| Chapter 2 The next two weeks flew by. The guys finished recording in record time, and the label was rushing the album into production. Management was busy setting up a promotional tour for the new album, which was to start in a few weeks. Nick and Tara where busy with their lessons, leaving a lot of time for Brian and Lyn to hang out together. They had become better friends over the past few weeks, enjoying watching movies together while their other halves were working. The majority of Nick's training was focusing on things he would be required to do when the guys went out on the promotional tour. He would have to be able to touch people without overwhelming them. He knew that he would have to shake interviewers hands, be able to hug overly excited fans, just the basic human contact. Nick was glad that his training was focusing on this, and he took every opportunity to practice. He was now able to hold Lyn's hand and hug her without her feeling anything from him. Nick had pressed Tara to work on the kissing aspect, saying that some fans were gonna want that from him. Tara would just roll her eyes, knowing all to well that wasn't the reason he so desperately wanted to work on it. Tara was impressed at how fast Nick was learning. Although he still lacked the basic control that he should have by now. When he focused he was alright, but if he let his guard down just a little, he would spiral out of control. Tara worried over this. She tried and tried again to drill the control lessons into him, but Nick would become bored and stop trying. The sheer power of his abilities concerned her too. Nick's power was like nothing she'd ever seen. Gideon and Jade had reassured her many times that she was capable of teaching him, but Tara had doubts. It was hard to teach someone who's abilities far outreached your own. She constantly prayed over it, knowing she only had so much time to get him ready. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick jerked awake. He sat up and looked around the room, trying to calm down. Angel was laying on the bed with him, she whined. "I'm OK," Nick said, "Just a bad dream." Angel whined again, looking at him concerned. "No nothing like that. I don't really remember it," Nick said, swinging his feet off the bed and standing up. It was still quite early, the sun not having risen yet. "I'm gonna go down and work out for a while," Nick said. Angel watched him leave the room, then lay her head down and went back to sleep. Nick quietly walked through the house and into the exercise room. He stretched, then started lifting weights, all the while, concentrating on the lessons Tara had drilled into him. His mind started to drift, wondering why Tara was pushing him so hard on some aspects of his training. She seemed worried lately, and he wanted to ask her why. He knew he was far from being completely trained, but he was doing much better. But Tara didn't seem to be happy about it. In fact she seemed stressed. Everything was so urgent for him to learn, and he wondered why. Nick finished his workout, and sat down in the center of the room. He cleared his mind and began to concentrate on the basics as Tara called them. He could sense everyone in the house, they were all still asleep. He moved past the house and into the yard surrounding it. He could feel the birds sitting in the trees around the house, the squirrels, and other small animals. He concentrated harder, and moved out to the road, sensing the cars as they passed by. He could just barely get a feel for the people inside them. He stopped and relaxed a moment, wondering if eventually he would be able to sense Howie and Kira a few miles down the road. Nick smiled, his abilities still amazed him. He couldn't believe that he could do the things that Tara asked him to do, but he always did. He'd noticed that it seemed to amaze her as well, wondering if that was the cause of her anxiety lately. "You're up early," Tara said from behind him. Nick jumped, having let his mind wonder he had failed to sense her behind him. "Yeah, I woke up early and decided to come and work on some things," he said. Tara smiled at him, "Good, practice makes perfect." Tara started to put her gloves on, moving over to the punching bag. "Tara, will I get to learn any fighting skills?" Nick asked. She looked back at him, "Eventually, yeah." He sat and watched as she went through her morning routine. He could tell that she was doing more than just kick boxing, she was concentrating, meditating, and praying. When she finished, Nick got up and went to the kitchen with her. They both grabbed some water from the frig and sat down at the table. "Tara, there's something I want to ask you," Nick said. She looked up at him, "Go ahead." "Well, lately it seems like you're pushing me a lot more. Is there some reason why, or am I just not getting it?" he asked. Tara drank from her water bottle for a moment, working out the best way to answer. "Nick, it's not that you aren't getting it. You just aren't getting it fast enough," she said. "But I thought you said that I was past where you were at this point," Nick said. "You are, in the sheer power of your abilities, but your control of them is lacking," Tara answered. Nick looked down at the table. Control, if he'd heard it once, he'd heard it a thousand times. "I'm doing my best," he said. Tara reached across the table and took his hand, "I know you are. I'm amazed at how powerful you are. I've never seen any of us with as much power as you have, but you have to learn how to control it. You're doing much better, but we don't have much time." Nick looked at her confused, "I thought we had all the time we needed." "No, we don't," she said, staring