"Good night, Laur," said Brian as they stopped in front of her room. "Good night Brian," she said, leaning over and kissing him. However, the kiss turned into a long goodnight kiss. "Hey, hey!" exclaimed Gray, pushing his way through the two, "go do that somewhere else...I wanna get to sleep!"

Lauren gave him a look, as he shut the door again. "What's his problem?" Brian asked, a confused look on his face. "I think he's a little uptight about tomorrow," she answered, "I don't think he's really looking forward to having to go visit Nathalie in the hospital."

"Oh, I can understand that," Brian nodded, "well, I guess I better let you get some sleep...see you tomorrow." Lauren smiled, and kissed him quickly on the lips. She opened the door and went in. Suitcases were scattered all over her bed, as well as Gray's, and he was halfheartedly putting his clothes into the suitcases. "Are you packed?" she asked, glancing at her own half empty bag.

"Yeah, kinda," he said, opening the last of his drawers and pulling out the mountain of clothing. Lauren shrugged and finished her own packing. By the time that was finished and she was ready for bed, it was almost three in the morning. "Well, I'm going to sleep...I'm setting the alarm for nine thirty, okay?" she asked, climbing into bed. Gray nodded as he zipped up his suitcase.

"Okay Gray, what's wrong?" she asked, as he gave her a blank look, "Come on, by now you'd think that I'd know when you're upset....you always have this look."

He sighed, then plopped down on his bed. "It's just Nathalie..." he trailed off, looking somewhat sentimental, "I'm just kinda worried about going to see her in the hospital...I'm just kinda nervous I guess."

"Gray, honestly there's nothing to worry about," she consoled, snuggling under her covers, "everything's gonna be okay!" He shrugged again, then shut off the light. "I guess you're right," he muttered, "see ya tomorrow."

"Are you sure everything's out of the room?" Lauren asked, glancing through it one more time. Gray nodded, as he picked up his bags, and struggled to get them to the deck. She took one more look at the room, then shut the door. €I sure am gonna miss this tiny room,' she thought, but those thoughts were interrupted by the sound of what seemed like BILLIONS of people milling about. Among those people, she quickly found Bailey and Faren.

Right away she heard Kevin's deep voice booming through the crowd, as she glanced his way and saw Howie, Nick, AJ and Brian following close behind him. "Hey, baby," said Brian, walking over to Lauren and kissing her, "you need help with your bags?"

"Naw, Gray already took them...thanks though!" she answered, semi-distracted by a man with a clipboard trying to direct traffic. Suddenly, she heard someone yell something, and a whole bunch of people crowded toward the railing of the boat.

"I think you can see the coast," yelled Howie, over the noise. €Whoopie,' said Lauren to herself, not really looking forward to the end of her vacation. "Guys, I don't want to get of the boat," whined Nick, mirroring Lauren's thoughts.

"Why don't you keep whining Nick," said Faren, sarcastically, "maybe that'll help!" Nick just stuck his tongue out at the group, who were laughing, and squinted in the sun.

The cheers got louder, as Lauren then realized that the dock was literally 100 yards away from the ship, and there was a huge crowd on the dock. She tried to smile at everyone, but inside she was not so happy. All the other passengers seemed to be happy, though, which Lauren couldn't understand. The ship's horn blew, as it slowly neared the dock, and finally parked. The plank was lowered, and people began to file off, which was not an easy task, considering there were SO many people!

Brian grabbed Lauren's hand and tried to maneuver their way through the crowd. Finally, they made it off the boat, pushing their way through the billions of people! "Holy shit!" exclaimed AJ, emerging from a group of girls who had surrounded him, trying to get his autograph, "I didn't know we'd have fans here!"

"We have fans here?" asked Nick, looking surprised, "in No Fan Land?! That's amazing!" They went down to the underground parking lot with their luggage, and first found Bailey's car. "Why would you guys be surprised that you have fans here?" asked Bailey, digging her keys out of her purse. "Well," explained Kevin, "we get mobbed when we go to Canada and Europe and stuff, but when we're here, no one knows who we are!"

"Hey, is this your car?" asked Nick, staring at the black convertible. "Yeah," Bailey answered, still looking for her keys. "Forget riding home with Brian...I'm going in THIS car!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide with awe.

