Lance stuck his head around the corner. Lyn was shoving her bag into the unused bunk below hers. “Hey Lyn.”

“Lance! Hi, are we leaving already?”

“In a few minutes. You’re bright eyed for 4:30 in the morning! I just wanted to make sure you have everything you need. We’re driving straight through, we’ll stop twice for the dogs, but those will be quick stops.”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“OK.” He laughed. “Millie left me a list of stuff for us to go over. She’s a slave driver you know.” He rolled his eye dramatically.

“Yeah, I know. When do we work on the list?”

“Well, I could ride with you until the first stop, and then get on my own bus, or you can ride with Chris and I, but we probably won’t get any work done. Or we can wait until we get to the hotel, but there will be a lot of distractions.”

“Well then grab your stuff and ride with me in my wonder bus!”

“Wonder bus?” He raised his eyebrows.

Lyn began laughing hysterically, “I honestly have no idea where that came from.”

“OK then.” Lance shook his head, “You’re going to be a handful too aren’t you?”

“I’m sure going to try.” She winked at him.

“MAN! I never get a break! I’ll go grab my stuff and be right back.” He ran down the stairs.

Lyn was sorting through the paperwork Stasia had left with her. She was going to be sure nothing fell through the cracks in Stasia’s absence. “Hi.” Her head snapped up at the sound of JC’s voice.

“Hi! Shouldn’t you be getting settled in?” She smiled up at him.

“I’m a pro, I don’t take as long as you to get settled.” He smirked.

“I’m settled. I am already working. Lance is going to ride with me so we can finish up all of this stuff before we get to...where ever it is we’re going.”

“Hershey, Pennsylvania.”

“I knew that.”

“Sure you did.”

“I DID!”

“Maybe after you and Lance finish working, you can come hang out on our bus. Justin promises he’ll be good.”

She smiled, “This is going to be so much fun! You and I haven’t spent any length of time together in ages!” She lunged at him, threw her arms around his neck, “You’ve missed me haven’t you?”

He instinctively caught her around the waist, “I’ve missed you like crazy Al.”

“Now why did you have to go there? We were playing so nice!” She suddenly had him in a head lock.

“Stasia taught you that one didn’t she?” Lance laughed from the door, where he stood with his computer bag thrown over one shoulder, Jake tucked under one arm, and a gift wrapped package under the other.

“Yes. As a matter of fact she did.” She ruffed up JC’s hair before letting him go.

“That woman is a bad influence on you.” JC patted his hair.

“Watch it JC. You’re talking about my girlfriend.”

“Are you denying she has had a disruptive effect on this group of people.”

“No. I’m not denying that...I’m just telling you to watch it.”

“Consider it watched.”

John, the bus driver stuck his head into the hall, “We’ve got to roll. Anyone not riding with us better move it, or you’re stuck on this bus.”

JC kissed the to of Lyn’s head, “I’ll see you at the next stop. Have fun kids.”

Lance set Jake down, and he ran straight to his bunk. Lyn laughed, “I guess he remember this bus. This is the one you had converted for Stasia when she first started working for you isn’t it?”

“Yeah. We can change anything you need.”

“I don’t need anything changed. I can’t believe I’m the only one on this bus right now.”

“Hey, if you want to ride with Chris, I’ll ride alone.”

“NO!”

“I didn’t think so. Why don’t you open your gift.” Lance sat down at the table.

Lyn sat across from him and smiled, “Why do I get presents?”

“Because Stasia loves giving them. Open it! She wouldn’t tell me what’s in it.” He pushed the box closer to her.

She ran her hands over the bright yellow paper, it had white daisies and was tied with a bright green ribbon. She pulled on the tails of the ribbon and smiled wider as the knot came untied. She pulled the paper open and lifted the cover off of the box. She pushed back the tissue paper which, in typical Stasia style, matched the wrapping paper.

The first item in the box was a CD with a sticky note on top of it reading, ‘Play Me!’ Lyn flipped over the CD and inspected it more closely, “It’s not labeled.”