intently at him. "How much then?" he asked. "I'm not sure. With the intensity of your abilities, I'm guessing it won't be much longer," she said. Nick was confused, "What won't be much longer? What aren't you telling me?" Tara took a deep breath, and looked at him. "Nick, all of us go through a time of temptation so to speak," she started. "What kind of temptation?" he asked. "It's different for each one of us, and we all go through it at different times in our training. That's why I'm so hard on you to get control. Your control will be one of the only things you will be able to count on when that time comes for you," she said. Nick stared at her shocked, "Who are we being tempted by?" Tara looked at him, "Who do you think?" "But why? We already belong to God, what could they do to us?" he asked. "That's true we do, but angels have fallen before," Tara said, "Before the earth was ever formed, there was a great war in heaven. It seemed that Satan as we call him now decided that he was just as powerful as God, and challenged him. He and his followers were cast out, and ever since then when one of us falls, it's a great victory for him." Nick looked at her in horror, "You're telling me that I could fall because I don't have a grip on this yet?" "That's exactly what I'm telling you. This is a vulnerable time for you Nick, and they know that," she said. "How will they do it?" he asked. "They will come to you when you are alone. The first time it happens, you need to tell me. I can keep them away for a time, but after that, you're on your own with them," Tara said. Nick nodded his head, suddenly overwhelmed by what he'd just learned. Tara squeezed his hand, "Nick, you have a strong spirit. I don't believe they will get to you, but we have to be prepared ." "I understand," he said. "Good, let's go get cleaned up, and have some breakfast, then we can start for the day," Tara said, getting up. Nick rose out of his chair and followed her upstairs, going into his room to get ready for the day, a new fire of determination burning within him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyn and Brian sat on the couch, watching their second movie of the day. Tara and Nick had locked themselves in the exercise room after breakfast, and hadn't come out yet. Lyn looked over at Brian, "Do you ever wonder what they're doing in there?" He looked at her, "Yeah, sometimes." "You think they would let us watch, or would we be a distraction?" she asked. "I don't know, I could ask," he said. Just then a knock came at the door. Brian got up to answer it, coming back in the room with Kevin, Howie and A.J. "Hey guys," Lyn said. "Hey woman," A.J. said, plopping down on the couch beside her. "What are you guys up to?" Brian asked. "Nothin, just thought we'd all go bowling or something. You guys wanna come?" Howie asked. Brian and Lyn looked at each other. "All of us?" Brian asked. "Yeah, why not?" Kevin said. "Well, Nick and Tara are kinda hibernating back there," he said. "Well, go interrupt them and ask. They can't train 24/7," A.J. said. Brian hesitated for a moment, then walked back to the room. Everyone followed, curious to see exactly what they were doing. Brian slowly opened the door. Nick and Tara were sitting in the middle of the room, their palms pressed together, with their eyes closed. Brian looked back at the rest and shrugged his shoulders. Then Kevin pointed into the room, his eyes wide. Brian looked back to see a few of the hand weights being stacked in a pile next to them. The stack began to waiver a little and Tara said something to Nick in their language. The stack fell to the ground and Nick opened his eyes, turned his head and glared at his audience. Tara looked over at them, "Hi guys, you need something?" "Um, we wanted to know if you guys wanted to take a break and come bowling with us," Kevin said. Nick shook his head, "No, I can't." "Come on man, we never see you anymore," A.J. begged. Nick looked at Tara, "I have to keep working on this, or I'll never be ready." Tara smiled at him, "Nick, you'll burn yourself out if that's all you do. You can go for a couple of hours." "But you said we didn't have much time this morning," Nick pointed out. "I know, but all work isn't good for you either. A couple of hours won't make that much of a difference," she said. Nick laughed, "That's easy for you to say, you're not the one they'll be tempting." "Now I wish I hadn't told you. You're gonna freak over this and stress yourself out," Tara said. "Um, excuse me?" Lyn said. They both looked at her. "I don't know what you guys are talking about, but it's a pretty simple question. Yes or No? I'm getting old here," she said, smiling. They both laughed. "Yes, I guess," Nick said, getting up. "Great, It'll be like old times," A.J. said. "Oh one thing though," Brian said. "What's that?" Tara asked. "No angel tricks. You play fair with the rest of us, no moving the ball and all that," he said, teasing. Tara and Nick looked at each other. "Who us? We would never," Nick said, acting hurt. "I can't believe my own husband would accuse me of cheating," Tara said, offended. Brian held his hands up in defense, "Hey, I'm just saying what we all were thinking. Don't shoot the messenger." They all laughed as they headed out the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick couldn't figure out why he was so worried. Tara had turned the game into another lesson for him. She had told him to move Brian's ball when it was his turn. Nick was doing well, Brian was having the best game he'd ever had, thanks to him. It was Brian's turn again, and Nick looked to Tara. She signed to him to make him throw a gutter ball. Nick smiled and nodded, waiting