A/N: Sorry it took so long! My computer died on me! LOL Well here's chapter 34....!
CHAPTER 34: Loss
"Well... come on..." Adam urged.
"Well, the good news is, Nicole is going to be alright." The nurse said with a smile.
The group let out a collective sigh of happiness. "Wait..." Jay realized. "That was the good news, are you saying there's bad news?"
Nodding slowly, the nurse turned to Jeff. "Yes. I'm sorry, Nicole lost the baby."
Jeff stared at the nurse, his expression unreadable. He didn't know whether to be ecstatic or heartbroken. He knew the baby wasn't his, but it was Nicole's and he knew this was going to hurt her. "Does... did you tell Nicole yet?"
Shaking her head, the nurse gave him a sympathetic smile. "I didn't think I should. I thought maybe you should."
Nodding Jeff ran his hands through his hair. "Um... can I see her now?"
"Yes, but she isn't awake at the moment, so you might only be able to sit with her for a little while."
"Okay." Jeff agreed, following the nurse to Nicole's room.
Walking in, he made his way over to her bed, sitting on the edge. "Hey babygirl." He whispered, running his hand over her face gently. "I know you can hear me, and I know you're going to be okay."
"Jeff?"
"Yeah, it's me Nic." Jeff replied.
Opening her eyes, Nicole smiled slightly. "What happened?"
"You... uh... you passed out." Jeff admitted.
"Why?"
"I don't know what made you. I wasn't in the room when it happened." He explained.
"No... Ryan was."
Jeff just nodded and gave Nicole a small smile.
"Jeffy?"
"Yeah babygirl?"
"Lay with me." Nicole requested.
Nodding, Jeff laid down on the side of Nicole's bed, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Better?" He questioned once he was comfortable.
"Yeah. Jeff I want to ask you something."
"Okay, what is it?"
"Is my baby okay?"
"Um... Nic..."
"It's dead, isn't it?" Nicole interrupted.
"Nic... I... yeah, it is." Jeff finally admitted, not wanting to lie.
"My baby... I lost it." Nicole said sadly. She let a few tears fall down her cheeks, not bothering to wipe them away.
Jeff quickly wrapped her in his arms, letting her cry into his chest. Unable to stop her tears, he just let her cry herself to sleep.
*~*~*~*~*
"Jeff, man get up." Opening his eyes, Jeff looked over to the source of the voice.
"What's up Chris?"
"The cops called the hospital looking for you, they want you to go down to the police station to answer some questions." Chris explained.
"I don't want to leave Nicole though." Jeff replied, eyeing his girlfriend protectively.
"I'll stay with her." Chris offered, giving his friend a slight smile. "I won't let anything happen to her."
Nodding slowly, Jeff stood up. "Just watch her, and if she wakes up, tell her I'll be back soon." Looking from Nicole to Chris, back to Nicole, Jeff backed out of the room, meeting up with Britney and Adam in the waiting room.
"I'm going to drive, okay?" Adam questioned.
"Whatever." Jeff replied simply.
Wrapping an arm around Britney's shoulder, Adam followed Jeff out of the hospital, to his car.
*~*~*~*~*
"Jeff?" Nicole questioned, yawning.
"No Nic, its me."
Opening her eyes, Nicole forced a smile at the blonde in front of her. "Hey Chris." She whispered.
"Hey Nickie, how do you feel?" Chris replied.
"My stomach hurts a little, but I'm okay. How are you?"
"I'm okay now, we were all so worried about you." Sighing, Chris continued. "But I'm happy you're okay."
"I'm okay, but my baby isn't. It died."
"I know." Chris told her. "I'm so sorry Nic."
"I'll be okay, thank you." Nicole said honestly. "Everything will be okay. Ryan's going to jail, Jeff and I will be together, everyone will be happy."
Chris just smiled, hoping what Nicole said would be true.
*~*~*~*~*
"Mr. Hardy, thank you for coming."
Nodding at the officer, Jeff shook his hand. "Can we please hurry up? I want to get back to Nicole."
"Of course, just follow me in here."
Glancing back at Britney and Adam one more time, Jeff followed the officer into the room.
"Okay, I just have to ask you a few things."
"Okay."
"Now, Ryan was the man who was stalking Nicole, right?"
"Yes."
Nodding, the officer made a few notes in his little notebook. "Okay... he is also the father of Nicole's baby, right?"
"Um.. he was. Nicole lost the baby." Jeff explained, blinking the tears away from his eyes. "But... he... he raped her. That's how she got pregnant."
"I see." Came the reply. "Well as much as we'd like to just throw Ryan in jail and forget about him, we need to go to court first. And he has to be found guilty. But, there's only one way we can be sure he'll go to jail."
"Nicole." Jeff replied simply.
"Yes, if she testifies, the jury will be able to see everything he's done to her. They'll put him away for sure. Do you think she can do it?"
"I honestly... I don't know. This whole thing has been so hard on her." Jeff answered. "I'll ask her, but I dont know."
"Alright, thank you Mr. Hardy. Just let us know what she says."
Nodding, Jeff stood up and shook the officer's hand again. "I'll ask her, but after all she's been through, I don't know if she can handle this, I don't even know if I can handle this."
*~*~*~*~*
"Jeff, you okay?" Britney quietly asked, placing her hand on Jeff's shoulder.
"Fine." Jeff simply answered. He looked out the window of the car, watching as Adam pulled into the hospital parking lot. As Adam stopped the car, Jeff slowly climbed out.
"It'll be okay." Adam comforted, smiling tentatively.
"Thanks man, I hope you're right." Jeff replied quietly, walking past the two blondes. Running his hands through his multi-colored hair, Jeff walked into the hospital, past his friends, to Nicole's room.
He stopped at the door, opening it slightly, looking in. He smiled slightly as he watched Nicole and Chris talk, Nicole actually breaking into a smile, something she hadn't done in a while.
"If I have to ask her about court, I'm going to upset her again. She doesn't need this." Jeff continued arguing with himself as he watched Nicole and Chris talking. Another smile crept onto his face when he saw Nicole laugh at something Chris had said.
"I have to tell her, the sooner I do, the sooner we can get it over with. After Ryan's in jail, we can move on with our lives." Making up his mind, Jeff sighed deeply, walking forward, preparing himself for what he was about to tell Nicole.
A/N: Not a great chapter, sorry. There's going to be one, maybe two more chapters. It depends on what I do. Sorry again that it took so long, damn computers. LOL But thanks for everyone who waited! R&R! :)Nicole***
