Choices

Hi everybody! Another section is out as promised. Unfortunatly for all the Choices fans out there in cyberland, Choices is going on hiatus for a little while. Pretend it's a TV show and it's the summer and enjoy the reruns. Aka read it again if you want. If not, go read something else. I suggest 'Forever', 'Brian and Me', 'Separate Lives', 'Studio in the Country', 'Search and Rescue', 'Lance in Shining Armor', and of course 'Escape.' Also this is the last section where the stories will be merged. The tour is over and both bands are moving on with their lives. Don't worry there will still be some times when the stories are together. I know how worried you all were about that. I'm really tired, so I seriously doubt much of this is making sense.

Disclaimer: umm...you know this by now right?

Choices

Chapter 14

JC squeezed Joey's hand tightly. He smiled at him for a moment before letting go of Joey's hand to turn into the driveway. Joey looked out the window at the house they were pulling up to. It was a beautiful day out, warm and sunny in Orlando. The guys had been given the whole week off between the European and US tour. JC had suggested that they take the time to go see their parents. Joey was reluctant to go confront his parents, but he knew it was a good time to do it.

JC parked the car behind the minivan in the driveway. "You ready love?" Joey nodded, smiling at him gently. JC leaned over and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Don't worry. Gram and Grampa are going to love you. Mom and Dad already love you. So, relax. This is going to be easy."

"I know. I guess I'm just worried about tomorrow."

JC rubbed Joey's shoulder softly. "How about we just take this one day at a time? We'll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Agreed?"

"Agreed." JC opened the car door and jumped out. He couldn't wait to see his family. Joey followed his lead, but much more reluctantly. He really wanted this week to be over. He almost wished that they were back on tour as horrible as that was.

The front door opened and a dog came running out.

"Kylie! Come here girl!" The dog came running over, jumping on JC excitedly. She licked his face happily. Joey watched as his boyfriend knelt on the ground and hugged the dog tightly, burying his face in her fur.

"Josh!"

"Mom!" JC ran across the lawn, scooping the woman into his arms and spinning her around, hugging her tightly. Joey smiled happily, knowing that his boyfriend was the happiest right now that he had been in days. JC loved his family and he never saw them enough.

JC hugged his mother tightly, burying his head in her shoulder as she hugged him back. Karen laughed happily, pushing him to an arms length so she could look at him. She ran her fingers through his short blond hair.

"Are we ever going to have the dark hair back honey? This just looks so...so...Lance." The two of them laughed as JC pulled her into another hug.

"Okay, enough of that. Where's Joey? I want to give my other son a hug." Karen grinned and walked over to Joey. She pulled him into a tight hug. Joey hugged her back feeling relaxed immediately. Karen always put everyone at ease.

"How are you Joey? It's been too long, but I'm sure I'll get to see you more often now that you're dating my son. " Karen held him at arms length, looking at him with a serious expression.

"I like the no goatee look with the shaved head. Much more attractive. Don't you think so Josh?" She turned to look at her son, grinning at him. JC blushed deeply.

Karen laughed. "Okay I see why the blond is nice. Look how red he turns when he blushes."

"Mom, you're embarrassing me."

"Oh honey, I've just begun. Come on inside. Everyone is here."

JC took Joey's hand and followed his mother inside. Kylie came bounding up the stairs pushing past them to get inside.

"You okay?" JC whispered to him as they walked inside. Joey nodded, squeezing his hand tightly.

"Everyone is in the living room." Karen turned to look at the two of them, a smile breaking across her face. "The two of you just make the cutest couple."

"Thanks Mom. Who's everyone?"

"Well, Grandma and Grampa of course. Your father. And Heather and Tyler are here too."

They walked into the living room, still holding hands. Heather jumped up from the couch and threw her arms around her big brother. JC hugged her back tightly.

Tyler walked over to Joey. "Joey, hey man. How are you?" He hugged Joey, briefly, the kind of manly hug that men do when they feel insecure. "Good Tyler. How are you?"

Tyler shrugged. "Same old, same old. Glad to be able to miss school for the next few days to see you guys."

Joey grinned. "Glad we could be of service."

JC pulled Heather over to Joey and Tyler. He grabbed Tyler in a headlock and gave him a noogie. "Say when little man!"

Joey and Heather laughed. "Does he realize that Tyler's taller then him?" Joey whispered to her. "Yeah, but Tyler always lets him win because it makes Josh feel good."

JC released Tyler and pulled him into a hug. "Where's Dad at?" Tyler looked at him with a bemused expression. "Where else would Dad be?"

They looked at each other, grinning. "Beer run." They both blurted out at the same time.

"He'll be back soon. Grandma and Grampa want to meet Joey. They're in the kitchen arguing about who knows how to make the sauce right."

JC grinned. "I guess that we are having pasta for dinner aren't we."

Heather whispered to Joey. "That's all Grandma really knows how to cook, but she's good at it. At least when Grampa doesn't make the sauce." Joey laughed softly.

JC watched his boyfriend and his sister talk. Heather had always gotten along very well with all his boyfriends. Tyler on the other hand, was always a little uncomfortable. He had hoped that since Tyler already knew Joey it would make it easier on him.

He reached his hand over to Joey, holding it out to him. Grinning, Joey took it. "Come my dear. You are going to get to meet Grandma and Grampa Chasez. It's always quite a trip. Did Grampa take his medication today?" JC tried not to notice Tyler wince slightly when he called Joey 'my dear.'

Heather nodded. "He's having a good day today actually."

Joey looked at him quizzically as JC led him into the kitchen. "What's wrong with your grandfather?"

"He's got Alzheimer's, but it's still early stage and he's been on the medication for a long time now. Most of the time he's fine, so don't worry about it."

JC walked into the kitchen, still leading Joey. He snuck up behind his grandmother and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Hey Gram." He kissed her cheek as she laughed at him.

Karen put her arm around Joey's shoulder. "Joshua my little baby! It's so good to see you."

His grandfather stood up slowly, walking over to his wife and his grandson. "What did you do to your hair Josh?" He ran his hands over JC's hair, making it stand on end.

"Justin dyed it for me remember. How are you Grampa?" He hugged him carefully.

"Remind me to spank Justin the next time I see him. You look better with your real hair color."

"Grampa don't blame Justin. Besides I told you, Justin likes the spankings." Both JC and his grandfather laughed at the comment.

"You never answered me. How are you?" Grampa waved his hand in dismissal. "I'm fine. Now your mother said you had a new boyfriend. I assume the young man standing next to your mother is him. Why haven't you introduced us yet?

"Sorry Grampa." JC held his hand out to Joey, who took it, allowing himself to be led over to JC's grandparents.

"Gram, Grampa. This is my boyfriend Joey Fatone. Joey these are my grandparents Rose and Peter Chasez."

Joey stuck his hand out. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Chasez." Rose laughed at the outstretched hand, gathering Joey into a hug instead.

"Welcome to the family Joey. We're Gram and Grampa okay. No Peter and Rose. And especially no Mr. and Mrs. Chasez. "

Rose released Joey, who smiled happily at JC. Peter pulled Joey into another hug, which surprised him even more then Rose hugging him. The old man released him, looking at Joey with a stern expression.

"You take care of my grandson okay. If I find out that you are causing him pain, I have a gun and I know where you live."

Joey gulped. "Peter! Quit scaring the boy. He's not going to hurt Josh." Rose scolded him. "Oh I'm just fucking with the boy. Seriously, it's nice to meet you Joey."

"Now Joey since we've been properly introduced, maybe you can settle a little dispute Gram and I are having. I think that the sauce needs mushrooms and green peppers. She seems to think the sauce will be better if it's just plain. What do you think?"

Rose rolled her eyes and shook her head. Joey saw both Karen and JC shaking their heads as well.

"Actually Grampa, I'm not a big fan of mushrooms or green peppers so I think the sauce should be plain." Peter sighed, throwing his arms up in defeat.

"Fine. I'm obviously not needed in here anymore. I'm going to go watch the game with Tyler. I'll be in the living room if you need me."

"Speaking of Tyler, how did he react to Joey?" Rose asked them as she stirred the sauce. "Better then usual. He even hugged him."

"Good. Maybe that boy will finally realize that your boyfriends are not his enemies." Rose smiled at Joey again.

Heather walked into the kitchen carrying a case of beer. "Dad's back. He wants me to put these in the fridge." Karen took the beer from her daughter.

"Mom before you put that away, I want one. What about you honey? Want a beer?" JC asked Joey. "Sure." Joey nodded, taking a seat at the table. Karen took two bottles out and handed them to Joey and JC. "Can I have one Mom?" Heather asked pleadingly, giving her mother the puppy dog look that apparently ran in the family. Karen sighed. "I suppose so. Just don't tell your brother."

"Danielle, where are the diapers at?" Chris shouted from the nursery, hoping she would hear him in the kitchen. Kira kicked her legs happily, trying to turn over and squirm away from her father. Chris had her outsmarted though, holding her firmly so she wouldn't roll over.

"Aren't there any in the cabinet under the changing table?" She shouted back.

"No."

"Darn. I guess we're out. I'll go get some. Just let Kira go for now. She'll be fine."

Chris looked down at his squirming daughter. He leaned over and blew a raspberry on her round stomach. Kira giggled and squirmed, grabbing her father's long hair with her tiny fists. "Okay, ouch. Let go of Daddy's hair." Kira giggled some more, but she let go of his hair anyway.

"Now do you promise not to pee-pee or poo-poo until we get more diapers?" Kira kicked her legs and waved her hands around. "I'll have to take that as a yes."

Chris put Kira's pants back on and threw her over his shoulder. He bounced out of the nursery and down the hall, with Kira giggling the whole time. He hadn't been this happy in a long time. Unfortunately, this was making it even harder for him to work up any excitement about heading back on tour in a few days.

Chris bounced into the kitchen where Dani and Haley were. He put Kira on the ground with her sister and walked over to his girlfriend. "Watcha' cooking?" He asked, leaning over her shoulder and peering into the pot. He kissed her neck, making her laugh. Dani had missed having her goofy boyfriend around.

"It's ham." She shook her head at the disappointed expression he had. "What does it look like Chris? It's chili."

Chris jumped up and down, clapping his hands together like a little kid. Kira and Haley began to clap along with him. "Yay! Dani's chili. We're having chili tonight girls." Dani couldn't help but laugh.

"Actually they are having Cheerios and ground beef. I don't think they're ready for chili." Chris plopped himself on the ground, pulling Haley onto his lap. "Do you want me to go get the diapers or do you want to?"

She leaned over and kissed his forehead. "I'll do it. Just make sure to stir the chili every so often."

"You got it sweetie. I love you." Chris grinned up at her. "I love you too Chris."

Danielle grabbed her sweater off the back of the kitchen chair and quickly left the room. Chris hugged Haley to him, breathing in the smell of her baby powder. He smoothed Haley's soft curls with his hand.

