"Nick, get up."

"Nnnnnnnga?"

"Yes, it's time to get up."

"Nnnngrpt."

"No, not five more minutes. Now. I let you sleep in as it is already."

"Ngway."

"Fine, Sleepyhead. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"GOOD MORNING DADDY! We gonna sing today! I sing good!"

Nick felt the air whoosh from his lungs as a sugar cereal powered child landed on him. Fucking Toucan Sam. Shove his beak up his….

"Carter, don't even think that word. I can feel the cussing all the way over here."

"Nnnnleprechaunfrkr."

"Okay boys, phase two."

Apparently the hotel they were staying at was built on a fault line. He'd have to name it, since he's pretty sure it's a new fault line. Maybe the Jellybean/Carter Fault. Prying open one eyelid, Nick looked at the jumping idiots above him. "Aaron?"

"Getting up?"

"Dylan?"

The sound of giggles. "Daddy?"

"Kevin?"

"Yes love?"

"Run."

There was the pounding of feet out of the room, followed by a trail of giggling. With a smirk, Nick snuggled down into the pillow again. "That was easier than I thought."

"Not quite, Carter."

Human skin was not meant to get that wet and that cold that fast. "Holy Sh….!" He stopped mid-word as he leapt out of bed and saw Aaron and Dylan standing in the doorway.

Aaron's hand clapped over Dylan's eyes, then the other hand over his own. Kevin's hand clapped over his mouth to stop the laughter and Nick's hands clapped over his groin to bring the free show to a close.

Glaring at Kevin, Nick raised an eyebrow. "Well I'm up. Happy now?"

There was a choked cough from the doorway as Aaron muttered, "in more ways than one."

Nick slowly turned his head and focused the glare on his brother.

Aaron chuckled and picked Dylan up in his arms, still keeping his eyes covered. "What do you say we go watch some cartoons, Squirt? We'll leave your Daddy to have a shower and look for his dignity."

"What diggity?"

Aaron laughed as he walked towards their room. "So young, so much to learn. What'll it be? Rugrats or Digimon?"

"Chucky!"

Nick turned back to Kevin, dropping his hands. "You are a mean, mean man. Just for that, no sharing the shower for you."

Kevin chuckled, "we're running late anyway. Get showered and changed. You've got 15 minutes." He tossed a towel at Nick and smacked him on the behind on the way out.

Nick's jaw dropped and he spun around, the towel covering the front of him, just in case. "Wait a minute!"

Kevin stopped and Nick puckered his lips expectantly. Rolling his eyes, Kevin went over and kissed Nick so thoroughly that Nick could tell Kevin had already had his coffee that morning, with cream and two sugars.

Pulling away slightly, Kevin kissed his nose and winked. "13 minutes."

Nick grabbed Kevin before he could pull further away and smiled, "only take me five."

Kevin leaned away, shaking his head, as Nick tried to kiss him again, "hair too."

Nick held Kevin captive by the ears and kissed him softly, "what hair? My biggest hair decision is what hat to wear."

Shaking his head again, Kevin pulled away from Nick's far too comfortable lips, "in a Church."

Sighing, Nick settled for licking Kevin's neck, "not a Sunday. Hat's okay."

When Kevin opened his mouth to answer, he found it instead filled by Nick's tongue. Nick around him, the smell of Nick's desire making him lightheaded and that thing he was doing with the back of Kevin's neck was not helping either.

He'd left his willpower around here somewhere….

Oh, there it was. Happily rubbing against Nick's hip.

Aw hell, so they'd be a little late.

***

When they left the hotel, twenty-three and a half minutes later, Nick was smirking and Kevin was reminding himself he really did know how to blink.

Aaron pulled Dylan off his shoulders and handed him to Nick. "I'm driving."

Nick looked down at Dylan. Dylan looked back at Nick. Nick raised his eyebrow. Dylan tried to raise an eyebrow. He settled for pushing it up with his finger. Nick laughed and looked up at Aaron. "With what license, Runt?"

Aaron snorted, "at least we'd get there alive. I've seen you drive. It's not pretty. And Kevin….he hasn't blinked since we left the hotel room. What the hell did you do to him?"

Nick laughed and flew Dylan over to Kevin, complete with plane noises. "He'll be fine. I'll drive. You'll sit in the trunk and everything will be as normal."

Barely dodging a hand flying for the back of his head, Nick took off across the parking lot for the car with Aaron right behind him.

Kevin looked down at Dylan and rolled his eyes. "It's going to be a long day, Jellybean."

****

Nick tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he brought the car to a stop in the church parking lot. "Runt, get out of this car and you're walking home!"

Aaron grabbed Dylan out of the car seat, giggling insanely, and they ran over to Jackie and who were waiting for them at the doors to the church auditorium.

Kevin was trying very hard not to bust out laughing. "Come on, you gotta admit it was a little amusing."