Brian slapped him on the head, as Faren laughed. "Found em!" exclaimed Bailey, holding her keys, as she unlocked the trunk and everyone started piling in their bags. As soon as all the bags were packed in, and the trunk was shut, Kevin said, "Well, I guess you guys are gonna wanna get home and go to the hospital, huh?"

Lauren shrugged, as Brian whose arms were wrapped around her from behind said, "Well I'm for sure coming to visit her...it seems like I know her, even though I really don't!" Gray shifted uncomfortably, and Bailey said, "Well guys, I think we better get going...."

The goodbyes started, although it wasn't as emotional as if Lauren and friends weren't going to Orlando, but in fact somewhere farther. "Will you call me?" asked Nick, as Lauren reached over for him and gave him a huge hug. "Of course I will!" she answered, "but you better call me too!"

"Deal," he said, kissing her on the cheek. She ruffled his hair affectionately, and then moved on to Brian. She smiled sadly, as he approached her. He had the same look on his face as well....he was trying to make the best of the situation. "You look so sad!" he said softly, as he then realized that the whole group was watching them. Both Lauren and Brian's head turned toward them, as they all looked at the ground!

She giggled a little, but then said more seriously, "Well, I AM gonna miss you...miss being with you 24/7 that is." He caressed her chin softly with his hand and said, "Okay, well it won't be 24/7....but it can be like 11/6! Or how about 13/7?"

Lauren laughed and said, "Baby, I'm gonna miss you no matter what." Brian smiled, and kissed her on the lips. When they parted, she heard Gray say, "Lauren, we gotta get going!" She gave a little wave to him, and got into the car. Bailey started the ignition, and drove out of the parking lot.

"Hello?" called Lauren, as she entered her house. It looked exactly how she had left it, but a lot emptier. "Hello?!" she called one more time, now convinced it was empty. She shook her head disgustedly, realizing both her parents hadn't even decided to stay home for her arrival. For her whole life, Lauren's parents had been the kind of parents who weren't around often. She had basically grown up with her nannies, but she had become used to it.

She walked into the kitchen, and to her surprise found a note on the counter: "Lauren- Welcome home sweetie! Sorry we couldn't be here to see you, but your father and I had to go to Los Angeles for business. We'll be home on either Thursday or Friday....see you soon! Love Mom and Dad"

She crumpled it up and threw it right into the trash. €What day IS it?' she thought to herself, as she hauled her bags up the stairs. When she got to her room, she looked at her calendar and realized it was only Sunday, and that her parents wouldn't be home for almost a week. Once again, she shook her head, feeling almost hatred for her parents....it wasn't the first time, that's for sure!

When Bailey had dropped Lauren off at her house, all the others had already gone home. Gray was on his way to the hospital almost right away, and Faren and Bailey were also going to visit Nathalie. Lauren wanted to go, but was also scared of what she might see.

After she unpacked and started a load of laundry, she was out the door and on the highway to the hospital.

She arrived there in less than 10 minutes, and made her way up to the sixteenth floor. She was almost hesitant to open room 1610 (where she was staying) but did so. "Hello?" she said, opening the door a crack. "Lauren?" said Bailey's voice from inside. She opened it the whole way and found Nathalie lying in her bed, eyes closed, along with Faren, Bailey and Gray all in the room.

"Oh God," whispered Lauren, as the fact that Nathalie was comatose really hit home, "where's her family?" Gray, who had a slightly depressed look on his face said, "Well, I think they're here most of the night, but they have to work during the day, so..."

Lauren nodded solemnly, not being able to take her eyes off Nathalie. It was almost too much to bear.

Lauren got home after visiting Nathalie for a couple hours, and plopped down on her couch, exhausted. She flipped on the TV, hoping to find something to cheer her up after being depressed for the majority of the afternoon. She came to MTV, and stopped when something caught her ear.

"Hello, I'm Kurt Loder, and this is MTV News. Up and coming pop sensations, the Backstreet Boys were spotted today in Orlando, Florida, dismounting the world renown Disney Cruise. Sources say the boys were taking a break after their work on their new debut album, Backstreet Boys, due out sometime in August. And in other news....."