Haley snuggled up to him, rubbing her face into his chest. Chris smiled. Haley had always been more affectionate then Kira. She loved to be held. Kira was fine being held as long as you were playing with her. If not she would rather be scurrying around on the ground.

Busta came running into the kitchen barking loudly. Kira began to laugh loudly at him, while Haley just pressed her face into Chris' chest harder.

"Busta come here boy. Calm down." Busta skidded to a stop, bumping into Kira who just clapped her hands happily. Chris grabbed the dog with his free arm and held him up so Busta was looking him in the eye.

"What's up old man?" Busta yawned in Chris' face. Chris put him down and let him go. He wandered over to Kira and began to lick her face. Chris played with the girls and Busta for about 10 minutes, not even noticing where the time had gone.

Chris put Haley down next to her sister and stood up himself. He stretched his back, yawning at the same time. He was so sore from all the workouts and dance rehearsals he had done the past few months. When he was younger, he could spring back a lot faster from each rehearsal. Now he was always a little sore.

He wandered over to the stove and stirred the chili while watching the girls play with Busta. Smiling happily, he let himself imagine what it would be like if he never had to go on tour again.

"Someday I promise this will all end. I will be at home with you two." Chris sat back down on the ground next to his daughters.

"You know that I love you guys right." Kira and Haley looked at their father with smiles on their round faces. "I never thought I would be so happy to be worrying about whether someone was wearing a clean diaper or if they had a bath today. I never thought I would be looking forward to the day when I have PTA meetings. You guys changed me so fast. Believe me daddy never planned on changing diapers ever. Your mommy used to joke that I would always be a kid never an adult. When she told me that she was having you guys, I suddenly realized that I couldn't be a kid because I was going to be a daddy. Promise not to tell your mommy okay, but I can still be a kid and be your daddy at the same time."

Chris scooped Haley up in his arms and nuzzled her hair. "I would think about you guys every night before I went to bed while I was away. I would try to remember what it felt like to cuddle you in my arms as you feel asleep. You guys kept me alive."

Danielle stood in the doorway of the kitchen watching Chris talk to his daughters. She didn't want to interrupt him. The past few months had been so hard on her being alone with the girls all the time and having to deal without having the man she loved around. Part of her had never thought about how hard it was on Chris. He had never told her how upset he really was. Danielle wished there was some way that he could get out of leaving them again.

Chris looked up and saw Danielle standing in the doorway, holding the diapers in her arms. He motioned for her to come join them on the floor. She placed the diapers on the table and sat down, scooping Kira up into her arms. Dani leaned her head against Chris' shoulder as they cuddled with their daughters and each other. Chris kissed her lips softly, slipping his arm around her shoulder, shifting Haley to the other side. Busta hopped up onto Chris' lap as well, making himself comfortable.

"I missed this so much." Chris said softly.

Lance rolled over and rested his head on Jean-Michel's chest. Jean smiled and stroked Lance's hair. They had been lying in bed all day, just talking and doing nothing. It was great.

Adam woofed softly at his owner's, trying to get their attention. Lance sat up and looked at the dog who was on the other side of Jean. Eve was at the foot of the bed, taking up as much space as possible.

"What do you want Adam? Do you need to go out?" Adam jumped up, bouncing the bed considerably under his 130lbs of pure excitement at the mention of going out. Eve immediately jumped up as well, planting her front feet on Jean's chest and licking him in the face.

"Okay, that is enough little one. Back off." Lance tugged Eve off of Jean and climbed out of bed. He wrapped his robe around his body and padded out of the room. The excited dogs jumped off the bed and followed Lance out of the room. Jean could hear them running down the steps, their feet moving as fast as possible.

Jean climbed out of bed, stretching out his stiff muscles. He tied his robe around his waist and left the bedroom as well. He walked downstairs into the kitchen to get a glass of orange juice. Lance walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Jean's waist.

"Damn, you left the bed. I was hoping to have my way with you while the dogs were outside." Lance kissed the back of Jean's neck softly. "I love you sweetie."

"I love you James." Jean said to him in French. Lance grinned, resting his head on Jean's back. "What do you want to do tonight?" Lance asked him, following Jean's lead and speaking in French.

"What about going out to dinner together?" Jean turned around, wrapping his arms around Lance. "Okay. Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere you want to go."

"I want to stay here and eat dinner naked in bed." Jean laughed deeply, running his hands through Lance's short hair. "I guess I can agree to that."

"Oh you guess you can."

"Yeah I guess so."

"That's good." Lance kissed Jean softly, enjoying the feeling of Jean's soft lips pressed up against his own. Jean slipped his hands around Lance's waist, pulling him closer. Lance's hands wove their way around Jean's neck, resting softly.

They kissed for what seemed like an eternity. The phone rang, breaking their moment. Lance pulled away and sighed heavily. He walked over to the phone and looked at the number on the box.

"It's Britney. Do we answer it or not?"

Jean sighed, angry with her before he even picked up the phone. "I will get it. Go upstairs and hold that thought. I will be there shortly."

Lance obliged and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Jean alone. He picked up the phone.

"What do you want Britney?" He asked her curtly.

"Umm...Jean. Could you speak in English please? I don't know French." She said to him, her voice dripping with honey.

"Is this better?" He asked her, still pissed that she had called.

"Much. Now I have a good reason to be interrupting you, so don't get such an attitude with me."

"Just tell me Britney. I do not feel like playing games."

"I was wondering if you ever told Jimmy about Robert? Because he seemed awfully anxious to talk to you when I saw him last week. Something about some money you owe him."

Jean-Michel was silent. He seethed on his end of the phone. She wouldn't have actually talked to Robert. She was just bluffing with him, right?

"I am calling your bluff. I do not think you actually talked to Robert."

"Oh really. We'll have to wait and see now won't we. Bye Jean." Britney hung up the phone before he could say anything else to her. Jean slammed the phone down as hard as he could.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Jean slammed his fist into the wall, hurting himself more then the wall in the process. Flexing his fingers, he regained his composure and left the kitchen, walking back upstairs to spend more time with his boyfriend. Britney wasn't going to ruin this now.

Lance was curled up on the bed, wearing only his boxers. His eyes were closed, his pale lashes resting against his even paler cheeks. Jean took his robe off and climbed into bed, wrapping his arms around Lance, pulling him closer. He nuzzled the back of Lance's neck.

"What did Britney want?" Lance asked him, speaking softly in French again.

"It is not important." Lance rolled over, causing Jean-Michel to have to move his arms. Lance looked him in the eyes, speaking volumes with his pale green eyes. Jean-Michel sighed and looked away. He sat up, pulling his knees to his chest.

"I thought we were not going to think about anything besides each other all day. If we talk about this, we are going to be breaking that rule."

Lance sat up as well, facing Jean as he sat Indian-style in front of him. "I don't think that's breaking the rule. It obviously involves us or else you would have told me."

"Britney just decided to try to threaten me. But it did not work. I do not believe that she actually did what she said she did."

"So I guess you and I are next. She has threatened us both. What did she threaten you with?"

Jean-Michel looked away from Lance, concentrating on the wall across the room. Lance frowned, knowing that he was ignoring him. "Jean, please answer me." Lance took on a stern tone even though he wasn't feeling that way at all.

"I can not just tell you. I need to start at the beginning."

Lance leaned in and kissed him on his forehead. "Then start at the beginning."

"The person Britney is throwing at me is a man named Robert. He and I were involved for a few months before I met you. It was never really serious. We had fun together, but we eventually decided that we would be better off as friends. Robert leant me some money to fly to the US. I wanted to try to find a position in a firm as a web designer. There were no jobs in France. That flight I was on was when I bumped into you. I found a job, found you, and never thought about going back to France. I talked to Robert about the money and he told me not to worry about it. I have not talked to him in almost 2 years now. We grew apart. I believe that Britney is bluffing because Robert would never try to hurt me, especially about something as trivial as $250 that he gave me so long ago."

"Then why were you worried? He sounds like a nice enough guy. She probably is bluffing."

"I suppose so. Except that people back home know who I am and who I am dating. It is possible that Britney convinced Robert that I was worth a lot more then I really am. She may have convinced him to try to get his money back and more if possible. But he has nothing on me. Our relationship was just an ordinary relationship. No fights, no nasty secrets. We even had a very amicable break-up."

Lance took Jean's hands in his own. "Then let's not worry about it. She won't do anything to you or me. We still control her career to a point and she doesn't want to lose that. Okay."

Jean-Michel nodded, still a little wary about what might happen. Lance lifted Jean's chin and looked him in the eye.

"Okay?"

"Okay."

Lance kissed him softly, reassuring him as much as possible.

"Put me down!" Jonathan shrieked loudly as Justin held him upside down, shaking him at the same time.

"What did you say little boy?" Justin cocked his hand to his ear, holding Jonathan by one hand.

"Justin put your brother down." Randall said, not even looking up from his paper. "But Dad, he likes it. See he's laughing."

Randall put his paper down, crossing his arms. "Justin your 21 years old and 6' tall. He's 8 and about 4' tall. We're not talking quantum physics here." Justin scowled, but turned Jonathan right side up and placed him on the ground.

"Thanks Justin. I was starting to get dizzy." Justin smiled and ruffled Jonathan's blond curls. Jonathan ran out of the room, leaving Justin alone with his father, something he really didn't want. He sat down next to his dad on the couch.

Randall and Justin looked at each other for a moment. An uncomfortable silence passed between them. Randall cleared his throat.

"So...have you thought about what you are going to do with yourself after 'Nsync is done?"

"Actually, I want to go to college. I want to be an architect." Randall snorted back his laughter. "Justin you can't go to college. You don't have a real diploma from high school."

"Yes I do. I graduated high school just like everyone else. My diploma is as good as yours."

Randall raised his eyebrow at his son. Justin immediately felt like he was five years old again and had accidentally broken a window or something as equally trivial. His father tended to have that effect on him. "Okay, if you truly believe that. Do whatever you want."

"I will Dad. I'm an adult."

Silence passed between them again, Justin debating whether to get up and leave before this got any worse.

"So...have you been dating anyone since you broke up with Britney?" The disapproval in Randall's voice was obvious. This was exactly where Justin had been afraid this was going to go.

"Actually I have. Nick Carter's fiancée introduced us. Her name is Casey." Randall looked interested for a moment. Justin knew something was up.

"Is she underage like Nick's fiancée is?" Justin groaned inwardly. "Allie isn't underage anymore Dad. She turned 18 in October. And Casey is 19."

"Do you think it's a good idea to date someone who isn't in the business? She could be using you for your fame."

"Dad, Casey isn't using me. We're just dating. It's nothing really serious yet." Randall let out a dry laugh. "Well tell me a little about her. Like why she didn't come with you to see the family."

Justin really didn't want to talk about this with his father. Whatever he said good about Casey, Randall would still disapprove.

"She didn't come with me because she's in college right now. She's goes to UC Berkeley and she's an art major. She's an incredible sculptor." Randall rolled his eyes. Justin continued anyway.

