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Brothers
Part III: Florida

April 2014

Joey has his arms wrapped around Michael in a headlock as the two boys wrestled. McKenna climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Michael maneuvered his way out of Joey's arm and jumped onto his back along with McKenna. She rolled off of Joey's back and onto the floor with a thump, giggling.

"What is going on in here?" Kelly asked walking into the living room. She set her bag on the table behind the couch and then moved around to sit next to Brianna.

"All right. That's enough." Joey said out of breath. He stood up slowly and waited for Michael to slide down back to the floor. "Hi honey." He walked over to the couch and leaned over to give Kelly a kiss.

"What's for dinner?" She asked.

"I ordered pizza. It should be here soon." Joey answered. He picked up a DVD off of the coffee table, "and we got Extreme Days to watch tonight."

"I am going to change into something more comfortable." Kelly yawned and stood up. She walked out of the living room as the doorbell rang. Joey headed to the front door to get the pizza.

"Brianna get some plates please." He stated as he pulled the door open. Joey paid for the pizza and brought it into the kitchen. "What does everyone want to drink?" He set the boxes on the counter and opened the cupboard above.

"Can I have Sprite?" McKenna asked as she grabbed a plate off of the counter. Joey nodded as he walked over to the fridge and pulled out a can of Sprite and some Coke for himself.

"Dr. Pepper." Michael answered.

"Anyone else?" He asked looking at Brianna.

"Dr. Pepper." She answered too.

"Let me help you get that McKenna." Kelly said as she walked into the kitchen. The six year old was trying to open the box which she could hardly reach. Kelly opened the box and grabbed McKenna's plate from her. "Do you want cheese? Or pepperoni?"

"Cheese." The little girl answered as she bounced from one foot to another. Kelly put a couple of pieces onto the plate and handed it to her.

"Here's your drink." Joey said handing her the cup of soda. "Be careful not to spill it." McKenna nodded and walked out of the room. Kelly helped Michael with his plate and then sent him off to the media room as well. The rest of them fixed their plates and headed to the room as well.

Michael and McKenna were sitting on the floor in front of the first couch with their plates on the table eating. Brianna had made herself comfortable on the couch and was busy eating too. Joey had grabbed the DVD on his way in and was busy putting it in. He got it started and then sat down on the couch in the back next to Kelly.

They ate their dinner and watched the movie. After it was over Kelly herded Michael and McKenna off to get ready for bed and Brianna disappeared upstairs to her bedroom, leaving Joey to pick up the room. He turned the movie off and shut down the projector before picking up the dirty dishes.

=====

Joey walked into his and Kelly's home. He had just gotten back from the studio where he was busy editing the movie he was working on. He smiled when he saw Kelly sitting on couch talking admittedly on the phone.

"Hold on." Kelly said to whoever was on the other end of the line. "Joey come here … I want you to guess who this is. I'm going to let you talk to him." Kelly smiled and handed him the phone.

Joey furrowed his eye brow in curiosity and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?" He asked hesitantly, "Who am I talking to?"

"You were told to guess." The voice said on the other end. It sounded familiar as it trailed off.

"Obviously you are a girl." Joey said laughingly as he sat down next to Kelly. "Umm … I am going to start twenty questions. What color hair do you have?"

"Brown."

"Eyes?"

"Brown."

"How do I know you?"

"I used to work for you."

"Okay when?"

"About eight years ago."

"Is my nickname Peppermint?" He laughed at the memory. Janie had been too much sometimes.

"Maybe …" She said slyly.

"You had the biggest crush on Chris." Joey paused, "Did ya'll ever hook up?"

"I would say so."

"Mrs. Kirkpatrick!" He said with a big grin on his face. Kelly laughed. "Why are you calling here?"

"Chris wants everyone to get together with all of you." Janie answered, "Kelly said you would come."

"Okay." He shrugged and looked over at Kelly. She leaned over and kissed his cheek, and stood up. Joey could hear Chris whining in the background about wanting to talk to him.

"Chris wants to talk to you, bye." Janie said quickly. He heard the phone being handed over and the Chris' voice."

"What are you doing?"

"Well I was talking to Janie …" Joey trailed off. "So what have you been up to man?"

"Just the record label really and bugging Janie." Chris rattled off.

"Fun." Joey rolled his eyes and Chris laughed.

"How is Brianna doing?"

"Mm … good. Busy with school and all of that stuff." He winked at his daughter as she walked into the room. Brianna sat down at the other end of the couch with a book in her hands.

"Did you and Kelly have any more kids?"

"Two. Michael and McKenna and they will be seven this weekend." Joey answered. "What about you and Janie. I'm sure James' is big now."

"Yeah. Janie adopted him and then we have two more boys and one on the way." Chris answered. They didn't say anything for a while. "Are you still in Florida?"

"Uh-huh. Back and forth from LA though." Joey answered. "Do you know who else Janie has talked too?"

"Justin and Lance," Chris answered. "It seems that JC is a little hard to get a hold of."

