“Oh my God.” Kat’s voice was barely a whisper of a sound. Her breath caught in her throat and she could actually feel her pulse speeding up though she was sure her heart had stopped.

“Glad you decided to join us, Kat,” Nurse MacDonough grinned taking the small infant from the arms of her companion. “I was just showing your friend here the proper way to hold a baby. He’s a natural.”

“Surprise?”

“Surprise?” Kat repeated. “Yeah I’d say so.” An elated smile spread across her face as she took a few tentative steps in the direction of the young man before her.

His own warm smile was what snapped her out of her daze and she threw her arms around his neck. He picked her up, spinning her in a small circle, still conscious of his delicate surroundings. Her put her down, his eyes drinking her in. It was then that she realized what she looked like. She put a hand to her head, flashing a helpless smile, her other hand fiddling with the hem of the old t-shirt she was wearing.

He shook his head slowly. “You look absolutely beautiful,” he reassured her.

“I know you haven’t seen me in a while but I didn’t know you hadn’t seen anyone else of the female persuasion either,” she kidded, trying to straighten the hopelss pile of hair on her head.

“You look absolutely beautiful,” he reasserted in voice that made her spine tingle.

“Well, I’m just going to take your word on that then,” she smiled. Her face changed suddenly as if she’d remembered something and she lightly slapped his shoulder. “You told me you wouldn’t be here for another week at least, you big liar!”

“Hey, I didn’t lie,” he defended himself. “I just didn’t update you on the truth.”

“Yeah, on purpose,” she shot back, playfully.

“Kat, why don’t you let me know when your done pretending to be mad at me and then we can get on with our day,” JC said starting to back away from her.

“No, no, no,” she said quickly, grabbing onto his hands to bring him back. “I’m done. Gimme another hug and all will be forgiven.”

“Well, I think that can be arranged,” he smiled, drawing her back into his arms. He reveled in the feel of her against him. It was scary how much he felt like he’d just come home. The feel of her breath against his skin was one of things he missed the most second only to her kiss. He was tempted to bring her head up in order to do just that when they both heard a cough off to the side.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, kids, but while this is a hospital, its not General Hospital,” Mac smirked, still hold Baby Turner in her arms.

“Sorry Mac,” Kat blushed. “And I’m sorry about being late, but I fell back to sleep as soon as I hung up with you this morning and—”

“Don’t worry about it, honey. Your friend has been helping me out,” she smiled tossing a wink at JC. “So why don’t you two crazy kids get out of here and have some fun. It’s a far to beautiful day for you to be cooped up in here.” The baby began to fuss in her arms. “But before you go, would you mind?” she asked motioning for Kat to take the child from her. “Our boy here is getting stronger every day but I think he’ll be very upset if he doesn’t get a few minutes of Kat time,” she smiled.

Kat laughed lightly and took the baby from Mac, cradling him gently as JC looked on in awe. The baby immediately calmed down as he slipped into Kat’s arms. “Hey, kiddo. You’re getting so big,” she cooed. In reality the infant was painfully small, having been born almost a full trimester early.

“Wow, that’s amazing,” JC said.

“What?”

“Are you this good with all kids or does this guy have crush on you?”

Kat laughed, watching the baby’s tiny fingers curl around her pinkie. “Well, he is a handsome guy,” she smirked. “You jealous?”

“A little,” JC chuckled. “He’s been spending more time with you than me.”

“”Well, you’ll just have to make it up to me, won’t you?”

“That’s a promise.”

She lay on her back on the floor of her apartment staring up at the cracks in the ceiling he’d said he’d help her fix nearly seven months ago. The place really needed to be fixed up. The paint was chipping and the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom were old and discolored. He’d often made fun of her little hole in the wall. It was small and run down, but she loved it. It was a running joke with them but in the end she agreed to let him help her fix it up a little. But things had changed since then.

She sat up, her long brown curls mussed and haloed around her head. Climbing to her feet, she made her way into the kitchen and got a yogurt out of the refrigerator. She slammed the door shut, her frustration at the situation she found herself in coming to light. It wasn’t fair. It was his fault. She was supposed to be happy without him. He was supposed to be miserable without her. But everyday, she saw his face, smiling and having a great time. She even heard the rumors that he was seeing someone new now. What made him think he could make it work with someone else if he couldn’t make it work with her?

She threw out her half-eaten yogurt and strode into her bedroom. She’d spent the last month and a half going through the motions of living outside but when she was alone, she didn’t know what to do with herself. She spent her time flipping through the channels on the TV or radio, wondering from room to room, and wondering how she’d gotten so damn lonely. But more than that, she wanted to know who to blame. And after several odd turns in common logic, she came to her conclusion. It was his fault. Jaclyn would make Josh pay.

