Last Chapter!

"You know seeing AJ getting married and having kids, I got used to the fact and it seems natural for him to do so," Kevin said as everyone was gathered at the McLean's house with the new babies. "But damn Nick, I still look at you as a thirteen year old boy."

"I eventually grew up," Nick said holding Kalisa and feeding her her bottle.

"Are you sure about that one?" Toni asked with a smile. ‘When the hell is Kristen getting out of bed?"

"No kidding, it's three in the afternoon and she is still in bed," Angela said. "We've seen Kalisa and we would like to see little Alex too."

"They are sleeping, leave them alone," AJ said.

"You know she's not the only one who just had a baby. I did too and you don't see me sleeping every second of the day. I would actually like to be awake to see my baby girl," Toni said.

"I'm sure when you have another kid you're not going to want to get out of bed either," Kevin said.

"Oh she's not having another," Nick said. "For all it was worth, I'm glad we have Kalisa but I don't want to have to go through with her being pregnant again," he finished saying and Toni hit him in the arm.

"If she's this tired, how does she expect to be able to perform a concert tonight?" Jasmine asked. With Kristen being pregnant twice and wanting to spend some time with both babies when they were born the group kept taking breaks and when there were concerts Kristen wasn't able to perform with Mandy and Jasmine.

"She said she was up for it," AJ said. "I better get her up, she's gotta be at the venue in two hours," AJ said putting Mariah down since she was sitting in his lap and getting up to go to their bedroom.

"I'll get her," Mandy said. "I want to talk to her for a second without everyone around." She walked into Kristen's room and found Kristen laying on her side on the bed facing Alex who was asleep next to her. She sat on the bed next to Alex and shook Kristen a little until she woke up.

"Hey babe, how are you?" Kristen asked tiredly sitting up and yawning.

"Pretty good. I see Alex is going to grow up looking like his mommy," she said looking at the few strands of blonde hair he had, but he was mostly bald.

"Mariah has AJ's looks so at least I have one kid that actually looks like mine."

"She's petite like you so she has that going for her. But she is beautiful, think about when she gets to high school, she'll be out every weekend dating guys."

"Not if AJ has any say about it. He's protective over her already and she's not even two years old yet. The only time she'll be able to date is when AJ is six feet under and he won't exactly be able to say anything about it."

"Could you imagine AJ old and ready to keel over?" Mandy asked laughing just thinking about it. "His tattoos will be all wrinkled up and he'll be bald dying his head different colors since he wouldn't have any hair. And you get to grow old with him to see it all."

"Oh yeah that's something I really look forward to," Kristen said sarcastically. "But you'll marry someone you get to grow old with who will make you go to the store every day to get him prune juice or something."

"Speaking of that 'someone', I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What? Did Dallas ask you to marry him?"

"Oh God, not even close. Actually I broke up with him a few days ago. I'm staying with Jas until I get a new place of my own together."

"I'm sorry girl. What happened?" Kristen asked concerned.

"Nothing much besides the fact that everything Howie thinks about him is true. TJ saw him at a club drunk as hell practically getting it on with some slut on the dance floor."

"TJ? Since when did TJ get back into the picture?"

"Since he called me and told me about Dallas and apologized for hurting me. I invited him to the concert tonight. Kristen, I didn't listen to Howie about Dallas, and you know TJ the best and...."

"Mandy he's good for you. He screwed up once not intentionally and he wouldn't do it again," Kristen said interrupting her.

"Thanks girl," Mandy said hugging her. Kristen then got up and put Alex in his crib and went into the living room to talk to everyone for a few minutes before getting ready for the show.

~Later That Night Backstage~
It was about ten minutes before the concert was about to begin and it was to put it simply, complete chaos, with everyone running around. "So you excited?" Jasmine asked Kristen. "You haven't been on the stage in months."

"Yeah I am. I'm just trying to figure out when we became so popular. This place doesn't have a single empty seat."

"It's cool huh?" Mandy asked.

"I'll say. There are fifty million people out there so why can't AJ be here? The concert is about to start," Kristen said looking around for him.

"I'm right here!" AJ yelled running up to her out of breath.

"Did you drop the kids of at your mom's?"

"No, I dropped them off at a crazy fans house hoping that they will actually give me my kids back," AJ said sarcastically.

"I don't find you funny. And she's going to bring them with Jane and Kalisa for then end of the show right? I don't want them here to long because I don't want the music and the screaming to hurt their ears."

