Did he really just ask me to move in with him or am I just hallucinating? I was relatively shocked to say the least. We'd only gotten back together maybe 5 minutes ago and he already wanted me to move in? Damn, talk about things moving too quickly.

I could feel both Izzy and Nick's eyes on me, awaiting my answer and frankly it was starting to make me really nervous. So nervous in fact that I'd forgotten that I'd just taken a sip of my soda and I swallowed a little too quickly, causing me to start violently coughing.

"Are you okay?" Izzy immediately asked, as she rushed to my side and started to pat me on the back, all the while giving Nick a dirty look. She seemed to be trying to tell him that somehow this was all his fault.

"I know that me asking you to move in may be a bit of surprise, but this is definitely not the reaction that I expected from you," Nick joked, trying to break the tension. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked Iz.

"I dunno. Maybe I should get a doctor," she answered, looking nervously around the room. You just had to love the way they were talking about me like I wasn't even there.

"I'm okay," I somehow managed to croak out between coughs. "Went down the wrong pipe."

Once I was finally able to breathe again I just had to ask, just to make sure I wasn't dreaming. "You did just ask me to move in with you, right?" I asked stupidly.

"Yeah, I believe so," he told me with that stupid smirk on his face.

"Nick, I..." I really didn't know what to say. Normally I'd have LOVED to move in with him, but with everything that had just happened between us I wasn't exactly sure if it was the smartest move. Plus, did he ask me because he loved me or because he wanted to protect me? I really wished that Izzy would get the hint and make herself scarce, but I could tell by the way she was intensely listening to our conversation that she was too curious to leave the room. "I don't know what to say."

"Say yes," he insisted.

I sighed. If only it were that easy. "I'm not sure if I can just say yes right away like that. I need to know why you want me to move in with you. Is it just because my apartment got trashed and you want to be able to protect me, or is it because you genuinely care about me and you want to take our relationship to a more serious level?"

Nick paused for a moment. "A little bit of both I guess."

"So, you mean that if it wasn't for my apartment getting broken into, you wouldn't have asked me to move in with you?"

"I didn't say that! I would've, but probably not right away because of everything that has happened between us," he admitted. "It might have been awkward."

"What makes you think that things aren't going to be awkward now?" I argued.

"Because now it's different because you could potentially be in danger," he answered.

"So, you ARE asking me to move in just so that you can make sure I'm safe!" I pointed out.

Nick sighed, knowing that he was defeated. "Look, you'll be safer at my house because I have better security, you won't have rent to pay, and if that bastard comes after you I'll kick his ass."

Well, he was partly right. There was a less chance of somebody breaking into his house than my own apartment and I suppose it would be pretty economical to move in with him considering I wouldn't have to pay rent anymore. I was a little doubtful about the part where Nick promised to kick Josh's ass if he came near me or Erika. He was still going to be on pain killers and sore for a little bit. Could he really defend himself if God forbid Josh did somehow come after us?

My thoughts were interrupted when a nurse entered the room. "I'm sorry to interrupt your visit, but I just have to check up on Mr. Carter. You two ladies can wait outside in the hall for a few minutes while I see how he's doing."

"Think about it a little while you are out there," Nick called to me as I walked out the door with Izzy.

"So? What are you going to say?" Izzy, jumped on me as soon as I stepped outside into the hallway.

"I don't know," I honestly replied. "It's a really huge step and we did just get back together, but the way I see it, the situation can go both ways."

"What do you mean?" she asked, sounding a little confused.

"Well, we could move in together and encounter tons of problems because we realize that not only can we not get over what has happened in the past, but that we are totally incompatible as well."

"Nick is quite a slob," she interrupted me. "Believe me. I've seen how the guy lives when I used to tour with the guys. Not a pretty sight."

"I'm not exactly the cleanest person either," I reminded her.

"True. I'm not sure if I'm going to want to visit Nick's anymore if you are both living there," she joked. "So, what's the other scenario?"

"We move in together and we realize that maybe more time together is just what we need to work through our problems," I told her.

"So, how do you decide which scenario is what'll happen in reality?" she asked.

"That's just it. I don't know."

"Well, if you move in with Nick you know how your parents would react," she reminded me.

Boy, did I know how they'd react. My rents had always been from what they like to refer to as the "old school." They expected me and my sisters to of course grow up into wholesome and charming young women who someday would be the perfect wife. I remember while I was in high school and frustrated that I couldn't catch a guy's attention, my Mom would remind me that I was the type that when a guy was ready to settle down and have a family he'd look for a girl like me because they'd want somebody with moral values and a good upbringing. What the fuck? Was she telling me that it was all right for guys to go out and fuck anything that walked, while I had to remain totally lonely until some guy decided to marry me? No way! That might of been my mom's life, but I didn't want it to mine. I intended to have a little fun before I settled down myself. When Erika hightailed it to California with Josh, my parents freaked out. Not only did she *gasp* move in with a member of the opposite sex before she was married, but she moved halfway across the country. They was already pissed about me moving down to Florida, so I might as well go all out and move in with Nick.

"Thanks Izzy," I said with a grin. "I think you just helped me make up my mind."

"Nick will get over it, but your family is more important. Don't ruin things with them over something stupid," she advised.

"What do you mean? My parent's can go to hell for all I care. It's my life-"

"Wait! You're moving in with Nick?" she asked, looking totally surprised. "What are you going to tell your parents?"

"What they don't know won't hurt them," I replied.

Before Izzy could say anything to argue the nurse popped her head into the hallway. "You two can come back in now."

Leaving Izzy standing there gaping in the hallway I entered Nick's room to tell him my final decision.