Wildest Dreams

Copyright ©1999

Jen Atkins

"What was that again?" Steph asked her best friend, her eyes wide with surprise. Jen laughed.

"OK, one more time, woman, but that's it! We, as in you and I, are going to see THE Jordan Knight, live and in person, tomorrow night," she said with a triumphant grin..

"Are you serious?!" Steph had risen from her spot on her bed (well, it was actually Jen's other bed, but both girls had started to think of it as Steph's) and started pacing around "Fantasyland". She stopped at the corner, her eyes moving to take in her pictures of the tall, dark singer, her mouth breaking into a huge smile. Jen simply grinned and nodded.

"Of course I'm serious. Would I dare lie about this knowing what you would do to me when you found out?"

"You'd fucking better be!" Steph exclaimed, flopping back down onto her bead and staring at her favorite picture of Jordan (shirtless, of course), her mouth hanging open. "Wow," she sighed. "I'm going to see the man with the perfect face." Jen started to disagree then decided to let Steph have her moment.

"Not only will you see him, but, IF we get there early enough, we'll be close enough for him to sweat all over you." After that comment, Jen could have sworn she saw drool hanging from her friend's mouth.

"How....why....when....HUH?" Steph finally realized that Jen had somehow gotten these tickets even though they seemed impossible to get. Jen laughed at her friend's confusion.

"You seem to forget how important I am, Steph..."

"Whatever, bitch, how'd you get them?"

"OK, ok," Jen laughed. "Jordan's trying really hard to promote his new album. I mean, come on, it's been a year since he wanted to release it, right? Well, anyway, KASR is helping out. We got tickets to give away and I practically had to get on my hands and knees for my station manager, but I got two."

"I don't want to know what you did for them!" Steph giggled.

"Kiss my ass."

"Well, Jen, you can get a bit graphic at times, you know," Steph said, rolling her eyes. "So, why do we have to be there early if you're so damn important?" Jen grinned.

"To fight through all of the other important people, of course!" A loud, beeping sound interupted the girls giggles and both of them jumped for their pagers.

"Not mine," Jen announced.

"Shit," Steph mumbled, hunting through Jen's not-so-clean room for her pager. After a few minutes, she finally found it and studied the numbers on the top. "It's my house," she said before Jen could ask. "Phone?"

"Lazy bitch," Jen muttered as she handed her the phone. While Steph dialed, Jen turned towards her own side of the room containing her own idea of the perfect male. Sure, she thought Jordan Knight was just as hot as any heterosexual female would, but her obsession stayed with Jordan's fellow former New Kid on the Block, Joe McIntyre.

"Hi, Mom, how are you? You paged?...uhhuh..."

"Uh huh," Jen filled in, giggling. Steph grinned and motioned for her to keep quiet.

"Yeah...I will.....ok.....soon, Mom.......mmmmhmmmm.....ok....ok, bye." Steph set the phone down with a sigh.

"OK, bye," Jen giggled in her imitation Russian accent. It was a private joke with the girls about their friend Leon, who always ended his conversations with "OK, bye...click." Steph laughed.

"Ok, bye. Oh, I totally forgot to tell my mother what we're doing tomorrow. She's going to flip!"

"Well, who wouldn't?" Jen said, shrugging. "So, we'll meet here tomorrow at one, ok?"

"Like I'd miss it!" Steph said, gathering her things. "You know I'll be here! I've gotta go though." Jen grinned.

"So, who rocks your world?"

"That's my line, bitch!"

"Yeah, well you can trade me your line for your damn Jordan Knight ticket!" Jen said with a smirk. She knew she had Steph by the balls and she loved it.

"OK, you do! I love you, you rock, you are the most beautiful, wonderful best friend ever!" Jen grinned and motioned for Steph to go on. "And....you have great hair, and you're sooo important and everyone just loves you..." Steph continued.

"OK," Jen broke in. "Enough ass-kissing for one night! I'll see you tomorrow." Needless to say, Steph practically skipped to her car. Jen smiled to herself as her front door slammed. Little did Steph know what else she had up her sleeve....

Chapter 2

The next day in class, Steph couldn't stop shaking. She hadn't slept a wink, but instead had stayed up all night searching for the perfect outfit. With her fuzzy black top, blonde hair, and makeup (using the tips Jen had taught her), even she had to admit that she looked damn good. The guys in her classes seemed to think so, more than one giving her the eye. She glanced at her watch, counting the seconds until this stupid class ended so she could get in her car, pop in one of her many New Kids mixes, and pick up Jen so they could head over to Symphony Hall for the concert. When there were just 5 minutes left, she started to fidget, being the impatient person that she was. These had to be the slowest 5 minutes of her entire 23 years. Tick, tock...tick, tock...

It wasn't even 15 minutes later that Steph was pulling her truck into Jen's parking lot. Jen was waiting out front talking to a few of their friends, Ryan, Eric, and Leon. From the way she was jumping up and down, gesturing wildly and talking animatedly, Steph could tell how excited her best friend was. Boy, did she understand! Jen's excitement couldn't compare to her own. Her eyes lit up when she spotted Steph's truck and she practically stopped mid-conversation to run up and jump in, leaving the guys with puzzled expressions on their faces. Steph sighed.

"I suppose I should say hi," she said, waving at them. They headed over to the truck and posted themselves by Jen's window.

"Hey, Steph!" Ryan said, happily. Eric smiled and Leon just nodded. Typical. "Where are you guys going?" Eric wanted to know. Jen smiled at them.

"Nowhere you'd be interested in."

"Les Girls?" Leon said, laughing. Jen shot him a look.

"No, smart-ass," Steph said, rolling her eyes. Ryan laughed, of course. He laughed at anything Leon said, even though he had been dating Eric for about a year now. Both girls thought Ryan needed to get over Leon or Eric was going to get hurt.

"We've got to go, boys, as exciting as this converation is," Jen cut in.

"Yeah, we've got music to listen to and men to drool over!" Steph added. Jen laughed with her as they pulled away. When they pulled onto the main road, Jen reached into her pocket and pulled out a tape.

"I have something for you."

"What is it?" Steph wanted to know. Jen smiled.

"A new mix...with ALL Jordan songs on it!" Steph squealed.

"Jen, you do rock my world," she said, grabbing the tape and putting it into the stereo. She glanced at the cover.

"Hey, I'll Still Be Loving You is on this too! That's not Jordan."

"No," Jen replied. "But I needed something to listen to! Plus, even you have to admit that the moans turn you on!" Steph laughed.

"OK, I admit it! Now, shut up, bitch, my song is on." They listened to Baby, I Believe in You and the rest of the tape until they pulled into a parking spot downtown.

Walking to the front of Symphony Hall, Jen saw a number of people she knew from school. Steph muttered something that sound like "big surprise" under her breath as Jen stopped to talk to her station manager. He told them that there was barely anyone there yet, it was so early. He was still putting up posters. Steph grabbed Jen's arm.

"Good, then we can go and get the front row!" Jen grinned at her and let Steph pull her all the way to their seats. All around them was NKOTB and Jordan memorabilia. This was going to be one hell of a show.

Five and a half hours later, after numerous Gin Rummy games and many New Kids stories, the lights began flashing, signaling that the show was going to start. Throughout the day, Steph had this feeling that Jen was hiding something from her, but she let the thought drift from her mind as the theater got dark. The audience began to scream, including Steph and Jen. It was just so exciting! She couldn't believe that she was going to see Jordan in person. Looking at the stage right in front of her, she realized how close he was actually going to be. Steph could hardly contain her excitement. She stole a look at Jen, whose eyes were also sparkling with excitement. Jen leaned over and yelled to Steph,

"So you think Joe would be here??" Steph shrugged. For Jen's sake, she certainly hoped so. But, even that thought left her as a loud voice said,

"Ladies and gentlemen!! Please give a warm welcome to David Michael Star!" Steph and Jen both sighed as the opening act rushed onto the stage. Neither of the girls had thought about an opening act. He wasn't bad, but he could have been Michael Jackson and no girl in there would have cared, they were so anxious for Jordan. When David Michael whatshisname took his final bow, everyone burst into enthusiastic applause, more for the fact that he was done than for his actual performance. The voice started again.

"Are you ready for showtime?" It said, a perfect imitation of the announcer in the NKOTB day. "I said, are YOU ready for showtime? Then please give it up for JORDAN KNIGHT!!" A loud boom and flash announced Jordan's entrance. There he stood, in all of his beautiful glory. Steph gasped and grabbed Jen's arm. Jen yelped in pain.

"Watch it," she yelled.

"I am!!" her friend yelled back. Jen laughed, but Steph couldn't hear her over the screams, which she was helping in making. He looked incredible. The facial hair that he had been wearing over the past few years was gone, but his hair was short and stylish. He was wearing a loose red blouse and black pants, all of them moving gracefully over his body with the wind that was coming from underneath the stage. It was very trademark for Jordan. After a few opening moves, he moved to the microphone for his first song. The girls could barely hear him over the screams of the audience, which was amazing considering how small it was compared to the New Kids' old shows. Jordan was as great as he always had been, using his voice and dancing ability to their fullest potential. Steph had never screamed so much (or been turned on so much) in her life. All too soon, Jordan was taking his bow and lights were flashing, signaling the end of the show. Steph and Jen screamed at the top of their lungs with the rest of the crowd.

"Do you think he'll do an encore?" Steph shouted.

"Of course!" Jen screamed back. Sure enough, a single spotlight settled on a microphone. Strangely enough, the mic wasn't in the center of the stage, but a little closer to Steph's side. Jen thought that was strange, but she didn't complain when Jordan walked back onto the stage and adjusted the microphone.

"Whew," he said, laughing. "What a crowd! Alright, Phoenix, Arizona, are y'all ready to go back in time a bit?" The crowd screamed their response. Jordan smiled and continued.

"I guess so! Alright, Phoenix, join me in putting your hands together for my special guest...joining me tonight JUST for all of you....are you ready?!" A loud chorus of yells followed his question. Steph and Jen exchanged glances. Who could it be that they hadn't heard about? "Give it up....for MR. JOE MCINTYRE!!!" Following Jordan's announcement, Jen's hand immediately shot out to grab Steph's arm, her jaw dropping to the floor. The screams in the hall were deafening as Joe entered, grinning like crazy at the response and setting up his mic, which was now also lit up be a spotlight. He was positioned more towards Jen's side and she was screaming louder than Steph could have imagined possible. Jen just couldn't believe it. There he was, Joe McIntyre, the man of her dreams, the man on her walls, the man in her fantasies....she shuddered.

"What's up, Phoenix?" Joe asked. He was answered by the cheers and he laughed. "Just like the old days, right, Jordan?" Jordan grinned at his friend.

"Uh, huh!" he answered.

"Uh, huh," Joe mocked.

"Well, Joe, what do you say we take this audience back?" Jordan said.

"Jordan, I don't know, I mean, do you think they'll remember the New Kids on the Block?" Both guys laughed when the audience erupted in screams. "I guess so! Let's do it!" Slow, familiar music started and Jordan began humming. Steph and Jen screamed at the same time,

"IF YOU GO AWAY!!" It was their song. After all, Jordan and Joe sang it.

"I know, I hurt you. It's the last thing I meant to do. Sometimes I can be careless and blind," Jordan sang. Steph and Jen swayed to the music and almost cried with happiness, seeing the two of them up there. Out of the blue, Jordan's eyes focused right on Steph. He smiled and gave her a little wave as he sang, "Can you forgive the fool that I am? Whoa, whoa, whoa." Steph froze with a huge ass grin on her face. She was obviously in heaven. Then, Joe came in on his solo,

"You know, I love you. You're the one thing I have that's true. My life used to be nothing to me. I never want to feel that again." Jen sighed loud enough to be heard over the crowds screams. Then Jordan joined him in the chorus,

"If you go away..."

Jen was still screaming after the guys left the stage.

"Oh my God, oh my God..." she kept saying over and over again. Steph felt a wave of disappointment. It was over. He was gone. She couldn't believe Jen was still so excited.

"Jen....JEN!!" she said, shaking her. "What's wrong?" Jen was still shaking, her eyes jumping with anticipation. "It's over!" Jen shook her head.

"No, Steph, you don't understand," she said, shakily, digging in her pocket. She pulled out 2 rectangular, laminated objects. Steph was confused.

"What is it?" Jen smiled.

"BACKSTAGE PASSES!!!" she cried, throwing up her arms with excitement. Steph screeched.

"What??!! Why didn't you tell me??" Jen shrugged.

"Surprise?" she smiled. Steph grabbed her friend's arm.

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" With that, the girls made their way over to the closest bodyguard. Jen tapped the large man on the shoulder. He turned and smiled at the girls.

"Can I help you ladies?" he asked in a deep, vibrating voice.

"Biscuit!" they exclaimed together. All 3 of them laughed.

"Yes, you can," Jen giggled. "Sorry, we were big fans. I loved you in the cartoon!" Biscuit grinned.

"Yeah, those were the days. The guys and I had a lot of fun..." Before he could get lost in his memories, Jen pulled out her passes.

"Where can we use these?" she asked. Biscuit smiled at them.

"Ah, the guys are very lucky," he said. The girls snickered at THAT thought. If anybody was lucky, it was them! "Follow me," he said. The girls followed Biscuit up onto the stage and then through the stage doors.

"Wow," Jen said. "Symphony Hall! It's gorgeous!" Biscuit looked at her amusingly and Steph nudged her.

"THAT'S all you can think about??" Steph said with a laugh. Jen looked at her friend.

"Sorry! I guess I'm in shock. I mean, Joe's here!!" Biscuit laughed at that.

"Yeah, they even surprised me with that! The guys planned it a few weeks ago. Joe just got here a few hours before the show."

"While we were playing cards," Steph mumbled. Jen groaned.

"We should have been sneaking around backstage!" she said. After turning a few more corners and passing a ton of people, mainly girls, the 2 friends ended up in front of a large door. Biscuit led them in and motioned inside.

"Here you are, ladies! Enjoy yourselves. I must get back to my job now, but I'm sure I'll be seeing you 2 later."

"Bye Biscuit!" the girls chorused.

"See you ladies." And with that, he disappeared into the crowd. Alone now, both girls turned around, not expecting to see the number of people that were in the large room.

"Wow," they both murmured. The room was pumping with music. Jen laughed as Steph leaned over and said,

"I can't believe they're playing their own music!" It was Face the Music, the New Kids' final album. Jen shrugged.

"It's good!" she said. Steph gave her a kiss-my-ass look. In the corner was a table piled with tons of food and soda. There were 2 huge couches in the center of the room, but it was the crowd in the opposite corner that caught Steph's attention. Jen felt her arm go numb again as Steph squeezed it.

"There he is," she breathed. Jen followed her eyes to the crowd of girls in the corner. Sure enough, there in the center, was Jordan Knight. If Jen was expecting to find Joe there, too, she was sadly mistaken. Joe was nowhere to be found. Jen turned to Steph.

"Do you want to go over there with the rest of the vultures moving in on your man?" Steph smiled weakly.

"No, not yet. Let's, um, wait a bit until it calms down."

"What? The crowd or your nerves?" Jen grinned. She was a bit nervous herself, but she knew that in the business both she and Steph were going into, she would have to learn to control it. She was surprised at how well Steph was doing. Steph smiled.

"Both?" she said. Jen giggled.

"Well, hey, we have all night, right?" Steph just nodded. The crowd wasn't getting any smaller, all of the girls sqealing and asking Jordan for his autograph. He just smiled at them all and signed away. Both girls were impressed how good he was with the fans.

"What should we do until it dies down or until Joe comes in and offers me his body?" Jen asked with a giggle. Steph couldn't hold in her laughter on that one.

"Food?" she asked.

"Food." Jen agreed. They wandered over to the table and made themselves look busy with the food. Neither girl was hungry, they were so edgy with anticipation, but they wanted to be doing something. Finally, they decided to just grab some sodas and head over to the couches. They were halfway there when the door to the room burst open and Joe McIntyre made his entrance. Jen almost dropped her soda. God, she thought. He's even better looking in person than he is on TV, IF that's possible. Joe looked around the room and broke into a huge grin when he saw Jordan.

"J!" he yelled, throwing his arms out to the side. Jordan looked up and broke into a huge smile.

"Joe!" he answered, motioning for Joe to join him. Joe grinned and headed over to join Jordan. He passed right by Steph and Jen, smiling right at Jen and putting a hand on her arm to get in between them and the couch.

"Excuse me," he said in that oh, so sexy voice of his. Jen nearly fainted and sank into the couch.

"Oh my God," she moaned. Steph kept her eyes on Jordan.

"OK, Jen, we need a plan. How are we going to meet them?" As if on cue, the door opened again and this time a loud Boston accent yelled,

"Jordan! Joe! My man!!" Steph turned and smiled when she saw Mark Wahlberg, one of the New Kids' brothers and now a star in himself. The circle of girls squealed and followed Jordan and Joe to greet Mark.

"What's he doing here?" Jen asked. Mark was answering her question as she was asking it.

"What's up, guys?" he asked, slapping their hands. "I'm filming a movie in town and I thought I'd drop by." The girls had quieted down to hear the guys speak.

"Great!" Jordan said. "It's great to see you, man." As they chatted, Biscuit came in and started shooing the girls out.

"Sorry," he told them. "The guys need to rest." He turned and caught Steph's eye, winking at her. Mark stuck with a few of the girls who caught his eye and left the room while Jordan and Joe made their way over to the couch, talking animatedly. Both girls froze as the guys sat down.

"Man, it's been so long!" Jordan was saying. "How's the family?"

"They're great, J. Usual shit. Ya know, I love your album, how's the second one?" Joe said. Second album? Both girls raised their eyebrows. Steph could barely breathe. Jordan Knight was sitting next to her....even if he hadn't talked to her yet.

"Oh, great, Joe, great. Your's is doing really well...." At that point, Jen's smart-ass attitude took control. It must have taken all of her courage, but she managed to say,

"So, Steph, do you think these guys are going to notice that they're sitting next to us, or should we scope the city for new ones?" Steph cracked up. She loved Jen sometimes.

"I don't know, Jen, I'm not used to waiting for guys to talk to me. I think it's time we go to one of those other parties we were invited to." The girls smiled at each other and glanced at the guys. Joe busted up laughing and clapped his hands together, shooting a look at Jordan. Jordan smiled.

"Joe, do you think these girls would grace us with a hello if we tried to talk to them or should we give up now?"

"I don't know, J. I don't think I could live with myself is they completely dissed us." Joe countered. Jordan shrugged.

"What the hell," he said, turning to face Steph and taking her hand.

"Hello, lovely lady. My name is Jordan and you are...?" Steph smiled at him.

"I'm Stephanie."

"Stephanie," Jordan repeated, kissing her hand. He then repeated the action with Jen, bringing a laugh from Joe.

"J, you haven't changed a bit!" he laughed. "Always needing the attention...." Steph and Jen both laughed at that.

"Attention?!" Steph said.

"WHAT?!" Jen answered loudly, imitating their friend Sean. Joe smiled and shook Steph's hand.

"I'm Joe." He then shook Jen's hand, letting his grip linger a bit longer than necessary and staring right into her eyes as he spoke.

"I'm Joe." Jen smiled at him.

"I know, I was at the concert." Joe was taken aback by that, but then he let out a chuckle.

"Alright, we'll get along just fine," he said. Steph joined in the conversation.

"Oh, so you're a smart-ass too, huh?" Jordan laughed.

"Joe? A smart-ass?? No.....not him." Joe swatted Jordan.

"Shut up, man, I proud of my....um...my..."

"Smart-assness?" Jen filled in. They all laughed. Joe nodded and smiled at her.

"Yeah." The two of them continued back and forth with their conversation while Jordan turned to Steph.

"Did you guys see the show?" he asked. Steph nodded.

"Yeah, it was great, Jordan." He perked up.

"Really? You liked it? Thanks."

"Oh, we both did. The new album sounds like it's going to be great. You're very talented." That brought a slight blush to Jordan's face, which Steph thought was so cute. Of course, everything about this boy was adorable. She discreetly pinched herself to make sure she was awake. At that point, everyone had disappeared from the room but the 4 of them.

"I'm so glad you liked it. Really, I was worried, ya know, if it was going to do well or not."

"Well," Steph said, shaking her head. "Anyone with taste will like it." Jordan shook his head.

"Not if they find out I was a New Kid." He looked a little sad when he said that. Steph tried to lighten things up.

"That's going to be hard to hide, don't you think? I mean, you had a doll, a cartoon...." Jordan held up his hand to stop her.

"Yeah, but that was a long time ago. People are a bit biased, ya know?" Steph knew. Boy, did she know!

"Jordan, trust me, you can ask Jen too, there are so many people out there who still listen to New Kids albums and still hang up your posters." Jordan shook his head at that. "Ask Jen, I swear."

"Well, are you one of them?" Jordan asked. Steph felt a heat wave spread through her body at the look that he was giving her. Jen picked that moment to interupt.

"Ask me what?" she wanted to know. Steph shot her a look that clearly said that she had picked the wrong time. Jen gave her an I'm-sorry look back.

"Oh, Steph was telling me that there are still a ton of people in the New Kids phase," Jordan told Jen and Joe. Steph noticed Jen's leg shaking up and down, the only thing that showed her excitement from being so close to Joe. Jen grinned.

"Oh, you guys have no idea. Some people are still as obsessive as they used to be!" Steph and Jen exchanged a glance. Steph knew exactly who Jen was talking about, but she sure wasn't going to say it out loud! Joe laughed.

"That's impossible! I mean, you should have seen some of the things those girls did! J, remember that one group of girls in Seattle? The ones in the maid outfits?" Jordan hooted.

"Yeah, that was classic!" The guys giggled like teenage girls until they noticed the girls looking at them weirdly.

"You don't want to know," Joe said. Jen grinned.

"You're right," she replied. Joe socked her lightly in the arm.

"Smart-ass," he grinned. Jen socked him back.

"And damn proud of it," she said, looking him straight in the eye. The two of them continued to stare at each other with these silly grins on their faces until Jordan felt the need to interupt.

"So, how well do you girls know this city anyway?" he asked. Steph laughed.

"Oh, I've only lived here my entire life," she replied. "I get around." At that comment, Jen burst out laughing. "I meant the city, bitch!" Steph said, glaring at her friend. Even so, Jen couldn't stop laughing and once she starts, she can't stop and before long, they were all laughing uncontrollably. A voice cut into their fun.

"Yo, J!" Mark Wahlberg poked his head in the room, nodding at the rest of them. "D's on the phone, man." Jordan jumped up.

"Great, Mark, thanks," he said. He then looked right at Stephanie. "You guys aren't leaving anytime soon, are you?" Steph grinned.

"Well, we do have those hot dates waiting outside....but maybe we'll stick around, IF you're lucky," she said. Gosh, Jordan thought. This girl is really great. Just my luck she lives in Arizona. Looking straight into her eyes, he said,

"Well, I hope you will be. Joe? You wanna talk to Donnie?" Joe jumped up.

"Yeah, man, I haven't talked to that boy in ages. See you two in a few." With that, the boys exited the room, leaving Steph and Jen to themselves. Jen's shaking leg started moving faster and Steph's face was all red with excitement. They caught each others' eyes and at the same time, they grabbed a couch cushion and literally screamed into them. With that taken care of, Jen said,

"Oh, my God, Steph! He is perfect! Wow...."

"Jen, I don't know how I could ever make this one up to you....I mean....WOW....he's just...he's....WOW." Steph was practically speechless.

"Make it up to me? Hmmm....." Jen pretended to think it over. "Let me be your maid of honor?" Steph through her pillow at Jen as they both collapsed in giggles. The door opened and two pairs of eyes flew to it, hoping it was Joe and Jordan. Instead, Mark sauntered in.

"Ladies? How's about I keep y'all company until the double Js get back?" Jen smiled.

"Sounds great, Mark," she replied.

"Oh," Mark said, faining surprise. "They know my name, but I don't have the pleasure of theirs." The girls had barely introduced themselves when the door opened again and Biscuit popped in.

"Hey everybody," he said, waving. Both girls grinned.

"Hey Biscuit!" After letting them stay, Biscuit was pretty much the girls' all time favorite person.

"Sorry, Mark, but I was told to tell you that you are needed elsewhere." Mark grunted.

"So, the New Kids are worried about me stealing their new girls, huh?" Biscuit held his hands up saying,

"I don't know, man, it's just what I was told."

"Alright," Mark said. "Nice meeting you ladies." With that, he left almost as quick as he came in, taking Biscuit with him. The girls looked at each other and cracked up.

"OK, Jordan, let's go," Joe said after Jordan got off of the phone with Donnie, getting up to head back to the main room. He was anxious to get back to his conversation with Jen.

"Whoa, wait a sec, Joe," Jordan said, pulling him back down. "The girls will be there when we get back, ya know."

"They'd better be," Joe grumbled. "Plus, you can't tell me you're not as psyched to go back as I am...."

"Oh, I am!" Jordan said with a smile. "You know me well enough to know that much." Joe grinned and gave his friend a pat on the shoulder.

"Go for it, man, that girl'll be good for you."

"Plus, that would give you a chance at her friend," Jordan filled in.

"Yeah, well, you can call that a bonus," Joe said with a huge smile. Jordan laughed.

"OK, loverboy, let's go back. We do want to ask them out for later tonight, right?" Jordan almost crossed his fingers. He knew Joe would never say no, but it was getting late and he wasn't sure the girls would go for it. He really hoped so, he didn't want the night with Steph to end yet.

"Well, duh," Joe stated, heading for the door.

The guys were talking about Donnie as they entered the room.

"Man, I can't believe that guy!" Joe was saying.

"Oh, I know! It's like totally weird how famous he got so quick," Jordan said, his eyes wide. "Hiya girls." Steph chuckled.

"At least he noticed us this time," she said, teasingly. Jen grinned and replied,

"Yeah, I thought we were going to have to start stripping or something to get thier attention!" Joe hooted.

"Damn!" he said. "We should've just ignored them!" They all laughed as Jen through the pillow that Steph had hocked at her back at Joe. That's when Steph noticed that the guys were still standing.

"Aren't you guys going to sit down?" she asked. Joe and Jordan exchanged a look.

"Actually..." they both started to say.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Jordan said.

"No, really, go ahead...." Joe chortled. Everybody laughed at that, especially the girls considering how often the very same thing happened to them. Jordan grinned.

"OK," he continued. "Joe and I have to get some stuff taken care of around here." Both girls felt their spirits sink when he said this. Damn, Steph thought. What did I do wrong? I'm such a dork....how could I have thought that I'd be able to hold a guy like this down for more than an hour? She looked at Jen and knew that her friend was thinking the same thing. "Anyway," Jordan continued. "We have to go for now, but what are you girls doing later this evening?" Jen looked at her watch.

"Later this evening?" she asked. "It's ten o'clock now." Joe grinned.

"We know! The night is still young, right?" he countered. Steph shrugged.

"Sounds good to me....Jen?" What were they going to do, say no?

"I don't know, Steph," Jen filled in. "We do have those guys that we met at the concert waiting outside for us, you know..."

"They've been waiting this whole time," Joe asked, looking at his watch. Steph giggled and added to her friend's joke.

"Yeah, well, they really liked us!" They all started laughing again, but this time, Jordan stopped before the rest of them and said,

"Well, how could we blame them?" His gaze fell on Steph and she blushed, glad that Joe and Jen were still laughing. Jordan smiled softly at Steph before getting up.

"Come on, Joe. It's time for a bit of business."

"J, is all that stuff necessary?" Joe asked, almost whining.

"Yes, it's necessary!" Jordan said, looking a bit surprised. "We can't just leave, Joe, this isn't the old days where we had a ton of people doing things for us, ya know."

"Whoa," Joe interupted. "Don't get all defensive, I get it." He turned to Jen. "So, can you guys meet us or are you going on that secret rendevous with those other guys?" Steph braced herself for another smart-ass comment by Jen.

"Well," she said. "I guess we'll just go with you guys. I mean, come on! Any guy who waits for over a half an hour is too desperate for our time!" Jen grinned at Steph, knowing that she'd fill in the rest.

"Yeah," Steph said, not disappointing Jen. "It's the first part of our test that we give every qualifying male. If you fail..." She took her finger and moved it across her neck to show exactly what would happen if they failed. Both guys looked less than amused.

"So," Jordan said. "Are we passing so far?" he asked, letting his hand graze the top of Steph's arm. She shivered and muttered something nobody could understand, but they all knew that the guys were passing the test with flying colors just by the look on Steph's face! She snapped out of it quickly and asked,

"So, where are you guys staying?" Jordan chuckled and said,

"It's the Holiday Inn Select near the airport. You guys know where that is?" Steph looked over at Jen and said,

"Yeah, I think so."

"Hey!" Jen interupted. "I know where that is!" Steph giggled.

"Sure you do, Jen. You're just great with directions," she said, sarcastically.

"No, I'm serious," Jen protested. "I almost planned a conference there. I know where it is!"

"Well, you can't say that very often."

"Listen, bitch..."

"Whoa! Ladies!" Joe said with a smile. "Claws in, alright? Where do y'all live? We'll pick you up when we're done here. Wouldn't want you to wait around for an hour or anything." Jen grinned at his reference to her joke. Jordan cut in.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Are you guys close to our hotel?"

"Right around the corner!" Jen said. "Here, Joe, let me give you directions..."

"No!" Jordan said quickly. "You don't want to do that. We'll never find it with Joe navigating. Trust me."

"And," Steph added. "You'll never find it if Jen's the one giving you the directions. Let me..." Jen and Joe pouted while Steph and Jordan went to go find some paper to take down the directions.

"They just don't trust us," Steph heard Jen say as they walked out the door.

"So, wait, Jordan said that they'd be here when?" Jen asked, pacing around her room. The girls had been home for about a half hour and she was already getting nervous. What if they don't show? she thought. Steph knew that her friend was worried, but for some reason, she wasn't. Jordan had seemed just as excited as she had been when he had promised to pick them up as soon as they were done.

"I told you, bitch. They'll be here when they're done! Oh, and after they run back to the hotel to change." Steph said. Jen groaned.

"Why do they have to change? They looked great!" Yeah, they did, Steph thought.

Meanwhile, Joe and Jordan were on there way to meet the girls.

"Are you sure you know where this place is?" Joe asked impatiently. He was in a big hurry to get back to Jen, it had taken him a bit longer than he thought to get another outfit. He had chosen black jeans with a white t-shirt and a green button down blouse to go over it. He hoped Jen would like it, the shirt did seem to bring out his eyes. Jordan took no time at all getting ready, immediately picking out black jeans, a white shirt, and a black jacket with white stripes down the side. He really hoped Steph would like it. He really wanted them to have fun tonight. Smiling to himself, he patted his pocket that held the directions to their final destination. He hoped the girls liked their idea. "J? What are you smiling about?"

"You know what they always say, Joe. Keep on smiling?" Joe groaned.

"I asked if you were sure you knew where this place was, Loverboy. Think you can forget about Steph long enough to focus on the road?"

"I can try..." Jordan still had that far-away look on his face. Joe was surprised, he had never seen Jordan this distracted before and Jordan ALWAYS distracted.

"You want me to drive?" Joe asked, figuring he could get them there faster if he was driving in a hurricane than Jordan could at that point.

"No, you would be paying attention as much as I am and you know it," Jordan told his friend with a smile. Joe sighed and leaned back in his seat.

"You're right, J. What is it about this girl that's got me like this?" Jordan was really happy for Joe. After that nasty breakup with Nina, he knew that Joe needed someone who would really care about him and he thought that Jen was just what the doctor ordered.

"Oh, I don't know," Jordan replied. "She's fun, cute, funny, smart....I just can't see what you'd like about her!"

"Oh, yeah?" Joe teased. "Were you describing Jen or Steph just now?" Jordan laughed at that.

"Both I think! They are really a lot alike when you think about it. Leave it to us to find best friends..."

"Yeah, well, remember those twins in St. Louis," Joe reminded him.

"Don't remind me!" Jordan said, groaning at the memory. "Oh, look, I think that's it." They pulled up to a large pink building. "Steph said that it looked like a prison. I think she was right!" Joe laughed.

"ASU, man, look at this place! I wish I could say that it feels just like college, but I guess I wouldn't know," Joe said with a hint of regret. He always did regret not going to college, but there was no need now.

The guys were able to walk right into the lobby when a huge group of kids exited. Jordan caught the smell of beer. Yuck, he thought. Don't they know there's such thing as too much? The guys walked up to the desk to find a girl staring at them with her jaw hanging open. Joe grinned. Alright, she knows, he thought.

"We're looking for Jen's room. Jen the RA?" The girl nodded uncomfortably.

"Wow," she said. "Does she know you're coming?"

"Yeah, she does," Jordan filled in.

"I'll bet she's excited. You guys ARE from the New Kids, right?" Both Kids nodded. The girl (whose name was Kat according to her name plate) smiled.

"Go on in, guys. It's the first door on the left," she said, pointing. "Oh, and congratulations on your new albums. I can't wait to hear them."

"Thanks," both guys said, smiling and waving at the girl. They were both relieved at how calm the girl was compared to their old fans, but in another way, they were disappointed as well.

They found Jen's room with no problem. The girls jumped at the knock, but waited a bit just so they didn't seem too eager. After a few seconds, they really couldn't wait anymore.

"Screw hard to get," Jen mumbled, throwing open the door. What they saw there took both of the girls' breath away. How did we get so lucky? All four of them thought at once. The girls had obviously freshened up and Jordan and Joe were speechless at how great they looked. Beautiful, Jordan thought while at the same time Joe was thinking, Absolutely stunning. The guys both had their hands behind their backs. That sparked Jen's curiosity.

"Whatcha got there?" she asked, trying to peek around Joe's back. Joe laughed.

"Forget what I've got here, WHAT have you got in THERE??" he laughed, pointing to Jen's room. She blushed. Jen had never before cared about how messy her room was, but what if Joe thought less of her because of it? Steph held her hands up.

"It's HER mess!" she declared. Jen scrambled around, pushing Steph out the door and closing it.

"Shall we go?" she said, trying to cover up her messiness. Joe was still trying to cover up his laughter as they both pulled out what they held behind their backs. Jen and Steph were quite puzzled at the ice-blue carnations that were tied to a pair of socks. One pair for each girl. Jordan nudged his friend.

"Right, McIntyre, like you should talk! You're not exactly Mr. Clean..."

"I know," Joe said, holding up his hands to defend himself. "That's why I was laughing! I didn't think anyone else had the talent for it," he said, giving Jen a wink. By that time, Steph had spotted which car Jordan was heading towards.

"Shotgun!" she called instinctively. She didn't think Jen would fight her for it considering Jordan was the one with the car keys. He smiled at her and said,

"Sorry, McIntyre, the lady's quick!"

"She can have it!" Joe said, draping an arm over Jen's shoulders. She would've melted if it weren't for the fact that melting would cause Joe to remove his arm. "Jen's better company than you, J, sorry!" Jordan laughed.

"No offense taken, Joey Joe."

"Don't call me that," Joe grunted, settling into his seat as they all put on their seat belts. Steph cracked up at that.

"Look Jenny," she said with a giggle. "Joe doesn't like being called Joey!" Jen gave her a murderous look.

"Yeah, Stephie, I noticed," Jen said, smiling mischieveously. Steph groaned and said,

"OK, truce!" Joe and Jordan just listened to the two girls, marveling at their luck. "By the way, Jordan?" God, he just loved how she said his name. "Where are we going?"

"Oh, that's a surprise, right, Joe?" Jordan asked.

"Huh?" Joe said, tearing his eyes away from Jen. They had to squeeze into the back seat of the guys' rented Eclipse and being so close to her was making him giddy. She smelled great. "Oh, right," he said, grinning. "I hope you guys like it. If you don't, it was Jordan's idea!" Jen laughed at that, but Steph turned to Jordan and said softly,

"I'm sure we'll love anything you guys picked. Great company, that's all that matters, right?" Jordan was really glad that she had said that. He reached over and squeezed her hand.

"Right," he said, just as softly. "So we'll have the best time ever." Meanwhile, Joe and Jen were noticing their friends' reactions to each other.

"Wow," Jen murmured. "That was quick. How does she do it?"

"Do what?" Joe wanted to know. So, Jen had to relay for Joe her problem with guys always coming to her about Steph.

"That's all I heard at first," she confided. "Steph this and Steph that. It was a little annoying at first, but it's not like any of the guys I liked asked me about her or anything. Well, kinda...." she said, thinking of her two week crush on their friend Bobby.

"So, how many guys do you like?" Joe asked, bringing his voice down a notch. Jen sucked in her breath, it was just so sexy.

"That's private information, Mr. McIntyre. I'm afraid if I tell you, I'd have to kill you." He chuckled softly. "How about you?"

"Oh," Joe said, moving a bit closer to her. "Just one."

"So you've been here your whole life?" Jordan asked Steph, curious to know whatever he could learn about this mysterious girl.

"No," Steph said. "I was born in Montreal, but most of my life I've lived here."

"Do you like it? I mean, are you planning on staying here?" No, Knight, he told himself. She's going to be moving to Boston next week! He almost smacked himself. He knew he shouldn't get too attached to this girl from Arizona, but he also knew that it was too late. But could his heart take any more hurt? Steph noticed him drifting off.

"Jordan?" she asked, softly, placing her hand lightly on his arm. "Are you OK?

Jordan shook his head a bit as if to clear it.

"I'm fine," he said, smiling again. "Hey, you guys!" he called, interupting the soft conversation going on in the back. Joe could have killed Jordan at that point.

"What?" they both grumbled.

"We're there," Jordan said, parking the car. Jen and Steph both shot up in their seats, looking around.

"Wow, J," Joe said, getting out of the car. "You got us there, I'm impressed."

"Phoenix is really easy to get around," Steph commented. Jordan laughed.

"Oh, thanks!" he said teasingly. Steph blushed.

"Oh, I didn't mean..." Jordan held up his hand.

"I know, I was kidding." Steph nodded and looked around. The first thing she saw was a bunch of people and lights and she heard music.

"Oh my God," she heard Jen say incredulously. "How did they know, Steph?" All of the sudden, Steph brought her hands to her mouth and gasped. They were at the outdoor ice skating rink! It was the very same rink that she had been trying to get to for over a year, but noone would ever go. Jordan came over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Do you like it?" he asked. Steph just nodded, understanding the socks now. It was just so perfect.

"Well, Jen, I guess you're learning how to skate!" Steph said, turning to her friend, who's cheeks were pink with excitement. Steph figured that the prospect of having Joe hold her up as she attempted the feat of skating was more thrilling than going with her and Matt. Steph could just see her and Jordan twirling around on the ice. "What are we waiting for?" she exclaimed. "Let's go!"

"Don't worry," Joe whispered in Jen's ear. "I'll help you, you can just hold me and I'll lead you around the ice." Jen shivered and it wasn't because the rink was cold, it was the warm breath in her ear.

"Sounds great," she whispered back. He grinned and squeezed her hand gently. That's it, Jen thought. I've died and gone to heaven. Steph was thinking the same thing as Jordan helped her lace up her skates. Looking at the top of his head, she realized that there wasn't a single part of him that wasn't good-looking. I would rape this boy, she thought with a grin. With the way the evening was going, she might not have to!

"OK, done!" Jordan announced. "What are you grinning at?" Steph tried to stop, but she couldn't.

"Um," she said, thinking quickly. "I was just marveling at your talent for lacing up skates. You could make it a career, you know!" Jordan chuckled as he plopped down next to her to lace up his own skates.

"Yeah," he agreed, studying his work. "Forget singing, I'm going the lace route all the way!" After that, neither of them could contain their laughter. At that point, Joe and Jen walked up to them, laced and ready to go. Well, Joe walked. Jen, on the other hand, kind of stumbled. She grumbled under her breath,

"I'm going to kill myself, I know it." Joe slipped an arm around her waist to help hold her up.

"You can't do that," he told her. "I just met you, we at least have to figure out full names and favorite movies before you can go killing yourself!" Jen sent him a sarcastic smile.

"Thanks, I'm so glad you care," she replied. "I don't have a favorite movie." Steph groaned.

"No, Jen, EVERY movie is your favorite movie." Jen nodded.

"That's true," Jen said, considering that. "Well, except for SpiceWorld.....and that Beavis and Butthead movie..." The guys grinned at each other at those titles and Steph just held up her hand.

"Don't say a word! If you guys like either of those movies, then keep it to yourselves." They grinned like banshees until Jen groaned and said,

"OK, let's get this over with!" With that, the foursome made their way onto the ice.

"You two will be ok alone, right, Joe?" Jordan asked, raising his eyebrow. Joe winked at his friend.

"No prob, J, I'll take care of her."

"I'll bet you will," Jordan mumbled, racing away to join Steph before Joe could catch him.

"Don't even think about chasing him, Joseph McIntyre!" Jen said, grabbing his arm. "I don't want my ass to meet the ice quite yet." Joe pouted.

"I'll kiss it and make it better," he offered. Jen groaned.

"Kiss my ass," she mumbled. Joe threw his arms up.

"Isn't that what I just offered?" he asked. She went to hit him, but he dodged out of her way. Jen stumbled and would have completely fallen over if it hadn't have been for Joe. He caught her around the waist on her way down as she was falling backwards. Leaning over her, he laughed softly, not letting her go.

"You're a dangerous woman, Jennifer Atkins," he whispered. She swallowed the huge lump in her throat.

"How am I dangerous?" she asked softly, looking straight into those gorgeous blue eyes. He didn't say anything, but just stared back at her, thinking, This girl has got some of the most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen. I could just lose myself in them. Meanwhile, Jen was already lost. He's going to kiss me!! she thought. She reached up to brush a curl out of his face as his lips slowly lowered to meet hers. She forgot about everything but the two of them in that moment, the only thing in her mind was Joe: his voice, his eyes, his hair, his lips....He pulled her even closer as his kiss deepened, completely consuming her. She brought her hand up to stroke his cheek as he pulled away, catching her eye one more time before he let her up.

"Thanks," Jen said, breathlessly. Joe smiled.

"No problem," he replied with a huge ass grin. Shit, Jen thought. I can't believe I said that...what a loser...THANKS???

"Uh...I meant for, um, catching me," she stammered.

"I know, Jen," Joe said, taking her hand. "Now, come on, let's teach you how to skate!"

"Oh my God!" Steph squealed, grabbing Jordan's arm. "Did you see that? He kissed her!!" Jordan laughed. It was so cute that Steph was so excited for her friend. Of course, he was just as happy for Joe. He had seen that kiss and he knew that Joe was going to have just as hard of a time leaving as he would. Shit.

"Steph, come on, stop spying on them!" he teased. Steph pretended to look offended.

"I'm not spying, I'm acting as a concerned friend! Plus, don't think I didn't see you watching them too, Jordan Knight!" Oh, say my name again....please?? he thought. "Jordan?" Thank you.

"Yeah, so I was watching. It was adorable, ok? Now are we going to stand here and oogle for our friends or are we going to skate?" Jordan said, holding out his hand. Steph took it and he entwined his fingers with hers, pulling her with him to the slow music. Steph couldn't remember a time where she was this happy, ice skating to a gorgeous song, holding hands with the most perfect man in the world....

They circled the rink a few times, giggling at Joe's attempts to teach Jen to skate. The pair had made it halfway around, but they were clutching each other and laughing, so Steph wasn't worried. Not that she could concentrate on her friend anyway, with Jordan's fingers entwined with hers. She gazed up at him as she was skating, hardly believing her luck. At the level she was at, she had a perfect view of his jawline. Perfect, she thought. He's absolutely perfect. Jordan looked down to catch Steph looking at him and she blushed. Damn, she's cute, he thought, squeezing her hand. He hadn't even noticed her staring at him, he was too busy thinking about the way her blonde hair shimmered in the light and how cute her dimples were when she smiled. The balad ended and Jordan leaned over and whispered,

"Are you thirsty?" Steph nodded.

"Actually, I am," she said shyly. He started pulling her off of the rink,

"Well, come on, let's go get an ice cream soda," he said excitedly. "My treat." Steph laughed at his enthusiasm.

"Sounds great, Jordan." This time, he couldn't help himself.

"You know what? I just love the way you say my name," he told her as they approached, giving her a shy grin. Steph sighed, she just couldn't help herself. "Do you like mint chocolate chip?" Jordan asked. Steph laughed at that.

"It's my favorite!"

"One mint chocolate chip soda, two straws, please," Jordan asked the girl at the register. She wrung it up, gaping at him.

"Hey, aren't you...."

"No," he quickly interupted, bringing a giggle from Steph. The girl smiled and shook her head, handing him his soda.

"OK," she said. "But I loved your concert tonight!" Jordan smiled at her and signed the piece of paper she held out to him.

"Thanks," he said. "I appreciate it." The girl was obviously trying to control herself, but managed to as Steph and Jordan took their seats. Steph held the ice cream and looked at Jordan questioningly.

"Do you realize how cold we're going to be?" she asked. Jordan slid an arm around her shoulder and leaned over to her ear, whispering,

"I'll warm you up."

Unfortunately, at the rate Steph was going, Jordan wouldn't have to keep her warm. With him there, she was hot enough already. Not that she would complain if he tried, of course, but if he kept talking like that, she would simply melt. Now, Steph loved her best friend, she really did, but sometimes she picked the most inopportune times to enter a conversation. This was one of them.

"Whew," Jen said, plopping down noisily in the seat next to Jordan. "I think I'm finally getting the hang of it!"

"Yeah, sure," Joe said, taking the empty seat next to Steph. "You only fell like 5 times!"

"Hey," Jen argued. "3 of those were only because your skate was in the way." Steph was starting to notice that, like Jen, Joe always had to have the last word.

"But if my skate wasn't there, then I wouldn't have been there and you, dear Jen, would've wound up on your ass a lot more than you did!" Knowing this would never end unless she said something, Steph blurted out,

"Jen, switch places with me." right as Jen opened her mouth for a smart-ass remark. They all looked at Steph in surprise.

"Why?" Jen asked.

"Because, bitch," Steph said, trying to contain her laughter. "THIS is ass-backwards!" At that, both girls almost fell over laughing.

"Alright, woman, move it," Jen said, still laughing as she stumbled over to the seat next to Joe. Steph covered her mouth to smother her laughter as she fell into the seat next to Jordan. Both guys were incredibally confused at that point, but they were both damn happy at how things had worked out.

"Hi," Jordan whispered to Steph as he squeezed her knee. She swore to herself that she would somehow pay Jen back for those concert tickets. How, she didn't know....maybe something to do with Joe and a white horse. She smiled to herself at the thought. Jordan gave her a funny look, but kept his hand in place on her knee.

"Hi," she whispered back. The look on Jordan's face was unreadable, but it definitely looked positive for sure. All of the sudden, the hand disappeared and he jumped up, exclaiming,

"I'll be right back!" Before any of them could say anything, he was gone. Jen shot Steph a weird look.

"Where'd he go?" Steph made a face.

"How am I supposed to know?" Both Joe and Jen gave her the exact same look and she just cracked up. That's when Jen almost jumped out of her seat.

"What's wrong?" Joe asked. Jen reached for her pager.

"It was vibrating," she replied. Joe laughed out loud.

"I really don't want to know," he said. Jen checked her pager and announced,

"I'll be right back", leaving Steph and Joe alone. They looked at each other and smiled. Steph decided this was the perfect opportunity to watch out for her friend. If this guy hurt her, no matter how hot he was, she would personally make sure his life was miserable.

"So, Joe..." she started. Joe held up a hand to stop her.

"Don't worry, Steph," he said. "I really like her." Steph raised her eyebrows.

"Are you sure?" Joe thought about how he could word what he was thinking.

"Let's put it this way," he said, being serious for the first time all evening. "I've never been more sure about anything in my life." Looking into his blue eyes (Jen's right, they ARE gorgeous, she thought), she knew he was telling the truth.

"OK, Joe," she said, nodding. "Thanks for reassuring me." he gave her a look that said whataboutme?? "And don't worry, I know Jen and she feels the same way." He smiled and said,

"Thanks, Steph. Oh, and I can tell just by the look on your face that I don't have to worry about you hurting Jordan, do I?" Steph blushed.

"I'm more worried about me getting hurt, to be honest," she confided. Joe smiled and patted her hand.

"Well, you definitely don't have to worry about that," he told her. "I've never seen him like this before and I know Jordan. You guys are good for each other." He looked up and smiled. "Hey, J, what's up?" Jordan sat back down and gave his friend a fake angry look.

"Trying to move in on my woman, McIntyre?" he teased. Oh, wow, Steph thought. He just called me his woman. That was so much better than when Jen calls me woman. Oh wow. At that point, Jen had gotten back. Before Steph could ask, Jen said,

"It was Mike."

"Jiggs?" Steph asked. Joe pouted a bit.

"Who's Mike?" he wanted to know. Both girls groaned.

"Don't ask," they said simultaneously. "I did it on purpose! I love you!" There they were, laughing uncontrolablly again until Jordan said,

"So, Joe, do you think they'll be doing this all night?" he asked. Joe grinned.

"I hope so," he said. "Girls are defenseless when they're laughing." With that, he began tickling Jen on her sides and she screeched in laughter, being the ticklish person that she is. Jordan gave Steph an evil grin.

"Don't even think about it!" she warned. The other two were still wrestling around, Jen reaching for Joe's leg hair and Joe yelping in pain. Jordan motioned with his head that the two of them should leave. Steph nodded and followed him out of the snack bar area. Jen and Joe didn't even notice them go. Jordan lightly took Steph's hand as they attempted to walk in their skates. He knew at that point that he would never get enough of her. That's when the DJ interupted the music.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special dedication!" Jordan motioned for Steph to stop and pulled her so that they were standing next to each other under some willow trees on the far corner of the rink. The announcer continued.

"This next song is going out to Stephanie from her Knight in shining armor...." Steph died as she heard the first few notes of "Baby, I Believe In You" playing. "Oh, Jordan," she whispered. "How can I thank you?" Jordan smiled.

"Just keep saying my name like that," he replied, holding out his hand. "May I have this dance, fair maiden?" Steph stepped right into his arms, saying,

"Why, of course, my knight in shining armor." They swayed to the music as Jordan pulled her closer, as close as two people could get, as he sang in her ear,

"Every time we kiss, it always feels like this, I believe in you..." He then pressed their foreheads together and put a finger under her chin, bringing her mouth up to meet his. In that moment, Steph forgot everything. All that mattered was Jordan. She realized that he was no longer the man with the perfect face, but much more than that. His arms tightened around her to draw her even closer as he deepened the kiss, not wanting to let her go. He didn't ever want to ler her go. Jordan shivered at the thought. Could he really lo.....no, no, of course not. He barely knew her. Then again.... Meanwhile, Steph was running her hands through Jordan's beautiful hair, thinking How could one NOT adore this man? His kiss was incredible. She could even lo....no, no, not yet. She put that thought out of her mind and concentrated on that kiss. She could swear that the world was spinning. It didn't stop spinning as they broke apart. They didn't go far, though, pressing their foreheads together again. "Wow," Jordan whispered. Steph nodded as Jordan continued singing softly, for her only. At least for tonight, Jordan Knight was hers and hers alone. The pair continued dancing until Steph felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find Jen and Joe, both with their arms crossed and tapping their feet. They were obviously trying not to smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry, guys!" Steph said, a little embarrassed. "How long has it been?" Joe laughed at her question, motioning to the near-empty rink.

"The place is closing in ten minutes," he said. "Do you guys even know how long you've been here?" Jordan smiled shyly and shook his head.

"Actually, no, we don't!" Jen and Joe snickered. Steph smiled down at Jen.

"Damn, have you shrunk, woman?" she asked, looking down at her friend, who had already turned in her skates.

"No, bitch, I haven't shrunk, it's just that you're kind of floating right now," Jen said with a sly grin. Steph muttered something under her breath that noone heard, but they all laughed anyway. Joe gave Jordan a punch in the arm and said, "Yo, bro, you'd better go turn in those skates before the big skate people hunt you down." Jordan laughed and plopped down on a bench, motioning for Steph to sit next to him. Joe and Jen waited quite impatiently while Jordan unlaced and slid off Steph's skates. As soon as they were off, Jen jumped in.

"Steph. Conference. Now," she said, pointing over to the parking lot.

"Girl talk," Joe announced. "Come on, J, let's go to the bathroom together. Isn't that what girls do in these situations?" Jordan shook his head.

"No offense, McIntyre, but I'm NOT going to the bathroom with you!" They all cracked up as Steph handed Jordan her skates and followed Jen out to the parking lot.

"We'll meet you guys by the car," Jen called over her shoulder, dragging Steph with her. Joe watched her go with a blank expression on his face. Jordan practically had to jump on his head to get his attention.

"How'd we get so lucky, Joe?" he asked. Joe absently shook his head.

"Man, J, I just don't know. You gotta thank the lord for making things like that, though!"

"Word," Jordan replied, staring after Steph and smiling.

"OH MY GOD!!" both girls screamed at the same time as soon as they were out of ear distance. Pulling themselves together, Steph gave Jen a huge hug.

"Bitch, I don't even have the words...." Steph said, hardly believing that any of this was really happening. Jen squealed,

"No shit! It's like our own freakin Wildest Dreams special! You gotta thank the lord...."

"For making things like that!" Steph finished. They laughed together, both not believing anything that was going on. "So, what do you think we're doing after this?" Steph asked. "I mean, it IS 3 AM! Can you believe that I haven't taken my Ridalin tonight at all?" Jen giggled.

"I guess Jordan is just what the doctor ordered, huh?"

"UH HUH!" Jen laughed and Uh huhed her back.

"Well," Jen continued. "I was talking to Joe..."

"Talking?" Steph questioned. Jen swatted her.

"Yes, bitch, TALKING....anyway, I know they don't have anything planned, but I don't think that either of us quite want this night to end yet, ya know?" Steph stared at her.

"Ya know?? Well, duh, I know!" she exclaimed, shaking Jen by her shoulders. "So, what should we do?" Jen grinned and said,

"Well...I have this idea..." Steph perked up.

"Well, what is it?" Jen gave her a you-should-know-me-by-now look.

"Steph, come on," Jen said, exasperatingly. "It's 3 AM on a Friday. We're in Phoenix with the two best looking and sweetest guys in the known galaxy and beyond. What do you think my idea is?" Steph looked at her in surprise.

"JEN?!" she said, hardly believing her ears. Jen was one of the few remaining virgins at ASU and Steph was proud of her for that. Jen burst out laughing at Steph's assumptions.

"NO, dork, not THAT...well, not yet," Jen said, giggling at Steph's reaction to her comment. "I'm talking about a gorgeous sunrise at the top of our very own South Mountain," she said, looking very satisfied with herself. Steph's face broke into a huge smile.

"That's awesome! I'm sure they've never been there. Jen, for once, you had a great idea."

"For once? Whatever, bitch, you're forgeting who's the one who came up with your concert tickets," Jen said smugly. Steph thought about that one.

"Good point," she finally said.

"Hey ladies!" a loud voice called, interupting their conversation.

"Shit," Jen muttered. "OK, South Mountain...let's surprise them."

"How?" Steph asked. Jen grinned.

"That's easy, woman, you drive!" Steph shook her head at that suggestion.

"There's no way they would let me drive their rental Eclipse, Jen." Jen smiled.

"You don't think so? Watch me work..." With that, she headed back over to the guys, who were casually leaning against the car.

"It's about time," Joe said. "I thought I was going to have to make out a will standing here for so long." Jen smiled sweetly at him.

"Has anyone ever told you how funny you are?" she asked.

"No," Joe grinned.

"There's a reason for that," Jen shot back, getting quite a hoot from Jordan.

"Ouch," Jordan commented. Joe clutched his chest in mock agony.

"Score one for Jen," Steph commented. Jen held up her hands in victory as Joe colapsed on top of the car.

"Oh, man," he groaned. "I think I might need CPR!" Everyone looked at Jen. She held up her hands.

"Don't look at me!" she said. "That's like asking the shark for a band-aid!" They all laughed hysterically. "So," Jen said. "Since I'm pretty sure that you guys don't have anything planned, are you game for a surprise?" She looked over to Steph for backup.

"Yeah," Steph said, holding out her hands. "Can you guys handle our plan?" Jordan looked at her upturned palm with a raised eyebrow.

"Can I help you, miss?" he asked.

"Keys, please," Steph said. "How can we surprise you if you know where we're going?" Jordan sighed, finding it hard to say no to those dimples. Joe groaned loudly.

"Sounds great, girls. Let's just get out of this parking lot!" Well, that was easy. With that, Jordan climbed into the shotgun seat next to Steph with Joe and Jen in the backseat yet again, not that either of them were complaining. Joe smiled at Jen as she climbed in and took her hand as soon as she was buckled in. Steph flipped on KZZP 104.7, which was where Jen worked. The DJ was talking.

"Hey," Jen said suddenly. "That's Jason Rivers. That dude is freakin hilarious." Jason was talking about the next song.

"And now, a flashback to the early nineties....here are the New Kids on the Block, rising back to popularity 5 years after their breakup, with I'll Be Loving You Forever...." The familiar notes came on the radio and Jen and Steph both gasped. Joe wasn't so nice. He actually groaned, but Jen put her hand to his mouth to shut him up. Steph was having a moment. Joe took that opportunity to start kissing her palm and fingers and with that, Jen completely forgot about Steph's moment.

"Wow," Jordan said during the chorus. "They're playing our songs again, Joe." Joe didn't answer him and Jordan really didn't want to know why, so he didn't bother trying again.

"I can't imagine that. Hearing my voice on the radio," Steph said suddenly. It was so weird for her right then. She was hearing this beautiful voice on the radio, but the source of it was sitting right next to her. Jordan shook his head.

"I think those moments are the best ones. It's a sign of success," he replied, switching the station. "But that doesn't mean I like to hear it," he said, smiling.

When they arrived at the bottom of South Mountain, they found it closed. The guard informed Steph that they would be opening in about an hour, so Steph found a little spot to park so they could all wait. Jordan started rifling through his CD collection to pass the time and Steph turned around to find Jen asleep on Joe's shoulder. Joe was oblivious to everything except for the woman asleep on him. He was stroking her hair, his chin resting on her head. Steph caught his eye and he winked at her, motioning to Jordan. Steph gave him a look that said that everything was going more than great.

"Hey, Steph, what kind of music do you like?" Jordan asked suddenly. Steph coughed a bit, not exactly wanting to tell him that her and Jen had been listening to straight NKOTB for about a year now.

"Oh, I pretty much listen to everything," she replied, marveling at his eyes in the dark car. "You pick."

"Frank Sinatra," came an answer from the back. Jordan grinned and popped in a bit of Frank for his friend.

"Cool," Joe said, leaning back in his seat to take in the music, laying his arm across Jen's shoulders. Jordan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel until he got a little restless. Leaving the keys in the ignition for the sleeping pair in the back, he opened his door and circled the car, opening Steph's door and holding out his hand.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" He asked. Steph took his hand without question. What was she going to do? Say no?

"Wow," Steph said, colapsing on her bed in Jen's room and hugging Jordan's jacket close to her. It was her favorite of all of his jackets, the black one with the white stripes down the side. And he thought he was getting it back! It even smelled like him....she sighed out loud. Jen's gaze wandered to her pictures on the wall. There were so many! Steph did the same thing, sighing. "Jen......we just met and KISSED the men on our walls!!" Hearing that, Jen put a pillow over her face and literally screamed. Steph didn't go quite that crazy, but her squeals were enough. It was like a dream. After Jen was done letting her excitement out into her pillow, she propped herself up on her elbow and turned to Steph.

"SO....." she said. "Start talking. Start with your walk and end with the goodnight!" Steph laughed.

"OK, but then I have to hear yours." Jen nodded.

"Well, duh," she stated, grinning at her friend. She couldn't seem to stop smiling, it was the greatest feeling. Steph turned to her favorite picture of Jordan and just stared.

"He's just so great, Jen," she sighed. Jen looked at her own Joe collage and moaned softly.

"I understand," she replied. "Now TALK!" Steph giggled, gave her picture one last look, and turned to Jen.

"OK, turn out the lights....I need mood lighting." After a few seconds of Jen not doing what she asked, she added, "Please." So, Jen turned out the lights and settled back to hear Steph's story. Not that it helped considering it was already light out.

"OK, bitch, I'm tired, so this is going to be the short version! OK, first we just started walking around the area and talking a bit. He sang me some of his new song ideas and Jen, I swear, I was SOOO done! Anyway, he held my hand....(sigh) and we just TALKED for the entire hour before the park opened. We are so much alike, like finishing each others' sentences....kinda like us. Anyway, nothing big happened then."

"Then??" Jen asked slyly. Steph grinned in the dark with the memory.

"Shut up, bitch, I'm telling a story here. So, we get back in the car and interupt whatever you two were doing....which I WILL find out about in a minute." Jen chuckled.

"Uh huh," she said.

"Uh huh....anyway, you know what happened driving up. We talked, we laughed, we sang, we almost fell over the side, whatever..." Jen cracked up at that. The guys had been so scared that Steph was going to drive right over the side of the mountain because of its sharp turns and small roads. Steph continued. "So, then we split up again when we got to the top. Jordan and I found this rock and just sat there, holding each other. He was sitting on the top of this rock and I was sitting in between his legs, with my back to him, ya know? He had his arms wrapped around me, like over my shoulders. Jen, now I know what you mean when you say that it's all about how a guy smells. He smelled SOO good! I mean, I was done for like the 50th time tonight. Let's see....then, we watched the sunrise in total silence, with his chin resting on my right shoulder and I was holding his arms with my hands. You know that position.....and then he kissed me again, like soft little pecks at first...."

"And then?" Jen inquired. Steph sighed in the dark.

"Then not so soft and not so little," she said with a mischevious laugh. "Man, does that man have some LIPS!" Jen cracked up at that.

"So does Joe," she replied. "Some damn nice ones, too. So, that's it?"

"Well, you know what happened on the way home....he kissed me goodnight, one of those sexy-ass kisses where the guy strokes your cheek....damn, Jen. I mean, DAMN!! As in JorDAMN!" She sighed. "Now you...." Jen smiled and stretched her arms over her head.

"Oh, where to begin..." she said, thinking.

"Bitch, you'd better start somewhere or I'm going to bed. I figure the sooner I sleep, the sooner I get up, the sooner I see Jordan again!" Jen nodded.

"Damn glad Winter Break's later this year, huh?" Steph nodded. "OK," Jen started. "What a freaking babe....ok....well, you guys left the car. It was so nice, Steph. You know I wasn't sleeping, but Joe didn't know that and he was just stroking my hair and holding me. You know me, I was dying. It felt so damn good to be held like that. So, after a while, I decided to let him know I was awake." Steph giggled.

"What'd you do?" she asked. "Shove your tongue down his throat?" Jen, being the vulgar person that she was, grinned and said,

"Well, yeah, but not until later."

"Oh," Steph groaned. "Happy thoughts...happy thoughts.....Jordan naked in my bed...Jordan naked in my...."

"Bitch," Jen interupted. "May I continue? So, I just started like stroking his hand, ya know? And he got the hint and kind of moved so our faces were closer together. I don't know who made the actual move, but someone sure did!" She sighed at the memory. "So, we just kissed and stuff until you guys interupted us."

"And STUFF?" Steph asked.

"Not too much stuff, don't worry. Anyway, so then we went up the mountain and Joe and I went to sit in that old stone house thing, ya know? The one with that ledge that I love? Oh, yeah, you weren't there..." she said, giggling when Steph stuck up her middle finger. "Anyway, it's this stone ledge and you can see the entire city. I pointed out all of the spots and streets, he actually sounded interested in what I had to say!"

"And you're not used to that, are you?" Steph giggled.

