*Disclaimer - I do not own any of the members from 'N Sync, nor would I ever want to. They belong to their respective owners. However, I do in fact own all fictitious characters (such as Mike, Ash, Devon, Sage, etc.). Plagiarism is a crime, please do not do it. Thank you.

The tour bus seemed miniature and cramped, especially to the nine passengers who had to share the limited space on little or no sleep at all. Justin and JC were sprawled out on the floor playing a video game; Billie, Katie and Allison were all sleeping in the bunks located at the back of the bus; Lance was dozing in a chair with a magazine opened up in his lap; Joe was raiding the refrigerator looking for something to eat; and Chris and Mike were sitting at a table typing feverishly on their laptop computers.

"Come on Justin, that's cheating and you know it!" JC exclaimed suddenly.

"It is not cheating. You're just a sore looser." Justin shrugged his shoulders smiling. Mike shook her head at the adolescence of the conversation the two were having.

"People amaze me sometimes." Chris mused shaking his head as he read another e-mail. Joe walked over to the couch and sat down heavily as he mowed down on a bag of chips.

"What's this one about?" Mike questioned distractedly as she typed out her own e-mail.

"This girl claims that she knew me way back in high school--," Chris started when Joe interrupted him.

"That was way back, wasn't it."

"Shut up Joe, can't you see I'm in the middle of telling a story? Anyway, this girl claims she knows me from high school and that we have a child due to our one night of passion after the Homecoming Dance." Chris answered as he kept reading. Mike glanced up at him, her eyes dancing with humor.

"How come I never remember the awesome parts of my teenage years? I don't remember the Homecoming Dance, let alone the night of passion that this chick is talking about." Chris complained as he rubbed his face.

"It was all the crack you did to get that hairdo." Mike replied facetiously.

"Um, no. I remember no drugs. Besides, drugs are bad mm-kay?" Chris smiled.

"Mm-kay." Mike confirmed giggling.

"I think it's time to cut South Park out of their diets." Justin commented shaking his head.

"Oh, and you're one to talk Dawson." Mike retorted glancing over at the younger man.

"Hey, at least Dawson's Creek has some real plot lines to it." Justin defended as he climbed to his feet.

"What real plot lines? It's about teenage angst. Nothing is real about that. There's nothing special about it either. We all go through it, but that show dramatizes the teenage angst aspect just a little too much, wouldn't you say?" Mike replied turning in her seat to face the now standing Justin.

"The show is a lot better than South Park. Come on Mike, I thought you outgrew cartoons a long time ago." Justin exclaimed folding his arms across his chest.

"And I thought you outgrew your Day Glow hair obsession. I guess we were both wrong, eh?" Mike smiled turning back to her computer.

"Justin, how can you talk about South Park like that? It has everything. Murder, intrigue, comedy, drama. What more could you ask for in a show?" Chris questioned with a look of mock hurt on his face.

"How about living, breathing people?" Justin suggested with a laugh.

"Details! Minor, petty, details!" Chris yelped throwing his hands up into the air. Mike giggled shaking her head as she opened the next e-mail.

"Yeah okay, Chris. How old are you again?" Justin grumbled becoming frustrated. Chris looked down at his hands and silently counted his fingers for a few seconds, he then held up his hands displaying seven fingers.

"Twenty-seven!" he announced proudly. Joe and JC burst out into a fit of laughter at the look of pride on Chris's face at his accomplishment.

Justin smiled shaking his head. "And everyone thought I was bad."

"Justin, you bad? Never that. I thought you were phat yo!" Chris exclaimed with terror, which made everyone laugh all that much harder.

"Oh, wait! Hold up guys! I got my first piece of hate mail!" Mike clapped bouncing in her seat, a look of pure excitement on her face.

"What's it say?" JC inquired pausing the game.

"Oh, let's see here. It says: 'you bad word, you think that just cause you work for 'N Sync that you think you're all that. Well bad word, I've got some bad word news for you. You ain't bad word. You're nothin' but a bad word and a bad word. I'm giving you a bad word warning. Stay away from Justin, he's bad word mine. He's already bad word met me, and we bad word hit it off. So if you bad word think you're gonna bad word get him, you've got another thing comin' bad word. Back off bad word!'." Mike read from her screen doing her best not to laugh.

