As Lance was walking up the sidewalk to Stasia’s house, he noticed the front window was cracked, and he could hear her talking, but she sounded very upset.

“Oh God this was a bad idea. Why did you let me do this?” Then she sobbed. Lance wasn’t sure what he should do, he was standing at the door trying to decide what his next move should be, when the door opened. Stasia was standing there, her cheeks were flushed, her nose was red, there was a tear running down her cheek, she was sniffling and her eyes were almost black. “Lance.”

“I am SO sorry. I should have called. I’ll leave.” He turned to walk away, and then turned back, “Anastasia, can I talk to you for a second?”

She wiped the tear from her cheek, “Um, sure...go on in and sit down...I just have to take him out for a minute.” She motioned down to a small dog, sitting patiently next to her. The dog hadn’t made a noise.

“Let me do it. YOU go sit down, and get yourself a drink. What’s his name?”

“Jake. Thanks Lance. Jake, go with Lance.” Jake stood up, walked over to Lance, and sat at his feet looking up at him.

“Wow.” He looked at Stasia who smiled. “Come on Jake.” He jogged off into the yard, with Jake right behind him.

She walked into the house and glanced in the mirror on her way in, “Oh nice.” Her hair was falling out of its pins, she was still wearing the same clothes from earlier, except rather then her loafers, she had on a pair of blue, VW bug slippers. She went to the kitchen, got out two glasses, filled them with ice, and water. She went back into the living room, and curled up in her favorite chair. The door opened, and Lance walked in with Jake, who made a beeline for Stasia. He jumped from the floor, to her lap and began kissing her face. “Jake! I’m fine. Settle down, or I’m going to make you sit on the floor.” Jake stopped licking her, and curled up in her lap, facing Lance.

“Anastasia, I am so sorry that I have been such an ass.”

“Excuse me?” She was completely shocked.

“I have been a total jerk. I know I am probably the last person you want to talk to, because I have not made any attempt to make you feel welcome, but if I can, I’d like to help here. What has you so upset?” He had so much concern in his eyes, Stasia began to tear up again.

“I...today...well...”

“Ok, you don’t have to talk to me about this.”

“No, I’d like to get some of this out right now. I just don’t know where to start.”

“How about I start talking, and you jump in when you are ready?” She nodded at him. “Where did Jake come from?”

“Michigan. OK, that was stupid, you probably assumed that. I mean, I’ve had him for two years.”

“Where was he while you were in Florida? I didn’t see him at Dani’s.”

“He was at your parents.”

“My parents? Wow, I had no idea.” He was so surprised, his parents really must like her. His mom had never liked dogs, it was unbelievable she had watched Jake.

“Well, I was going to put him in a kennel, but I was very relieved when your mom offered to watch him, he goes back tomorrow. I miss him a lot.” She rubbed Jake behind the ears.

He could tell she was getting upset again, so he asked, “So, he’s two?”

“No, actually he’s three. I’ve had him since my brother’s accident.” She noticed his confused look. “Oh, I’ve never told you about that.” She took a deep breath, “See, Jake was my brother’s dog, but when Noah and Nicole, that was my sister-in-law, were killed in an accident two years ago, I took Jake.”

“Oh God, I’m so sorry. Where are your parents?”

“I haven’t told you anything have I?” She sighed, “I’ve never seen my father, he left us when my mother was pregnant with me. My mother died of Cancer when I was fourteen. Noah and Nicole had just gotten married, so I lived with them. Then, two years ago, Noah and Nik were killed in a hit and run accident. They were hit head on, witnesses said that it looked like the truck that hit them was aiming for them. He left the scene, they never found him. The police found the truck the next day, but it turned out to be stolen, it had been stolen three weeks before. It was wiped clean. The guy must have realized what he did and panicked. That was two years ago, last week.”

“Oh geeze. Anastasia...I didn’t know.”

“You had no way of knowing, I didn’t tell you. But those boxes over there, are from their house. My best friend Jess and her fiancé Brent, helped me pack them after the funeral. I have never gone through them, that is what I was trying to do when you got here. I thought I was ready. I still think I am, it’s just that the emotions got really strong. Ha! You are the first person to see me cry, since their funeral...well, you and Jake.”

