"Who's ready for a road trip?!" She shouted into the group of children. They all cheered and screamed in response. They quickly loaded the luggage and got into their vans.

"Sheena, don't forget, we are stopping in an hour for a bathroom break. I will call you with the exit number." Sheryl said through Sheena's window before heading to her own van full of kids. Sheena turned to the five kids in her care. "She worries too much doesn't she?" She asked, getting laughs and giggles from the children. With a whoop of excitement Sheena started the van and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Tommy, grab that bag down there and put the red and yellow CD into the player." she instructed the young boy beside her. He was 13, six years her junior. He had come to the shelter only months before. His parents had been alcoholics and had beaten him severely. He took to the kids immediately. He was asked to come on this trip to help with the smaller children. He had excitedly agreed. He loved music and wanted to be a professional singer one-day. He was a kid after her own heart.

"Um, Sade, this is an Nsync CD. I thought that they stopped singing." He put the CD in and then looked at her confused.

"They did, Hon, but they are still my favorite band. Lance is hot! Or at least I thought he was two years ago. Now I have grown past my boy band infatuation. I love their music though." Sheena pulled onto the interstate, smiling happily as the opening chords to 'Bye Bye Bye' came over the speakers. "You know what? Nsync used to be on the Trans Con label. I think they still are. They still sing, but they haven't done anything in a while. Personal problems I think. Who knows, maybe we will get to meet them." Sheena told Tommy, reaching over and ruffling his curly blonde top. He smiled brightly at her. 'He must really be excited about possibly meeting famous people.' Sheena thought to herself, smiling back at him. She looked in her rear view mirror and saw that her other four children were asleep in the back. 'Jeeze they are almost as bad as Sherri when she isn't driving. Ten minutes on the road in the passenger seat and she is asleep.' Sheena laughed to herself. Absently she began to sing to the music.

"Seryl, I have to go to the bafoom." Katie a small seven-year-old girl told her.

"We are going to stop in a little while, Sweetie. I promise." Sheryl said to the little blonde girl. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel of the van. Three more miles until she could stop and stretch her legs. Glancing at her bag, she reached in and pulled out her cell phone.

"Christy, could you dial Sadie?" She asked the ten-year-old sitting next to her. The little brown haired girl took the phone and dialed the number that all of their kids knew by heart. Sheena got calls at all hours of the day and night. Whenever one of the kids couldn't sleep or had a nightmare or was scared or depressed they always called her cell or her home number. They loved her to death. Sheryl found herself jealous from time to time, but quickly dismissed the thoughts. She knew that the kids loved her too, but Sheena could relate to them on some level that most people couldn't. She was serious most of the time, but she had a way about her that made children gravitate towards her. She was always mature for her age, but could easily slip into the maturity of a ten-year-old when the mood suited her. Lately, it suited her a lot.

"Here, Sherri." The little girl handed the phone back to her and she waited for Sheena to pick up on the other end.

"Hello?" came a small male voice.

"Tommy, tell Sadie that we are going to pull off at the next exit for a bathroom break." She instructed the little boy. She heard him relay the message and laughed at the Nsync music playing in the background. It used to bug her that Sheena had music on constantly, but living together all of the time, she had gotten used to it.

"She said Ok." Tommy said, but didn't hang up the phone.

"What is it, Tommy?" Sheryl asked, knowing this type of silence from him meant he was worried about something.

Tommy's voice had dropped to a whisper and she had to strain to hear him. "Is Sadie ok? She looks really tired, like she is sick or something." Tommy said quietly, trying to make sure that Sheena didn't hear him. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She was pale, but kept smiling. He could tell that she was extremely tired, from the way she kept squinting her eyes closed.

"Tommy, I want you to keep talking to her until we get to the exit. She didn't sleep well last night and I don't want her falling asleep on the road. Has she been eating a lot of candy today?" Sheryl asked worriedly.

"Yea, she almost ate a whole bag of those miniature Reese cups. Why?" Tommy asked even more worried.

"Don't let her eat anymore. I don't want her getting fat. She is supposed to be on a diet." Sheryl said and tried to hide her worry with a laugh.

"Fat? She is a skinny as a rail." Tommy exclaimed in a hushed voice.

"Tommy, are you still talking to Sherri?" Sheryl heard her sister ask, laughing at something that one of the other kids said.

"Just talk to her Tommy and make sure she stays awake. Well, there the exit is now, so she should be fine. I will talk to you when we get there." Sheryl said and hung up her phone. She laid it in her lap as she turned off on the exit.