"Casey's really funny. She makes me laugh. She makes me feel good about being Justin, not just as Justin of 'Nsync. No one has made me feel like that, especially Britney." He had to throw that in, just to get at his father.

Randall gave his son a disapproving look. "You and Britney were good together Justin. It would have been a good marriage."

Every time he saw his father, every time, they got into a ridiculous conversation about Justin breaking up with Britney. Randall refused to believe that Justin had been unhappy. He thought Justin was acting like a child.

"Dad I don't want to talk about this again." Justin stood up to leave before it got even worse and the both of them said something they regretted.

"Oh yes. Run from yet another confrontation just like you always do. Tell me son, why are you here visiting me and not your mother during this short break?"

Justin tried to hold back his anger, wishing his father would just stop. "I wanted to see my brothers and sister. I'm sorry I made this choice though because seeing you has been terrible!"

Justin stalked out of the room, leaving Randall alone. He shook his head, wondering where he had gone wrong raising his son. At one time, Justin had seemed like he would make his father proud. Now he had gone and turned into this. It had to be Lynn's fault for babying the boy.

Justin stalked down the hall, past Kristen's nursery. Lisa stuck her head out of the room, watching as Justin passed by. No matter how much she tried, Justin and Randall never had a pleasant conversation with each other. Lisa knew from talking to Justin that the only reason he still kept in contact with his father was because of Jonathan, Steven, and Kristen.

"Justin! Wait up for a moment." Lisa called after him, hoping he would stop.

Justin heard his stepmother's voice call out to him. He slowed and turned to look back. Lisa was standing by Kristen's room with a hopeful look on her face. Justin really loved Lisa. She had been nothing but accommodating to him over the years, going out of her way to make him feel special and loved. Especially after her own kids were born. She didn't want him to feel left out. If only his father had done that too.

Justin walked back down the hall towards Lisa.

"What Lisa?" He asked, trying not to sound rude. He didn't want to take his anger at his father out on her.

"What did that idiot say now?" She smiled at him warmly, trying to draw the young man out. Justin sighed and walked into the nursery with Lisa following him.

"Basically he told me I could never go to college because my diploma doesn't mean anything. Then he went and started in on how stupid I was for breaking up with Britney and how stupid I am now for dating Casey."

Lisa gave him a warm hug. "Don't listen to him. Every choice you have made, you made for a reason. He wasn't there for you when you made those choices, so he doesn't have a say in any of them."

"He hasn't been there for me in any choices Lisa."

Lisa sighed. "I know Justin. I've done everything I can to keep him from pushing you away. Truthfully I think this all stems back to your mother's decision to let you try out for the Mickey Mouse Club. He feels like he was betrayed by not being consulted about it."

"That was over 10 years ago!"

"I know it was. Your father is a very stubborn man. He is proud of you though Justin. Look at all you've done. You were an international star before you were 17. At 21 you've done more and seen more then most people twice your age."

"He's got a funny way of showing he's proud of me." Justin muttered. Lisa took Justin's hand in her own.

"No matter what he says or does, remember that he loves you. I love you. Jonathan, Steven, and Kristen love you. Whatever choices you make in your life, we will always love you no matter what."

Justin smiled at his stepmother. She could always make him feel better after a fight with his father. It was really because of her that he kept trying. Little did he know that most of what she said was a lie. At least regarding how his father felt about him. Lisa refused to let Justin know how little his father really cared about him.

JC squeezed Joey's hand tightly. He smiled at him for a moment before letting go of Joey's hand to turn into the driveway. Joey looked out the window at the house they were pulling up to. It was a beautiful day out, warm and sunny in Orlando.

"I feel like we've done this before." JC joked, trying to break the tension in the car. Joey looked over at him grimly.

"I wish your mother was opening that door instead of mine." JC squeezed Joey's hand tightly. "It'll be fine. Trust me."

"I wish I had your confidence Blondie."

Joey was dreading the moment when he had to tell his parents that he was dating a guy. Nothing had ever scared him as much as this. What if they didn't understand? What if they disowned him? What if...there were so many what ifs. He just had to do this.

"Janine is going to be here. Mom said that she was home for the day."

"Is Big Joe home?" JC grinned at him, calling Joey's dad by the nickname Chris had bestowed on him.

"Yeah. He took the day off to spend it with me. I hope he's not upset about that after he finds out."

Phyllis looked out the window at the car that had just pulled into the driveway. Josh was driving it and her son Joey was in the passenger seat. Neither of them moved after they had parked the car. They seemed to be talking seriously. Where was Kimmie?

"Joe, they're here. Turn off the TV and get your lazy butt off the couch." Phyllis could hear him mumbling loudly from the den. Janine stuck her head out of the bathroom. "I'll be out in a few minutes Mom. I need to finish doing my hair."

"It looks like your brother brought Josh with him." Janine sucked in her breath quickly. "Josh is here? I'll be more then a few minutes. I look terrible."

Phyllis looked out the window again, seeing something that blew her mind. Joey was hugging Josh tightly. He smiled at him and kissed him on the lips. On the lips! What the hell? She was probably seeing things. Her Joey was not gay. She was sure of that.

"What are you looking at Phyllis?" Joe asked her, startling her. She shut the curtains quickly, turning to face him. "Nothing. Why don't you go get the door?"

Joe shrugged. Phyllis seemed a little high-strung, but that was probably because she was excited about seeing Joey after so long. He moseyed over to the door, taking his time.

Joey was about to knock on the door when it opened on its' own.

"Joey! Give me a hug my boy!" His father immediately engulfed Joey in a hug. Joey hugged him tightly, clapping him firmly on the back.

"Josh it's good to see you too." Joe hugged JC tightly as well. JC was used to this. Joey's family was Italian and all the men were big on hugging as greetings.

Joey walked over to his mother, smiling happily. "Mom, I've missed you." He kissed his mother softly and hugged her. Phyllis hugged him back, still trying to forget what she had seen.

Joe threw his arm around JC's shoulder and pulled him towards the den. "Come on Joey. Us guys are going to chill in the den. I got some beer waiting."

Joey shrugged and slipped his arm from around his mother's shoulder, following his father and boyfriend into the den.

Joe plopped down in his recliner, reaching into the small fridge he had next to it. He tossed a beer to Joey and another to JC. Popping the tab on one for himself, he took a long swallow.

"So what brings the two of you here today?"

"I wanted to visit you and JC decided to tag along."

Joe nodded. "Well it's great to see you both. I've missed you Joey."

"I missed you too Dad."

"Tell me something. Did that faggot Kevin of the Backstreet Boys really do those things in the video? They wouldn't show the whole thing here."

Joey's heart fell when his father said those words. He could never tell him now.

"Disgusting stuff. I can't believe that he would do something like that." Joe took another sip of his beer and looked over at his son.

"You okay Joey? You look a little pale. Your not getting sick are you?" Joe's voice was filled with concern.

"No. No. It's just a touchy subject with all of us. Kevin is a good friend of ours and this is hurting him badly." JC answered for him, trying to cover up for Joey's silence.

"Oh, sorry I brought it up. I was just curious. To each his own." The last part was kind of quiet as Joe took another drink from his beer.

"So where's Kimmie at? We've haven't seen her in months. Not since Christmas."

Joey's heart jumped into his throat, causing him to breath heavily. He could feel sweat breaking out on his forehead.

"Actually I need to talk to you and Mom about that." Joey said softly. JC turned to look at him, his face filled with fear. Suddenly all the confidence JC had about this going well had flown out the door. He was scared to death for Joey.

"Josh, can you go get my mom and send her in here? I need to talk to them alone." Joey's voice was firm, but there was no sign of fear. His eyes betrayed his voice however and JC almost didn't want to leave him.

"Sure. I'll be in the living room." JC walked out slowly holding his beer can tightly. He wandered around looking for Phyllis. He found her sitting in the living room, staring out the window with a sad expression.

"Phyllis." She jumped slightly and turned to look at him. "Hi Josh." He smiled politely at her. "Joey wants to talk to you and Joe in the den. He asked me to go get you."

She stood up slowly and began to walk out of the room. "Is he going to break my heart Josh?" JC didn't know what to say, lowering his head and staring at his feet until she left the room. JC sat down on the couch.

He was scared. There was no two ways around it. He was scared for Joey.

"Mom, sit down please." Joey stood up and offered his seat to his mother. "What do you need to talk to us about son?" Joe asked him concerned that something was wrong.

"Well, first off, Kimmie and I broke up."

"Aww...that's a shame she was a nice girl. Didn't you think so Phyllis?" She nodded at her husband, not opening her mouth.

"I am with someone else. And I love this person with all my heart. I haven't been this happy in a very long time." Phyllis noticed the lack of gender-specific pronouns in Joey's sentence. She started to breath heavier, almost positive of what was coming.

"So tell us about this person. What's she like?" Joe asked excitedly. He couldn't wait to meet the girl his son was in love with.

JC closed his eyes, visualizing what was happening in the den. He couldn't hear anything. Maybe Joey hadn't said anything yet.

"Hey Josh!" A bubbly voice broke him out of his silent musings. He opened his eyes and saw Joey's sister Janine standing there.

"Oh hi Janine. I was wondering where you were."

"Really? You were wondering about me?" JC groaned inwardly. Apparently she still had a crush on him. Wonder what she'd do when she found out that he was dating her brother.

"Promise that you won't yell no matter what I say. Please Dad."

"Okay I promise. Go on."

Joey took a deep breath and shut his eyes. "I'm in love with Josh. I'm with him." There wasn't a sound after he finished. He opened his eyes and looked at his father. Joe was sitting still, staring straight ahead, in shock. Joey turned to look at his mother. Tears were running down her face.

"I don't understand. Josh is a man. How can you love a man?" She sobbed as she spoke to him.

"I'm bisexual Mom. I'm attracted to men and women."

Phyllis fell to her knees and clasped her hands together in prayer. Joey almost started to cry, knowing that she was praying for his soul.

"Mom, stop praying!" He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her up from her knees. She wrenched her arm away from him and stood up on her own.

"You sick depraved human being! Don't touch me while I am praying for you. God please have mercy on my son. Please forgive him for this sin." She grabbed Joey's arm and pulled him to the ground, forcing his hands together in prayer.

"Repent for your sins. Ask God's forgiveness. Tell him you aren't gay. Pray Joseph! Pray!"

Joey stood up, backing away from his mother. He had never seen her go into such religious zealot mode. This was scaring him.

Phyllis stood back up and stared at her son. "I can't believe that you are gay! You are a sinner Joseph Fatone! No son of mine will be a sinner!" Tears were falling down both Joey and Phyllis' faces.

Anger burned in Phyllis' eyes. She smacked her son as hard as she could. "How dare you come here and tell me this! And you brought your little slut into my house! Get out of my house you sinner!" She raised her arm to hit him again.

Joe stood up quickly and grabbed Phyllis' arm before she could hit Joey again. "Stop it Phyllis." She looked at him wanting to disobey him. Joe looked her firmly in the eye and sat her down on the couch.

