Author Stephanie M
Feedback: Yes please, wicciangirl51@hotmail.com
Pairings: Lance/AJ, Nick/Howie, JC/?
Disclaimer: Complete Ficton. Not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of the celebs mentioned. If you are under the age of consent do not read.
Summary: Everything is perfect until a terrible accident.
Status: WIP
Rating: NC-17
Part 1
Lance looked over at his lover of two years overjoyed at the fact that they were spending their anniversary together, even if it was in secret. The shivers gliding down his spine informed him that AJ was looking at him.
“What’s wrong, love?” AJ asked, concerned at the sudden change in Lance’s mood.
Lance replied absently, “Just wishing that we could tell the others about us. I think we should do soon, I’m sick of having to pretend around our friends.”
“We’ll tell them next week. At least we’re together this year.” AJ said, as he squeezed Lance’s hand gently.
“That’s what I was thinking. We’ll spend a couple of hours at 60:40 then go home for our own celebration,” Lance said with a leer as he turned down a side street.
“Look out, James!” AJ screamed as a car sped towards them, obviously out of control.
There was a loud crash then the smell of petrol as the car overturned, squashing the couple inside. Lance looked over at AJ relieved to see that he was still alive before darkness overtook him.
One Hour Later
“This is New York General speaking is there a Kevin Richardson there, please?” A woman’s voice said on the other end of the phone causing Kevin to pale. Why were they calling was someone he loved hurt or even…dead?
“This is he. Why are you calling?” Kevin replied his voice shaking with worry.
The woman said sincerely, “You are down as an emergency contact number for a Mr Alex McLean. I’m afraid that Mr McLean has been in an accident. Can you come down to the hospital as soon as possible?”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Kevin replied as he hung up.
Jumping up from the bed, he quickly grabbed a cap and walked out of the room towards Brian’s room. Without knocking, Kevin opened the door, unsurprised to find the rest of the group inside.
“Guys, we need to get to the hospital. AJ’s been in an accident!” Kevin said as tears streamed down his face shocking the other members of his group who rarely saw him cry.
”How is he?” Howie asked as the group stood ready to be there for their brother.
As soon as the hospital came into view Kevin forced himself to return to reality. The second the car stopped he opened the door and ran towards the emergency department, the rest of the Backstreet Boys just a couple of seconds behind.
“Hi, I got a phone call about AJ McLean it said he had been in an accident. Can you tell me how he is?” Kevin said to the receptionist just as his band mates stopped behind him.
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything. If you go to the waiting room, down the corridor and take a left, a doctor will be along shortly.” The woman replied a sympathetic smile on her face as she saw the worry in his eyes.
“Hello, are you here for Mr McLean?” The doctor asked in a calm voice.
Kevin said eagerly, “Yes, we are. How is he?”
As Nsync burst through the door the doctor replied, “He’ll be fine. It was touch and go for a couple of minutes, but he will be fine after a couple of weeks resting. He has five broken ribs, he was stabbed in the stomach by some flying metal, but the surgery took care of that injury. I’m afraid you can’t see him yet.”
“Hi, we heard that Lance was in an accident. Is he alright?” Chris said, speaking for the worried group.
The doctor said shortly before leaving the room, “Oh yes, Mr Bass. He had several major injuries, including a ruptured spleen. He also has minor injuries including broken legs. The main cause for concern is the fact that he still has not regained consciousness and he took a great blow to the head. I advise all of you to get some rest they won’t wake up for a while.”
“Why are you guys here?” Justin asked curiosity in his voice.
Kevin replied, “AJ was in an accident, probably the same one that Lance was involved in.”
Lance could feel something telling him to wake up but it felt so hard to fight against the comfort of sleep. With a conscious effort, he groaned and opened his eyes. The sight that greeted him was not what he expected. Looking up at the face of an obviously concerned blue-eyed man, Lance swallowed twice before speaking.
Lance said half crying, “Who are you? Where’s Alex? What have you done to him? Alex, I need you! Alex...” He noticed the look of confusion the man gave him before there was a sharp pain in his arm and everything went black.
“Why doesn’t he remember me?” Justin Timberlake asked the doctor who was checking Lance’s pulse and pupils.
The doctor replied calm and sympathetic, “My name is Elise Smith. He took a large blow to the head, so some memory loss is expected. Do any of you know who this Alex is? It would greatly help if she were here, the last thing we need is for Mr Bass to be alarmed.”
“We don’t know anyone called Alex. Was anyone in the car with him?” JC said, speaking for the group who were still trying to accept everything.
“I’ll have to ask the nurse, I’ve just come on duty I’m afraid. He’s going to be out for a while so why don’t you go and get something to eat.” Doctor Smith said, her voice making it clear that it was an order not a suggestion.
Across the corridor the Backstreet Boys were looking at their friend in shock, each one amazed at how frail and small AJ looked. This was not how they saw their friend, how had this happened? Each one was blaming themselves, thinking that they should have been with him or stopped him from going out that night.
AJ slowly regained consciousness, the presence of his friends not registering as he searched frantically for something or someone. Looking at his chest, AJ burst into tears surprising his friends who rarely saw him cry.
“What’s wrong, AJ?” Kevin asked, keeping his voice as soothing as possible.
“It’s not here, my necklace. I need it can you get it back, please?” AJ asked his voice a mix of desperation and confusion.
“I’ll have a look for it, don’t worry we’ll get it back.” Kevin said as he searched the chest of drawers not wanting AJ to get any more upset.
With a cry of triumph, Kevin lifted out a gold heart necklace with an inscription on the back. Turning it over he found the words “A + J Forever. July 2000.” Kevin stared at the necklace in surprise, who was J? More importantly why didn’t AJ mention that he was seeing someone?
“Here’s your necklace, I’ll fasten it. Its beautiful, who gave it to you?” Kevin asked ignoring the others staring at him, wondering why Kevin was asking about a necklace when AJ had almost been killed.
“James, on our first anniversary. I gave him the exact same necklace, weird huh? Where is he anyway? He’s not hurt is he?” AJ asked his voice changing from happy to alarmed when he realised that his lover was not there.
“We’ll go and find him for you, why don’t you go asleep and Howie will look after you.” Kevin said as he motioned for Brian and Nick to leave the room before following.
“I think we need to talk to Chris or JC.” Kevin said an idea forming in his mind, the pieces coming together.
Nick said anger in his voice, “Why do we need to talk to them? We should be with AJ.”
“We need to talk to them because I think that Lance is AJ’s James.” Kevin replied, stopping suddenly when he noticed Nsync walking down the corridor towards them.
Remembering that AJ had been in an accident Chris asked, “Hi guys, how is AJ?”
“He’ll be fine. Can I ask you a question, Chris?” Kevin said, wondering if they would think he was insane.
“Shoot but don’t be long, Lance might need us.” Chris replied.
“Is Lance’s first name, James? Has he been asking for someone called Alex?” Kevin said, seeing the confusion then shock in Chris’ face.
“Yeah but everyone, apart from his mom calls him Lance.” Chris said, noticing the look of understanding in Kevin’s eyes.
Wondering if he could confirm his suspicions Kevin said, “I think he and AJ were in the car together but I’m not sure. Can I come and see him with you?”
Chris said looking at Kevin in confusion, “Sure, but he might not remember you. He has forgotten us but remembers this Alex, the doctor said it might be amnesia.”
At this point, the seven men walked down the corridor towards Lance’s private room. As only two visitors were allowed at a time Joey and Kevin walked in together as the others waited outside.
“Hey Kevin. How’s Alex? He’s not seriously hurt is he?” Lance said as soon as he spied Kevin approaching the bed.
“He’s okay and asking for you.” Kevin said with a small smile, wondering if the pair was ever going to think about themselves.
