Chapter 16

"No, oh my god, no, stop," Tara cried, watching as the second figure returned to the screen, dark object in hand.

"Oh jesus no," AJ hissed, turning to stare at the door when another scream ended in a loud crash. "What the…"

"What the fuck was that?" Howie stood up and ran to the door, opening it just as Kevin walked back in. "What happened?"

"Goddamn tape recorder," Kevin said angrily, waving a note in the air. "Says 'don't assume.'"

"Oh shit," Brian whispered, covering his face with his hands as he saw the people on screen holding Nick in place. "Don't, god don't," he begged wincing when he saw one of them hold an object to Nick's rear.

The tortured sounds coming from the computer increased tenfold in volume when the object first touched Nick's skin, and they could all see his body shake as he struggled to get away.

Tara winced at the loud scream that came from the computer, and she watched through her fingers as the object was forced into Nick's rear. "Oh christ," she whispered in horror, unable to believe what she was seeing.

The computer's speakers crackled at the loud sound of Nick trying to scream in agony around the object in his throat, and the group could only watch as his legs buckled under him, the two people dressed in black holding him up for the camera's view.

"STOP IT, JESUS, STOP IT!" AJ screamed, smacking his hand on the table angrily. "Where's the goddamn FBI? STOP THEM!"

The people let Nick go, and he fell to his knees on the floor, writhing in pain. They stepped away, allowing the group watching to see Nick's hands taped behind him, leaving him incapable of removing either object from his mouth or his rear.

"We told you we would play a game," the deep voice said, followed by a higher pitched giggle. "Why didn't you believe us?"

One of the people walked to Nick and yanked the gag out of his mouth, throwing it across the room.

Nick let out a tortured scream as he fell onto his stomach, sobbing uncontrollably. The group could only watch, helplessly, as Nick looked up at his captors, and begged them to take the object out of him.

"Leave him alone, please," Tara cried, gasping when Nick tried to roll over onto his back, only to stop in pain. "God, he can't even move," she sobbed, covering her mouth with his hands.

One of the captors looked up, appearing startled, and ran off camera for a moment.

"It looks like our broadcast is to end early," the deep voice informed them. "So this is goodnight. Remember this. Brian, you're next…"

And then the screen went dark.

"NO!" Kevin screamed, reaching forward and smacking the computer angrily. "Give us back Nick, what's going on?"

"I don't know," Tara clicked around on the computer, her hands shaking as she tried to work the mouse. "The signal was cut, he's offline," and the link to the webcast was now a 404.

Brian ran from the room, and a moment later the group could hear retching noises coming from the bathroom.

"That's what I feel like doing," Howie said softly, shaking from head to toe.

Tara got up and ran into the hallway, followed closely by Kevin, AJ and Howie. "Where is he?" She looked up and down the hall, breathing heavily in her panic. "She said they were going to find him, where?"

A shout, followed by a loud yell of "he's in here!" was heard from around the corner, and the group took off at top speed, running around the corner and into the room with the open door.

"NICK!" Tara shouted, shoving past the FBI agents in the doorway and falling to her knees next to him.

Nick was still lying on his stomach, his arms taped together behind him. He turned his head at the sound of Tara's voice, and looked up at her, his blue eyes bright red. "Please, get it out," he begged her, shaking with pain.

Tara stared at his rear, gasping when she saw the base of the dildo protruding from him. "Oh god, Nick…"

Kevin skidded to a stop a foot away, gasping when he saw what Nick was asking Tara to do. "Stop," he told AJ and Howie, making them all turn around and keep the other agents out for the time being.

"I, god, I can't…" her hand trembled as she reached forward, crying when she touched it.

"Just get it out!" Nick screamed at her, crying out in pain when she pulled on it gently. "Goddammit, Tara, do it!"

Tara bit her lip, and yanked hard, screaming herself when the bloody dildo emerged. "Shit," she gasped, dropping the object onto the floor.

"Oh god," Nick began to cry as he rolled over onto his back and sat up. "No," he turned away when he saw Kevin walk towards him, shaking his head quickly. "Go away, not like this," he mumbled, looking at Tara helplessly.

"Guys, get him some clothes, and give me some scissors," she said quickly, realizing what Nick was so ashamed of.

"Gotcha," Kevin turned around and left the room, running down the hall to get Nick some clothing.

AJ located a pair of scissors, and handed them to Tara, covering his eyes with his hand so he didn't have to look at Nick.

"Ok, I'm gonna cut this now, Nick," Tara said softly, crawling around to his back and holding his hands. They had been bound together tight with duct tape, and she could see his fingertips turning purple from the lack of circulation. She quickly cut the tape, then pulled it off, wincing at the cry that left Nick's lips as the hair was ripped off of his arm. "I'm so sorry," she said softly, crawling back around until she was facing him.