“Anastasia...”She held up her hand to stop him.

“Lance, can I ask a favor of you?”

“Of course.” He nodded earnestly.

“PLEASE call me Stasia. All of my friends call me Stasia. Anastasia is reserved for situations where I am in a lot of trouble, or someone doesn’t know me. I’d like it if you would call me Stasia.”

“I think I can do that.” He smiled, then looked at her and then at the boxes she had been trying to go through. “Stasia, do you want to try again? I’ll help you. You can tell me about the stuff, if it would help.”

She really did want to go through this stuff, and she didn’t want to be alone when she did it. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” He got up and walked over to the boxes, he sat on the floor next to the, and patted the ground, “We’ll do it together.” She got up and walked over, sitting beside him, she set Jake down between them. Jake immediately put his head on Lance’s knee. “Hey buddy.” Lance scratched Jake’s ears. “Ok, where do you want to start?”

“Well, the last time, I started with Noah’s journal...I don’t think I want to start there again.” She set the journal aside, and pulled out a photo album. “Oh no. This can’t be good.” The front of the album had ANASTASIA ELIZABETH BLAKE in gold letters. “My baby book. We don’t have to look at this.” She started to set it with the journal.

“OH YES WE DO!” Lance grabbed the book from her and started flipping through the pages. “You were cute! Chubby cheeks! OH! Nice tub shot!”

“Oh God.” She tried to pull the album away, but he held it out of her reach.

“Straight A’s in kindergarten. Impressive. ‘Anastasia is a leader. The other children look to her for guidance. She has a very strong personality, which can be both an asset and a detriment.’ Wow, you haven’t changed much have you?”

“Are we going over to your mom’s after this to look at YOUR baby book?”

“HECK NO!” He handed her the book.

“That’s what I thought! MOVING ON!” She pulled out book after book, there was the album from Noah and Nicole’s wedding. Noah had kept scrapbooks for each year Stasia had lived with them. There were tons of picture, report cards, art projects and term papers. “I didn’t realize most of this stuff would be mine.”

Lance smiled at her. “Noah and Nicole were very proud of you. I can tell that just looking at this stuff. It cracks me up they have a baby book for Jake.”

“Noah ALWAYS had his camera. He was amazing, you would have liked him.” She looked fondly at the stack of photo albums.

“I’m sure I would have. Do you want to try the journal again?”

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to read it. I want to, but I start crying and can’t see the pages anymore. I guess I’ll have to try again later.”

Lance picked up the leather bound book and opened it, he cleared his throat and began reading to her. His soft, strong voice filled the room, with Noah’s words. Stasia closed her eyes and it was as if Noah was there with her. She wrapped her arms around herself, she felt chilled. The tears began to flow, and at times she was laughing and crying. Lance was watching the emotions wash over her face, he read from beginning to end, as he started reading the last entry, his voice caught in his throat. He tried to swallow the lump that had formed there, but when he read that Nicole had been pregnant, tears began to run down his own cheeks. He finished the entry, closed the journal, and tightly shut his eyes, he was attempting to calm himself down. He could hear her trying to fight the sobs coming from her chest. He ran a hand over his face and took another deep breath, “Stasia?”

“I didn’t know.” Finally the sobs couldn’t be held any longer. “I didn’t know.” She was still struggling with the idea that Nik had been pregnant - she wasn’t sure it was information she should have, it had opened the wound on her heart again.

“About the baby?” Her words hit him full force. “I’m so sorry.” He closed his eyes, not knowing what else to say.

“They never told me. I should have known.” She brought her eyes up to meet his. “I’m sorry to fall apart on you like this. I feel like a complete fool. The first time you and I actually talk, and I am a total mess. I promise you, that I am normally more together than this.” Jake began licking her cheek again, and she hugged him tightly to her chest. “Thanks sweetie.” She kissed his nose.

Lance smiled at the picture the two of them made, then it hit him that Jake was the only thing she had left in the world, and she had entrusted his parents with him. She must trust his parents, as much as they already trusted her. “Stasia, don’t say you’re sorry. My God! I am so glad we had this conversation. I hadn’t really given you much of a chance before tonight, and you were completely open with me. Thank you.”

“I’ll be sure to let you know the next time I have a breakdown, so we can hang out again.”

