Nick awoke the next morning to an empty bed. The sun was streaming through his windows and he smelled the tempting smell of bacon and eggs coming from the kitchen. Mmm....breakfast! He thought to himself as he scrambled out of bed and down the stairs.

He stopped abruptly at the kitchen and just watched as Autumn slaved over the stove. As soon as she turned around, she caught his eye and her cheeks turned a rosy pink.

"Good morning," Nick said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in for a quick kiss.

"Morning yourself," she said, placing the bacon onto a small plate. She brought it over to the table and motioned for Nick to sit down. Their feet played together under the table as they ate their breakfast in silence.

"I'm sorry about last night," Autumn said shyly. Nick shook his head at her as he downed the last of his orange juice.

"I can totally understand. You weren't ready to take the next step. I'll wait for you," Nick said with a smile and Autumn leaned over the table to plant a kiss on his lips.

"You're so good to me, Nick."

*~*

After breakfast was finished and the dishes were placed in the dishwasher, Nick hopped into the shower to freshen up before they decided to go out anywhere.

Once he was finished showering and dressed, he went down the stairs to find

Autumn gazing out of the window in the living room. Her arms were securely wrapped around her, and Nick walked over to her and pulled her closer to him. He rested his chin on her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

"What are you thinking about?" Nick murmured. She turned around in his arms to face him.

"I want my old life back," she said. Nick nodded and kissed her forehead.

"I know you do. And in time everything will become normal again, okay? I promise you." He looked her in the eyes and placed a kiss on her warm lips.

"It's at times like this that I really wish he didn't take our photo album. Seeing pictures of us together would really brighten my day," she said with disappointment written all over her face.

"Yeah, me too. Don't worry. We'll catch him and we'll get our photo album back," Nick said with a smile before lowering his lips towards hers again.

"So what do you want to do today?" Nick asked her a few minutes later.

"I'm not really up to anything today. How about we hang out here for today? Just the two of us?" Autumn suggested.

"I think I can deal with that," said Nick playfully. "But how about a little later we go out to lunch?"

"Sure. It's eleven now, do you want to head out around one? That way we can have a few hours to hang out," Autumn said.

Nick nodded his head in agreement and plopped down onto the couch. He grabbed the remote and channel surfed until he settled on watching a little of ESPN before they went out to eat.

*~*

At 12:00 Autumn went into the shower and she came out with her face as white as a ghost.

"Autumn, what's wrong?" Nick asked carefully.

"I was looking for something and I found this instead," she said, holding up a gun into the air. Nick's breath caught in his throat and he carefully took it from her hands.

"Why do you have a gun?" she asked in a monotone voice that told Nick that she was very confused and displeased at what she found.

"Just in case," he responded.

"In case of what? It happens again? You said it wouldn't happen again!" She yelled, pointing at Nick's face with her index finger.

"I know I did! And it's not going to happen, I promise you!" He said, pulling her into his arms and holding her as she broke down and cried.

"I'm sorry, Nick. I overreacted."

"It's ok. You had every reason to."

"I'm just so scared." She said, her tears slowly dissolving. Nick nodded and kissed her on the top of her head. He cradled her body with his until he heard the doorbell ring. His breathing stopped momentarily, but once he saw Brian's car outside he let out the breath he was holding.

*~*

An hour later, the three of them headed out to lunch in the Durango. Autumn was feeling better once Brian had gotten there, and Nick was grateful for his best friend's sense of humor. He had taken a load off of everyone's shoulder by making them laugh almost immediately.

"So where do you guys want to go?" Nick asked as he made his way into town. It was a good fifteen-minute drive from there secluded, middle of nowhere home. Stores were everywhere, but there were no restaurants anywhere in the vicinity.

"Keep driving, Nick," Brian told him, "I know of a good restaurant near my house." Nick nodded at Brian's request and together they drove the way to the restaurant. It took about a half hour to get there and once the restaurant came into view, Brian pointed his finger towards it.

"That one, right there." He said. Nick followed the direction of Brian's finger and pulled into the parking lot of Friday's.

It wasn't too crowded. It was only 2:00, and the dinner crowd wouldn't arrive for at least another two hours.

*~*

The three of them were seated quickly in a booth and they browsed their menus until they were ready to order.