“Well I guess we should put it in.” Lance held out his hand, and took the CD from Lyn. He popped it into the CD player. When he hit play, Lyn lit up. Wide Open Spaces filled the bus. “What’s next?”

“I don’t know.” She reached into the box and pulled out a tin with a note that said, ‘Eat Me!’ When Lyn pulled off the top of the tin she giggled, “Peanut butter cookies! My favorite! How does she remember this stuff?”

“I don’t know how she remembers any of the stuff she remembers.” He shrugged.

“OK NEXT!” She dug into the box again, she pulled out a neatly folded t-shirt with a note on top of it that said, ‘Wear Me!’ She unfolded the shirt an held it up for Lance to see. They both laughed, across the front of the shirt it read, ‘FREE LANCE ENTERTAINMENT GROUP’ and the back of the shirt said, ‘LUSCIOUS LYN’. Lyn shook her head, “She’s going to pay for this one!”

Lance rolled his eyes, “Mine says ‘HUNKY HARRY’ I think you got off easy.”

“What does her’s say?”

“MAGNIFICENT MILLIE, I think she had too much time on her hands that day!”

“I think you’re right. OK, next...we have... ‘Drink Me’” Lyn pulled out the ingredients for Cosmopolitans, on the opposite side of the bottle there was a second note, ‘But Wait For Stasia!’

Lance grabbed the vodka and said, “I’ll hang on to this.”

Lyn stuck her tongue out and he laughed. She reached into the box and pulled out an envelope that said, “Use Me!” She opened the envelope and pulled out a voucher for two plane tickets and a note that read:

Lyn,
I know better than anyone else, that being on the road with these guys can get to be a bit much. These tickets are so yo can leave. Go to Orlando, visit me in Michigan or New York, or even go to Mississippi, these are so you can go anywhere you want, whenever you need to go.
Stasia

When Lyn looked up, Lance had an odd look on his face. She cocked her head, “What?”

A slow smile spread across his face, “I love her. A lot. The little things remind me.”

“What do you mean? The little things?”

He picked up the note she had just finished reading, “Gray note paper. Always. I will bet you a thousand dollars, that it is written with a blue fountain pen. Always a blue fountain pen.” He opened the note, and smiled when he was right.

“I have to admit you two make me jealous.” Lyn narrowed her eyes at him.

“Why would we make you jealous?”

“The only person in life I have ever known like that, you know, all the little things, is JC.”

“Why would that be bad?”

“Because it’s JC. He’s my best friend.”

“You know, the little things mean a lot. Knowing everything about a person, and still loving them means everything.”

“Even in friendship it means everything, honestly I want the kind of understanding JC and I have when I finally find the person I’m going to be with for the rest of my life. I want to be able to tell him anything and know in my heart that he will still love me.”

“Like JC.” Lance smirked.

Lyn pulled a file folder closer, “Like JC what?” She slipped on her glasses.

“Never mind.” He rolled his eyes and flipped his computer open.

They had been driving for several hours Lyn looked up from the paperwork in front of her and out the window. Lance was quietly typing a report for Stasia to review that evening. “How long does it take to get to Pennsylvania from Mississippi?” Lyn slipped her pencil behind her ear.

“Somewhere around seventeen hours. Which is why we have so long in between the shows in Mississippi and Pennsylvania. We also have a bunch of interviews and stuff to do. Which reminds me. Would you feel comfortable doing back-up for Ryan at an interview in New York? He’s still nervous about sitting alone in a room with the press.”

“Sure. When is it? I’m great for moral support, what kind of stuff is it? The normal, favorite color, favorite food, blah, blah, blah.”

“Exactly.” Lance laughed. “Oh, and it’s tomorrow.”

“I’m all over it. What else do you need me to do?” She looked down and then her head flew back up, “TOMORROW?”

He laughed, “Yeah, tomorrow. It’s a quick flight and you’ll be back in Hershey with us tomorrow night.”

“Hey, you’re the boss!” Her eyes were still wide, “Tomorrow huh?”

