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.