Legal Stuff: I don't know NSYNC or any other celebrity mentioned. While real people are the basis of characters, they are characters here and do not represent the real lives, thoughts, or feelings of the real people. Again, these are characters based on them, not the real people themselves. If you are too young, or live in a location where it is illegal to read stories that include love between men, read no further! Like that would have ever stopped me...
It's Never Easy -- Chapter 7
AP Wire Story New York, New York - Two weeks after leaving the country with Nathan Killmer, controversial figures Nathan Young and Lance Bass are rumored to be returning to the States today. They return from their retreat, rumored to be with the Royal Family in Scotland, amidst a flurry of controversy and allegations. Neither has spoken with the press since the press conference held by Mr. Young following the recovery of Nathan Killmer.
Since they left, a national debate has erupted over the circumstances surrounding the removal of Nathan Killmer by the Florida Department of Children & Family, and the subsequent abduction of the minor following a court ruling in favor of Mr. Young. Criminal charges of child endangerment, kidnapping, and abuse have been made against the uncle of Nathan Killmer, the Reverend Morris of the ex-gay' Exodus Ministries, and several doctors and nurses of the Christian Children's Rehabilitation Center". Police are reportedly anxious to interview Nathan regarding his treatment and the continuation of charges in a Florida state court.
Controversy also continues on the political front as a backlash has grown against `Family Values' candidates nation-wide. Many have claimed that the charges being brought against the Floridians involved in the kidnapping and abuse of Nathan Killmer are being fabricated and blown out of proportion. Gay rights groups and candidates on the other side have been blasting them regularly in the media and campaign speeches.
Questions continue to arise over what happens next with the couple that was voted Hollywood's Hottest Couple' last year and their minor child. NSYNC, of which Lance Bass is a member, has postponed their US Tour until his return, and doubts have been raised that the tour will continue. Meanwhile, the television program Ganymede', of which David Young is the creator and producer, continues to garner record ratings. The fate of new episodes is still in doubt though, based on the lack of new scripts prior to filming which is set to resume in a few weeks.
What the future holds for this unconventional and highly publicized family remains to be seen.
I couldn't help but sigh as I put the paper down. The article had run in almost every major newspaper and as the pilot announced our imminent landing in New York, I looked over at Nathan and James, very worried about the weeks ahead. The last line of the article kept on repeating in my head over and over again.
Two weeks in Scotland had been a blessing. The walls that kept the Royal family isolated extended to their guests as well. We didn't leave the castle or its grounds for the entire time we were there. Harry, as well as his father and brother, were very supportive of all of us. The long conversations I had with the Prince in his study really helped me put things in perspective, and helped me to understand better the manipulations that can happen to people in the public eye.
One thing was for sure, and that was we would be moving when we returned to LA. With all this national attention we would need a home that was far more secluded than the condo. James had said he wanted a bigger place as well. He wanted one with enough rooms for all the guys to stay over as well as a couple of my family members. That meant at least 8 bedrooms.
Nathan was looking better than he had in days, but was still a little pale. He'd spent the days messing around with Harry (no, they didn't have sex. Neither of them wanted to go there at this point in time). At night, he'd crawl into bed with us and cry himself to sleep with James and I on either side of him, trying to comfort him. Then we'd cry ourselves to sleep.
We'd spoken to his counselor in LA, and she'd recommended we start daily sessions as soon as we were back. The flight to Scotland had been on a Royal jet, our return was on a British Airways jet. We'd been escorted on without ever entering the terminal and given the maximum amount of privacy they could.
As the steward ran the usual announcement about going through customs and filling out the cards, I realized that all the Royal treatment we'd been receiving had allowed us to forget something very important.
None of us had our passports.
They were in LA. When we left with Harry on his plane, there were no customs agents. Likewise, there were none when we landed in Scotland. There had been no passport check at the gate because we did not go through the gate. I groaned as I summoned the flight attendant, and the poor guy struggled to stifle a laugh as I explained our predicament. Nathan looked scared, but James was laughing.
I mean, how hard would it be to prove we were American citizens and the circumstances we were in? I mean, I had just finished reading a newspaper article about us! We remained seated after the plane landed and everyone de-boarded. That was when the Customs agents appeared, and they did not look happy.
"Are these the illegals?" the lead agent asked a flight attendant standing near us.
"I'm Dave Young." I said, stepping forward and offering my hand to the agent. "This is James Lance Bass and our son, Nathan Killmer. We..."
"Save it." He said to me rudely, just staring at my hand. "You'll need to come with us."
He led us off the plane, the other two Customs officials taking up positions behind us. Nathan was now attached to my hip with his arms wrapped around me and tears welling in his eyes. James was no longer laughing. They led through the customs area and into a long hallway with a lot of doors. He ordered James into one of the doors, and one of the agents followed him inside. He then motioned towards another door.
"The boy can go in there." He said gruffly.
"No!" Nathan half-whimpered, half screamed.
"Don't talk back to me, boy!" The agent said roughly, reaching an arm out towards Nathan. I moved my body between them and looked him in the eyes.
"I'm his legal guardian." I said firmly, but still trying to be polite. "He's been through some traumatic events recently and does not feel safe alone. If it's alright with you, I'll go with him."
"Yeah, yeah, everyone's heard about his little `trauma.'" The agent sneered. "Poor little boy gets admitted to a hospital for drug treatment and can't hack it. Big deal, he's going into that interrogation room and he's going in alone."
At that moment, the agent behind us grabbed Nathan and pulled him out of Nathan's grasp. Nathan immediately started screaming, punching and kicking the man. The agent took Nathan to the ground roughly, and his shrill cry of pain shook something loose inside me.