“If you agree to go, You’ll be on a plane at 6:00 am, the interviews start at 10:00, are done by 4:00 and we’ll have you on a flight back to Pennsylvania at eight.”

“OK. I’ll be ready.” She looked back down at the paperwork spread out in front of her.

Lance watched as Lyn pushed her curls back and it was at that moment he decided to call Stasia. He cleared his throat, “Do you mind if I go into the lounge and call Stasia? I want to go over a few things before I get you press packet together.”

She smiled up, “Of course not.” He stood up and started toward the lounge, “Hey Lance.”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t have to make up excuses to call her. I know you miss her. It’s always hard the first few days.” She winked.

Lance shifted his weight, “What’s always hard?”

“The first few days you guys are on the road are the hardest. The days I want to hop in the car and run over to JC’s and then I realize he’s gone.”

He smirked, “Yeah. I know what you mean.”

He walked into the lounge and shut the door. Lance was laughing as he sat down on the couch, dialing his phone. It rang twice and then his favorite sound in the world hit his ear, “Stasia Blake.”

“Hi Millie.” She smiled.

“HARRY! Hi! You miss me already!”

“Of course I miss you already. But that isn’t why I’m calling this time.”

“You’re not going to make me work are you?”

He chuckled, “No Darlin’ I’m not going to make you work. By the way, how’s the studying going?”

“It’s going very well. I’m feeling confident. Now tell me why you’re calling me.”

“I called to tell you I’ll help. You’re right, and I’ll help.”

She was quiet for a second, “Harry, what on earth are you talking...” His smile grew when she stopped mid-sentence, as she figured out what he was telling her. “Lyn? And JC? You’re willing to help me now?” He could feel the excitement in her voice.

“Yes. JC and Lyn, I’m willing to help now.”

“I KNEW IT! I KNEW you would cave! Honey, they are MEANT to be together!”

“I agree. So what do we do? I’m new at this.” He leaned back and settled in while she explained her plan. When she finally paused to take a breath he laughed, “Darlin’ are you SURE this is a good idea? It could blow up in our faces.”

“Harry. TRUST ME!”

“If it blows up, I’m blaming you.”

“Yeah, yeah...just do what I told you.”

“OK. But I’m blaming you.” He teased.

“OK. All the blame, right here. Harry, I love you, but I have to go. Ron is taking me for ice cream. I got all of my study questions right.”

“Way to go. Butter pecan?”

“You know better than that. Chocolate, chocolate chip. Now hush. I will see you soon. I love you!”

“I love you too.” He turned off his phone and shook his head, “I hope you know what you’re talking about Anastasia.”

Yawning for the tenth time in ten minutes, Lyn shifted in her seat. The captain had just announced they would be landing in five minutes. She took a deep breath, smoothed the front of her blouse and slipped her file folder into her briefcase.

The plane touched down and Lyn walked straight for the exit. When she got through the door, she slipped on her sunglasses and glanced in either direction. There was a man, holding a sign with, ‘McLachlan’ written on it. She smiled and walked over to him. “Hi there! I’m Lyn McLachlan.”

“Ms. McLachlan, how do you do? Are you ready miss?”

“Yes. I am.” He opened the door for her and she slipped into the car.

“Hey Lyn.”

Her hand flew to her chest and she gasped, “Ryan! You frightened me! I wasn’t expecting you! How are you?” She leaned across the limo and hugged him.

He cheek rested on her shoulder, “I’m so glad they sent you.”

She pulled back, “Thanks.”

“Lance said something about it being better if we walked in together. Safety in numbers.”

“Lance is a smart guy. I’m sure he’s right.” They chatted as they drove to the hotel where the interviews were going to be conducted. When the limo pulled up in front, both of the sucked in their breath. “Um, Ryan...we’re at the Waldorf.”

“I noticed. I was expecting the conference room at the Super 8.”

“I’m with you...RYAN...WE’RE AT THE WALDORF!”