He couldn’t help but laugh, even as emotional as she was at this point, she was still cracking jokes.

She looked at him curiously, “Hey Lance? Did you come over here just to tell me you’d been an ass? Which by the way, was very funny. Because you could have just told me on the plane tomorrow.”

He looked at the clock on the mantel. “Today.”

“You’ve been sitting here, on the floor, watching me cry like a baby, for hours! Are you hungry? Crying makes me hungry.”

“I could eat. What have you got?”

They both stood and walked to the kitchen. “Myrtle, bless her soul, made a huge basket full of stuff for me. You have your choice of...soup, muffins, fruit or cookies...I think I’m going to heat up the soup if you want some.”

“Sounds good to me.” He watched as Stasia moved around the kitchen, collecting bowls, spoons and a pot. Lance hopped up on the counter. “You know we leave Tuesday for the press tour right?”

“Yep, it will be my first experience with the buses, any advice?”

“Remember CD’s, it’s great to have music, snack food, books...don’t forget books and remember to keep your cell phone charged.”

“Easy enough. Hey, you never told me why you came over.” She set a steaming bowl of soup down next to him, then hopped up on the counter across from him.

“Oh, it was no big deal - I just wanted to see if you wanted to go to a party tonight - but this turned out to be a better night.”

“RIGHT! You found a blubbering fool and didn’t know what to do, face it - you were trapped. But honestly, I’m glad you stayed.” She smiled at him.

He glanced up, “Thanks, I am too.”

“So, who was having the party?”

“Me.”

She dropped her spoon into the bowl, “YOU?”

“Yeah.” He just kept eating.

“Lance I am so sorry!”

“Why? I’m not. I came over here because I felt like I had to, I stayed because I WANTED to. I think I may have made a friend here tonight.” He smiled.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe...MAYBE! Well, at least I got a bowl of soup out of the deal, there isn’t any soup at my house.”

“You got a bowl of soup and a friend.” She smirked and picked up her spoon again. “Think anyone is still at your house?”

“It’s only 1:00...I’ll be kicking people out as we are leaving for the airport tomorrow night. Want to go check it out?”

“I’m not exactly in the best shape to go to a party Lance. Thanks though.”

“You know what...as your friend...I’m telling you to come with me. I promise you will have a good time.” He was raising his eyebrows up and down at her. “Stasia, I dare you to come to my party.”

“Dare huh? I hate to turn down a dare, but it’s 1:00, and you’ve already been missing for hours, from your own party.”

“Please. DO NOT make me beg. OH! You know what, as your boss, I am ordering you to go.”

“HA! As if I’m afraid of you! If I agree to go, you owe me.”

“I don’t see how I end up owing you, but OK, if you’ll go, I owe you.” He smiled at her, jumped down off of the counter, and began to wash his bowl in the sink.

“What are you doing? I’ll get that.”

“You go get ready, I think I can handle washing two bowls and two spoons.”

Stasia walked into her bedroom, and looked in the mirror. It was times like this she wished that she owned make-up. She could use some. She pulled the pins out of her hair, and pulled it back up into a ponytail. There wasn’t much else she could do at this point. She changed into a gray sweater and a pair of black pants. Looked in the mirror once more and shrugged. This was the best she could do without a shower.

Lance was laying on his stomach, on the living room floor playing tug of war with Jake, who was doing his very best to sound vicious. Lance, in turn, was laughing at the pitiful attempt. He could tell that Jake didn’t have a mean bone in his little body. It was easy to see why his mom was willing to watch him while Stasia was on the road, but that made him think again about how Jake was the only connection to her family that Stasia had left.

“Are you two having fun?” Stasia asked as she walked into the room.

“He is really cool Stasia.”

“I have to agree with you there. Jake...let Lance win.” Jake let go of the toy, and sat down in front of Lance, wagging his tail.

“I could have won on my own!”

“He will hold on for a week if you let him.”

“You look more relaxed.”

“I feel better, thanks. I’m ready when you are.”

Lance jumped to his feet. “Let’s roll guys!”

“Guys?”

“What? Can’t Jake come too?” He grabbed the leash from the table next to the door.

“Are you sure? He would be fine here until I get home.”