"Don't worry they will be here okay? Me and the guys have the last song tonight and me and Nick want our families there."

"That's great, I can't wait to hear the song Howie wrote. But we really need to get on stage now," Jasmine said.

"Okay see you later babe," Kristen said kissing AJ really fast before running onto the stage. A few seconds later music blared through speakers as the arena erupted with screams. They sang all the songs off their Love's Angels album with their first single "Making It Tonight" being their last song. When they finished singing the last line they just stood their catching their breaths with smiles on their faces as they waited for the fans to stop screaming. Kristen finally put her finger to her lips to silence everyone and it was pure silence in about ten seconds. "I know that I've been out of the spot light for a while now but I would like to thank all of you for still sticking by the group. For everything that you have all done for us we decided, along with some other very close people to us, that we would do something a little special for you in return."

"So...." Jasmine said adding on. "We decided that we would have a special group of guys, who help us every day with our music career, sing the last song for the night."

"If you haven't guessed," Mandy said. "That special group of guys would be the one and only Backstreet Boys," Mandy said and the arena erupted with screams again.

"Hold on hold on," Kristen said till it quieted down. "They are going to be singing a new song that not even we have heard yet and Nick and AJ want their wives, my best friend Toni and I, and our babies to be on the stage with them. The only catch is I need you to try and be quiet through the whole song so the screams don't hurt the babies' ears. Can you all do that for us?" Kristen asked and the place erupted again. Just then AJ, Nick, Howie, Brian and Kevin came onto the stage.

"Whats up Orlando!" AJ screamed and the fans screamed back. "Anyways you might not know it and I don't even think Kristen realized it since she hasn't said anything about it....." AJ said looking right at Kristen. "But this arena is the same arena where I celebrated Kristen's 19th birthday and where I first asked her out. And now you all know how far we made it with that so I would like to introduce you to my family, and don't worry about the screaming I put special little ear plugs in their ears," AJ said and Kristen just shook her head at him. Denise McLean came out caring Alex who was wearing a blue jumper outfit and she was holding onto Mariah's hand who was wearing a yellow sundress with little smiley faces on them and white sandles. Kristen took Alex from Denise while AJ picked Mariah up in his arms. "This is my first little baby, Mariah Jean, and my two month old baby boy, Alex Lee," AJ said as there were screams and AJ just sucked it all up while Nick stood there shaking his head at him.

"Why do you act like you are the only one with their own family in this group?" Nick asked.

"Because I was the first one with a family," AJ said with a grin.

"Who cares about you? I'd like to introduce all of you to my beautiful, gorgeous, absolutely terrific wife, Mrs. Toni Carter and our new baby girl, Kalisa Gene," Nick said as Toni came out carrying Kalisa and there were more even more screams.

"You know some of us do want to go to bed," Brian said interuppting the introductions of the guys' families. "So, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, Howie introduce the song we're singing tonight."

"Okay, this is a song I wrote for the next Backstreet Boys album called 'I'll Always Love You'. This song has a lot of meaning to us all with each special girl that we hold in our hearts," Howie said as they began singing:

Howie:You run with the crowd
And you go your own way
You don't play after dark
You light up my day
Brian:You got your own kind of style
That sets you apart
Baby that's why you captured my heart

(Chorus)
Until the sun burns out one day
Until the moon begins to fade
Until the stars that shine up high
Begin to fall with a sigh
Baby you know it's true
I'll always love you

Nick:I can't get you out of my head
Everytime I try I just think about you more instead
No matter what you do
I'll always be here for you
Brian:Cause the love you give
Makes me go crazy, and for that
I'll always love you

(Chorus)

AJ:Baby you know it's true
I'll never give up on you
The sun will have to die
The stars will have to fall
But untill then I will always love you

(2x Chorus)

Kevin:I'll Always Love you

"Thank you Orlando!" Kevin yelled as everyone left the stage. When they got backstage AJ looked at Kristen and saw that she was balling her eyes out.

"What's wrong?" he asked her taking Alex.

"That was so sweet! I love you Howie!" she yelled turning away from AJ and wrapping her arms around Howie and hugging him tightly. Howie stood there confused as hell while AJ just gave Kristen a weird look.

"I love you too but...um, why what did I do?" Howie asked.

"You are such a good song writer! I could smack the shit out of you for not writing a song on any of the previous albums!" Kristen yelled crying her eyes out still.

