He smiled softly at her. He wondered if he was doing right making her wake up for breakfast. She had fallen asleep around eleven last night and now, it was barely seven. Poor thing, he thought inwardly. My poor dear.

The boys were already waiting for the two of them, and Nick smiled softly at the little girl.

"She still asleep?"

Kevin nodded as he sat Sarah on his lap, and she rested her head against the crook of his neck.

"Maybe you should let her sleep in," Alex added as he leaned over and watched the little girl, green eyes barely opened.

"Sarah?" Kevin asked with a tilt of his head. "Sarah, sweetie, would you like to sleep a little more. You can have breakfast in a while--"

But the child shook her head, rubbing her sleepy eyes with her tiny fits. "I awake."

Kevin only smiled at her, not even correcting her. "You sure?"

Sarah nodded, opening bright green eyes as she looked around. "Hi."

The boys smiled back. "Hi Sarah."

"I ordered you some chocolate milk," Kevin said with a wicked grin, and his words seemed to wak Sarah up in no time.

She sat up straight, and looked at Kevin. "Really?"

Kevin chuckled at her response. "Really. And some chocolate chip cookies."

Chocolate, no better way for her to start the day, she was sure. And with a smile and the thought of chocolate for breakfast, she was fast awake.

*****

He sat on the couch, his eyes fixed on the TV and tried to tell the difference between one amoeba and the other.

"They are the same."

Nick sighed, shaking his head. "They are so not."

"Yes they are. They are both green and rather squeamish looking." Kevin tilted his head to the other side. "That's gross, you know? They are bacteria, why are they on a children's show?"

Nick chuckled at the comment. "They are fun. And they are supposed to be the bad guys. You know, the Amoeba gang and all that. Looking pretty it's very high on their list."

A little girl flew through the screen and Kevin tried to recognize her.

"That's Blossom?"

Nick shook his head in exasperation. "No, that's Bubbles. They are not so hard to recognize. Bubbles us blue."

"They look the same."

Nick snorted, really tired of Kevin's comment. For the old man, everyone looked the same.

Sarah looked sideways at Kevin who was sitting on her right then her eyes darted for a moment over to Nick, who was sitting on the other side of Kevin. She bit back the chuckled at Kevin's puzzled face.

"So that's Buttercup."

Nick closed his eyes for a moment. "No, that's Blossom. She's red, see? Buttercup is green."

"Green? Why is she green?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Well, you seem to know a heck of a lot about them, don't you?"

Sarah tired to keep the grin out of her face, but she was sure they wouldn't see her, they were so busy fighting with each other.

Nick didn't say anything, just leaned over and picked up his coke. He turned around, looking over at Sarah, who was grinning madly and winked at her. Sarah smiled back.

Meanwhile, Kevin was trying to figure out how come there was a Professor talking to the girls while they flew around him.

Sarah chuckled slightly, barely even audible over the sound of Bubbles' giggles. Clad still in her nightgown, she lifted her legs and crossed them. Morning cartoons had never been so much fun.

*****

Large hand holding Sara's smaller one, they walked up to the stage.

"Oh!" Sarah couldn't help but gasp as she saw the huge place, her eyes trying to see everything at once.

"You like it?"

Sarah nodded, still a little amazed by the size of the place. It looked so much bigger than the park around the corner of her house.

Kevin chuckled at the little girl's response. He picked her up with one swift moment learned over the times he had held her, and turned around to see where the band stood.

"That's our band," Kevin told her into her ear as he pointed towards the five members who waved at her. "They play really great."

"What do they play?"

"The drums, the guitar--"

"What are drums?"

Kevin gave her a sideways look before pointing towards the three drums on the left. "Those are drums. You hit them with the drumsticks--"

"What are the dumbticks?"

Kevin chuckled. "Drumsticks. And they are this sticks--"

"Like wood sticks you throw to a puppy to catch it?"

Kevin thought about it for a minute. "Yeah, very similar."

"What's simlar?"

"Similar," Kevin corrected, before turning around and lifting her higher up in his hands, as high as his arms could stretch, and she chuckled with glee. "And it means like it!"

When the words died in his lips, Kevin threw her into the air, her laughter catching everyone's attention.

"Kevin!"

The older man bit back the smile that threatened to make its way into his lips the moment he heard that voice.

"Yes?" Kevin said as innocently as he could manage, holding Sarah in his right arm against his hip.

Nick was frowning so hard, it looked like he had one eyebrow instead of two.

That made Kevin chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

Kevin tightened his lips into a thin line, trying to hide the smile.

"Nothing."

Nick didn't buy it for a second. "Why were you throwing Sarah into the air? She could fall or--"

"Like I'm gonna drop her."