If you would have told me I could throw a man who outweighed me by fifty pounds down a hallway about 10 feet I would have called you a liar before that moment. As it was, the agent landed with a loud "oomph" and looked up startled. I was down on the ground taking Nathan into my arms immediately; well before the other agent did more than stare at me. The next thing I knew, his gun was in my face and he was ordering me onto the ground.
That was when the guy in the suit arrived. While the agent I had thrown ran back over and backhanded me against the wall, then handcuffed me, he was asking the agent with the gun what happened. Nathan was back up and screaming, trying to get over to me.
"The faggot attacked Wilkes!" the first agent shouted while `Wilkes' finished handcuffing me. I swear, before I met James, I'd never been handcuffed for real.
"Why did he attack Agent Wilkes?" the suit asked.
"Because we were separating them." Wilkes said, as he hauled me to my feet with my arms handcuffed behind my back. Nathan had collapsed at this point, crying while huddling against the wall.
"Take him to the PD for booking." The first agent ordered, and Wilkes began to lead me off.
"You'd better ask me for my side of the story before this goes too far." I said to the suit. As soon as I spoke, Wilkes hit me across the back of the head and told me to shut up.
I could see the look in the suit's eyes that he suddenly recognized me. His eyes went wide and his mouth opened and shut a few times as Wilkes started to drag me off, out of view. His voice was shaky as he ordered Wilkes to stop.
"Mr. Dave Young? Uh, what's your side of the story?" He said, his voice hesitating. Wilkes stopped dragging me and I turned to face the suit.
"I assume you are aware of the events that Nathan went through recently?" I asked, then continued when he nodded. "Prince Harry had come to Orlando while Nathan was missing and his father, Prince Charles invited us to their home in Scotland for a few weeks. We flew on their plane, not realizing we'd forgotten our passports. We've been there for two weeks and flew back. We didn't realize we didn't have our passports until the plane was landing. We told the flight crew immediately when we did realize that fact.
"Your agent there boarded the plane after the other passengers were let off and demanded to know if we were the `illegals'. He then rebuffed my efforts to introduce ourselves and escorted us here. They put James in that room back there and then instructed Nathan into another room, by himself.
"Nathan's ordeal started over a month ago when a government agent separated him from us. He was kidnapped, tortured, and drugged for several weeks. I don't think anyone will argue that when he balked at being separated from me by government agents again, he got upset. I tried to explain that to your agent there, but this goon behind me grabbed Nathan and pulled him from me. Nathan reacted badly and started struggling, which is when Wilkes tackled him. I lost it when Nathan cried out in pain, threw your agent off of him, and started trying to calm him down. That's when your other agent drew his weapon on me and you came in."
"You expect us to believe you were with the Royal family?" the first agent sneered. "They wouldn't be seen in the company of people like you."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention the anti-gay slurs your agent has been spouting." I said, giving the speaker a hard glare.
"Release Mr. Young." The suit said. Both agents started to protest that he didn't have the authority to order that.
"Release him or you will never work for the government again." He threatened.
"You can't do that!" Wilkes snapped.
"Remove the handcuffs and escort Mr. Young and his...son to an interrogation room, NOW!" the suit shouted. There was no more argument. He removed the handcuffs and I immediately ran to Nathan, trying to calm him. The first agent stood menacingly at my shoulder and demanded we get up.
I ended up picking Nathan up. He wrapped his hands around my neck and was sobbing into my shoulder. I was very glad that he was so small at that point. A big, strapping sixteen year old would have broken my back. As it was, I was panting by the time I sat down in a small interrogation room. Or is the term `questioning' now?
After about an hour, Nathan had fallen asleep, still in my lap, his arms around my neck and his head on my shoulder. I was crying quietly, berating myself for my stupidity when the door opened, and the suit returned with four more suits.
The suit introduced himself as Jerry Valukas, and the other two were Mr. Saunders and Mr. Perrin, lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security. The fourth man was Sir Walter Reynolds, Her Majesty's attaché in New York. I couldn't help but smile. We were American citizens and our advocate here was a representative of the British government.
Life is weird sometimes.
"Mr. Young, we've received correspondence from the British government supporting your claim, and Mr. Reynolds was allowed in for this interview at the request of the Prime Minister to verify that everything is okay." Mr. Saunders said after introductions were complete. Nathan still slept and I barely moved for fear of waking him.
"Aside from a highly traumatized teenager, things are going decently." I said, making all three of them wince. I'd picked up a bit of an accent in the last two weeks. Oh well.
"On behalf of the United States, we would like to apologize for the confusion that took place earlier." The second lawyer, Mr. Perrin said.
"I accept the apology and offer my own for my overreaction to the confusion of your agents." I said, giving them tit for tat.
"Thank you, sir." Saunders said, then turned to Sir Reynolds. "Now that you've confirmed everything is okay, we'll let you return to your busy schedule."
"Actually, the Ambassador cleared my schedule for the day." Reynolds said, smiling. "Her majesty is gravely interested in the affairs of these close friends of her family and wants a full report. I'd be remiss in my duty if I left without being able to provide that report."
God bless the woman. All three of the other side looked positively abashed at that development, and the two lawyers conferred for a moment. Apparently they had to think about diplomatic problems as well as legal problems.
"Very well, sir." Saunders said after a moment, then turned back to face me. "Mr. Young, I'm afraid the situation we are facing is extremely unorthodox, and a solution that is amenable to all sides is not readily evident. You must realize that leaving the country without your passport could be interpreted under the Homeland Defense Act as intent to relinquish your citizenship, and immediate re-entry is not automatic. Normally there would have to be a hearing and all of you detained until that hearing took place."
