"Thanks for letting me come over." Nick sat on the Cassie's couch, feeling a bit uncomfortable and out of place. It had been a month since the whole incident had happened and he hadn't seen her since. He thought that a little time for them to cool off was in order. He was now ready to talk to her one on one, settle things between them finally. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been doing really well this last week. I was only in physical pain for the first few days." Nick's heart almost broke as he heard his friend recall on those days that she was alone and in pain.

"Cee, I'm so sorry." He shook his head, which was hung low in shame. "I know it was up to the both of us, but I feel so much of the blame. You would've most likely had the baby had I not opened my mouth and said no."

"Yeah, I would've had the baby and the baby would've had a Father that wasn't quite sure whether he wanted him or not. That wouldn't have been fair either."

"I know what you're saying makes sense, but it doesn't make any of this easier."

She noticed his stiff posture and grabbed a wine cooler from the fridge. "Here, have something to drink."

"Cee, you know I don't usually drink that stuff unless I'm at promo parties."

"I know, but you look like you could ease up a little." He nodded slightly, knowing she was right, and took the bottle from her hand. "So, have you been keeping yourself busy?"

"I kinda have. Aaron flew in for a week and we worked on some material." He took a swig of the drink and swallowed hard, not quite used to the taste of alcohol. "He seems to be swinging into high gear without my help."

"Hey, he would've never gotten into the business without you. So if you think about it, you've helped him every step of the way." She too took a sip of her own wine cooler.

He simply moved his head, agreeing with her but wanting to get onto a different topic. "Cassie, now that we're alone and talking after this time apart, there’s something I wanna talk about."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I knew you would want to. There was no way I could stop that one."

"Don't you wonder sometimes? Don't you wonder what it would've looked like? Don't you wonder if it would've had my voice and your keen sense of fashion?"

"No, Nick, I try not to think about those things. It's sometimes not thinking about those things that help me get through the day."

"I wonder. I wonder if it would've had my tummy. I wonder if it would've had your eyes. I wonder if it would've been just as fucking uncoordinated as me."

Cassie looked at his bottle, noticing that it was almost empty. "Nick, let me take that for you," she said quietly.

He swallowed the remaining contents and handed it over, feeling himself turning into the Nick that he rarely let anyone see. He watched as she walked out of the room and found his mind clouded with thoughts. "You don't know what you've got til it's gone."

"What was that?" Cassie asked as she came back from the kitchen. "I didn't hear what you said."

He looked at her sadly, seeing the sweetest girl in the world he had ever known and realizing he had screwed things up beyond belief. "How can I make you forgive me?"

"Nick, there's nothing to forgive anymore. The decision was made and we followed through. Nothing can be taken back and changed. We've made our fate."

He moved slowly off the couch and knelt in front of her as she sat on the chair. "Where does your strength come from? How is it that you can be so fucking calm?" he managed to choke out through his tears.

She had no clue who this person was. Nick could be sweet and understanding, but this was completely out of his character. "Maybe you should lie down in the guest room. You look so tired." She couldn't stop herself from touching his face, wiping the tears off his cheeks.

"I am tired," he sighed as he laid his head on her lap. "I'm so tired of being alone and unwanted. I'm tired of being Nick Carter."

She was feeling physical pain once again as she heard him silently cry out in agony. "Nick, our lives have become so jumbled up and confused. What's our friendship even about anymore?"

"It's about me being there for you no matter how tough things get and vise versa. It's about me loving you and you loving me."

She couldn't control herself anymore. His eyes showed too much hurt and his tears were falling too fast. Without giving anymore thought to it, she leaned over and captured his trembling lips with a kiss that ignited a blaze.