"Wow, you really did get hate mail. That's not too cool." Chris replied shaking his head.

"How'd they get your e-mail address?" JC questioned getting to his feet.

"Oh who knows?" Mike shrugged then laughed. "Geez, you think I was trying to take Justin away from her. I wonder if she knows that I'll get ten to twenty just from looking at him the wrong way?"

"I don't know if I like the fact that your e-mail address is now public." JC shook his head as Justin once more joined the video game.

"JC, it's no big deal. I mean, it doesn't seem to bother Mike at all, so why should it bother you?" Joe asked shrugging his shoulders.

"Finally! I knew if I waited long enough, something intelligent would come out of his mouth!" Mike exclaimed giving Joe a sly wink. Joe laughed shaking his head as he stuffed another potato chip in his mouth.

"Whatever." JC mumbled sighing as he turned his attention back to the tv. Mike's eyes remained on JC for a few moments then flitted back to the computer screen. She glanced up and saw Chris giving her a knowing look.

"What?" she demanded looking him directly in the eye.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Chris shook his head refraining himself from good-natured laughter as he continued with checking his e-mail.

The bus traveled down the highway at a speed undeterminable while most of the passengers on the bus spent some quiet time doing things by themselves. They had been on the road for about fourteen hours and people were starting to jump on some nerves with pogo sticks. So far the tour had been a lot of fun for all parties involved, but the lack of alone time, which the girls sometimes thrived on was really starting to get to them. The guys and the girls had divided on the bus. The girls taking over the sleeping area, and the guys the living area.

"Hey Mike, you have any funny stories about the guys you can tell us?" Billie asked flopping down on one of the bunks, a look of pure boredom on her face. Mike looked up from the paper she was writing and thought for a moment.

"Nothing comes to mind. They cover their tracks pretty well." Mike sighed shaking her head.

"Oh come on, no embarrassing moments that you can regale us with?" Katie pressed propping herself up on her elbows.

"Well, let me think for a minute. I've never really paid attention to embarrassing moments. We all have them, but I guess the best I can come up with is when JC didn't notice that he had his fly down for an entire concert." Mike shrugged tiredly.

"That's old news!" Allison groaned flopping down on a bunk with her arms folded across her chest.

"Sorry. That's the best I can do. I've never been to a concert and I've never really cared about mishaps. They're human. They make mistakes." Mike countered testily as she climbed to her feet.

"So, you like JC, huh?" Billie inquired a knowing smile on her lips.

"As a friend, most definitely." Mike nodded searching through her bag trying to find some paper work that was inevitable when reordering merchandise.

"No, I mean you're attracted to him." Billie shook her head.

"I don't find him displeasing to the eye, so yeah. He's a great looking guy." Mike shrugged as she kept searching.

"There's more to it than that. What is it?" Billie questioned softly stretching out on the bunk closest to where Mike was sitting on the floor.

"Absolutely nothing." Mike shook her head, her heart beginning to pound in her chest. She had always hated talking about her personal life.

"I don't believe you. What's going on between the two of you? The attraction is mutual, so why don't you just ask him." Billie stated reasonably.

"For one, the attraction is not mutual, if it were, something would have happened already. For two, I'm too damn scared to fall for another guy this soon. The last one really did a number on me and I'm not looking forward to an encore performance to the first act." Mike replied sharply as she tossed the bag she had been searching away from her.

"How do you know he'll break your heart?" Katie asked raising an eyebrow.

"Other than the fact that he does it every day? It's something guys do. They crawl under your skin and make you start to love and care about them. Then one day, they find your only flaw and shove it in your face. But that's not what they're really angry about. They're really angry because you spend too much time with a bunch of other guys, but he clings to this flaw and uses it to start so many fights that you start to wonder is it all worth it. Then he comes home one night and uses the infamous flaw to start the fight that goes on for four hours with all the yelling and screaming all those teeny bopper fans would do if they ever saw 'N Sync up close and personal. The flaw eventually breaks them up, and all because a guy broke your heart in the first place to make you fall for him right in the beginning." Mike retorted her eyes narrowing to slits as past hurts and angers reared their ugly heads.

"Something tells me that JC wouldn't do something like that." Billie replied shaking her head.

