her session, but once they got back to their house and she lay down on the couch, she broke down into sobs. Nick lied down next to her, and put his arms around her.

“I just wanted to show you that I could do it…” She cried.

Nick stroked her hair. “I know you can do it Cass. Just give it time. You’ll get another chance in a few days.”

“I don’t know if I can do this anymore Nick. I’ve tried so hard, for so long, and no matter how hard I try, I just can’t do it.”

“Don’t say that baby. You’re not a quitter. I’m not marrying a quitter, am I?”

Cass sighed. “No…” She whispered.

Nick smiled and kissed her lips gently. “Good, cause I know you aren’t.”

The next two months passed quickly. It was now only one week until the wedding, and Cass was so into the wedding preparations that she didn’t have the time for anything else besides that, and going to therapy. During the past two months, she had shown some progress in the recovery. She had walked a few times, but only small steps, and only for a few seconds. Nick had been ecstatic when he had seen her take the first few steps. He was so proud of the progress that she was making, and he always found ways of telling her how impressed he was on how she was handling her situation. Cass on the other hand, was very disappointed in herself, although she didn’t tell Nick. She wanted more than anything to be able to walk down the aisle on her wedding day, but as they got closer to the wedding, she realized that there was no way she would be able to do that.

She wanted to talk to Nick about it, but she didn’t want to sound like that was all she cared about. She knew that the most important thing was that she was marrying the man she loved, and nothing could take away that feeling of happiness.

On their wedding day, Holly would be Cass’ maid of honour; Brian would be Nick’s best man, Kevin and Howie would be the groomsmen, Leighann and Kristin the bridesmaids, and Baylee was going to be the carrying the rings. Cass had asked Aj a few weeks before if he would like to walk her, or as she said, push her, down the aisle. He had gladly told her that he would be honoured to.

Cass spent the night before the wedding at Holly and Aj’s place after convincing Nick that it was bad luck to spend the night before the wedding together.

“I can’t believe I’m getting married tomorrow…” Cass said, as she and Holly was getting ready to go to bed.

“Are you nervous?”

“Hell yea!”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Cass shook her head. “I don’t think so. I mean, I’m nervous in a good way. I’m marrying Nick Carter. That alone would make any girls heart burst.”

Holly laughed. “I overheard a conversation he had with Aj a few days ago, you know.”
Cass frowned and looked at her suspiciously. “Were you eavesdropping?” 

“Me? No way…? Ok, maybe a little. But I mean, they were talking really loud, and I just happened to be in the room next door, accidentally pushing my ear against the door…”

Cass laughed. “You’re such lurker.”

“Lurker? Is that even a word?”

“I don’t know…”

Holly laughed. “But anyways, Nick was telling Aj that he was really nervous about marrying you, because he didn’t want to disappoint you. He said that he wants to make you as happy as you’re making him, and that he’s never felt this way about anyone before.”

Cass smiled. “He said that? That’s like hearing my own thoughts. It’s exactly how I feel.”

“Well, it’s good to know you think alike.” Holly helped Cass get into bed, and sat down next to her. “You’re too perfect for each other.” She smiled.

“And tomorrow at around this time, I’ll be Mrs. Carter.”

“Cassidy Carter.” Holly said. “It does have a ring to it.”

Cass laughed. “Yea, I like it. Good night Hol.”

“Night Cass.”  

“Nick, calm down!” Brian said, looking at Nick who was pacing back and forth in one of the rooms inside the church.

“What if she doesn’t show up? What if she doesn’t want to get married?”

Brian sighed. “Nickolas, honestly. Do you really think she doesn’t want to get married?”

Nick stopped for a few seconds and looked at his friend.

“No?” He asked.

“No? You’re not supposed to answer a question with another one Nick. You want me to call Leighann and see how they’re doing?”

Nick shook his head. “No, it’s ok. You’re right. She loves me. She wants to marry me, if not, she would’ve told me. Wouldn’t she?”

“Nick, you love her, right?”

“More than anything.”

“Then trust that, and trust that she feels the same way. I know she does.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the priest walking into the room.

“Are you ready?” He smiled, looking over at Nick.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Oh, Cass. I can’t believe you’re getting married.” Leighann said with tears in her eyes.

“I can’t believe Nick’s getting married.” Aj laughed as they all lined up and got ready to walk into the church.

“Baylee, get over here.” Leighann called after her son. He ran over to her and she bent down to straighten his tie and give him the pillow where the rings were carefully placed.

“You remember what to do, right?”

Baylee nodded.

“Just walk down the aisle and over to daddy.” Leighann reminded him as the music started playing. “Go!” She whispered, giving him a push. Baylee walked away, and Leighann stood up, standing next to Howie.

“Good luck.” She turned around and whispered to Cass as the rest of them walked into the church, leaving Aj and Cass alone for a few minutes.

“So, you ready?” Aj asked, positioning himself behind her wheelchair.

Cass sighed “You know, the moment that I met Nick, I knew that we would end up together. I mean, who would spend a week in a hospital next to a person you don’t know? How did I get so lucky Aj? ”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Aj smiled.

“So, how do I look?”

“You look beautiful Cass.”

Cass smiled back at him, tears forming in her eyes as the church went quiet and the organ started playing Air by Bach.

“Here we go.” Aj said, pushing her towards the door.

“Wait!”

Nick was standing by the altar, listening to the organ playing and waiting for the doors to open.

“What’s taking her so long?” He whispered to Brian who was standing next to him.

“She’s probably just nervous.”

Nick rested his eyes on the doors. Anytime now… he thought to himself. Anytime now.

He was just about to turn to Brian again, when the doors opened. He straightened himself up, and took a deep breath.

Cass was walking towards him, Aj supporting her weight as she slowly made her way up the aisle.

“Oh my god.” Nick whispered under his breath. He could hear people around him gasping as they all watched Cass walk down the aisle, a proud Aj by her side.

Nick looked at her, tears in his eyes as he realized that she was moving her legs on her own. She looked back at him, and their eyes locked.

“I love you.” He mouthed.

“I love you too.” She smiled back at him.

Cass felt as if she was floating down the aisle. The moment she saw Nick and their eyes met, she knew that there was nothing she couldn’t do when he was there to support her. Step by step, she moved closer towards him. The moment she reached him, she knew that they could conquer anything together.

Step by step.