Disclaimer: I do not own anything Will and Grace related.

Chapter 2

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be,
There's a shadow hanging over me.
Oh, yesterday came suddenly.

The Beatles

Jack woke the next morning feeling very disoriented. It took him a few minutes to remember where he was. He saw Will sitting in a chair, his chin on his chest and his arms folded. Jack smiled; it made him feel good to see that his friend had sat with him all night.

Jack got out of Will's bed, feeling slightly sheepish for sleeping in it the night before. He left the bedroom and went into the kitchen to get something to eat. His body was still sore, so he took an Advil out of Will's cupboard. He poured himself a glass of water and took the Advil. He hoped it would kick in soon, because he was feeling miserable with all of the pain his body was in at the moment.

-----

The alarm clock in Will's bedroom went off and Will was jerked awake. It was seven in the morning and he had to be at work in two hours. He got up from the chair he had slept in feeling very stiff. He decided that if Jack was spending the night again that night, he would sleep in Grace's room or on the floor in Will's room.

Will went to his closet and took out some clothes to wear for that day. He had to go to work, as concerned as he was for Jack; he had to get into the office for a few hours. Will turned around to tell Jack that he was going to take a shower, only to see that Jack wasn't in the bed anymore. Will frowned; wondering where his friend had gotten off to.

He left his bedroom and headed for his bathroom feeling incredibly tired. He hoped that a shower would wake him up. His paused on the bathroom door because he heard sounds behind him in the kitchen. "Oh, morning, Jack. I thought you had gone home."

Jack looked up at Will and shook his head. "I don't want to go back there yet. Can I stay here again tonight?"

"Of course," Will confirmed. "Jack, I'm sorry, but I really have to go to work today. You should try to go to work too, it might help you."

Jack shook his head. "Today is my day off, so is tomorrow. Don't you remember? It's alright, Will, you can go to work. I don't need you to be here with me."

Will winced at Jack's tone. "Buddy, I'm sorry."

"No, Will, listen to me. I'm upset, yes, I'm hurting, yes, but I also understand that you have to work. I don't need you to be here to watch over me. I am an adult too!" Jack snapped. He didn't want will to treat him like a baby; he just wanted a little bit of support.

"Jack, I didn't mean anything like that. I am just telling you I am sorry I have to leave you alone today. Hey, why don't we go out to lunch later?" Will suggested. He glanced at the clock; it was only seven-fifteen, he had plenty of time to get ready.

"Uh, alright," Jack said tentatively.

Will nodded and went into the bathroom to take his shower.

Jack sighed and went through the cabinets to find something to eat. He found chocolate chip cookies and grabbed those. He didn't care what time it was, he wanted cookies.

He took the cookies over to the couch and turned the TV on. There wasn't much on, but he found a movie on Lifetime and decided to watch that. He was surprised that any movies were on so early, but he didn't care, he just needed a little escape.

Will came out of the bathroom about forty-five minutes later, buttoning up his work clothes. He needed to leave in about twenty minutes.

He went into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl, poured cereal into it, poured milk, and got a spoon before going to the table to eat his breakfast. He sat at the kitchen table and faced Jack who was engrossed in his movie on the couch.

When Will finished his breakfast, he washed the dishes and put them away. It was time for him to leave for work. "Jack, I have to go. I'll see you for lunch?"

Jack looked up at Will sadly. He didn't want to admit it, but he didn't want Will to go. He didn't want to be alone. "Yeah, I'll see you for lunch."

Will nodded, feeling awkward just leaving Jack.

Jack, sensing Will didn't feel right, got up from the couch and hugged his friend. "Do you think that we could just go to Central Park on your lunch break and get hot dogs or sandwiches or something? I don't want to go to a restaurant."

Will shrugged. "Sure, that's fine. The park is close to my office anyway." He kissed Jack's cheek. "You'll be alright, right?"

Jack wanted to shake his head and scream that he wasn't alright and that he wouldn't be alright, instead, he simply nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Go to work and quit worrying about me!"

Will smiled slightly and left the apartment. He had to work with a client for most of the morning, and he wasn't looking forward to it. It wasn't that his client was a bad person or anything; it was just that he didn't want to be in a meeting until it was time for lunch.

Will got into the elevator and pressed the ground floor.