"You don't have to leave Joey. I don't want you to leave."

Joe looked like he had aged another 10 years in the last few minutes. He rubbed his forehead, trying to figure out what he wanted to say. There was only one thing he could do.

"Joshua! Get in here!"

"So what have you been up to Josh?" Janine asked, perching on the end of the couch with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh not much. Same old tour stuff like always." JC strained his ears, trying to hear what was happening, but Janine was preventing him from listening.

"Really. That's so interesting." Janine flashed him a smile again, flirting for all she was worth.

"Joshua! Get in here!" Both JC and Janine jumped at the sound of Joe's voice booming through the house.

JC jumped up and dashed to the den. He stood in front of the closed door, trying to compose himself. He knocked on the door softly, not wanting to walk right in.

"Come in Joshua." He heard Joe say, much softer then he had just shouted for him.

JC opened the door and walked inside. Phyllis was sitting in the recliner with tears running down her face. Joey was crying as well, sitting at the furthest end of the couch from his mother. Joe was standing in the middle of the room, dry-eyed.

"Josh." That was all he said. Joe pulled JC into a hug, surprising everyone in the room. JC hugged him back awkwardly, not knowing what was really happening.

Joe let him go, holding him at arms' length. "Welcome to the Fatone family Josh." Phyllis jumped up in astonishment.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"I'm embracing my son's boyfriend. What does it look like?"

"You aren't accepting this are you?"

"Phyllis, you seem to think that we have a say in this. This is Joey's decision and I for one will support him in any choice he makes be it in his love life or in what car he drives. He is my son."

Phyllis just stared at him in shock. Not saying another word, she left the room. JC had sat next to Joey, letting him cry on his shoulder. Joe turned to the two of them. JC jumped back slightly, not wanting to make Joe uncomfortable.

"You can touch him Josh. You are his boyfriend." Joe smiled at them weakly. He sat down on the couch next to Joey.

"I'm sorry about the way your mother reacted Joey. I'm sure she will come around. It's not the end of the world. Actually it's far from it. As far as I am concerned, you should do what makes you happy. If dating Josh makes you happy, go for it."

Joey wiped his eyes, trying to stop crying. He leaned over and buried his face in his father's chest, wrapping his arms around him tightly. "Thanks Dad. I love you so much."

Joe put one arm around JC's shoulder, pulling him close. "I'm sorry about saying what I said earlier. You know using that...word about Kevin."

"It's okay Joe. You didn't know."

Joe nodded, still feeling bad. "I want you two to promise me something. Promise me that you will treat each other well and not do anything to hurt each other."

Joey sat up, looking at his father with awe. "I promise I will never hurt Josh."

JC looked at both of them. "I promise to take care of him and love him forever."

Joe nodded. "Okay, I'm going to go talk to your sister before your mother gets to her. As much as I want to see you both, it might be a good idea to leave for now. Will you be at home Joey?"

"Actually, we're staying at Josh's. I'll give you the number." Joe nodded. "Just put it on my desk."

"I love you Dad."

"I love you too Joey."

Chapter 15

"Where is Kevin?" Howie asked Nick, his voice filled with concern. Nick shrugged, looking around for AJ as well. AJ was standing off to the side drinking a cup of coffee.

"I don't want to ask him, do you?" Howie shook his head. "Where's Brian? Maybe he knows."

"He's talking to Chris at the table." Howie pointed him out to Nick, who went over to ask.

"So you think that the girls might be able to join you on tour for a little bit this summer? That would be great for you and Danielle." Brian said to Chris who was smiling like an idiot. "Dani and I talked about it when I told her I had to go again this summer. She thinks the girls might be okay for a little bit. That way I can see them more often. Plus she and I get more time together."

"Excuse me guys. Brian have you seen Kevin?" Brian shook his head. "No. Did you ask AJ?" Nick shook his head.

"I don't want to. Will you?" Brian sighed. "Only because I'm worried about Kevin. Next time ask him yourself. AJ's one of your best friends. Excuse me for a moment Chris." Chris nodded and grabbed a cookie from the plate in front of him.

Nick smiled at Chris, trying not to appear like he was watching AJ and Brian talk. "Sit down Nick. I won't bite, unless of course you ask." Chris grinned at him.

Nick sat down, glad Chris was so good at making him feel comfortable. "Can I ask you something Nick?"

"Shoot Chris." Chris put his coffee mug down. "Are you and Allison okay? None of us really knew how that turned out."

Nick sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah we are. It took a lot of yelling at each other and general arguing, but we pretty much figured out what was happening. I trust her with my life and I know Twiggy pretty well too. Neither of them would do that to me."

Chris nodded. "That's good. I was a little worried, especially when you refused to make a statement during the break about it. I thought maybe things fell through."

"No, we just didn't want to dignify the story with a response. Besides her stepfather took good care of that. He can be very scary when he wants to be. All Marilyn did was grab one reporter and growl at him. Word got out real fast to leave Allie and me alone."

"What do you think is going to happen tonight?" JC asked Lance as they looked over the schedule for the day. "I don't want to think about it right now."

Kevin pushed the door open to the main suite. He knew he had to be at this meeting for one reason and one reason only. To tell everyone he was leaving. JC saw him as he walked in, getting up quickly to come over to him.

"Kevin. How are you?" JC threw his arms around him, hugging him tightly. Kevin half-heartedly hugged him back. JC let him go and stared into his eyes. Kevin tried to hide what he was thinking, but JC saw right through it. He nodded slowly.

JC knew what Kevin was going to say and he had actually been waiting for Kevin to finally say something. They all had. It was obvious in Kevin's eyes that he wasn't going to make it much longer.

"I understand Kevin. We all will understand. You have to do it." JC squeezed his hand tightly and led him into the room.

"Everyone shut up for a minute!" JC shouted loudly. Kevin looked at him, shocked that he was doing this. "Kevin needs to talk to us."

Chris could see AJ's eyes glistening with tears as his boyfriend stood awkwardly in front of the room, JC holding his hand tightly.

"Well, I need to talk to you guys about everything." Kevin stopped and looked over at AJ, knowing that he was going to protest this despite the fact he agreed that it was the best thing to do.

"I can't take this anymore. All of you know that I can't take this anymore. I'm going home tomorrow. I am getting on a plane with my stuff, with my cat and going home to hide. I'm sorry to do this to everyone, but it's for the best."

AJ's tears began to fall despite his effort to control them. He let out a loud sob causing the room's attention to shift over to him. AJ shook his head as he cried.

"No! I don't want you to go. I need you with me." He walked over to Kevin, the tears rolling down his cheeks, his eyes blazing with defiance. His voice pleaded with Kevin as his body trembled.

"AJ you know I have to do this." Kevin said softly, wiping the tears from his boyfriend's face. AJ grabbed his hands and stopped him.

"I love you."

Everyone felt they were eavesdropping on a very private moment, but weren't able to get up and leave.

"I love you too. Please understand. I need to go."

"No. I won't understand. I need you with me. You are so strong Kevin. Please be strong here. Please."

Kevin shook his head, dropping his eyes from AJ's. "I don't want to perform anymore. I can't perform anymore."

"Then don't perform. Just stay on tour with me." AJ lifted Kevin's head and looked him in the eye. AJ let out another sob when he saw the stubbornness that was there. He had no way of winning this battle. He was going to lose Kevin until the end of May.

AJ turned away from Kevin. He didn't want to admit that Kevin was leaving. Accept it AJ, he told himself. It's only a few weeks. He was strong enough to get through it. They could still call each other all the time. He took a deep breath and turned back around.

"We should probably start packing your stuff. Is Iya in your room with Busta Chris?"

Chris didn't answer him for a moment, not realizing that AJ was talking to him. Nick poked him softly. "Huh, oh yeah. Last time I checked she was there."

AJ took Kevin's hand and they left the room, leaving everyone else in shock, not sure of what had just happened.

Chris raised his hand slowly. "Umm...what just happened here?"

"Kevin just left the tour and AJ agreed with him." Brian answered from across the room, his voice a listless monotone.

"I think you should go get Iya from your room Chris." Lance said to him quietly. Chris nodded, but sat there for a moment longer. "Now Chris." Lance said again, more forceful this time.

"Oh okay. Now." Chris stood up and left the room.

Chris opened his hotel room door and slipped inside. He didn't want Busta and Iya to escape. That had happened last week in Atlanta and it had taken about an hour to find them both.

"Busta. Come here boy." Chris called for him, knowing that if Busta appeared Iya would as well. Busta barked happily, but didn't show himself.

"Busta I don't feel like playing hide and seek right now. Just show yourself old man." Busta whined but emerged from behind the plant, wagging his short tail at Chris. "Where's Iya at old man?" Busta barked and a streak of fur flew by Chris.

"Ah ha! Iya I'll give you a nice bowl of milk if you come here." Iya stopped and turned to look at him. She sat down and began to clean her fur, keeping one eye on Chris at all times.

She had grown considerably since Kevin had gotten her. Now she was a hyper kitten who was almost the same size as Busta.

Chris didn't feel like playing this game, but he knew that in order to catch her, he had to try. He got on his hands and knees and slowly moved towards the kitten. He sat right next to her and pretended to ignore her. Once he thought he had her lulled into a sense of security, he quickly grabbed her. She squirmed around, catching him once or twice with her claws.

He held her up and looked into her eyes. "Tell Kevin to get you de-clawed while you guys are home. Those things hurt." Iya just meowed in response.

Chris held her tightly in one arm and began to gather up her toys with the other. She tended to spend a lot of time with Busta so her toys were in his room. Her food dishes were still in Kevin's room though.

"Come on Busta." He pushed the door open, waited for Busta to dart out, and kicked it shut. He walked down the hall to Kevin and AJ's room with Busta by his side.

He lightly knocked on the door using his elbow. There was some scuffling and the door opened to reveal a teary AJ. "Come in Chris."

Chris walked into the room, holding the now quiet kitten in his arms. "I brought Iya down. Here are all her toys and everything."

AJ wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve, sniffling loudly. "Thanks Chris. You can just put the toys on the couch. I'll pack them for Kevin later." His voice broke as he talked, unable to control his emotions no matter how hard he tried.

"Do you want to talk about anything AJ?" He lowered his voice so Kevin couldn't hear him. Chris wasn't sure where he was in the hotel room. AJ shook his head.

"Not right now. Maybe later."

Chris nodded. "If you need anything AJ, I'm here okay." Chris turned to leave the room.

"Umm...Chris?" He turned around to face AJ again. "Yes?"

"Can I have Iya?" Grinning sheepishly, he handed the kitten to AJ. "Thanks Chris."

"Okay come on guys! Hurry up!" Lance shouted at all of them, trying to get them to move faster. His shouts were met by a bunch of blank looks and a visible slowing down of their movements.

Lance groaned. "Okay fine. Don't hurry. Did someone get AJ out of his room?"

