"Dr. Morgen, please report to the loading dock immediately," a voice over the loud speaker said, interrupting the deafening silence in the office. Dr. Morgen stood up and grabbed a hold of Nick's shoulders and escorted him into the hallway. He quickly explained that he would be back as soon as he could to fill Nick on some more information and then he quickly scurried off down the hallway.

Nick stood still and stared at the tile floor that he couldn't take his eyes off of. The doctor's words ran an obstacle course through his heart and he leaned against the cold wall for support.

Raped? Anger replaced the shock that Nick felt a few minutes ago and he let out a sob. The one thing that had been so precious and secret in her life was her body -- a body that was abused and mistreated hours before. Nick had wanted to share that special moment with her -- he wanted to be her first, and her only.

Rage engulfed him and he involuntarily let out a loud yell. Brian was the first by his side, encouraging telling him what was wrong.

"When I find this asshole, I'm going to kill him! I'm going to fucking kill him!" Nick roared, not caring if the whole world knew what he was saying. His body heaved with sobs and he felt himself, once again, grasping for air and losing a grip on reality.

"Nick, what happened?" Brian said, leading him down the hall towards the waiting room that had long ago been emptied.

"She...was...raped." Nick said through his sobs. His hands were shaking as he raked them through his short blonde hair, and he felt so sick to his stomach that he ran out of the room and quickly into the bathroom where he threw up in the toilet.

Brian was waiting leaning on a nearby sink, waiting for Nick to be done. When Nick emerged from the bathroom stall, he walked over to the sink and splashed himself with some cold water and took some deep, well-needed breaths. Once Nick turned around, Brian put his arms around Nick's neck for support and pulled him in for a consoling hug, but Nick pulled away from him sharply, spinning around on his heel and walking to the door.

Brian jogged after him, grabbed him by his shirtsleeve, and yanked Nick to him again. Brian hugged Nick for a minute until Nick finally broke down and hugged him back. He squeezed the life out of Brian, but Brian didn't really mind. Nick's sobs racked both of their bodies apart and Nick started to shake.

"Nick, it's going to be ok. We're going to get through this. I promise you," Brian said.

"What if we don't, Brian? What if-"

"Don't ever ask rhetorical questions at a time like this. You know damn well that Autumn has the strength and the willpower to fight through this, and don't you even think about doubting her now! Nick, she needs you." Brian shouted, abruptly stopping Nick from his worries.

"I feel like this is all my fault! I let Mr. Conroy down, I let myself down, I let Autumn down. She's fighting for her life right now because of me! If I had just gone home like I had planned, none of this would have happened!" Nick cried.

"This would have happened whether you were home or not. There would be another person for us to be fighting for, Nick, and that person would be you." Brian said.

*~*

Her long brown hair hung loosely around her shoulders in a swirl, italicizing her piercing green eyes and full lips that Nick was dying to kiss. Her eyes darted to her surroundings, taking in the entire romantic atmosphere that Nick had prepared for her. She knew that he had gone to hell and back just to prepare this for her, but he had assured her that it was no trouble for him at all. She smiled that 100-Watt smile at him and his heart melted at the sight. He took her hands in his and pulled her up to him so that they were standing.

"This night is just about us. You and me, Autumn. No one else," he murmured quietly before leaning down and capturing her lips with his. His lips pressed softly against hers and the kiss drew deeper with intensity when she wrapped her arms passionately around his neck. His tongue slowly caressed her bottom lip, asking permission for its entry. Autumn's mouth happily obliged and Nick ran his tongue over her teeth and explored every contour, trying to get as close to her as humanly possible.

His hands wound themselves in the swirls of her hair, mentally noting that the softness of her hair was definitely one of the most beautiful things that he had ever touched in his life. His hands caressed downward toward her back, gloating at the feelings of the swaths of her smooth and tanned skin.

When they broke apart, Nick found himself breathless as his lips moved towards her shoulder, kissing it lightly with the touch of his smooth, soft as silk and gentle lips. She angled her neck and brushed her hair away, allowing Nick more access to continue what he was doing. The tie that held her bikini together was apparently in Nick's way, so he gently moved his hands behind her to untie the clasp. He kissed the skin that became more exposed as he let go of the strings.

"Nick...." Autumn trailed off, absolutely reeling in the amount of passion and fire that Nick caused to inflict on her body. Her green eyes widened for the first time in a while, and she was suddenly aware that the surf from the ocean had woven around her feet and Nick's.

The world stopped when Nick picked her up and laid her gently on the damp sand, gently climbing on top of her. He laid poised above her, and a heartbreaking smile played upon his lips. Without wasting any time, he lowered his mouth to hers and took her breath away once again.

The water flowed calmly around them, allowing more of their passion to be shared with the one thing that they loved the most: the ocean.

Nick slowly looked down at her, and took both hands to the waistband of her bikini bottom. Autumn opened her eyes suddenly, as if warning bells flashed before her eyes and rung in her ears. Her mind told her to stop, but her heart and her body language pressed on and she couldn't help but admire and wonder what having sex would be like. Especially with Nick.

She broke off the kiss and moved Nick's hands away. Her eyes flooded with tears and she gently nudged Nick off of her so he fell into the warm, Florida water.