Once she had stopped the van and put it in park, Sheryl and the rest of the kids in her van ran to meet up with the other van's occupants. "Tommy could you and Christy take the kids to the bathroom. Sheena and I will be there in a minute." Sheryl instructed Tommy and the other kids making their way carefully across the parking lot of the rest area. When they made it safely Sheryl turned to her sister.

"What's wrong Sherri?" Sheena asked, confusion and worry in her eyes. Sheryl could see something else there. Exhaustion. Sheryl didn't say anything, but instead walked around to her sister's door and opened it. After digging around for a few minutes she came up with what she was looking for. A practically empty bag of miniature Reese cups.

"This is what is wrong. You didn't sleep at all last night and to top off your already exhausted state, you down a whole bag of sugar. How smart is that?" Sheryl asked, clearly angry at her sister's carelessness. "I swear sometimes you act like you are sixty and sometimes you act like you are six." Sheryl said throwing the bag in a nearby trash can.

"I was giving those to the kids. I only ate a couple." Sheena defended her self.

"Don't lie to me. Tommy told me. He was worried about you. He said that you didn't look too good. He said that he thought that you were sick. You know what a lot of sugar does to you. How many cups of coffee did you have before I got up?" Sheryl aksed her.

"One." Sheena lied and her sister knew she was lying. "OK, I had four before you got up and two after." Sheena said exasperatedly.

"God, girl what are you trying to do kill yourself? I am surprised that you aren't jumping our of your skin right about now. You look dead on your feet, no sleep for that one. You look pale and sick, sugar goes to that one. And you could probably run a marathon thanks to good old caffeine. Why are you doing this? Are you trying to give me an ulcer?" Sheryl asked calmly. A little too calmly for Sheena's liking.

"I don't know. I just didn't want to fall asleep while driving so I drank all of that coffee. I couldn't do anything about the sleep thing and then I just had a craving for something sweet." Sheena said, not really as a defense but an explanation.

"Well, first I am going to call Mr. Pearlman and tell him that we aren't going to be there on time. Then you are going to get in the back of that van and go to sleep. You have an hour. The kids and I will have a picnic breakfast with some of the stuff that I packed. Go!" Sheryl ordered, leaving her sister no choice but to do as she said. Grumbling, Sheena climbed into the van and lay down. She knew that sleeping was impossible, but she figured since she was banished to bed she might as well try.

"Chris, where is my blue jersey?" Justin yelled from his room near the back of the apartment.

"Very descriptive Bounce. You only have about a gazillion blue jerseys." Chris called back. A knock on the door saved him for a minute. Pulling the door open he found JC, Lance and Joey standing in the hallway.

"Hurry up Justin. Remember we might get to actually record something today, but we have to get there early. They have a person coming in at noon for the studio." Chris called to his other friend, letting the three in the doorway into the apartment. Just as he was about to close the door it was pushed open again, by a big black man standing beside it.

"Mi..." A hand over his mouth, cut Chris off. The man motioned for him to be quiet. Chris agreed smiling. He knew what Mike, Justin's security guard was planning. The big man slowly made his way to Justin's room. Creeping silently inside, he found his young friend on his stomach on the floor searching under the bed for something. He silently walked over to the twenty-year-old boy, grabbed him by the waist and threw him over his shoulder.

"What the HELL? Who? What? PUT ME DOWN, DAMN IT!" Justin shouted, unsure of who had him. He pounded on the large man's back and tried to squirm free but the man had a strong hold on him. They entered the living room where the man spun around until Justin was dizzy and then unceremoniously dropped him on his rear in the middle of the living room floor.

"Mike?" Justin asked, unsure if he was seeing things. "MIKE!" Justin yelled when he was sure that was who was standing in front of him. Justin jumped up and lunged onto the tall man's back wrapping his arms around his neck.

"Someone get this misquito off of me." Mike grumbled.

"Man, where have you been? I haven't seen you in ages." Justin exclaimed, hopping off of Mike's back.

"I have been around. Enjoying some vacation time, seeing the family, getting married, scuba diving," Mike stopped when he noticed everyone's mouth gaped open. "What?" He asked looking around the room.

"You got married? When did this happen?" JC asked, still stunned.

"Yea, I got married about six months ago. Not to mention that she is two months pregnant." Mike said, nonchalantly but could only keep his smile concealed for a few seconds.

"You are going to be a dad! Wow!" Justin exclaimed loudly.

"Well, at least you got some good training with Curly head here." Joey said, ruffling Justin's wild curls.

"I am going to be a God Father!" Justin exclaimed clapping excitedly.

