Chapter 28

Connecticut

Maria woke up and shivered. She opened her eyes and noticed that Jacob had pulled all of the covers, blanket included, onto himself. She reached over and yanked the covers back over herself. Jacob woke up and yawned.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I’m freezing. You stole the covers," Maria replied. Jacob moved over, closer to Maria, wrapping his arms around her. "You’re so warm," she said softly and sighed. She ran her hands over his bare chest. Jacob smiled and leaned in to kiss her lightly. Somehow, in a matter of seconds, his kiss turned passionate. Maria moaned as Jacob’s mouth devoured hers. His hands reached down and started to slide her nightshirt up her body. "I want you, Jacob," Maria whispered as his lips moved to her neck.

"I want you, too," Jacob said, returning to her warm, wet mouth.

"Maria? Are you up?" Caroline’s voice was like having a bucket of cold water dumped on them. Jacob slid away from Maria so quickly he almost fell out of the bed. Maria reached under the covers and pushed her nightshirt down.

"Yeah, Mom," she said. The door opened and Caroline walked in. She didn’t look happy to see them in bed together, but she kept her mouth shut---for once.

"The limousine service is on the phone. They want to let you know what time they’ll be arriving to take you to the airport," Caroline told her. Maria nodded.

"Thanks. I’ll be right there," she said. Caroline nodded, frowned at them and left, closing the door behind her. Once she was gone, Maria hit Jacob on the arm.

"What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his arm.

"That’s for getting me all worked up knowing that we can’t do anything here," she answered as she slid out of the bed and pulled on her robe.

"How about a rain check? For when we get home," Jacob said. Maria walked over to his side of the bed, pulled him to her, kissed him hard on the mouth and let him go. She smiled as she left the room to take the phone call. Jacob sighed and lay back down. He couldn’t help but wish that Maria wasn’t pregnant. He liked the way things were now between them. He was scared that the baby would have a negative impact on their relationship, but he had to stop thinking that way. ‘We love each other and we’re going to love our baby. Nothing will change how we feel about one another,’ Jacob told himself, hoping that it was the truth.

Orlando

Dan quietly let himself into Erik’s bedroom. It was early enough so that the cameras weren’t taping yet. Dan closed the door and noticed Alex sleeping beside Erik in his bed. She was still wearing the same jeans and Maria’s tee shirt from last night. It had been quite a night.

They had gone to the emergency clinic and Kristi had taken over the minute they had gotten there. Dan and Alex had had to stay in the waiting room while Erik was checked out. When everything had been done, Erik had ended up with seven stitches in the front of his shoulder and seven stitches in the back to close up the bullet hole. The bleeding had pretty much stopped by the time they had arrived at the clinic, so Kristi had assured them that no major arteries had been damaged. Erik had also regained consciousness and had walked out of the clinic himself. He now had a bandaged right shoulder and was told to wear a sling to keep it still until the stitches were to be removed, which could be as soon as a week.

Dan was worried about Alex. She appeared to be very upset, with good reason. In a shocked, detached manner, she had told Dan everything that had happened. Her brother was dead and Erik had been shot. She should be upset. She hadn’t said much after that, but Dan figured she just wanted to make sure that Erik was okay.

Erik’s eyes opened and he groaned slightly. Dan looked down at him. His color had improved. He had looked pale due to the blood he had lost, but now his color was much better. "Erik, man, how are you feeling?" Dan asked softly.

"Like I’ve been shot," he said, his voice scratchy and still weak. "Are the Mikes here yet?" Dan shook his head.

"No, not yet. They will be, though. What are we gonna tell them?" Erik thought for a minute. He turned his head to look at Alex. She had dark circles under her eyes, her hair was a mess and there was blood on her arms. He frowned.

"Um…we can say that I fell and dislocated my shoulder," he said. Dan frowned.

"Yeah, but you don’t need stitches for a dislocated shoulder. How do we explain that?" he asked.

"It’s covered. They don’t have to know about the stitches," Erik replied, testily.

"Okay, chill. Fine, you dislocated your shoulder," Dan said, putting his hands up in a defensive position.