“Tell him I’m alright and I’ll see him as soon as they let me out of here.” Lance said groaning as pain flooded his body.
“We’ll ask the nurse to give you something for the pain.” Joey said seeing Lance grimace in pain.
“Are you Kev’s boyfriend?” Lance asked Joey, knowing there was something familiar about the man.
“No, he’s not my boyfriend, this is Joey a friend of yours.” Kevin said, letting out a mental sigh, so much for keeping his sexuality a secret.
Lance said his voice doubtful, “Are you sure about that? I don’t know anyone called Joey.”
“I’m going to keep an eye on AJ. Try not to worry too much,” Kevin said with a smile as he left the room, pulling Joey with him.
Knowing that the two groups needed to talk about their situation Kevin said to Joey, “Can you go and get a doctor for Lance? I’ll see if I can find a private waiting room, it looks like we all need to talk.”
Joey said with a small smile, “Sure. We’ll meet you at the waiting room.” It looked like Kevin was more than a little upset at what Lance had said.
Kevin walked down the corridor to AJ’s room where the three healthy Backstreet Boys were sitting around the bed with worried looks on their faces, as they took in AJ’s cuts and bruises.
“He’s just gone back to sleep but he said that he wanted to speak to you when you came in.” Howie said, although he had no intention of waking their fallen friend.
“I think you should wake him up, D.” Kevin said, his tone making it clear that it was an order not a suggestion.
Howie glared at him for a few seconds, unable to believe Kevin was acting so cold when one of their best friends, their brother in everything but blood was injured.
“AJ come on wake up. Kevin’s here.” Howie said as he gently shook the sleeping man.
AJ opened his eyes, wondering what everyone was doing in his room. The he remembered everything, but foremost in his mind was the fact that Lance wasn’t with him. Was his James hurt and no one was going to tell him?
“Calm down, AJ. I’ve just seen James.” Kevin said quickly, seeing AJ was about to start worrying.
Kevin ignored the questioning looks from the rest of his friends as he pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down. He knew that now he had admitted that he had seen Lance, AJ would bombard him with questions.
“How is he? Where is he? Why won’t anyone tell me anything?” AJ asked quickly, his voice rising with every word.
Not wanting to go into Lance’s injuries or the fact that Lance seemed to have forgotten his family and friends Kevin said, “He’s a little banged up but he should be okay. He took a blow to the head so his memory is a little scrambled. He remembers you though and said that I’m to tell you to stop worrying and that he’ll see you as soon as they let him.”
“Thanks, Kev. Can you tell him that I love him and I’ll try to stop worrying?” AJ said as he returned to sleep, relaxing now that he knew his boyfriend was well.
Kevin walked outside; waiting for the other three healthy Backstreet Boys to join him he wondered just how he could explain everything. He didn’t really want to reveal everything he had found out until they met with Nsync.
“Just what was all that about?” Nick asked angrily as he glared at Kevin.
“I’ll tell you as soon as we meet up with Nsync, it concerns them as much as us,” Kevin said before walking down the corridor, giving the other three no option but to follow him if they wanted to know what was happening.
“Why are we here when Lance needs us?” Chris asked in confusion, he would have thought that Joey would want to stay with the younger man.
As he paced around the waiting room Joey said, “We need to talk to Kevin about Lance. It won’t take long and Lance is out cold.”
Justin snarled, “Whatever he has to say doesn’t matter, Lance is hurt.”
The creek of the door opening caused Nsync to look at the door in dread, was someone coming to tell them Lance was worse? They let out a breath they hadn’t even known they were holding when the four healthy Backstreet Boys strolled in worry on their faces.
“Why doesn’t everyone sit down and then we can get started?” Kevin suggested, as he saw the rage burning in Justin’s eyes, clearly the others didn’t want to be there.
The eight sat down in silence, too worried about their friends to bother with idle gossip. Kevin looked from face to face wondering just how he was going to explain everything without someone losing their temper.
Kevin said, “Everyone knows that Lance and AJ were in an accident, I’ve talked to them and it appears that they were in the same car when the accident occurred.” As he spoke he looked at the others to see how they were taking everything so far.
“I didn’t think Lance even talked to AJ,” JC said half to himself.
Kevin said with a small smile, “From what AJ and Lance have told me it seems that the pair know each other quite well, in fact...” before he could continue there was a loud knocking on the door, seconds before it opened.
“Have any of you seen Mr McLean?” Dr Elise Smith asked as she looked at the eight men.
“Yeah, about ten maybe fifteen minutes ago in his room. What’s happened?” Howie said a feeling of dread coming over him.
She replied leaving the room with a worried look on her face, “He’s disappeared from the room, given your status it’s possible that someone might have moved him.”
“Come on, I have an idea where he is!” Kevin said inspiration hitting suddenly.
The other seven didn’t question, knowing that AJ could be in the clutches of a crazed fan or lying alone injured somewhere. Kevin walked quickly through the corridors, stopping outside Lance’s room. The eight stared in shock at the picture before them.
Inside the small hospital room, AJ was running his hands through Lance’s hair, crying. As they watched, Lance awoke and arched into the touch. Lance gently touched AJ’s face, pulling the other man towards him and placed a gentle kiss on the older man’s cheek.
Brian asked aloud in shock, “What’s going on?”
“I would have thought that was obvious.” Chris said, amusement in his voice. Apparently they had missed a lot - how had they missed it? He was about to say something else but stopped as AJ’s voice flowed out into the corridor.
Close to tears AJ said, “I thought you were dead, James.”
“You’ll never get rid of me that easy. I love you, Alex. I’m sorry I scared you,” Lance replied seriously.
“Only you would say sorry for getting in a car crash. God, I love you so much, James.” AJ said as gently kissed the back of Lance’s hand.
Lance said in mock seriousness, “You can do better than that.”
The pair kissed passionately, reassuring each other that they were okay and that they were together. As they kissed, Lance looped his arms around AJ’s neck, pulling the other man down towards the bed.
Breaking the kiss, Lance patted the side of the bed and waited for AJ to join him. AJ got into the bed, gently moving his arm across Lance’s waist. The pair instantly fell asleep, unaware of their friends watching them in a mix of confusion and amazement.
Justin looked at the couple, unwilling to believe what he was seeing. He was angry and jealous; Lance should be his and AJ kissing him. Justin vowed to make Lance see that AJ was the wrong person for him. He wanted Lance, and would do anything and everything within his power to get his friend. He was sure Lance only needed someone to explain how bad AJ was for him, and he would leave the Backstreet Boy. Justin was the only one good enough for Lance.
“Maybe we should leave them alone.” Kevin suggested, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment.
Joey said as he gave Kevin a flirtatious grin, “Kev and I are going to go and tell the doctor where AJ is.”
Kevin just stared at Joey, then grinned back. He had to admit Joey was certainly attractive, and had always come across as a decent guy. Kevin simply smiled and started walking down the corridor with Joey.
“I’ve got to get out of here. I’ll see you later.” Howie said as he quickly walked away from the room, Nick trailing after him.
“Want to call Lance’s mom? She’s bound to be worried if she caught the news.” JC said as he spied the look on Justin’s face, confused at the jealous look in Justin’s eyes.
“Yeah, I promised I’d call when we found out what happened.” Justin said as he walked down the corridor, leaving JC to stare after him before running to catch up with him.
Brian looked at Chris and could see that the other man was desperate for something to do, something he could understand.
Smiling at the worried Chris, Brian said, “Want to go and talk? We need to think of something to tell the fans.”
“Yeah. Did you know about Lance and AJ?” Chris asked as the pair walked away from the room, talking quietly.