"I don't think so. I am not letting you within a hundred miles of my kid." Mike said, seriously, but laughed loudly as Justin's face dropped. "You know I'm kidding. I could use five baby sitters. Two for each one and then one to supervise. I think that that would be you JC."

"Two for each one? What are you talkin' about?" Chris asked, looking truly confused.

"Marie is having twins." Mike said, smiling broadly. There was another round of congratulations before Lance announced that they needed to get to the studio.

"I can't find my blue jersey." Justin pouted.

"You don't need it. We are only going to be in the studio. Besides before the end of the day you will have taken it off and be walkin' around in you wife beater anyway." JC said, ushering him out the door.

"I just want you guys to warm up with some of your old songs today. We will record them to see how out of practice you guys are." Lou said, walking out of the room. Justin looked really nervous and everyone could tell. Everyone but Justin knew that this was part of doctor's orders. They were trying to throw him back into his normal routine with things that he knew. Doing the old songs was supposed to help him get over his fears and stress that he had put on himself.

"Well, let's get to work." Justin said, hesitantly. Just as they were about to start on 'I want you back' Lou came back in the door, shaking his head.

"What's wrong Lou?" Lance asked, looking at the robust man in front of him

"I have lost my mind. I forgot to tell you guys that there are some people coming in today. From Gainesville. They were supposed to be here by now but they had to make an extended stop. One of them got sick or something." Lou said, looking at the paper work in front of him.

"Who are they?" Chris asked, bouncing up and down, full of energy waiting to be spent.

"Ten kids from an abused children's shelter and two chaperones. Joey the chaperones are girls, so try to contain yourself." Lou said, without looking up from his papers. Joey's mouth gaped open ready to defend himself, but he shut it again, a defeated look on his face. "I want you guys to talk to them and answer their questions about recording and such. Justin could I see you outside?" Lou asked, looking at the young man.

"Sure, Lou. Be right back guys." Justin said, laying his headphones down on the stool and walking out of the booth. He followed Lou out into the hallway. "What is it, Big Guy?"

"About these kids that are coming. You don't have to talk to them if you don't feel ready for it. I mean, most of them are like five and six, but if you don't feel comfortable with it, you don't have to do it." Lou told him, concern in his eyes.

"It would probably be good for me. Maybe it will remind my heart of why I started doing this in the first place. Maybe if things go well in the booth, we could sing for them or something. You know start small go big. That sort of thing." Justin suggested, his eyes portraying that he was scared, but determined to regain control of his dreams.

"Ok, go back in there and we will see how things go." Lou said, patting him on the back.

"Sadie, get up." Sheryl called into the van. Sheena had known that she would be checked on so she had closed her eyes and sung to herself for an hour. She had yet to fall asleep. Insomnia was so aggravating.

"K, Sis. I'm up. Get me a sandwich and some milk and let's get to Orlando." She said, stretching and yawning as if she had been asleep. She could tell by the look in her sister's eyes that she didn't buy her little charade, but Sheryl knew that she couldn't help the insomnia. Sheena got up and moved to the front seat. Sheryl returned a few minutes later with the requested items and Sheena quickly ate. Five minutes later they were loading everyone back up and pulling onto the highway. Thirty-five uneventful minutes later they were pulling into the nearly deserted front parking lot of Trans Continental Studio.

"Everybody out. We're here." Sheena called to the children in the back of the van. The side door immediately slid open and four kids piled out. Sheena and Tommy soon followed, meeting up with Sheryl's group. "Ok guys stay together. We don't want anyone getting lost in here. Johnny, stop hitting your sister." Sheena said, separating the two feuding siblings.

"Let's go guys." Sheryl called to the group. Leading the line of children, she led them into the building, with Sheena bringing up the end of the line. They all stopped in the waiting room, instructing all of the children to sit down in a chair. She and Sheena walked up to the receptionist's desk.

"May I help you?" The pleasant woman behind the desk asked the two girls.

"Yes, we are from St. Abby's Children Shelter in Gainesville. We are here to see Lou Pearlman." Sheryl told the woman.

"Yes, he has been expecting you. Go through those doors and it's the third room on your right. I will tell Lou that you are here and he will meet you in there." The woman said, with a smile.

"Thank you." Sheena said, turning and looking at the group of rambunctious kids roaming around looking at pictures and playing with each other.

"Come on guys." She said, motioning them towards the door. All of the kids eagerly followed behind Sheryl as she led them to the designated room. Once all of the children had filed into the room and everyone was accounted for, the sister's settled into their own seats, waiting patiently for their host. They had been waiting for about ten minutes when a robust man stepped into the room.