"Shut up, woman. Anyway, we mostly just cuddled for the sunrise and he rubbed my back a bit. You know how I don't really like getting backrubs, just giving them? Well, he was DAMN good....he really like my technique as well."

"I don't wanna know!" Steph said.

"My backrub technique, bitch....anyway, that was about it. We kissed a bit more and a bit more at the door. He's going to call when they wake up."

"That's it?" Steph wanted to know.

"Yup." Steph looked at her picture one more time and sighed.

"OK, then goodnight."

"Sweet dreams!" Jen said, knowing hers were going to be way more than just sweet. Steph chuckled.

"Don't worry!"

The phone totally interupted both Jen and Steph's dreams. Steph groaned really loud as Jen reached over to pick up the phone.

"Hello," she mumbled, trying to sound her best. Even in her half-awake state, she thought it was Joe. She was doomed to disappointment.

"Dude, what's up?" said a very happy Russian accent. Jen groaned, not meaning to sound disappointed, but she couldn't help it.

"Hi, Leon," she muttered. "What do you want?"

"To say hi?" he said. Jen rubbed her eyes, wondering if she'd be able to get that dream back. Steph made some funky-ass noise and rolled over, instantly falling back asleep.

"Hi," Jen said sleepily. "Can I go back to bed now?"

"Dude, what were you doing up so late?" Leon wanted to know. Both girls thought that his curiosity was funny sometimes, considering that he never told them anything about his own personal life. Jen knew what was coming. "Did you get it on?"

"With who, Leon?"

"I don't know, did you?" Jen groaned.

"I can't remember," she stated, using a line that Leon had used on her two years ago, the weekend they had met. It was also the weekend they had hooked up. It was quite a story that their friends wouldn't let them forget, even then.

"OK, bye," Leon said. This time Jen didn't mind and she hung up the phone without any thought. She had just gotten back into sleep state when it rang again.

"Your turn, bitch," she mumbled. Steph groaned.

"Your phone, woman," she replied, quite happy where she was in her thoughts. This time Jen wasn't so nice.

"Lo?"

"Good morning, sleepyhead," came the sexiest voice ever. Jen woke up instantly.

"Joe! Hi there," she said, her voice getting all dreamy. She heard a scuffle on the other end.

"No, Jordan," Joe was saying. There was more scuffle until she heard a different voice say,

"Morning Jen." She giggled.

"Morning J."

"Is Steph up?" he wanted to know.

"She is now," Jen said, trying not to laugh. "Hang on. Bitch, it's J," she said, tossing her the phone and almost smacking her in the head with it. Steph gave her a look and picked up the phone, her voice also changing as she said hi. By the time they got off the phone with the guys, plans were made for the guys to pick them up and go to lunch at one of the girls' favorite restaraunt, the Landmark. They had vowed a year ago that they would someday bring men that were NOT their friends there and this was their chance. Exactly 20 minutes later, Steph was ready to go, looking fabulous. It took Jen almost an hour, but she, too, had gotten all spippy. They sat down to wait for the guys to finish getting ready. In actuality, it was Joe they were waiting for. Jordan had been ready at the same time as Steph (nice transition, huh, Steph?).

"McIntyre, sometimes I think you take longer getting ready than any woman I've ever known," he commented, crossing his arms over his chest. Joe just shrugged.

"J, if you're not used to it by now, then..." Jordan's groan interupted his thought. He grabbed the hotel key and the car keys off of the counter and practically shoved Joe out the door. On their way out to the car, Joe gave Jordan a teasing punch in the shoulder.

"So?" he asked. "Are you going to tell me what happened with you and Steph or what?" Jordan gave Joe a questioning look as he opened up the car doors.

"What are you talking about?" Jordan asked, trying to hold in the chuckle that was erupting. Buckling up, Joe almost laughed out loud.

"Come on, J, it's me you're talking to. What happened, shithead, I want details!" Jordan shook his head.

"All I can tell you is that last night was one of the greatest I've had in a while."

"You got some, didn't you, J?" Joe said, grinning. Jordan laughed.

"No more than you did, my friend!" he commented. Now, if Joe was the type to get embarrased, he probably would have blushed, but he wasn't. Instead, he simply said,

"Alright, then, you did have a lot of fun!" Jordan stopped at a red light and sighed. His mood seemed to have changed dramatically. Joe sensed it immediately. "What's wrong, J?"

"You're a part of the same record label as I am, right Joe?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Has your manager been trying to get you to move to LA?" Joe let out a sigh.

"Actually, he has. I guess they want all of the Columbia artists closer to home, ya know?" Jordan nodded slowly. "You're not thinking of doing it, are you, J?" Jordan shot Joe a look that clearly said he was thinking about it.

"Well, it makes sense," he retorted. By then, they had arrived at Jen's place, but Joe stopped Jordan from getting out of the car.

"But Boston is home, J," Joe argued.

"It will always be home, Joe, whether we're there or not."

"We?" Joe countered. Jordan nodded.

"Come with me, Joe. We can get an apartment on the beach and..."

"Wait," Joe interupted. "This doesn't have anything to do with Steph, does it?" Jordan was silent for a minute before he answered.

"Well, no. I've been thinking about this for a really long time now. Steph just helped me make up my mind, that's all."

"Did you tell her?" Joe wanted to know. Jordan shook his head. Joe couldn't believe his friend. He had never thought about leaving Boston and he didn't think that Jordan would either. Looking around, he realized that he did love the west coast, but still....Boston was home. "J, this is crazy," Joe decided.

"No, it's not, Joe. Think about the positives here. We'll have the beach, sun, it would be amazing for our careers...." Joe nodded, deep in thought.

"And we'd be really close to Arizona...." he said, smiling. Jordan was getting excited.

"Exactly! Plus, think of the things we'd see and do. We could get a huge condo and then we'd have our managers off of our backs for good." Joe just didn't want to make this decision at that point in time.

"Ok, J, tell you what...I'll THINK about it for now, but don't count on it. And DON'T tell the girls!" Jordan smiled. He'd been waiting to talk to Joe about this all weekend and it felt great to get it out in the open. He knew that Jen was just the incentive to get him at least considering it. Joe grinned.

"I won't. Wouldn't want to give the poor girl a heart attack or nothin." With a laugh, Jordan got out of the car and the guys headed towards the girls' room.

When a knock sounded at the door, neither girl got up. Jen's theory was to make them worry since they were so late. After the second knock, Steph got up, giving Jen a shrug. She opened the door to find Jordan leaning against the wall, giving her a slow grin. She sighed out loud at the sight. He had his hands in his pockets, a position that Steph thought was so sexy. With his black slacks and maroon blouse, he could have very well been the best looking guy in the world. One of Jen's phrases came to her mind: "A sample of God's artistic talents." That's exactly what he was. God could've won an award for creating this man. Jordan opened his arms for a good morning hug and she gladly stepped into them, loving every second.

"Where's Joe?" she asked, not seeing him anywhere. Jordan burst out laughing.

"Great, you try so hard to impress a girl and she asks about your best friend. Jen! Come here, I need comforting!" Jen cracked up, but didn't come any closer with the fear that Steph would trip her. Steph pouted.

"I was asking on Jen's behalf," she said, wrapping her arms around Jordan's waist. He looked down at her and found that he just couldn't keep up his fake-anger.

"Well, that's ok," he said, giving her a squeeze. "Joe's in the lobby, signing some autographs. I managed to sneak out, but the boy loves attention." Steph and Jen both laughed as Jen headed out for the lobby.

"I'll take care of this!" she announced. Jordan raised his eyebrow at Steph.

"She like attention, too," Steph told him.

"I'd noticed," he said with a grin. Less than a minute later, Jen appeared with Joe at her side. She looked like she had just won some great prize.

"What about those girls," Jordan asked. Jen shrugged and held onto Joe's arm.

"They'll live," she replied. Joe didn't look like he minded all that much.

"They were so loud," he told the group. "Freshmen?" Jen nodded.

"Yeah, this is a freshmen hall," she replied.

"Can we go?" Steph asked suddenly, getting restless. "I'm hungry." Jen laughed.

"You're always hungry, bitch."

"Uh oh," Jordan said. "That's something that Steph and Joe have in common. The boy's a human garbage disposal!" Joe shrugged.

"Yeah, but remember Donnie and his appetite?" Jordan cracked up.

"I was always wondering how it all could fit! I swear, Donnie's food goes straight into space or something." By this time, they were at the car. Jordan tossed Joe the keys. "Your turn, Joey, my man!" His mood had obviously lifted since that morning. Joe noticed that Steph had quite an effect on his friend. Looking at Jen, he realized that J must be thinking the same thing about him. Hell, it was true! This girl was amazing. When he had woken up that morning, calling her was the only thing on his mind. Looking in the rear view mirror at Steph and Jordan cuddling in the back, he vowed that Jordan was driving wherever they were going that night. He looked over at Jen and caught her eye, smiling. This was going to be a great week.

And a great week it was, for all 4 of them. Over the next two days, they spent almost every minute together. The girls wanted to show Joe and Jordan what Arizona was all about, so they took them all over. First, they went to Rawhide, which was a tourist attraction that was the epitome of the west. It was so much fun and the guys absolutely loved it. Joe and Jordan even bought some cowboy outfits for the occasion. Jen couldn't stop staring at Joe's ass in the tight jeans he was wearing. She even took a few opportunities to pinch it, holding her hands in feigned innocence when he turned around to look for the culprit. Steph loved Jordan's red checkered shirt and cowboy hat. She could just imagine them in the old west, her very own cowboy in shining leather. She giggled at the thought. The foursome got their pictures taken in the jail of the old western town, posing with handcuffs that brought quite a few comments from Jen and Joe. That night, they went to the Hyatt at Gainey Ranch to have a beautiful dinner and then walk around the lake there. Jen thought that it was the most beautiful place in Phoenix with the flowers and low lights and the lake. It took her breth away. Well, maybe it was Joe's hand on her back that had taken her breath away, but she didn't even think about it. Steph, on the other hand, could think of nothing BUT Jordan. They were walking with their arms around each others' waists, talking softly and trying to make each other laugh. She learned that Jordan was a really funny guy one-on-one, but didn't really bring that side of him out in a crowd, unlike Jen and Joe. Steph loved that about him, it gave her a chance to feel like she knew him better. The kiss he gave her by the lake was the best she'd ever received in her life. Surprisingly, it depressed her more than anything. All she could think about was the fact that Jordan would be leaving in 3 days. Jen was thinking the exact same thing as her lips met Joe's that night. It almost brought tears to her eyes. This was the first guy in her life that had touched her the way he had. Over the past few days, she had seen a side of Joe that he didn't show to the public. It made her feel honored and in all truth, it really turned her on! The next day was just as great. They went on a road trip to Sedona to see the red rock that Sedona was known for. Both guys were surprised to see all of the greenery.

"I thought all of Arizona was going to be brown," Joe cracked. "Thank God I was wrong!" Jen lightly smacked him on the arm.

"That's my home that you're talking about, boy," she said, feining anger. Jordan couldn't help smiling in the back of the car. They were on their way home from a great day, Steph was laying on his shoulder, and he couldn't be happier. He had been watching Joe in the past few days and he knew that the west was growing on him. If Joe didn't go with him to LA, he just might not go. Watching Joe and Jen laugh together, he knew that Joe's mind was practically made up. The issue had been on both of their minds all week.

"I'm sorry, fair lady," Joe said, taking Jen's hand and kissing it lightly, bringing a sigh from her. Jordan grinned and ran his fingers through Steph's hair, giving her a kiss on the head. How could he leave this girl? Before long, Jordan's carresses on her head had put Steph to sleep and since Joe was softly singing to himself, Jen was out pretty quick as well. Jordan smiled at the sleeping girl in his arms. Oh, yeah, LA was looking better and better. How cute is she when she sleeps? he thought. Thinking the same thing about Jen, Joe was having a hard time concentrating on the road, what with Jen sleeping next to him.

"Joe?" Jordan said from the back.

"Hmm?"

"The road?" Jordan said with a chuckle. Oh, right, the road, Joe thought. They weren't far now, he could tell. Everything was brown again.

"We're going to have to wake one of them up pretty soon to get us home," Joe commented. Jordan laughed.

"Then it'll have to be Steph. She told me that Jen's as good with directions as you are!" he said.

"Oh shit," Joe said, grinning. "Then it's definitely Steph. That's ok, I can watch Jen sleeping for hours."

"THE ROAD!" Jordan said again. He couldn't help laughing at Joe's excitement over this girl. The last few days had been great for the two singers. The guys had had a really long talk last night and even though they weren't sure about moving, they both decided that these girls had changed their lives. Thinking about it, Jordan couldn't believe how fast it had happened. He'd never in his life gotten along with anybody as well as he did with Steph. It was like she knew him as well as he knew himself and they'd only known each other for 3 days. A loud blare of music woke him from his thoughts. Both girls jumped up and groaned, slapping Joe at the same time for turning up the music so loud.

"Sorry," Joe said with a smile. "I don't know how to get back."

"Baseline," Jen mumbled, closing her eyes again. She was the hardest person in the world to wake up and when you did, look out! Joe saw the sign that took them to Baseline and exited, looking over at Steph. Steph shook herself awake, not moving from Jordan's shoulder.

"Turn right," she said. "Get to Rural, go north, find the pink building." With that, she was asleep again. The guys understood why they were so tired. The foursome hadn't gotten much sleep in the past few days. With the girls asleep again, Jordan figured it was a good time to talk to Joe about their plans for evening.

"So, I was talking to Jen earlier," he began.

"When did you get a chance to talk to Jen?" Joe inquired.

"When you and Steph were talking about me," he replied. "Anyway, she had this great idea for tonight." Joe nodded, showing that he was listening. "She said that a lot of people sometimes just drive into the middle of the desert, bring some alcohol, a few blankets...." He didn't have to say anything else, Joe was already smiling.

"Awesome ideas my woman has," Joe said, thinking of how great the evening would be.

As soon as they got back to Jen's place, the girls gave their guys a quick kiss and dashed inside to take a nap. That sounded great to the guys, but they had a few errands to run first. Falling onto her bed, Jen was almost out instantly until Steph reminded her to set the alarm.

"What time are they picking us up?" Jen asked, picking up her pager to set it.

"Um..." Steph thought for a moment. "I think they said 8."

"That late," Jen asked curiously. "Are we supposed to eat?" Steph shook her head. "OK, so I'll set it for 7," Jen commented, doing just that. It wasn't even a minute later that both girls were out cold.

The loud beeping of Jen's pager got Steph up first. She threw a pillow at Jen's head, yelling,

"Bitch! Shut that damn thing off!" Jen groaned and grabbed for her damn pager, shutting it off and moaning loudly.

"Steph, I was having the greatest dream!" she said with a sigh.

"Yeah?" Steph commented. "Well, you can make it a reality if you're ready on time!" Jen jumped up and grabbed her towel, calling,

"Good point!" over her shoulder. A half hour later, Jen was working on her hair, Steph was getting into the shower and the phone rang.

"Yeah?" Jen said, trying to juggle the phone, her brush, and the hair dryer.

"Hey, Jen!"

"Hey, Jordan, what's up?" The group already knew each others' voices, which wasn't a huge surprise since the girls knew the guys' voices even before they had met them.

"Nothing, whatchyou girls up to?" Jen dropped her brush with a loud bang and giggled.

"Well, I'm attempting to mess with my hair and Steph's in the shower."

"She is?" Jordan's voice perked up. "I'll be right over, stall her." Jen cracked up. Steph was right, Jordan was really funny when he wanted to be.

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind, J, but I can't allow that! What did you want, I'm trying to do my hair here?"

"Oh, well EXCUSE me..." Jordan said, pretending to sound hurt. "I just wanted to tell you guys to dress warm and don't plan on coming home until tomorrow morning." Jen got a huge grin on her face as she heard Joe in the backround,

"Tell her hi!" She sighed just as she did whenever she heard his voice.

"Tell him hi back and that's cool. See y'all soon?"

"Yup...see ya!" She hung up the phone and relayed the message to Steph, who had just stepped out of the shower.

"Cool," Steph commented. "Do you know what we're doing?"

"Well," Jen said. "I told J about my desert idea, so who knows?" Steph sighed.

"That would be awesome!" She said, picking up the hair dryer. When they were both ready, the guys knocked on cue. They had learned.

"Steph, do you think you could drive?" Jordan asked, weaving his fingers through hers. She swore that if he wanted to to drive to England at that point, she would do it.

"Why?" she wanted to know.

"Well," Jordan explained. "We decided to do Jen's desert idea and we thought that the back of your truck would be perfect for dinner." The guys had obviously given up on surprises. She grinned.

"OK, looks like Jen and Joe are on their own to find the place!" They all laughed, decided where they would meet, and then went their separate ways. As Jen and Joe got into their car, Steph and Jordan headed over to Steph's truck. Both of them were pretty worried about Joe and Jen finding their way to the decided spot, but Steph figured that Jen was smart enough to at least page her if they got lost. As Jordan was getting his seatbelt fastened, Steph was praying that he didn't lower either of her truck's shades. Steph's side had pictures of Jordan all over it and the passenger side, which was Jen's of course, was plastered with Joe. How embarrassing would it be if Jordan saw that? Steph groaned inwardly and hoped that God wasn't in a humorous mood. The first thing Jordan did was rifle through her tape collection. "Wow," he said when he saw all of the New Kids tape. Steph just shrugged. She didn't care if he saw that. He knew she liked them after all, she WAS at the concert. She totally forgot about the mix Jen had made her until she saw Jordan looking at it. Oh, shit, she thought. The ALL JORDAN MIX!! Damn, I look like SUCH a loser!

"Hey," Jordan said angrily. Steph froze. Is he upset? she thought. Boy, she was going to murder Jen for this. "There's a Joe song on this mix!" Jordan said, hardly controlling the laugh that erupted. Steph let out a sigh of relief. She would never be able to find a man this understanding. Or this fucking beautiful, she thought with a silent groan. Jordan was shaking his head.

"Well," Steph tried to explain. "Jen made me that mix for the concert and...well, she's JEN!" That was enough explanation for Jordan.

"And he moans in this song, doesn't he?" Jordan asked. "A lot of girls seemed to like that."

"You have NO idea!" Steph said, thinking of the numerous times she'd had to rewind that song in the car so Jen could hear those moans "Just one more time". Hey, the moans were nice, even Steph had to admit that, but they were nothing compared to the man sitting next to her! "But Jen was cool to make that for me, it's a good tape."

"We don't have to listen to it, do we?" Jordan pleaded.

"No, don't worry, we do have radio here in Arizona," Steph giggled, motioning to her radio. Jordan didn't move.

"Why can't we just talk?" he asked. He wanted to learn as much as possible about this girl as possible and he knew that even though they'd spent practically the last 72 hours together, that there was so much more to learn about her.

"OK," Steph said, getting nervous. Sure, they'd been alone a few times in the past few days, but never like this. What if they didn't have anything to talk about?

"Tell me about your family," Jordan said, easing all of her worries. So, Steph launched into a description of her mom, dad, and brother. Jordan kept asking so many questions and she found herself telling him things she didn't usually tell people. She talked about high school and her old friends. She even told him the story of Adam Molberger and how Jen had this huge crush on him. Jordan laughed at that one.

"You sure got around!" he quipped. Steph gave him a look that told him what a sensitive topic that was. "It's ok," he said, softly. "We all have our pasts, Steph. I mean, come on, we were on the road for 4 years! I'll bet you were just....just...searching, right?" Oh, yeah, I'd rape him. I'd chain him to my bed. I'd..... "Steph?"

"Yeah," she said, shaking herself away from those thoughts. "I guess that's exactly what I was doing." Jordan started playing with her fingers.

"Me too," he said, softly. OH DAMN! Then he broke out of his mood and said, "So, Jen wasn't your best friend back then?" Steph felt her whole mood drain from her. It happened whenever anything reminded her of Judith, her best friend in high school.

"No," she said quietly. "My best friend in high school died."

"I'm sorry, Steph," Jordan said softly. He seemed to sense that it would be best to keep quiet, yet be there for her at the same time until she got out of her melancholy mood. She was grateful that he didn't say anything else and soon they were talking cheerfully again. Sometimes, the memories of Judith really got to her, but those memories were also what kept her happy.

"So," she started. "I've been talking about myself this whole time. What about you? I want to know the REAL Jordan Knight, not the New Kid Jordan Knight." Jordan almost squealed in delight when she said that. It was like a dream come true, this girl. That was the one test he had for girls, to see if they wanted him because he was a New Kid or if they really like him for who he was. Steph was interested in him as a person and he loved it. His eyes drifted to her legs. Jordan! he scolded himself. Be a gentleman! He forced his eyes back to her face and began talking animatedly about his huge family. His brothers and sisters and nephews and everything about was just so interesting to her. This was the real Jordan Knight. Maybe it would have been better if we hadn't met, she thought glumly. Then I wouldn't know what I'm missing. Jordan had the same basic thoughts running through his head until he saw a funny sight out the window. They were passing the Eclipse and the sun roof was open with Jen hanging out, her arms open and her head leaning back against the wind. She looked so happy. Jordan nudged Steph to take a look. She grinned. This was one week both friend were never going to forget. Now that she thought about it, she wouldn't have traded it for anything. She gave Jen a thumbs up sign. Jen waved at her until the Eclipse hit a bump. Laughing like crazy, she slid back into her seat. Joe cursed at the loss of a great view of Jen's bottom half. Still, the top half wasn't so bad either. Her cheeks were flushed and she was giggling like crazy.

"See?" she said. "I told you I would do it!" Joe smiled wide and said,

"Well, gosh, you are a daredevil."

"Smartass," Jen mumbled.

"You love it," Joe grinned. Boy, did she ever! Ever since they had gotten in the car, they hadn't stopped joking around. It was the greatest thing. She couldn't remember a time where she'd had more fun. She just gave him a grin and pinched his cheek.

"Of course I do, honey," she teased.

"Ow," Joe said, rubbing his cheek. Jen put her right leg up on the dashboard and reached for the guys' collection of CDs. There were a ton of them, she loved it.

"What do you want to listen to?" she asked Joe. He shrugged.

"I like everything in there, babe, it's all you." Jen scowled at him.

"I have a name, sugar." Joe pretended to think about it.

"Wait," he said. "I know this one..." Jen smacked him on the arm.

"There, maybe that'll help you remember, dipshit!"

"Such language," Joe scolded. "You need your fucking mouth washed out." They were both laughing so hard Jen's side hurt. She felt like she'd been laughing for days. In reality, she guessed she had. All of the sudden, she let out a gasp.

"You have BILLY JOEL?!" she screeched. Joe pretended to clear his ears out from her scream.

"Of course," he said as if to say "duh". "If they're good, I have them." Jen laughed.

"I'm not even going to comment," she said with a giggle. He shot her a keep-quiet look.

"We have almost all of his CDs," he continued.

"So I see," Jen said. "I grew up on Billy Joel." Joe then realized that she proabably knew all about his upbringing, but he didn't know anything about hers.

"What was your childhood like, Jen?" he asked, rather curious. Jen's eyes clouded over.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Joe looked over at her, almost sorry that he'd asked. If she was hurting, he felt like he had to do something about it. He felt oddly overprotective of this girl.

"I don't know. I want to know so much about you, Jen..." Oh, shit, Joe, say my name like that one more time and I'll tell you how much I weigh, she thought. Weight was her own little secret, but he sounded so sexy when he was saying her name like that. Jen sighed, deciding to tell him the basics.

"Well, I was born outside of Washington DC and then moved to Atlanta when I was 5 and then to Phoenix when I was 14."

"Why do you sound like you're reciting something from a textbook?" he asked. Jen shrugged.

"There's just not much to it," she replied. He knew she was lying by the sound of her voice. He decided to press a bit and then call it quits. He didn't want to offend her.

"Why'd your family decide to move to Phoenix?" he asked, figuring it was a safe question.

"It wasn't their decision," she said matter-of-factly. "It was mine. I came here alone."

"At 14??" Joe said, incredulously. Jen nodded.

"I moved in with my aunt. My mom stayed in Atlanta...."

"Great city," Joe interupted. Jen nodded.

"I think so now, not then. And my dad stayed in Indianapolis."

"Oh, they're not together," Joe said, more to himself to straighten out the facts. He wasn't a dumb guy, he could tell that Jen had a difficult past, but he was determined to let her know how special she was. He wondered how someone with that kind of past could turn out so great. She shook her head at his questions. "How often do you get to see them?" he pried.

"Well," Jen couldn't believe she was telling Joe all of this. It felt surprisingly good. "My dad's a pilot, so I rarely see him and my mother and I don't get along, so I never see her."

"But she's your mother," Joe stated. Jen nodded.

"I know that, tell it to her." There was sadness and bitterness in her voice. Joe placed a hand on her knee.

"So if she's so awful, how'd you turn out so perfect?" he wanted to know. Jen coughed.

"Come on, Joe, I'm not perfect." Joe turned away from the road for a moment to look at her.

"So far, Jen, you are the closest thing I've ever found to it." That statement brought a comfortable silence to the car as Jen placed her hand over Joe's, which was still on her knee, and squeezed it, silently thanking him for everything.

Meanwhile, Steph and Jordan had arrived at their destination. They listened to music and talked some more while they waited for Jen and Joe.

"You guys brought dinner?" Steph asked.

"Yup," Jordan smiled. "And I'm damned proud of it if I do say so myself."

"And why is that?" Steph inquired. Jordan grinned.

"Cause it's good!" he replied. Steph shook her head.

"Whatever you say, Knight."

"Oh, yeah?" Jordan said, all of the sudden tickling her. Steph screeched in laughter.

"No!" she cried out, laughing so hard there were tears running down her face. Unfortunately, her cries had no effect on the relentless Jordan, who was actually quite enjoying himself. He should've realized that Steph wouldn't take that for long, so when she realized that he wasn't going to stop anytime in the near future, she fought back only to learn that Jordan was more ticklish than she was. Now fighting Steph off, Jordan grabbed both of her hands to stop her attack, giving her a mock dangerous look. Steph giggled, catching his eye and struggling to get her laughter under control. At this point, they were both breathing heavily and just staring at each other. Steph sighed out loud, almost losing herself in Jordan's chocolate-brown eyes as he leaned closer to her. The kiss that followed was inevitable. Steph sighed as Jordan's strong arms wrapped around her, drawing her closer. She had never enjoyed a man's lips so much in her life. As soon as they pulled apart, Jordan tried to tickle her again. This time, the passenger side windshield visor fell down in the scuffle. Jordan found himself face-to-face with about 6 black and white pictures of his best friend. As soon as that happened, Steph groaned inwardly, wondering what she ever did to deserve this. God did have one hell of a sense of humor. Jordan, on the other hand, burst out laughing, clutching his sides as he screeched in laughter. Steph crossed her arms across her chest.

"Are you quite done?" she wanted to know. Jordan wiped the tears out of his eyes and nodded, letting one more giggle escape.

"Oh my God," he said, trying to control himself. "Jen cracks me up!" Well, at least he knows it's Jen's side. Still laughing, Jordan reached over to the driver's side and said,

"Let's see what's behind door number 2!" Before she could stop him, even though she did try, Jordan had flipped down the shade on her side only to see three quite revealing pictures of himself. Groaning with embarrassment, Steph hugged the steering wheel and put her head in her arms, sneaking a look at Jordan. Surprisingly, he had a huge ass smile on his face as he studied the pictures.

"I look like that?" he inquired. All Steph could do was nod as Jordan gave her a huge hug.

"Well," Steph said, a little confused. "I'm glad you're so happy about this." Jordan couldn't help laughing again.

"I'm just glad it wasn't Joe on your side," Jordan said with a smile. Steph couldn't help but laugh at that thought.

"Nah, he's not my type. But, then again, he does have those eyes...." Jordan moved to tickle her again.

"What eyes?!" Steph held up her hands.

"J! I'm just kidding! Ask Jen, I like dark eyes."

"Thank God," Jordan said with relief. "I was starting to think he was everybody's type."

"Nah," Steph reassured him. "Speaking of which, where are those two?" Jordan turned in his seat, squinting at the road.

"Which road did we say again?" he asked.

"Happy Valley," Steph answered.

"Um, Steph?" he said with a bit of uncertainty. "This isn't Happy Valley Road, hon."

"Shit," she mumbled, starting up her car. Jordan laughed yet again.

"I can't believe we're the ones who got lost!" he commented.

"We're not lost," Steph said defensively. "We're just in the wrong spot, see?" she said, pointing to the Eclipse with Jen and Joe sitting on the hood. It was exactly where it was supposed to be.

"You do realize that they're never going to let us live this down, don't you?" Jordan commented. Steph nodded as she pulled the truck next to Jen and Joe.

"I know," she said and groaned when she saw the accusing look on Jen's face.

"Bitch," Jen said as the pair got out of the car. "Where the fuck were you two?"

"Oh, like you guys were complaining," Jordan pointed out. Jen couldn't argue with that one, but she had her back-up smartass with her.

"That's beside the point," Joe said. "I seriously doubt you guys pulled to the side of the road for a quick fuck in the truck," he said, giggling at his rhyme and motioning to the "bed" of the truck. Despite the fact that they both blushed, Joe continued. "Yeah, I would at least expect it to take a little bit longer than that. You guys definitely got lost, huh?" he teased, draping an arm over Jen's shoulders. She cracked up at Joe. God, he was turning her on just by talking and the fact that he was freaking hilarious wasn't helping much.

"You two are never gonna live this one down," Jen said with a grin. "We found the place and you didn't."

"Whatever, bitch," Steph cut in. "When did you actually notice that we hadn't shown up yet?" She motioned to the two of them, leaving much to the imagination. Joe thread his fingers through Jen's and said,

"Oh, are you guys here? Sorry, haven't noticed yet!" They all laughed at that and Jen couldn't help the shudder that passed through her.

"We shouldn't have come back," Steph commented.

"Come on, y'all, let's get the food and shit set up," Jen cut in. Joe raised an eyebrow. Damn, he has sexy eyebrows, Jen thought.

"Y'all?" he asked. "You're not from Arizona, are you?" Steph giggled.

"Wow," she commented. "Joe actually made an intelligent observation!" He shot her a look.

"Yeah," he said. "Here's another one...."

"JOE!" Jen said loudly before he could say something he'd regret. "You're right, that `y'all' came from my nine years in Atlanta, remember, I told you that?." Steph giggled.

"So it wasn't an intelligent observation after all!"

"Cool," Jordan said, lifting the cooler into the truck and lowering the hatch. "We went there a few times. It's a really hot city." Jen nodded, helping Steph set out the food.

"Hotlanta," she replied with a proud smile. "I love the place, but I wouldn't live there again. Too snobby."

"So you like it here?" Joe asked.

"I adore it here," Jen said. She had a glow in her eyes that showed him how much she meant it. He stole a look at Jordan. They were both starting to like it there, too.

"Wow, champagne glasses!" Steph exclaimed, not too interested in the conversation at hand. Jordan went over to her and helped her unpack the roses and candles as well. Both girls sighed. They even had a really beautiful bottle of champagne.

"We had to do a lot of our Coca-Cola business there," Joe continued. "Definitely a happening place." Jen nodded.

"Yeah, well, it's great to visit. You guys put on a great concert there."

"You went," Joe asked. Steph groaned to herself, sensing the comment that was about to come from Jen.

"No, I didn't go, I crawled to the top of the IBM building to watch from there, I figured it'd be more exciting," Jen shot back, giving Joe a teasing grin.

"Really?" Jordan asked, a little confused. The other three laughed at him. "Why are you laughin at me?!" He wanted to know. Steph put her arms around his waist as if to comfort him.

"We're laughing with you, babe," she said, trying to control her giggles. Jordan pouted until Steph gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. Then, he didn't even remember what it was he was mad about! Jen and Joe grinned at each other, they were so happy for their friends. Hell, I'm happy for myself! Jen thought, oblivious to the fact that Joe was thinking the same thing. Helping Steph get into the back of her truck, Jordan said,

"Guys? Don't you think we should eat at some point tonight?" Steph glanced over at him, thinking that she could definitely eat, but not like he was talking about. She blushed at her thoughts. Jen saw her friend's face and knew exactly what she was thinking, almost busting up at the thought, but she managed to control herself as Joe lifted her into the bed of the truck. Jordan had done a great job setting up dinner. There was a blanket layed out in the truck with candles set up and a vase full of roses. For dinner, take out Olive Garden was set out on Chinaware paper plates, breadsticks, pasta, salad and all. Steph and Jen almost gasped at the trouble the guys went to just to set up a picnic. It was really beautiful. Joe took out a white cloth napkin and draped it over his arm like a waiter would.

"Champagne, my lady?" he asked Jen, popping the cork and picking up her champagne glass. Jen nodded happily and he filled her glass. After he poured his own, he crossed his arm with hers for the first drink. With a smile, he handed the bottle to Jordan. Well, Jordan had to outdo Joe. He turned to Steph with a grin.

"Would you like some?" he asked, softly. She nodded, even though she knew that she shouldn't. Hey, if her stomach could handle a kiss from Jordan Knight, it could handle anything. She expected Jordan to pick up her glass and pour hers first, but instead, he picked up his own, pouring the champagne in and then taking a sip. With that, he leaned over and placed his lips softly over Steph's, letting her taste the champagne in the greatest way he knew how. She had never enjoyed it so much in her life. Pulling away, he grinned at his creativity and poured her some into her own glass.

"It's good, isn't it?" he asked with a wink.

"Uh huh," Steph replied, still a bit dazed. Jen sighed at the romance of it all and Joe scowled.

"Show off," he grumbled, hating to be outdone. Jordan shrugged.

"I'm good, McIntyre, just admit it," he said, giving Joe a light punch in the arm.

"I admit nothing," Joe said, putting his arm around Jen's waist and pulling her to him, placing a passionate kiss on her lips. Jen clung to him, thanking God that the guys were so competitive. When he released her, Jen just let out a huge sigh, bringing a laugh from everyone. Joe shot Jordan a triumphant grin as if to say, "So there."

"Hey," Jen said. "Was that for me or for him?" Joe's grin immediately dropped as he placed a hand on her knee.

"You know it was for you," he whispered softly in her ear. Steph couldn't hear what Joe had said, but judging from the look on her best friend's face, that kiss wasn't for Jordan. Steph glared at her companion.

"Yeah, did you do that to win a competition against Joe or what?" she asked.

"No," Jordan replied confidently. "That was just my excuse!" Steph grinned.

"OK, consider yourself forgiven."

"Oh, thanks!" Jordan exclaimed, setting a plate of food in front of her.

"Look," Joe pointed out as he gave Jen her food. She was loving this service. "No pork!" he said, looking very proud of himself. It was odd, but both girls were surprisingly touched by their little gesture, considering Joe was Irish Catholic and Jordan was Episcopal. Neither girl ate pork because it was a choice of thiers as Jewish people. Jen sniffed her plate.

"Yum," she said. "Can we eat already?" Steph laughed.

"That's my line, bitch!" Jen answered her with a piece of lettuce that went flying at Steph's head. Steph ducked and it ended up in Jordan's lap. He was looking at that piece of lettuce with such confusion that everyone cracked up.

"Steph?" Joe said. "Shouldn't you get that off of J's lap...." Jen knew what was coming and decided to say it first.

"With your mouth?" she filled in, slapping Joe's hand when he held it out to her and grinning at Steph.

"Kiss my ass," Steph said and then immediately added, "Shut up, Joe!" Jordan chuckled.

"You know Joe pretty well already," he commented. Steph rolled her eyes.

"That's not hard considering those two think so much alike," she interjected. "Wow," Jordan said. "I'm sorry, Jen..." More laughter followed as the foursome started to eat. Steph slurped up a piece of pasta noisily, getting the sauce on her chin in the process. Jordan smiled and reached over, wiping off the sauce with his thumb, following the trail to rub the thumb across her lip. When Steph practically moaned, Jen looked over at Joe and rolled her eyes. Joe mocked Jordan by dramatically rubbing his thumb across Jen's mouth, moving across her whole face, trying not to laugh considering how badly he was mocking Jordan. The look on Joe's face caused Jen to totally crack up, bringing a dirty look from Jordan. "You making fun of me, Little Joey?" Joe scowled.

"Knight, I warned you, DON'T CALL ME THAT!!" Jen smiled, wiping off her chin. "Aw, come on, Joey," she said huskily, lightly running her finger up his arm and smiling coyly. "I like that name." Joe moaned out loud.

"Well, you, dear JENNY," he said with a small grin. "Can call me whatever you want."

"OK, goober, whatever you say," Jen said with a grin, turning back to her food. The look on his face after that brought a thought to her head that had been there since they met...How can this man be around himself without CUMMING 24/7?? Steph knew what she was thinking and laughed really hard, her laughter causing Jen to crack up too, and the guys were, once again, confused as hell.

"Joe, do you think they'll ever let us in on their little jokes?" Jordan remarked, wondering how two people could simply look at each other and then burst out laughing.

"Doubt it, J," Joe replied, shooting a glance at Jen.

"Guys, you so don't want to know," Steph said with a laugh. Jen even blushed, bringing another raise of a sexy Joe-eyebrow.

"Well," he commented. "If Jen's embarrassed, it must be bad! I wanna know...." He was starting to whine.

"I don't," Jordan cut in, all of the sudden jumping out of the truck. "Joe, let me see your keys." Sending another glance at Jen, Joe tossed Jordan his keys, just barely missing his head.

"I think you two have some plot to kill us," Steph said, motioning to Jen and Joe. "Jen almost nailed me with the phone this morning!"

"Yeah," Jordan said, rubbing his head where the keys almost hit. "IF you guys want us out of the way, just ask...really!" Jen caught Joe's eye and they both said,

"Well..."

"Gosh, Joe, that was all we had to do," Jen said, smiling.

"Damn, there goes Plan B," he quipped back. Steph sent Jen a glare.

"Bitch..." she started to say. Jen raised up her hands.

"Hey, woman, joke, alright?" she said, turning as the truck was relieved of Jordan's weight. He had jumped out and was heading for the Eclipse. Opening the door, he slid into the driver's seat and started rifling through the glovebox. Everyone was cranning their necks to see what he was doing.

"What's J up to?" Jen asked Joe.

"I don't know," he mumbled, getting up and following in Jordan's path.

"Dropping like flies," Steph mumbled, bringing a chuckle from Jen.

"Hey," she commented. "It's all good as long as they don't leave us here." Steph grinned slyly.

"They wouldn't do that. Who would they smooch on?" Jen groaned loudly.

"Anyone they want!"

"No shit." By that time, the guys were done with whatever it was they were doing and they motioned for the girls to join them by the car. The girls shrugged at each other and jumped out of the truck. Who were they to turn down Jordan Knight and Joe McIntyre? Even so, they didn't want to look too eager, so they slowly sauntered up to the car.

"Yes?" Jen asked, leaning her elbow against the Eclipse.

"You called?" Steph followed pursuit. Joe grinned at Jordan as he reached into the car and pushed a button. Soft music immediately started blaring from the car.

"Surprise," Jordan said. Steph gasped as she realized that the voice coming from the new song was Jordan's. He wrapped his arms around her and spoke softly, saying,

"Would you like to dance?" She nodded, totally enwrapped (new word, Steph?) in the music and Jordan. She looked over at Jen, who was already in Joe's arms, her head on his shoulder. They smiled softly at each other before turning back to their men. A new voice came into the song and Steph looked questioningly at Jordan. He smiled.

"It's Joe," he said. Steph nodded as if to say "duh". "That's the surprise," he continued. "Joe and I recorded a duet to put on both of our next albums. Nobody knows about it yet. We wanted you girls to be the first." Steph had nothing to say to that. She just tightened her grip on him and buried her head in his neck.

"It's beautiful," she told him and it really was. Surprisingly, it made her proud that HER Jordan could create this music. All Jordan could think about was her breath on his neck. It was driving him batty. Meanwhile, Joe had just finished telling Jen about the surprise and Jen called,

"Steph!" Steph didn't move her head. She just mumbled,

"Yeah?"

"So THAT'S the missing link!" her friend said, referring to another one of their lines, taken from their friend Ruvin. Steph giggled into Jordan's neck, bringing a groan from him. His hands started moving up and down her back.

"You'd better stop that," he told her. "Or we can just toss this whole gentleman act out the window."

"Act?" she questioned with a giggle. Jordan shrugged.

"Yeah, well, maybe I'm just a nice guy."

"Or a great actor," she filled in.

"Yeah, well, that too." Their conversation was interupted by a blinding white light. Steph and Jordan practically flew apart at the sight and covered their eyes.

"What the fuck?" Steph heard Joe say. The light was followed by a cloud of raised dust and the sound of a car motor.

"What is a car doing in the middle of the desert?" Jordan yelled in Steph's ear, as if she was supposed to know.

"I have no idea," she yelled back as the car came to a halt right in front of them. Jen and Joe immediately appeared by their sides as the four of them watched the car curiously. The lights shut off as did the loud sound of the motor and an incrediblely weird looking man stepped out of the driver's side. A clone of him opened the back door, slamming it with a force that shook the entire car. The men were both about 6 feet, 3 inches and very strongly built. Their dark, greasy hair was hidden under two black cowboy hats and they were both wearing long black trenchcoats. Jen couldn't help thinking that this was beginning to remind her of some movie she had seen. At the sight of the two men, Joe and Jordan both stepped forward a bit, moving the girls behind them. Steph and Jen exchanged a glance and peeked over their perspective guy's shoulder.

"Hey," Jordan said, being the first one to break the uncomfortable silence. "What can we do for you guys?" All he got in response was a grunt from the brute on the left. "OK, well, that's alright, we were just leaving anyway," he continued, taking Steph's elbow and starting for the truck.

"You're not going anywhere," A loud female voice stated. The passenger side of the strange car opened and out stepped the most evil looking woman any of the foursome had ever seen. It wasn't how she looked that was scary. She had long blonde hair, thin lips and she stood around 5 feet, 7 inches. It was the look in her eyes that caused the group to go silent and stop in their tracks. It was pure evil.

"Good job, boys," the evil blonde woman said to her sidekicks, putting on a pair of sunglasses. "These folks'll be just what we needed." Joe and Jordan gave each other worried looks. Jordan made a face as if to say, "Don't scare the girls." Joe nodded and stepped forward the slightest bit. Jen could tell he was nervous, but she found herself getting proud for some odd reason.

"Um, may I ask what it is we're going to be needed for?" Joe asked, attempting a smart-ass look.

"Don't worry about it," grunted one of the brute twins, as Steph had named them in her mind.

"Steph," Jen whispered. "Why is she wearing sunglasses at night?" Steph shrugged and opened her mouth to say something, but she was interupted by Bitch Woman.

"Excuse me, I didn't say you could speak," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. Steph groaned, knowing that Jen couldn't keep her mouth shut. She was right.

"And who exactly died and made you...." Jen didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as Joe's hand closed over her mouth.

"Shut up," the woman growled. "Or I'll have to shut that big mouth for you." With that, she motioned to her two sidekicks, causing Jen's eyes to widen. Jordan reached for Steph's hand and gave it a squeeze before he spoke, shutting everyone up.

"Look," he said, stepping up to look the woman in the eye. "Whatever it is you want, could you just tell us? You're scaring people here." The woman smiled and stepped forward, trailing a long, red nail down the front of Jordan's shirt.

"I'm sorry, sweetcheeks," she purred. "But sometimes big men like you like to be scared. And if you don't, tough." With that, she turned on her heel and approached her two ogars.

"Put them in the truck," she ordered. "All of them."

"But Nicki," one of the twins said. "What are we going to do with them?"

"You idiot," the blonde woman named Nicki said. "What have we been talking about for these past two weeks? These people will be perfect for my little plan."

"Our plan," the other one said with somewhat of a question in his voice. Nicki batted her eyes at him.

"No, Greg," she pouted. "MY plan. You'll get what you deserve, honey, dont' worry...you, too, Craig."

"Excuse me, Nicki?" Steph said, actually stepping forward. Jen looked at her friend in shock. She couldn't believe that Steph had the guts. Jordan looked back at Steph with a small smile, telling her how brave she was, but not to get involved. Nicki turned her sunglassed eyes to Steph.

"Don't talk," she stated. Joe rose to Steph's defense, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Now, wait, don't you think you should tell us why you're keeping us here?" he asked firmly. Jen moved over to stand by Jordan, not wanting to be alone. He gave her a little squeeze, trying to calm her down. She looked at Jordan gratefully, seeing how lucky Steph was to have gotten this man, but hoping Joe wouldn't do anything stupid at the same time.

"Wait a second," Nicki said in shock, lowering her sunglasses down to her nose. Her eyes were wide in surprise as she stared at Joe. All four people in the group were thinking the same thing: "Oh, shit." Nicki shook her head.

"Shit. You're Joe McIntyre. Boys, we have captured Joe McIntyre." She then threw her head back in laughter. Greg and Craig both looked confused.

"Who is that, boss?" One of them asked. Nicki still had a wicked grin on her face.

"He was one of the New Kids on the Block," she replied, finally noticing Jordan. "And you're Jordan Knight." There was that laugh again. Both of her sidekicks chuckled at her statement about the boys being New Kids. Jen swore that if they said anything that she'd really lay it on them, but they just stood there like the good sidekicks they were. Nicki leaned back on the Eclipse and crossed her arms, lowering her shirt a bit.

"Joe McIntyre," she said, shaking her head. "You have no idea the kinds of fantasies I had about you..."

"I don't want to know," Joe whispered to Steph, who was still standing next to him.

"What was that, Joey?" Nicki asked. He shook his head.

"Um, that's very flattering," he said, thinking that if she called him Joey one more time, he was going to yak. She grinned.

"Oh, you don't even know, Joey," she purred, turning to her men. He felt the bile rise in his throat as he made eye contact with Jen, telling her that everything was going to be OK with just a look. Jen moved closer to Jordan, not feeling much better, but grateful that Joe had taken the time to try and comfort her. The three partners in crime were talking softly and Jordan strained to listen, but couldn't hear anything.

"What are they going to do with us?" Jen whispered. Jordan shook his head.

"I don't know, Jen. I just don't know."

"OK." Nicki stated loudly. "Joey, you come with me," she ordered, motioning with her finger. Steph grabbed his arm instinctively as he stammered, "Uh, I can't." Nicki looked at him in surprise, shooting a look to the twins. "And why is that? I've never been turned down before, Joey," she continued, giving Steph a questioning glare. "You married or something?" She laughed at that, thinking that there was no way Joe McIntyre had married without her hearing about it.

"Actually yes," Joe said, putting an arm around Steph. Steph glared up at him.

"What??" she whispered. Joe looked at her impatiently, silently begging her to play along.

"So?" Nicki said, snapping her fingers and bringing her men forward. "You'll have to cheat on her, pretty boy. Or she can just die." She said the last line so nonchalantly that Jordan finally stepped forward, but before he could say anything, Nicki shot him a glare. "Stay where you are, Mr. Knight, or your woman gets it too." Jen grabbed Jordan's arm and brought him back to her side, begging him not to get Nicki angry. Joe gulped.

"Please, Nicki," he said, lowering his voice enough to make even Jen groan from where she was. He sure knew how to handle women. Seeing that he got a reaction from his target, he put a hand on Steph's arm and moved toward Nicki. "Try to understand. I'm Catholic and it's against everything I believe in to cheat." She grunted, but allowed him to continue. "If it were two years ago, man, I would be on you in a second, babe, but now..." Jen's mouth had dropped to the floor at that point, not believing Joe's nerve.

"Where's her wedding ring?" Nicki asked, motioning to Joe's ring that he always wore on his ring finger.

"I dropped it in the sink," Steph said with a nervous laugh. "Stupid me."

"Fine. I respect that," Nicki said. "That wasn't what I needed you guys for anyway. Go kiss your bride." When Joe gave her a questioning look, she said,

"Well, you are married, right? So you should go give your wife a comforting kiss, right?" This girl was smart. Joe knew he couldn't falter as he approached Steph, but not before he shot a look over to Jen and Jordan. Out loud, he said,

"Honey, everything's going to be fine, ok?" he said, as he took Steph in his arms and bent closer, whispering,

"Sorry, Steph, just pretend I'm Jordan." Steph didn't have time to pretend that Joe had magically turned into Jordan as Joe's mouth pressed on hers. Jen's grip tightened on Jordan's arm until he yelped in pain, also not liking what he saw, but knowing that it was all an act. Even so, Steph couldn't help thinking that next to Jordan, Joe had a pair of the softest lips she had ever felt. Jen was one lucky girl. He finally released her and looked at Nicki to see if she bought it. She did because she was now looking at Jordan with a lusty look in her eyes. Jen fastened her hand on Jordan's arm and glared at Nicki as if she was the one who had just kissed Joe. Nicki snorted.

"Oh, are you two married too?" she wanted to know. Jordan took Jen's hand.

"No," he replied, thinking that there was no way they could use the same excuse about the ring.

"Really?" Nicki said smiling. "Well, then, you'll do." Jordan scowled to himself.

"Jealous, J?" Jen whispered. He shook his head and said,

"Actually, the reason we were out here tonight was so I could propose to Jen. I haven't exactly told her yet, I'm sorry, honey, but I thought it would be special this way."

"Well, SO sorry we ruined it," Nicki snapped sarcastically. "I'm all choked up. Boys? Put them all in the truck."

"Jordan, you were going to propose?" Jen asked, faining surprise. This was her big moment on stage again, she wanted to do a good job. "Oh, that's so sweet..." Jordan started to get into his part too.

"Well, I wanted it to be special," he said with a teasing look in his eyes.

"Yeah," Joe filled in, getting in on the action. "But noone could beat how I proposed to Steph." Nicki was listening to the banter and she had to ask.

"How was that? I sure want to know how Joe McIntyre asks a girl to marry her." Joe gulped, not expecting to have to tell the fake story. Steph grinned.

"Yeah, honey," she said, looking at him. "Tell them." She knew Joe was ready to kill her, but he deserved it.

"Well," he began. "It was her birthday and we went to one of those big mountains in northern Arizona. I took her on a hike and told her there was a birthday surprise waiting for her, so she wouldn't suspect that I really wanted to ask her to marry me." Jen leaned forward, interested in Joe's idea of romantic. He continued. "So, we got to this cave where I had set up this picnic with roses and champagne. It had gotten dark, so we went inside and built a fire before we started eating. I lifted my glass to toast to her birthday and when she finally picked up her glass, there was the ring underneath it. She said yes right there." Jordan yelped in pain again as Jen squeezed his arm tighter. Wow, all 3 girls thought. Joe smiled down at Steph. "She couldn't resist my charms."

"Oh, really," Steph giggled, punching him on the arm. Watching them, Jen found herself becoming strangely jealous. Then, Joe caught her eye and winked, reassuring her.

"OK, enough of this cheesy shit," Nicki cut in. "Get in the truck." The twins moved forward as if to force them, but the foursome didn't need convincing considering Nicki had just pulled a gun out from the front of her pants. "And separate the happy couples," Nicki said with a grin, figuring it would be an added punishment. So, with the help of the two massive ogar-twins, they were shoved into the front of Steph's truck. It was uncomfortable enough with three people in there, but with four, it was damn near impossible. Joe was shoved into the door with Jen practically lying on his lap and then Jordan with Steph shoved partially into the door and partially into him. It was almost funny how they ended up, but the situation made it impossible to laugh. After seeing the gun, they were all getting really scared and Jen clutched Joe's waist so tight he thought he was would choke if it wasn't so comforting. With the doors shut and a twin blocking each side, it was impossible to get out of their predicament.

"You guys?" Jordan said, breaking the silence that had filled the car. "How are we going to get out of this?" Joe snorted.

"Um, J, I guess you haven't noticed, but we're kind of stuck here. No way out," he said, motioning to the doors. Jordan scowled at his friend.

"Well, they have to let us out sometime. And when they do, we should have something planned, right?"

"OK, J. Great idea, let's use that one Jackie Chan move where we go behind the guys and flip them over our shoulders so they land on their backs and then we can sit on them and take their legs and twist them...." Joe rambled sarcastically.

"Joe, I'm being serious," Jordan said angrily.

"Guys," Steph, the forever peace-keeper, cut in. "Can we please stop fighting with each other here?"

"Yeah," Jen filled in, totally agreeing with her friend. "Cool it you guys."

"Well, J's right," Joe said. "We can't just sit here." Jen looked at Joe as if he was crazy.

"OK, what do you recommend?" she asked. "Not only do we have to just sit here, but we can't even move." Steph groaned when the door handle shoved into her side.

"Exactly," she said, flinging her legs over Jordan. "There's nothing we can do right now...." Her sentence was interupted by a loud knock on the window. The whole group groaned as Steph struggled to roll down the window. "Yeah?" she mumbled, being as nice as possible to their capturer with the gun. She gasped as Nicki pulled the gun out and stuck it in Steph's face, handing her the keys to her truck.

"Turn on the truck and put it in neutral," Nicki ordered. "Try anything stupid and I'll shoot, no questions asked." She looked through the top of her gun. "I think one shot could get all of you," she commented. "It could just go straight through your heads." All four of them gasped at that comment.

"What are you going to do," Jordan asked.

"Well, look at Jordan, coming to the rescue," Nicki said sweetly. "I guess you'll find out, won't you, sugar?"

"That's my line," Jen mumbled. Joe let out a choked chuckle.

"I guess you should get a new line," he commented.

"Shut up over there," Nicki snapped. Then she focused on Steph. "What are waiting for, bitch?" she asked, bringing a whole new meaning to the word bitch. Steph swallowed and tried to move so that her keys would fit in the ignition. She turned on the car and flipped it in neutral, bringing a loud groan from Jordan, who now had the stick shift sticking where it shouldn't. Jen smacked Steph on the shoulder.

"Bitch, run them all over!" she said, getting excited now that the window had been rolled back up. Steph motioned to Nicki, who was still pointing the gun at them.

"I really don't think so, Jen," she said.

"Bad idea," Jordan filled in, pointing to the car that had pulled in front of them.

"What are they going to do?" Joe asked, talking to nobody in particular. Jen shook her head, speechless for once in her life. Steph knew what was happening as soon as she saw one of the twins step out of the car sporting a thick wire.

"They're going to tow us," she said softly. Jen's eyes got really wide. This was real.

"Where are we going?" she asked as one of the twins fastened the truck to their car. With the gun still pointed at them, Joe whispered,

"Jen, isn't it obvious?" Jen shook her head, staring blankly at the men. Jordan nodded, also staring.

"Yeah, Joe. We're being kidnapped."

Silence filled the car at Jordan's announcement. It wasn't exactly that any of them were shocked, but Jordan made their situation very real by saying it out loud.

"Great," Joe mumbled. "We're on the road for like 3 years and not too much happens. One foot in Phoenix and now look!" Jen glared up at him.

"Oh, gee, we're sorry, Joe. I didn't realize that it was the city's fault that these people are psychotic." Steph could almost touch the tension, it was so thick. She glanced at Jordan, ready to intervene, but he just shook his head, telling her to just let it go.

"The whole city's psychotic," Joe replied, getting as edgy as Jen.

"Oh, really?" Jen said, raising her voice. "Well, you sure seem to enjoy the company of psychos."

"It certainly appears that way," he grumbled. Jen turned to Steph, her face red.

"Steph?" she whined. Steph, the forever peace-keeper, leaned forward to glare at her friends.

"If you two don't knock it off, we're all going psycho here," she said, sternly. Jordan patted her hand, urging her to continue.

"Look," she said. "We can't fight each other here, we have got to find a way out of this!"

"I know," Joe said, throwing his arms up in frustration. He was about to apologize to Jen when he looked up to see what he had knocked down with his hand. Looking curiously at the 6 pictures of himself that covered the passenger shade, Joe started laughing so hard that Jen swore he was going to choke. Pretty soon, his laughter became contagious and the whole truck was shaking in laughter. Joe gave Jen a tight bear hug.

"Thank you," he choked, wiping his eyes.

"Boy, did we need that!" Jordan commented, patting Jen's knee. She was bright red with embarrassment, so Jordan decided to help her out by lowering the other shade as well, bringing quite a few loud hoots from Joe. "See?" Jordan said with a giggle. "I already found Steph's. Y'all are crazy." The laughter stayed with the group until the realization of their location hit them once again, bringing another bout of silence to the car. Staring out the window, Steph realized that she truly had no idea where they were, which was an odd feeling for her. She pretty much knew Arizona as well as any native would, but the driveway they pulled into had no familiarity whatsoever. As the car in front of them shut off, Jordan got everybody's attention.

"You guys, don't forget, Jen and I are engaged and you 2 are married." That brought an amuzing groan from everyone just before the driver's side door shook from the force of a loud pounding.

"Open the door," growled one of the twins. Frightened, Steph fumbled a bit with the door until it fell open and whatshizface yanked her out of the truck. Jordan growled, fighting back the urge to hit the guy as he placed his hand in the small of her back, calming her a bit. Joe helped Jen down and nodded slightly at Jordan and preparing for whatever was to come.

The first thing Jen saw when she stepped out of the truck was the gun in her face. She let out a small cry and instinctively turned to Joe, only to be blocked by Jordan stepping in front of her. Oh yeah, she thought, shaking her head. Steph didn't like the look of the gun either, and she turned to Joe helplessly.

"Is that thing really necessary?" Joe asked, moving Steph behind him.

"I don't think it's your place to decide what's necessary and what isn't," Nicki growled, handing the gun to one of her men. Jen noticed that this one had a mole on his chin and the other one didn't. "Craig, make sure they don't move," she ordered. At least I can tell them apart now, Jen thought. Nicki stepped back to survey her captives when a loud, accented voice yelled,

"Nicole! Nicole, you are back! Splendid, where are they?" At that, a man appeared from behind the old house that they had pulled up in front of. Nicki grinned.

"Over here, Boris," she said. "I've got four of them." The man called Boris grabbed the gun out of Craig's hand and walked up and down the line of hostages, nodding slightly. He stood about 6 feet tall and he had blonde hair, almost white, that hung in a ponytail to his shoulders. His silver eyes were piercing, almost frightening and his thin face showed no emotion, only cunning.

"Where did you find them?" he asked, still pointing the gun mainly in Jordan's direction, probably due to the fact that he was the biggest of the captives. Nicki's face suddenly went from villainess to little girl as she said excitedly,

"Oh, you would have been so proud, Boris!" she rambled. "We found then having some sort of romantic interlude in the middle of the desert."

"So," Boris said, turning his sharp gaze on Nicki. "Noone saw you?" She shook her head.

"No, there wasn't a single person within miles of the place. We were heading for town, but we spotted these guys dancing, of all things, in the middle of nowhere," she said with a smirk. "They were begging to be taken." Joe snorted at that, bringing Boris's gaze back to the group.

"Did you have something to say, pretty boy?" he asked, polishing the gun on his shirt casually. Joe gulped and shook his head. Steph recognized the Russian accent and made a mental note not to get involved with Russians anymore. "I didn't think so," Boris stated, finally noticing the two girls, who were somewhat hidden behind the guys. "Oh, Nicole, very good. You brought me two lovely women. Bring them forward," he ordered to Jordan and Joe. Neither of them moved, scowling at Boris. Steph didn't want anything to happen to Jordan or Joe, so she grabbed Jen and stepped forward into the scrutinizing gaze of their main captor. A slow smile spread across his face, bringing a look of pure hatred to Nicki's.

"Yes, they'll do," Boris said, nodding and looking Steph up and down, giving her a look that almost made her hurl. Jordan felt the heat rise in his face.

"Leave them alone," he growled, causing Boris to move forward a bit. Before he could say anything, Nicki cut in.

"Yes, Boris, I have another surprise for you," she said, curling her hand under his arm. He looked at her impatiently.

"Do you now, Nicole? Well, please, by all means...tell," he purred, keeping an eye on Nicki and the gun on the group. Nicki smiled at him and grabbed Jordan and Joe's arms, pulling them forward roughly.

"This is Jordan Knight and this is Joe McIntyre," she said with a triumphant smile. Boris shrugged and replied,

"Nicole, I certainly hope you're going somewhere with this," he sighed. She gave him a look.

"You mean...oh, that's right. I guess you wouldn't. These two guys were a part of the New Kids on the Block." Boris raised an eyebrow. The name sounded very familiar to him, as it should considering how popular the Kids were worldwide. He saw the dollar signs in Nicki's eyes as it hit him.

"You mean that annoying teenage bopper group from the 80s?" he asked, smirking. Jen could feel the rage in Joe as she caught his eye, silently pleading with him to stay quiet. Jordan's fists were clenched so tight, Steph could see them turning white, but she trusted him not to do anything stupid. Nicki smiled that irritating smile again and rubbed herself against Jordan, making Boris even more angry.

"The very same," she murmured. "Each one of these boys is worth at least $100 million, Boris." Boris clapped his hands together and let out a joyful laugh. This man is insane, Steph thought.

"Wonderful, Nicole! You have done well, my pretty," he said, pulling her to him and kissing her so hard that both girls cringed. Nicki seemed to enjoy it, clinging to him even after he let her go. He grinned at her and nodded slightly, tossing the gun to Greg. "Take them downstairs," he ordered, pulling Nicki back into his embrace.

"Let's go," Greg mumbled, sticking the gun into Jordan's back. Jordan grumbled something that nobody understood, but Steph knew that he was ready to lose it. Craig was behind Jen, giving her a little push.

"Hey, watch it," she said, angrily, turning around. The look Craig was giving her was not one she wanted to see again, so she turned back and hurried to catch up with Jordan, leaving Craig to watch Steph's back. Greg led them into the dark, dusty-smelling house and through a long corridor. They turned down a hall and he opened up a large oak door, shoving Jordan through it. He almost toppled down the stairs that the door led to, catching Jen as she was also shoved through the doors. After the other two were through, the twins towered at the top of the stairs. Craig growled,

"You guys stay down there and get comfortable. You won't be moving for quite a long time..." With that, they laughed and slammed the door, drenching the stairway in complete darkness. The loud slam they heard had to be the bolt lock, proving that they were stuck there. Steph felt someone grab her hand and she looked up only to see darkness, but the smell of the cologne told her that it was Jordan. She wrapped both of her hands around his arm and buried her head in his warmth, hoping that he'd make her fears go away. Joe had found his way to Jen's side and had wrapped his arm around her shoulders, feeling around for a light. The room filled with light as he flipped a switch on the wall.

"Come on, you guys," he said, gripping Jen's hand and leading her down the stairs with Steph and Jordan right behind them. What they found was a rather dull room that contained a rug, a small table and chairs, and a pile of sheets and pillows, and a two person couch.

"At least they were considerate," Jen grumbled. Jordan sighed and started searching the place.

"J, what are you doing?" Steph asked. He looked up.

"I don't know," he said, running his hands through his hair. "Don't you think we should be looking for a window or some sort of escape?" Joe felt rather stupid for not thinking of that himself, but started wandering in the other directions of the dark basement, leaving the girls huddled together in the middle of the carpet.

"Hey, J!" Joe called. "I found something!" All three of them hurried around the corner to see what Joe was yelling about. "Shit," he grumbled, motioning to the window that was about 6 feet over Jordan's head. The ceiling on that side of the basement has risen and the window did lead to the outside, but it was completely boarded up. Jen thought about it.

"Well, if we can find something sharp, like a rock or something," she started. Joe stopped her.

"No way, Jen," he told her firmly.

"Yeah," Jordan agreed. "Too dangerous. There's no way any of us can get up there." Steph was getting edgy.

"So what you're saying is..." she began and Jen, her other brain, finished,

"There's no way out?" Joe sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Not that I can see," he said, quietly. Jordan agreed with Joe, but then seemed to change his mind.

"Wait," he said. "Maybe we can break that door down." He headed upstairs to test the door with no luck. All they received was a loud voice saying,

"Keep it down, down there! No stupid moves!" It had to be one of the twins. Jordan sighed and shook his head.