Lauren flipped the television on mute after she finished watching the clip. They didn't even show any footage of them or anything, but it amazed Lauren that they were on MTV at all! It was also weird to see her boyfriend on TV.

My boyfriend....' she thought, getting nostalgic all of a sudden, I wonder where he is now?' At that moment, as if someone was listening to her thoughts, the phone rang. €It can't be,' she thought, getting up and answering it. "Hello?"

"Laur?" said Brian's voice on the other end. "Hey baby!" she exclaimed, totally surprised, "I didn't expect you to call so soon!"

"Well I missed you," he said softly, "I miss being with you." Lauren blushed and smiled, and then realizing that he couldn't see her through the phone, she said, "well I miss you too."

"Have you gone to see Nathalie yet?" he asked. "Yeah, I was there about an hour ago," she answered, "she's still in a coma, so nothing's really changed. Gray's still there I'm sure, and I'm going again tomorrow."

"Do you think she'd mind some extra visitors?" he asked, hinting that he wanted to come visit. "Do you really want to come?!" she asked incredulously, "it may be kinda depressing."

"Of course I wanna come," he reassured, "I promised I'd visit her on the boat, and I'm a man of my word! Besides, I wanna meet her....and see you of course!"

Plans were made, and by the time Lauren hung up the phone, it was arranged that she would meet Brian and whoever else was coming in the lobby of the hospital at 11:30 in the morning.

Lauren sped up as she raced her car through the yellow light. She had overslept and it was already almost a quarter to 12 and she hadn't gotten to the hospital yet. "Damn!" she cursed, as she got caught in another red light, "Brian's gonna murder me!"

Pretty soon, she pulled into the visitor parking lot at Orlando General Hospital and quickly found a spot and speed walked to the entrance. She walked through the automatic doors, and the first person who caught her eye was a man on crutched with a broken leg, but the second thing that caught her eye was a flash of blonde hair sitting amongst the crowd of people.

"Nick!" she called out, looking at her watch and realizing she was almost 20 minutes late. His head jerked up from the magazine he was reading and spotted her right away. A huge smile spread across his face, as he jumped up and walked over to her. "Only 20 minutes late?" he asked with a fake surprised look on his face, "that's gotta be some kinda record for you!"

Lauren smiled and hugged him. "Sorry I'm late," she apologized, "how are you? Where's Brian?"

"Well it's nice to see you too!" he said, feigning a hurt look on his face, "what about me? I was the one who stayed down here to wait for you!" Lauren laughed, and said, "Okay Nick, you made your point...I'm happy to see you."

"Good," he said triumphantly. "Okay, so where's Brian?"she asked again, smiling. "I give up!" announced Nick, "he's upstairs with Kevin....they decided to go up while I stayed to wait for you."

"Well let's go," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him up to the sixteenth floor. She got to her room, and found a crowd standing outside. "Hey baby!" she said when she saw Brian. He smiled and leaned over and kissed her, she said hi to Kevin, and then she continued, "what's going on?"

"Well," said Gray, "we were inside, and all of a sudden the doctor rushed in with two nurses and began to check her machines and stuff.....then they told us to wait out here until they were done." Lauren gave a confused look, as she pressed her ear to the door, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Oh, hey guys, by the way, I saw you on MTV news yesterday!" Lauren announced, as the group sat in the little waiting room on that floor, waiting for the doctors to be done doing whatever they were doing to Nathalie.

"Really?" said Nick, "what did they say? Did they mention how totally gorgeous I am?" Lauren burst out laughing as Brian slapped him upside the head. "Did they mention how much of an ego you have?!" he responded.

"All they said was you were on the cruise, and that your album is coming out in August," she answered, "they didn't even show any pictures of you or anything."

Kevin shrugged and said, "Little by little, we are slowly becoming more popular here.....I actually got stopped for an autograph right after AJ did!" Brian, whose arm was around Lauren, laughed and said, "I still think we've got a while to go before the fans here become as crazy as they are in Europe!"

Just then, the door to Nathalie's room opened and the doctor and two assistants emerged and walked toward the sitting group. "Are you all friends and family of Nathalie?" he asked, as the whole group simultaneously stood up.