"Yeah, Howie's getting him now. So just chill Lance." Joey said to him as he poured himself another cup of coffee.

"Oh...Joey you don't have time to drink that! We have coffee on the bus. Don't you guys understand? We have to be in New York in 7 hours. That leaves us no time to fool around."

Justin leaned over to Chris. "What crawled up his ass?"

"I think the question is what didn't crawl up his ass?" Chris grinned at him. "Someone had better tell Jean-Michel to give that man loving more often."

"Your so bad Chris." He and Justin laughed for a moment before Lance glared at the two of them. When he looked away, Chris and Justin giggled again before grabbing their bags and heading for the door. They were stopped by Lance opening his mouth again.

"You guys would never treat Kevin like this. Why are you doing this to me?"

The room was silent as they stared at Lance. Actually as they stared past Lance at AJ and Howie, who had just walked into the room.

"Because Kevin doesn't yell and shout like you do Lance. Kevin makes sure everything is done on time and he takes into account how slow we are." AJ answered calmly before turning and leaving the room.

"Fuck." Lance muttered before turning to follow AJ. Howie put his hand out and stopped Lance. "I don't think you want to go there Lance. Just leave him alone. Trust me he just went to get on the bus."

Lance looked at Howie, staring into those normally soft brown eyes as they glared back at him. Howie had been protecting AJ like he was going to break since Kevin had left. No one could get to him without Howie approving it.

"What are you? His mother or something Howie?" Lance muttered loud enough for Howie to hear, but no one else.

Howie's eyes glittered with anger. He grabbed Lance by his collar and shoved him against the wall. Chris and Justin jumped up to help Lance. Howie stuck his hand out, telling them to back off.

"Don't you understand why I am doing this Lance? AJ is a fucking alcoholic and the only thing he is thinking about is where he can find some alcohol. All I am doing is making sure he isn't alone long enough to find some."

"Well shouldn't you be following him then? There's a lot of alcohol between here and the bus." Lance shot back at him, refusing to let himself be bullied by Howie.

Howie let him go. "From now on, we're taking care of our own shit. I refuse to be bossed around by you anymore. Stick to your own band. They obviously are used to your little antics."

Howie left the room, slamming the door behind him. Nick walked over to Lance. "Can I please have our information?" Lance looked at him in disbelief.

"Nick, you don't know what your doing. Just let me do it." Nick shook his head. "I agree with Howie. I'm sick of being bossed around by you. I may not know much about the business of the group, but I'll learn fast. The four of us can handle it."

Lance glared at him, but knew that he had lost. "I'll give you all the information on the bus. You have 7 hours to learn everything before we hit New York. Good luck Nikolas."

Brian and Nick left the room, following AJ and Howie to the bus. Lance turned to face his band mates, who were all staring at him in disbelief.

"This is better. I can concentrate more on us without having to worry about the four of them. I'm sure Brian will end up taking care of everything." Lance said flippantly.

"Grow up Lance." Chris brushed past him and left the room. Justin didn't even say anything as he walked past, bumping into Lance on his way out.

"Here, since I didn't have time to drink my coffee you can take care of it." Joey handed Lance his full coffee mug and left as well.

The only person left was JC. Lance looked at him with tears brimming in his eyes. JC walked over to him slowly.

"James, you better figure out how to fix this, soon." JC looked at him with a sad look on his face. He shook his head and shut the door behind him. Lance stood in the empty room, staring at the full coffee mug and wondering what had just happened. When had he lost control?

Chris took AJ's hand and led him through the backstage area. They had all gotten used to AJ's almost comatose condition whenever they weren't onstage. Chris had offered to take care of him for a few hours while Howie spent some time with his wife.

"AJ!" AJ didn't even turn towards him. Chris waved his hand in front of AJ's face, feeling like an idiot as he did it. AJ blinked slightly and his eyes swam into focus.

"Hi Chris." His voice was so quiet and soft these days. "Do you want something to eat?" AJ shook his head. "I'm not hungry. I think I'm going to call Kevin." Chris sighed.

"You can't call him right now AJ. Remember when you called him 15 minutes ago he was busy with Luna?" AJ nodded, his eyes losing focus again. Chris sighed, knowing that he was losing him again.

Chris took his hand again and led him outside. He wanted to get AJ some sun. His usually tan complexion was beginning to pale noticeably. Justin was sitting outside playing with Busta. Chris walked over and joined him.

"Sit down AJ." AJ listened and sat on the ground. He took out a pack of cigarettes and absent-mindedly lit one. Justin and Chris watched him for a moment.

"Have you talked to Lance today Curly?" Justin shook his head, squinting in the sun. "Have you Chris?" Chris shook his head. "I don't really want to. I can't see any reason to talk to him right now."

"Josh keeps us informed anyway since he will at least talk to Lance about business."

Chris looked back over at AJ, who was still holding the lit cigarette, not even bothering to smoke it. He was staring at something that wasn't there with a faint smile on his face. Somehow Chris knew that he was seeing Kevin there with him.

"I got another call from management today about replacing Kevin onstage." Chris said quietly. Justin turned to look at him.

"What?" AJ asked him in surprise. Chris and Justin turned to him, surprised to hear him participate in a conversation. AJ's eyes were wide opened and he looked at Chris in complete and utter shock.

"We aren't replacing Kevin. We've told management that many times. Why are they talking to you about it?" AJ's voice rose as he seemed to reach a state of hysteria combined with fear.

"Calm down AJ. I've told them every time they call that I won't do it. None of us will do it."

AJ nodded and lifted the cigarette to his mouth, only to find out that the whole thing had burned away. He put it down and lit another, smoking it this time. His eyes clouded over and Chris knew that he was done participating in the conversation.

"Are they really serious about replacing Kevin?" Justin asked him, trying not to let AJ hear him. AJ didn't seem to pay any attention at all.

Chris nodded. "They've offered both me and JC a lot of money to get onstage and take his place. They can't seem to understand why we won't say yes."

"I understand it. If they asked me, I would say no too. It's a matter of principle. Kevin didn't want to be replaced and none of the other guys want to replace him. If one of us tried to, it would be a complete failure anyway."

Lance stood at the door and watched Chris and Justin talk. His eyes strayed over to AJ, who was smoking a cigarette and staring into space. Lance had been ostracized the past few weeks by both bands. Only Josh would talk to him and all he ever talked to him about was business. Lance knew that was because he needed to tell the other guys.

Surprisingly, Nick had blossomed the last few weeks. He took charge of the Backstreet Boys affairs and was doing it really well. Lance had been sure that Brian would end of taking control when Nick couldn't handle it. And then he knew that he would get it handed back to him when management decided that they were fucking it up too much.

Chris could feel eyes on him, making his skin crawl. "I think we are being watched Justin." He turned to look at the doorway, seeing only a pale blond head disappear. Chris shook his head.

"Lance was watching us again." Justin nodded and turned his attention back to Busta, who was rolling in the grass. "You know Philly is kind of pretty this time of year."

Chris looked around. "Yeah it is. It was nice of the security to give us free run of the area. I'm loving being able to sit outside without fans bothering us.

"Did Joey tell you about the football game later?" Justin looked over at Chris. "Yeah he did, but I'm taking care of AJ this afternoon, so I think we'll just watch."

"Call Justine." AJ mumbled. Chris looked over at him. "Who do you want me to call AJ?"

AJ blinked and looked directly at Chris. "Call Justine. She's my best friend and she lives here. I want to see her."

Chris nodded. "Okay, that's a good idea." He reached into his pocket, looking for his phone. "Damn. Justin do you have your phone?" Justin nodded, reaching into his back pocket and handing the phone to Chris.

"What's the phone number AJ?" AJ mumbled the number to Chris, who quickly dialed it. Holding the phone to his ear, he listened to the ringing.

"Hello?" A soft voice answered the phone.

"Hi, can I speak to Justine please?"

"This is Justine. Who's this?"

"My name is Chris. I'm a friend of AJ's. He's in town right now for a concert and he wanted to see you. He asked me to call you."

"Is AJ there?"

"Yeah he's sitting right next to me."

"Can you put him on please?"

"Hold on." Chris covered the phone and looked at AJ. He held the phone out to him. "She wants to talk to you AJ." AJ took the phone and held it to his ear.

Chris turned back to Justin giving AJ some privacy. "I guess I will play if he's hanging out with Justine. I'd love to get some tackling action in."

Justin grinned. "You know the rules. No tackling before a show." Chris pouted. "But I really wanted to plant Joey in the ground. I love to do that to him. Thinks he's all high and mighty because he weighs more then me. At least I have some athletic ability unlike him."

"Hey bitter much Chris." Justin said jokingly. Chris looked at him with a serious look. "Actually yes. I miss my best friend. I'm glad that he and Josh are happy and all, but he's completely forgotten about his other friends."

"I know. I never get to spend time with Josh anymore. It's kind of annoying. I don't want to begrudge them their happiness since both of them deserve it so much, but I also don't want to be left out. And we've all been left out of their lives the past few months."

Justin looked over at AJ to make sure he was okay. "Chris, he's crying." Justin whispered to him. AJ was sobbing silently, still holding the phone to his ear. The tears were falling onto his shirt, leaving a wet mark where they fell.

"Oh shit." Chris scooted over to him and took the phone out of his hand. "Hello, Justine are you still there?"

"Yes, is this Chris again?"

"Yes. I don't think AJ can talk anymore. He's crying pretty hard."

"I know Chris. Look, I'm going to be at the E-center in about 20 minutes. Can you make sure I can get in?"

"Of course. What's your name?"

"Justine Eliza Graham. I'll give them ID at the gate, just get me a pass or something. I'll keep AJ company this afternoon."

"All right. I'll have a pass waiting for you at the front gate. Thank you Justine."

"No problem. AJ and I go way back. I'd do anything for him."

"We all feel that way about him."

"Oh Chris, I need a pass for my girlfriend too. She won't be over until later, but she and AJ are really close too."

"No problem. I'll have another pass waiting for her. What's her name?" He looked over at AJ, who was now crying on Justin's shoulder.

"Madeline Perkins. She'll be over after she gets off work."

"Okay, I'll have both passes ready in about 20 minutes. We'll see you then."

"All right. Tell AJ I love him."

"I will. Goodbye Justine."

"Bye Chris."

Justin looked at Chris helplessly. AJ had latched himself onto Justin so tightly that Justin couldn't move at all.

"Alex. Listen to me Alex." Chris lifted AJ's head from Justin's shoulder, forcing him to at least face him. "Alex you need to stop crying and let go of Justin. This isn't helping anything. Do you understand me?"

AJ sniffled loudly, nodding slowly. He loosened his grip around Justin.

"Okay that's a good start. Listen to me for just a little longer." AJ's eyes held Chris' letting Chris know that he was listening.

"Good. Justine is coming over in 20 minutes. We have to go make sure that she can get in. You need to come with me." AJ nodded, completely unwrapping himself from around Justin. Stretching happily, Justin smiled at both of them.

