*Disclaimer - I do not own any of the members of 'N Sync (though the more we thought about it..the more we like the idea of indentured servants *slap* sorry...it's about 2 am and I'm getting a bit punchy) they belong to their respective owners (which we sincerely hope are themselves). I do, however, own all fictional characters such as Carli and Mike. Plagiarism is against the law, always remember this.

Justin sat at the long table the manager of the record store had set up for the group 'N Sync to sign autographs and talk with their fans. He knew that this was a part of being famous, but he couldn't help but get a little peeved with all the young girls screaming in his face. He was only human, right? He was a regular guy who enjoyed doing regular things, yet most of these girls treated him as if he were some sort of God. He dreaded leaving the house, tour bus or hotel most times because he was always recognized no mater where he went or how he was dressed.

God, I hope this is the last of the fans. We're already over an hour behind schedule and we still have to do the sound check, Justin groaned silently to himself as he smiled at the next young girl who stood in front of him.

"Hi there, sweetie. What's your name?" he questioned as the young girl handed him a poster, her eyes wide with awe.

"Stephanie." she answered smiling timidly.

"Well Stephanie, this place is a zoo today, isn't it? Justin smiled as he wrote a brief message and his signature on the poster. The young girl nodded silently as she watched Justin with wide eyes.

"My sister wants to marry you." Stephanie blurted out suddenly. Justin stifled a groan before he looked back up at the girl.

"Yeah? Where's your sister?" he questioned out of politeness. Stephanie looked behind her then pointed out a young woman hanging back from the line, waiting impatiently to be on her way.

"What's her name?" Justin inquired grabbing one of the promotional pictures they were giving away for the signing.

"Monica. She's too nervous to come up here herself, even though I told her you guys were nice." Stephanie stated softly, a rosy blush tinting her pale cheeks.

"You did, huh? Well, you just give this to her for me, okay?" Justin replied handing her the picture.

"I will." Stephanie nodded, her eyes bright with happiness.

"Okay, there you go." Justin smiled handing the poster back to her, which had gone over to Lance so he could sign it quickly. The little girl smiled hugely then slowly walked away, clutching the picture and the poster to her chest. She walked over to her older sister, handed her the picture while gesturing toward Justin. The sister glanced over at him with a slight smile. Justin returned the smile with a nod then turned to the next young girl. The line was now down to four people, and Justin heaved a tired sigh of relief. He smiled and nodded, talking to each girl as they received his autograph and a short, personalized message on their pictures, CD covers, and posters. Finally all that was left was a little girl, no more than four or five years old.

"Here we go, we have another crier on our hands." Chris sighed softly as he gave the little girl a friendly smile.

"Just remember, this is the last one." Joe reminded the guys quietly as he signed his name to a CD cover.

"Hi sweetheart, what's your name?" Chris questioned the crying little girl. The little girl didn't answer, she just kept crying. The store manager looked over at them nervously, concern evident in his expression. Chris shrugged his shoulders, telling the man he had no idea what was going on. This had never happened before and none of them knew what to do other than find out what was wrong.

"Um, sweetie, is something wrong?" JC questioned as he got to his feet. The little girl looked directly at him but obviously didn't understand what he had said. Justin also got to his feet and walked around the table to kneel down in front of the hysterical little girl. Whatever had happened, she was one scared child.

"Hey, what are the tears for?" Justin questioned softly as he gently wiped the tears from her flushed cheeks with his fingertips. The little girl looked up at him, bewildered and not quite sure what to make of him. Her big blue eyes filled with tears once again as her lower lip trembled. She clutched an old, ragged stuffed bunny tighter to her chest as her eyes then frantically searched the nearly empty store for a familiar face.

"Maybe she's hurt." Joe suggested first.

"Nah, that's not the cry of a hurt child." JC shook his head. "I think she's lost or something."

"I think so, too, but why won't she tell us her name?" Justin inquired taking the girl into his arms, then getting to his feet. He had always hated to see kids cry.