“No. I knew AJ met someone about two years ago, because he never said anything I figured they had broken up.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t know about them. I mean, what kind of friend am I?” Chris said half to himself.
“None of us knew. I don’t know about Lance but when AJ wants to keep a secret, no one ever finds out at least from him.” Brian said, stopping Chris so that the other man could see the sincerity of his words.
“Excuse me, but I need to talk to Mr Bass alone.” A stern looking doctor said as he woke the sleeping couple.
AJ looked at him for a few seconds, not knowing where he was. Then all the images of the previous day flashed into his mind, on instinct he turned to look at Lance. Seeing his love was okay, he looked back at the doctor and realised he was in bed with Lance. His heart and mind knew that was where he belonged, but he figured it probably wasn’t a good way to keep their relationship a secret.
“Okay, I’ll just wake him up.” AJ said briefly glancing at the doctor.
Turning back to Lance, AJ gently ran his hands through the blonde hair. “James, babe. Time to get up.”
Lance simply muttered and arched into AJ’s fingers, the doctor narrowed his eyes at his patients’ response. Lance Bass wasn’t acting how he expected someone had just experienced major trauma to act, but he could see that AJ was good for Lance.
“Come on, wake up baby. Someone needs to talk to you.” AJ said, flashing the doctor an embarrassed grin.
Lance complained as he nestled into AJ’s arms, “No, comfy. Tell them to come back later.”
“James, we need to talk.” AJ said, jumping a little when Lance froze completely.
“What’s wrong, love?” Lance said opening his eyes and looking at AJ.
Lance said worriedly as he searched AJ’s face, “You’re not in pain, are you?”
“I asked him to wake you up. I need to talk to you alone.” The doctor said to Lance, only briefly looking at AJ.
Lance said as he glared at the doctor, “Anything you want to say to me, you can tell Alex. He’s my next of kin; we filled in all the paperwork. You want me to get someone to get the papers from the hotel?”
“No, that’s quite alright. My name is Doctor Luc Merchant; I’m the head of neurology. I’ve looked over your file and have some questions to ask you.” Seeing Lance’s nod he continued, “What’s your full name and the name of the man beside you?”
Lance replied quickly, “My name is James Lance Bass and the man beside me is my partner Alexander James McLean.”
“Who’s the President of the USA? What year is this?” Dr Merchant said, writing notes on his chart.
“Bush is the President and its 2001.” Lance said, wondering how long this was going to continue.
“What’s your job?” Dr Merchant asked, his voice revealing nothing.
Lance replied with a wide grin, “I’m a singer in a music group.”
“Do you recognise the pictures of these four men?” The doctor asked as he placed pictures of the other four members of Nysnc on the bed.
“That’s Joey, Kevin introduced me to him a couple of hours ago. I don’t know any of the others.” Lance said, not noticing the look of alarm on AJ’s face.
“Do you recognise these four?” Dr Merchant asked this time placing pictures of the other four Backstreet Boys on the bed.
Lance said with a small laugh, “Of course I do. How could I forget the members of my own group? That’s Nick, Brian, Howie and Kevin. They are in the Backstreet Boys with me and AJ.”
“What year did you join the Backstreet Boys?” Dr Merchant asked calmly.
“1996, after my old voice coach recommended me.” Lance replied, a little annoyed at all the questions.
Dr Merchant looked at Lance as he said, “Can you tell me the names of your immediate family?”
“My parents are Diane and Jim Bass, I have one sister called Stacy.” Lance said sounding tired.
Doctor Merchant said a calm look on his face, “I’ll let you sleep. I’ll look over the notes and tell you what I find later.”
“I’m just going to call your mom, why don’t you go to sleep? I’ll be back in a second, babe.” AJ said tenderly as he walked out the room seconds after the doctor left.
“Okay, don’t be gone too long.” Lance replied as he closed his eyes.
AJ caught up with the doctor at the nurse’s station and asked, “Doc, what’s wrong with him? His memories are all screwed up about Nsync but he remembers everything else.”
The doctor said quietly after making sure the coast was clear, “Mr Bass has amnesia; it’s fairly common after a trauma. With this type of amnesia the patient normally only has a gap within one area of their memory and the memory they retain can be distorted. In this case he has forgotten he’s a member of Nsync and the other members. As far as I can tell he remembers his career in music but he simply thinks he joined the Backstreet Boys instead.”
“Will his memories return? How can I help him?” AJ asked desperate to do something, anything to help the man he loved.
“The memories may never return but you should spend time with him and so should the members of Nsync. Sometimes familiar faces and places help people to remember,” The doctor said seconds before his pager beeped. Flashing AJ an apologetic grin, he ran towards the elevator.
“Mrs Bass, I’m at the hospital. It turns out the news was right, Lance was in an accident.” Justin said into the phone, hearing Diane Bass gasp he continued; “The doc seems to think Lance is going to be okay but he’ll have to stay in the hospital for a couple of days.”
“Thanks for telling me Justin, I’m going to book a flight and come up to take care of my son,” Diane Bass said making it clear that there would be no discussion.
“Okay, I’ll tell the others.” Justin said as Diane Bass ended the call, already thinking about arrangements that had to be made.
“How did she sound?” JC asked Justin, seeing the worried look in Justin’s eyes.
Justin replied with a grin, “ She sounded okay, a little worried. She’s going to get the next flight here and take care of Lance.” Lance would love having his mother with him.
“Did you tell her that Lance has lost his memory?” JC asked, noticing the guilty look on Justin’s face; he already knew the answer.
Justin defended himself, “No, I couldn’t just tell her something like that through the phone.”
“Want to go and get something to eat?” JC offered, knowing that they couldn’t do anything to help Lance.
“Sure, I don’t want to talk to AJ, okay?” Justin replied hotly, hissing out AJ’s name. He didn’t notice the look of enlightenment on JC’s face as they walked down the hall.
Ten minutes after the pair had left the secluded relatives room, AJ walked in. Picking up the phone he dialled a number from memory; hoping that he wouldn’t have to be away from Lance too long.
“Diane, it’s AJ. I’m at the hospital with James, we were in a crash.” AJ said as he heard the familiar sound of Diane Bass’s voice.
“I know, son. Justin called me. How are you, really?” Diane Bass said her voice comforting and soft.
His voice full of fear and pain AJ answered, “Not too good. James has amnesia; he thinks he’s a member of Backstreet and can’t remember any of Nsync. He broke both his legs and his spleen was ruptured. The doctor said that the best thing is to have familiar faces.”
Diane sighed knowing that AJ was hiding something she said, “Now that you’ve told me about Lance, tell me how you are. I’m going to come and care of you and Lance. I’ll be there tomorrow morning. Don’t worry about coming to pick me up, I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
Crying into the phone AJ said, “I’m okay now I know Lance is alive. When I woke up no one would tell me anything, Kevin looked in on him for me. He guessed who I meant when I asked for James. I just need someone to hold me and let me know that everything is going to be okay.”
“It’ll be okay, Alex. Where you hurt in the crash?” Diane asked, shocked that AJ was moving around.
AJ sighed knowing she was going to be upset at him for roaming around the hospital, “I was stabbed in the stomach. I’m not supposed to be out of bed but I sneaked out to see James. I was just scared that he was really dead and no one was telling me the truth. James was hurt the worse, because the car hit his side. I wish it was me that was seriously hurt.”
“Don’t talk like that. I’m coming to take care of you, I’ll be there soon.” Diane Bass said, praying God would let them all come through the latest crisis.
“Thanks mom. I’ll see you later, love you.” AJ said as he ended the call.
“Howie, should we tell them?” Nick asked quietly, looking around the cafeteria.
Howie replied his voice full of worry, “Not yet, wait until everything has settled down a little. We should go and see how Lance is doing.”