Nick just looked at her dimly, rubbing his hands together.

"Here," Kevin handed Tara a shirt and pants for Nick, and tried not to watch as she slipped the shirt over his head.

"I need you to stand up so I can put the pants on," Tara said, giving Nick a hug before standing up. "Ok?"

"I don't think I can," Nick said weakly, pushing himself up off the floor, and nearly falling over.

"Kevin? AJ?" Tara turned around to look at them, her heart breaking when Nick cried out in protest. "Nicky, I know you don't want them to see you, but I can't hold you up on my own."

"Fine," Nick said blankly, feeling as if he couldn't be humiliated any more.

Kevin and AJ each slipped an arm around Nick's shoulder and hauled him up, holding him steady while Tara worked his legs through the pants, and pulled them up.

"You guys should bring him back to the room," Tara said, her eyes not leaving Nick for an instant.

"We're going to need to talk to him," Agent Palmer stopped them from leaving, looking at Nick closely. "How do you feel, Nick?"

Nick's eyes narrowed as he looked at her, before he turned his head away. "Fuck you," he spat out.

"You can talk to him tomorrow," Tara said quickly, pushing the Agent out of the way so AJ and Kevin could walk Nick out.

"I need to talk to you too," Palmer insisted, following them into the hallway.

"Tomorrow," Tara said, glaring angrily at the useless FBI Agent. "Tomorrow."

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"He's asleep," Tara closed the bedroom door behind her quietly, and sat down next to Kevin on the couch, taking a deep breath.

"How is he?" Howie asked, concerned.

"He cried himself to sleep, I had to fight him to get him to let me hold him, he's in a lot of pain, how do you think he's doing, Howie?" She glared at him for a moment, before sighing heavily. "I'm sorry, it's not your fault, but, god, he's a mess, and there's nothing I can do, other than tell him he'll be ok."

"He will be ok," Kevin said firmly, looking at Tara. "And I'm sure he's very grateful that you're here for him."

"I guess," she frowned. "Although I haven't done much good."

"Trust me, Tara, none of us would have been able to do what you did for Nick tonight," AJ said softly, meeting her eyes and smiling lightly. "You're a very strong person."

Tara looked at AJ in surprise, well aware that he had been the most suspicious of her for a while now. "Thank you," she said, nodding her head at him.

"The room Nick was in, it's one of ours," Kevin said gently, wincing when Tara gasped in horror. "I know, I know…"

"What do you mean it's one of yours?" She asked, staring at him.

"It belongs to our tour. To one of the stage hands, to be specific, we called him and woke him up when we found out who the room was registered to," Kevin sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "The FBI's interviewing him right now, but what he said to me, anyway, was that he had met someone in the hotel bar, and spent the night in their room. When we called to wake him up, he found himself alone."

"Do you believe him?"

Kevin shrugged, "I can't see him lying. I mean, if you were going to do this to Nick, you'd be real stupid to do it in a room that WE were paying for, and could trace, you know? And what gripe would a roadie have with us?"

"I guess," Tara said, curling up onto the couch and hugging her knees tight. "I can't believe this day, so much has happened," she said softly.

"Morning," Kevin corrected, looking at the clock. "It's only 9am."

"So the last 12 hours," she took a deep breath, and sighed. "So much…"

"We should all try to get some sleep," Kevin said, looking around the room at AJ and Howie pointedly. Brian had already headed off to bed, he'd been totally distraught by Nick's condition, and Kevin had told him he'd be better off getting some rest.

"Gotcha," AJ nodded, and waved to Tara. "If you need any help with kiddo, give me a call."

"Thanks," she smiled wryly. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

Howie waved, and followed AJ out of the door, leaving Kevin and Tara alone.

Tara stared at the back of the door as it closed behind them, shaking her head slowly. "Only 12 hours, huh."

Kevin nodded, "you and Nick, you guys have something special going, huh."

Tara sighed, "I don't know. I thought, but then he disappeared, and now…." She shrugged. "I'm here for him."

"He's going to need that," Kevin stood up and stretched, yawning loudly. "With everything that's happened, it's a very good thing he has you."

"I guess," Tara stood up, and Kevin pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back. "I don't know, Kevin, how am I ever going to forget what I saw? What I had to do? How will HE ever forget?"

Kevin shuddered, and shook his head. "I don't think you really can, Tara. But remember that he made it through, that's the important thing."

"Right."

