Chapter Five

Nick woke up in bed with a shock, his eyes wide open. "Shit!" He jumped out of bed and threw on a pair of shorts, charging out of his room and down the hall to Kevin's, where he banged on the door until it opened. "Did you…" was all he could get out, before Kevin covered his mouth and pulled him into the room.

"She's in the hall," Kevin hissed, closing the door and bolting it.

"Who?"

"Thessaly." Kevin sat down on the couch and rested his head in his hands. "I went into the hall to get some ice after waking up, and she was standing right there."

"What does she want?" Nick asked softly.

Kevin shook his head. "I don't know, I turned right around and came in here. Then you showed up."

"Should we go talk to her?"

"He said we need to find out what she wants."

"So let's go." Nick's hand was on the doorknob, he was just waiting for Kevin's ok before opening. He couldn't help but wonder if he could get her to tell him something more about Death as well, after all, it couldn't hurt to pump her for a little information when trying to find out what she wanted, right?

Kevin bit his lip nervously, then nodded slowly. "Ok."

Nick opened the door with a flourish and stepped into the hall, looking around cautiously. "I don't see her…"

Kevin walked out behind Nick and turned in a circle, making sure he looked in every corner. "I know I saw her."

"I'm here." A voice came from back inside the room.

They both spun around to find Thessaly sitting on the couch in Kevin's suite, legs crossed, calm as day.

"We didn't see you walk in." Kevin told her, walking back into the room with a frown.

"I didn't." She replied calmly. "You must be Kevin."

He nodded slowly, looking her over. "And you must be Thessaly. I would like my signature back."

She laughed, and looked at him over the thick lenses of her glasses. "Why would I do that? If you're foolish enough to sign anything, why shouldn't I benefit."

"You said you were going to help me." Nick said to her, the frustration in his voice clear. He wasn't a child, but he still had trusted her.

"I am, Nickolas." She turned her gaze to him with a grin. "Don't you want to know about the Endless Family?"

"Yes." He replied with a nod. "More than anything."

"What do you want?" Kevin asked her, his voice stern.

"There are two of your number I have yet to meet. I would like to." She told him.

"And in return, you give me my signature, and AJ's?"

She shrugged. "If I must."

"Fine."

"What about the Endless Family?" Nick asked her.

A smile crept across her face. "Next time you see your friend Morpheus, ask him about Rose Walker."

"Rose Walker?" Nick repeated.

Thessaly stood up with a grin. "I will return to collect on our agreement. Until then," she looked at Nick and winked. "Remember the name Rose Walker." And with that, she was gone.

"Rose Walker?" Nick's eyes couldn't have opened any wider, as he stared at the space that had previously been occupied by Thessaly. "She just disappeared."

Kevin nodded slowly. "Dream said she lies, don't take anything she said seriously."

"What if Rose Walker is a real human person, like us?" Nick looked at Kevin. "We have to look, at least."

"Fine, we'll look."

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"Rose Walker is a disgustingly common name." Two weeks later, Nick threw down the pencil in his hand with a frown. They'd somehow managed to collect the addresses of over 5,000 Rose Walkers in the US alone, and going through them was not an enjoyable task.

Kevin nodded, looking at the computer screen in front of him. "I don't know how we'd ever figure out which Rose Walker is THE Rose Walker."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you the best things in life are the hardest ones to get?" A soft voice asked from across the room, and both men whirled around to face the source. "I'm here to collect." Thessaly waved two pieces of paper in the air. "Introduce me to your friends, and I return these to you."

"Is knocking a mortal invention?" Kevin asked her sarcastically, standing up. "Come on, let's get this overwith."

Thessaly shrugged and stood up, following Kevin into the next room, where Brian and Howie were watching television. "Oh my god!" She squealed at the sight of them, sounding just like any other fan of theirs. "It's so cool to meet you!" She gushed, and ran over to both of them, grabbing their hands and jabbering away.

"What the fuck is she doing?" Nick whispered to Kevin, staring at the spectacle she was making.

"Making sure Howie and Brian don't question who she is, I guess." Kevin shrugged.