"Yes," said Gray, who looked a little less than comfortable, "why? What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong," the doctor assured, "we actually have some very good news. The reason why we rushed into her room was because we were getting increased vital signs, so we began to examine her, and while we were doing so, she came forth from her coma."

"What?!" exclaimed both Gray and Lauren at the same time. "Nathalie is no longer in a coma," the doctor explained in a joyous tone, glancing around at the surprised and relieved faces, "you may go in and see her now, although she may be a little shaken up from the trauma."

Lauren was just too relieved to say anything, and the look on her face said it all. Gray was also smiling widely, as he hugged her, saying, "Thank God that's over!"

The group made their way back to her room, but right before she entered, Lauren said to Brian, "Thank you so much for being there for me, Brian, you were such a great help to me and I appreciate it so much....more than I can ever say..."

"You're more than welcome," Brian said as he smiled, "I'm just glad everything's okay." He leaned over and kissed her, but they both felt a tap on both their shoulders. They spun around and saw Nick waiting to go through the door. "Okay you two," he said, laughing, "take this elsewhere!"

They all walked into the room and found Nathalie lying in bed, an IV still hooked up to her arm, but her eyes were open. She looked pale and fragile, but nevertheless she was awake. The only thing Lauren could do was smile.

"Nat!" she exclaimed, walking up to the side of her bed, "how are you?! I'm so glad you're all right!" Nathalie blinked a couple times, but then her trademark smile appeared. "I'm glad you came to visit me...!" she said, looking around blankly, her eyes then resting on Gray. Gray smiled and walked over to the other side and took her hand. "You scared me Nat," he whispered, kissing her gently on the forehead, "but I'm so glad you're okay."

The look on Nat's face made Lauren want to cry. She looked so happy, and thinking back two days to when she wasn't sure if she was going to see her again, Lauren was also so relieved. Nathalie looked once again blankly around the room and said, "Laur, who are all these people?"

Lauren giggled, taking Brian's hand. "Well," she began, "these are people we met on the cruise, and we became pretty close to them.....this is Kevin, Nick, and Brian." She pointed to each one, finally resting her hand on Brian's shoulder, "Brian and I are....well...."

"You go girl!" she said, despite the fact that she was a little under the weather. "Nat, have you heard of the Backstreet Boys?" asked Gray, still holding on to her hand. She shook her head, and he continued, "well, these guys are three fifths of them anyway!"

Nathalie still looked blank, as Lauren laughed inwardly. Nat was never one to know what was going on! "You guys came to visit me even though you didn't know me?" she asked timidly. "We heard so much about you," answered Nick, almost gushing, "we just wanted to make sure you were okay!"

"That's so sweet!" she said, her voice shaking a bit. Just then the doctor came in and told everyone that Nathalie needed some time to rest (plus, her parents were on the way) so they all headed out. "Dude, you never told me how pretty your girlfriend was!" Nick said as soon as they were in the lobby.

"Buddy, you stay away from my girlfriend!" Gray laughed, "even though she's going to Massachusetts soon, she's still my girl!" Lauren smiled, as her and Brian walked hand in hand, "I'm glad to hear that Gray!" she said, "you guys are gonna keep a long distance thing going?"

Gray nodded, and said, "I just don't think I can live without her."

"Aw!" she exclaimed, smiling widely, "Gray, that's so sweet!" Kevin agreed, "Yeah man, that's really nice!"

They reached the parking lot where Lauren's, Gray's and Brian's car were parked. "I don't wanna go home alone," mused Lauren, getting out her car keys. "Why are you going home alone?" asked Brian, looking a little concerned. "Well my parents are out of town for the week, so I'm home alone!" she said, putting on her best puppy dog face she had learned so well from Nick.

"Big party at Lauren's house!" exclaimed Gray, "remember what happened last time?"

"How could I forget?!" she said, remembering in the tenth grade when her parents had been out of town...Gray had organized a huge party at her house without really telling her, and it was totally trashed afterward! Lauren had made him stay after and clean up until it was spotless, and luckily her parents never found out! But she just said, "well if you guys wanna come over....?"

"I can't," Gray said, "I gotta go home....haven't really been home since we got back!"

"Well, I'll come over," said Brian, with a devilish look in his eyes, "but I gotta bring these losers with me!" He gestured toward Nick and Kevin. "Hey!" Nick said indignantly, and Kevin just shook his head.

