Girls Night Out

By: Ari

"Erin, so help me God, if you don't put something else in that stereo, I'm going to scream!" Vickie complained as Erin punched 'shuffle'.

"Oh stop bitching Red, you know you can't get enough of my boys" she sighed, falling back on her bunk and stared at her covered ceiling. The first strands of "Don't want to lose you now" floated through the small dorm room, and Vickie covered her ears and moaned.

Vickie and Erin were sophomores at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, and had put up with each other as roommates for the past two years now, not counting the seven years of middle and high school they had shared. They were as different as night and day, but they hadn't killed each other yet, so they figured why bother rooming separately. Vickie was a petite red head with soft green eyes, a business major, with a minor in women's studies, or as Erin liked to put it, "Bra burning". She was the neat freak, and her half of the room hung a few posters of 98 degrees and Nsync, along with a cluttered bulletin board with pictures of her friends and family. Erin, on the other hand, was the crazy one. She was a self-proclaimed slob, and rather proud of it. She was a music education major. She was a tall girl, with shoulder length wavy hair that was a deep burgundy color this week, though next week it could be whatever color dye she could get her hands on. Her eyes were usually a hazel color, but depending on her mood, could be a deep emerald green, or a warm earthy brown. Her side of the room was completely covered with pictures of all of her friends and family, her cherished Cookie Monster and "Angel" posters. And that is not even mentioning her collection of Backstreet Boys mural, which was the only way it could be described. Her entire ceiling and walls surrounding her top bunk were NOTHING but pictures and posters of the Boys, the majority of them focusing on Aj.

"Can't we PLEASE put something else on?" Vickie whined. As usual, Erin had put in both of the Backstreet Boy's Cd's plus her new Savage Garden Cd.

"Nope. Because if I let you choose, it would be COUNTRY music" Erin said, sticking her tongue out. " I can't wait until the concert tomorrow night, I mean, we lucked out with our tickets"

"I should say so. We camped out for two fricking days to get them" Vickie grumbled, reaching for her discman and popped in her Dixie Chick's Cd.

"I still can't believe you let her talk you into that" Krista said, not looking up from her magazine.

"She's a wuss. I could talk her into doing anything" Erin laughed, then threw her Tickle Me Cookie Monster at Vickie when she kicked up Erin's mattress.

"No you couldn't" Vickie complained.

"Yes, she could" Krista said. Krista was Erin's younger sister. Erin had invited her up for the weekend, so she could go to the concert with them. Krista was 18, two years younger than Erin and Vickie.

"Just think, we will be all of five rows from the guys, I mean, God, we can probably smell the sweat from those buffed bodies" Erin drooled just thinking about it.

"And you know damned well, I'm going to try everything in my power to get as close to them as possible. Who knows, maybe we can bribe one of their body guards to let us backstage or something"

"I seriously doubt we will get all THAT close Erin" Vickie said, picking up one of her ever present romance novels.

"You never know" Kris said, turning the page.

"Oh God, I can't believe this shit!!" Erin gushed as they found their seats. The Pavillion was already packed with screaming teenagers, most of them around 12-14.

"God I feel old all of a sudden" Vickie complained, glaring at four little girls in front of them who were standing on their seats, hold up a huge banner screaming.

"Remind me to make you get any tickets for me from now on" Krista said, looking at close they were to the stage. "Remember last time we were here with Mom? Lord, we were all the way up in the nosebleed section"

"Oh yeah! And those little kids screaming Z104! That was SO annoying" Erin said, remembering.

"Oh my God! Did you see how close Aj was when he flew over us!" Erin shrieked. The three girls were standing near the back exit, waiting to catch a glimpse of the guys. Erin's plan to bribe the guards didn't work, but she wasn't too upset, the concert itself was a nice consolation prize. "

And how about Kevin, on the piano?" Vickie drooled.

"And Brian all sweaty with his shirt hanging open?" Krista added.

"I think its safe to say the night has been a success, with one tiny exception" Erin said, gazing over to the door. A few minutes later the door opened, and everyone started shrieking, then moaned. A security guard walked out, and everyone was ushered away, being sent home.

"Oh this really sucks" Erin fussed as they walked back to the car.

"I know...I really wanted to see Brian" Krista agreed.

"And Kevin" Vickie added. They continued walking to Erin's car, when they rounded a corner, and Erin collided with someone so hard, she fell back hard on her rear.

"Hey!" She hollered.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry" a gruff voice apologized, reaching for her hand.

"Walk much?" she asked, as she brushed herself off. She raised her head, looking at the stranger and gasped. "Holy shit" she whispered.

"Uh, I'm really sorry, I wasn't paying any attention to what I was doing" he apologized again.

"Hey, Bone! Who ya talking to?" came a voice, then four other guys rounded the corner. "Oh, hi there"

"Hi" the three girls sputtered.

"J, are you bothering these three lovely ladies?" Howie asked, winking at Krista.

"No, we just ran into each other" he said, giving a grin towards Erin.

"I can't believe this" Erin laughed.

"What?" Aj asked her.

"We were just waiting for you guys to come out, and we were told to leave...and we were walking to our car, and here you are" Vickie said in a big rush, not believing that the Backstreet Boys themselves were standing here, and talking to them!

"Well, you have us at a disadvantage. You know who we are, but we don't know you three" Brian said.

"Well, I'm Erin, and this is Vickie, my roommate, and my sister, Krista" Erin said.

"Do you live around here?" Nick asked.

"Red and I got to college here" Erin explained, since Vickie was still a little tongue tied. Nothing really phased Erin, it took quite a bit to surprise her speechless.

"Do you ladies have anything planned for the rest of the evening?" Kevin asked, offering Vickie his arm.

"Not really" Vickie said, staring up into his deep green eyes.

"Good, then you can show us around. We know a few places here and there, but I'm sure you three know more of the hotspots"

"Of course we can. Its Saturday night, there are tons of parties going on, and countless clubs we can stop at" Erin said, starting to walk back to her car.

"Where are you going?" Aj asked, jogging up to her.

"Going to get my car, that’s all" she said. "I'm not about to walk all the way back downtown"

"We can take our limo" he offered.

"Thanks, but I'm not going to leave my poor car here, I love this city, but it's not the best place to leave a vehicle" she explained.

"Well why don't we drive it back to your campus, and they can follow behind and we can hop in with them once your car is on campus"

"Ok, that sounds good to me" she smiled at him. He ran back and told the guys the plan, then ran back to Erin.

"So, where do you go to school?" Aj asked as they pulled onto I-695.

"I go to Notre Dame, next to Loyola and Hopkins" she said, looking over her shoulder and pulled over into the next lane.

"What are you studying?"

"Music ed. It's not too bad, but its a ton of work. I have to keep around eighteen to twenty-one credits a semester" she complained. "You guys were really great tonight, it was the best concert I've been to" she said shyly, glancing at him in one her mirrors.

"Thank you" he said smiling at her. "Are you from around this area originally? Or did you move here from somewhere else?" he asked, trying to get a conversation going.

"Well, I live about two hours away, on the Eastern Shore, so it wasn't all that a big deal coming up here. The only thing I had to adjust to is the fact of it being the city, back where I live is more a rural area." She explained, yielding off onto Charles Street.

"And you go to Notre Dame...is that like a branch of THE Notre Dame, like Fightin Irish Notre Dame?"

"Oh no." she laughed. "Do you know how many people ask me that? It is the furthest thing from that, my Notre Dame is an all female private catholic college"" she explained, wrinkling her nose up.

"Ah, and I take it that the all girl part doesn't sit too well with you huh?" he asked, laughing.

"It's ok, I mean, I went to a co-ed public high school, so it was different, but it is so relaxed around here. You don't have to get all dolled up to impress people, just come as you are. You don't know how many times I've seen people coming to class in their PJs" she chuckled, pulling into the main entrance to the campus.

"Wow, this place is nice" he said as they drove though.

"It is. I really like it here" she said softly. She pulled in behind her dormitory, and turned off the car. "I have to run upstairs and check my messages, plus I want to grab my coat. Do you want to come up with me, or just wait for them?" she asked, remembering that the rest of their group got stuck at a stop light a ways back.

"I'll run up with ya." he said, jumping out of the car and rushing around to open the door for her.

"Uh, I think we lost them" Nick moaned, looking for Erin's red Volvo.

"It's no problem. She drives like a bat out of hell anyway. We're not that far from the campus, so she couldn't have gotten too far" Vickie said.

"How long are you guys in town?" Krista asked.

"Well, we actually get a few weeks off now. We've been going strong for almost a month, so now we get some down time" Brian answered.

"Are you all going to hang around here, or are you going some place else to enjoy your time off?"

"I don't know, I guess it depends on whatever we can find to keep us busy" Kevin said, and Vickie felt her insides turn to mush as he turned his emerald green eyes on her.

"And this is my room, actually it's Vickie's and mine, but you catch my drift" Erin said, flipping on the light switch and stepped over a heap of clothes to grab the phone.

"Ah, you favor the 'lived in' look huh" Aj said, chuckling as he moved a pile of papers so he could sit down.

"It's the only way to live"

"Who are all of these people?" he asked, pointing to the photographs hidden among her mural.

"Most of them are my friends from high school, and back home, and those over there are of my family."

"And is this guy your boyfriend?" he asked casually, pointing to her prom picture that was hung up beside her cookie monster poster.

"No, I don't have a boyfriend. He is just a friend" she said flatly, punching in her password for her voicemail account.

"So where exactly do you have in mind for tonight?" he asked changing the subject. "I was thinking Hurricanes. They are one of the best places to go, see-thru dance floor, three different rooms with different music playing, it's really awesome"

"Sounds good to me" he said grinning.

"See? Told you it wasn't too much further" Vickie said as they pulled up in front of Doyle Hall, their dorm. "That light on the third floor, right above the door is ours, the one with the icicle lights hanging down" she explained, pointing it out.

"And there's Erin" Krista said, seeing her sister walk in front of the window. She looked down and waved at the limo. "Ok, she sees us."

"They're here" Erin said, grabbing her coat in one hand, and Aj's wrist in the other, dragging him out into the hallway. "Oh shit, my keys, where have I put my damned keys?" she mumbled, feeling her pockets for them. "Don't move, I gotta find where ever I layed them" she muttered, going back into her room. Aj laughed as he heard an "A ha!"

"Well looky what we have here.." he turned and saw a medium height girl, wearing nothing but a tee-shirt that barely covered her butt, or the fact that she wasn't wearing anything underneath. "Hey Kir, Shell, get out here, check this guy out" she hollered, banging on the door next to Erin's room.

"Dayum" a blond girl whistled, checking him out.

"Uh, hello ladies" he said, backing up a little.

"Hello yourself cutie. Whatcha doin up here, got lost?" the one in the tee shirt asked, walking up close to him, so close they were practically touching.

"No, uh, I'm waiting for, um, Erin" he stuttered, backing up a little more.

"Ok, I'm straight now, we can go" Erin announced, joining him out in the hallway.

"Erin! Why don't you introduce us?" the other girl demanded, the one that hadn't spoken yet.

"AJ, this is Kirsten" she gestured to the blond girl, "Michelle" the one that just spoke, "And this is Lara" the one in the shirt.

"Guys, this is AJ. I don't mean to be rude, but we are on our way out. See ya later" she said, and yanked Aj towards the elevator.

"If things don't work out for you two, make sure you give me a call" Lara hollered after them as the elevator doors closed. Erin exhaled loudly, and Aj bust out laughing.

"Think that is funny huh? Well, consider yourself lucky. Lara usually doesn't wear anything at night, and just cause she has to go into the hallway doesn't mean she puts her clothes on" Erin laughed.

"Think you guys took long enough?" Krista demanded as they slid into the limo.

"Sorry, we were stopped by Shell, Kir and Lara" Erin apologized, throwing Vickie a meaningful look.

"Lets go! I wanna have some fun!" Howie said, throwing his arm over Krista's shoulders.

"Can't we go yet?" Erin whined. Her and Aj were snuggled up in the corner of their booth, Kevin and Vickie on one side of them, and Brian on the other. Krista, Howie and Nick were still out on the dance floor. It was pushing four a.m., and they were all exhausted, with exception of the three.

"Hey Bri, EARTH TO BRIAN!" Aj shouted, his voice finally penetrating the loud music.

"Huh, what?" Brian asked, tearing his eyes from the dance floor.

"Whatcha staring at?"

"Oh, nothing" he stuttered, turning his face from them, but not before Aj saw him blush.

"Ok, I'm ready to leave, and besides, she's MY little sister, and I'm supposed to be watching her. So that makes me the boss" Erin fussed, disengaging herself from Aj's arms, and stomped off to claim her sister. A few minutes later, Erin re-emerged, dragging Krista with Howie and Nick close behind.

"Aww, come on, the club is open for another hour!" Howie complained, turning a puppy dog look on Erin.

"Sorry, not a chance. I'm exhausted. I don't know how in the hell you can do a concert then go out clubbing till four in the morning" Erin grumbled, thrusting Krista's jacket at her. They all piled out of the club, which was still jumping, even at such an early hour. The ride back to campus was fairly quiet, especially since Vicke had fallen asleep on Kevin's lap, and to everyone's surprise, Howie fell asleep as soon as they pulled onto Charles Street. Krista dozed off too, snuggling up against Brian. Brian just smiled slightly, and wrapped an arm around her. Aj smiled seeing Brian, and nudged Erin.

"So what are you guys planning to do tomorrow?" Erin asked softly, not wanting to wake anyone up.

"I'm not sure yet. I guess I just have to see if the guys have anything planned or not. But either way, I want to see you again." he said, surprising her.

"Huh?" she asked, not sure if she heard him correctly.

"Do you want to meet up again tomorrow, and do something?" he asked shyly. He had never had any problems talking to girls before, but Erin seemed different from all of the others, and he didn't know how to act around her.

"I would really like that" she said, smiling up at him. She gasped as the driver slammed on his brakes suddenly. Then, the phone beside Aj started to ring.

"Yes?" Aj said. "Oh shit, hold on, let me check something." he put his hand over the receiver. "We just came up on a huge accident that is taking up all of the lanes ahead, and there are no other turn offs to get to your campus. Uh, would you mind just coming back to the hotel, and we can double up or something, but if we wait here, it will be forever to get through" Aj explained sheepishly.

"I don't mind, and Krista and Vickie can just deal if they do have a problem with it" she said, looking over at her sleeping companions. Aj gave the driver his instructions, and they pulled out of the jam.

"I'm sorry about this" Aj said, pulling her close.

"It's ok. That's just one thing about Baltimore traffic. It takes forever to clear up. Plus, I'm too tired to wait to get through that mess"

"Me too. If you want, I'll give you my room, and I can double up with Kevin, and Vickie and Kris can stay in there with you."

"I will not kick you out of your own room" she said, smacking him playfully. "I can just sleep in one of the chairs or something. The others can figure things out for themselves. They are all big kids"

About twenty minutes later, the limo pulled up in front of the Balitmore Hilton, and the chauffer opened the door. The ride up in the elevator was a quiet one, and they all piled out on the next to last floor, which only contained five large suites, ensuring their privacy.

Kevin ushered Vickie to his suite, carefully leading her to his bedroom, and eased her onto the king sized bed. She fell back and immediately went back to sleep. He pulled the covers over her, and changed into his favorite silk boxers and crawled beside her, pulling her into his arms.

Howie had carried the sleeping Krista from the limo, and had eased her onto his bed. He carefully pulled her shirt over her head, and exchanged her jeans and shirt for a pair of his silk pants that he liked to sleep in, an a shirt. He chuckled as she mumbled something and rolled over. He changed into a similar pair of silk pants, and slid in next to her.

Brian had stared at Howie's back as he had carried Kris into his suite, that stomped into his own suite, slamming the door behind him. Nick and Aj just gaped at Brian's sudden flair of temper, then headed for their own suites, too tired to do anything about it that night.

Erin yawned as Aj led her into his bedroom.

"Here, you can have the bed, and I'll sleep out on the couch" he offered.

"Uh uh. You sleep in your own bed, I'll be fine out on there" she said firmly.

"No, you are a guest. You aren't going to sleep on the couch, or a chair. Only in this bed" Aj said just as firmly.

"Well, then I guess we are just going to have to share it then. Because I'm not about to let you give it up"

"And I'm not about to let you stay out there. I want you as close as I can get you anyway" Aj said gruffly, wrapping his arms around her waist. "So we are just going to share the bed, and it all works out"

"Yup. Can I bother you for something to sleep in? I don't really want to mess up my new outfit."

"Of course" he let go of her and produced a pair of boxers and a wife beater from one of the dressers.

"Thank you, I will be out in a moment" she said, heading towards the bathroom. About fifteen minutes later, the two were cuddled up in each other's arms, sleeping soundly.

Vickie moaned as she woke up, stretching. She froze when she realized that she was not alone in the bed, which was not her own to begin with. She turned around slowly, and let out a sigh of relief seeing that it was Kevin. She studied his clean cut features, thinking how cute he was while he was sleeping. She reached up and lightly traced his lower lip with her finger, then laughed as his mouth snapped open, trapping her finger between his lips, sucking on it softly.

"Good morning" he murmured, his green eyes opening.

"Good morning to you too. How did we manage to get here?"

"Don't you remember? There was an accident that blocked the way to your college, so Aj and Erin decided just to come back here." he told her, smiling as she snuggled up closer to him.

"No, I don't remember that, but I usually don't remember anything after I fall asleep."

"Do you have anything planned for today?"

"Nope, not a thing. Why, do you?"

"Nothing."

"Why don't I take you down to Harbor Place, that’s where Planet Hollywood, ESPN Zone and the Hard Rock Cafe are, plus there is lots of shops, the Aquarium, and lots of other places to stop at...that is, unless you have any better ideas.."

"Nope. That sounds great. Why don't we go ahead, get dressed and all, order some breakfast and then head on out?"

"Perfect..." she said, smiling up at him. Howie smiled as he woke up, finding Krista snuggled up close. He pulled her closer, and stroked her hair softly, kissing her throat lightly. After a few minutes, she started to stir. All of a sudden her eyes flew open, and she bolted from the bed, looking wildly around her.

"Where am I?" she asked weakly.

"Calm down hun," Howie chuckled, climbing out of bed and stood next to her.

"Oh God, I thought last night was all a dream" she said, laughing.

"But where are we, and how did we get here?" Howie explained what happened.

"So see, I didn't kidnap you or anything" he finished smiling.

"Are you hungry? Why don't we call the other guys and see if they want to go out for breakfast."

"Sure, just let me get my clothes.." she said, looking down, realizing she was wearing his clothes.

"Sorry, I didn't think you want to sleep in your jeans, so I just lent you some of my stuff" he said, noticing how adorable she looked.

"Oh well" she shrugged.

"Why don't you call them and see if they wanna meet up."

"What" Aj grumbled into the phone. "D, it's only 11 am. It's too early for breakfast" he moaned, turning over and pulled Erin back into his arms. "Oh all right. Give us about twenty minutes. If we aren't down by then, we aren't coming" he said, and hung up.

About twenty minutes later, Howie, Krista, Brian, and Nick were finally joined by a rugged looking Erin and Aj.

"What's wrong? Didn't get much sleep last night?" Nick teased Aj.

"As a matter of fact, I didn't." Aj grumbled, walking out of the lobby.

"How come...and don't tell me you two were hitting the sheets already!" Krista said, then groaned as her sister elbowed her.

"No, I have never heard someone talk in his sleep as much as him!" Erin said disgustedly, then yawned loudly.

"At least I don't moan throughout the night" Aj shot back.

"Every time I would finally go back to sleep, he would wake me up, yelling at someone to give him his 'damned bear' as he called it"

"And then I would wake up to someone having a dream orgy."

"I think that they have finally met their match" Howie chuckled, remembering many nights on a tour bus that Aj would start screaming in his sleep.

"I know, you don't know how many times she has woken me up when she starts moaning. And trust me, she does her fair share of talking." Krista added.

"Hey, at least I don't start marching around the living room thinking I'm a fire truck" Erin said.

"Bitch! That was a long time ago...always gotta be bringing up stuff from a ages ago" Krista muttered.

"Hey Bri, what's wrong?" Aj asked him softly, putting a little distance between them and the rest of their group.

"Huh, nothing Bone, why?"

"Come on, spill it. You like her don't you?" he pressed, the blush that spread across Brian's face was all the answer that he needed.

"So? What if I do. Howie has already laid a claim on her, if you haven't noticed."

"But that doesn't mean anything. Give her a chance to decide. Turn on the ole southern charm" Aj joked, using a phoney southern accent.

"I know, but still...do you think she'll give me a chance? I have barely been able to get a word in edgewise with her."

"Then you will just have to try harder"

"Wow, this is a great view" Kevin said softly, watching the sun set over the harbor.

"I know, I love to come down here every once in a while and watch it."

"It must be nice to have the time just to escape down here" Kevin said softly.

"I can only imagine how hectic it can be, working the way you guys do." Vickie said, smiling as he took her hand.

"You have no idea" he murmured, pulling her onto his lap.

"I wonder what the others have been up to today."

"Heaven only knows. We will probably get an earful when we get back, in case they were looking for us."

"Oh well, they can get over it. Hey, do you mind if we run back to campus, so I can grab some clothes and stuff"

"That's no problem. Let's go now, and then I'll take you out for some dinner, your choice."

"Sounds good to me" she said, giving him a quick kiss, then stood up, pulling him up with her.

"Do you think you guys bought enough food?" Krista fussed as they walked into AJ's kitchenette, dropping their bags on the table.

"Hey, I happen to be starving, and I'm sure Nicky is too, and Brian and Howie can eat their share, so I don't want to hear it" Aj said, walking in behind her.

"Starving?? We just ate a few hours ago!" Erin pointed out, plopping down in one of the recliners.

"It doesn't matter. I'm hungry" Aj said, putting the groceries away.

"What do you all want for dinner?"

"Why don't you just fix the steaks you bought" Brian offered, turning on the TV.

"Sounds good to me" Nick said, plopping down on Erin's lap.

"Hey, who do you think you are" she fussed, pushing him onto the floor. "I think I'll help you, I don't know if I can trust a man in the kitchen" she said, jumping to her feet and joined Aj in the kitchen.

"Hey, I can cook" he said indignantly.

"Yeah, hot dogs in a microwave" Nick hollered from the living room.

"I didn't say that you couldn't, I just said that I didn't trust you cooking." she corrected him, reaching for a box of macaroni and cheese.

"Hey Howie, can you do me a favor?" Aj hollered.

"Whatcha need J?"

"Can you run to that little store on the corner and get some sodas and stuff to drink, I forgot to pick them up" Aj said, smacking himself on the forehead.

"Sure thing" Howies said, grabbing his coat.

"Why don't you take Nicky to help you, cause I want to have enough to last a while" Aj called after him.

A few minutes later, Nick and Howie were gone.