"Sorry, guys," he said, defeated as he headed slowly down the stairs. Steph immediately approached him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"J?" she said softly without a response. She took his chin in her hand and forced him to look at her. "J?" she repeated, looking him straight in his beautiful brown eyes. "It's not your fault. You'd better not think that, no matter what happens." He looked so sad as he wrapped his arms around her, giving her a tight hug.

"I just wanted to protect you," he mumbled in her ear. She forced herself to smile as she pulled away.

"Well, you can protect me from the nasty bugs down here and you're making me feel better just by being here. Does that help?" she said, taking his hand. He smiled softly and nodded, kissing her softly on the lips and pulling her in for another hug.

Meanwhile, Jen had gone to sit on the couch and left the Jordan-comforting to Steph. She put her head in her hands and groaned to herself, wondering how her perfect week had suddenly gone so wrong. She felt the couch sink as Joe settled beside her. He wasn't sure how to comfort Jen, but he knew he had to. It killed him to see her like this. She was the happiest, funniest, uppest (new word?) person he had ever met and seeing her upset wasn't something he liked. He placed his hand on her back and moved it up and down.

"Jen?" he said softly. She looked up, her blue eyes brimming with tears. She wiped them away angrily. Jen didn't like to break down at all, let alone in front of other people. Unfortunately, what she couldn't wipe away was the scared look in her eyes and hiding that from Joe would be impossible. He ran both of his thumbs under her eyes, wiping away the excess tears and kissing each one as he did so. "Are you OK?" he asked softly, praying that she would be. Jen faked a smile and nodded.

"I'll be fine, Joe, really," she said. "Now, are you OK?" Joe chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, letting her collapse against his chest.

"You're a mighty strong woman, you know that?" he said, planting a kiss on her head. No, I'm not, Joe, she thought. If you only knew. Outloud, she simply sighed and nestled closer to Joe, trying to forget about reality just for a few moments. Jordan noticed the pair on the couch and motioned for Steph to look. She smiled, glad that Joe was taking care of her friend.

"Well, I guess we shouldn't fight them for the couch just yet, huh?" she said, glancing up at Jordan. He smiled.

"Nah, give them a few minutes, we've got the carpet." With that, he took the sheets and blankets, divided them up, and spread out two of each on the floor, creating a makeshift cot. The other blankets he layed on the couch, motioning to Joe, who nodded and went back to stroking Jen's hair, who had fallen asleep in his arms. With his other hand, he grabbed a pillow and put it behind him, settling more comfortably in the couch. He then took a blanket and layed it across Jen's shoulders, as if it could keep her safe. He vowed that if anything happened to this woman, he would kill these people. Jordan saw the look of hatred on Joe's face and knew what he was thinking, catching Joe's eye and nodding to show he felt the same way. No matter what, they had to keep the girls safe. Looking down, he saw that Steph had already made herself comfortable in the blankets and she was waiting for him. He smiled at her and layed down next to her, reaching out and pulling her to him, laying her across his chest. She sighed softly and placed her hand over his heart, closing her eyes. Jordan pulled the blanket in tighter and kissed Steph's nose, also closing his eyes. There seemed to be nothing else to do at that point but wait. Jordan had just started drifting off when he heard someone fiddling with the door. Even in his sleep state, he was able to jump up and shove Joe off of the couch and onto the floor, taking his place by Jen.

"Shhh," he whispered to the other three, whom he had just woken up. "Someone's coming." Jen looked up at him, worried, and he patted her head. "Just act natural," he told her. "We'll be fine." Joe settled down next to Steph just as Nicki and Boris descended the stairs.

"Well, well," Boris said with a chuckle. "Look at our cute couples. I see you found the blankets. I didn't want them, you are, after all, my prisoners, but Nicole insisted. You can thank her later." Joe started to speak, but Boris cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Do not speak unless I tell you to, New Kid, please. I am running somewhat of a business here."

"Boris," Nicki whined. "Can we just get this over with?" Boris smiled at Nicki and slapped her ass.

"Soon, Nicole. Now, would you four like to know why you are here?" They all nodded slowly, exchanging glances. "Well, I have obviously taken you under my control," he began. "You are my hostages. It is not that complicated."

"What do you want from us?" Jen asked. He shot her a glare, but answered her question.

"What do I want or what can I get, my dear?" he asked. "Nicole has been a perfect little helper in getting me these two famous men, so I think I shall raise my, how do you say it...request?"

"To what?" Jordan wanted to know. "At least tell us what our lives are worth." Boris glared at Jordan.

"You," he said. "You do not speak unless I tell you to. The ladies can get away with it, but you can't, my friend." Jordan snorted, but didn't say anything. "To answer your question, New Kid, I am asking your government to release my brother. He is in prison wrongly and I need him back to continue my business in your country. I will also request $2 million for his pain and suffering and for the time he was held." As they registered the reason for their capture, Boris yelled, "Greg! Bring down the dinner!" Greg appeared almost instantly with a tray of four bowls and four dirty cups of water. It was almost humorous.

"There you go, boss," he said before retreating up the stairs.

"Now, no funny business," Boris said. "I will have one of my employees watching that door at all times. Even Nicole has a gun and she is not scared to use it." At that, Nicki pulled out her gun and waved it at them for effect.

"Now, let them eat, Boris," she purred. "We have things to do if we want to get Mikel back." He nodded and repeated with an edge to his voice,

"No funny business. I will not hesitate to kill any of you." And with that, the pair disappeared, leaving Joe, Jordan, Jen, and Steph staring after them in terror. Steph could feel her bottom lip start to tremble and she took a deep breath to stop it. She never cried and she told herself that she wasn't going to start now. Jen, on the other hand, cried when a hat dropped, so she already had tears in her eyes and her head on Joe's shoulder, trying to control her fear. Jordan noticed Steph's lip tremble, but he wasn't sure he should acknowledge it. He had a feeling that Steph didn't like to be comforted when she was upset, but he couldn't help himself from placing an arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze.

"Steph?" he whispered. "Could I have a hug? I need someone's shoulder to cry on." She choked back a sob and wrapped her arms around Jordan's waist.

"Glad I could be of service," she said with a choked back giggle. Joe caught Jordan's eye and motioned to Jen worriedly.

"We have to do something," he mouthed. Jordan nodded as his eye caught something in the corner of the basement. He put a hand on Steph's shoulder before he stepped away to check out what he had seen.

"Shit!" he exclaimed. "You guys, come here!" He cleared away a couple of boxes to reveal a small tan box.

"A phone jack!" Jen said excitedly. "They must have not noticed it when they prepared the room for us." Joe shoved his way through.

"Right on!" he said. Steph groaned at her friends' stupidity.

"You guys," she reminded them. "We need a phone to use a phone jack. How the fuck is this gonna help us?" Everyone's faces seemed to fall at her announcement.

"Hmm," Joe said, thinking.

"Well," Jordan said. "Look at all this shit down here." He motioned to all of the boxes and junk strewn everywhere. "Maybe there's a phone or something in one of these boxes." Joe snorted.

"J, come on! A phone in a box in a basement? That's...that's....hm, that just just might work!" Everyone giggled at that.

"OK, so let's start looking," Steph said with an excited chuckle. Jen stopped everyone as they started to split up.

"You guys, shouldn't someone stay by the stairs and make sure they don't catch us looking?" she recommended. Steph looked at her in surprise.

"Wow, Jen...that was a good idea!" she said surprisingly.

"Shut up, bitch, why is that so surprising?" Jen said, raising her eyebrows. Steph laughed and looked at Jordan.

"I think she just nominated herself for the position," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward a group of boxes in the far corner.

"Guys!" Joe called. "Remember, we're looking in boxes here. That's it!" Jen laughed with him as she headed up the stairs. Joe followed her up.

"Hey, now," she laughed, pushing at his chest as he leaned towards her. "Aren't you supposed to be doing something productive?" Joe grinned at her.

"I am," he replied, leaning in again to kiss Jen softly on the mouth. She sighed and decided not to fight him, as if she had the choice. Pulling away, Joe smiled. "Sorry, OK, I'm going," he said, kissing her hand as he got up. She watched him descend the stairs, wondering how God could've created the perfect man and still have given him such a beautiful ass. As if Joe knew exactly where she was looking, he shook his backside a bit before disappearing around the corner. Jen stifled a giggle as she made herself comfortable next to the doorway, listening carefully for any noise outside. Joe rounded the corner and parked himself near the couch, grabbing a few boxes to keep him busy. Looking over at Jordan and Steph, who were in the midst of a stuffed animal fight, he smiled and got to work.

"Hey!" Steph squealed, ducking a flying elephant. "That's foul play!" Jordan laughed as a frog flew in his direction.

"No way," he said. "That elephant was equal to two of your little Crayola bears." Steph snorted and searched for something else to chuck at him as she heard Joe yell,

"Aren't you guys supposed to be working over there?" Jordan smiled, remembering how his friend had followed Jen up the stairs and hadn't come back for a while.

"Sure," he called back. "Just like you and Jen were `working' on the stairs a few seconds ago." Joe blushed a bit and turned back to his box. Jordan grinned and turned to Steph, only to see a big pink cockroach-like creature flying at his head. It bopped him before he could duck and he growled,

"OK, that's it!" With that, he attacked Steph, grabbing her and tickling her sides so hard that she couldn't breathe. Laughing uncontrollably, Steph reached for Jordan's plaid arm with her teeth, sinking them in and grinning when she heard his mocked howl. "Oh, you wanna play rough?" Jordan said, grinning as he tickled Steph to the ground, grabbing her arms and straddling her, making it so she couldn't move, let alone bite.

"Hey, now..." she protested, wiggling around and trying to get free. Jordan grunted.

"Give in," he ordered.

"No way, Knight," she shot back, kicking a leg up with no success. He grinned evilly at her and went back to his tickling until they were both breathless from laughing so hard. At this point, Jordan was leaning right over her face, making it hard for her to concentrate on anything.

"Give in," he said softly.

"Never," she replied. He shrugged and without another word bent down another inch and pressed his lips on hers. When he pulled away, she whispered,

"Jordan, let my hands go." He thought that if she kept it up with saying his name, he would never let any of her go, but he did as she asked. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer for a deeper, more passionate kiss that lasted until Jen's voice (What's Jen doing in my fantasy??) interupted.

"Hey, you guys! Where'd you go?" A few boxes were moved as Jen approached, stopping in her tracks as she spotted the couple on the floor. "Oh, whoa, I'm sorry," she said, obviously not sorry at all. "I see you're working hard."

"Bitch, this is not how it looks," Steph argued. Jen held up her hand.

"Sure it's not. Hey, one of you take over, I'm sick of being on door duty." Jordan smiled and picked himself off of Steph, saying,

"I'll do it." Jen grinned.

"Good," she answered, winking at Steph. "Then maybe something will get done over here!" Steph noticed Joe heading their way and she smirked.

"Yeah, right," she said, moving to take Joe's place in the boxes across the room.

"Any luck?" Jen asked as the other two went their separate ways. Joe shook his head.

"Nothing, unless we want to go fishing or build an airplane model," he repled. "I don't think this is going to work, Jen." She sighed and put a hand on his arm.

"Well, we have to try, right?" she said. There was a sudden pounding on the stairs.

"They're coming!" Jordan called. "Pick up the boxes!" The four of them raced around, putting the boxes back in piles and jumping onto the couch just as the door opened. Greg's face appeared, mole-less and all.

"Hello there, folks."

"Hi," they all grumbled, shooting him death looks. He smirked and said,

"I was just wondering if you needed anything. Especially you ladies." Steph felt Jordan and Joe both tense up when he said that, considering she was sitting in between them. She put both of her hands on each of their knees to calm then and replied,

"No thanks, we're just fine."

"You sure about that, honey?" he sneered. Steph cringed at the word "honey", but simply said.

"Completely sure. Unless you want to let us out of here." At that, Greg simply laughed and shut the door, leaving them to stare at the back of a door yet again. Jen sighed and got up, holding a hand out to Joe.

"Let's go keep looking," she said, pulling him up. Steph and Jordan exchanged a quick look before he headed back up the stairs and she went back to her box that was now hiding behind the couch. Sitting down, Joe sighed and pulled out another box.

"We'd better find something important," he grumbled. Jen nodded and dug into the box, pulling out a window sham and sighing.

"You guys!" They heard Steph yell. "Get over here!" Jordan rambled down the stairs to see what the commotion was about, but Steph held up her hand. "Not you, hon," she said. Seeing his defeated face, Steph laughed. "You have to watch the door," she retorted matter-of-factly. Jordan mumbled something unintelligible and trudged back up the stairs as Jen and Joe raced over to see what Steph was so excited about.

"What's up?" Joe asked, plopping down next to Steph. She gave him a funny look.

"Oh, not much and how are you?" she asked sarcatically. Joe grinned and stole a glimpse at Jen.

"Oh, I'm great," he replied with a wink. Jen groaned.

"You guys, cut it out," she said, impatiently. "Steph, what were you yellin about over here?" She looked at her friend with such pissiness in her eyes that Steph had to smile so she wouldn't catch it. She pulled out her little surprise. It was a portable phone. Both Jen and Joe practically jumped at her.

"A phone!" Jen squealed.

"We're saved!" Joe filled in.

"Alright!" called Jordan from his spot on the stairs. Jen grabbed it out of Steph's hand and examined it, murmuring,

"Shit."

"Exactly," Steph said. "We have a phone, but no way to charge it." Everybody was silent for a minute, deep in thought.

"My mom calls it the mother-ship," Jen said suddenly. Two pairs of eyebrows raised in her direction. "The thing you put the phone on," she said, defensively. "She calls it a `mother-ship'. I always thought that was so stupid." Looking up, she saw Stpeh and Joe giving her some pretty weird-ass looks. "Never mind," she mumbled, a bit embarrassed after her little monologue. Joe shook his head amazingly and said, "Well, that other part has to be around here somewhere. We just have to keep looking." Well, that's exactly what they did. For hours, they took turns searching the boxes and watching the basement door. At one point, while Joe was on door duty, Steph leaned against the wall under the one window and looked up, staring through the gap in the boards at the dark sky. What I wouldn't give to be out there right now, she thought, sighing. She must have been standing there for at least ten minutes before she felt two powerful arms wrap around her waist. She wrapped her own arms around them and leaned her head back onto Jordan's shoulder.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hi," she said back. Jordan kissed her hair lightly.

"What are you doing over here all by yourself?" he asked.

"Looking at my star," Steph said, softly.

"Well, will you tell me which one it is?" Jordan had never seen this emotional side of Steph and he found that he quite liked it. Steph pointed.

"You see Orion's belt?" she asked. It was hard not to, Orion was perfectly visible through the gap in the boards. Jordan nodded. "It's the one in the middle of his belt," Steph continued. "My friend Amir gave it to me." Jordan's arms tightened around her. She was so turning him on at that point. If he wasn't a gentleman, he would... "Anyway," Steph continued, breaking into his not-so-clean thoughts. "I always look up at my star when I'm upset."

"We will get out of here, Steph. I swear we will." Jordan couldn't do anything to comfort her and he hated himself for it. "Come on," he said. "Let's go lay down for a bit." Steph nodded and took one final glance at her star.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," she said, letting him lead her to their spot on the floor. Laying down, Steph rolled over and turned towards the sofa, letting Jordan wrap his arms around her from behind. Her eye caught something silver and she jumped up, scaring Jordan clear out of his mind in the process.

"What?!" he exclaimed, looking around.

"What the..." Steph mumbled as she reached under the couch to grasp a long metal rod that had caught her eye. When she pulled on it, an entire apparatus came out with it. Steph and Jordan both gasped.

"You found it!" he cried, bringing Jen and Joe in from the other end of the basement.

"Alright, Steph!" Joe hooted, slapping her lightly on the back.

"Bitch, you rock my world," Jen added. Steph grinned and examined the other half of the phone.

"It looks OK," she said. "Now we just need to find a phone jack." Jen nodded towards a spot behind the couch.

"Here's one," she said, crawling over towards it and sticking out her hand. Steph handed her the cord and Jen bent down to try and reach the jack.

"Damn," she mumbled from under the couch. "I've almost got it..." Steph looked over at Joe and noticed him totally staring at Jen's backside. She lightly slapped his arm.

"Joe, you're hopeless," Steph said with a laugh, lightly slapping his arm.

"You're just now figuring this out?" Jordan laughed.

"Hey now," Joe started. He was interrupted by Jen's muffled voice.

"Got it!" she said, crawling back out from under the couch. "OK, it's plugged in." Steph nodded and put the portable phone into the jack.

"It fits," she announced. "Now all we can do is wait and see if it works." They all smiled broadly at each other.

"Wow," Jen said amazingly. "We're going to make it!" Joe smiled and gave her a huge hug.

"Told ya so," he said, squeezing her.

"Hey," Jordan said with a pout. "It was my woman who found the phone." Steph grinned. Wow, she thought. He just called me his woman. She had completely forgot about the phone. Joe smirked at his friend.

"Yeah, so what, you want a cookie or what?"

"No, a quarter!" both girls said at the same time, grinning at each other. Now that the phone was being charged, all they could do was wait, which is what they had planned on doing until something ruined it for them. All of the sudden, the door to the basement flew open. The group didn't even have time to react it happened so quickly. Standing at the top of the stairs was Nicki, Boris, and Craig.

"Told you I heard something strange," Craig snarled. The foursome stood frozen in their spots, trying to cover the phone with their bodies.

"Good work, Craig," Boris said, sending them all an evil glare. "They do look like they're up to something." Nicki also surveyed the situationm her eyes taking in everything, including the fact that Jordan's hand was resting protectively on Steph's lower back.

"Jen, doesn't it make you angry that your fiancee is so...well, close to your friend here?" she asked slyly. Her eyes told them that she knew exactly what was going on with their little story and Joe sighed.

"Look, does it really matter?" he asked. Boris shut them all up with the wave of his hand.

"No it does not," he said abruptly. Nicki pouted and gave Jen a glare. "Craig, go find out what they were up to. I warned you all not to mess with me." As Craig descended the stairs, Joe tried to shove the phone under the couch without avail. The cord was too short and Craig spotted it immediately, giving them all a look of utter amusement.

"They found a phone down here, boss," he said, pushing them all away from the phone and bending over to look at it. Jordan scowled and moved over to Steph, not caring what Nicki saw. Boris shook his head and approached Craig, snatching the phone away from him and testing it.

"They haven't used it yet," he said. "It's not charged."

"Smart guy," Jen murmured. Boris whirled around.

"What did you say?" he snapped. Jen shook his head and slunk into the ground. Boris snarled at her and turned to Craig, tucking the phone under his arm. Nicki didn't say anything. She just stood there and watched Boris lovingly. It's amazing what turns some people on, Steph thought.

"Here's what I want you to do," Boris ordered Craig. "Take that bat of yours and smash someone's head. I don't care who." With that, Boris turned and grabbed Nicki, roughly shoving her up the stairs. "I'll be watching. Who knows? This might even get you a bonus." Smiling, Craig turned to the group. He obviously had no qualms about hitting any of them with his metal bat.

"OK, folks," he growled, slapping the bat in his palm. "Who's it gonna be?" Both girls let out a cry as the guys moved forward, pushing them behind their backs.

"No, Joe!" Jen cried, pulling at his back, on the verge of tears. "You can't...he can't...no!" Steph was also grabbing Jordan's shoulders and turning him around to face her.

"If I mean anything to you, you won't do this," she stated, trying to sound angry without succeeding. Her words came out in sobs. Jordan took Steph by the shoulders and looked her right in the eye.

"Steph, you know that whatever happens here, you mean the world to me. What kind of a man...hell, what kind of a person would I be if I didn't face this knowing he might go after you instead?" She shook her head again and pulled him to her, crying into his neck. She knew she couldn't stop him, but she couldn't help herself.

"Please don't let anything happen to you," she whispered, kissing him soundly on the mouth and finally stepping away. Jen had just gone through the same thing with Joe and she was openly crying, her hand frozen to her lips, where Joe had just kissed. The girls clung to each other as they watched Joe and Jordan step forward towards Craig.

"So, now that we're done with Love Story here, who's it gonna be, boys?" Craig asked with a smirk.

"I guess it's up to you," Joe growled, attempting to hide his fear. Craig surveyed the two of them.

"Well, you both look like punks, but you," he said, pointing at Jordan. "I just don't like the way you look." With that, he raised the bat. "Better start praying, boy." Winking, he let out a howl and raced toward Jordan with his bat high in the air. Jordan saw it coming and braced himself for the blow before he spotted a perfect opportunity. Seizing just the right moment, Jordan jumped out of the way, sticking his hand up and pushing the bat out of the way. The force sent Craig flying into the wall and the metal bat slammed into a water pipe, coming right back to smack Craig on the head, knocking him out cold. Steph squealed and raced over to Jordan, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him everywhere she could reach: his neck, his face, his nose, his eyes, his cheeks, his mouth. Jordan was still stunned and held Steph to him as if he would never let her go. Jen and Joe also clung to each other, trying to make sure that they were really alike. As they pulled apart, they heard a loud curse from the top of the stairs. They turned to find Boris with a murderous look in his eyes. "Fine," he growled, shooting a look at his unconscious sidekick. "If I want something done right, I guess I'll just have to do it." A loud hissing sound interuppted his thoughts. Seeing what was causing it, Boris broke into a huge grin. Steph turned around to see what it was and gasped when she saw that the water pipe had been broken by Craig's bat. Water was shooting everywhere, soaking Craig completely, but he didn't budge.

"Boris," Jordan pleaded. "We have to fix that. We'll freeze down here."

"Oh, I doubt that," Boris said smugly.

"Sure they will, honey," Nicki cut in. "That water is cold." She shivered for effect. Boris pushed her back up the stairs.

"Go into the living room and wait for me," he ordered.

"But.."

"Go!" Nicki lowered her head and shot one more glance at Joe before trudging up the stairs.

"Why do you doubt it, Boris?" Joe asked, testing the water. "We'll be no good to you as popsicles.

In the moment, Jen almost broke into the old song "Popsicle" that Joe sang, but decided against it. She was just breaking hysteria.

"It's simple, New Kid," Boris explained as if he was talking to a child. "You're already no good to me, so I figure that before that water can freeze you, it will drown you."

"No!" Steph cried, grabbing Jordan's shirt. "Don't let him do this, Jordan...PLEASE!" She was shaking him so hard that he had to grab her shoulders and pull her to him to get her to stop. He held her tightly while she hit his chest with her fists, crying and shaking like a leaf. Jen started to go comfort her friend, but Joe stopped her. He, too, looked terrified and motioned for Jen to join him.

"Don't bother looking for a drain, it's blocked. Have a good death, folks." After his speech, Boris left, closing the door. Through the slit at the bottom, they could see something being shoved through to stop the water and there was no mistaking the sound of the bolt being dropped.

"Oh my God," Jen whispered as Joe ran over to the center of the room, feeling around and lifting up the carpet, revealing a cemented circle that was once served as a drain.

"Damn," he said, kicking the carpet back in place. Half of it was already getting wet and as the water touched Steph's shoes, she screamed in agony, clutching Jordan's collar.

"I can't go through this," she said, trying to calm herself. "Please, Jordan...." He stroked her hair.

"Shhh," he whispered, worriedly. "We'll find a way." The look on his face told Jen that he actually had no clue what to do. She looked over at Joe, who asked,

"Is she going to be OK?" Jen put her head in her hands.

"No," she said, getting teary eyed. "She's not going to be OK and neither are we, Joe. Steph's main fear in life is drowning and I can't say I'm too fond of it, either."

"Oh shit," Joe mumbled. "We've got to find a way out, Jen." She nodded and jumped as the water reached her. "J," Joe called. "You take Steph to the sofa; Jen and I are going to look for some way out." They weren't even halfway across the room when Craig woke up.

"What the," he mumbled, rubbing his head. Jordan groaned.

"Welcome to the club, man," he said, feeling a little sorry for the guy despite the fact he had just tried to kill them. Craig's eyes widened and he sat up quickly, splashing in the water as he struggled to get up.

"Now, wait a second," he stammered. "You're supposed to be dead." Jordan growled at him.

"Yeah, well you missed," he said, turning back to Steph.

"Your loving boss left you here, Craig honey," Jen said. "So as you can see, you're in the same boat as we are."

"No pun intended, right?" Joe quipped.

"Shut up, Joe," Steph mumbled, still shaking. Craig shook his head.

"What are you freaks talking about?" he asked.

"Freaks?!" Jordan was really angry at that point, but when he started to go after the guy, Steph stopped him.

"Jordan," she said softly. "I need you now." Jordan lowered himself back to the couch and gathered her back into his arms.

"I'm sorry, Steph, I won't leave you," he murmured into her hair. Joe took his place in the Craig argument.

"Freaks, huh? If we're freaks, than why are you the one involved with psycho-boy up there?"

"Hey, Boris is paying me a lot of money for this little job," Craig said defensively. "Besides, it's for a good cause."

"Oh sure," Jen spat. "Murdering innocent people is a good cause. Besides, your mentor up there didn't seem to care that you'd be dying down here with us, did he?" Hearing this, Craig looked around, noticing his predicament for the first time.

"He left me here?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," Joe muttered. "He left us all here and there's no drain and no way out, for us or for the water." Steph let out another cry at Joe's statement.

"Great, Joe, way to calm people down," Jordan said, sending a glare at his friend.

"Sorry," Joe mumbled. "Look, Craig, the least you can do is help us look for a way out. You're on our side now, like it or not." After a few minutes of silence, Craig finally relented.

"OK," he asked. "Where can I start?"

"By busting a hole through that wall," Jordan muttered.

"Or by talking some sense into your psycho boy friend," Joe filled in. Steph couldn't handle everyone's sarcastisness.

"By getting us the fuck out of here!" she screamed, covering her ears and burying her face in Jordan's shoulder. His grip tightened.

"You guys, we have got to get her out of here," he muttered.

"Yeah, well, I'm not too thrilled about being here either, ya know, Jordan," Jen said.

"You know what I meant," he said angrily.

"Well, you guys are not the only ones down here," Joe said, rising his voice.

"Joe, do I look stupid cause I sure don't feel stupid."

"Well, J, sometimes I wonder."

"You know what, Joe..." Jordan was caught off by a loud scream. Everyone's eyes focused on Jen, who was apparently the source.

"Shut up all of you, just shut up!" she yelled. "We are getting nowhere with this." She motioned to the water, which was now rising enough to seep through her shoes. "Look, this is how we're going to do it...no! Shut up," she told Joe as he tried to speak. "I'm speaking. Joe, you go that way." She pointed towards the far corner. "Craig, go that way. I'm going that way and Jordan, you stay with Steph. Don't even think about leaving her. Any questions?" Not waiting for an an answer, she continued. "Good. Now go." After her little speech, she turned on her heel and started toward her side.

"Jen?" Joe called carefully.

"Hm?"

"Um, what are we looking for?" She rolled her eyes.

"I think you'll know it when you find it, Joe." He gave her a half-smile.

"OK," he replied. If they were in a different setting, he would just ravish her at that point. This take-charge thing was impressing the hell out of him. Nodding, he turned on his heel in the direction that Jen had pointed to him, motioning for the others to do the same. While they were looking for the way out, Jordan wrapped his arms around Steph and stroked her hair, attempting to keep her calm. It wasn't working, but she appreciated it just the same. Just as Jordan tightened his grip, Steph felt a splash of water on her knee, even though both of her legs were folded on the couch. She let out a yelp and closed her eyes, whispering,

"Please hurry, you guys...."

"Shit," Joe muttered, realizing that there was absolutely nothing worth looking for in his corner. He looked over to where Jen was on her knees, feeling around. She was completely in the water and looked panicked. Joe made his way over to her, the water building around his shins. When he got there, he saw that she had tears streaming down her face and falling into the water at her waist. She was frantically searching and didn't stop until Joe grabbed her arms and pulled her to him.

"Joe," she choked. "I can't...I mean....there's nothing...."

"Shhh," he said, hugging her. "I know." By that time, they were both soaked and shivering.

"What are we going to do?" she whispered, burying her face into the warmth of his chest.

"I don't know, Jen," Joe said, and he didn't. Seeing Craig heading over to the couch out of the corner of his eye, Joe pulled Jen to her feet and gripped her hand. "Let's at least go join the others."

She followed him reluctantly, not wanting anyone to see her break down, but at that point, it didn't really matter. Nobody was paying attention. Steph had crawled on top of a table and was simply rocking back and forth while Jordan and Craig tried to shove things under the couch to raise it up more.

"You guys," Joe said. "How is that going to help? The water's going to get higher no matter what."

Even as he said this, the water was lapping at his knees. Jen joined Steph on the table and shivered with her. The thoughts going through both girls' heads were indescribable. They were going to die and at that point they all knew it. It was just a matter of time. Steph was so numb, she could barely even register her thoughts, let alone voice them, but speaking wasn't necessary. Death was a funny thing. It really put things into perspective. Even as Joe made his comment, he realized exactly what it was he was saying and it didn't make it any easier. They all just stood there for a few minutes before Jordan finally snapped out of it.

"Come on, you guys," he said. "Let's start heading up the stairs. We have to stay as high as we can." Grabbing Steph from the table and gathering her against his chest, he waded towards the stairs. Joe looked over at Jen, but she held up a hand and jumped off the table herself, splashing him in the face in the process. Despite himself, Joe gave her a grin and placed a hand on her back, guiding her to where the others had already set up camp. Huddling on the top three steps, all the group could do was try to control their chattering teeth and watch the water get closer to them.

"I don't get it," Jordan muttered. They all looked up in surprise.

"What?" Joe said.

"It's just that this week was so perfect," he continued, looking at Steph warmly. "It just can't end like this." Even through her shaking body, Steph was able to nod.

"I know," she said shakily. "It was perfect, wasn't it?" Joe entwined his fingers through Jen's.

"I guess," he started. "I guess you don't realize what you have until you're about to lose it." Squeezing his fingers, Jen nodded.

"You guys," she said. "I just wanted to tell you that....well...I know this sounds crazy, but if I have to be here, going through this....well, I'm glad it's with you all." That caused Steph to cry again and Jordan brushed a tear from his own eyes.

"You make it sound so final," he said, sniffing. Joe nodded solemnly.

"It IS final, J," he said. "I just wish I could talk to my family one more time....or..."

"Stop it!" Steph said. "Please, Joe, you're making it worse." She huddled closer to Jordan and lowered her head to the crook in his neck. He sighed and stroked her hair, watching the water as it edged their way closer to them. A pathetic sounding cry interrupted his thoughts.

"I'm so sorry, you guys!" Craig cried. They all looked at him as if they were surprised that he was still there. "You guys are so cool and you care about each other so much," he sniffed. It was almost comical, this huge ogar-of-a-guy crying. Jen patted him on the shoulder.

"Well, it sucks that you're stuck here with us," she said softly. He shook his head, tears streaming down his face.

"I wish I had friends like you. Instead, I team up with Boris and his clan and I kidnap the nicest people I've ever met..." Craig was openly bawling now. "And now we're all going to die because I'm so stupid!" Sending each other looks, the foursome attempted to comfort one of their captors.

"It wasn't your fault, Craig," Steph started.

"Yeah, you just got greedy and didn't think. Boris trapped you," Jen filled in.

"Craig, if it helps...I mean, I think I speak for everybody here when I say that we do forgive you," Jordan said, looking at the others, who nodded in support. That only made him cry harder.

"Oh, man, you guys are great! Come on, group hug," Craig sniffed, grabbing all four of them at once and crushing them to him in a group hug. Jen thought she was going to suffocate as she pulled away and managed a grin.

"Look, you guys," she said, pointing. There were a bunch of pool floaties floating in the water along with a few other items that were unsinkable. Joe snorted.

"How is that going to help us, Jen?" She shot him a look.

"Sorry, Joe...I guess you must have a better idea," she said, hotly. As he sulked, Steph cut in.

"Hey, at least we can float on those for a while," she said. "Right, J?" When he didn't answer, Steph poked him in the side. "J?"

"Look, you guys," Jordan said, still focusing on the other side of the room. Jen cranned her neck to see what he was motioning to, but couldn't see a thing without her glasses. Joe broke into a smile.

"Good thinking, J!" he exclaimed. "I knew you had some brains in ya!" Jordan shot him a look before turning his attention back to the source of their excitement. Steph was getting impatient.

"What?" she wanted to know. "Don't you remember, Steph?" Jordan said, turning to her and looking into her eyes. "Your star?" Steph smiled into his eyes.

"The window," she whispered. Jen clapped her hands together in delight.

"Wow, that just might work!" she exclaimed as the water touched her feet. She yelped and Joe wrapped his arms around her, whispering,

"Shhh..." He nuzzled her ear, causing her to momentarily forget the water at her ankles. By that time, they were all so cold they were numb to it. Jordan didn't even notice the water as it crept up, he was so busy contemplating their escape. Joe sighed.

"OK, here's what we do," Joe said, taking charge for the first time. "I'll go out and grab the floaties for everyone. We each take one and work our way as close to the window as we can."

"Yeah?" Jordan asked. Joe shot him a look.

"Let me finish," he requested. "Then we wait for the water to rise all the way to the window. This is the part where I'm stuck..." Jen giggled in spite of herself.

"The rest was great, sugar," she said, rubbing his arm where it rested around her waist.

"Well," Jordan started. "Those boards could be removed if we had some kind of tool...."

"That's it!" Joe cried. "Over where I was looking before, I found a hammer and put it on that table." He pointed to the table where he was talking about, but the water was so high at that point that nobody could see the table. It was completely submerged. They were all silent for a minute before Jordan asked. "Did you put it in the middle of the table?" Joe nodded.

"Alright," Jordan said, getting up. "I'll go get it." Steph gasped.

"The hell you will," she stated. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"I used to swim, Steph, I'll be fine," he said softly. Joe nodded.

"OK, J, you do that and I'll go grab the floaties for everybody." Jordan sighed, looking at the expanse of water in front of him.

"Alright," he said, heading down the stairs and into the water.

"Joe," Steph said, pulling on his shirt. "Don't worry about us right now. Go out there and hold a floatie in place for Jordan...just in case." Jen agreed and Joe placed a hand on Steph's shoulder.

"Great idea, Steph, I'm on it." With that, he, too dove into the water, swimming with Jordan to the spot where the table rested right below them. They talked for a minute before Craig, Jen, and Steph could see Jordan go under. Joe was holding onto two floaties and attempting to see Jordan in the murky water with no success. After about 15 seconds, Steph and Jen were clutching each other so hard that there were marks on both of their arms and even Joe was looking worried. He was just about to go under to find Jordan when the surface broke as Jordan broke through it, taking a huge breath as he grabbed onto the closest floatie.

"Jordan!" Steph cried. He looked over at her and grinned as he held up the hammer triumphantly.

They all clapped and cheered, seeing the only hope that they had in Jordan's hand. Jordan got Joe's attention and motioned with his head that they should head back to the stairs. He was breathing heavily and very tired, but both singers picked up every floating object they could on their way back.

That was when they noticed the trouble they were in. Jen, Steph, and Craig had emerged from the water-filled stairwell and they were all holding onto the stairwell ceiling, waiting for the floaties. Jen even broke away and swam over to Joe, grabbing a few and bringing them over to Steph and Craig. When they were all settled with their plastic toys and styrofoam boxes, Joe motioned that they should all start kicking for the window. Shivering, the whole group turned towards that side of the room. Steph brought up the rear of their little train. She was kicking slowly, frozen to her floating dragon. Jordan turned and slowed down, stopping Steph's kicking attempts for a moment alone with her.

"Steph," he said, putting a cold hand on her arm and looking down. "I..um...I just wanted to tell you that...well..." Even in her state, Steph couldn't help smiling at Jordan's embarrassment. She put a hand over his and looked into his eyes.

"I know, Jordan." He shook his head.

"No, I want to say this. Steph, I mean, I know we've only known each other for less than a week, but with all that's went on and the time we've been together..." Steph squeezed his hand when he paused, urging him on.

"I know, Jordan, I felt it, too," she said softly. His eyes lit up for a moment.

"You did?" he asked hopefully. She smiled into his eyes.

"Of course I did."

"Well, Steph, then I guess all I have left to say is that no matter what happens in the next few minutes...or even the next few years if possible....well, I love you. More than I've ever loved anybody." He looked up when he finished his revelation, trying to judge her reaction. The tears that were filling in her eyes gave him an idea.

"I love you, too, Jordan," she whispered, leaning towards him over both of their floaties. He smiled and cupped her face in his cold hands.

"Thank God," he said, just before he lowered his lips to hers, kissing her softly. The warmth from that kiss was enough to warm her entire body and she clung to it as long as she could before they had to turn back and join the group. Joe was studying the boards that covered the window, which was directly above his head. Digging his nail into the wood, Joe shook his head.

"This has been here for a really long time, you guys," he observed. "It won't be easy to get them out.

"Let me," Craig said, taking the hammer from Joe's hand and turning his attention to the window.

Steph and Jordan could only watch as he tugged at the first nail as Joe tugged on Jen's arm and pulled her aside. He had noticed Jordan and Steph's little moment and knew that he couldn't let this end without letting Jen know how he felt. The two swam about 10 yards from the rest of the group before Joe stopped her. Jen opened her mouth to ask what they were doing, but he stopped her by pressing his lips to hers and kissing her so deeply that she was breathless when he finally pulled away.

"Joe," she breathed, touching his cheek. "What was that for?" He blushed slightly and looked over to the window.

"Well, I just....well, we have no clue what's going to happen here and I just wanted you to know.....well....I know this sounds crazy, but...."

"I love you too, Joe," Jen interrupted with a soft smile. Joe looked at her in surprise, being that she had interrupted his speech.

"Say what?" he asked incredulously.

"I said I love you too." Joe broke into a huge grin and pulled her floatie close enough to him so that he could wrap his arms around her, kissing her hair.

"I do love you, Jen," he whispered in her ear. "I just wanted you to know that." She squeezed him back and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm glad you did," she whispered back, taking his hand in hers and kissing him one last time on the mouth. "Now let's get the fuck out of here." He nodded and they swam together back to the window, which was now almost at eye level. Craig had removed one of the four nails and Jordan had started helping him pull. Joe swam over to help them, digging into the wood with his nails and pulling with all his might. The second nail popped off and they all watched it as it sank to the bottom of the basement before they turned to the third nail. Steph shivered.

"The water's getting really high," she commented, looking up at the ceiling, which was almost in arm's reach. The water touched the bottom of the window as the third nail popped off. Jen watched the guys with wide eyes.

"Come on, you guys," she said, joining the ranks in pulling out the fourth nail, which was proving to be the toughest. "The water's almost to the top of the window!" She felt panic run through her as the group pulled and pulled, with no success.

"Oh God," Steph said, looking up and touching the ceiling. Then she screamed. "Oh my God! Hurry, Jordan...please..." She was crying again and her panic was running through everyone else. The water had just reached the center of the window when the fourth nail suddenly popped off. Craig let out a whoop and pulled off the board, breaking the window with the hammer.

"Go on you guys," he yelled, pulling Steph towards the window. "Hurry up, get out of here!" With that, he plucked Steph from her floatie and helped her as she struggled to get out, water streaming out the window all around her. She fell to the ground with a yelp. She had never felt relief that great, but it only lasted a moment when she realized that everyone else was still in there. She turned to find Jen being pushed through the window. The water was streaming out the window, but it wasn't coming fast enough. The other three still had to get out of there and they had to do it FAST. Joe was next to shove himself through, groaning at the strain it caused on his arms. He immediately turned around and reached out for Jordan, roughly pulling him. Craig pushed from behind and Joe tugged, groaning when he realized that Jordan barely fit throught the small space of the window. Jordan let out a yelp as a piece of glass snagged him on the arm, but pulled himself through anyway. By that point, the water was almost to the top of the window and all four of them raced to the window to try to pull Craig through, but he held up his hand to stop them.

"Thanks for everything, you guys," he yelled over the roar of the water. "I know that I won't fit,

I'm just glad you guys are safe." Appraising the size of the window, Joe realized that he was right.

There was no way Craig could fit though. Jen let out a cry.

"No Craig!" she cried. "You can fit, you just need to try..." Steph hid her head in Jordan's chest.

She couldn't bear to watch what she knew was coming. Through tear-filled eyes, Jen reached out

and gripped Craig's hand as the water rose over his head. He squeezed it for a full minute before his

grip relaxed and disappeared from her own. Jordan choked back a sob and Jen collapsed into Joe's

arms, crying.

"No," she sobbed. "He saved us!" Joe wiped away his own tears and looked back towards the

window.

"Jen, it was his way of making it up to us." He said, stroking her hair. "He got to prove himself

before he died." Steph was openly crying and Jordan was having a hard time holding it back.

"Well, guys, at least we're alive. That's a good thing, right?" he said. Steph nodded slightly and Jen

let out a sigh.

"I just can't believe he's gone," she said, trying to look at the window, but Joe stopped her.

"Don't look, Jen," he said, softly, pulling her to her feet. "Come on, we have to call the police."

With heads hanging, the group moved slowly to the forest, where they spotted another cabin about

one block from where they were standing. By the time they reached the front porch, exhaustion had

taken over and Jen and Steph collapsed on the first step.

"God, please let these people be home," Jordan groaned, knocking on the door. They heard

footsteps almost immediately and a middle-aged woman opened the door and stared in surprise.

"Uh, can I help you?" she asked, looking them all over in awe.

"Oh thank you God," Joe murmured, bringing nods of agreement from Jen and Steph.

"Yes, ma'am. We desperately need your help," Jordan said, gripping the doorwat for support.

Seeing how tired they all were, the woman's eyes widen with sympathy.

"Oh, you poor dears, you're exhausted! Oh, come in, you're too tired to rob me anyway." Thanking

her, they entered the cozy cottage one at a time, falling onto the couch she motioned to. Sitting down

on a chair across from them, she sighed.

"OK, first of all, my name is Mellie. And you all are?" They all murmured their names one at a

time.

"Jordan."

"Stephanie."

"Joe."

"Jen." Mellie smiled at them all.

"Well, nice to meet you," she stated. "And now that we've had mousketeer role call, what happened

to you kids?" At that question, they all started talking at once.

"See, there was this awful bitch of a woman who..."

"And then they took us to this icky cabin..."

"Then these two huge men held us hostage..."

"And then we almost DROWNED..."

"Whoa," Mellie said, holding up her hands. "Please, one at a time." Steph sat up a bit and sighed.

"OK," she said. Jordan put his hand on her back and rubbed it softly as Steph relayed the whole

story to their hostess. Mellie listened patiently, folding her hands in her lap. When Steph finished,

Mellie said nothing. She simply got up, crossed to the other side of the room, picked up a phone and

dialed.

"Operator? Get me the police."

It wasn't even two hours later that the group was huddled together in the corner of the local police station. Despite the blankets that had been provided for them, they were all shivering uncontrollably when a plain-clothed officer came over to assist them.

"How are you folks doing?" he asked. All he got for an answer was four blank stares, which brought a small smile to his face. "OK, that was a dumb question considering what you folks have been through, but I promise you that you'll be out of here as soon as possible." Steph groaned and Jordan put a hand on her knee to comfort her.

"It's ok, Steph, they're just trying to get these guys," he said, comfortingly. The officer nodded.

"Thank you...um..."

"Jordan," Jordan informed him. The officer nodded.

"Yes, Jordan Knight," he said, looking at his files. "And you're Stephanie Chirnomas....Joseph McIntyre...and Jennifer Atkins, correct?" They all nodded and waited for him to continue. "My name is Detective Hurley, but you guys can call me Dave. With your eyewitness account, we can finally nail these guys, so if you'll just be patient..." He was cut off by a loud ruckus going on at the front. Jen looked over and let out a yelp. Standing not four yards away stood Nicki, Boris, and Greg. Seeing Craig's twin brother brought momentary sadness to all four of them, but it passed quickly when they saw the sneer on Boris's face.

"Are these folks your kidnappers?" Dave asked softly. Joe noticed that they were all handcuffed and let out a snort.

"Yeah, that's definitely them," he replied. "No one else is that revolting." The comment brought another sneer from Boris, but it didn't last long as Dave motioned to the officers standing behind them.

"Take them away, boys," he said with a wave of his hand. Turning back to the group, he said, "Thank you guys. You're free to go." Steph looked up with a smile on her face for the first time in ages.

"And my truck?" she asked.

"It's out back, we recovered it from the cabin along with an Eclipse that was found in the desert." All four of them let out a whoop and jumped up. They couldn't get out of there fast enough. As soon as they got to Jen's room, the girls made a mad dash for their beds.

"I'll shower first, ok?" Steph asked. Jen just nodded, hoping that she wouldn't fall asleep before she could get in the shower. It was a miracle that none of them had fallen ill considering the conditions they had been living in for the past couple days. Luckily, it only took Steph about ten minutes to shower and Jen hopped in gratefully. By the time she felt clean and refreshed enough to sleep, Steph was already out cold. Jen collapsed onto her bed and fell into a deep sleep within seconds. Joe was just getting out of the shower in his hotel room at that point. He wrapped the towel around his waist and yawned, walking out in the main room. Jordan was sitting at the table, drumming his fingers on the table.

"What are you doing awake?" Joe asked sleepily. Jordan looked up in surprise. He shrugged.

"I did fall asleep," he replied. "You were in there for so long, I was able to have the beginnings of a really bad nightmare. I think I woke myself up." Joe nodded.

"Well that's understandable," he said, dropping onto the bed and pulling on his favorite pair of boxer shorts. "We've been through hell and back." Jordan was still deep in thought.

"I keep seeing Craig's face," he said. "That could've been us, Joe."

"I know, Jordan, I know. But it wasn't us and we should thank God for that much, right?" All he got for an answer was a nod, which edged him on towards another subject.

"I've been thinking about what we were talking about before this whole kidnapping thing." That brought Jordan out of his trance.

"You mean LA?" he asked. Joe nodded.

"I can't leave her, J," he stated simply. "Especially not after this." Jordan nodded.

"We need to go home first you know," he said, making up his mind for good. LA it was. Joe nodded.

"I don't care," he said hotly. "They'll come with us, that's all." With that, Joe layed back in his bed and pulled up the covers. "Pray for no nightmares," he yawned before drifting off to sleep. Jordan smiled to himself. Now that the past few days were over, he couldn't wait for the rest of his life. And more than anything, he wanted Steph to see Boston. He replaced Steph in his mind to cover up Craig's face and with that image, he was finally able to settle into a peaceful sleep. Steph's sleep, on the other hand, was anything but peaceful. At around 4 AM, she woke up drenched in sweat and crying. She jumped in surprise and looked around Jen's room, sighing out loud. That had been the worst nightmare she'd ever had. It was so bad that she was still shaking and pretty much freaking out. Looking over at Jen, she realized that she didn't want to bother her, knowing what Jen is usually like when she wakes up, so she decided to call Jordan.

"Hello?" answered a very sleepy sounding Joe.

"Joe, it's Steph, I need to talk to Jordan...PLEASE..." Joe groaned.

"This better be good, Steph," he replied, yelling, "J! Wake your ass up, it's Steph!" After hearing a bit of scuffling, she finally heard Jordan's voice.

"Steph?" he asked sleepily. She had never been so happy to hear another person's voice. She choked back a sob.

"Jordan...I had the worst nightmare...."

"Are you OK?" he asked, suddenly waking up at the desperate sound in her voice. "No," she sobbed. "There was so much water...and I was trapped...and it was rising toward me...and...." Jordan hushed her.

"Steph, oh my God...you sound terrible...no offense." That only made Steph cry harder. "Hey is Jen awake?" Jordan asked.

"No." Jordan was amazed that Steph hadn't woken her up yet, but he didn't ask anything else. Steph was worrying him.

"OK, Steph, stay put...I'll be right over," he informed her.

"Really?" she asked, sniffing. The nightmare was still running through her head and didn't seem to want to leave.

"Of course, honey, I'll be there in 20 minutes tops, ok?" She nodded as if he could see her.

"OK." With that, they both hung up. Steph hugged her knees to her chest and just prayed that

Jordan would hurry. Jordan hung up the phone and immediately jumped out of bed, throwing his clothes on. Joe sat up and leaned on his elbows.

"What's wrong?" he asked with a yawn.

"Don't worry about it, just pack." Jordan stated. Joe's face was a mass of confusion.

"Huh?" he asked bewilderedly (new word?).

"I said pick all of your things together." Jordan picked up the phone, dialed the front desk, and asked to be transferred to America West Airlines.

"Yeah, can I get four tickets for your next flight from Phoenix to Boston?" he asked, causing Joe to jump out of bed. Shooting Jordan a strange look, he put on some clothes and began packing up his things. Jordan was packing while he was arranging their flight. He hung up with a sigh and through the last of his things into his pack. Flinging it over his shoulder, he regarded Joe.

"You ready?" he asked. Joe shot him a look.

"Gosh, give me 20 seconds, will ya?" he grumbled. Jordan shook his head and headed out the room, calling over his shoulder,

"I'll meet you in the lobby, I'll check us out." Joe shook his head at Jordan's retreating back, throwing the last of his clothes into his knapsack.

"J, wait up!" he called, hurrying out of the room.

When the phone rang, Steph almost jumped out of her skin. She looked over at Jen, but the girl didn't even stir. She must have been having one hell of a dream.

"Yes?" Steph said, still shaking.

"We're here, Steph," Jordan said into the phone.

"OK, I'm on my way," she told him, hanging up the phone and heading out to open the lobby doors for him. Leading the guys back into Jen's room, Steph thanked God that it was pitch dark. Jordan moved to turn on the light, but Steph stopped him.

"You'll wake Jen," she whispered, in reality not wanting him to see the covered walls.

"I think if you crying and the phone didn't wake her already, we don't have to worry," he whispered back. Steph put her hand on his arm.

"Please, J, I don't want the light on," she said, looking up at him. How was he supposed to say no? Joe dropped his things in the living room, checking out all of the movie posters surrounding the place.

After checking the place out, he said, "OK, where's Jen?" Steph motioned for them to follow her into the bedroom. She grabbed Jordan's hand tightly and Joe and to hold onto the back of Jordan's shirt to make his way through the mess and the darkness mixed together. Seeing Jen's silouhette all curled up in her bed, he crawled in with her and wrapped his arms around her. Jen didn't wake up, but she did shift a bit and got this funny smile on her face. It was a good thing it was too dark for anyone to see it. Jordan pulled Steph into her bed and held her tightly as they layed down.

"Are you OK?" he whispered. She sniffled a little and nodded into his shoulder.

"I am now," she whispered. "Thank you." He smiled to himself and tightened his grip. Out of the blue, he asked,

"Hey, is there an alarm?" Steph raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" she asked. He shrugged.

"I need to wake up at a certain time is all," he replied. Steph didn't question it. She just handed him Jen's pager and let him figure it out from there, falling asleep before he was even finished setting the alarm. Jordan smiled and tightened his arms around her, falling asleep with his face buried in her hair. Surprisingly, when the alarm did go off, the first person it woke up was Jen, who groaned loudly and turned in surprise to find Joe sleeping next to her, not that she was complaining. She immediately grabbed a pillow from behind Joe's head and chucked it at Steph's bed, surprised again to see Jordan there.

"Turn off that damn alarm," she groaned when Jordan stirred. He sighed and threw the alarm at Jen, hitting Joe right in the head.

"Hey," he grumbled and rubbed his head. "What the fuck...." Jordan smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, Joe...I was trying to get Jen to shut off the alarm for me."

"Well, you didn't have to give me brain damage in the process," Joe said angrily, flinging an arm over Jen's hip. She turned a bit and kissed his head.

"All better?" she asked. He smiled and hugged her.

"No, it really hurts right here," he said, pointing to his mouth. Jen laughed and kissed him there, bringing a loud groan from Steph.

"You guys are making me ill," she groaned, rolling over to face the wall. Jordan kissed her cheek and pulled on her shoulder.

"Come on you guys, we have to get up," he said cheerfully.

"Oh yeah," Joe said, waking up completely. "Come on, you guys, we're going on a little trip." Jen socked him in the arm.

"What are you talking about boy?" she wanted to know. Joe grinned and shrugged, looking at Jordan, who was already up.

"J, what are you guys talking about?" Steph asked. He just smiled.

"Don't worry, Steph. You two just pack for a week, ok?" he requested, heading for the bathroom.

"You have an hour." Jen eeped and jumped up, banging on the bathroom door.

"Well then, you'd better hurry up there, goober, I have to shower!" she yelled into the door. He opened it with a grin.

"Can't a guy pee in peace?" he asked, poking Jen in the side.

"Not when I have an hour to get ready for whatever this little plan of yours, whatever it may be..."

Jen was cut off by Steph's voice calling,

"Will you guys please knock it off so we can get out of here?" Joe looked at her in surprise.

"Why are you so excited?" he asked. "You don't even know where we're going." Steph shrugged.

"I don't care where we're going, I just know that I need to get out of here," she replied. "By the way, where ARE we going?" Joe grinned and shrugged.

"Ask your man," he told her with a shrug. Steph gave him a scowl and got up to start packing.

"Fine, McIntyre," she scoffed. "Be that way!" Joe's face broke into a slow grin.

"OK, Chirnomas, I think I will." With that, he hopped out of bed and yelled, "Hey, Jen, you need

any help in there?!"

By the time they were on their way, both girls still had no clue as to where they were going.

"Come on, J," Steph whined from the passenger seat. "Where are we going? You have to tell us!"

He grinned and shook his head.

"I don't think so," he replied. Joe wouldn't open his mouth either, but unfortunately the guys had no

idea how persuasive the girls could be. Jen was practically crawling on Joe's lap when he gave in.

"Jordan, can't we just tell them?" he groaned. Steph was twirling her finger in Jordan's hair at that

point and he just groaned.

"OK!" They all laughed as the girls leaned toward him to hear his answer. "We're taking our girls

home to Boston," he revealed. Jen and Steph both squealed.

"Really?" Steph said.

"Oh wow," Jen filled in. They had both always wanted to go to Boston. With huge grins, both girls

settled back in their seats. Jen squeezed Joe's hand in thanks. It meant a lot that they wanted to take

the girls to their homes. It was obviously very important to them and the girls loved it. Joe smiled at

Jen and squeezed her hand back, bringing a thought to her mind. They had made so many plans to

go to Boston, but the plans they had made had always included their friend, Mary. Jen's face fell for

a moment and she looked out the window, feeling a bit guilty. She couldn't help thinking that if there

was a way to get Mary to go with them, she would love it. Joe sensed the change in her and

whispered,

"What's wrong?" Jen just shook her head. She didn't want to come right out and ask. Steph, of

course, was thinking the same thing. How could they not include Mary in this trip? She let out a

nervous laugh, deciding to bring up the subject.

"You know, Jen, wouldn't it be great if Mary was going with us?" she said, turning in her seat to

catch Jen's eye. Jen winked at her.

"Yeah, it would. Mary would just love Boston..." Joe caught Jordan's eye in the rearview mirror

and raised an eyebrow.

"Well..." he started.

"We're actually supposed to spend this whole week doing some quality double-J and Donnie time.

We wouldn't want D to feel left out..." Jordan added.

"Does your friend Mary live around here?" Joe asked. Jen shot a glance at Steph.

"Um, no," she mumbled. Jordan looked at Steph.

"So where does she live?" he asked. Steph gave him a half-smile.

"Kentucky," she said. Both guys groaned at that.

"Is this important to you guys?" Jordan asked.

"Yes, it is," Steph said, catching his eye. Jordan nodded and dug around in the glovebox. Without a

thought, he tossed Joe the cell phone and Joe didn't even ask, he just dialed.

"Hi, could you transfer me to America West Airlines please? Thanks," he said, winking at Jen,

whose jaw had dropped open in surprise. "Hi, Linda. Yes, you can help me. You see, I have four

tickets to Boston today from Phoenix. Well, I need to change that. Yes...uh huh...well, we need to

stop in Kentucky and then add one ticket from Kentucky to Boston...yeah...ok," he gave Linda the

information that she needed and finished the transaction in a matter of minutes. Closing the phone,

he gave Jen a grin. "Done," he said, triumphantly.

"Call your friend, Steph," Jordan said. Steph reached over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you," she whispered, taking the phone from Joe and digging in her bag for Mary's number.

Finding it, she dialed and looked at Jen with excitement.

"Cool," Joe said. "Now Donnie'll have some entertainment for the week too." Jen grinned,

knowing that Mary would NOT be complaining.

"Mary??" she heard Steph say. "Hey, it's Steph! Oh, I'm great, how are you? Hey, Mar....don't

question me here, just pack a bag for a week, go to the airport and put your bags on flight #..." she

looked at Joe questioningly.

"1216," he told her.

"1216 to Boston, ok? You have a ticketless ticket waiting for you....no, I swear, I'm not kidding,

Mar! Really, we'll be there, too, just meet us at the gate! I SWEAR!!" she laughed and told her to

hurry, closing the phone before Mary could argue. "Needless to say, she was excited," Steph said

with a laugh. Jen giggled with her.

"Of course she is! This is so cool, we're going to meet Mary!" Steph nodded excitedly, looking at

Jordan with shining eyes as he pulled into the rent-a-car place.

"It's good to see everybody happy again," he said, parking. "Now, let's go!"

Jen fidgeted in her seat, popping a Meclizine in her mouth as soon as they took off. Joe raised an

eyebrow in her direction.

"Afraid of flying?" he asked. Jen laughed.

"No, my dad's a pilot, how could I be afraid of flying?" He just shrugged and motioned to the bottle

of motion-sickness medicine. "The smell of airplanes make me want to hurl," Jen explained. "This

is just in case."

"Whatever you say, hon," Joe said, pushing the armrest up so he could maneuver his arm around

her shoulders. She sighed contentedly and curled up next to him. The meclizine knocked her out

almost instantly. Steph, on the other hand, was way too excited to sleep. She leaned over Jordan,

trying to look out the window.

"I can't believe I'm going to Boston," she exclaimed. "Thank you so much!" He accepted her hug

happily and laughed.

"Am I going to get this kind of reception everytime I take you somewhere?" he asked. Steph

grinned mischeviously.

"Maybe," she said. "Guess you'll have to take me all over the world and find out!" Jordan placed a

hand on her knee.

"Gladly," he murmured, looking her right in the eye. Steph gulped.

"I, um....I have to go to the bathroom," she said, getting up and hurrying down the aisle. Jordan

grinned watching her ass as she moved toward the bathroom. Smiling to himself, he followed her and

knocked on the door she disappeared into.

"Who is it?" she called.

"It's me, Steph," he said into the door. She grinned and opened the door, letting him in. She had

hoped he would follow her. Closing the door behind him, Jordan wrapped his arms around Steph's

waist and turned her around, backing her against the door. "Hi," he said. Steph smiled.

"Hi," she said. "You really should have told me if you had to go that badly, J." He chuckled and

pushed her hair back behind her ear, leaning forward to kiss her neck. "Or not," she mumbled,

wrapping her fingers in his hair and pulling him closer to her. He responded by kissing along her

collarbone, running his tongue in his mouth's path. Steph moaned softly, remembering a quote she

remembered hearing Jordan say back in the day when asked how he seduces a woman. His response

was simply,

"With my tongue." Now Steph could understand exactly what he was talking about. Pulling his head

up, she pressed a kiss to his mouth, expressing every ounce of passion hidden inside her in that one

kiss. Jordan wrapped his arms completely around her back and lifted her off of her feet, turned

around, and set her on the counter-top, not removing his mouth from hers in the process. Steph

sighed as he set her down and deepened the kiss even further, wrapping her legs around his waist just

in case he even thought about leaving her. She sighed even louder as his hands ran up and down her

sides, savoring her very presence. Jordan wrenched his lips from hers and sighed.

"Steph, we'd better cool it or you're soon going to be joining the mile-high club," he said staggerdly.

She laughed and buried her head in his neck, brushing her lips against his pulse.

"Me?" she inquired. "Then you're already a member?" When she got no answer, she raised her

head in surprise. "Oh really?" she said, punching him lightly in the arm. The look on his face gave

her an answer. "Jordan!" she said, moving to tickle his sides.

"Hey!" he yelped, protecting himself, which only caused a scuffle and before they knew it, they

were kissing again. Jordan just kept thinking that he just might never stop kissing this girl. Joe had

the same thing going through his mind as he watched his companion sleep. Jen looked so cute all

curled up in between him and the window. She was shivering a bit, so he grabbed a blanket and

tucked it over both of them, snuggling closer to her. The stewardess picked that moment to come

around and ask for drinks.

"Excuse me, what would you like to drink?" she asked.

"Um, nothing thanks," Joe mumbled, trying not to wake up Jen. The stewardesses face completely

lit up as Joe addressed her.

"Oh my God!" she said, trying to control the volume of her voice. "You're Joe McIntyre!" He

nodded and wished she'd go away, but felt obligated to be nice.

"Um, yeah, that's me," he said. The stewardess shook her head.

"I just loved you guys," she squealed. "Could you sign this napkin for me?" "Sure, who should I

sign it to?" he asked, taking the napkin and pen from her.

"Cindy."

"OK," Joe said, signing the napkin and giving it back to her. She stared at it.

"Thanks, Joe. Wow, I can't wait to tell my friends about this one! I knew this job would come in

handy!" Joe couldn't help smiling at her excitement.

"No problem, Cindy, I'll see you later." She waved and continued down the aisle. Of course, Jen

had woken to hear the giggles of the stewardess, but she didn't move until she had gone on her way.

Then, she simply changed positions to let Joe know that she was awake. He smiled and rubbed her

shoulder.

"Good morning," he whispered. Jen smiled with her eyes still shut.

"Hi," she said and pulled the covers tightly over her. "What are you doing?"

"Watching you sleep," Joe replied, his hand moving to her knee under the blanket. Rubbing it

softly, he moved his face closer to hers. "I'm glad you're awake." Jen smiled into his eyes.

"Is this how I'm going to be greeted everytime I wake up?" she asked.

"As long as I'm next to you," Joe said just before he kissed her. Jen leaned back in her seat a bit

and put her hand on his chest.

"We can't do this now," she whispered. He smiled at her and moved his hand farther up her leg,

running it in slow circles along her skin.

"I don't see why not," he said softly as his hand moved up further. Jen leaned her head back against

the seat and let the sensation of his touch take over, checking really quickly to see if anyone could see

them through the blanket. Noone was even paying attention and Jordan and Steph still hadn't

returned from the bathroom. Jen moved her hand around Joe's back to grasp his side as she felt his

hand move into her shorts. He took his other hand and rubbed it along her cheek, looking into her

eyes the entire time. Jen groaned softly and just let him do whatever he wanted. She found that she

wanted it just as much as he did.

By the time Steph and Jordan returned to their seats, it was almost time to land. Jen and Joe were

both asleep with their heads leaning together. Steph hit Jordan on the shoulder and motioned to

them. Jen had this odd smile on her face that caused Steph to giggle. She had the same look about

her and she knew it. Sitting down, Steph smacked the back of Jen's seat on purpose, causing her to

turn abruptly around.

"What is it, bitch?" she said gruffly through the back of her chair. Steph leaned over by her window

to talk to her.

"Um, hi," she said. Jen woke up at the sound of how happy her friend was.

"Wait," she said, turning around and sticking her head in the crevice in the seats by the window.

"You JUST got back??" Steph grinned and nodded. "Steph!!" Jen exclaimed.

"Oh, Jen! No, not that!" Steph said with a laugh. Jen sighed.

"So you're not a member of the mile-high club?" she asked with relief. Steph giggled.

"Nah, I'm just a member in training," she giggled. Jen smiled.

"What a coincidence," she said with a sly grin.