-----

Jack was bored at the apartment. He had watched another Lifetime movie after Will had left. He was trying his best to keep the memories of the previous night out of his head, but he doubted the pain would ever actually go away.

He got off of the couch and grabbed the key to his apartment. He felt bad for leaving Claus and Guapo in there alone. He also decided it would be a good idea to take Claus for a walk.

When he entered his apartment, he flicked the light switch and whistled for Claus. Claus came running to Jack and was very excited to see his human friend. Jack grabbed Claus' leash and went to get Guapo. He grabbed Guapo's cage, which Guapo was inside of, and then he walked back over to Will's apartment. He went back to his apartment for Claus and to lock the door.

When he got back to Will's apartment, he looked at the clock. He had fifteen minutes until it was time to meet Will for lunch in the park. Remembering that they hadn't set a definite place to meet, Jack decided it would be best to just meet Will at his office.

Jack went into the bathroom to take a quick shower and apply makeup to his face. He wanted to hide the bruises on his face. He wasn't sure why he was being so clingy to Will, but he wished he wasn't depending so much on his friend. It wasn't fair to Will.

"Will loves me," Jack assured himself. "He's my best friend and he cares about me. He doesn't mind."

Jack finished his shower and changed into some of Will's clothes. He went into Grace's bathroom and looked around for cover-up. Once he finally found some, he put it on and covered the bruises on his face.

He walked out of the bathroom and looked at the clock; he had about two minutes to get to the park and meet Will. Muttering angrily to himself, he attached Claus' leash and left the apartment, making sure to lock the door behind him.

-----

"I'd better be going, Will," Mr. Johnson said. He was a middle aged balding man, and one of the less important clients at the firm.3

Will nodded to his client. "Alright, well, I will draw up the papers and they will be ready next week."

"Sounds great; thanks, Will." Mr. Johnson stood from his chair and shook Will's hand. "See you next week. I'll call to make an appointment."

Will shook his hand. "See you then." He stood from his desk as Mr. Johnson left and glanced up at the clock. He was late to meet Jack for lunch and he felt bad. He was supposed to meet him at the park over twenty minutes ago. "Damnit!"

Will checked to make sure he had his wallet and keys to his office before leaving quickly.

"Will, do you have a minute?" Judie, an intern, asked.

"Oh, Judie, I'm sorry, but I really don't. Maybe after lunch? I'm sorry," he apologized.

She shrugged. "It's fine, but I need help with some briefs I am supposed to be drawing up."

"You do know that it is lunch? You can rest and then we'll work later." Will kept glancing at the clock; he was very late, now.

"Oh? Thanks, sorry, I lost track of time." She went to her little room that wasn't even big enough to be called an office; it was more like a closet.

Will left the building and hurried down the street to get to the park. He had no idea how he was supposed to find Jack. Central Park was huge and he hadn't set a specific place to meet. 'This sucks!' he thought.

He decided that the best thing to do would just be to head back home. Jack was bound to turn up there eventually.

-----

Jack had gotten to Will's building as fast as he could, but Will was no where to be seen. Deciding he didn't want to be on the streets alone, he turned around and headed back to the apartment.

He was a little annoyed with Will for not waiting for him when he was the one who said to go to Central Park. 'Of course,' he thought, 'I didn't set a place to meet either.'

Jack walked Claus through the park for a few minutes so that he could get to the apartment slower. He didn't want to return to an empty apartment and wait for Will to come home in the early evening.

Once he decided that he couldn't put off heading to the apartment any longer, he headed back to the building and went up the elevator to Will's apartment. He opened the door and walked inside feeling let down. He unclipped Claus' leash and leaned against the door.

-----

Will had been scrawling a note on a piece of paper for Jack when the door opened. Since he hadn't been able to find his friend, he had gone to a German deli and bought him some lunch. He had hoped Jack would be at the apartment, but he hadn't been and now it was time to get back to work.

Will nearly jumped out of his skin when the door opened and Claus von Puppy came running over to him. He looked up and smiled at Jack when he saw him. "I'm sorry I didn't meet you. I got out of a meeting with a client and..."

Jack cut him off. "Excuses, Will."

"Jack, I'm sorry. I went to the park and I didn't know where to look for you so I came back to the apartment. I didn't mean to leave you there." Will felt bad, he could see Jack wasn't exactly thrilled with him.

