About 3 hours went by. Joe was now laying in the bed with an ice pack resting on his forehead and Bailey's body was aligned against his as she stared up at the ceiling with his free arm wrapped around her shoulders. They laid in silence as Sarah clicked around on the laptop and Kevin and Nick stared at the TV screen.

A few workers of the hotel came up to check up on the two about 20 minutes after the incident. Kevin stood his place at the door, assuring the clerk that everything was fine. Since then, things had been quiet. No one had heard anything from Tori or Jake, and Mr. & Mrs.Jonas hadn't returned yet with Frankie.


The stillness in the room was broken with a knock on the door.

"Got it." Nick stated, then hopped off the couch and opened the door. "What?" he asked sternly at the person standing in front of him. He tried not to smile at her black eye.

"Let Bailey know that Ross will be here in the morning." Bailey tensed up at the sound of Tori's voice. "It'd save some time if you told her to pack her bags now."

Joe tightened his grip around Bailey as he felt her muscles trying to pull herself up. "You're not going anywhere." he said softly into her ear, then kissed her temple.

As much as she wanted to believe him, she knew that when Ross got there everything was going to explode. After hearing Nick shut the door, she nuzzled her head into Joe's chest. Nick scratched his head, not knowing if he should repeat what he was just told, or assume that everyone had heard.

Bailey sighed, letting Nick know that he didn't have to say anything. With that, he made his way back to the couch. She sat up on the bed, pulling away from Joe. His back rested against the headboard and his legs were stretched out in front of him. She placed her hand on his leg, then turned her head and looked at him. Once again, she got lost in his warm eyes. He brought his hand up and rubbed the small of her back for comfort. A tingle fluttered up her spine, making her realize that she really cared for him and that he felt the same.

Holding back tears, she leaned in towards him. Softly, their lips met. Joe placed the ice pack down next to him, then rested his hand on her jaw line as she pulled her body closer to him. With Joe still sitting on the bed, she swung her leg over and straddled his waist. After realizing that the others had made their way into his parents' room, he moved his hands down to her waist, then to her thighs.

Bailey kissed him deeply and passionately as her heart thumped in her mind. Oh how she loved being in his arms, his moist lips pecking hers. He was the only guy to ever make her feel so comfortable, loved, and wonderful all at once, all the time. After a moment, she pulled her lips away and rested her forehead on his. She slowly opened to eyes, staring directly at him. A tiny smile formed on her face, making him chuckle.

"What?" she asked quietly.

"You're gorgeous." he whispered.

"You're more gorgeous." she replied cheekily.

"Hm, even with this black eye?" Joe asked as she pulled back, sitting on his lap.

She lightly touched it with her finger. "It actually doesn't look that bad. -But yes, even with that black eye."

"It doesn't hurt anymore." he stated.

"Joe, I'm really sorry."

"It's not your fault, so stop saying sorry. The guy had it coming." he smirked, then grasped her hand in his.

"That's not going to stop me from going home tomorrow."

"Bailey, stop. You're not going home!" he exclaimed. She got up off his lap and walked across the room as the tears fell. "I'll get my mom to talk to Ross." he added.

Hearing that made her believe even more that she was going to be receiving a plane ticket to Philly tomorrow morning.

"I give up." Bailey stated, her back towards Joe.

"Give up?" he repeated, sliding off the bed. "On what? Us?"

Bailey turned to face him. The silent tears continued to fall. "This is too much, Joe. After two weeks -"

"Stop saying that! 'Two weeks'. So what? This happened!" he pointed at his heart, then to hers. "Yeah, two weeks, and I love it! Things have been perfect," she lowered his eyes at him. "-between us. It would've been paradise without the outside barging in." Bailey didn't know what to say to him. "I'm going to do everything in my power to get you to stay."

"Joe." she stared at him from across the room.

"I mean it." he finished sternly.

- - - - -

Bailey woke up the next morning with something cold on her face. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see a dark figure standing above her. The room was pitch black and the room was still.

"Let's go." she listened to Ross' harsh whisper. "Hurry and let's go, before you wake anyone up." she heard him rustling a bag beside the pull-out couch. Bailey looked over to see Joe sound asleep next to her, his hair was sticking every which way as he drooled on his pillow.