The pair looked up as they felt someone approach, seeing Brian and Chris they relaxed and smiled at their friends. The four friends sat in silence to worried about Lance and AJ to make small talk.
Justin asked cockily, “Do you mind if we join you?”
“The more the merrier, heard anything about Lance?” Nick answered willing to forget everything that had happened between them.
“No, but we’re going to see Lance soon.” JC answered, taking a drink from his can of Pepsi.
“They probably won’t appreciate the interruption, we should let them have some time alone.” Joey said as he and Kevin sat down, making their friends jump.
“They need each other right now, more than we can imagine.” Kevin said, smiling as Joey gripped his hand under the table.
“Lance doesn’t need AJ. What he needs is us - his friends!” Justin shouted. Thankfully there were very few people in the room with them.
Knowing that it would probably do more harm than good of they tried to separate the pair Brian said hotly, “Yeah, but he also needs the person he loves.”
“Let’s just go and see how they are doing.” Chris said determined not to argue now of all times.
The eight quickly stood and walked towards the elevators; not noticing the confused stares. The ride up to their friend’s floor was done in complete silence; each one taking the time to try and organise their thoughts.
“What are they doing in the same room!?” Justin shouted in confusion as he saw that Lance and AJ were lying next to each other in separate beds. He couldn’t believe that the hospital was allowing this.
Her face full of anger Dr Elise Smith said as she walked over, “Would you calm down? I don’t care who you are, you disturb my patients and I’ll have you banned.”
Glaring at each one Dr Smith said calmly, “They are in the same room because their medical records state that they are married. It helps if the significant other is placed in the same room. That way they don’t spend their whole time trying to sneak into each other’s rooms; as I believe happened earlier. It was stated in their medical records that if they were both injured they were to be placed in the same room; and I respect my patients’ wishes.”
“Is it okay if we talk to them?” Howie asked looking over at the couple.
The doctor said firmly “No, it is not. They were both in severe pain; I gave them medication to help with the pain and to help them sleep. Come back in the morning; and get rid of the press.”
“Can you tell them we were here?” Joey said with a smile.
The doctor just nodded and waited for them to leave.
As they rode the elevator down to the car park Kevin thought over the very unusual events that had occurred. Kevin couldn’t help but feel a little envious of the pair, they seemed so happy together. When he had spoken to them; their first concern had been for the other. Looking at Joey, Kevin wondered if this time he might have found the man for him.
Diane Bass walked out of the airport, ignoring the waiting press. As she walked she cursed her husband angry over his behaviour. She couldn’t believe he was being so cruel and heartless to her and to Lance.
“New York General.” Diane said as she got into the cab, hoping that she would be strong enough to get her sons through this.
Ten minutes later the car arrived at the hospital, looking out she wasn’t surprised to find the entrance besieged by reporters. As she walked inside, she made a mental note to call Johnny and ask him to remove the press. It could upset her sons and she wouldn’t allow that, nothing would hurt either of them while she was alive.
“I’m Diane Bass, I believe my son and his significant other are here.” She said coolly to the nurse as she stopped outside their room.
“Can I see some identification?” The nurse asked, regarding her suspiciously, there had been too many hoaxes already.
Diane quickly took out her driving license and showed it, angry at the hold up but also pleased to see that there was security to protect the two. She had been afraid that something might happen while they were in the hospital unguarded.
Positive the woman wouldn’t upset his patients Dylan said, “You can go in. Mr McLean is awake at the moment. My name is Dylan Jones; I’m the nurse responsible for their care. Doctor Smith is going to be here in about two hours. We’ll let you stay as long as you don’t upset either of them.”
Diane Bass nodded and walked inside, sighing when she saw that AJ was out of bed and sitting next to Lance. Looking at AJ she could see a patch of red had formed on the white hospital gown. Pressing the call button she walked over to AJ.
Diane Bass said calmly as she helped AJ to lie down on his bed, “Alex, can you just get back on your bed for a minute or two? It looks like you might’ve opened some stitches.”
“What’s wrong?” Dylan said as he walked in, seeing the blood on the gown, he quickly opened it to find the bandages were completely soaked in blood.
“Erm...oops?” AJ said at the glare both Dylan and Diane gave him.
At that moment, Lance woke up and immediately looked over at AJ. Seeing the blood soaked bandages he tried to move only to find his mother stopping him from getting out of bed.
“Don’t even think about trying to move James.” Diane Bass said sternly, bending down she whispered, “That will only upset Alex and you don’t want that, do you?”
Lance quickly lay back on the bed, watching the nurse uncover his husband’s bandages. He couldn’t stop the gasp as he saw the large line of stitches on AJ’s stomach.
As he left to get some bandages Dylan said, “It’s not as bad as it looks. Just your body’s way of telling you not to move around, I heard you were strolling around the hospital yesterday. I’ll redress the wound, but this time you have to stay in bed.”
“Alex, this is all my fault,” Lance said as he took in his husband’s grimace of pain.
Not wanting Lance to start on one of his guilt trips AJ said quickly, “It’s my fault for moving around too early.”
“Hush, both of you. No one’s to blame,” Diane said firmly causing the pair to quiet down immediately.
Dylan returned and quickly dressed the wounds, grinning at the matching contrite expressions on the men’s faces. Obviously Mrs Bass had been at them; it was amazing how men could look a little child when their mother told them off.
“Now don’t get out of bed and everything will be okay. You have to give your body a chance to heal.” Dylan admonished before leaving the room with a grin.
Lance said in a rush, “What are we going to do about the concert?”
“James, I’ve got something to tell you.” Diane said sharing a look with AJ.
“When you were in the accident your memory got a little mixed up. You’re not in the Backstreet Boys with me, you’re in a group called Nsync,” AJ said quickly, worried at Lance’s sudden silence.
“Oh, will my memories come back?” Lance asked confused, were all his other memories right?
“We don’t know. That’s the only thing your memory is mixed up on. I mean you can still remember me, Stacy and AJ, right?” Diane said looking at Lance for confirmation.
Lance said with a grin, “Yeah, it’s not important as long as I have you and Alex.”
“Don’t even think about it, J.” JC hissed as he looked at his best friend.
Justin replied quickly feigning innocence, “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Get over your little crush on Lance. He’s happy and married to AJ. Don’t interfere!” JC said, not believing Justin. He knew his friend too well.
Justin said confidently, “That’s only because AJ’s been lying to him. As soon as Lance sees what AJ’s really like, he will realise that he’s supposed to be with me.”
JC snarled, “Get real, he’s in love with AJ! You try to break them up and I’ll stop you.”
“What’s wrong?” Chris asked as he walked into corridor and saw the pair whispering intently.
JC replied quickly, “Nothing, he’s just being an idiot.”
“We should take Lance some clothes and things.” Chris said as he walked towards Lance’s hotel room, taking a key out of his pocket.
The three grinned, as they looked at Lance’s room, tidy as always. The young bass singer seemed to be a compulsive neat freak, something they had always teased him about.
Chris walked straight over to the drawers and started placing clothes in a bag. He walked straight over to the wardrobe and started folding clothes neatly, knowing Lance would freak if they were untidy.
“What you got there?” JC asked as he looked at the frozen Justin.
“There was a fake back in Lance’s briefcase...this was in there.” Justin said as he took out a leather bound book and a large brown envelope.
Justin opened the book, and groaned as pictures and letter fell out. Picking them up he looked closer, and could see they were love letters. From AJ to Lance and went back three years. Just how long had they been dating?
JC said as he read the documents, “It says here that they got married last year and that in the case of an emergency the other must be contacted immediately. There are four phone numbers and three addresses for each of them. ”
“Looks like there’s a lot we don’t know about Lance. What’s that book?” Chris said as he looked over at Justin.