"Why wouldn't JC do something like that? I've known him for two years. Two years. I've seen him date people totally wrong for him, and tell them that he loves them only to come back to me and share his dreams! He already has. My one flaw is that I'm his friend and I don't have the qualities he looks for in a potential girlfriend." Mike ground out angrily. She didn't know why she was getting so upset, or why she was even telling these girls this. Girls she barely knew for that matter.

" ...Two years. I've seen him date people totally wrong for him, and tell him that he loves them only to come back to me and share his dreams! He already has. My one flaw is that I'm his friend and I don't have the qualities he looks for in a potential girlfriend." JC heard Mike cry out angrily when he stepped to the door that separated the sleeping area from the rest of the bus. He had come to ask the girls if they wanted to watch a movie with them since there really wasn't anything else to do on the overcrowded bus.

"Mike, maybe JC just doesn't see the fact that you're attracted to him. He's too close to the situation. But everyone else has noticed." Billie countered, her voice sounding muffled to his ears. JC's mind whirled with the information he had unintentionally eavesdropped upon. Mike liked him and was attracted to him. He should have seen it. It would have made things a whole hell of a lot easier over the past year.

"JC isn't stupid Billie. If he doesn't notice, it's because he doesn't want to notice." Mike shot back, her voice dropping to a dangerous level.

"I still don't think --," Billie was saying when Mike cut her off.

"I'm tired of this conversation, Billie. Just drop it. It depresses me enough just thinking about it. I don't need talking to make it worse. Besides, nothing will happen."

"And how do you know this?" Billie demanded.

"I heard it from the most reliable source in the universe." Mike quipped sarcastically.

"Yeah? And who's that?" Katie asked.

"The man in the moon, who do you think?" Mike exploded. JC's heart dropped into his stomach at the words he had just heard. The man in the moon.

"Sounds like a plan to me." JC nodded.

JC sighed silently shaking his head. He never knew, but then Mike had never really made it obvious.

"Hey JC, what's going on?" Chris yelled from the living area where everyone was setting up the couch and the floor with blankets and pillows.

"Nothing! I had to use the facilities. Would you like to know anything else?" JC yelled back sarcastically.

"Yeah! Did everything come out all right?" was Chris's reply. JC shook his head smiling as he knocked on the door. Seconds later the door opened to the sight of an aggravated Billie.

"JC, hi." she smiled immediately pushing the door fully open.

"Hey, we're setting up the other room to watch some movies. You ladies want to join us?" JC inquired stepping into the room.

"Sure!" Billie, Katie and Allison exclaimed jumping to their feet. JC looked over to Mike who was on the floor rummaging through one of her bags with intent concentration on her face. One thing about Mike he had noticed right at their first meeting, she was beautiful when she was concentrating on the task at hand. She was more beautiful when she smiled. And she was absolutely stunning when she was angry.

"What about you, Mike?" JC questioned as the other girls grabbed their blankets and pillows for the night's entertainment.

"Thanks for the invite, but I have a ton of work I should be doing." she shook her head, not daring to look up at him.

"You know me and my stubbornness. I guess I'll just have to wait here until you agree." JC replied standing over her with his arms folded over his chest. Mike sighed, her shoulders sagging visibly.

"JC, I'm really not in the mood for verbal sparring." she stated softly.

"So come watch a movie with us then. We stocked up on horror movies cause we know you love them." he replied kneeling down next to her a small grin on his face. Mike kept searching through her bag, ignoring JC closeness with every fiber of her being.

"Hey," JC grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet. "You need some down time. You've been working as hard as us for the past few weeks. This was intended to be a vacation of sorts for you."

"I don't take vacations." Mike whispered.

"You do now." JC countered pulling her from the room and down the hall. Everyone had piled onto the floor, making a maze of bodies wrapped in blankets. The couch was the only available space left for Mike and JC to sit, and she had a feeling that it was meant to work out that way. Mike tossed a glare to Billie as she made her way to the couch. Someone's cell phone beeped suddenly causing most everyone to sigh.

"And the million-dollar question is, whose phone is that? Not to mention, where is the stupid thing?" Chris smiled searching the floor for the intruding object that had interrupted the night's festivities.

"If I knew that, I would turn the ringer off." Joe grumbled joining in the search.

