"I wouldn't kid you about a thing like that," Kevin said, smiling. "Nick, can you pick her up tomorrow morning and bring her home?"

"Can I have sex with her first?" Nick giggled.

"No," they both said in unison.

"Damn. Oh well. Guess you're gonna be catching a cab, Kath," Nick said, shaking his head.

"Nick!" Kathleen laughed. "Come on. You can at least take me home after all I've done for you."

Nick looked thoughtful for a moment, then agreed. "OK. I'll take you home. But I at least deserve a kiss for it."

"We'll see," Kevin said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, I'm going home," Nick said. "Kev, should I stop by Rhiannon's house on my way, or is she alright?"

"You might wanna stop by and see how she's doing. She was gonna call Brian to come over, but I don't know if she got in touch with him."

"OK. I'll stop by tomorrow. I'm tired. How was she when you were there?"

"Sad. But she says she gonna be fine. I don't know. She seemed awfully upset to me," Kevin said sadly. Inside, he wished he had been able to do something for her. He loved her so much, and it tore him up to see her with a broken heart. Damn AJ... The next time he got his hands on that little fucker, he'd rip him apart.

"Well, I'll see you bright and early, Miss Kathleen," Nick said, waiving as he walked out the door.

"Night, Nick!" Kathleen yelled. "Thanks for watching Grease 2 with me. I promise I won't tell anybody that you know all the songs by heart!"

"Kathleen," he exclaimed, sticking his head back into the room, "that was supposed to be our SECRET. Have you forgotten what the word 'secret' means? Sheesh! I can't trust you with anything, can I?" He walked back out humming "We're Gonna Score Tonight". Kathleen and Kevin both laughed.

"So they're letting me go home, huh? I must be getting a little better," she said happily, snuggling up against Kevin, who was now back in the bed with her.

"Must be," Kevin said, sounding as convincing as possible. He hugged her tightly. For the first time ever, he could sense her illness. He could actually feel that something was wrong with her. Her life force was fading a little. He closed his eyes and rested his cheek on top of her head as he stroked her hair. "I love you, Kath," he said quietly.

"I love you to, baby," she said, giggling.

Kevin held her all night, even as she slept. Even when the sky began to lighten the next morning, he didn't want to leave her bed. He wanted to hold her forever and never let go, but he knew he couldn't. He kissed her softly lips and left the room quietly to head back to the sanctity of home.

******************************

Brian woke up with a start and sat up. For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was. Then he remembered he was in Rhiannon's living room. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was 5:40am. Shit, he had spent the entire night there. He looked down at Rhiannon, who was sleeping on the floor beside him. She looked so beautiful when she slept. He closed his eyes and thought about what it would be like to make love to her. Oh, that would be heaven... To look into her deep blue eyes and feel himself entering her. The danger... and the way he felt about her... it would be overwhelming. He knew he would have to do this eventually.... He would have to make love to Rhiannon or his life wouldn't be complete. He kissed her lips softly and she opened her eyes.

"Mornin'" he said, in his sweet southern drawl.

"Morning yourself," she said, smiling up at him. "You look cute with pointy hair."

"Pointy?"

"Yep. How do you get your hair to do that? It's brushed straight up on both sides into a point. You look like you have a shark fin on top of your head," she laughed, ruffling his hair.

"I have no idea," he replied, smiling a bright Brian-smile.

"That's a good look for you. You should go with that on stage."

"I'll take that under advisement," he said, running his fingers through his hair.

Rhiannon glanced out the window. The sun was just coming up over the horizon, and the sky was beginning to streak pink and orange.

"Hey, let's watch the sunrise," she said, sitting up. "I haven't watched a sunrise in awhile."

"Can you do that?" Brian asked, concerned. "I thought you'd... you know... die if the sun hit you."

"Nah. If I stay out for a few minutes, it won't hurt me. Longer than that and I'm toast, though."

"OK, but if you start smokin', I'm outta here," Brian said, laughing.

They walked out the French doors onto the patio and sat in the large swing. Rhiannon laced her fingers into Brian's, and laid her head on his shoulder. The sun rose slowly in the East, casting it's rays down onto the dew covered grass. It looked like fairy dust everywhere. Rhiannon breathed deeply of the scent of the dew. It was so peaceful in the first morning light. She loved this time of day, and it was always better if you had someone to share it with. They didn't need to speak. They were perfectly at peace with each other and everything around them. As soon as Rhiannon felt her skin begin to tingle, she stood and pulled Brian inside.

"I've got to sleep now. My brain's getting mushy," she said, hugging him. "Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome. Do you want me to come by tonight?"

"If you want to," she said. "But Brian, I can't promise you anything, alright? Nothing but friendship. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but today I can be your friend."