"She might not be able to speak English." Lance replied reasonably. Justin shook his head, dismissing the idea immediately.

"I don't think so. I mean, she would have tried explaining something in her own language if she was." he sighed then faced the girl in his arms. "Why don't you tell us your name?"

The little girl had stopped crying and looked at each of the men with a wonderment expression. She had no idea who these giants were, just that they were being nice to her which had put her fear at ease. Her hand reached up and touched Justin's curly blond hair with a timid smile. Justin returned the smile and bounced her gently in his arms. Kids are great, he laughed to himself. They can cry one second and laugh the next.

"Okay, so how are we going to find out who she is and who she belongs to if she won't talk?" Joe questioned holding his arms out in consternation.

"It's not that she won't talk, it's that she can't talk." a female voice informed from behind the men. All the men turned around to face a young woman who looked to be in her mid-teens, with a look of utter fury on her face.

"Who are you?" JC demanded raising an eyebrow.

"Carli, not that it should matter to you. And that's my little sister Janelle." she sighed looking around the record store.

"Okay Carli, why is Janelle so upset?" Justin inquired holding the little girl to his chest. Because the little girl was looking over Justin's shoulder at Joe, who was making faces at her, she didn't notice that her sister had found her.

"Well, I don't know exactly, but I'm guessing that my irresponsible older brother took off and forgot about her here." Carli stated, barely containing her explosive temper. She walked over to Justin and touched the little girl's leg. Startled, Janelle turned in Justin's arms then cried out, holding her arms out to Carli. Carli immediately took her little sister in her arms and hugged her tightly. After a few moments, she set the little girl on her feet.

"So why can't she talk?" Justin inquired, still a bit confused.

"Because she's deaf. Has been for a long time, so she can't pronounce words. She can just make sounds." Carli ground out through clenched teeth as she knelt down in front of her little sister then proceeded to ask in sign language what had happened. Janelle signed vigorously with her tiny hands as she calmed down considerably. Carli watched the little girl's hands and fingers intently as they formed words and sentences while the five guys watched with amazement at how fast Janelle could 'talk'.

"I'm gonna kill him." Calri muttered to herself as she jumped to her feet and her eyes searched the room. Her brother had been in the record store with her, but had disappeared when his friends had shown up. By now, he was probably long gone and not even in the mall anymore.

"You two going to be alright?" JC questioned walking over to Carli. She nodded as Janelle ran down an isle to go look at the posters and pictures that filled three shelves.

"Was Janelle born deaf?" Justin inquired curiously as he stood next to JC.

"No," she began as Janelle looked intently at each of the pictures, her brow furrowed with concentration. "My parents were in a car wreak shortly after Janelle was born. Mom died and dad was in a coma for a while. He never has been the same. Nell became deaf as a result from the accident." Carli shrugged tiredly. It had been along day at work and it wasn't about to end any time soon. It would get worse as soon as she got home.

"That's too bad." Justin shook his head.

"Not really. She's happy and that's all that matters." Carli smiled as Janelle ran over to them with a picture clutched in her little hands. She handed the picture to her older sister then began signing avidly.

"What's she saying?" Chris inquired.

"She's just realized who you guys are." Carli laughed as Janelle gazed adoringly first at Chris then at Lance.

"Janelle knows of us?" Justin smiled.

"Oh yeah, she may be deaf but she doesn't live in a time warp. She can't get enough of your music." Carli nodded a smile transforming her face into a beautiful vision.

"How's that possible if she can't hear?" Joe questioned stepping into the conversation.

"Just because she's deaf doesn't mean she can't hear music. She just hears in her own way. Shall I demonstrate?" Carli questioned raising an eyebrow as Janelle yanked on her arm gently. All five men nodded, keen interest showing on their faces. Carli quickly signed for Janelle to go get her favorite CD and the little girl disappeared down one of the isles only to return a few seconds later with the 'N Sync CD. She then took her older sister's hand and pulled her over to where the stereos were located. Justin, Lance, JC, Joe, Chris and the store manager followed, wondering how a deaf girl could hear music.