"Here phone, come on out." Katie called crawling on her hands and knees, also in search of the phone that kept ringing.

"This is ridiculous." Mike exclaimed loudly searching under the couch.

"Wait, the ringing's getting louder over here." Justin called from the kitchenette, where he had wondered to in the search.

"Olly olly oxen free!" Allison called looking on top of the entertainment center.

"The prize for this game better be good." JC grumbled as he too looked high and low for the now aggravating phone.

"I found it!" Lance called walking into the room holding out the annoying abject in his hand.

"Well don't just stand there holding the damn thing. Answer it!" Mike exclaimed, her lips twitching with a smile.

"What am I? An answering service?" Lance demanded pressing a button then said into the phone, "Road Kill Cafe, you kill it we grill it. Would you like to hear tonight's specials?"

Everyone cracked up as Lance poised an imaginary pen in the air as if ready to take an order. He nodded becoming serious all at once.

"Mike, it's for you. It's Devon." Lance said handing the phone over to her. Mike made a face as she held the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"God Mike, what took so long answering the phone?"

"We couldn't find it. This is my phone right?"

"Well, I dialed your number so I sure as hell hope so."

"Okay, just checking."

"Listen Mike, I have some bad news. Sage is in the hospital again. I just got off the phone with your mom."

"Okay, so why didn't mom call and tell me herself?" Mike questioned walking to the kitchen where it was quiet and she could hear more clearly what was being said.

"She didn't want to worry you. Besides, you're technically at work."

"Oh for God's sake. Is he at the usual hospital?"

"Yeah, as far as I know. Your mom said to talk to Dr. Ross."

"He's in the same hospital. Thanks for calling to tell me Dev."

"Hey, I know how close you and Sage are. I knew if I didn't tell you and you found out on your own that you would be ten times as pissed. Anyway, I gotta get this lazy ass to bed. I put in a long day."

"Okay. Thanks sweetie."

"No problem." Devon replied then hung up the phone. Mike sighed closing her eyes. This was all that needed to happen at this exact moment. She pushed a button on the phone and dialed the hospital's phone number from memory. Someone finally picked up the phone after the seventh ring.

"ER."

"I need to speak with Doug Ross."

"Um, he's in with a patient right now."

"Tell him that Mike Costeo is on the phone. I'll hold."

"All right." the receptionist said then Mike heard the silence of hold. Mike paced the room as she heard the movie start without her. It was probably better that way. She wouldn't have to deal with everyone's curiosity over the late night phone call. The minutes that went by seemed like hours as she waited to hear word on her brother.

"Mike, how're you doing?"

"Does it honestly matter at this point, Doug? How's Sage doing?"

"I always knew you were a bottom line woman. Okay, he's doing all right at the moment. His T-Cell count is low and he's fighting off an ear infection. His fever is at 102.4 but we're working on bringing it down as we speak. We've already put him on antibiotics and hopefully this will clear up in a day or two."

"Don't sugar coat it for me Ross. You know I hate that."

"Okay. Okay. He's not doing too well. He could have the measles or the mumps, we don't know yet, the tests haven't come back. This is bad Michaela, and you don't want me to lie to you, so I won't. Sage might not pull through this one the way everyone hopes he will. I think it's time that he made a will and started thinking about what he wants to happen to Tristan. I wouldn't want to see that little boy end up lost in the system."

"Measles or mumps. He's going to die. All right, can you transfer me to his room or something?"

"Sure, hold on a second." Silence reigned over the phone as Mike was transferred to the room her brother was being treated in. It rang three times before a nurse answered.

"Hello?"

"Yeah hi, this is Michaela Costeo, I'd like to speak with Sage."

"I'm sorry, but that would be impossible. He needs his rest."

"Look lady, I need to speak with my brother. Dr. Douglas Ross transferred me to this number. If you don't let me speak to him, I'll have your job. It's as simple as that."

"I can't."

"Do I have to get ugly now? I was so hoping that I wouldn't have to fight with any more people tonight."

"Rules are rules Miss Costeo."

"Rules my ass! I've been through this so many times that it would make your head spin. Now, I either talk to my brother or talk to your superior."

"Fine. One second please."

"Hey Mike, you know you really have to stop threatening people. I swear half the people working in this hospital are terrified of you."