"Jen, what did you do?" Steph wanted to know. Jen just shrugged. "I guess the question is what

could you do from here?" Steph thought for a moment before she noticed the blanket laying across

Jen and Joe's lap. "Oh, man," Steph said, finally getting it. Jen just kept right on grinning

"Hey, I'm relaxed," she said laughing. Steph groaned.

"Oh man! I don't want to know!"

"Happy thoughts?" Jen said. Steph nodded with a twinkle in her eye.

"I need a cigarette, how about you?"

"Fuck yeah!" At that, both girls colapsed against their seats in giggles, causing both guys to raise

their eyebrows in confusion. Neither of them heard the girls' conversation even though lord knows

they tried.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Please fasten your seatbelts as we make our

final approach into Louisville. Thank you for flying America West." At that announcement, Jen and

Steph turned to look at each other and squealed,

"Mary!"

The Louisville airport turned out to be much larger than they expected, but the girls were in such a

hurry to see Mary that they grabbed Joe and Jordan's hands and practically dragged them through the

airport, only stopping to check their gate number. When they got there, Jen tried in vain to search for

Mary, but her vision wasn't being very kind to her. Steph, on the other hand, spotted Mary right

away.

"Mary!!" she screamed, waving her hands and jumping up and down like a rabbit. Mary turned

around and squealed back.

"Steph!! Jen!!" she shouted, racing over to them.

"Mary!" Jen answered, racing Steph to go hug her. Joe and Jordan stayed back and observed for a

bit. After the girls giggled and squealed and hugged and giggled some more, they were finally

introduced. Jen stepped back a bit.

"Mary, this is Joe and Jordan. Guys, this is like one of our best friends ever, Mary!" Mary laughed

as she shook the guys' hands.

"Yeah, I know who they are, Jen," she said, nervously. "The big question is how in the hell..."

Steph stopped her before she could ask.

"Mar, I swear, we'll explain it all later! It's a very long and complicated story." The whole group

groaned at that, proving Steph's statement to be true. Mary still couldn't get over that fact that not

only were Jen and Steph standing right there, two girls that she had been talking to forever but never

met, but so were JOE MCINTYRE and JORDAN KNIGHT. She had no clue how Jen and Steph

had managed that one, but she was dying to find out. Jen winked at her, telling her silently that they

would have girl talk later.

"Hey J," Joe whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear. "She's cute!" Steph groaned, Jordan

grinned, and Jen elbowed Joe in the ribs.

"Watch it, mister!" she said, jokingly. Joe mocked pain and grabbed his side.

"Aw, man, she likes control!"

"Don't forget it!" Jen shot back with a grin. Steph grinned.

"So you were the one in control on the plane, right Jen?" she asked innocently. Mary and Jordan

looked completely baffled, but both Jen's and Joe's faces turned bright red. Steph burst out laughing

as Jen stammered,

"Uh, Steph....shut up." Jordan raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, you got both of them to blush?? That must have been good! Tell me," he whined. Jen shot

Steph a look.

"Don't you dare, bitch...." Mary burst out laughing.

"You guys are hilarious!" she said with a giggle. "Been spending a lot of time together?" All four of

them exchanged looks and busted up, nodding.

"A little too much," Joe said, smiling at Jen. She moved to elbow him again, but he quickly dodged.

"Come on, you guys," said Steph, the practical one. "Our flight is boarding." Still grinning, the five

all boarded the plane controlling their laughter. The girls made Joe and Jordan sit together so they

could sit with Mary in the middle of the plane and catch up. As soon as they sat down, with Mary in

between the girls, Mary raised up her hands to tell them not to say a word.

"OK, you guys, come clean," she said. "I want to know how in the world you managed to get to

Boston with Joe McIntyre and Jordan Knight. Start from the beginning." Jen and Steph had to laugh

at Mary's surprise. It was understandable, of course.

"Man, Mary," Jen said with a chuckle. "You'll have to read the book (funny, huh guys?)!" Steph

laughed.

"Bitch, shut up, I'll tell her." So Steph relayed the entire story to Mary, which took the entire flight

plus some. By the time she finished the story, they were getting in Joe's jeep heading towards

Jordan's apartment. When she was done, Mary let out a sigh.

"Wow," she said. "I feel like I just got out of a really suspenseful movie! You guys have been

through a lot." Joe snorted.

"Yeah," he said. "Tell us about it! Dude, I can't wait to tell D!"

"D?" Mary asked. "You mean Donnie?" Steph grinned.

"Yeah, Mary, did I forget that part? The guys are spending the week with Donnie. That's one of

the reasons you're here. You know, to keep him company," she said with a sly grin. Mary blushed.

"But I couldn't...I mean....come on you guys...he's Donnie Wahlberg!" she said nervously. Jordan

shrugged.

"We just call him Donnie," he kidded. "Really, Mary, he'll love you. Donnie's the easiest guy in the

world to get along with." Joe nodded.

"Totally, Mar. D'll love you," he said, pulling the jeep into a very expensive-looking apartment

complex. He punched in some kind of code and pulled through the gate. Mary still didn't look

convinced and Steph laughed, patting Mary on the shoulder.

"Mar, you know, anything could happen," she said. Jen turned around from her seat in the front.

"Seriously!" she said, motioning to Joe. "Look what happened to us!" Mary nodded slightly.

"Good point," she said as Jordan stepped out of the car.

"Here we are!" he announced. "Come on, Steph, you'll stay with me and Jen and Mary will stay

with Joe. Lord knows the boy's got enough room!" Joe shrugged.

"Hey, I like my house!" he said with a pout. "But hey, you guys, don't get sidetracked," he said,

winking at Steph. "Donnie is meeting us at my place in one hour." Jordan nodded, grabbing his and

Steph's stuff from the back.

"OK, we'll meet you there," he said, smiling at Steph.

"Bye!" she called and closed the car door. Mary looked back and forth from Joe to Jen as he pulled

back out onto the street that headed to his place.

"Great," she said. "You guys ever hear the term Threes a Crowd?" Jen looked at Mary in

confusion and Joe grinned.

"Yeah," he said, catching her eye in the rearview mirror. "I think I'm really going to be left out

here!" Mary and Jen both giggled and immediately started chattering away about the sites of Boston.

"Look at that building over there! How neat!" Jen said.

"It's really old," Mary observed. Joe nodded.

"Yeah, Boston has a lot of old buildings," he said. "I saw Phoenix, Mary, and I swear, I thought it

had JUST been built!" Jen chuckled.

"Yeah, Phoenix is all pretty new. This place is like geezer-ville in comparison!" Joe shot her a look

and she shrugged. "Hey, I'm just calling it like it is," she said defensively. "But seriously Joe, it's

beautiful here." "Yeah," Joe said softly, deep in thought. How could he leave this place? It had

always been his home. Maybe if he could get Jen to love Boston enough....

"Wow!" Mary's voice interupted his thoughts as she saw the house Joe was pulling up to. "I can't

believe the size of this house!" Joe blushed a little.

"Yeah, it's really old, from Colonial times," he said, jumping out of the car and opening the back.

"Some people have even told me that the place is haunted, but I haven't met any ghosts yet. Who

knows? Maybe this'll be our lucky week." Jen and Mary looked at each other nervously, running

after Joe when they noticed that he had already gone into the house. Joe put one of his bag straps in

his teeth while he fumbled with the door. Flinging it open, he stumbled into the most beautiful alcove

the girls had ever seen. Jen's eyes wandered to one of the many windows in the main room, staring

at all of the greenery his property had. Being from Arizona, greenery was a rarity for her eyes. It

was absolutely beautiful.

"Come on in, you guys," he mumbled, throwing his keys on a table and his stuff in the hall. They

followed him reluctantly. Jen only had one thought. I don't belong here. Mary patted her on the

shoulder as if she could read her mind. Jen smiled gratefully and set her stuff down to get a better

look.

"Trish!" Joe yelled. "I'm home!" A few moments later, a pretty redhead who was probably in her

early thirties came bounding down the stairs.

"Joe!" she yelped. "You're home!" He grinned and opened his arms for a hug. When she flew into

them, Jen felt a very surprising twinge of jealousy. Dude, Jen, she told herself. She's probably his

sister, chill out! Mary smiled at her again. She was so understanding. After twirling his sister around

a few times, he finally set her down and grinned.

"So, what's up?" he asked. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Nothing, really, little brother. You've been gone forever." He nodded.

"Yeah, well, what can you do?" She nodded and looked over at Jen and Mary.

"Oh, please come in!" she said. "How rude of me!" She smiled broadly at the girls. "I'm Tricia,

Joe's live-in sister," she said, extending her hand. Jen stepped forward immediately and shook it

enthusiastically.

"Hi, I'm Jen," she said with a wide smile. Mary stepped forward as well.

"I'm Mary," she said, shaking Tricia's hand warmly.

"Good to meet you girls," Trish said, shooting Joe a look. "Now that we've finally been

introduced." Joe shrugged.

"Aw, come on, Trish. Gimme a break, I was just so excited to see you that..." Trish cut him off

with a wave of her hand.

"Give it a rest Joe," she said loudly, lowering her voice to say, "So which one is she?" Joe groaned

and put his face in his hands, Jen blushed, and Mary burst out laughing.

"That would be her," she said, still giggling.

"Mary," Jen groaned, shooting Joe a look.

"OK, so I called her last night," he said, wrapping an arm around Jen's shoulders. "This is Jen,

Trish." Pushing Joe aside, Trish gave Jen a huge hug.

"Just make him happy," she whispered.

"I'll do my best," Jen whispered back, which seemed to make Trish happy. She turned to Mary.

"So you're Donnie's date for the week?" she asked, which made Mary blush for a change.

"Um, well...I....don't know...I've never even met him...what if he doesn't..." she stammered,

causing Trish to smile.

"He'll love you," she assured Mary. "I can tell." Mary sighed.

"Thanks, Tricia."

"Oh, call me Trish, everyone else does. Now, Joe, show the girls their rooms already, what are you

just standing there for?" Joe just grinned at his sister and kissed her hair.

"It's good to be back," he commented, giving Jen and Mary a bow. "Come on, you guys, I'll show

you to your rooms."

"Steph? What are you doing in there?" Jordan called from the hallway leading to Steph's room. He

poked his head through the door, pushing it open when he saw she was decent. She turned and

smiled at him from her spot by the dresser.

"Unpacking, what's it look like?" He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I don't know," he said into her hair. "But whatever it is it looks damn sexy." She giggled and

leaned her head back against his shoulder.

"You're not so bad yourself, Mr. Knight," she said, sighing as he kissed her neck.

"So guess who just called," he murmured. Steph lifted her arms to run her hands through his hair.

"Who?" she asked.

"My manager," he replied. "You are never going to guess who he gets to do a duet with me on the

album. Never."

"Well, are you going to tell me?" Steph wanted to know. He grinned.

"Of course, my dear, but let me tell the others, ok?" She sighed.

"OK, just tell me already, damnit!" she said, punching him in the arm. He smiled at her impatience

(Steph? Impatient? Never...).

"OK, Miss Impatient. It just so happens that THE John Travolta is in town and he has agreed to

sing with me on my album!" Steph gasped. Micki was going to die.

"John Travolta? Really? Oh, do I get to meet him?" she asked excitedly.

"Hey now," Jordan said with a pout. "Should I be jealous if you do?" Steph shrugged and laughed

at his pathetic facial expression.

"Never," she said, closing a dresser drawer. That seemed to satisfy him.

"We have to get to Joe's soon," he said against her skin.

"So soon?" Steph was enjoying her time with Jordan too much to leave. He nodded.

"If it weren't for Donnie, I'd just say fuck it, but I really want to see him." Jordan said. Steph

nodded.

"I'd really like to meet him," she said, turning around in his arms and kissing him soundly on the

mouth. "Plus, Mary's alone with Joe and Jen!" Jordan groaned and rubbed his hands up and down

her back.

"Then we'd better go rescue her," he said, giving her one last kiss before grabbing her hand.

"Ready?" Steph nodded and grabbed her pack of cigarettes.

"Yup, let's go," she stated.

As soon as she was settled, Mary knocked on Jen's door.

"Come in!" she heard a muffled voice call. Entering, she found Jen buried in a pile of clothes in the

closet.

"Hey Mary," she said from within her little clothing world. Mary had heard about Jen's messiness,

but now that she saw it, she laughed out loud, plopping on the bed.

"10 minutes and counting," she announced, bringing Jen out from the closet. Her hair had caught

static cling and was sticking out all over the place. She caught sight of herself in a full-length mirror

and burst out laughing. Mary wiped the tears from her eyes, she was laughing so hard. Still

chuckling, Jen grabbed a brush and ran it under the faucet, brushing her hair back down to normal.

"So you getting excited?" she asked, knowing the answer.

"Scared is more like it!" Mary told her. "What if he thinks I'm a dork, Jen?" Jen snorted.

"Please, Mar, how could anyone think that about you? Plus, he'll see that you're one of my best

friends and well..." That caused more giggles. A knock on the door interupted them.

"What's so funny in here?" Joe asked, peeking inside. "Damn," he muttered. "You're both

dressed." Jen bopped him in the head with a pillow.

"We sure are, buster, don't get any weird ideas in your head," she said, sticking her tongue out. Joe

just grinned.

"Too late," he replied.

"Has anyone ever told you guys that you're perfect for each other?" Mary said all of the sudden.

They both looked at her in surprise. Jen knew that Joe had been Mary's favorite, but she also knew

that once you met them in person, it was totally different. She just hoped that Mary liked Donnie and

vice versa. Joe smiled at Mary.

"No, nobody has," he said. "But I can't even tell you how much that means to me. Thanks." Mary

looked down at the ground.

"Hey, I call em like I see em," she said. Jen went over to her and gave her a huge hug.

"Thank you Mary," she said, squeezing her. Mary hugged her back.

"I'm happy for you, Jen!" she said with a grin. The doorbell interupted their moment. Joe jumped.

"I'll get it, Trish is in the garden," he said, running out of the room. He had to run to get all the way

across the house to the front door.

"We should probably follow him," Jen said, getting up. Mary nodded nervously.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, following Jen out the door. The guests turned out to be only Steph and

Jordan. Jen said that and Steph replied,

"Oh, thanks bitch!" Jen shrugged.

"I wanna meet Donnie," she said. As if on cue, the doorbell rang again. Joe smiled at Mary.

"I think Mary should answer it," he teased.

"No!" Mary said, grinning. "Um, that's ok, you guys haven't seen him in a while." She lowered her

voice to Jen and Steph. "Is Donnie aware that he's being set up with me this week?" Steph shook

her head.

"No, nobody had a chance to tell him," she said. Mary nodded and sighed in relief. Joe ended up

answering the door.

"Joe!" Donnie practically yelled, wrapping him a huge bear hug. Joe coughed from the pressure, but

laughed as Donnie let him go. "Little JoeyJoe, what's up?"

"D, don't call me that!" Joe said, slapping him on the back. "How are you?" "Oh, I'm great," he

said, his eyes sweeping the room until they came to rest on Jordan. "J!" He went throught the same

process with Jordan before sighing and running his fingers through his short blonde hair.

"D, how the hell are ya?" Jordan asked. Donnie shrugged.

"Life couldn't be better, I guess," he said. "Now who are the lovely ladies?" Lowering his voice

much like Trish had, he murmured, "And which one belongs to who?" Jen slapped Joe's arm lightly.

"Did you tell everyone and their dogs??" she demanded. Donnie laughed at that.

"This one must be Joe's," he said. She smiled.

"Hi, I'm Jen," Jen said, sticking out her hand. Donnie grabbed it and yanked her to him in a big bear

hug.

"Any GOOD friend of Joe's is a...well...friend of mine," he said, looking over Steph and Mary.

Jordan moved over to Steph.

"D, this is Steph," he said. She held out her arms and Donnie laughed, hugging her too.

"I like them, boys," he told them, turning finally to Mary. "And who is this stunning creature?"

Mary's face turned as red as her shirt as she held out her hand.

"I'm Mary," she said. Donnie kissed the top of her hand and smiled brightly at her.

"What, no hug?" he asked. Mary shrugged, but before she could answer, she was caught up in a

Donnie hug. He smelled great and with his short blonde hair and hard body, Mary couldn't believe

how great he looked.

"Nice to meet you!" she said when he finally let her go. For some reason, that made Donnie laugh.

He put his hand on her back and led her towards the living room.

"Come on, you guys," he said. "You need to tell me what's been going on!" They all groaned out

loud, but followed him anyway. Mary couldn't seem to help herself anyway. Joe immediately sat

down on the couch, patting the seat next to him for Jen, who gladly obliged. Jordan sat in an antique

chair and pulled Steph into his lap, who giggled, but didn't struggle. Looking around, Mary saw that

the only seat left was a loveseat and Donnie didn't even hesitate to sit in it, grinning at Mary. Jen

caught Mary's eye and opened her eyes wide, nodding toward Donnie. Mary hesitated at first, but

then seemed to say what the hell and plopped down next to Donnie in the seat. When they were all

finally settled, Donnie looked at everyone, waiting.

"Well?" he said impatiently. "What the fuck happened? Excude me ladies." Steph laughed at his

apology.

"Yeah, Donnie, you'd better watch your fucking language," Jen filled in. Donnie chuckled.

"Great, you're all smartasses," he said, shaking his head. That caused everyone to laugh. "OK,

now let's try that again..." Donnie started, but was cut off by the doorbell. "Damnit," he muttered,

his eyes following Joe as he went to answer it. Mark Wahlberg burst into the room.

"What's up y'all?" he said loudly, scanning the room.

"Oh yeah," Donnie said. "Mark's coming over. He wants to hear what happened." Mark plopped

down on the floor.

"Thanks for mentioning it," Joe said, sitting back down and placing a hand on Jen's knee. She

grinned and placed her hand over his. Steph groaned from her spot on Jordan's lap.

"Can we just tell the fucking story already?" she said impatiently. Jordan nodded in agreement.

"Wait," Mark said, holding up a hand. "Don't I know you guys?" Oh yeah, Steph thought. We did

meet Mark way back then. She couldn't believe it had only been a few days before. It felt like so

long ago.

"Yeah, we met you backstage at Jordan's concert in Phoenix, remember?" Jen said The puzzled

look on Mark's face showed that he didn't remember.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, if you guys would just shut up and let someone tell the story we'd be able to tell you," Jordan

said impatiently, taking Steph's role. All eyes turned to him, puzzled. "Well," he defended.

"Yeah," Donnie said. "Y'all wake me up when someone actually decides to tell the story." Joe

finally sat up in his chair.

"OK, fine!" he said. "I'll tell the freaking story." A chorus of groans followed his announcement.

"No," Jordan stated.

"Hell no," Donnie added.

"Um, Joe, that might not be a good idea," Steph said, trying to be as nice as possible. Mary was just

confused and Joe looked at Jen with a hurt look on his face.

"Well, honey," she said, patting his knee and thinking of a way to break it to him. "It's just that

when it comes to telling stories..."

"You suck!" Mark finished, laughing.

"Hey," Joe said. "I do not." Jen just shook her head.

"I'm a good understander, Joe," she started, bringing numerous chuckles from the large group.

"But, not everybody is." Seeing his still-hurt look, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

"You can tell me the story later," she offered.

"It's not the same," Joe pouted.

"Dude, Joe," Donnie cut in. "She means she'll tell you the story LATER. Take her up on it, man!"

Seeing the light, Joe's face lit up.

"Ohhh," he said with a grin in Jen's direction. "It's a deal." Now it was Jordan's turn to pout.

"Why don't I ever get those kinds of offers?" he asked Steph, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"From what I heard, she offered you plenty on the plane," Mary surprisingly said. That shut the

couple on the chair up. Mark looked completely confused.

"You mean you guys only met at the concert," he asked bewilderdly. They all nodded and he shook

his head. "Crazy man."

"Oh, I know," Mary started to say, but was cut off by Jen.

"Sorry, Mar," she said. "But this story is never going to be told. Steph, tell the damn story." Jen

knew that her friend could tell stories with the best of them and that she was about as good as Joe

was at it. Steph had just opened her mouth to speak when Jen interrupted her again. "Wait," she

said, bringing a chorus of groans. "Joe, do you have a speaker phone?"

"Yeah, why?" he asked, confused. Jen shook her head and asked him where it was, immediately

crossing to it and dialing. Steph raised her eyebrows at her friend and got no response.

"Hello, Micki?" Jen said, excitedly. "How the hell are you?" Jordan mouthed to Steph,

"Who's Micki?" Steph mouthed back,

"A friend, now shhh."

"That's awesome, Khara's there too? Great, then you guys turn on your speaker phone and listen to

this story cause we're only telling it one more time!" With that, Jen pushed the button on the phone

that put them on speaker. "Can you guys hear me?" she asked. They all heard two voices call,

"Yup! Hey everybody!"

"Hey Micki! Hey Khara!" Steph and Mary yelled. Then, finally, Steph told the group the entire

story from beginning to end. It was the middle of the night by the time she finished.

"And now we're here," she finished, taking a long drink from the water Joe had brought her.

Everyone was just staring disbelievingly.

"Damn," Donnie said, shaking his head. "That was one hell of a story." An accented voice called

from the phone,

"Steph!" Steph looked at the phone but didn't speak. Her throat really hurt from talking so much.

"Yeah, Micki? It's Jen," Jen said, lifting up the receiver.

"Hey, Jen! Look, Khara and I are coming to Boston tomorrow."

"What?? Really?" Jen said, smiling brightly in despite of her exhaustion.

"Yeah, we feel left out," Micki said with a laugh. "We're going to drive up there sometime

tomorrow, ok? I need directions." Jen couldn't believe her friends' spontanaity, but then she

remembered how fast they had packed up and flew to Boston.

"No problem," she said. "Oh, I can't wait to see you guys! Hang on, I'll let Joe give you

directions." Micki giggled.

"Oh, no, Jen. Please don't make me talk to Joe McIntyre!" she said teasingly.

"Smartass," Jen grumbled and handed a confused Joe the phone. "Our friends Micki and Khara are

coming to visit," she said. "Oh, can they?" Joe grinned and nodded as Jen gave him a kiss.

"Thanks, sweetie! Now, Micki needs directions." With that, she hurried into the kitchen to refill

Steph's water glass and grab one for herself. Donnie followed her in.

"Might as well get some for everybody," he said, opening the cupboards. Looking over her shoulder

at him, Jen smiled.

"Good idea, Donnie," she said. "Here you ice em, I'll fill em." Doing as she requested, Donnie

cleared his throat.

"So, um, Jen..." he started. "I know we just met, but since you're with Joe I can talk to you right?"

She nodded, filling up a glass.

"Sure, Donnie, what's up?"

"Well, about Mary..." he said, running his hand through his hair again nervously.

"She's very single, Donnie," Jen said with a laugh.

"Yeah?" he asked, his eyes lighting up. "So you think she might be interested?" Jen couldn't believe

that Donnie was asking if someone was interested in him. After all, he was Donnie Wahlberg.

"Yeah, well, I don't think you have to worry, D," she said, handing him the last glass. He chuckled

at the use of his nickname.

"So, she wouldn't be interested in my brother?" he asked.

"Oh, is that what you're worried about?" Jen asked him, patting his shoulder. "Don't, trust me on

this one." Donnie smiled and hugged her.

"Thanks, Jen, Joe's doing alright for himself," he said, picking up the tray of waters. Jen grinned.

"That he is," she said, opening the door for him. "After you." When they got back, Jordan and

Steph were already standing.

"Guys, we're out of here," Jordan said, stretching. "It's almost 3 in the morning and I have to go to

the studio tomorrow."

"Why?" Joe asked with a raised eyebrow. Jordan grinned.

"Oh, no reason," he said. "It's just that John Travolta is going to be meeting me there to do a few

sound checks for the DUET that we're doing on my album." He had said that so nonchalantly that it

took a minute for it to reach everyone's brain.

"John Travolta?" Joe asked.

"THE John Travolta??" Jen filled in.

"Damn," Mark added. Jordan nodded.

"So I need my beauty sleep," he said, opening the door for Steph.

"You sure do," Donnie said with a laugh, getting himself a death look from Jordan as he closed the

door behind him. Turning to Joe, Donnie asked,

"Hey, man, can I crash here tonight?" Joe shrugged.

"Sure, dude, pick an unoccupied room," he said. Donnie laughed.

"Which one?" he asked, teasingly, which brought giggles from Jen and Mary. Joe smiled.

"The one with your name on it, D. Just look around, you'll find it." Looking around the room, he

asked. "Mark, are you staying too?" Seeing that it would be broken into couples, Mark shook his

head.

"Nah, I'm going home, guys. I'll meet you here tomorrow, though. Call me, ok, D?" Donnie

nodded and shooed him out of the room. "Later y'all!" Mark called as he left.

"Wow, quiet at last!" Mary said with a sigh. "It's about time!" She was so glad that Donnie had

stayed. Now she wouldn't have to feel left out with jen and Joe.

"Hey, guys, I have an idea," Joe said suddenly. "Follow me, I'll light the fireplace in the family

room and we can all sit on the rug there and just talk for a while. We need to catch up, D."

"Great idea, Joe," Jen said, linking her arm through his.

"Yo, Joe, that's awesome," Donnie said, putting an arm over Mary's shoulder. "I'll make the hot

chocolate."

"I don't think I've ever been this tired," Steph said, colapsing on Jordan's couch on her stomach.

Jordan smiled and sat on the edge of the couch in front of her, making her move back a bit.

"I know," he said. "It's been a really long week." His hands drifted to the back of her neck and

started to knead the muscles there. "Steph, you're really tense," he said.

"Hmmm," she murmured, loving the sensations his hands were creating. Jordan grabbed a pillow

and threw it on the floor, motioning for Steph to put her head there. She rolled off the couch and

settled herself on the floor, putting her head in her hands. "Wow, do I get a massage?" she asked

with a grin. Jordan moved to straddle her legs, spreading his hands across her back.

"Yeah," he said softly. "But don't think I won't be asking for anything in return." With that, he

began massaging her back gently, kneading the muscles in just the right places. She was just dozing

off when Jordan said.

"Steph, I just can't do this." She shook her head and looked up.

"Why?" she asked, sleepily. Seeing his form in the dark room, all she could think about was how

much she wanted this man. He smiled at her.

"Your shirt's getting in the way," he said, slipping his hand under her shirt to rub her bare back.

Steph moaned softly.

"Well, then, big boy, I guess you're going to have to take it off," she said matter-of-factly.

"Oh gladly," Jordan murmured, moving his hands up further on her back, dragging her shirt with

him. He was taking so long doing it that Steph finally just sat up and lifted her shirt over her head,

looking him straight in the eye as she did so. His jaw completely dropped open as he looked at her.

"Damn," he muttered softly. "Hang on a second." Getting up, he ran down the hallway. Steph

smiled and lowered herself back onto her stomach, taking a glance around the room. Not a moment

later, she heard soft music being played over Jordan's immense stereo system and a moment after

that, Jordan came back into the room carrying a bottle of baby oil. He lit a bunch of candles that

were placed all over the room. They were placed so perfectly that Steph had to wonder how many

times he had done this before, but she shooed that thought out of her mind as he shut off all of the

lights, lowering himself to the floor. Steph smiled at him in the candlelight.

"Why, Jordan Knight," she said sweetly. "You're not planning anything but an innocent massage,

right?"

"Oh, of course not," Jordan said, straddling her again and bringing a giggle from her throat. Jordan

poured a line of baby oil onto Steph's back and slowly began massaging it in to the beat of the soft

music. Oh, yeah, he had definitely done this before. Spotting his leg within her arm's reach, she

reached back a bit to rub his leg lightly in the same motion he was using on her back. After a while,

Jordan said.

"That must be a hint."

"What kind of a hint?" Steph wanted to know. Jordan got up and plopped down next to her, taking

her position.

"The hint that you want to give me a massage now," he said with a grin. Steph smiled.

"You're asking for it, Knight," she said, straddling him with her shirt still off. It was weird, but she

didn't feel at all self-conscious around Jordan. Maybe it was the hungry way he was staring at her

chest, she didn't know. Whatever the reason, she was loving every second and she gladly helped

Jordan remove his own shirt to give her better access. As soon as she poured the oil onto his back,

he sighed and relaxed all of the muscles in his back. Steph marveled at how many muscles there

actually were as she kneaded and rubbed his back.

"Damn, Steph," Jordan moaned. "You are so good at this."

"I know," Steph replied, continuing her torturous back rub. A while later, Jordan suddenly flipped

over, capturing Steph around the waist and holding her there against his chest so she wouldn't fall.

Lowering her forehead to his, she laughed softly.

"Well hi," she said.

"Hi," he muttered, tangling his fingers in her hair and bringing her head to his for a long, passionate

kiss. Steph let her body completely relax against his, glad that he finally made a move. She had

thought that if he didn't sometime soon, she would just jump him, but with her legs straddling his

hips, her breasts pressing against his chest, and his mouth hot against hers, she decided that she would

just let him do whatever he wanted to, she wanted him so much. By the time they broke apart, they

both had to try and catch their breath.

"Wow," Jordan murmured, rubbing his hands up and down her back and kissing her neck. Steph

barely even noticed when he unhooked her bra and removed it from her body, she was so caught up

in the sensations shooting through her body. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him

again, moving against him. Jordan was on fire and he flipped them both over so that he was lying on

top of her. "Steph?" he asked softly.

"Hmm?" was the only answer she could muster up.

"Are you sure about this?" Steph looked up at Jordan to see the seriousness in his eyes. Her own

eyes filled with tears, she couldn't believe he cared about her so much. She could see his feelings

reflected in his eyes and they touched her more than his hands ever could.

"Jordan," she said, lifting her hands to his face. "I have never been more sure. Make love to me."

Jordan didn't need anymore convincing and he gathered against his chest, kissing her wildly and lifting

her off the ground.

"No problem," he whispered, carrying her into the bedroom. Just as Jordan was kicking open the

door to his room, Donnie was finishing off his cup of cocoa. Looking up, he realized that everybody

was staring at him.

"What?" he asked, wiping off his mouth with the back of his arm. Jen and Joe smiled from their

pile of blankets. They looked so cute huddled there together with their cups of hot chocolate. Mary

couldn't believe she was actually there. She looked at Donnie and giggled.

"You just loved that cocoa, don't you?" she asked. He shrugged.

"It's ok," he said. "Why?" Mary reached up and wiped a bit of chocolate from the side of his

mouth. She couldn't resist.

"Nothing, you just finished it so quickly!" she said. He had looked so cute when he gulped that stuff

down.

"Donnie's first love is food!" Joe said, taking a sip from his own cup. He smiled at Jen. "Wanna try

it?" he asked. She grinned and nodded, reaching up and kissing him on the mouth.

"Yum," she said, bringing a laugh from Donnie.

"Oh, I love MY food?" he said, laughing.

"Well," Joe said. "You know how it is." Donnie's face fell at that comment.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "I did."

"D," Joe said, looking his old friend in the eye. "Don't even think about her, ok? Kim is history."

"I know that," Donnie said defensively. "But that doesn't make it hurt any less, Joe." Turning to

Jen, he said, "Just promise me you won't hurt him." Jen looked surprised.

"I'm more worried about getting hurt, actually," she confided.

"What?" Joe asked, turning to Jen. "Jen, I would never hurt you. Don't you know that?" She

nodded, believing him.

"I know that, Joe, but I can't help that little bit of me that's going to worry, ya know?" He squeezed

her hand.

"I know," he said, full of understanding. "I get worried too sometimes." She couldn't believe that

Joe McIntyre was worried about her hurting him.

"Wow, really?" she whispered. He simply nodded.

"Of course," he said. "Didn't you see Speed? Relationships based on intense experiences never

work, remember?" That made Jen smile.

"Yeah, but we met at Jordan's concert," she reminded him.

"Oh yeah," he said, looking over at Donnie and Mary. "Oh are you guys still here?" he asked

innocently. Mary laughed.

"Yeah, we're here, not that you guys would notice," she said.

"I know, yo," Donnie said. "I'm not used to not getting any attention."

"Well," Joe said with a grin. "Mary will just have to give you the attention." Mary turned bright red

and Jen laughed.

"Joe, you're going to embarrass them," she said, hitting him on the arm. He shrugged, grabbing her

hand to stop the punch.

"Oh well," he said, looking her right in the eye. There was something about that look that made Jen

gasp.

"Um," she started, not removing her eyes from Joe's gaze.

"I'm getting tired," he said.

"Yeah," Jen said, nodding, but still watching him. "Me too." Without a single word, the couple got

up and left the room. Donnie and Mary just watched them go.

"What no goodnight?" Donnie finally said to break the ice.

"Really," Mary said with a nervous giggle. She was well aware how alone they were and it was

really making her nervous.

"Mary, are you cold? You're shakin," Donnie observed, moving a little closer to her. Great, she

thought. That's going to make me shake even worse.

"Am I?" she asked. "I didn't notice." He was looking at her really intently, as if he was trying to

read her. She was still deciding if she liked it or not. "So, Donnie, tell me about this movie," she

said, figuring that if he was talking about himself, it would be safe.

"Oh man!" he said excitedly. "This one is going to be a huge hit! I don't die!" That made Mary

laugh delightedly. "Well, I always die, ya know?" he asked. Mary nodded.

"Yeah, Donnie, I did notice that! It was like tradition for you or something," she said, shaking her

head. "But it must be great to have the opportunity, you know? To actually be in movies."

"Oh, it is!" Donnie said excitedly. "I've always loved acting, ya know, but I thought I'd do the New

Kids thing first and then see what happens."

"Well, you're doing a great job," Mary said encouragingly. "Really." Donnie looked at her for a

moment before answering.

"Thanks," he said.

"Your welcome," Mary answered, looking at the ground. Things were quiet for a minute before

Donnie broke the silence.

"Mary?" he asked softly.

"Yes?" she said. He took her hand and started rubbing her knuckles lightly. Looking her right in the

eye, he asked,

"May I kiss you?" Mary swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.

"Um, well," she stammered. "If you're sure you want to....I mean..." Putting one finger under her

chin and lifting it toward him, he whispered,

"I'm sure." And with that, he kissed her softly on the lips just once, drawing back to look at her

face. Giving him a smile, Mary leaned forward, offering her mouth for another kiss, which Donnie

gladly accepted, wrapping his arms around her.

"Joe, wait," Jen said, pulling away. They were lying with their limbs entwined on Joe's bed,

half-clothed, and breathing heavily. Joe sighed and ran his hands through his hair, attempting to catch

his breath.

"What's wrong?" he asked, rubbing his hands up and down her back and moving his lips to kiss her

neck. Jen leaned her head back and sighed, raising her hands to run her fingers through his curly hair.

"We have to stop," she murmured, knowing that once it got to a certain point, she wouldn't be able

to stop at all.

"Oh, Jen," Joe said against her neck. "I've been waiting for this moment since we've met. Why

stop now?" He kissed her again, but she pulled away and took his face in her hands.

"Joe," she said softly. "We have to. Try to understand, ok?" There was something in her eyes that

made him completely relax and pull away. He rolled onto his back and let out a huge breath, resting

his hands on his chest.

"OK, I'll respect that," he said. "Can I ask you something?" Jen rolled onto her side and started

running her fingers through his hair.

"Yeah," she said.

"Is it me?" he asked, turning on his side to look at her.

"Is what you?" Jen asked, confused. Joe grunted and shook his head.

"Is something wrong with me?" he asked. "Is that why you won't have sex with me?" He looked so

hurt that Jen couldn't help smiling.

"Oh, Joe," she said, kissing him soundly on the mouth. "Of course it's not you. I do want to, you

have no idea..."

"I think I have an idea," he interupted her. "And if you keep whatever it is you're doing to my hair,

you're going to have an even better idea of how much I have an idea." Jen smiled and shook her

head.

"Joe, I just...well...this is kind of hard for me to say," she stammered.

"You're having a problem talking?" he asked in amazement. She wacked him in the arm.

"Will you just let me talk?" she said, exasperated. He held up his hands in surrender and let her

continue. "Look, Joe, I've never done this before," Jen admitted, not looking him in the eye.

"You're a virgin?" Joe asked. She nodded, still not looking at him. Joe cupped her chin in his hand

and lifted her face to look at him. "Jen? I don't think I could love you more than I do right now."

Jen's eyes filled with tears.

"Really?" she asked. "You're not mad?" Joe laughed and drew her to him in a hug.

"Of course not," he assured her. "I'm actually disappointed in myself. I wish I could say the same

for my sex life, but..."

"I don't want to know," Jen cut him off.

"Anyway," Joe continued. "I just respect you so much for waiting. If I said that I was happy that

we won't be having sex, hey, you know I'd be lying, but I can wait." Jen cuddled up to him,

wrapping an arm around his mid-section.

"You'll be the first to know when I'm ready," she whispered. "And, McIntyre, if you keep talking

like that, it sure won't be long!" He kissed her head and rubbed her arm.

"OK, sodbuster," he said. "I will! Now go to sleep, ok? If you keep moving around like that, I'm

going to have to take a cold shower!" Jen grinned and tightened her grip, thinking how great it felt

just to be held. They held each other like that for quite a while, each one simply enjoying being close

to the other before Jen got sleepy.

"Goodnight, Joe," she said, closing her eyes.

"Goodnight, Jen," Joe said, already half asleep.

"I love you," she whispered, but he didn't hear her. He was already passed out. She smiled to herself, not needing assurance of Joe's feelings. He had just proved them.

Back at Jordan's place, in Jordan's bedroom, Jordan was taking his time removing Steph's pants. In a sense, he was totally teasing her and she knew she couldn't take it much longer.

"Jordan," she groaned. "Why don't you just let me do it?" He looked up at her and grinned.

"It wouldn't be as much fun that way," he replied, kissing her neck while his hands worked at removing her pants. As he moved her pants down, he moved his mouth down with them, trailing his lips in between her breasts and across her stomach. Finally removing them completely, he ran his tongue in a straight line across her stomach towards her ribs (neverletyougoneverletyougoneverletyougo). Steph's eye rolled back into her head as she squirmed in his grasp. She decided that it wasn't fair for Jordan to still have his pants on, so she took control of the situation, rolling herself on top of him and taking his pants off.

"Now we're even," she murmured, lowering her head to his for a hungry kiss. Jordan grabbed the back of her neck to hold her in place as he recked havoc on her mouth, practically devouring her. He ran his hands down her side, over her ass, and down her legs, maneuvering them on both sides of his hips. Steph could feel how much he wanted her and it almost equaled her own passion. She ran kisses down the sides of his face and traced her tongue along the outside of his ear, breathing into it softly. He groaned and rubbed her back, flipping her over again. Hovering above her, Jordan looked her right in the eye. His eyes were smoking into hers, saying without words how much he needed and loved her. Steph almost pinched herself, but instead decided that she should just kiss him again. And kiss him she did, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Jordan," she whispered into his ear. "Please." Jordan moaned at the sensations she was creating in his body. He couldn't wait any longer.

"I love you, Steph," he groaned, just before he took her completely.

The next morning, Joe woke to the phone ringing in his ear. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, reaching over Jen to answer it.

"Hello?" he mumbled. Jen stirred next to him. She hadn't moved from his chest all night and he smiled watching her sleep.

"Hey, Joe?" a cheerful female voice asked. He sighed and said,

"Yeah?"

"This is Micki! Remember, I'm coming to visit you guys today?" Joe racked his brain to remember.

"Oh yeah," he mumbled. "You were on my speaker phone last night, weren't you?" Micki giggled.

"Yeah, that was me. You gave me directions."

"Oh right," Joe said. "Sorry, I just woke up."

"Tell Jen hi," Micki said with a laugh. Joe patted Jen on the head,

"Micki says hi," he said, which caused Micki to crack up.

"I knew she'd be there," she said, still laughing. "Anyway, Joe, um...these directions of yours...they're not that great."

"Are you lost?" he asked accusingly.

"We sure are," Micki replied.

"Shit, tell you what, I'm going to give you Jordan's number, he'll give you directions, ok?" Joe said with a sigh, bringing a slight giggle from Jen, who had obviously woken up.

"Alright, go ahead," Micki said, grabbing a pen from Khara's outstretched hand and ripping a page from the payphone's phonebook. Copying down the number that Joe gave her, she said her goodbyes and hung up the phone, sending Khara a look.

"Alright, time to wake up Jordan and Steph," she mumbled, popping in another quarter.

"Hello?" answered a very tired Jordan.

"Jordan? Hey this is Micki, I'm Steph's friend from New York." she said, trying to refresh his memory.

"Hmm?" Jordan asked, still waking up. Micki sighed.

"Jordan, please wake up. We're visiting you guys and we got lost so I need your help." Micki said, beginning to get desperate. Jordan shook himself awake.

"You're lost?" he asked dumbfoundedly.

"Yes," she said with a groan.

"Joe gave you directions, didn't he?" Jordan asked, sitting up and moving Steph to the side.

"Yeah, he did," Micki said, laughing. "As a matter of fact, he's the one who told me to call you."

"Figures," Jordan grumbled. "Alright, where are you now?" Micki told him the address of the gas station and then started copying down the directions he gave her. He definitely knew what he was talking about.

"Great, how long will it take for me to get there?" she asked.

"Well," Jordan said. "I gave you directions to my studio. That's where we'll be, so you can meet us there, ok?"

"Great, Jordan, thanks," Micki said gratefully.

"No problem," he told her.

"And tell Steph hi," Micki giggled before hanging up. He looked at the phone in confusion before he hung it up, kissing Steph on the forehead. Memories of the night before ran through his head and he couldn't help smiling. She smiled as well and cuddled up to him.

"Couldn't we just stay here all day?" she asked against his bare chest. Jordan grinned and lifted up the blanket that was covering her to get a peek. She yelped and slapped his hand away.

"I wish we could," Jordan said with a laugh. "But I have to get to the studio in the next hour. Your friend Micki is meeting us there and I kind of have to be there when John Travolta gets there, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" Steph said, jumping out of bed and giving Jordan quite the view. "I'm going to meet John Travolta today!" Jordan laughed and threw a pillow at her.

"Alright, alright!" he said. "Just remember who you slept with last night, ok?" His words caused her to shiver.

"Oh, I remember, J," she said, looking him in the eye. "Now, where's the shower?" Jordan threw back the covers and hopped up.

"Well, let me show you," he said in all his naked glory. She giggled.

"We have to be there in an hour," she reminded him. He shrugged and pinched her ass, causing her to jump.

"It won't take too long," he said, chasing her into the bathroom. After their shower, Steph was just starting to get dressed when the phone rang. Jordan motioned to her from the closet to answer it.

"Yeah?" she said, balancing the phone on one ear while trying to get her shoes on at the same time.

"Bitch?" came Jen's voice through the receiver. "What's the deal? Mark just got here and we're all ready to do something." Steph groaned.

"I don't know, talk to Jordan," she said, tossing Jordan the phone.

"Hey Jen," he said, pulling on his shirt. Steph pouted in disappointment and he grinned at her. "What's going on?"

"That's just what I was going to ask you," she said.

"Well, tell you what. Why don't you all meet us at my studio and we'll decide from there, ok? Micki and Khara are meeting us there, too." Jordan said, running his fingers through his wet hair.

"Sounds great, I'll tell everyone," Jen said. "See ya then!"

"Later," Jordan said, placing the phone back on the receiver. "OK," he said, turning to Steph. "They're meeting us there, now how to I look?" Steph put two fingers on her chin as if she was thinking about it.

"Turn around," she requested. As he did so, she pinched his ass and giggled. "You look good enough to eat," she said, smiling.

"Don't tempt me to let you," he said, grabbing his wallet and keys. "We've got to get out of here." Steph followed him out the door, still smiling. She couldn't seem to stop smiling. The rest of the group was attempting to leave Joe's at the same time, but Joe had somehow misplaced his keys.

"I knew they were here," he grumbled, looking under some couch cushions. Jen groaned.

"Tell you what," she said, grabbing her lighter and a pack of cigarettes. "I'm going to go sit outside, look at your gorgeous property, and have myself a cigarette. Let me know when you find them, ok?" At that point, Mary and Donnie had also joined in the search and Mark was just leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. Joe barely looked up.

"OK, we'll be out in a minute, I swear," he mumbled, getting on his hands and knees and looking under the couch. Jen shrugged and opened the front door.

"Hold up," Mark said, following her. "I could use one too." By the time Donnie, Mary, and Joe emerged from the house, Jen and Mark were on their second cigarettes.

"No way," she was saying.

"I swear! I was so jealous of them, but when I got my own album going, I guess I got over it," Mark said, stretching his arms in front of him.

"And then you end up on every billboard in America," Jen reminded him.

"Yeah, well, it's a living," Mark said with a shrug. Looking up, he saw his brother heading their way.

"Let's go, you guys!" Donnie yelled. "He found them!"

"Where were they, hon," Jen asked, walking up to the car. Joe blushed.

"They were in his pants!" Mary said with a laugh. "I don't want to know why he took them off so quickly!" Jen grinned.

"Me either," she replied, shooting Joe an amused look. He shrugged.

"Alright, everyone get in," he said. "We're late enough as it is." Jen got in the front and Mary got to be in a Wahlberg sandwich in the back. Jen turned to look at her friend and it was all too obvious how much she would enjoy this car ride. Jen was dying to ask Mary about what had happened the night before, but she figured she'd get her chance later. Donnie and Mary were looking damn cozy. Looking over at Joe, she had to take in a breath. The sun was shining right onto his hair, outlining his face. He looked over at her, his blue eyes smiling and she forgot all about Mary and Donnie.

"Here we are," Joe said after a while, pulling the car into a space. Stepping out of the car, Jen looked around. The building they were in front of was old and comfortable with a small sign out front. No fan would be able to tell that it was actually Jordan's recording studio. Standing out front were Steph and Jordan talking to two girls. Jen couldn't see without her glasses, but as she edged closer, she could see that one of the girls was Micki! That obviously made the other one Khara. Jen let out a yelp and broke into a run, causing Micki and Khara to both turn around.

"Jen!" Micki yelled, holding out her arms for a hug.

"Jen!" Khara called, laughing at Jen's excitement. Steph laughed as Jen and Mary finally met their two internet friends.

"So I heard you guys got lost," Jen said with a grin after everyone had been introduced.

"Yeah, well," Micki said with a laugh. "After I talked to Jordan, I found the place with no problem."

"We were much closer than we thought," Khara added. She looked at Joe with a twinkle in her eye.

"Oh, so I'm not so good with directions!" he said with a huff.

"Or talking!" Donnie said.

"Or finding your keys!" Mary added. Joe threw up his hands.

"I give up," he said. Jen grinned.

"Well, don't worry," she said. "There are other things that you're good at." Steph groaned, holding her hands over her ears.

"I don't wanna know!" she groaned. Joe grinned and wrapped an arm around Jen's waist.

"Hey, you guys," Jordan said, looking at his watch. "We need to decide what we're doing here cause John will be here any minute and then I have to work."

"John?" Micki asked. Steph put her hand on Micki's shoulder.

"Yeah, brace yourself, hon," she said, looking at Jen, who was nodding enthusiastically. Khara was too busy watching Mark to pay attention, but every time he looked at her, she looked away coyly. It was like a little game they were playing and Mary couldn't help laughing to herself.

"What?" Micki asked, getting edgy.

"Well, I'm doing a duet with John Travolta in here today," Jordan said casually. Micki had to sit down on the closest bench.

"You're doing a WHAT?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"A duet, Micki," Jen said.

"With John Travolta," Steph added. Micki put her head in her hands.

"Oh my God, are you guys serious?" she asked. Donnie nodded.

"Yeah, what's the big deal?" he asked.

"She adores John Travolta," Mary explained. Donnie nodded and looked the group over.

"Well, guys, no offense, but I don't really want to spend the day in a studio," he said.

"Yo, no kidding!" Mark added, making eye contact with Khara. She nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I kind of wanted to see the city," she said.

"What about you, Mary?" Donnie asked.

"Oh, I'll go with you guys," she said as if there was a doubt. "I want to take a look around."

"Micki?" Khara asked. Micki looked at her in surprise.

"Oh, fuck yeah, I'm staying here!" she said, causing everybody to laugh.

"Me too," Steph said.

"I want to see the studio," Jen said, looking at Joe.

"Yeah, we'll stay too," he said, catching Donnie's eye. "We'll catch up to you guys later. You got your pager, right?" Donnie nodded.

"Alright then, we'll see you guys later," Donnie said with a wave. They were gone as fast as they had gotten there and Jordan just shook his head.

"Come on, you guys, let's go inside," he said, opening the door. Micki could barely stand up, but with Jen and Steph's help, she was able to do it.

"Oh wow," Jordan said after he stepped inside. "John Travolta! Man, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were here yet?" The man sitting on the lobby couch lowered his paper, his bright blue eyes smiling.

"No problem, Jordan," he said. "This place is great." Micki gasped. She was standing about 3 feet away from John Travolta.

"Thanks, man," Jordan said, shaking his hand firmly. "Thank you so much for doing this. I can't even tell you..." John cut him off.

"It's no problem," he said. "I've wanted to get back into music for a while, you just gave me an excuse!" He was wearing a blue blazer and black slacks and Micki's mouth was practically hanging open, he looked so good. The blazer matched his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jordan said. "John, this is Steph, Jen, Joe and this is Micki," he said, pushing Micki forward a bit to shyly shake his hand.

"Hi," she said through lowered eyelashes. He grinned at her.

"Hello there," he said. "So, are we ready?"

"Yeah," Jordan said. "Let's go." On their way into the studio, Steph maneuvered Micki next to John.

"Hey, you guys, did you know that Micki's totally into this producing stuff?" Steph said proudly.

"Really?" John said. Micki nodded.

"Yeah, it's a fascinating industry," she said. He had to agree with her there.

"Great, then maybe if everything works out, we can cut part of this song today," Jordan said. They walked into the production studio with Micki in front, immediately looking at all of the equipment. Jen was loving it as well, she sat down at the sound board and examined it closely.

"Oh yeah," Micki said after a minute. "This is all pretty basic, I can work this." John looked very impressed as he looked at Jordan and shrugged. Jordan flipped on the power and showed Micki some basic switches before he led John into the studio, which could be seen from the sound booth through a large window. Micki flipped on a microphone.

"Can you guys here me?" she asked. Jordan and John were both putting on headphones and adjusting their microphones. Micki turned to Jen, Steph and Joe who had taken seats all around the small booth. "You guys? I am in here doing production for John Travolta. Am I dreaming?" Jen and Steph laughed.

"Welcome to our week, Micki," Jen said, catching Joe's eye. He winked at her and focused his attention back to Jordan and John, who both looked ready to go. Shooting Micki a thumbs up, Jordan hummed a few warmup bars. Steph's breath caught in her throat. She was actually going to be watching him sing. She couldn't wait. Flipping a few switches, Micki gave the guys a countdown before motioning to them and starting the music simultaneously. Arranging their sheet music in front of them, both guys broke into one of the most beautiful ballads any of the group had ever heard.

"So where to?" Donnie asked, stretching his arms above his head and pulling the car out of the studio's parking lot. Mary was thinking how interesting Boston was, but also had it really didn't matter where they went as long as she had Donnie with her.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Anywhere works."

"I kind of want to stay outside," Khara said, thoughtfully. "It's nice out. We should go on a walk or something."

"Word," Mark filled in. "The last thing I wanted to do was sit in a stuffy studio all afternoon." Donnie snapped his fingers after thinking for a bit.

"I got it!" he exclaimed, almost swerving the car into a tree.

"Yo, D, watch it!" Mark growled from his spot in the backseat. He turned to Khara, who had almost ended up in his lap at the swerve of the car. "Are you ok?" he asked. All she could do was nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mark. Stop worrying so much!" she said with a giggle. He smiled at her and turned back to his brother.

"So where are we going?" he asked. Donnie grinned at Mary.

"To that new amusement park up north," he said triumphantly. Mark let out a whoop.

"Awesome!" he said. Khara felt her stomach turn upside down. She normally wasn't a big rollercoaster fan, but figured she could survive with Mark Wahlberg sitting next to her. "Hey, Khara, is that cool with you?" Mark asked her, looking her in the eye.

"Well," she admitted. "I'm not a huge rollercoaster fan, but..."

"Oh that's because you've never had a professional coaster rider show you how to do it!" Mark said with a wink. Donnie cracked up.

"That's his number one line," he said, grinning at Mary.

"Well, if you're just trying to get me on a rollercoaster, than you've got me," Khara teased.

"That was my plan," he said.

"Yeah," Donnie joked. "You all saw Fear, right?" Mark smacked Donnie on the shoulder and Mary covered up her mouth to hide the laughter, but Khara had a very confused look on her face.

"Fear?" she said, puzzled. "I saw it, but..."

"Khara," Mary said, turning in her scene. "The rollercoaster scene?" Registering that information, Khara said,

"Ohhhh." She blushed. "Oh!" That caused everyone but Mark to laugh.

"Well," he said with a shrug. "It was fun to film."

"Alright, you guys," Donnie said, motioning out the window. "We're here, now let's behave ourselves, alright?"

"Yes, Donnie," Mary said sweetly.

"OK, Daddy," Mark added.

"Can we ride the dinosaurs first?" Khara said with a giggle. Donnie groaned and got out of the car.

"Oh this is going to be a real interesting day," he groaned. The foursome entered the park laughing their asses off.

"And that's a take," Micki said with delight, flicking a few switches on the sound board. Joe let out a whoop and jumped up.

"Alright!" he said, stretching. "Then we can finally leave?" Jen rubbed his back.

"Hold on there, cowboy," she said with a yawn. Everything was really interesting, but she was getting a little restless.

"We done, Micki?" John asked into his microphone. She nodded and sent him a thumbs up. Both him and Jordan set down their headphones and joined them all in the production booth.

"Great!" Jordan said as soon as they got in. "I wanna hear it!" He lifted Steph from her chair, causing her to yelp, sat down and pulled her into his lap.

"Take a seat," she scowled. He grinned at her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Alright," he said as Micki cued up the music for the tenth time. Listening carefully, Jordan nodded slightly. He looked over at John, who was also nodding.

"It sounds good, Jordan," he said. Jordan was such a perfectionist that they had already done the song about 15 times. He finally nodded one last time, getting up and practically dumping Steph on the floor.

"OK," he said. "Then we're done." Steph rubbed her leg where she fell and groaned.

"Then can we get out of here?" she asked hopefully.

"Jordan?" Micki asked. "You wouldn't mind if I stuck around to play around with the equipment for a while, would you?" She shot a look over to John, hoping that he just might want to stay too.

"Sure, Mick," Jordan said. "It's the least I can do to thank you for doing all this work." She laughed.

"It was no problem," she said. "I had fun." She could feel John's blue eyes on her and she shivered without even making eye contact with him.

"Alright," Jordan said, looking at Joe, Jen, and Steph. "We out of here?" They all nodded eagerly.

"I think I'll stick around too, if you don't mind, Jordan," John said, taking off his blazer and draping it over a chair. "This stuff is interesting." Jordan shrugged.

"We'll see you again, then?" he asked. John nodded.

"Yeah, sure," he said. "Let's do dinner this week sometime. I'll be in town for a bit."

"You know where to reach me," Jordan said, guiding Steph out, but not before she was able to shoot Micki a triumphant grin. Jen gave her a thumbs up as she left, making sure John was facing the board. Micki shooed them out of the room with her hand before turning back to the equipment.

"You sure do know a lot about this stuff," John observed. Micki nodded.

"Well, it's what I want to do," she replied. He nodded.

"So show me what it all does," he requested. She pointed out various buttons and panels until he placed a hand over hers, causing an electric current to shoot through her arm.

"So," he said softly. "If I do this..." He moved Micki's hand, which was holding a knob on the sound board, up.

"It makes the right speaker louder," she choked, hardly able to think. The electricity in the room was very high. There was obviously something happening with the two of them. Taking her other hand, he raised it to another knob.

"And this?" he asked. She swallowed.

"That turns up the bass," she said. He smiled, looking into her eyes.

"And what if I do this?" he asked, moving so his mouth was less than an inch from hers. He wrapped an arm around her waist, dragging her closer to him, causing her to put both of her hands up on his chest.

"I'll do this," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her mouth to his in an inevitable kiss. John groaned slightly and pulled her closer to him, ravishing her mouth with his. Tearing away, he held her gaze for a moment before releasing her.

"So where's your boyfriend?" he asked, which Micki thought was kind of rude considering what had just happened. She looked away and began playing with the board.

"What makes you think I have one?" she asked. John shrugged.

"You look like the type," he said.

"Well," Micki said, looking back at him. "We broke up just last week." That made John smile.

"Good," he said simply. He wasn't a man of many words.

"What about your wife?" she asked, a question that John didn't seem to think was very important.

"Oh her," he said, with a wave of his hand. "That's over."

"You're divorced?"

"We're in the process of divorce, yes," he told her. "But please, don't tell anybody. That's the last thing I need." Micki was surprised that he trusted her.

"I won't, John," she whispered. He regarded her carefully, rubbing her hand slightly.

"I don't think you will," he said, staring into her eyes. "Now, back to business." And with that, he kissed her again. At that point, Joe had pulled his car into a space at a local park, where the group had decided to take a walk.

"Come on, you guys," he said to Jordan and Steph, who hadn't even noticed the car stopping. "We're here." Getting out, Joe took a deep breath.

"Damn, it feels good to be outside!" Jen said, taking a cigarette out and offering it to Joe, who gladly accepted. Steph did the same thing as she got out of the car and the group set out on their walk. Jordan immediately went up to Joe and draped an arm over his shoulders.

"Joe, my man," he said, taking a drag from his cigarette. "We need to go have some guy talk." Steph and Jen exchanged a look. They needed to talk, too, they both realized.

"You guys go ahead," Jen said, linking her arm through Steph's.

"Yeah," Steph agreed. "We'll be right behind you." The guys laughed and hurried ahead of them, leaving the girls to chat.

"So?" both of them said at the same time and laughed.

"You first," Jen said. "What the fuck happened, Steph? You were on Cloud freakin 30 this morning!" Steph sighed.

"Yeah, I was, wasn't I?" she said with a giggle. Jen gasped.

"You did?!" she squealed, knowing the answer based on Steph's face. She nodded happily.

"And you, Miss Virgin?" Steph asked with a twinkle in her eye. Jen shook her head.

"No," she said. Steph looked surprised.

"Really? Well good," she said. "I was hoping you would wait a bit."

"Steph, he was so understanding about it," Jen said dreamily. "We just held each other all night." Steph's mind also drifted to her evening.

"Bitch, we rock!" she said. Jen nodded.

"That we do," she said with a laugh. Joe and Jordan's conversation went in the same route, but it was a little more masculine.

"So?" Joe asked as soon as him and Jordan were out of ear shot. "Did ya fuck her?" Jordan laughed.

"No, Joe, I did not `fuck' her!" he said.

"No?" Joe looked shocked. Jordan grinned.

"No, stupid. We `made love'!" When he said that, they both laughed and Jordan poked his friend in the side.

"What about you?" he asked, giving his friend a wink. "How was she?" Joe shrugged.

"I wouldn't know," he said. Jordan raised an eyebrow.

"Oh come on, Joe," he pressed. "I need more details than that!"

"I swear, Jordan, we really didn't do anything," Joe said.

"You mean to tell me that THE Joseph McIntyre has known a girl and spent every second with her for almost a week and he didn't sleep with her?" Jordan asked, amazed.

"Well, I slept with her, but all we did was sleep," Joe defended. At that point, the girls had inched up to them, but the guys didn't notice, so the girls didn't feel the need to tell them. They kind of wanted to eavesdrop.

"Right," Jordan said, nudging his friend. "What is this some kind of code?"

"Jordan," Joe said, getting a little angry. "I don't get why I can't just spend time with a girl without you assuming I fucked her brains out."

"Well, Joe, look at your record," Jordan pointed out, getting just as defensive.

"My record?" Joe growled, causing Jen to shoot Steph a look. "What about my record?"

"Well, you don't exactly always treat women with the best respect," Jordan snapped. "Like that one girl last month who I wanted, but you had to go and..."

"Now wait a second," Joe interrupted. "You never told me you wanted her."

"I did so!" Jordan said, clenching his fists. "But no, you're Joe McIntyre and you had to go and prove yourself.."

"Prove myself??" Joe exploded. "I don't have to prove anything to anyone, especially not you, Jordan Knight," he said, poking his friend in the chest. Jordan looked at the spot where Joe had touched and scowled, brushing Joe's finger away.

"Not to me," Jordan said, his eyes narrowing. "But maybe to Nina..." He knew he was going far with that comment and Joe's eyes turned to fire.

"At least I don't have to force my women into bed," Joe growled, causing both Steph and Jordan to gasp. Without thinking, Jordan's fist shot out, hitting Joe right in the jaw and knocking him over.

"Joe!" Jen called and ran over to help him. Jordan was rubbing his fist, his face bright red.

"Don't you ever refer to that again, Joe," he said with a murderous glare in his eye. "Or you have found a new enemy." With that, he pulled himself out of Steph's grasp and walked away, shoving his hands into his pockets. Steph didn't bother chasing after him. She couldn't get Joe's words out of her mind. Jordan had forced somebody to....she shook her head to block out the thought. That just couldn't be possible. She looked over at Joe, who was rubbing his jaw. He wouldn't look Steph in the eye.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, Steph," he grumbled, getting up and brushing himself off.

"What did you mean by that, Joe?" she asked hoarsely. He just shook his head.

"I've talked too much already," he said, still trying to catch his breath.

"Joe?" Jen said, putting a hand on his arm. He shook his head at her and broke into a run, yelling,

"Jordan! Wait!" Steph plopped into a bench and put her head in her hands. SHe felt Jen's hand on her back.

"Steph?" she asked softly. "Maybe that's not what he meant."

"What else could it be, Jen?" she asked. Try as she might, Jen couldn't think of anything.

"I don't know," she whispered. Steph started to cry.

"Well, I know what it means," she said, tears running through her fingers. "Jordan...MY Jordan....raped somebody, Jen. He raped somebody." Jen had absolutely no idea what to say to that. She just sat there with her friend, rubbing her back until Joe came running back to them.

"Damnit," he mumbled, running his fingers through his hair. Jen put a hand on his arm. She didn't know who to try and comfort first.

"What's Jordan doing?" she asked. Joe shook his head.

"He walked for a bit and now he's waiting in the car for us," he said, rubbing his jaw. "Don't expect him to talk to any of us." Noticing Steph's state, he crinkled his brow, looking at Jen. "How's she?" he asked.

"Well, damn, Joe," Jen said, exasperated. "You just announced that....that..." She couldn't even finished the sentence.

"I know," he said. "That was so dumb, Jordan had every right to punch me." Steph finally looked up.

"No, Joe," she said. "Jordan has every right to be punched." She got up and headed over to the car by herself. Joe started after her, but Jen placed a hand on his arm.

"No," she said, softly. "Let her go, she likes to be alone when she's upset." They walked for a bit in silence until Jen finally stopped him.

"Joe, did Jordan really rape somebody?" she asked, shakily. Jordan Knight or not, Steph was her best friend and she had to look out for her. Joe sighed and ran his hands through his hair again. It was becoming habit.

"Well," he said. "Not exactly." Jen's eyes got really wide and her jaw dropped open.

"Not EXACTLY?" she repeated.

"It's a long story," Joe said. "And if they weren't waiting for us, I would tell you now, but..." He nodded towards the car. Steph was in the passenger seat and Jordan was sitting silently in the back. They weren't talking. "He's so mad at me, Jen," Joe said.

"You think?" Jen spat out, but Joe was in his own world.

"He punched me. In all of the years we've known each other, he's never punched me before. I went way too far." He shook his head.