"If that's all I can have, then that's good enough," he said, kissing her cheek. "You're so beautiful. Did you know that?"

"So are you," she said, smiling.

"I'll see you later," he said, kissing her lips softly. As he made his way out to the car, he smiled to himself. He had fallen for her. Hard. Very, very hard. He didn't know what had come over himself, either. He had no idea how it had happened, either. Oh well...

***************************

Kevin returned home just as the sun was coming over the horizon. He pulled into the safety of the garage, thankful that he had illegally tinted windows shading him from the rising sun. As soon as the garage door closed, he ran into the house and down to the coffin room. Rhiannon was just getting into her bed to sleep when he came in.

"Hey," he said, helping her into the box. "How did last night go?"

"I'm OK. Brian just left."

"Rhiannon, are you corrupting my cousin?" Kevin laughed, raising an eyebrow.

"No. More like he's trying to corrupt me. If that's possible," she laughed back.

"Huh?"

"Never mind," she replied. "I'm getting a little goofy right now. You'll have to excuse me."

"I know the feeling. My brain's turning to oatmeal even as we speak."

"Kevin, do you know where AJ is?" Rhiannon asked softly.

"No, but I know he's close by. Or at least I think he is. I don't know. I'm not as good at this as you are."

Rhiannon nodded and laid down in her coffin. "Night baby," she said, pulling the lid down.

Kevin climbed into his own and pulled down the lid. He could hear Rhiannon tossing and turning against the sides of the casket. He couldn't sleep either. He closed his eyes, but it was no use. He just kept feeling the gnawing pain in his heart. Kathleen would be coming home today... to die. As he was thinking about how he was going to handle this, the lid to his coffin opened, and Rhiannon peered in at him.

"Can I come in?" she asked meekly. "I can't sleep."

"Of course you can, baby girl," he said, holding his arms out. She climbed in and laid down in his arms. He held her in a warm embrace and stroked her back softly, as she had done for him so many times.

"I love you, Kevin," she said, closing her tired eyes.

"I love you too," he said. It was always the same response every time they said they loved each other... Never changed. And it would always be true. Rhiannon knew that Kevin would never leave her. He was the one man she could always count on. Too bad his heart would always belong to another...

*************************

"You're driving sucks," Kathleen said, holding on the shit bar in Nick's car.

"You bitch too much," Nick said.

"You're an asshole."

"You're a ... uh... bitch," Nick replied, unable to come up with anything more original.

"Oooooh ouch. That hurt," she laughed. "Never been called a bitch before."

"Shut up," he muttered, speeding though a yellow light.

"Are you in that big of a hurry to get rid of me?" she laughed. "Am I that terrible that you have to speed through yellow lights?"

"Hell yeah. Well, that, and I'm hungry."

"Imagine that... Nick Carter's hungry..."

"Bitch..."

"Shithead."

"Wench."

"Orca..."

"Orca?? Like the killer whale?" Nick asked, incredulously.

"You said that part, not me," Kathleen laughed.

"You're mean," Nick pouted. "I'm not a whale."

"If the fins fit..."

"UH! That's not nice."

"I'm kidding, Nick. You're perfect in every way. You KNOW you are. That blonde hair and those blue eyes. You're beautiful. I'm just messing with you, Dr. Ego."

"I'm not an egomaniac. In fact, I'm kind of insecure about my weight."

"I know you are. That's why I choose that subject to torture you," Kathleen said, smiling triumphantly. "But to tell you the truth, I think you're quite yummy looking. Hell, if it weren't for Kevin, I'd do you."

"Would you really?" Nick asked, disbelieving.

"Yep. I think you're an amazing looking guy. Rhiannon does too. We both think you're a hottie. And you're fun, which is a big plus. Not too bright, but you're a lot of fun."

"Do you think she'd go out with me now that AJ's gone?" Nick asked, hopeful.

"I don't know. Ask her and find out," Kathleen said. "Hey, pull into McDonalds. I want some breakfast."

"Sounds good to me. Drive-thru or dining room?"

"Oh, dining room for sure. I can't pass up the opportunity to embarrass Nick Carter in public," she said, giggling.

"You can't embarrass me," Nick said, shaking his head. "Remember, I've lived with Brian and AJ for the past 9 years. They've pulled just about every prank imaginable on me. And damn, Howie's just embarrassment personified."

"That's true. But still, I just wanna be seen in public with you," she said, smiling at him. "Being that you're so yummy and all..."

"Oh alright," he muttered. "Star-fucker."

"Am not," she said indignantly.

"Are too. Star-fucker, star-fucker..." Nick sing-songed.

"That's mean," she pouted.

"Gotcha back for calling me a whale, didn't I?"

"Shut up."

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