Chapter 22

"That's his room," Kevin gestured towards a door with a bodyguard sitting outside that Tara didn't recognize.

"New security?" She asked softly.

"Rent a cops," he whispered in her ear with a soft chuckle. "They get the job done, though."

"Oh."

"Go ahead," he gave her a gentle push, and rapped on the door before walking down the hall to his own room. "We're off tonight, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow, give you two some time alone."

"Thanks," Tara stood in front of the door for a minute, frowning when it didn't open. She knocked again, and bit her lip, smiling awkwardly at the bodyguard. "He's in there, right?"

The bodyguard nodded, and leaned over, banging on the door hard. "Maybe he didn't hear you."

"I think the entire hotel heard that," she muttered, waiting for Nick to open the door.

"WHAT?" The door flew open, and Nick stuck his head out, an angry expression on his face. He gasped when he saw Tara, and took a step back in surprise. "Tara?"

"Me," she said weakly, smiling at him. "I guess they didn't tell you I was coming?"

"No," Nick replied brusquely. "Well, I guess, come in," he waved her into the room, closing the door behind her. "What did they tell you to get you here?"

"Kevin said you weren't in the best shape in the world," Tara said softly, dumping her bag on the floor. "Looks like that's true."

Nick rolled his eyes, as he gingerly sat down on the couch. "What do they expect?"

"They're just concerned," Tara sat down next to him, forcing a smile on to her face. "So, miss me?"

Nick looked at her dully, and shrugged. "I guess."

Tara ran a hand through her hair, narrowing her eyes at him. "Not such a smartass today, are you?"

"No."

"Ok…" she sighed, and looked around the room, trying to think of something to say, something to get him to do. "So…."

"So…" he repeated, raising an eyebrow at her. "What are you doing here anyway? Don't you have your job?"

Tara's face fell, and she shook her head slowly. "No, actually, I don't."

"What do you mean, no you don't?" Nick asked, frowning. "You have to work, don't you?"

"No, I mean, I don't have a job," Tara said evenly. "I was fired yesterday."

Nick's mouth dropped open, "why?"

"I broke my contract, gave out confidential information."

"You lost your job because you helped us?" Nick asked softly, his expression changing to one of concern.

"Yeah," Tara blinked back tears, and shrugged. "It's not important now, Nick, it's over."

"I'm sorry," he said apologetically.

"That's ok, Nick, I know I did the right thing talking to you guys about it."

"Yeah, but," he stared at her for a moment, before his face crumpled. "I'm still so sorry…"

"That's ok…" Tara let out a soft grunt when Nick pulled her in for a tight bear hug, his arms wrapping around her waist. "I'll be ok, Nick," she said reassuringly, her eyes widening when he refused to let her go. "Nick?"

Nick just tightened his arms around her and buried his head in her neck.

"Oh," she whispered, sensing the hug was no longer about comforting her. Her hands ran over his back, gently caressing him, as she felt him slowly begin to relax against her. "Are YOU ok, Nick?" She asked softly.

"No," he mumbled, continuing to hold her tight. "Not at all."

"How can I make it better?" Tara asked, feeling as if just hugging him was doing nowhere near enough to alleviate the pain he was clearly in.

"Hold me," he maneuvered around on the couch until he was lying down, and arranged Tara on top of him, her weight on him was exactly the kind of comfort he needed.

"Comfy," Tara remarked, resting her head on his chest. "As always," she looked up at his face, sighing when she saw the tortured expression. "Nicky…"

"Don't let go, ok?" He asked in a soft, pitiful voice, fighting back tears.

"I never would," she reassured him, running a finger down the side of his face. "Nick, didn't anyone ever tell you, if you need to cry, you're better off getting it out, than holding it in? Otherwise you just get angry, and…" she didn't need to finish the next sentence, Nick had started sobbing as soon as she'd mentioned the word 'cry.' "There you go," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his chest and hugging him tight. "Just let it all out…"

Nick's arms locked around her waist as he continued to sob, his breath coming in gasps. "I…I…sorry…"

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Tara told him firmly. She lay there, holding him tight, for what felt like hours, as his sobs turned to soft cries, then sniffles, and then silence. "Nicky?" She looked up at him, smiling wryly when she saw his eyes closed, and mouth hanging open. "Finally, the boy sleeps," she whispered, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Sleep well, Nick."

And for the first time in days, Nick did sleep well.

**************************************************************

Nick awoke around dinner time, and found himself ravenously hungry. He and Tara ordered in room service, and he proceeded to consume everything on his plate, as well as the majority of what was on hers. Afterwards, they snuggled up together on the couch and talked for hours, about what he was going through, about Tara losing her job, about games, books, sports…anything and everything was covered.

By midnight, they both were exhausted again, and retired to the bedroom. There, they snuggled up under the covers, held each other close, and kept each other's nightmares at bay.