"Well, you could always come back to England." Mr. Reynolds said to me in a light voice while giving the three of them a deadly smile. "I'm sure Her Majesty would be delighted to have you as British citizens."
"That won't be necessary." Perrin said, scowling hard. "We're just outlining what could happen, not necessarily what will happen."
"In other words you are trying to intimidate me into accepting whatever you will eventually offer?" I said, my tone as light as Mr. Reynolds. I saw how much it irritated them. "Mr. Reynolds, when is the next flight back home?"
"This is not a joking matter!" Saunders snapped, causing Nathan to stir in his sleep.
"I don't like bullies." I told them flatly. "I don't like playground bullies who take money from children, I don't like bullies who use their power to intimidate others, and I absolutely hate bullies who use the laws of this nation to intimidate its citizens. Either spit out your offer or we're on the next plane to London."
"What makes you think you will be allowed to leave?" Valukas sneered.
"Her Majesty calling your President would probably be the start of their release." Reynolds said, leaning back in his chair. I know she'll be calling the Prime Minister already to complain about the treatment her friends have received so far."
"That won't be necessary." Perrin said, his voice going soft as silk. "Mr. Young, I apologize once more if you misinterpreted what we were saying. We were only trying to make sure you understood the gravity of the situation. The government understands that you have been through some trying times lately and we understand how your might have overlooked your passports before leaving. That being said, we can't just let someone off without some type of penalty. Therefore, we will fine you and your party $10,000 each and release you immediately on your own recognizance. No other charges will be filed in relation to certain events that took place earlier so long as you sign these confessions and non-disclosure agreements."
I looked over the documents and read them, handing each one to Reynolds as I finished reading them. A signed confession to having left the country illegally and attempting to re-enter illegally, an agreement to not mention any events from the time we landed until we are released, and an agreement to not sue the government, the airport, or any individuals involved over events.
"No." I said firmly, pushing them back over to them. "That confession is worded so that it sounds like I intentionally left without our passports, and knew we did not have them before re-entering the States. I'm not an idiot, gentlemen. If I had known before leaving Great Britain we did not have our passports, I could have either had them sent to us by overnight mail, or gone to the US Consulate and received new passports before returning. The laws you cite were meant to be used against drug dealers and terrorists, not regular citizens. Further, your agents have proven themselves to be bigoted and over reactive. You can put me before a jury, but I'm not signing those documents."
"You won't go before a jury." Saunders said threateningly. "In fact, you won't go anywhere but to an INS holding facility while the government presents its case to have your citizenship stripped and you jailed for ten years."
"I do believe that I'm an American citizen, sir." I responded coldly. "As is Nathan and James. That means certain rights protect us. Even under the new laws, you cannot strip our citizenship without proof that we had contact with some organization that poses a threat to the United States. Unless you want to characterize the British Royal family as a terrorist organization, you have no case because we were in contact with no one but them and their servants. Without that, you can't put me into prison without a jury trial, and I can afford Johnny Cochran. If it worked for OJ, I'm not too worried about my chances."
"We will return in a few moments." Saunders said, and the three of them got up to leave.
"Excuse me, gentlemen." I said before they could leave. "There's one more person that needs to be here. James has to agree to anything before I will, and unless he's here with me I have no desire to look at, or sign anything you might have."
"We'll see what we can do." Perrin said as he shut the door behind him. Reynolds had been chuckling softly ever since I used the words Royal Family' and Terrorist' in the same sentence.
"Bloody brill, dad." Nathan spoke up, causing me to jump in surprise. He had raised his head off my shoulder and was smiling at me.
"Bloody hell!" I cursed. "How long you been awake?"
"Ever since they came in the room." Nathan said, smiling a little. "I didn't want them to know, though."
"No problem, son." I said, smiling at him. "Now, how about sitting in a chair of your own? Me legs have gone to sleep."
"You really should think about a permanent move to the islands." Reynolds said, laughing openly now as Nathan went and grabbed one of the chairs the lawyers had been sitting in and drug it over next to me. He sat close enough that he still was able to wrap his arms around me. "You both have the accent down."
While Nathan and I chuckled at his comments, the door opened again, admitting a very upset James. He immediately crossed over to us and wrapped us both in a hug, kissing Nathan on the forehead and me on the lip. Then he grabbed another chair and sat on the other side of Nathan. Nathan moved to the middle of his chair and took a hand from both of us, gripping mine tightly.
"I thought the bloody queues were bad enough in Customs, but this is ridiculous!" James snorted indignantly, then looked at Reynolds. "Who's the bloke?"
It took us a while to explain things because Nathan, Reynolds, and I were laughing too hard. However, the laughter died out as we explained everything that had gone on, and James was furious. He wanted to get the lawyers involved immediately, but I reminded him we didn't have a phone at the moment. He was just calming down when the three government men returned with two more men in black suits. The expressions on their faces were not optimistic.
"Gentlemen, we have some additional problems." Saunders said. There was only one chair left vacant, and the five men looked at it before all deciding to remain standing.
"What is it now?" Reynolds asked in a voice full of exasperation.
"Customs Agent Smith called the FBI after we began our discussions earlier and reported finding controlled substances in your luggage. We also found a number of...questionable items in Nathan's luggage. These two men are with the FBI and will need to ask you some questions regarding what we've found. We'll return after they are done." Perrin said, then the three of them left the room. The two FBI agents introduced themselves as Barnes and Wakefield.
"Mr. Young, Customs found a small plastic bag of these pills in your luggage. Do you care to explain?" Agent Barnes said, putting a small zip-lock bag with four pills in it on the table. I sighed when I looked at it.