"I’m sorry, Dan. It’s just, I’m really worried about her," Erik said, looking again at Alex. "She shot a guy." Dan was shocked.

"I didn’t know that," he said. "She just told me that Carlos was dead and that you had been shot."

"Yeah, she killed the guy who shot me. She just shot him. I was kinda out of it, but I saw her aim the gun and fire," Erik told him, remembering how calm and steady Alex had been when she had fired the gun. He wouldn’t have even known how to aim the damn thing.

"She’s been through hell," Dan remarked. Erik nodded and winced as a sudden pain gripped his arm. "I’ll get you your medication." Dan left to go into the bathroom to get Erik’s pain medication and antibiotics that had been prescribed to him.

Erik closed his eyes and fell back to sleep before Dan even returned with his medication.

New York

Maria settled into her big comfortable seat. She was so used to traveling first class now, she wouldn’t be happy with anything less. Jacob finished putting his bag in the overhead compartment and sat down beside her. He put on his seatbelt and took her hand.

"You ready?" he asked.

"No," she answered truthfully. "Will you be shocked if I tell you that I’d much rather face my mother and yours together than face the Mikes, the press, your fans and anyone else that will likely have an opinion on our situation?"

"Don’t let what anyone says bother you. Or try not to, anyway," Jacob told her.

"You do the same, then. Your temper is shorter than mine. I don’t want you going off on anyone who happens to look at you wrong," Maria said. Jacob sighed and nodded.

"I’ll do what I have to in order to defend you, though," he told her. Maria smiled.

"I know, but you have to be careful and know when to just say ‘no comment’ as opposed to yelling and shouting, got it?"

"Yeah, I understand," Jacob said. Maria leaned over and kissed him. The ‘fasten seatbelt’ sign lit up and Maria looked out the small window to her left. She thought about when they had left her mother’s house. Her mother had been strangely cordial to them. She had even hugged Maria and told her to take care of herself. Maria didn’t understand it, but she didn’t question it either. Maybe her mother was coming around and realizing that she wanted to be a mother to her, although she was twenty-two years late. But how did that explain the day before? The things she had said hadn’t exactly been ‘motherly.’

"Jacob?"

"What."

"You have to call your mom and make things right," Maria said. Jacob turned to her and frowned.

"Why?"

"Because you two are close, that’s why. I refuse to come between you. I feel guilty and I don’t like that feeling. My mom is different. We’ve grown apart and Mom never got over the fact that I moved. She felt like I abandoned her. We’re estranged and have been for a while. You and your mom are close. Yes, you disappointed her, but the way that you left things with her…the anger and the resentment---it isn’t right and I feel like I’ve caused it. Hell, I have caused it. I won’t be satisfied until you talk to her and work things out."

"What if she can’t accept the fact that you’re going to have a baby?" Jacob asked. "Am I supposed to say, ‘Oh, okay, Mom, you’re right. Maria’s a slut who’s trying to trap me with a child. She’s having my bastard kid, so I’ll kick her to the curb and forget about her?" Maria felt a tear slide down her cheek.

"No, I don’t think you’d do that, but you love your mother…"

"And I love you," Jacob interrupted.

"I know, but you need your mom," Maria said. Jacob turned and pulled Maria around so that she was looking at him.

"I refuse to choose between you two," he said.

"Isn’t that what you’ve done?" Maria asked, softly. Jacob sighed.

"In a way, I suppose. I know my mom, though. She reacted without thinking. Just like your mom did. My mom just needs time to think about it. She loves me and she would never turn her back on her grandchild. Just give her time and she’ll come around," he told her.

"She said some hurtful things," Maria said as more tears slid down her cheeks. Jacob wiped her tears with his thumbs. Her watery, greenish-blue eyes looked into his blue ones.