Nick gave the older man a hard look. "I'm not saying you would--"

"You're just implying it."

"-- but you could, accidentally."

"I can hold her very well, let me tell you."

"I know that, but why throw her?"

"Because she likes it?" Kevin asked, irony dripping from his tone.

Alex snorted and rolled his eyes at the small domestic fight. They looked... married. And when he met Sarah's gaze, green eyes amused, Alex knew he wasn't the only one thinking that.

Kevin shook his head when Nick only glared at him, and placed Sarah on the floor. The moment small feet touched the ground, she started running around, her arms wide and her hair falling loose as the scrunchi couldn't keep all that hair in place.

Alex followed her with his eyes, tilting his head to the side. There was a huge grin on her face as she run on the stage. AJ couldn't help but think that this little girl had more courage than either of them combined. Here she was, in a new environment, with new people, and it was an adventure for her, not a fearsome situation. Alex was sure that, if it had been him who had lost his mother at age four, he wouldn't have been able to deal with it.

"Sarah!"

Sarah turned around and looked at Alex, who opened his arms wide and bended over just as she started running his way, throwing herself into his arms. He caught in her a second and raised her to the air.

"Be careful."

Alex rolled his eyes as he heard Nick's voice on the back. What a wuss, AJ couldn't help but think. Paranoid wuss.

Brian picked a bottle of water out of his gym bag and walked pass Kevin and Nick, who were still discussing safety on children, and over to Alex. He picked the fallen scrunchie and messed up Sarah's soft hair, earning him a smile from the little girl.

"They are just a couple of nutcases, you know that?"

And Sarah nodded, making both Alex and Brian smile.

Not long after, Howie joined the little impromptu party, giving Sarah a couple of M&Ms he had sneaked from the dressing room. She grinned as she popped them into her mouth, eating happily. She loved chocolate.

"Do you have any idea--?"

Howie rolled his eyes as he heard Nick, still trying to make a point.

But Kevin cut him in mid sentence. "You know what Nick?"

The blond crossed his arms and stood his ground. "What?"

"It's getting late."

That was enough to finish the discussion and the five guys started taking their places for a short practice.

Alex put Sarah down, who ran over to Kevin, picking her up naturally and placing her on his hip.

He turned around and gave the band a sign, and they started playing Everybody.

Nick wanted to say something, but bit his tongue when he saw Sarah giggling madly as they were raised from the ground.

Kevin did only half the movements, one arm busy with a precious cargo, but no one seemed to complain, as Sarah's laughter filled the stage.

Half into the song, Kevin let Sarah down, and she started running around the guys, towards the band and in between their dance steps. All five of them became more aware of the little girl that could show up in two seconds on their side. They just enjoyed it.

*****

Kevin picked up a sleepy form where she had been lying on the couch, Allison's watchful eye having looked over her during the concert.

He placed her on his chest, Sarah's face finding a comfortable spot on his shoulder, and Kevin kissed the top of her head.

He was starting to realize she tended to fall asleep while waiting for him and he wondered if maybe it'd be better for her if she waited on the hotel. The thought only lasted a second as Kevin came to the conclusion that he'd rather have her as near as possible, in case anything happened.

She mumbled something sleepily, snuggling deeper into the crook of his neck, and Kevin sat down on the couch as he waited for the boys to finish changing.

Running his fingers through the silky black hair, Kevin smiled softly. The moment he had walked into the dressing room, his eyes had gone to the sleepy figure on the couch and his heart had soared. He had the good intuition of changing into sweats before picking her up.

When the boys were ready, they walked out of the room, through the hallway. Nick watched Sarah from the corner of his eyes as they reached the parking lot and got out his sports jacket, placing it over Sarah.

"It's too windy," Nick explained when Kevin looked at him.

The older man nodded and smiled at Nick, not having thought of that himself.

They entered the van and Kevin accommodated Sarah on his arms while the boys talked about thing or the other -- lowly. Kevin smiled at the thoughtfulness of them

*****

It didn't take long for Sarah to fall asleep in the coziness of the hotel bed, deep burrowed in the thick covers. Kevin just stood there for a moment, looking at her, black hair falling around her face and pearl skin so soft under the dim light of the moonlight.

Kevin bit his lower lip, his face softening as he looked at the little girl sleeping peacefully before him.

"I hope I do," he whispered into the night, his words soft and heartfelt. "God, Lizzie, I really hope I do."

With one last look at his friend's little girl, he climbed into the bed and Sarah snuggled up to him.

But his mind wouldn't settle. There were thoughts that demanded attention, and Kevin was glad to give it to one of them.

One word formed in his mind: tomorrow.

Tomorrow the article would be out. Tomorrow the public would know her.

Tomorrow they'll know she was his.