"Um, I recall asking you if you needed drinks" Erin reminded him.

"I know you did...just hush ok?" Aj told her, an smile playing on his lips.

"What do you have up your sleeve?" she demanded, turning away from the stove.

"Just trust me ok?" he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulled her close, planting a light kiss on her nose.

"Hey Brian! Why don't you and Krista run down to Blockbuster and pick up some movies? I forgot to ask Nick and D to grab them, please?" Aj asked.

"Uh, sure, you wanna?" Brian turned to Krista.

"Sure. Anything you guys want in particular?"

"Uh, pick up a comedy, a good horror movie, none of that cheesy shit, and..." he leaned over whispered something in her ear.

"You are horrible...why..?" she started, but Aj's finger over her lips silenced any more protests.

"Just do it. Dinner should be done about the time you two get back" he said, shooing the two of them out the door.

"She's right, you are terrible." Erin said, staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"And what did you ask her to get?" she demanded, heading back into the kitchen.

"Oh nothing. How’s dinner coming?" he asked, changing the subject.

"It's doing fine. What are you trying to do here?" she asked, pulling him around to face her.

"I'm not really doing anything. Brian is too shy to tell Kris that he likes her, and plus there is Howie. And don't get me wrong, they are all like brothers to me, but Brian is really, I don't know how to describe it, I've never seen him act like this before" he said, pulling her into his arms, kissing her neck softly.

"Look Mr. McLean, don't start what you can't finish" Erin warned, moaning softly as he bit into her shoulder.

"What's wrong Miss Holliday" he said softly, backing her up against the refrigerator. "Don't you trust me?" He slipped his hand under her shirt, moving her bra aside. He caught her mouth with his, kissing her passionately, her head pressed back against the fridge.

"Right this way sir" the hostess said, leading Kevin and Vickie to a secluded table.

"This is a nice little place" Kevin commented, looking around. They were at the Paper Moon, Vickie's favorite restaurant.

"I know, I try and get here as often as possible, but it's hard finding the time inbetween classes and work and stuff" she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"So what are you studying?" he asked, reaching for a his glass of water.

"I'm a business major. I'm hoping to actually get in on the music scene, you know, the business end of it. I think it would be cool to produce, or manage or something like that"

"That is a good field, but hard to break in to" Kevin noted.

"Yeah, I figure that, but I'm going to try anyway." she said, stopping when the waiter came and took their order. The meal passed pleasantly, and they learned a lot about each other in the process

"Hey guys, we're back!" Nick called as the walked in the door. Him and Howie walked in the kitchen, just as Aj whirled around and Erin pulled her shirt back over her head.

"Uh, sorry" Nick said, blushing, and walked back into the living room.

"Where are Brian and Krista?" Howie demanded.

"I sent them to Blockbuster to pick up some movies, they should be back anytime now" Aj said, looking at his watch then reached for his shirt, which was balled up in the corner.

"Hey, has anybody heard from Vickie and Kevin today?" Erin asked, not looking up from the macaroni she was cooking.

"Nope. We tried calling him earlier, but no one was answering." Howie told her, walking out of the kitchen. Erin let out a deep breath and Aj laughed.

"That was a little too close" Erin murmured, turning around.

"I thought it was pretty funny myself" Aj said, trying to stifle his laughter, but it wasn't working to well.

"You are terrible!" she chuckled, running a finger down his bare chest.

"You have no idea" he growled softly.

"Uh oh, told you they would be looking for us" Kevin said, checking his messages. "Do you want to go down and hang out with them, or would you just like to stay here?" he asked, pulling his coat off.

"Why don't we just stay here, I'm sure we can find plenty to do to keep us occupied" Vickie said, flashing him an evil grin over her shoulder as she slipped into the bathroom to change.

"Oh Kevin, could you do me a favor? Can you take that green plaid bag down to Aj's room for me, I picked up some clothes for Erin..." Vickie hollered though the bathroom door.

"Sure thing, I'll be right back" he said, and she heard the front door close. She turned off the light switch and stepped into the bedroom, checking herself out in the mirror that hung over the dresser. She was wearing a slinky lavender colored satin nightgown that fell to about mid-thigh. Erin had made her buy it during one of their shopping sprees, and this was the first time she had actually worn it. She fluffed her hair up with her hand, then plopped down on the bed, laying on her stomach, and reached for the remote.

"So, you see anything yet?" Brian asked, as the browsed through the new release section.

"Uh, lets see...there is American Pie, Runaway Bride, Big Daddy, um, I'm not sure. Then there are some others, but they've been out for a while, The Waterboy, I don't know, how about you?"

"Why don't we get American Pie and Big Daddy for comedy, uh, how about horror?"

"How about Urban Legands, and..hmm..how about the Haunting?"

"Whatever sounds good to you. What else did Aj tell you to pick up?"

"He asked me to pick up a couple of 'Red Shoe Diary' videos. God only knows why" Kris said, going over and grabbing two of them, and they went up front to check them out.

"So, do you go to college around here?" he asked shyly. "Yup, I go over to Villa Julie, but I usually hang out with Erin and Vick over at Condom."

"Uh, Condom?"

"Sorry" she laughed.

"Condom is the named that Hopkins coined up for College of Notre Dame of Maryland. It kinda sticks"

"Oh I see" he chuckled. He hailed a cab and they chit-chatted on the way back to the hotel.

"Will one of you get that please!" Erin hollered, pulling the steaks out of the oven. She cussed as some greased splashed up and burnt her wrist.

"You need some help in here?" Aj said, peeking his head in.

"Uh, yeah. Did someone get the door?"

"Yeah, it's Kevin. He brought you a bag from Vickie."

"Where is Red by the way?"

"She's back in his room. He's still in talking to Nick and Howie though"

"Can you finish getting things straight so I can run up and see her for a minute?"

"Sure thing hun" Erin walked down the hallway, and let herself into Kevin's room.

"It's about time dear, I was wondering if you had gotten lost" she heard Vickie hollar from the other end of the suite. Erin walked quietly and stuck her head into the bedroom.

"I'm sorry pookie, I couldn't get away any sooner" Erin said with a dramatic sigh and fell across the bed. "Did you miss me?"

"What are you doing here" Vickie laughed.

"Well, since I have Kevin, Aj, Howie and Nick all tied up and handcuffed in Aj's bedroom I thought I'd come down and visit you for a while. I see that you have finally decided to wear that nightgown I made you buy"

"Yeah, I figured Kevvy would like it.."

"So it's Kevvy now. What did you guys do today?"

"We went down to Harbor Place and just hung out. How about you guys?"

"Just sorta wandered about. Nothing special. I guess I should leave ya alone...poor Kevvy is probably having a heart attack waiting to get back in here" Erin said with an evil grin.

"We're back" Brian called, opening the door for Krista.

"Hey, the gangs all here, well except for Vickie and Erin that is" Nick said, not looking up from the TV.

"Hey old man, where've you been all day?" Brian asked, dropping the bags of movies down on the table.

"I've been out with Vickie"

"Who is waiting for you back in your room by the way" Erin said, coming back into the suite. She walked into the kitchen to see Aj pulling plates and silverware out.

"Need any help" she asked.

"Nope, I think I got everything straight. How is Vick?"

"She's fine. Better than fine actually" she chuckled, then lowered her voice. "She's sprawled out on Kevin's bed in a little purple nighty that I made her buy a while ago. I think she's going to play a little seductress."

"Oh my God, I can't believe his poor father caught him again!" Erin laughed. They were all sitting around, watching American Pie. Erin and Aj were cuddled up on the floor, Howie and Kris on the couch, and Nick and Brian in chairs. Brian kept stealing peeks of Krista whenever he thought she wasn't looking. It took all of his willpower not to jump up and yank the two apart when Howie lowered his head for a kiss. Aj saw Brian staring, and his heart went out for his friend, but there was nothing he could do about right now. After a few minutes, the couple on the couch got a little more hot and heavy, not paying any attention to the fact that there were other people in the room. Howie slid his hand under Kris's shirt, his fingers lightly brushing against her breasts.

"Oh Brian..." she moaned...

"Oh shit" Erin whispered. Krista opened her eyes, and saw everyone staring at her. Howie just stared at her for a minute, then jumped up from the couch, knocking her to the floor. He stomped out of the room,.slamming the door as he left.

"Oh shit..." Krista hissed, her head falling on her knees.

"Um, would one of you guys go after him please?" Erin said, looking from Nick to Brian and AJ. Nick nodded and ran after him.

"Kris, in the bedroom...NOW" Erin ordered, ushering her into the other room.

Kevin let himself back into his suite, dropped his keys on the table and headed back to his bedroom. He groaned inwardly seeing Vickie laid out on his bed.

"I was wondering if you were going to come back" she asked, looking up from the television.

"The guys wouldn't shut up. Sorry" he said, pulling his shirt and jeans off, and sat down next her, pulling her up into his arms.

"Its ok. I just got a little lonely" she said, snuggling back.

"I guess I'll just have to fix that won't I" he said softly, then tilted her head back and brought his head down, kissing her softly.

"Oh God, I didn't mean to do it!" Kris said, plopping down on the bed.

"I can't believe you did that" Erin chuckled.

"Stop, it's not funny! I think I really either hurt his feelings or pissed him off, and I don't want to do either. He's a sweet guy, but I just didn't want to hurt him by saying that I wasn't interested in anything besides a friendship."

"Well, I think you took care of that" Erin said dryly.

"Oh would you stop. I feel terrible!"

"Krista! You freakin called Howie 'BRIAN', in front of all of us no less. I seriously doubt that you won't have to worry about Howie coming on to you anymore."

"Oh God, but what about Brian? He doesn't even know I'm alive, I can't go back out there.." she whined. Both girls jerked their heads up as someone knocked lightly on the door.

"Uh, Kris, can I talk to you, privately?" Brian asked, looking over at Erin. Erin shrugged, got up from the bed and left.

Vickie moaned as Kevin's tongue flicked across her lips, then plunged into her mouth. She turned so she was straddling him, her arms wrapped around his neck. Kevin fondled her breasts through the thin silky fabric, feeling her nipples harden under his touch. He slid his hands underneath the hem and pulled it over her head, groaning when he saw that she had worn nothing under it.

"You are so beautiful" he murmured, kissing her neck, then trailing kisses down to her cleavage, sucking lightly on her nipple.

"Oh God Kevin" she whispered, winding her fingers in his hair, gasping as he moved over to the other breast.

"You taste so good" he said softly, flicking his tongue across her tightened bud.

"He'll be fine" Nick sighed, walking back into Aj's suite. "Just let him have some time to himself.

"Are you sure?" Aj asked worriedly.

"Yeah. How is she?" Nick asked, seeing Erin walk out of the bedroom. Erin looked at the two of them and bust out laughing.

"I'm sorry, I know, I'm horrible...but this whole situation is hilarious" she said in between giggles. "She's fine, just in shock. She can't believe that she did that"

"I thought I was just hearing things, but when I noticed that we were all staring at her...I wanted to laugh, but I didn't want to piss Howie off even more" Nick said, chuckling.

Vickie slid her hands under the waistband of Kevin's boxers, grabbing his ass tightly. She carefully slid one hand around and caressed his increasing bulge, causing him to moan loudly.

"Like that do you" she whispered huskily, squeezing him gently. Kevin couldn't do anything but nod and groan.Before she could react, he flipped her over onto her back, pinning her hands above her head, and kissed her roughly. His free hand trailed down her stomach, skipping over the place she wanted him to touch the most, and stroked her thighs teasingly.

"Kevin please, don't tease" she begged, and gasped as one finger trailed along her slit.

"Like that do you?" he chuckled, slipping one finger inside of her.

"Yes!" she moaned, arching against his hand.

"Uh, hi Brian" Krista said shyly, not really meeting his eyes. "Kris," he started, not really knowing what to say.

"Brian, I'm so sorry. I don't know why I did that...actaully I do, but still, this whole scenario is so screwed up" Krista blew out in a big rush.

"You don't have to apologize to me" he said, chuckling softly. He reached over and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"But," she started, but was silenced by his lips covering her own.

"I want you inside me!" Vickie hissed, raking at his back with her nails.

"Patience is a virture" he teased, flicking his tongue across her clit once more.

"One that I don't have" she gasped. Kevin moved up so that his body was covering hers, captured her lips once again, teasing her opening with his cock. Just as he was about to ease into her, the main door to his suite slammed open.

"KEVIN!" Howie yelled, storming through his suite. He flung open the door and marched in on them.

"Howie, I'm busy, get out!" Kevin hissed through his teeth.

"I don't care. I need you NOW!" Howie demanded, not paying the slightest attention to Vickie, who was glaring up at him from underneath Kevin.

"HOWIE! OUT!" Kevin bellowed, turning away from Vickie.

"Just go" she sighed, pulling up a sheet to cover herself.

"We'll finish this later" she whispered.

"This fucking better be good" Kevin growled, reaching for his boxers

"What in the fuck is so important that it couldn't wait till later?" Kevin demanded, dragging Howie out into his living room.

"Your fucking cousin, that's what."

"Why, what happened?" Kevin asked tiredly, sinking into a chair. Howie explained everything to Kevin, who just sat back, uninterested. "Howie, this is so high school. You two are adults, act like it" he spat, and headed back to the bedroom. He heard Howie mumbled something unintellagible, then the front door slammed shut. He let out a long sigh, and opened his bedroom door, slightly pissed to see Vickie asleep. He crawled in bed next to her, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

***About two weeks later***

"Don't you dare" Erin warned, eyeing Aj dangeriously. He grinned evilly and advanced towards her. She let out a small shriek as he lunged at her, grabbing her around the waist, and pulled her down into the pool with him. A few seconds later she resurfaced, coughing and sputtering.

Her, Aj, Brian, Krista, Kevin, Vickie, Nick and Jenny, Kris & Erin's cousin, were at the sister's house, swimming. The girls mom and stepfather had gone away for the week and left the girls to house-sit for them.

"You are going to die McLean" Erin growled, her teeth chattering. She darted away from him and headed for the steps.

"Uh, where do you think you are going." he laughed, grabbing her arm and yanked her back. "Are you guys going to let him do this?" she fussed as the rest of them laughed at her. "Come on J, the water is freezing!" she whined.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you warm" he whispered huskily in her ear, nipping at her earlobe.

"Hey, knock it off, we have young eyes here" Brian cracked, gesturing towards Kris, Jenny and Nick.

"Oh hell, Nick is my age, and Krista and Jen have seen far worse" Erin said laughing, giving up and falling back into Ajs arms.

"This is really nice" Kevin commented for about the fourth time, looking around him.

"Well, Mom and Kermit figured that it was such as waste having this great pool, but only being able to swim in the summer, so they just said the hell with it, and built this room around it. It's a shame they won't turn the heater on any higher" Erin complained, shivering. "And when are all of you all getting in here? It's only Aj and I, and the six of you are sitting like bumps on a log"

"I'm not getting in, its too cold for me" Jen whined.

"Me too" Vickie chimed in.

"Get your asses in here now!" Erin ordered.

"Come on Erin, we don't feel like it" Kris said, leaning back into Brian's arms.

"Who says we don't?" Brian asked, looking down at her, a big grin spreading across his face. He looked up and met a silent agreement with Kevin and Nick. Kris, Jen and Vickie shared a quick look, then bolted up. Brian and Nick quickly grabbed Kris and Jen, flinging them over their shoulders and headed for the pool, while Vickie and Kevin had a short staring match before Kevin grabbed a hold of her, pulled her into his arms, then carried her to the edge of the pool, all three girls hitting the water about the same time. After they resurfaced, a huge wave splashed over them, a combined force of multiple cannon balls.

"Ok, you guys are so fricking dead" Jenny threatened.

"Aww, poor baby got wet"? Nick asked in a cutsey little voice,wrapping his arms around her.

"I can't believe you guys are leaving us in another week" Vickie pouted, leaning back against Kevin.

"If we could, we'd stay, but have to finish the tour" Kevin said softly.

"Can't you guys go with us?" Brian asked.

"We can't. Our spring semster starts back up right before you leave. And Jen is still in high school, theres no way she can get out" Erin explained.

Aj eased the door shut behind him, careful not to wake up Erin. He tiptoed into the kitchen, where the other guys were waiting for him.

"It's about time. We were debating on coming and making sure you made it out here" Nick smirked.

"Sorry, we were talking"

"Sure, talking."

"Ok guys" Kevin said, taking charge. "Are we going to do this?"

"I say go for it, it won't hurt. All it should take is a few phone calls, I mean, I don't think it should be too hard to pull it off." Brian said.

"Me either. I will put the call in tomorrow to get the ball rolling. I can't wait to see their faces" Kevin said, chuckling.

"It's a shame Jen can't come, but college is different than high school..." Nick said.

*A week later*

Erin rolled over, almost falling off her bunk. She squinted at the clock on the dresser and cursed. She hopped down off her bunk and snatched the phone from its cradle.

"Hello" she said, making mental note to kill whoever was calling at 9 am.

"Hello, is Erin there?"

"This is her" Erin said, sighing. All she wanted to do was crawl back in bed and continue her dream orgy she was having.

"Erin, this is Brenda from Dr. Jolley's office." Erin was awake now, Dr. Jolley was the assistant dean, and a major thorn in her ass.

"Uh, yes, what can I do for you?" Erin asked, scared to death, wondering what she had done.

"Will you be available later this afternoon? Say, around 12:30? Dr. Jolley needs to speak with you."

"Sure. I'll be there at 12:30. Thanks" she hung the phone up and sank onto the chair. "Oh fuck, what have I done now"

Erin checked her watch as she waited for the elevator. The morning had gone extreamly slowly, and she was extreamly worked up about what this meeting was all about. The semester had just started, so she couldn't have done anything too bad. Finally the elevator opened, and about ten people piled in, and of course, they stopped at every floor before Erin's destination. She squeezed out and walked down the hall. She stood before the door, and took a deep breath before knocking. Brenda let her in and ushered her into Dr. Jolley's office.

"Hey, what are you doing here!" Erin asked, seeing Vickie fidgeting in her seat.

"I don't know. Dr. Jolley pulled me out of class, she wanted to see me. What are YOU doing here?"

"They called me this morning. Do you have any clue why we are here?"

"Not a clue. I'm freaked out though..."

"Me too." They didn't get to pursue the conversation any further, because Dr. Jolley walked in at that moment.

"Good morning ladies, how are the both of you?" she asked cheerfully, taking a seat behind her desk.

"Fine" They chorused.

"Good, thats good to hear. I bet you're wondering why I've called you two here" she said, flipping through some folders.

"Yes mam, we are. What's going on?" Erin asked, not being able to take it anymore.

"I'll get straight to the point. You two have been offered a semester long internship. A rather large company has called and specifically asked for the two of you, since you have been of soe help to some of their employees" she explained, pausing to hand them each a folder.

"Jive, a growing record company has invited the pair of you to go on tour with one of their groups, Vickie, so you can learn and work with production and management, since you have declared that is your major, and Erin, you being a music major, will go for the artistic part of it all. I apologize for such short notice, but if you accept, you will be leaving next week. You will be graded by the people you work with, so it will count as a full course load. Do you have any questions?"

"Who are we touring with?" Erin asked softly, flipping through her folder. This was awesome, and just think, she wouldn't have to sit and listen to Sister Geiger suck on her dentures during her philosophy lectures.

"It's something like the Backroad Boys, Backstreet Boys...I take it that you know them.." Dr. Jolley said, laughing as they both jumped up.

"Yes! We'll do it!" Vickie said excitidly.

"Thats good to hear. Now, there are some people here that you need to meet." she said, standing up and leading them into a conference room. The girls broke out into huge grins seeing all five guys sitting there, all of them grinning back except for Howie, who didn't bother to look at them. There was also a few guys in business suits, and a few more casually dressed, and a middle aged woman. Introductions were made, and there was a bunch of formal chit-chat while the girls filled out their paperwork. About half an hour later, the five guys followed Vickie and Erin on a campus tour.

"Oh my God! How did you pull this off!" Erin squealed, throwing herself into Aj's arms. They were all sitting in the girls dorm room.

"It was fairly easy. Later on, we gotta go and meet with Krista's dean and get her cleared to go" he answered, chuckling.

"I'll see you guys later...I got to get some air" Howie muttered, and left. Erin shared a quick look with Aj and bolted after him.

"What in the hell is your problem" she demanded, catching up with him at the elevator.

"What do you think" he snarled.

"Look, don't you get all pissy at me, I didn't do a damned thing to you" she snapped. Erin was usually pretty laid back, but anyone who sparked her temper, look out.

"Don't start on me"

"You were the one who started it. Those two really like each other, and you need to get over it. She was never yours to begin with...and I didn't do a damned thing to break you two up, it was all her. And don't forget, you are stuck with all of us for the remander of your spring tour, so you can either get that stick out of your ass and act normal, or just be a pain in the ass, which trust me, I will break you of that habit before I leave you guys." she hissed, and turned on her heel.

"HEY SHREW!" Just as Erin was about to go back into her room, she turned and saw her friend Teka sneaking down the hall.

"Tek! How did you sneak up here this time!" Erin laughed. Teka was a commuter, and was always finding ways to sneak up into the dorms.

"Oh nothing exciting. Just came up the stairs after Heidi. Who's that?" she whispered, pointing to Howie whos back was turned to them.

"Howie, this is my friend Teka, and Teka, this is Howie, you should recognize him" Erin said, chuckling.

"Hi there" Howie said, turning around for a moment to give Teka a smile. Teka just shrieked.

"Oh my God!!!!"

"Trust me, he's not God. Come on, the rest of the guys are in my room. Howie, are you sure you don't want to join us?" Erin offered, feeling a little bad, but not too much. He wasn't going to ruin this spring for them all.

"Oh why not" he sighed, giving up on the elevator. *AN...the elevator in my old dorm took forever and a day to get from floor to floor. that is why Howie is still standing there...lol*

"Oh God!" Teka stared at Erin as Howie walked in front of them. "Um, how long have you two known each other?" she asked, her eyes never leaving Howie's back.

"It's a long story. Now, you aren't going to freak again are you? Cause Nick, Brian, Kevin and Aj are here too....and you might scare them off."

"Oh hush you"

***About a week later***

"Tell why in the hell are taking all of this shit?" Krista complained as she helped Erin haul her suitcase onto the bus.

"Because, you can never take too much stuff. Besides, you never know what will come up, and I like to be prepared" Erin said, then cussed a Kris dropped the suitcase on her foot.

"Now now now, thats not very lady like" Dennis scolded as he grabbed one of the suitcases from Krista.

"Hi Dennis. Thanks, you guys are probably going to have to move over with the guys, with as much stuff as she brought" Kris laughed, ducking as Erin's hand swung.

"Aw, sisterly love, aint it sweet" Aj said, nudging Brian.

"Aww, aren't they so cute!"

"Ok, I say we tag team 'em. You take short stuff, and I'll take the ghetto troll" Erin said.

