Reviewer Responses:

Karens Chanel Sling Backs: LOL! It's OK that you haven't reviewed in a long time, I'm just happy you did so now! I love getting reviews! I'm happy you like what's been happening. Don't worry about Will, he'll be alright. This is a Jack fic, remember? Heehee. People seem to think I've forgotten what this fic is all about: Jack. I hope you continue to think that I've done well with these characters, I'm trying! Thanks for reading and reviewing!!

MattKensethFan:I am so happy you like my fic!! You seem to be one of the few people who understand where I am going with it!! ::grins:: I hope with you that Jack will be truly happy. Don't worry about Will. Jack doesn't want to see anyone, it probably wouldn't help. I hated therapists.

Well, congratulations about being accepted into school!! That's wonderful! Where're you going? It's too bad you won't be able to write much anymore, but I do hope you continue to review and read my story. I have another one I'll be posting soon.

Thanks for reading!

Lamia Astaroth: I really like your story. It is sooooo good! I hope you update it again soon. I know you just updated, but I love it! It is so good. Thanks for the review!

Thank you to anyone I forgot. I am so sorry I missed you!

Chapter 14

And then last night I had that strange dream
Where everything was exactly how it seemed
Where concerns about the world getting warmer
The people thought they were just being rewarded
For treating others as they like to be treated
For obeying stop signs and curing diseases
For mailing letters with the address of the sender
Now we can swim any day in November

Don't wake me I plan on sleeping

-Postal Service (I think that's who sang this…)

Jack knew better than to sleep next to Will, he didn't want to get sick. So, that night, Jack made himself a little bed on the couch and decided it would be best if he slept there. That way, he decided, he would be close to Will if he needed anything.

It was a restless night for Jack. He was worrying about everything that had happened in the last days and didn't know what to think. Will being sick was one more thing for him to worry about. It was hard for him to think about these things and he didn't know what to do. Everything that was bothering him seemed like things he could worry about alone, things that Will didn't need to think of. He felt that it wasn't fair to make Will concerned, especially since he was sick.

"I can do it alone," Jack whispered to himself. "I'll be fine eventually." He rolled over and shut his eyes, letting his lies lull him to sleep.

-----

Will woke up the next day around ten O'clock and felt much better. He decided it would be best if he didn't go in to work, but the next day he could go in and do what needed to be done. Pushing himself out of bed, he decided that if he still felt well that evening, he'd take Jack out to a movie or something that would get his mind of everything that had happened recently.

He walked into the living room and frowned when he saw Jack was sitting on the couch watching television. He had figured Jack would have gone to the gym or to see Karen. "Hey," Will greeted, sitting down next to Jack on the couch.

"Mmm," Jack replied, not responding much. It was as if he hadn't even noticed that Will had sat down next to him.

"What are you watching?" Will asked, turning his attention to the TV. He saw that Jack had turned Cabaret on and felt awful. "I-I thought we were going to watch that together."

"You didn't want to," Jack replied, not taking his eyes from the television. "It's no big deal, besides, it's due back today."

"Sorry," Will replied. He was starting to shiver and got up to get a blanket from the bed. When he returned with the comforter, he saw that Jack had curled up into a ball and rested his head on the arm of the couch, asleep. "Jack?" Will asked, worried. He went over to his boyfriend and ran a hand through his hair. "Are you asleep?" He knew it was a stupid thing to ask since obviously Jack was sleeping.

Jack stirred, he hadn't been sleeping, but he had been close to it. "No," he whispered. "No, I'm awake." He opened his eyes and gazed sleepily up at Will. "Do you need anything? I'll get it for you." He made to get up from the couch, but Will pushed him back down.

"No," Will told him. "You need to sleep." He looked Jack over and a wave of worry overtook him when he saw the black bags under Jack's eyes and the paleness of his skin. "You're going to make yourself sick. When's the last time you got a good nights sleep?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "A while ago, I guess." He smiled at Will and settled himself on the couch again. "Don't worry about me, Will; you're the one who's sick, not me. I'll be alright soon."

Will sighed; he knew Jack wasn't going to be alright soon. Everything that had been happening had affected Jack negatively and Will didn't know what to do about it. He wanted Jack to feel better and stop cooping himself up in the apartment. It wasn't healthy for Jack to stay in for days at a time, only going out to walk his dog or rent a movie. "I have to worry about you," Will replied. "I love you."

Jack smiled and closed his eyes, the smile lingering on his lips. "And I love you too."

There was a brief, comfortable silence before Jack's voice broke the peace.

"You ought to go back to bed and get some rest," he told Will.

Will sighed and leaned back against the couch. "I'm much better now, sweetie. I'll be fine tomorrow, don't worry about me."

Jack opened his eyes and sat up; scrutinizing Will to see if he was lying. "Well, alright. You wanna sit with me? The movie's just ended, but we both should probably take a nap."

Will smiled. "Okay, that sounds good." He leaned on Jack and closed his eyes, quickly falling off to sleep.

-----

Grace walked into work, carrying a coffee in one hand and a bag in the other. She was late, but didn't care because, like the day before, she had no clients coming in. She just wanted to check her messages and then head over to Rob and Ellen's. A while ago, she and Will had promised to visit them in New Jersey, but never had. Now that she and Leo weren't together anymore, Grace decided it would be a good idea to visit them.

Karen walked into the office and sat down at her desk. "Hi, honey," she greeted Grace. "Huh…" She looked at Grace's clothes. "Where'd you buy those things?"

