They were so close. So close to kissing. But the sound of someone running up the steps saying 'Nicky' over and over again caused Nick to groan, let go, and pull back from Justin.

Justin swallowed and tried to not to be hurt with the way Nick had pulled away from him. He watched as Angel walked in to the room and pouted.

"Nicky, daddy home, come downstairs," Angel said as she raised her arms up indicating that she wanted Nick to carry her.

Nick smiled as he kissed her on the cheek and turned to look over at Justin. "Hey, let's go downstairs. You haven't met my dad yet, right?"

Justin shook his head and smiled a nervous smile. "No, I haven't," he said in a near whisper. He was a bit scared of meeting Nick's father. He really wanted the other man to like him but he wasn't sure just how he would feel about him being homosexual, even though Nick had told him his dad didn't care, he was still worried.

Nick noticed the scared look on Justin's face and smiled at him. "It's okay, he's not gonna bite you," he said as he nodded his head towards the door. "Trust me."

Before he knew it, he was walking down the stairs to the first floor and he could hear the voice of man talking with the kids. He took in a deep breath as they walked into the living room.

Nick put Angel down as he and Justin walked over to the couch. "Hey dad," Nick greeted his dad and then nodded at Justin. "This is Justin Timberlake. Justin, this is my dad, Bob."

Justin smiled nervously and rubbed his sweaty palms on his pants before reaching his hand out to shake it with Nick's dad. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Carter."

Bob laughed as he shook Justin's hand. "It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Timberlake," he said before shaking his head. "I believe my son introduced me as Bob, so I say you call me Bob, young man."

Justin nodded his head as he took his hand back. "Will do Mr.... Uh, Bob," he said, blushing. He couldn't help but wonder if all the men in Nick's family looked alike. He could immediately tell that Nick resembled his father even though he got his eyes from his mother but what's more prominent is the physique. And when he thought more about it, Aaron, though he looked like a miniature Nick, looked more like Bob than Nick did.

"Sit down, both of you," Bob said patting the seat beside him and when they did, Justin, Nick and his siblings, all started conversing about anything and everything.

* * * * * * * * * *

Bob sighed as he finally got his body under the covers of the bed. It was a long day and he was more than happy to finally give his aching body the chance to relax. He scooted over and spooned Jane in his arms from the back. After placing a few kisses on her shoulder he let his head rest against the pillow. "I love you," he whispered out.

Jane giggled as she rested back against her husband. "I love you, too, honey," she said resting her hand on top of Bob's that was resting on her stomach. "Did you meet Justin's parents?" She questioned.

Bob nodded his head. About an hour after dinner was finished, around 11, he had driven Justin home. "Yeah, I went upstairs and dropped him off. I talked to Lynne and Paul for a few minutes and told them we'd see them next week for the opera," he said and then yawned. "They're really nice folks," he paused trying to think of just how to ask his next question. "Honey, is Justin gay?" He figured he might as well be straight forward. All through out dinner he'd noticed the way Justin would look at Nick and then he noticed the threads on Justin's wrist. It didn't take a genius to figure out just what was going on.

Jane turned onto her back and turned her head so she could see his face. "I believe he is," she said. "Did you see it too, the bracelet and the way he looked at Nick?"

Bob nodded his head. "Yeah, so, he's gay..."

Jane nodded her head.

"And he likes our son," he added.

Again, Jane nodded her head. "What are you thinking?"

"Is our son gay?" He questioned.

Jane was going to answer with a 'no' but she stopped. She had thought Nick was straight up until that evening when she had knocked on Nick's door only to have Nick say she'd scared them. She knew she'd scared them but she also knew there was something more to it than that. That Nick and Justin were doing something that she wasn't supposed to know about. "I don't know about him being gay but maybe he might have feelings for Justin. Maybe he's bi?"

Bob took in a deep breath. "And how do we feel about that?" He questioned. Justin seemed to be a really well-mannered young gentleman and after meeting his parents, Bob knew they were good people so he had nothing to worry about. Personally, he didn't have anything about homosexuality. He believed you can never go wrong if you followed your heart and mind and stay true to it.