Nick felt like a new man when he woke up the next morning. He was still sore, he'd been warned the stitches were going to hurt until they came out in four weeks, but he felt like he finally had a grip on the emotions that had been threatening to take him over. Yes, he'd been raped, but he also had survived it. The shame and humiliation that accompanied it was something he still needed to work on, but the mere fact that Tara was able to look him in the eyes as he talked about what he'd been going through had done him a world of good.

After all, no reporter had been able to do the same. Especially not once he'd answered yes to 'the question.' He hadn't seen the press fallout as of yet, he'd been ignoring newspapers and the television ever since the attack, but was positive they were all having a field day with it. Nick Carter had been raped. What a headline…

"I don't want to leave this room," he remarked, finishing off his breakfast with a happy sigh. He pushed himself back from the table and rubbed his tummy, smiling at Tara. "Can't we just stay here? Keep the rest of the world far away?"

"I wish we could, Nick," Tara said wistfully.

"Come here," Nick pulled on her arm, leading her around the table and down into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her, feeling almost happy for what felt like the first time in ages. "Thank you so much for coming," he said softly, kissing her forehead. "I felt like," he paused as he searched for the right words, staring into her eyes. "I was drowning. You saved me."

Tara smiled widely, and ran a hand through his hair, kissing his cheek. "I needed to be here too, Nick, I'm glad I came."

"Well, you haven't done that yet," Nick said seductively, grinning when she blushed. "Hmmm?" He rubbed his nose against hers, giggling.

"Nicky smartass is back," she laughed.

"Somewhat," he said softly. He rested his head against hers and closed his eyes, just enjoying holding her, listening to her breathe. "This is nice."

"Very…" Tara gave a start at the loud knock on the door, and groaned. "Was nice," she slid off of his lap with a sigh of regret.

"Coming, coming," Nick grumbled, walking slowly to the door.

"Not yet," Tara called after him, laughing when he stared back at her, wide-eyed. "Gotcha."

"Dang, woman," he shook his head, and pulled open the door, hoping his face wasn't as bright red as it certainly felt. "Hey."

"Hey!" Brian's face broke into a wide grin at the sight of Nick's happy face, and he walked into the room, waving at Tara. "Hey you."

"Hey Brian," Tara laughed when Kevin, Howie, and AJ shuffled into the room behind him. "Hey all of you."

Nick closed the door behind him and returned to his seat, gesturing for Tara to return to his lap as well. Only once she was seated did he look at them curiously. "So why's the whole gang here?"

"We just wanted to see how you were doing," Kevin said lightly, taking a seat across from them.

"I'm doing fine," Nick replied, looking at Kevin evenly. "Now why are you really here?"

"Palmer, she's coming by in a second to meet."

Tara's entire body went rigid at the mention of the Agent's name, and Nick's arms tightened around her in response. "Bitch."

AJ's eyes widened, and he looked at Tara with a grin. "Not your favorite person?"

"Not quite," Tara frowned. She jumped up when she heard a knock on the door, waving off Kevin, who was already out of his seat. "No, allow me," she smirked, walking to the door and throwing it open.

Agent Palmer's eyes widened when she saw Tara on the other side of the door. "Tara! This is a surprise…"

Tara stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, glaring angrily at the agent. "You know, I never have had such a desire to punch someone in my life."

"Pardon?" Palmer said curiously, looking past her into the room. "May I come in?"

"Nobody would ever know, you told me. I wouldn't ever get in any trouble for helping you." Tara was unable contain herself, and shoved the agent hard, sending her flying into the opposite wall. "You bitch, you fucking lied!" She charged into the hallway, her eyes blazing. "I lost my goddamn job because you couldn't keep your mouth shut."

"What the HELL are you talking about?" Palmer ducked as Tara took a swing at her, confusion written all over her face. "Jesus, Tara, calm down!"

"You got me fired!" Tara shouted.

Nick ran into the hallway and grabbed Tara as she tried again to punch her. "Woah, down girl," he wrapped his arms around her tight, refusing to let go.

"Dammit, Nick," Tara squirmed in his arms, kicking when he lifted her off the ground. "Let me at her!"

"I did no such thing," Palmer said firmly, standing in front of Tara and looking her in the eye. "I don't know who in the world told you I talked to your employers, but I promise you, it wasn't me."

"Your promises don't mean very much to me right now," Tara hissed, still struggling in Nick's arms.

"It is standard FBI policy, we never reveal sources," Palmer stood her ground. "Someone else turned you in, Tara, not me."

Tara stopped trying to get away from Nick, and he set her back down on the ground. She stared at Palmer in confusion, shaking her head slowly. "No, it had to have been you, nobody else knew."

"Nobody else?"

Tara's face froze, and she frowned, "no, no WAY, there were only two other people who knew. Well, no. One. Andy knew. Tommy just suspected I was doing something, he didn't know."

Palmer sighed, and pulled her notepad out of her pocket. "Give me full names."

"Why?"

"Because it looks like we now have two more suspects."

***

ß Back | Next à