Nick glared at him, prying his fingers off of the leather wheel. "No, I do not have to admit anything. Especially about them."

Kevin rubbed his fingertips over Nick's shoulders and kissed his temple. "You know he was teaching Dylan the words to Bye Bye Bye just to get your goat. And it worked."

Nick snorted, "He can bask in his victory while he's walking home then."

Kevin shook his head and handed Nick his hat. "Stop being a meaniehead."

Nick adjusted the hat before slipping it on his head and leaned over to Kevin. "Kiss for the road? Before we step on holy ground and get smote down by lightening or something."

Rolling his eyes, Kevin let his lips find Nick's and get lost in them for a minute. Then he realized that Nick's attention was not fully on the kiss. Pulling away, Kevin slid his hand over top of Nick's and squeezed it when he saw where Nick's eyes were. He could see the flicker of candles in one of the stained glass windows hidden in the shadow of a tree.

Kevin tried to hold back the images that were coming at him, telling himself that the odor of smoke was just his imagination. Dammit. Would they never be free of the terror that bitch rained on them?

Holding Nick's face in his hands, he stroked the pads of his thumbs over Nick's cheekbones. "I know that you're scared. You're seeing the same things in your head as I am. We'll be okay. No smoting from God, not even a plague of locusts. If it gets too overwhelming, you let me know and we'll come out here. I'll kiss you until you can't remember your name. Just mine." He wiggled his eyebrows as Nick rolled his eyes and snorted at him.

Running his thumb over Nick's lower lip, Kevin ran the tip of his tongue over his own bottom lip and leaned closer. "Now gimme another for the road, and this time with feeling."

Nick nodded and kissed him slowly, before taking a deep breath. "Okay, ready to roll when you are."

Kevin nodded back and they headed into the church.

****

Nick's head was spinning. He'd been introduced to so many people in the last half-hour who were daughter of… and cousin to… that he was pretty sure he could draw up the family trees for half of the county.

Dylan was amusing himself by chasing Aaron around the chairs and intermittently dropping hymnals on the floor to see how loud of a bang they could make. And the sight making Nick smile, was that his brother was looking a little worn around the edges trying to keep up with him. It took everything he had not to smirk.

When introductions were done, the choirmaster got everyone into their places as Kevin and Nick sat at the table to work out what parts should be recorded in which order. And what they were going to do for Brian's part, if he didn't show up today.

The choir ran through their harmonies while the recording engineer that Kevin had flown in from Orlando finished setting up the gear to catch them at the best angles. It was raising the hair on the back of Nick's neck. There was nothing like the sound of so many voices raised as one and echoing off the vaulted ceilings.

Dylan climbed up on his lap and looked in awe at the choir. "They sound pretty."

Nick nodded and rested his chin on the top of Dylan's head. "They do. I thought you were going to sing too. Why aren't you up there?"

Dylan pulled off Nick's hat and pulled it onto his own. "Too many wordses. Can't member."

Nick leaned down and kissed Dylan's forehead. "Yeah, that's a lot of words for a little Jellybean head to remember."

"It's a lot of words for a Kaos head to remember too."

Nick whipped his head around and grinned when he saw A.J. behind him. "Alex, what the heck are you doing here? I thought you were going to Orlando."

Alex sprawled into the chair next to Nick, "I did. Then I turned the plane right back around after I dropped D. off. Something told me I needed to be here, so I went to Brian's when I got in. Turns out I went right where I was supposed to be."

Nick put Dylan down on the floor and ruffled his hair, "go give Daddy a big hug and tell him it's from me, ok Jellybean?"

Dylan nodded and stopped first to hug Alex, before hopping the tiles in the floor over to where his dad was standing with Brian, just staring at each other.

Nick stared for a moment, surprised, before he turned in his chair to face Alex, "he better be apologizing. Profusely."

Alex nodded. "We talked last night. He had his reasons…."

Nick held up a hand, "I don't care what they are. He can apologize to Kevin; that's fine. I think it's what he wants. But he knows what he has to do if he wants me to ever be able to look at him again. Screw his reasons."

Alex nodded and figured it was best to keep his mouth shut, for the time being. He stood up and put his sunglasses in his shirt pocket, "think they can use another voice?"

Nick grinned, "always room for marginally talented bald men."

Alex snorted and swept his arm towards the choir, "so, you'll be joining me?"

Chuckling, Nick shook his head, "you only wish that was a comeback. Lame. Very lame."

Alex cackled and walked across the auditorium and found the group with the youngest women and situated himself right in the middle of them, shooting Nick a shit-eating grin.

Somehow, Nick wasn't surprised.

***

Brian dropped his keys into his pocket and swallowed a few times before walking over to Kevin. "Kevin?"

Conferring a few words with the engineer, Kevin raised his eyes to Brian and stood, just looking at him.