"And just who are you calling a ghetto troll?" Aj demanded, raising an eyebrow over his silver sunglasses.

"Take a guess" she laughed, gesturing to his spiked hair, now streaked blond.

"Are we all loaded up and ready to go?" Denise asked, coming up behind the group.

"Yup, Dennis just took in my last bag Mrs. McLean"

"Erin, I've asked you to call me Denise, everyone calls me that, and we are all pretty informal around here"

"You heard the woman. And I don't wanna hear any back talk" Aj piped in, shaking his finger at Erin.

"Ok, Denise, you may be short a son by the time the tour is over" Erin laughed, taking off after Aj.

"Hey, what's going on over here?" Vickie asked, her and Kevin coming over to the group, swinging their joined hands.

"Aww, look at 'em" Aj cooed, chuckling as Vickie blushed.

"And they call me the kid" Nick laughed, as Erin caught up and tackled Aj to the ground, tickling him.

"Well people, we have a show in two days, lets get this show on the road!" Denise said, and everyone headed off to his or her respective bus.

"I'll see you later k babe?" Aj asked, standing up to brush the dirt off of him.

"Yeah, I'll jump on with you guys at the next rest stop. I have my piano lessons with Tommy. See ya later" she said, giving him a quick kiss and hopped on the band bus.

"What about you, what do you have to do?" Brian asked, pulling Kris in for a hug.

"Well, I gotta sit down and go over some stuff with Fatima, ya know, study all of your alls moves and stuff, I'll probably do the same, just get on with you at the next stop, or you could come and hang with me on the dancer's bus" she offered.

"Lets go" he grinned.

"I can't believe we're really going with you guys" Vickie said, plopping down on Kevins bunk.

"Me either"

"I don't know how in the world you guys can do this every night" Krista complained, collasping on Brian's bunk. They were now into their third week of the tour. Kris and Fatima had hit it off and were working on new routines and Kris had even filled in twice when some of the girls had gotten sick. Vickie had been busy working with managment, and she loved every moment of it, almost as she loved spending time with Kevin. Erin was consistantly going between Tommy and Dennis for keyboard lessons, plus learning guitar from and she was also working with the guys for composing songs.

"You'll get used to it" Brian chuckled, sitting down besides her.

"We're off to St. Louis next, right?" Vickie asked, flipping through her schedule.

"Yup. Hey D, don't you want to grab a late dinner with the rest of us?" Kevin asked.

"No, thats ok, I got some stuff to do, but thanks anyway." he replied, and turned back to his corner, closing the privacy curtain that hung around his bunk.

"Is he ever going to get over this?" Krista asked softly.

"I'm surprised he hasn't already. He usually doesn't let stuff get to him like this." Nick answered just as softly.

"Anyone know if Aj and Erin will be making an appeaence tonight?" Vickie asked, reaching for her coat.

"I doubt it. Before you guys started touring with us, Aj spent more time over on the band's bus anyway, but now that Erin is over there, we only see him at rehersals and the shows" Kevin explained, stepping off their bus. He walked over to the band bus while the others piled out.

"Hey Dennis, seen the two lovebirds?"

"Sorry Kev. They bolted right after the show, said they were working on something, but they'd be back in time to pull out."

"Oh ok. Well, we are heading out for a late dinner. You guys are welcome to come alone if you'd like"

"Nah, thats ok. Go ahead, and we'll see y'all later"

"Yeah, I bet their working on something" Vicke muttered under her breath as the walked away.

"Oh wow, you were right, this place is really pretty" Erin said softly, looking over the side of the bridge. They were in a small park about a mile from concert arena.

"See? Maybe next time you'll listen to me" Aj chuckled, coming up behind her.

"It's soo nice here, it's like our own little world"

"I know, I always try to make a stop out here everytime we perform in the city. But, there is another reason that I brought you out here..." he said, his voice faltering.

"What, what's wrong J?" she asked, whirling around in his arms.

"Well, I've really enjoyed having you here with me on this tour, plus the time we spent together before it...." he started, reaching in his pocket, and withdrawing a small box.

"Aj.." she said softly, her eyes wide.

"Shh, lemme finish. I got you this, but if you don't like it, just let me know, it was probably a stupid idea anyway" he blurted out, thrusting the box at her. She opened the box carefully, and pulled out the sliver band with engraved X's and O's.

"Aj, it's beautiful, I love it!" she whispered, and hugged him tightly.

"Did you see on the inside?" he asked, pulling back relieved. She shook her head and looked inside. 'To Reese, With All My Love, J. 2/14/2000'

"Oh J! But Valentine's Day isn't for another two days" she said, watching him slip it on her finger.

"I know, but I couldn't wait that long, plus, this is the place I wanted to give it to you. It's the most romantic place I could think of that was possible since we are on tour" he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Now, since we did come out here to work, how bout we pull out that song we were working on?"

Howie sat back and leaned up against the wall. It still hurt seeing Kris and Brian together, but it was getting easier little by little. He shook his head, clearing it of any thoughts pertaining to the couple and reached for some paper and started writing.

Erin moaned and rolled over, looking up into Aj's sleeping face. He mumbled something unintelligable, then rolled away from her. She sighed and climbed out of her cramped bunk, careful not to wake him or any of the other people sleeping on the bus. She pulled out her laptop and moved to the un-inhabitated end of the bus, and switched it on, pullling up her files. She opened WordPad, then pulled up her Internet Explorer, signing online.

She opened her email account, sighing at the sight of over 200 emails. she deleted all of the stuff that didn't pertain to her, and then went back, reading over some of the recent chapters to fan-fics that she had been keeping up with. She then pulled open her recent story that she had been working on, 'All Cried Out' and started typing up her next chapter. Many a sleepless night she had worked on her stories, they calmed her mind when it was troubled, and she just liked to write period, not many people knew about it, only the people on her lists, not even her sister or Vickie had found out about it yet.

Aj woke up, realizing Erin wasn't there. He padded out into the common area, and saw her pearched on the couch, her back to him. He saw the glow of her laptop and heard the click of the keys as she typed and wondered what in the world she could be doing at this hour in the morning. He walked up behind her silently, and started reading a few lines.

"Aj, hun, you know you arent supposed to drink. You are still a recovering alcoholic."

"I don't give a damn, give it back"

"No" she said, pouring it down the drain, and reached for the bottle that still sat on the counter. "And where did you get this anyway, I thought we got rid of all the hard liquor in here"

"Come on Reese" he begged, using his pet name for her.

"No dice. And don't call me that, you know how much I hate it. What is wrong?"

"Nothing, come on, one drink won't hurt"

"Yes it will, what is wrong?!? We're talking, then all of a sudden you freeze up. Whats on your mind? You can tell me anything, and you know that.."

"You wouldn't understand"

"I think I would, but you wont give me a chance to understand!"

He stared down into her face, contorted with confusion and worry, her green eyes almost glowing with their brightness.

"Oh fuck it" he whispered, pulling her into a tight embrace, and bringing his head down towards hers, capturing her lips with his own.

"Alcoholic huh?" he asked, causing her to jump from the couch, almost knocking the laptop the the ground.

"Oh God, how long have you been there?" she breathed, looking as if she'd seen a ghost.

"I woke up, and you weren't there, I just walked out to see where you were, and I just looked over your shoulder to see what was so important that it had to be done at 4:15 in the morning."

"I couldn't sleep, so I came out to work.."

"What is that anyway?" he asked, curious.

"Uh, nothing. It's nothing" she said, blushing.

"Come on, you can tell me...epecially since my name is in there" he said.

"It's just something I do to pass the time, just some stupid little stories" she said, switching off her laptop quickly.

"Are you going to let me see it? Please" he asked, giving her a puppy dog look.

"No one has seen them, no one that I've really met, I mean, Kris and Vic don't even know about them, its just something I like to do in private she said softly, turning from him and headed back to their bunk, hoping that he'd drop the subject. She didn't really want him to know about her writings, especially since he was in all of them. She blushed again in the darkness, and crawled onto her bed, pulling the covers up tight. A few minutes later, she felt him climb in the bed and felt his arms wrap around her waist.

"I didn't mean to embaress you or anything. I'm sorry babe" he said softly, kissing her neck.

"It's ok. You scared the shit out of me though" she chuckled.

"Hi guys" Erin said, walking onto the guy's bus, Aj following behind her.

"Oh my good Lord" Brian said, grasping at his chest. "They're alive!" he gasped, falling back onto Krista's lap.

"Yeah yeah yeah, knock of the theatrics Bri" Aj said, plopping down in a chair.

"I can't believe you guys have an interview and meetings today. It's Valentines Day, you're supposed to spend it with us, not a bunch of stuffed shirts" Krista pouted, pushing Brian into the floor.

"Sorry ladies, but we don't have a choice in the matter, but, if you're good, perhaps we can make a late dinner?" Kevin suggested.

"You do know that you will have a lot of sucking up to do to make up for this right?" Vickie pointed out.

"We know. Now, you ladies are going to behave yourselves while we are gone, right? And we should be back here around 5ish, so be here when we get back and we will go from there." Aj said, then they all said their goodbyes, leaving the three girls sitting there.

"This really sucks, Valentines Day and I'm stuck here with you two" Krista complained, the squealed as Erin and Vickie wacked her with their pillows.

The three girls spent the day shopping at a nearby mall. It was depressing as hell seeing couples all being cute together, while they were there by theirselves, and their boyfriends were off being pop stars. They had each bought something for their respective guy, spending over half an hour alone in Hallmark trying to find the perfect cards. Krista had bought Brian some chocolate, a few pairs of silk boxers and a navy blue Hilfiger fleece. Vickie had gotten Kevin a silver pinky ring studded with small emeralds that matched his eyes, and a Nautica sweatshirt. Erin had picked out a ring similar to the one Aj had given her for him, and had it engraved while they were shopping, along with some animal print boxers that had sent the three girls into peals of laughter, and a fuzzy zebra striped hat that she thought was hideous, but he would love it. She had pulled Vickie and Krista into Victoria's Secret, ignoring their protests.

"I don't know why we're in here, its not like we can do anything on that damned bus" Vickie grumbled, but browsed through one of the racks anyway.

"Because, you never know what will happen. We are each going to pick out a cute underware set, and something slinky for special occasions...and no Vickie, the purple thing isn't enough. Now, Shop!" Erin ordered, pushing them towards some racks. Krista picked out a baby-blue satin nightie that matched Brians eyes with matching bra and panties. Vickie picked out an emerald green outfit similar to Kristas.

"Oh you guys are so boring" Erin complained, eyeing the satin night gowns, then pulled a red lace teddy off on of the racks. "Now, THIS would definatly get their attention" she chuckled, flipping through to find her size. She found a similar bra and panty set, then took all of their stuff up to pay for it. The cashier had just shoved it all in a bag when Erin's cell phone rang.

"Yes?" she asked, answering it as it shrilled again.

"Hey baby. Whatcha doin?" Aj's sexy voice came across the reciever.

"Nothing, just doing a lil shopping. Hows the meeting going?"

"Ok, we just broke for lunch. Look, while you ladies are there, pick out a nice dress or something for tonight."

"Why, what are we doing?" she demanded.

"We're not sure yet, but each of you pick something out."

"Well, do you want casual, formal, semi-formal, you gotta be more explicit" she sighed.

"Uh, I guess formal. And babe?"

"Yah?"

"I want you in something red, you always look so hot in it" he mumbled softly, obviouisly trying not to be heard by his friends.

"Uh, ok. no problem" she said, trying not to laugh thinking about her recent purchase.

"Well, Kevin is giving me this evil look and telling me we gotta get back in there, so I will see you later. Love you.."

"Love you more. See you later" she said, flipping the phone shut.

"Well? What was that all about?" Kris demanded, searching through her purse for some lip gloss.

"We have to go find something fancy for tonight. He doesn't know whats going on yet, but he said find some nice dresses...so, lets go!"

"I hate to say it, but they are so gullible" Aj laughed, tossing the phone onto a chair.

"Now Bone, be nice. They are out and about, giving us time to get all of this straight" Kevin said, leaning over to tie his shoe.

"So, the reservations are made and everything is ready right?" Brian asked, looking over his list.

"Yup, the flowers will be delivered this afternoon, and everything is set."

"Ohh, I love this" Vickie said softly, gazing at her reflection.

"You have got to get that, Kevin will pass out" Kris put in.

"I think that I will, it is perfect" she said, twirling around in it. The dress was a deep green tafetta in with a soft gossamer overlay shot with golden threads, a full skirt, and a low cut back. "I like yours two...it makes you look so tan, it makes me sick" Vickie complaned, gesturing towards her own pasty arms.

"Yeah, I think Brian will like it" Kris agreed, turning so she could examine herself from every possible angle in the three mirrors. Her dress was a silver satin that fell to the floor, a sweetheart neckline and a slit up to her left thigh. "Where's Erin?" she wondered, looking around the shop.

"Right here, check this out" she said, and the two girls turned around and gasped. Erin brushed past them and shoved Krista out of the way of the mirrors. "I love this" she gushed, turning so she she could see herself. The dress was a deep ruby red satin, cut low in the front and back, with slits up both legs.

"Holy shit, I don't think its going to stay on too long when Aj sees it" Vickie said softly, then they all bust out laughing. The girls took the dresses to the front, picked out matching jewlery and other accessories and paid for them. The decided they had had enough shopping, struggling to carry all of the bags outside to the waiting limo that the guys had lent them.

"Hey, where are we going?" Krista demanded, noticing that they were going a different way from where they had come.

"Didn't anyone tell you that you all are staying in the city tonight? I was told to take you to the hotel when you were finished shopping" the driver explained.

"Oh, ok. What hotel are we staying in?"

"The Rennisence. Its only about ten mintues from here"

The girls piled out, and got their room keys and info from the desk attendant, and were soon being ushered upstairs will bellboys carrying all of their bags.

"Holy shit, I'm moving in" Erin said, walking into her suite. One of the bell boys explained that the entire floor was only being used by the dancers, band members and everyone else who was on the tour, and the majority of them had their own rooms, including the three girls.

"Oh, this is sweet" whistled Krista, plopping down on the plush couch. She noticed her luggaged piled neatly in the doorway.

"Oh wow" Vickie said softly, looking at the view from her window. The sun was setting and the entire city was flodded with gold, and it was just a breath taking scene.

"So, should we get ready or what." Erin asked, and Vickie turned to see the sisters standing in the doorway.

"I guess we should, who knows when they will get here and be ready to go. How bout you two coming back here in about a half an hour, and we'll do each others hair."

"Sounds good, you know I can never do my own" Erin complained, and turned to leave.

"Oh shit, who can that be" Vickie hissed, pulling the curling iron out of Krista's hair.

"I'll go see, you can finish up her hair and then we will be ready to go, whenever the guys ever decide to show up" Erin said disgustidly, eyeing her appearence in the mirror, then turned to answer the door.

"Oh, hi Kevin."

"Um, wow, hi Erin" he stuttered, taking in her dress.

"Its about time you guys got back. Where's the other two?" she demanded, looking past him.

"They went to yours and Krista's suites to get you, I guess Kris is here too huh" he said, walking into the suite.

"Yup, Vickie is finishing up her hair" she answered, patting her own upswept hair. So, what's planned. By the way, you do great things for that tux" she said, than laughed at his expression.

"Erin Teresa, if I knew better, I'd say you were flirting with my man" Vickie said playfully angry.

"Hey, can't I give a compliment?" she pouted, then winked towards Kevin. "Well, I'm off to find Aj, who is probably wandering around the halls like a lost puppy" she sighed, sticking her tongue out at Vickie, and left, followed by Krista.

"Wow, you look beautiful" Kevin stammered, then grinned seeing her blush.

"Thank you, and Erin was right, you do do great things for a tux" she chuckled.

"I told you they'd be wandering around like lost puppies" Erin whispered in her sister's ear. The two girls were following Aj and Brian down the hallway, but the guys had not noticed them.

"Shh.." Krista said, then jogged up behind them silently. "Looking for someone?" she whispered right behind Brian's ear. He whirled around, almost knocking her down.

"Oh shit! Don't sneak up behind me like that" he laughed, grabbing her around the waist before she could fall. "How long have you been following me?"

"Not for too long. We were down in Vickie's room and Kevin came, he told us they you two were looking for us."

"Us?" Aj asked, seeing that the hall was empty behind her.

"Huh? Erin was right behind me, where in the hell did she go" Krista wondered, looking around. "I swear, she was right behind me!"

"I'll go see if I can find her" Aj offered, and took off in the direction Krista had come from.

"Wow, you look beautiful" Brian said softly, twirling her around.

"You really like it?" Krista asked shyly.

"Definatly."

"Erin" Aj called, looking down each corridor he passed.

"Looking for someone?" He stopped dead in his tracks seeing her stand before him.

"Holy hell" he stammered, his eyes raking over her.

"Hello to you too" she laughed, stepping closer to him.

"Damn girl, where did you find that?" he asked as she twirled around, modeling the dress for him.

"I take it that you like it" she said, taking in his tux that was perfectly tailored for him.

"Like it is an understatment. You look ravishing. I think we may just have to ditch the others and spend the evening to ourselves" he mumbled, pulling her tightly to him

"As good as we look? Hell no! We're going out" she laughed. "But perhaps later, we can do what you want to do" she whispered huskily.

"I'm counting on it"

"So, what's the plan? And where are Howie and Nick? I hope you guys didn't leave them sitting back at the hotel all by themselves" Vickie demanded. The three couples were in the limo, heading towards to some undisclosed location.

"No, we offered, but we haven't seen Howie since last night and Nick just wanted to go clubbing." Brian answered.

"Aww, poor Nick, you three should have drug him along anyway. I feel bad for the two of them." Krista said, thinking about it.

"Oh yeah, I don't know if anyone has told you guys, but we have added a show in Pennsylvania before we hit St. Louis. So tomorrow night we will leave here and go on to PA then on with the scheduled stops." Aj informed them.

"And don't forget, we got the Grammys in another week"

"I can't wait for that. Just think, we'll be there with all the stars and stuff" Erin gushed, going glassy eyed thinking about it.

"Which, speaking of that, we were wondering if you three would accompany us as our dates, not our interns" Brian asked, reaching for Krista's hand.

Howie got out of the car and stretched. He had been cramped up in the car since last night, stopping only long enough to take a nap. He had driven from the hotel in Conneticut and had just entered the Baltimore City limits. He looked at the map that he had printed off the internet. Good, he wasn't too much further.

"So, where are we going?" Erin demanded, looking out the window.

"We are going to dinner at Chez Robert, one of the most exclusive resteraunts in Conneticut. After dinner, there is a dance held in one of the adjoining ballrooms. How does that sound?" Aj answered her.

"Ooh! I love it! I've heard of Chez Robert, some of the girls from our choir were lucky to squeeze in for dinner one night last year during our concert tour. How in the world did you get reservations! Their events are always booked months in advance!" Vickie asked excitally.

"Well, when you're famous, you can pull a few strings here and there" Kevin smiled down at her.

Dinner passed pleasently, the food was excellent, and there were musicians set up in the corner of the dining room, playing beautiful melodies while the patrons dined. After polishing off dessert, the three couples headed off to the ballroom where there was a band stationed at one end. It was a room straight out of Victorian times, high gilded ceilings, beautiful wordwork and moldings with huge crystal chandelier hanging from the center of the room. The band started a slow ballad and the girls were whisked out on the dance floor.

Teka was sprawled out on the couch watching ' Who wants to be a millionaire' when she heard a light knock at the front door. She hurried up from the couch, wanting to answer the door before her grandmother heard it. She cracked the door open and gasped.

"Howie! What are you doing here!"

"Hi Teka. I, uh, Happy Valentines Day" he stuttered, handing her a rose.

"Aww! Thank you! Come on in, but we'll have to keep it down, my aunts and grandmother are upstairs sleeping. What in the world are you doing here?!? I thought you guys were up in Conneticut"

"We are, but I left last night. I wanted to spend the day with you since we were off, but it took longer to get down here than I thought. Do you have any plans or anything. Perhaps we could get something to eat and maybe catch a movie?" he suggested shyly.

"Uh, sure, that sounds great!" she said, still shocked that he was sitting next to her, and that he had driven that far, just to be with her. "Let me run upstairs and change, ok?"

"Sure thing. I'll be waiting for you" he smiled.

"I can't believe it's so late, the night has flown by" Vickie exclaimed as Kevin walked her to suite. They didn't leave the dance until almost two in the morning. "Aren't you going to come in?" she asked as he stood in her doorway.

"I guess I could. I figured you'd be tired and wanted to get some sleep"

"Trust me Kevin, sleep is the last thing on my mind." she said softly then pulled him down for a kiss.

"Brian, you do know I can walk right?" Krista asked as he carried her to his suite.

"Yeah, but this is more fun. Did I tell you how gorgeous you were?" he asked as he attempted to slid his key card into the slot.

"Yes, but I'm not tired of hearing it yet. Would you like me to help?" she asked, but he finally got the door open.

"All I want you to do is to tell me how much you love me" he said softly, setting her down.

"How about I show you instead?"

"Oh Aj! You shouldn't have done this" Erin whispered as the light flooded her suite. There were bouquets on top of bouquets of roses everywhere she looked.

"And why shouldn't I?" he asked his arms winding around her waist as he placed a soft kiss on her neck.

"Aj, I need to tell you something" she managed to gasp out as his hands traveled underneath the slits in her skirt.

"What's wrong babe?" he asked, placing a trail of soft kisses from her lips to her ear.

"Aj, I've never....uh..you know" she whispered, moaning as he sank his teeth into her shoulder. He looked up at her a little surprised.

"Honey, we don't have to do anything tonight if you don't want to..."

"I never said that" she chuckled. "I just, wanted to warn you, thats all" she said, kissing him in between phrases.

"Erin, baby, are you sure?"

"Positive." she said firmly, yanking his head down to hers, capturing his lips with her own.

The next day everyone kind of just kicked back and enjoyed the day off. Kevin, Vickie, Krista and Brian went to the mall while Nick stayed back with Erin and Aj and rented some movies. No one had the slightest clue as to where Howie was, they all just hoped he would be back in time for them to leave for Pennsylvania the next day. "How much longer is this?" Nick whined, as Julia Roberts jumped on the FedEx van. They were watching Runaway Bride, Erin's choice. "Oh stop, I had to watch that cheesy action flic of yours, so I don't wanna hear it" Erin said. The three of them were sitting on the couch, Aj and Nick on opposite ends while Erin was sprawled out between them, her head on Aj's lap and her feet propped up on Nick's. They made it through the rest of the movie without Nick complaining anymore, but when it was over, Aj hopped up to pop in Pulp Fiction, Erin groaned and got up.

"I think I'm going to work on my song and stuff" she said, and headed back to grab her laptop.

"Why don't you come out here and work, so you don't miss the movie" Aj hollared after her.