"She was upset. We all say things we don’t mean when we’re upset. She’s probably feeling very sorry by now. Mom knows that I love you. Believe me, she’ll support us eventually," Jacob tried to reassure her. Maria swallowed hard and nodded. Jacob leaned over and kissed her cheek, which was salty from her tears. Over Jacob’s shoulder, Maria noticed an older woman looking at her, sympathetically. Maria quickly wiped her tears. She didn’t want pity. She didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for her. She had gotten herself into this mess. It was her fault. And she was paying for her mistake. She looked out the window again. She tried to keep telling herself that everything would be fine. She so desperately wanted to believe that. Maria sighed. Now, it was time to go home and face the music.

Orlando

The Mikes entered O-Town’s house. It was way too quiet. "Where the hell is everyone?" Mike C. asked.

"Hello!" Mike M. shouted. "Are you guys up? We have to have a meeting!"

Dan came running down the stairs. He didn’t look happy. ‘Now what?’ Mike M. thought. Dan stopped in front of them and looked unsure of what to say. "Yes, Dan?" Mike M. asked.

"Uh, well, something kinda happened last night," he said. The Mikes looked at each other and sighed.

"What ‘kinda’ happened?" Mike C. asked. He was trying so hard to be patient and understanding, but the guys were driving him crazy.

"Well, um, Erik was playing basketball and he, uh, well…"

"Spit it out!" Mike M. yelled. Dan jumped.

"He fell and dislocated his shoulder," he said.

"Should we just cancel the tour now?" Mike M. asked, shaking his head in disgust.

"How bad is it?" Mike C. asked Dan, ignoring Mike M.’s question.

"It’s not that bad, really. Kristi was here and she took care of it. She said that it should be feeling better in a week," Dan answered.

"Well, a week’s not that bad," Mike M. remarked as he went to the long table to put his stuff down. "Now, get the rest of the guys. We need to have a short meeting." Dan nodded and left the room.

"Man, Dan and Ashley are gonna be the only ones who are going to be able to dance…and Jacob, if he practices the routines that is," Mike C. commented.

"If he’s back, that is," Mike M. mumbled.

Fifteen minutes later, the guys entered the room, Trevor limping, Erik walking slowly, holding his arm to keep his shoulder immobile.

"The walking wounded have arrived," Mike M. announced. "Dan, Ashley, don’t do anything remotely athletic before the tour, understand?" Dan had informed Trevor and Ashley of the reason that he had given for Erik’s bad shoulder and they had agreed to go along with it. They had to. They couldn’t very well say that Erik had been shot.

After everyone had been seated, Mike M. looked at them. "We are getting complaints that you guys are constantly turning off your body mics and ruining camera shots. Now, we know that we told you to keep certain ‘issues’ quiet, but constantly turning off the mics and ruining camera shots was never part of our arrangement with MTV. They’re getting pissed and it has to stop," he said, sternly.

"We understand that there are things you don’t want filmed, but the agreements and contracts that you signed in conjunction with the show state that unless special permission is granted that you not be filmed, everything else is up for grabs. You can’t be picking and choosing what you want taped unless you speak to either Mike or myself first," Mike C. added.

"Then why does Jacob get special treatment? Why didn’t a camera follow him?" Erik asked.

"We will speak with Jacob privately when he gets back," Mike M. told him. "Speaking of which, MTV was kind enough to inform me that a special news announcement is going to be made during TRL today. They’re saying it concerns O-Town, but we all know what it’s about."

"I wonder if they’ll be back by then," Ashley said. He had his arms crossed and his head down on his arms. He planned on supporting Jacob and Maria. He figured they must be going through hell right now. They needed someone on their side and he was going to make sure that he helped them as much as he possibly could.

"I don’t know. Has Jacob called? No. So, who knows?" Mike M. said. He was pissed. Ashley wished that everything was the way it had been before…without all of the fighting and bad moods. He hoped that Jacob could keep his cool when he got home.

A scream made them all jump. Erik stood up, wincing when his shoulder moved. He ran to the stairs as quickly as he could, Dan fast on his heels.

"What was that?" Mike M. asked.

"Alex," Trevor answered, but didn’t elaborate. He just said, "She must’ve had a nightmare."

Alex was sitting up in Erik’s bed, shivering, tears falling from her eyes. Erik and Dan ran into the room.