for Brian to take his turn. Lyn had caught on early in the game that Nick and Tara were doing something when it came to Brian. She waited, wondering what it would be this time. Brian grabbed the ball and walked up to the lane. He turned around, pointing at A.J. who was just behind him in score. "This is it. I make this and you lose," he said, smiling. Nick almost couldn't contain his laughter. Brian set himself, then walked up to the lane, releasing the ball. It was right in the center, heading for a strike, when it curved and went straight into the gutter. A.J. yelled with excitement, rubbing it in. All the guys laughed, as Brian stood there wondering what could've happened. Nick had his hand over his mouth, concealing his smile. Brian walked back over and sat down as Howie finished up the game. "Man, I don't get it. It was a sure thing," Brian said, pulling his shoes off. Nick could take it no longer and burst out laughing. Brian looked at him, then to Tara who was grinning at him. "You two! I can't believe you did that!" Brian said, starting to laugh at himself. All the guys figured out what had happened and began to raz Brian even more. "Oh you just wait buddy. When we get on the road, I will get you back for this," Brian said, pointing at Nick. Nick waved Brian's finger out of his face, "Yeah, whatever." They all got ready to leave. Nick took Lyn's hand and they walked out to the car, waiting on Brian and Tara. Kevin walked behind Brian. "He's doing a lot better," he said. Brian looked back, "Yeah, apparently." Kevin laughed, "Well, I guess we start the promotion sooner than we thought." "Oh yeah?" Brian asked. "Yeah, I got a fax this morning, we start next week," he said. "Really? I haven't been in the office all day," Brian said. "Yeah, they are really pushing it this time too. We do two weeks of heavy promotion, then straight into rehearsals for the tour," Kevin said. "Man, why so soon after the album drops?" Brian asked. "They want to keep all the buzz going. They're billing it as our big come back tour or something, since we've had to postpone the last one and all," A.J. said, walking up behind them. "Yeah, you think Nick's gonna be ready for all this?" Howie asked. "He's doing much better now, I think he will be," Brian said. Tara walked up, gathering her things. "Well, see ya later," Kevin said, leading the rest out to the parking lot. "What were you guys talking about?" Tara asked. "Oh Kevin said the promotional tour got moved up to next week. We were just wondering if Nick was ready for all of it," he said. "I guess we'll see won't we," she said, walking out the door, to the car. Nick and Lyn whispered to each other all the way home. They were holding hands and Nick had his arm around her. Tara was glad that they could now touch each other without the fear of Nick hurting her. Nick leaned forward, "Tara, when we get home can you help me with something?" "Like what?" Tara asked. "I want to kiss her so bad I can taste it. Please?" Nick begged. Tara laughed, and shook her head, "OK." Nick almost jumped out of the back seat with excitement. Brian and Lyn looked at each other, wondering what was going on. "Honey, I know that you have to practice and all, but do you two always have to speak that language?" Brian asked. Tara grinned at him, "Only when we don't want you to know what we're saying." "Oh, that's comforting," Lyn said, laughing. They arrived home and hung up their coats. Nick was bouncing up and down with excitement, "Now?" Tara smiled at him, "I guess." They all went into the living room and sat down. Tara took Nick's hand in hers, "Brian can you come here for a second?" Nick looked at her funny, "I'm not gonna kiss him am I?" Tara burst out laughing, "Lord no! You need to watch us so you know what to do." "Oh," Nick said, feeling relieved. Brian sat on the coffee table with Tara, "What are we doing?" "We are gonna teach him how to kiss," Tara said. "I thought he already knew how to do that," Brian said, smiling at Nick. "Not like we do," Tara said. Lyn watched as Brian and Tara started to kiss. She almost laughed at the face Nick was making, wondering what he was feeling. Tara and Brian parted, and she looked over at Nick. "Did you get that?" she asked. Nick was licking his lips and making a horrid face, "Yeah, but I thought you said I wasn't going to be kissing him?" "You aren't," Tara said. "Then why do I feel like I just did?" Nick asked. Brian laughed, "Aww come on, you know you liked it." Nick glared at him, laughing, "Be nice or I'll introduce you to Thomas." Lyn burst out laughing, "Oh my God, that would be so funny!" "Who's Thomas again?" Brian asked. "Your twin, remember? Runs the art gallery, has a boyfriend," Nick said. "Oh yeah, him. OK, I'll be nice," Brian said. Nick looked at Tara, "Can we try now?" "Yeah, but start out slow," she warned. Nick turned to Lyn and smiled at her. He took a moment to pull his emotions back into check, then leaned in and softly kissed her. He could feel her emotions, and let her feel a small amount of his. They kissed for a few more seconds, then Tara pulled Nick away. He looked at her, seeing the perplexed look on her face. "What?" he asked. "You're right, that is like kissing Lyn," Tara said. Nick laughed, "See I told you!" Brian and Lyn laughed at them. "So did I do alright?" Nick asked. "Yes, you did really well at keeping your emotions in check. You two need to practice that, and not go any further until you're completely comfortable with it," Tara said. Nick smiled, "That's something I wouldn't mind practicing." Tara laughed at him, "Good, cause I'm not gonna hold your hand for what comes next. That you will have to figure out on your own." Chapter 3 |