"Good afternoon, all. How is everyone?" There were twelve 'fines' chorused in the room. "Good good. Are you all excited about your little trip? We are surely excited to have you all here with us." The man, obviously Mr. Pearlman, beamed a bright smile at each of the children. "Why don't you tell me your names, so that I can remember you better." he suggested. He was met with a room full of curious but silent faces.

"Sorry, Mr. Pearlman. They tend to be a little shy from time to time." Sheryl apologized to the man.

"Quite all right."

"This is Tommy, Christy, Johnny, Samantha, Caitlyn, Susan, James, Joe, Tina and Steven." Sheena said, moving around the table of children

"It is so nice to meet you all. Who knows, one of you may even be the next big star." Mr. Pearlman said, flashing another of his toothy smiles at the children.

"Actually, Mr. Pearlman, Tommy here wants to sing. He is very good, in my opinion." Sheena said, resting her hands on Tommy's shoulders, as he blushed slightly, but smiled brightly.

"Well, maybe during your week here, you will learn something about the business and maybe even get a chance to do some singing." Mr. Pearlman said, looking at the teen. "In the mean time, I have some friends that I want to introduce you to." He walked over to the door and led several big men and a few women into the room. "These are some of the bodyguards that help keep our little stars safe. This week they are guarding and watching after our most precious stars. You. These ladies and gentlemen are going to be helping out your lovely chaperones while your here."

"You guys, I want you to be nice to these people. I don't want you playing your tricks on them. Go introduce yourselves." Sheryl prodded the children. Slowly they got up and walked up to the five people standing in front of them. Each of the children introduced them selves.

"I'm Jessica." One of the bodyguards said, then turned to her colleagues. "This is Mike Lonnie Jesse and Carla." She introduced the rest of the group of guards. One of the little girls in the group of children boldly walked up to the large man named Mike.

"I'm Susan." The little girl with bobbing brown curls introduced her self to him again. She looked to be about four years old. She raised her arms up to the large man. Instinctively he reached down and picked the small girl up, cradling her in his large arms.

"It's nice to meet you Susan. What do you say me and the other guards take you and your friends and show you around the studio?" Mike's bass voice asked the little girl. She giggled and nodded her head. "Is that all right with you ladies? I'm sorry I didn't catch your names." Mike asked them.

"Oh, Lord. We have absolutely no manners. Where are our minds? I'm Sheryl Evans and this is my sister Sheena. Yes you can take them. Do you need us to come along?" Sheryl asked, looking at the small girl getting comfortable in his arms. She was shocked and could see that Sheena was having the same reaction.

"I think we can handle it. Besides, I heard you two were supposed to be on vacation anyway. Go hang out and have fun. I think we can handle a few kids for a couple of hours." Mike said, grinning down at the little girl that he was holding. Sheena and Sheryl exchanged worried glances.

"I think we had better come with you. Sometimes, these guys can be a handful." Sheena offered, but was stopped by Mr. Pearlman.

"I think they will be all right. Besides, I have some other people that I would like you to meet. A couple of friends of mine." he said ushering the children and guards out the door. When they were gone and the door was closed, he turned back to the two girls. "I have a surprise for the children. I have asked a few of my artists to talk to them and hang out with them for a few days. I wanted you to meet them first and get to know them. Let them know anything that they shouldn't do or that they should be careful of." Mr. Pearlman said, and motioned for the door, but stopped and turned toward them. "And before you even think about it, call me Lou. I really can't stand to be called 'Mr. Pearlman'. It sounds so formal and as you can tell we are far from formal around here." He said with a laugh before opening the door for the girls.

Lou led them down a hallway and into a small room. "If you could wait here, I'll go and make sure that they guys are....presentable. With this particular set, there is never any telling." He said, before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

"Sheena do you realize we are about to meet recording artists?' Sheryl said, looking to her sister. She noticed how pale she looked and the glazed look in her eyes. "Sadie? Sadie, what's wrong?" Sheryl asked worriedly. Sheena blinked a couple of times and shook her head.

"Sorry, I spaced out there for a minute. What did you say?" Sheena asked, giving her sister a reassuring smile. She moved nonchalantly until she was leaned up against a wall, her arms folded over her chest.

"Are you ok?" Sheryl asked, concern full in her features.

"Sherri, I'm fine. Trust me, I'm...." Sheena couldn't finish her statement. Her eyes rolled up in her head and she slumped down to the floor.

"Oh my God! Sheena?! Sadie, talk to me. God!" Sheryl burst into tears as she knelt beside her sister. Her skin was pale and clamy. "Somebody! Help Me!" Sheryl screamed into the air around her.

Chapter 1

Chapter 3