"Honestly," Jane said as she took in a deep breath. "Justin's a good looking kid, and our son is a hansom young man. I think those two would make a rather cute couple... unlike all those girls our son had dated. I really think that Justin would treat Nick the way our son should be treated."

Bob nodded his head. He had been thinking about that too. "I could tell with how he looked at him... with admiration, pride, respect, and... love?" That was more than what Nick's girlfriends had ever looked at him with.

Jane laughed. "Yup," she said. "And I think we'd get along great with his parents. I mean, I already like Justin and oh god, the girls," she said referring to BJ, Leslie, and Angel. "They are already crushing on the poor boy."

Bob groaned. "Great, just what we need. More drama," he said chuckling.

Jane laughed along with him. "I know," she said and then sighed as she snuggled closer to her husband.

Bob tightened his hold on her and asked, "What's wrong?" He could sense that there was something that was bothering her.

"It's just," Jane paused. "I can't believe someone would wanna hurt our son... It kills me every morning to have to put the make up on his beautiful face. To see those ugly bruises..." She sniffled. "To look into his eyes and see a piece of him gone... to see hurt and loneliness... to see him lost..."

"Shhh," Bob said picking his head up and leaning over to give her a soft kiss on the lips. "Shh, honey, it's okay. Our son's a strong man with a good head on his shoulders. He'll make it through this, shining like the angel he is. Hopefully, Justin will bring the old Nick back to us."

Jane took in a deep breath to calm her nerves down. She nodded her head thinking her husband made a lot of sense. "I really hope so." After Bob had left to drop Justin home, Jane decided to go and make sure everyone was ready for bed and tucked in. The last stop she made was by Nick's room. She stood in the door way as she watched her son get into bed. She felt her heart melt at the smile he gave her as he got comfortable. Walking over to him and sitting down by his side she couldn't help but thank the lord that Nick hadn't requested that she stop tucking him in and kissing his head at night. She didn't think she could have handled that. She watched as he closed his eyes and slept. Memories of Nick from the last fifteen years flooded her mind and she was proud at the young man he was turning into. She walked out of the room a few minutes later and retired to her room, to wait for Bob to get home.

"He's a good kid," Bob said, yawning as sleep started to get the best of him. "And he's a smart kid. We did good."

Jane smiled as she buried her face in Bob's chest and let sleep take over.

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SATURDAY - 11.20.04
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The next week passed by rather quickly for both Justin and Nick. The two teens hadn't been able to talk or hang out with the other as much as they would have liked but they did meet up after school for Justin's regular tutoring session in the resource center for about an hour each day. By the end of the week it became quiet clear that Justin had fully caught up with his math and biology, even his guidance counselor had said so. Justin would have been thrilled at the idea but he wasn't. He wasn't because that meant Nick had to stop tutoring him, that meant that Nick and he couldn't hang out any more. All week the only thing Justin looked forward was that ONE hour he did get to spend with Nick and now he couldn't have that anymore. He was depressed. Now the only thing he had to look forward to was Saturday when he and his family would join Nick and his family to go to the Opera. They wouldn't get any privacy what so ever. He wanted to talk to Nick, wanted to ask Nick just what happened that day in Nick's bedroom. He wanted to know because not knowing was driving him crazy.

Nick, on the other hand, was preoccupied with his homework, student council, and spending quality time with his siblings and family. He was too busy to even get some alone time to think about just what's going on with him and Justin, about his feelings for Justin. But one thing that he was sure about was that each time he saw Justin, that one hour he spent with the younger teen each day, was the fact that his stomach fluttered each time and time flew by way too quick for his liking. The whole week had been a blur in Nick's mind.

Nick sighed as he looked in the mirror and put his jacket on. His bruises had somewhat started to fade away, somewhat. He was happy about that. Hey, at least it wasn't getting any darker. Once he was done he gave himself a once over in the full length mirror before walking out of his room and into his parents' room. He smiled at his mother's reflection in the mirror when she looked at him as he stood next to her and watched her finish putting on her make up. "I'm ready when you are," he said as she put on the final touches and stood up.

"I'm ready now," Jane said as Nick took her seat. She then went about covering up the bruises. When she was done she placed a soft kiss to Nick's forehead before patting his cheek and saying, "All done!"