"Where's the label that was attached to it?" I asked, pointing at the remnants of paper that had been left when the label was torn off the bag.
"Customs Agent Smith reported that there were no identifiers on the bag." Agent Wakefield said.
"They are a prescription for Nathan that was written by the doctor in Scotland." I said. "They're a sleeping pill to help him sleep when the nightmares get too bad."
"If they are prescribed, why aren't they in a pill bottle?" Barnes asked.
"Because they weren't filled at a pharmacy. A personal physician delivered them. I had him write out a scrip on a label and in the bag itself in case there any problems at Customs."
"I can have the British government confirm this." Reynolds said helpfully. "The doctor they saw is likely one of the Family's personal doctors. Things are handled a little...differently on that level."
"Very well." Barnes said, pushing the bag across the table towards me while Wakefield made some notes. "It's a small amount of pharmaceuticals and as long as we receive some confirmation from the doctor, we'll close this out. It's not a big enough amount that we would normally be involved in, but we've also been called because of a charge that has been made against Mr. Killmer and Mr. Young. Agent Wilkins of the Customs service has filed charges against you for assaulting a federal officer. We are doing a preliminary investigation into the matter and have spoken with Officer Smith and Wilkins who were both present."
"Is this the same Smith who found these?" I asked, motioning to the bag on the table, which I had not touched.
"Yes." Wakefield said. Then I told them the whole story, while Nathan added his own thoughts and feelings about the events. James was seething again, and I could tell he wanted to say something, but he didn't. When I finished, including the slurs that Smith had used, the FBI agents looked at each other and talked quietly. They finished after a minute and turned back to me.
"Did you or Mr. Killmer make any aggressive action before Officer Wilkins removed Mr. Killmer from your arms?" Barnes asked.
"No." I said firmly. "But there's something I did notice, that hallway has a camera in it. There must be a recording of events somewhere."
"Somehow, the tape was damaged when Officer Wilkins retrieved it." Wakefield said. His voice told me everything I needed to know about what they were thinking.
"Gentlemen, is it illegal for a customs official to remove a label from a bag identifying the contents as prescription medications and to then turn it over to you while stating that it was an unknown substance?" I asked.
"I do believe you already know the answer to that, Mr. Young." Barnes said with a smile.
"That's what I thought. Mr. Reynolds, I handed that bag with the label on it and the scrip inside of it to they maid who packed our bags. Do you think you might be able to ask a police investigator to ask her if she remembers seeing the label? The only person who touched the bags after her was the chauffeur, who is a palace employee and the airline baggage handlers at the airports there and here."
"Certainly Mr. Young." Reynolds said, making a note on the pad he'd taken out earlier. "Would you like me to forward a copy of their findings to the FBI?"
"Please." I said, smiling back at the agents. "Gentlemen, I do hope that the FBI will seriously look into this situation. I do believe that the possibility of a customs agent tampering with the baggage he is entrusted with would be a serious matter."
"It is, Mr. Young, it is." Barnes said, smiling again. The two whispered again for a few moments.
"Mr. Young, please realize that we do have to investigate charges such as this. Our recommendation will be that no charges be made against either of you, and we are not going to arrest you at this time. Part of the allegations against you have been proven false, and we frankly have reason to believe that the Customs Agents may have exaggerated their claims a bit. We also believe that your actions to an abuse of authority were appropriate and only aimed at halting the excessive force being employed by Officer Wilkins against your son. We will also be investigating the damaged recording tape and the missing label."
"Thank you, gentlemen." I said softly, rising as they did and shaking their hands. "Right now I am having a hard time having charitable feelings for our government, but its nice to see that some of you will be objective."
"You are welcome, sir." Wakefield said, then he paused. "Uh, I really shouldn't do this, but can I get you two to write an autograph for my son and daughter. He loves your television show, and she's still your biggest fan Mr. Bass."
James and I laughed, happily signing the autographs for him, then making one out for his Barnes' children. Reynolds was smiling as he finished making some notes and taking their cards for the report to be sent. They left, and James and I let out a long sigh while Nathan just smiled at the door. His smile turned into frown though when the three Customs people returned.
"It's good to hear that the FBI was able to close the matter quickly." Saunders said, trying to smile and not quite succeeding.
"I for one can't wait for their reports on the missing label and the missing tape." James said with a sneer in their direction. They frowned at him.
"Well, based on their findings, the Customs service is ready to go ahead and grant you admittance to the States as soon as you can sign these confidentiality agreements." Saunders said, sliding two forms over to James and I. Mine was filled out to include Nathan. I looked at James, he mouthed a phrase, I nodded, and in unison we picked them up, tore them in half and slid the remains back across the table.
"Not going to happen." I told them. "What will happen is you will have our word that the details of what happened will not be released by any of us to the media or to the press. However, if the government or its employees leak details, we will defend ourselves in public. Take it or leave it, gentlemen. That's the best you're going to get from us."
"Very well." An exasperated Saunders said, pulling out some more forms. "Please review the written statements there and sign at the bottom if they are correct."
They were forms stating what happened with our passports and the circumstances surrounding our arrival without them. They were actually very accurate and I signed mine while James signed his. Mine included Nathan's. Then the two men led us back into the airport proper where our luggage was laid out on an examination counter. The oh, so friendly Customs agent Smith was standing nearby, scowling at us as we walked over to the luggage.
"Before we leave, let's make sure everything's here." James said loudly. It was a damn good idea so Nathan and I started looking through our bags. Everything was in mine, but as I turned to Nathan, I saw his face was white and his hands were trembling.
"It's not here." He said softly. "My journal is gone."