“You may be VERY late, and you don’t have a lot of time to hang out with him before we leave. Now hurry up you two!”

Stasia scooped up Jake, took the leash from Lance and locked the door behind them. “Thank you so much, I am so happy you came over tonight to invite me.”

“Me too. Now get in the car! We’re already a little late.” He laughed and started the car.

Stasia was amazed when they got to Lance’s. First, because his house was beautiful. Then she was shocked to see the number of cars lining his driveway. “Lance, you are having a huge party.” She looked over at him and he shrugged.

“Believe me, this one is nothing, since a lot of my friends are away at school right now. The parties during the summer are much bigger. My house is the natural choice to be the party house.”

They got out of his car and walked in the front door, there were people everywhere. As he walked in, a number of people yelled, “LANCE!” Several guys walked up to smack him on the back.

A girl ran over and said, “Lance! I’ve missed you!” She kissed him square on the lips and his eyes opened in shock.

He gently pushed her back and looked at her confused as she ran straight out the front door. He turned to Stasia and said, “I have no clue who that was.”

Stasia burst in to a fit of laughter. “Well she sure knew who you were!”

Stacy ran up and hugged Stasia tightly. “I am so glad you came! Come on, I want to introduce you to some people. COOL! You brought Jake!” Stacy dragged Stasia into the center of the room, where she began introducing her to old friends and a few of their cousins.

Stasia had a great time, she laughed with Lance’s friends, and Jake was a huge hit. He did every trick in the book, and loved the attention he was getting. Before Stasia knew it, everyone was going outside to watch the sunrise. She found Lance, standing at the end of the deck, by himself. Jake ran to Lance, and nudged his leg with his nose. “Hey little guy.” Lance bent and picked up Jake, and held him while scratching behind his ears.

“You’ve made a friend for life you know.”

Lance looked over and smiled, “Who? You or Jake?”

“Both. Thank you for tonight...err...this morning.”

“Thanks for not telling me what I jerk I had been up to this point. Let’s call tonight a fresh start.”

“Honestly, I don’t think you were as bad as you seem to think. But, sure, we’ll call this a fresh start.”

Two hours later, Lance was pulling up in front of her house again. “I’ll see you later, try to get some sleep. I’ll pick you up at 9:30, and we can take Jake over to my parent’s on the way to the airport.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you at 9:30.” She got out of the car with Jake tucked under her arm.

As he pulled away, he glanced at his watch and smiled, “7:30 in the morning, Johnny should be up by now.” He quickly dialed his cell phone and waited for Johnny Wright to pick up on the other end. “Hey Johnny, it’s Lance. I need your help with something.” After he explained what he wanted, he hung up and dialed Justin’s number. “Morning J.”

“Lance, are you on crack? Do you have any idea what time it is?” Justin was obviously not awake yet.

“It’s a quarter to eight...a quarter to nine your time.” He had to laugh, Justin was horrible at waking up, but he was the person Lance needed to help him.

“What do you want?” Justin grumbled.

“I need your help with something, it’s for Stasia.” Lance explained what he had in mind.

“I’m in. But get off my phone, and NEVER wake me up again.”

“I’ll get off the phone, but I’m not making any promises about waking you up. Bye J.”

“Err.” The phone click in Lance’s ear.

He was very proud of himself. This was a great idea. He was still smiling as he pulled into his driveway.

Tuesday morning, Lance got to Dani’s house a little early. He got out, and walked to the door, carrying two cups of coffee. He was about to knock, when Stasia pulled the door open.

“Good morning Mr. Bass!”

“Good morning Ms. Blake. Latte?”

“You are seriously a saint!” She took the cup he offered, and motioned him in the door. “I am ready to roll!” She pointed at her luggage, neatly stacked by the door.

“I had no doubt you would be, which is why I’m early. I was hoping we could go over to Jive and meet with Johnny before we leave.”

“Sure, no problem. But what are we meeting about?”

“He’s got some press stuff he wants to go over with us. We are going to be in public a lot, and he just wants to be sure we all know the ground rules...they are Jive’s rules, not ours. Keep that in mind.”

“Am I about to get the birds and the bees lecture from Johnny?”

He laughed, “Something like that.