Carli took one of the stereos off the shelf and set it on the floor then plugged it in. Janelle handed her the CD, and she had to fight for a few minutes to open the casing, but finally put the CD into the player and hit the power button. As the CD loaded, Carli fooled around with all the little buttons for tribble, bass, and various other sound buttons. She pushed the bass and volume all the way up, and everything else all the way down. Seconds later, extremely loud music came blaring from the speakers. Janelle stopped bouncing around with excitement, and rested her hands on the stereo. The bass rumbled in everyone's chest as the song continued.

All the men looked on in awe as Janelle swayed to the music, her hands never leaving the boom-box. Carli smiled as she watched her little sister have the time of her life in the middle of a closed record store. When the song 'Tearing Up My Heart' ended, Janelle's eyes darted up to Carli who leaned over and hit the skip button. 'God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You' now blared from the speakers. The music was so loud that no one could be heard if they tried to talk, but everyone kept silent, watching Janelle as she closed her eyes with a smile and felt the music come from the speakers. Carli glanced around at the men, who were watching Janelle intently. Justin looked over at her with a grin, and she found herself smiling back. When the song ended, Carli leaned over and shut the stereo off and put it back from where she had found it.

"That was amazing. I never thought that the bass could be strong enough to hear like that." JC stated, a smile forming on his face.

"Well, she doesn't exactly hear it. You remember how the bass rumbled in your chest while the music was on?" Carli inquired and everyone nodded. "That's how she hears. She feels the vibrations in her chest and knows what the song is." she shrugged.

"You know, we're so used to the bass that we don't even think about it that way." Justin laughed shaking his head as Janelle wandered over to Lance, who smiled as he knelt down in front of her. Carli watched with amusement as Janelle reached up to touch Lance's face curiously.

"How old is she?" JC inquired suddenly.

"Nell will be turning five in two days." Carli smiled as Lance picked her little sister up in his arms.

"Two days?" Lance repeated as Janelle rested her ear against his chest. "Don't we have a concert that night?"

"Yeah, we do." Justin nodded thoughtfully. Lance smiled hugging Janelle to him as Justin and JC talked quietly with one another. Both turned to Carli with huge grins.

"Why don't you come to the concert with Janelle, as a birthday thing." JC suggested.

"I can't guys, as much as both of us would like the night on the town, I can't afford the tickets." she shook her head with a sad smile.

"We didn't ask you if you could afford the tickets, we asked you to come to the concert." Justin replied folding his arms across his chest. Carli sighed as she looked over at her little sister.

"All right, we'll go. But if you treat us to the concert, we get to treat you to a home made dinner." she compromised with a smile of her own.

"Deal." Lance agreed immediately with a nod. Carli signed something to Janelle who nodded and squirmed from Lance's arms. Suddenly someone banged on the glass door and everyone turned to see what was going on. Carli's demeanor changed perceptively as she walked to the door and pulled it open. The young man walked in, his face filled with aggravation and a hint of shame.

"Want to explain to me just why the hell I found Janelle hysterical and by herself in this store?" she demanded, her eyes turning to cold blue ice.

"I'm sorry. I ran into some friends and totally forgot." the young man stated with a sigh.

"You met some friends and forgot." Carli nodded, her eyes becoming narrow slits. "You met some friends and forgot about her?! What the hell are you, Dan? Some sort of mindless imbecile that has to go everywhere his friends do?" she exploded throwing her arms into the air.

"It wasn't my fault. You seem to forget that she wanders off all the time!" Dan glared defiantly at his younger sister.

"No she doesn't! She has never wandered away from me, or anyone else for that matter! She's four years old, Daniel. Four! Compared to your seventeen. Who do you think should be the more responsible of the two?" Carli demanded, practically yelling in his face.

"Damn it, I'm sorry Lee. I really am." Dan finally sighed.