“It’s Lance’s journal, it’s full of photos and stuff. Think we should take it for him?” Justin said, maybe he could get rid of the photos and love letters on the way?
“Yeah.” JC said taking the book from Justin’s hands.
JC didn’t trust his friend not to “accidentally” lose anything that mentioned AJ. It was just like Justin but it would upset Lance and he would not allow that to happen. Lance’s memory might be screwed up but he could apparently remember AJ just fine.
Kevin sighed as he looked over at Joey; he’d had a good time the night before. They had stayed up all night just talking and confiding in each other. He was pleased to discovered that he had been right about Joey-he was a great guy.
“What’s wrong?” Joey asked as heard Kevin sigh.
Kevin swallowed audibly, “Just thinking. I know this isn’t the right time but where do you think we’re going?”
“I don’t know about you but I think we could have something good together. Why don’t we just date a little at first?” Joey said with a smile.
“That sounds great.” Kevin leaned in and gently kissed Joey. The kiss quickly turned passionate and started to get out of control. His tongue explored every inch of Joey’s mouth, taking, owning and possessing.
“Excuse me guys.” Brian said with a smirk as Kevin looked up and glared at him. Brian said with a small laugh, “Chill, Cuz. I just thought you might want to know that we’re going to the hospital in ten.”
“Okay, we’ll be ready. Nsync meeting us to go?” Kevin replied ignoring Brian’s smirk.
“Yeah, they’ve found a journal they think will help Lance remember.” Brian said as he left, closing the door behind him.
“Nick, you ready?” Brian asked as he banged on Nick’s door, hearing only breathless moans.
“We’ll be out in five!” Howie answered, making Nick groan in protest from the sudden loss of suction.
'Looked like I had the great joy of waking up all the gay couples today,' Brian thought as he replied, “Okay, we’re meeting Nsync in ten and then going the hospital. Just hurry up whatever you’re doing in there.”
“Hey Lance. How you doing today?” Chris asked as they walked into the hospital room.
Lance said looking at the hyper man in confusion, “Not to be rude but who are you?”
“He’s in Nsync with you, his name is Chris.” AJ said quietly noticing the looks everyone was giving him.
“Oh yeah, them.” Lance said dismissively, not noticing the worried looks in the eyes of the rest of Nsync.
“We found this in your room.” JC said handing the journal over to Lance.
Lance immediately glared at them, he knew that he had hidden the book. They could only find it if they were rooting through his things. He started checking the contents, relieved to see everything appeared to be there.
“How are you two?” Howie said with a grin as he walked in, immediately noticing the tension in the room.
Lance said with a grin, “We’re good D. Although, Mr Stubborn over there caused his wounds to bleed.”
“You know you’re worse than Kevin.” AJ said playfully rolling his eyes.
“Where’s Kaos? Let me guess you passed a video game on the way and he got hooked,” Lance said with a laugh.
“Hey, I’m not that bad!” Nick protested, thinking to himself that he liked Lance like this.
AJ interjected with a laugh, “Yeah right (!) I remember when we where at your house, you didn’t stop playing for five hours!”
“Is Kev still in bed with that Joey guy?” Lance asked as Brian walked in.
“Nah, they’re downstairs. They mentioned something about balloons.” Brian replied, noticing that Nsync looked like they where feeling left out.
Lance grinned impishly, “How did you get up this early, Nick? Let me guess Howie woke you up.”
Nick just blushed slightly and glared at Lance who laughed, as did the Backstreet members. Nsync just looked at Lance in confusion, unable to understand the sudden change in Lance’s personality.
“So what are your names?” Lance said, turning to look at the JC and Justin who were looking at Lance in shock.
“I’m Justin but you always call me Curly or J.” Justin said angry at the camaraderie between Backstreet and Lance.
JC said with a grin, “I’m Josh but you call me Jayce.”
“Excuse me, can everyone apart from Mrs Bass leave?” Dr Smith said as she walked into the room.
“Feel like telling us something?” Justin hissed at Nick, it was obvious from the way Nick had acted that he had spent time with Lance before.
Nick snarled, “I knew about them, but it wasn’t my place to tell.”
“Calm down, love.” Howie said softly as he put one hand on Nick’s shoulder.
“You knew, as well?” Chris asked looking at Howie with betrayal in his eyes.
Howie said reasonably, “Yeah, we double date sometimes. Look, they asked us to keep it a secret.”
“Stop fighting! Our friends are injured and you’re acting like spoilt brats!” Kevin said angrily, he didn’t even have to raise his voice.
“I’m sorry but this has been a little trying.” Howie said quickly, not wanting to get on Kevin’s bad side. He grinned when he noticed the way Joey was hovering at Kevin’s side. It looked like Lance was right about them!
“When are we getting out of here?” Lance asked ignoring the shouting from the corridor, obviously the Nsync guys didn’t like his friends.
Dr Smith said giving AJ a meaningful look, “As long as you don’t go strolling around the hospital again and give your body a chance to heal you’ll be out within a week.”
AJ sighed and said honestly, “You don’t have to worry, doc. Now that we’re in the same room there’s no need for me to go searching the hospital.”
Dr Smith said apologetically, “Mr Bass, I’ve spoken to Dr Merchant and we agree that at the moment we just don’t know if you will ever regain your memories. The best thing I can suggest is that you spend time with Nsync and listen to the music it might jog your memory.”
Lance smiled, “I’ll ask D to bring in a Nsync CD. Alex opened his stitches earlier, will he be okay?”
“From what the nurse told me everything appears to be okay,” The doctor replied seriously.
Dylan walked into the room and said, “Sorry to interrupt but there has been a twelve car pile up. All docs needed on deck!”
“I’ll have to go, if either of you have any problems or questions just ask someone to give me a page,” Dr Smith said smiling at her patients.
Lance said with a grin, “Thanks, could you ask Howie and Nick to come in here?”
Dr Smith nodded and left the room. She walked down the corridor purposely, she had warned the singers not to cause trouble and they hadn’t listened.
Her voice deceptively sweet Dr Smith said, “Your friends have just experienced a major trauma and they don’t need this right now. Stop being so selfish, you should be thinking about them not about yourselves!”
Kevin said charmingly, “I apologise for the rude behaviour, it won’t happen again.”
Dr Smith nodded as she walked away saying over her shoulder, “Oh, Lance asked if Howie and Nick could go in.”
Howie and Nick quickly headed to see their friends, happy to get away from Nsync. They could understand why the others didn’t like the fact that they had kept their friendship with Lance secret but it was hardly the time to get into an argument.
Kevin said in disgust, “I can’t believe you, Justin! How can you do this to them?”
“You don’t understand. They shouldn’t have kept it a secret!” Justin said stubbornly.
Joey said seriously, “Look, right now that doesn’t matter. Lance’s life has been turned upside down, imagine how he must feel.”
Justin declared angrily, “It wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been in the car with AJ!”
Brian exclaimed shocked, “You’re jealous!”
Chris said quickly, “Any feelings you have for Lance don’t matter. Lance is happily married.” He was shocked as he had never imagined Justin could have feelings for their green-eyed friend.
Justin shrugged, “He’s only happy because AJ’s been lying to him! If Lance knew what AJ was really like he wouldn’t be with him.”
Knowing the injured couple couldn’t handle a jealous Justin as well as everything else Kevin said, “Maybe we should talk to them and then you’ll see that they’re the real thing. I get the feeling Lance wouldn’t get married unless he was sure it was a long-term relationship. Those two wouldn’t fuck around about something so important.”
“You okay, Lance?” Nick asked as he walked in the room.