"I'm so sorry, Nick. I just can't," she choked out. Nick put an affectionate hand on her arm and scooted behind her, taking a hold on the strings that he had untied in the midst of passion. He lovingly tied them back together and put one leg on each side of her, pressing her against his chest and wrapping his arms around her tiny waist. He pressed his lips to her temple and kissed it gently.

"Sorry for what?" he asked her. Autumn sniffled and turned her head so she could face him.

"I....I...I led you on and then I stopped and -" Nick placed a finger on her lips, before slowly pulling her lips to his in a kiss.

"Hey..Autumn. You know that I would never hurt you and rush you into something that I know you wouldn't want to do."

"How do you put up with me? I mean, I know it must be frustrating having a girlfriend who....ya know...." Autumn trailed off, looking down at the ground. Nick put a finger on her chin and tilted her face to his so that their eyes were staring at one another.

"Autumn. I love you more than anything and nothing in this world means more to me than you being happy and you being comfortable. These past three years have made me the happiest man alive and just because we haven't had sex yet, doesn't mean that I love you any less. I will wait 100 years, just to spend that night with you." Nick said sincerely. Autumn felt her lower lip quiver and her eyes poured out the tears that she had tried to restore.

"I love you, too. Happy Anniversary, Nick." Autumn said.

*~*

Nick's heart ached as his mind drifted back to that night that they had shared not so long ago. It was their three year anniversary, and Nick had taken her to a small and private island off The Keys. No one knew about the island, so Nick took advantage of it and made it into a different world: a world that only Nick and Autumn could venture to.

He paced the waiting room with all of the rest of the guys. Autumn's brother, Brad, was sitting in the corner of the room with his eyes closed, as if he was trying to absorb all that Nick had told him.

Glancing at everyone, Brad noticed that everyone did look horrible. His hair was in need of a serious washing-he hadn't showered in over three days since Autumn's attack. The doctor had insisted on Nick going home to straighten himself up, but he declined, only because he wanted to be there when Autumn woke up.

He still wasn't able to see her yet, and it killed him. The doctor had gone over Autumn's condition to Nick and Brad, and once again Nick burst with happiness, knowing that Autumn did not suffer severe damage. The testing did confirm the doctor's theories of Autumn being raped, and the moment she would wake up, one of the first round of testing on her would be for the possibility of her being pregnant.

Until Autumn woke up, there was no description of her attacker and that he was still out there, somewhere.

Nick sighed and put his face in his hands and looked up to see Brad peering over him. Brad's eyes were a chocolate brown, but this time his eyes were red and bloodshot from crying.

"Nick, no offense...but man, you look like shit run over twice," Brad joked as he plopped himself in the seat next to Nick.

Nick laughed. "Yeah, well...I wasn't exactly counting on looking my best," he said.

"Seriously man. Go home, take a shower...get some rest. I'll call you if I hear anything." Brad instructed. Nick shook his head immediately.

"Listen," Brad said, "I lost my mother, I lost my father. It's going to take more than this to take my sister away from me," he said. "Now go home," Brad said. "I can assure you that Autumn will be fine."

Brad was right - the thing that Nick needed most right now was a nice, steaming shower. Brian had handed him the keys to his house - Nick didn't dare go back to the house that he had shared with Autumn. He needed to get his mind off of her for a while, and he needed to focus on getting his act together for Autumn.

The press at the hospital was unbearable, he had no choice but to exit through the back exit and take about a million back roads to get to Brian's house. No one figured to look there, so he had a clear escape and some peace and quiet. For now.

*~*

He let the water turn into a foggy steam before he walked out of the shower, reaching for the cotton towel that he tied around his waist. He walked over to the mirror and brushed his wet hair and quickly got a hold of Brian's gel and quickly gelled it to perfection. He got dressed in a pair of jeans that he had happened to leave at Brian's. He looked in Brian's drawers and found a white tee shirt. Even though Brian was smaller than him, his clothes looked gorgeous.

The white tee shirt clung to Nick like an extra layer of skin. Sighing, Nick fell backwards on Brian's $50 waterbed and closed his eyes. Sleep drew him in within a second, and his breath grew deep and even as sleep engulfed him.

*~*

A few hours later, he awoke to the shrill sound of a telephone ringing. Sitting up, he wondered where he was until he realized he was at Brian's. He grabbed the phone that sat upon his night stand and became extremely confused when the ringing persisted. My cell! Nick remembered and reached into his pocket and flipped it out.

"Yeah," Nick said sleepily. He rubbed his eyes.

"Nick, it's Mom. We're at the hospital," Mrs. Carter said.

"Wait...how'd you find out?"

"Brian. He told us the other night and we took the next flight out."

"Oh, ok. Just give me a little bit and I'll be over. Ok?" He said.

"Ok, sweetie. Be careful," she said and clicked off. Nick sat there for a moment before sighing deeply to himself. He flopped back down on the bed, and drifted off five minutes later.

"What the hell?" Nick said outloud when his phone awoke him once again. He flipped it open and pressed Talk.

"Listen, Mom. I told you I'll be there in a second!" He said angrily.

"Nick, it's Brad. You better get down here quick. Autumn woke up."