A/N: Thank you for the reviews :) Yay to more CD fans out there!

Disclaimer: Refer to Chapter 1

Chapter 5: Crash and Burn

Jake killed the engine of his motorcycle as he stopped at the edge of the pier. Taking his helmet off, he stared out into the open ocean. He could vividly remember their last gig and how hard it was to say goodbye to everyone, especially Tiffani. Only this time, he felt even more heartbroken than he had five years ago.

"Jakie!"

His solitude was shattered when he saw a shadow stumbling towards him. Squinting in the dark, Jake immediately recognized who it was.

"Sly?"

"Jakie, it is you! You're here too! Lemme guess, Tiffani dumped you like a pile of … poo! That rhymes!"

Jake took a hold of Sly's shoulders.

"Are you drunk?"

Sly shook his head slowly but a large smirk grew on his face.

"Maybe just a teensy weensy bit…"

"Oh God."

"Don't be so draaaamatic. It's not like Mr. Rockstar here hasn't gotten into a little drinky doo…" he trailed off as he broke down into a fit of uncontrollable sobs.

Giving him a good shake, Jake stared straight at his friend.

"Get a hold of yourself, Winkle."

"We're alone, God, we're freaking alone!" he moaned. "We were supposed to be with the greatest girls on the face of this earth and we're alone… and they're all married…"

Married? Jake narrowed his eyes.

"Who's married?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Sly, who's married," demanded Jake slowly.

"Everyone…" he slurred.

"Sly!"

"Lorena! Mark! They're both happy and married!" he spat out before falling to the ground.

It took a minute for Jake to absorb the news. For some reason, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. That was a lie, he knew the reason, it was because Sly didn't say Tiffani's name. He sat down next to Sly and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. In an instant, Jake regretted being so hard on his former manager.

"I'm so sorry. I know how much Lorena means to you."

"I was just too late."

"Yeah, I know the feeling."

"Tiff's still unhitched. It's not too late for you."

"No, she's not. But, it's too late."

"You gotta fight for her," Sly slurred.

He made two fists and punched the air.

"You know, Winkle, maybe you should listen to your own advice."

Sly stared at Jake for a moment before speaking.

"Lorena's in love," he said rather soberly. "I can't ruin that."

They sat in complete silence, basking under the dim light of the stars. After a few minutes, Sly climbed to his feet and began staggering away.

"Sly!" Jake shouted as he got up. "Sly, where do you think you're going?"

Even though Sly was completely inebriated, he was moving quickly. He stumbled onto the gravel road when a car came off a side street.

"Sly, watch out!"

Barely getting the words out of his mouth, Jake managed to push Sly out of the vehicle's way. Jake's heart almost stopped as he was blinded by glaring headlights. He thought for sure he was a goner. The car came to a screeching halt, just inches from crushing him. When the initial shock wore off, Jake stared in through the front windshield. Mark blinked back at him as he clambered out and rushed over to Jake's side.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't see…" Mark began breathlessly explaining.

Not giving Mark the chance to continue, Jake had already moved to where Sly was lying. Jake cradled Sly's face in his hands as he spoke directly at him.

"C'mon Winkle, wake up. Damn it, wake up."

"Oh my God, Sly," Mark whispered.

Mark crouched down and touched his cousin's clammy forehead. When he lifted his hand away, blood stained his fingers.

Jake and Mark both nervously paced back and forth in the waiting area. The drive to the hospital was a complete blur. All Jake could remember were the high beams of Mark's car, Sly lying motionless on the side of the road and the loud blare of sirens. His jumbled thoughts were interrupted when Lorena, Sam and Tony came bursting through the front doors.

"How is he?" Lorena asked frantically.

"We don't know," replied Mark.

"This is all my fault," she cried as Sam held her.

"If it's anyone's fault is mine," Jake muttered.

"No, I was the one driving," Mark argued.

"But, I pushed him!"

"Stop it, all of you!" exclaimed Sam. "It's nobody's fault."

Lorena wept as Sam tried desperately to calm her friend. The girls held each other as they both sat down in the waiting area, while the guys tensely stared at each other.

"Oh man, this is messed up," said Tony, breaking the silence.

"Yeah I know," Jake sighed.

"He's going to be okay."

"He has to be," replied Mark, letting out a nervous laugh. "For God's sake, I mean this is Sly we're talking about. He's going to be okay, right?"