His eyes were wide and he laughed loudly, “LYN! WE’RE AT THE WALDORF!!” They hugged one another. Lyn giggled and sounded just like Lis, which made her giggle again. Ryan smiled, “Let’s go in!”

The chauffeur opened the door, and Ryan stepped out of the car and held his hand down for her to take. Lyn slipped her hand into his and he helped her out of the car. He swallowed hard and she squeezed his hand before letting go, “You’re going to knock them on their asses!”

His jaw dropped and she winked at him, “Not nervous anymore are you?”

“Nope, I’m stunned.”

“See, that’s what good management does, we keep you on your toes.”

“Well you are good at that. Keeping me on my toes.”

They walked into the lobby and Lyn went straight to the front desk, “Hello. I am Lyn McLachlan, from Free Lance Entertainment.”

They woman behind the desk looked her up and down, “You are?” She said skeptically.

“Yes I am.” Lyn’s eyes narrowed and she held out her drivers license.

“Ms. McLachlan, you’re younger than I was expecting you to be. I’ll show you to the room you will be using for the interviews.” She whispered something to the man standing beside her and then walked out from behind the counter. She led them to the elevators and the rode up in silence. She led them to a door and handed Lyn the key card. “Here you are.” She turned on her heel and walked back down the hall.

Lyn looked up at Ryan and they both laughed. She slipped the card into the lock on the door and pushed the it open. They started to walk through the door and stopped dead. Ryan slammed into her back and let his breath out in a huge gust. “OOF!”

“Would you look at this room?” Her eyes were enormous.

“I would look if your hair wasn’t in my face.” He pushed at the curls that had flown up in his face when he slammed into her back. Lyn stepped aside and he looked around, “OH MY GOODNESS!” He turned around, staring at the huge room around him.

The room was decorated in all beige and brown. The tone on tone fabrics were warm and welcoming. The room was already set up for the interviews that would be starting in an hour. There was a pair of love seats facing one another in the center of the room. There was an enormous copy of Ryan’s album cover behind the love seat he would be sitting on. There was a desk set up behind the other couch with a fax and phone for Lyn to use. She set down her briefcase and unbuttoned her jacket. She walked back over to where Ryan was still standing and nudged him with her elbow, “This is all for you. Not bad.”

He grabbed her around the waist and spun her around, “I am so excited!”

Lyn’s arms instinctively went around his neck, “You make it easy to be excited for you.”

He set her down and placed his hands on her shoulders, “Thank you so much for being here for me. Honestly I’m glad you are the one here with me. Nothing against Lance or Stasia...or Diane and Stacy, but if I would have had a choice, it would have been you.” He pushed her curls back over her shoulders.

She smiled up at him, looking into his eyes. “That is the sweetest thing anybody has said to me all day!”

“Well it’s early.” There was a knock on the door. And they both turned to look at the closed door.

“Here we go.” She patted his back, straightened his shirt and her own jacket. She walked straight to the door and smiled as she opened it. “Hello.”

“Hello.” The man standing at the door with a photographer, held out his hand. Lyn shook his hand warmly. “Jeff Greenly from SPIN.”

“Lyn McLachlan, Free Lance.” She stepped back and held the door open, “And here’s the man you came to see. Jeff Greenly, this is Ryan Tedder.”

Ryan stepped forward and shook the reporter’s hand, “It’s very nice to meet you.”

The men sat on the couches, facing one another. Lyn stood behind Jeff, next to the photographer, her arms crossed over her chest. She could see that Ryan was a bit nervous, so she winked and smiled. He smirked at her and then smiled at Jeff, “So, what would you like to know?”

Jeff laughed, “I’d like to start by asking you what made you decide to sign with such a new and unproven management company?”

Ryan looked a little shocked, “Free Lance was willing to give me a shot. THEY took a chance on me, and I couldn’t ask for a more supportive group to back me up.”

“Loyal to management huh?” Jeff raised an eyebrow.