Jack just shrugged. "Of course, I understand. You have better things to do than be around me and my sadness." He sat on the couch, angry.

Will just stared at Jack. "You are delirious! Is that really how you think I feel? Jack, I came home to check on you and see if you are alright. I came back and brought food. I even left a note telling you I came back!"

"I know, Will, I'm sorry. I'm just a little upset right now, don't take things personally." He hugged Will. "Oh, and go back to the gym."

"Should I take that one personally?" Will asked, rolling his eyes.

Jack just smiled weakly and went over to the table to see what Will brought him for lunch.

Will went over to his friend and rubbed his back, knowing he had hurt Jack's feelings. Will frowned when Jack tensed up and winced as Will touched him. "What's wrong?"

"That hurts, Will!" Jack snapped. "Those...those guys slammed me into a wall last..." He started to cry. The emotions he was feeling inside had built up so much that he had to have a good cry to release them.

"Aw, Jack, I am sorry," Will whispered. He wrapped his arms around Jack and held him while he cried.

Jack nestled into Will's chest and just let himself cry. After twenty minutes of this, Jack looked up and dried his eyes. "Don't you have to go to work?"

Will looked up at the clock and cursed. "I do. Jack?"

Jack just waved to him. "Yeah, go."

"I'm so sorry." Will kissed his cheek to give Jack comfort, and left.

Jack just sighed and went back over to the couch and watched TV. There wasn't anything on for him to watch, so he turned the TV off and grabbed Will's phone.

He wanted to call Karen. He missed her and he just wanted to talk to her. He punched in her cell number. "Damnit!" he cried. Karen's phone didn't work at her cabin. He started to cry again, he hated being alone.

-----

Will was working with Judie, the intern, on the briefs she was supposed to draw up. Will thought she would make a competent lawyer, but she wouldn't be great. She had made a mess of some of the paperwork and it was going to take her hours to fix it; and he couldn't stay to help her.

After working with her for two hours, he excused himself and went to his office. He couldn't stay at work anymore, he was worried about Jack. As much as he joked about Jack, he loved his friend and hated seeing him in pain.

He grabbed his coat, his keys, and left his office. He needed to get Jack out and do something with him. Will didn't know what to do. Turning the men in was something that he really wanted Jack to do. Will knew he couldn't do it for Jack, and he also knew it was a decision Jack had to make on his own. If Will forced him, Jack would be angry and that wouldn't be good.

Sighing, Will continued walking back towards his apartment. He didn't take the long way through Central Park like he normally did; instead, he walked directly there so that he could be with his friend.

Will opened the door to the apartment to find Jack crying on the couch. Will felt like an ass for leaving his friend alone. He mentally kicked himself when he remembered what Jack said about being alone the night before.

He went over to his friend and put an arm around his shoulder. "Jack? I am sorry."

"Why did you leave me?" Jack asked brokenly. "I didn't want to be alone."

Will sighed. He had had to get back to work; he had promised Judie he would help her. "It wasn't because I care about work more than my friends." Will knew that was probably a thought running through Jack's troubled mind. Why did this have to happen!? Will demanded from himself. At least it wasn't rape.

"Sure," Jack muttered. "You know I am hurting!"

"I know, Jack. It also isn't just physical pain. Maybe you should go to the police." Will picked up some stuff Jack had thrown on the floor earlier when he hadn't been comfortable on the couch.

"No! I am not doing that. I don't even remember what they looked like, Will. Leave me alone about that!" Jack got up from the couch and went over to the kitchen counter. He grabbed his keys and stormed out of Will's apartment and into his own.

Will felt terrible, he knew he shouldn't have pushed it! He left his apartment and went over to Jacks. He paused outside the door as he heard Jack's answering machine being played.

Hey, Jack, it's Ivan. I was wondering why you didn't meet me for lunch today. Anyway, call me! The machine beeped and another message played. Jack, it's Joseph! Where are you? Are we still on for dinner tonight? Call me back A.S.A.P!!! It beeped as well.

Will opened the door a little and looked in on Jack; who was sitting on his counter top with his face in his hands. Will's stomach clenched as he looked at his best friend. "Jack, I'm sorry." He felt he was apologizing a lot lately.

Jack didn't move when Will spoke, he was just trying to put everything behind him.