"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't leave your mom on hold, I can take care of myself!" I urged him, and he sighed worriedly. "I'm back mom," he said. "Yeah, I just needed to check something... no, I'm fine I just-- uh-huh, well I know mom but I, okay... what? No, I-- YES mom," he said as he sat down on the floor across from me. I smiled at him as he rolled his eyes. "No mom I didn't-- why? Because I was.. no mom, you know I do-- mom, yeah I know... I love you too... what? No I didn't have the chance-- yes I will-- no mom; no-- wait a minuet... okay mom, I'm sure you do but... *sigh* yes mom I know..." Brian sighed. I clasped my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing... Brian's mom was a real talker! He couldn't get a word in edgewise!

Brian looked at me and blushed cherry red. "Yeah mom, she is here," he said trying to fight a smile. I giggled at him. "What? Yes, I do... no, I'm kind of having a hard time actually talking to Sarah.. yes, I know. What? Corinne... yeah, I like her a lot..." he said. He looked at the floor bashfully and I tried to keep from laughing at how adorable he looked. "No... she's coming on tour with us-- yeah, I just had to get some stuff before we left. What? No, she's staying here... in a guest room... no mom, MOM!!" Brian yelled, shocked. I laughed out loud at his expression. "No, we've only been dating for a few weeks! Yeah... I know it's been a few months since I told you about her but-- no..." Brian looked up at me and blushed again. I smiled at him. Maybe BJ was right; It sounded like Brian had been talking about me for a while. And to his parents, at that! Brian's eyes got wide as he exclaimed, "MOTHER!! Don't even talk about that over the phone!" he turned bright red and hid his face in his hands... I could only imagine what Jackie had told her son! "She's sleeping in a different room, thank you very much!" he mumbled. I put my hand over my mouth and began laughing uncontrollably. "Did she ask you if we..." I asked Brian. He looked at me shyly and shook his head. I about died on the spot, trying not to giggle!

"Yeah-- we actually went out with BJ today. Yeah, Nick's sister. Rollerblading-- yeah, I do hate it," Brian said, giving me a look. "No, she wanted to... yeah, I know. What? Oh, well she kind of fell-- yeah, we both did. No, I'm fine. Her? Well... she hurt her ankle-- no, just a sprain... yes mom, I kn-- no... okay, I'll do that. What? Sports cream? Okay mom... yes, I will-- yes mom..." Brian said. I laughed at him as he tried to talk. "You have to go? Ok, well I'll-- no mom, don't put Harold on! No, wait! Mom! Mom? *sigh* Hi Harold," Brian sighed, rubbing his eyes. "No, I'm not! I AM excited, it's just-- no I didn't-- yes, I-- HAROLD, WOULD YOU SHUT UP! YOU'RE STARTING TO TALK LIKE MOM!!!" Brian yelled. I threw my head back and laughed uncontrollably. Brian's family was so cute, I just couldn't help myself! "No, that's Corinne... yes, the girl I was talking about," Brian said. He blushed again and looked up at me. "NO Harold... now you're really starting to sound like mom... NO WE HAVEN'T!!!!" Brian growled. "Honey, calm down!" I whispered, brushing my hand through his hair. He looked up at me and sighed. I smiled at him, and kissed the tip of his nose. He smiled slightly at me, and then said, "Harold, could you hold on a minuet? Okay... I'll be right back." He rested the phone on his shoulder and gave me a passionate kiss. I was taken aback, not expecting it, but I kissed him back. He pulled away and smiled broadly. With a sigh, he picked the phone back up, much happier. I was still shocked that he kissed me like that, but smiled at him as I blushed. "Ok, I'm back!" Brian exclaimed. He talked to Harold for a few minuets longer, until Jackie got back on. She insisted that Brian write something down, which he did, and they both said 'I love you' and hung up.

"PHEW!" Brian exclaimed. "I'm sorry that took so long... my mom likes to talk!" he said with a smile.

"That's okay... I enjoyed eavesdropping on you!" I said. He smiled at me, and sat down by me on the couch again. "So, what did your mom have you write down?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" he exclaimed, getting up and fetching the piece of paper. "It's some sort of pain reliever she wanted me to make for you," he said. I blushed slightly; "Well, that was sweet of her!" I said. "Yeah," Brian answered, "I think she likes you very much." He smiled at me as I blushed again. "Anyway, this stuff is supposed to take down the swelling and help your sprain heal faster. I think I have everything... maybe I should see about getting some made for you," he said.

"Oh no Brian, don't worry about it right now," I said. "Besides, I want to know what your mom said about me!" Brian looked up from the paper he was holding and looked in my eyes for a second. A cute grin curled his lips as he chuckled a bit.

"Um... well, that's just something a mother and son should keep between themselves," he said. I let my mouth open, shocked. "Oh no you don't! I want to know!" I said. He laughed. "No, no, no... you'll just have to ask her yourself!" he exclaimed.

I reached out and grabbed his shirt, "Brian Thomas Littrell!" I yelled, "You tell me right now!!" Brian laughed as he tried to unhook my hands. "Okay, okay! Relax!" he said. "She likes you, okay! She thinks you sound real sweet!" I smiled a little, "Really?" I asked. "Of course," Brian answered. "Who wouldn't absolutely adore someone like you?" I blushed furiously and let Brian go. He laughed a little and whispered in my ear, "and you look absolutely adorable when you blush, too!"

"Oh, get out of here!" I exclaimed, pushing him playfully. He laughed and backed up to put the piece of paper back down on the table. He came back over and sat close to me. He brushed his hand across my face, and rested his forehead against my own. I smiled at him, "I love you," I said. Brian's face lit up, and he answered, "I love you too."