“Fiercely, but only as loyal as they are to me. Lance has been where I am and understands what it’s like. He is the best person to give advice and help me avoid the possible pitfalls of this business. He is a musician, who understands what it’s like to care about the music. NSYNC learned about the BUSINESS end of the music business the hard way, and I know Lance and everyone at Free Lance will do their best to protect me from having to repeat those experiences.” Lyn closed her eyes at the memories of the pain her friends had gone through. The fear that they were going to loose their dreams because of the greed surrounding them.

Ryan’s voice pulled her away from the memories as he continued his explanation, “I should be here alone with you, but I was nervous, so Lyn is here for moral support. That is the type of company I WANT managing me, the type of company that treats me like family. Most of Free Lance IS a family, and they welcomed me as one of their own. You won’t get me to say a bad word about anyone in this company.”

“OK THEN! Moving on...” Jeff laughed. He asked Ryan about his album, the songs he had written, the emotion behind all of the music. Ryan answered every question honestly and happily.

Lyn jumped a little when her phone vibrated in her pocket. Ryan laughed as she brought her hand to her chest, in an attempt to regulate her heartbeat. She stepped out into the hall and flipped her phone open, “Lyn McLachlan.”

“Hi Lyn. How are you holding up?” Lance’s voice was cheerful.

“Hey Lance. As far as I can tell, things are going very well. Ryan said some very nice things about Free Lance to SPIN and he said some nice things about you personally.”

Lance laughed, “Well it’s good to know he doesn’t hate us.”

“Nope.”

“Well, I wasn’t actually calling to check up on you. I was calling to tell you to bring Ryan back to Pennsylvania with you tonight. We need another opener and he’s clear. It will be good for him the week the album is being released too.”

“I’m sure he’ll be excited. I’ll let him know.” She was quiet for a second and said, “Thanks again Lance.”

“What did I do?”

“You gave me this job.”

“Lyn. Stop thanking us for that. You have been a trooper. We gave you a crash course, and you have not only remembered everything, you’ve stepped in and become part of the team right away. Lyn, you fit and you belong. As long as you’re willing to be with us, we’re willing to have you.”

“Thanks Lance.”

“LYN!”

“Sorry...I didn’t mean thanks...” They both laughed.

Lance laughed harder, “Lyn, JC is standing here bouncing, he wants to say hi.”

“OK.” She rolled her eyes.

JC sounded very happy when he said hello, “LYNIE! How are you Little Miss Management?”

“I’m good JC. It’s going well. Ryan is excited, he’s answering all the standard questions. I’ve been very impressive.”

“I’m sure you have been. You’ll be back tonight right?”

“Yes I will. And apparently, I’ll be bringing Ryan back with me.”

“Oh. I was thinking we could go to a movie tomorrow.”

“Sure. Chick flick?”

“LYN...”

“We’ll compromise.”

“I’ll see you tonight. Now, shouldn’t you be working?”

“Yes, but my best friend is yapping at me, while our poor client is in the other room being questioned all by himself.”

“Go save him!”

She laughed, “Bye JC.”

“BYE!”

She hit end and shook her head, “I think we need to limit his time with Chris.” Then she realized she was standing in the hall talking to herself. “Nice. Who am I talking to and why am I still doing it?”

They were laughing happily as the elevator doors opened. Lyn smiled brightly at Jay, who had the unfortunate job of sitting at the end of the hall in front of the elevator doors, making sure no one got onto the floor, who didn’t belong there. He smiled at her and pulled two sets of key cards out of his pocket. “These are for you two. Lance moved you Lyn, actually, he switched rooms with you so you don’t have to be next to Chris. He must really want to keep you around if he’s willing to take the room next to Chris.”

“He’s just being sweet.” Lyn smiled, “Have you seen him Jay?”

“Last I saw him he was walking into his room talking to Stasia on his cell phone. So he’s in your old room.” He winked at her.

“Thanks Jay.” She hugged him.

Jay looked at Ryan, “It’s good having girls on tour. The hugs are better.”

Lyn was glowing when she knocked on Lance’s door, “It’s open!”

She stepped inside, “I brought you a present.”

“Ryan does not count as a present.”