His question was left unanswered as Matt and Tiffani rushed towards them.

"Sly's still in surgery," Jake explained before either one of them could ask.

Choking back a sob, Tiffani lifted a hand to her mouth. She didn't fight Jake as he pulled her into his arms and brushed his lips against her temple.

"Winkle's going to make it," he whispered into her ear. "We have to believe that."

She wound her arms tightly around his neck. After a moment, Jake drew back and gently caressed her cheek.

"I-I thought it was you," she said, her lip quivering. "When Tony said that you and… I thought I lost you."

Grasping her hands firmly in his, he gazed into her eyes.

"I'm right here," he said simply.

She smiled through her tears but it was short-lived when she spotted a doctor from behind Jake.

"How is he?" Mark asked as everyone gathered around.

"Are you his immediate family?"

"I'm his cousin and…" he looked at each of his other friends. "Yeah, we are his family."

With a sympathetic nod, the doctor continued.

"He's got a nasty cut on his head but it's nothing too serious. He did however sustain a severe concussion from the fall. We'll know more about his injury after an MRI."

"Is he awake?"

The doctor shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. I'll send a nurse to get you when he's set up in his room."

Everyone was completely stunned by the news. Mark was the first one to find his voice.

"Thank you."

Nobody dared to say anything else.

When Lorena walked into the room, she couldn't believe how small Sly looked. He was engulfed in a sea of teal sheets, gauze plastered to his forehead above his right eye. Slowly, she made her way to the side of his bed and gently ran her fingers through his hair before taking a seat. She bit her lip and used every ounce of strength in her body keep herself from crying.

"Hey, Sly, it's me. I hope you can hear me because I have something important to say. Are you listening?"

Lorena waited for him to respond. He didn't move.

"Okay," she continued. "I want you to know that I'm not sorry. I'm not sorry for telling you I was married the way I did."

Stopping abruptly, she waited again, praying that this time he would wake up. When he didn't, she could no longer control the anger and frustration rising inside of her.

"You were the one that left me! Not the other way around and I don't have anything to feel guilty for!"

Her eyes began to fill with tears but she kept going, her voice shaking uncontrollably.

"What the Hell were you thinking? First you get drunk out of your mind and then you jumped in front of Mark's car? He's blaming himself for what you did. And so is Jake, even though he was the one that saved your sorry butt from being run over!"

A single drop fell down her cheek.

"And I love Connor, he makes me happy! He makes me feel like a princess and he loves me and I love him. Damn it I love him!"

Then another tear fell and another, until she was openly weeping.

"Please, Sly, please, wake up. I won't be able to forgive myself if you don't. Please, please…"

She lay her head down beside his and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you," she whispered. "I still love you."

Sam stifled a yawn as she tucked her head into the crook of Tony's neck. Looking a few seats over, Sam could see Lorena curled up next to Matt with her head leaning on Mark's shoulder. Sam had spent the past half an hour consoling Lorena. It took Tony, Matt and Mark to pry her from Sly's side. When they did, she cried herself to sleep after protesting Matt's offer to drive her back to her hotel. Noticing the distress in Sam's eyes, Tony gently stroked her arm.

"Babe, you should get some sleep too," he whispered.

"I'm okay, really."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I wish I could be more useful."

"You're being a great friend, that's plenty useful. And I think you're handling everything better than anyone here."

"I guess. Tiff's handling it pretty well too."

"Speaking of Tiffani, where is she?"

"She and Jake are with Sly," she paused and shook her head. "Poor Jake, he's beating himself up over this."

"Yeah, so is Mark."

"I can't believe this is happening. Tonight was supposed to be special and…"

Her voice wavered slightly.

"Hey, none of us saw this coming," reassured Tony.

"I know, it's just, Sly can't die. Not like this. He can't…"

She wrung her hands together in her lap. Pulling her closer to him, Tony kissed her on the forehead.

"Sly's not going to go down without a fight," Tony said comfortingly.

Laying her head on his shoulder, Sam tightly clasped his hand into hers.

"I don't think I've ever prayed this hard in my life," she admitted softly.

"Me neither."

Sam turned to face Tony and the couple gazed at each other as he gently pushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"I love you, Sam. I want you to know how much I love you."

"I love you too."

"Marry me."

Smiling, Sam gave him a gentle nudge.

"You've already asked me that, my answer hasn't changed."

"No, I mean, right away. The second Sly wakes up, marry me."

