Darkness was just beginning to descend upon a national forest in the middle of an eastern state, in the proverbial absolute middle of nowhere. And�right in the middle of this nothingness, driving down a �paved,� two-lane highway was a black SUV, loaded to the hilt with luggage, groceries and five very tired young men.
More than an hour ago, the thick tree line had blocked out the warm sunlight, sending shadows across the gray pavement, causing flashes of light to momentarily blind you milliseconds at a time. The driver had taken an unusual driving position�hand cupped beside his already sun-glassed covered eyes, in an effort to even out the sporadic flashes�it wasn�t really helping, but at least he felt like he was making an effort.
Long ago, silence had taken over the usually jovial, high-energy group. No one had expressed any real interest in listening to any cd in particular and the radio stations had played out several miles ago, leaving the always energized and hyped driver be-bopping his head, back and forth to a song that only he could hear.
The individual in the front passenger seat had given up writing in his well-worn notebook and had rested his elbow on the door, his head supported by a curled hand, his eyes closed and gentle breathing indicating that he was asleep.
Behind him, three figures crowded the middle bench seat�all seemingly soundly sleeping.
The youngest, his short, brown-blonde curls, tousled and pressed against the window that he had rested his head against, was quietly snoring and snuffling in his sleep. On the far opposite side of the seat, a capped, dark head rested heavily against the shoulder of the man seated beside him, his soft, gentle breathing soothing and relaxed, but not enough so to lull the young man whom he was rested against to sleep, his sunglasses hiding the fact that his green eyes were wide open, taking in the scenery flying by. Sighing, he wearily leaned his head back against a duffle bag that had been stacked upon other bags and miscellaneous items pressed tightly to the back of the seat, all the while being mindful of the head resting against him.
Catching the movement in the rearview mirror, the driver slightly frowned before once again looking forward, wincing at the sight of the stark white bandaged taped to the younger man�s forehead. He was rather disappointed to see that Lance was still awake since he was the reason that the group had been given a short reprieve from their hectic recording, interviews and photo shoots. Dr. Shannon had declared that not only Lance needed rest but also that the entire group was in dire need of a break.
With a slight shake of his head, the driver chanced one more, slight glimpse in the mirror.
�Man�when Johnny said Tommy�s cabin was out of the way, he really meant it,� Chris commented quietly, not wanting to disturb the sleepers or startle Lance.
Tiredly, he reached up to scratch the back of his head, glancing back at Lance who pulled his sunglasses off with his free right hand, being mindful not to awaken Justin or Joey.
�You know�if you�re too tired to drive�� he began but Chris simply chuckled lightly in slight amusement as he shook his head at him, looking at the young man in the mirror. Lance smiled tiredly at the older man, knowing that not only was he right, but that he also had to be wearing a smirk on his face the way his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners.
�I don�t think you�re in the position to do that, Poofu�looks like Joe has you pinned down and Baby J has you pinned in. Besides that�you still have a few more days to go before you can�Dr. Shannon�s orders.�
A small, mirthless chuckle escaped from the back and silence once again reigned for several minutes before Chris caught the blond yawning when he happened to look at him in his rearview mirror.
�Why don�t you try to get some rest, Poofoo�Dr. Chris�s orders this time,� Chris said quietly, trying to lace some humor into his voice, knowing that he was failing when he caught the apologetic look being cast his way.
�Okay,� was the quiet reply and, with that, Lance, with gentle movements, pulled Joey�s cap from his head and placed it upon his own, being mindful of his cut and bruises while pulling it down over his eyes in an effort to block out the sporadic splashes of light.
Minutes later, Chris took a deep breath and ran a hand over his arm in an effort to ward off the chill that had crept through him.
�Rest well, Poofoo,� he whispered, glancing once more at the blond behind him to see that his capped head was beginning to slightly loll off to the side before it rested against Joey�s seemingly without either sleeping figure knowing it.
Chris ran a shaky hand over his face. The memories of three nights ago�the reasons behind their mini, enforced break washing over him�filling him with many of the same emotions that he, as well as the others, were still dealing with.
It all began three days earlier with a bizarre phone call at 2:20 in the morning. In all honesty, it was not the fact that there had been a late night, or early morning phone call. Those were not rare or unusual knowing the hectic and crazy schedules that the members of the group had, meaning family and friends often had to call at odd hours of the day and night in order to visit with them. What had made this particular phone call so out of the ordinary were the circumstances that lead up to it and those that followed.
For several weeks the entire group had been busy with interviews, photo shoots, rehearsals as well as studio work, all of which was a burden somewhat equally divided among the five men. But, there were the side projects they were each involved in that could be added to the load�along with family obligations�personal matters�the list seemingly went on and on, growing even longer day-by-day, project-by-project, obligation-by-obligation. Sooner or later, something or someone was going to have to give. Usually, one of the individual who had met his limit would come down with some sort of illness�a bad cold�severely strained muscles�near exhaustion�but this was something new.
No one could have expected what actually happened to happen, although it had several years previous when the group was first starting out, but each time since then, when one of the five finally met his limit physically, mentally and emotionally, the rest of the group rallied together, throwing in their towels, all demanding a vacation�a �get away from it all� type break.
Lance had not complained to anyone about being overly tired for two reasons. The first was that he didn�t want to worry anyone close to him...family or friends.