Thessaly congratulated Brian on the birth of his second child, and grabbed his hand, staring into his eyes. She looked into the depths of blue, her eyes widening when she got the answer she sought. With a quick thank you to Brian, she turned her attention to Howie, asking another pointless question before turning her gaze to his eyes. His eyes were dark, and more difficult to read, but she was an old Thessalian, and had many years of experience with more difficult subjects. In no time she had her suspicious confirmed, and ran out of the room, grinning like any other fan would having just met their idols.

Back in the other room, she handed the autographs to Kevin with a smile. "Thank you."

"What were you doing?" Nick asked her.

She smiled wryly. "As I said, the Endless should not interfere in mortal affairs. I see now they have here."

"How?" Kevin interjected, grabbing her wrist and squeezing it tight. "I'm sick of this talk around bullshit you and Morpheus seem to specialize in. I want answers."

"Rose Walker." She replied, and disappeared before their eyes, leaving Kevin holding empty air.

"Fuck." Kevin looked at his empty fist in disgust. "What did she see in Brian and Howie?"

Nick shook his head. "I don't know."

"And how do we find Rose Walker?"

He shook his head again. "I don't know."

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As such things tend to happen, real life got in the way of Nick and Kevin's obsession with the Endless family for some time, and their research fell to the back burner. Kevin's wife had another child, and Nick finally settled down, becoming the last of the Backstreet Boys to take a wife.

But, to everyone's surprise, the Backstreet Boys as a group continued on, their music growing with each album, refining their art, and once again, they found themselves on tour, with time on their hands to do nothing other than remember the past.

One night, Nick and Kevin decided to go to a club. They were in London, and it had been a long time since the two of them had just hung out together. They found a dark, quiet bar with a woman playing guitar, and took a table, sitting down to enjoy the music.

Across the room, neither of them noticed the red haired woman give a start when they walked in, her eyes growing wide as she stared at Nick. She whispered to the woman sitting next to her, who also turned to stare. She lit a cigarette and examined him closely, trying to determine what course of action to take. Finally giving in to curiosity, she got up and sat down next to the men at the table, completely perplexed when they both reached for a pen.

"Here," Kevin signed a napkin and handed it to her, expecting her to leave.

"What's this?" She held up the napkin and looked at him curiously.

"My autograph?"

"Why would I want this," she handed it back to him with a frown. "I wanted to talk to him." She pointed to Nick.

"You don't want our autographs?" He asked disbelivingly.

"Why would I? Who are you?" She asked, a smile creeping over her face. At least these guys were cute, whoever they were…

"It's not important," Nick shook his head, "why did you want to talk to me, then?"

"You look familiar to me." She told him. "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so," he looked her over closely. She was cute, with shaggy cut fire engine red hair, and a button nose, but not really his type. Strangely sexy, however, he would have remembered her.

"My name's Rose Walker," she offered.

Nick's mouth fell open, and he stared at the woman. "You're Rose Walker?" He'd given up hope of ever finding her. Rose Walker had been filed away with Death as another one of those things he'd never get to see in his lifetime.

"I'm Kevin, and this is Nick," Kevin introduced them.

"You do know me." She said softly, looking into Nick's eyes.

"We were told of you years ago." He explained.

Rose stood up and shook her head. "It is not safe for us to talk here. I live nearby, will you come?"

Nick and Kevin both stood up at once, willing to follow the woman anywhere.

Rose told her friend where she was going, then lead the men to a boarding house a block or so from the club. She let them into her room and closed the door behind them, bolting it securely. "Things have been getting weird again, we can't be too careful." She explained.

"Weird again?" Kevin asked.

"Something's going on." She shrugged. "I don't know what, I don't understand everything that happens with them. But something bad."

"Who are you? Why were we told to talk to you?" Nick asked her.

Rose turned to look at Nick, leaning in close to him. "Look into my eyes, Nick. Tell me what you see in there."

Nick leaned forward to stare into her eyes, feeling himself swim in the deep blue. He saw a fire light behind her iris, and leaned in closer, trying to see what was just out of view. With a gasp, he pulled away, not sure if he'd seen what he thought he had. "What…"

"You saw?" She met his gaze steadily, her eyes slightly narrowed.