"You can all come over!" she answered, "just follow me back to my house." They all three agreed, as they got into their cars (Gray went his separate way) and made their way to Lauren's house.

"This is your house?" asked Nick incredulously, his eyes wide in awe, "I always pictured your house to be small...like a little cottage or something."

Sometimes it was hard to know what went through the mind of Nick Carter.

Lauren shook off his comment with a laugh (and one from Kevin and Brian as well!) As she shut the door behind them. "Yeah, well here's my house!" she announced, as they all looked around. "Can we go upstairs and look around?" asked Nick, starting up the stairs. "Sure," she answered, but Brian said, "I'll stay down here."

Kevin and Nick climbed the stairs, as Lauren led Brian to the living room. "So," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I'm glad you're here." He grinned, and kissed her. "I'm glad I'm here too!" he said between kisses. She felt his tongue slowly slide into her mouth, and she gently massaged it with hers. Slowly, he slid his lips down to her neck, kissing her softly, making her throw her head back while she ran her fingers through his hair. "Brian..." she groaned, as his hands made their way up her torso.

All of a sudden, they heard Nick's infamous laugh, and Kevin's deep voice from upstairs. "Shit...why does he always do that?!" Brian groaned, separating himself from Lauren, forgetting for a minute that they weren't alone.

"Let's go see what they're doing," Lauren said, taking his hand, "we can finish later." Brian raised his eyebrows and grinned devilishly as they climbed the stairs. "They're both in my room!" she said, as soon as they reached the top. She peeked in, and saw Nick going through her drawers. "Nick!" she exclaimed, scaring him, "why the hell are you going through my underwear drawer?!"

"Just checking out your goods!" he announced, while Kevin just shook his head in disgust. "Hey, this is nice!" Nick exclaimed, pulling out a silky black bra from the pile of undergarments and handing it to her, "can you try this on?"

"Nick!" she cried, throwing it at him, "you are such pervert!" Nick just laughed, as he continued to look through the drawer, pulling out various panties and such. "Okay Nick, that's enough for you!" she said, shutting the drawer abruptly. Brian, who had been laughing inwardly throughout the entire escapade, slapped Nick on the arm. "Dude, stay out of her stuff!"

Nick put his hands up defensively and plopped himself down on her bed, lying down and spreading out as much as he could. "Hmm," he said, patting his hand on the bed, "there's enough room on here for two, ya know!" He reached for her hand and pulled her onto the bed!

Lauren's mouth dropped open in surprise, as she fell onto the bed. "Nick! What is wrong with you?!" she said, almost unable to control her laughter, "what are you doing?!"

Nick just giggled, and Kevin said, "Okay buddy boy, that's enough for you....we're going home....B-rok, I'll take your car and maybe Laur, could you give him a ride home?" Lauren nodded, as Kevin pulled Nick off the bed and down the stairs, with Brian and Lauren close behind.

"Nick is definitely a character!" said Lauren giggling, after they had left. "Yeah, tell me about it!" Brian exclaimed, shaking his head, "he's just horny right now!"

"Are you serious?!" she burst out, trying not to laugh too hard. Brian nodded and said, "When you spend almost 24 hours a day with a person for 3 years you start to learn when they're horny!"

"So that's why he was going through my underwear drawer and stuff?" she asked. "Yup," he said, but then whispered in her ear, "he's not the only one that's horny!"

"That sounds like an offer, Mr. Littrell," she said, teasingly, running her fingers delicately down his cheek. He kissed her, continuing where they left off before they were interrupted by Nick.

Pretty soon, they had relocated to the couch and he was situated on top of her. His mouth made its way to her neck, as his hands explored up her shirt. Her hands also explored his muscular chest, teasing him just above his boxer line. A small groan escaped his lips, but then he lifted his head and said, "Um, Laur, before we go any farther, I kinda have something to tell you."

"What?" she asked, her eyes widening in fear. "Oh, don't worry, it's nothing serious," he reassured, seeing the look on her face, "it's just that, well, me and the guys are scheduled to go to New York on Wednesday."

"Wednesday?" she asked, her face falling, "but that's the day after tomorrow....for how long?"