"Okay stand up now AJ." Chris continued to order AJ around. No one else had tried this technique with him. They all just babied him and led him around like a child, not making him do anything for himself. AJ was responding surprisingly well to Chris' technique.

"I'll be back in a bit Justin. Take care of Busta okay." Justin nodded, watching Chris and AJ head back inside. Chris pointed where AJ was supposed to go, but he refused to lead him. AJ just went where Chris told him to go.

"Busta! Go get your toy." Busta ran over to his ball and carried it back to Justin. They played tug-of-war for a moment before Justin got it away from the small dog. He tossed it across the field and watched as Busta ran after it. Smiling, Justin sat back down on the grass.

"Justin can we talk for a minute?" Justin didn't even look up. "I don't really have anything to say to you."

"Then just listen. Please Justin." Lance pleaded with him, hoping he would listen. Justin didn't say a word. He just tossed the ball for Busta again. Lance didn't know if that was a yes or not.

"Are you going to say something or not?" Justin asked angrily. Lance sat down next to him.

"I made a mistake trying to take Kevin's place. I never should have tried. I should have kept on doing things my way and dealt with the consequences later. I got caught up in all the power and control I had. I just wanted to make everything go smoothly. I never meant to hurt anyone, especially AJ."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Lance's heart fell. He had decided to talk to Justin because he thought Justin would be more receptive then the others.

"I thought you would understand." Lance stammered out. Justin turned to look at him. "You would think that wouldn't you."

Justin started to get up. Lance grabbed his arm. "Please wait Justin."

"Wait for what? Wait for you to try to explain yourself to me. Wait for you to promise that you will never do it again. Wait for you to say that you'll change. Lance I've heard it all before and I'm tired of hearing it. We're all tired of hearing it."

"I wasn't going to do any of that. I fucked up Justin and I'm not asking for your forgiveness because I know I won't get it from any of you. I just wanted to tell you why I did it. Never mind, I don't want to talk to you about this. I'm sorry I started to talk to you." Lance crossed his arms and looked away from Justin.

"You know what Lance, after this tour. I'm done. I don't want this anymore. I can't stand this fighting with my best friends all the time."

Lance looked up at him in shock. "You can't quit Justin. We need you."

Justin looked around at the E-center. The stage was almost completely erected. "I don't need it anymore though." Justin said quietly, not sure if he really meant it.

"Do you mean it Justin?" Lance stood up and put his hand on Justin's shoulder. Justin shrugged Lance's hand off and turned to look at him.

"No I don't mean it. At least sometimes I don't mean it. I'm really sick of all this shit Lance. And a lot of it is your fault. We have two more weeks on tour and then Nick's wedding. You had better fix all this by then. I refuse to be fighting at his wedding."

"What do you want me to do?"

Justin looked at him calmly. "That's for you to figure out." He turned and walked away, leaving Lance alone. Justin whistled for Busta, who grabbed his ball and came running.

"Look at that one." JC pointed at one of the signs in the crowd. Joey shook his head in disgust. Kevin had been off the tour since the end of March, but still the signs appeared in the crowd.

"Don't point them out JC. That doesn't make it any easier on AJ." Lance scolded him quietly. AJ was standing by one of the windows alone, wearing his darkest sunglasses to hide the tears they all knew were there. JC rolled his eyes at Lance, annoyed that he was being admonished by him.

AJ moved away from the window and took his seat in the studio. Howie squeezed his shoulder comfortingly, trying to let AJ know that they were there with him.

The producer clapped his hands. "Can everyone please take there seats? We're ready to start."

Joey grabbed JC's hand and pulled him over to the waiting chairs. He was about to sit in one when Brian grabbed him and hauled him backwards. "Oh no you don't. Those are ours. Get your ass on the floor."

Joey fake pouted and plopped on the ground. He grabbed JC around the waist and pulled him down with him. JC laughed as he fell on top of his boyfriend. Joey kissed his neck, making him laugh even more.

Justin scowled at them jokingly. "Hey you two get a room."

"Oh don't tell them that Justin. Once they get in the room they never leave." Chris said to him. JC stuck his tongue out at Chris, making everyone, except AJ laugh.

"And if they do leave, they just do it anywhere else too." Lance said, trying to get into the conversation. All eyes turned to him with a noticeable lack of laughter. Lance's face fell. No matter what he did, no one seemed to forgive him. He didn't know what to try.

"Hey how come you guys get the chairs?" Justin whined jokingly. They had drawn straws earlier and the Backstreet Boys had won.

"Because little boy, we are a royalty and all of y'all are the court jesters." Brian grinned at him. Justin flipped him off.

"Okay none of that or else this really won't be much fun for the fans." The producer stared them down, not understanding that they were joking.

The guys simultaneously groaned as one. Time for the lucky fans picked from the crowd on the street to join them in the studio. Where MTV came up with these shows none of them knew.

The door opened and a crowd of screaming teenagers rushed into the studio, quickly taking their seats as calmly as they could.

AJ began to shake. Howie looked at him with concern. Each publicity performance they gave recently, AJ clamed up and seemed to get a horrible case of stage fright. He would refuse to answer any questions and would mess up whenever they performed. The only time he was okay was when they were onstage. He seemed to function on autopilot.

"AJ, it's fine. You don't have to do anything. And this is MTV. They won't ask anything to alienate us. It'll be fine." Brian tried to reassure him. AJ nodded. "I wish Kevin were here." He whispered back to Brian.

Brian sighed. "We all wish Kevin were here."

Chris looked up at the two of them. "I'm sure Kevin is watching. Just think AJ, two more days and you can see him." AJ looked down at Chris, smiling slightly at him. Chris had gotten through to AJ more then everyone else.

The lights came on and the cameraman signaled that they were on. The crowd began to scream and shout. AJ took a deep breath and put on a small smile.

"Welcome to Music First, the show where the musicians tell you about the music. Today we have the two of the hottest bands of the past few years who are also on the hottest ticket of the spring, The Backstreet Boys and 'Nsync. Welcome guys."

"Thanks for having us Chloe. We're all happy to be here." Brian flashed his perfect smile at her. The other guys waved to the crowd, causing them to scream even more.

"I want to start off by saying good luck to Nick. It's one week and counting isn't it?"

Nick leaned forward and smiled. "Yup one more week."

Chloe smiled, slightly annoyed that Nick had let that one drop so quickly. These guys could be so annoying sometimes. She had been warned not to try to engage AJ or bring up the issue of why Kevin was gone. Plus 'Nsync had requested that no questions be asked about Britney to anyone.

"The last show of the tour is tomorrow night. Do you have anything special planned, like the return of Kevin?" Chloe asked them as innocently as possible. AJ got out of his chair, pulled his mike off and walked out. "AJ wait!" Nick called after him, pulling his own mike off and following him. Brian and Howie exchanged glances and quickly followed the other two, leaving 'Nsync alone onstage.

"The show is going to be the same as all the others." Lance answered part of the question, purposely ignoring the Kevin part of the question. "I would suggest that we go to commercial now." Lance's voice was firm as he stood up and began removing his mike. In a show of solidarity, the other four members of 'Nsync did the same and together they walked offstage.

Justin stared at Lance. "I can't believe you just did that."

"What? We gave them the rules. They didn't follow them. I just did what was right." Lance looked at all of them with a sad look, thinking that they were mad at him.

Justin walked up to Lance with a look on his face that Lance couldn't read. He cringed thinking he was going to get yelled at. Instead, Justin hugged him.

"You finally did it Lance. You finally understood what needed to be done."

Justin let him go. Lance was shocked. All the other guys were smiling at him. "What did I do?"

"You cared Lance. Finally!" Joey hugged him tightly. "Let's go find the other guys. Let them know that Lance has returned to the world of the living!"

"I didn't know I had left." Lance grinned. "Well you did take a brief sabbatical when you became a total ass. Hopefully you won't go there again." Chris said as he walked down the hall towards the bathroom.

The other guys followed him, guessing that Chris was probably right about AJ ending up there. The nausea that he got before every publicity performance was eventually going to end up in vomiting.

The bathroom door flew open and the Backstreet Boys walked out. AJ was pale and leaning against Nick. They almost bumped into the guys from 'Nsync.

"Why aren't you guys doing the show?" Brian asked them, surprised to see them standing there.

"After the four of you left, I answered part of the question and suggested they go to commercial. Then we all left. I think they figured out that none of us were coming back. She broke the rules. We are all in this together." Lance smiled at AJ, who barely nodded to him in response.

Howie and Brian exchanged smiles. "Finally!"

Chapter 16

"Are we there yet?" Justin asked from his seat, crossing and uncrossing his legs. "No we're not Justin. Just pee in the plane's bathroom."

"No way. Did you go back there Nick?"

"Yes. I've peed in worse places and so have you. Now go pee and leave me alone." Nick shouted at him, looking at his watch again.

Justin unbuckled his seat belt and walked to the back of the plane. Steeling himself, he opened the door and went inside. Justin quickly unzipped his pants and started to pee. He hated to admit it, but Nick was right. He had peed in worse places. And it felt damn good to finally pee.

He finished peeing and he was washing his hands, when Chris began to bang on the door.

"Open up Curly! We're about to land."

Justin opened up the door, still drying his hands. "I was almost done. What's the rush?"

"I gotta pee." Chris grinned at Justin as he pushed past him. Justin chuckled and went back to his seat. Brian had sat next to Nick and the two of them were talking quietly. Justin didn't want to interrupt the two friends. They hadn't gotten much time together the past few months.

Justin wandered past Joey and JC who were ignoring each other for once. Joey was reading a book with headphones on and JC was listening to some music as well and staring out the window.

Sliding into the seat that Brian had vacated, Justin stared out the window until Chris returned. "Hey Curly. To what do I owe the honor of your company?"

"Your boy toy went and sat with my boy toy."

"Awww...I guess they don't love us anymore."

"Yeah. I guess we'll just have to live with our girlfriends." Chris smiled weakly. Justin immediately felt bad. He was going to get to see Casey today. Dani was flying in the day of the wedding and the girls weren't coming with her.

"Sorry Chris." Chris shook his head. "Don't worry about it Curly. They're coming on tour with us this summer."

Justin's face lit up. "The girls are coming on tour! That's so awesome. I will always, always take care of them for you. I love those little munchkins."

"Hey don't promise something that you might not be able to deliver Curly." Chris smiled at him. "Well, I promise I'll baby-sit when I can."

"That's more like it Curly."

Lance peered over the seat, looking back at the two of them. "We landed. Do either of you guys know where we're staying? Nick just kept telling me he would take care of it."

Justin and Chris looked at each other. They hadn't even thought about it. After all these years of people telling them where they were staying, neither of them had thought about it.

"I just figured someone would tell us when we got there."

Nick jumped out of his seat. "We're here! Everyone off the plane!" Nick ran to the door, waiting impatiently for the door to be opened. The pilot opened the door. Nick pushed past him and ran down the aisle.