His journal that he'd been keeping. His journal that included his romps with Prince Harry earlier in the year. Yes, that journal.
"Are you sure it was packed?" I asked. I had to make sure. You don't mess around with a situation like that. Thank gods Reynolds was still here.
"Yes. I put it in the bottom myself before they arrived to pack the clothes." Nathan said, and I waived Mr. Valukas from Customs over as well as Mr. Reynolds while Nathan wrapped his arms around James.
"Gentlemen, we have a major problem." I told them. "Nathan keeps a journal that his therapist has urged him to use. He's had it for months now and he packed it himself in his bag before we left. It is not there now. This journal includes events in his life and interactions with the Royal family. Some of the things in it are considered to be highly sensitive not only to us, but to the royals."
"I'll have to contact the Foreign Ministry immediately." Reynolds said, pulling out a cell phone and beginning to dial.
"Wait a moment.' Valukas nearly shouted. "Are you sure it was in the bag?"
"Yes." Nathan answered, his voice giving evidence of his anger. "And I looked everywhere in that bag twice!"
"Who checked these bags?" Valukas asked a nearby customs agent with captain's bars on his collar.
"Smith and Jordan." He said, waiving the two over immediately. Reynolds still held the cell phone ready to dial.
"Who searched the baggage of Mr. Killmer?" the officer said to the two as they approached.
"We both did." The female officer said, she must be Jordan. "I checked them first and Smith checked them later."
"Do you remember finding some type of journal in the bag?" Valukas asked impatiently.
"Yes, sir." She said, nodding. Smith's face was totally impassive. The guy was good. "It was in the lining pocket on the underside of the top. It was in a brown leather case and was about half-full of writing. I didn't read anything; just scanned the format to verify that it didn't look suspicious. I replaced it in the pocket where I had found it."
"Smith?" The officer said, his tone implying now was the time to speak up.
"I saw the same thing, a brown notebook in the top pocket." He said smoothly.
"Oh, did I say brown? I meant black." Jordan said with a smile, and Nathan returned it in full force.
"It was a black leather case." Nathan said. Smith paled at that moment.
"Mr. Smith, where is the journal?" Valukas said in a very cold voice.
"I don't know what you are talking about, sir." Smith said defensively.
"Smith, I am placing you under arrest." The officer said, a look of disgust on his face. "Harris, start searching his locker and everywhere he's been."
"Please check and make sure that he did not have a chance to photocopy any of it either." James said while Smith was read his rights and handcuffed. I took great satisfaction in seeing him led away.
It was an hour before they found the journal. It had been hidden behind a water cooler outside the locker room. A secretary also remembered seeing him photocopy something, and they found two sets of photocopies of various pages. All of them were returned to Nathan, who locked them in his bag and looked both relieved and furious.
I only hope there weren't more copies somewhere. No, Nathan was smart enough to not write anything in there about having sex with Harry. But, there was a lot of personal stuff for him in there that none of us wanted revealed. Nothing to land anyone in jail, nothing that any other kid who had gone through the things Nathan experienced might write about. Still, would you want your secret thoughts and feelings printed in a newspaper? I never even read it, even when he left it open on the kitchen table. I just shut it and put it back in his room.
He did ask me to read something he wrote one time. It made me cry with happiness, but I wasn't even tempted to look further. We all have our secrets that we need to keep.
Of course, this delay had caused us to miss our connecting flight to Orlando. We ate dinner while waiting for the next flight. I felt so open, so insecure in that damn airport that boarding the plane was a relief. Landing in Orlando later that night proved to be hell though.
Guess who we forgot to call? Justin. He was supposed to pick us up, and had waited two hours after our plane landed. Everyone was frantic, trying to get a hold of us, but our cell phones were at home. We realized our mistake after getting our baggage and decided to take a taxi home. Luckily, the press didn't know what house were going to, and hadn't staked us out again. We got inside to the sound of a frantically ringing telephone. James answered it since it was likely Justin.
"Calm down." James said in a weary tone. We were all exhausted. "We just walked in the door. I'm sorry. No, we got held up in customs. No, we forgot to take our passports when we left. Don't laugh, it's been hell. No, No. We're going to bed. Talk to you tomorrow."
James hung up, and came back over to me and gave me a hug. I had no idea what day, or what time it was, but we were tired. With both of us taking one of Nathan's hands, we headed up for bed, just dragging Nathan into our room with us.
He would have been in there within a few minutes anyway.
The next thing I remembered, the phone was ringing. James answered it very sleepily, and handed it to me almost immediately. The voice on the phone made me realize that it was late morning since the caller was in California.
"Dave," my accountant Tom Jeffers said. "I'm glad you're back. We need to talk about your finances as soon as possible."
"What?" I mumbled, sitting up in bed, waking Nathan up. James was just sitting up, rubbing his eyes. "Tom, we just woke up. What the hell is so important that you couldn't wait until I returned in a few days?"
"In a few days you'll be broke." He said, waking me up fully.
"What!" I yelled, getting startled looks from Nathan and James. "How could I be broke?"
"Well, without spending a lot of time on details, you've been spending like crazy. Your reward to the mother of the boy who broke the case was half a million. You spent another $1.2 million on lawyers and private investigators that are currently suing half the state of Florida, and all your recent flights, hotels, and other bills are coming due as are your taxes and property taxes for the LA condo and Phoenix home that Lance included your name on. Plus, you haven't received any income in the last three weeks."
"What do you mean I haven't received any income?" I asked sharply. "I should have received at least two royalty checks on shows that aired."
"The studio has put a hold on any further payments under clause 12(b) of your contract." Tom informed me. "You haven't turned in any scripts or done any production work in the six weeks and shooting was supposed to start next week. They've already postponed that two weeks. I'm hearing serious talk from the studio about replacing you."