"That was the whole point" Erin grumbled, but brought her stuff out with her and sat on the floor in front of the couch. After about half an hour of arranging the accompanyment, she logged on the net and pulled up her email. She saw that her friend and fellow writer Lara was online and pulled up a chat box.

-Hey sis

-Ari! I haven't seen you on in a while! How've you been?

-I'm doing pretty good. So, whats up?

- Nothing much, I'm all hyped up about going to the concert tomorrow night.

-Ohh, what concert?

-Haven't you been reading any of the mail I've posted? I managed to get tickets to the Backstreet Boys tomorrow night!

- Oh thats right, I forgot! Where are your seats?

Erin chuckled, a plan forming in her mind.

-They are like mid level, in the center, they seemed pretty decent. Why?

- Just curious.

-So how's school and stuff.

-It's ok. My teachers are slave drivers.

"Erin, what in the world is so funny?" Aj demaned, leaning down to read what she was doing.

"I'm talking to a friend of mine, shes coming to concert tomorrow night."

"Cool, why don't you get her to meet up with you after the concert"

"I'm already ahead of you. I didn't tell anyone that I was with you guys, the majority of them wouldn't believe me anyway. She's probably going to get a little shock, we've never actaully met before, but I think we're going to have fun tomorrow night"

"So, she doesn't know you're sitting here with us right now does she?"

"Nope"

"Gimme your laptop"

"What are you going to do?" she demanded, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh nothing." he said innocently, grabbing her laptop.

-Hey Lara, this is a friend of Ari's. What's up?

-Oh, hi. Nothing really. Just all excited about tomorrow night.

-Oh really, who's your favorite guy?

-Nick definatly. He's so cute!

"How old is she again?" Aj asked, hoping that he wasn't talking to a 12 year old teeny bopper.

"She's 27. Why?"

"Just curious"

-So, who's your favorite? And whats your name by the way?

- Oh, I'm sorry, I'm ..

Aj looked down to Erin for what he should say.

"I don't care, none of them know that I'm with you guys" she shrugged.

...Alex. Hmm, favorite BSB...I would have to say Aj, hes soo sexy

-lol...you better watch it, Ari might deck you if you say that too loud...

-She'll get over it, well, shes giving me an evil look, it was nice talking to you, bye!

-Bye

-Sorry about that, Alex isn't all there...lol

-No prob, but hey, I gotta jet, I gotta go run of some copies of this report, I shall talk to you later!

-Ok, see ya later sis! Have fun at the concert, and do try and behave yourself!

-lol...I'll try but I'm not going to promise you anything. See you later!!!

"Oohh, hes soo sexy" Erin gushed sarcastically, then busted out laughing.

"Hey, she asked" Aj laughed, and poor Nick just kind of sat there among them, looking at them like they were nuts.

"Do you think I could get her a seat down front?"

"Sure. If you want, the three of you could actually go and watch us for a change, and then you can bring her backstage if she wants." Aj said.

"Shes going to flip! I can't wait to see her face" Erin chuckled.

Lara squeezed her way through the hundreds of pubesscent teenagers, finally making her way to one of the ushers and handed him her ticket.

"Right this way Miss" he walked her down two levels to the floor section.

"Sir, I think you read the ticket wrong, I'm supposed to be up there somewhere" Lara informed him.

"No, I was told to seat you down here. Enjoy the concert mam" and he turned to go back up to his post.

"Holy shit, I wonder who had me moved down here" Lara wondered, sitting down, she could practically touch the stage. She sat through the opening acts, barely containing her excitement.

"Excuse me, are these seats taken?" Lara looked up to see three girls making their way through the crush of teenagers that had surrounded the stage.

"Um, not that I know of..." Lara answered, thinking that she had seen the brunnette girl before, but she couldn't put her finger on it...

"Good. So, hows the view from down here?"

"It's pretty good..."

"I bet there much better than what those ones you had up in the bleeder section" the brunette continued.

"Uh, what? Who are you?" Lara asked.

"Don't ya recognize me sis? We talked just last night" she laughed.

"Ari! You goofball, what are you doing here! And how in the world did you manage these seats!" Lara laughed, giving the younger girl a hug.

"Its a long story, but the long and the short of it, is that us three here have been touring with the guys since January. This is my sister Krista, and my roomie Vickie, both of whom you know from the lists. Oh yeah, Alex, you talked to him last night, was Aj, he is such a dork sometimes" Erin laughed.

"Whoa, you're kidding me! You have been on tour with them for a month and a half and you never told me!! Girl, I should deck ya!" Lara said, kind of in shock. The four girls chit-chatted until the lights dimmed, and noise level peaked by the chorus of screaming girls. The concert was great like always, and Lara was extreamly happy that Nick had flown over them, and had blown a kiss towards the girls.

"Is it always like this?" Lara asked as they pushed through the crowd of people hoping to catch of a glimpse of the guys.

"Oh yeah, but usually we're backstage so we don't have to worry about it too often. Hey Jeff, let us through, and she's with us" Erin said, gesturing towards Lara.

"No problem, their in the back changing. See you ladies on the bus later" Jeff said, clearing them enough space to squeeze through.

"Oh God, you weren't shitting me! We are actaully going to meet the guys!" Lara said excitidily.

"I shit you not" Erin laughed, then hollared as she pushed a door open. "Incoming! Hope everyone's decent cause we're coming in, well, except for Aj, but anyway...thats another story" she chuckled as she stepped in a fairly messy dressing room.

"Hello ladies" Brian greeted them, bending low to brush his hair.

"Hey Brian, have you seen my jeans?" Nick said, stepping out from the showers in his boxers.

"Opps, sorry" he blushed seeing Lara standing there open mouthed.

"Guys, this is Lara, a friend of mine. Lara, Brian, Nick, Kevin, Howie, and Aj is around here somewhere, probably buried under a mound of their clothes" Erin said, introducing everyone.

"Hi there" they all chorused, even Howie looked up to greet her.

"Well, actually Aj is still in the shower" Kevin informed her, slipping on his socks.

"Oh he is, excuse me for a moment ladies and gents" Erin chuckled, squeezing between the guys and mess, heading back for the showers.

"I swear, those two are perfect for each other" Howie muttered under his breath, then looked up as everyone bust out laughing, and to their surprise, he even joined in with them.

"Hey, it looks like those two are hitting it off fairly well" Erin whispered to Aj, pointing over to Lara and Nick. The nine of them went for a late dinner at one of the small pizzarias and were having a pretty good time.

"Yeah, she seemed pretty nice" Aj said softly, reaching for his fifth piece of pizza.

"We've pretty much lived with you guys for almost two months now, and I STILL don't know how in the hell you can eat so much!" Kris whined, picking at her second piece.

"Its ok Kris. Because when we hit thirty, having lost all the weight we gained being young, we'll be looking fine when it all catches up with them, with their guts hanging over their sagging jeans." Vickie said calmly, taking another bite of her salad.

"I'll remember that remark" Kevin laughed, also reaching for another piece of pizza.

"So how long are you all in town?" Lara asked.

"Unfortunatly, we have to leave as soon as we finish dinner. We have a concert in St. Louis tomorrow, then its off to California for the Grammys" Nick said sadly.

"What do you have planned for the next few days Lara?" Erin asked.

"Nothing really, just work, nothing exciting. Why?"

"Do you think you could get a few days off and tag along with us?" she asked slyly, noticing the happy look on Nick's face.

"I probably could, my boss is pretty decent. I wish you could of given me a little more notice though" she laughed. But I can probably only get off tomorrow and the next day only on such short notice, plus I have a big proposal thats coming up, but I'm sure I can get out those two days"

"Good, you can stay on the bus with the guys, in fact, you can have Aj's bunk across from Nick's if you'd like, he usually stays over on the band's bus with me."

The next few days passed quickly, and Lara had to go back to home, but promised to take off the first week of March after her proposal was finished. Nick and her had gotten pretty chummy and he called her every night after she left. He couldn't wait until March, these next two weeks were going to pass slowly, he could see that coming, but at least he had the Grammys to keep him busy. Fatima and Krista kept all the guys and dancers extra busy making sure the routine for their performance was perfect. The day of the Grammys arrived and the girls were helping the band members unload all of the instruments and odds and ends that were needed for the night's performance. Tommy and Krista were carrying in the heavy double keyboard and were being directed where to put it when Krista's foot got caught in one of the many wires the crowed the stage. Dennis jumped out to catch the end of it, but it was too heavy and the whole thing came crashing down, his right wrist getting caught under the edge as it collided with the floor. Everyone came running as he screamed, and Vickie ran for some medical help while the guys tried to calm down Dennis. Erin grapsed his elbow and gently examined his wrist, but it was twisted to a weird angle and it just looked bad.

"Dennis, can you feel your fingers?" she asked softly, then mummered encouragingly as he barely wiggled his fingers. Just then, Vickie came running back in with the onsite doctor.

"Sir, I think we better get you to the hospital and get that x-rayed. I think it's broken, but it could just be fractured, but either way, you need to get it x-rayed and set, so lets get you there" the young man said, helping Dennis to his feet.

"Oh this is great, we have a performance tonight, and our pianist has a broken wrist. Now what are we supposed to do?" Kevin said exsasperated.

"What are you all so worried about" Tommy asked after a few minutes.

"What are we worried about? Tom, man, we have no keys tonight! And if you haven't noticed, I want it that way does have a piano part" Howie said disgustidly.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about, we do have someone who can play Dennis's part" Tommy pointed out, looking over to Erin who was plugging in the keyboards and ran a few scales.

"What?" she asked seeing all of them looking at her.

"I can't do this! I'm going to screw up, and if I screw up, then you guys screw up, then we'll all look like fools, and, oh I just can't do this!" Erin complained, as she paced back and forth backstage. It was five minutes to their performance and she was flipping out.

"Babe, calm down, you're going to do just fine! Stop worrying or you're going to get me wrung up" Aj laughed, pulling her into his arms and gave her a reassuring hug. She pulled away as they were called to come on stage. She situated herself behind the keyboards and "air"played through the song quickly. She adjusted her shirt and ran her hand through her hair, making sure she looked fine. She was wearing a pair of black patent leather pants and a red tube top that was molded to her skin. The band had opted for the 'anything goes' look and they all looked like they were heading out for some heavy clubbing.

"You're going to fine, just breathe" Mindi whispered over to her. Erin tossed her a grateful smile.

The curtain rose up and Dennis started out with the acoustic beginning. A spotlight turned on Brian, and the stage was slowly illuminated. The guys were all standing in different areas on the stage. Aj was focused on Erin only, and she could feel the weight of his stare. She looked up at him as he winked and she started playing.

"Oh God, I've never been more scared in my life!" Erin laughed as her and Krista ran to the dressing room to change into their dresses.

"You did fine! I don't know what you worried about" Vickie said, zipping up the back of Erin's dress.

"I don't care! You go up and peform at the Grammy's! I hope Dr. R and Dr. I were watching this" she chuckled, sitting down so the hairstylist could pull her hair up quickly.

"I don't think I've ever had to get ready in such a short amount of time" Krista grumbled, slipping her shoes on. Vickie was wearing a pretty midnight blue dress, Krista was in an emerald colored dress and against Aj's decision, Erin was wearing a pretty amethyst colored dress.

"Oh God, please..please...please!" Brian whispered, holding Krista's hand in a death grip. The guys had already won Record of the Year, but lost Song and Pop Album of the year to Carlos Santana. They were waiting now for the annoucement of who won the Album of the Year. Madonna paused to let the tension build, then opened the envelope.

"And the winner for Album of the Year is..." she paused again, "Backstreet Boys, Millenium!"

"Holy shit!" Erin shrieked, jumping up and hugging Aj.

"We won!" he screamed, holding her and jumping up and down. She pried herself away from him and turned to Howie, who was standing there hugging Teka. That was a shocker, the two of them showing up, announcing they had been going out since Valentines Day. He had finally started acting like his old self with Teka keeping him in line.

"Congrats" she said, giving him a hug, which he returned.

"Thanks" he smiled and started to make his way on stage.

"Hey, what are you four doing, get your butts up! You're a part of this now, we have an award to accept!" Nick ordered, and the four girls laughed, jumping up to follow the crowd that was gathering on stage.

"Oh God, I can't believe this" Brian laughed into the mic. They all said their thank you's and finally went off backstage to resume their screaming and "I can't believe it's".

About half an hour later, they were all piled into the limo and off to one of the many grammy parties being given.

"I can't believe we won!" Nick said for about the fiftith time, holding his Grammy like it was going to run away from him.

"Ok, Nick, put it down, no ones going to steal it from you" Vickie teased.

"I wonder if Lara was watching" he said softly, finally detaching himself from his award.

"I'm pretty sure she was Nick"

"Hmm, I think I could get used to all this 'rubbing elbows with the stars'" Krista laughed, laying her head on Brian's shoulder as they danced to a slow song.

"Hey, what does that make me?" he demanded, playfully insulted.

"Mine."

"I can't argue with that" he chuckled.

"Hey babe, I'm going to get something to drink, do you want anything?" Aj offered, standing up.

"Just some punch. And don't you go getting drunk Mr. McLean, or there will be hell to pay later" she warned.

"I hear ya" he chuckled, heading off to the bar.

"He is so hardheaded" Erin sighed.

"Like you have room to talk" Vickie said, taking a sip of her own drink.

"Oh shit" Kevin hissed, his eyes glued on Aj.

"What, what is it?" Erin demanded, whirling around. "Who in the hell is that" she hissed. A girl was standing, talking to Aj, her arms wrapped around his waist.

"Thats Mel, his ex, she had been with him before the two of you met, lets just say, the break up wasn't a happy one" Kevin said softly.

"Well, if you will excuse me" Erin said shortly, making her way through the crowd. "Darling, what's taking so long, oh, hi there" she simpered, placing a possesive hand over his. "Why don't you introduce us?" she mummered softly, glaring back at the girl, who dared to glare at her.

"Uh, Erin honey, this is Mel, an old friend of mine" he answered uncomfortably. "Mel, this is Erin."

"It's nice meeting you" Erin said politely, but the look in her eyes belied that.

"The pleasures all mine" Mel said, her gaze never wavering.

"Aj dear, lets go, you know how much I love this song" Erin said, practically yanking Aj away from the broad. "What in the hell was all that about?" she demanded.

"Jeeze Erin, calm down honey! She had barely said hello before you came over" he laughed, pulling her into his arms.

"Then why in the hell did she have her arms wrapped around you?"

"Whats wrong, are you jealous?" he teased.

"Aj, I'm not playing. I don't trust that broad" she snapped.

"You barely know her! Please calm down, don't make a scene" he begged, pulling her off the dance floor. "Now please, just calm down! She was just asking how I was and stuff, nothing was more than friendly chit-chat" he explained, trying to calm her down before her temper got the better of her.

"That looked a lot more than 'friendly chit-chat" she muttered. "Look, I'm going to get a drink, since you were too occupied. I'll be right back" she turned away and left him standing there.

"Give her a few minutes, she'll calm down" Vickie said, coming up behind him.

"Hey, what's going on?" asked Teka, who came with Howie in tow.

"Nothing, Erin's just had a little temper tantrum, though I don't know why, she usually doesn't flare up like this, and I don't think I've ever seen her jealous like she is" Vickie said, watching her friend flirt with the young bartender.

"She sure has a weird way of being jealous" Aj muttered, watching as she sashayed her way back to the group.

"How come you all got quiet of a sudden, it looked like you were having a cheery old conversation over here" Erin demanded, taking a sip of her drink.

"Erin, you know you're not supposed to drink, you're not old enough yet, and you are definatly not acted like you are either" Aj said, snatching the vodka and tonic from her hands.

"Who in the hell do you think you are, my father? For Christ's sake! Give me my drink back!" she whined, trying to get it back, but Aj kept it out of her reach. "God Dammit Aj, give it back!" she hollared.

"Nope, sorry" he walked over to a trash can and dumped the enitre thing out.

"You asshole" she hissed and turned on her heel, disappearing into the crowd.

"What in the hell was that all about" Krista demanded, joining them, with Brian right behind her.

"I haven't the slightest clue, a lovers spat, thats the best I can tell you" Howie said, watching Aj head off in the opposite direction.

Aj made his way back over to the bar and ordered himself a double shot of rum, tossed it down, and ordered another. He sipped at it slowly, thinking about what had just happened. It was so unlike Erin, it wasn't like it was the first time she had met one of his ex's, one of them was a dancer on the tour with them, and the two girls had actaully become friends. He just didn't get it, what in the hell had brought on such a mood swing?

"Women" he muttered and tossed down the rest of his drink.

Mel stood across the room watching the unfolding events with undisguised interest. It was not a secret that she was still lusting after Aj. Perhaps tonight she could win him back. She narrowed her eyes in thought, yes, tonight he would be hers.

Erin stormed out, and eventually found herself out on a balcony. How dare he treat her like she was ten years old! She paced back and forth angrily, remembering looking up and finding that hoe-bag with her arms wrapped around his waist. Her eye caught a waiter passing by the doorway and she flagged him down, grabbing a glass of champaigne from him. She really wanted more of a stiff drink, but this would have to do, she wasn't going anywhere near the bar while Aj was there.

"Men" she muttered, tossing down the rest of her drink.

"Ok, now should we go and talk to either of them, or just let them be?" Vicke wondered, watching Erin pace out on the balcony and Aj tip back another drink.

"Well, we usually just let him goes his own way, we've learned just to leave him alone till he comes around, its a lot easier and less dangerous for us" Kevin said, thinking back to a few arguements they've shared, remembering that it didn't take much for Aj to get physical.

"Well, I'm going after Erin. I haven't the slightest clue what brought this on, but I intend to find out, come on Teka" Vickie said, pulling the other girl up from Howie's lap.

"Oh Lord, what do the two of you want" Erin groaned, wishing she had bolted when she saw them coming.

"Girl, what is wrong with you!" Vickie demanded.

"Nothings wrong with me" Erin said snottily, looking behind Vickie for another passing by waiter.

"Uh uh. No more" Teka said sharply, seeing the three empty champaigne glasses on a small table.

"Oh come on, not you all too!" Erin sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Excuse me sir? A young lady told me to give this to you" Aj looked over to a young waiter who held out a small slip of paper.

"Thanks" Aj said, unfolding it. 'Meet me upstairs, third room to the right'

"Good, maybe she's calmed her ass down a little" Aj said, slurring a little. He reached for his third, no fourth double shot of rum. He downed it and climbed the staircase, counting the doors outloud as he passed them.

"Three" he said loudly and opened the door. "Hello?" he called in a singsong voice, trying to see in the pitch black room.

"Shut the door" a husky voice called back.

"Ok baby." he said, closing the door. "Where ya at?"

"I'm right here" Mel said, her voice still low and husky.

"Where's Erin?" he slurred, his eyes sweeping over her naked form that was visable only by the light from a single candle.

"I'm not sure, but haven't you missed me?" she pouted, sitting down on the bed, patting the space next to her.

"Um, I think so" he said, staggering over and plopped down on the bed. "You're nice, not loud and mean like uh, uh, Erin, thats it!"

"Aww, I think you've had too much to drink, haven't you baby? Why don't I make you all better" she whispered, pushing him onto his back and straddled him.

"All better.." he repeated, reaching up and squeezed one of her breasts hard.

"I don't care Red. If he wants to let that whore drool all over him, so be it, but I don't have to stick around to watch" Erin snapped, sick of listening to everyone's bitching.

"Um, excuse me, is there a Miss Holliday out here?" a young waiter interuppted, looking between the three ladies.

"That would be me" Erin said.

"I have a note here for you, a gentleman asked me to give it to you" the waiter said, handing her the paper.

"Thank you" she said politely, and opened it.

"What is it?" Vickie demanded.

"Looks like someone is ready to come off his high horse. I shall see you two later" Erin said crisply, brushing past the two girls.

"Speaking of coming off their high horses.." Teka muttered under her breath.

"Third door on the right" Erin muttered, stopping in front of the door. She sighed and turned the knob.

"What in the hell is going on here!" Erin screamed, standing wide eyed in the doorway. Aj stopped in mid-thrust and turned to stare at her, while Mel just looked up from underneath him and shot a mocking smile at her.

"Do you mind, we are busy" she snapped.

"I certainley DO mind you bitch!" Erin screamed, and started to walk over to the bed.

"Oh no you don't" Kris said, coming up behind her, Teka and Vickie close behind. Kris grabbed her sister's arms and dragged her back, ignoring her curses and struggles.

"How could you!" Erin hissed, tears sliding down her face as she fought against her sisters grip.

"What's going on...Holy Shit.." Kevin said, coming up behind the girls.

"How could you!" Erin sobbed again. "Let go of me God dammit!" she screeched, finally wrenching from her sister's grasp. "I hope you're happy with your little slut, because I don't ever want to fucking see you again!" she yanked the ring off her finger and threw it at him, plowing through the small crowd that had gathered.

Erin pushed through the crowd, ignoring peoples glares. She ran out, hailed down a cab and drove back to the hotel.

"Oh, I hope you have a good explaination for this" Kevin snapped, giving Mel an evil look as Aj thrust a leg into his trousers.

"Oh come on Kevin, we were just having a little fun" she giggled and got up from the bed and headed into the bathroom. Kevin walked over to the other side of the room and picked up Erin's ring and tossed it at Aj.

"I hope that a few drinks and a cheap fuck were worth it man" he said softly and left Aj sitting there.

"She's gone. She just plowed through here and that was it. The limo is still outside, so she is either on foot, hitched a ride with someone else or hailed a cab." Teka said tiredly, wiping at smudge of dirt on her emerald green gown.

"Wow, this has been an unforgetable night" Krista muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasim. "I guess we should try and find her" she sighed, reaching for her wrap.

"No, you guys stay, I'll go see if she's at the hotel. If I find her, I'll let you know" Nick said, pulling on his tux coat.

"Are you sure? I mean, we can go with you, plus you've never dealt with her like this" Vickie warned.

"I should be ok, I mean sheesh, I've put up with BJ and the others for years, I think I can handle her" Nick smiled and left.

"I hope she doesn't tear into him too bad" Teka worried, then let herself be whisked back out onto the dance floor by Howie.

Erin stumbled into the hotel and barely made it up to her room between the body-wracking sobs that were escaping her throat and the champaigne that was making its way through her system. She fumbled with her room card, and shoved the door open, barely making it to her couch before collapsing.

Nick hurried into the hotel and found out that a young lady had indeed come through quite upset, she had gone straight up to her room. Nick demanded the clerk give him an extra card to her room, and only after a few minutes of arguing, was on his way upstairs. He rapped on her door a few times, calling out that it was him, and finally after recieving no answer, let himself in. The rooms were dark, her wrap on the floor being the only sign she was there.

"Erin?" he called softly, going from room to room.

"Leave me alone" a sullen voice answered him. He followed it and found her sitting on the balcony.