"Well, he obviously hit a nerve," Jen mumbled, remembering that the nerve he had hit was Nina and that was the last thing she wanted to talk about. "Come on, I'll take the back." Joe nodded and climbed in the driver's seat next to Steph. Jen got in her seat and looked around. Everyone was just staring out their own windows, not speaking. Joe finally started the car and pulled out of the lot, his face completely blank. Jordan stared straight ahead, also with a blank face. The only emotion showed in his eyes, and Jen could see the mixture of feelings in them when he briefly glanced at her. She had no idea what to do about this and that was rather rare for Jen. After the deathly silent car ride, Joe pulled into Jordan's complex.

"Joe, can I stay with you tonight?" Steph asked suddenly. Jen saw a pool of tears well up in Jordan's eyes as he got out of the car, but he quickly blinked them away.

"I guess so," Joe mumbled, not wanting Jordan to be anymore mad at him than he was already, but not really having a choice. She nodded.

"I'll borrow something from Jen," she said, leaning back into her seat. Jordan gave Jen a slight nod and slammed the car door, walking briskly into the lobby. As Joe pulled out of the complex, Steph started to cry again. Joe slammed his fist against the steering wheel. He couldn't have been more mad at himself. In all truths, he wanted to tell Steph everything, but he knew that it was completely up to Jordan. Maybe he should have told her the truth to begin with anyway. At least, that's what Joe was trying to convince himself of. He caught Jen's eye in the rearview mirror. This wasn't going to end as quickly as he had hoped. Jen nodded to tell him that she knew what he was thinking. She couldn't imagine Jordan doing something like that. There just had to be an explanation. Nobody said anything until Joe pulled his car into his driveway. Donnie, Mark, Khara, and Mary were all sitting under one of the trees in Joe's yard. Donnie and Mark both had cigarettes in their hands and they were all laughing merrily. Steph glared at them before asking Joe for his house keys.

"Steph..." Jen started to say. She shook her head.

"Don't," Steph told her. "Where can I go Joe?" Joe handed over the keys and shrugged.

"You can crash in any of the empty rooms, Steph," he said. "If you need anything..." She didn't let him finish.

"Thanks," she interupted, letting herself in and shutting the door. Watching her go, Jen groaned out loud.

"Joe, why did you have to go and do that?" she asked.

"Do what?" Donnie said, approaching the couple. Jen looked over at their friends and just murmured,

"Don't worry about it." Mary gave Jen a sympathetic look.

"You guys look like you've had a long day," she said. "Where's Jordan?"

"Home," Jen replied.

"Shit," Mark filled in. "And Steph's here? Uh, oh."

"What happened?" Khara wanted to know. Joe looked at Donnie.

"D, I am so stupid," he said, regrettedly. Donnie raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, Joe," he said, putting an arm over Joe's shoulder. "I have a feeling that we need to talk. Joe nodded and let Donnie lead him a few yards away from the rest of them. They were all silent for a minute before Mark finally said,

"Can we go inside? I'm starving!" Jen smiled at him and nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds great," she said. "Anyone for some Chinese Delivery?" They all nodded eagerly and moved inside.

"I'm going to check on Steph," Mary said, immediately heading for the stairs. Jen led everyone else to the kitchen.

"Let's find a phone book," she said, trying to get everyone's mind off of Steph and her problems.

"Steph!!" Mary yelled, trying to find what room she chose in the huge house. Surprisingly, the door right in front of her opened up and Steph's puffy face poked out. Her eyes were red and swollen. Mary didn't even speak, she just moved to give Steph a hug. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. Steph started to say no, but then decided to tell Mary everything about what happened.

"Yeah, I do," she said, opening her door. "Come on in, Mar." Mary followed her in and sat down on the bed.

"OK, Steph, what happened?" she asked anxiously. Steph broke down and told Mary the entire story, not looking her in the eye until she was done. Mary couldn't even speak when Steph was finished with her story.

"He did what?" she asked incredulously. "I mean, I knew something was wrong, but I never thought..." Steph cut her off.

"I know," she said. "Me either." She put her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do, Mar," Steph said, starting to cry again.

"There has to be a reasonable explanation for this," Mary said, hugging her friend. "Why don't you ask Joe about it?"

"Yeah, I think I will," Steph said, nodding.

"OK," Jen said, hanging up the phone. "They'll be here in a half hour, you guys." She turned to see Joe heading up the stairs and Donnie entering the parlor. He didn't look happy as he caught Jen's eye. "Um, I'll be back, you guys," Jen started. "Y'all can go watch TV or something." With that, she headed up the stairs in pursuit of Joe. She knocked on his door, calling,

"Joe, are you there?" He opened the door and motioned for her to come in.

"Yeah," he said, closing it behind her. "I told Donnie everything. I mean, he knows what went on that day." Jen sat down on one of Joe's cushy chairs.

"What day, Joe?" Jen asked. He sighed and sat down on his bed.

"Well, ok..." he started. "You see, Jordan went off with this girl after one of our concerts. We didn't think anything of it cause back in those days, that kind of stuff happens all the time, ya know?" Jen nodded.

"Yeah," she said, not wanting to think about it.

"So," Joe continued. "He didn't show up for the rest of the night, which meant that he had slept with her, so we didn't bother them. The next day, we saw her leave his room pretty early, but it wasn't until later that Jordan got the phone call."

"What phone call?" Jen asked.

"The one that told him that he was being charged with rape," Joe said, matter-of-factly. Jen gasped in spite of herself. "Anyway, Jordan denied it and the case actually went to court. He said that it was a one-night stand gone wrong and she said that she was forced into it. He won the case, but ever since then..."

"What?" Jen encouraged. Neither of them knew it, but that was the exact moment that Steph showed up at Joe's door. She started to knock, but then realized that Joe and Jen were talking. Being quite a normal person, she decided to listen in. "Well," Joe continued. "Jordan told me that he doesn't go for a day without thinking about that girl. He keeps thinking to himself, ya know....what if I did rape her?" Joe never got to finish his story because when Steph heard that, she let out a yelp.

"Shit," Jen mumbled, opening the door to find Steph's retreating back letting herself back into her room. "Steph!" she called, but got no answer.

"I wonder what she heard," Joe said.

"The wrong things," Jen said, shaking her head. "I can't believe this. So, did he do it?"

"No," Joe said. "They were drunk and she thought that she could get some money out of it, but it still eats at him, ya know? We never told anyone about that incident. We thought it would be better that way and all." Jen nodded.

"And now thanks to us, Steph thinks that he really did it," she finished. Joe nodded.

"That the basic gyst of it," he said.

"Great," she mumbled. "Just great. And we can't tell her because Jordan needs to, right?" Joe nodded. "Great," she said again. At the moment, Donnie was knocking on Steph's door. He was worried about what she was thinking after hearing Joe's story. Steph's voice was very soft when she told him to come in.

"You know, don't you?" she asked when she saw who it was. He nodded.

"Yeah, I do," he said. "That was dumb of Joe." Steph let out a laugh.

"No, I think it was dumber of Jordan," she said, shaking her head. "I just heard Jen and Joe talking about it, Donnie. He really raped somebody." Donnie looked surprised.

"What?" he asked.

"Don't give me any crap, Donnie," Steph said, bitterly. "I heard them. He doesn't go a day without regretting it." Donnie shook his head.

"Steph, it's not my place to tell you what happened," Donnie said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But you are right that he thinks about it a lot. I just don't think you have the whole story straight."

"Well, that's enough for me," Steph said, looking him in the eye. "Jordan should have told me about this, Donnie."

"Oh, I agree, and he still has to, but..." Steph held up her hand.

"No!" she said, angrily. "This is not something that will just blow over. How can I feel safe with him after hearing this?"

"Steph..." Donnie started to say before she kicked him out.

"No, I need to be alone," she said, opening her door. "Please, Donnie." There was something in her voice that made him listen to her. He left without question. Closing the door after him, Steph sighed. In a way, she was grateful that her friends seemed to care so much, but she really needed some time alone to think. She didn't even have time to sit down before there was yet another knock on her door. She groaned loudly and threw open the door to find Jen standing there with a sheepish look on her face.

"What?" Steph asked, not caring how rude she sounded.

"Nice to see you too," Jen mumbled, drumming her nails on the door. "Look, we ordered Chinese food, do you want some?"

"I'm not hungry," Steph said in disgust. Jen shrugged.

"I figured," she stated, waving her hand in front of her face. "Steph, it reeks of smoke in here." Steph glared at her as if to say "duh".

"Well, I've only had a pack since I got here," she mumbled, which caused Jen to chuckle. "Hey, bitch, I think I have an excuse."

"You do, I'm sorry," Jen said, straightening her face. "Anyway, um...I'll leave you to your smokes. If you need me..."

"You'll be downstairs," Steph finished. Jen nodded and gave her friend one last look before she headed downstairs. She almost ran smack into Micki on her way down.

"Micki?" Jen said, surprised. "Aren't you supposed to be on a secret rendevous with John Travolta?" Micki smiled and hugged her.

"John can wait," she said. "How's Steph?"

"Mary told you?" Jen figured.

"Yeah, what she knew. I just don't get it," Micki said, shaking her head.

"Well, none of us do," Jen mumbled. "She's alright, though. Giving herself lung cancer, but she's strong. I don't think it's hit her yet." Hell, Jen thought. It hasn't hit me yet and he's not my man.

"Well, no shit," Micki said with a tiny laugh, following Jen back down the stairs. She had wanted to talk to Steph, but decided that it would be better to leave her alone. They walked into the den to join the others, who were all making polite conversation while they were waiting to hear how Steph was. John was there, too, chatting with Joe about the studio. He looked up as Micki walked in and smiled brightly. Jen made a mental note to herself to find out exactly what had happened in that studio.

"Jen," Khara said, getting up. "What's up with Steph?" Jen looked around at her friends. They were all sitting around the room: John, Joe, Donnie, Mary, Mark, and Khara and they were all waiting for an answer from Jen. She quieted them down with a wave of her hand.

"Guys," she said loudly. "She's doing OK, alright? Just please stop going up there and checking on her, it's making it worse. Now..." She was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. "Now," she continued. "Let's eat our Chinese food and talk about something happy, damnit." Donnie started applauding and was followed by Joe, who grabbed a flower from a nearby vase and threw it at Jen. She giggled and curtsied, opening the door to find none-other than Jordan standing there with an armfull of Chinese food. After getting over her initial shock, Jen grabbed a bag from Jordan's hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jordan," she exclaimed. "Let me help you." He grunted and handed her a few sodas.

"Thanks," he said, stepping in the door to be greeted by 8 blank faces. "Aren't you guys gonna say anything?" he asked.

"Hi, Jordan," they all grumbled together. He set the food down and sighed, running his hand through his hair. He shot Jen a look and crinkled his eyebrows, asking her silently what he was supposed to do. She shrugged and turned to arrange the food.

"Where's Steph?" he asked, breaking the silence in the room. The few people that were looking at him quickly looked away, all of the sudden finding the furniture in Joe's house really interesting. "Jen?" he asked, turning to the one who he knew would know would where Steph was. Jen looked up from her food arrangement to shake her head.

"Oh, no," she said. "Don't look at me, J! This is totally up to you."

"Up to me?" he asked. "How can I explain it to her when she won't even talk to me?" This whole situation was making everybody in the room uncomfortable and Joe couldn't take it anymore.

"You guys?" he said, getting up. "Can I talk to you two in the kitchen? Jordan, is it OK if Donnie explains what happened to Mary, Mark, Micki, Khara and John?" Jordan sighed and looked the group over.

"Yeah, I guess it would be best if they all knew the truth," he grumbled. "Come on." Leading Jen and Jordan into the other room, Joe sat down on one of the stools and put his head in his hands.

"Look," he began. "We all have someone very important to us upstairs that is extremely upset and it's my fault..." Jordan started to interrupt, but Joe wouldn't let him. "Let me finish," he requested, holding up his hand. "J, I'm so sorry I said what I did and you have every right to be mad at me, but let's focus on getting Steph to understand this whole thing, ok?" When he was finished, Jordan and Jen kept quiet to let him compose himself.

"Are you done?" Jordan asked, patting Joe on the shoulder. He nodded and rested his fists under his chin. Jen wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek as if to reassure him. "OK," Jordan said, continuing. "Joe, it's not your fault. No, shut up for a second," he said before Joe could deny it. "I should have told Steph about the case when we started and I did think about it, but I didn't want her to think any less of me, ya know? And I'm sorry about hitting you and about that Nina comment, Joe." Joe was looking at Jordan in complete shock.

"No problem, J," he said. "If you can forgive me, hell, I can forgive you." Jen smiled.

"So we're friends again?" she asked with a grin. "Group hug?" Both guys gave Jen a strange look, but obliged anyway. Sitting back down, Joe said,

"OK, so Steph..." Jordan hit his fist against the table.

"We have to find a way to get her to talk to me," he grumbled. "I couldn't live with myself if she didn't." Jen grinned.

"Leave it to me, Jordan," she said. "Wait here." Joe raised an eyebrow at Jordan as Jen ran out of the kitchen.

"What is your woman up to?" Jordan asked. Joe smiled and shrugged.

"You never know," he said.

"Well, I hope whatever she has up her sleeve works," Jordan commented.

"I hear ya," Joe agreed, drumming his fingers on the counter.

"You know what's crazy though?" Jordan asked more to himself then to Joe. His friend just shrugged.

"What?"

"I love her," Jordan said, looking longingly towards the door. It was all he could say to justify himself.

"You don't have to tell me that, J," Joe said, seriously. "I can tell." Jordan opened his mouth to thank his friend when the door opened and Jen came bursting into the room.

"Alright," she said, sitting in the stool next to Joe and plopping two packs of Marlboro Mediums on the table. Joe and Jordan stared at them in confusion.

"Jen, this is hardly the time for a cigarette," Joe grumbled.

"Hell, I could use one," Jordan said, reaching for a pack. Jen smacked his hand.

"Cool it," she said. "Those are for Steph."

"Say what?" Joe asked. Both guys were utterly confused. Jen sighed loudly.

"Let me explain," she said as if she were talking to two children. "You guys didn't smell that room. It absolutely reeks. I swear. Steph must almost be done with her second pack by now."

"Are you serious?" Jordan asked. "She's smoking that much?"

"Isn't that what I've been explaining?" Jen never did lose that smart-assness and of course Joe felt the need to mention that until Jen shot him a daggered look.

"Yeah, and if I know Steph, she's really wishing she'd bought more than two packs right now."

"How do you know she only bought two?" Joe questioned.

"I was there," Jen replied. "So, J, grab those smokes and follow me." She got up and started for the door. On her way out, Joe stopped her to let Jordan go ahead and gave her a huge hug.

"If this works," he whispered in her ear. "I'm taking you to Disneyworld." She smiled into his neck.

"Alright, incentive!" she teased, pulling away. "Consider Steph recovered." With that, she left the kitchen to find Jordan. Now that Donnie had explained the situation, everyone was crowded around Jordan.

"I'm so sorry I doubted you," Mary said, giving him a comforting hug. She was followed by Micki and then Khara and Mark even gave him a slap on the back, which caused Jordan to yelp.

"You guys," Jordan said, impatiently. "Thanks, but it's really not a commendable act, ya know?"

"But you're innocent," Khara argued. Jordan lowered his head.

"Yeah, according to the court. But obviously not according to the girl," he mumbled.

"Jordan," Micki said, sternly. "Don't sweat it, she was in it for the money."

"I guess," Jordan shrugged. John stepped in, putting a hand on Micki's shoulder.

"Jordan," he said in a voice that made everybody stop what they were doing and listen. "It's happened to me too, man. It's always about the money." Jordan nodded, glad that they were all on his side.

"Alright," he said, with a sigh, his gaze roaming the stairwell. "Now to convince Steph. Come on, Jen." Jen let Jordan drag her up the stairs to Stephs room, leaving everybody in the living room.

"OK," Jen whispered. "I'll get her to open the door. You don't give her the cigarettes until she agrees to talk to you." Jordan nodded as Jen knocked on the door.

"Steph?" she called.

"What?" snapped a voice from the other side of the door. "Jen, I need to be alone, why can't anyone understand that?"

"Well," Jen said. "I figured you'd be out of smokes by now, so I got you a couple of packs."

"Good thinking, bitch!" Steph called, throwing open the door only to find Jordan, not Jen, standing there. Her red, swollen eyes got really big when she saw him. Jen was already halfway down the hall.

"Fuck," Steph mumbled. "What do you want?"

"We need to talk," Jordan informed her. Steph shook her head.

"I really don't want to hear it," she said, not looking him in the eye. Jordan pulled the Marlboros out of his pocket.

"Do you need these?" he asked, holding them up to her. Jen had made a good call. Steph had just finished her last cigarette and she desperately needed another one.

"Yeah," she said with relief, reaching for them, but Jordan quickly drew his hand back.

"Not unless you talk to me," he said, shaking his head and waving the Marlboros around. Stephs whole fave softened as she watched.

"Jordan," she whined. "Please let me have them." She tried again to grab them with no success. He held them above his head and leaned in close to her.

"Talk to me, Steph," he said, softly. "Please." Looking up at the cigarettes and then into Jordan's chocolate-brown eyes, Steph knew that she couldn't fight him. She might as well let him explain.

"OK, fine," she said, snatching the cigarettes out of his hand and opening them in one fluent motion. Popping one in her mouth, she motioned for Jordan to come in. He walked over to the dresser and grabbed a lighter off the top, lighting it and holding it in front of Steph. Looking up at him, Steph inhaled deeply and sat down on the bed with her asktray. "So?" she asked impatiently. Jordan sighed and ran his hands through his hair, pacing around the room. Finally, he knelt directly in front of her, looking her in the eye and placing his hands on her knees. Steph listened carefully as Jordan relayed the entire story to her.

"I'm so sorry, Steph," he said when he was done, lowering his head into her lap. "I should have told you about it, but I just didn't see how that would help things." He finally looked her in the eye. "So, what do you think?" he asked. Steph was still trying to absorb it all.

"So you didn't rape anybody?" she asked, ashing her cigarette. Jordan smiled.

"No, not that I recall," he said. "But I can't stop thinking that if she raised a case, she must have had a reason and maybe I just didn't realize it."

"Jordan," Steph said, firmly, putting her hands on his broad shoulders. "I know you and no matter how I felt a half hour ago, you couldn't rape anybody."

"You really believe that?" he asked, hopefully. Steph smiled and put out her cigarette, cradling his head in her lap.

"Of course I do, J," she said against his hair. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you before." He lifted his head up to look her in the eye.

"Me too," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her. She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him closer, kissing him with all the love and relief that she felt. He smiled against her lips and lowered her onto the bed, thanking God that he had her back. "How did I get so lucky?" he asked against her mouth. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I don't know," she replied, kissing him deeply. "Must be your good breath."

"What the fuck are they doing up there?" Jen murmured impatiently, taking a big bite of her orange chicken.

"What?" Joe asked, snapping himself back to reality. He had been caught up in watching Jen's mouth close over that piece of chicken and he couldn't even fathom the thoughts running through his mind. She smiled at him.

"I was just thinking that they're probably making up, if you know what I mean," she said, taking another bite. He groaned to himself and cursed the other six people in the room. He knew exactly what she meant. "So, you, Mr. McIntyre, owe me a trip to Disneyworld!"

"Disneyworld?" Mary asked, breaking away from her talk with Donnie. They were all sitting around the kitchen table, eating the cold Chinese food and making light chatter.

"Yeah," Jen said with a grin. "Joe promised me that he'd take me there if my idea made J and Steph make up." Micki let out a laugh from across the tabe.

"Oh man, Joe!" she laughed. "You're talking Jen's version of Heaven!"

"I know," he said, putting a hand on Jen's knee. "I can't wait." Mary looked over at Donnie, who was half asleep, and grinned.

"Hey," she whispered to him. "What's wrong?" He looked up in surprise.

"Sorry, guys," he said. "I'm getting restless here." Joe snorted.

"D can't sit in one place for more than an hour," he told the group. "It's crazy." Donnie smiled and shrugged, looking at Mary.

"Can we get out of here?" he asked.

"Well," Mary said, looking around. "Yeah, I just want to wait and see if Steph..." As if on cue, Steph's voice interrupted them.

"Hey, you guys," she said, leading Jordan into the kitchen by the hand. They all looked up in surprise, which made Steph giggle. "We just wanted to let you all know that we're fine, everything's great, Jordan explained it all." She smiled up at her beau and squeezed his hand. The group let out a chorus of sighs.

"Great," Donnie said, getting up and giving Jordan a pat on the back. "I'm happy for you guys. Mary? Let's go!" Mary laughed and hugged Steph.

"So you're happy?" she asked softly. Steph nodded.

"Yeah, Mar, thanks," she told her honestly. Mary nodded and took Donnie's hand.

"OK, then, I guess I'm out of here. I'll see you guys...um..."

"When we see you," Jen interrupted. She wanted Mary to go have a good time. "Just call sometime tonight and let us know you weren't kidnapped or anything." Everyone groaned at Jen's reference to the incident. "Sorry," she said.

"Whatever bitch," Steph stated brightly. Jen shot her a confused-as-hell look as Donnie pulled on Mary's arm.

"OK!" she laughed. "I'm all yours! See you guys." As they left, everyone heard Donnie saying,

"So you're all mine?" Joe chuckled as the front door closed.

"Mary will be really good for him," he commented, looking around. "Hey, where did Mark and Khara go?" Jen turned in her seat and Steph shrugged.

"I guess they left," Jen commented. "They could have told us." Mark and Khara had mutually decided that all of the chatter was getting to them, so they just took off. Stepping outside, Khara took a deep breath.

"Thank God," she murmured. "That was a great idea, Mark." He flashed her a slow grin.

"Yeah, it was," he commented. "It was getting way too crazy in there." She nodded and stretched a bit.

"So what are we going to do?" she asked. She barely knew Mark, but he had been making her laugh all afternoon and she loved it.

"I don't know, why don't we just walk? Joe sure has enough property for it!" Mark said with a chuckle.

"No shit!" Khara said, laughing. "It's crazy!" Mark laughed with her and reached out for her hand. The attraction between the two had been inevitable all day and she was giddy with happiness now that Steph was OK. She let him pull her along Joe's beautiful property, smiling up at him as she did so. Donnie's loud voice interrupted her moment.

"What are you two doing?" Donnie asked, giving his brother a wink.

"Forget what we're doing, where are you two going?" Mark wanted to know. Donnie grinned slowly.

"None of your business, little bro," he said, opening Mary's door. Mary gave Khara a little wave and a wink.

"See you guys later!" she called, rolling down her window and waving.

"Later, Mar!" Khara yelled. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"That doesn't leave me much!" Mary laughed as Donnie pulled that car out. She just missed being swatted by Khara as they pulled away. Mark cracked up.

"You guys are great!" he said, wiping his eyes. Khara glared at him.

"You be quiet," she scolded. Mark laughed again and grabbed her hand.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go for that walk." Khara grinned up at him.

"Yes," she said, squeezing his hand and pulling him forward. "Let's."

"So explain this to me again," John was saying, placing his dirty plate in the sink. "You guys were kidnapped?" Steph groaned and put her head in her hands and Micki laughed, putting her legs up on John's empty chair.

"Don't ask, John," she said with a giggle. "They don't want to talk about it."

"I'll talk about it," Joe volunteered, causing a chorus of groans. John moved back to the table and moved Micki's legs up a bit so he could sit under them. He rested his arms on her legs and rubbed her ankles softly as he talked.

"Go ahead, Joe, that's absolutely insane," he said, leaning back a bit.

"No, please don't tell the story," Steph moaned. "I don't want to hear it again."

"Well, come on, then honey," Jordan said, placing a hand on her arm. "I'm kind of getting tired." That brought a chuckle from Jen.

"Yeah, we were kind of tired last night, weren't we Joe?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"Oh, exhausted," he filled in. Steph glared at them both.

"Getting them together was like asking for a nuclear disaster," she mumbled, getting up. "Come on, J." Jordan stood with her and shot everyone else a wink as he let Steph lead him up the stairs. Joe let out a laugh.

"He's following her around like a lap dog!" he commented. Jen socked him in the arm.

"Yeah," she said. "Take some lessons!" Joe grabbed her wrists in defense.

"No way," he said with a grin. "I will not be tamed."

"Um, you guys?" Micki interrupted. "I think it's time for me to figure out where I'll be staying."

"Well, you can stay here, Micki," Joe said. John stood up.

"That's ok," he said, his voice full of authority. "She can stay with me. Is that OK, Micki?" What was she going to do? Say no to John Travolta?

"That's great," she said, trying not to show her excitement. "Let's get out of here."

"Tired?" Joe teased, getting himself quite the nasty look from Micki. John laughed.

"See you guys later," he said. "We'll call." With that, they left, opening the door to Khara and Mark. Micki explained her plans to Khara.

"Alright," Khara said. "I think Mark and I are both crashing at Donnie's." Mark nodded to back her up.

"Yeah, he just paged me, so we'll just head over there and rent some movies or something," he said.

"Ooh," Khara said. "Can we rent Boogie Nights?" Everyone laughed at that, even Mark.

"Exactly why do you want to see that, Khara?" Joe asked. Jen felt that she had to join in.

"Yeah, you know, it's fake," she commented. Mark shot her a look. Khara just shrugged.

"Hey, I liked that movie!" she defended. Mark draped an arm over her shoulder.

"Come on, sugar," he said. "We'll think of something." After the door closed behind them, Jen and Joe looked at each other and just started laughing.

"We've got some great friends," Joe laughed. Jen nodded.

"Yeah, we do," she said, folding her hands on the table. Joe stared straight into her eyes for about a minute before suddenly jumping up and pulling Jen to her feet, kissing her hard. He sighed and pulled away, hugging her tight.

"Finally alone," he said against her hair. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him, burying her face in his chest.

"I know," she said, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. "Now come on." She took his hand and led him to the kitchen. "I'll help you with the dishes." Joe groaned, but followed Jen anyway. At that point, he would follow her anywhere. He took after one of his former band members. Donnie was also following the object of his affection around like a puppy and Mary was loving every minute.

"Come on, Donnie," she said, coyly, tugging on his arm. "I want to see that lake you told me about." He sighed and smiled down at her. She was just so cute.

"Mary, we have to wait for Mark and Khara to get here," he told her. "Noone else is home and the shithead doesn't have a key." Mary sighed and dropped onto the couch.

"Alright," she said, boldly patting the seat next to her. "What should we do in the meantime?" Donnie grinned and sat down, pulling her to him so her face was less than an inch from his own.

"I don't know," he said against her mouth. "We'll think of something." Mary smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Yeah, we're pretty creative people," she whispered just before he kissed her. Donnie sighed when his mouth touched Mary. He couldn't believe how much he liked this girl after only two days. He ran his hands through his hair and positioned himself so that he was hovering over her, lowering her onto her back. Mary kissed him back with a passion that surprised her, running her hands up and down his back. Neither of them heard the front door opening until they heard Mark's loud voice.

"So, Khara, do you think we should go upstairs and give them some privacy?" he asked, loudly. Khara played right along.

"I think that's probably a good idea, Mark," she said, just as loudly. Needless to say, Donnie and Mary jumped at the sound of their voices, straightening their clothes.

"Um, hi guys," Donnie said brightly. Mary's face was turning a lovely shade of pink. "Feel free to use this room, we were just leaving, right, Mar?" Mark raised an eyebrow.

"It didn't look like you were leaving, D!" he pointed out. Khara nodded in argreement.

"Actually," Mary said, standing up. "Donnie was going to show me the lake, right, Donnie?" He smiled at her and took her hand, easing off of the couch.

"Yup," he said, putting a hand on her lower back. "We're outta here. You guys, feel free to do whatever, just don't..."

"D," Mark interrupted. "We're all adults here, just get out of here." Donnie smiled and opened the door.

"Don't have to tell me twice," he grinned before he closed the door behind him. Mark grinned at Khara.

"This is a crazy group we have here," he commented, plopping down on the couch.

"No kidding," Khara said, sitting next to him. "We're all crazy." Mark smiled and patted her knee.

"So, we have a ton of movies," he said. "It's your pick."

"I already told you what I want to see," Khara said, rubbing his leg. "Please." Mark laughed.

"OK, fine, but you owe me," he said. "I kind of know this movie by heart."

"I hope so," she said with a laugh as Mark got up to get the movie and put it in the VCR.

"Do you need anything before we watch?" he asked. Khara shook her head.

"Maybe just a blanket," she requested. He pulled one out from behind the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders, sitting next to her again.

"Mind if I share?" he asked, putting his arm around her shoulders. Khara has to stop herself from laughing at the question.

"Of course not," she said softly, snuggling up to him. The movie was a good one, but Khara and Mark didn't see much of it. They were too busy taking up where Mary and Donnie left off. There must have been some kind of romance bug in the water because it seemed that the entire group had caught it, even John, who had only known them all for a day. Looking over at Micki during their drive back to his hotel, he let visions of their afternoon in the studio run through his head. While they had been recording the song, she had just taken charge of everything, handling the equipment with an expertise that even he didn't have. It impressed the hell out of him and even he had to admit what a turn on it was. And she's staying in my room tonight, he thought to himself with a smile.

"What are you grinning about?" Micki asked, interrupting his X-rated thoughts.

"I was just thinking how lucky I am to have such a beautiful woman staying with me tonight," he said. Micki socked him in the arm.

"You're full of shit, Travolta," she said. "But I like it."

"Do you?" he asked, catching her eye. The heat in his eyes was obvious and Micki gulped. She knew exactly what was going on here. After all, she was going back to his hotel, but did she really want to sleep with him after just one day? A stab of guilt stung at her conscience, but when she looked over at John, it went away. Yes, she decided. She definitely wanted and needed this. He was simply beautiful. "Alright, here we are!" John announced, pulling his rented Firebird up to the front of the hotel. Micki stepped out the car and gasped at the beauty of the place. There was a fountain out front and pillars surrounding the entrance. John gave his keys to the valet and held out his hand for Micki.

"This place is amazing," she said with a whistle. John tore his gaze away from her face to look around.

"Yeah," he observed. "It is nice, isn't it?" He obviously had stayed at many nice hotels in his day. "OK, come on," he said with a shrug. He led her throught the extravagant lobby to the elevator, where he had to show his key to get to the top floor. Micki was impressed.

"Cool, you got the penthouse?" she asked in amazement.

"Always the best," John said, reminding her of Pretty Woman. She just hoped that she didn't seem like the prostitute. Doubts were starting to fill her mind as he opened the door to his room. "Your palace, my lady," he said with a sweep of his arm. She smiled and stepped into the huge room.

"Wow," she muttered, looking around at the antique furniture, the glass door that led to the balcony, and especially to the door that led to the bedroom.

"Would you like something to drink?" John asked, heading over to the mini-bar. Micki nodded and sat down on the couch, watching as he poured them both a drink from a crystal flask. He handed hers to her and sat down. "Cheers," he said, clinking his glass with hers.

"Cheers," she said softly.

"To new beginnings," John continued, looking right into her eyes. She nodded and gulped, taking a sip of the thick liquid. It burned her throat, but was delicious nonetheless. Setting down his cup, John put a hand on her face, rubbing his thumb against her cheek. "You have beautiful eyes, Micki," he said, moving closer to her.

"You do too," she murmured, not even letting him close the space between them. She did it herself, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him to her for a deep, passionate kiss. He groaned softly and let all of the thoughts of his soon-to-be-ex wife out of his mind, wrapping an arm around Micki's waist and drawing her closer to him. Before long, he was laying on top of her, kissing her with a wild abandon that he had never felt before. He tore himself away from her to look her in the eye.

"Micki," he growled. "It's up to you how far we take this. If we don't stop soon, I won't be able to." Micki looked up into his gorgeous blue eyes.

"We just met," she said, fighting her own wants. "But...."

"But?" he encouraged.

"I want you," she whispered. He groaned again.

"I want you, too," he said. "Let's just forget about morals and right and wrong, Micki. Let's do what we want, what we feel." She nodded.

"Carpe Diem," she said, kissing his neck. "Make love to me, John." He got up and lifted her against his chest, carrying her into the bedroom and lowering her to the bed. (Note from author: the next scene is taken from the book Sweet Chance by Carole Howey. Micki, I told you I would do it! Oh, some of it has been edited to fit this story. Thank you.) A brief, lopsided grin skipped across his features like a child at play. She pulled him down but he did not kiss her. Instead he pressed his cheek against hers. The soft, prickly rub of his unshaven cheek against her own was the only pillow she ever wanted. He pulled away again. He was inches above her, sitting on the edge of the bed. His lips moved once before a sound issued forth.

"I want you, Micki," he murmured, his tone low and melodious like a seasoned guitar. His lips found hers and this time they remained longer, tasting and tugging. "My God, woman, how I want you!" The gentleness of his words and his mouth became urgency as he pulled at the dress buttons. Those that did not yield immediately popped aside, as did the buttons of his ill-fitting shirt when she slid her hands along the hard flesh of his shoulders and chest. Micki giggled and John swore and soon, after an eternity, they were both free of the last cumbersome barriers between them. He was in no hurry, after that. On top of her, John cherished the reality of her body beneath his, and he was eager to explore every aspect of her mouth with his own before turning his attention to other matters. His kisses were alternately urgent and teasing, as if he wanted to subject her to the sweetest of torments before satisfying her. When he had sufficiently plundered her mouth he devoted his attention to her throat and neck. Each enthusiastic nibble coaxed a small wimper from her throat. She clutched at his broad, warm back, savoring the weight of him upon her.

"Say my name." He scarcely spoke the words, but he was so close to her that she might easily have heard him think them. "Say it, Micki."

"John," she cried out as his fingers reached downward to the very bud of her womanhood (?).

"Again." He licked, then bit her earlobe.

"John," she moaned as her legs parted, admitting him. "John," she breathed with each thrust of his powerful, magnificent body. "John, John," she sobbed again and again as a blistering summer sun exploded deep within her, and his own body shuddered, and at last he lay still on top of her.

"Full house!" Steph declared, lying out her cards in front of her.

"What?" Jordan exclaimed, examining her cards. "No way, you must be cheating." Steph grinned and shook her head.

"Sorry, babe, lose the pants," she said with a grin. Strip poker was so much more fun to play with Jordan Knight.

"Whose idea was this anyway?" he grumbled, unbuttoning his pants and lowering his them to the ground. Steph shrugged.

"Does it matter?" she asked. "I'm having fun!" Jordan motioned to himself.

"That's cause you're fully clothed!" he complained. Jordan wasn't having a lot of luck in this game. He was down to only his boxers and all Steph had lost so far was a pair of socks. She chuckled.

"You are such a baby," she scolded. "Tell you what, if you win this next hand, I'll take off my shirt and my pants. Deal?" Jordan grinned.

"Hell yeah, it's a deal," he said. "I can feel it, this is going to be my lucky hand." Steph chuckled as she dealt the cards, catching his eye.

"Sure it is, honey," she comforted, taking a peek at her cards: Ace of hearts, 3 of clubs, 5 of hearts, Ace of spades, and a 9 of clubs. Steph kept the Aces and placed the other cards in front of her. Jordan studied his cards, carefully, his forehead wrinkling in concentration. He layed out one card with a sigh of defeat. Steph dealt the last hand and took a look. She had three Aces. Not bad, she thought, studying Jordan's expression. He didn't look happy.

"Alright, Poker Woman, what you got?" he asked. Steph smiled and layed out her cards.

"Three aces, what about you, Knight?" Jordan smiled so wide she thought his face was going to crack.

"A straight!" he whooped, laying out his cards and jumping around the room. She loved the view that gave her. "Alright, time to get undressed!" Steph smiled and held up her hands in defeat.

"OK, OK," she said. "Do you want to help me with this shirt, big boy?"

"Do I?" he muttered. "Well, duh." He crossed over to her, leaving the cards where they were and rubbing his hands down her sides, untucking her shirt and slowly lifting it away from her body. She sighed at the gentleness of his touch and completely forgot about their game. Jordan caught her eye and then lowered his gaze to her chest, letting his lips follow in pursuit as he kissed along her collarbone and then down to her breats, causing her to moan loudly. Jordan silently cursed her bra the instant before he removed it, settling down to ravish her with his mouth. Steph ran her hands up and down his back, clutching at him and wishing he'd just hurry up and take off her pants.

"So are we making up," she asked, clutching his head with both of her hands. He chuckled against the skin in between her breasts.

"I guess so," he said, reaching for her pants and removing with deft speed, which caused her to topple over onto the bed. She giggled and reached for him.

"Good," she said, removing his boxer shorts and giving herself a great view. "Nice," she murmured, not even realizing that she said it out loud. He chuckled and lowered his mouth to her stomach.

"I agree," he said, his hot mouth creating a trail down to her underwear. He began to remove them with his teeth, causing Steph to squirm under him. She had never been so turned on in her life. When he was done with his task, Jordan lowered his body on top of Steph, his face full of pride.

"You like that?" he asked, reminding her of a little kid. She smiled and ran her hands up and down his back and over his broad shoulders.

"Oh yeah," she said, bringing his face down to hers for a deep kiss. "We need to fight more often," she said against his mouth. "I like this making up stuff." Jordan shook his head.

"No, let's never fight again," he said. "This has been the worst day of my life, Steph, I can't go through it again. But, we can make up anyhow."

"I can live with that," she muttered, kissing him again. His response was that of a man in need, kissing her wildly and positioning himself to enter her. "I love you Jordan," she said, taking his face in her hands.

"I love you too, Steph," he replied, just before he took her completely, bringing her to the edge of passion.

"Wow," Mary said, in awe, stepping out of the car. "Donnie, this place is beautiful!" He grinned at her proudly.

"Isn't it though?" he asked. "I figured with all that's been going on, you could use a break." She nodded happily.

"Sure could," she murmured, following him to a path that led to the shimmering lake. There was no fake light anywhere, it was all made by the moon shining off of the huge lake. Donnie took her hand and entwined his fingers with her as they walked down the dirt path, which was aligned with huge pink blossoms and a plethora of green plants. Mary sighed and held her face up against the soft breeze that was blowing. Looking up, she realized that Donnie was watching her.

"What?" she asked, embarrassed. He shrugged.

"It's.....well....never mind," he said, looking away, as if Mary would just drop the subject.

"No," she prodded, poking him in the side. "What were you thinking about?"

"OK, OK," Donnie said, holding up his hands in defense. "It's just that the moon was kind of reflecting on your face and it looked really cool, that's all." Mary couldn't believe that it was Donnie Wahlberg talking. Where was the tough exterior that he always showed around other people?

"Um thanks?" Mary said questioningly. He squeezed her hand.

"It was a compliment, Mary," he said. "You're beautiful, don't you know that?" Mary was thankful for the dark because she was totally blushing.

"Well, you make me feel that way, Donnie," she said, honestly. She couldn't believe how she could totally open up to this guy. "Thank you." Now it was Donnie's turn to blush as they approached the edge of the lake.

"Hey, I call it like I see it," he said, looking her up and down appreciatively. "And honey, I can see it!" Mary giggled and sat down on a large rock.

"You aren't so bad yourself, Wahlberg," she teased. Looking at him in the moonlight, his blonde hair stuck out more than ever due to his all-black outfit. He couldn't have been more sexy.

"So," he said, plopping down next to her. The rock wasn't that big, so she attempted to scoot over without success. The entire side of her right body was pressed against the entire left side of his, but Mary definitely wasn't complaining. "Were you a New Kids fan?" Donnie asked suddenly. Mary looked up in surprise.

"Yeah, well...." she stammered. "Who wasn't?" Donnie laughed, making Mary feel totally at ease.

"Trust me, there were a lot," he said. "But you guys made it worth it. So, who was your favorite?" The blush was again creeping up Mary's face, making Donnie think some nasty thoughts. She just looked so cute when she was embarrassed like that.

"Well, you all were so great," she said, studying her nails all of the sudden. "How could I choose?"

"Oh come on, Mar," Donnie edged. "You all had favorites. It was so funny, it got to the point where we could all point girls out and we'd know who their favorites were. It was crazy."

"Well, you guys did all have the different personalities," she commented.

"I'm glad someone noticed," Donnie grinned. "But you're not getting out of this, who was your favorite?"

"Since you're so good at this game, Donald, why don't you tell me?"

"Ooh, Donald," Donnie faked fright. "Alright, Smarty, I'd nail you as a Joe fan. Am I wrong?" Mary's blush told him all that he wanted to know. "Woohoo!" Donnie whooped. "Told you so."

"Yeah, well," Mary muttered, suddenly noticing how close Donnie's face was.

"So have you changed your mind?" he asked softly. Mary nodded slightly just before Donnie's lips found her own for a deep kiss. When they pulled apart, he grinned and got up, pulling her with him. "Have you ever skipped stones?" he asked, picking one up and tossing it in the air. Mary shook her head.

"No, why are you the stone skipping expert?" she asked. Donnie looked down at the stone and then tossed it to the ground.

"Nah, Jordan's the one who's good at all the cheesy romantic shit," he said, taking her hand again. "I prefer action, ya know?" Mary was grateful for that. Mary giggled at her thought.

"Now what's so funny?" Donnie asked. Mary shook her head.

"Oh, nothing, Action Man," she teased. He moved to tickle her, but she quickly dodged his grasp, laughing lightly. Looking up at Donnie's face, Mary noticed a change in him, but before she had time to react, there was a hand gripping her arm.

"Alright, lady," a raspy voice said into her ear. "Give me all your money and move it." Donnie took a step, but the mugger tightened his grip on Mary.

"Don't move, Blondey," he threatened. "Or the lady gets it." Mary whispered.

"Please don't hurt me."

"Shut up and do as I say," the guy threatened blandly. Donnie's whole face was twisted in rage.

"Listen, buddy," he growled. "We've put up with too much shit today to let you ruin everything." And with that, Donnie's fist shot out so quickly that the mugger had no time to react. The fist caught him right in the temple and he fell over unconscious. Mary gasped and moved away from the guy into Donnie's arms. She was trembling so hard that Donnie had to hold her tightly to stop her from shaking.

"Shhh," he whispered in her ear. "Mary, it's over, you're OK." She looked up at him with tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Thanks to you," she said softly, bringing his face down to hers for a kiss of desperation. "Thank you," she whispered as they pulled apart. Donnie gave her another hug.

"I couldn't let that guy hurt you," he said into her ear. "Come on," he said, taking her hand. "Let's go home." Mary nodded and let him pull her back to the car. She didn't stop looking over her shoulder the entire way.

A loud knocking sound woke Jordan up the next morning. He groaned and tried to roll over, knocking into Steph as he did. He smiled, remembering the night before. It made him wonder if any of his friends had as good of a time as he had. The pounding on the door continued and Jordan snapped out of it, pulling himself out of bed to answer the door.

"This better be good," he mumbled, pulling it open. Jen and Joe were standing on the other side with two large paper bags and huge smiles.

"Morning, J!" Jen sang, pushing her way into his apartment and heading to the kitchen. Jordan watched her sleepily and then looked at Joe, who was shutting the door.

"What's up?" Joe asked. Jordan rubbed his eyes and plopped down onto the couch.

"Do you guys have a reason for waking me up?" he muttered, glaring at his happy friends.

"Nope!" Jen said. "Mind if I take charge in here? We brought breakfast." Jordan shook his head and turned his attention to Joe, raising an eyebrow. Joe shrugged.

"She wanted the four of us to have breakfast," Joe told his friend. "We haven't really spent any time together since the plane ride, ya know?"

"Yeah," Jordan said, lowering his voice. "So why are you two so happy?" Joe shrugged.

"It's a beautiful morning," he said. Jordan nodded.

"That it is," he said. "But why are you so happy?" He winked at Joe knowingly, bringing a laugh from him.

"Oh no!" Joe said, shaking his head. "I swear, J, Jen and did the dishes, had a little fun with the suds, and then went to sleep, that was it." Jordan raised his other eyebrow.

"That's it?" he inquired. Joe nodded.

"It was great, J, we just held each other all night. I've never...I mean, I've done that before, but I don't think I've ever appreciated it until now, ya know?" After Joe's little speech, Jordan started laughing. Joe looked hurt. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"I can't believe it," Jordan said, putting a hand on Joe's shoulders. "Little Joey Joe's finally found someone to whip him into shape. You're in love, my man."

"Don't call me that," Joe muttered. "And you're calling ME whipped? Look in the mirror, J!" Jordan grinned.

"And proud of it!" he declared, turning as Steph trudged into the room.

"Morning," she yawned, joining Jen in the kitchen.

"Whatup, bitch?" Jen used her typical greeting. Steph looked at her, confused.

"It's the morning and you're up?" she asked. "And smiling?" Jen nodded and poured her scrambled eggs into a pan.

"Don't expect it very often," she warned. The phone interrupted their conversation.

"Jen, will you grab that?" Jordan asked from the couch.

"Lazy bum," Jen muttered. "Knight's house of pleasure?" Steph giggled at her friend's way of answering the phone. "Yeah, hold on. J? It's for you."

"It is his house," Steph said with a laugh. She was awake. Jordan grabbed the phone from Jen.

"Hello?" he muttered. Listening for a minute, his eyes got wide. "Uh, could you hold on please? Jen, hang this up when I pick up, ok?" Without an explanation, he dissapeared into his room and shut the door. Jen listened for a minute and then hung up when she heard Jordan's voice.

"Who was it?" Steph asked worriedly. Jen shrugged.

"I don't know, Steph, I didn't exactly have a conversation with the woman." Steph gave her a look.

"It was a woman?" she asked. Jen laughed, looking over at Joe, who looked so cute in his jeans and blue button down shirt.

"Don't worry," she said. "I don't think Pamela Anderson could take J away from you now."

"How did you know he used to like her?" Joe wanted to know. The girls laughed, sharing a joke from their past.

"Never mind," Steph said through her giggles.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Jen filled in. By the time breakfast was ready and they were all ready to sit down, Jordan still hadn't returned from his room.

"I'll get him," Steph said, rising from her seat and slowly opening the door to Jordan's room. "J?" she said softly. She opened the door and entered, pushing it closed behind her. Jordan was sitting on the side of his bed with his elbows proppped on his knees and his head in his hands. The phone was on the hook. "Jordan?" Steph tried again. "Are you OK?" Jordan finally looked up and Steph actually saw tears in his eyes. "Oh my God," she said, rushing over to him. "What happened?"

"Steph.." Jordan started, but he couldn't finish his sentence. He collapsed against her, crying into her chest. Steph cradled Jordan to her, kissing the top of his head. She had never seen him this way and it worried her. All of the sudden, Jordan pulled away from her, moving to the other side of the room.

"Jordan," Steph said, shaking her head. She just wanted to understand.

"No!" Jordan cried, holding up his hands to keep her away. "Steph, you can't touch me!" Steph shook her head, but continued to move forward.

"Jordan, please," she said, touching his arm. He jerked away. "I just want to understand." The tears in Jordan's eyes started flowing again as he collapsed against the wall. He shook his head.

"Steph, I....I don't know how...I..." he tried to say.

"Jordan," she said, calmly. "Just tell me." Jordan nodded slightly and brushed his sleeve against his eyes.

"OK," he said, sliding against the wall to the floor. "Steph, that was this girl, Kimberly." Steph felt her heart skip a beat.

"And?" she encouraged.

"She was....she was this girl that I slept with a few years ago," he admitted. Steph didn't care about that. She knew Jordan had a past, she was just hoping that he didn't have a present other than her. "Steph...I can't even say it."

"Jordan," Steph crouched in front of him. "Yes you can. Tell me, what did she say?" Jordan looked her right in the eye, his mouth shaking.

"Steph, Kim just told me that she has AIDS. She's had it for 4 years now." Steph let her hands fall from Jordan's knees. She slowly backed away and sat on the bed, letting the news absorb into her for a few minutes.

"But, that means that...that..." she started. Jordan nodded.

"I could have it too, Steph," he said, calming a bit. Steph was starting to panic.

"And that means..." she said, her voice shaking.

"That you could have it," he said, softly. Without even thinking, Steph fell of the bed and crawled into Jordan's arms, clinging to him with a strength she didn't know she had.

"Weren't you ever tested?" she asked, her eyes already spilling over. Jordan arms tightened around her shoulders.

"No," he cried against her hair. "I thought that it couldn't happen to me, you know, that I was too strong. We used protection...."

"That doesn't matter!" Steph cried, interrupting him. "Damnit, Jordan, why didn't you ever get tested?!" She pulled away from him and rose to her feet. Jordan shook his head and looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry Steph," he said, softly. She placed a finger under his chin and lifted it to look at her.

"I'm sure you are," she said. "But we'll see how sorry you are when we go and get tested, Jordan." She started to cry again. "We'll see." With that, she ran out of the room, slamming the door as she did so. Joe and Jen jumped out of their seats in surprise. They were even more surprised when they saw Steph's face. Jen jumped up and rushed over to her friend, with only one thought on her mind. That asshole better not have hurt my best friend.

"What happened?" Jen asked worriedly. Steph just shook her head and tried to control herself. Jen looked over at Joe and just shrugged. She had no idea what to do.

"I'm going to check on Jordan," Joe mumbled. That caused Steph to look up.

"Joe?" she asked, shakily. He stopped in his tracks to look at her. "Will you tell Jordan that I'm sorry I got mad. I'm not angry with him, I swear...just tell him that." Joe nodded.

"I will, Steph," he said, softly opening the door to find Jordan. As soon as it closed, Jen turned to her shaking friend.

"What the fuck?" she asked simply. Steph glared at her in contempt.

"Don't worry about it," she mumbled. Jen grabbed her arm and pulled her to the couch. She didn't believe her for a second and Steph wasn't getting away with not telling her what was wrong.

"Steph," she said, honestly. "I've never seen you like this. Seriously, what can I do?" Steph looked right at Jen and shook her head, looking at the ground.

"Well," she began, feeling the tears start up again. "Jen, that was one of Jordan's ex-flings." Jen flung up her hands and stood up.

"I knew it!" she burst out. "That dick! He cheated on you, didn't he? I'll take that boys balls and..." Steph put a hand on her arm.

"Jen, he didn't cheat on me," she said, softly.

"Oh," Jen said, sitting back down and breathing a breath of relief. "So what did she say?"

"She has AIDS," Steph practically whispered. Jen's eyes got really wide.

"Come again?" she said. Steph sighed and looked up.

"She has AIDS," she said, calmly. "Which means that there's a possibility that when they were together, he got it too."

"Oh my God," Jen gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. "Steph, that means....that....you..." Steph nodded.

"That's right, Jen. I slept with him too." Jen shook her head, trying to understand. This shouldn't be happening to her friends.

"OK, wait, how long ago was this affair?" Jen had gotten up again and now she was pacing around the room.

"About four years," Steph replied. She had gotten out her pack of cigarettes and lit one up, not caring if Jordan's apartment was smoke-free or not. Jen sighed.

"Well, that's OK then, right? I mean, how long has she been diagnosed?"

"She found out a few months ago...." Steph started, taking a long drag.

"OK..."

"But that was her first test. She's been HIV positive for about five years," Steph finished.

"Fuck," Jen murmured, plopping down into a chair and drumming her nails against the chair. She grabbed her own cigarettes and quickly lit one, letting the information absorb. "OK," she said after five minutes. "Today, bitch. Today, we're going to go and get you guys tested. I mean, it's not definite."

"Well, no shit, bitch," Steph murmured. "But I think that Jordan and I need to talk about this."

"Fuck that," Jen snapped. "We're going today, no questions." She got up and grabbed a phone book off of Jordan's shelf. "Now, where should I look?" she asked, flipping through the pages. Steph sighed.

"Jen, I love you and all, but stop it." Jen looked up in confusion. "Jordan and I are going to talk this through and then we're going to make the appointment and then we're going to get ourselves tested. Alone." For a minute, Jen looked hurt, but then she composed herself and nodded.

"OK, I guess I understand that," she said, handing Steph the book. "But you'll go today?" She had tears welling up in her eyes at the thought of her friends in so much pain. Steph nodded, taking the book and looking towards Jordan's room.

"Yeah, today," she said. Jen wrapped her arms around her friend and gave her a tight hug.

"Just be careful," she whispered. "And let me know what happens." Steph nodded and hugged her back.

"I will," she said, pulling away. "Now will you get your man out of my man's room so I can talk to him?" Jen grinned through her tears.

"Joe!" she yelled. "Front and center!" After a moment, Joe poked his head out the door. His eyes were red as he looked at Jen in confusion.

"What?" he asked. Jen shot him a look.

"We're leaving," she informed him. He still looked baffled as he looked back at Jordan, shrugged, and then shut the door behind him.

"Wha..." he started to ask, but Jen held up her hand.

"No arguements," she said firmly. "I'll explain in the car, let's go." Joe tried one more time to get a word in, but one look at Steph and Jen's facial expressions made him change his mind.

"Alright," he mumbled, looking at Steph. Again, he tried to talk, but instead he just went over and gave her a hug. "We're here for you, Steph," he said into her hair. Steph squeezed him back, saying,

"Thanks, Joe. Really." Pulling away, she looked at her best friend. "You too, bitch." Jen smiled.

"OK, then," she said. "Call, ok?" Steph nodded and gave a little wave as the two left. As the door closed, Steph heard Joe say,

"Now what the hell...."

"What do you mean what the hell?" Jen inquired. Joe ran his hands through his thick, curly brown hair.

"I mean why the hell are we leaving, Jen? They need us!" Jen sighed and put a hand on his arm.

"No Joe," she said softly. "They need each other. We'd only make it worse." He still looked skeptical.

"I don't know," he mumbled, pulling a pack of Marlboros out of his pocket.

"Trust me, sugar," she relayed, holding out her own hand for a cigarette. Lighting it, Jen held up her cigarette and studied it, letting out a chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Joe asked, confused. Jen shrugged.

"I was just thinking that I've smoked more this week then I have since I started smoking," she observed.

"Yeah, it has been one hell of a week," Joe commented, looking her in the eye. "But it was worth it." Jen blushed, but met his gaze straight on.

"Yes, it was," she said softly. Joe ran his hand down Jen's arm and entwined her fingers with his. He took a long drag from his cigarette and looked longingly at the park that rested across the street from Jordan's complex.

"Come on," Joe said, pulling on Jen's hand. "Let's go for a walk, ok?" Jen smiled and let go of his hand, wrapping her arm through his. For some reason, she felt the sudden urge to be as close to Joe as possible. The reality of Steph and Jordan's situation was hitting her and it was hitting her hard.

"That sounds lovely, Mr. McIntyre," she said, trying to sound cheerful. It didn't fool Joe for a second as he guided her across the street to the very same lake that Mary and Donnie had been the night before. The couple remained silent until they had found a clear place to sit down by the lake. Joe hugged his knees to his chest and stared out over the shining lake, his mind clouded with thoughts of his two friends.

"So Steph told you everything?" he asked, breaking the peaceful silence. Jen leaned back on her palms and stretched her legs out in front of her.

"Yeah, she did," she said softly, closing her eyes to let the breeze fall lightly on her face. Joe nodded briefly, but didn't look at her. "What did Jordan say?" she asked.

"Well," Joe started. "He told me who it was on the phone and, Jen, I so remember her. As a matter of fact, I didn't even like this girl, but Jordan went ahead and slept with her anyway, no matter what I had to say about it."

"Wouldn't you have done the same thing?" Jen asked realistically. Joe thought about that for a minute before answering.

"Yeah, I suppose I would have," he said, thoughtfully. "Anyway, so he couldn't even tell me, Jen. The words just wouldn't come out of his mouth, I had to force it out of him." Joe shook his head and rested his chin on his arms. "AIDS," he muttered.

"Yeah, that's what Steph told me," Jen said, her bottom lip quivering. "I just can't believe it."

"She's taking it well considering," Joe observed. Jen nodded.

"Well, she is definitely the strongest person I know." After a few moments of silence, Jen just lost it. "Damnit!" she burst out. "This isn't supposed to happen to us, Joe, to our friends, you know?" Joe finally looked Jen in her teary eyes.

"Come here," he said, softly, holding out his arms and motioning to the space in front of him. Jen crawled in between his legs, leaning her back against his broad chest, letting Joe's arms totally envelop her. She clung to him like he was her only method of air. "It puts life into a whole new perspective, doesn't it?" he murmured against her hair. Jen grasped his arms and nodded, all of the sudden turning to face him.

"Joe," she started to say, but then changed her mind, grabbing the sides of his face with both hands and pulling him to her, placing a desperate kiss on his lips. They were both gasping for air when the kiss ended. Joe wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tightly.

"God, I love you, Jen," he whispered. "Is it wrong of me to be thankful that this isn't happening to you?" Yes, Jen thought. And that's why I feel so bad.

"No," she murmured against his neck. "It's natural, Joe. I think we're both in shock because I feel the same way about you." She stayed there for a minute before pulling back for some air. "Life is really short, isn't it?" she asked. Joe sighed and looked back out at the lake.

"It sure seems that way sometimes, doesn't it?" That was when Jen made her decision. She took his hands in hers and looked him in the eye.

"Joe," she said firmly. "When this is all over and Steph and Jordan get their results, I want us to go out on an actual date, ok?" He nodded and smiled a bit.

"Of course," he grinned. "I'll plan the most romantic evening you've ever had, don't you worry."

"Oh, I'm not," Jen told him. "And then, at the end of the night, I want you to make love to me." She said it so non-chalantly that Joe had to clear his ears to make sure that he heard her right.

"Say what?" he asked. Jen laughed.

"That sure wasn't the reaction I was expecting!" she said with a giggle. Joe's face remained serious.

"Jen, are you sure about this?" he said, worriedly. "I mean, what if we do it and then you regret your decision because it was made when you weren't thinking clearly." Jen shook her head.

"I AM thinking clearly, Joe," she said, softly. "And I want this. I just keep thinking that if we wait any longer, we might not get the chance..." Her voice caught in her throat as she tried to finish her sentence. Joe tightened his arms around her, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Oh, Jen," he murmured. "This will be the greatest night of both of our lives, sweetheart. I promise."

"I just want to love you," she said, moving her face back to his. "I DO love you." Joe groaned, but didn't say anything. Instead, he kissed her with an intensity that showed his feelings more than words ever could.

Jordan pulled away from Steph's mouth and held her to him as if he would never let go.

"What are we going to do?" he whispered into her hair. Steph wrapped her arms around his waist and sighed. She needed to be rational about this.

"OK," she stated, pulling away and walking towards the kitchen. "We're going to make the first appointment available and then...." She let her voice trail off.

"And then?" Jordan asked. Steph shrugged and flipped to the page in the Yellow Pages that she needed.

"And then I guess we'll see," she murmured, picking up the phone with shaky hands. "Yes, hi," she said into the phone. "Um, well....I need to make two appointments." She looked up and caught Jordan's eyes. No matter how strong she appeared, he knew Steph and the fear was right there in her eyes. "No, we need....um....an AIDS test. Yes. Oh, as soon as possible please. OK.....noon? Sure, that's fine....yes, there are two of us," she said impatiently. "OK....what were those numbers again? Thank you, we'll be there." She hung up the phone and put her elbows on the counter with her head in her hands. Jordan wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Let's get dressed," he said, looking at the numbers Steph had written down. "What are those for?" he asked, curiously. Steph sighed.

"The test is anonymous," she informed him. "They don't ask for names, they give us numbers." Jordan let out a breath of relief.

"Thank God," he said. "The last thing we need right now is for the media to get ahold of this." Steph completely agreed with him. It hadn't occured to her that if anyone found out about this, it would be public news. She just didn't look at him as a celebrity anymore. He was just her Jordan. It was around 11:40 when they were both ready to go. Jordan looked Steph right in the eye and held out his hand for her. She looked down and took it, gripping him so hard that he yelped. She smiled softly.

"OK," she said. "Now I'm ready." They were silent for the entire car ride, deep in their own thoughts. Steph had the paper with the numbers in her hands and she kept twisting it over and over again.

"Steph?" Jordan brought her out of her world. "We're there, sweetheart." Steph turned her teary eyes to him and nodded, fumbling with the door before she finally got it open. Walking to the door to the clinic, the couple held onto each other tightly. Jordan stopped her in front of it and put both of his hands on her shoulders.

"Steph," he said anxiously. "I just want you to know how sorry I am." She shook her head.

"Jordan," she started to say.

"No, Steph, please just let me leave it at that. If anything happened to you because of this..."

"I know," she said. "Let's just talk about this later, ok?" Seeing his face, she reached up to plant a kiss on his mouth. "I love you," she whispered, opening the door. He tried to smile as he walked through it.

"Right back atcha babe," he grinned. "The clinic was right on the outskirts of Boston and it wasn't all that friendly. The young woman at the counter looked up at the sound of the door's bell. Her eyes got really wide as she watched Jordan approach.

"Oh my God!" she said excitedly. "You're Jordan Knight!" Steph saw a flicker of impatience in Jordan's eyes.

"Jake, honey, what is she talking about?" Steph said, touching his arm. He shot her a grateful look.

"Oh, people ask me that all the time," he said, rolling his eyes at the girl. "Sorry to disappoint you." The girl looked as if she didn't believe them, but she shrugged anyway.

"You really do look like him," she said. "Anyway, I'm sorry, how can I help you guys?" That brought them back to reality and Steph had to lean on Jordan for support.

"We have an appointment," he said. The girl opened up a red binder.

"For?" she asked. Jordan shuffled his feet on the grey tile.

"An HIV test," he muttered, feeling Steph's grip on his arm tighten.

"Do you have your numbers?" the girl asked, her voice full of sympathy. Steph fumbled in her pocket and pulled out the twisted paper, giving it to the girl.

"OK," she said, checking the notebook. "Could you guys wait over there for a few minutes?" Jordan nodded and pulled Steph over to the green, plastic chairs sitting in the corner. The wait was only about five minutes, but during that time, Jordan must have picked up every magazine in the place to pretend to read. Steph just sat there, staring at nothing.

"You guys?" the girl called softly. "The doctor's ready for you."

"Both of us?" Jordan asked. She nodded. Jordan looked over at Steph and put a hand on her arm. "You ready?" he asked, softly.

"No," Steph replied, standing up. "Let's go."

The blood test only took about 15 minutes for Steph. After hearing the story, the doctor had wanted to talk to Jordan for a few minutes, so Steph went into the lobby to call Jen. With a band-aid wrapped securely around her right pointer-finger, she quickly dialed Joe's number, only to get the machine. Sighing, she tried Jen's pager.

"Bitch," she said into the voice mail. "We just got out of our tests, so you and Joe meet us at that restaraunt across from Axis in half an hour, ok?" She hung up and sat down to wait for Jordan.

"Fuck," Jen yelped all of the sudden, reaching for her pager. Joe looked at her in surprise.

"What?" he asked, kissing her shoulder. Jen pulled out the clear blue pager and examined it closely.

"It vibrates," she told him. He giggled.

"I don't wanna know what it does, Jen, dear," he told her with a grin.

"It's my voice mail," she announced, standing up. Joe groaned and stretched his legs out on both sides of Jen's legs. He reached up both hands to her, giving her a grin. She just looked at his hands. "You want some help, sugar?" she asked. Joe nodded and shook his hands. Shaking her head, Jen took hold of them, yanking Joe to his feet. Even then, she marveled at the shivers that shot through her body everytime they touched. When they reached the car, Joe opened the door and handed Jen his cellular phone.

"Convienence is a wonderful thing," he said, flipping it on.

"Gimme that," Jen teased, dialing her pager's number. Joe watched her face as she listened to the message, reaching out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Alright," she said, flipping the phone closed. "They're done with the test, let's go meet them for lunch." Joe's face lit up.

"Great!" he said, easing into the driver's side. "Where to?" Jen slammed her door and lit up a cigarette.

"Axis," she said, blowing a trail of smoke out the window. "And step on it."