"Tom, I'm going to call Tom at the Studio." I told him. "Get with whoever is handling my schedule at Free Lance and have them set me up an appointment with you when I return."
"That's probably the best thing, Dave. When exactly are you returning?"
"What day is it?"
"It's Friday." Tom said with a little chuckle.
"I'll be back Monday morning." I told him, then hung up. I immediately dialed the Studio while climbing out of bed. My laptop was right where I left it and I turned it on. Tom Jones' secretary answered and told me to hold while she got her boss. I wondered if I could go back to work at the City if things were really that bad. They couldn't take away my show from me, could they?
"Davey." Tom's voice actually sounded happy to hear from me. "It's good of you to finally return my phone calls."
"I've been out of the country, Tom." I told him. "I do remember telling you that."
"Yes, yes. Things have been going haywire while you were gone." He said, his voice becoming serious.
"I just got off the phone with my accountant."
"Ah, then you know about the Studio stopping payments. I'm sorry, but that came right from the top. They're worried about your commitment to `Ganymede'. You need to get back here and get serious about your work."
"Tom, I am serious about my work, but my son comes first."
"That attitude is not going to help you out here, Davey." He warned me. "They're talking breach of contract unless you get yourself back here soon and get things in gear. They're already shopping around for a new producer, even though JMS threatened to walk out."
"Tom, I'm back on Monday. I've got the script done for the first episode and we already planned on going with Haley's episode for #25 and Mike's for #26. I'll have plenty of time to get #27 through #32 done before filming."
"We need to meet about some of those details. I'll have Margaret set up a meeting for Monday morning. I assume you want us to work with your scheduler at Free Lance?"
"Yes, that's fine." I said, then was hanging up when he made a parting comment.
"Don't forget your passport" He said, then hung up before I could reply. That meant only one thing, someone had talked to a reporter.
Thus began a long day of phone calls. Everyone under the sun from family to reporters, to Jive called. The guys showed up around one in the afternoon and drug James outside. I was cooking something to eat with Nathan when the shouting voices drifted inside.
"WE'RE LOSING MILLIONS!" Chris was shouting.
"We can make up the..." James was trying to say when Justin cut him off.
"But that will take us into our off time and we don't deserve to have to work during our off time because you can't fulfill your commitment!" Justin shouted James down.
"You have to decide, James." Josh said, his voice barely audible compared to the rest. "Is NSYNC important to you or are you going to just dump us by the roadside?"
"Fine!" James shouted. "You guys just go and replace me and leave me alone! I thought we were family!"
"No one's talking about replacing you." Joey said angrily. "But we do need to either get back on the road or just cancel everything!"
"That's why we're back!" James shouted. "I'm here now, why do you have to be so bitchy?"
"We're not the ones who go around without passports and get customs officers arrested of trumped charges." Josh said angrily.
"What are you talking about?" James asked, stunned. That was when I joined them on the patio, getting dirty looks from most of them. Justin of course had the paper and tossed it to James, saying `Here SCOOP' in a resentful tone.
Front page of the New York Times. I'd never been on the front page of the New York Times before. It was on the bottom half of the fold, and had a picture of the three of us eating dinner at the airport. The headline: Young, Bass Use Royal Connections to Enter Illegally.
It was easy to tell who had talked. Smith's name was even referenced in the article. I couldn't believe that no one would have responded, but then realized we were incommunicado at the time. While James filled the guys in on our version of the events, I called merry old England. Ten minutes later, I was on the phone to the Washington Post. I'd gotten the reporter's card sometime in the last few weeks and figured I might as well give him some info.
It's not every day the New York Times gets slammed for running a biased article that is based on inaccurate and false information. Too bad that it was likely to just be another nail in the publicity coffin. People believe what they want to believe, and no number of retractions would make them change their minds.
Luckily, my credit card still worked when I made the Monday morning flight reservations for Nathan and I. I cooked lunch for everyone, and they continued their discussion about the tour in a much calmer tone. They even agreed to making up several the dates on a scheduled two week break and extending the tour for 3 weeks. Of course that meant James and I had to give up two of his scheduled time off trips to LA for our two-week rendezvous.
Sometimes you just have to sacrifice, even when it really, really hurts.
Later that afternoon, Josh and Justin had talked Nathan into going with them to the mall. It was the first time since he'd been rescued that he was not in the same location as James and I. James and I took that opportunity to lounge in the pool on a big float. We did nothing but kiss each other for over an hour.
"God, there's times I miss it being just us." I whispered into his ear.
"So do I." James whispered back, nibbling on my ear lobe. Then his soft kisses reached down my neck and turned into something a little more fierce. I couldn't help but chuckle as began to ring my neck with hickies. They were even too high up for any collar to cover.
"You haven't done that in a while." I sighed as he finished his ring.
"Well, we're going to be separated here for three weeks this time." James smirked. "I have to make sure everyone knows you're still mine."
"James, what do I do about the studio? What do you think is going on?" I asked. As he spoke reassuringly to me, I knew that I was going to miss him. The time in England, and the time while Nathan had been missing we'd spent together, in each other's company. I didn't want to let him go and expressed my thoughts about giving up my series to be with him.
That didn't get a nice reception at all.
"WHAT?" James shouted as I broached the idea. He jerked so quickly he upset the float which dumped us in the water. He came up sputtering and was wrapped around me a moment later, his nose touching mine and staring into my eyes. "Say that again, jerkwad."
"I said, why don't I just quit the fucking series, taking my royalty checks from what I've done so far and go on tour with you?"