"Well, we have to do a press conference and a couple short performances....I think we'll be back for Saturday," he said, also seeing the look she had on her face this time, which looked like disappointment, "but then we'll be back for a while, until...."

"Until when?" she asked. "Until, well, I think after that we go to Canada," he answered, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face, "but not until after the CD comes out."

"Brian, the CD comes out in like three weeks!" she said, exasperated, "what do you want me to do?" Brian looked into her eyes and said, "I want you to come to Canada with us."

"Canada?" she said, "but that's so far!" Brian laughed softly, then said, "Well, it's not really....we're just going to Toronto, which is close to New York....I really want you to come, I don't know what I would do if I had to spend that much time away from you."

She bit her lip, as he continued, "Laur, you don't know what you do to me...sometimes I'd like to just quit the business and spend all my time with you, but..."

"Now, I wouldn't let you quit the Backstreet Boys because of me! I'd have millions of girls mad at me!" she said smiling, "haven't you heard of Yoko Ono?"

"Yeah of course," he answered, looking confused, "she's the one who.....oh, I get it," he finished, realizing the point she was trying to make. "Anyway, I really, really want you to come with us....we'd have a good time!"

"Brian, I'd love to come," she said, not giving it a second thought. He smiled, and kissed her on her forehead. "Good," he said, "and don't worry about New York....I'll be home before you know it." Lauren wasn't worried.......that much.

Lauren sat in the hospital room with Gray, Faren and Bailey, and of course Nathalie. She had just seen the boys off at the airport, and she hadn't realized how hard it was going to be to see Brian get on the plane, but somehow she had managed.

On a brighter note, Nat was scheduled to get out of the hospital the next day. Of course, she had to take it easy, but still she was recovered. "I'm so glad you're out tomorrow!" exclaimed Lauren, who was positioned by her bed on one of those uncomfortable plastic hospital chairs.

Nat just smiled, then smiled at Gray. Things seemed to be going good for them, and Lauren was glad that all the frustration had passed. "I can't believe you're going to Canada!" added Faren, still shocked at what she had told them all.

Lauren shrugged and smiled. "It's not like Canada is so far away," she said, "it's close to New York....anyway, I wanna go. I'm not sure I can spend that much time away from Brian."

"Oooh," teased Gray, "looks like you and B-rok are becoming very close!" Lauren shot him a nasty look, and Nat laughed. "I'm glad to see you two have really matured over the last month!" she said, referring back to during the school year when they fought constantly. "Oh, trust me, they still fight!" laughed Bailey.

"Yeah," added Lauren, "while we were on the cruise he teased me non-stop about Brian!" Gray chuckled to himself, and Nat smiled. "Well, you'll have to tell me all about your trip...especially how you met Brian. I can't believe that you met 5 hot guys who were all friends on that boat! How did you manage that one?" she asked.

Lauren began the story, starting with the first day when she spotted Brian on the deck, until the last day when they had said goodbye. Nathalie laughed as soon as the story was over, and said, "Well I'm gonna have to meet the other two....what is the group called again?"

"The Backstreet Boys," answered Bailey, Faren, Gray and Lauren all at the same time.

Lauren sat perched on her window seat, the day before Brian was scheduled to come home, staring longingly out the window. Even though Nathalie was out of the hospital and her friends were around, she was lonely. She never comprehended how much she would actually miss him while he was gone, but she did.

Every single day he had been gone, he had called. A couple times from his hotel, and a couple times in their limo with the guys, but still she longed to be there with him. "Is this what it's gonna be like?" she asked the window, "because I'm not sure I can handle this."

She let out a huge sigh, as she got up. Where the hell are my stupid parents?' she asked herself, I haven't talked to them since like forever!' They had called once the day after she had got back. Then again, she didn't really expect them to call....they never had in the past.

She sighed again as she picked up her phone. She dialed the number she now knew off by heart; Brian's cell phone number. It rang four times before someone picked it up. "Hello Pizza Hut, 30 minutes or it's free, Giorgio speaking, how may I help you?" Nick's voice said on the other end.

"Nick!" she exclaimed, giggling, "how did you know it was me?"

