AJ waited at the airport, watching for Gwen's plane to land. He saw the huge jet liner land and started getting excited. He saw the doors being opened and passengers walked into the terminal. He looked for Gwen and saw her face in the crowd.
"Marie!" he shouted. Gwen saw him and ran over to him. Calling each other their middle names was a trick they learned in public. Instead of screaming out their names and getting attention from fans, they'd call out Marie or James. It worked like a charm. Gwen jumped into AJ's open arms and they hugged tight.
"Hey baby," AJ said, kissing her.
"Hey," she said, kissing him back.
"How was your meeting?" he asked, as he took her hand and walked to the baggage claim.
"It was a meeting," she laughed. They got her suitcase and walked to their car. They drove home chatting and catching up. They arrived at their house and walked in.
"It's good to be home," Gwen said, throwing her suitcase on the floor.
"I know it is," AJ said, pinching her stomach. She squealed and got a bottled water under the fridge. AJ opened the cabinet under the sink to throw away his gum and noticed water leaking out.
"Hey babe, everything is wet under the sink," AJ called out. Gwen walked in the kitchen and looked under the sink to where he was pointing.
"Ew, we must have a broken pipe. I'll call the plumber," she said.
"We don't need a plumber," AJ called out. Gwen turned around and raised her eyebrow.
"We don't? Then who's gonna fix it?"
"I will," AJ smiled, proudly.
"Arugh, I was afraid of that," Gwen said, hitting her forehead. "Need I remind you about the last time you tried to fix something?"
"No," AJ mumbled. "A little mishap happened last time."
"A little mishap?" Gwen laughed, "Babe, every time I turned on the kitchen light, the dishwasher started."
"Well, any man can fix a pipe! I just need a couple of those wrench thingys," AJ said, defending himself.
"AJ, you don't own a 'wrench thingy' or any other tool of some sort," Gwen laughed.
"Then I'll go over and borrow Anthony's. I'll be back," he said, walking out the back patio door. Gwen laughed, shaking her head. She knew she better write down the number for a plumber; they might be needing it soon. But for now, she was going to call Ashleigh. She picked up the phone and dialed Nick and Ashleigh's number. There was no answer.
"Hmm...that's weird. She told me she was staying home today. Maybe she went out with Nick," she thought to herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Ashleigh knocked on the door and Leighanne opened it. Ashleigh took off her sunglasses and Leighanne gasped.
"Honey, are you okay? Is everything alright?" she asked, noticing the red blotches around Ashleigh's eyes.
"No, Nick and I had a fight," Ashleigh confessed. Ashleigh stepped into the house and Leighanne shut the door. They hugged each other.
"Wanna talk about it?" Leighanne asked.
"No, I'm okay," Ashleigh lied. "Is it okay if I crash here for awhile?"
"Of course, Hun. Why didn't you call Gwen, though?" Leighanne asked.
"She's in Chicago and Nick stayed with AJ last night," Ashleigh said. Leighanne nodded and Ashleigh climbed the steps to go take a nap. Brian came in with an apple in his hand.
"Was that Ash?" he asked.
"Yeah, she and Nick had a fight," Leighanne told him.
"Really?" Brian asked, surprised. Nick hadn't told Brian anything that would make him think things were going bad between Nick and Ashleigh, but then again, Brian hadn't talked to Nick in a couple days. "I'm gonna go over to Nick's."
"Okay, but don't make things worse," Leighanne said.
"I won't. I just want to see my best friend," Brian said, throwing away his apple core and grabbing his keys.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Babe?!" Gwen yelled from upstairs. She heard a clink followed by AJ screaming "OW!" This wasn't good. She walked down stairs and found AJ getting ice out of the freezer.
"What happened?" Gwen asked, trying to keep back her laughter.
"I dropped the wrench on my head," AJ said, pouting his bottom lip. Gwen started to laugh but tried to hide it. But it was too late. AJ tossed a rag at her and she laughed even harder. She walked up to him and kissed his forehead where a little bump was starting to form.
"When do you guys leave for promos?" Gwen asked.
"Monday," AJ said. It was Friday and Gwen only had the weekend until AJ and the rest of the guys left for New York to promote their new album. They had a week off before things would start to get crazy.
"Okay," Gwen said, as they kissed. "I'm gonna run over to Ashleigh and Nick's. I don't think Ash knew I was coming back today."
"Okay," AJ said.
"Don't hurt yourself anymore than you already have," Gwen said, bursting in to laughter as she barley made it out of the door before she got another rag thrown at her.
~~~~~~~~~~
Brian parked his BMW in Nick's driveway and walked into his garage and up to his back door. He knocked but no one answered. He turned the doorknob but it was locked. He knocked again and waited. No answer. Nick's car was there so someone had to have been home. He walked around front and rang the doorbell hoping he had better luck of them hearing it. Still no answer.
"Hmm...I should have called first," Brian said, aloud to himself. Then he heard laughing and talking coming from the backyard. Brian walked around to the gate and unlocked it. He walked past the pool and down the marble stairs to overview the basketball and tennis court. He saw Nick playing basketball with a baby ball and basket with a little boy. Brian stood watching them and studied the little boys face. He looked just like Nick. Brian's heart stopped and he froze. He heard someone come up behind him and turned around. He saw Gwen, stopped in her tracks about eight feet behind him, who was also starring at the little boy in shock. Nick looked up to the balcony by the pool and froze. He saw two pair of eyes starring right at Connor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