"No." James answered firmly. "As much as I like the idea of you being a stay-at-home dad or a tour camp follower, I am not having you give up on your dream show."
"But...it is keeping us apart!" I nearly wailed. We weren't even separated from each other yet, and I was wailing.
"Then I'll quit and stay in LA with you." James said, and I knew he had me.
"Okay, I'll continue working on it in LA." I said.
"Good, I'll drop the news to the guys tomorrow that I quit." James said, giving me a kiss.
"NO!" I shouted, even though his ears were less than six inches from my mouth. "I didn't say that! I don't want you to quit!"
"You don't want to have me around to play with?" He said in a very fake pout and I knew he was kidding me. That's okay though. I reminded him two can play that game as I pulled him underwater with me then swam away.
He caught me and somehow our Speedo suits ended up on the bottom of the pool, and James was working on giving me an underwater blowjob. That was when Nathan returned and walked into the pool area.
"Hey dad." Nathan said in a cheery voice. "Where's Pops?"
That was when James surfaced and began kissing me. I don't know who was redder, Nathan or me. When James saw me blushing, he looked and gasped when he saw Nathan.
James won in the blushing department. Have you ever seen a creamy white skinned boy blush? Jeez it gets red! The moment was awkward, but that soon passed as Nathan started giggling. Of course that got James and I started as well. By the time we finished laughing, my sides hurt. James dove under the water and retrieved our bathing suits while Nathan recovered from his laughing fit.
"I guess I should have given you two more time." Nathan said at last. I slipped on the Speedo James handed me and climbed out of the water.
"No, it's no big deal." I said walking over to Nathan.
"Yeah, I figured that." He said with a smirk, and I slapped his arm lightly.
"Be nice." I said, grabbing a towel and drying off. James soon followed me.
"Okay, okay!" Nathan protested. "What's for dinner?"
Kids. They're always hungry. That was no big deal, though, I was hungry as well. I was feeling a little better though. Over the past few weeks, Nathan had shown...discomfort whenever James and I had been affectionate in front of him. I knew this was a lingering problem from his time in that damn place and would be something he would have to deal with for the rest of his life. His response to catching us in the pool, however, was just naturally awkward. It had been an almost normal reaction and that made me think he might be getting the upper hand in dealing with the twisting of those damn people.
We ate dinner, then watched a couple of movies, and then went to bed. Nathan headed for his own room, much to our surprise and relief. James and I got to finish what we'd started in the pool earlier, and he added a few more marks to my neck for good measure. We were lying there in bed, just looking into each other's eyes when Nathan knocked. By the time he had poked his head in the door, we'd moved a little farther apart and made room for him.
He was snuggled in and asleep within moments.
Sunday, our last day together for the next few weeks, Justin and Lynn came to pick up Nathan. They took him to Disney World while James and I spent time with each other. What did we do? Absolutely nothing except spend all day touching, caressing, and making love. We barely even talked more than to say "I love you" and "Oh YEAH!"
I won't repeat the dirty things he whispered into my ears. Let's just say I made him prove that he could do those things. It was mighty fun.
Nathan came home about 9:00 p.m., his arms stuffed with bags and other junk from Disney. I sent him upstairs to pack his bags. Our flight left early the next day. That night, I was surprised that there was never a knock on the door. James and I got to sleep with just the two of us.
James drove us to the airport and we boarded our 6:30 a.m. flight on time. I gave him a hug and a kiss before he drove off from the curb. Neither of us wanted to prolong the goodbye. We had enough tears in our eyes as it was. The flight was long and boring.
Manuel picked us up at the airport. He'd been back for a while, working on another project at his work. Nathan was excited to see him, and so was I. I had missed my best friend. He dropped us off at our condo before heading into his work. We had just enough time to put our bags inside before we had to hop in my mustang and drive to my accountant's office.
Nathan waited in the lobby while I was shown into Tom's office. He was a balding, middle-aged man who looked like your stereotypical accountant. He even wore these thick glasses to complete the look.
"Dave, I'm glad to see you are back" He said as we sat at a small conference table in his office. "You're accounts are pretty shaky right now."
"What exactly happened?" I asked. "Even if the studio stopped payments there should have been plenty of funds with my investments and everything."
"Well, your investments are still there." Tom said. "But we need your authorization to tap into them."
"Then do it." I said, a little flustered. "I'm meeting with the studio later today. We should be able to get things worked out there."
"That's good to hear." Tom said. Then we spent an hour discussing my exact finances. Yes, I had a cash flow problem, but I wasn't going to be broke tomorrow. I had over half a million in investments that I could dip into as needed. I sighed with relief.
Okay, you may not make as much as I do, but my investments represented about 6 months regular salary for me now, not including royalties. Keep that much in your savings account and cash flow problems dissipate. Hell, anything in your savings account helps. Back before I got the script deal, I'd had anywhere from $100 to $3,000 at any given time in savings. It fluctuated because of problems that arose. Each payday though, I would always put a minimum $25 in there, and any leftover from my last paycheck at each new payday. Sometimes I managed $300 on certain paydays. Okay, let me give you a little example. I get paid $1,080 every two weeks (that's take home pay). I pay all my bills first, buy groceries, buy gas, etc. I also put $25 into savings. Then I live those two weeks, using whatever is left for entertainment, etc. If I have any leftover in my checking account by the next payday, I transfer all money over the $1,080 paycheck into savings.
And you wondered how I afforded Europe before I met James.