"Like I care Sage, I wanted to talk to you. End of story. How are you?"

"In a lot of pain. They're running all these tests on me. I don't think I'm gonna make this one, Sassy."

"I know Sage, that's why I needed to talk to you before mom and dad show up. You know they hate talking about stuff like this, so its left up to me."

"Why do I have the feeling you're gonna drop on a huge bomb on me?"

"Because, dear one, I am. Hold on to your backless nightie for this one. Dr. Ross thinks you should make a will. Like, right now. He has the same opinion as you and me, and Lord knows that I hate the thought of you leaving me, but we have to think about Tristan now. Where he should go, who should take care of him. That sort of thing."

"I knew this was coming. Damn. This was something I didn't ever want to think about."

"I know, but you have to. It's too late not to."

"Sis, I'm terrified of this. I don't want to die right now. Tristan just started really talking. He's growing so fast. I don't want to miss out on seeing him grow up."

"I know, sweetie, I know. If I could be there, we'd be doing our ritual big sister little brother evening in the hospital. But just imagine I'm there with you, hugging the ever loving bugaboos outta you, okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks Sassy"

"Hey, that's what I'm here for, right?"

"I guess so. I'll call the family lawyer after we hang up and ask him to come down. Look Mike, I know this is a lot to ask, but I would feel a lot better if you would be legal guardian of Tristan. I know it's a lot to ask, but he could stay with mom and dad. I just want you to have the final say in the major events in his life."

"I'd be honored Sage. You know I love little T with all of my heart and then some."

"You just know how I want him raised. I don't want him to turn out like me, though I guess he eventually will. The Sage Costeo legacy is not something I wanted to pass down to my son."

"I know Sage, but accidents happen. You just have to deal with the present, not the past and certainly not the future. Just hang up and call Mr. Tibbles and get that will started, okay?"

"All right."

"Good. I'll keep in touch."

"I love you, sis."

"I love you too, kiddo." Mike said and hung up the phone with tears stinging her eyes. Sage even sounded too tired to fight this time. That was one thing she promised a longtime ago to her nineteen-year-old brother. If he was too weak to fight, she would fight for him. She did when the school district tried to kick him out of school for being HIV positive. She fought for him at the hospital to get him the best care they could find. She fought for him in the family home when he was too sick to move. She could take on everything people threw at her, but she couldn't fight the actual life and death battle her little brother would soon be fighting, and she couldn't stand that. Strong, secure Mike Costeo couldn't stand the fact that she was totally powerless in this battle.

JC sat on the couch trying to pay attention to the movie, but being unsuccessful with the attempt. He was too worried about what was going on with Mike to sit and be entertained by a movie. She had been in the kitchen for over an hour talking on the phone and the only reason he knew it wasn't a fun phone call was that she hadn't laughed the entire time.

He didn't quite know what to make of everything that had happened tonight, maybe that's why he hesitated on going to see if she was all right, but no matter the reason, Chris stumbled to his feet and announced he was going to get something to drink. JC sighed closing his eyes. Mike hadn't been the only one who had been deeply hurt by a past relationship. He had loved Daphne more than any other girl he had ever dated. She was everything he had ever looked for, or at least that was the way she presented herself in the beginning. They had been together for just over a year when he found out she had been cheating on him for months. He only heard rumors on who the guy had been at the time, and had also heard that there had been more than one guy.

When all of this had happened, he ran straight to Mike, whom he had only known for about a year. She seemed to be able to just sit and listen, and he needed that. Talking had always helped him through the worst times of his life, and he didn't feel comfortable talking to the guys about Daphne. So he had gone to Mike. Back then she had sat on her bed, gazing at him with such understanding and sympathy that it ultimately made him feel better to pour his heart out. She had given him words that boosted his hope for a reconciliation between Daphne and himself. The two of them had never really made up, and even now, had an extremely strained friendship, but he and Mike had become much closer than before.

JC sighed as he got to his feet. Maybe he would just go to bed and forget about everything for the night. He made it all the way to his bunk before his mind started berating him for not seeing if Mike was all right. You're a damn fool JC, his mind yelled as he sat on his bunk. She's been there for you so many times that you couldn't count with a calculator, so why are you in here when you should be out there seeing if she's all right? JC rubbed his face with his hands as he tried to quell his mind from the irrate barbs.