“Hush Harry! Ryan is always a gift.”

Lyn looked around the room, “Stasia?”

“Speaker phone Lyn. How’d it go today? How did Ryan hold up?”

“Hey Stasia. It went well. Ryan was a total trooper. He even answered the underwear question.”

Lance and Stasia both laughed loudly, “So what did you bring me?” Lance’s eyebrows were bouncing up and down.

“This.” Lyn pulled a black t-shirt out of her bag. Across the front of the shirt it said, ‘TEAM TEDDER’ in big red letters.

Lance smiled, “VERY COOL!”

“WHAT? WHAT DID YOU GET? I WANT ONE!” The phone was shouting.

“Stasia, calm down, I got you one too! You and I got the same ones, they are baby-t’s. I had them done for Meredith and Tony too! Ryan and I had time to kill, so we goofed off in the fashion district. Stasia...KATE SPADE BAGS!!”

“OH MAN! How cute are they? I WANT ONE!”

“Good, because I got an extra one for you.”

“I LOVE YOU! YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT? YOU ARE MY FAVORITE PERSON!”

Lance rolled his eyes, “I thought I was your favorite person.”

“That’s different! You don’t buy me Kate Spade bags!”

“I don’t?”

“OK, well you would, but that’s beside the point.”

Ryan laughed and Stasia shouted, “Who’s that? Who’d I miss?”

“It’s me Stasia, Ryan. How are you?”

“I’m good. How do you feel? The reporters weren’t too pushy were they? They didn’t upset you at all did they?”

“I feel fine. It went great. It really helped having Lyn there. She was real supportive. Thanks for sending her guys.”

“No problem. How about you two go get settled while I say good night to Stasia, then we’ll sit down, recap what happened today and talk about Ryan’s performances this week.”

“Sounds like a plan to me. I’ll call you later Stasia.” Lyn giggled.

“You better! Bye Ryan.”

“Bye Stasia.” Ryan held the door for her and followed her into the hall.

Lyn glanced down the hall when she heard JC’s laughter, “I’m going to o say hi to JC. Why don’t you go get settled and I’ll see you and Lance in ten?”

Ryan’s face changed slightly, and then he smiled quickly, “OK.”

JC’s door was open, so she just walked in, “Hey you.” She unbuttoned her jacket as she walked through the door.

He turned around quickly and smiled, “Hey yourself! How was your trip?”

Chris sat up, he had been laying on his back on the floor playing with the dogs. “Miss Lyn was off being all businessy. And I must say, the suit...is HOT! You’re all important looking. RAR!”

“RAR! Yourself baby! Nothing is sexier than I guy with his dogs!” She winked.

Chris held Korea up by his chin, sticking his bottom lip out and making his eyes wide. Lyn ran over and kissed Korea on the nose. Chris’s bottom lip shot out even further, she kissed the tip of his nose and he smiled.

JC rolled his eyes, so Lyn flopped down on his lap. “Have you picked out my chick flick? I’m excited to actually go to a movie. I think the last one we saw together in a theater was probably a Disney cartoon.”

His arms went around her waist and his chin rested on her shoulder, “You may be right about that. I think we saw Aladin together. You name it Sweetpea, and we’ll see it. We can get a newspaper and find out what’s playing.”

She looked at him strangely and then smiled enormously, “Very cool!”

“So what are you doing for the rest of the night? Want a game of chess?”

“Maybe a little later, but I have to go meet with Lance and Ryan about the schedule for the rest of the week. Ryan is going to be riding with us for a little while. He is SO excited.”

“He should be. He should try hard to enjoy it now while he still can, because I have a feeling things are going to take off for that kid.”

“I hope you’re right, he reminds me of you when you guys first started out, all excited and pure. Before Lou and all that crap, when it was just fun...well, hard work, but fun...you know what I mean.”

“I know exactly what you mean.” He smiled softly and then raised his eyebrows, “OH! I just remembered. Justin and I were talking today, we’re going to start running in the mornings again, so when Stasia’s back we don’t die. Do you want to come along?”