Nathan and I left my accountant's office and headed for a nice bistro to get lunch. It was still early in LA time, but our bodies said they were hungry. I used my cell phone to call Free Lance and confirm my schedule for the rest of the day. After lunch, we headed to Korvan Studios for my big meeting. Yes, I was nervous as hell. Which was why I had changed into a suit before leaving the condo earlier. Nathan stayed with Tom's secretary Margaret in the studio, and I was ushered into the main conference room.
I was immediately glad I had worn a suit.
The head of the studio was there, as was the Chief Financial Officer and every Vice-President, including Tom (not the accountant, the studio exec). JMS was there, as was Luke Perry. I sat next to them and the meeting began.
"Davey," Bob Halders, the CEO of the studio began. "I'm glad you were able to finally make it back and that your personal situation has been resolved. There are some serious issues with `Ganymede' that needs to be resolved. We understand your recent troubles, but we do have a business to run as well."
"Bob," I said, speaking slowly as I thought my words through. "I want to thank you and all of Korvan for your support during the recent troubles. I also want you to know that I remain totally dedicated to `Ganymede.' During the last few weeks of recuperation time, I spent a good portion reviewing the script for our season opener and did some major re-writes of key portions. I'm sending them to our staff writers later today."
"I'm glad to hear that," Bob said, his face still grim. "but I have to ask you some hard questions still. Are you ready to take up your work as Producer and get the ball rolling full force or are you going to jump off on some personal emergency?"
"This show is a high priority for me, Bob." I said, trying not to get angry. "I'm here now, and will be here to continue making this show the #1 primetime show again for the next season. I don't have to remind you that Korvan has never had a show that beat every single network broadcast every week. I'm not going to say that was all my doing, because it was a team effort, but the numbers don't lie. The scripts I write are among the favorite, and most highly rated episodes. You have a cash cow going here. You took a gamble with me a year ago and it has paid off in spades. This little stunt you're pulling withholding my royalties and questioning my dedication to this project is not conducive to maintaining the strong teamwork we've had to date, Bob."
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Davey." Bob said. "But there are problems that you have to understand. The delays you've caused have already cost us over $100,000 dollars. They'll continue to cost us until filming gets started. The economy is entering a slump and advertisers are balking at paying full rates for their spots. We also want to move the night the program is broadcast."
"What?" I squeaked in surprise. "You want to move it? What night?"
"Thursday." The VP-Programming said.
"Wait, let me get this straight. You want to move a Sci-Fi drama from a Monday night spot where it regularly pulls in max ratings to Thursday night where it competes against the hottest sitcoms and reality shows on the air?"
"We can get more money from advertisers that way." The CFO said.
"Only if the ratings don't drop." I muttered.
"It's not a decision you are really a part of, Davey." Bob said sternly. "We just need to know when shooting will begin. Rapert pulled out of directing your first episode because of the delay so you don't even have a director anymore."
"You should direct it." JMS said to me, and I looked at him stunned. "You need to get your feet wet and you're already experienced at all of the post-production. You should get some experience directing as well."
"Fine, that's settled then." Bob said immediately, and I felt rail-roaded. Hell I WAS rail-roaded. "Get us a shooting schedule later today. I want that episode filmed within the next three weeks. Then I expect to see regular shooting for the rest of the summer. You need twelve episodes filmed before the season starts. We'll also be moving the premier date of the season up one week to capitalize on the fact that the other networks will then air their premieres after us."
"Is that all?" I asked in a quiet voice, my eyes wide and feeling pole-axed.
"No," Bob said again, now he was smiling and I got scared. "We've agreed to the proposal by David Furnish and Rocket Productions to do a documentary on you and `Ganymede.' The papers should be at your agent's office for you to sign. Mr. Furnish and his film crews will arrive next week. We'll air the behind-the-scenes show as a special building up to the season premiere."
"I take it a `No' from me will not be appreciated?" I murmured softly. They didn't laugh.
"Well, if that's all, meeting adjourned." Bob said, getting up and leaving, but paused at the door for a parting comment. "By the way, your royalties will be released after we've seen the preliminary shots of your first episode."
Great. At least three weeks before they released the funds. I had found out they were holding checks worth $1.2 million from me. I'd have to have Judy, my lawyer for this contract look it over to see if I could force them to release it based on my having begun work.
JMS and Luke stayed behind. We spend another two hours talking about everything that needed to be done. Nathan came in about five minutes into our discussion, sat down near us and soon began taking notes on his own. That was when I realized with directing this episode, and getting production into full swing, I'd need a personal assistant full time. There simply was no other way for me to get everything done.
The discussion with JMS and Luke ended not because we were done, but because we had a meeting with Nathan's Principal. He'd missed a lot of school and no one was certain how that would be handled. That meeting went even worse. Nathan was being told he would have to go to summer school for the next two years and would graduate late. That was when he whispered he really didn't want to go to school anymore. He didn't feel safe there.
We left, my having promised Nathan that I would talk to James about hiring an instructor to finish Nathan's school for this year. We'd all take later about the next school year. I was worried Nathan would miss his friends. Then it was time for the appointment with his therapist.
That didn't go too well either. She prescribed some medication and insisted we get it filled, and set-up daily appointments. Her concern made me worry more. We got home, having picked up dinner and were getting ready to eat when JMS and Luke showed up with the department heads for the show. They brought food as well and we had a working meal that lasted until 1:00 a.m. I did take a break to call James and wish him good night. Nathan was in the thick of the discussion and I didn't send him to bed until I showed the last person out. He headed right for James and mine bedroom and was in the bed while I brushed my teeth. When I crawled into bed, he scooted up against me and whimpered until I put my arms around him. We went to sleep like that, soft tears trickling down my face as I thought about him and everything he'd been through lately.
Life was never easy, but I had a feeling the next few weeks were going to be extremely hard.