Howie and Ameena followed him out, trying not to show their excitement as obviously as Nick.

Justin grabbed Chris' hand and pulled him forward. Chris grabbed Brian's hand and pulled him forward as well. The three of them ran off the plane, giggling like idiots.

Lance tapped Joey on the shoulder. Joey took off his headphones and looked up at Lance. "We landed Joey. Time to get the hell out of Dodge."

"Scoop since when is a plane Dodge?" JC asked as he packed up his headphones.

"It's an expression Blondie. Just haul your sorry ass off the plane." Lance grinned at the two of them. The past two days had been great. Everyone was getting along. AJ was animated and happy. He only wished the whole tour had been this good.

"Okay, okay. We're moving. See." JC stood up and nudged Joey softly. Joey groaned but got up as well.

"You coming AJ?" Lance asked, a little surprised that he was still on the plane. "Yeah I'll be right out. I'm just making sure I have everything."

"Okay."

Lance held Jean-Michel's hand tightly as the four of them walked off the plane. He saw a whole bunch of people milling around. Brian was talking to Kevin. Allie and Nick were hugging each other tightly.

He walked over to Chris, still holding Jean-Michel's hand. Joey and JC went off by themselves for the time being.

"Whose Allison's father?" Lance asked Chris, unsure of who he was.

Chris pointed to a very young looking man with short black hair who was leaving the room. "He looks so young!" Lance exclaimed. "How old is he?"

"Brian told me that he was only 16 when Allie was born. That makes him 35 now."

"He's kind of cute actually. She looks just like him, only shorter and female."

"Watch out. His scary husband just walked into the room. Don't let him hear that you are saying his husband is cute."

Lance saw Marilyn walk into the room with Twiggy behind him. He gulped slightly. Marilyn Manson was very scary looking. His hair was cut really short and it was a deep burgandy color. He was wearing a blue tight shirt and 3/4 length silver pants. His eyes were white, almost blending into his skin if they hadn't been lined heavily with black. His lips had a pale blue sheen to them, making him look ill.

"Remind me never to cross him."

"Ditto." Chris smiled at Lance, still keeping an eye on Marilyn. He never noticed as the door opened and his daughters came toddling out.

"Da! Da!" Kira shouted loudly when she got over to him. Chris looked down and immediately fell to the ground, hugging both girls to him. He looked up to see Dani standing there with a smile.

"You weren't supposed to get here for another 2 days." He pulled her down to the ground with him, kissing her as he continued to hug the girls. Dani smiled at him. "Surprise."

"I can't believe it. This is so great. You guys are here!" Danielle laughed hugging her boyfriend tightly.

All eyes were on the four of them as they sat on the ground hugging each other. Mikel stood aside, not really knowing a lot of these guys. Marilyn came up behind him and put his arms around him. Justin walked over to him.

"Mr. Manson?" Mikel and Marilyn both turned to look at him. "Yes?" Marilyn asked him rudely. "Actually I wanted to talk to the other Mr. Manson." Justin's voice shook, frightened by Marilyn.

Mikel slapped Marilyn lightly. "Be nice honey. Call me Mikel. And you are?"

"I'm Justin Timberlake. It's great to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Nick and Casey."

Mikel shook his hand. "You must be the one dating Casey then. It's nice to fnally meet you too. I'm sorry Casey isn't here. She got the job of picking up the dresses with the other bridesmaids."

"I'll see her soon enough. Did you arrange for Dani and the girls to behere?"

Mikel nodded.

"You just made Chris' day. He's been so upset about being away from them. They're all he's talked about the past week. He was so excited about getting to see them."

"It was really Kevin's idea. He wanted everyone to get to see the ones they love. He's been a changed man the last three days."

Justin nodded. "Nick told us that he went into the studio the other day. That was a huge breakthrough. He didn't want anything to do with music for so long."

Mikel checked his watch real quick. "Can you excuse me for a moment Justin? It's time to herd the natives to the cars."

Marilyn and Justin looked at each other for a moment. Justin smiled at him uncomfortably. Marilyn just looked at him. "I'm going to go talk to Brian now. It was nice to meet you."

Marilyn broke into a smile and extended his hand to Justin. "It was a pleasure to meet you Justin. I'm sure we will talk again sometime." Justin tentativly shook his hand, smiling at him again. He turned to walk away, trying to not show his fear.

Mikel climbed up on a chair and let out a loud whistle. All eyes turned to him. Kira and Haley began to clap."Okay everybody. It's time to head out to the waiting cars. I'm driving one, Kevin is driving one, and Marilyn is driving the last one. Six people fit in each car. The kids get someone's lap. Okay everyone pick whom your going with."

Lance put his hand up. "What about the luggage and the bodyguards?"

"Already taken care of. I have a van waiting. Twiggy drew the short straw so he is driving that one."

"One more question. No one told us where we were staying. Should I go make reservations for us?"

Mikel laughed. "No way. You wouldn't be able to find a room anyway. The whole area is booked up for the wedding."

"Where are we staying then?" Lance was starting to get annoyed with Mikel.

"You guys are staying at my parent's beach house with the wedding party. It seemed like the best thing to do since a bunch of you are in the wedding party. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah that's fine. I just wanted to know."

Mikel hopped down and walked over to Lance. "I don't want to seem rude or anything, but which one are you?"

Lance was taken aback by the question. "What do you mean which one am I? I'm Lance."

"Hey don't get snippy with me. I'm not exactly a fan of your music. And since I've never met you guys before, I wouldn't know who you are."

Lance nodded curtly and walked away from Mikel. "What crawled up his ass and died?" Mikel asked Jean-Michel.

"James is just tired. It has been a little crazy on tour and all he wants to do is rest. Surely you can understand that." Mikel nodded.

"Yeah, Brian gets the same way. I'm Mikel by the way. Which one are you?"

Jean-Michel smiled. "I am Jean-Michel Garvonne. I handle 'Nsync and the Backstreet Boys websites. I am also, unfortunately, still Britney Spears' manager."

"I'm sorry. How come you are with these guys and not with the crew?"

"That was my boyfriend you just pissed off."

Mikel turned bright red. "Oh jeez. Sorry about that. Damn, I'm really good at sticking my foot up my ass. Want to start over?"

Jean-Michel laughed. "You did not do anything wrong with me. It is James you have to try to start over with. Good luck. He can be quite a tough cookie to break. But you have my vote, so I will do my best to sway him."

"Thanks Jean. Is it cool if I call you Jean?"

"Most people do. Jean-Michel is quite formal. I will answer to almost anything though. Just please do not call me Mr. Garvonne. I hate that."

"Deal. Now before I do anything else really stupid, how about letting me in on the names of the others? I met Justin and I kind of guessed who Chris was. Where are Joey and JC? Is that their names?"

Jean nodded. He pointed out Joey and JC, who were kissing quietly in the corner. "They would be the lip locked ones over there. You will usually find them doing something along those lines."

Mikel nodded. "How long have they been together?"

"Only since January. Still in the cute phase. So we let them go."

"One thing, since I am also trying to keep press interference down, do people know about them?"

"Non. They are still a mystery couple. But it is not important to shield them. They are aware that eventually it will be found out. Do not go out of your way."

"Cool. Well I'm going to go grab my group of riders and head out. You guys going with Marilyn or Kevin?"

"Actually I believe we are with you."

"Oh great. Maybe I can get Lance to like me. I feel bad about that one."

Danielle straightened Chris's tie for him. "There you go honey. All done." Chris yawned and looked in the mirror. His vision swam in and out of focus as he stared at himself. "Do I look good?" Danielle laughed. "Yes honey you do. I guess this will teach you to drink that much the day before a wedding won't it."

"I will never do that again. At least until my bachelor party."

"And who pray tell do you plan to marry, because you damn well know that it's not going to be me." Chris pouted.

"Come on Dani. Let's get married. Hell, we're already pretty much married now. Why don't we just do it?"

Danielle sighed and began to brush her hair again. "We've talked about this Chris. I don't want to get married. I like having at least a little bit of myself."

"I know. I just wish you would change your mind." He took the brush from her and began to brush her hair for her. "Maybe someday I will Chris, just not now."

"I can agree with that. Did I tell you that you look gorgeous today?"

"No you didn't."

"Well you look gorgeous today. My beautiful Danielle." Chris kissed her softly, enjoying the fact that she was there and he could actually kiss her.

"Mmm...you better stop now Chris or else we will never leave this room." Dani said softly. Chris straightened up and looked around the room. Haley and Kira were playing quietly in their crib, wearing their diapers and undershirts.

"We should probably get the girls dressed. It's close enough to the wedding now." Danielle looked over at them.

"Okay, I'll take care of that. Why don't you go make sure Justin is ready?"

"Actually can I dress the girls and you go dress Justin?" Danielle looked at her boyfriend's puppy dog expression and agreed.

"Haley is wearing the pink dress and Kira is wearing the light green dress. No shoes or stockings so you are lucky. They hate them. I'll be back in a bit."

Danielle stood up, straightening her dress. She quickly twisted her chestnut hair up and secured it with a clip. Chris couldn't help but stare. She was wearing a light gray sheath dress with a mock turtleneck collar. Danielle left the room, closing the door behind her.

Crossing the hall to Justin's room, she knocked softly. "Come in." A muffled voice called out. Danielle pushed the door opened and walked inside.

"Hey Justin. I just came over to make sure you were ready."

Justin stepped into her view, all dressed up in his tuxedo and bare feet. "I feel kind of silly without shoes." He grinned sheepishly. "Oh Justin you look great. Come here and let me fix your tie for you."

"Thanks Dani. I always have problems with the tie." Danielle quickly untied and re-tied Justin's tie, straightening it for him.

"You look beautiful Dani. You clean up real nice." He joked with her. "Thanks Justin. So do you."

Justin took Danielle's arm and put it around his. "I think I may have to steal you away from Chris. Come let's run away together."

"I see you're still drunk aren't you. That's the only way you could ever think I would run away with your goofy ass." Dani grinned at him.

Justin clutched his heart and staggered backwards. "Goofy? She who dates Chris Kirkpatrick calls me goofy. I'm hurt. Deeply, deeply hurt."

"Come on. I should probably make sure Chris has the girls' dresses on right. He wanted the dressing the twins job so I got the dressing the Justin job."

"Hey I can dress myself just fine. See." Justin twirled around for her, almost losing his balance and falling over. "I'm glad you've finally learned that. Maybe one of these days you'll master the fine art of standing up without falling over."

"Okay no more busting on Justin." Danielle pouted. "But it's so much fun."

Chris knocked on the door, pushing it open before he got an answer. "I'm having a little problem. Can you please help me?"

"Sure honey. Justin go make sure the other four are ready okay."

"Give the hard job to Justin. Thanks. Can't I dress the girls and you go see if they're ready?"

"No, now go."

Danielle pushed Justin out the door and shut it behind him, heading back to her room.

Lance and Jean-Michel both sat on the bed, fully dressed in their tuxedoes, staring into space. Neither of them wanted to move lest they send the room spinning again.