Chris wandered into the kitchen, his head bouncing in time to the music playing in his head. The movie they were watching was good, but wasn't really scary enough to make him jump like it had the others. What wusses they are. They can't even watch a movie without being scared out of their seats, Chris laughed silently to himself. Lance had been the worst, who had almost let out a scream at one of the most crucial parts of the whole movie. He shook his head as he opened the mini refrigerator to find something to drink. The light from inside the fridge was the only light in the entire room, which cast the room into an eerie glow. Oh God, now you're getting scared. Geez Chris, you never get scared with movies like this, Chris scolded to himself laughing out loud this time. Nothing looked attractive to him in the fridge so he shut the door with a sigh as his mind wandered.

From nowhere Devon popped into his mind. Now there's a chick that could make a guy wonder, Chris smiled to himself. The one meeting he had with her had been an interesting one. She made him laugh like no other had, and that in and of itself was an accomplishment. He had found out that she was four years younger than him, which wasn't that bad. Devon had grown up in New York, but had moved to Orlando a few years ago when her father died. She had inherited her dad's record store and now ran it with the competence of a pro who had been in the business for years. She loved music, so she didn't mind all the work she had to put in on a regular day. Chris shook his head as he turned to leave the room. Maybe he would ask Mike for Devon's number sometime soon.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of someone sitting in the dark at the table. "Mike?" he questioned softly.

"Tell him what he's won, Johnny." Mike replied drily, her voice horse.

"Mike, what's wrong?" he questioned again as he walked over to her. Mike let out a bitter laugh as she threw her hands into the air.

"What isn't wrong?"

"You want to talk about it?" he offered as she came swiftly to her feet. He noticed that her cheeks were wet with tears and her eyes were a bit swollen.

"Not really, Chris. It's too much for you to handle. Hell, it's too much for me to handle." Mike sighed shaking her head.

"Try me, you might be surprised." Chris smiled gently.

"My family's falling apart. Did I tell you that we Costeos are cursed?" Mike sighed leaning back against the table.

"How do you mean cursed?" he replied with a look of confusion.

"Oh, let's see. Cursed. Well, two of my brothers are dead. One from cancer and one from Leukemia. What a wonderful way to grow up. Watching your brothers slowly die before your eyes. It didn't stop there. Now that Dallas and Matthew are gone, the new victim of the curse is Sage. My baby brother Sage. That imbecile has AIDS and is in the hospital as we speak. He's going to die this time." Mike laughed harshly covering her face with her hands.

"Whoa." Chris exclaimed softly.

"Oh, the story's not over yet. You see, Sage has a two-year-old son who is infected with the HIV virus, so eventually he's going to die too. But here's the catch, Sage wants me to be legal guardian of his son. Make all the huge decisions for him when he's gone." Mike cried, the tears flowing once again.

"Hey, come here." Chris said pulling Mike over to him. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, letting her cry on his willing and able shoulder. Mike's fingers dug into his shoulders as she cried, really cried for her brother, for the first time. His sure and steady hands rubbed her back, trying to relax her as she let go of everything.

"Ssshhhh. Somehow things will get better. I don't know how, but they will." Chris whispered to her. He looked up to see JC standing in the doorway. He motioned for JC to walk over to them. Chris whispered something to him then he pulled away from Mike, turned her around, and set her into JC's awaiting arms.

Chris nodded to himself then walked from the room to finish watching the movie. Tonight was definitely one strange night.

JC shifted and sat down in one of the chairs, pulling Mike onto his lap and holding her like he would a child, all the while whispering comforting words to her. He didn't quite know what to do. He had experienced her anger and fury, her laughter and sarcastic whit, her silence and sadness, but he had never experienced her grief or tears. He had thought Mike too strong for tears, but as in some things, he was wrong. His heart constricted with each sob and each tears that whetted his shirt. JC's arms tightened around this wisp of a girl who had turned his world upside-down in a single night, and rocked her back and forth, silently wishing he could take the pain for her. Slowly the tears subsided and she fell into an exhausted sleep. JC rested his chin softly on the top of her head and closed his eyes, soon falling asleep himself.

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