Joey shook his head and opened his eyes slightly. The sun shining through the window made him blink. He turned over and shut his eyes again. In a moment he was sitting up, looking around him. He wasn’t in his room. How had he gotten in Chris’ room? Memories of last night hit him and he looked beside him. He stared at the sheets before realizing where Roni was. He stood and left the room. He walked to his room and slowly opened his door. He walked to the bed and sat on the edge. He reached over and shook Roni.

"Ron?"

The girl burrowed further in the covers and mumbled at him to go away.

"Roni, it’s time to get up." He shook her shoulder harder.

"Huh?" The brunette sat up and wiped her eyes. "Where am I?"

"You’re in my room." Joey saw the confused look in her eyes. "I slept in Chris’ room. Remember? You fell asleep on my bed…?"

"Oh yeah." Her face eased. She stared at the far wall.

"Well, I’m going to get breakfast. I’m sure the others are going to be here soon." He sniffed the air. "What’s that smell?"

Roni sniffed and smiled weakly. "C.K. cookies."

"What?"

"Let’s just say Chris is home. You ready to face him?"

Joey gazed out the window. "I guess I have no choice."

"Don’t worry about talking to him long." She reached out and squeezed his hand. "I’ll be down after I change and then I’m going to talk to him."

"About…"

"About why I’ve been so mad at him. Do you actually think I’m going to tell him anything else? He’d flip if he knew we kissed."

"I know." Joey glanced out the door. "I need a drink and the only place to get that is the kitchen and since Chris is cooking something I’ll have to talk to him."

"It won’t be that bad." She laughed at the look on Joey’s face. "I’ll be right down. Okay?"

Joey nodded and left the room. He trudged to the stairs and took his time going down them, averaging a step every five seconds. He reached the bottom and stared into the kitchen. Chris was placing dough on a cookie sheet while humming.

"This is the song that never ends. It just goes on and on my friends."

Chris was in a good mood. Last night he spoke to Kat and now he was looking forward to spending the rest of Roni’s visit with his guest. He was in such a good mood he had Kat drive him to the food store and bought the ingredients for his special cookies. He heard a noise at the doorway and saw Joey standing there nervously.

"Come in, Joe. How are you doing this fine day?"

Joey watched Chris in confusion. "Fine. How are you?"

"I’m doing great."

"That’s good." Joey walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange juice. He pulled a glass from the cabinet and began pouring the juice. "When did you get home?"

"Oh, a few hours ago. Kat dropped me off and then I went to my room to get clothes to change into."

Joey jumped. He stared at Chris while the older man put the cookie sheet in the oven. He watched Chris set the timer. Chris turned around and smirked.

"Joey, I don’t think the floor likes orange juice."

Joey looked at him before remembering what he was doing. He put the carton on the counter before running to get paper towels. He bent to sop up the juice.

"And, Joey, when I went in my room I also wanted to check on Roni but she wasn’t in there, you were. Why, and where was she?"

"Well," Joey started nervously, "she was in my bed because that’s where she fell asleep and under the circumstances I thought it would be best if we didn’t sleep in the same bed."

Chris sat at the kitchen table. "What circumstances?"

"Umm…Well…"

"You two kissed last night, didn’t you?"

Joey hung his head and nodded, feeling Chris’ stare through the back of his skull.

"Don’t worry. I’m not mad at you. I was afraid it would happen at some point during her stay. I knew that even though yesterday Justin told me you two told him you were just friends that something would happen.

"What?" Joey’s head whipped up. "Justin told you about Roni coming out of my room last week?"

"Oh." Chris’ faced turned red. "I didn’t mean to say that. Since I did I’d better come clean then."

"Yes, you should, Chris."

Both guys turned to see Roni in the doorway, arms crossed.

"I put Justin up to talking to you guys. He found me one day fuming and asked me about it and I let it slip I saw Roni sneak out of your room, Joey. You both were right. My imagination went wild. I was thinking about you two doing everything from kissing to…much more."