She looked at Tony wide eyed.

"You're not joking."

"I'm not. We can still have the big wedding, it's just, we have the whole gang here and I don't want to waste another day."

Grabbing her purse, Sam pulled out the two plane tickets for London. She ripped them in half and handed them to Tony.

"Okay, let's get married."

Tiffani had been mindlessly staring at Sly, her thoughts racing a mile a minute. She wasn't sure what or how to feel. Letting out a deep breath, she gently touched his arm.

"Sly, please, wake up. If not for yourself, do it for Lorena. I think she still loves you," Tiffani paused before correcting herself. "I know she still loves you."

She grasped his hand into hers.

"You wanted me to sing Let Me Be the One? I'll sing it to you if you just promise me you'll wake up. Okay? Do we have a deal?"

He remained motionless. The only movement was from the various pieces of equipment attached to his body.

"Stop dragging your self around," she began to sing unsteadily. "Thinking everybody has let you down. We all need something to get through, don't you know I'll be here for you. Let me be the one, to make it right, when you're all by yourself. Let me be the one…"

Unable to continue, she fought back the tears, her hands clutching his tightly.

"Tiff?"

She turned around and found Jake standing by the doorway. Letting go of Sly, she stood up and embraced him.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized. "He wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me."

Tiffani pulled back so that they were facing each other. She gazed into his eyes before leaning her forehead gently against his.

"You listen to me, Jake Sommers, don't you dare blame yourself for what happened."

"Then why do I feel so guilty?"

"Because, you're sweet and care deeply about the people you love."

He didn't know how, but Tiffani always managed to put a smile on his face so effortlessly.

"I never thought I'd say this but I want him to do something stupid."

"Me too. I want to hear him yell 'Ba-boom.'"

Tiffani turned her attention back to Sly and reached out to rub his arm.

"C'mon, Sly, just open your eyes. You can do it."

"If you know what's good for you, Winkle, do what she says."

Standing behind her, Jake wrapped his arms around Tiffani and held her close.

"He told me to fight for you," he admitted quietly.

Tiffani swallowed hard.

"He did?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah, he was rambling on about how everyone was happy and married. I thought that you… well, you know."

"I'm not."

"I know."

Shifting in his arms, Tiffani looked up at Jake.

"Lorena told me you flew to Fiji."

He nodded his head.

"I did. It was stupid for me to even assume that you would…"

"Stay miserable?" she offered with a small grin.

"More or less."

"That guy…" she started to explain.

"Is none of my business."

"Well, for the record, he didn't last more than a day."

"Cool."

She tried to poke him in the side but he grabbed her finger before she could.

"I was sort of miserable," she admitted. "Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my job. But being on the ocean by myself, it made me really home sick. I missed my dad, my friends… I missed you."

"If you miss me so much why don't you want to get back together?"

"I guess the selfish reason is I didn't want to give up my career."

"I never asked you to."

"Well I couldn't let you give up yours. I know how much it means to you."

Shaking his head, he tapped her on the nose.

"Tiff, I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, you mean everything to me."

She blushed as she fiddled with the sash on her blouse.

"Besides, I never really liked the spotlight as much as I thought I would."

"But you're a star."

"Not anymore, I had my moment of glory."

Jake stared at Sly.

"You know, Winkle was the one that got me out of the funk I was in. I never thought I would ever compromise myself for fame."

"Your second album?"

"It tanked," he chuckled.

"How is that funny?"

"I was singing sugar coated drivel with lyrics that meant absolutely nothing. The minute I got into that recording studio I knew I was making a flop."

"That doesn't sound like the Jake Sommers I remember."

"It wasn't. I really let myself down," nodding his head in Sly's direction, Jake continued. "Sly talked some sense into me. So I dropped my manager and decided to take time off to help him start his own record label."

"Yeah, he told me, Baboom Records," she said fondly. "He said it was your idea."

"Nah, I can't take all the credit. Although I have to admit, there was many times where I wanted to strangle him."

"Who hasn't?"

The pair exchanged wistful glances.

"I would do anything to have one of those moments," Jake confessed.

"You'll get the chance. There will be many more Sly-strangling-worthy moments."

Smiling sadly, Jake tightened his grasp around Tiffani.

"And when they happen, where does that leave us?"

The silence was overwhelming but she couldn't utter a word. Tiffani kept her eyes focused on Sly, leaving the question, hanging in the air.

TBC