"What can I get for you?" the waitress asked, smiling broadly as she took out her pad and paper. Brian took the opportunity and placed his order.

"I'll have a plate of fajitas," He said. "Chicken and steak," he added.

"And you? What will you be having?" she asked Autumn.

"I'll have the house salad," she said. The waitress nodded and turned to Nick before smiling.

"I'll have the Teriyaki steak," he said. The waitress took all of their menus and smiled one more time at them before disappearing into the kitchen, screaming their orders to the chef.

"Nicky, looks like someone has their eye on you," Brian said in a girly voice. They laughed.

"He's already taken," said Autumn, grasping Nick's hand tightly underneath the table.

"So you guys finally came to your senses and got back together?" Brian said casually, as if he had been waiting for it.

Nick and Autumn looked at each other and nodded with a smile on both of their faces. They leaned in for a nice kiss and looked up to see Brian with a hand over his eyes.

"Stop! Pictures!" He whined with laughter in his tone. Nick and Autumn laughed as their food was placed in front of them.

*~*

"Lunch was filling," Brian said as he plopped himself down onto the couch in their living room.

"Go ahead and make yourself at home, Bri! Oh wait, you already did that!" Nick called from the kitchen. He laughed.

"Well, I better be going. I have a date around seven," he said with a smile.

"Good luck man," Nick said as he walked him to the door. They did a little handshake before Brian spoke up.

"Tell Autumn I said good bye. Oh and Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Make sure she doesn't get away from you again," smiled Brian. Nick nodded and waved good bye.

*~*

Nick made his way upstairs and knocked lightly on the bathroom door. He opened the door and saw Autumn with her eyes closed in the bathtub. She was up to her neck in bubbles and didn't even hear Nick come in.

"Hey," he said, kneeling down next to the bath. Her eyes shot open and she smiled once she saw it was him.

"Hey. What are you doing in here?"

"Looking for you. How about we stay home for the rest of the night? I can go out..rent some movies," he said. His fingers traveled along her collarbone and went up to her jaw, and she took her hands in his and kissed each and every one of his fingertips.

"Sounds great. And while you're out, drop by the CD you borrowed from Richard. His office is down the street from Blockbuster."

"Okay. But don't you go to sleep. I'm looking forward to watching some movies."

"You actually want to watch the movies?" She asked, pulling him down to her to kiss her. She kissed him with such intensity Nick forgot that he had to go out. He moaned but broke away from her grasp.

"Keep that in mind, baby girl. I'll be home soon, I promise."

"Hurry home!" he heard her call as he grabbed his keys and locked the front door on his way out.

*~*

"Now where is this guys office?" Nick asked himself as his eyes searched for the building where Richard practiced his work. His eyes adverted to the bag of movies that was sitting on the passenger seat next to him. He got excited just thinking about the night ahead.

"Aha, here it is," he said. He parked the car and grabbed the CD in his hands. He walked into the building and stopped when he reached the front desk.

"Hi, is Richard here?" Nick asked the secretary. She shook her head.

"He stepped out for a minute. Went to a patient's home. He should be back shortly. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, I just need to give this back to him. Can I place this on his desk?" He asked. She nodded and pointed to a room down the hall. Nick nodded and thanked the woman and then walked to the room.

He flipped on the lights and looked at the room for a minute and then remembered that Autumn was waiting for him at home. Hopefully she was still in the bath.

As he was about to place the CD on his desk, he noticed a desk drawer was slightly opened and what he saw intrigued him.

"How'd he get this?" Nick asked himself as he flipped through the photo album that had been missing since Autumn was attacked. The realization hit him like a blow to the stomach and he nearly vomited right there. He ran out of the room and stopped at the front desk.

"Do you know what patient he went to see?" he asked in a rush.

"I believe someone by the name of Autumn Conroy. Why do you ask?" the secretary asked. But she got no answer because Nick was already gone.

*~*

"Whatever you do, do NOT go into the house!" the police officer warned Nick over his cell phone.

Nick ignored him and flipped his cell phone off and put it into his pocket. He walked up the front steps and was about to open the door but stopped when he saw Autumn in the living room, mouthing to him to get out and to get help. He put one foot into his house and met his nightmare.

"Well, Nick. It's nice of you to join us..." Richard's deep voice said.