Joey sat on the floor and hid his head in his hands. Roni bit her lip and moved to stand next to Chris. She took his hand and squeezed it. He returned the gesture and looked up at her.

"I’m sorry, Ron, but you know me. Once as something gets into my head I can’t let it go until I talk about it."

"I know, Chris, but that night I just needed someone to talk to and Joey was there. We didn’t sleep together or anything that night. He just gave me a shoulder to cry on."

"Listen," Joey interrupted, "I think you two need to talk. Now that I’ve got my juice I’m going to head upstairs and finish waking up."

The other two nodded and Roni waited until she heard the sound of his door closing until she sat next to Chris. She sat there and looked the other way until he placed his hand on hers. She smiled. Her smiled dimmed when they heard car doors slamming outside and voices nearing the house. Roni stood up.

"I’m going to sit under the tree in the corner of the yard. You can join me, but not unless you bring some of those cookies that the oven says will be done in two minutes. Okay?"

Chris nodded and smiled. "See you in two and a half minutes."

Roni kissed his cheek and walked onto the deck. She took a deep breath and held it before letting it go. She walked to the tree and ducked under the braches so she could get to the trunk. She sat and picked up a small branch. She ran it along the ground until she heard footsteps a foot away from her. She looked up as Chris held out a plate with the cookies out to her.

"For you, ma’dam."

"Thank you, sir." She took the plate from his hands as he sat. She took the top cookie and took a bite. "Chris, you’ve done better but these taste delicious. It’s been forever since I’ve had these."

"It’s been a long time since I’ve made them. It’s been at least a year and a half since I’ve wanted to make them. Since I last made them for you."

"Oh, Chris, I’m so sorry." Roni squeezed the bridge of her nose. "I’m so sorry about that batch, Chris. Do you know how hard it was for me to dump them on the ground? And to step on them?"

"Then why did you do it, Ron?"

"Because I was mad at you."

Chris moved to face her and crossed his legs. "You told me the other day why you were mad at me but it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. I’ve been thinking about it. I just don’t get it. You smush the cookies and block me out of your life because you think you’re too young? Roni, you still talk to Molly and she’s a few years older than you. Please help me understand this. If the age thing is it I’ll take that explanation."

Roni looked down and bit her lip. "That’s not it, Chris. I wish it was, but it isn’t."

"Then what is it, Ron?" He took her hand and smiled when she linked her fingers through his.

"I need to tell you something I’ve only ever told one person, and that was Joey the other night."

"You haven’t told Molly?"

She shook her head. She turned her head and looked at the back door. Her mind brought her back a year and a half. Chris’ hand on her cheek brought her back.

"I told Diane, Lynn, and the guys not to come out here; we needed to talk."

"Thanks. Chris…"

"Yes?"

"I legally don’t have a father."

"What?!?" Chris brought his head back in shock.

"I legally don’t have a father. When I saw him when you went with me I had him sign over his rights."

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

"Because," she looked at her hands, "I was mad at you."

Chris was silent for a few minutes. He kept running that day in his mind, trying to find out what he did wrong. The more he thought about it, the more confused he got. He stood and faced away from her. His eyes wondered as he thought. He stopped when he saw movement in his window. He stared at it for a moment before he made out Joey’s shape and saw his blinds close. He turned and knelt before the girl.

"Roni, why were you mad at me? I’ve been thinking about that day and I’m drawing a blank."

"That’s the thing. In reality you didn’t do anything wrong. It was just my mind being overwhelmed and needing some release. It just happened to release on you."

"What?"

"Chris," she stood and began to pace, "you didn’t do anything. It’s just that dealing with that man was too much for me. When you left to answer the phone and-"

"Roni, that only reason why I answered it was because Justin sent 911 after the phone number. I thought something was wrong in Florida. Otherwise I would have never left you."

"I know. What was the emergency?"

"Nothing. He just wanted to see how things were going."

"Oh. I’m so stupid."

"No, you’re not. Come here." Chris patted his theighs and helped Roni sit on his lap. "Now do you want to tell me what happened those few minutes I was out of the room?"

