~~ Chapter Two: Love Wouldn't Count Me Out ~~

Jenna entered her apartment, still sobbing uncontrollably. She had no idea what she was expected to do without Nick there to make her feel safe. Sure, she was a strong person, but half of what made her as strong as she was, was the face that Nick was constantly there by her side. Now, without him there, she felt as vulnerable as a newborn child. She fell into the couch, and sobbed into her hands. All around her house, there were reminders of she and Nick, whether they were in picture form, clothing form or pretty much anything else. She looked at the table in front of her, and there sat a picture of she and Nick, on Christmas day 2001, him sitting on the couch, holding her hand and her with her head on his shoulder.

It was over. She couldn't believe it was over. They'd always had something that didn't need to be communicated; something that no other love could ever compare to, and all in one day, it was over. Her heart had been shattered into a million tiny, unobtainable pieces. The only one that could ever make her ever start to feel right again was Nick. Nick...how could he make her feel right, when what she felt in her heart was that this was all wrong? She sighed, and decided that it was time to go to bed. Or, better yet, to work. That was what she did when she had immense stress on her. She got up, and went to her bedroom to get dressed.

As soon as she stepped into her bedroom, and the door closed behind her, the phone rang. Hoping it was Nick, after realizing what they were throwing away, she rushed to the phone, and picked it up as quickly as she could. "Hello?" she sounded hopeful.

"Hey, Jenn..." it was Sara. She had just gotten back from work, and called to if Jenna knew how Nick was doing. Sara always looked out for Jenna in situations like this, no matter how bad off she was. "Heard anything about Nicky?"

At the sound of Nick's name, Jenna's lower lip trembled, and tears started to come to her eyes. "No...and...I don't think I'm the one you should call..." she explained, the tears starting to come through in her voice. She tried as hard as she could to hide them, but she did terribly.

"Jenn? What's wrong?" Sara asked, starting to become concerned. "Why wouldn't you know what's wrong with Nick?"

"He didn't tell you?" Jenna asked, surprised. Sara was usually the first to know about anything that happened in the lab. She choked back her tears, and sucked in the pain to tell Sara. "He told me that we shouldn't see each other anymore...because he's too much of a danger to me, as long as this psycho stalker guy is around..."

Sara put her hand over her mouth, knowing how much this must kill Jenna. "Oh my God, Jenn...are you ok?" she asked, knowing that even if Jenna said yes, she was lying.

"No," Jenna was up-front and honest with Sara, which was a dead giveaway to Sara that this was really, really bothering her. Normally, Jenna, just like her father, would hide what she truly felt, and when either one of them didn't, it was something serious...really serious. Jenna sat on the couch, holding the phone in her hand and resting her face in her other hand. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. Usually, Nick was her Rock of Gibraltar; the one it was always ok to count on. But now she didn't even have him, and she felt so alone, even though she knew she wasn't. "Sara...it's killing me..." she cried. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Go talk to him...he can't do this to you, Jenna..." Sara suggested. "You know as well as I do that he loves you, and he just can't do this to you. You don't deserve it...all you did was love him, and try to take care of him..."

"No, Sara...he doesn't want to see me...so I'll grant his wishes..." Jenna cried like she thought she'd never see Nick again. "Maybe I should give dad my two weeks notice...it'd be so weird working alongside him if I can't hold his hand or anything..."

"Jenna, if you never listen to anything I say, ever again, listen to this, ok?" Sara insisted, her voice sounding as caring as it possibly could. "Go talk to Nick...he wants to talk to you, whether or not he'll admit it. Go see him, and if you get hurt, come see me, I'm always here for you..."

"Maybe I will, thanks Sara..." Jenna stood up. "I'll call you if I need anything..." she waited for Sara to answer. This was the man she loved, and if anyone deserved him, she did. She wasn't going to let some stalker take her one true chance at happiness away from her, by scaring the living shit out of him.

Sara grinned, and said, "See you later, Jenn..." then hung up the phone.

She was going to get Nick back, if it killed her. That man was everything she had ever wanted, and she was not going to let anything take him away from her. She ran out to her car, and as fast as she could, pulled out to go to Nick's house. Please be home, Nick...please...she begged him in her head. She needed Nick more than anything. Even if he thought she was safer, she felt less safe without him there to hold her. She looked up at the light, and seeing that it was green, rushed through before it turned red.

Seeing his car in her driveway gave her a sense of calm, knowing she didn't go there for no reason. Nervously, she walked up to the door, and pounded as hard as she could. "Nick...NICK...it's Jenna...please let me in!" she begged. "I know you're there, and I need to talk to you..."

Nick groaned, sighed then slowly walked toward his front door. "I thought I told you to stay away, Jenna..." he opened the door, and as usual, was captivated by everything about her. "Do you ever listen to me?"

"Nick...just hear me out...I think I have a right to tell you how I feel about all of this," Jenna insisted, not even waiting to see if he approved. She sat down, and started in with what was going to be a long night of arguing, screaming, crying and talking.

~~

If you are in love, then why let it go?
Tell me, please, what's happened baby?
It used to be that you couldn't live without me
But now you think you're better without me?
So now it's over? I guess it wasn't true
When you said I love you,
Cuz love just wouldn't count me out...
~~ 'Love Wouldn't Count Me Out' – Brandy ~~