"What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"4am. Now let's go!" his voice was harsh but quiet.

"Are you even going to hear me out?" Bailey hissed at him, standing up from the bed.

"We don't have time for that now." tears stared to form in her eyes. "Plane takes off at 6, we could grab breakfast at the airport before you go."

"Ross, -"

"Now." he finished sternly, starting for the door. "-And I swear, if you wake any of the boys up, you'll be in deeper shit than you are in now."

The tears rolled once he shut the hotel door, leaving her in the darkness. Her mind was screaming to wake Joe up, just to kiss him one last time. To tell him that'd she'd be fine and that he'd be better off without her there anyway. Instead, she grabbed her duffel bag, slipped on her flip flops and exited the quiet room wearing a pair of tiny PJ shorts and Joe's "PONED" shirt.

Too upset to talk, Bailey silently followed Ross down the hallway and onto the elevator. The tension was insane. She couldn't believe this was happening; she was really leaving; without a goodbye. Before the elevator doors opened to the lobby, Ross stole a glance at her tear-stained face. Quickly looking away, he headed through the lobby, out the door and into a taxi cab.

The ride to the airport was silent. Every once in a while, Ross would look at her saddened face, but still he didn't cave. What he was doing was for the best, for everyone. Once entering the airport, Bailey finally cracked.

"- And you're not even going to hear me out?" she forced the words out of her mouth, her voice coming out a little louder than she wanted it to. There was so much frustration leaking out of her, there were so many things she wanted to scream at him, but people already started to stare.

"I think I've heard enough." he replied simply, leading her through the commotion of the airport.

"Heard enough from who, Tori?" she asked, sounding amused. Quickly, her sadness was transforming into anger.

"You did a number on her face." Ross glared down at her. "Your mother isn't too happy about that." Bailey groaned. "For a smart girl, you did a really stupid thing."

"If she hadn't -"

"Bailey, I don't want to hear it."

"This is the problem, Ross! You won't hear me out! There are two sides to every story." she exclaimed, throwing her hands up as they weaved in and out of people.

"You've obviously seen what happened to Joe! If it wasn't for you, he'd be fine!" he replied. "If these boys are going to be at risk with you here, then you need to go."

"Are you kidding me?" Bailey's response was packed with attitude.

"There's no use in talking about it, you're going home and that's final!"

"You don't even know the half of it! Jake -"

"BAILEY, YOU'RE GOING HOME!" he yelled, making the people around them stop to look at them. She bit her tongue, looking up at him, not wanting another tear to fall because of him. He had won, she was going home. "I don't want you contacting anyone in the crew either." he glanced over at her as they approached her gate. "If I find out you're still talking to Joe, or anyone, there will be bigger issues than there are now. You hear me?"

Bailey narrowed her eyes, concentrating on what was going on in front of her. All she wanted to do was scream. Scream and punch the hell of the evil bastard next to her. She had no idea why he was doing this or why he was speaking of the unbelievable, but she felt like she was having a horrible nightmare.

- - - - -

"She was all I ever wanted,

She was all I ever needed and more.

She walked out my door.

And she went away

Left my heart in two.

Left me standing here

Singing all these blues.

And you left without a single word

Not even 'sorry'

I might've hurt worse to hear you say

'I'm leaving, goodbye.'

But your smile still makes my heart sing

Another sad song.

I can't forget it,

Won't regret it.

'Cause I'm still in love with you."

Joe sang sadly into the Miami crowd, Bailey's picture in his mind. He watched as the crowd sung along with him, completely oblivious of to what the lyrics were even about. His nose started to burn, wanting to cry right then, thinking about how he woke up that morning without her. Thinking of the conversation they had the night before, right after they talked to his mom about everything, loving how she was so supportive. How they talked about how much they cared for each other and just loved being around one another. After they had decided to pull through the drama and everything that was going on, she got up and left. He couldn't believe it.

He tried getting a hold of her, millions of times it seemed, but he got nothing. Just her voice on her answering machine. His heart ached every time he dialed her number, hoping, wishing for her to pick up after that 3rd ring. Even after Ross had told him to let her go, he disobeyed his orders and tried anyway. It was no use. It felt as if she was gone forever.