"Erin...are you ok sweety?"

"Get away Nick. I don't want to see anyone" she said harshly, staring at nothing in particular. She took a long drag of her ciggerette, flicking the ash off. In the soft glow of the moon he could see the rivulets of mascara and tears that had made tracks down her face, and her hair that had a one point been a sophisticated French twist, was a tangled mass that hung down her back.

"I don't care, I'm not leaving. You scared everyone leaving like that, no one was sure where you were" he said softly, sitting down opposite her.

"Like I could get very far"

"Well, you keep surprising us, who knows, you would have found a way if need be" he chuckled, then sobered up when she didn't respond. "Come on Reese, tonight was terrible for you, but you can get over it" he said reaching for her hand. She looked down where their bodies touched, then looked up to meet his eyes, and it was all he could do not to gasp aloud seeing the pain and anguish that flashed through hers.

"Has anyone told you how much they loved you, and made you feel like between the two of you, anything was possible, and just that everything finally clicked into place and you actually felt complete for the first time in your life? And then, it's all taken away from you in less a minute. I will never forget this night, or completely get over it, so I don't want to hear all of your namby pamby bullshit Nick." she hissed, pulling away from him. She wandered through the suite, rumaging through her fridge, cursing at it's emptiness. Her head was pounding and she just wanted to curl up in a ball and forget the rest of the world exsisted.

"Erin, can I use your phone, I just want to call them and let them know that you're ok"

"Go ahead, you'll use it anyway." she mumbled, making her way into the bathroom and rummaged through her medicine bag.

"Yeah Kevin, she's all right. I'm in her suite right now. Yeah, she's pretty upset, I'd keep Aj as far away from her as I possible could for now." Nick said softly, his gaze floating to the bathroom mirror where he could see her going through some of her bags. "Yes Vickie, I just told Kevin, she's fine, just very very upset, yeah I know, but she hasn't attacked me yet. Yeah, I'll see you guys later"

"You ok in there?" he asked, coming up behind her.

"Are you going to follow me around all night?" she demanded, not looking up from her task. Where in the hell were her pills...

"Well, you are stuck with me until the girls get back from the party at least"

"Ooo whoppie"

"Erin, please, I haven't done anything to you. I wasn't the one..." he started, her smart ass attitude finally pricking him.

"You weren't the one what" she whirled around, each word like a chip of ice.

"I wasn't the idiot who did this to you, so can you please stop treating me like you would Aj" he finished softly. He stared at her, ready to bolt out of the way if she attacked him, but instead, she just collapsed to the floor.

"I loved him" she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Oh Reese...don't cry, he's not worth it" Nick said softly, pulling her up into his arms.

"How in the hell could he do this to me..." she hiccuped, her sobs finally letting up.

"I don't know...I just don't know, I've never seen him act this way."

"My head feels like its about to explode" she groaned, detaching herself from Nick's arms. "I wish I knew where in the hell I put my meds"

"Here let me help...what am I looking for?" he offered.

"Just a prescrition bottle, I only brought one, its just a pain killer"

"Is this it?" he asked, holding up a bottle.

"Yes, thank you" she popped four pills and looked at her watch.

"Why don't we go watch some TV until the rest of them get back?" he suggested.

"Whatever."

"Wait! Slow down Nick, I can't understand a word you're saying" Brian snapped. They were all in the limo heading back to the hotel when a hysterical Nick had called them. "Here, maybe you have a clue what he's babbling about" he said, tossing it to Vickie.

"What is it Nick...no...calm down dammit! Now, slowly this time.." she coached, then her normally pasty skin went even whiter. "Holy shit...what was it called...and how many did she take...Fuck! What hospital...ok, calm down, we will be right there" she said, and hung up the phone. She reached across and rapped against the glass seperating them and the driver. "We need to get to Cedar Sinai NOW" she ordered. The driver nodded and they turned around.

"What in the hell is going on!" Krista demaded, looking at the red head scared.

"You know how Erin kept her Percacet from her operations and stuff? Well, she said she had a headache, and downed four of them, then two more like an hour later. You know just half of one can knock her out, well, Nick tried to wake her up and she was unconcious, so he called 911 and she's in ER now" Vickie explained, not quite taking it in.

"Percacet? That some strong shit" Brian said, knowing very well it's effects, the only thing stronger was morphine.

"Yeah, and six within an hour...I don't know what in the hell she was thinking."

"I thought you guys would never get here" a relieved Nick approached them.

"Traffic was terrible. Where is she!" demanded Teka, Vickie and Krista in unison.

"They're pumping her stomach now. Hopefully they can get the majority of it out of her system. Where is Aj?" Nick asked, noticing that he was missing.

"Haven't the slightest idea." Kevin said sharply.

"Well, I think we should call him, and probably management, just to let them know.." Howie suggested.

"No. We are not calling in the bigwigs" Brian snapped. "That is just what she needs right now."

"But I agree with him about AJ." Teka said softly.

"Why, so he can just cause more problems?" Kevin shot.

"No, so he can fix them" she snapped back, her cute demenor gone.

"Excuse me, are you friends or family of Miss Holliday?" a doctor asked, flipping through the charts.

"Yes, we are, how is she" Krista demanded.

"She's going to be ok, but barely. A good quantity of the narcotic had seeped into her system, so she's going to be out of it for a while. Are you all friends, or family?" he asked, looking from face to face.

"I'm her sister, the rest are friends" Kris spoke up.

"Well, you can go in and see her, but she's asleep so I doubt you will get any response. Is there any reason for her to take her own life? Our next problem is finding out why she took so many, can you offer any suggestions as to why she would take so may pills at once?"

"Doctor, she had a fight with her boyfriend, and she had had a few drinks. She came back and had a pounding headache. I didn't know what kind of drugs they were, but she just took them, if she had meant to kill herself, I think she would have done it before I gotten back her suite tonight" Nick snapped.

"And she usually takes her normal medicines like Advil or Tylenol by the fours or fives, her tolerence for them is high, so it takes more, but I would think that IF she were going to commit suicide, she would have done it before Nick had gotten there" Vickie agreed.

"Ok, well I had to ask. You can go in and see her now" he said, taking leave of them.

"Oh God Erin, what have you gotten yourself into this time" Krista whispered, coming around to her sister's side. There were tubes everywhere, Krista just winced at the sight of all the IVs and stuff, Erin hated needles.

"I'm going to go call Aj, I'll be back in a few minutes" Howie said softly.

"Oh God, where is she!" Aj demanded as Howie led him down the hallways.

"Now I want you to keep your damned mouth shut, you have done enough tonight, and you had better be glad that I felt sorry for your ass, because neither of them want to deal with you yet" Howie warned. Aj nodded in agreement and Howie opened her door.

"Oh fuck, honey...I'm sorry" Aj whispered, falling on his knees next to her bed. The nine of them sat, keeping vigil, the nurses coming to take her vitals were the only thing that broke the monotony of it. Howie and Brian left around four o'clock the next afternoon to pick up a change of clothes for everyone and picked up some dinner. By the evening of the second day Lara had flown in, and there still hadn't been any real change.

"Look, why don't you guys all go back to the hotel and get some sleep, none of us have really had a full night's sleep since before the Grammys, and someones going to pass out" Aj said, looking around the room.

"Yeah, all of you guys go, and the three of us can stay, then when you all come back we'll switch up" Lara offered. Krista, Brian, Howie, Teka, Vickie and Kevin all piled out, after threatening Aj and making them swear even if it was for a brief second that she came around, that they were to be notified.

Erin woke up and everything was all fuzzy. She couldn't move, she could barely open her eyes, but after a few trys, they fluttered open. She looked around the room. This wasn't her hotel. Where in the hell was she. And when did Lara get here? She felt something covering her hand, so she slowly turned her head to the side. HE was there. There was no one to ask for answers. She layed still for a while, not wanting to wake the sleeping inhabitants of the room, when a nurse came in. Erin waited until the nurse was next to her.

"Hey" she whispered, and the nurse turned to look at her in surprise. "Shh, I don't want them to know I'm awake. Is there anyway you can get them out and tell me what in the world I'm doing here?"

"Let me see if I can get the doctor, and you want them out?" the nurse said, looking at her curiously.

"Yes, I don't want them to know that I'm up yet" she whispered, refusing to look at the man sleeping next to her. A few minutes later, the nurse led a groggy Nick, Lara and Aj into the hallway while the doctor had to run some 'tests'.

"What in the hell am I doing here" Erin demanded weakly, trying to sit up.

"Oh no you don't. You've been out for three days now, drug overdose" the doctor said, checking her vitals while he was talking.

"Drug...oh shit, the percacet" Erin moaned.

"I need to know why you took so many"

"I had a headache."

"You took six of them within an hour for a headache?" the doctor said doubtfully.

"It was a bad headache." she rolled her eyes at the doctor. "Look, I wasn't thinking. I had a few drinks, and I usually take a double dose of normal meds anyway. When can I go home?"

"We need to keep you here for another day or two to make sure you'll be ok. The two of you are very lucky" the doctor said, writing a note on her clipboard and stood up to leave.

"Hold up, two of us?" she demanded, her eyes wide.

"Yes, your baby is fine, surprisingly"

"Baby?" she whispered.

"I take it you didn't know then. Well, congratulations, you're going to have a baby."

"How far along am I? Have you told any of them?" she said so quietly that he could barely hear her.

"You are only a few weeks into it, and no, I didn't say anything to your friends. I can if you'd like though...."

"NO!" she all but shrieked. "No, I will take care of it, thank you doc."

"I will arrange for an OB-GYN exam before you leave and they can tell you more than I can. I'll see you tomorrow."

"He kicked you out? He hasn't made us leave in the three days we've been here, I wonder what's up" Vickie said. While Nick, Lara and Aj were waiting to go back into the room, the rest of the gang showed up. They were about to discuss it further when the doctor stepped out of the room.

"What's going on doc?" Teka demanded.

"She's awake, and doing rather well. I'm surprised, shes alert and responding well to stimuli.

"When can she leave?" Aj asked softly.

"I told her in a day or two, there are a few tests that we need to run to make sure everything is 100% ok. But other than that, she'll be free to go. Good day to you all, and don't let her get too excited, she needs to stay calm and rest" He hadn't finished his sentance before the three girls took off and barged into the room.

"Hi guys" Erin said weakly, then turned to thank the nurse who was fluffing her pillows so she could sit up a little bit.

"How are you feeling?" Teka asked.

"I'm doing ok I guess."

"What in the hell were you thinking!" Krista hissed, ignoring Teka and Lara's evil eyes. Vickie just slapped her.

"Don't worry about that now. Is there anything I can get you?" Lara asked.

"Hmm, I wouldn't mind a steak right about now" Erin joked.

"Uh oh, she must be doing better, she's hungry" Nick said, the guys finally piling in. She greeted each one with a smile, except for Aj, who might as well not even had been there for all the attention she gave him.

"How is Denny doing?" she asked.

"Oh, he's fine, of course hes playing it for all it's worth, but the doctors said that he should be ok in about a month. And as soon as you get your ass better, we'll start the tour back up, and if you want, you are welcome to fill in for him until he can play again, it's already cleared through the ranks" Kevin said.

"Why don't we go get you ladies some dinner while you catch up on stuff...or whatever" Howie offered.

"Sounds good, just PLEASE bring me back something edible, none of this hospital shit" Erin complained, gesturing to the platter that was brought in. A few minutes later the five girls were alone.

"What in the hell was he doing here!" Erin demanded, the door barely closed behind the guys.

"Howie called him. Don't bust a blood vessel" Teka answered rolling her eyes.

"I don't care! I don't want to be anywhere near him! I will continue this tour only until Dennis can play again, but after that, I'm not promising anything" Erin warned them.

"What!"

"Erin, stop being such a bitch"

"That is just ridiculas" They all bust out at once.

"Nope, I do this...you don't understand guys" Erin said sadly, debating on telling them about her condition or not. She opted for not, at least for now.

The next day, the OB-GYN doctor came and examined her and confirmed what her doc had said, she was pregnant, and would give birth in about eight months. Later that afternoon, her doc came and told her that she was free to go, and she was ready and packed within half an hour. The tour went on, Erin filling in for Dennis, and pretty much keeping to herself. She rarely was seen before noon the first month after her hospitalization, due to her morning sickness that she passed off as lack of sleep and working on a project. She was extra careful about how she acted and everything, not wanting anyone to have a clue. She loved her friends, but if she told them, they would tell their guys, and they would have to tell Aj, being it was his child after all. A month and a half passed quickly, and Dennis was able to resume his playing. Erin started to plan her disappearence that very night. She had not spoken a single word to Aj since the incident, and barely looked at him twice within the same day. He had tried to talk to her, but she would either walk away from him or just completely tune him out. Finally, after her plans went through, she spoke to management in private, telling them that she wanted out, and they assured her that her leaving would be kept quiet until she was gone. She worked the concert that night, wished everyone a goodnight, and after making sure that everyone was asleep, she grabbed her suitcases and left.

"What in the hell do you mean she's gone!" Vickie hollared. Everyone was gathered in the hallway, outside of Erin's room. After she didn't answer her wake-up call, Krista had gotten worried and had security open the door, where of course, there was a note sitting on the bed.

Hi everyone, I'm sorry I left so abruptly, but I couldn't do it anymore. I thank you guys for all the help and great times we've shared, but I had to leave. Things were never going to be the same after, you all know, but I had my other reasons too. I wish you all, all the luck in the world and who knows, perhaps we will all meet again.

Until then,

Erin

**About Two Years Later**

"Xander! How in the world did you escape from your crib again!" Erin fussed, picking up the toddler. He had yet again escaped from his crib and had pulled an entire basket of toys out and had them everywhere. She picked him up and swung him around a few times, then settled him into her arms. Her heart clenched painfully just like every other time she had looked at her child. He was a minature version of Aj, from the mop of dark curls on his head to his warm brown eyes. She shook herself from her trance and took him over to his changing table, changed his diaper and clothes, then headed downstairs.

"Good morning you two" Mandy said cheerfully, looking up from the pan of scrambled eggs she was fixing.

"Good morning to you too. Why are you in such a good mood...are you sick or did you just get some last night?" Erin worried, putting Xander in his high chair then rushed over to her friend and put a hand on her forehead. "Hmm, no fever. Must have got some. How is Corey by the way?" she asked, fixing Xander and herself a plate. She had spent the past two years trying to rebuild her life. After leaving everybody back in L.A., she had gone back home and withdrawn from college. Having a child was not going to help her school life, and her child was far more important than it too. She went home to her mom's for a while, but it didn't work out. She had packed everything up within a month and moved down to Florida with her best friend Mandy. With her paychecks from the tour, her and Mandy had bought a nice home in a nice small neighborhood outside of Kissemee and Orlando. She had decided not to tell her family back home about her pregnacy due to the fact, they all had big mouths, and it would have eventually reached her sister, who would in turn tell everyone else. Alexander James Holliday had been brought into the world November 11, 2000 with very little difficulty, and had wrapped his mother and 'aunt' around his little finger the day he was born.

"So what time do you get off tonight?" Mandy asked, sitting down to the table with them.

"I have an interview at three, then I can leave." she said, pushing the eggs around her plate. She had gotten a job at one of the local newspapers and found that she really enjoyed being a journalist. "Are you sure you don't mind watching him today?" Erin asked for about the twentith time.

"I'm sure! Me and Xan-xan here will have a ball. We're going to the mall and do some shopping aren't we little man?" she asked, ruffling his hair.

"Shop!" he repeated happily, then proceeded making a mess of his breakfast. Erin stood up from the table, clearing away her spot, gave Xander a kiss good-bye, grabbed her briefcase and walked out to the garage. She noticed absently that someone was moving in to the huge house next door. She put her car in reverse, wondering who her neighbor might be.

"I can't believe it....we finally have a few months off!" Vickie said excitadly. Her, Teka, Lara and Kris had come down to Orlando with the guys to spend the first major break with them. The guys had been touring almost non-stop for the past few years, with two new albums in between.

"I know, I can't wait" Krista agreed, flipping through one of the clothing racks. While the guys were home spending some quality time with their families, the girls had opted for a shopping trip, with plans to meet up at the huge cookout later that evening.

"I'm just glad we get to stay in one place for a change. I'm kind of sick of having to travel like everyday to get to a new city." Lara complained, pulling out a midnight blue blouse which was completely sheer, with a matching tank top to go underneath.

"I hear ya. I can't wait for some REAL food, none of that fast food stuff. Just real, home cooked food." Teka sighed, then let out a small shriek. She looked down and saw a little kid attatched to her leg.

"Xan-xan, come back to Aunt Mandy...please! Xander! Get your Pampered butt back in this stroller!" a blond woman came rushing up. "Oh I'm so sorry, that kid never listens, I hope he didn't drool on you or anything" she said in a harrassed voice, trying to pry Xander off of Teka's leg. Teka and Lara just laughed while Kris and Vickie got wide-eyed.

"Mandy! Mandy Gullion!" Vickie squealed.

"Hey, who are y...Vickie! Kris! What in the hell are you two doing here!" Mandy said, giving each of the girls a hug.

"We're down here for the summer. What in the hell are you doing down here, and who is this cute little guy?" Kris answered, detaching Xander from Teka and pulled him into her arms.

"It's uh, a friend of mines. I'm babysitting while she's at work. I can't believe this shit!" Mandy exclaimed, her mind rolling a mile a minute. She knew that no one in Erin's family had a clue about Xander, and that she was even in Florida. She had kept in touch via email, but that was it. She learned that her friend was rather efficient in covering her tracks.

"Hey, he looks familier. Let me see him" Vickie said, holding out her arms to Xander, who switched people without a second thought. "I can't place my finger on it, but damned if he isn't familer looking. Who is his parents?" she asked, looking towards Mandy while Xander grabbed a handful of hair.

"Just a friend from work, you don't know them." Mandy said quickly, then reached for Xander. "It was nice seeing you guys, but I gotta get this little twerp back to his mom. How long are you going to be down here?"

"All summer. If you have nothing better to do, there is this big cookout at a friend of ours, actually its a big housewarming party for him. Why don't you come?" Kris asked, writing down the address quickly.

"I don't know, I'll have to see what my room mate has planned" Mandy said uncertainly, taking the piece of paper from Kris.

"Bring him or her along with you, the more the merrier" Vickie said. They all said their goodbyes and Mandy all but ran from the mall.

"Damn, that was freaky, and a little too close." she muttered, strapping Xander into his carseat. "Your mom is going to have a lot of explaining to do, I can see it" she said softly, staring down at the toddler. He gurgled for a few minutes, then looked up at her with his big brown eyes.

"See Mom?" he demanded.

"Yes, we are going to see Mom. You just sit tight" she sighed, sliding into her seat.

"You saw who?" Erin hissed, paling.

"Krista and Vickie, and they were with two other girls. We were invited to a cookout tonight too. No, I didn't say anything about you being here, I just told them that I was babysitting a co-workers kid. But they are going to be down here all summer" Mandy explained quietly.

"Oh God...and things were going so great" Erin moaned, falling back on the couch, covering her face with a pillow.

"So what if they are down here. It doesn't mean anything"

"Yes, it does. They are down here with the GUYS Mandy"

"What guys? I don't even know who Xander's father is, you never told me. Am I to assume it was one of them?"

"Yes..." she moaned.

"Well, I don't intend on sticking around the house tonight, I think I'm going to case out this shin-dig. You can come if you want.."

"No, I think I will just sit home tonight"

"Erin, you never go out.."

"I can't. Not with Xander."

"Fine. You sit around here and mope, I'm going to go have some fun" Mandy said, hopping up from her chair, leaving Erin sprawled out on the couch. She bounced upstairs, changing into something a little nicer. She checked in on Xander, kissing him softly on his forehead, not wanting to wake him up. She tip-toed out, grabbed her keys, hollared a goodbye to Erin and closed the door. She climbed into her car, then pulled out the address Kris had given her as she started the engine. Her eyes scanned over it, then killed the engine. She re-read the address aloud, then chuckled. She climbed out of her car and walked next door.

Erin watched as her friend trotted out the door. She really wanted to go see her friends, but she was afraid they wouldn't speak to her after leaving the way she did, plus there was the issue of Xander. She loved her son very much, but there were times that she wished she had never gone on the tour, and was still an innocent college student.

Mandy walked up to the front door and pushed the doorbell. She fluffed her hair and checked her appearence in the window when the door swung open.

"Uh hi there" she said, flashing a smile at the tall blond guy that stood in the doorway.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, Vickie and Kris invited me here for some sort of a cookout or something, plus I live right next door. So, welcome to the neighborhood" she explained, thrusting her hand out.

"Oh no" he laughed. "This isn't my house, this my friend's house come on in, I'm Nick by the way. VICKIE!!! KRISTA!! MANDYS HERE!" he hollared, leading Mandy into the house.

"Hey! Glad you could make it!" Vickie said, running in from the backyard. "I see you met Nickers here."

"Yeah. So who is the one that moved in here?" Mandy demanded, looking around the crowd that was gathered in the backyard. "Damn girl, who are all these people!"

"Lets see, the majority of them are the guy's families, and some are just friends. Lets see, you remember Lara and Teka from yesterday right? Well, Nick is Lara's boyfriend, the guy with the longer hair over there is Howie, Teka's man. That guy that Krista is sitting on is Brian, and that pitiful looking guy over there is Aj" Vickie said, pointing everyone out.

"Holy shit" Mandy whispered, her eyes widening at the sight of Aj.

"Hey guys! Come over here a minute! I got someone you need to meet!" Vickie hollared, ignoring Mandy, her voice cutting through the noise of the crowd. The guys gathered around after a few minutes. "Guys, this is Mandy, Mandy, once again, Nick, Howie, Brian and Aj. And this big lug here is my Kevvy" she said introducing everyone. "Guys, Mandy, Erin and I went to high school and hung out together. We all kinda go back a ways"

"It's nice meeting you" they all mummered.

"Same here. And Aj? You're the one who moved in here right? Well, let me welcome you to the neighborhood. I live right next door" Mandy laughed, pointing over to her house. She was standing in front of Xander's father, there was no mistaking it, they were almost identical in features.

"Are you shitting me?" Kris giggled.

"No, I got in the car and pulled out the address, and realized that it was here. It was pretty funny."

"Did you bring your roommate?" Vickie asked, looking around.

"No, she wouldn't come. She has been in a sort of depressed mood of late, and doesn't want to go anywhere, just lay around the house." Mandy complained.

"Jeeze, that sounds like someone else we know" Teka muttered, but was shut up by an elbow from Lara.

"Well, everyone else is here, so she might as well be here too. You say she's home?" Aj said, already jogging through the house.

"NO! You can't!" Mandy squealed.

"Oh what in the hell do you want, did you lock yourself out again?" Erin hollared as the doorbell rang. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Christ, you live here and...oh shit" she gasped.

"Erin" Aj whispered.