Joe grinned and pressed his foot against the accelerator, making Jen fly against the seat. She grumbled under her breath about men and their driving while Joe laughed and turned onto the street that Axis was on. Seeing Jordan and Steph standing outside of the restaurant, Joe gave them a little wave as he went to park.

"There they are," Steph said with a sigh. Jordan squeezed her hand.

"Don't forget what we talked about in the car," he told her, running his thumb along her palm.

"I don't know, J," Steph commented, shaking her head. "That was just so long ago...."

"Quiet, you," he mumbled, nodding towards Jen and Joe. "There they are." THe first thing Steph noticed was the worry in Jen's eyes.

"How are you guys?" Jen asked, giving them both hugs. Joe caught Jordan's eye and rolled his eyes, causing his friend to laugh.

"Don't mind her," Joe grinned. "You know how emotional women are."

"Hey!" Steph said defensively. "I am not emotional."

"Whatever, bitch," Jen said, shooting Joe a death look. "And what's so bad about being emotional?" Joe shrugged, keeping the sarcastic grin plastered on his face.

"Nothing," Jordan said, taking Jen's arm. He gave her a wink. "I like emotional women."

"Well then," Jen giggled. "Looks like we're paired up wrong." She let Jordan escort her into the restaurant with Joe and Steph watching after them.

"Ass backwards," Steph mumbled, taking Joe's offered arm and following the two inside.

"We'll show em," he whispered to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. Out loud, he said, "So, Steph, since these two have gotten so chummy, maybe we should just ditch em and head back to my place, if ya know what I mean." Steph giggled, enjoying herself for the first time all day.

"Joey!" she cooed in an extremely exaggerated voice. "That sounds like a great plan!" Needless to say, Jen and Jordan weren't laughing anymore. They had just put in their names when they heard their obnoxious counterparts behind them.

"Alright Joe," Jen scoffed. "If you prefer blondes..." Joe looked down at Steph and sighed.

"Sorry, Steph," he said with a shrug. "I'm afraid I prefer brunettes." Hearing that, Jordan didn't need anymore encouragement to add his own two cents.

"Really, Joe?" he asked in his best feminine voice. He moved away from Jen to drape an arm over his surprised friend's shoulder. "You know, I'm a brunette," he continued, flipping his hand in front of him and grinning brightly.

"You gonna swing on my vine, J?" Joe asked, shooting his friend a wicked grin. That made both girls groan and cover their ears.

"I don't wanna know!" they both groaned. Grinning widely, Jordan turned his back to Joe while Joe slapped Jordan's side, saying,

"Who's your daddy?!" Steph squealed and sat down in a chair, curling into a ball. Jen, on the other hand, got in the fun.

"Can I be in the middle?" she asked, coyly, getting very odd looks not only from the guys, but from the other restaurant-goers as well. She went right up behind Joe.

"Have you ever seen Mallrats?" she asked. Jordan started laughing, knowing what was coming, but Joe just looked puzzled. Jen slapped Joe's ass and said,

"Who's your favorite New Kid?? Come on, call me Joey...yeah, call me Donnie," quoting the movie exactly. By that time, they were all in hysterics, so Steph was the only one who noticed their names being called.

"Guys?" she said. "Our table's ready."

"Now you know what would be great, Joe?" Jordan asked, putting a hand on Steph's shoulder and following her to the table.

"What's that?" Joe asked, pulling out a chair for Jen and then sitting in his own. Jordan didn't say anything, he just shot Joe a look with his eyes and Joe busted up, leaving both girls in the dark.

"Yeah?" Jordan asked.

"Hell yeah!" Joe commented. "Girls, we think it'd be great if the two of YOU...ya know..."

"Stop!" Jen interrupted him. "Don't go there, Steph will start yelling and this is a nice place." It was, too. The restaurant had dim lights and a fireplace, with windows lining one wall completely, overlooking a garden.

"Come on, Steph," Jordan said, trying to keep a straight face. "Just a few pictures?" After that, even Steph couldn't keep a straight face.

"Sorry, J," she said, catching Jen's eye.

"Yeah, boys, we only do video, sorry," Jen filled in with a laugh. Joe's face lit up so much that both girls busted out laughing.

"I have to pee," Steph said, wiping the tears out of her eyes. She started to get up, but her shoes slipped and she almost ended up on her ass. It was a good thing that Jordan had quick reflexes.

"You alright?" he asked, holding her up. He didn't get to hear her answer because Jen was laughing so loud.

"Bitch," she said, attempting control. "Maybe you should get new shoes!" Steph shot her a look before shaking away from Jordan and heading to the bathroom. On her way, she heard Jen say,

"Oh, no, I'm all alone with two gorgeous men. What am I to do?" It was so faked that Steph had to chuckle as she pushed open the door to the bathroom. She stopped by the sink and splashed her face with water, putting both palms on the counter and staring at herself in the mirror. It had felt good to laugh, but it wasn't making her forget about the test results. She didn't like to show her emotions, especially if that emotion was fear, but she had to admit to herself how scared she really was. The results of these tests would decide the rest of her life for her. Plus, even if she wasn't HIV positive, what if Jordan was? She loved him too much to let him go. Sighing, she slapped the top of the counter and studied the sink, trying to get back into the happy mode she was in just minutes before. Heading back to the table, she noticed her friends still laughing and having a great time. Jordan jumped up to pull her seat out for her and caught her eye as he did so. He noticed that her worry and fear was back and knew that he had to get her out of there as soon as possible.

"Oh, I know!" Jen was saying. "That one part, `How many assholes we got on this ship anyhow?? YO! I knew it, I'm surrounded by assholes...' CLASSIC!" Joe laughed so hard that he snorted, causing Jordan and Steph to grin.

"Dude, what a flick!" Joe commented, referring to the movie Jen was quoting, Spaceballs. Steph groaned. She was used to Jen quoting from her many favorite movies and unfortunately for Steph, Jen liked Mel Brooks. "Keep firing assholes!" Joe added, finishing the quote for her. What a perfect match, Steph thought bitterly. Looking at Jordan, who looked about as annoyed as she was, she realized what a match they were, too. So why is this happening? she couldn't help thinking. Jordan looked over at her at that moment, his eyes saying the same thing. He nodded, showing that he understood her need to get out of there.

"You guys?" he said, softly, only to go unnoticed.

"That's all we needed," Jen continued, excitedly. "A Druish princess!"

"You guys?!" Steph yelled, bringing three pairs of surprised eyes her way. She stared right back. "Jordan was trying to talk," she stated simply.

"Thanks, Steph," Jordan said, squeezing her hand. "OK, you guys, now this is fun and all, but..."

"Oh you guys, I'm so sorry," Jen said, jumping the gun as usual. "I thought if we could make you laugh..."

"Jen," Jordan interrupted. "Thank you, it did help to laugh, but I think that Steph and I need to wait this out alone."

"When do you find out?" Joe asked softly.

"They're going to page me tomorrow." Jordan shot a look at Steph before continuing. "And until then Steph and I will be at the Marriott downtown, ok?" Jen started to say something, but Joe placed a hand on her knee to stop her.

"OK," Joe said, nodding. "If you need us, you know where to find us, ok?" Jordan smiled at his friend.

"Yeah, we do," he said. "Thanks."

"And," Joe continued. "You guys will call us the second you find out." Steph nodded.

"Hey Jen?" she asked. "Can I talk to you?" Jen nodded.

"Bathroom?" she assumed. Steph nodded and led the way. When they got there, Steph turned to her friend.

"Look," she said. "Do me a favor, ok? I don't want everybody to know about this until we know, but I think that you should tell the girls. Just tell them not to tell the guys, ok?" Jen frowned.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Steph nodded.

"Yeah, Mary, Micki, and Khara have the right to know," she said.

"Alright," Jen said, giving her friend a hug. "You guys go and please call me the second you know, ok Steph?"

"OK," Steph mumbled, opening the bathroom door. On their way back, the guys were just finishing their conversation.

"So you won't tell the girls, Joe? Just the guys?" Jordan said.

"Just the guys," Joe confirmed, making an X on his chest for effect.

"Good," Jordan said, with a nod, rising to greet Steph. "You ready?" he asked, pulling out his wallet. Steph nodded and looked over at Joe, who was also taking out his wallet.

"J," Joe said firmly. "It's on me."

"You sure?" Jordan asked. Joe smirked.

"Yeah, I think I can cover it. It's the least I can do," he added.

"Alright," Jordan said, taking Steph's hand. "We're out of here then." Steph and Jen exchanged a look as did Jordan and Joe. As they left, Jen watched her friend's retreating back and clung to Joe's arm.

"I hope they'll be OK," she murmured. Joe kissed the top of her head as he pulled her out of the restauraunt.

"They'll be fine, Jen," he said confidently. "They're both strong, just remember that they have each other."

"Yeah, but if they didn't have each other, than this wouldn't have happened," Jen scoffed, yanking open the car door. She got into the passenger seat and leaned back, folding her arms across her chest, a frown stuck on her face. Joe touched her cheek from his spot in the driver's seat.

"But then I might not have you," he said, softly. Looking into his caring blue eyes, Jen found she couldn't be bitter.

"You're right," she whispered, leaning over to place a chaste kiss on his lips. "Oh, before I forget," she continued. "Do me a favor and don't tell the guys about this, ok?" Joe pulled out of the parking lot and headed for his house.

"Um, I can't promise you that," he said, lighting up a cigarette. Jen raised her eyebrows (I can't raise one!).

"Why not? I told Steph that I wouldn't tell Donnie, Mark, or John."

"Well, Jordan told me to tell them," Joe told her. "He just asked me not to tell Micki, Mary, or Khara." Jen couldn't help laughing.

"Great!" she said. "Steph told me to tell the girls!" Joe chuckled.

"Well then, my dear, we did not have this conversation," he repied.

"Deal! Hey, look!" Jen exclaimed, pointing toward Joe's driveway. Waiting for them on the grass were the other six members of their crew. They were having some kind of a wrestling fight. Mary was tossed over Donnie's shoulder like a sack and he was running around, chasing Mark, who was trying to shove Khara in front of him in protection. John and Micki were sitting under a tree, talking softly. Joe honked the horn, parking his car in the driveway.

"It's about damn time!" they heard Donnie yell, dropping Mary to the grass. She yelped in mock pain and grabbed his leg, causing him to trip.

"Ack!" he yelped, tumbling on top of her, laughing.

"Get off of me, you oager!" Mary giggled, pushing him off and hurrying over to Jen and Joe, who were standing by the car watching them in confusion. She gave them both a hug.

"Where have you guys been?" she asked with wide eyes, yelping as Donnie snuck up behind her and tickled her sides. Jen exchanged a look with Joe.

"Um, we've been around," Jen said. They headed over to where the others were still messing around.

"Where are Jordan and Steph?" Khara asked, looking up at them. Joe groaned.

"Don't ask," he said, earning himself a smack on the arm from Jen.

"They're spending the night at a resort," she said, truthfully.

"Why?" Mark asked, wrapping his arms around Khara's waist. Jen couldn't help but notice the the six had been having a great day.

"Well, they wanted some time alone, if ya know what I'm sayin," Jen grinned with a wink.

"Ahh..." Mark said with a nod.

"Micki!" Jen called, waving at her friend. Micki looked up from her conversation to notice Jen and Joe for the first time. She waved.

"Hey you guys!" she called, not moving from her spot. Jen shot her a look that clearly said that they had to talk later. Micki smiled and nodded, turning back to John.

"Mark, come here," Khara said suddenly, lying down in the grass by the tree, facedown.

"What?" he asked, looking at her in confusion. Khara put her head in her hands.

"I need a masage," she mumbled. Mark shrugged at the rest of them before joinging Khara on the grass, leaving Donnie, Mary, Joe, and Jen looking at each other. Donnie was still in a playful mood.

"Joe," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Remember what we used to do in the old days when we had two gorgeous girls around us?" Exchanging a look with Mary, Jen made a face.

"Guys, I so don't want to know!" she said, giggling.

"Yeah," Mary filled in. "But you can call us gorgeous as much as you want." Joe was still confused.

"D, I don't remem...oh YEAH!!" he said, his eyes lighting up suddenly. Mary noticed the way Jen was looking at Joe. Man, has she got it bad, Mary thought. Jen couldn't help it, Joe looked like he was a little kid again. He grinned at Jen as Donnie grinned at Mary. Both girls started backing away slowly.

"Uh, you guys?" Mary questioned. Donnie gave her an evil grin.

"Ready Joe?" he asked, crouching down. Joe nodded and also took position.

"You guys?" Jen asked, backing up further.

"Set?" Donnie continued.

"Shit," Mary said as Donnie yelled,

"Go!" The girls didn't even have time to run as the guys tackled them grabbing them around the waist, lifting them up, and somehow maneuvering them onto their shoulders. Jen eeped and grabbed onto Joe's head, trying to maintain her balance. She noticed Mary doing the same thing, her feet digging into Donnie's sides.

"Just don't turn around," Jen said shakily, noticing exactly how her legs were positioned around his head. Joe grinned.

"You sure?" he teased. Jen opened her mouth to say something, but Joe started to run toward Donnie, causing Jen to grab on tightly and close her eyes. Looking at Mary, she realized exactly what the guys had in mind and she grinned.

"Chicken fight!" Donnie yelled. Both girls squealed as the guys raced towards each other, howling like banshees.

"Mary!" Jen yelled, trying to maintain her balance by grabbing onto her friend. "You're going down girl!" Joe grinned listening to Jen and Mary's banter.

"That's my girl!" he called, growling at Donnie.

"Come on, Mar!" Donnie called. "Let's show them who's going down!" Mary grinned at Jen and then lunged at her. Jen fought back and the two girls wrestled around for quite a while with the guys trying to make sure they didn't kill themselves. The others soon got in on the action and crowded around, rooting them on.

"Alright, Mar!" Khara yelled.

"Jen, kick her ass!" called Mark. John just shook his head and chuckled.

"You guys are quite amusing," he commented. Micki giggled.

"I don't know who to cheer for!" she said with a grin. Jen let out a yelp as she lost her balance.

"Shit!" she yelled, tumbling off of Joe's shoulders. He was ready for her and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Alright!" Donnie yelled, pumping his fists in the air. "That's my girl!" He lowered Mary to the ground and kissed her soundly. "You make me proud!" Mary was still dazed from the kiss and the fact that Donnie had just called her "his girl". She shrugged.

"Hey, don't mess with me," she said with a grin.

"You guys," Jen interrupted. "What do you say about having a girls night out? Just us girls!"

"Cool," Khara said.

"Right on," Micki added.

"Well, sure!" Mary smiled. Donnie grabbed Mary by the waist.

"No way!" he said. "I ain't letting you go anywhere!" Joe patted Donnie on the shoulder.

"You can live without her for a few hours, D," he said. "We'll have a guys night." Mark still looked skeptical.

"A guys night?" he asked, laying his head on Khara's shoulder.

"Sure!" Joe grinned. "You know, we'll watch sports, drink beer, and belch a lot!"

"Good," Jen said, punching him in the arm. "Wait until we're gone."

"Well, alright," Donnie said. "I haven't been able to talk to you guys in a while anyway. Too bad Jordan's not here." Jen and Joe exchanged that look again. Micki noticed that they did that everything Steph and Jordan were mentioned. She made a mental note to ask Jen about it.

"John? You in?" Mark asked, turning to his fellow actor. John grinned.

"I wish I was, but I've got to look over this script that was just sent to me by tomorrow," he said. "You guys drink some beer for me, ok?"

"No problem!" Joe said, rubbing his toned stomach.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" Micki asked him. He smiled and kissed her head.

"Of course you will. See you guys!" Micki watched John as he left, smiling the whole time.

"Micki, we so have to talk," Jen commented.

"Hell yeah," was her friend's reply. Jen grinned.

"Well, girls, let's go chat about what we're doing. I've got a great idea! Joe, honey, can I borrow your car?" Joe groaned.

"Not with the way you drive!" he chuckled. At the look she shot him, he sighed and handed her his keys. "Be careful," he warned, following Donnie and Mark into the house. She blew him a kiss and turned back to the girls.

"So what did you guys do all day?" she wanted to know. Micki shrugged.

"We hung out," she said. "It was fun." Jen grinned at her friend.

"I'll bet," she said.

"Man, Jen, how can we even thank you for bringing us here?" Khara said, smiling. "Mark is so hot!"

"And his brother ain't so bad either," Mary added. "So what's your briliant idea, Jen?" Jen grinned and brought her friends in closer, resting her arms on Micki and Mary's shoulders.

"Have you guys ever been to a strip club?" she asked with an evil grin. Micki and Khara both got huge grins on their faces. Mary, on the other hand, turned bright red.

"A what?" she asked.

"Shit!" Khara exclaimed. "That's a great idea! Think Mark'll perform for us?" A chorus of giggles followed her question.

"Well," Mary considered. "Donnie does have a great body..."

"Guys," Micki cut in. "I think the idea here is to get away from the guys."

"Thank you, Micki," Jen said exasperatingly. "Come on, we can live without them for a few hours! It's like a girls' night out, ya know?"

"Without Steph?" Mary asked, worriedly. Jen looked at the ground.

"I'll explain the whole Steph story in the car," she said. "Steph wanted me to tell you guys." They all nodded curiously.

"OK, then, let's go find the nearest Chippendales!" Micki announced, heading for the house.

"Joe!" Jen yelled, opening the door. She was followed by the girls, who were all grinning mischeviously. Joe looked up from his perch on the counter. He was taking drink orders from the guys while Donnie was shuffling a pack of cards and setting up a round table to be a poker table.

"Yes?" Joe asked, the girls curiously.

"Sweetheart," Jen said sweetly. "Could I use a phonebook please?" Joe raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know why you're acting like that for a phonebook, but it's over there," he said, pointing at the sink. Micki pulled out a drawer under the sink and yanked out the big yellow book, immediately diving into it. Pretty soon, all four girls were crowded around the Yellow Pages, giggling and pointing.

"Why am I jealous of a fucking phonebook?" Mark wanted to know. Donnie chuckled.

"I hear ya, bro," he said, also wondering what the girls were up to. He began to arrange the chips into three different-colored rows. When he was done, he regarded his work carefully before turning back to the girls.

"So what are you guys doing?" he asked curiously. The girls didn't pay attention to a word Donnie was saying. They were too busy trying to figure out were this place was without revealing what it was.

"Guys, where is 3454 East Carter Street?" Mary asked, studying the phonebook. Joe and Donnie shrugged and Joe actually tried to grab the book, but Micki held onto it and shot him a look of death.

"No touch," she announced, clutching it to her. A burst of laughter caused Micki and Joe to look up from their fight over his phonebook. Looking over at the table, they saw Mark practically doubled over with laughter.

"Carter Street?" he asked, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Oh man, you girls are funny, yo..."

"What?" Donnie wanted to know. Khara moved to sit on Mark's lap, warning him with her eyes to keep her mouth shut.

"Here," she said, handing him a piece of paper and a pen. "If you know how to get there so well, then write out directions, ok, sweetie?" He took the pen shakily, still controlling his laughter.

"Sure, girls," he chuckled. "I'll give you directions to the male strip joint." At that announcement, Donnie and Joe's heads both shot up.

"Are you serious?" Donnie, choked, putting a hand over his face to control the smile that was forming. "Oh that's funny."

"Funny?" Mary asked, pouting. "Why is it funny?"

"Nothing, sweetie," Donnie said, planting a kiss on her head. "You'll be thinking of me, though, right?"

"Of course," Mary said, giving him a squeeze.

"Cool then," Donnie said, sitting down at the table and pulling out a cigarette. "Let's get this game on the road."

"Now wait a second," Joe interrupted, still in shock. He glanced at Jen. "You're not going to some sleazy strip club!" Jen crossed her arms across her chest and met Joe's gaze straight-on.

"I'm not? And why is that?" she asked firmly.

"Well, because you're not," Joe stated. Mark and Donnie rolled their eyes at each other, knowing that there was no way Joe was going to win this battle.

"OK," Jen said. Everyone looked up in surprise.

"OK?" Khara asked.

"OK?" Mary echoed.

"Are you smoking crack?" Micki filled in. Jen smiled at them all.

"OK," she said. "But you can't watch Baywatch anymore, Joe." Joe chuckled.

"Oh really?" he asked. "You're telling me what I can watch now?"

"Well," Jen reasoned. "You're telling me where I can go, aren't you?"

"Good point," Mark muttered, bringing a death look from Joe.

"I don't want you to go," Joe said, winding down. He knew he was losing.

"Well, I don't want you to watch that stupid show," Jen argued back. Joe sighed and pulled out a chair, flipping it around and straddling it.

"OK," he said with a nod. "Don't forget to write. Bring me back one of those cool little umbrella things." Jen giggled and turned to the girls.

"Ready to go?" she asked, picking up Joe's keys. Micki grinned and wound her arm through Jen's.

"Hell yeah, let's go," she said, looking back at Mary. "Mar? Let's go."

"Right on," Khara said, opening the door. "Let's blow this joint."

"Shouldn't we say goodbye to the boys?" Mary asked, softly.

"Bye boys!" they all chorused as they shut the door behind them.

"Where did you find these girls anyway, Joe?" Mark asked with a laugh. Joe shook his head, his eyes still on the closed door.

"Beats me," he muttered, smiling proudly.

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

"Could we have found more stupid hotel people?" Steph groaned, collapsing onto the couch that came with their suite. Jordan dropped their luggage in the hall and joined her, propping his legs up on the coffee table.

"No kidding," he muttered. "Maybe they should get employees who speak English." He streched and wrapped his arms around Steph's shoulders, pulling her to his side. She sighed and curled up against him, closing her eyes.

"How much longer?" she asked with a sigh.

"About 13 hours and 42 minutes," Jordan replied. Steph grinned and snuggled closer to him.

"But who's counting, right?" she murmured into his chest. He chuckled.

"Right," he said, kissing her head. She buried her head into his chest and just let herself be comforted by the sound of his heart beating. After a while, he whispered,

"Steph?" She looked up at him, meeting his gaze.

"Hm?" she mumbled, not able to tear herself away from his gaze.

"Are you OK?" he asked, softly. She nodded and closed her eyes and Jordan stroked the side of her face with his thumb. "Steph..." he started to say, trying to find the words to tell her how sorry he was.

"No," she said, placing a finger over his mouth and replacing it with her own mouth, kissing him desperately. Jordan was a little surprised at Steph's boldness, but he didn't mind at all.

"Wow," he said against her mouth. "I thought I'd be making the first move." Steph just smiled and took hold on the front of his shirt, bringing him closer to her for another deep kiss. He lowered her onto the couch and moved so that he was covering her, kissing her neck and throat in the process. Steph sighed and ran her hands up and down his back, moving the shirt material over his back. Jordan moved up just for a moment to allow Steph to remove his shirt before he came back to her in a tangle of arms and lips. Her leg moved up his provocatively and he sighed in response, moving her shirt up to reveal her bra. He lowered it and started kissing her breasts, bringing a tiny moan from her throat. She wrapped her hands in his hair and looked up at the ceiling, watching the fan go around and around. Her thoughts strayed to Kimberly and Jordan, which led to the two of them in bed, which led to the HIV virus.

"Stop!" she said, suddenly, sitting up and almost causing Jordan to fall off the couch. His face was flushed as he looked at her in confusion.

"What?" he asked, bringing his palm to her cheek. Steph felt tears come to her eyes again and she cursed them, standing up and grabbing her cigarettes off the table. She adjusted her shirt and looked back at Jordan, who was only wearing pants and looked so vulnerable in the moonlight, which was the only light shining into the room from the glass door leading to the balcony. Sighing, she shook her head, breaking eye contact.

"I can't do this," she said, softly, heading for the balcony door and fumbling with the lock until it opened. Steph let the breeze fall onto her face as she stepped onto the balcony, looking down at the city. They had gotten the 12th floor for that reason. It was a great view. Jordan watched Steph as she lit up her second cigarette and stared out at the city. He put his head in his hands and ran his hands through his hair, biting down on his knuckles. His eyes never left Steph's back. He wanted to go to her, but he knew that it'd be best to leave her with her thoughts. It wasn't until he saw a shiver run down her back that he finally got up and grabbed his jacket off the chair, following her onto the balcony. Closing the door, he wrapped the jacket over her shoulder, hoping she would look at him. She wrapped the jacket around her tightly and breathed in Jordan's scent, but still didn't look at him.

"I'm sorry, Jordan," she whispered finally. He took that as a good sign and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Why are you sorry?" he asked, looking out at the city. She looked at him finally in confusion.

"Well....because we're not...I mean, I won't..."

"Steph," Jordan interrupted. "I understand, honey." She wiped away a tear.

"You do?" she asked. He nodded, not seeing how he couldn't understand. He should never have even expected Steph to be with him after this whole ordeal.

"I just kept thinking about Kimberly and you....and the two of you together..." she murmured, shaking her head. Jordan sighed and ran his right hand through his hair.

"Me too," he said. "I was hoping you would help me forget it."

"I can't," she said, looking back out at the lights. Jordan agreed.

"No, you can't," he said. Noticing her expression, he smiled. "No, Steph, I didn't mean that you can't help me forget her, I meant that noone can help me forget about the test until tomorrow. Not even you."

"Oh, well, that I can understand," Steph said. Jordan was starting to notice the cold and he wrapped his arms around his bare chest, shivering slightly. Steph tossed her cigarette over the side and took his hand. "Come on," she said, pulling him into the room. "Can we just go to bed?" Jordan, grateful for the warmth of the room, followed her and nodded.

"Sure, honey," he said with a yawn. "Do you want me to sleep out here on the couch?" Steph's grip on his hand tightened.

"Hell no!" she said, smiling for the first time since they got there. She led him into the bedroom and watched as he pulled off his pants to get ready for bed. She wished she could appreciate the view of Jordan Knight in just boxers a bit more, but she just rifled through her bag until she found her silk pajamas. Without looking at Jordan, she changed out of her clothes and into the comfort of the silk. She might not have been looking at him, but he was sure looking at her and he was enjoying the view he was getting watching her change.

"Steph, are you sure you don't want me to go sleep on the couch?" he asked, giving her one final chance. She shook her head.

"No," she said, crawling into bed beside him. "I want you to hold me, Jordan. Please." Cradling her to him, Jordan kissed the top of her head and rested his chin on the spot that he has kissed.

"With pleasure," he whispered. "You just try to get some sleep." The crying had really worn Steph out and she was asleep within minutes. Watching her, Jordan vowed that he wouldn't let anything happen to her, even if it was a fatal disease.

******

"No way!" Joe argued, studying the cards that Mark had layed out in front of him.

"Way, Joey, my boy," Mark said with a triumphant grin. "Read em and weep, full house!" He started scooping up the pile of chips, holding his cigar in between his teeth.

"I still think you Wahlbergs cheat," Joe muttered, getting up to open the refrigerator. "You guys want anything?" he asked, poking his head in and pulling a beer out from the side.

"Sure," they both mumbled. Donnie punctuated his "sure" with a loud belch, which caused Joe to chuckle.

"Can't do that around the ladies," he commented, bringing the three beers back to the table.

"YOU can't," Mark said, popping open his bottle. He took a swig and wiped the side of his mouth, also letting out a burp. "I do what I want when I want."

"Not if you want to get any," Donnie said with a laugh. Joe raised his bottle to Donnie to clink bottles with him.

"Amen, brother," he said, taking a long gulp of the cold liquid. He realized how long it had been since he had had a good beer and he sighed in pleasure. Mark scowled at them.

"Hey, I'm not having a problem in that department," he argued. Donnie laughed and started dealing the next hand.

"No you're not," he said. "And Khara's a nice girl, Mark." Mark looked hurt.

"I know, D," he said, picking up his cards. "I really like her."

"Really?" Joe asked. "Cause if Khara gets hurt, you know it's somehow gonna end up being my fault."

"True, Joe my boy," Donnie said, patting him on the shoulder. Joe scowled.

"You trying to see my cards, D?" he asked, burying his face in them. Donnie chuckled.

"Joe, how about I show you my cards, huh? You'd still lose!" Joe muttered something under his breath that neither of them understood, but Mark laughed anyway.

"So, D," Joe said, changing the subject. "What's up with you and Mary?" Donnie shrugged and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

"What do you mean?" he asked, barely hiding his grin.

"Come on, D, you're always the first to spill the dirt," his brother said. Donnie shrugged.

"Yeah, but this one's different," he said, laying down two cards. Joe and Mark both looked confused. "What?" he asked. "I just don't want to talk about Mary that way, that's all."

"Oh my God," Mark said, grinning at Joe. "It's about time!"

"Really," Joe agreed.

"What?" Donnie asked.

"You love this girl, D," Mark said, punching him in the arm. Donnie shook his head.

"No way," he argued.

"D, it's written all over your face!" Joe said with a laugh. Donnie's face colored.

"I barely know her," he said, sounding less and less convincing by the minute. Joe shrugged.

"Donnie," he said, seriously. "You don't have to know them for that long." His face got soft and his eyes got a faraway look to them. "You just KNOW, ya know? Like you're not happy unless you're with that person all the time."

"Joe," Mark said, snapping his fingers in front of his face. "Come back to us, buddy." Donnie smiled.

"Well, let's just say that Mary makes me happier than any girl ever has, I totally respect her, and for once, I don't feel like some prize that a girl has won. She likes me for me, ya know?"

"Yeah," Mark said with a grin. Joe nodded, bringing the guys' attention to him. "So, Joe," Mark said. "How far are you taking this Jen thing?"

"Huh?" Joe asked. Donnie exchanged a look with Mark, showing that they had talked about it.

"Do you love her, Joe?" Donnie asked, seriously. Looking his friend straight in the eye, Joe nodded.

"Yeah, D, I do," he said. Donnie let out a sigh of relief.

"Good," he nodded. "That girl is good for you." Joe laughed.

"Yeah, she's got me whipped into shape," he said with a grin.

"Whipped is more like it," Mark observed. Joe shot him a look.

"Speaking of whips," Donnie said, suddenly. "I wonder what our women are doing right now..."

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

"WOOHOO!!" Khara yelled over the loud music. It was an odd site to see. There was a man dressed up as Zorro, half naked, wiggling his crotch in front of Khara's face.

"Here!" Micki yelled, waving a dollar at Khara. She grabbed it and closed her eyes tight as she shoved it in the guy's pants.

"Oh my God!" she screamed as the guy moved across the stage to wave his crotch elsewhere. Jen and Mary were covering their mouths, they were laughing so hard. Looking up, they both yelped as a red, white, and blue crotch crowded their view. "Mr. America", as they called the guy, lowered himself onto Mary's lap, took he head, and rubbed it in his chest. Micki and Khara were howling in laughter and Jen was shoving a dollar down the back of the guy's pants. Grabbing Jen's hands, the guy pulled her against his back and ran her hands up and down his chest. Jen turned to her friends and made a face, sticking her tongue out and ewwwing at the grease that now covered her hands. When Mr. America finally moved on, Jen yelled,

"Thanks!" All four of them collapsed into their chairs in giggles. An announcer came on to announce the next guy, but none of them were paying attention. Jen sipped at her Midouri Sour and looked around the room, being the people-watcher that she was.

"Jen?" Mary asked, loudly. "Are you sure about this?" Jen smiled.

"Mar, I told you, Steph wanted to be alone tonight. She wants us to have fun." Mary sighed.

"I know," she said. "But I just feel guilty after what you told us." Jen nodded.

"Me too," she said.

"Hey," Micki interrupted. "Us too! I'm totally worried about Steph." Khara nodded her agreement.

"When does she find out?" Mary asked.

"Tomorrow," Jen replied. "She'll page me, now try not to think about it you guys." They nodded, but it wasn't very convincing. They were sitting at a round table right next to the stage, which was just about to be occupied by a new dancer. Jen and Mary were sitting on one side, facing Micki, with Khara in the center of the table, facing the stage. It was same table she had just been crawling on moments before. The girls all focused on the drinks they were drinking as the next dancer came out. Their minds were obviously elsewhere if they didn't notice the practically nude dancer. Well, all except for Khara, who had to look up considering where she was sitting. All of the sudden, Khara's hand shot out and grabbed Micki's arm.

"What?" Micki asked, looking at Khara, but Khara couldnt move. Her face was frozen to the stage, her jaw almost hitting the table. Jen was the first to look to where Kharas gaze was staring and she also grabbed the closest arm, which just happened to be Marys.

"Ow!" she yelped, rubbing her arm.

"You guys," Jen said as calmly as she could. "What is Leonardo DiCaprio doing up on that stage?"

"Dancing?" Micki supplied. Jen licked her lips and shook her head.

"I must be smoking too much crack," she muttered.

"Then we all are, Jen," Mary said, gripping her napkin. "Cause hes coming this way." Looking up, Jens eyes met Leos and she blushed bright red. He grinned and looked all the girls up and down, winking at them before beginning to dance around the stage.

"Wow," Khara murmured. "I heard he was a party animal, but I had no idea hed try this."

"Mr. America doesnt look too happy about it," Micki commented, pointing to the back of the room. Mary looked over at him and giggled. The guy was giving Leo a look of death, his arms crossed across his chest. By then, the stage was completely surrounded with girls from all over the room. A few had even come in from outside, hearing the girls chanting Leos name, but Mary, Khara, Micki, and Jen all stayed where they were.

"Mar," Jen whispered, leaning closer to Mary. "You know whats sad?" Mary grinned, knowing what her friend was thinking.

"What?" she asked. Jen sighed.

"I am sitting here watching Leonardo DiCaprio dancing half-naked and I honestly dont give a shit!" Jen said, exasperatingly.

"Thinking about Joe?" Mary asked. Jen nodded. "Oh, boy, Jen. Youve got it bad," Mary commented.

"Whatever, like youre not thinking about Donnie, Mar!" Jen accused, looking up with a gasp. Leo had moved from his spot on the stage to the top of their table where he was moving his hips around and grinning at Khara and Micki, who were both staring intently.

"Hes even better looking in person," Mary whispered to Jen.

"Yeah, but the boy needs to keep his clothes on," Jen commented, getting a laugh from Mary.

"Does Joe need to keep his clothes on?" Mary asked slyly. Jen gave her a look that made her answer clear and the girls erupted into giggles.

"Whats so funny?" Khara asked, not moving her eyes from Leo, who had moved back to the stage. Mary shook her head.

"Dont worry about it," Jen said, looking over at Micki. She shrugged and turned her attention back to the show. A girl was trying to throw herself on stage and Leo jumped out of the way, laughing merrily. He was loving every second of the attention, but his eyes kept turning back to the girls sitting at the table directly in front of them. A pout formed on his handsome face as he wondered why they werent giving him as much attention as the other girls were. Deciding he didnt like that one bit, Leo headed over to their table as soon as the dance ended and simply grabbed a seat, pulling it in between Jen and Mary.

"Why arent you guys having any fun?" he asked. All four girls looked up in surprise.

"Jen?" Micki asked, looking over at her head.

"Yes, Micki?" Jen inquired back.

"Why is Leonardo DiCaprio sitting at our table?" Micki had a twinkle in her eye. They were getting good at dealing with these celebrity types.

"I dont know, Micki. Maybe were all wearing Sit here Leo signs on our foreheads," Jen said, trying to keep a straight face. Micki slapped the table.

"That must be it!" The girls looked at Leo, who had a hurt look on his face.

"OK, fine," he pouted, starting to get up. Mary grabbed his arm, surprising herself.

"Theyre kidding, Leo, really," she told him. "Sit, chat, stay a while..." After pretending to think about it for a few seconds, he plopped back down.

"OK!" he said, bringing a giggle from Khara.

"I see we had to twist your arm," she commented. Leo shrugged and waved his hand at the other girls, who were being told by a rather mean-looking bodyguard to stay away.

"Too eager," he said, flipping his hair back. It had grown to the length he had it in Titanic and all the girls had to control themselves from sighing at the sight. Jen looked at the girls in disgust.

"Theyd better stay away from my Joey," she commented. Leo raised an eyebrow.

"Your Joey?" he asked with a chuckle. "No wonder you werent up there, youve got a boyfriend." How cocky, Jen thought. She groaned and shook her head.

"No," she said. "I just dont get that riled up over celebrities, thats all." A loud chorus of laughs followed her statement and she grinned, remembering who was sitting at the table with her. "Well...." she started, but Micki cut her off.

"Whatever, Jen!" she said, choking back another laugh. "Of course you dont obssess!"

"Yeah," Mary added. "None of us do." Even Jen had to laugh at that one.

"Whoa, girls, you lost me!" Leo complained, reaching for his pocket. Crinkling his forehead, he studied his pager. "Now, who knows Im in Boston?" he mumbled.

"I do," Jen said. Micki nodded.

"Well, I guess I do too," she commented.

"Smartasses," Leo mumbled, getting up. "Ill be right back, girls. Thats a good friend of mine from Boston." Weaving his way through the crowd, Leo finally made it to a phone in the back. Checking the number, he dialed quickly and waited.

"Hello?" grunted an unfamiliar voice.

"Yeah, is Mark there?" Leo asked, uncertainly.

"Sure, hang on," the guy said. "Mark, yo, youve got a call!"

"Must be Leo," he heard Mark say before the phone rustled and the voice came up clear. "Dude, Leo?" he asked.

"Mark, bro, whats up?" Leo asked, excitedly. He hadnt seen his fellow actor in quite a while and they had actually become very close on the set of Basketball Diaries. "Are you in town?" Mark laughed.

"Yeah, I live here," he reminded his friend. "Are YOU in town?"

"Yeah, Im here," Leo said, switching the phone to his other ear. "Im messing around at this club and dude, I just met the finest women. Theres a bunch of them and theyre all totally cool."

"Yeah?" Mark asked, giving Joe and Donnie a thumbsup sign. Joe looked over at Donnie in question and Donnie just shrugged, having no clue what his brother was talking about. "Thats cool, man, maybe youll get some tonight."

"Just me?" Leo asked. "Hey, Ive got three more, how many guys you got there?"

"Three of us," Mark said, leaning on Joes counter. "But were all kind of taken if ya know what I mean." Leos ears perked up.

"You got an orgy going over there or something, man? By the way, where are you and who was that who answered the phone?" Mark laughed.

"No, dude, weve got a poker game going on over here and let me tell you, Im kicking some major bootay..."

"Mark, who alls there?" Leo interrupted, not caring about their poker game.

"Oh, its me, Donnie, and Joe McIntyre."

"From the New Kids?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, its his place," Mark said, popping a kernel of popcorn in his mouth. "Dude, you wanna come over?" Leo poked his head out of the back to see the girls still sitting at their table, but they looked antsy.

"Yeah, why not?" he said. "Can I bring these girls?"

"I dont know, hang on. Joe!" Mark called, lowering the phone. "Leo met some women at this club, can he bring them?" Joe shrugged.

"I dont care, dude, whatever," he said, concentrating on his beer. Belching loudly, Joe looked at Donnie. "When do you think our girls are coming home?" Donnie laughed and patted Joe on the shoulder.

"Sometime before sunrise, Joe, dont worry," Donnie said, not admitting that he had been thinking the same thing.

"And then you turn left into the drive. Trust me, dude, you cant miss it," Mark was saying. "This place is fucking huge."

"Cool," Leo said, folding up the directions in his pocket. "Then Ill see you soon."

"Right on," Mark said. "Maybe you can meet Khara."

"Whos Khara?" Leo wanted to know. Mark grinned into the phone.

"Youll see, just get your ass over here, ok?"

"OK bye," Leo said, putting down the phone and heading back to their table. The girls all looked up as he approached. They had just been talking about how they seemed to be in celebrity heaven that week. "Heya girls, what are you guys doing?" They all gave him a weird look.

"Well, were watching naked men dance around on that stage and were drinking," Micki informed him. "What are you doing?"

"Actually," Leo said, leaning on the back of Marys chair. "I was just heading to a friends place to hang out for a bit. Would you ladies like to join me?" Seeing their faces, he held up his hands in defense. "Its in a great neighborhood and these guys are all taken, so you dont need to worry about getting hit on," he said, defensively. "Just some good conversation and some clean fun, what do you say?"

"I dont know," Jen began.

"Jen," Micki said, patting her friend on the arm. "You can live without Joe for a night. I mean, come on, this is girls night and John isnt even over there anyway." Mary laughed.

"So thats why she doesnt want to go back!" she commented. "Hey, Im game." Khara nodded.

"Sure, why not?" she added with a shrug. Jen sighed.

"Alright," she said, looking over at Leo. "But this better be good." Leo laughed.

"Trust me," he said. "Now, whos driving?" Jen shook her head.

"Hell no," she commented. Mary shook her head and Khara just laughed.

"Alright," Micki said, grabbing Joes keys. "Im all good, where to?" They all got up and started to head out the door. Mr. America waved to them as they left, causing all the girls to giggle coyly. Leo walked up to a black Porsche and looked over at Micki.

"Why dont you guys just follow me?" he said, studying the directions.

"Alright," Micki said, heading for Joes jeep. "Lets go." Getting in the car, she flipped on the radio, causing Jen to let out a yelp.

"Oooh, leave it here!" she said, excitedly, turning it up from her spot in the front. The song blared the words:

"Straight up, what did you hope to learn about here? If I were someone else would this all fall apart? Strange, where were you when we started this thing? I wish the real world would just stop hassling me." Mary and Khara crammed themselves in the back.

"I dont get it, Jen," Khara yelled over the music.

"Its her song," Mary yelled back. Jen reached over and turned the Matchbox 20 song down a bit.

"Thank you," Micki said, with a sigh. "Im trying to follow Leo here!" Jen thought about it for a second and turned to Mary.

"I dont think its my song anymore, Mar," she said, motioning to the radio. Mary raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Well," Jen said, looking at Leo in front of them and down at Joes car. "I dont WANT the real world to stop hassling me anymore! In fact, I kind of like it the way it is!" The girls erupted in giggled.

"Amen," Khara muttered.

"No kidding," Mary commented.

"Shit," Micki mumbled. "Lifes fucking perfect." Jen laughed.

"See what I mean?" she said, leaning back in her seat. "Gotta find a new song I guess." The car fell into silence as Jen tried to think of a new song.

"I cant use American Pie," she said. "Its my favorite, but its not MY song." Mary snapped her fingers.

"I got it!" she announced. Two pairs of eyes turned to her and one more looked at her through the rearview mirror. She started snapping her fingers and singing, "I think Ill go for a walk outside now, the summer suns calling my name..."

"I hear ya now," Khara filled in with a giggle. Jen and Micki looked at each other and then joined in the singing.

"I just cant stay inside all day. I gotta get out give me some of those rays." Then the whole car was singing loudly on the chorus.

"Everybodys smilin....sunshine day! Everybodys laughing...sunshine day!" They even got a weird look from Leo in his rearview mirror as he turned onto a residential street.

"Hey," Micki commented, shutting them all up. "This is the street Joe lives on."

"Weird," Jen added, then continued. "Everybody seems so happy today."

"Its a sunshine day," the whole car finished, collapsing into giggles. Jen continued to hum as she looked out the window.

"This IS Joes street," she commented. "Thats cool, we wont have to drive far to get back." Watching Leo turn directly into Joes driveway, Micki raised an eyebrow.

"Youre right," she commented. "We wont have to drive far at all." All of the girls immediately jumped out of the car when Leo and Micki parked.

"Leo," Mary said, shaking her head. "What are we doing here?" Leo looked around and whistled.

"Nice," he commented. "Well, this is where my friend is," he added, giving them all weird looks. He gave Jen an even weirder look when she went right up to the front door and tried to open it. "Whats she doing?" he asked Micki. She grinned.

"Boston people are really friendly," she commented. "You can just walk right in." Mary had joined Jen and Khara on the stoop.

"Its locked," Jen mumbled. She started banging on the door. "You guys! Its locked, open up!" Now Leo was just a mask of confusion.

"I dont get it," he mumbled, walking up to the door just as it opened. Joe McIntyre stepped out, but before Leo could say anything, he had swept Jen off her feet in a huge bear hug.

"Hi, honey," she said, reaching up to kiss his cheek.

"Hey," he said, smiling down at her. "Miss me?" Jen shrugged.

"Nah," she said with a grin. "I was too busy shoving dollars down guys pants." Joe frowned before he looked up and noticed everyone else.

"Leo?" he said, confused. "I didnt know you were here too." Leo nodded blankly, still trying to figure everything out.

"Yeah, but...um...."

"Leo!!" Mark’s loud voice interrupted them as they all filed into the kitchen. Mary stopped Joe and whispered,

"You do know she was thinking about you all night, don’t you?" Joe grinned and nodded.

"Almost as much as I was thinking about her," he whispered back. "But it feels good to hear, Mar, thanks." Giving her a hug, he went ahead into the kitchen to get more drinks. Mark lept out of his chair and practically knocked Leo over, banging him on the back.

"Whatup?" he asked, looking up to see Khara standing with her hands on her waist.

"Its ok," she commented. "Go ahead, ignore me." Mark gathered her in a huge hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey there, hot stuff," he murmured, getting a huge smile from Khara. Draping his arm over her shoulder, Mark looked at Leo. "So where are your babes?" he asked. "Didnt you have four of them?" Hearing that, the girls finally understood the whole story and started laughing. Leo looked from Joe and Jen to Mark and Khara and then to Mary, who was cuddled on Donnies lap.

"You already know them," he said, taking a beer from Joe and shaking his head. "Of all the girls in this city, I pick the ones going out with the New Kids." He looked at Jen and grinned. "So THAT was the Joey you were talking about." Jen blushed slightly and nodded.

"Hey," Joe slurred, raising his beer. "I resemble that remark, bucko." Seeing him sway, Jen placed an arm around his waist and led him back to the table, taking his beer in the process.

"Right on," she commented. "Youre drunk enough to be taken advantage of, arent you?" Joe grinned at her and pretended to bite her neck, but she easily dodged him.

"What?" he asked innocently. Micki finally cut in.

"You guys?" she requested. "Please knock it off or Im going to throw up." Leo moved behind her.

"Wheres your guy?" he asked, looking her up and down. She was having a hard time believing that she was being sized up by Leonardo DiCaprio, but decided to just go with it.

"Guy?" she asked, looking around. "I have a guy?" Donnie chuckled.

"Well, John went home, so looks like youre her date for tonight, Leo my boy." Leo grinned and draped an arm over Mickis shoulders.

"Alright!" he said, winking at her. She quickly moved away, picking up his hand and removing it.

"Do I look that easy?" she asked, bringing a laugh from the group.

"Actually," Mark tried cutting in, but shut up when Khara hit him on the shoulder. The bantering went on for another couple of hours before people started retiring to their rooms.

"Guys?" Jen said with a yawn. "Im kind of tired." Joe looked at her and caught her eye, nodding slowly.

"Yeah," he said. "I am too. You guys are all welcome to crash here, though. Were out." Jen grinned and gave a little wave as Joe pulled her up the stairs.

"Well that was fast," Donnie said, shaking his head.

"They keep doing that to us, Donnie," Mary commented, reminding him of their first night together. He tightened his grip on her waist.

"Well, Im not complaining," he said into her neck. "Hey, if they can do it, why cant we?" Mary grinned and pulled him up.

"You sober enough to drive?" she asked.

"Baby," Donnie said with a grin. "I could drive on water, lets go." Mark, Khara, Leo, and Micki all waved as they left, grinning.

"Well be home soon!" Mark called, wanting to catch up with Leo for a bit. The girls went into the living room to talk until about an hour later when Mark stumbled in, half asleep.

"You ready?" he yawned to Khara.

"Great," she whispered to Micki. "Looks like Im not getting any tonight." Micki giggled and waved to the couple as they left. When Mark grabbed Kharas ass on their way out, she figured that Khara was wrong about her not getting any. Shaking her head, she made her way into the kitchen for a drink before bed only to run smack into Leo.

"Oh Im sorry!" she said, startled. He put a hand on her arm to steady her.

"No, Im a klutz, Im sorry," he said, running his hand through his hair. "Are you going to bed?" Micki opened the freezer and put some ice in her glass.

"Not yet," she said. "Im not tired and to tell you the truth, theres a lot on my mind." She was thinking about Steph and about how they would probably know the results when they woke up the next morning.

"That girl Steph, right?" he asked. Micki nodded, figuring Mark had told him.

"Yeah," she said, taking a sip of her water. He sat down next to her and studied her.

"That sucks," he said, bluntly. "Did you want me to leave?" Micki knew that she should say yes, but looking into those blue eyes of his, she found that she couldnt.

"No," she said. "Please stay, I could use the company." He nodded and got up.

"Well then, can we take this conversation into a more comfortable room?" he asked, rubbing his backside for effect. "My ass is killing me!" She giggled and nodded, leading him into the living room. She had barely even sat down when Leo started kissing her. Go ahead, Micki, she told herself. Push him away.

The boy moved pretty damn quickly, but Micki felt herself getting lost in the kiss and as he lowered her onto Joes plush sofa, she found that she didnt want to push him away. What the hell, she thought, pulling him closer. His hands moved up and down her side as he kissed her deeply, tugging at the bottom of her shirt. Micki sighed and ran her fingers through his gorgeous hair. She couldnt believe what she was doing. Just the other night, she had been with John Travolta and here she was with Leonardo DiCaprio. Pulling away, she realized how that must look.

"Wait!" she said just as her shirt had reached the bottom of her breasts. Leo pulled back slightly and started kissing her neck.

"Hm?" he murmured against her skin. "Whats wrong? Were just having a little fun." The sensations running through her body from his lips were giving her goosebumps.

"Yeah, but.....its just that..." she stammered, trying to send some rational thought into her head. Leo pulled his head up to look Micki in the eye.

"Micki," he said, running a thumb across her jawline. "Noone has to know about this."

"Ill know," she said, stubbornly. Leo smiled and shook his head.

"Go ahead and tell me that you dont want me, Micki, and Ill leave now," he whispered, his lips inches from hers. Staring into his blue eyes, she knew that she couldnt say that. Seeing her inner debate in her eyes, Leo kissed her again, this time making sure that she would enjoy it more than any kiss she had ever known. He explored her mouth as if he would somehow find gold in its recesses. By the time he pulled away, Mickis lips were wrapped around Leos bottom lip, sucking on it like candy. "So," he said with a grin. "You cant do this?" After doing a battle with her conscience, Micki finally pulled him back to her, yanking his shirt off in the process. Leo grunted and helped her remove it, lowering his body to cover hers while running his hands up her stomach and across her chest. The shirt that he had been doing battle with was finally removed, giving him better access to Mickis chest. He lowered his lips to a sensitive spot right below her neck and moved to suck on her ear as she tugged at his pants.

"Noone has to know?" she whispered as his mouth moved to her breasts and his hands moved to her pants.

"Noone," he murmured, removing her pants. "Trust me, Micki."

Steph groaned as a loud beeping sound interrupted her dream. Turning in her state of half-sleep, she bumped her nose until a wall of muscle. Despite her mood, she had to grin. Jordans chest had that effect on her. The beeping that she had assumed to be a part of her dream continued and she pressed on Jordans chest.

"Jordan," she said, sleepily.

"Mmhmphbl," he mumbled back, throwing his arm over his eyes and almost smacking her with it. That woke her up.

"Jordan!" she said, louder. She shook him repeatedly until he finally opened his eyes to look at her.

"What?" he asked, finally turning to notice the beeping. "Its my pager," he mumbled, reaching for it. When he saw who it was, he bolted up, suddenly wide awake.

"Who is it, J?" Steph asked, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind. Jordan turned to look at her.

"Its the doctor, Steph," he said, his eyes wide. Steph felt a tremor shoot through her as she looked back at him. Shaking her head as if to clear it, she nodded.

"So lets call," she said, shakily, looking at the phone as if it were infected. He nodded and reached for the phone, dialing with shaky hands. Steph watched his every facial expression as he spoke.

"Yes, um, I just got a page? Yeah...um.....were 16 and 22. OK, thanks."

"Well?" Steph asked impatiently.

"Shes going to look," Jordan said, turning his attention back to the phone. His expression remained blank as he listened, muttering a few Oks and Uh-huhs every now and then. He hung up the phone with the same expression plastered to his face. At this point, Steph was practically jumping, she was so shaky in anticipation.

"Jordan?? What did she say? Are we ok?" she asked hurriedly. Jordan looked at her for a minute before whispering,

"Negative."

"What?" Steph asked. Jordan’s whole face broke into a huge grin.

"Negative, Steph!!" he said, grabbing her and pulling her to him. "Were OK!!" Stephs whole body relaxed in his arms and she let out a cry, hugging him to her.

"Were ok?" she asked. Jordan nodded excitedly.

"Were more than ok," he replied, kissing her soundly. "Were perfect!" Steph grinned and jumped out of bed, pulling him up with her for a deeper kiss.

"Oh wow," she said. "I mean...whew!" Jordan nodded.

"Tell me about it." Steph grinned at him.

"We have to tell the others, you know," she said. Jordan kissed the top of her head and smiled.

"You’re right," he said, suddenly releasing her. "I actually can’t wait to see them!" Steph giggled.

"You must be on crack then!" she said with a laugh as she picked up the phone to dial Joe’s number. Shushing Jordan first, she straightened her face before speaking.

"Joe? Hi, it’s Steph," she said, trying not to show any emotion.

"Steph!" Joe exclaimed, jumping up and almost knocking Jen over. "How are you??" Jen blinked her eyes until they were awake.

"Steph!" she yelped, grabbing the phone from Joe. He pouted as she practically yelled a hello to her friend. "Well??" she wanted to know.

"Jen, calm down," Steph said, calmly. "Call the others and Jordan and I will be there soon to tell you guys what the doctor said, ok?" Jen sighed loudly.

"OK, Steph, OK," she said. "We’ll be waiting. Just please hurry!" Steph chuckled at Jen’s impatience.

"We will," she assured her friend. "Not to worry, ok? See you soon." The two said their goodbyes and hung up their phones. Jen immediately turned to Joe.

"So how do you think she sounded?" she asked. Joe shrugged and wrapped his arms around her.

"She sounded like she didn’t want us to know yet," he said, honestly. "Come on, Jen, let’s call everybody else." Jen was not in the mood to move from her spot in Joe’s arms, but forced herself to reach over for the phone anyway. Within a half hour, Joe and Jen were up and dressed, and the living room was again crowded with their entire crew, each of them as anxious as the next.

"Where’s Steph?" Mary mumbled from her spot in Donnie’s lap. "This whole wait thing is killing me."

"No shit," Micki replied, shooting a look at Leo. When they had woken up next to each other, it had been very akward and that feeling hadn’t gone away yet. To make matters worse, there was a sudden knock at the door. Joe looked up from the stack of fan mail that he was sorting through to jump up to answer it, hoping it was J and Steph. It wasn’t.

"Hey, you guys," John Travolta said, sauntering through the door with his hands in his pockets. "Jen told me everything, now where are they?" Micki fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably as John took the seat next to her. She was sitting in between Leo and John and Jen could see the fear in Micki’s eyes. Catching her eye, Jen gave her a look of bewilderment. All Micki could do was shake her head.

"I hear a car," Khara said, suddenly, getting up to look out a window. Letting out a breath of relief, she turned back to the group. "They’re here," she announced softly. Jen grabbed Joe’s leg before he got up.

"Sorry," she muttered, releasing her grip to let him answer the door for Steph and Jordan.

"It’ll be ok, hon," he whispered in her ear as he got up. Steph and Jordan entered the room in a whirlwind of excitement.

"Wow!" Steph said. "You’re all here!"

"Of course we’re here, Steph!" Mary said exasperatingly. "Now please tell us." The others nodded in agreement. Steph looked at Jordan and sighed.

"OK," she said, taking his hand. "You guys, the tests came out negative." Her announcement was greeted by a bout of total silence.

"Negative?" Joe asked quietly.

"Negative as in you’re ok?" Mary added. Steph and Jordan both broke into huge grins and nodded. Jen was the first to let out a yelp and jump up to hug them both, but the others weren’t far behind her.

"Oh thank God!" Jen breathed.

"I knew it would all work out," Micki said with a smile.

"I love you guys!" Mary said simultaneously. Steph and Jordan laughed.

"Thanks you guys," Jordan said, putting an arm around Steph. "I don’t know what we would’ve done these past few days without you guys."

"Oh stop," Khara said with a wave of her hand.

"Yeah, what did you expect?" Donnie added. Leo kind of stayed back, not wanting to intrude on the group’s bonding time. Through the sea of heads, Steph noticed him.

"Um, Jen?" she asked in a low voice.

"Hm?"

"What is Leonardo DiCaprio doing sitting on Joe’s couch?" she asked. Micki let out a groan and the rest of the group just laughed.

"Long story," Jen told her friend. "We met him at a male strip club." Steph laughed.

"I have missed a lot, haven’t I?" she asked with a giggle.

"How was the hotel?" Joe asked. Jordan grinned.

"Oh, it was great," he replied. "In fact, we’re going to use it for one extra night." That comment got him quite a few curious looks, but he just laughed them off. "Hey, we have a lot to celebrate!" he told them.

"Well thank God," Jen said, collapsing onto Joe’s leather couch. Steph grinned at her friend.

"If He had anything to do with it, I’d thank Him," she said with a shrug.

"What do you mean IF?" Jordan asked. "Of course He had something to do with it, Steph." Jen, Mary, Micki, and Khara all groaned.

"Jordan, please," Mary started to say.

"No religious discussions allowed," Micki added, crossing her legs and settling back into a black loveseat. She made sure to spread herself out on the seat so neither Leo or John would try and join her. Jordan looked over at Micki and then back at Steph.

"Steph?" he asked softly. "What did you mean by that?" At his question, the room was doused in silence. The only sound was Steph’s sigh. She knew how important religion was to Jordan and that was the last thing she wanted to discuss with him. She shot a glance his way only to find him looking at her in total confusion.

"Jordan," Steph said with an impatient sigh. "Can we talk about this some other time?" She motioned around the room to all of their friends. Jordan looked at all of the curious faces watching them and let out a laugh.

"Of course we can," he said, breaking the tension. "Hey, this is our day, right?" Giving her a sexy smile, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "What do you say we get back to our suite? I have a surprise for you."

"What are we waiting for?" Steph grinned.

"Wait," Micki said, loudly, standing up and adjusting her skirt. Leo caught her eye and winked, but she ignored him. "You guys, I have something to tell you all." All eyes focused on Micki as she cleared her throat. Well, all eyes except for Joe’s. He was still sorting through his fan mail. "Joe?" Micki asked, impatiently. He looked up and gave her a sheepish grin.

"Sorry," he said, setting his mail to the side. "What is it, Micki?"

"Well," she said, catching John’s eye. He looked confused as all hell and she could understand why. She had pretty much ignored him all morning. "Khara and I are going back to New York early tomorrow morning." Her announcement was followed by a loud chorus of protests.

"You guys, come on," Khara said, leaning back against Mark. "Don’t make this harder on us."

"Why?" Mary asked. Micki shrugged.

"I have to get back to my life," she replied, again looking at John, who motioned that they needed to talk. Leo was watching all of this and noticed the looks that Micki and John were sending to each other.

"I get it," he mumbled to himself. Trying to tell himself that he knew before that it was only for one night, he jumped up. "Anybody want a drink?" he asked. Everyone shook their heads and he hurried into the kitchen to escape the uncomfortable situation. Watching him go, Micki held up a hand to the group.

"I’ll be right back, you guys," she muttered as she followed Leo into the kitchen. He turned slightly when she pushed the door open, but didn’t reveal any kind of emotion.

"Hi," he said, grabbing a beer from the fridge.

"Can we talk?" Micki asked, blocking the doorway. Leo popped open the bottle and took a drink.

"There’s nothing to talk about, Micki," he said, looking her in the eye. She sighed.

"Why is that?" she asked. Leo looked at her for a minute before replying.

"Because you’re in love with John," he said, somewhat bitterly.

"Leo," Micki said, putting a hand on his arm. "We both knew it was for a night..."

"I know," he interrupted. "Micki, I’ve known you for a day, it’s fine. Really." Micki ran her hands through her hair.

"I have a favor," she said, softly. He smiled.

"I won’t say anything, Micki," he said with a grin. She let out a sigh.

"Thank you," she breathed, kissing him on the cheek. "It was fun, though." Leo grinned.

"So I’ve been told," he replied, opening the door for them. She laughed and joined the rest of the crew, noticing Joe shoot her an accusing look. She raised an eyebrow at him before turning to Steph.

"I guess we won’t see you," she said, holding out her arms. Steph nodded.

"No, I guess not," she said, giving Micki a tight hug. "But I’ll visit you, don’t worry!" Micki shot a look at Jordan and giggled.

"Oh, I’m not," she said, moving to say goodbye to Jordan as Khara and Steph did the same. When that was finished, Jordan and Steph waved, leaving Joe’s in a hurry. John laughed as they did.

"Those two are like rabbits," he commented. Jen nodded enthusiastically, shooting a look at Joe.

"Yeah," she said with a smirk. "I wonder what the surprise is."

"She’ll tell us all about it," Mary reminded her. Jen grinned.

"She’d better!" she commented, causing everyone in the room to chuckle. All of the sudden, Joe’s chuckle turned into an outright outburst.

"Oh wow!" He exclaimed, pulling a letter out of its envelope. Hie eyes were lit up in complete mischief and Jen didn’t trust the man for a second.

"What?" she asked, walking over to peer over his shoulder. He pulled the letter to his chest and glared up at her.

"Hey," he said, curling his lip. "MY letter!" Jen reached over to tickle his sides.

"You big baby," she muttered with a grin, turning back to her friends, who were all watching them in amusement.

"You guys are way too frustrated," Micki commented with a giggle.

"Speaking of frustrated," John muttered, taking Micki by the arm. Leo picked that opportune moment to interrupt.

"You guys," he said, getting up suddenly. "I’m gonna go." All eyes turned to him curiously.

"Yo, Leo, what’s up?" Mark asked his friend. Leo shook his head.

"Dude, it’s cool. You guys need to say bye to your friend and I’ve gotta get some things done. Seriously, it’s totally cool." Micki’s eyes connected with his and she shook her head slightly.

"Are you sure?" she asked, quietly, causing quite a few people to wonder exactly what had gone on the night before. He nodded and looked back at Mark.

"So give me a call later on, k?"

"Yeah, you still got that pager?" Mark asked, wrapping an arm around Khara’s waist. Leo nodded.

"Yup. OK, see you guys," he said with a wave. They all gave him their goodbyes, but just as he was leaving, Micki let out a groan and followed him out the door. Mary looked over at Jen and they both raised their eyebrows. Jen shrugged and turned to Khara.

"You guys are leaving?" she asked, her bottom lip forming into a pout. Khara smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, Jen. We have to, but there is good news." Mary laughed.

"Well there’s a change," she commented, plopping down next to Donnie on the couch. He was surprisingly quiet for Donnie and she reached up to rub his right shoulder as she looked at Khara for her answer.

"Yeah, Mark’s coming with us," Khara stated proudly.

"What?" Donnie cut in. "Why?" Mark shooed Donnie away.

"I have to go meet some people in New York anyway, so why not?" Mark replied.

"Yeah, me too," John added softly, watching the door as it opened. Micki walked back in with a guilty look.

"Did he leave?" Mark asked. Micki nodded and caught John’s eye. He met her gaze straight on, giving her a slight nod. Mark coughed loudly to get his attention. "So, John, if you’re going back to New York, why don’t you come with us?" John’s gaze didn’t leave Micki’s as he answered.

"That’s up to Micki."

"Why is it up to me?" she asked him, making sure she didn’t weaken under his blue eyes. John shrugged.

"I don’t want to make you uncomfortable," he said matter-of-factly. After a minute more of their staring contest, Micki finally smiled and put a hand on his arm.

