Reviewer Responses:

SnkNJak: Aw, I am happy you like my story. I hope you continue enjoying it. Yeah, I thought it would be better for Karen and Grace to be away, they will appear later, but not quite yet. You really think my characterization is perfect? Wow, thank you! Please read and review again!

Fiddlesticks: Glad you think it's interesting. I hope you review again!

Slick Pen: I am so happy you love it! You are one of the best Will and Grace writers on this site and I am thrilled that you enjoy my fic! Hope you like this chapter!

The Blue Light: Don't you worry, I will continue updating!!! Yeah, a little Jack/Will is always nice, but I doubt I will be putting any in this fic; maybe the next one. - I really hope you continue to enjoy this fic! Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

Chapter 3

Jack ignored Will as he came over and gently rubbed his back. He didn't want to acknowledge his friend, because it would mean remembering what had happened the night before. It had been on his mind every second of the day, and he just wanted it to leave him alone.

He turned around to look at Will and smiled sadly. His friend was being good to him and he should appreciate it. "You don't have to be sorry, Will; I understand." He didn't, really. He couldn't understand how his best friend could just leave him when he was at an all time low, he didn't understand why Will had gone to work and had only returned because he felt guilty. It wasn't right! He wanted Will to come back because he was worried, not guilty!

Will winced when he heard the accusation in Jack's voice, even though it was clear he was trying to hide it. "Jack, I came back because I was worried about you. I felt bad about leaving you like that and I know I messed up. I'm sorry. I really want to help you feel better. It was wrong of me to leave you. Can I get you anything?"

"I don't want anything, I just wanted you to stay with me," Jack replied, depressed.

Will groaned. "Jack, I didn't mean to make you feel bad. Come on, let me take you out. I'll take the day off tomorrow and you and I can spend all day together."

"I wanted you to be here earlier, I am going out with Jerry tonight," Jack snapped.

"I thought his name was Joseph?" Will raised an eyebrow at Jack. He cringed when he realized that he had just admitted to eavesdropping.

"Yeah, him, whatever!" Jack jumped off the counter and grabbed his phone to call Joseph.

"Jack!" Will whined. "I care about you, I'm sorry!"

Jack ignored him. "Yeah, hi Joseph, it's Jack. Yeah, we're still on for tonight. Alright, I'll see you later." He hung the phone up and went into his bedroom.

Will sighed sadly, knowing he had messed up and feeling terrible. He didn't know what he could do for Jack. He didn't want Jack to go out on a date that night - he wasn't sure it would be good for him. If Jack got hurt or if anything happened to him, Will wouldn't forgive himself. Sighing, he walked out of Jack's apartment with his head hung in sadness.

Jack poked his head out of his bedroom door and watched Will leave. "Good, he doesn't care about me anyway," Jack said, trying to convince himself. "It'll be better to get out with Joseph; he actually cares about my wellbeing."

-----

It was after midnight, and Will was sitting alone on his couch eating ice cream. He was incredibly worried about Jack, but he didn't know what to do. He had wanted to follow them to make sure Jack would be safe. He hadn't, because he didn't want to be accused of stalking his best friend.

He was watching sitcoms on TV, but couldn't find anything that really captivated his interest. He was so worried about Jack and of something happening to him, that he didn't look up when the lock clicked and the door to his apartment opened. When he heard whimpering above him, he jumped because he hadn't even noticed that Jack had entered his apartment.

"Will, I couldn't do it," Jack muttered. He sat down on the couch next to Will and pulled the couch blanket around him. "We went out for dinner, but I didn't want to do anything after."

"What time did you leave at?" Will asked. It was after midnight and it seemed pretty late to Will. How long had dinner taken them?

"Well, Joseph was supposed to pick me up at ten, but he was late and then we had to try to get his car to start. Eventually it did, and we got to go to boy bar, but I didn't want to stay and I called a cab to come home. I couldn't do it, I was so upset and fidgety that Joseph told me to stop bugging him. How insensitive is that?!" Jack felt ready to cry again. Nothing bad had happened that night, but he was depressed.

Will wrapped an arm around his friend and hugged him. "I'm sorry, Jack. How are you feeling?"

"Sad," Jack replied. "This is worse than when I didn't know who my dad was."

"Let's not think about that," Will cut in. He didn't want Jack to open old wounds.

"I'm tired, I just want to go to sleep," Jack told him. "Can I stay here again?"

Will nodded and yawned. He was incredibly tired. Sleeping on a chair the night before had not given him the best rest. The only reason he hadn't gone to bed, was because he had wanted to wait for Jack to get home. He wanted his bed, but he would give it to Jack if he really wanted it. "Of course, you can stay here as long as you like."

"Thanks, Will." He got up from the couch and walked towards Will's bedroom. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

"I know," Will replied and got up from the couch too. If Jack was going to steal his bedroom, he at least wanted some clothes to sleep in on the couch. He followed Jack into his bedroom.

Jack smiled at Will. "I'm not going to take your bed again tonight. Sorry about doing that last night. I was just coming in here to borrow something to sleep in tonight." He went through Will's drawers until he found a big shirt and bottoms that he could sleep in. "These'll work!"

"You can sleep in here if you like, Jack," Will told him, he didn't want Jack to feel lonely.