Nick nodded solemnly. He'd seen fire, a heart, and….himself. "How?"

"That's Desire you see, Nick." She told him. "I see it in your eyes as well." She turned her stare to Kevin, and examined his green eyes closely. "You have been touched as well."

Kevin shook his head, "I have never been told anything of the kind. Just Nick."

Rose laughed. "If someone told you to talk to me, there must have been a reason for it. And Nick wouldn't be the reason."

"Desire never touched me." Kevin insisted.

"No, Desire didn't." Rose agreed. "Dream did."

Kevin's eyes widened. "But…why?"

"Who are you guys?" She asked them, looking at them closely. "You were ready to give me your autograph…why?"

"We're part of a group." Nick explained.

"Called?" She asked impatiently.

"The Backstreet Boys." Kevin replied.

Rose snorted, then covered her mouth as a giggle threatened to burst out. "I'm sorry for laughing, but why does it seem so appropriate that the Endless created the Backstreet Boys?"

"What are you talking about?" Nick asked her angrily. "We made ourselves."

"Did your looks not help in your success?" Rose looked at Nick, her expression growing kinder when he blushed under her stare. "You're insanely attractive, surely you know that."

"Has nothing to do with it," he mumbled.

"And you, was it your drive, your determination…your DREAM that helped the group to succeed?" Rose looked at Kevin, the expression on his face telling her how on target her guess would be. "I would bet that another one of your group is the wild one, deliriously crazy even, and another would be, let's see, who else is there…."

"ENOUGH." Nick interrupted her with a glare. He didn't like hearing this…the Backstreet Boys were not the Endless Family.

"Let's face it, you guys have had more success than any other group of your generation." She shrugged. "Even I've heard of you, and I hate pop music. Do you really think it's natural for a group to be THAT successful?"

"But why would they do that?" Kevin argued. "Dream told me himself he had better things to do."

"Amusement?" Rose offered. "We're entertainment to them, the sooner you understand that, the sooner you'll get the Endless Family."

"We…so you're mortal?" Kevin asked.

Rose laughed, "yes, of course. I'm a normal 29 year old girl, thanks. You're both mortal as well, I see."

Nick nodded. "We're the same age."

"The last woman we met who knew about the Endless wasn't human…Thessaly." Kevin told her.

Rose snorted. "You're best off staying far away from Thessaly, she intends to destroy the Endless, and doesn't care who she takes with her."

"She told us to find you," Nick said.

"I wonder why…not like her to be so helpful."

"What do you know about Death?" Nick asked, shooting a glare at Kevin when he groaned. "I may be married, but I still want to know, ok?"

"Death?" Rose's eyes narrowed as she looked at Nick carefully. "Now I see why she told you to find me."

"Why?"

"Tell me, when was the last time you'd thought about Death? Before tonight, I mean?" Rose asked.

Nick bit his lip as he thought. "God, not in years….not since before I met my wife."

"And when did you first think of Death tonight?"

"The second I saw you." Nick replied.

Rose nodded. "Desire is a powerful thing, is it not."

"What do you have to do with desire?" Nick asked, confused.

Rose laughed. "Thessaly was hoping to give you some sort of false hope, to further tease you with Death."

"How so?"

"Desire is my father." She explained.

Nick's eyes widened and he stared at Rose. "So the Endless can have mortal children."

Rose nodded solemnly. "Morpheus has as well."

"A child?" Kevin asked for clarification.

"He had a son." Rose explained. "A long time ago."

"What happened?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I think very few people do."

"Does Thessaly?" Kevin asked.

"I would imagine so," Rose sighed, "she seems to know all sorts of stuff like that."

The three continued talking until the early hours of the morning, Rose trying to answer every question they had about the Endless family, and the workings of the Universe. They were frustrated with how little she seemed to know, but as she pointed out, there was a Universe's worth of stuff to know, it was bound to seem like she didn't know a lot. Finally, with the sun rising over the river in the distance, Rose said goodbye to her two new friends, glad to have made their acquaintance.

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