Nick smiled up at his mom and hugged her as he placed a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks, mom," he said and walked out of the room and down into the living room where all his siblings and Brian were. "Hey guys," Nick greeted them and then shared a half hug with Brian before flopping down beside him.

Brian looked over at Nick and chuckled. "Don't tell you're already tired?" He questioned. "You've been looking forward for tonight not only all week but ALL day today."

Nick pouted. "I know but I'm so nervous right now," he said, whispering.

"Is Ustin coming with us?" Angel questioned as she crawled onto Nick's lap and made herself comfortable.

Nick laughed at that. "We're going to meet them at the Metropolitan," he said as he tickled her and was delighted in the series of giggles that escaped her. He then looked over at his other sisters and laughed even more when he noticed just how dressed up they had gotten and he had a feeling that it had to do with a certain curly haired teen who had somehow managed to become a prominent figure in his dreams. He suddenly got the urge to tell his sisters to not even bother with Justin because Justin was gay but he didn't.

"There's no reason to be nervous," Brian said once Angel got up off of Nick to go over to sit next to her twin. "I highly doubt there'll be much going on between the two of you tonight considering that not only are you going to be surrounded by your parents but also his." Earlier today Nick had gone over to Brian's apartment and then he and Brian went down stairs to play some basketball. By the time their game was done Nick had told Brian everything that happened yesterday. Brian had been surprised to hear that Nick and Justin had been so close to kissing not once but twice.

Nick pouted even more but at the same time felt relief wash over him. He wanted to spend some time alone with Justin curious as to what would happen next but at the same time it scared the living hell out of him. He didn't know just what he would do or what they would do if given the opportunity to be alone. He wasn't sure if he was ready for anything hardcore despite what goes on in his dreams.

His parents walked down the stairs as it was time to get going. Before Nick knew it they were pulling up at the Met and were soon exiting the car. He watched as his dad gave the keys to the valet before joining them in the lobby. Nick kept looking around the lobby for any signs of Justin and his family. He frowned when he scanned the entire lobby and still no sign of them. "Maybe they aren't coming. Maybe they got stuck in traffic. Maybe Justin got a cold. Maybe-"

Brian couldn't believe Nick was freaking out and he got the urge to smack him upside the head. And unlike Nick, he acted on his urge and did just that, cutting Nick off mid-rant. "Will you shut up," he said rolling his eyes. "We're a little early." He looked at his watch and yes, they were early. "We still have like ten more minutes before you could really start to panic, okay?"

Nick pouted and stuck his tongue out at Brian as he rubbed the back of his head. He then diverted his gaze over to the doors figuring that if he kept his eyes there he'd spot them when they would enter.

Justin and Paul exited the restroom and walked over to the women's restroom to wait for Lynne. They had arrived quiet early and had been looking around at the gift shops and whatnot before deciding to use the bathroom. Justin looked around the lobby from his spot and gasped when he saw the familiar blonde spikes somewhere in the middle of the lobby.

Paul turned his head to look at his son when he heard the gasp. He frowned and was about to ask 'what was wrong?' when he followed his sons' gaze and waited for the crowd of people to clear up and when it did he smiled at who he saw standing there rubbing the back of his head, talking to someone who Paul didn't recognize. He shook his head and waved his hand in front of Justin's face. Nothing. Not even a blink.

Lynne walked out of the bathroom and kissed Paul before turning her attention to Justin. "What's wrong with him?" She questioned as she took in his almost statue like figure.

Paul chuckled as he pointed in the direction Justin was looking in. "That's what's wrong with him," he said.

Lynne was confused at first when she followed Paul's finger only to see a woman dressed in a really big wolf looking fur coat with huge diamonds hanging from her ears, red hair done in some type of elaborate design. Then as that woman continued to walk away her eyes landed on Nick who seemed to be looking over at the entrance and laughing at something the young man next to him was saying. "Oooo," she said. "Well, isn't he just a perfect looking gentleman." She took in his black dinner jacket, white turtle neck shirt, black slacks, and black.. tims.

"I'll say," Paul said looking over at Justin. "I think we just lost our son." He joked and put his arm around Justin. "Breathe son, breathe."