Roni nodded.

"I’m ready to listen."

"Well, as you know the lawyer left before you and then you left. That left me with him."

She paused and Chris felt her body start to shake. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. He let her take her time. He knew this was difficult for her and didn’t want to pressure her.

"Well," she continued, "he stood up and walked towards me, as much as I asked him not to. Then he…he…he put his hand on my shoulder and…and…"

She broke down crying. Chris rocked her and tried to soothe her. He hated to see her like this. He felt the tears well in his eyes. He wiped them away and turned her face to him. She looked in his eyes before burying her face in his chest.

"It’s okay, Ron. It’s just me. He’s gone. It’s just me. Chris."

She nodded again before looking in his eyes. "He then told me how pretty I was and he was beginning to tell me about what he’d think about me if I wasn’t his daughter."

"Oh, Ron. I’m so sorry." He held her closer and kissed her cheek. He let her sob into his shoulder. "I’m so sorry. I wish I was there. He wouldn’t have dared say those things if I was in the room." He paused. "That’s one of the reasons you were mad, wasn’t it? You knew he’d never had said those things if I was in the room. Well, me or the lawyer, but you don’t know the lawyer, just me. It’s okay to be honest."

"Yeah, that was part of it. I’m sorry, Chris. I know it’s stupid but-"

"It’s okay. Yes, I wish you would have talked to me, but we can’t change the past."

"Wait," she wiped her cheeks, "there’s more."

"I know. You ready to talk about it all?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I am. I think it’ll be easier that way too."

"I’m listening."

"Well, he was beginning to tell me how surprised he was someone so pretty came from someone who looked like my mom when the lawyer walked back in. When that man walked in I told him what I wanted. You came in at the end of that conversation."

"So that’s the document you needed to sign. I’ve been wondering about that."

"Well, now you know. I legally don’t have a father." She leaned back into him.

"That explains more about why you haven’t talked to me. I do wish that you would have talked to me about it but you can’t change the past. We can only improve the future and mine better include you."

"Definitely."

Chris held her in his lap. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It felt good to know that now everything was out between him and Roni. She was still sniffling and he let her finish getting her emotions out. He was also glad she decided to come to him with this. It was her decision and she took the initiative to talk to him. He kissed below her ear.

"I love you, Roni. Promise you’ll talk to me in the future."

"I promise. I love you too. You’re the closest thing to a brother I have and life hasn’t been the same since I stopped talking to you."

"So now that we’re talking, how about that Jamie kid?" He felt her tense. "What?"

"We’re no longer together."

"What happened? Molly didn’t tell me anything. You two sounded like a hot item. That’s one reason why I didn’t think anything would happen between you and Joey. I knew you had a boyfriend."

"Well, Molly doesn’t know. We just broke up the day before I left to come here. He thought I was already gone and decided to invite a friend, a female friend, over while I was going to be out of the country."

"Boys are scum."

Roni laughed and crawled out of his lap. "Joey said the same thing."

"Really? I guess my brains are finally rubbing off on the boy." He picked up the cookie plate. "Cookie?"

"I’d love one." She took a bite of a cookie. "So what are you and Kat doing tonight?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? You do something with her every night."

"Not for the rest of the week. I realized I hadn’t been spending any quality time with you and that’s why I went to talk to her yesterday. I wanted to tell her I wanted to spend more time with you while you were here."

"Really?"