Brian lowered his head and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. "I'm an idiot. I know that. And I really don't mean to be. I know what you're trying to do for me and I do appreciate it, but I let my own issues get in the way. I'm sorry, Kevin. I should have just told you why I was upset, but it was like I was possessed and this stuff was just coming out of my mouth and I couldn't stop it. I'm so sorry."

Kevin took Brian's shoulders in his hands and turned him back around and faced him towards the doors, pushing him towards them.

Once they were outside, Kevin finally spoke, "I know what your reasons are, Brian. I knew what they were when all that shit was coming out of your mouth. You can be mad at me for dying and you can blame God for that, but now is not the time to be an asshole. I don't want to spend whatever time I have left playing mediator between you and God and you and Nick. Your faith will be waiting for you when you realize that this isn't all about you. I forgive you, Brian. But you're going to have a hell of a lot more work to get Nick."

Brian nodded, "I know. He told me straight out he wouldn't take an apology."

Kevin nodded, "You two need each other. Frick and Frack. So damn much alike that you can't see the damn forest for the friggin' trees." He gave Brian a one-armed hug, "You need to thank Alex for screwing your head halfway back on for you. Bugger's stepping on my turf."

Brian chuckled, "I know. It was damn scary to hear your words coming out of his mouth."

Kevin cuffed the back of Brian's head, "We good?"

Brian nodded, "We’re good."

"Group hug?"

Both Kevin and Brian turned around to see Howie standing there. He smiled, "Okay, so I was the only Backstreet Boy in Orlando and I was lonely. I’m pathetic, I know."

He laughed when Brian and Kevin engulfed him in a hug and dragged him inside the auditorium.

"Damn, we’re getting separation anxiety now. This is a new low for us."

Nick crinkled his brow at Alex and cocked his head to the side, "What are you talking about, J?"

Alex nodded in the direction of the back of the room, "All Backstreet Boys, present and accounted for. Looks like they picked up a Howie when they were out there."

Nick grinned and shook his head, "Yep, we’re pathetic. That was under 12 hours. New record."

Howie shrugged, "Hey, you all left me alone. I don’t know whether I should be insulted or taking a hint."

Nick pounced on him and noogied Howie’s head into a rosy dome, "We love our Howie! Oh yes we do! We love our Howie! And so will you!"

Howie bucked Nick off of him and tried to soothe his scalp and glared at the blond, "I’m going to be over with Alex, pretending I don’t know you."

Nick grinned and stood beside Kevin, "They all know different. You won’t fool anyone. If anything, they’ll think better of you for knowing me."

Howie coughed a noise that sounded suspiciously like ‘bullshit’, but couldn’t be proven.

Grabbing Howie by the arm, Alex took him over to the choir and sat him in between two blushing choir members and sat himself in a startled young woman’s lap. "You don’t mind do you?"

Kevin smiled and sent Brian over to say hello to his mother and Leigh while he, Nick and the engineer checked a last few things.

Brian watched the way Nick and Kevin interacted and no one would ever know they were so much more than friends just by watching them. They were laughing and joking with each other and the engineer like there was nothing wrong, like one of them wasn’t dying slowly right there in front of them.

He knew he was one of the only people in the room that noticed Nick’s or Kevin’s hand making it’s way over to the other’s hand before catching themselves and pulling away. Brian found the feeling of relief that no one else was noticing, warring with the frustration that they shouldn’t have to hide their affection from anyone, not when they had so little time left to share that intimacy between them.

He watched them some more and thought about how he was going to sing this song, in this place, and sing it the way it deserved to be. Buf first, maybe he could start on proving to Nick that he wasn’t quite the asshole he’d morphed into yesterday.

~~~

Audio was finally ready to go and it wasn’t a moment too soon for Nick. He’d noticed Brian staring at him for a few minutes now and it was creeping him out. What the hell was he looking at? If Brian thought he could stare him into submission, he had another think coming. What the hell? What was he coming over here for? Nick swallowed the growl that wanted to snarl out at Brian coming near him and instead he slouched back in his chair, coiled and ready to strike if necessary if he so much as made a wrong move towards upsetting Kevin.

Brian felt the tension in Nick and skirted a wide space around him and stood behind where Kevin was sitting at the table. He reached forward to put his fingers around Kevin’s wrist. Kevin looked up at him and Brian smiled, "You notice scratching, I notice other things." He took Kevin’s hand and put it on top of Nick’s and watched as their fingers automatically entwined together. "If anyone can’t handle it, then screw them. They’re free to leave."

Without another word, he left and returned to his place in front of the choir and nodded to the pianist, the choirmaster and the engineer. The music swelled around them and voices lifted into the rafters as Brian found his voice. Today, he was singing for a different type of grace than the songwriter intended.

And maybe, someday, he’d be able to sing it in praise again.

TBC….