****                                                                                                                                                   "Okay, so we now know that Brian is a drag queen, Howie is a stripper, Kevin is a kleptomaniac..."  "Hey man! I totally forgot that that ring was in my hand when I walked out of the store." Kevin interrupted the DJ. "Yeah right, Cuz!" Brian shouted. "You just keep tellin' yourself that, Kev." Nick added as Kevin rolled his eyes. "Nick is a pyromaniac..." The DJ tried to continue with little success. "Man, I'm no pyro! How the hell was I supposed to know that that was gasoline?" Nick questioned while Brian laughed at the memories. "Nick, the sign on the side of the can said 'caution: gasoline.'" Brian stated. "Man, you lost your eyebrows because of that!" AJ shouted. "And of course, AJ, the victim of Dracula." The DJ said over Nick and Brian's very audible voices. "And by the look of your woman's face, Howie's gonna be a dead stripper for telling us that story about you." The DJ laughed as the conclusion of the live interview neared.

Ten minutes after the broadcast, the guys were getting ready to leave through a private exit. Xanda stood up to walk into the studio when the studio door opened. "Ahh!" Xanda shouted as she fell down. The person who had opened the door happened to be in a hurry as well. Xanda looked up and groaned. "My god! Couldn't you slow down!?" She shouted at him as AJ quickly ran over to help her up. "Couldn't you have moved?" Brian asked back. AJ glared at Brian but tried to keep his cool. "You two better not get into it now!" AJ shouted at the both of them. Xanda huffed and stormed off to her car. "Man, what's her problem!?" Brian questioned. AJ knew something was bothering Xanda causing her to be moodier than normal, but he also knew that Brian was trying to start an argument with her. "Man, just lay off, okay?" AJ questioned as he left in the same direction as Xanda a moment later. AJ, along with two men from security, looked around the private parking area for any sign of Xanda but sighed when he knew that she was gone. "All right boys, I'm okay. I'm heading home." AJ mumbled as he slowly walked toward his car.

***

Xanda drove quickly down the highway towards her home, dodging slower cars and swerving around the people who cut in front of her. As she neared the off ramp she noticed a small box off to the side of the street. It seemed to be moving around though there was no wind or slight breeze. Without thinking Xanda pulled to the side of the road and slowly emerged from her car. She cautiously pushed back the top folds of the box and let out a small gasp when she saw what was inside. "Hey little guy." She cooed quietly as she placed her hands in the box. She cupped the little black kitten and lifted him out of the box. He meowed a few times before he began to purr. "What are you doing out here all alone? You might get hurt." She said to him. The little kitten looked malnourished but other than that he seemed happy. "How about coming home with me?" She asked him. She smiled as he purred in response.

***

AJ continued to call Xanda's cellphone and house as he drove towards her place. He finally gave up and tossed his phone on the passenger seat as he turned onto Xanda's street. He drove to her house and noticed that her car wasn't there. "C'mon, Xanda! You can't be angry over that little argument with Brian." AJ mumble. He parked his car in her driveway and ran over to Brian's house. He pounded on his door and waited impatiently as Brian walked slowly towards his front door. "What do you want?" Brian asked. "C'mon man, get over it. I just want to know if you know if Xanda's been home at all." AJ pleaded. "How would I know? I don't keep tabs on her. Isn't that your job?" Brian asked sarcastically. "I'm not gonna get into you with, Bri. We agreed to disagree on Xanda a long time ago but we still end up arguing because of her. You hate her, I don't. End of argument. The least you could do is respect that fact that I care for her." AJ stated calmly which was unusual. "Yeah, fine. I'll try to hold my tongue but if she starts anything...!" "She won't!" AJ interrupted. "If you want to know I saw her drive up ten minutes ago. She left not too long afterwards." Brian stated. "Shit, I have no clue where she went. All right, thanks man." AJ stated as he started to walk down the front steps. "Is everything okay with you two? I mean, you haven't been into a girl this much since, damn, YEARS ago." Brian questioned. "We're fine. I'm just concerned over her. Anyway, if you do see her come home could you just call me to let me know?" AJ questioned loudly as he walked towards his car. "Yeah, no problem." Brian answered. "Thanks!" AJ yelled as he drove away.