"Sorry doesn't cut it with our little sister." she cried out passionately. "Anything could have happened to her. Anything! She could have wandered outside and gotten hit by a car and never would have seen or heard it coming. You know better than this." Carli sighed, all the fury draining out of her in the final statement.

"I'm sorry, Lee. You know I am. It won't happen again, I promise." Dan pleaded, the regret showing in his eyes.

"I hope not, because I can't keep taking care of you and Janelle and Nicole and James and Dad. It's too much for me to shoulder by myself. You took on helping out after the accident, so you have to stick with it. Hell, I'm only sixteen years old, and I feel like I'm forty." Carli sighed resting a hand on her forehead.

"I know, but it's hard for me, too. I'm only a year older than you and have the same responsibilities if not more." Dan defended himself softly.

"Dan, just promise me that this will never happen again. That's all I want from you." she shook her head, gazing into her brother's eyes.

"I promise." he stated simply. Carli nodded then glanced over her shoulder to the men who had discreetly taken Janelle to the back of the store to look at some more posters with her. She knew they had heard every single word, but didn't know how to go about acting as if nothing had happened. She hated hiding things from people or acting like nothing was wrong when the whole world seemed to be crumbling around her.

"I'll take Janelle home now. Dad wanted McDonald's for dinner, so I'll stop and get some on the way. You coming home soon?" Dan asked as the two of them made their way to the back of the store.

"I need some time, Danny. Last night was your night. Give me tonight." Carli questioned softly.

"Okay, I'll save a couple of cheeseburgers for you." Dan smiled draping an arm along her shoulders. Even though the two of them h ad the weight of the world resting on their shoulders and fought constantly, they always seemed to let go of grudges and past hurts and angers right away.

"Thanks." Carli smiled giving her brother a quick squeeze. Dan knelt down in front of Janelle and smiled at her as he signed that they were going to McDonald's for dinner. She clapped her hands excitedly as she jumped up and down, signing quickly that she wanted a Happy Meal. Dan agreed as he got to his feet and turned to everyone.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that. Yelling is a great stress reliever and one that Lee and I do quite frequently." he explained to everyone. He then held out his hand to Janelle who took it trustingly.

"Hey, hold on a second. How do you say good night?" Justin inquired quickly. Carli smiled softly and showed him the sign. Justin squatted in from of Janelle then copied the sign that Carli had shown him. The little girl's eye lit up as she returned the sign and then some, then she threw her little arms around his neck and gave him a hug. Justin hugged her back adn laughed as she ran after Dan.

"What did she say?" he questioned turning to Carli.

"She said that even though she likes Lance's voice better, she thinks you're the tallest guy she's ever seen. She's given you the nickname of Big Foot." she giggled smiling genuinely. Everyone dissolved into laughter as they headed to the front of the store.

Justin looked at the impish girl carefully. He didn't know what it was he saw, but there was something in her that would change things. Change a lot of things. In the half an hour that they had known her, she had already opened the door of perception wide open about deaf people. After all of that, he finally took a look at her physical appearance. She was beautiful, though not in the super model way. She needed nothing to enhance her natural beauty. Justin sighed silently, shaking himself back to reality.

"Why does she like Lance's voice? Just out of curiosity." Joe questioned as he slipped on his black leather jacket.

"Remember what I said about her feeling the bass? Well, what is Lance in the group?" Carli replied smiling impishly.

"Ah," Joe smiled, the concept dawning on him. "He has the deepest voice, the bass voice."

Carli nodded laughing. "You got it, Sunny."

She walked over to the cash register with the opened CD in her hand. This would be the fourth 'N Sync CD she had bought. Janelle had worn out the first two by playing them non-stop throughout the daylight hours. The third one was on it's way out the door too.

The manager looked over Carli's shoulder and nodded as he turned towards the younger woman standing in front of him. "Don't worry about it. It's a gift." he smiled.

Carli sighed, a small smile forming her lips. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me, thank them." the manager stated gesturing towards the guys from 'N Sync. Carli smiled as she walked over to them.