"Really."

~~~~~~

Chris stood in the middle of the living room and waved his arms to get everyone’s attention.

"Okay, guys, this is Roni’s last full night here. She picks what we do." He fell next to her on the couch. "So what about it, Ron?"

"I really don’t want to do much. Actually, I don’t want to leave the house. Everytime we do fans recognize you guys and it just ruins everything. I want to be selfish and get you guys to myself. Well, Lynn and Diane can be here too, of course. So my pick is to stay home and watch a movie. Any objections?"

Justin lurched from his seat and knelt at her feet. "Thank you. Thank you."

She pushed him back. "You’re only saying that because your shirt got ruined earlier."

"You’d be surprised how scary it is for three screaming girls to rip your shirt off your back. Especially crazed fans."

"Oh poor baby," Joey cooed. He stood and stretched. The last few days he and Roni had separated themselves. They only spent time together in the presence of others. They both decided that would be best. "Well, I’m going to get ready for dinner. It smells so good."

"Thanks, Joey." Diane Bass stuck her head in the room. "Lynn and I wanted Roni to have a good last meal here and we know none of you can cook. You need to be able cook when you’re married. Don’t expect your wife to cook all the time."

"Mom," Lance whined, "I promise when I get time you can teach me to cook. I know that was directed at me."

"Would I do that?" she asked before retreating to the kitchens.

"Mothers." Lance shook his head. "At least we know Chris can make cookies. Who knew?"

"I did." Roni stood. "His pancakes aren’t that bad either."

"Then they’re not like his French toast?" Lance asked and the others laughed.

"I wouldn’t know. He tried French toast?"

"Hey, they weren’t that bad," Chris defended himself. "They weren’t."

"Yes, they were, Chris."

"That’s the last time I cook for your birthday, Lance."

"Can I have the same promise?" JC asked.

"Me too."

"Me three."

Roni laughed and made her way to the kitchen as the collective group of *N SYNC began playfully bickering.

~~~~~~

Chris looked at the sleeping figure next to him and smiled. He smoothed Roni’s hair before looking around the room. The others were watching the movie intently. Diane and Lynn had gone to bed after the first movie. Now it looks like Roni was the next victim. He stood and walked to the other side of Roni.

"It looks like Roni’s out, guys. I’m going to take her to bed."

The guys waved at him. He leaned down and picked her up, bringing her over the couch arm. He slowly adjusted her in his arms and walked up the stairs. In his room he kicked his covers off the bed and placed her softly on the mattress. He grabbed something to sleep in and went to the bathroom. When he came back he crawled next to Roni.

Since he and Roni had talked Chris had sung her to sleep every night. He also got the first good night’s sleep since she had arrived after the talk. It was her last night there and he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could. He felt her shift next to him.

"Hey, Chris. Guess I fell asleep."

"Yup, you did."

"You could watch the rest of the movie."

"Nah, I was tired and I’ve seen that movie thousands of times. Do you mind if I sleep in here? The others are still watching the movie."

"Nope." She turned away from him. "Now you have to sing me to sleep though."

"Oh darn." Chris smiled and laid beside her. "This is the song that never ends. It just goes on and on my friends. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was. And they’ll continue singing it forever just because this is the song that never ends."

"Chris?"

He turned to her. "Yeah?"

She faced him and kissed his cheek. "I love you."

"Love ya too." He smiled.

"Now who told you to stop singing?"

"Yes, ma’am."

~~~~~~

"I told you you didn’t have to come, Chirs," she told him for the dozenth time after he yawned again.

"I know, but I wanted to see you off."

"Chris, it’s the middle of the night. You just had a show and I know you have to get up in the morning."

"Oh hush. Your plane leaves soon and I don’t want to spend it listening to you yapping your trap."

"Chris!"

"Roni!"

She shook her head and smiled. She leaned back against his arm. She was tired and the airport chairs were starting to feel very comfortable. Unfortunately, Chris thought she shouldn’t be asleep and nudged her shoulder.

"I also don’t want to spend it with you asleep. As much as I want you to stay I know your mom wants you back home. You can’t board the plane asleep."

"I know." She sat up. "I’m so glad we worked everything out, Chirs."

"Everything is worked out?" His eyes questioning her.

"Yeah, it is." She hugged him and her flight was called. "That’s me."

"Okay." Chris stood and helped her up. He hugged her tightly. "I’m going ot miss you, Ron."

"Right back atcha." She stared at him, not knowing what to say. She didn’t know when the next time she would see him would be. She hugged him again and kissed his cheek. "I’ll see you."

"See you, Ron. Have a good flight."