"Erin...oh Christ" Aj whispered, his eyes huge.

"What in the hell are you doing here" she spat, quickly getting over her shock.

"No no no no no..." Mandy worried, running up behind Aj, followed closely behind by Vickie and Krista. "Oh God, Erin...I had no idea...he just came to get my roommate, I didn't tell him it was you!" she said quickly.

"Wait, you knew she was here!" Vickie turned on Mandy.

"And you didn't tell us?" Krista piped in.

"Hey, what's everyone...Oh God" Brian inhaled sharply. Erin stood in the doorway, everyone else staring at her, but she ignored them all, only focusing on Aj.

"What are you doing here!" she demanded again.

"Didn't you hear the girl? I just didn't want some poor chick to be moping around the house while there is a huge party going on next door, thats all. And if that's how you're going to act, then you can just stay your ass home." he spat, his mood turned sour by her smart ass attitude.

"Next door? What in the hell is he ranting about?" she demanded, looking to Mandy for a bit of sanity.

"Erin, meet our new next door neighbor" Mandy said softly, glancing quickly between Erin and Aj.

"Oh, fuck no" Erin said flatly, glaring at Aj. She whirled around to slam the door in his face but he caught her by the wrist and let himself into her house, slamming the door behind him. "Get out" she spat.

"No, not until we have had a nice long chat that is about two years overdue" he said in a slightly dangerous tone.

"I do not have anything to say to you, so just leave."

"Good, you've said enough. Now you just need to listen.." he started but was interupted. "What in the hell was that?" he demanded, then heard the shrill cry again.

"Aj, please, leave. We'll talk, but not now, please" she begged, looking towards the stairs.

"Ok, I don't trust either of you...so we're coming in" Mandy said, barging in, Vickie, Krista, Lara, Teka and the other four guys close behind.

"Mandy, get them all out.." she pleaded, but another shrill cry cut through the house. "Shit" she hissed, yanking away from Aj's grasp and ran up the stairs.

"Where in the hell are you going!" Aj demanded, racing after her.

"No! You can't go up there! Oh fuck" Mandy said, racing after them. "You all STAY the fuck down here" she hissed at the crowd of people standing in her living room. The girls shared a quick look, then headed upstairs after them.

"Where in the hell are you" Aj hollared, looking from room to room. He stopped dead in tracks when he found her.

"Shh...don't cry honey. It's ok...mommy's here" Erin whispered softly, rocking her son gently. She looked up at the intruder standing in the doorway. "Get the hell out" she hissed, tears springing up in her eyes.

"You can't be here, leave her alone" Mandy ordered, trying to push Aj away.

"No." he said simply. He looked from Erin's face to the child she held in her arms, back to her face. "And you called Mel the slut...it sure didn't take you long to fuck somebody else did it? What happened, did you bitch him out and he left you and his bastard behind?" he said cruelly. He smirked at her then left her standing there.

"Oh God, Erin" Mandy whispered, running in. The other girls simply stared in with wide eyes.

"Holy shit" Krista whispered, staring at the child in her sisters arms.

"Erin, give him to me, sit down, please" Mandy pleaded, pulling Xander from her arms.

"No, I'm going after his ass" Erin snapped, heading after him, tears flowing freely now.

"Oh no you're not" Vickie said, her and Teka each grabbing an arm and pulling her back into the nursery. "You are in no condition to do anything but start explaining what in the hell is going on."

"Hey, isn't this the same child that you had in the mall earlier?" Lara asked quietly, reaching for the sleeping bundle Mandy was cradleing.

"Yes, guys, I'd like you to meet Xander" she said quietly.

"Holy shit" Kris repeated.

"Oh my God..." Lara inhaled sharply, looking up at Erin, down at Xander, then back up at Erin. "He's Aj's!"

"You think?" Vickie said sharply. "Sorry, this is all too freaking weird" she sighed.

"I don't know how in the hell we didn't realize this when we saw him earlier." Teka said.

"Is he always that big of an asshole?" Mandy snapped, trying to calm Erin down.

"Not usually, he's just finally started acting normal, but coming here, I'm assuming it was a fairly big shock and all." Lara said quietly, walking the baby around the room.

"Erin, why didn't you tell any of us? Thats why you left isn't it?" Krista said, walking over to her nephew.

"Oh yeah, so I can be jumped all over like I just was, no thank you" Erin snapped.

"Hey, J! Where you going!" Nick demanded, watching him stomp down the steps and out the door, not paying the other men any heed. "Well, at least things are back to normal" he said sarcastically, then headed upstairs.

"Nick, didn't they say to stay down here?" Brian asked.

"Yeah, but no one else has listened, why in the hell should we?" he replied. The other guys just glanced at each other, shrugged and followed the younger man up the staircase.

"Holy hell" Howie whispered, finding the girls first.

"Oh shit" Brian and Kevin said in unison.

"Whoa." Nick chimed in, walking into the room.

"Look, if you guys are going to lay into me like that prick just did, just leave now" Erin said flatly, reaching for Xander.

"No, we aren't. Some of us actually think before we open our mouths. Can I hold it?" Brian asked softly, reaching for him.

"Xander is not an it, and yes, you can." she said, handing him over.

"His name is Xander?"

"Yes, Alexander James, after his father, but we call him Xander" Erin said softly.

"What did Aj say about him?" Nick asked softly, stroking Xander's tiny cheek.

"Aj, being the fucking asshole that he is sometimes, shot off at the mouth. He didn't even get a close look at him. He accused Erin of sleeping around, comparing her to Mel, then made some smartass comment about bitching at the father, causing him to abandon her and his 'bastard' as he called him" Lara fumed. "And if you all will excuse me, I think I will be right back" she said, jogging out of the room.

"Uh, Nick, I think you better go get her before she finds Aj" Howie warned, already heading out after her.

"I think you're right D." Nick said, following Howie close behind.

"So he doesn't know does he?" Kevin asked, looking up.

"No," Erin said tiredly, "he doesn't."

It didn't take Lara long to find a still seething Aj. He was in his living room pacing back and forth. He had hoped that eventually find Erin someday, and would try to make everything right, but everything went all wrong. He was quick to snap, he realized that, but she was too, and they both would one day kill each other if they kept up the way they were going. He was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Nick or Howie hollaring to him, until he realized he was on his back and Lara had cracked him a good one across the face.

"You stupid asshole" she hissed, rearing her hand back to belt him another one. "You don't know what in the hell you just did. You had to go and open your mouth, not thinking about a damned thing you said, and you had better be glad that she was holding YOUR SON at the time, because if it weren't for Xander, she probably would have beaten the shit out of you by now, and you would have deserved ever damned bit of it!" she hollared. Nick pulled her off of him, holding her back from going after him again. "I don't blame her in the slightest for leaving your sorry ass behind now. We all felt sorry for you, putting her at fault, but you don't even give her time to explain!" Lara continued, fighting against Nick's grasp while Howie helped Aj sit up. Aj put a hand to where she had slapped him across the face, surprised to find his lip bleeding a little.

"What in the hell is she raving about!" he demanded, looking from Howie to Nick.

"Shes saying, that that child is yours J. You didn't give her time to explain anything, and you deserved everything the you just got and more. I agree with Lara on this one." Nick said quietly.

"And I do too. " Howie agreed.

"What in the hell are you all talking about?"

"Xander is YOURS you asshole. She hasn't been with anyone but you. She left because of what you had done with Mel, and found out that she was pregnant when she was in the hosptial. She wasn't going to stick around and cause anymore trouble, but she also didn't need to put up with your shit anymore" Lara hissed, still struggling against Nick.

"Damn girl, would you calm down...jeeze" Nick fussed. "You've made your point, now you just need to chill out"

"What do you mean that kids' mine? Just because she said so, you believe it? Christ you guys are easy. The little tramp was probably just saying it.." but Aj was silenced by a blow to the stomach.

"Jesus Christ. Aj! You know us better than that! I don't know what in the hell she ever saw in you. What in the hell is your problem!" Howie shouted. "You didn't even see him! If you looked him in the face for all of a moment, you would see that he is yours, but if Erin has any sense, which I think she does, you will never get the chance to after today" he finished quietly, then turned from the room, Nick and Lara following behind, leaving Aj doubled over on the floor.

"Oh God, what did you two do?!?" Teka demanded, seeing the happily smug looks on Lara's and Howie's faces.

"Oh nothing. Nothing that he didn't deserve anyway" Lara said almost cheerfully, grinning over at Howie.

"Yeah, nothing. Thats why Aj is sitting in the middle of his living room doubled over nursing a busted lip" Nick said sarcastically, squeezing Lara's shoulder.

"Damn, remind me never to piss the two of you off" Mandy said chuckling.

"Where is Erin and Xander?" Lara asked, looking around.

"Right here..." Erin said, coming in from the kitchen, following Xander who held his bottle up in one hand and had a firm grasp of his mother's fingers in the other one as he toddled into the room. He stopped dead in his tracks seeing all of the new faces in the room, and tried to hide himself in his mom's legs.

"No, it's ok sweety" she said soothingly, pulling him up into her arms. She brought him over to her chair and plopped down. Xander would occasionally sneak peeks at everyone. "Come on honey, don't you want to say hi?" she cooed, turning him around. "See? They aren't going to get you."

"Oh God, he is a minature Aj!" I mean, he looks just like him!" Krista said.

"I know, I can't get over the resemblance" Brian agreed.

"Xander, these people are all part of your family. That there is your Uncle Kevin and Aunt Vickie" Kevin waggled his eyebrows at him and Vickie waved, "Uncle Howie and Aunt Teka" they both waved, "Uncle Nick and Aunt Lara" Nick flashed him a goofy face and Lara reached forward to tickle his feet, "And your Uncle Brian and Aunt Krista. Aunt Krista is Mommy's sister" Brian flashed him a goofy face also, and Kris held her arms out to him. Xander just giggled at Nick and Brian and after a moments hesitation, he toddled over to Kris. He stood up on her lap, looking at her for a minute, then planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

"Aunt Ris" he said happily, snuggling down into her arms. Erin felt her eyes tear up at the scene, but wiped them away quickly.

The next few weeks past rather uneventfully. Everyone kept in touch, coming over to visit Erin, Mandy and Xander often. Everyone but Aj that is. No one had heard anything from him since the day of the cook-out, but it was probably for the best at the moment. Erin kept herself busy, trying to score a job working with one of the major magazines in the area, and been working overtime at the paper trying to get a good word in with her superiors. Xander of course was having the time of his life, spending time with all of his new admirers. He was being spoiled rotten by all the attention and gifts that they were showering him with, which Erin of course grumbled good-naturedly about every night. Having all of her friends back around her, her spirits lifted, and she was acting more like her old self again. She even started writing her short stories again. Krista's 20th birthday came around, and everyone went out clubbing to celebrate, even Erin, who got her neighbor to babysit Xander for her *AN...the other neighbor...lol...NOT Aj obviously..* She finally got home around three in the morning, paid and thanked her neighbor and headed upstairs. She checked in on Xander, smiling down as he snored softly. She ran her fingers over his hair a few times, then bent over and placed a light kiss on his forehead. She walked in front of her door, stopping dead hearing her Cd player on. She crinkled her forehead in thought, knowing she hadn't left it on, and pushed the door open. She didn't bother turning on the lights, but headed over to her player, hearing the first strands of her Savage Garden Cd.

I would like to visit you for a while

Get away and out of this city

Maybe I shouldn't have called but someone had to be the first to break

We can go sit on your back porch

Relax

Talk about anything

It don't matter

I'll be courageous if you can pretend you've forgiven me

Because I don't know you anymore

I don't recognize this place

The picture frames have changed and so has your name

We don't talk much anymore

We keep running from the pain

But what I wouldn't give to see your face again

I know I let you down

Again and again

I know I never really treated you right

I've paid the price

I'm still paying for it every day

So maybe I shouldn't have called

Was it too soon to tell?

Oh what the hell

It doesn't really matter

How do you redefine something that never really had a name?

Has your opinion changed?

Because I don't know you anymore

I don't recognize this place

The picture frames have changed and so has your name

We don't talk much anymore

We keep running from the pain

But what I wouldn't give to see your face again

I see your face

I see your face

She stood silent throughout the song, kind of actaully hearing the lyrics for the first time. She stole a glance next door and saw that all the lights were out.

"Music has always been able to speak more eloquently than anything I could ever say, and that song is no exception." Erin whirled around and spotted Aj sitting in the chair opposite her.

"Aj, what are you doing here?" she asked tiredly, not wanting to argue that night. "And how did you get in here?"

"You really shouldn't leave your window open. You don't know what kind of creeps can come in from the tree" he said softly, still not looking directly at her. Erin flashed a look back over to the window and saw that it would be rather easy coming in from the huge branch that hung in front of it.

"So I see. Aj, leave please. I'm very tired and I'm not in the mood to argue tonight" she said softly, walking into her closet to change, then walked back out.

"I don't feel like arguing either. That's why I'm here" he said, switching off the CD player and looked up at her for the first time since she had come into the room.

"Aj, you do realize that it is almost four in the morning, right?"

"I know, I couldn't sleep. I've had that problem of late."

"You sure do pick weird times to talk" she sighed, plopping down on her bed. "Well, since you are here, and you're obviously not leaving until you get your say, we might as well get this over with. What is it."

"You have every right to be completely pissed at me, and I know that. We both tend to fly off at the handle, acting before we think about it, and that's why things are the way they are between us. That night at the Grammy party, you flew off before even giving me time to explain about Mel, we both got pissed, I got plastered, and I ended up fucking her. And no, let me finish before you even start" he pleaded, and she shut her mouth. "I know I can't apologize enough for that, but I had gotten a note saying to meet someone up there, and thinking it was you wanting to make up, I went. I had no clue it was Mel, and if I did know, I wouldn't have gone. Now that entire incident was possibly forgivable, but what I said the day I found you again isn't. I see you for the first time in two years, and I completely lost it. You were so harsh to me, then you tried to run off when you heard the baby crying, it just kept pissing me off more and more. And when I came up here and saw you holding him, I just completely lost it" he said softly, his eyes tearing up. "I didn't even think that he could be mine, I just saw you, and then him and immeadiatly thought you had found someone to replace me that quick, and it hurt. I swear to God, if I could take it all back, I would, but I can't. And then Lara, Nick and Howie came after me. I agree, I desereved every bit of what they gave me and a hell of a lot more. I couldn't believe it when they said the baby was mine, I just kind of freaked, you know? I didn't mean it, it was just my way of dealing with it. I mean, Erin, I had absolutley no clue" he finished softly, wiping away a few tears roughly. "I am just soo sorry for me being the way that I am, smart mouth and all. I just needed to let you know that, even if you don't forgive me, and never want to see me again, I just wanted you to know that, that I'm sorry." he got up from the bed and started to leave.

"No, Aj, wait, please" she said softly. He stopped but didn't turn around. "Come back here, please?" she asked. He turned around, but didn't meet her eyes. He sat back down on the corner of her bed. "Aj, you have put me through more anguish then anyway I know. You almost killed me that night at the Grammys. You had said you loved me, and placed me so high in your life, everything was perfect! Then I walked in on you two and my world completely collapsed. You have no idea what that did to me, and you never will. Then you stride in here, acting like you know everything, then tearing into me and my 'bastard son' as you called him. Everything up to that point, could be forgiven, but you crossed the line there. Everything else is forgiven, but I don't think you can ever make that up to me or him. Even finding you and...Mel in bed together, I still could never completely hate you, and I don't want to spend the rest of my life acting like I do. And I want Xander to have his father. He and I could make out just fine on our own, but, it would be so much better for him to have you in his life, even though we aren't together." she said softly, reaching out to caress the side of his face.

"I will not deny him Erin. I know how it was not having a dad growing up, and I would not wish that on anyone, least of all my own children." he said softly, pulling her into his arms. They stayed embraced for a few moments. "I take it we are finally at truce?" he asked softly.

"Truce" she whispered, then sighed as she heard the beginnings of a wail from the nursery."Uh oh, sounds like someone's up" she said, pulling herself from the embrace. She walked over to the adjoining door that led to the nursery. "And what are you doing up at this hour little man?" she asked, pulling Xander out of his crib. She turned to see Aj standing in the doorway staring at the two of them.

"Would you like to hold him? she offered. His eyes widened as she settled his son in his arms. Erin stepped back a little. Aj held him like he was the most fragile thing in the world.

"How old is he?" he whispered.

"A year and seven months. I'm going to run downstairs and fix him a bottle. Do you think you'll be ok that long?"

"I think I can hold my own" he replied, flashing her a small smile, then turned his attention back to the child in his arms.

Mandy stumbled into the house about an hour and a half later. She carefully made her way up the dark staircase and made her way to her room. She stopped in front of the nursery, thinking she heard voices. She eased the door open and saw Aj walking around the room, singing softly to the child in his arms. She was about to barge in and what in the hell was he doing here when she felt a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Shh." Erin whispered, watching the heart wrenching scene. Never in her life did she think she would witness this, and it shook her to the core. After a moment, she stepped into the room, leading Aj to the rocker and gave him the bottle. She knelt beside him, watching him feed Xander.

Aj couldn't believe it. Never in a million years did he think he would be sitting here, rocking his son back to sleep, with the woman he cared about sitting next to him. She may not care for him the way she used to, but as long as she was there, it didn't matter to him. They would take it all one step at a time. He looked down, breaking away from his thoughts, and noticed that Xander had fallen asleep. He shifted slightly, finding out that Erin had fallen asleep as well, her head on his lap. he smiled, stroking her hair. Not wanting to disturb either of them, he just layed his head back against the head of the rocker, and joined them in sleep.

Mandy passed by the doorway again on her way to the bathroom. She peeked in and smiled at the trio. Changing her mind, she rushed back to her bedroom and picked up the phone, punching one of the speed dial buttons.

"Hey Vickie...you're never going to believe this..."

"Aj, I don't think I can do this" Erin worried, straighting out a non-exsistant wrinkle from her skirt.

"Don't worry! You know how laid back mom is. I told her everything, and she didn't say anything except she wanted to see you and her grandson" he chuckled, adjusting the diaper bag strap with his free hand. He reached forward and punched the doorbell, then listened to his mom's foot steps running towards the door.

"Erin! You don't know how good it is to see you again!" Denise cried, pulling her into her arms. Erin kind of froze up at first, but relaxed quickly, returning the hug. "How have you been child?"

"I've been really good. There's someone here to see you.." she said, turning so Aj could walk in. "Denise, this is your grandson, Xander. Xander, say hi to your grandma" she said softly. Xander kind of eyed Denise, debating on whether or not to let any more new people into his life, but decided quickly.

"Gramma!" he said cheerfully, going over into her arms without any hesitation. Denise carried him off into the house, and Aj and Erin followed, listening to Xander's child prattle, and Denise carried on like she understood him perfectly.

"I wonder if Aj will be making an appearence at the party tonight" Vickie pondered, putting in her favorite pair of emerald earrings.

"Lord only knows. None of us has seen him since the cookout so your guess is as good as mine, dear" Kevin said disgustidly, buttoning up his vest. Jive was hosting a huge banquet for all of its employees so they all had to make an appearence. Vickie and Mandy had decided to keep their mouths shut about Aj being over there the other night, deciding it would be better to hear it from Erin when she felt like discussing it with them. She also had not been around the past few days, work and other stuff keeping her busy. About twenty minutes later, Kevin and her were in the limo, and on their way to pick up the others.

"Oh wow, this is amazing" Krista whispered, her eyes wide. The banquet was held in a huge ballroom, long tables lining the walls packed with food, and the floor was crowded with tons of people.

"Hey look! There's Britney over there, and NSync over there" Teka said excitidly, pointing them out.

"Vickie! So glad you could make it!" Vickie turned and saw one of the mangement men walking towards her. She plastered a smile on her face and joined a group of business executives in discussion.

"I love all of these big parties and stuff, but I love shopping for these clothes even more" Kris laughed, twirling around in her deep purple dress. It was made of a fine satin that fell just above her knees with cris-crossing spaghetti straps across her back. Teka was wearing a shimmery white dress with a full skirt and jeweled straps, and Lara was in her signature sapphire colored gown, with an intricate bead design with silver and blue crystals on the bodice. They girls gossiped while the guys discussed business matters. Teka was in the middle of a sentance when Lara gasped and grabbed her arm.

"Hey, what's wrong with y....holy shit" Teka muttered, her eyes following Lara's to the main entrance. Krista also looked over, her eyes widening. They rushed over to the guys, who apologized, then followed the girls to a more secluded spot, their eyes also traveling to the main entrance.

"Ok, I think this wine has gone bad, cause I have GOT to be seeing things" Brian whispered. Aj had decided to show up after all, but, to everyone's surprise, had brought Erin with him. She was smiling, saying hellos while he pulled her through the crowd on his arm. He caught sight of everyone standing together and steered her over there.

"Hi guys" Aj said cheerfully.

"Hi" they all said, too stunned to say anything else.

"Guys! There you are! Come on, there are some people who you gotta meet" their manager gushed, escorting them over to some serious looking guys in expertly tailored suits.

"So whats up?" Erin asked, taking a sip of the lukewarm wine that a waiter had thrust at her.

"Girl, what in the hell going on!" Lara demanded.

"What?" Erin asked innocently.

"Lets see, the last time the two of you were together, you were about to kill each other. Aj hasn't been seen since the cookout, and he finally emerges, with you on his arm! Don't ask ME what" Kris said, narrowing her eyes at her sister.

"Erin! What are you doing here! And did you come here with who I think you did?" Vickie demanded, joining the girls.

"Jeeze, you guys make it sound so terrible that Aj and I showed up together. We had a nice long talk, and got everything straight, but we are not back together or anything. I came tonight because he didn't want me sitting home while everyone else was here, plus it would give Denise an excuse to babysit Xander" Erin laughed.

"So you guys had made up the other night afterall" Vickie said, relieved.

"Yeah, how did you..oh never mind, Mandy."

"Hold up, you knew about this and didn't tell us?" Lara said, a slightly injured tone in her voice.

"Mandy called me after finding Aj singing Xander back to sleep. I didn't want to say anything until I found out what was going on from Erin herself" Vickie explained. The girls continued to gossip until a Erin felt a tap on her shoulder and a deep voice broke through their conversation.

"Excuse me ladies, but I was wondering if I might have this dance" Lance said, holding his hand out to Erin.

"Uh, sure, I'd love to you. If you will excuse me ladies" she said, and he swept her out onto the dance floor, pulling her into his arms as "I'll Make Love to You" started playing.

"Can I bother you for a name?" he asked, pulling her as close as decently possible.

"Erin. And I already know who you are Lance" she chuckled.

"Well, Erin, you look absolutly ravishing in that dress" he complimented her, and she felt her cheeks get hot. She had worn a red satin gown with a full skirt, and no sleeves, but buttoned up the back from above the waist all the way up to the high collar.