=====

"Happy Birthday to you / Happy Birthday dear Michael and McKenna / Happy Birthday to you …" The other kids at the party trailed off with Joey leading them all. Kelly laughed as she snapped a picture. They were having a party for their seventh birthday with their friends from school. Michael and McKenna each blew out their respective candles on the cakes. Kelly took another picture.

"All right," Kelly started she moved the cake in front of McKenna first to the counter. "Who wants chocolate cake?" Four hands shot up, one of which belonged to Joey. "So the rest of you want vanilla?" Their was a chorus of 'yeses.' Joey picked up the vanilla cake and set it on the counter to start cutting. The kids at the table were all talking admittedly with each other.

"Does anyone want ice cream?" Joey asked. A few of the kids answered and he dished out the ice cream on those few plates. They handed out the cake and ice cream and afterwards headed into the living room to open presents. The kids opened their presents and were happy with everything that they got.

Thirty minutes later their parents started to arrive to pick them up. Joey let them in and handed out the party bags.

"Thanks for coming." Joey smiled down at one of McKenna's friends. The little girl smiled up at him. "Have a good evening." He said to her Mom.

"You to. Thanks for having her over."

"Not a problem." Joey nodded as the two walked out of the house. He closed the door only to open it within the minute.

"Hey Sara." Joey said, "Julie! You're mom is here." He yelled. "Where's Zach?"

"He went golfing." She answered. "Hey Julie." She smiled as her daughter ran into the foyer with McKenna trailing behind. Kelly came up behind them. "I don't see how you two do this every year." She said with a laugh. Kelly gave her a hug.

"The trick is to limit the number of kids they can invite each. And it's only once a year. No big deal." Kelly shrugged. "We need to get together soon."

"Yeah. Just give me a call when you are free." Sara said. Kelly nodded. "What do you say to Kelly and McKenna, Julie?"

"Thank you." Julie answered. Joey handed her a goodie bag.

"Thanks for having her. Give me a call later and we can make plans." Sara said. She and Julie left the house. Joey closed the door. He reached down and picked up McKenna who squirmed the entire time.

"Where is Michael? He needs to help pick up?" Joey said as he tickled McKenna.

"Upstairs." She answered giggling and wiggling her way down out of his grip.

"Well go get him and help us pick up." He said. Joey watched her take off up the stairs and walked into the living room.

=====

Joey sat down at the kitchen table with the cordless phone in his hands. He dialed Lance's cell phone number knowing that would be the easiest way to get a hold of him. It rang twice before he picked up.

"Lance." He heard over the phone.

"What's up man?" Joey asked with a smile.

"Not much really. I just landed in New York. John has a few appearances and his CD release is this weekend." Lance answered.

"That's fun stuff." Joey said, "How long are you up there for? I come in on Monday maybe we can get together." He suggested.

"I'll have to see if I'm free. I leave Wednesday morning." Lance stated. Joey heard him say something to someone quickly. "Why are you coming up?"

"I have Promos for a new movie. Junk like that." Joey answered with a smile. "So did you get a call from Janie?"

"Yeah," Lance answered. "Are you going to go? Alison and I are planning on going."

"Uh-huh. Can you believe that she and Chris are together?" Joey laughed.

"I know. That's a little crazy." Lance stated and glanced at his watch, "Hey I have to go. Call me Monday when you get in and I'll see what I can do."

"Will do. Talk to ya later."

"Bye." They hung up. Joey got up and put the phone back on the charger before walking over to the stove to check on the food he was cooking for dinner.

=====

"We are talking to Joey Fatone this morning. He is in the new movie One Witness and is directing This Life which is do out this fall." The hostess of the morning talk show started, "How are you this morning Joey?"

"I'm doing good. I just got in last night so I'm a little tired." He said with a yawn to get the point across.

"So what was different about being in One Witness then the other movies you have been in?" She asked.

"Well …" Joey started. He answered the questions she asked and before he knew it the interview was over. Joey was directed backstage where he could wash his face and have something to eat before leaving for his next interview.

Later that evening Joey walked into the hotel that he was meeting Lance at for dinner. He saw Lance standing outside of the restaurant and waved him down.

"Hey Joey it's great to see you again." Lance said as the two men hugged.

"It is." Joey agreed as they walked into the hotel restaurant together. The two of them got a table and sat down. "So how are the girls doing?"

"They are good. Elizabeth is going to start school in the fall. I can't believe how fast that went. And Lauren was sick all last week so that wasn't fun." Lance smiled as he talked about his two daughters.

"And Alison?" Joey asked.

"She's doing good too. I'm thinking she wants to go back to work after Elizabeth starts school." Lance answered.

"That's understandable." Joey nodded. "Thanks for sending Brianna those CDs for her birthday. She was so excited about them." The waitress came up and took their drink orders and then left them to their conversation. "Can you believe that she is thirteen?"

"Of course not," Lance laughed. "And how are Michael and McKenna doing?"