"John," she said, softly. "I WANT you to come with us." He raised an eyebrow at her and then looked over at the door to remind her of her little rendevous with Leo. She had no idea how he had figured it out, but John never ceased to amaze her. "Please," she added. The others were all watching the scene with amusement, knowing what the outcome would be even if Micki and John didn’t.

"Oh, geez, John, just go with them," Joe said, cutting in as if he was talking to a television show. John looked over at him and Joe gave him a little grin and a wave, causing Jen to giggle. He shrugged.

"Why not, it’ll save me a plane ticket," John said as if he was worried about money or something. Micki smiled.

"Good," she said. "Now can we go back to your hotel to get our things?" The look she gave him showed him that they’d be getting a lot more than their things, but John didn’t argue. Mark wrapped his arms around Khara’s waist.

"We’d better go do the same," he said, nuzzling her ear. She giggled and nodded.

"Yeah, we’ll need plenty of time for packing," she said coyly.

"Packing what?" Joe muttered, earning himself an elbow in his arm from Jen. "Hey!" he said, rubbing his arm. "That hurt!" She smiled sweetly at him.

"Good," she replied.

"You guys," Mary said with a groan. "Let them leave with dignity, huh?" Donnie smiled for the first time in hours and put an arm around her shoulder.

"That’s my woman," he said proudly. Mary looked at him in surprise. His WOMAN?? Wow, she had no clue that she was his woman. She liked it.

"You guys?" Khara said, impatiently. The other four looked up. "We’ve leaving so bye," she informed them. John and Micki were already half-way out the door. "We’ll see you tonight before we leave, ok?" They didn’t even wait for the group to answer, they were already gone.

"Finally!" Donnie yelled, jumping up and stretching, causing everyone else to look at him in surprise. He made a funny face at them and laughed merrily. "You guys know that I love people and all, but they were starting to bug me," he said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I could tell," Mary told him, looking over at Joe. "Aren’t you done with that mail yet?" she asked. Joe looked up at her impatiently.

"No," he said, mockingly. "Would you like to read some of it, Mar?" Jen settled down on the couch next to the huge pile.

"Hey, I’ll help if it goes faster," she offered.

"No way!" Joe said, holding up a hand. "You don’t want to read this stuff!" Donnie let out a laugh.

"Dude, you remember those pictures we used to get?" he asked with an evil smile. Joe broke into a grin and nodded.

"How could I forget, D?" he asked. "Don’t you still have some of them?" Mary’s head turned up to look at Donnie and he laughed nervously, holding up his hands in defense.

"Yo, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Joe," he said, trying to hide his smile.

"Right," Joe muttered, turning back to one of his letters. His face fell all of the sudden as he read the letter in his hands. "Oh my God," he murmured, lowering the letter and staring off into space.

"What?" Jen asked, followed by a chorus of "whats" from Mary and Donnie. Joe ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Wow, that’s terrible," he said, looking at the picture that had come with the letter sympathetically. "Poor girl..."

"Joe," Jen said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you going to share with us here?" Joe shook his head as if to clear it and then looked at her.

"This girl has cancer," he said, holding out the picture for them to see. "The doctor’s give her less than a month to live and her one wish is to meet us, D." Donnie’s face softened as he looked at the picture.

"Us as in all five of us?" he asked, sinking into an easy chair. Mary sat on the arm and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, giving him a comforting squeeze. Joe nodded and handed him the letter.

"Read this," he said, wiping his eyes. As Donnie read, Joe turned to Jen. "Jen, that letter...it’s so.....so sad. She knows she’s going to die, can you imagine...?" Jen shook her head and leaned her head into his shoulder.

"No I can’t," she said, softly, running her hand up and down his arm. "She must be so strong." Joe nodded.

"She is."

"We’re going," Donnie said, interrupting them. Joe looked up at Donnie in surprise and then nodded.

"Where is it?" Mary asked.

"Porterville, California," Donnie replied, getting up. "And we need to get there soon." He caught Joe’s eye.

"Very soon," Joe said, seriously. "And we need to get ahold of Jon and Danny."

"And Jordan," Donnie added. "But we’ll wait to call him until we get ahold of the others." Joe nodded and turned to Jen, looking her in the eye.

"Will you go with me?" he asked softly, practically holding his breath for her answer.

"Of course I will," she said, kissing him on the cheek. Donnie looked over at Mary and she smiled softly.

"If you want me to," she said before he could ask her. He nodded and hugged her tightly.

"Thanks," he whispered. Mary hugged him back.

"Speaking of Jordan," Jen said, breaking the moment. "I wonder what those two are doing right now..."

"Oh my God," were the first words out of Steph’s mouth when she walked into their suite. Jordan grinned and shut the door behind him, dropping the key on the table.

"You like?" he asked, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Uh huh," Steph answered in awe. The first thing that caught her eye was the huge grand piano that had been placed in the center of the room. After making another survey, she also noticed a vase full of white roses and in the back, the bar was completely stocked. Sitting on top of it was a bowl of fruit and a cup of chocolate sauce. Jordan’s breath in her ear was making Steph giddy and the thoughts running through her head were not meant for anyone over the age of 18. He moved her hair to the side and started kissing her neck.

"Jordan Knight!" Steph said accusingly, turning around in his arms. "Are you trying to seduce me?" Jordan gave her a look of mock innocence and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, is it working?" he asked. Steph pretended to think about it, but when she saw the bewildered look on his face, she laughed.

"Maybe," she replied, reaching up to give him a kiss. She had meant for it to be a small peck, but as soon as Jordan felt Steph’s lips on his, he grasped the back of her neck to pull her closer so he could completely ravish her mouth. When he finally let her go, she stumbled a bit, which made him giggle happily.

"You want a drink?" he asked, heading over to the bar.

"What do you think?" she asked, following him and taking a seat at one of the bar stools. He grinned and set to work making her a screwdriver with some cranberry juice added in.

"Sorry," he said, handing her the drink. "I wanted to get a pina colada, but they were all out of fresh pineapple." Steph saw the teasing in his eyes and muttered,

"Lazy bum."

"Lazy?!" Jordan cried. "Look around you, babe, I AIN’T lazy!" Steph turned in her seat to look around the beautifully lit room.

"OK," she said, raising her glass. "You’re doing alright." Jordan smiled as if to say "I thought so". He raised his glass.

"A toast!" he proclaimed.

"To?"

"To..." Jordan said, looking right into her eyes. "The best thing that’s ever happened to me." Steph felt tears brimming as she stared back, wondering what she did to be that lucky.

"Jordan," she started, looking at the ground.

"No, Steph, let me finish. These past few days have gotten me to thinking, ya know? We could have lost each other."

"Twice," she interrupted. He smiled.

"OK, twice. Anyway, as I was saying.....I don’t want to lose you, Steph. I CAN’T lose you now, I just can’t."

"What do you mean, lose me?" Steph said, softly, putting her hand over his. "You won’t lose me, bucko, you’re stuck with me!"

"Oh the horror of it all," Jordan teased. The mood had been broken, so they clinked glasses and both took long gulps. Setting his glass on the table, Jordan took Steph’s hand and led her over to the piano. "Sit here," he said, softly, motioning to the top of the piano right above the keys. She climbed up and sat down, cross-legged, watching him expectantly. He made a big show of wiping of the bench and cracking his knuckles before he sat down.

"Are you going to play for me?" Steph whispered. Jordan looked up at her and grinned wickedly. "The piano, Jordan." To answer her question, Jordan started running his fingers up and down the keys in scales, warming up his fingers. When he was ready, he sighed and adjusted his chair. When his beautiful fingers finally touched the keys, Steph gasped when she recognized the song he was playing. She hadn’t heard it in years and seeing it live just didn’t compare to when she used to watch him perform the same song on her TV.

"I’m not that kind of guy who can take a broken heart, so don’t ever leave. I don’t want to see us part. The very thought of losing you means that everything will go down under. I’ll be loving you forever. Just as long as you want me to be. I’ll be loving you forever. All this love’s for Stephanie..." Steph gasped when she heard her name and Jordan looked up from his playing, but he didn’t stop. If he only knew what this was doing to her. When the song finished, Jordan brought his shaking hands to his lap only to have Steph pick them up and bring them to her lips. As she kissed each finger, Jordan sighed contentedly, but when she drew one of them into her mouth, he got up so fast that he knocked over the piano bench. Steph smiled as Jordan hovered over her, his eyes smoky with his desire for her. He put his hands on both of her legs and pulled her forward so that she was straddling him. Just before he kissed her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered,

"I love you, Jordan." He pulled away to look in her eyes.

"Forever?" he asked, softly, leaning his forehead against hers. She nodded and that seemed to be enough for him because he then captured her lips in the single most thrilling kiss that she had ever experienced. Her legs involuntarily tightened around his thighs as he moved to kiss her neck and then her ears. Feeling his hot breath in her ear made Steph sigh as she pulled him closer to her, her hands restless on his back as she dropped her neck back.He chuckled in her ear.

"Patience, honey," he murmured, lowering her onto the top of the piano. The keys played as he crawled up there with her, straddling her hips. Jordan wasted no time removing Steph’s shirt and she didn’t find that fair, so soon his was also a thing of the past. He groaned when he lowered himself to her and felt the fabric of her bra against his chest. "Damn thing," he muttered, removing it in one fluent motion. Steph just smiled and ran her hands up and down his chest, marveling at the strength of this man. When her soft touch reached his nipples, he moaned softly and knew that he had lost himself to this woman forever. She reached up to caress them with her lips and tongue and he wrapped his fingers in her hair, pulling her back to his mouth. His tongue found his way to hers and they did battle while she moved to her hands to his belt. While Steph worked on his pants, he lowered his head to her breasts to kiss them with the same passion that he has just kissed her mouth, which was swollen from passion. She moaned and ran her fingers through his hair, running them down his back and into his now-undone pants. She lowered his pants as she ran her hands across his well-formed ass and he pushed himself up a bit to help her remove them completely. When she saw how free-spirited he was that night, Steph had to draw in a breath. He was beautiful. Jordan licked his way down Steph’s stomach to remove her pants, which was not a difficult task for him. Finally, they were both naked and he lowered her back to the cool piano top, but she hardly noticed.

"Hmmm," Jordan said against her lips. "Something’s missing." Steph looked up, insulted.

"What?" she asked. He grinned at her and pushed himself off of her, much to her dismay. She changed her mind when she saw the view that she got as he made his way over to the bar totally bare-assed. Taking a gulp of his drink, Jordan picked up the bowl of fruit and the chocolate and made his way back to Steph. "Jordan, what are you going to do with that?" she asked, timidly. Jordan grinned and picked up a grape, placing it on his tongue and rolling it around seductively.

"You’ll see," he replied, huskily. Placing the two items on the corner of the piano, he crawled back up only to take a strawberry out of the bowl. He dipped it in the chocolate sauce and ran it across Steph’s lips. She opened her mouth to take a luscious bite of the fruit, pulling Jordan to her so that he could also have a taste. He licked and sucked her mouth completely clean of the chocolate and even ended up with a piece of the strawberry. Steph could feel him throbbing against her side, but he didn’t stop the torture he was putting on her. Instead, he dipped his finger into the chocolate and made a trail that started at her mouth, went across her breasts and down to her navel. His tongue soon followed in its path and by the time the chocolate was gone, Steph was practically going crazy with need.

"Jordan," she groaned, pushing aside the fruit. "I want you....please..." Jordan moved to lower himself on top of her, sighing when he felt her softness against him.

"Say my name again," he moaned as he entered her. Steph cried out and pulled on his shoulders, her legs wrapping around his waist.

"Jordan," she moaned as he began thrusting. "Oh God, Jordan!"

"Again," he grunted and soon they were calling out each others’ names as they both reached their final destination.

"Again," Jen pouted, looking up at Joe expectantly. He glared at her, rubbing his hands.

"Jen," he whined. "No, I NEED these hands!" Jen smiled sweetly at her man.

"Yes," she threatened. "You do." Joe sighed and started rubbing her back again, causing Donnie and Mary to crack up.

"OK guys," Donnie said, looking at his watch. "We need to get some sleep, alright?"

"I’m not tired," Jen said with a yawn. Joe chuckled from behind her and moved to rub her lower back, which made her groan. "OK, I’m a little tired."

"I’m exhausted!" Mary announced, standing up. "Joe, can we crash here?" He looked up from hi task at hand (get it?) and nodded.

"Sure, pick a room," he said. Donnie took Mary’s hand and they started up the stairs.

"Night, y’all!" Donnie called. "We need to be up soon though and then we’ll interrupt Steph and Jordan and get ahold of Danny and Jon."

"K," Joe mumbled, giving Jen a pat on the back. "Come on, cutie, time for bed." Jen stopped him by grabbing his arm and yanking him down on the couch with her. He grunted as he fell half on top of her, but soon found the position to be quite comfortable.

"Hi," he said, his face inches from hers. She smiled and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him to her for a long, deep kiss. He groaned when he felt Jen’s lips touch his and wrapped his arms around her to get even closer. When they pulled apart, she was practically sitting on his lap. "Wow," he said, trying to catch his breath. "What was that for?" Jen shrugged and ran a finger over his bottom lip.

"For being you," she said, getting up. "And to tell you that’s all you’re getting tonight cause we need to sleep!"

"Hey now, you tease," Joe said, getting up to chase her, but he had to stop and adjust his pants instead.

"Come on, McIntyre," Jen said, laughing. "Let’s go." Jen was true to her word, too. The second her head hit the pillow, she was asleep and Joe couldn’t help mumbling a curse before he finally settled down next to her and wrapped an arm around her to get some sleep himself. Neither of them woke until a loud pounding on their door got them up. Jen groaned and Joe threw a pillow at the door. "Joe, honey," Jen mumbled. "It’s not the door’s fault."

"Come in!" Joe yelled. Donnie almost broke open the door on his way in.

"Get up you lazy bums!" he yelled, yanking off the covers.

"Donnie, I’m going to kill you," Jen told him blankly. Donnie tickled her.

"I’m bigger than you, sweetheart," he replied to her threat. She gave him a look that told him she could very easily kick his ass with the right incentive.

"Don’t mess with her in the morning, D," Joe warned. "Trust me, I think I’m going to buy a cup." Jen glared at him, only causing him to cover that area with a pillow.

"You guys," Mary said, entering the room. "Come on, we’ve gotta get packed." Donnie nodded and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I called Jordan and Steph, they’re on their way."

"How’d they sound?" Jen asked, finally sitting up. Donnie grinned.

"A little too happy," he said. "Anyway, Jordan said that he would get ahold of Jon and I already talked to Danny. He’s going to meet us in Porterville tomorrow."

"Good," Joe said with a nod. "Now what about hotels?" Jen’s hand suddenly reached out and grabbed Joe’s arm with a squeeze.

"Wait!" she squealed. "You guys, I know someone in Porterville!"

"You have friends?" Donnie asked, innocently.

"Shut up, Wahlberg, we can stay with this friend."

"Cool," Joe said, reaching over his nightstand for the phone. "Call her." Jen smiled and started dialing, mumbling,

"Oh my God, Kris is gonna die..."

"Kris?" Mary asked. "Kris from the lists??" Jen smiled and nodded.

"What lists?" Joe asked, causing Jen and Mary to both clear their throats and change the subject. Jen motioned for them all to be quiet.

"Hey, Kris?" she asked, crossing her fingers.

"Yeah...Jen?" the voice on the other end of the line said.

"KRIS!"

"JEN!" Both girls giggled like crazy and Joe and Donnie rolled their eyes at each other.

"Come on, D, let’s go downstairs and do manly things," Joe said, rolling out of bed. Donnie grabbed his crotch and snorted, giving the girls a wink before they left.

"Kris, what’s up??" Jen asked, grinning brightly.

"Nothing, honey, how about you?"

"Oh....not too much..." Jen said.

"You’re lying." Kris observed.

"Yeah, I am, so are you sitting down?"

"Um...hang on. OK, yeah." Kris was getting impatient.

"Well, you’d better be, hon, cause you’re gonna have some visitors soon." Jen smiled at Mary.

"What?"

"Well, first of all, Mary’s here."

"Tell her hi."

"Mary, Kris says hi...ok well there’s a crisis in Porterville and there are...." Jen started to count on her fingers. "eight of us that need a place to stay."

"Eight??" Kris sounded shocked, but Jen knew that convincing her would be easy. She just had to mention Jon.

"Yup. A lot has happened, but I’ll tell you all about it when we get there."

"Which is when?" Jen winced before answering.

"Um...7 of us are today."

"WHAT?!"

"Kris, I’m sorry, but it’s an emergency and TRUST ME you won’t mind..."

"Wait a second, where are you?" Mary motioned that she was going to go downstairs and Jen gave her a little wave.

"I’m sitting on Joe McIntyre’s bed."

"No, Jen, seriously, where are you?" Jen laughed merrily.

"Kris, I know you won’t believe me here, but I am SO honest-to-God serious!"

"That you’re sitting on Joe McIntyre’s bed?"

"Yup."

"Right Jen, and I’m sitting in Jon’s bathtub..." Kris snorted.

"You can’t be because he’s on his way here," Jen said matter-of-factly.

"Huh? What do you mean here?"

"Kris, I swear on Joe McIntyre’s eyes that I am not kidding."

"Jen, if you’re joking..."

"Hang on..." Jen said, covering the phone. "YOU GUYS!!!" she yelled loudly.

"WHAT?!" she heard Donnie’s voice back.

"PICK UP THE PHONE!" she yelled.

"What’s up, Jen?" she heard Donnie’s voice as he picked up from downstairs.

"D, tell my friend Kris who you are. We’re staying with her."

"Heya, Kris, baby, you’re talking to Donnie Wahlberg, it’s nice ta meet ya." Jen heard Kris catch her breath before she heard a very tiny,

"Hi."

"Am I done, Jen?" Donnie asked. "Joe’s gonna eat all of the cereal if I don’t get back."

"Yeah, Donnie, I think I made my point, thanks," Jen said with a laugh.

"Later," he said and then there was a click. Kris didn’t say anything for a minute.

"Jen?" she said, finally. "That was DONNIE WAHLBERG!!!"

"I know, I told you so!"

"OH MY GOD!!!"

"Yeah, so can we stay with you?" Jen asked, knowing the answer.

"If you don’t," Kris threatened. "You’re dead. I’ll tell them everything...about the list, the visuals..."

"OK!" Jen said, getting worried. "Don’t worry, we’ll be there tonight."

"Jon too?" Kris asked in a small voice. Jen grinned, knowing how much her friend liked Jon.

"Yup, Jon too."

"Shit," Kris sounded like she was getting a little nervous.

"It’s fine, Kris, really! I’ll explain it all later, I promise, now I’ll call you when we get in, ok?" Kris nodded and then realized that she was talking to a phone and said,

"Yeah, ok! Oh shit I gotta clean the house and get my hair done and..."

"Bye, Kris!" Jen said with a laugh.

"See ya Jen." Jen hung up the phone with a triumphant grin. She had just made her friend’s week...hell, her life! Stumbling downstairs, Jen saw that Joe and Donnie were in the middle of arm wrestling with Mary judging.

"You guys," Jen said impatiently. "Don’t we have to pack?" A loud booming interrupted her and Joe looked up to the door only to have Donnie push his arm down.

"I win!" he announced, pumping a fist in the air.

"No way," Joe argued as Jen went to let Steph and Jordan in. "They distracted me!" He pointed at them accusingly. "I want a rematch!"

"No time," Mary told them. "It’s a tie."

"Hey," Donnie started to say, but he shut up when he saw the look that Mary was shooting him. "OK, tie," he mumbled.

"Morning, bitch," Jen greeted her friend. Steph grinned at her and Jen couldn’t help laughing. "Morning bitch’s bitch," she said to Jordan, who gave her a noogie in return.

"Wow," Mary commented. "Aren’t they in good moods?" Jen nodded and snuck a glance at Steph, who was staring up at Jordan in awe.

"Mar," Jen whispered, leaning closer to her friend. "If I ever get like that, shoot me."

"Jen, look at Joe," Mary replied. Jen looked over at him and saw how the sun was staring straight at his brown curls as he caught her gaze, his blue eyes twinkling. Mary giggled as the same look that had been on Steph’s face appeared on Jen’s. "BANG!" she whispered, making Jen giggle.

"OK, point taken," she said. "Guys? I’m going to pack." Without waiting for a response, she marched upstairs to get her things. Joe watched her go for so long that Jordan gave him a shove.

"Follow her, dumbass," he said. Joe shrugged and knocked over his chair, racing after her.

"What are they going to do, have a quickie before we go?" Donnie wondered. Jordan looked at his watch.

"Nah, even Joe isn’t that quick," he commented. "You guys!! Hurry up!" he yelled for emphasis. Someone’s middle finger appeared from around the corner and made everyone laugh.

"You guys?" Mary asked. "Have they...."

"No," Steph said, knowing what Mary was thinking.

"Yes they have!" Donnie said. "This is Joe we’re talking about."

"Yes," Steph argued. "But it’s also Jen and trust me, they will but they haven’t." Donnie looked to Jordan for a second opinion and got a nod.

"And don’t ask him about it either!" Jordan said. "That only causes problems!" He looked at Steph meaningfully and she took his hand.

"Yeah, but that’s solved," she said. Donnie looked confused, but he got over it when he saw the time.

"LET’S GO!!!" he screamed, sending Joe and Jen running down the stairs.

"Ready!" she announced.

"About time, bitch," Steph commented.

"Yeah," Jordan agreed, wrapping an arm around Steph’s shoulders. "We’re meeting Jon at the airport and Danny in California tomorrow, so come on, you guys, let’s go make a girl’s wish come true." On their way to their cars, Jen stopped them all.

"You guys, we’re staying with my friend Kris in Porterville ok?"

"Kris from the list?" Steph asked excitedly. Jen nodded and Donnie and Joe groaned.

"WHAT lists?" they asked in unison. The 3 girls burst into giggles again and Joe patted Jordan on the back.

"Get used to it, bro," he commented.

"Jen," Steph said, pulling her aside. "We’ve GOT to hook Kris up with Jon!"

"Yeah? Isn’t he married?" Jen asked, raising her eyebrow. Steph grinned evilly.

"No, that was a rumor," she replied. Jen smiled and clapped her hands together.

"Kris is gonna DIE!" she said.

"Girls, are you done gossiping yet?" Joe’s voice cut into their conversation.

"Let’s go," Jen whispered, climbing into the car. "We’ll plot later."

"Oh no," Joe said from the driver’s seat. "What are you two up to?"

"Nothing," Steph said innocently from the back. Mary and Donnie had taken a separate car, so it was the gruesome foursome yet again. Jordan sighed.

"Why do I have a feeling that this involves my brother?" he asked, shooting Steph a look.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Cause he’s the only one left since Danny’s only staying for one day!" Joe said in place of Jordan. Jen laughed.

"You guys will just have to see. You’re gonna love Kris."

"Are we?" Jordan asked, slapping Joe on the back of his neck.

"Not that much!" Steph argued. That’s pretty much how the whole conversation went all the way to the airport. Once there, they met up with Jonathan, who was a total sweetheart, kissing all 3 girls on their hand when he was introduced. If any of them were hoping for a repeat of what happened on their last plane ride, they were sadly mistaken. The girls were all asleep within minutes of takeoff and the guys were just chattering away, except for Donnie, who was snoring loudly on the window with Mary asleep on his shoulder. Steph and Jen both had window seats and their men had the aisle, as did Jon on the other side of Jordan.

"Wow, bro," Jon said, motioning to Steph. "She’s great!" Joe turned in his seat a bit to participate in the conversation.

"Isn’t she though?" Jordan said, proudly, pushing a piece of hair behind Steph’s ear.

"Yeah, and dude, Joe..."

"Yes?" Joe asked. Jon grinned and just gave Joe five, causing him to chuckle. "Dude, Jon, if you only knew what we’ve all been through together." Jon raised his eyebrows and ran his fingers through his silky brown hair.

"What?" he asked, looking at his brother in question. Jordan sighed.

"We’ll have to tell the story to Jen and Steph’s friend later, bro, so we’ll tell you then, ok?" He nodded and then asked,

"What friend?" Joe and Jordan laughed.

"Oh the girl we’re staying with in Porterville," Jordan said. "And warning, bro, I think that our women already have plans to set you two up!" Jon groaned.

"Great, that’s just what I need," he mumbled. "I hope I don’t disappoint them." Joe shrugged and looked over at Jen as she stirred. He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek and settled down on her shoulder to sleep. Jordan and Jon chatted for a bit more, but soon they were all fast asleep. Four cramped hours later, they were all stumbling off the plane, getting more than a few strange looks from people.

"Great," Joe mumbled. "Now that we’re together again, we’ll be recognized." Mary sighed and grabbed Donnie’s arm.

"Come on," she said. "Let’s go buy you boys hats and sunglasses." Jen nodded and pushed Joe to go with them.

"I’ll go call Kris and meet you guys in baggage, k?" she said, not waiting for an answer. Steph went with her while Mary took the four boys shopping.

"Well, well," Mary said, looking at the men surrounding her. "I don’t know if I want to buy you guys anything. I look GOOD with you four!" Donnie chuckled and wrapped a strong arm around her waist.

"You look good anyway," he said, his eyes shining. Jon shot Jordan a look of shock and Jordan nodded enthusiastically.

"Wow," Jon mumbled, not believing that someone had tamed Donnie Wahlberg. He was loving it. When they had each decided on their hats and sunglasses, they headed for the baggage claim, where Steph and Jen were waiting for them. When they got their bags, they went to rent a van, preparing for the hour and a half drive to Porterville from Fresno. Jen gave Jon the directions that Kris had given her.

"Jen, did you take those directions?" Jordan asked, raising his eyebrow. Jen stuck her tongue out at him.

"No, Steph did," she said, defeated. Jordan sighed in relief, earning himself a smack from Jen just before she climbed into the back seat with Joe. Jordan took the front with Jon, causing Steph to pout, but she ended up sleeping the whole way anyway. Donnie and Mary took up the middle and Jon stole a glance in the rearview mirror, still amazed at how whipped Donnie was. Shaking his head, he flipped on the radio to This is How We Do It by Montell Jordan. Joe burst up in his seat and yelled,

"Turn it up!" Jon did as requested and Jen and Joe started dancing around and singing along. Their mood spread, and soon the whole car was bumping and grinding, singing,

"This is how we do it!!" The next song that came on was Fly by Sugar Ray and Steph groaned, knowing that they wouldn’t shut up for that one either. In fact, the group was pretty much singing and laughing all the way to Kris’s house.

"Here we are!" Jon announced, pulling in to a cute little cul-de-sac and then in front of an adorable one-story white house with pink trim.

"Beep the horn!" Jen said excitedly, scrambling to get out of the car. The front door opened before Jon had a chance to touch the horn and the girls all squealed, fighting each other to get out of the car. The guys watched in amusement as the girls all practically attacked the one that had stepped out of the house. Jon appraised the girl carefully, his jaw dropping into the steering wheel.

"She’s cute," Jordan commented from his side as he moved to get out of the car. Jon nodded blankly and he watched the girl carefully as she flipped her medium-length brown hair over her shoulder, the sun making it shine even more than it usually did. Her brown eyes sparkled with happiness at the excitement of seeing her friends. They all hugged tightly, but Jon noticed that she kept looking over at the van in curiosity. He finally decided to get out of the car and even though he tried not to look at her, their eyes locked almost immediately and he had to take a deep breath. He shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered over to where Kris was being introduced to Joe, Jordan, and Donnie, who were all fighting to kiss her hand, which made Kris laugh, but the smile froze on her face when she saw who was walking up to her house. HER house...wow. Jordan moved aside to let his brother in and put one hand on his shoulder and one hand on Kris’s shoulder.

"Brother of mine, this is our lovely hostess, Kristina. Kris, this is Jon." Kris wanted to say "duh", but instead held her shaking hand out to Jon.

"Nice to meet you," she said, shakily. He turned her palm to place a soft kiss on it.

"The pleasure is all mine," he replied, softly. Jen and Steph exchanged looks. Oh, this was going to be easier than they thought! Mary elbowed Steph and grinned, nodding towards the pair.

"Come on you guys," Kris said, tearing her gaze away from Jon’s. "You must be tired, come on in, make yourselves at home." She held open the door for them and watched them all as they went in, guys first. Kris watched Donnie Wahlberg, Joe McIntyre, Jordan Knight, and finally Jonathan Knight enter her house and she had to stop the girls from entering so she could hug them all again.

"Kris!" Jen said, coughing. "You’re choking me, woman!"

"Oh my God!" Kris squealed, trying to keep her voice down. "I don’t know how you guys managed this, but I so owe you."

"We know," Steph said, giving her a grin before she followed the guys inside.

"You’re welcome!" Mary giggled, also going in. Jen draped an arm around Kris’s shoulders and winked.

"Told you it would happen some day," she said, closing the door behind them.

"No way, wench, I told YOU it would happen. God, did you see how hot he looks, Jen?" Jen laughed at her friend’s excitement.

"Yeah I saw," she said. "Now let’s go inside so we can explain to you what happened, ok?" They walked straight ahead into the kitchen, where the guys had already made themselves at home.

"Hey Kris?" Donnie asked with a yawn. "Where should we put our stuff?"

"Oh, well, there are 4 rooms that I have set up. One of them is mine, so however you guys want to sleep is fine with me."

"Where are they?" Joe asked. Kris pointed down a hallway and Joe took off. They all heard him not a minute later yell,

"Jen and I have this room!" Jen laughed and picked up her stuff.

"I guess I don’t have much choice, do I?" she said. All the girls snorted.

"Please, Jen, I dare you to turn him down," Kris tried. Jen glared at her friend.

"Are you smoking CRACK?" she asked, following Joe into the hallway. Jordan, Steph, Donnie, and Mary went to get settled into their rooms, leaving Jon and Kris alone in the kitchen. If she didn’t know any better, Kris would have thought that they had planned it that way.

"Do you want something to drink?" she asked. She needed something to keep her hands busy and she wasn’t quite ready to offer the services that she really wanted to do for this man quite yet.

"Sure," he said in that soft, sexy voice of his that ran shivers down her spine. "Water would be great." Kris reached up for the glass, giving Jon a great view of her backside before turning around to poor him some water. "Thanks," he said, taking the glass from her. Their hands touched and Kris yanked hers away. The electricity in that touch frightened her more than she was willing to admit and she was grateful when Joe and Jen sauntered back into the room. Kris cleared her throat.

"Um, Jen?" she asked. "Will you help me with something in my room real quick?" Joe and Jon exchanged a glance as Jen grinned. She got the idea.

"Sure, let’s go!" she said, giving Joe a peck on the cheek before following Kris.

"Take pictures!" he called after them. Jen stopped in her tracks and turned around, feigning anger.

"Joseph Mulrey McIntyre!" she scolded. "You know that I’m not into that! Video only!" Hearing that, Joe got a huge grin on his face as the girls left the room in giggles.

"How do you know that, Joe?" they heard Jon ask as they passed by the other rooms. Jordan and Steph’s door was shut.

"Damn, already?" Kris asked in bewilderment. Jen shrugged and motioned to Mary and Donnie, who were locked in an embrace on the bed in the other room. She crept up and shut the door loudly, making both of them jump.

"Oh I love your room!" Jen commented, taking a look around. It was just as cluttered as her own room back home with a ton of pictures of Kris and her friends and her daughter. "Where is Kellie anyway?" Jen asked.

"With her father," Kris replied, so Jen decided not to push the issue. Noticing a pair of handcuffs above the door, she bursted out laughing.

"Don’t show those to Jordan and Steph!" she commented, making Kris laugh as well. "Um, Kris?"

"Yeah?" Kris asked, flopping down on her bed. Jen pointed to one of the numerous Jon pictures that were up.

"You might want to take those down."

"Shit!" Kris yelped, scrambling around the room to remove all of the Jon pictures. "Thanks!" Jen giggled.

"So why did you want me here?" she asked, innocently.

"Well DUH!" her friend replied. "Tell me all about you and Joe!" Hearing his name made Jen sigh and Kris groaned. "Oh, no, my dear, you’ve got it BAD."

"OH wow, Kris, he’s even more incredible than he ever was in those stupid fantasies (uh...wait....shit, isn’t THIS...never mind) I used to write."

"Jen, tell me what I want to know." Jen giggled.

"Oh and that man has LIPS like you wouldn’t believe! And you know what they say about big hands...well let me tell ya..." She noticed that Kris was staring into space and stopped in midsentence. "Wait," she observed. "You didn’t bring me in here to talk about JOE, did you, Kris dear?" Kris blushed.

"So what do you know?" she asked. Jen shrugged.

"I know that at the present time, the man in single," she said, bringing a squeal of delight from Kris.

"So what are my chances?" she asked, her eyes sparkling. Jen pretended to study her nails.

"Oh, I don’t know..." she said, dragging it out. Kris made a fist.

"Listen, wench..." she began.

"Whoa!" Jen exclaimed, holding up her hands. "OK, geesh! Didn’t you SEE the way he was looking at you?" Kris blushed again.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," she mumbled.

"The hell you don’t," Jen smiled, getting up. "Come on, we don’t want to keep those fine men waiting, do we?"

"HELL NO!" With that, the girls exited the room to find everyone gathered in the kitchen reading the letter.

"Hey Kris?" Jordan asked, looking up. "Where’s Sierra Vista Hospital?" Kris shrugged, struggling not to meet Jonathan’s piercing gaze.

"About 15 minutes from here...why?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, we haven’t told you why we’re here, have we?" Donnie asked with a smile.

"No," she said, sitting down on a kitchen chair. "You haven’t." Steph snatched the letter out of Joe’s hand.

"Read this, Kris," she said, holding it out. Kris took the letter and the picture that Mary handed her and started to read. Somewhere in the middle, her eyes filled with tears and Jon had to sit on his hands to prevent himself from brushing them away.

"Wow," she said when she was done. "That’s so sad."

"That’s what I said," Jen mumbled, perching herself on Joe’s lap. He buried his head in her back and breathed in her scent, grateful to have her there.

"You guys?" Kris said suddenly. They all looked at her expectantly. "It is so great of you to actually do this!" she said seriously. "I mean, I don’t know of any other band that would fly across the country for a single fan’s wish."

"We had to," Jon said softly. "I just wish there was more we could do." Jen felt Joe sigh against her back. For some reason, this girl had really affected him. She turned a bit to look at him.

"Are you ok?" she whispered. He wiped his eyes, embarrassed, and nodded.

"Thank God you’re here," he said simply. She kissed him on top of his head and wrapped her arms tightly around him. Steph had her hand on Jordan’s arm and Mary had Donnie’s head to her chest like a mother. Looking around him, Jon had to smile.

"I have never seen my friends this happy," he told Kris softly. "I’m really happy for them." Kris smiled and patted his hand before she had time to stop herself.

"Me too," she said. "Look at my friends, they’re giddy." Noticing that practically everyone had tears in their eyes, she changed her mind. "Well...maybe not GIDDY..." Jon chuckled softly and placed a hand over hers. She didn’t complain when he didn’t move it.

"Thank you for doing all of this for us," he said sincerely. "We would have no clue without you here." Kris blushed.

"Oh, come on, this is nothing! If there’s anything else you guys need to help that girl, you let me know." He studied her face for a moment before replying.

"I will, thank you," he stated, staring at her until they were interrupted by Donnie clearing his throat loudly.

"You guys, Danny will be here bright and early, so we should go to the hospital as soon as he gets here."

"Shouldn’t we have one little practice session?" Jordan, the ever-perfectionist asked. Donnie nodded slightly.

"Yeah, in the car on the way there," he replied.

"You guys are going to sing for her?" Mary asked, touched. The guys all nodded and the girls sighed simultaneously.

"I don’t know," Jordan started to say, looking around.

"Chicago," Joe stated, finally looking up from Jen’s back. Everyone looked at him in surprise. "Chicago," he stated, firmly. "You’re the Inspiration. Fans like her are our inspiration...." Jen had never felt so much love towards any person in her life when Joe said that. She kissed him soundly on the mouth and just stared at him until Donnie coughed them back to the real world (this is the real world???).

"Joe," Jon said practically. "We haven’t sang together for years and you want us to do Chicago??" Joe nodded firmly.

"Well, with practice..." Jordan started to say.

"I have the CD with me," Jen cut in. Jon groaned and nodded, giving Kris’s hand a squeeze before dropping it.

"Alright," he said with a sigh. "Let’s start now then. We can show Danny his part in the car." Donnie smiled.

"Yo, you guys, this is kinda cool, ya know?" he said, putting his hands behind his neck as he leaned back. "Singing together again?"

"You guys here that?" Mary asked the girls. "Watch, they’ll get back together because of this!"

"No!" all four guys said at once, causing the girls to chuckle.

"Alright, Jen, could you grab that CD for us?" Jordan asked. Jen and Kris both got up to get the CD and the player and everyone else moved into the living room.

"OK," Jen announced. "I’ll play DJ!" She popped in the CD and pressed number 1. The beautiful opening notes began and the guys all listened quietly. When the song was over for the first time, Donnie cleared his throat and shot a look at Jordan.

"I think Joe should sing lead," he said, softly. Jordan looked surprised, but finally agreed. Jon nodded and the three of them looked at Joe, who didn’t look extremely happy, but he nodded.

"Thanks, you guys," he said. "OK, let’s start up the song again. You guys do have a lot of background stuff, so listen for it. Does anybody really know this song?" Jen was the only one who raised her hand.

"Hey, I do!" she defended when everyone looked at her funny.

"Jen, can you teach them when the background parts are?" Joe asked. Jen’s eyes gleamed with the excitement that they always do whenever she sings as she nodded and started up the song again.

"You know our love was meant to be the kind of love to last forever. And I want you here with me from tonight until the end of time. You should know..(if you need to know) everywhere I go...you’re always on my mind, in my heart in my soul. You’re the feeling in my life. You’re the inspiration. You give feeling to my life. You’re the inspiration. I want to have you hear me. I want to have you hear me say it. Noone needs you more than I need you...." By the time Joe and the guys were done singing, almost all of the girls had tears in their eyes, it sounded so beautiful.

"You guys got it?" Jen sniffed. They all nodded solemnly. "OK, well it sounded great," she added, getting nods from Steph, Mary, and Kris. After a few more run throughs, everyone was ready to quit for the night.

"Food, bitch?" Steph asked, looking at Jen. Joe and Jordan obviously didn’t have much of a choice. Jen nodded and looked at everyone else.

"Anyone else?" she asked. Mary yawned and Kris shook her head.

"Nah," Donnie said, draping an arm over Mary’s shoulder. "We’ll just rest guys, but could you bring us something back?" Steph nodded and looked over at Jon and Kris.

"No thanks," Kris said, motioning to the kitchen. "I’m just going to make some pasta if anyone wants to join me."

"Uh oh," Jordan said. "You said pasta, Jon’ll be there!" Kris dared a look in Jon’s direction to see that he was nodding enthusiastically.

"If you don’t mind, Kris," he said, catching her eye.

"She doesn’t mind," Jen said with a giggle, holding out her hand to Jon. He looked at her upturned palm, thought a minute, then handed the keys to Jordan. Jen looked insulted.

"You know us pretty well already, Jon," Steph commented with a laugh. Jen was still pouting as the foursome left to get something to eat. Left with Jon, Mary, and Donnie, Kris went to work in the kitchen.

"Do you guys want some pasta?" she asked the other two, who both shook their heads.

"Actually, I’m going to lie down for a bit," Donnie said with a yawn. When he was gone, Mary grabbed Kris’s arm.

"Hey, do you have a bathtub?" she asked suddenly. "That sounds so good right now!" Kris laughed and took Mary into the bathroom to show her where everything was.

"Enjoy!" she called, shutting the door. Mary turned on the water and prepared her bath with a ton of bubbles, just the way she liked it. When she finally sank into the water, she let out a huge sigh and let down her hair. She could stay like that forever. Kris was thinking the same thing as she stole a glance at Jon while she was cooking.

"Smells great," he commented, making friendly conversation.

"It’s just pasta," Kris said with a laugh. Jon shrugged.

"Well, it smells like good pasta," he commented, walking over to dip a finger in the sauce.

"Hey now," Kris scolded, slapping his hand away. Jon pouted and licked his finger, rubbing his stomach.

"Sorry," he said, not sounding at all sorry. Looking out the window, his face lit up. "Hey, can we eat by the pool? It’s really nice out."

"Sure," Kris said, cheerfully, licking some sauce off of her pointer finger. Jon had to stop himself from moaning out loud as he picked up their dishes and brought them out to the table by the pool. Kris debated on whether or not she should bring out her candles, but then just shrugged. What the hell? She brought them along with the pasta and a salad that she had whipped up. She started to sit down when Jon asked,

"Hey, do you have any wine? This just wouldn’t seem right without it..." Kris smiled, she was so glad that he didn’t find it odd of her to make the atmosphere so date-like. "Yeah, I’ll go..." she started to say, but Jon stopped her.

"No, let me," he said with a grin that melted her heart.

"OK, it’s in the hall closet," she said, pointing. Jon went to fetch the wine and then they both settled down for what turned out to be a great dinner. Afterwards, they were both so full that they decided to move to the porch swing that was set up. The two of them chatted for what seemed like hours when all of the sudden, soft music started to play out of nowhere. Jon and Kris looked up in surprise to see Donnie scamper away, giggling. Kris put her head in her hands, embarrassed, but Jon didn’t seem to notice.

"Why, Kris, I do believe we are being set up," he commented, a teasing grin in his eyes.

"Really subtlely, too," she replied, laughing softly. Jon chuckled and got up, holding out his hand, palm up.

"Well, hey, while we have music, do you want to dance?" he asked, looking her straight in the eye. She gulped and nodded, taking his hand and letting him lead her to the deck. She stepped right into his arms and the two began swaying to the music when Jon chuckled.

"That Donnie," he said into her hair. "What a character."

"Why would he do this?" Kris asked, surprised that she could talk with Jon’s breath in her ear.

"I don’t know," Jon said, pulling her closer. "Maybe he thinks we’re good together."

"Oh?" was all Kris could say, but Jon took care of that for her.

"Yeah," he said, tilting her chin up. "I agree with him." Before either of them knew it, they were kissing each other desperately, as if each of them were starving for the other’s kiss.

"Wow," Kris couldn’t help saying as they pulled apart. Jon wrapped his arms around her waist and laughed.

"Mmmm, tell me about it," he murmured, kissing her again.

"Mmmmmmm," Mary murmured to herself as she sank into the bubbles of her hot bath water. She couldn’t remember when she’d been so relaxed. She let thoughts of Donnie and their wonderful time together put her in a state of half-consciousness, so she didn’t notice the door open until she heard a masculine voice say,

"Oops!" Mary looked up in surprise to see Donnie standing there with an embarrassed grin on his face. In his haste to get out of site after the gag he played on Kris and Jon, he hadn’t knocked on the bathroom door.

"Donnie!" Mary gasped, using the bubbles to cover herself, but Donnie wasn’t listening. Hell, Donnie wasn’t even moving. He just stood there, staring at Mary as he would a statue in a museum...completely fascinated.

"Mary..I....uh....hm." Donnie, for once, had nothing to say. Mary saw the heat forming in his eyes and she blushed, looking down at the water. "Mary?" he said, softly, sitting on the edge of the tub. "May I kiss you? Please?" Oh, it was the please that did it, even though Donnie could see that she was having an inner battle with herself. She nodded briefly before he captured her lips with his own, wrapping his arms around her despite the water that was getting all over his black turtleneck. Mary moved herself closer to him, wrapping her wet arms around his neck. "Mary," Donnie gasped, pulling quickly away. "I have to get out of here."

"No," Mary said simply. Donnie looked at her in surprise.

"Mary, do you know what you’re saying?" he asked, softly, totally forgetting about Kris and Jon. She nodded.

"Donnie, I’m so sick of being the good girl," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck again. "Please, I need you." That was enough for Donnie and he stood up. Seeing the disappointment in Mary’s face, he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.

"I’m just getting out of these clothes, babe," he reassured her, removing his shirt in one swoop and then moving his hands to his black pants.

"No," Mary said, reaching a wet hand out to stop him. "Let me." She got on her knees to undo his belt and then his pants, giving him a full view of her shining, wet form and she couldn’t help noticing his reaction, which was growing by the second. By this point, Donnie helped her with his pants and they were gone in a second, adding to the pile on the floor. He hovered over her, completely naked, with lust in his eyes and pushed her back a bit, lowering himself into the tub with her. "Donnie," she whispered, stopping him. "Wanna lock that door, honey?" He chuckled, remembering that that was why he was here.

"Sure," he said, kissing her and getting up to lock the door, giving Mary a great view in the process. He came right back to her and began to kiss her desperately, lowering himself on top of her. She sighed when his hands touched her breasts, exploring them completely before lowering his mouth to take his hands’ place. Mary’s fingers threaded in his hair as she leaned her head back in utter delight. When he raised his head to kiss her again, she let her own hands roam over his body, being more bold than she ever had been before. She felt delightfully wicked as she ran her hands through his chest hair, lowering her mouth to his nipples. Maybe it’s the water, she thought when she felt Donnie’s whole body tremble.

"Donnie..." she moaned when she felt his hand touch her in the source of her tremors. He smiled against her mouth.

"Just let go, Mar..." he murmured, kissing her neck and then nibbling on her ear. She gasped as his hand and fingers worked wonders on her senses. Donnie felt a sense of wonder that was completely new to him when Mary exploded against his fingers. She was breathing hard and he touched her cheek to calm her. "Touch me," he pleaded, but he was too late. She was already there. Donnie let his head fall back as her shy fingers stroked him under the water. When her strokes grew bolder, he groaned and moved her hand away. He ran his hands over her legs and wrapped them around his waist, pressing himself against her. "Mary, are you totally sure?" he asked one last time.

"Yes," she pleaded, pushing on his tight ass. "Please." That was all the incentive he needed and he pushed himself into her just as his tongue found hers. He was gentle at first, thrusting slowly and carefully, but when Mary started digging her nails into his back, he completely lost control, driving into her as fast as his body would allow. Mary felt herself reaching the height of passion just as Donnie did and she came seconds before him, collapsing against the back of the tub. Donnie grabbed her face.

"Oh my God, Mary, are you ok?" he asked, frantically, worried that he might have hurt her. Mary smiled up at him in wonder and nodded.

"I’m great," she said, kissing his chin. "But a little pruny, can we take this into our room?" Donnie smiled and kissed her head.

"Absolutely," he replied.

"No way, Steph, Jim Carrey is the funniest man!" Joe was saying as he opened the door for the girls. Steph groaned.

"Oh, he’s so annoying, Joe, how can you stand him!" Jen opened her mouth to defend the comedian when all four of them stopped dead in their tracks to see Donnie running out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. That didn’t seem very strange, but when Mary followed him minutes later, there were four jaws on the floor. Their bedroom door slammed and the group could hear giggling.

"What the..." Jordan started.

"Did you see..." Joe added.

"Oh my God!" Steph and Jen said simultaneously, looking at the guys. They all promptly burst out laughing, filing into the kitchen to put their leftovers in the fridge.

"Hey," Steph said, closing the refrigerator door. "Where are Kris and Jon?"

"Don’t look now," Jordan said, pointing out the window. Kris and Jon were half-dancing, locked in an embrace that World War III couldn’t break them out of.

"Something must be in the air," Jen muttered, looking up when Joe came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling her neck.

"Must be," he responded, winking at Jordan. Jordan just shook his head and grabbed Steph’s hand.

"Come on, let’s go to bed," he requested. Jen laughed.

"Subtle, Jordan," she commented. He stuck his tongue out at her as he led Steph to the bedroom. "Don’t make any promises you can’t keep!" she called after him, making Joe laugh. Steph glared at Jen before entering her room.

"That was too funny," Joe commented as Jen went to get some water.

"Oh you mean Donnie and Mary," she asked with a giggle. "Yeah, I’m glad I didn’t blink, I might have missed that!" Joe laughed with her, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Damn, he thought. Even Donnie and Mary are having sex. He didn’t want to let it bother him, but it did, nonetheless. Watching Jen reach up for a glass, there was something else bothering him too and he sighed, remembering Jen’s promise when they had found out about Jordan’s fear that he might have AIDS, but he didn’t want to remind her of it. He’d just feel like a jerk. "So," Jen said, sitting down. "What do you want to do?" The question was almost comical. Wasn’t it obvious?

"I don’t know," Joe said, looking down at his hands and adjusting his pants under the table. Jen frowned. Didn’t Joe remember that night in the park when she had promised herself to him? Why wasn’t he acting on it? She knew that she wanted to make love to Joe, she had known it for a long time, but either he was too clueless to see it, or he didn’t want her anymore. She had to find out.

"Well, I have an idea," she said, flashing him a wicked grin. Joe looked up and gave her a grin of his own, crossing his fingers.

"Yeah?" he asked. "Do share."

"Come on," Jen said, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the door that led to the pool.

"Wait," Joe protested. "Jon and Kris are..." Too late.

"Hey you guys!" Jen said loudly and the couple flew apart, embarrassed. Kris grinned at her friend.

"Um, hi Jen! Hi Joe!" she said, nervously. Jon wrapped an arm around her waist and grinned.

"What’s up guys? Can’t you see that..."

"Not my idea to interrupt you!" Joe cut in. Jen giggled.

"You guys, can’t you move the make-out session inside?" she asked, politely. "We want to use this pool." Kris winked at her friend knowingly and tugged on Jon’s hand.

"Come on, hon, we have to baptize the living room," she teased, closing the door behind them. Joe turned to Jen in confusion.

"Use the pool?" he asked. Jen nodded and grinned, suddenly pulling her shirt over her head.

"Yup, what’s wrong, McIntyre, you chicken?" Joe snorted.

"No way," he said, removing his shoes and then his shirt. "Last one in is a rotten..." SPLASH! Jen had already jumped into the deep end of the pool. Joe cursed himself for missing the view, but he quickly shut off the pool lights and shed the rest of his clothes, diving in after her. When he surfaced, Jen splashed him in the face and laughed, yelping when he dove underwater to grab her legs, pulling her with him. The second she went beneath the surface, she felt Joe’s lips press against hers and all thoughts of how he felt about her disappeared. They both came up gasping for breath, but their arms were still wrapped around each other.

"Mmmm," Joe said against her neck. "Great idea, Jennifer."

"Jennifer, huh?" she quipped, her hands restless on his shoulders. "I know it was, Joseph." He grinned and splashed her, which just caused another wrestling match. Joe’s naked form pressed against hers was making Jen hot, despite the coolness of the water.

"Joe?" she said.

"Jen?" Joe said at the same time. They both laughed nervously. "You first," he insisted. Jen nodded and bit her lip.

"Joe," she said, taking a deep breath. "Don’t you want me anymore?" Joe looked so shocked at the question that Jen giggled.

"Are you SERIOUS?" he almost yelled. Jen shrugged.

"Well," she protested. "After that conversation in the park..."

"That’s what I was thinking," Joe said.

"I just thought you would have done something by now, you know?" Now that she was looking into his eyes, his desire was no longer hidden from her.

"I didn’t want to disrespect you," he mumbled softly, touching her cheek.

"Oh, Joe, I meant it the first time and I mean it now, sugar...I WANT YOU." Jen said that so simply that Joe almost cleared out his ears.

"Wait here," he said, huskily as he climbed out of the pool to grab two towels. He motioned for Jen to join him and she found that she wasn’t at all shy to reveal herself to him. Wrapping himself and then her in a towel, Joe picked Jen up and carried her into the house, practically slamming the door. They hurried to their bedroom and Kris looked up from her kiss with Jon.

"Was that...." she asked in shock.

"What?" Jon asked, his hand on her hip. Kris shook her head.

"Nothing," she said. "I’m just seeing things." Jon peered over her shoulder, but forgot all about it when Kris grabbed his chin and pulled him to her for another kiss. When he pulled away, he smiled at her.

"Wow," he said, causing her to giggle.

"Well, I know I’m good," she started, but he put a finger to her lips.

"What I meant, smartass, is how weird this is."

"Weird?" Kris asked, skeptically. Jon nodded, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah," he said, softly. "I’ve known you for what, a day? It seems longer..." Kris wanted to tell him that she’s felt like she’s known him since she first saw his beautiful face in the Hangin Tough video.

"It does," was all she said. "I love being with you." Oh, had she really said that out loud? Well, it was true. She searched his face for some kind of a reaction and found a bright smile that was getting closer and closer to her own.

Kris groaned in pain as she woke up. She had slept with her neck in a really funky position and she was paying for it now. Looking around, she noticed that she wasn’t it her room.

"What the....?" she mumbled, trying to sit up, but a male arm stopped her. Looking over at him, all of the memories of the night before flooded her and she smiled, stretching her arms over her head. It hadn’t been a dream. The ringing of the phone made her bolt off of the couch, straightening her clothes as she ran to it. She couldn’t believe that she had fallen asleep on the couch making out with Jonathan Knight.

"Hello?" she said breathlessly into the phone. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was already eleven and she wondered why nobody else was up. It must have been a busy night for everybody.

"Hi, who’s this?" a deep voice said into the phone.

"Um, this is Kris...."

"Hi Kris! Who are you?" the voice sounded cheerful.

"I live here," she retorted. "Who are you?"

"Oh shit," the guy started to laugh. "I’m sorry, I’m Danny, I’m with the guys that I hope are staying with you."

"Oh, yeah, Danny Wood!" Kris couldn’t believe she was on the phone with Danny Wood. "Aren’t you supposed to be coming in today?" Danny laughed.

"Yeah, but my flight’s delayed, I’m still in Florida. Are any of the guys around?" Kris laughed at that question.

"No," she said. "They all kinda...slept in."

"Knowing them, I don’t want to know!" Danny said with a chuckle.

"You’re right," she replied, grabbing a pen. "But hey, why don’t you give me your flight info and I’ll pass on the information?" Danny gave her all of his information and with a friendly goodbye, he hung up. Sighing, Kris made an escape to her room for a quick shower before Jon woke up. By the time he finally rose from his nest that he had made in the cushions, Kris was in a robe and cooking breakfast. Running water could be heard coming from the bathrooms.

"Morning," Jon said with a yawn, looking Kris up and down appreciatively. She looked over her shoulder and grinned.

"Morning sleepyhead," she said brightly. "Do you want some breakfast?" He nodded and trudged over to one of her kitchen chairs. She had just set a cup of coffee in front of him when one of the bedroom doors opened and Jen emerged, her entire face glowing radiantly.

"Good morning!" she practically sang. Kris narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"So I wasn’t imagining things!" she said, trying to hide her laughter. Jen’s face turned red for a split second and then she composed herself, grabbing a cup to pour herself some coffee.

"What?" she asked innocently, holding the cup to her lips to blow on the hot liquid. Kris gave her a look.

"You’re looking mighty cheerful, Miss Atkins," she observed. Even in Jon’s half-asleep state, he could see that there was something different about Jen’s behavior. She just shrugged, taking a sip of the bitter liquid.

"Well, it’s a beautiful morning," she said, smiling behind the cup. Joe picked that moment to emerge from their room, looking as cheerful, if not more so, than Jen.

"Good morning!" he called, practically skipping into the kitchen. He bent over Jen. "Good morning," he murmured huskily, kissing her cheek. Catching Kris’s and Jon’s eyes, Jen turned bright red and there was no way that smile on her face was going anywhere.

"Morning," she said back, taking another sip of her coffee. She caught Kris’s eye again and both girl started giggling uncontrollably.

"Did I miss the joke?" Joe asked, sitting down next to Jen. Jen smiled to herself while Jon shot his ex-bandmate a look.

"You didn’t miss anything, Joe," he commented and that only caused Jen and Kris to laugh even harder.

"Come on, Jen," Kris said, putting her plate in the sink. "I need some help in my room." Jen’s eyes were glued to Joe’s as she commented.

"What do you need help with?" she wanted to know. Kris sighed loudly.

"I don’t care!" she said, exasperatingly. "Something!" Jen finally looked over at her friend and smiled.

"Alright, let’s go," she said, pushing her chair back and giving Joe’s curly hair a ruffle. As the girls made their way into the hallway, Mary, Donnie, Steph and Jordan were all heading for the kitchen. Jen and Kris stopped Mary and Steph.

"Girls in my room, guys in the kitchen," Kris told them. They looked a little confused at first, but then Steph took one look at Jen.

"Oh my God," she said, her eyes wide. "OK, let’s go, bitch, we gotta talk!" Jen nodded and took Steph’s arm. Kris looked over at Mary to roll her eyes when she saw that Mary had the same look on her face that Jen did.

"Shit," Kris commented. "OK, girls, it’s girl talk time." The guys had a less subtle way of pumping information from their friends.

"So," Donnie said, pouring himself some coffee. "Who had sex last night?" The looks of surprise that he got made him laugh. "OK," he said, setting down his cup and looking the group over.

"D, you’re nuts," Joe commented.

"Absolutely batty," Jordan added.

"He’s got bats in the belfry," Jon chuckled. Donnie was still looking at them all rather intently. Finally he shrugged and said,

"You guys ALL got some last night, but Jon’s the only one who didn’t hit it if ya know what I’m sayin...." Jordan’s first reaction was to look at Joe, who merely shrugged, and then back at Donnie.

"How do you know?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well let’s think a minute," Donnie relplied. "Jordan, you and Steph can’t keep your hands off of each other for a secong. So, duh. You’re probably itching to touch her right now." Jordan couldn’t help but grin and he shrugged, so Donnie turned to Jon. "And you just met Kris yesterday and no matter how great a girl is, and she is great, but you wouldn’t do that after a few hours. You’re Jon."

"Well, ok, so I have morals," Jon said with a pout. "Talk about self-control!" Suddenly Joe jumped up with his empty plate.

"OK!" he exclaimed nervously. "I’m gonna go...uh....fold my socks." Jordan put a hand on Joe’s shoulder and shoved him back down.

"No way, Joey Joe," he said, looking at Donnie. "So how do you know Joe did? I mean, he and Jen have been so good..." Donnie laughed merrily.

"Look at his face!" Donnie practically yelled, pointing to Joe’s bright red cheeks. "And that grin....Jordan, come on, you don’t see it?"

"Hell, I see it," Jon said. "He should be wearing a sign `I fucked Jen last night.’"

"Hey now," Joe protested. "I didn’t fuck anybody."

"They did it!!" Jordan hooted. "Dude, I’m so happy for you. How was she?" Joe scowled at his friend.

"Hey now, that’s my woman you’re talking about," he said. Donnie nodded.

"Yeah, so how was she?" he asked, grinning. Joe couldn’t help but shake his head and smile.

"Man, you guys...." he said, leaning back to put his hands behind his neck. "I’ve never had better."

"And he’s had a LOT!" Jordan commented. Joe shot him a look.

"Look who’s talking," he retorted. "Seriously, you guys, I didn’t know it could be like that." The guys all awed before Joe turned the tables on his friend Donnie.

"What about you, D?" Joe asked, innocently. Suddenly, Jordan started laughing uncontrollably and he smacked Joe to remind him of the scene that they had witnessed the night before. Joe’s whole face lit up in revelation. "Oh my God, that’s right!" he said, joining Jordan in his laughter.

"What?" Donnie asked, his face a mask of innocence.

"What?" Jordan imitated, holding a hand on his chest to try and control the laughs that were erupting. "We saw you and Mary running out of the bathroom last night, D."

"BUCK NAKED!" Joe finished, laughing so hard, he almost fell out of his chair.

"You saw what?" Jon asked, chuckling. Donnie shrugged.

"Guilty as charged," he said with a wink. "And it was great."

"That’s ok, Kris saw Joe and Jen going to their rooms from the pool dressed in only towels," Jon informed them, getting another blush out of Joe.

"You saw WHAT?" Steph asked, loudly.

"Shhhhhhhh," all the girls said at once. Kris giggled and patted Jen on the shoulder.

"You heard me," she replied. "I’m telling you they weren’t wearing anything under those towels." Jen was groaning, her head in her hands.

"JEN??!!!" Steph couldn’t help but be surprised.

"What?" she asked, looking up from her hands to look Steph straight in the eye. "Yeah, I did it, ok? I bonked him, rode him like a bologna poney, fucked the shit out of him...."

"OK!" Steph groaned, covering her ears. "Enough, I get it."

"So, Jen?" Mary asked, leaning forward. "You know that I’ve always wondered this so I have to ask....how was he?" Giggles could be heard throughout the house once again as Jen flashed Mary a thumbs up sign.

"Oh my, Mar," she said, shaking her head. "Words just can’t describe...I mean, those pelvic thrusts that he used to do on stage did NOT do the boy justice!"

"But I always thought that Joe’s thrusts were incredible," Mary argued. Jen nodded eagerly.

"EXACTLY!" she exclaimed, a shit eating grin on her face. "Now, Mar, don’t think that Steph and I missed you and Donnie’s little rendevous last night."

"Yeah, Mar," Steph cut in. Mary’s face turned a lovely shade of red.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Cut the crap, Mar," Jen said.

"We saw you and Donnie running out of that bathroom like it was on fire!" Steph couldn’t help her laughter.

"You saw us?" Mary asked in a small voice. Seeing the grins on her friends’ faces, she smiled. "Well, what do you want from me?" She threw up her arms.

"So?" Kris asked, ruffling through her top drawer.

"SO, it was amazing, you guys, OK? Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"YES!" they all chorused at once, collapsing on the bed in giggles. Mary shook her head.

"You guys are sickos," she commented, but pretty soon she was laughing too. The phone rang and Kris made a grab for it.

"Hello?" she said into right as she heard another voice say,

"Hello?"

"Jon?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Why are you answering my phone?"

"I don’t know!" he countered. "You weren’t in here?"

"Um, you guys?" an unknown voice cut in. "Think you can stop arguing long enough to pick me up?"

"Danny?" they both asked, laughing at the same time.

"Yeah, you guys, I’m here, so..."

"OK, we’re on our way," Jon said, hanging up the phone. Kris sighed.

"See you soon, Danny," she said, turning to the girls. "OK, Jon and I are going to pick up Danny I guess, so can you guys entertain yourselves for a few hours?" The girls all got evil grins on their faces as they nodded. Kris groaned. "Just not in my room, OK?" she requested, opening the door to join the guys in the kitchen. Jon looked up from his toast and smiled at her, jumping up.

"See you guys in a few hours!" he called, taking Kris’s hand and pulling her out the door.

"Wait, why do they get to pick him up?" Donnie wanted to know. The rest of them shrugged.

"We can work on the song, D," Jordan said. "Come on." Jen, Mary and Steph watched their men gather into the living room to practice You’re the Inspiration.

"I hope that girl’s ok, you guys," Jen murmured.

"She has cancer, Jen, of course she’s not ok," Steph replied, shaking her head. Mary sighed, watching Donnie intently.

"I hope they don’t take this too hard," she observed. The girls all agreed as they settled on the couches to watch the three guys practice the Chicago song. By the time Kris and Jon got back with Danny, they were all fast asleep on their perspective guys’ laps.

"Hello!" Danny yelled as soon as he walked through the front door.

"Shhh!" the guys all said at once, motioning to their girls. Danny grinned widely and waved.

"They didn’t get much sleep last night," Jon whispered.

"I figured," Danny whispered back, shaking his head at the other three, who all grinned in return.

"Did Jon tell you what song we’re doing?" Joe asked softly, trying not to wake Jen up as he ran his fingers through her hair. Danny nodded.

"Yeah, Joey Joe, good choice," he replied. Joe scowled at him for using that name, but then went back to Jen. Danny just watched in total amusement.

"How’s Patty?" Jordan asked, speaking of Danny’s wife.

"Pissed that I’m not home," he said with a laugh. "Seriously, you guys, I have to leave by tonight, so maybe we should go."