"Thank you, you look rather nice yourself" she said, looking down at the exsqusitly tailored tuxedo he sported. They made small talk while he swept her across the floor. The song ended all too quickly, and Lance bowed, making her laugh, then brushed her cheek with his lips.

"It was nice meeting you Erin, hopefully it wasn't the last" he said, then went to rejoin his friends.

Aj turned from the conversation for a moment, saw the cluster of girls minus one along the wall. "Where has she gotten too?" he wondered silently, his eyes scanning the room. Quickly he spotted her, the brillant red dress sticking out in the crowd. His eyes narrowed slightly, seeing who she was dancing with, but before he could pursue it, Dan was asking him something. He mentally shook himself, then rejoined the conversation.

"Oh, I really hate you now" Lara muttered as Erin rejoined her friends.

"Is Nicky getting boring then?" Erin teased.

"No, of course not...but still..." Lara trailed off, her eyes following Lance back over to his group.

"Now now now ladies...we all are spoken for, we can't carry on like we used to" Vickie scolded.

"Um, no we aren't all spoken for. I am my own person, and can do what ever I damned well please." Erin snapped. She should have seen this coming. Just because her and Aj made up, everyone would expect them to get all lovey-dovey again. But they had forgotten a few things. She had been on her own for the past two years, the only man in her life being her son. She was still young, even though she had grown up and matured since she left. If everyone thought that just because her and Aj were on good terms meant wedding bells were just around the corner, then they were dead wrong, and she aimed to make certain they realized that. She was NO mans possesion.

"Whoa, Erin, you know what I meant..." Vickie said quickly, seeing the rebellious look in her friend's eyes.

"I know exactly what you meant, Vick. I think I want to dance some more. I'll see you guys around" Erin said crisply, then made a bee-line to where Lance and his friends stood.

"Good evening gentlemen" she said, her eyes flickering over Justin, JC, Chris, and Joey, her gaze lingering longer on Lance.

"Well well well, we are honored to have such a lovely lady in our midst" JC said smoothly, placing a kiss on her palm. "Why don't you introduce us, Lance?"

"Guys, this is Erin, Erin, this is..."

"I know who you are all. Are you enjoying yourselves?" she asked polietly. They all chit-chatted for a few moments, before the band struck up another slow song. Lance whisked her out onto the floor before she could even open her mouth to ask him.

"I take it you must have gotten bored with your friends" he chuckled, pulling her close as their bodies swayed to the music.

"You can say that"

The song ended all too soon and a fast club song came over the speakers. Erin started to leave the floor, but Lance pulled her back.

"Where do you think you're going" he asked softly, wrapping an arm around her waist, and started to move to the beat.

"Nowhere now" she chuckled. She matched his moves perfectly, her body keeping up with every move he made, and she almost melted in a puddle when he started grinding against her. Almost immeadiatly, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in?" Aj asked polietly, but his eyes were flashing.

"Um, sure. I'll be over with the guys if you want to dance some more" Lance said, lightly kissing her cheek, then left them. He was barely a foot away before Aj had his arms wrapped around her waist.

"How did your little meeting go?" she asked, getting her body going to the music again.

"Fine, nothing interesting. You and Lance seemed to hit it off" he said distantly, then pulled her in closer.

"He's very nice" she replied softly. She couldn't take his non-chalence anymore. "Did Vickie and them send you after me?" she demanded.

"Huh, what are you talking about" he asked, looking genuinely puzzled.

"How come you came over here in such a hurry to break into our dance?" she demanded, looking over his head to the other couples that were now dancing.

"I just wanted to dance, thats all hun. I swear. We finally escaped from Dan and them, and I wanted to at least have danced one dance with you" he said sincerely.

"You know what Aj, I think I want to go home, I'm really tired all of a sudden" she lied. She was starting to feel suffocated, and she needed to get out for a while.

"Are you ok?" he asked worriedly, looking down into her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm just really tired. I'm going to run over and say goodbye to the guys, and then I'll meet you out front ok?" she said, already turning and heading towards Lance before Aj could stop her.

"Hey, is everything ok?" Lance asked worriedly as she rejoined them.

"Yeah, I'm going home, I'm really tired" she faked a yawn for effect. "It was really nice meeting you all" she said, shaking the guys hands. She stopped at Lance and leaned forward to give him a hug. "You especially" she whispered, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"Do you really have to go?" he pleaded.

"Yes, I'm exhausted."

"Can I give you a call sometime?" he asked, blushing.

"Sure...let me write the number down for you.." she mumbled, then reached for a cocktail napkin off one of the buffet tables. She joted the number down and slipped it into his pants pocket.

"I'll call you tomorrow" Lance promised, pulling her into one last hug, brushing his lips lightly across hers.She turned from him and his friends, and made her way through the crowd. She didn't stop to say goodbye to her friends or the guys, but rather just went straight to the lobby where a sullen looking Aj was waiting with her wrap.

They rode back home in silence, Erin not wanting to talk to Aj about anything, Aj just sitting back, not wanting to say anything that could send her off. He learned from his mistakes quickly. The driver pulled up in front of their houses, and Aj turned to Erin to wish her a good night, when he realized that she had fallen asleep. He walked around the limo and carefully lifted her out, not wanting to wake her up. His chauffer followed them up to her doorstep so he could open the door for them, then left. Aj carefully carried her up the staircase and layed her down gently on her bed. He unbuttoned all the tiny buttons that ran down her back, gently slipping the dress off and hung it over a chair. He rummaged through a few drawers looking for something she could sleep in. He was going through the third drawer when his fingers hit something. He lifted out a small book and flipped it open.

Feburary 14, 1999

Tonight was the best night of my life! Aj and the guys surprised us with a wonderful evening of dinner and dancing. He looked so handsome in his tux, and the way he looked at me, it made me feel like I was a goddess... Aj stopped reading there. He didn't even know she had kept a journal. He quickly shut it and slipped it back underneath its covering of panties and bras. He flipped open the next drawer and pulled out a satin nightgown, it being the first thing he could get his hands on. He carefully pulled it over her head, then pulled her comforter up to her chin. He stepped back, his breath catching. She looked just like she had all of those times he used to turn over in the night, opening his eyes to find her cuddled up next to him. He bent down and placed a light kiss on her forehead, then turned and walked through the adjoining nursery door. Xander was curled up holding his teddy bear tightly with one chubby little arm. Aj smiled down at his son, kissed him softly, then left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. He nearly collided with Corey, Mandy's boyfriend when he walked into the hallway.

"Uh, hey there, sorry, didn't see you standing there" Corey said, squinting in the darkness.

"No, it's ok." Aj mumbled, then turned into the guest room that he stayed in whenever he felt like it. He barely made it out of his clothes and in the bed before he fell asleep.

"AJ!" He bolted up from bed hearing her shriek. He tore across the hall, and found her in bed sobbing.

"Oh God, Aj, please don't leave me again" she sobbed, huge tears falling down her face.

"Shh, I'm here honey, I'm not going anywhere" he soothed, pulling her up into his arms. He realized that she wasn't even awake, she was dreaming. "Erin, come on honey, wake up...I'm not going anywhere, I'm right here..." he whispered, stroking her hair. Her sobs slowly receeded, and she dozed back into a quiet sleep, Aj never leaving her side for the rest of the night.

Erin squinted as the morning light flooded her room. She moaned and went to turn away from the window, but froze when she realized that there was an arm wrapped posessevly around her waist. She eased herself up into a sitting position, and looked down at the still sleeping Aj. 'Oh hell, what have I done know' she moaned silently. The last thing she could remember was looking out the limo's window on the way home last night. She climbed out of bed, coverin Aj back up and went in to check on Xander, who was surprisingly still sound asleep.

She slipped on a pair of jeans and her favorite green sweater and padded downstairs, turning on the coffee pot. A few minutes later she was sitting comfortably on the couch reading the newspaper and enjoying a cup of coffee. It had been so long since she had been able to that, Xander usually being awake at the crack of dawn. It wasn't too long before she heard footsteps on the stairs. She stiffened, and turned around, expecting Aj, but to her amusment, saw Mandy and Corey stumbling down.

"Good morning young lovers" she called, causing Mandy to jump.

"Hey pookie!" Corey called back. "I'm glad to see that you are finally out and about again, you little hussy you" he teased, poking her in the side.

"Huh, what are you talking about?" Erin asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"I ran into Aj in the hallway last night. He was coming outta your room, I kinda assumed.." he started, but shut up as Mandy slapped him.

"No, Corey, nothing happened. We aren't seeing each other. He's around for Xander, thats the only reason." Erin sighed. Mandy eyed her friend, opening her mouth to say something, but thought better of it and shut it.

"So what are you two up to?" Erin asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well, we were pretty much going to lock ourselves in a room and make wild passionate monkey love all day. Wanna join us?" Corey said seriously, rooting through the fridge.

"Oh you know it baby" she replied, rolling her eyes at Mandy. "Actually I think I'm just going to hang around here today, I'm waiting for an important phone call" she said, turning back to her newspaper.

"Oh really, from who?" Mandy demanded.

"Oh, just someone. Was Xander ok last night? I really appriciate you two watching him for me."

"Like he is ever a problem." Mandy fussed. "What time did you two decide to stroll in last night?"

"Um, I couldn't tell you. I fell asleep in the limo, and woke up in my bed. Thats I know" Erin reached for the baby monitor that she had sitting near her. She could hear Xander sitting up and prattle on about something or another. "Looks like someone's up finally" she sighed, then got up to clean him up and get him dressed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for him to wake you up" she said softly, coming into the nursery to find Aj up and in the middle of changing Xander's diaper.

"Its ok, I needed to get up anyway"

"Uh, thank you for bringing me in last night, I didn't mean to fall asleep"

"It's no problem. Did you have any more problems sleeping last night?"

"Um, no, why? And how did we end up together out of curiosty"

"You had a nightmare, you started screaming for me" he said, tugging Xanders shirt over his head, not looking up at Erin.

"Huh?"

"I woke up after I heard you screaming for me. I came in there and found you completely hysterical. I just tried to calm you down, and I fell asleep, thats all." he said simply, standing Xander up on his changing table. "There ya go little man, all set" Xander looked back at him with a serious expression that looked remarkably like his own, and he couldn't help but chuckle. He pulled his son into his arms, and turned, looking at Erin for the first time.

"Well, I uh, guess you have a lot of stuff you need to do today, so I guess I'll see you later?" she asked, not really meeting his eyes.

"Sure, later. Thanks for going last night by the way, we'll have to try it again some other time, perhaps we can even spend more than fifteen minutes together..." he teased, but stopped when she wasn't smiling. "I guess I'll see you two later" he said, giving Xander a kiss, which was of course returned but about ten times wetter. He handed him over to Erin, and brushed her cheek with his lips. "See ya" he said, then turned around and left. Erin plopped in the rocking chair.

"Why in the world do you men have to be so difficult?" she asked Xander, looking down at him. He just looked back at her, flashing her the same look he had given his father just a few minutes ago.

"Mama sad...Mama NO sad" he said firmly, then wrapped his arms tightly around her neck.

Erin passed the day away by cleaning the house from top to bottom, which earned her some looks of disbelief from Mandy and Corey. She was in the middle of vacuming the floor when the phone rang. She shut it off, jumped over the foot stool and grabbed for the phone, which Mandy got to first.

"Hello?" Mandy said, staring at her friend like she was a certifiable nut. "May I ask who's calling? Sure...hold on one second.. Erin, there is a guy here who is asking for the 'Lady in Red'..."

"It's for me.." she chuckled. "Hey you.."

"Hey baby, whats up?"

"Oh nothing, just doing a little cleaning around the house" she breathed, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Whats up with you?"

"Nothing really, just sitting here thinking about a certain lovely lady I had met last night." his voice made her want to melt.

"Oh stop, you're making me blush..."

"I know, I can hear it in your voice" he chuckled. "So do you have any plans for tonight?"

"Um, none as of yet, why, what do you have in mind?"

"How about the classic dinner and a movie?"

"Hmm, sounds great."

"Good, what time should I pick you up?"

"Lets see, it's two now, how about six?"

"Perfect..." she gave him her address, and hung up.

"So what was that all about?" Mandy asked curiously, not looking up from Corey's arms.

"Nothing. Uh, do you guys have anything to do tonight?"

"Nope, just sit around here, why?"

"Uh, I hate asking this two nights in a row.."

"Just go girl, it's about time you had a life again. Just answer me this, who was that?"

"Lance, I met him last night at the party." she said, ignoring the look Mandy gave her.

"And where was Aj last night while you and, Lance, were hitting it off?"

"He was too busy talking to one of his managers. I gotta go jump in the shower, you listen to Aunt Mandy and Uncle Corey...no, don't listen to Uncle Corey because he scares mommy sometimes" she chuckled, leaning over to ruffle Xander's hair.

"Actually, why don't you call Aj and see if he wants to spend some time with him?" Mandy called after her.

"Uh..."

"Never mind, I'll do it" Mandy grumbled, reaching for the phone. "Hey Xander, how would you like to go see Daddy tonight?"

"See dad!" he said cheerfully, looking up from his building blocks.

"Hey Aj, are you doing anything tonight? Because Erin is going out, and we wanted to see if you wanted to keep Xander, so you two could spend sometime together...Um, I think she said she was leaving around six, so whenever actaully.. Ok, we'll see you soon."

"Oh God, what to wear, what to wear.." Erin mumbled to herself, flipping through her closet. She wanted to look elegant, but not too dressy, relaxed, but not too casual, and definatly not anything slutty.

"AHA!" she cried, pulling out a sheer red blouse with matching tank top and a little black skirt, that was just short enough, but still decent.

She ran herself a nice hot bath, pouring a generous dollop of vanilla bubble bath to the steamy water. She sank into it, sighing gustily as the hot water ran over her shoulders. She pulled out "The Queen of the Damned" and picked up where she had left off. About 1/2 an hour later she put her book aside and started to lather up one of body poofs. She was in the middle of washing her left arm when the door to the bathroom swung open.

"Hey!" she squealed, her arms flying up to cover her chest.

"Oh God, I'm sorry" Aj said, wide eyed. "I thought they said you were in the downstairs bathroom, I'm sorry" he chuckled, blushing.

"Uh, it's ok. I guess you are taking Xander then? I really appriciate it.." she said softly.

"Yeah, I'll bring him back sometime tomorrow, you have fun tonight" he said, using all of his will-power not to dive into the tub with her.

"I will, thanks. See you later" she said, sinking a little lower under the bubbles.

"See you..Oh God" he breathed, stepping out into the hallway after closing the door.

Erin hurridly finished washing and got out, washed her hair and then layed out in her room, killing time until she got dressed. After she got out of the tub, she had gone downstairs, only to have Mandy and Corey bust out laughing at her.

"You two are pure evil, do you know that" Erin said, shocked to find out they KNEW she in the upstairs bathroom, and had purposefully sent Aj up there.

"Yeah, but I wish I could have seen your two's faces" Corey snickered, then busted out laughing at the thought of it.

Erin sighed, rolling over to dig through her collection of nail polish. Finally deciding on a dark red that matched her shirt, she painted her fingernails and toenails.

"I'm going to get you" Aj snarled, trying not to smile as Xander shrieked and hauled butt across the room, only to grab a toy and sling at him, bonking him right on the nose. He fell over, holding his nose while Xander laughed at him. He started to chase after him when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey J. Whatcha doin?" Brian asked cheerfully.

"Nothing much, just getting the crap beat out of me by my son, why?" he said, catching up to Xander, pulling him into his arms and swung him around a few times.

"Well, we wanted to see if you and Erin would like to come by for dinner tonight? Everyone's going to be here..."

"Well, Erin's out tonight, so that's why I have the rugrat, but I'd be glad to stop by if you don't mind me bringing Xan.."

"Of course not! Bring him on over, I haven't seen the little guy in over a week."

"Ok, I'll be over in a few, let me throw some decent clothes on."

"No prob, see you in a few."

"Bye"

"Well little man, are you ready to be spoiled rotten by all of your aunts and uncles?" Xander looked up at him and bobbed his head 'yes'.

"Ok, do I look ok? I don't look like too much of a slut do I? I knew it! This skirt is way too short.." Erin babbled.

"Girl, you look GOOD, now stop griping, he's going to be here any minute" Mandy warned, looking over at a clock. Just as she finished talking, the door bell rang.

"Oh God, he's here!" Erin shrieked, fluffing her hair in front of the mirror.

"Oh jeeze, would you just calm down" Mandy grumbled, getting up to answer the door. "Hi there" she said, her eyes flickering over the guy standing on her doorstep. Nice guy or sleaze, nice guy or sleaze...she thought.

"Hi. I'm Lance, I'm here to pick up Erin...you must be Mandy" he said smoothly, reaching a hand out to shake hers. Nice guy, she decided.

"Yes, thats me. She's in here fixing her hair for about the twentith time. Wouldn't you come in?"

"Sure, thanks." Mandy introduced him to Corey and Erin finally appeared.

"Wow..." Lance said softly, his eyes raking over her. "You look terrific"

"Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself" she mummered softly. He was wearing black jeans that fit snugly in all the right places and a deep blue silk shirt with the top few buttons left open. Erin mentally wiped the drool off her chin. They bid Mandy and Corey a good night and left.

"We're here!" Aj called, letting himself into Brian's house.

"Thanks for knocking" Krista laughed, walking into the hallway. "Come here shrimp" she called, and Xander hauled over to her.

"Aunt Ris!" he cried happily, throwing himself in her arms.

"Hey man, how ya doin?" Brian asked, joining them.

"Ok I guess."

"Everyone else is in here, come on" Brian said, leading them into the living room.

I wish you would have let me help pay for dinner" Erin complained again. They were walking hand in hand through the streets, looking for the movie theater.

"Nonsense. And stop griping about it...you know what, I hate to admit it, but I have no clue where we are" Lance laughed.

"Are you kidding me?" she demanded, looking around. They were in a part of Orlando that she was unfamiler with, so she wasn't of any help.

"I can get us back to the car, but thats about it, and the movie has already started" Lance moaned, looking at his watch. "I'm sorry, I just wanted for this to be a nice evening" he said sadly, looking around again.

"Oh stop it, even though we're kinda lost, we still had a nice dinner" she said optimistically. "Look, if it's upsetting you that much, we can always rent a movie and go back to my place and watch it.." she suggested, turning around to head back to the car.

"Hmm, that sounds like a good idea" Lance agreed.

"So where did you say Erin went tonight?" Nick asked, reaching for another can of soda.

"Her and Lance went out" Aj answered sadly. He watched Xander as he tumbled between his four "aunts".

"Ouch, Those two sure hit it off quickly" Brian commented, thinking back to one night in Baltimore, where the same thing had happened for the first time.

"Yeah...the bad thing was, I didn't do anything this time. I butted in for a dance, and she jumps all over me, accusing me of being sent to interfere."he replied, then looked sharply over at Vickie. "Yo, Red! Come here for a minute" he hollared into the living room.

"Whats up J?" she asked, seeing five serious faces staring at her.

"Did anything happen with Erin last night?"

"Not really....except for when she blew up and left us for the Nsync guys. Why?"

"What irked her?" Aj demanded.

"Lara and her were making cracks about Lance, and I said something to the fact that we are all spoken for, and we couldn't be acting like horney teenagers. She blew up about being no man's possession and stomped off."

"Oh Lara was, was she" Nick said softly.

"So thats what got her so upset" Aj said, thinking on it. That sounded like Erin, and she would do anything to prove her friends wrong, he just hoped that she wouldn't do anything too stupid.

"Don't even think about it...don't take another step closer" Erin warned, not liking the look in his eyes. "NO!" she shrieked as he tackled her to the ground, tickling her mercilessly.

"Just hand over the remote and no one gets hurt" Lance chuckled, continuing his assult.

"NEVER!" she squealed, then burst into a fit of giggles. Eventually, he did get the remote, and left her down in the floor to catch her breath while he flipped through the stations.

"Ok, I'm seriously bored" Vickie yawned. They were all seated around the TV, while Xander snored softly in one the guest bedrooms.

"I'm going to get a drink, anyone want anything?" Aj asked, hopping up from the recliner. Lara, Nick, and Vickie hollared back requests, which Aj brought out in a matter of minutes. Sick of the TV, they pulled out a deck of cards, and played some poker. After a few hands, Vickie disappeared into the kitchen, then reappeared with a few bottles of liqour and some shot glasses.

"This game is boring as hell, I say we make it a little more interesting, winner downs a shot, drunkest one wins" she said, plunking the bottles in the middle of the table.

"I'm in" Aj and Nick chimed in together.

"Me too" Kris, Lara and Howie agreed.

"I think we'll just sit back and watch, I don't feel like waking up with a hangover" Teka said, leaning back against the couch. Half an hour later, Vickie was downing her fourth shot, tieing Aj with Howie coming in second with two shots, Nick, Lara and Krista with one.

"Aww, this is such a good movie" Erin sighed, leaning back against Lance's chest. They were watching "The Object of my Affection, and Jennifer Aniston had just dumped the father of her child for the gay guy.

"Are you comfortable?" Lance whispered, stroking her neck.

"More than you'd like to know probably" she chuckled, snuggling closer. It wasn't long before she dozed off. Lance just smiled down at her, then closed his eyes as well, wrapping his arm around her waist.

Lance muttered a curse as the phone shrilled beside his head. He quickly grabbed it before it could wake up Erin.

"Hello?" he asked softly. He listened for a minute, then shook Erin awake.

"Wha..what is it?" she mumbled sleepily.

"A Vickie is on the phone, she says its an emergancy" he said, thrusting the phone at her.

"Yeah?"

"Oh God, Erin...It's all my fault, I was the one who started the game, but he was never supposed to leave..." Vickie sobbed into the phone.

"What! Who wasn't supposed to leave!" Erin demanded, her heart beating wildly in her chest. "Dammit Vickie, put someone on who is understandable!" she hollared. A moment later, Brian came over the phone.

"Brian, what in the hell is going on!"

"Erin, you better get down here, there's been an accident, we have Xander here, he's ok....but you need to get down here....."

"What in the hell is going on! Where is Aj!" Erin demanded as she ran into the ER's waiting room.

"Theres been an accident" Teka began, handing her Xander. "A bunch of them were playing Poker shots, and he said that he was going to walk outside for some air. We heard the engine start, but he ripped out of the the driveway before we could stop him. He was flying through town, and they say he ran a redlight, someone smashed into the drivers side, causing the car to go into a spin, finally wrapping around a telephone pole.

"Oh God" Erin breathed, her face white as a sheet. "Is he ok? Where is he! I have to see him!" she demanded, looking from face to face. She patted Xander's back, trying to calm down. He started to cry, picking up from his mother's emotions.

"He's in surgery right now, they said he had three broken ribs, his left arm was completely smashed, and there was some major head trauma and internal bleeding" Brian said softly. Erin sank into a chair, all of the news slowly seeping in. She would have dropped Xander if Kevin hadn't caught him. Krista, Lara, Vickie, Nick and Howie were still silent, sitting off from the group.