She could not believe the number of fans outside of Jive when they pulled in the parking lot. They got out of the car and Lance led her over to a picnic table, where Johnny was sitting with Justin and JC.

Justin jumped up and hugged her. “Hey you! How was Mississippi?”

She looked at Lance and then smiled, “It was interesting. I finally got Lance to call me Stasia.”

JC walked over to hug her, “It’s about time. He can be a little slow, but we love him anyway.”

Lance, JC and Justin walked towards the buses, leaving Stasia to talk with Johnny.

“Good morning Johnny.”

“Hi Stasia.”

“Lance told me you wanted to talk to me.”

“I’m supposed to give you the speech about how to keep your distance from the guys in public, but since you have already been on MTV laying in a big heap with them, I guess I’m too late. But I told the Jive guys I’d talk to you, otherwise, they were going to make you sit through their press readiness class, and that would be a huge waist of your time. So, consider yourself talked to.”

“Yes sir. No making out with the guys in public. Got it.”

“NO FAIR!” Joey hugged her from behind. “I was almost in Johnny!”

She turned in his arms, kissed his cheek and said, “Not even close Joe.”

“Johnny, which bus is mine?”

“Second blue bus in line.”

“I guess I’ll go get settled.”

She started towards her bus, but Chris came running up with a small dog under his arm. “STAY-A! Hell-o! Did you miss me?”

“Terribly! Who is this?” She scratched the dog behind his ears.

“This is Busta! Check his pug appeal!”

“You did not just say that did you? Have you got any idea how corny that was?”

“It’s the truth! JC says you like dogs, I’ll let you hang with Busta sometime.”

“I’ll hang with Busta any day!” Chris handed Busta to Stasia, who kissed him on the nose. “Hi there! When you come to Mississippi, I’ll introduce you to Jake...you’ll have fun together!”

“Jake...the dog JC thought was your son...smart guy that one!” Chris rolled his eyes.

“Don’t be so hard on him, he had no way of knowing.” She cuddled Busta. “Chris, he is such a sweetie!”

“Oh no! He is a manly dog! His little sister is a sweetie.”

“Little sister? You have a sister?” she asked Busta, who promptly licked her face. “I’ll take that as a yes. Where is she?”

“She’s in the bus, want to see her?”

“Of course I do!”

Chris led the way to his bus, where he gave her the grand tour. “My bunk...Lance’s bunk...the kids bunk.” He pulled back curtains as he spoke. As he pulled back the ‘kids’ bunk, she saw Busta’s little sister curled up on her bed, sleeping peacefully.

“Chris! She is an angel! What’s her name?” She finally set Busta down and he jumped in his own bed. Chris had the lowest bunk converted into a little dog heaven, they had toys, each had a bed, there were even built in bowls.

“Her name is Korea.”

“Chris, we are going to be hanging out a lot. I’m going to have to get my puppy fix...daily.”

“You can play with the kids any day! Actually, from time to time, I may actually have to beg you to babysit.”

“No need to beg. When it comes to dogs...I’m a soft touch. I already miss Jake, and it has only been two days, but he’s in great hands.”

“If you say so.”

“What? Jim and Diane have been totally sweet to him!”

Just then, Lance popped his head onto the bus. “Stasia?”

“Yeah, back here with the dogs...oh and Chris.”

“OH! I see how it is! You like them better than me!” Chris threw himself down on the ground at her feet. “I’m hurt! I’m very, VERY hurt!”

“Get up drama queen! I still love you...especially because you are my only access to these two.”

“I hate to interrupt, but I wanted to make sure you got settled on the bus before we roll, because once we’re on the road, you are stuck until tonight.”

“I was just about to head that way. I’ll let you know if anything seems to be missing, but I should be fine.”

“Okay, then I’m going to go finish getting settled. I’ll see you later.” Lance stepped off the bus and made his way towards Justin, JC and Joey, who were standing together by their bus.

Stasia started to board the bus Johnny had told her to ride on when she heard a noise. She looked around, but no one was standing nearby, so she made her way on board, she set her bag down in the lounge area, and started to look around. She heard the same noise, which she decided was coming from the closed door at the back of the bus, she walked back and knocked on the door. “Hello?”