"Brats." Joey answered with a laugh, "Getting bigger and more troublesome every day. But you gotta love them." Lance nodded in agreement. Both of them took a minute out of their conversation to look over their menus. When the waitress came back with their drinks, she took their orders.

"So what do you think everyone else has been up to over the past eight years?" Lance asked after their food had been brought out.

Joey shrugged, "We know Chris has been doing his stuff for his record label. And obviously Justin is still doing his thing. And we know what the two of us have been up to."

"So JC is the only one we know nothing about?" Lance sighed, "I wonder how Janie is going to find him …" He stated thoughtfully.

"She'll find him, but whether or not he shows up. Now that's another question." Joey said as he dug into his food.

=====

Joey and Kelly had flown to California for the premier of his movie, One Witness. They were pulling up to the red carpet and waited for the driver to open the door. Joey stepped out of the limo first and waited as Kelly got out.

They stopped to talk to some of the people doing interviews along the red carpet. Kelly stepped back while Joey talked about what was supposed to be the biggest movie of the year. The two moved along and eventually ended up inside.

The foyer to the theater was crowded with the other people who were involved in making the movie as well as those who were lucky enough to get in. The two mingled with everyone else, and Joey introduced or reintroduced Kelly as he was asked. Almost an hour later they were moved inside the theater and found a place to sit.

"What did you think?" Joey asked Kelly at the end of the movie. They were still seated while they waited for the theater to clear out some.

"Your best yet." Kelly smiled. She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. "It was really good."

"Thanks." Joey said with a grin. He kissed her again. "Are you ready to get out of here? We just need to make a quick appearance at the party and then we can go back to the hotel." Kelly nodded. The two of them stood up and headed out of the theater to find their limo.

=====

"Take your shoes off." Kelly stopped Joey before he walked onto the tiled floor. He raised his eyebrow, "I just washed it." Joey sighed and pulled them off of his feet. He walked into the kitchen.

"Have you packed yet?" Joey asked. The back door opened and before Michael could get any farther Kelly stopped him.

"Shoes off Michael." She didn't even look up, "I haven't yet. The kids are packed though."

"Okay." Joey said, "Where's McKenna?" He followed Michael out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.

"At Daisy's." Michael answered and headed up the stairs. Joey reached over and picked up the phone when it rang.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Can I stay over at Courtney's tonight?" It was Brianna.

"No."

"Please?"

"Bri, we have to get up early to go to Pennsylvania." Joey started. "I will be there to pick you up at ten."

"I can walk by myself." She said.

"That's too late to be walking home by yourself." Joey sighed.

"Fine." Brianna gave in.

"I love you." Joey smiled and sighed when she hung up. McKenna ran through the front door with another little girl behind him. They headed straight for the stairs, "Where's the fire?" Joey asked. The screen door slapped shut as Joey pulled the front door closed. He walked back into the kitchen.

"I don't think they love me anymore." Joey laughed and placed his hand on Kelly's shoulder. She reached up and rested her hand on top of his. She didn't look up from the paper she was reading.

"Yeah they do." Kelly looked up at him. "Why don't you go pack and I will be up their in a minute." She suggested and patted his hand.

"Okay." He resigned and kissed the top of her head. Joey left the kitchen again.

Later that evening Joey was standing on the front porch of Courtney's house to pick up Brianna. He was talking to her Dad when Brianna came into the foyer.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah." Brianna nodded. "See you later Court."

"Bye." Courtney said.

Joey and Brianna headed down the front walk.

"What did you guys do?" Joey asked.

"We just watched some movies." Brianna answered. "How come we have to go to Pennsylvania?"

"We've been over this Bri," Joey sighed. "You remember the guys. They loved you and I know that they want to see you. Besides we are only going to be there for four days anyway."

"I know." Brianna sighed.

"It'll be fun." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. Joey kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dad." She rolled her eyes. Joey laughed as they walked up to their front porch. Joey let them in.

"Good night." Joey said.

"Night Dad." She said as she walked up the stairs. Joey watched her before turning around and locking the front door. He headed upstairs himself.

=====

"Do we have everything?" Joey asked as he shut the back door on the caravan. He climbed up onto the bumper and made sure everything was tight on the car-top carrier.

"I think that's everything." Kelly answered with a smile. "The kids are in the van. So we can head out." It was early in the morning and they were about to start their drive to Pennsylvania.

"Well then let's go." Joey walked around to the driver's side and got in. He made sure everyone was buckled and that no one had forgotten anything. They pulled out of their driveway and began the long drive.

=====

Joey parked the van behind one with a Tennessee license plate. They had gotten to Pennsylvania the night before and were able to get a hotel room for the week.

"Well here goes nothing." Joey said as he shut the car off. He looked at the house before them as he unbuckled his seatbelt. The kids were already out of the van as was Kelly. Joey got out and locked it. The five of them walked up the front walk.

Joey reached for the handle on the door and opened it.

"Joey!" Kelly scolded.

"He doesn't care." Joey laughed and pushed it open wider.