"Um, sure, that's our cue to go home," AJ said as Kristen picked up Mariah and he led them to the car.

~At the Carter's~
"You awake?" Nick asked Toni when they pulled up the driveway. Toni had her seat leaning back so she was sort of laying down and had her eyes closed. When Toni didn't respond he got out of the car and took a sleeping Kalisa out of her car seat and went inside to put her in her crib. He went back outside and opened the passenger door, unbuckled Toni's seat belt, and carefully picked her up making sure not to wake her and carried her into their bedroom laying her down on the bed. He took off her shoes and undressed her putting one of his large T-shirts on her and placing her under the covers. He got undressed to just his boxers and slid into bed next to her wrapping his arms around her. Toni moved over so she had her head on Nick's chest and her arm around his waist. "I can't get you out of my head, everytime I try I just think about you more instead, no matter what you do, I'll always be here for you," Nick sang and Toni's eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at him then kissed his chest.

"AJ was saying tonight how far him and Kristen have gotten. Did you ever think we'd make it this far with Kalisa and everything else?" Toni asked tiredly.

"Thought about it every day but I never knew it would actually happen."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because everything I wanted, just wanting you, forever, it was like it was only a fantasy, a fantasy that would never come true. God has given me so much with the group, our music, our fame, I didn't think He would give me any more of my dreams. But then it happened. He blessed me with you."

"Really?" Toni asked looking up at Nick with tears coming out of her eyes and Nick nodded his head.

"You and Kalisa complete me," Nick said with a smile on his face. Toni leaned up and kissed Nick passionately to lead into an intimate moment they shared together.

~At the McLean's~
When AJ and Kristen got home with the kids they changed them into their pajamas and Kristen got into her's while AJ just stripped down to his boxers. AJ laid down on his back on the bed with Alex asleep on his chest as he rubbed his small back. He had his arm outstreched and Kristen's head was laying on it while she laid on her side and Mariah was asleep between her parents. "We have gotten pretty far with our relationship haven't we?" Kristen asked recalling what AJ had said a few hours before.

"Yeah, we have. Haven't you ever sat down to think about everything we've been through and how many times we were almost through because of everything that was going on around us?"

"I don't like to think about the past. It hurts too much. I just like to think back when Mariah was born. That was the day that my life began."

"My life began the day I met you. When you were in the hospital fighting just to keep your life I never felt so helpless in all my life. Everytime you were hurting I would be right by your side but there was nothing I could do."

"AJ please, you know I love you more than anything but I really don't like to think about me being in the hospital. It hurts and it scares me."

"I know but I just want you to know that whenever you were down I would try my hardest to find a way to get closer to you to make you better. Now it feels like that I can never get close enough, I always want to be closer. It's like I can't get enough of you."

"Trust me AJ, I know exactly how you feel," Kristen said when by coincidence a song came on the radio that was planning in the room by Boyz II Men and AJ began to sing along to Kristen:

Baby I'm so glad your here
'Cause I have so many things to tell you
So many things to talk to you about
'Cause you're the strength I hold onto
And I hope I'm the strength that you hold onto
So we can strive together and be perfect
Til' death do us part

The nights gone the morning here
And soon it's time to talk about
Where we stand and where we plan
To be in life long years I need to know

I keep crying tears of joy
I guess that's what you're put here for
To change these tears of pain
To tears of happiness

Chorus:
Through the trying times
Trying to get the best of me
I'm still finding time to show I care
With my crying eyes
I see contentment because of you

Trials and tribulations build up walls
In front of faces made of stone
Yet we stand strong enough
To break the walls down to journey on

But I know if we just bond our hearts
There will be nothing that will stand in our way
And we'll be together forever and a day

Chorus

"Trying Times," Kristen whispered when the song had ended. "Our love will always find a way through any trying times we have with one another," she said as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

~Note From Moi~
So you're probably wondering "well what the hell happened to everyone else" right? Well, "Love @ 2nd Sight" and "Tryin' Times" is part of a trilogy so the third part will explain what happened to everyone in the first chapter. It will be called "Family Feud" and it will be pretty short about 15-20 chapters and will be based on only the McLean family and the Carter family. So check back soon for the third part of the story or if you would like an e-mail notice of when it is up just e-mail me and hopefully along with some feedback of what you thought of "Tryin' Times"!