“Where’s JC?”

“He’s out with Kat,” Justin said, stretching out his post-nap kinks.

“And who told him he could blow off this meeting?”

“Chill, Matt,” Joey said, sitting down in one of the chairs around the conference table. “James said it was cool if he took some time with his girl this weekend.”

“Well James isn’t here, I am. I didn’t say it was cool. I need JC here. Some one get him on the phone.”

“Jesus, Matt. This meeting is just a formality. JC was talking to Kristian for half the flight up here. He knows JC’s not going to be here today,” Lance stated, simply as he took his own seat.

Matthew Hammond saw he wasn’t going to get anywhere. He had been working with WEG for only a few months and most of the time was spent with Britney Spears. Recently, as Nsync got progressively bigger, Johnny Wright decided to send more help to their full time management staff. James Campion wasn’t happy but put up with the newcomer out of respect for his friend Johnny.

“Fine, but I want to be kept up to speed on this stuff from now on. I’m not going to spend my valuable time chasing you kids around the city.”

After he exited the conference room in a huff, the four boys all burst out laughing.

“I wonder if he realizes the only reason he’s still around is because we like pushing his buttons so much,” Justin said still in a fit of laughter.

“Did he just call me a kid?” Chris said incredulously. “I’m like 3 years older than him.”

“So what do you think the love birds are up to?” Justin grinned.

“Gee, Justin, what do you think they’re up to?” Joey shook his head. “Don’t you think if you hadn’t seen your girl three weeks, you’d be getting your smooch on?”

“Joseph Fatone, not a romantic bone in his body,” Lance laughed. “Not everything’s about kissing.”

“Lance is right,” Chris backed up his friend. “Some stuff is about groping. You think it’s about groping?”

“Chris!”

“What?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever laughed that hard in my entire life,” JC said as they stepped out of the restaurant. He ultimately decided to go some place new- and Italian. Can’t go wrong with Italian.

“What? So I have a thing with spiders!” Kat defended herself.

“It was parsley that had fallen off someone’s plate. It didn’t even look like a spider.”

“I’m sorry, Jace, I just don’t like spiders, okay? It’s not even like I’m all girlie about bugs in general. It’s just spiders, I don’t know.”

“Okay, so what is it about the spiders?”

“Their furry bodies, their sticky webs— and what do they need all those legs for anyway? I’ll tell what for. For crawling across your face in the middle of the night, that’s—”

JC silenced her, wrapping his arm around her and clapping his hand over his mouth. “Ok , I get it. You don’t like spiders. So what do you want to do now?”

Kat mumbled something against his hand as she stumbled toward the car next to him.

“What? What was that? I didn’t quite hear you,” he taunted playfully as she started to giggle uncontrollably behind his hand. Suddenly poked her tongue out, and he pulled his hand away in mock disgust. “Eww, your gross, girl.”

“Hey you don’t play fair, I don’t either,” she laughed licking her lips. “Besides, my tongue has never grossed you out before.

“Well, under the right circumstances—”

“Ahem,” Mel, JC’s guard rolled, cleared his throat, indicating the open car door in front of them.

“Sorry, Mel,” JC smiled as he helped Kat into the car. Mel rolled his eyes at their antics and climbing into the front seat after closing the door behind them.

“He’s a teddy bear,” JC grinned at Kat’s questioning look. “Usually he’s a lot more fun but that new guy I told you about that Johnny sent over to our team has been chewing the security guys over bullshit stuff and it kinda puts him in a bad mood.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Kat empathized. “So how are you getting a long with the new kid on the block? Oops, pardon the expression,” Kat grinned.

“Ha ha,” JC smirked. “I dunno, this new guy… it’s like he something to prove. I don’t like it.”

“Ok, we’re bringing the mood down way too far, boy,” Kat kidded trying to lighten the mood. “Um, we should probably decide where we’re going too, since the driver needs a destination.”

“Indeed,” JC chuckled, realizing the car hadn’t started moving. “Hey Buddy, why didn’t you say something?” he called up front.

“Sorry, Mr. Chasez. I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation.”

“Next time just tell us to shut the hell up already, ok?” JC laughed. “So where do you want to go, babe?”

“Ummm,” Kat said thinking. “You know, what I’d really like to do is go say hi to those friends of yours,” she smiled.

“Aww, Kat,” JC whined. “I spend every day with them.”

“C’mon,” she said jabbing him gently in the side before curling up next to him. “I just want to say hi to everyone. Then we can go hang out alone in your room.”