There was no answer, so she slowly pushed it open. Sitting in the middle of the couch in the living room area, was Jake. He jumped down and ran over to her, she fell to her knees and scooped him up. “JAKE! Hi baby. How did you get here?”

“He flew.” She turned to see all five guys standing behind her. Lance was smiling, and his eyes were dancing.

She stood, still holding Jake, and walked forward to stand in front of Lance, “You did this?” He noticed the tears in her eyes.

“You didn’t think once I found out about him, that I’d let him stay in Mississippi did you?” He reached out ans scratched Jake’s head.

“Honestly, yes I did think that. I can’t believe you did this for me.”

“HEY! He had help. Jake stayed with me last night! Didn’t you little man?” Justin took Jake from Stasia.

“We helped Justin, he was clueless...but we took Jake to the park.” Joey pointed to JC and pet Jake.

“I donated the dog food and bowls for the bus.” Chris stepped forward.

She looked at each of them, “You have no idea how much this means to me. I don’t think I will ever be able to thank you.” She hugged each of them, and kissed all of their cheeks.

“I know how you can repay me.” Joey raised his eyebrow at her.

“Joe, for this I may just pay up!” She winked, and his jaw dropped.

“Check this out. Jake has his own pad here.” Chris led her to the bottom bunk, which was set up just like the bunk for Busta and Korea. Justin set Jake down, and he ran to his bed, he dug around in his blankets, and then bounced out, to further explore the bus.

“You guys are seriously unbelievable! I’m the new guy, and you have all done so much to make me feel welcome. I am at a loss for words here.” She was smiling so widely, her face was beginning to hurt.

“I don’t need words...show me how thankful you are baby.” Joey walked over and hugged her, she planted a quick little kiss on his lips.

Chris stepped up, and shoved his way between them, “NOW ME! NOW ME!”

She kissed the tip of his nose. “I like Dani far too much to be kissing you on the lips, even as friends.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend!” Justin slid his arm around her waist. She stood on her tiptoes, and kissed his forehead.

“Sorry J, you are a little too young.”

“I am so sick of being to young.” He smiled down at her. “You are so lucky I’m not a little older...I’d give my boy Joe here a run for his money.” He punched Joey in the stomach, then moved aside for JC.

She stood up on her toes again, to kiss his nose. She leaned up and whispered in his ear, “I like Lyn as much as I like Dani.” He looked down into her knowing eyes and blushed a little.

“Thanks.” He hugged her.

JC said, “I hate to break up this love fest, but we’ve got to get on our own buses guys. Stasia, we’ll see you tonight...or at the first rest stop.” He pulled on her ponytail, and walked off the bus. Justin, Chris and Joey all said they’d see her later, and followed JC off the bus.

Lance started to follow the others, but stopped when Stasia touched his arm. He looked down at her hand, where it was touching his bare skin, and then cleared his throat.

“I know you felt like we started out on the wrong foot before.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.” He looked down at her, and he was wondering how he hadn’t noticed she was this small. She didn’t even reach his shoulders. He shook his head a little when he realized she was speaking to him again.

“Lance, in the matter of four days time, you have more than made up for anything you think you may have done. Thank you for this. And on a side note - you don’t owe me for the party anymore.”

“No problem. You have already saved me with the whole Bill thing, this is the least I could do. I better get going before Johnny freaks out. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.”

She watched him walk past her bus and onto his own, and smiled. He had just done the sweetest thing in the world for her, and she didn’t think he had any clue. Then it dawned on her that he did know how important Jake was to her, and he had just wanted them to be together, but didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.

The buses pulled into the rest stop five hours after leaving Orlando. Stasia wasn’t sure why they were stopping, but she was glad because Jake needed to go out. Stasia saw Chris bounce off of his bus, with both dogs on leashes, she attached Jake’s leash and followed Chris off towards the little wooded area at the edge of the rest area. The air was cooler than Stasia had counted on, she hadn’t grabbed a jacket, and she didn’t want to turn back at this point, so she wrapped her arms around herself and jogged over to where Chris was standing. “Hey!”

“Hey! How are you holding up? Are you bored riding by yourself? When we are on tour, you will have other people around.” He was trying to keep Korea and Busta from tying their leashes in knots.

“I got a ton of work done. I think I’m going to start a new book now.”