Lance laughed, “I’m okay as long as I’ve got Alex with me, you know that.”
“I’m sorry about all the shouting.” Howie said seriously not wanting to upset his friends.
AJ asked curious, “What happened?”
Nick shrugged, “Justin isn’t too happy that we’re friends.”
Howie said filling Lance in on the situation, “Chris was my friend in college, he’s not happy that I didn’t tell him about you two.”
“But I remember asking you to keep our relationship a secret when y’all came to my place,” Lance said with a grin.
Howie commented with a smirk, “I think they were a little unhappy to find out about you two by catching you kissing.”
Nick laughed, “I was just shocked that you weren’t a little more careful, but if something happened to Howie I would do the same thing. I bet Kev will give you a lecture about it.”
“What a surprise (!) Kev has a lecture for everything,” Lance said rolling his eyes.
Justin glared at everyone who dared to look at him; unable to believe no one could see what AJ was doing to Lance. He was sure that AJ would only hurt the beautiful green-eyed bass singer.
“How come Lance is so different?” Justin asked himself not realising he had spoken aloud.
Remembering his psychology classes Chris said quickly, “Amnesia doesn’t work that way, it can’t change your personality. Maybe this Lance is just what Lance would be like without us, we influenced the man he is. It makes sense that if he had been around the Backstreet Boys he would be different.”
“I think I prefer this Lance,” JC said quietly not knowing how they would take his declaration.
Kevin made to reply but shut his mouth with an audible snap, spying Nick and Howie approaching. Now he could go and talk to the injured couple and find out just what he had missed about them.
“Guys, you want to come in? Lance wants to speak to you.” Nick said calmly ignoring the glare from Justin.
“Sure. How is he?” Brian replied as the pair walked towards the room, the other men following closely.
Howie grinned, “Okay. He is a lot cockier than normal. It’s kind of funny to see him like this, but in a good way.”
Lance smiled at his mother. “Mom, why don’t you get settled in at the hotel? I want to talk to the guys for a while.”
“I’ll come back tomorrow, I don’t want to crowd you. See you later, boys.” Diane Bass gently kissed Lance and AJ on the cheek before leaving.
“You think we’ll be okay if my memories don’t come back?” Lance asked his husband seconds after his mother left the room.
AJ smiled gently, “Sweetheart, don’t worry about that. You’re the same beautiful, caring, sensitive and sexy man I fell in love with. Nothing can change how I feel about you.”
There was a gentle knock on the door, seconds later the boyband members walked in the room. Each noticed that Lance seemed a lot calmer than earlier, it was as if a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“Hey guys. Why don’t y’all sit down and we talk?” Lance suggested ignoring the glare Justin was giving AJ.
“So have long have you been married?” Kevin asked the pair once everyone had sat down.
AJ gave a pained smile, “We got married exactly twelve days after I finished rehab. It was because of what happened with James that I realised I needed help.”
“What do you mean?” Nick asked not knowing what AJ was talking about.
Ashamed AJ answered, “I fractured his ribs. I didn’t even know what I had done until the next day.”
“You hit Lance!” Justin shouted angrily clenching his hands into fists. He was right, AJ didn’t deserve Lance!
AJ said bitterly, “Yeah, I did. He means more to me than anything, and I did that to him!”
“It’s okay, love. It wasn’t your fault, it was all the drink and drugs.” Lance said gently looking AJ in the eyes.
“I’m so sorry that happened, love.” AJ said to Lance knowing he could never atone for hurting the beautiful soul in front of him.
Sensing they needed to change the subject Brian asked, “So how did you get together?”
Lance said with a smirk, “I was drunk and looking for someone to fuck, he was there. I threw myself at him using everything I could think of to get him in bed.”
“You drunk and on the prowl?” Joey questioned in shock, that wasn’t at all like the Lance he knew.
Lance rolled his eyes, “Yeah. The next day, I woke up to find myself alone and a letter on the pillow.”
“What did the note say?” Kevin asked with a grin.
AJ answered, “Call me if you want to do it again, A. I put my cell number, with a question mark.”
Lance quickly took up the narrative again. “I called Alex a month later and we met up. It was just about sex for a year. We sent each other notes about what we were going to do to each other when we met up.”
“Until I screwed up and signed that letter with love,” AJ said with a happy grin.
Lance rolled his eyes, “How many times do I have to tell you? You didn’t screw up, your subconscious must have wanted a relationship.”
AJ smiled remembering the hours he would spend reading each letter, “The letters changed then. We would tell each other little stupid things, and about the things that mattered. When I got a letter I felt like I could walk on air. We would pass the letters via friends.”
“Yeah. I remember one day JC actually asked me if I was taking drugs.” Lance said with a grin causing gasps from the room.
“You remember me now?” JC questioned in confusion.
Lance shrugged, “I have these flashes of memory, of faces. If I try to concentrate then the memories don’t come.”
Confused Chris asked Lance, “How come you remember everything that happened with AJ, and that you weren’t together when you first started seeing each other but not us?”
Lance didn't know hismelf with a frown he said, “I don’t know. I have these flashes of memory about Nsync but everything about Alex I can remember.”
“So that’s why you can remember that you and AJ were apart for a while when you got together?” Brian asked softly.
Lance said before gasping in pain, “I guess, you’ll have to ask the doctor if you want more information. To be honest most of my memories involve Alex in some way either because he was there or because he was referred to.”
Flashback
“What do you mean you’re gay? No son of mine is a fag!” Jim Bass shouted refusing to look at Lance.
Lance was crying now, tears streaming down his face as he tightly griped his lover’s hand. AJ was about to try and calm down the older irate man when he heard Jim Bass speak softly.
Focusing on a spot over the couple’s shoulder Jim Bass said coldly, “I have no son. To protect this family from shame I won’t publicly disown you but if you ever come to this town then you are to stay in a hotel. I won’t contact you and you won’t contact me. Now leave.”
Lance held his head up high and walked out the house still holding AJ’s hand. He had expected this reaction, his father had never accepted homosexuality. No matter what happened, Lance would not give up his Alex, he would die first.
“Let’s go back to the hotel, sweetheart. Let me look after you,” AJ whispered as they got into the rented blue Sedan.
*End Flashback*
“What’s wrong love?” AJ asked as Lance looked at him with tears glistening in his eyes.
Knowing his husband would understand Lance answered, “Dad.”
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry.” AJ said getting out of the bed to cradle his still shaking lover.
“For those of us who don’t know can you explain what’s going on?” Justin asked angry with AJ for holding Lance.
Lance snarled something about Justin made him feel uneasy, “Just get the fuck out of here! This doesn’t have anything to do with you!”
“Calm down baby,” AJ whispered as he gently ran his fingers through Lance’s hair.
Lance asked with a defeated sigh, “What right does he have to interrogate me? Why can’t they leave us alone?”
AJ whispered, “They’re your friends so they’re worried about you. Why don’t you just talk to them later when you feel more in control?”
“Can you go? I don’t need this right now!” Lance said watching as the others left the room, only Nick and Howie smiling at them and promising to come by in a couple of hours.
Part 7
The eight singers were sitting in the hospital cafeteria in complete silence eating and occasionally looking up at each other. The silence was heavy with unasked questions.
Justin glared at Chris accusingly, “He’s acting strange. I thought you said amnesia wouldn’t change his true personality?”
Howie retorted angrily, “How would you react in his position? His memories are all screwed up and the first real flashback he has is of his father disowning him.”
“How did you know what he was talking about?” Brian asked his friend with a grin.
Nick was the one who answered, “Lance told us what happened with his dad just like AJ told us what happened with his mom. We’re friends. We talked to each other about coming out to our families.”
“Just why didn’t any of you tell us about AJ and Lance being together?” JC said after swallowing his mouthful of food.