A few hours later, I was fast asleep on the couch. Brian and I were watching TV, and I had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He was caressing his fingers through my hair gently, and little Tyke was curled up in between us. Brian quietly shut off the television, and looked down at me.

In Brian's perspective:

"She is absolutely beautiful," I thought to myself. She was fast asleep in a peaceful rest, and I'd hate to disturb her. I continued brushing my fingers through her soft hair as she slept. Her right hand was resting on my chest, and I gently held it in my own. I closed my eyes for a moment and just listened to her breathe. I was desperately in love, and I knew it. I'd only felt like this once before, and that was such a long time ago; But I still remembered every moment of it.

Her name was Alexandra, and she was my first love. I cherished every moment with her as if my life depended on it... I never knew someone could mean so much. I had just came to Florida about 7 months ago, and all the guys and myself were so overrun with work, we didn't know what to do with ourselves. But we snuck out one night just to relax, and there she was. At the time she was working at a smalltime restaurant in downtown Orlando... but she stuck out like a sore thumb. I fell for her the first time I laid eyes on her. We began dating and I knew even then that I wanted to marry her... it was if I was dependent on her to breathe. You can't live without air, and I just simply could not live without her. As things with the group began to pick up, she was farther away than I could handle. With every last breath I begged our managers to let her come on tour with us, and they finally gave in. On our 2 year anniversary, we were in Greece, and I wanted to ask her hand in marriage. I took her out that night, but she was more distant than usual, and she wouldn't tell me why. We were outside by a lake, and I dropped to my knee and asked her to be my wife. I remember everything as if it had just happened yesterday...

She began crying steadily, and looked me in the eyes. Pain reflected in her every expression, and I felt my heart sink to the bottom of my chest. "Alex?" I asked. "Oh god Brian," she started. "I... I can't. I'm so sorry... I am so, so sorry... but I just can't!" she exclaimed. I felt my eyes begin to water, and with whatever strength I had left I asked her, "Why? What did I do?" "Oh Brian... it's not you!" Alex exclaimed. "I can't marry a music man. I don't want to hurt you like this because I love you so much-" "Then marry me please!" I interrupted. "I love you so much," she continued, "But not enough to live the rest of my life like this." I could feel the tears falling down my face steadily; my heart just ached... I never thought I could go through so much pain like this. "Live like what?!" I asked, my voice unsteady. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and looked down at the ground. "I'm not happy, Brian," she said. "I can't live on the road, running everywhere, no privacy, fans at my every turn! And I can't live alone at home for months at a time while I wait to have just 5 minuets with you!!" She looked back up at me, as I was crying heavily now with a look that begged with her to stay. "I love you Brian," she whispered, "But... I can't marry you... and... and I can't see you anymore." I fell back on the ground, crying, and looked back into her eyes. "Why? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!!" I yelled, trying to keep my voice down. "I didn't want to hurt you-" she began as I scrambled back on my knees and took her hands in my own. "Please! Please, just say the word and I'll give it all up!" I said. "I'll give everything up for you, every last penny, every last song, and every last fan! I'll come back to Florida with you and we can be happy, just the two of us, just PLEASE don't say goodbye!" I cried. She shook her head, still crying, "Brian, I can't do that! This is your calling... this is your life, I can't just-" "You are my life!" I interrupted again. "You're everything to me and I can't let you go!" "Brian, please don't make this harder than this already is!" she begged with me as her mascara began to run from her tears. I shook my head and whispered, "I'll beg with you 'till my very last breath..." She only let the tears fall as she looked away from me. "I can't," she whispered. "Alex, please-" "No, I can't Brian!" she exclaimed, looking back at me. I didn't say a word, but just looked into her eyes. She kissed my lips briefly for the last time, and whispered in my ear, "I love you... goodbye." My heart broke inside me, and the tears flooded my eyes, as she got up from her seat, and left...

There were tears in my eyes now as the memories flooded my head. I looked down at the angel sleeping on my shoulder, and I knew that I wouldn't let the same thing happen with Corinne. I would rather die than lose her, and I was determined not to let that happen... I would never neglect her. I sniffed away my tears until I could see and breathe again, and I slowly pulled Corinne into my arms. Tyke scampered off of our laps and onto the floor, and I picked Corinne up and cradled her in my arms. I slowly began walking up the stairs to lay her down in her room, careful that I didn't hurt her ankle. Tyke yipped and I gave him a look. "Shhh!" I yelled. He remained quiet until I had made it into Corinnes' room, and began laying her down gently. She began to stir lightly in her sleep, and her eyes slowly began to open.

In Corinnes' perspective:

I looked up, still mostly asleep and saw Brian leaning over me carefully. I moaned softly, "Brian..."

"Shh, shh... it's okay, just try and go back to sleep," he whispered lovingly as he covered me with blankets. I lifted my hand groggily and touched his face. He stopped what he was doing and laid his hand on top of mine, sighing gently. "Please stay with me," I asked with my eyes closed still. Brian was rather shocked to hear this, but since I was still halfway asleep he figured I just needed him for a little while. "Of course I will," he answered. He walked around to the other side of the bed, and laid down on top of the blankets, since I was under them. I rolled over and put my arm around him, still sleeping. Brian froze nervously, but slowly and gently put his arm around my shoulders and held me in his arms.

He closed his eyes and sighed. He looked down at me as I nestled my head into his shoulder and smiled at me. "I love you," he whispered in my ear. And he meant it... every last word. Moments later, he fell asleep beside me.