"A little invention I like to call Caller ID'!" he said, laughing, "what's up? Hey B-rok, your girlfriend's on the phone!" she heard him call. There was silence on the other end, and all of a sudden Lauren heard Brian say, "Nick, why the fuck are you answering my phone, you little shit! Give me that........hey baby, what's up?" he finished, as he apparently taken the phone away from Nick.

"Hey, I'm good.....just a little lonely," she said, wishing he wasn't so far away, "I miss you."

"Baby, I miss you too," he said softly, "I haven't been able to sleep since I've been here...I've been too caught up in thinking about you." Lauren smiled, wishing again that he wasn't on the phone, but in her room. They talked for a minute or two, then he said he had to go, but he'd be home the next day at noon. "Do you wanna come over then?" he asked, "cuz, I really need to see you."

"Yeah, definitely," she answered, then added without thinking, "I need you."

"Oh, do you?" he said, with amusement in his voice, "well let me tell you....I need you now more than ever." Lauren thought for a moment, and said, "Well, if I were with you right now, I'd do things you'd never think I'd do...I'd show you just how much I want you."

Brian made a noise on the other end, and said, "Damn Laur, how am I supposed to go after hearing that?!" Lauren laughed quietly and said, "Well I guess you'll have to just hurry home!" He groaned and said, "Okay, well I REALLY gotta go now...Kev's yelling at me...but I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, bye Bri," she said, and they hung up. A huge smile spread across her face, as she sat down on her bed. The only thing she could think of was Brian. In her brain it was like a 24 hour a day channel that played nothing but Brian.

Her phone suddenly rang again, and she picked it up right away, hoping it was Brian. "Hello?" she said, anxiously. "Damn, what's up with that?" said Gray's voice on the other end, "did you think I was the Bri-meister?! I'm insulted!"

Lauren groaned, but said, "Hey Gray.....yeah, I actually was hoping it was Brian, but you're a good second!" Gray laughed, and said sarcastically, "Well, I'm glad to know I'm still loved! Anyway, Nat's having us over tonight, since she's not really allowed to leave the house yet....you wanna come?"

"Sure, thanks!" she answered. Plans were made and she once again hung up the phone. This'll be good,' she thought to herself, as she went downstairs and headed for the garage, It'll be good to spend some time with Nathalie...and also get my mind off of Brian....at least until tomorrow.'

Lauren rang the doorbell of Brian's house. She wrung her hands anxiously, as she had been waiting for this day since he left for New York. Sure, she had spent the evening with Nathalie, Faren, Bailey and Gray, and it had taken her mind off of it for the time being, but as soon as she had left, she thought of him again! It was psychotic!

She rang the bell again. "Where are they?" she said out loud, expecting at least one of them to come to the door. She heard voices coming from the backyard, so decided to walk around. She opened the gate, and saw a sight that made her heart start beating triple time. All five guys were lounging by the pool, but Brian's back was to her. As she walked forward, the guys saw her, but she pressed her finger to her mouth to let them know she was sneaking up on him and not to say anything.

They kept talking, as Lauren slowly and quietly made her way to Brian's chair. When she got there, she put her hands over his eyes, as he jumped a little. "Guess who?" said Nick involuntarily, laughing a bit. "Well, this better be Lauren...." he started, as she removed her hands. He stood up with a huge grin on his face, and embraced her. "Hey," he said softly, kissing her gently, "I missed you."

"I missed you so much," she said, smiling. She greeted the others by giving them each kisses on the cheek. She sat down on one of the chairs and said, "So how was New York?"

"It was fun," said AJ, "hard work, but fun.....we were at a press conference at the All Star Café and the Virgin Megastore, and I just couldn't believe how many people actually knew who we were!"

"Yeah," agreed Nick, "here in No Fan Land we rarely get mobbed....but we did!" Lauren laughed, and said, "Yeah, well I see something about you on MTV like every day! Little bits, but still...."

"Oh, how's Nathalie?" asked Brian suddenly, "is everything okay with her?" The five guys' eyes were all on her, waiting in anticipation to what she was going to say. "Yeah, she's fine! Actually, she just got out of the hospital a couple days ago and she's doing great!"

"Well, that's good to hear," commented Howie, "at least we have some good news on our hands now!" Lauren nodded, kinda confused at what he was trying to say. She glanced at Brian, who was looking at his hands, not meeting the glance of anyone in the circle. She looked at the rest of the guys, and Nick was also avoiding her glance, and AJ and Kevin were giving Howie strange looks.