Howie grinned, “Not our place. Only they could make that decision. I knew they were planning on telling you soon. They would have to, seeing how they have bought two houses together.”
“How come we never figured out they where seeing each other?” Brian asked seriously.
Howie shrugged, “They were really good at covering their tracks. I was surprised no one figured it out seeing how AJ called Lance every day in rehab or when he would write letters and songs dedicated to Lance.”
“Lance can be quite cunning when he wants to be and he’s always in control,” Justin said thoughtfully.
“Lance in control?” Nick started laughing at the very idea, seeing the Nsync guys were just looking at him in confusion, he stopped.
Seeing Nick wasn’t going to elaborate Chris asked, “What do you mean by that?”
Nick smirked at Nsync, “Lance is one of the wildest guys I know. We went out the other week and he was partying until about six a.m. As for crazy, well, Lance sent pictures of him and AJ together to your management. Actually they were practically having sex on the dance-floor.”
Howie chimed in, “Your management thought it was some creep trying to get money out of them by doctoring photographs. They asked Lance about them. He just did the whole innocent and naïve Southerner act. It worked, not too surprising if he is using it on you guys most of the time.”
“What do you mean by that?” Justin accused angrily, “Lance never acts with us!”
Nick rolled his eyes, “Right (!) That’s why you guys couldn’t believe he was on the prowl when he met AJ, or that he seduced AJ.”
“I figured AJ would be the one to put the moves on Lance.” Kevin asked trying to break the tension.
Howie smirked, “When Lance decides he wants you, you really have no choice. If he wants you then he gets you. He is truly amazing when it comes to seduction.”
“Sweet and shy Lance a wonderful seducer? You must be joking!” JC declared in shock.
Howie said with a fond smile, “I’m telling the truth. I’ve experienced a seductive, plotting, determined Lance myself.”
Nick said with a dazed grin, “When Lance talks to you, or just looks at you with his flashing green eyes, you can’t move. You’re bewitched by him. Lance consumes you, possesses you.”
“You guys make it sound like he’s come after you.” Brian stated confused.
Howie said honestly, “He did and he won.”
“Lance is like a tornado, he just sweeps in out of nowhere and you are powerless. All you can do is be caught up in the crazy storm and cherish every moment,” Nick explained grinning the whole time.
“So when were you involved with Lance?” Joey asked breaking the tense silence.
Nick smiled fondly, “It was years ago, about six months before he first had sex with AJ that I had that wonderful week with Lance. We spent the entire time in bed, we didn’t even leave the bedroom. We had more important things to do with our time.”
Howie grinned, “I know how that feels. About two months after Nick was first with him, I met Lance at a charity thing. He suggested we go out for coffee. He started seducing me so subtly I didn’t even realise. Then he pinned me with those emerald green eyes and asked me to dance. We ended up at my place and it was the best five days of my life.”
“Our experiences with Lance are something we will always remember and treasure.” Nick said interjected calmly seeing the looks of shock on their faces.
Nick continued with a fond smile, “Lance convinced me to tell Howie I loved him. I met Lance at the hotel that we used to use when we got together. We spent the weekend talking about Howie and about how I felt about him.”
Howie said seriously, “We were the first ones Lance told about his relationship with AJ. He was so scared that AJ wouldn’t want a long term relationship that he pretended it was just sex for a while. Actually it became about something stronger than lust after the third time they got together for Lance.”
“Lance sounds a lot different to the man I thought he was.” JC said in anger and confusion.
Howie said with a shrug, “The Lance you’ve seen for years still exists. Its just that there are other aspects to Lance’s personality. You just need to take the time to get to know the real Lance.”
“Could we come with you to see Lance?” Chris asked Howie.
Howie answered, “Sure. Just be careful what you say to him. He’s probably still upset.”
"How long have you had a crush on Lance?" JC whispered to Justin as the pair walked down the hallway slightly behind the other six singers.
"Years. He's just so amazing. You really think there's no chance?"
JC nodded, "It sounds like he really loves AJ. It wouldn't be fair on anyone if you broke them up. Why don't you just accept it? Lance isn't going to be yours."
"I've only ever loved two people and both of them are never going to look at me."
"Who else do you love?" JC asked seeing the chance to stop Justin breaking up Lance's marriage.
Justin said stubbornly, "It doesn't matter. He's never going to look at me." Justin was sure hell would have to freeze over before Marshall would even glance in his direction.
Part 8
“Hey. Sorry about that guys.” Lance said blushing faintly as Nick and Howie walked in. He was shocked when the rest of Nsync and Backstreet walked in after them. He hoped there weren’t going to argue again, he didn’t think he could handle any more arguments.
JC smiled at the couple saying, “Don’t worry about it. Remembered anything else yet?”
Lance nodded, “A little. I remember going for an audition with Nsync and that Chris thought I looked too pretty for the group.”
“Well, you are pretty.” Nick said with a laugh.
“I know that, Kaos (!) Feel like helping us sneak out of here, D? I’m tired of the place.”
“Nah. You should stay here and get better.” Howie said rolling his eyes at Lance’s exaggerated sigh.
Lance whined, “I’m fine. I can get a wheelchair and stay at the hotel. You know hospitals give me the creeps.”
AJ laughed, “Baby, I’m not letting you out until I know you’re 100% so don’t even try it.”
Lance rolled his eyes, “God you’re such a mother hen!”
“What’s your point?” AJ said calmly.
The blonde ignored his husband saying, “Someone feel like telling me a little about Nsync? I guess I should know a little about them if I’m in the group. I’m guessing we were on tour when Alex and I got together. I had thought we were just separated because I was doing some interviews in another part of the country.”
Chris nodded saying, “We called our group Nsync after the last letter of our names; Justin, Chris, Joey, Lansten and JC. We were created under Lou Pearlman but we split from him when we found out he was taking money from us. We joined Jive a couple of years ago.”
“Lansten? Who came up with that terrible name for me?”
“That would be me. You never did like it.” Justin said with a laugh.
It fitted in with his emotions about the name Lance realised as he asked, “So are we well known?”
Chris nodded with a small grin, “Yeah. Nsync and Backstreet are two of the most popular boybands in the US. I’ll bring in some of our CDs so you can listen to them. They might bring back your memory.”
Lance smirked, “Thanks although I think I’m getting better. I can actually remember y’all now.”
“That’s good. So what were your first impressions of us?” Chris asked with a small grin.
Lance said honestly, “I thought Joey was Kevin’s boyfriend, he looks like Kevin’s type. He is impulsive, happy, reliable, and modest. I thought JC was cute in an artistic way, he strikes me as someone who is very creative, and playful with a perfectionist side. He is someone you can trust and has a strong protective nature. Justin is attractive, fun, slightly cynical and has had his heart broken recently. You Chris strike me as a problem solver, a practical joker, funny but also someone who places family above everything.”
“You’re right about most of it, I never realised just how good you are at reading people.” Justin said shocked, could everyone ready him so well? Did he wear a sign on his head saying he was a heartbroken cynic?
“I’m going for a walk.” JC said with a grin feeling a little crowded in the small room.
Lance offered hesitantly, “Okay. You can come back later, if you want.”
JC nodded with a grin as he left the room, taking a deep breath now he was away from everyone. Walking towards the backdoor exit of the emergency room, JC walked out with a grin.
Taking his phone from his pocket he pressed speed dial with a smirk, his lover would be so shocked to hear from him now of all times.
JC ignored the growl on the other end of the connection saying with a laugh, “Oh, did I wake you? I thought you might want to know that I’m going to be in town longer than we thought. Lance was in an accident and he’s got amnesia so we’ve postponed the tour indefinitely. So you going to come by tonight?”