JC shivered at the way she subtly changed her tone when she said your room. “Well, in that case,” he started with a chuckle, “the hotel, Buddy.”

Kat laughed under her breath. “Why do you keep talking to your driver like he’s behind the wheel or a yellow taxi?”

“What do you mean?”

“Buddy this and Buddy that,” she clarified.

“No, Kat…” JC started to laugh. “His actual name is Buddy.”

“No way,” Kat said incredulously. “Really?”

“’Fraid so,” JC chuckled, pressing a kiss into her forehead. “I know you’re a little slow so I’ll just drop this one.”

“Hey,” she cried, punching his shoulder before pulling away to the other side of the seat in mock-pout.

“Aw, baby,” JC crooned sliding over to her.

“No don’t touch me,” Kat whined.

JC thought for a moment before brushing up beside her and whispering into to her ear, “Her voice was full of money— that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it... High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl...”

He was cut off by Kat’s lips descending on his own. He was surprised at first; he’d only meant to get her to stop making that achingly adorable pouting face she was all too good at making. The entire past ten mintutes were soon forgotten in a haze as he sank deeper into the feeling of her lips on his. They hadn’t kissed the entire day, not even a peck on the cheek. They both secretly planned wanted it that way so that this exact experience would take place. Their first kiss wasn’t wasted on one of welcome. It was passionate to the point of hypnotic. If Kat’s body didn’t automatically remember to breath for her, she would have stopped long ago.

When they finally parted lips, she pulled back just far enough to look into his eyes. “You read it,” she smiled, referring to the passage from the Great Gatsby he’d just pulled out of thin air.

He simply nodded in response, mesmerized by the way she was able to make him feel. “You have the sweetest smile,” he said sincerely, laughing lightly as she blushed and shook her head. “It’s true,” he insisted warmly.

“Thank you,” she finally got out.

“God, that looked painful. Can’t take a compliment, Miss McBride?”

“I’m just not used to them,” she said softly, her blush deepening.

“You better get used to them, because it’s about time someone told you how amazing you are.”

“Oh girl, I was wondering when you’d bring that cute butt in here to say hi,” Chris grinned, climbing to his feet to give Kat a hug. “Knock me a lil’ kiss,” he said tapping his cheek with the tip of his finger.

“Christopher,” Kat greeted, pecking him on the cheek. “How are you?”

“You know, still the coolest dude up in this rag tag group of pretty boys,” he replied.

“Hey that’s my line,” Justin said pushing the older man out of the way to delvier his own hug.

“Hey boy,” Kat smiled, returning his hug and ruffling his curls. “Growing out the mane, I see?”

“Yeah, well. I was spending a mint on hair dye.”

“I can imagine,” Kat kidded.

“I know you didn’t hug these two losers before me,” Joey announced moving in for his own hello.

“Well I needed some practice Joe.”

“Hey!” Justin and Chris cried simultaneously.

“Tough crowd,” Lance commented, sauntering up to Kat.

“Mr. Bass, how are you , sir?” Kat asked, extending her hand.

“Whatever, girl,” Lance chuckled, taking her hand and pulling her into a hug. “It’s good to see you.”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” JC said shooing Lance away from his girlfriend. He moving up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. “So what have you guys been up to all day without me?”

“Ironically, there was a lot of sleeping going on,” Chris cracked. “Oh and Matthew busted a gut when he found out you wouldn’t be at the meeting with Kristian Lundin today.”

“Did you tell him I already talked to Kris?”

“Yeah, he left the room in huff,” Justin chuckled. “He was probably pissed you went over his head.”

“I didn’t go over his head,” JC smirked. “His head wasn’t in my way. I told James and if I’m not mistaken, he’s still in charge when Johnny’s not around.”

“Hey your preaching to the choir, bro,” Joey said, plopping down onto the couch. “I’m just pretty sure he’s going to be putting himself in your way from now on.”

“Perfect,” JC breathed, resting his chin on Kat’s shoulder.

“This may be a stupid question,” Kat started, “but who’s Kristian Lundin?”

“He’s producing the first track we’re laying down while we’re here,” JC answered.

“Oh, so was this meeting a big deal?” she asked concerned she’d made him miss something important.

“Nah, it was just the initial, ‘Hi, how are you’ type of deal. Just tossing around ideas. I talked to him on the phone on the way up here and gave him my input. No biggie,” JC assured her.

“So this is the famous Kat McBride,” a voice said from behind the group.

JC groaned inwardly as he backed off of Kat somewhat and turned around. “Kat, this is Matthew Hammond. Matt, this is Kat McBride.”

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