"What's wrong with them" she asked Teka softly.

"They were all playing, and are still slightly buzzed, I don't think they fully know whats going on" Teka explained.

"Erin, are you ok honey?" Lance asked softly, kneeling beside her chair.

"Yeah, I think so" she whispered.

They were all dozing lightly five hours later when a nurse came and woke them, informing them that Aj was out of surgery.

"How is he?" Erin demanded.

"The doctor will be in shortly and tell you, I just wanted to let you all know he was out and is in recovery now." the nurse answered, then left. About fifteen minutes later the doctor appeared.

"He made it through the surgery, which was a miracle in its own right, he was in very bad shape when he arrived. We are going to transfer him down to ICU shortly. But let me warn you all, this next week is going to be iffy. We managed to stop the internal bleeding, but there was major trauma to the head, and he hasn't been responsive at all. There is still brain activity, but he is in a coma. He may not wake up from it, but then again, he may, there is no way to tell at this point." The doctor continued to drone on, but Erin was completely lost after that...'he may never wake up' kept repeating over and over in her mind. She finally was jerked back to the present when the doctor announced that they could see him, but only one at a time. She looked at all of them, and they were staring back at her, Brian nodded slightly.

"Can I take our son in?" she asked the doctor softly as she stood.

"I'm sorry, minors are not alowed in ICU, it's just a general health precaution." She nodded her ascent, then handed Xander to Lance.

"Honey, you have to stay with Mr. Lance for a minute while mommy goes and sees daddy, ok?"

Xander stared up at her with big solemn brown eyes. She kissed his forehead then followed the doctor down many corridors to the Intensive Care Unit.

"He's in there, if you need anything, just ask a nurse on duty" he said, then left. She walked slowly to the curtained room, and let herself in. She inhaled sharply. There were tubes and wires everywhere, and he looked so small and weak lying there, almost like it wasn't really Aj. His face was all sliced up, and stitches lined his right cheek and forehead. His left arm had a cast from his wrist clear up to his armpit, he was just covered in bruises and bandages. Her hand flew to her mouth to smother sob. She eased down beside him, reaching for his hand.

"Oh God, Aj..." she whispered. She carefully reached up and gently caressed his cheek, tears rolling down her cheeks.

A week passed and there was no change in Aj's condition. The nurses took pity on the group and let them all visit at all hours and more than one person could go in, but Erin stayed by his side the entire time. They tried to make her go home and get some sleep, and just take a day off, but she didn't want to risk being away if he woke up. On the eighth day, Brian and Krista pulled Lance aside.

"What's up guys?" he asked, looking from face to face.

"Lance, please make her go home, at least for a good night's sleep and something to eat. She's on the brink of exhaustion. Mom's fine with Xander, but she needs to go home for a while, and she won't listen to us" Krista said, looking over at Erin's disheaveled figure.

"I'll try, but there's no guarentee she'll listen to me."

"Wait till she dozes off, then take her home. She can't argue with you then" Brian said softly.

Erin sat stroking Aj's hand, talking to him, telling him how much she and Xander missed him and how much they needed him. She could hear people walking in and out of the room, nurses came and went, and she heard the doctors whispers about the longer it takes for him to wake up, the smaller the chances were...but she blocked it all, completely focused on Aj.

"Come on honey, you have to wake up...you have a son that misses you, and I do too" she whispered, laying her head on his stomach, trying to stop the tears that teased at her eyes.

Lance quietly walked into Aj's room, placing a light hand on her shoulder. She didn't respond, so he walked around in front of her, seeing that she was out like a light. His heart ached seeing the still damp tear trails that traced her cheeks. He carefully pulled her up into his arms. He told the nurses that he was taking her home, and that if there were any changes to call them immeadiatly. He made his way down the hallway to the elevators where he nearly collided with Kevin and Vickie.

"Hi guys" Lance said softly, trying to squeeze into the elevator before it left.

"Hey" they replied.

"I'm glad you're finally taking her home, she's about to crack" Vickie said softly, looking at her sleeping friend.

"I know. I told the nurses, but if anything happens, call us, I'm taking her to her place, and keeping here there for at least a day, she needs to sleep" Lance replied, then said goodbye as the doors closed.

When Erin woke up, it was dark outside. She groaned, rolling over. She froze realizing that she was in her bedroom. She slowly crawled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. She groped for the light switch, but stopped realizing there were candles lit, set at sparatic intervels through out the bathroom, and a hot bath was run, waiting for her. She quickly shed her clothes and hopped in, relaxing a bit. She closed her eyes and breathed in the heavy wild blossom fragrance. She laid there for a while, just relaxing, that she didn't notice Lance opening the door. He stared down at her, the shadows that had taken residence under her eyes had faded a little, but he really wasn't paying too much attention to those, he was trying to pry his eyes from the rest of her body, which was barely covered by the bubbles. He quietly knelt down beside her, pressing his lips to her forehead, causing her to jump.

"Hi there" he said softly, pushing aside a damp curl.

"Hi. Thanks for bringing me home...if you hadn't I would have never left..." she said just as softly. "I'll go back after I get out of the tub, at least I got some sleep" she said, thinking out loud.

"No you're not. You can go back tomorrow, you're going to stay here and let me take care of you. Your mom is going to bring Xander by in the morning so he can see you, he doesn't need to lose you too" Lance said firmly.

"Where's Mandy?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"She's over at Corey's. They left talking about monkeys, or something like that..." he said, reaching for the washcloth. "Here, let me wash your back" he offered, reaching for her body wash. She sat up, turning so he could reach her back. He gently scrubbed her back, then reached around for her shoulders. There was nothing lustful in his actions, but it didn't make it any less erotic. Erin leaned back against him as he lifted her hand to wash each finger. He kept up until she was completely clean, then lifted her out of the tub.

"You're drenched" she said, wiping at his damp arm.

"Does it matter?" he asked softly, pulling her close.

"I guess not" she whispered before he claimed her lips. He reached for the towel without breaking the kiss. He gently dried her off, then wrapped the towel around her.

"We don't have to do this now" he whispered, nuzzling her neck.

"I know....but what if I said wanted to?"

"How could I argue with that" he chuckled.

"You can't.." she said softly, starting to untie her towel. She pulled off his wet wifebeater, tossing it towards the sink. She slid her hands over his muscular chest, catching her fingers in the waist band of his boxers. She looked up to grin at him, and stopped. His lips were parted, and his warm brown eyes were heavy with desire. She shook her head, and Aj's face melted back into Lance's, but his blue eyes were filled with worry.

"Oh God, I'm sorry" she breathed, then reached for her towel, escaping into her bedroom. She quickly pulled some clothes on, and fell across her bed, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Honey, it's ok..." she heard his voice come from the doorway. She shook her head against the pillow she was clutching.

"No, it's not" she sobbed. He sat down next to her, pulling her into his arms.

"Yes, it is. It's him isn't it..." he asked softly, stroking her hair.

"Yes" she whimpered, pictures of Aj floating through her mind.

"Can you promise me something?" he asked.

"What?" she sniffled, looking up at him.

"No matter what happens, we'll still be friends, deal?"

"Of course" she said softly.

Erin woke up slowly, snuggling up in Lance's arms. They had talked late into the night, and had fallen asleep in each others arms. She carefully detached herself from him, chuckling as he groaned and rolled over. She padded downstairs and plugged in the coffee machine. She piddled around the kitchen for a while, then ended up sitting in front of the TV watching the morning news. She had called the hospital, and of course, there was nothing that they could tell her. She was flipping through stations when she heard the doorbell ring. She hopped up and threw open the door, to be tackled by Xander.

"Momma!" he cried happily, attaching himself to her leg.

"Come here big boy, give momma a hug" she said, pulling him up, where he quickly latched on to her neck. "Hi mom" she chuckled, embracing her mother, Lisa.

"Hi Reese, hows Aj?" she asked, fluffing her daughter's hair.

"No change, nothing new" she said sadly, following her mom into the living room. "Thanks for watching after him for me...I haven't had time to worry about anything else" she said, realizing she sounded like a terrible mother.

"He's been fine, we've had a lot of catching up to do haven't we Xan-xan?"

"Yup" he grinned happily. "Saw elephants. Pop-pop Kermit silly" he said, laughing.

"I bet those two were a pair" Erin said, laughing as her mom rolled her eyes. "You have no idea. I had trouble telling who was the kid"

"Hey Xander, you want to go wake up Mr. Lance for mommy?" He looked at her, and she could see the same evil glint that she had seen in Aj's eyes countless times. She set him on the floor and he trucked upstairs.

"So how are things going with Lance and all?" her mom asked curiously.

"We are just going to be friends. I still care for Aj, and there is just too much stuff going on now for anything" Erin said softly. She heard a yelp from upstairs and busted out laughing. A few minutes later, a groggy looking Lance walked downstairs, Xander in tow.

"He silly" Xander announced, then squirmed out of Lance's arms.

"Good morning ladies" Lance yawned, joining them in the living room.

"Good morning to you too." Erin grinned, then turned to Xander, who had crawled up in his grandmother's lap. "What did you do to Lance, little man?"

"Lets see, he sneaked up in the bed, jumping on my chest, then licked me good morning" Lance said when Xander didn't answer her.

They spent the morning together, Erin and her mom cooked breakfast while Lance and Xander played in the living room. Around lunchtime, Lisa took Xander back to her house, so Erin could get ready to go back to the hospital. The ride there was fairly quiet, and they walked up to ICU together. Teka, Howie, Lara and Nick were all standing outside of his room when they arrived.

"Hi guys" Erin said, joining them.

"Hey" the all replied.

"How is he?" she asked.

"The same. The doctors keep mumbling that the longer it takes him to wake up, the least likely it will be that he will wake up at all." Lara said softly.

"I know, I hope it won't be too much longer" Erin said, pushing by and going into his room.

"There's more isn't there?" Lance asked quietly.

"Yeah, they wanna pull the plug. They don't think he's going to wake up at all anymore" Howie said sadly.

"And Erin isn't even thinking that theres a chance he's NOT going to wake up. She's just waiting for him to, it's all a matter of time, that's what she's thinking" Teka said.

Erin sat back down in her usual spot, taking Aj's hand in her own.

"I'm back" she whispered, stroking his cheek. The bruises had faded to yellow, and his stitches and cuts didn't look nearly as bad as they had when he had first come in. She sat talking to him, telling him about Xander, and what everyone else was doing, just as if he could hear her. She was in the middle of telling him about Xander's trip to the zoo with her parents when all of a sudden one of the machines started going off. Erin looked up wildly, seeing a flock of nurses running in.

"What's going on" she whispered, one of the nurses pulling her back. "What in the hell is going on! What's wrong!" she hollared, fighting her way back to Aj's side.

"Someone call the doctor on duty...and get her out of here!" the head nurse ordered, and Erin felt a firm hand on her arm, pulling her out.

"Let go of me!" she yelled, slapping at the hand.

"Erin? What's going on.." Lance said, seeing what the commotion in the hall was.

"Something's happening, and they're kicking me out!" she fussed, trying to get back in the room. She finally broke free, and rushed back into the room, pushing a nurse aside.

"Don't you fucking leave me Alexander James McLean" she hissed, reaching for his hand. She looked up to the nurse to demand an answer, but stopped when he squeezed her hand.

Erin fell silent as Aj's hand weakly squeezed her own.

"Aj" she whispered, her eyes flying to his face. She swore she could feel her heart shattering to a million pieces as his eyes fluttered open, his warm brown eyes settling on her. "Oh God" she whispered, her knees almost buckling.

"Erin?" he managed to whisper, after his voice failed him the first few trys.

"Mam, I'm sorry, but you must leave.."

"Get bent, I'm not leaving" Erin snapped, then turned her full attention back to Aj.

"It must be you" he chuckled, then winced as a pain shot through his side. "Where am I?"

"You're at Orlando Memorial...you've been here for over a week"she said softly. She saw him trying to focus, taking in his arm and all of the bandages that covered him.

"What happened to me?" he demanded.

"You don't remember? You were over at Brian's house, playing poker shots, when you got the sudden urge to go for a drive after quite a few drinks. You ran a red light, got broadsided, then wrapped your car around a telephone pole. You've been in a coma since they brought you in. You almost lost your arm, it was almost completely crushed. You had massive internal bleeding, broken ribs, and multiple head injuries. You have no clue how lucky your ass is." she hissed, then turned her attention to the nurses still gathered around. "Do you all think you can give us a few moments privacy?" she snapped, then proceeded to kick them all out, locking the door behind them. She looked back over to Aj, who was staring at her, the effect of her words showing in his eyes.

"Oh God, where was Xander" he whispered, his eyes wide with horror.

"Thankfully, you left him at Brian's, he had fallen asleep, and you must have forgotten about him in your drunken stupor. He's fine, he's staying with my mom for now, I've been here everyday, waiting for you to wake up" she said, her voice softening. "Christ Aj, do you realize you could have died? Leaving Xander here without a father, and me without...." she said, choking on her tears.

"Oh Erin, I'm soo sorry" he said, his heart breaking at the look on her face.

"I was so scared that I'd lost you for good this time" she whispered, sitting on the edge of his bed. "You don't know how hard it was, sitting here day after day, scared that I would never see your smile again, or see you and Xander goofing off...you don't know how bad that scared me"

"Erin honey, words can not express how sorry I am...I don't know what I was thinking that night...." he said softly, reaching out for her with his good arm. She let him pull her close, tears streaming down both of their faces. They laid silent for a few minutes when there was a loud banging at the door. Erin muttered a curse, then pulled away, wiping the tears from her face as she yanked the door open.

"Don't hurt me...it's just me" Lance said, raising an arm to defend himself.

"What is it?" she asked, looking behind him, making sure there wasn't any nurses.

"They came and told us he's up. Brian, Krista, Kevin and Vickie are all on their way. Did you really tell one of the nurses to get bent, then kicked them out?" he asked, chuckling. The look on her face told all.

"Can you sit here with him, I need to make a phone call, don't let the doc lock me out" she walked over to Aj. "I'll be right back, I want to make a quick phone call, Lance is going to sit with you until I get back" she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. The two men stared at each other uncomfortably for a few minutes before either of them spoke.

"So how are things between you two?" Aj asked, not being able to help himself.

"Uh, fine I guess...oh, she musn't have told you then" Lance sighed.

"What?" Aj demanded, hoping they hadn't gotten eloped or engaged or anything while he was out. "Well, I shouldn't, it's her place to tell you...but oh well. We're just friends, she couldn't do it, she is still in love with you, and so help me God, if you do something else to that poor girl, I'll come after you myself" Lance warned, his blue eyes going icy.

"Are you sure?" Aj asked in disbelief.

"Yes, trust me. I had to sneak her home after she fell asleep last night, she hasn't left your side since you came out of surgery. Most people would have let it lie, but she can't forget what you two had once, she told me so. I just want you to know this, so that you are worthy of her feelings" Lance said. It was obvious that he did care for Erin, more than friends, but he would settle, as long as she was happy.

They were interupted by a light knock at the door, and Erin poked her head in.

"You feel up to a few visitors?" she asked softly, and soon Nick, Lara, Howie and Teka were piled into the room. Not too much longer, the rest of them showed up. The afternoon quickly became night, and they said they're goodbyes, leaving Erin and Aj and Lance.

"I'll be out in the waiting room if you need me" Lance said, brushing his lips against her forehead. As he went to walk out the door, Erin's mom showed up.

"Hey guys" Lisa said, standing in the doorway.

"Hi Mom...where's Xander?" she asked.

"He's down the hall being cute for some of the nurses...hold on.." Lisa said, disappearing for a moment.

"He's your son alright" Erin smirked, and Aj smiled back. A few minutes later, Xander strutted in the doorway, bolting for his mother. Erin caught him before he could tackle her, pulling him into her arms. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the nurse on duty stomping over towards them.

"Don't even say anything, my son has not seen his father for over a week, and you're just going to have to deal with it" Erin snapped before the nurse could open her mouth.

"Ok ok ok, just keep it down" the nurse grumbled, stomping back to her desk.

"Xander honey, guess what"

"What" he demanded.

"You're going to get to see daddy in a minute, but he looks a little different, he's got a lot of boo-boos, but he's ok. And you can't be too rough with him, he was hurt very badly" Erin warned him.

"See Dad." Xander said firmly.

"Remember..."

"See Dad" he repeated. She sighed, looking into his eyes, seeing Aj like every other time she had done it. She carried him into Aj's room.

Aj looked up at Erin and their son, his heart jumping into his throat.

"Hi Dad!" Xander said cheerfully, scrambling from his mother's arms, and ended up sitting next to his father. He went to give him a hug, but without another warning from Erin, he was very careful, being gentle. "Daddy eww" he said, pointing to the stitches that lined his cheek.

"Yeah, Daddy eww, that's what Daddy gets for being stupid. Have you been taking care of Mommy for me?"

"Yup"

Erin stood back, letting the two carry on, the scene touching her heart. She thought that she would never be able to see this, so many things had happened, but everything always seemed to work out in their own way.

"Mommy!" Xander's voice broke through her thoughts.

"What honey?"

"Daddy talking"

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Come over here..." Aj said, gesturing.

"What."

"Closer"

"Aj..."

"Closer"

"Yes?" she whispered, her face inches away from his own.

"Say it..."

"Say what?"

"Say it.." he pleaded.

"I love you" she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I thought I'd never hear you say that again" he said softly, wiping away a tear with his thumb.

"Say it" she demanded.

"I love you" he said, pulling her head down for a kiss.

"Ewwww" Xander said disgustidly.

*Six Months Later*

"WASSUP ORLANDO!!!!" Aj hollared into his mic. The crowd screamed back, and "Larger than Life" started playing. Erin stood backstage, watching her husband prance around stage. She looked around at her friends, seeing they were all as much into the concert as were the thousends of fans that packed the stadium. Lara was fiddling with her wedding ring unconciousily, she was always doing that, it seemed. About a month after Aj was released from the hospital, Nick and her announced that they had eloped, which caused a little of an uproar between the guys, but it was smoothed over fast. Vickie and Krista were proposed to by the cousins on the anniversary of their meeting each other. Teka and Howie were dating, but nothing else yet.

The concert was great, the best either of the girls had seen. It was Aj's first major appearence since his accident, and he had been itching to get back into things. They had sent for a preacher the very day he had woken from the coma, refusing to wait, they wanted it NOW. So while Lance and Xander watched, they were married, a few of the nurses that Erin had kicked out were watching from the hallway.

"Now, there are a few people we'd like you to meet..." Brian's voice broke through her thoughts. The guys were doing their little chit-chat part of the show, introducing the band and all of that kind of stuff.

"Are you ready to go out to Daddy in a minute?" Erin asked, kneeling down to Xander, straightening his shirt. Aj had told her that he wanted to show off Xander tonight, he pretty much ordered it, so she went along. She had gotten him an outfit identical to the one Aj was wearing, baggy khakis, a miniture black wife beater, small silver sunglasses, and his hair was spiked up, she had found colored hair spray and had spritzed the tips of his hair to match the red highlites in Aj's. It was the complete "Mini me" effect.

"Now, I want you all to give a round of sound for someone very special to me" she heard Aj's voice.

"Ok, I want you to go straight to Daddy, ok?"

"Yup" he answered, wrapping his arms around her neck. She turned him around and pointed over to where Aj was standing, looking for him. Xander strutted across the stage as the stadium was filled with "Aww's". Aj ran up to meet him, pulling him up into his arms.

"Everyone, I want you to say hi to Xander, Xander, wave hi to everybody"

"Hewo" Xander croned into Aj's mic.

"Hey, aren't we missing some people?" Nick asked, looking back and forth between the other guys.

"You know what? I think he's right" Howie said, looking off to the wing where the five girls were standing.

"What in the hell are they doing?" Vickie hissed, her nails digging into Erin's arm.

"I don't have a clue!" Teka snapped back.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, there are five more people that we need to thank for this evening, three of them worked for us for a while, and trust me, we are by far NOT the easiest people to deal with. They are all very special to us, so if Erin, Krista, Lara, Teka and Vickie could come out here" Brian said sweetly, flashing a smile backstage.

"Oh, they are going to die" Lara grumbled, then plastered a smile on her face as they made their way on stage, going to their respective guys.

"I'd like to introduce, Vickie Wright, Teka White, Lara Carter, Krista Holliday and Erin McLean!" Kevin announced. The guys each pulled a stool out for the girls to sit on. Howie walked by, handing each of them a white rose. He stopped at Teka, his eyes dancing. He handed her her rose, then leaned close.

"Will you marry me?" he pulled back, a sexy grin tugging at his lips. She stared back at him, her jaw hitting the floor.

"Of course I will!" she shrieked, jumping up and hugging him."

"Before we move on, I just want to say congratulations to Kevin, Brian and now Howie, and good luck for their upcoming nuptuals, and also to Nick and Lara, who have been married, what, five months next week?" Aj said, turning to Nick, who nodded.

"Ok, now we have a special treat for these lovely ladies, and all of you lovely ladies out there watching." Brian said.

"This is a new song, no one has heard if before, so you are all the first to hear the premiere. You guys ready?" Nick asked the band. Dennis played a few chords, and the rest of them joined in.

"This is for you ladies" Howie said softly, then Aj started singing.

From the time

I looked into your eyes

My heart was yours

And yours was mine

Just like it should be

For all time

For all time

I wanna stand beside you

For all time

I'll be there to guide you

I'll keep my loving arms around you

For all time

You gave me your love

Unconditionally

You taught me to live

And to love again

I found the place where I belong

For all time

For all time

I wanna stand beside you

For all time

I'll be there to guide you

I'll keep my loving arms around you

For all time

Words cannot express enough

What my heart means to say

Just know that I'll love you more

Each and every day

For all time

I wanna stand beside you

For all time

I'll be there to guide you

I'll keep my loving arms around you

For all time

From the point when Aj first started singing, Erin's eyes flew open, and found his, dancing with amusment. This was HER song! The one that she had written back when she was touring with them...and they were performing it, now, in front of thousands of people. Only one person besides herself had ever seen it, and that was Dennis, cause he helped her with the arrangments, but how in the hell did Aj get his paws on it?

The guys finished the song, and bowed to the crowd, then turned to the girls.

"Aw! That was so sweet!" Vickie cried, throwing herself at Kevin.

"Thank you" Lara whispered, embracing Nick.

"I love you" Krista mummered to Brian, pulling him down for a kiss.

"I can't believe you did this tonight!" Teka all but shrieked as Howie hugged her, then quickly slipped a ring on her finger.

"Where did you get that" Erin whispered.

"You should really put a password on your laptop" Aj chuckled, handing her Xander, and gave her a quick kiss.

"We'll discuss this later Mr. McLean."

"I'll be waiting for it Mrs. McLean."

The End

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