"OK," Jon said, tugging on Kris’s arm. "You go and get them up and we’ll be right back." Danny raised his eyebrows and looked the group over.

"Who are they?" he whispered. Kris giggled and pointed out which girl was which and who she was with. "Alright, now I’m informed," Danny said, making his way into the living room. Jon tugged on Kris’s arm again and she looked at him strangely.

"What is it sweetie?" she asked, letting him lead her into the hallway. As soon as they rounded the corner, he backed her against the wall and pressed his hot lips against hers, his tongue probing her mouth open to taste the recesses of her mouth. She let out a soft moan as his hands ran over her body and by the time they broke apart, they were both out of breath.

"Wow," Jon murmured.

"What was that for?" Kris panted. Jon smiled.

"I’ve wanted to do that since we woke up," he replied, shrugging. She grinned and gave him another quick kiss.

"Me too," she whispered, pulling him back into the living room. Their friends were all waiting for them with their arms crossed. The girls has obviously woken up. Seeing the sheepish looks on Kris’s and Jon’s faces, they all burst into laughter.

"OK," Jon said, holding up his hands. "Joke’s on us, can we go now?" They followed him out to the van still giggling.

"Can I drive?" Joe asked, making everybody laugh even harder. He pouted while Jon crawled into the drivers’ seat.

"Directions?" he asked Joe, holding out his hand. Still frowning, Joe slapped the directions into his hand and hopped in the back. On the ride to the hospital, the five guys, finally together again, practiced the song over and over again until they had it down. Mary, Steph, Jen, and Kris were all in awe. They were in a van with the New Kids on the Block and they were all singing. Having all five of them there was like a reality check.

"There it is!" Jordan said suddenly, pointing to the right. Jon turned into Sierra View District Hospital and parked the van. When they all got out, Joe took a deep breath to prepare himself. A hand on his shoulder made him turn around.

"Hey," Jen said softly. "Are you ok?" Joe nodded.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing her hand. "I just hate hospitals. Thanks." He took another breath and then headed for the entrance, motioning for everyone to follow him. The girls let all of the New Kids go ahead of them so as not to take away from their entrance. They were right. Every hospital employee turned to look as they entered, their mouths wide open.

"I’m really proud of them," Mary whispered. The girls all nodded in agreement as they followed them down a long corridor.

"Excuse me!" a voice called. A short man in a trim grey beard and a white lab coat on came running down the hall, holding up his hand. "Are you guys that band that came for Stacey?" Even though Donnie was usually the spokesperson, Joe stepped forward and held out his hand.

"Yeah, we are...um, well we WERE the New Kids on the Block," he said, shaking the doctor’s hand. "I’m Joe." The doctor nodded.

"You’re the one who got her letter," he said with a nod. Introductions were made around and the doctor motioned them all into his office. "Please sit," he said, motioning to the couches and chairs he had spread around. Sitting at his desk, he sighed and ran a hand through his balding grey hair.

"How bad is she, Doc?" Jordan asked, leaning forward.

"Pretty bad, I’m afraid...Jordan, is it?" Jordan nodded and waited for the doctor to continue. "I’d give her a month, maybe two." Jen heard Joe swallow next to her and she reached out to place a comforting hand on his knee. He didn’t even notice. "But I know how much you guys being here means to her and it will make these last months happy ones."

"Is there anything else we can do?" Joe asked, softly. Dr. Schwartz shook his head.

"I’m afraid not, Joe," he said, kindly. "Just be there for her, that’s all." They all nodded.

"Well when can we meet her?" Jon asked.

"Yeah, we kind of have a little something planned," Donnie added. The doctor nodded and stood up.

"Right now," he said, looking at the girls. "I don’t know how much room there is...."

"Don’t worry about us," Steph said, holding up a hand. "We’re going to wait outside."

"We are?" Mary asked. Steph nodded.

"Yeah, we are."

"Why?" Kris asked.

"Because she wants to see the New Kids," Jen said solemnly. "Not the New Kids and their girlfriends." Mary and Kris nodded in understanding and they all grabbed seats on the couches in the waiting room.

"OK, you boys ready?" the doctor asked, motioning for them to follow him. They all complied, but Jen stopped Joe to give him a huge hug first as did the other girls.

"Thanks," he whispered into her hair before disappearing down the hallway. They all watched them go, wishing they could do more, yet not being able to do anything. Joe had the same feeling as he approached Stacey’s room.

"Wait," the doctor said, stopping them all in their tracks in front of a door. "I just wanted to prepare you guys for what you are about to see. First, you need to wash your hands and put on those lab coats." He motioned to a closet filled with them.

"To prevent her from getting outside germs?" Jon asked. Dr. Schwartz nodded and rubbed his beard.

"You guys, this isn’t going to be a pretty sight for you. She’s very weak and doesn’t have any hair left. Please, try not to show your shock in front of her. I want her to be as happy as possible." As he said this, the doctor had tears in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away, looking at the door.

"You really care about her don’t you?" Joe asked, stepping forward in his lab coat. The doctor turned in surprise and nodded.

"Yes, I do," he said with sigh. "She’s my daughter." The guys couldn’t hold in their shock.

"Dr. Schwartz..." Jordan started to say.

"Wow, I can’t..." Donnie added.

"Oh my God," was all Joe could say. Danny was completely speechless and Jon simply placed a hand on the older man’s shoulder.

"I’m so sorry," he said, simply. The doctor sighed and looked at them.

"That’s why I’m so thankful to you boys," he said. "This means so much to her." They all nodded and placed surgical masks over their faces before entering the room.

"Daddy?" they heard a tiny voice say hopefully.

"Yes, Angel?" the doctor said, rushing to her bed to grip her hand. Looking at the girl, the guys knew that the man had tried to prepare them, but nothing could have prepared them for what they saw. The girl, who was probably only a few years younger than Joe, was like a skeleton with tube coming out of her arms and nostrils. She didn’t have any hair left and her whole body sagged with fatigue. The only thing positive about her were her eyes, which were shining with happiness, despite her situation.

"How was your day?" she asked softly. He smiled lovingly at his daughter.

"It was fine, sweetheart," he said, motioning for the guys to come out from the back of the room. "I have a surprise for you." Stacey cranned her neck as far as she could and gasped.

"Am I dreaming?" she asked her father. He chuckled as the guys all pulled up chairs.

"No, honey, Joe here got your letter."

"And you guys came all the way here just for me?" Stacey asked, her bright blue eye wide in amazement. They all nodded.

"Well, how could we turn down a request like that coming from such a pretty girl?" Joe asked, patting her hand lightly. She smiled lightly.

"Liar," she laughed. "I’m Stacey." She held up a shaky hand. Each guy took turns introducing themselves and kissing her hand lightly.

"So Stacey," Donnie said, taking his seat after kissing her hand. "We have a little something prepared for you."

"You do?" she asked, looking from guy to guy. They all smiled back at her warmly and looked to Jordan for the count off. Joe started by taking her hand and looking her deep into her eyes as he sang,

"You know our love was meant to be the kind of love to last forever..."

"What’s taking them so long?" Steph grumbled, impatiently. It had been over and hour since the guys had entered the dark room and they were all starting to get worried. Ten minutes later, Mary jumped up.

"There they are!" she said, almost breaking into a run when she saw Donnie’s face. They all had tears in their eyes as they exited and each girl ran for their man. Jen approached the group carefully, her eyes searching for Joe.

"Hey," a deep voice said. "I could use a hug." Jen smiled up at Danny and hugged him tightly.

"Where’s Joe?" she asked, looking toward the room. He was nowhere to be seen.

"He’s going to stay and talk to Stacey for a bit, Jen. Dr. Schwartz will drive him back later, ok? He told me to tell you to go ahead without him." Jen was a little confused, but if that’s what Joe wanted, then that’s what she would do.

"So are you my escort for the evening?" she asked with a faked smile. He grinned and held out his arm.

"Gladly, Madam," he said, following the others to the parking lot. When they caught up to them, the group was talking about Stacey.

"How did she look?" Steph asked. Jordan shook his head, his eyes swimming.

"Terrible, Steph," he said with a sigh. "And you could tell that she used to be so beautiful, but she was just laying there, not moving at all except for those eyes." For once, Donnie was silent as he climbed into the van.

"Let’s go home," Jon said, trying to break the tension. Kris nodded, grateful that he was there to guide everybody. She climbed into the front seat and turned around to meet Jen’s eyes. There was sadness in them, despite the grin that Jen attempted.

"He’ll be fine, Jen," Kris said softly. Jen nodded.

"I know," she said, sighing. "I just wish I could be there for him, ya know?"

"You ARE here for him, Jen," Jordan said from his seat behind her. "You guys are here and that’s more than we could ever ask for. Thank you." The last part was mainly directed at Steph, but everyone else got the basic idea and noone spoke a word the rest of the way home.

That night, when Jen climbed into bed, her thoughts, as usual were on Joe, but these thoughts were different than those in the past. She was worried about him. All day, he had this blank look on his face and even after the night before, it felt as if she were being shut out. After an hour of staring at the ceiling and waiting, she finally threw off her covers and trudged into the kitchen only to run smack into Donnie. He had just gotten back from taking Danny to the airport.

"Jen?" Donnie asked with a yawn. "What are you doing up?" His eyes took in her attire and she blushed, forgetting that she hadn’t put on a robe.

"Getting some hot chocolate," she replied, heading for the kitchen. "Do you want any?" Donnie smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, thanks," he said. "Is Mary asleep?" Jen nodded.

"Yeah, and Steph and Jordan..."

"Where’s Jon sleeping?" Donnie raised an eyebrow. Jen smiled as she poured the hot water.

"Where do you think?" she said, tossing her head toward Kris’s bedroom door. Donnie whistled softly and shook his head.

"We all work fast here," he commented, taking the offered mug from Jen’s hands. "Thanks." She nodded and sat down next to him, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "Where’s Joe?" Donnie asked suddenly and Jen looked down to hide the tears that threatened her.

"He’s not home yet," she whispered.

"From the hospital?" Jen nodded and Donnie leaned forward, tilting Jen’s chin upward. "Hey, don’t worry, ok? You’re still number one in his life." Jen shook herself away.

"I’m not worried about me!" she protested. "I’m worried about that poor girl and I’m worried about Joe’s emotional state when he gets back...."

"And you’re worried that he’s pushing you away." Donnie was a little too observant for his own good. She didn’t answer him and took another drink. "Jen, can I ask you something personal?"

"Why not?" she replied with a shrug.

"Do you love him?" The question threw her off-guard and she looked at Donnie in surprise. He met her gaze straight on and waited for an answer. She knew she wouldn’t be able to beat around the bush with Donnie, so she simply looked him straight in the eye and said,

"Yes, I do." Donnie stared at her for a moment before he nodded and leaned back in his chair.

"Good," he said, taking a drink. "He loves you too, you know." Jen sighed and ran her fingers over the side of her mug. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing," Jen said, feeling the tears starting again. "It’s just that I’m never that lucky, Donnie. I’m just waiting for something to go wrong."

"Jen, listen to me," Donnie said firmly. "I’ve seen Joe in love once and at the time I thought that she was the girl for him. He had this look about him all the time that made him seem like he was floating on air..."

"Donnie," Jen interrupted. "I don’t want to hear this." He smiled.

"Let me finish. Anyway, if I could’ve seen the way he acted around you back then....well, I would have known that he wasn’t in love."

"He wasn’t?"

"No, that was just a prelude to you I guess you could say." Jen still didn’t look convinced. "I know Joe really well, Jen and trust me on this. That boy would do anything for you. He wasn’t in love with Nina. He’s in love with you." Hearing her name made Jen shudder, but she felt so much better after hearing all of that. All of the sudden, she jumped up and threw her arms around Donnie’s neck.

"Thank you," she said, softly. He grinned back at her.

"Press yourself against me like that again and you won’t have anything to thank me for," he commented.

"Oh, you wouldn’t do anything with Mary asleep in there." Donnie’s head turned toward the hallway.

"You’re right," he said in surprise. "I wouldn’t." Jen smiled and took his cup from him.

"Well, thank you for everything, Donnie," she said, placing the cups in the sink. "Now it’s one o’clock in the morning and I’m going to bed."

"Me too," he said with a yawn, walking to his door.

"D?" Jen called softly. He turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Hurt her and I’ll castrate you." Donnie chuckled at that.

"Night Jen," he said, disappearing into his room.

"Night Donnie," she said to his back and rinsed out the cups, heading back to her room now that she felt a little better. Maybe she could actually sleep this time, even if she was alone.

The next morning was an emotional one for all of them. Jordan woke up with a cramp in his neck and a heaviness that he hadn’t felt in days. Then he remembered Stacey and groaned, causing Steph to poke her head up from under the covers.

"You ok?" she asked, running her hand across his bare chest. He smiled and kissed her head.

"Yeah, babe, I’m alright," he said, stretching. "Just thinking about that girl, you know?"

"I wish there was something I could do," Steph mumbled, kissing his chest lightly.

"Oh, you’re doing it!" he groaned. She smiled and smacked him in the arm.

"You know what I mean, bonehead," she said.

"You got the bone part right," Jordan teased and Steph jumped out of bed, covering her ears.

"Oh man!" he could hear her say all the way to the bathroom. She practically ran smack into Kris there, who looked a little confused, as did Mary when she also opened her bedroom door.

"What’s wrong?" they both asked. Steph smiled and shook her head.

"Don’t ask, Jordan’s being a pain," she said, pulling out her toothbrush. "Where’s Jen?" she asked with a mouthful of suds.

"Jen didn’t get much sleep last night," came a voice from the hallway. They all turned to see Donnie watching them brush their teeth.

"How do you know?" Mary asked, feigning anger. Donnie chuckled and kissed her head.

"Jen and I had a little late night heart-to-heart last night," he said with a shrug. "She needed to talk, I needed to listen."

"You?" Mary asked, trying to hold back a laugh. "Listen?" He swatted her bottom before moving to the kitchen for some coffee. Joe was already there with a mug in his hands, the dark circles from their New Kids days back under his eyes.

"What time did you get home last night?" Donnie asked, pouring himself a cup. Joe looked up from his cup and shrugged.

"At around 2:30," he said, finishing up the coffee and grabbing his jacket.

"Where are you going?" Donnie asked, crinkling his eyebrows at his friend.

"To the hospital." Joe slurped up the last drop and put the cup in the sink. "Doc is picking me up in 5 minutes."

"Joe," Donnie said, seriously. "Shouldn’t you wait for Jen to wake up?"

"No time!" Joe called over his shoulder. "See ya later!" With that, he was gone and Donnie dreaded seeing Jen’s face when she found out.

"Did he leave again?" Steph asked from the hallway. Donnie nodded and sat down in a kitchen chair.

"Sure did," he replied, biting into a piece of toast.

"Jen’s not gonna be happy," she commented and Donnie smiled through the crumbs.

"That she’s not," he said. "But what can we do?" Steph shrugged and headed back to the bathroom.

"Nothing," she called over her shoulder, figuring they’d work it out. She ran smack into a very tired Jen on her way in. "Hey bitch!" she said, trying to be cheerful.

"Hrmph," her friend grumbled. Jen wasn’t a morning person, but this was worse than usual.

"You ok?" Steph asked, raising her eyebrows. Jen yawned and nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "Joe didn’t come home until like 2:30 last night, though."

"You were up that long?" Steph crossed her arms. Jen sighed and nodded.

"I couldn’t sleep without him next to me, Steph." Steph couldn’t bring herself to tell Jen where Joe was at that moment after hearing that. She just nodded and went back to brushing her hair, catching Donnie’s eye as he walked by, whistling as he snuck up behind Mary. Steph laughed as she saw Mary turn around and smack Donnie in the chest.

"Where’s Joe?" Jen called from the kitchen. Steph cursed under her breath and put her brush down. She heard Donnie also mutter an expletive as he hurried into the kitchen.

"How’s my favorite Jen this morning?" he asked with a grin. Jen took one look at Donnie and sighed.

"He’s at the hospital?" she asked, sitting in a kitchen chair. Donnie sighed.

"Yeah," he replied. Instead of being hurt like they expected, Donnie saw a flash of anger skip across Jen’s features.

"He could’ve told me he was leaving," she grumbled, raising her head as Kris and Jon entered the room. They looked too happy for Jen’s tastes at the moment. She just glared at the cup of coffee that Donnie placed in front of her, wondering why she was so upset. Kris looked at Jon questioningly and he shrugged, giving her a wink. It took all of her will power not to sigh out loud and a flood of memories from the night before ran through her mind. They hadn’t had sex, but Kris knew that what they had shared was just as special and she couldn’t believe how fast she was falling for this man. He was just beautiful. Donnie’s voice shook her out of her trance.

"Well, Joe doesn’t always think before he acts," he was telling Jen.

"So I’ve noticed," she mumbled, shrugging at Kris. "Oh well, it’s stupid for me to be upset anyway." Kris patted her friend on the shoulder.

"So go after him," she said, opening the fridge and bending over to reach something in the back. Jon grinned and pinched her ass, reaching over her for the orange juice. She glared at him before turning to Jen, who had an eyebrow raised at her friend.

"Go after him?" she questioned. Jon shrugged, taking a swig of the juice right out of the carton.

"Yeah, do it," he said, wiping his mouth. Kris snatched it out of his hands and poured him a glass, handing it to him with a nasty glare, which he returned with a kiss on the cheek.

"I’d just be in the way," Jen murmured. Donnie sighed loudly.

"Jen, no you wouldn’t," he argued. "You’d be there if he needs you."

"He’ll appreciate it," Kris added, nodding in agreement. Jen sighed and got up.

"Can I borrow your car?" she asked.

"Where are you going?" Mary asked, entering the kitchen. Donnie wrapped his arms around her, breathing in deeply.

"You smell great," he said into her hair. She smiled and turned around.

"Thanks, you too," she said, lifting her face for a morning kiss. Jon groaned and handed Jen the keys to the rental car.

"Wait a second!" Jordan called, running in from the hall. "I wanted to use the car!" Jen stuck her tongue out at him and jumped out of the way as he tried to slug her in the arm.

"OK, bye!" she called and was out the door before Jordan could say anything else.

"Fuck," he muttered. "Steph! We’ll have to wait for lunch!" Steph came into the room adjusting her shirt.

"Why?" she asked, blowing a piece of hair out of her face.

"Your friend had to go and follow Joe to the hospital." Hearing that, Steph groaned and held up her hand.

"I don’t want to hear it!" she said loudly, looking over at Jon as he jumped out of his chair suddenly.

"Um, you ok, Jon?" Jordan asked, raising an eyebrow. Jon nodded and reached into his pocket for his pager.

"Yeah, it’s on vibrate," he said, looking at the numbers on it. "Oh wow, why is he calling me?" Before anybody could ask, he grabbed the phone and dialed. "Yo, what’s up?" he asked loudly. Kris exchanged a look with Steph, who shrugged in answer.

"Who you talking to, bro?" Jordan asked. Jon waved his hand to silence his brother.

"You are?" he said into the phone. "No way! I’m in Porterville.....it’s like 3 hours. Yeah, sure! Oh, well, hang on." He started to count on his fingers, confusing his friends even more. "We’ll need....wait we can’t go, Bri." Steph’s head shot up and she looked at Mary with a question in her eyes. "No, I’m sorry, we’ve got business here." Jon looked over at Kris as he was talking and his eyes lit up. "Wait, can I get them for some friends? Great, then I’ll need 4 I guess......yeah....oh they’re all girls. No, dude, hands off!" He laughed. "OK, cool. Yeah, well I’ll see you sometime! Later." He hung up and turned around to find 5 pairs of eyes staring at him.

"So who was that?" Steph asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Mary and Kris nodded.

"Yeah, honey, why do you need 4 of whatever it is?" Kris asked. Jon smiled at the girls.

"Well, since us guys have to stay here for Stacey, I thought you guys would want to go on a little road trip."

"Where?" Kris asked, thinking about leaving four guys in her house all alone.

"LA," Jon said coyly. "That was Brian Littrell. He’s gonna get me 4 tickets and backstage passes for the Backstreet Boys concert in LA in two days." Steph and Mary both squealed and jumped up to hug each other. Kris just stood there leaning against the stove with a grin on her face, knowing how much her friends liked the Backstreet Boys.

"No way!" Mary squealed, getting a look from Donnie. "That was Brian!?" She ignored Donnie’s glare and looked at Jon.

"Yeah," Jon said with a shrug. "He said to meet him at the east entrance to Anaheim stadium."

"Jen’s gonna tell us that she performed there when she hears that," Steph commented, remembering how many times she had heard that.

"Oh Jen’s gonna DIE!" Mary said with a laugh. Kris nodded.

"Hell yeah she is," she commented. Jordan watched the girls with confusion etched in his eyes.

"Could you be more excited?" he asked bitterly.

"Well our favorite band doesn’t have concerts anymore, so..." Mary teased, but Jordan didn’t laugh. Donnie managed a chuckle, but shut up when he saw Jordan’s face.

"J, what’s the big deal?" he started to say.

"I don’t want you to go," Jordan told Steph, ignoring Donnie completely.

"Excuse me?" Steph answered with a slight laugh. Jordan’s straight face didn’t break.

"You heard me," he growled, causing the smile on Steph’s face to disappear.

"Yeah I did," she said as he rose to stand in front of her. "I just don’t believe what I heard. Are you trying to boss me around?" At Donnie’s insistence, the others quickly retreated to the living room so Steph and Jordan could finish their argument in peace.

"No, Steph," he said with a sigh. "I just think that you’re here because I needed you, ya know? And now you’re going to leave for some silly concert?"

"It’s not silly to me." Even though Jordan’s tone had softened, Steph found herself getting defensive.

"Steph!" Jordan groaned impatiently, throwing up his hands. "The Backstreet Boys?" Steph simply nodded. "You’re leaving me for the Backstreet Boys?" he tried again.

"Yeah, for like 2 days, Jordan!" she argued. "Calm down." Jordan shook his head.

"I don’t want you to go." Steph sighed in frustration.

"Tough," she shot out, turning on her heel to join the others in the living room.

Jen was still humming the song that she was listening to in the car, As Long As You Love Me by the Backstreet Boys. How true the words to that song were: "I don’t care who you are, where you’re from, what you did, as long as you love me." That’s exactly how she was feeling as she entered Stacey’s wing of the hospital. She crept over to the room and stood on her tiptoes to see through the window. She took in a sharp breath when she saw the shape lying uncomfortably on the bed, but the her eyes fell to the sick girl’s hand, which was being held by Joe. His head was thrown back in laughter and the girl was laughing too, but much quieter. He leaned over and kissed the girl softly on the mouth and Jen felt a wave of jealousy sweep over her entire body as she lowered herself from her tiptoes. She stood there for a minute with her head against the door.

"Hey!" a loud female voice rang out. "You can’t be there!" Jen turned suddenly and muttered a curse.

"I’m sorry," she said. "I was...um..."

"I don’t care," the nurse growled. "You can’t be here!" The door to Stacey’s room opened and Joe poked his head out.

"What’s going on out here?" he asked, his eyes getting wide as he noticed Jen. "What are you doing here?" The nurse stood with her hands on her hips and Joe sighed, closing the door behind him and grabbing Jen’s arm, pulling her to the waiting room.

"Joe!" she hissed, shaking herself out of his grip. "Stop that!" Joe glared at her, a mix of emotions running across his face. None of them were happiness.

"What are you doing here?" he asked again. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I wanted to see if you were ok," she told him. "You weren’t there when I got up, so...."

"Joe," a voice said, opening the door to the lounge. It was Dr. Schwartz and Jen sighed loudly, looking at a wall. "What is she doing here?"

"What is wrong with my wanting to help?" Jen burst out. "I don’t get it!" The doctor sighed and looked at Joe.

"You know what we talked about?" he asked, not even looking at Jen. Joe nodded.

"I’ll take care of it, Doc, don’t worry," he assured the man. He nodded and left the room. Jen looked at Joe in shock.

"Joe, what is he talking about?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"You can’t be here, Jen," he muttered, not looking her in the eye. She moved to touch his arm.

"Joe, why won’t you let me help you through this?" she asked, helplessly. When he didn’t answer, she sighed. "Look at me, Joe."

"No." It was a simple word, but it cut through Jen’s heart like a knife. She stared at him for a bit before the anger got the best of her.

"So why am I here?" she blurted out.

"What do you mean?" Joe suddenly found his shoes to be very interesting.

"I mean, why did I come here, Joe? I should be back in Phoenix, WORKING for a living, but no. I’m here because I thought that you needed me. I guess I was stupid, huh?" That statement obviously hit a nerve with Joe, but he still didn’t respond. The loud beeping of Jen’s pager interrupted the deadly silence. Looking at her pocket, Joe whispered,

"Go home, Jen. Please." She looked up quickly to see no feeling in his eyes whatsoever.

"Alright Joe," she hissed. "I’ll go HOME." She pushed past him to open the door, but he quickly pushed his hand against the door to stop her from leaving.

"Jen," he said, finally looking at her. "You know what I meant."

"Did I really? No, Joe, I don’t understand anything about you lately." Jen felt the tears that were threatening to fill her eyes. He stared at her for a minute before relaxing his grip on the door. Jen yanked it open.

"I have to return this page," she muttered, moving as quickly as she could down the hall.

"See you back at Kris’s!" he called after her, but she completely ignored him. "Shit," Joe muttered, running a hand through his curls. How was he supposed to tell Jen that the doctor didn’t want anyone at the hospital to know that he had a girlfriend? She wouldn’t take being hidden very well, but he didn’t have a choice. He just hoped they could talk this out later.

"Yeah?" Jen said abruptly into the pay phone, making Kris laugh.

"Hi?" she asked, laughing.

"Kris, I’m not in the mood," Jen said, the tears welling up in her throat. Kris crinkled her eyebrows in worry.

"What?" Steph whispered. Kris shrugged and handed her the phone. "Bitch?" Steph asked.

"What?" Jen did not sound happy.

"Are you ok?"

"Not really." Steph was worried. Jen was always so talkative.

"Well I got news that will make you feel about a billion times better," she said, trying to sound cheerful, which wasn’t difficult. She was already packing for their trip to LA.

"I could use some good news," Jen muttered. Wow, Steph thought. Something must really be wrong.

"Well," she said. "You, me, Mary and Kris are taking a road trip to LA."

"Huh?" Jen was confused.

"Yeah, see Jon is such a sweetheart and he just got off the phone with someone that you know and love...."

"Steph, cool it with the stalling and just tell me," Jen cut her off. Steph laughed, thinking that Jen did that to her all the time, but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt considering her mood.

"OK, well Jon just got off the phone with Brian Littrell and he got the four of us front row seats and backstage passes to tomorrow night’s Backstreet Boys concert," she blurted out. Jen stood there staring at the phone.

"Brian Littrell?" she finally asked.

"Yup."

"THE Brian Littrell?"

"YES BITCH!" Steph was laughing at this point.

"OH MY GOD!!" Jen almost forgot about her Joe problems for a minute. Then they all came rushing back and an idea came to her. "Steph?"

"Yeah?"

"Do me a favor and don’t ask any questions ok?" Jen’s face broke into a mischevious grin.

"OK?" Steph shrugged at Kris and Mary, who were both dying to know Jen’s reaction.

"Pack me a bag while you’re packing yours and let’s leave as soon as I get back from the hospital."

"Huh? Jen are you sure?"

"Yes! Please, just do it, Steph...."

"Alright," Steph said with a sigh. "We’ll be ready." Jen hung up the phone with a smile. Her eyes drifted to the hallway she had just run out of. Two could play at this disappearing game. Steph hung up the phone with a sigh.

"Well?" Kris asked. Mary was tapping her foot.

"Well Jen wants to leave as soon as she gets home," Steph said, looking at the phone.

"What?" Mary asked. "Why?" Steph looked at her friend solemnly.

"Something must be going on with her and Joe," she said with a shrug. "But we’ve got 3 hours to find out, so let’s go pack!" The girls agreed and they all rushed to their different rooms to pack their things. Steph was finished in about five minutes, so she moved into Jen’s room to pack her bag too. She was stopped by Jordan’s arms.

"Wait," he said with a rough edge to his voice. Steph pushed past him into Jen and Joe’s room.

"I have to pack Jen a bag," she said, not wanting to repeat the argument of the half hour before.

"Steph, please don’t go," Jordan tried again.

"Jordan please don’t be so selfish," she shot back, throwing Jen’s favorite shiny blue shirt and black skirt into the bag, thinking that she could wear that to the concert.

"Me?!" he practically shouted. "I need you, Steph and you’re leaving me here for freakin Kevin Richardson!" Steph looked up at the sound of Kevin’s name.

"What?" she hissed.

"You heard me, Steph," Jordan said, bitterly. "I saw that picture of him playing piano in your glove compartment."

"Is that what this is all about?" Steph laughed, throwing up her arms in frustration. "Jordan, you are being absolutely ridiculous."

"Am I?" he asked. "Then why did you look so scared when I said his name?"

"That wasn’t fright," she muttered. "That was disbelief that my own boyfriend doesn’t trust me."

"I trust you..."

"No," she stopped him. "You obviously don’t, Jordan. Do you still want me to stay?" He nodded defiantly. "Sorry." Steph shook her head and shoved the last of Jen’s toiletries into her bag, including a few mixes for the car ride.

"You’re gonna go?" he asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yes, I am. If you don’t like it, then what can I say, Jordan?"

"You can say you won’t go."

"I’d be lying. I’m going and if you don’t like it, then maybe you should find someone who will bow to your every whim," Steph was surprised at her words, but he was really making her angry.

"You know that has nothing to do with it." Jordan’s voice was reflecting Steph’s anger.

"Oh it has everything to do with it. You can’t have your way so you’re mad." Steph pushed past him again to drop the bags in the hallway.

"Steph, if you go on this trip...." Jordan began, his fists clenching at his sides.

"What?" Steph said, standing up straight to glare him in the eye. "What if I go?" Jordan met her gaze head on.

"Then you can forget about this," he stated, his eyes on fire. Steph was taken aback by his statement, but she recovered quickly. Just then, Jen walked into the house, her eyes red and swollen from crying on the car ride home. Steph shot one last glare Jordan’s way before she grabbed the bag, shoving one into Jen’s hands.

"Let’s go," she ordered, stomping out of the house. Jen knew that look and she looked back at Jordan, shooting him a nasty glare before following Steph to the car.

"We’re waiting in the car girls!" she called as she shut the door. Kris and Mary sighed from their seats in the living room.

"I feel like I’m on 90210," Kris commented. Jon smiled and brushed her hair back.

"Hurry back ok?" he asked softly. She nodded and lifted her face to his for a long, deep kiss. They heard Jordan sigh loudly as he huffed into his room, shutting the door loudly. Donnie shook his head.

"Something’s in the air," he told Mary, smiling. "I’m glad we haven’t caught it."

"Amen," she said as she allowed his arm to slip around her waist. He leaned toward her, but stopped when her lips were milimeters from her own.

"You’re leaving for two days, right?" he asked against her mouth.

"Yeah," she said, her mouth aching for his.

"I’m going to miss you," he admitted, his finger running down her jaw. Mary sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I’ll miss you too, Donnie," she said, pulling him. "More than you know." He groaned softly and finally captured her lips in his. Both couples were locked in those positions until the front door opened.

"Let’s go!" Jen’s voice rang out. The couples broke apart sheepishly as Kris and Mary finally followed Jen out the door, blowing kisses at their men on their way out.

"Take care of my house!" Kris yelled over her shoulder. "And take messages if someone calls! And if my mom calls, DON’T tell her who you are or she’ll be here in about 30 seconds!" Jon laughed and nodded as she closed the door behind her.

"Why the hurry?" Mary asked. Jen’s eyes became clouded as she climbed into the passenger seat.

"I want to leave before Joe gets back," she muttered. Seeing that she didn’t want to talk, the girls didn’t say anything as Steph popped in a Backstreet Boys tape and pulled out of the driveway. Singing along softly to 10,000 Promises and shooting an understanding look at Jen, she thought, So there, Jordan. Reaching over to push the cigarette lighter in, her hand hit Jen’s, who was doing the same thing, cigarette in hand. They both kind of half-smiled before lighting their cigarettes and inhaling deeply. Kris almost had the urge to ask for one, but decided against it when she saw Jen’s face in the side mirror. Her eyes were closed and there were tears glistening on her eyelashes and she mouthed the words to the song.

"What about your 10,000 promises that you gave to me? Your 10,000 promises that you promised me..." Steph was singing along as well, but she wasn’t teary-eyed. She was pissed and that cigarette of hers was gone before the song ended. Finally she turned down the radio from its spot on full blast and said,

"Kevin sounds so sexy in that song." Jen smiled through her tears.

"That he does," she said, reaching for the mix cover. "Oh, I wanna hear Everybody!" she said, excitedly. "That’ll pep me up. I mean, why the FUCK am I crying?" Her sudden change of mood made everyone feel a bit better and they waited quietly while she fast forwarded the tape to the song. As soon as it started, the whole car’s mood lifted as they all danced and sang along. The song was upbeat and it made Jen smile.

"Am I original? Am I the only one? Am I SEXUAL?" Steph and Jen sang the last liine to each other and laughed merrily.

"Damn," Jen said over the music. "He can be sexual with me anyday!"

"Who is it?" Kris asked, speaking for the first time since they left her house.

"Nick!" Jen yelled back to her. "And Brian’s the one in the middle. Damn fine men!"

"And we’re gonna meet them!" Mary said, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"Woohoo!" Steph let out a yell that made everyone laugh and get back to their dancing.

"Bitch, I’m telling you," Jen said. "Who needs men when we’ve got each other?"

"Amen!" Steph agreed, looking in the rearview mirror for Kris and Mary to agree. They both smiled and nodded, but neither said anything. They weren’t fighting with their men.

Three hours and 3 mixes later, the girls pulled into the first hotel they saw they had vacancy.

"Alright!" Steph said, getting out and stretching. "Here we are!"

"Bitch," Jen said worriedly. "How are we going to pay for this?" Steph looked worried for a minute, but both Kris and Mary pulled a wad of cash out of their pockets. Jen sighed.

"I guess that’s what happens when your rich boyfriend actually WANTS you around," she grumbled. Steph nodded at Jen.

"Oh yeah, we’ll be talking later," she commented, lugging her bag out of the back of the van. They were totally checked into their two separate rooms not even a half hour later with Steph and Jen in one room and Kris and Mary in the other. Steph and Jen were on their balconies smoking when the other two pounded on their door.

"You get it, bitch," Steph grumbled. They had talked a bit about what had happened with Joe and Jordan that morning, so neither girl was in the best of all moods. Jen stomped to the door, not bothering to put her cigarette out.

"Hi," she grumbled as she let her friends in, turning to go back to the balcony.

"They talked about it," Mary whispered to Kris.

"They sure did," Kris said, seeing that Steph was in the same state as Jen. "So, what do you guys want to do about dinner?" she asked out loud. Steph and Jen looked at each other, then turned to them and said simultaneously,

"Pizza." Kris and Mary laughed as Mary went to search for a phone book.

"What kind?" she asked.

"Half-cheese, half-pineapple," Steph said.

"Easy sauce, extra cheese," Jen added with a tiny smile. She was starting to feel better. Kris laughed.

"Take your time making up your minds, guys!" she quipped, turning to Mary. "Hey, Mar, can we get one with ALL pork?"

"How Kosher," Jen commented. Mary laughed and nodded, already in the middle of ordering. "So," she said, hanging up the phone. "Are you two ok?" Jen turned around from her seat on the balcony and nodded.

"Oh we’ll get over it," she said, looking at Steph. Steph put out her cigarette and nodded.

"Yeah, especially when I get to meet Kevin tomorrow night," she said, looking out over the city. "Then I’ll be GREAT!" Jen smiled, but Kris and Mary didn’t see the humor in any of it. If they didn’t watch themselves, their friends were going to get hurt. After hanging for a while just staring at the city, Mary finally looked at her watch and sighed loudly.

"We need to get the pizza," she mumbled, not liking the fact that her friends’ moods were starting to rub off on her.

"I’ll get it," Steph said, getting up and tossing her cigarette over the balcony. "Bitch?" Jen nodded and did the same, taking the money from Kris’s outstretched hand.

"We’ll be right back, ok?" Jen said softly to noone in particular. Kris and Mary exchanged a glance, but said nothing as their friends left. "Steph?" Jen said suddenly as they were walking out of the elevator.

"Hm?"

"We need to cheer up." It was a simple statement, whether she believed it or not. Steph sighed and popped a pill into her mouth for the first time in weeks.

"Yes, we do," she said. "And I know just the way to do it." The girls approached the pizza guy with grins on their faces.

"$15.80," he said, trying to juggle the five pizzas that he was carrying.

"Whoa, we didn’t order that much!" Jen commented, taking a few out of his hands to help him reach his change.

"I know," he panted. "There was another order coming from this hotel too."

"Alright!" a loud voice yelled from the elevators. "Our pizza! Talk about a life-saver...."

"Dibs on the first piece!" another voice yelled. The girls turned to see who was being so obnoxious when they froze in place. Brian Littrell and Nick Carter were running at them at top speed and neither girl had a desire to move out of the way.

"Shit," they heard the pizza guy mutter as he was bombarded by testosterone. Brian handed the guy money while Nick held all three pizzas in his hands, inhaling deeply.

"Oh, man," he said with a sigh. "That’s the greatest smell in the world." Finally noticing Steph and Jen standing there waiting to pay for their pizzas, Brian grinned.

"Well maybe not the greatest smell," he told his friend, handing the guy fifteen extra dollars. "You ladies aren’t trying to move in on our pizzas, are you?" Jen giggled while Steph cranned her neck to search for Kevin, even though the two men in front of her were definitely worth paying attention to.

"Us?" Jen asked innocently, turning on her flirt genes. "Now we have our own pizzas, why would we need yours?" Brian shrugged and shook his head as Steph pulled their money out of her jeans.

"Already paid for," he said, motioning to the retreating pizza man’s back. Nick grinned, attempting to look cool while balancing all three pizzas.

"Are you sure?" Steph asked, questioningly.

"He’s sure," Nick said. "It’s my money!" That caused all four of them to laugh as they headed back to the elevators.

"Well that explains it then," Jen said, looking at Brian with a teasing glint in her eyes. He grinned back and pushed the button for the 8th floor.

"So what are you guys doing here?" Nick asked.

"Actually," Steph said. "Jon Knight is a friend of ours and he got us tickets to your concert tomorrow night."

"That’s you guys?!" Brian sounded a little too excited. "Awesome! I’m the one who got them," he said proudly.

"We know," Jen said. "Thanks!"

"Well, hey, since we’re already acquainted here, why don’t you ladies join us for pizza?" Nick shot Steph a grin that made her want to drool, but then she remembered their Jordan look-a-like bandmate.

"No," Steph said. "First of all, we aren’t acquainted. I’m Steph and this is Jen." Brian laughed at her bluntness and kissed both ladies’ hands.

"OK, we’re acquainted," he said with a pout.

"Second of all," Steph said, holding up a finger as the elevator stopped on the girls’ floor. "Why don’t YOU join US for pizza?"

"Room 416," Jen said as she walked out of the elevator. Turning around, she almost sighed as her eyes met Brian’s, whose were just as blue as Joe’s.

"Sounds great, we’ll meet you there with the other guys!" Nick called as the doors closed. Jen and Steph stood there looking at the closed doors for a minute before what had just happened actually hit them.

"Oh my fucking lord," Jen said, still staring at the door.

"Does this mean they’re going to bring Kevin?" Steph asked with a small smile. Catching Jen’s eyes, both girls started laughing merrily as they headed back to their room. Needless to say, their sudden change of mood was quite confusing for Kris and Mary when they saw their laughing friends.

"Hi!" Jen called, setting down the pizzas. Steph threw the money down on the bed and sighed loudly, stretching her arms over her head.

"Let’s eat!" she said, reaching into the mini-fridge for a soda.

"Um, are you guys OK?" Mary asked, still baffled.

"I’m great!" Jen replied, opening up one of the pizzas and making a face as the smell of dead pig hit her.

"Why?" Kris asked. "I mean, not that you shouldn’t be great....."

"Wait, why do you still have the money?" Mary interrupted. Steph and Jen exchanged a glance and burst into giggles, laughing harder as a knock sounded at the door.

"Who in the world...." Kris wondered out loud as Mary got up to answer it.

"Mary?" Jen called, trying to hold back her giggles.

"Yeah?"

"Um....." Jen quickly ran up to her and ran a hand through Mary’s hair, straightening it a bit. "There!" she proclaimed, jumping back onto the bed only to check her own reflection. Steph was way ahead of her friend. Her hair was brushed and shining to go.

"Are you guys expecting someone?" Kris asked, her eyes shooting to the door. Mary was standing there with the door wide open, but she wasn’t moving. Her mouth was just as open as the door was as she registered who was standing on the other side of it.

"Oh guys!" Steph called nonchalantly. "Come on in!" Mary finally turned to look at her friends, her eyes wide in question.

"Come on in?" she mouthed, moving aside as all five guys filed into the room. Kevin was the last one to enter and Steph couldn’t remember a time where she had been this speechless. When you met Jordan, a little voice in the back of her head said, but she quickly pushed that thought away as she strolled right up to Kevin, her hand out, palm down.

"Hi, I’m Stephanie," she purred. Jen had to choke back a laugh as she watched her friend, but she wasn’t watching her for long. Brian draped an arm over her shoulder and motioned to his bandmates.

"Guys, this is Jen and that one talking to Kev is Steph," he said, his eyes moving to Kris and Mary.

"And this is Kris and Mary," Jen filled in. Mary was still dumbfounded, but Kris immediately shook their hands, not really caring who they were. After all, she reminded herself. I have Jon Knight waiting for me at home! With that thought in mind, she quickly moved to the pizza, giving it more attention then she gave any person in the room. As AJ kissed Mary’s hand fondly, the thought of Donnie was far from her mind.

"Hi there," he said, flirtatiously, causing Howie to laugh. He gave Kris one of his winks, but it didn't faze her in the slightest bit. The thought of Jon hadn’t left her mind since she had left her house. She watched as the others all dug into the pizza, talking loudly and laughing, but she wasn’t really into it. This is pathetic, she thought to herself as she grabbed a slice of her pork pizza, giggling at the disgusted look on Jen’s face.

"What?" she asked through a mouthful of cheese.

"Pork yucky," Jen replied, getting a weird look from Brian.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Pork yummy. Brian like pork." He rubbed his toned stomach for effect.

"You would like PIG!" Jen quipped, jumping out of the way as he tried to grab her.

"Hey, Brian, at least you know Jen feels comfortable with you," Steph offered, exchanging an amused glance with Kevin.

"Yeah, great," Brian mumbled, pretending to pout. Everyone laughed merrily and for the moment, it seemed that their male problems were forgotten. The pizza was gone in less than a half hour and Jen and Steph immediately went out on the balcony to smoke.

"I feel like we should be freaking out," Jen commented, looking out over the streets below. Steph shrugged.

"Nah," she said, taking a drag. "They’re cool, they’re hot, but...."

"They’re still people," Jen finished, amazed at her attitude change in a few short months.

"Exactly!" Steph said, turning when she heard someone yell her name. "What?" she called back. The curtain leading to the balcony parted and Nick’s blonde head poked through.

"Hey you guys, we’re playing a game," he informed them, motioning for them to join in.

"What kind of game?" Jen asked, suspiciously. Nick shrugged, but he couldn’t hide the huge grin that was forming on his face.

"Come on and see," he insisted, taking both of their arms.

"OK!" Steph relented, tossing her cigarette over the balcony.

"Yeah, hold your horses," Jen added, laughing as Nick gave them a pout. They entered the room to find everyone sitting around the beds and the floor so they could all see each other.

"Alright!" AJ yelled. "You guys are in? Beautiful...."

"In on what?" Jen asked, raising her eyebrows and taking the empty seat by Brian. Steph noticed that the only spot left was convienently next to Kevin and she gladly sat.

"Truth or dare," AJ replied in an evil tone, causing both girls to groan, remembering their experiences with truth or dare.

"As long as noone ends up naked," Steph muttered, causing Jen to giggle.

"Well then it’s no fun!" Howie pointed out, looking pointedly at Kris.

"Hell no!" she said, holding up her hands. Mary was starting to look worried.

"You guys, this isn’t going to be too....um...." She was searching for the right words.

"Icky?" Steph filled in, causing Kevin to chuckle.

"Don’t worry," Brian said, innocently, but the twinkle in his eyes said otherwise. "Now who’s first?" His eyes fell on Jen, but she shook her head quickly.

"No way," she said. "Not me, I get in trouble with these things!" Steph snorted, having heard Jen say that so many times before.

"That’s the point," Brian said, pointedly, looking around the room. "OK, AJ, it’s all you."

"Do you even have to ask?" AJ said with a sly grin, leaning back on his palms. Brian grinned and shook his head.

"OK," he said, rubbing his chin in thought. "Um...."

"Wait, what did he pick?" Kris interrupted.

"Dare," all the guys said at once, causing Mary to giggle and look at Brian in anticipation.

"OK," he said, finally, looking at AJ. "We’ll start slow. Strip down to your boxers and run up and down the hall screaming `I am the walrus, coocoocachu!’"

"That’s slow?" Mary asked with a gasp. AJ just grinned and got up, unbuttoning his pants.

"Sure is," he said, flinging off his shirt and running into the hall. His pants soon followed as AJ went streaking down the hallway, chanting loudly. The whole group was crowded around the doorway laughing so hard they were practically crying, but somewhere in between laughs, Brian managed to snap a picture of AJ’s back.

"Oh man!" he laughed. "This is just too funny!" A couple opened the door to their room to see AJ streak by and the looks on their faces were so priceless that Brian had to snap another picture.

"Should I lock the door?" he asked when AJ turned around to head back. Nick grinned and shut it before any of them could answer.

"Don’t do that!" Mary yelped as Nick and Brian pushed against the door, laughing when AJ started pounding on it.

"You little shits!" he yelled from the other side. "If you don’t open this door, I’m going to tell the girls about that time in Chicago when you guys...."

"Yikes!" Brian yelped, throwing open the door. "OK, sorry, geez!" Nick made a point of handing AJ his shirt back.

"Yeah, sorry," he said through his teeth. AJ laughed and pulled his pants back on.

"No shame," Howie muttered.

"Nope." AJ plopped himself back on the bed. "OK who’s next?"

"Brian or Nick!" Jen said with a laugh. "Now we know what to ask them." Steph looked at her weirdly. "Chicago," Jen stated, causing Nick and Brian to groan.

"Dude, now I can’t pick truth," Brian muttered and Nick nodded his head in agreement.

"Mary," AJ interrupted. "Truth or dare?" Mary blushed and looked at the ground. She was about to pick dare when she remembered her comment to Donnie. She was sick of being the good girl.

"Dare!" she proclaimed, impulsively. Kris, Steph and Jen’s heads all shot up in surprise.

"What?" they all said at once, not believing their ears.

"Dare," Mary said again, looking at AJ. He let out a whoop and grabbed a root beer bottle off of the counter.

"Alright, babe," he said with a grin. "I’d better get a cold shower ready cause YOU are going to deep throat this bottle!"

"Oh my God," Steph moaned, feeling bad for Mary already, who’s face was turning a rather interesting shade of red.

"Are you serious?" she asked AJ with a sick look on her face. He nodded happily.

"Oh hell yeah I’m gonna see that,’ he commented, placing the bottle in front of her. "I’m all about cheap thrills." Everyone crowded around Mary as she gave AJ a look.

"Remind me to thank you later," she mumbled sarcastically as she positioned herself over the bottle.

"Oh I will," AJ promised, his eyes drawn to Mary’s lips. Everybody else crowded around as well, but the guys made sure to get front row seats, all of them eager to see this dare. Mary looked around the circle and then down at the bottle. With a defeated sigh, she lowered her mouth to the top of it and brought as much of the bottle into her mouth as she could. Brian let out an impressed whistle.

"Can you do that?" he asked Jen, elbowing her in the ribs. She shot him an insulted look.

"Guess you’ll never find out," she teased back, ignoring the guilty feeling that was tugging at her. She laughed when Brian sent her a pout, turning his attention back to Mary to applaud with the rest of the group. Jen took the moment to study his profile. Damn, he was adorable, but for some reason, Joe’s face kept appearing over Brian’s, making her shake her head in confusion. Steph wasn’t having that problem as her and Kevin made eye contact. The only thought running through her mind was, Jordan who? This was going to be a problem.

"Damnit, pick up the phone you guys," Joe mumbled, rubbing his eyes. Stacey was eating her dinner, so he had decided to take a little break to call Kris’s house and see when Jen and everyone else was up to. He knew he had to tell her what was going on before she got too angry. Plus, if he was being truly honest with himself, he really missed her.

"Hello!" a breathless voice answered the phone.

"Jon?" Joe asked, picking up the familiar sound of his friend’s voice right away. "Dude, what’s up, what took you so long?"

"Joe!" Jon’s eyes widened and he shot Donnie and worried look. "Um, D and I were just shooting some hoops, what’s going on?"

"Nothing, I’m at the hospital. Listen, can I talk to Jen?"

"You’re STILL there?" Jon asked. "Joe, it’s been hours." Joe shrugged on his end of the line.

"We played Monopoly," he said, the irritation creeping into his voice. "I’ll be home soon, now let me talk to Jen!"

"Joe, you can’t talk to Jen," Jon informed him softly. "She’s not here."

"Well, where did she go?" Joe was getting more and more impatient as the conversation went on.

"Um, well, see…um…."

"Say it, Jon!" Joe found it quite ironic that he was the one telling Jon to spit it out.

"Ok, Ok, I got her and the girls tickets and backstage passes to a Backstreet Boy’s concert in LA, so they um…went." Silence followed his statement before Joe finally hissed,

"When?"

"Well, did you see Jen at the hospital this morning?" Joe closed his eyes, remembering how he had treated her when all she wanted to do was help him.

"Yeah, she left a while ago."

"Yeah, well, they left about five minutes after she got home, Joe, she was in a pretty big hurry to get out of here." Jon had a touch of pity in his voice, but he knew that whatever Jen had been upset about, Joe had probably deserved this scare.

"Fuck!" Joe erupted, running his hands through his hair anxiously. "LA, you said?"

"Yeah, Joe, listen, if you need to talk…"

"Thanks, Jon, I’ll be home soon, I gotta go." Joe hung up the phone before Jon could reply and stalked back to Stacey’s room, where she was just finishing up her dinner. Her bright eyes lit up when he walked in the room.

"Hey there, cutie!" she teased, patting the chair sitting next to her bed.

"How was dinner?" Joe mumbled, trying to sound cheerful. It didn’t work, Stacey saw right through him.

"Great, why do you look like someone just stepped on your favorite gerbil?" she asked, her eyes lowering in curiosity.

"No reason, Stace. Hey, you wanna play Scrabble?" A shaky hand fell on top of his.

"Joe, look at me." He couldn’t help it, her big eyes beckoned him to look into hers, showing her that he really was in pain. "What’s wrong?"

"Look, Stace, I wasn’t supposed to tell you about this, but you need to know and I need to tell," Joe said with a sigh.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"My girlfriend." His announcement was met with silence and he detected a flash of hurt flicker across her features, but she shook it off quickly.

"Why wasn’t I supposed to know about it?" she wondered, not letting him tear his gaze from hers.

"It was your father’s rule, Stace. I don’t know, but I think she’s left me and I don’t know what to do." Joe fought back tears that threatened to invade his eyes as Jen’s face appeared in his thoughts.

"Well my father is a little too overprotective of me, Joe, don’t worry about him." She patted his hand, her face showing her concern for his well-being. "Tell me about her?" With that, Joe didn’t even hesitate to fall into a vivid description of Jen, and the story as to why he was upset, and once he started, he couldnt’ seem to stop and babbled on and on, the tears now filling his eyes as he held on tightly to Stacey’s hand. When he finally finished, she let out a whoosh of air.

"Wow," she stated, simply. "Do you know that you’re in love with this girl?" Joe swallowed and nodded.

"It’s not something I can ignore," he muttered, sandwiching their hands together. Stacey sighed and released his hands slowly, smiling at him with tears in her own eyes.

"You need to go after her, Joe," she said, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. Joe shook his head.

"No, I couldn’t, what about you?"

"What about me?" she inquired, stubbornly. "I’ll be here when you get back, but you can’t let her get away, you know that." He nodded slightly, encouraging her to continue. "Listen to me, Joe, true love is the one thing that I regret not experiencing. It’s the greatest gift in the world and if you let it go….." She shook her head. "I can’t think of anything more selfish." Joe thought about what she was saying for a long time before leaning over to kiss her cheek fondly.

"What would I do without you?" he asked, grinning. Stacey shrugged her tiny shoulders.

"You probably wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with," she scowled. "Now go on, get out of here, cutie." She didn’t look at him, so he wouldn’t be able to see the pain in her eyes, but he could hear it and leaned down to give her the tightest hug her little body would allow.

"I’ll be back," he whispered. "Count on it." Stacey smiled and ran a finger down his cheek, their eyes locking in a mutual understanding of pure friendship. Finally,she waved her hand,dismissing him out of the room and he hurried back to Kris’s, a plan already forming in his head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What?" Jen asked, staring at AJ in surprise.

"You heard me," he grinned slyly, his arm draped over Mary’s shoulder. Steph was sitting in between Kevin’s legs, leaning back against him and Kris just looked bored. "Kiss Brian, and make it good."

"You don’t have to, Jen," Brian murmured softly in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. She swallowed and turned to him.

"No, I never turn down a dare," she said, shooting AJ a look, then turning her attention back to Brian, her gaze drawn right to his lips. The whole room was silent as they stared at each other, summoning up the courage to finally take the dare.

"It’s just a kiss," he whispered, leaning forward a bit. Jen met him half way and their lips met softly. Her intentions for ending the kiss right away faded out of her head as she melted against him, a warm feeling washing over her as he deepened it, wrapping his fingers in her hair. With her eyes closed, kissing Brian for all she was worth, Jen should have been happy, a little less confused, but Joe’s face flashed across her mind and she pulled away abruptly, startling everyone. Brian’s blue eyes looked back at her, slighly confused.

"I’m sorry," she whispered. "I just can’t do this." His lips turned up in an understanding smile.

"It’s ok, Jen, it was just a dare, right?" he said, finally breaking the deafening silence of the room.

"Yeah, Jen, it was a dare, don’t worry about it," Mary cut in, feeling a little guilty herself just being there. Even Steph had nothing to say, her thoughts on her fight with Jordan, trying to figure out why she had been so upset. Because he tried to control you, a little voice told her and she straightened up, shooting Jen a glare of her own. The look was easy to read. Joe and Jordan don’t matter, these guys do. Jen sighed and thought about the way Joe had treated her in the hospital, a whole new wave of pain rushing to her chest. Nodding at Steph, she laid her hand across Brian’s and smiled.

"It was a nice dare," she said, softly, winking at him. Mary and Kris exchanged glances that clearly said they didn’t agree with how their friends were acting. Didn’t they see how in love they were?

~~~~~~~~

"Say WHAT?" Jordan asked, staring at Joe with wide eyes.

"Hey, you heard me, J," Joe replied, throwing open a suitcase. "We’ve got to go after them."

"Well, ok, I agree with that, but the rest of your plan is crazy. We’ll never be able to pull it off, man." Jordan’s mind drifted back to his fight with Steph. He missed her so much, he could barely think about why he had been so upset. All he knew was that he had to get her back and away from Kevin, no matter the cost.

"Dude, never say never." Joe grinned. "If we get there on time, I’ll bet you we could. Jon’ll help us out."

"I’ll do what?" Jon entered Joe’s room with a worried look on his face. Jordan relayed Joe’s plan to Jon and then Donnie when he came in the room acting curious. Jon sat on Joe’s bed and put his chin in his hands.

"It could work," he finally said. "I’ll call the guys, you guys just worried about getting there, I’ll take care of the rest."

"Great!" Joe exclaimed, closing his suitcase with a snap and looking at Jordan, who was already packed. "I hope Kris doesn’t mind us taking her car."

"Blame me if she does," Jon said, his romantic side taking over with excitement. "Now get out of here you two! Donnie and I will follow you in a couple of hours." Nodding, Jordan and Joe made a mad rush out the door, lugging their bags behind them. This was going to work. It just has to, Joe thought with a determination he had never felt. This was going to be a long road trip.

~~~~~~~~

"I can’t believe you made me stay here," Steph grumbled the next morning, attempting to pull herself out of bed. She was referring to the night before, when a drunken Kevin had offered Steph his own room for sanctuary, but Jen had made her stay put, claiming she needed her.

"Hey, Brian slept alone too," Jen murmured, still on the edge of dreamland.

"Thank God," Kris cried, coming out of the bathroom. "With the way you two were acting last night, I really thought you were going to cheat on Joe and Jordan." Jen groaned at the mention of Joe’s name. She knew he would be really upset that she had left without telling him and this time, she wasn’t sure she could fix it.

"I should have at least let him explain," she moaned, pulling herself into a sitting position. "Now what do I do?" A pair of jeans hit her in the head, snapping her out of her depressing thoughts.

"Bitch, you’re going to get dressed, go to the concert tonight and have fun. We’ll deal with our forgiving men when we get back," Steph grinned. If Jordan missed her half as much as she missed him, she knew that there was hope. They had been through this much already, what was another little quarrel, right? She was trying to convince herself of that, anyway.

"First shower," Mary called, pulling back her covers with a sleepy grin.

"She needs to look her best for AJ," Jen teased, making everyone laugh.

"Oh stop," Mary pouted. "AJ is nothing compared to Donnie, I just want a shower, that’s all." With that, she whistled her way into the shower, locking the door behind her. As soon as it closed, the girls busted up laughing.

"She’s cute," Kris giggled.

"Adorable," Steph groaned, pulling herself out of bed and practically crawling to the balcony. "Bitch! Smoke!" she ordered. Jen shrugged at Kris and joined Steph for a cigarette. Neither one of them spoke, which was no surprise considering they were both thinking about their men. Steph finally tossed her cigarette off of the balcony and said,

"Let’s leave after the concert."

"Yeah," Jen said, as if she had been thinking the same thing. "We need to get them back, Steph." Steph nodded and sighed. She couldn’t wait for the concert to be over.

"This is one hell of a concert!" Kris yelled hours later. They were in the front row at the Backstreet Boys concert, having a great time dancing to "Larger Than Life". It was one of Jen’s favorite songs and she was loving every second, but her mind was somewhere else. What was Joe doing right now? Was he thinking about her a much as she was thinking about him? Her heart ached with a need to be near him and when the opening notes of "I Need You Tonight" started, Jen tugged at Steph’s sleeve. They caught each other’s eyes, then both nodded at the same time. It was time to go.

"I need you tonight. I need you right now. I know deep within my heart, it doesn’t matter if it’s wrong or right. I really need you tonight."

"Kris!" Jen yelled, slapping her shoulder. "We’ve gotta go!"

"What?" Mary yelled back, looking at Jen in shock. "But you love this song!" Jen and Steph both nodded.

"I’ve got to go back, Mar," Steph said, her eyes moving to Kevin, who smiled at her. She smiled back, more sure now than ever that she had to get back to Jordan. As soon as the song ended, Jen and Steph shot longing looks at Brian and Kevin before turning to leave.

"May I have your attention please?" a voice echoed throughout the stadium. Kris and Mary jumped when each of them had someone grab their waists and they turned to see Donnie and Jon sneaking up on them, holding fingers to their lips to keep them quiet. Mary grinned at Kris, then turned her attention to the dark stage.

"May I have your attention please?" the voice said again as someone stepped into the spotlight. The light only allowed them to see a silhouette, but Jen would know that voice anywhere. Her jaw on the ground, she stopped Steph and slowly turned around, gasping when she saw Joe’s form outlined by the heavy spotlight. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew he was looking at her, she could feel it. Another form appeared behind him, holding a microphone.

"We’re sorry to disrupt the concert, ladies and gentlemen," Jordan’s voice rang out into the night. "But we’ve got something to do." The stage lights all came on, illuminating the men and causing everyone in the stadium to erupt in screams.

"See," Joe continued. "Jordan and I…" More screams. "Jordan and I just about ruined the greatest things that ever came into our lives."

"And unfortunately for them, we’re too stubborn to let them go," Jordan finished with a slow half grin, his eyes finally finding Steph’s and meeting them in a look that almost took her knees out from under her. She unconsciously moved forward to be closer to him when the stage stopped her. Jen’s eyes were already locked on Joe’s and when the opening notes of "If You Go Away" came on, she gasped and put a hand to her mouth. It was the song they had sung the first time the four of them had met. Joe simply smiled at her and motioned for her to come closer, ignoring the screaming girls forming around her.

"I know I hurt you. That’s the last thing I meant to do. Sometimes, I can be careless and blind. Can you forgive the fool that I am?" As Jordan sang, he realized how appropriate the song was for them and reached out for Steph, pulling her up on stage with him. Joe started with his next line, leaning down so he could look into Jen’s eyes up close.

"You know I love you. You’re the one thing I have that’s true. My life used to be nothing to me. I never want to feel that again…" He leaned down to kiss her and Jen felt her knees buckle as Kris and Mary rushed to her side to keep her from falling. Joe pulled her up with him as Jordan sang,

"If you go away, girl.."

"You’re taking my heart with you."

"If you go away, girl.."

"You’d be breaking my heart in two."

"If you’d only stay girl.."

"I promise you the world. So please don’t ever go away." Jen and Steph always prided themselves on being strong, but they were both crying like babies, looking into their men’s eyes. They were totally oblivious to everyone else in the stadium, focusing only on the intense eyes staring into their own, so full of love and promise. When the song was over, Jordan took Steph into his arms for a tight hug.

"I’m so sorry," she sobbed. "I love you, Jordan, I’ve missed you so much.."

"Shhh," he said, putting a finger over her lips. He replaced it with his own lips, kissing her softly. "I know." She smiled into his eyes and saw a bit of nervousness. Where was that coming from?

Jen threw her arms around Joe’s neck before the closing notes even sounded.

"I’m so sorry," he started.

"No, I should have let you explain.."

"I don’t blame you for leaving.."

"I just love you so much."

"And she has cancer, I should have listened…"

"Marry me." Joe’s final statement stopped Jen in her babbling tracks.

"What did you say?" she whispered, not letting him take his eyes from hers. She wanted to freeze the moment in time and keep it with her forever. Joe took her face in his hands.

"Marry me," he repeated. "I love you, Jen, please let me make you my wife." Her eyes filled up with tears once again as she stared back, not saying anything at first. Finally she sniffed and smiled, giving him her answer without saying it. Just before he kissed her, she whispered,

"I love you."

"Forgive me?" Jordan was saying. Steph looked out at the crowd and laughed.

"How could I not?" she murmured, glad the mics were turned off. People were motioning from the side of the stage, but she didn’t want to let him go, not yet.

"Steph," Jordan took her hands and took a deep breath. "You know I love you, I feel like I’ve known you forever."

"I feel the same way," she replied, a little confused. "After all we’ve been through, I would hope so!" He smiled and looked at the ground. When he looked back up, he had the most intense look in his eyes that she had ever seen.

"Will you marry me?" he asked softly. Steph’s eyes got really wide before a silly grin broke onto her face.

"Do I look stupid?" she asked, throwing herself into his arms. " Of course I will, Jordan, of course I will." He let out a long sigh and hugged her tightly to him, giving Joe a thumbs up over Steph’s shoulder. Joe was holding onto Jen as well and he smiled at his friend, knowing that Steph had also said yes. Smoothing Jen’s hair back, he kissed the top of her head and smiled. Finally, they were all going to get the happy ending they deserved.

The End

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