"Alex?" Erik went over to her and pulled her into a hug with his good arm. "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

"Carlos…" Alex started sobbing. Erik cursed. He couldn’t hold her like he wanted to. He motioned for Dan to come over. Dan sat on the bed and pulled Alex into a hug. Alex clung to him as Erik rubbed her back comfortingly.

Ashley then came into the room. "Excuse me, guys. Mike wanted me to inform you that we have vocal rehearsal with Doc in an hour and then a meeting with Andrew to discuss the tour schedule later tonight," he told them.

"Thanks," Dan said. Ashley nodded.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

"She will be," Erik replied. Ashley left, closing the door behind him. Alex had quieted some, but she still clung to Dan’s shirt. "Man, what do I do?" Erik asked. Dan shrugged.

"Just be here for her," he answered. Erik stood up.

"I’ll be right back," he said and quickly left the room. Alex had settled against Dan. She was crying softly, but not uncontrollably anymore. Dan just sat there holding her.

Erik returned to the room a couple of minutes later. Dan looked at him questioningly. "Where’d you go?"

"I called Miguel. He’s coming," Erik answered. Dan nodded. Alex had fallen into a restless sleep---against him, so he couldn’t move. Dan didn’t mind, though. He liked Alex and thought of her like a sister. It was awful what had happened. Dan hoped that she’d be okay.

Five minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Erik got up to open the door. Trevor stood there with Miguel, who looked upset. "How is she?" he asked, as he came into the room. Trevor stood in the doorway.

"Not good," Erik replied. Miguel nodded at Dan and shook Alex lightly.

"Al? Alex? Wake up," Miguel said. Alex opened her eyes, saw Miguel and reached over to hug him tightly. Miguel held his sister; his eyes burning with unshed tears. "It’s okay," he said, softly.

"We’ve got to leave in a little while," Erik said, apologetically.

"That’s okay. I’ll take her home with me," Miguel told him. He managed to get Alex to stand. She still hung onto him for support. Erik went over and touched her face gently. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying.

"I’ll see you soon," he said. Alex let go of Miguel and turned to Erik.

"Thank you. You could’ve died for me. I will never forget that. I love you," Alex said, tears falling from her eyes once again. Erik leaned forward and kissed her gently. Alex clung to him, careful not to hurt his shoulder. They separated and Miguel put his arm around her.

"I won’t forget it either," he said, awkwardly shaking Erik’s left hand. Erik nodded. Trevor led the way to the door to show them out. Erik sat down on his bed and covered his face with his hand. Dan sat beside him and put his arm around him. Ashley reappeared and sat on Erik’s other side.

"Dude, you could’ve been killed last night," he said. Erik sighed.

"I would’ve died for her, guys. I love her," he said.

"She’s gonna need you---especially now," Ashley remarked. Erik nodded.

"If she still wants to come on the tour, then I’ll do my best to be there for her," he said. "I don’t want her out of my sight for very long." The others didn’t realize that there had been two men at the apartment that night---and the other one had gotten away. He was still out there somewhere, which meant that Alex was still in danger.

Later that day

The guys got home from rehearsal in time to see TRL. The Mikes had made sure of it. No one knew what time Jacob would be returning, but he was obviously going to miss the show and the big ‘announcement.’

They all sat in the sitting room watching their big screen TV. The Mikes were at the table behind them, but they could still see and hear the TV. Erik was half asleep; Trevor had his ankle resting on the coffee table; Ashley was the only one interested in the show; Dan was spacing out, his head resting against the back of the couch. He leaned forward when the part of the show that they wanted to see came on. Ashley picked up the remote and turned up the volume.

"And now we turn the show over to John Norris with some music news. John, what up, man?" Carson Daly said, introducing the ‘news’ man.

"Thank you, Carson. I’m okay. It’s a little cold here in New York, though," John said.

"It’s January, man, it’s supposed to be cold," Carson said. John nodded, smiling. "What do you got for us?" Carson then asked, thankfully putting an end to their painful banter. John turned to the camera.