Lance walked over, “How are the dogs holding up?”

“Jake is having a blast, I think our driver is going to want to kill him, because he wants to look out, so he runs to the front of the bus, I’m going to have to work on that.” She rubbed her hands up and down on her arms.

“You look cold.” Lance frowned.

“You would think by this age, I would know not to come outside without my jacket in January.”

Lance pulled off his sweatshirt, and held it out to her, “Here, put this on. I don’t need you getting sick our first day on the road, then I’ll have to do all of my own work.”

“LANCE! I’m fine! Keep your sweatshirt. I’ll be back on the bus in a minute.”

“ANASTASIA! You are cold...not fine.” He said mocking her tone. Then in one quick movement, he pulled the sweatshirt down over her head, trapping her arms inside.

“I can’t believe you just did that!” Her ponytail was crooked, hairs was sticking out in every direction.

“Believe it.” He smiled.

“Lance! Dude! What would Momma Bass say?” Chris teased.

“Momma would say I’m right. Here, I’ll take Jake’s leash so you can put your arms through. He took the middle of the leash and started laughing when he noticed, not only did his sweatshirt reach to her knees, but the sleeves were about two feet longer than her arms. “Have you always been this small?”

“I’m not SMALL! I am just slightly below average height...I’m vertically challenged!”

Chris pumped his arm in air, “You tell him sister!”

“It’s not my fault, that both of you are SHORT!” He laughed.

Stasia and Chris looked at each other, she shook her head, “Oh no, he DIDN’T!”

“I think he did. Bass, you had better start running, because the two of us short people are about to take you DOWN!” Chris nodded his head at Stasia who grinned evilly, her eyes were sparkling silver.

“Um...guys...I was kidding...” He started walking backwards toward the buses. “Guys? Why are you looking at me like that? Crap! COME ON JAKE!” He and Jake turned and started to run.

“Take her!” Chris tossed Korea’s leash to Stasia, then he and Busta broke out into a sprint behind Lance.

Stasia was hot on their heels, she bent over and picked up Korea, running with the dog safely in her arms. “Sorry sweetie, you’ve got short legs.” They quickly caught up to Chris, then passed him. He was totally shocked to see her run by, but then he began laughing.

“Lance! You better run like hell! Stasia is going to kill you.”

The people milling around by the buses all turned at the sound of Chris screaming out at Lance. They watched the scene unfolding before them. Lance running with Jake, Stasia and Chris following, with Chris’s dogs. “You think he dog-napped Jake?” Joey asked Justin.

“Who knows? But if I were Lance, I’d pick up the pace! She’s gonna catch up!”

Lonnie and Dre were walking out of the building, with sodas when they saw Lance run by, with Chris and Stasia in hot pursuit. Lonnie looked at Dre and said, “Oh man! Which one you want?”

“I’ve got Stasia. You get Chris.” The two men stepped out, and each grabbed their target around the waist. Stasia was still trying to run, and Chris was flailing around like a child. “Why are you two chasing Lance?” Dre asked as he carried Stasia over to the group. Lance was standing there laughing and holding Jake as a shield.

“He...called...us...short!” The group burst out into laughter. Dre set her down and bent at the waist, he was laughing so hard that there were tears steaming down his face. “What?” She and Chris were both looking around, trying to figure out why they thought this was so funny.

JC cleared his throat, wiped his eyes, and smirked again, “Stasia, you do realize, you and Chris aren’t exactly tall, right?”

Lance was gasping for breath, “They....are....vertically....challenged!”

“Oh SHUT UP!” She put her hand on her hip, and tried to look angry, before giggling. “I would have caught you if Dre hadn’t tried to guard your pitiful butt!”

“HA! I don’t think so!”

Justin put his arm around Lance’s shoulders, “She almost had you buddy! You are lucky Dre stepped in when he did, or she’d have you pinned, begging for mercy right now.” Stasia walked over and kissed Justin’s cheek.

“I knew I liked you.” She winked at Justin. “Fork over the pup!” She looked at Lance.

“I’ll trade you.” He took Korea.

After laughing for a few minutes longer, they all got back on the buses and were on their way again. Stasia and Jake settled into the living room area, under a blanket, with a book, it wasn’t long before she started to doze off.