"It doesn't really matter where I sleep, Will. I will still be by myself in a room. I just want someone else in the apartment to be with anyway," Jack said, not realizing how this sounded.

Will felt slightly hurt by Jack's words. He felt as though Jack would have just taken anyone so that he didn't have to be alone. Will knew that wasn't what he had meant, but that was how it sounded. "Well, alright. Do you want to stay in Grace's room?"

"No, I don't feel comfortable in there." Jack shuddered. "Too girly feeling."

Will just looked at Jack oddly.

Jack ignored the look and went into Will's closet to change his clothes before just dropping them on the floor. "I guess I'll sleep on the couch." He was hesitant to leave the room. Despite his words, he wanted to be with Will. He wanted the comfort.

Will noticed Jack's hesitancy. "Why don't you stay in here? I'll sleep on the floor and you could have my bed."

"Alright!" Jack hopped into Will's bed and snuggled under the covers.

Will rolled his eyes and grabbed some night clothes. He would have to set up a bed on the floor so that he didn't leave Jack alone at night. He shook his head ruefully, the things he did for his friends.

He went into the bathroom, changed his clothes, brushed his teeth, and went to the hall closet to get bedding for the floor. When he came back into his bedroom, he saw that Jack was curled up in a little ball in the bed. Will smiled, hoping Jack would feel better soon. He turned out the light.

Will made a little bed on the floor and lay down. It was quite comfortable for the floor. He hated camping and sleeping on the ground, but this wasn't too bad.

After a few moments, Jack started to move around, he hadn't been asleep. "Will?" he ventured.

"I'm right here, Jack." Will patted the bed and felt Jack grasp his hand.

"Will, you know, even though I make fun of you and well, you know. I really value your friendship, thank you," Jack said seriously.

Will expected Jack to laugh and make a joke, but when that didn't happen, he smiled. "You're a good friend too, Jack. I'm always here for you."

Jack smiled and fell asleep holding Will's hand for comfort.

Will squeezed Jack's hand and fell asleep. His hand fell to the floor when he finally fell asleep.

-----

The next morning, Will woke up feeling disoriented until he realized he was asleep on his floor, and then he smiled. He sat up and looked to see if Jack was still sleeping on his bed. He smiled when he saw that he still was and reached out to squeeze Jack's hand. "I hope you'll feel better soon, Jack," he whispered.

Jack stirred a little and rolled over. He was still asleep, but Will's words had registered in his mind.

The phone rang and Will went to grab it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Will!" Vince greeted. "Are you busy today?"

"Oh, hi, Vince!" Will replied happily. "Today really isn't a good day. What about tomorrow?" He knew Jack had to work the next day, so maybe he could go out with Vince for a few hours while Jack was at work.

"Is something wrong? Do you have to work? We could always just meet for lunch," Vince suggested.

"No, I'm not working today, but I just can't do anything. You see, Jack isn't doing well and I promised to keep him company," Will said apologetically.

"Is he sick?" Vince asked.

"No, he's not sick; he's just a little depressed. Don't worry about it, Vince, we'll do something tomorrow." Will looked at Jack who was still asleep on his bed.

"Sounds good, Will. I'll call you tomorrow," Vince told him, and hung up the phone.

Will sighed and went into the kitchen to fix himself breakfast. He knew Vince was annoyed with him because he always put his friends first, but that was how he operated. He wasn't going to throw away years of friendship for a guy he might not stay with forever, it wasn't worth it. He was just happy that Vince hadn't said anything; it would have become an argument.

"You can go out with him if you like," Jack said. He had gotten out of bed and was standing behind Will.

"No, I'm not doing that. Today you and I are just going to stay here, talk, and watch movies," Will said.

Jack beamed and hugged Will. "Thanks, Will! I am so happy!"

Will chuckled. "You're a good friend, Jack. I don't want to see you upset."

"Will, I need to talk to you like you're a lawyer," Jack said seriously.

"I am a lawyer," Will replied.

"You know what I mean!" Jack snapped.

Will nodded and sobered. "What is it, Jack?"

"Would it be best if I went and reported this crime to the police?" Jack really didn't want to say anything to the police. He was sure it wouldn't help at all.

"It would be a good idea," Will replied. "But I think it might be a little late. You can still report it, of course, but I'm not sure if it would help any."

Jack sighed. "I really don't want to say anything. I know they won't catch the people."

"Jack, if you want to tell the police, you should. Even though you don't want to report this, you should." Will knew it would be best if Jack reported the crime, but it was Jack's call, not his.

"I'm not going to the police. I can't, I won't!" He sat down at the kitchen table and ate some of the food Will put in front of him.

"It's your call," Will replied.

"Yes, it is," Jack told him. "So don't meddle or try to change my mind. I am not telling the police."

Will wanted to shake Jack for being so stupid, but he didn't. He suddenly got and idea. "Jack, why don't you tell Vince? He's a cop and it would be easy for you."

Jack seemed to think about it. "Well, I guess that would be alright. But can we not do it today? I just don't want to right now. Maybe tonight I could say something to him."

Will nodded. "Alright, that's fine; as long as you tell him. I want the police to file a report."

"You meddled," Jack teased.

"I know, but it was good meddling," Will replied.

Jack snickered. "Thanks, Will."

Will just shook his head and drank the coffee he had made.