"Thanks for the CD, guys. Janelle will love it." she told them softly.

"Nope, that one's for you. We'll get another one for Janelle." Justin replied smiling devilishly.

"Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach?" Carli inquired looking to the others for help.

"I dunno, Lee, why do you suddenly have a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach?" Joe countered folding his arms across his chest.

"Oh, maybe because Justin over here is smiling like the proverbial cat that ate the canary?" Carli commented sarcastically.

"Justin would never do something like that, would ya blondie?" JC shook his head, becoming serious all at once. There was something different about the way Justin was acting, and he couldn't quite place his finger on what it was.

"Whatever." Carli said shaking her head as she headed for the front door. Justin shook his head ruefully as he watched her go, then something popped into his head, and a purely devilish smile spread across his face.

"Uh, guys? I'll be right back." Justin told everyone grabbing his jacket. She had forgotten to tell them where to send the tickets, and what her address was for the home cocked meal she had promised. He smiled as he followed the strolling girl. She walked down the main isle in the mall, searching the windows and stopping every so often to look at the displays. He took a really good look at her as she stopped in front of a bookstore.

She was tall, but not tall enough to reach his shoulder, and her build was athletic. It had to be to keep up with her family and school. She had long, curly light brown hair and the most startling hazel eyes. Her lips were full, and her cheekbones high. Justin sighed shaking his head. Remember, we're only in town for a few days. You shouldn't be looking at her like this. It's not like you can start anything with her.

Carli picked up a book and quickly scanned the back to find out what the story line was. She checked the price then shook her head, placing the book back on the rack, then moved on to the next store that caught her fancy.

"Hey Carli! Wait up a second!" Justin called suddenly as he jogged after her. Her head snapped up and she spun around on her heel, only to come nose to chest with Justin. She sighed and backed away a few inches so she could look up at him.

"Something I can help you with Justin?" she questioned raising a delicate eyebrow.

"You never gave us an address." he stated with a smile.

"Address?" Carli inquired sounding confused.

"Yeah, the home cooked meal you promised us for the tickets to the concert." Justin reminded with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh, right." she laughed searching through her pockets for a piece of paper and a pen. She found a pen, but not a scrap of paper in her jacket pockets. "No paper." Carli mumbled shaking her head. Justin sighed and held his hand out to her, palm up. She looked up at him with an amused expression.

"I thought you were the one who's supposed to be signing body parts." she snickered as she uncapped the pen.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm a sucker for a beautiful woman." Justin grinned as she took his hand in hers so she could write down her address and phone number. Her head snapped up as surprise registered on her face. She shook her head, turning back to his hand. She wrote clearly and carefully.

"The house is hard to find if you've never been there before, so give me a call before you guys leave and I can meet you at the road or something." Carli sighed stuffing her pen back into her jacket pocket.

"Okay, I'll do that." Justin nodded. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Um, sure."

"What does your boyfriend think of you having to take care of your family like that?"

Carli looked up at him, startled for the second time in as many minutes. "I don't have one, so I really couldn't tell you." she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Really? Then what do you do for fun?" Justin inquired, both surprised and oddly relieved.

"I sleep. If I have the energy, I'll read a book or something." Carli replied with a flippant wave of her hand.

"You sound like JC." he chuckled with amusement.

"If you say so. I really have to get going. I have a lot of things I have to do before I go home." Carli replied suddenly.

"Okay, um, I'll give you a call soon." Justin nodded, hiding his disappointment at her sudden need for departure.

"Okay. Have fun." she smiled then turned to walk away. Justin watched her go, a bemused expression on his face. He had no idea why, but he wanted to see her again. She was different than any other girl he had met on his travels around the world. She actually treated him like a human being instead of some one who was unattainable.

"Hey Justin! Let's go! We have to do sound check!" JC called from the doorway of the record store. Justin sighed and headed back toward his friends, tossing one last glace behind his shoulder. Carli had disappeared from sight.

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