"Go to bed, you need some sleep," Kevin told her, kissing her forehead before pushing her in the direction of the bedroom. "Nick shouldn't wake up in there and find himself alone."

"Ok." Tara couldn't suppress a small laugh.

"What?" He asked, looking at her curiously.

"Nick always says you'll know what to do, that you're the father of the group." She smiled, and shrugged. "He's right. It's nice to have a father around."

Kevin beamed with pride, and hugged her again. "Thank you, Tara. Now get to bed."

"I will. Goodnight Kevin."

"Goodnight."

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Tara was awakened by the sound of Nick screaming, and she gasped when she felt a hand strike her in the face. "Nick, oh god, Nick," she sat up and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him gently. "Wake up," she begged him, ducking out of the way as his hands flailed above him.

"NO!" He screamed, tears rolling down his face as he tried to hit anything and everything within arms reach, including Tara.

"You're dreaming, Nick, wake up!" Tara pleaded, shaking him hard, not knowing what else to do. "Oh god," she cried out when she felt him land a hard fist on her eye, and blinked rapidly, trying to see him through the tears that immediately formed from the pain. "WAKE UP!"

Nick's movements stilled, and he slumped back in the bed, his eyes slowly opening to focus on Tara. "Tara?" He asked her, frowning at the tears in her eyes, and her hand pressed to her face.

"You were dreaming, Nick," she said softly, reaching down to wipe the tears from his cheek. "A bad dream."

Nick stared at her for a moment, before rolling over in bed, turning his back on her as he shook his head. "That was no dream, Tara, I still…" He took a shaky breath, before choking out. "I still feel it."

"You're ok now," she told him, lying down next to him, and wrapping her arms around his waist. "You're ok now, Nick, and nobody will ever hurt you again," she said firmly, pressing her chest up to his back, needing to feel the physical reminder that he was there, and he was all right.

Nick shuddered, and moved away from her on the bed. "Go away," he said softly, refusing to turn around to look at her.

"Nick?" Tara's arms tightened around him, and she kissed his back, "I don't think you should be alone right now…"

"Goddammit, Tara, get out of here!" Nick's head turned around, and he glared at her angrily. "Don't you get it? I know what you did, and, god, how can I look at you and not remember that?"

Tara's eyes widened, and she stared at him, "but, Nick, I had to…."

"I don't want to think about it," he said firmly, biting his lip as his eyes filled with tears. "Just get out." He rolled back over on the bed, pulling her arms off of him, and curled up into a ball.

"If you're sure," Tara said hesitantly, sitting up, and looking down at him in bed. When he didn't reply, she got up and left the room, her heart breaking when she heard Nick begin to sob as the door closed behind her.

"How is he?"

Tara jumped at the question, not expecting to find anyone in the living room of the suite. She looked at Brian in surprise, before shaking her head slowly. "He's not doing too good," she said softly, sitting down in a chair and covering her face with her hands as she began to cry.

"Should I go talk to him?" Brian asked, a concerned expression on his face. "What did he say to you?"

"It doesn't matter," she shook her head slowly, and fought to control her tears. "I don't know if he wants to talk to anyone right now. Definitely not me, though…"

"Palmer's coming by in an hour to talk to Nick," Kevin walked into the room, his eyes widening when he saw Tara. "What are you doing out here?"

"Nick threw me out," she said, looking away from the green eyes staring at her with so much worry. "I don't think he's in any shape to talk to Palmer."

"He really doesn't have a choice, I'm afraid," Kevin said sadly. "She does need to know what happened, from Nick's point of view."

"We all saw it," Brian said, shuddering at the memory. "What more does she need to know?"

"There were hours between when Nick was taken, and that webcast," Kevin reminded Brian. "We don't know what happened then. She needs to know."

"I guess," Brian said timidly, running a hand through his hair. "And I'm next."

"AJ's on your computer right now trying to figure that part out," Kevin looked at Tara. "I hope that's ok?"

"Sure," she shrugged. "If he can find anything useful…I never did."

"Tara…."

"I'm going to go take a shower," she stood up, not wanting to hear them tell her once again, how much she'd 'helped.' Yeah, right, if she'd helped so much, why was Nick in the bedroom crying now? "I want to be here when Palmer talks to Nick."

"Sure, you will be," Kevin nodded his agreement. "I think that would be good for Nick too."

Tara sighed, "I don't know about that, but, I'd still like to be here for it."

"We'll talk after your shower."

"Ok," Tara stepped into the bathroom, as she heard AJ charge into the room beyond. Well, whatever he had to say, it could wait. First…she needed to take a shower…as Andy would say, she still had Nick smell on her. Everywhere. Time to wash it off.

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