She ignored the moment of awkwardness and said, "Well, I'm really excited about Toronto....is it cold there now?" Nick burst out laughing, and Brian, Kevin, AJ and Howie tried to hide their giggles. "Actually," said Kevin, hiding a smile, "it's probably warmer there now than it is here!"

"Really?" she asked, as Nick continued to laugh. Howie nodded and added, "Yeah....the summer months are hotter and more humid than they are here." Lauren shrugged, but Nick was still laughing. "Are you done?" she snapped at him. Tears were rolling down his cheeks, as he gasped for air. "You are so funny!" he said, catching his breath.

"Dude, shut up!" Brian exclaimed, whacking him on the arm. Nick's laughter died down, and the day went on. Lauren soon forgot completely about the weird moment the group had.

"I can't believe that your CD is already out!" exclaimed Lauren, gazing at a copy of the Backstreet Boys' new CD which she was holding. She was sitting on the airplane with the five guys. They had already been in flight for three hours, and were soon going to descend into Toronto. "The cover is amazing!"

"Thanks," said both Brian and Howie at the same time. She was in between them both, and Kevin, Nick and AJ were behind them. "Are you sure you packed enough?" Nick said from behind. She turned around and smacked him on the head with the CD. "Nick, you must get your annoying comments from Gray," she said, "you two sound identical."

The fact was, Nick and Gray had actually remained friends since they got off the boat. They had gotten together a couple times after they got back from New York, and Lauren was pretty sure Nick was picking up on all of his bad habits. "Well, I learn from the best!" he announced.

Lauren rolled her eyes, as Brian laughed. "Have you met any other members of the Carter family?" he asked. Lauren shook her head, and Brian continued, "Well, you should! Then you'd know where Nick gets his ideas! Five Carter kids, and they are all the same!"

"Hey, I heard that!" Nick called from back one row. Lauren laughed, as the captain came on the speaker and told everyone that they were to land shortly. The plane taxied to the gateway, and soon came to a halt. Everyone stood up, including the boys' two bodyguards, Q and Tom. "Lauren," Q said, "just to warn you, there may be a crowd of people there, but just take hold of someone's hand and walk...fast!"

Lauren nodded, kind of unsure what was to come. They all walked off the plane into the airport, and Lauren's ears were instantly bombarded by screams and shrieks. She looked around at all the girls holding signs and cameras, her eyes wide in awe. Flashes blinded her, as she felt someone grab her hand. She spun around and saw Nick. "Come on!" he called, as he tried to pull himself and Lauren through the crowd. Even though the area where they were walking was roped off, girls tried desperately to grab at all of them. "Shit," cursed Nick, as a girl tried to grab his arm. He pulled it out of her grasp, and walked even more quickly down the aisle.

Finally, the crew made it through the mob and into the limos. "Damn!" said AJ, as he was the last one in the limo and shut the door, "that was crazy!"

"Look at Lauren!" giggled Howie. The other four glanced at her, and laughed. Her mouth was open in astonishment and she was gazing out the window. "Crazy, huh?" said Brian, as they rolled away from the curb. "I can't believe this!" she exclaimed, "there were so many people there! Why...?"

"Because we already have a CD out here in Canada," answered Kevin, before she could finish her question. "Oh," she said, nodding, "I didn't know that!"

"Well now you do!" said Nick, laughing at his own joke. The rest of them, however, didn't laugh. They finally made their way to the hotel. "Whoah, Four Seasons?" Lauren asked, gazing again out the window.

"Yeah, we really get spoiled!" laughed AJ. A smile spread across her face, thinking of how gorgeous it would be inside the hotel. When the arrangements were made, it was planned that her and Brian would share a room. Even though there were two beds, Lauren wasn't sure how it would turn out. This made Lauren smile even wider.

They soon checked into the hotel and made their way up to their rooms. "Damn..." said Lauren, as she stepped inside the room. There was a huge window that overlooked the city of Toronto. "This city is so alive!" she exclaimed, as she pulled back the curtains. "Yeah, it's a great city, that's for sure," Brian agreed, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, "and what's better is that you're here with me."