***

"Hi, Xanda! I didn't expect to see you here." Denise said as she opened her front door. "Yeah, I'm sorry but I didn't know who to turn to. I found this little guy abandoned on the side of the road on the way home. Think you could help me nurse him back to health?" Xanda asked. Denise smiled and placed an arm around Xanda's small shoulders. "I think I can do that." As both women walked back into the house Denise could tell that something was wrong. "Care to talk?" Denise asked bluntly as she poured some milk into a small bowl. "Sure." Xanda smiled. "What's going on with you and Alex?" Xanda was rubbing the kitten's ears as she spoke. "What's going on with myself and AJ? Nothing, why?" Xanda asked back. "Don't bullshit me, Alexandra. Remember, Alex is my son. I learned to see through it all a long time ago. " Denise stated. Xanda sighed and looked up. "It couldn't be that fight between you and Brian could it?" Denise asked but she knew that wasn't the answer. "No...it's John. New York didn't go so well." Xanda stated. "It's always John." Denise replied in deep thought. "All that pain won't end until you quit this company and switch to another one." She added, turning all her attention on Xanda. "I know, but Denise, if I leave this company then I would have to start all over and work my way back to the top. I can't do that. I've worked too damned hard for all of this." Xanda sighed and looked upward at the ceiling as if praying. Denise and Xanda had become the best of friends since the day AJ had introduced them. Denise immediately became motherly towards Xanda after hearing about her past from AJ. Everytime Xanda revealed something to AJ he would eventually tell his mother. Denise seemed to know everything about Xanda and her past, even more than AJ knew on account of female instincts and late night chats between the women. "John and his wife are having another baby." Xanda choked out as memories came flooding back. "Oh God, Xanda, I'm sorry. How did you find out?" Denise asked. "He just started to brag about it. He knew what he was doing and he knew that it was tearing me up inside. He's so angry that I am in a higher position at the company now than he is. He knew the one thing that could tear me up and he used it. He just flaunted that 'good news' in my face. I finally got sick of him calling Melody in the middle of a meeting to check on the 'new bundle of joy soon-to-come' and I yelled at him to "get serious" during the most important meeting. Words were exchanged and I ended up decking him and hopping on the first flight home. I'm pretty sure that I'll lose my job and house in the process." Xanda stated as she started to cry. "What a prick." Denise mumbled.

"Did you tell Alex?" She asked. "No, I couldn't do that. You know how angry he gets. He would probably kill John." Denise and Xanda laughed at the thought of AJ and his short fuse. "No he wouldn't. Remember all the things I've told you about Alex? Like the real reason he hasn't been able to commit was because he had his heart broken?" Denise asked. "Yeah, I remember. I still can't believe that he never told me any of that." Xanda said as her mind drifted off. "Well, he won't ever tell you, probably, if I know my son. Anyway, do you remember how angry you became because he didn't tell you?" She continued to ask. "Yes, I remember. He can tell me anything. I'm still a little upset that he still hasn't mentioned that to me." "Well, imagine how angry he would get if you held back that bit of information from him. Part of making a relationship work is being honest with one another and sharing your feelings. Tell him what happened in New York. He'll be there for you no matter what." Denise encouraged. "I'll tell him but now that I think about it, it's not a big deal. The fact that I had NO sleep made it so much worse than it was. I may lose my job because of this." Xanda stated with a small nervous laugh. "You won't, and if you do then we'll figure something out. For the time being we need to get this little guy healthy again." Denise said as she held the kitten in her lap. "He likes the milk." Xanda said with a smile. "He's eating; that's a good sign." Denise smiled at Xanda. "So? What are you going to do with this little guy? They don't stay this small forever." Denise said as Xanda tried to feed him some more. "I guess I'll keep him. Cats are a good remedy for stress." Xanda laughed. Denise smiled at Xanda before glancing at the clock. "What are your plans for tonight?" "I don't have any plans. I don't feel like going home." Xanda mumbled. "You can stay the night here if you'd like under one condition." Denise said in response. Xanda looked at Denise and nodded for her to continue. "You call AJ and tell him where you're at. I know he's driving all over looking for you." Denise stated. "What!?" Xanda asked. "Howie called earlier and told me what happened at the studio. That's how I knew about that argument with you and Brian before you left the studio." Denise said with a grin. Xanda laughed as she stood up and stretched.