“I’ll be there. You in your normal room in town?”
JC nodded as he answered his lover’s question, “Yeah see you later, babe. I’ll let you get some sleep seeing how we won’t get any rest later.”
“Later then,” The man replied with a smirk before ending the call.
JC smiled to himself before leaving the small alley, switching his phone off as he walked inside. He was relived that he wouldn’t have to handle everything by himself, he knew he couldn’t. Sometimes all he wanted was to let go and with his beautiful boyfriend, he could knowing the other man understood.
As the elevator doors opened Justin froze in a mixture of awe and fear, what was the man doing there but more importantly how could he get out of the situation alive and in one piece? He was still pondering that issue when he heard the blonde sighing impatiently.
“What floor do you want, bitch?” Marshall snarled impatiently. He had more important things to do with his time than wait around for stupid, arrogant boyband singers.
“Eight, please.” Justin said before falling silent not knowing what to say without sounding like an idiot.
The elevator ride was spent in silence, the lift pinged as it stopped on the eighth floor. Justin stood watching agape as Eminem got out on the Nsync floor. He was even more confused when the rapper greeted two bodyguards before opening a room with a key card and walking inside.
Dazed Justin opened the door to his own room and strolled inside amazed by what he had just seen. What on earth was going on? Since when had JC even known Eminem outside the publicity trail? His friend had always left the room when the angry blonde rapper’s songs came on. They were obviously very good friends if JC had given the blonde a key or had he? Maybe Eminem had bribed a hotel employee. The rapper hated them and was obviously just out to hurt or maybe even kill one of them! Justin jumped to his feet at this thought knowing he had to help his friend.
Picking up his phone Justin quickly dialled Joey and Chris knowing he would need all the help he could get to take the rapper on. He quickly explained that Eminem had managed to sneak into JC’s room and was hurting their friend.
Minutes later the three singers were ready to kill to defend their friend, Lance was already injured they couldn’t handle it if another of their number was hurt. Chris motioned for the others to go on either side of the door as used his card to open the door before angrily pushing it open.
The three ran inside eager to help their friend, gasping in shock at the scene in front of them. JC was lying on top of the angry rapper, kissing the life out of him. At their intrusion both the men jumped up from the bed outrage on their faces.
Justin snarled, “What the fuck is going on Josh?”
JC snapped, “Its nothing to do with you what I do in my room. What do you want?”
“We came to help you.” Chris said with a smirk.
“Whatever made you think I would need your help?”
Justin said sarcastically, “Let’s see…Marshall Mathers boyband hating rapper just walked into your room and we’re supposed to do nothing?”
JC said seriously, “He doesn’t hate me. Now we’ve settled that you can leave please. I will talk to you all about this tomorrow.”
“I’m just looking out for you, C.” Justin said quickly as he pushed the others out. He couldn’t believe that he had lost the only men he had ever truly cared about in less than two days. Justin had never imagined Marshall was gay but knowing that he was changed everything. Marshall was the only other man apart from Lance that he had ever loved. The fact that the man he loved was dating his best friend made Justin feel so…worthless. If he had paid a little more attention to his gaydar, perhaps he and Marshall would be together.
“That was different. Can they be trusted to keep their mouths shut?” Marshall said seriously.
JC shrugged, “It doesn’t really matter since we’re planning on coming out soon. How’s Hallie doing?”
“She’s as mischievous as always and she’s missing you. She gave me a picture for you. Its in my bag.”
“What’s it of?” JC smiled at the sheer joy in his lover’s voice.
Marshall said thoughtfully, “The day we spent at the beach a couple of weeks ago. Hallie wants a dog, a spaniel because she loves the long ears. It would be good company for her not to mention I always missed having a dog when I was growing up.”
“We’ll see what Kim thinks about us picking one up for her. Time for us to call and say goodnight to her.” JC said as he picked up the phone dialling the number. On hearing a familiar voice he said, “Hi Kim, I just called to say goodnight to Hallie. How are you doing?”
Kim answered, “I’m doing okay. I’ll just get Hallie for you.”
“Thanks.” JC said absently tracing patterns on his lover’s arm.
Hallie said excitedly, “Papa! I’ve been waiting for you to call, I had so much fun at school today.”
“Its great to hear you too, Sweetheart. Your dad’s with me, we were just talking about our little girl.”
Hallie asked, “Did daddy tell you that I won a prize for my picture in school yesterday?”
“No he didn’t. What was the picture of?” JC said smiling at the sound of her voice, he missed her so much when they were on tour.
“It was a picture of a puppy and all of us at the beach.”
“It sounds lovely. I’ll put your dad on before he drags the phone from me.” JC said before passing the phone to Marshall.
An hour later JC smiled as the blonde finished telling Hallie a bedtime story he took the offered phone, “Goodnight Sweetheart. I’ll tell you your bedtime story tomorrow.”
“Night Papa. Can you tell me the story of how you met Daddy?”
“Of course. Time to go to bed, darling.” JC said knowing it was her favourite.
Hallie said goodbye quickly before ending the call sounding very sleepy. He smiled knowing he would have to clean up the story of just how he and Marshall got together. He didn’t react as Marshall pulled him down so that they were facing each other.
In between breathing taking kisses the pair slowly removed each other’s clothes, kissing every piece of flesh revealed to them. Marshall delighted in his lover’s moans of desire; he teased the brunette knowing all of the man’s erogenous zones.
JC grinned wickedly before gently running his fingers down the blonde’s sides grinning at the giggles it produced. He had never imagined you could laugh and joke while having sex for that’s what it had always been for him until Marshall. Marshall changed him in ways he had never imagined, he had for the first time allowed the real Joshua Chasez to show, the man who was just as much capacity for love, imperfection, hate and desire as everyone else.
Marshall stood taking a few calming breaths before walking to the leaned over to the bedside cabinet opening the draw he pulled out the strawberry flavoured lube, lovely coating JC’s manhood. Scooping more of the lubricant onto his fingers Marshall smirked before reaching down to prepare himself, hissing slightly at the feelings rushing through him as he thrust first one then two fingers in and out of his grasping hole.
JC groaned as he always did when seeing his lover prepare himself, it was the hottest thing he had ever seen. Gently he stroked his own cock in time with Marshall movement’s, freezing when Marshall took his hand away. He moaned as his lover impaled himself on JC’s cock, moving up and down with increasing speed.
JC maintained eye contact with his lover as he stroked the other’s man’s cock which was jutting out proudly. He moved his hand in time with his lover, shivering slightly as the man rode his cock, moving up so that just the tip of JC’s cock was inside him before savagely slamming his body down. Marshall let out whimpers of need and desire as he rode his lover. JC smirked, loving that he could make the man lose control.
Marshall gasped out, “I love this…feeling you inside me, filling me completely. Your cock feels so wonderful thrusting inside me, possessing me.”
Knowing how much his lover liked to hear him talk dirty, “I love fucking you. Thrusting inside your tight hole feeling it clench me so tight its almost painful. I adore the little whimpers you make in need as you ride me.”
Talking became too much for them, the only sounds filling the room were moans and whimpers of desire as their bodies moved together in the age old dance. Finally it became too much for Marshall who thrust himself down on JC’s cock as he came screaming out, “Josh!”
JC felt his lover’s muscles grip him and thrust his cock up into his lover’s body twice before coming himself. He shivered as he came calling out “Marshall!”
When the pair’s shaking subsided and Marshall moved off the brunette’s cock to lie down next to the man, cuddling the man to him tightly as they tried to control their breathing. Marshall concentrated on the feel and scent of the man in his arms as he always did, preserving the memory for the times when he would have to spend the nights alone when one or both of them were on tour.
End Part 8