Justin knocked softly. "Can I come in guys?"

"As long as you promise not to tilt the earth." Lance said, holding his head carefully as he spoke.

"Oh shit. You two look terrible." Lance winced at Justin's voice. Jean-Michel groaned softly. "Can you please talk a little softer Justin? There is no need to shout."

Justin held back his laughter. "Did you guys take anything yet?"

"Yes. It's not working." Justin sighed. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Just stay still."

"Like we planned on moving anyway. The earth is perfectly balanced right now. Moving would throw that balance off." Lance wanted to smile at Justin, but it came out more like a grimace.

"Good plan. Why don't you stick to it."

Justin opened the door and almost bumped into Joey as he walked out.

"Hey Justin. You're looking mighty sharp today." Justin blushed. "Thanks Joey. Your not looking so bad yourself."

"Aww...are you flirting with me Curly? Because I am taken you know."

"No I'm not flirting with you."

"Damn." Justin laughed at Joey, who just grinned back. "Out of curiosity do have any crack hangover cures? Lance and Jean-Michel seem to think the world will tilt if they move."

Joey burst out laughing at the idea. "I'm not surprised. I've never seen the two of them drink that much before. Did they take aspirin?"

"Yeah. They said it wasn't working."

"Are Chris and Dani ready?" Justin nodded. "So's Josh. Let's go see if we can find some lemon juice and vinegar in the kitchen. Maybe we'll run into Allie's stepfather. I'm sure he knows a few tricks."

Justin shuddered. "That guy scares me." Joey nodded. "He scares all of us."

Danielle, Ameena, and Shelley stood outside on the back porch waiting for the guys to join them. From where they were, they could see the guests arriving and could see the makeshift outdoors church that Kevin had basically made.

Shelley was holding Haley while Danielle was wrestling with Kira. "What's taking those jokers so long?" Ameena asked, shifting Luna to her other arm.

"I think they are still trying to sober up Lance and Jean-Michel." Danielle said, finally relenting and putting Kira on the ground. "Don't go far young lady." Kira looked at her mother innocently. "Don't use that face on me. I'm not your father. It doesn't work on me."

"Does that really work Dani?" Ameena asked her watching as Kira toddled in a small circle around her mother. "Usually. Sometimes it backfires. Kira tends to listen pretty well. Haley on the other hand never listens."

Shelley looked at the toddler in her arms and at the toddler on the ground. "Really? She never seems to act up."

Danielle leaned over and helped Kira back up from another fall. "Haley's really good at the innocent thing. No one ever suspects her because Kira's so active. But Mommy and Daddy know better, don't they?" Danielle tickled Haley, who giggled happily.

Joey opened the door and stepped outside squinting slightly in the sun. "Hello ladies. Aren't you six looking fine today?" Kira ran over to him and grabbed his legs, laughing at him. Joey leaned over and picked her up, tossing her in the air.

"Hello Kira girl! Don't you look gorgeous today!"

"Are you flirting with my daughter Joey?" Chris asked him jokingly. "How can I not? She's so cute." He tickled her under the chin making her squirm in his arms.

"Joey, she's a little young even for you. Besides since they were born, I've been showing them pictures of you and telling them to never ever date you." Joey pouted, resting Kira on his cocked hip.

"You look so natural with a baby on your hip honey. All I gotta do is put an apron on you and I've got myself the perfect wife." Joey stuck his tongue out at JC. "I love you Joey." He gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you too Josh, but I will never be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen for you."

"I sure hope not. If you got pregnant I'd be a little frightened." Justin tickled Kira. "It's be a real miracle that's for sure."

"Are any of you guys just thinking um...I don't know...ouch!" Lance asked.

"We're all here right?" Ameena took a quick count of the assembled people. "Then let's roll. We all want good seat's right?"

Justin leaned across Joey to ask JC a question. "Who is that?" He carefully pointed at someone who sat on Allie's side. "I think it's Rob Zombie."

"No shit. He's awesome. I've got to say hi later." JC laughed. "Just don't tell him who you are. Most of Marilyn's friends apparently don't like us or the Backstreet Boys."

Joey poked Justin in the shoulder. "As fun as it is to have you in my lap Curly, do you think you can get up now?"

"Oh sure sorry."

"Hey it's Drew!" Lance waved his hand trying to get Drew's attention. Drew waved back and headed over to the guys, leaving his bandmates where they were. "Hey it's 'Nstink! Ohmygosh! Can I have your autograph?"

"Look it's Drew from 98 'I wish we were that hot' Degrees!" Lance shot back, smiling at him.

"How you doing Lance?" Drew gave him a warm hug. "Good Drew. How about you?"

"As good as ever. A little weirded out by the lack of shoes, but Nicky never was conventional."

"Tell me about it. We've been on tour with him for the last 5 months."

"Hey can we sit with you guys? You got good seats. Those nasty ushers Howie and Brian stuck us in the back with Christina and Mandy." Drew couldn't help but make a face.

"Oh be nice Drew. Not everyone can be as sexy and talented as you."

"You think I'm sexy Lance? That's so sweet, but your not my type honey. One, you've got a boyfriend. Two, you've got a dick." Drew grinned at him.

"Wait a second. James, you have a dick?" Jean-Michel said as innocently and naively as possible. Lance and Drew burst out laughing at the confused expression on Jean-Michel's face. He held it as long as possible, finally breaking down and laughing as well.

"You guys are more then welcome to sit with us. Jean and I have this whole bench to ourselves. Plenty of room for four mediocre singers." Lance grinned again.

"Watch who you're calling mediocre boy. Our Christmas album is still selling more then yours is."

"Just get the rest of you jokers over here. The ceremony is going to start soon."

Drew waved to the rest of the guys, who quickly stood up and headed over to him. He sat down with a grin next to Lance.

"Thanks so much guys. I couldn't have stomached sitting next to Mandy and Christina for the whole ceremony." Jeff said as he sat down next to Drew. Nick and Justin sat down as well. Neither of them were ever very talkative. They weren't shy, just quiet. They only spoke when they felt it was really necessary.

Marilyn walked down the aisle to speak to Kevin for a moment. Kevin, AJ, the priest and Nick had just taken their places up front. Marilyn patted Nick on the back, grinning at him. Chris watched as Kevin visibly scolded Marilyn. Nick had turned an even paler white after whatever Marilyn had said.

"Now that is interesting." Chris said to Danielle. "What?"

"Kevin and Marilyn. I don't think anyone else on earth can scold Marilyn Manson and get away with it. I never was able to picture what it was like when the two of them dated, but I can see that they were probably very good together." Marilyn reached out and straighted Kevin's tie for him and then moved on to fix AJ's for him.

"Nick looks like he's going to die." Danielle said, noticing how much he was sweating.

"Do you think Nick is okay?" Jean-Michel asked the other guys, turning around to face them. "He threw up everything last night. So except for a nasty case of cottonmouth and probably cold feet, he's fine." Ameena said as she reached over to take Luna back from JC.

"It's cool Ameena. She's napping."

"All three of them are thankfully." Chris said looking down at Kira who was sleeping in his lap. "Yeah but Haley's drooling on me." Justin said jokingly.

Allie's cousin Samantha stood next to her brother Evan, waiting until she was told when to move. The quartet raised their instruments and began to play Magic by Ben Folds Five.

Samantha was nudged ahead. She and Evan headed down the aisle. Samantha scattered the white and blue rose petals on the sand as they slowly walked towards the canopy.

Twiggy and Kate followed them, holding each other's arms. Allie had picked out beautiful dresses for the bridesmaids. They were ivory sheaths that had slight trains on them and low slung backs. Kate looked beautiful in it with her long red hair piled on top of her head. Twiggy was wearing his tuxedo as comfortably as possible, but he still looked like the tie was strangling him.

Becca and Howie followed them, with Brian and Maria close behind. Finally Casey and Aaron walked down the aisle together.

The crowd rose to their feet as the strains of the 'Wedding March' began. Mikel and Allie stood at the end of the aisle arm-in-arm. Nick blinked back tears as he looked at his beautiful fiancée.

Allie had gone with a surprisingly traditional dress. The thin ivory straps led down to a tight bodice that accentuated every curve she had. The skirt billowed out to a full bottom, making it seem like she was floating as she walked down the aisle. She had white roses in her black hair and wore a small veil over her eyes.

The tears were flowing freely from Nick's eyes now for all to see. He didn't move to wipe them away, instead letting them fall. Allie reached the front, still holding her father's hand. Mikel looked at Nick and gave him a small smile. He placed Allie's arm around Nick's and took his seat next to Marilyn.

"Welcome everyone. It is my pleasure to be here to join these two people in holy matrimony. When I was asked to do this, I thought about the first time Nick came to me and said he was in love. Now like most people I said to him, your only 19, how can you know you're in love? Nick replied the most honest way I have ever heard anyone answer that question. He told me that the whole world flipped upside down and the only thing that stayed normal was her. That's how he knew. After meeting Allison, I know that these two people are deeply in love with each other."

Nick couldn't stop crying, the tears were just running down his face. Allie reached over and wiped them off, trying to keep from crying herself.

"I was asked to not draw this out and looking at Nick now, I can see that he needs to say I do."

Nick chuckled and looked up at his minister.

"If anyone has any reason why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony speak now or forever hold your peace."

Nick held his breath, praying that no one said anything. He would burst if someone said something. He let it out when the minister nodded and continued.

"Nikolas Gene Carter do you take Allison to be your lawfully wedded wife for richer and poorer in sickness and in health until death do you part?"

"I do." Nick smiled happily at Allie, holding her hand tightly.

"Allison Vasquez do you take Nikolas to be your lawfully wedded husband for richer and poorer in sickness and in health until death do you part?"

"I do." Nick practically jumped with joy. He leaned in to kiss her, but was stopped by Kevin. "Not yet Nicky. Just hold on."

Nick stepped back, grinning sheepishly.

"Can I have the rings please?" Evan walked over to him.

"Nick pick up the ring and repeat after me. With this ring I thee wed."

Nick slipped the ring on Allie's finger. "With this ring I thee wed."

"Allison pick up the other ring and repeat after me. With this ring I thee wed."

Allie slipped the ring on Nick's trembling hand, fumbling with it slightly. "With this ring I thee wed."

"Now with the power vested in me by the state of New Jersey, in front of God, family, and friends I now pronounce you husband and wife. Now you may kiss the bride Nick."

Nick lifted Allie's veil carefully and leaned in, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her up. They kissed each other deeply, passionately the first time as husband and wife.

Kevin cleared his throat slightly, trying to get Nick and Allie to break apart. Neither made any move. AJ whispered Nick's name. Finally Aaron just leaned forward and tapped his brother on the shoulder.

Nick and Allie broke apart, grinning happily.

"I am proud to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Nikolas Gene Carter."

----Look another section is done! Aren't you proud of me? If your proud of me, email me and tell me. I like email.----