“Sure. Why not? It could do me some good. What time?”

“That’s the tricky part, we’ve got to go at 5:30, it’s early, but it’s easier for security.”

“Well then I’ll be ready at 5:30, but that might make our chess game less likely.”

“I’ll live, I have a book I want to read anyway.”

She glanced at her watch and then stated to stand, “I’ve got to go meet with Lance and Ryan. If you’re still up when we’re done, I might stop in again.”

“My door is always open.” He joked as she walked out of the room.

She stopped in her own room quickly, slipped into a pair of pink pajama bottoms, a white tank top and a sweatshirt. She slipped on her Scooby Doo slippers and quickly pulled her hair up into a high ponytail.

She grabbed her planner, a few file folders and her key card. She pulled her door closed and started down the hall. “Get comfortable why don’t ya?” Justin pulled on her ponytail.

“Hi J. I had to wear a suit all day. I’ve earned the pj’s. Not to mention the fact that you have all seen me in my pajamas before.” She swatted at him.

“I like to see a woman comfortable, you know that.”

“I’m going running with you guys in the morning, you don’t mind do you?” She shifted her weight onto the other leg.

“Not at all, as long as you don’t try to kill us.”

“What are you talking about? Of course I don’t want to kill you. Why would I want to kill you?”

“Sorry, that was a Stasia reference. She almost killed JC and I once when she was mad at Lance, before they were together.” He shook his head at the memory.

“Well I don’t plan on getting mad at anyone, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“I’m going to remember you said that and hold you to it.”

“OK.” She reached out, ran a hand over his short hair and then walked into Lance’s room.

Lance ran down a quick list of things she needed to take care of at some point the next day. Ryan basically sat and listened to Lance and Lyn plan out his time. The three of the sat and talked for three hours and by the time Lyn and Ryan were getting up to leave, the entire floor had quieted down.

Angela had arrived and was locked in a room with Joe. Justin was on the phone with his momma. Chris was out with Dre and all of the dogs. He had run into the room to kidnap Jake, so he could go outside and play with the other dogs. Ryan went straight to his room to call his parents and Lance was going to call his momma. Lyn stood outside of her own door for a few seconds before crossing the hall to JC’s door. She tapped lightly and was just getting ready to go back across the hall when the door opened.

JC was standing in the doorway with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was rubbing another towel over his hair. “Want that game now?”

Lyn starred wide eyed. She had seen him without a shirt hundreds of times, maybe thousands of times, but for some reason her pulse had suddenly picked up and she felt as if the temperature had risen several degrees. “Huh?”

“You came to play chess right?” He stepped back so she could walk into his room.

“Yes, I came to play chest. CHESS! I MEANT CHESS!” She turned bright red and he laughed.

“I knew what you meant, but I think I’ll go get dressed.” He walked toward the bathroom.

She sat down at the table and started setting up the chess board, “Yeah, whatever. Do what you want.”

He walked into the bathroom and as the door closed, she slammed her head down on the table, “I am such an idiot.”

“WHAT?” He yelled from the bathroom.

“Nothing.” She rolled her forehead on the table, “Idiot.”

The two of the spent the next several hours playing chess, talking about the past. And talking about their hopes and fears about the future.

Lyn was laying on her stomach on the bed, “I loved teaching. I miss the kids, a lot. I wish I could have explained to them, Lord only knows what Powers told them. I had a good class this year.”

“I wish it would have happened differently for you. Do you think you will teach again next year, at a different school?”

“I don’t know. I like what I’m doing now, but it’s still so new to me, I’m not sure if I’ll have the same passion for management that I had for teaching.”

“If I can help you find your passion, I will. You helped me find mine.”

“I was just along for the ride, you did all the real work.” She propped her chin on her fist.

It was three o’clock in the morning by the time Lyn walked into her own room. She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the sweatshirt over her head. As she crawled under the covers she said, “I would have rather played chest.” She smacked her hand over her face and shook her head, “STOP IT!” She drifted off to sleep with a huge smile on her face.