Just as Nick and Elle walked through the door to Kevin's hotel room, hand in hand, Brian waved them over to where he and Howie were talking.
"Hi you two. Elle, you look wonderful. How are you doing?" Brian asked, looking at Elle.
"I am amazed at how much I miss Carrie and how mean I am being to certain people because of it," Elle answered giving Nick an apologetic look. In turn, Nick squeezed Elle's hand.
"That's understandable Elle. I know that Kevin went through the same kinds of things when his dad died. Maybe you should talk to him," Brian suggested.
"I might just have to do that," Elle said. "Hey Howie, what's this I hear about you and Kevin cooking Christmas dinner. It smells wonderful. How did things work out?" Elle asked as she motioned over to Kevin stirring the contents in several pots."
"Acctually, Kevin kinda took over the whole thing about an hour ago," Howie said with a laugh. "But hey, I tried."
"I don't care how modest you are going to act. I am looking forward to your dinner." Elle said smiling.
"Thanks Elle," Howie said. "By the way, did you ever get to see the interview on MTV?"
"Nope, I never got around to it." Elle frowned.
"Let me be the first to tell you that you did a great job. I think that out of all the people that have interviewed us, you did the best job."
"I will have to agree with Howie," Nick said, wholeheartedly.
"Thank you Howie and thanks Nick." Elle glanced over to Nick who was staring at her with a look of worry on his face.
To Nick, Elle seemed composed about Carrie's death, but he knew that on the inside, Elle was crying. "How could I have pressured Elle to come with me to this?" Nick asked himself. Nick's thoughts came to an abrupt end when Brian told him that he needed to talk to him.
Once alone, Brian asked, "Have you told Elle yet?"
"No," Nick sighed. "For some reason, I just can't do it."
"Come on Nick," Brian pleaded. "Elle has been through so much. You have to tell her that we are leaving tomorrow. Look at you. You walk in here holding her hand, staring at her like you are madly in love with her, never realizing that you can't get romantically attached to this girl. It would just be too hard."
"On who, me or her?"
"Both of you. I might be going out on a limb here, but you really like Elle, don't you?" Brian questioned.
Nick felt his face turn red. He knew that he liked Elle. He just didn't think that anyone else had caught on yet.
Elle watched as Nick and Brian's conversation became more and more heated. Sighing, she decided to go talk to Kevin who was just finishing the Christmas dinner.
"Hey Kevin, can we talk?" she asked.
"Sure, but only if you will help me for just a second."
"Anything," Elle answered.
"Slice this," Kevin said desperately as he handed Elle a loaf of French bread and a bread knife.
Elle took the loaf of bread and started cutting it into slices as she began talking. "I think that I need some advice on how to heal from Carrie's murder."
For the rest of the time that it took to prepare dinner, Kevin talked Elle through things that she should know about death, his own personal experiences, and methods she could use to heal.
On the ride home from the party, Elle was feeling a little better. Kevin had really helped her. Elle glanced over at Nick who was busy watching the traffic go by as they stopped at an intercection at 34th and Monroe. Suddenly, the pair began talking at once.
"You first," Elle said with a smile.
"Elle...I, uh, need to tell you something." Nick studdered.
"Okay," Elle started. "What do you need to tell me?"
"Tomorrow, I have to go back to Florida with the guys and to begin organizing for the third album," Nick said as quickly as he could.
"Oh," Elle said, a little disappointed, "I actually heard something about that at the party, but I wasn't sure."
The blare of a car horn stopped the conversation. The light had turned green and Nick's Durango had been sitting at the light for almost a minute. Elle could feel her heart sink into her stomach as the car continued down Monroe towards the hotel that Elle was staying at. Moments later, Nick was pulling into the parking lot.
"Thank you so much for taking me to the party. I think it did a lot of good. Tell everyone thank you for me."
"Hold on," Nick demanded. "I'll walk you to the door."
"Oh, Nick Carter, the gentleman, eh?"
"Shut up Elle. You know that I am the ONLY gentleman." Nick challenged as he took the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car.
"Whatever you say, Mr. Carter."
Elle unlocked the door to her hotel room and turned around to say goodbye to Nick. However, when she turned around, she was met with a long, passionate kiss