"Will gave them to me," Grace replied absently while she listened to her messages.

"Oh..." Karen couldn't find anything wrong with Grace's outfit and looked through her purse to get pills. "I," she began, but pretended to gag, "like your clothes."

Grace looked up at Karen, incredulous. "Really?" She had never heard Karen say anything nice about her clothing before. "Are you sober?" she asked.

Karen popped a pill in her mouth. "Of course not, honey. Ahh, that's better." She began to rummage around in her purse looking for something.

"Who are you and what have you done with Karen?" Grace asked, looking around. "Are you her nice twin?"

Karen chuckled. "Oh, honey, you and your imagination." She shook her head and pulled a perfume out of her purse. "Here, those clothes your queer gave you smell awful." She got up and sprayed perfume all over Grace.

"Hey, Karen!" Grace cried. "Now I smell like alcohol! What is in that bottle anyway?" She snatched the bottle and sniffed it. "Whiskey!? Karen!"

Karen laughed maniacally and sat back down at her desk.

Grace rolled her eyes and walked towards the elevator. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Karen grunted and ignored Grace.

-----

Will woke up only forty-five minutes after he had dozed off. He hadn't really been too tired and thought it would be nice if he took a shower and changed into some of his own clothes.

He detached himself from Jack, grabbed his keys from the counter, and left the apartment. He needed to get some of his things from his room and take a shower. It would just be easier to shower at his apartment, so he took his clothes from his bedroom and went into the bathroom to shower.

Will hoped Jack didn't wake up while he was gone; it wouldn't be good for Jack to think Will had left him to do something. Will quickly took a shower and stepped out and dried off. He groaned when he looked in the mirror and saw he had a five O'clock shadow. Looking for his razor and shaving cream, he muttered to himself about how he should have shaved the day before.

-----

Jack had woken up the second Will had gotten up from the couch and left the apartment. He was confused and upset that Will had left and not told him where he was going. Jack felt that he should have been told because he didn't want to be alone; it was something that scared him.

"Why'd he go?" Jack asked himself. He looked around the apartment, wondering if maybe Will would be gone for the rest of the day. Jack hoped not, but knew it might be possible since Will had taken his keys.

Jack gasped and thought, "He's turning into me! Milking a man for all he's worth and then leaving when you're tired of them!"

-----

Will finished shaving and changed into his clothes. He wore comfy clothes and decided he had to buy more pants since he liked these so much. The bathroom didn't have a hamper for dirty clothes, so Will walked back to his bedroom and put Jack's clothes in his laundry bag, vowing to do the laundry the next day after work. He grabbed some other clothes for work the next day, and headed back over to Jack's apartment to spend more time with his boyfriend.

-----

Grace hated public transport in the middle of the day. The only people on the busses were crazy people and semi crazy people. She would have taken a taxi, but the bus was cheaper and she hadn't been able to hail a cab. Her clothes were in the bag she had on her lap. She was planning on spending the night at Rob and Ellen's so that she could spend time with their family.

A man boarded the bus and sat down next to Grace. "Hi," he greeted, his white teeth shining in a smile.

"Hi," Grace replied, finding herself smiling back at him despite herself.

"Where are you headed to?" the man asked.

"I'm visiting some friends of mine," Grace told him. She decided this man was perfect. He had dark brown hair and light green eyes, she found herself liking his looks more and more as she looked at him.

"That sounds like fun. I'm going to visit my sister, she lives in New Jersey." The guy smiled at Grace again. "I'm Dean, by the way."

"I'm Grace," Grace responded. "It's nice to meet you Dean. What's your sister's name?"

"Libba," Dean told her. "She moved to Jersey about six months ago with her husband and their daughter. I haven't seen them since they moved and I'm looking forward to meeting my new niece!"

"Are you married?" Grace found herself asking. She blushed when she realized she had said it.

Dean laughed. "No, I was engaged to a beautiful girl, but she decided that her landlord was better to sleep with."

"Aw, I'm sorry," Grace said sincerely. She felt bad for him; she knew how it felt to have someone you loved sleep with someone else.

"It's alright. What about yourself? A gorgeous girl like you can't be single!" He grinned at her.

"I'm divorced," Grace replied. "It's a long story; I'd rather not go in to it."

"Fair enough," Dean said and changed the subject.

-----

Will walked back in to Jack's apartment and frowned when he saw Jack was awake with silent tears running down his face while he looked deep in thought. He dropped his things on the counter and rushed over to the couch where Jack was. Ignoring the cough coming deep from his chest, he took Jack into an embrace and tilted his face upwards. "What's wrong?" he asked when his coughing had subsided.

Jack twitched as if he were coming out of a dream. "What? Oh, hi, Will."

"Jack, what's wrong?" Will asked. He watched as the tears kept spilling from Jack's eyes. "Why are you crying?"

"Why did you leave me?" Jack asked, tears starting to stop but his eyes still glassy and brimming with tears.

"I needed a shower and I didn't want to wake you up. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to leave you alone for a long time." Will kissed Jack's head.

"Oh, I thought you were tired of me." Jack looked at Will sadly.

Will wanted to cry himself when he saw the raw sadness in Jack's eyes. "No, never," Will whispered. "I love you."

"But you left me alone," Jack said. "You left me alone."

Will felt tears in his own eyes threatening to spill. "I didn't mean to," he repeated. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

Jack nestled up next to Will and hugged him. "I didn't want to be alone, but I'll be alright now that you're back."

Will smiled. "I hope so."