As day flows into night and night flows into day, the time passed quickly between Jessica and her new friends. For the whole month he was home, Jessica saw Nick almost everyday. Sanya and Brian had grown very close and sometimes it seemed like they were closer than Nick and Jessica. The day had finally arrived when the guys would be going back on tour. It was a day that they all had been excited for, yet dreading at the same time.

"They are so oblivious," Sanya commented as she and Brian stood in the airport terminal. They could see Nick and Jess in the magazine shop, flirting as usual.

Brian looked at Sanya's face as she watched them. He studied her carefully trying to embed the image of her into his mind. Her lips. Her eyelashes. Every curve, even the way she stood. It was if he was making sure he never forgot what she looked like, although he knew in his heart, he would never forget her.

"I'm gonna miss ya, Sanya. More than you could possibly ever know," he spoke quietly in her ear.

She looked down and he could see her shoulders begin to shake. Brian pulled her into a tight hug.

"Please don't cry," he pleaded and tilted her chin up with his finger to look in her eyes. It took all that she had, but Sanya fought back her tears and threw her arms around him. Brian held onto her body firmly against his own, and rocked her back and forth, trying to calm her nerves. "I'm so sorry I have to leave you."

"Don't say that," Sanya scolded and fidgeted with Brian's collar. "I completely understand. This is your job. You get to go out and make hundreds of people happy on a daily basis..." she stopped playing with his collar and looked him in the eye. "But I want you to understand that you will never make any one as happy as you've made me," she kissed his cheek.

Brian sighed and hugged her tighter. "Do you know how much you mean to me?" he asked her and she shook her head no in his chest. "I think I love you, Sanya," he whispered in her ear and he could feel her sob against his chest.

"Don't say that," she said muffled through his shirt. "You're making it harder for me to let you go."

"I love you," he repeated. After a short moment of silence Sanya found her voice.

"I love you too, Brian. With all my heart. Never forget that," she said and reached up and kissed his lips softly. "You have to promise me you won't run off after the first pretty, flirty face you see," she semi laughed.

"As long as you promise not to run off with some rich, debonair, tall guy-"

"You are like half a foot taller than me so shut up," Sanya exaggerated.

Brian smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Geeze and they think we're overly sentimental," Jessica smartly remarked as she thumbed through magazines trying to find one for Nick to take with him on the plane ride.

Nick walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I think it's sweet," he said and kissed the back of her neck since her hair was up in a ponytail. "Don't you?"

"Yeah, but..." Jessica turned around in his arms. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry, and seeing them be like that makes me remember that you're leaving me for a while and I just don't wanna think about that right now," she said really fast and leaned her head against his chest.

"Jess..." Nick laughed. "It's ok to cry. I'm gonna cry when they call that plane and I have to leave you," he admitted and she looked up into his eyes.

"You will?" she sounded like a 3 year old.

"Jessica, listen to me," Nick said and set his hands on her shoulders. "There is no way, you could possibly have any idea, how much I'm going to miss you," he said truthfully.

Jessica turned around and started walking in another direction. "This is too much," she said to herself but Nick heard her.

"No, it's not. It will only be hard if you make it that way," he said and stayed where he was.

"Nick, you don't understand. I have never met anyone in my entire life, who I care about as much as I care about you. Except for Cici of course but..." she said and walked back into his arms. "I'm so scared I'm gonna lose you," she buried her head on his shoulder.

"Never. I would never let that happen," he assured her and rubbed her back. "I'll be seeing you in no time."

"Yeah, the last day of November. It's May. Do you know how long that is? Do you know how many women are going to be after you? Do you expect me to believe that you're gonna actually want to come back to me after experiencing all that?"

"I've done this all before. It's nothing new. I'm going to be counting down the days till I can come back to you. November 30th is going to be the best day of my life. And I'll see you before then. You already promised me you were gonna come out and visit me. Are you going back on that promise?" Nick pouted.

Jessica shook her head and gave him a quick kiss. "No. If I could, I'd be out there with you for the whole tour, but Kayci has camp this summer, and then she starts Pre-school in August. I have to be here for all of that."

"I understand," Nick nodded. He smiled and pulled her into a strong hug. He cupped her face in his hands and she moved her arms around his waist. "We are going to be fine," he kissed her forehead and her lips gently.

"Hey Nick. Our planes about to be called," Kevin came up behind Nick with Kayci on his hip. "My mom wanted to know if she could rent your daughter, Jess?" Kevin said in all honesty. "They had a nice little conversation on the phone."

They all laughed and Kayci just giggled because she had no idea what was going on. They all walked out of the store and into the terminal where everyone was. An announcer came over the intercom and gave the first call for their flight. Sanya and Brian said a quick good bye and she ran to the car knowing if she stayed she'd have a break down. The guys all said good bye to Jessica and Kayci, Brian with tears forming in his eyes, and boarded the plane leaving them alone with Nick.

"Say good bye Kayci. You won't get to see Nick for a while," she passed Kayci to Nick and she hugged him and kissed his cheek.

"Where are you going, Nickers?" he hated that nickname but thought it was cute coming for Kayci.

"I have to go on a long trip and I won't be back for a while," Kayci looked confused. "But don't you worry cause I'll see you really soon, ok?" she nodded and hugged him again.

Jessica watched and began to cry silently as the tears rolled down her face. Nick put Kayci down and she held onto her mother's hand tightly. Nick took Jessica's other hand and brought it up to his lips.He brushed away her tears with his thumb and she forced back a sob by biting her lip. He leaned in and kissed her lips softly but surely, knowing all to well that it would be one of their last ones for a while. She did something that had become sort of a ritual for them. She kissed his lips twice and then lingered on his lips the third time. They leaned their foreheads against each others.

"Bye, Babe," she barely had a voice to say it with. As she did, the announcer came back over giving the last call for the first class passengers on the flight.

A tear creeped down Nick's face as he said "C-ya, Sexy," back. He brought her hand to his lips again and then walked with her to the gate with their fingers intertwined. She stopped when she couldn't go any further and let go of his hand. She wiped a tear from his cheek and kissed it. Slowly, she backed away. Jessica waved and blew him a kiss with two fingers and he held it to his heart. She picked up Kayci, and she waved happily which brought a smile to both of their faces. Nick turned around, and went to board his plane. Jessica stood there watching until she couldn't see him anymore. Then, she moved Kayci to her back and ran to the window to watch the plane take off. She touched the glass and followed the aircraft with her eyes as it carried off her most prized possession. Her heart.

The two that were left walked slowly out of the airport, hand in hand, to the car. Sanya had finished her crying and was waiting for them. They got in and pulled out of the parking lot, heading for home.

That night, Jessica cried to herself, not being able to sleep. It had begun to rain, and it beat hard on the soft, wet ground, outside. Not caring, she got up and went to her front door. She opened it and stepped outside onto her porch. Jessica walked down her steps and let rain fall on her face, washing away the tears. She went back inside and ran a hot bath. Sitting in the water, she thought about how much she missed him already. After getting out and slipping back into her room, Jessica laid in her bed and watched the rain pour down her window.

"Rain falls, angry on the tin roof, as we lie awake in my bed. Your my survival, your my living proof, my love is alive and not dead. So tell me, that we belong together, dress it up, with the trappings of love. I'll be captivated, I'll hang from your lips. Instead of the gallows of heartache, that hang from above."

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