"Nicky! It's about time you showed up! We were about to send out a search party!" Howie called out, as Nick and Cairo entered the room.

"Yeah, well, someone doesn't take directions very well!" Nick said, looking over to Cairo.

"Well if somebody didn't insist on sleeping the whole way here, that somebody wouldn't have had to take directions and then we wouldn't have gotten so lost!" Cairo retorted.

"Well is someone didn't keep their neighbors up all night with their crappy music, then that neighbor wouldn't have to sleep the entire way over here!" Nick said.

"My music is not crappy!" she exclaimed, turning away from him and crossing her arms.

"You tell him, Cairo!" AJ called out. They all burst out laughing. The boys greeted each other with hugs, like true brothers, and they all seemed happy to see Cairo again.

"So, you didn't learn after the last time. You decided to throw yourself back into our company," Brain said, after she sat down. "Huh?" she asked, not quite following what she meant.

"After last time, being the only girl in a group full of guys…Getting dragged into the pool…" he said.

"Oh, yeah. I guess not. Well, Nick and I called out practical joke war to a halt, so we're friends again. But sometimes, I get this sudden urge to seek revenge…" she said, remembering the horrors of the past two weeks.

"Practical joke war? I guess that would explain Nick's drastic hair color change," Howie said, looking in on their conversation.

"Well, he started it. But I got him back every time, so we just decided that there could be no winner. Just in time too, because I was running out of tricks," she said, and then told the story about how the whole thing had begun.

It was a few hours later, and Cairo was involved in a deep discussion with Howie and Kevin, while Nick was standing with Brian, near the door to the room.

"She certainly knows how to draw their attention," Brian commented. Nick just nodded, staring at Cairo, unable to tear his eyes off of her.

"Listen man, I don't know her nearly as well as you do, but are you sure she's okay?" Brian asked, concerned.

"What do you mean?" Nick said, finally averting his gaze.

"Well, it's just that from the last time we met her and now, there's a huge difference in her. I've talked to Kevin and Howie and they totally agree with me. She's just not as young or innocent as she was. It's almost as if she aged a few years in a few weeks. She used to be so outgoing and now she just seems reserved…more self contained," Brian said. Nick sighed, and nodded.

"Well, finding out that the guy you love, and have loved for four or five years, is sleeping with your sister, and then watching him die only to find out that he never really loved you, all that could age someone. She tries to hold on to who she used to be; the carefree, fun loving girl, but she's grown up a lot," Nick said. He looked again towards her, and saw again her pale complexion, the shadows under her eyes and the look on her face when she laughed. She never seemed like she was laughing completely, like some small part of her couldn't be happy.

"And you love her," Brian said. Nick turned around and met his best friend's gaze. He smiling wryly.

"Can't help it, Brian. Ever since I met her, she was so easy going, and she didn't freak when I nearly killed her with my jump shot. Just everything, the way she played along with my little secret on the ship, not telling me until the last day that she knew who I was…Can't help it," Nick broke off. Cairo turned around suddenly, looking around the room, until she spotted Nick leaning against the doorframe, smiled and turned back to the conversation.

"I mean, it's not just the need to be around her all the time, but it's the need to know that she's happy, even if it's not with me! I'd give anything to see her smile, to hear her laugh. I would have left her with Brad; I would have given her up if she had wanted. It's terrible," he said.

"Don't worry about it, Nick. I'm sure that everything will be alright with her," Brian said, to reassure his friend. He knew how much it sucked to love someone and not have them return the feeling. "Tell her how you feel.

"I can't do that. It's too soon after Brad. It's just…too soon," Nick said, then he turned around and walked away.

Cairo saw him exit the room, and excused herself from the conversation and walked over to join Brian.

"Is he okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, he'll be fine," Brian said. Cairo looked apprehensively in the direction that Nick went.

"So, Cairo, why don't you tell me about your new manuscript?" Brian said, taking her arm and leading her away from the door, hoping to give Nick some time to himself.