If his family knew exactly how tired he was, they would have not only insisted on his taking a break from his schedule but his mother, more than likely, would have been on the next flight from Mississippi to Orlando in a heartbeat to take care of him and ream out Johnny for working her son too hard. Although he loved his family dearly, he just wasn�t in the mood to have his mother hovering over him. There were times that his mother was exactly what he needed and wanted, but this just wasn�t one of those times, he reasoned in his tired mind.
His friends wouldn�t be much better. JC would hover over him like a mother hen, making sure that he was resting, taking his vitamins and eating properly. Justin would pull out any and all home remedies that his grandmother pushed his way along with those he would find in his self-help literature. Chris would have too much energy and too little patience to deal with him, making both their lives miserable in the process. And, finally, Joey would prove to be a mixture of everyone in the group. He would hover, attempt to push all of his Italian grandmother�s old world remedies upon him and he would be just too cheerful, making him just as impossible to live with as Chris.
Nope�the best possible thing for him to do would be to keep plugging along, knowing that there would be rest for him in the future�if he could only get finished with the seemingly endless mound of paperwork before him.
�Geez�if I did say something to one of the guys, I�d only hear, �I told you so��,� he said in a slightly sarcastic tone of voice, hating the knowledge that he would once again be reminded by the others that he had taken on too much.
�I hate being me,� he moaned aloud, letting his head fall to his desk. He allowed himself a few moments of �rest� before sitting back up.
�I need sleep�sleep,� Lance groaned, glancing at his watch to see that it was nearing midnight before looking at the work that he had designated as needing to be completed that evening�no matter what. He had been putting off little tasks, pushing them to the side in order to concentrate on those that required more time and energy to complete, never realizing that all the little things would amount to so much work to do. Never, ever had he put himself into this bad of a bind before and now, he was swearing to the heavens above that it would never happen again. This would be the third evening in a row that he had pushed sleep to the side so that he could work to complete the projects. He had been tired before, but there had always been time to squeeze in short catnaps here and there, but not this time�not with the projects that Johnny had lined up for each of them along with work in the studio that JC was trying to head up and the new dance steps that Wade came up with over his short break. JC had spent quite abit of their last tour writing and now was ready to begin arranging the new songs for the group, needing them to come in and lay down their vocals one at a time.
�No rest for the weary�nope,� Lance sighed as he slightly lifted himself up from his chair and stretched out to grab several file folders then plopped back down into his chair, ignoring a small, fleeting sense of lightheadedness. He slightly shook his head and pushed aside one stack of completed papers, straightening them carefully before putting the papers into various folders. The task took several minutes and with each filled folder, he felt some form of satisfaction in knowing that he was just that much closer to being finished.
�Finally,� he said with a small smile, leaning back into his chair, scratching the back of his head with both hands before sitting back up.
�Okay�coffee�coffee�� he said, looking at the next stack of papers before him, his eyes widening as he suddenly realized just how much more time would be required to complete the work he had set aside for tonight�all of the satisfaction he had just moments ago felt was now long gone, replaced by disappointment.
��lots of coffee�very, very black coffee�� he added, before slowly pushing his chair back from his desk.
He stretched his arms up over his head, wincing at the sound of his back popping in various stages before standing up only to fall back into his chair when the room seemed to suddenly tilt before him.
�Whoa�that�s not good,� he said in a small voice, his dizziness slowly passing as he leaned an elbow on the arm of the chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.
�Deep breaths�deep breaths�� he quietly coached himself as wave after wave of dizziness finally subsided into a headache, which planted itself right behind his eyes.
�Okay�coffee�aspirin�that�s it�yep�really black coffee�and aspirin�three�no�four of them,� he said with a small groan as he once again slowly pushed himself into a standing position. This time the dizziness stayed at bay and he was able to make his way out of his office to head down the hallway to the kitchen, his steps slow and deliberate, his hand brushing along the wall in an unconscious effort to remain upright.
Once in the kitchen, he set about in making the pot of coffee along with a peanut butter sandwich since he realized that a large contributor to his dizziness could have been the fact that he had not eaten in twelve hours�or maybe even more since working in his office sometimes caused him to lose all track of time. The thought of skipping meals made him slightly smile.
�Man�I�m turning into Jace�not a good thing,� he said quietly with a tiny laugh that he instantly regretted when his headache flared.
With a low moan, he poured a cup of coffee and ate all of two bites of his sandwich, finding the thought of food suddenly unappealing. He decided to leave the rest of the sandwich on the counter before walking the short distance to the hall bath in search of aspirin for the headache that was proving to possibly become the mother of all headaches. After searching through the medicine cabinet, he found what he was looking for, then popped three of the pills into his mouth and washed them down with a handful of water from the bathroom sink. He then cupped another handful of water and splashed his face, sighing wearily before standing up to look in the mirror at the tired man staring back at him.
�You�need sleep, but�no rest for the weary,� he said, remembering the stack of papers still awaiting him down the hall. With a shake of his head, Lance dried off his face, threw the towel at the image in the mirror before leaving the bathroom to walk back into the kitchen, to refill his cup of coffee and return to his office.
An hour later, he was still nowhere near being finished. His headache had abated, somewhat, and was now a dull throb between his eyes. With a frustrated half-growl, half-yawn, he pushed his chair back again and stood up�never to remember what happened after that for, when he stood, the wave of dizziness that crashed down upon him was so great, that he didn�t even realize that he was going down. With a small moan, his eyes rolled back and his knees buckled beneath him. In that briefest moment, time stood still as his body fell limply to the floor, his head glancing off the corner of his desk, leaving a bloody smear upon its surface.
It was almost an hour later before Lance slowly began to regain consciousness. At first, he had no earthly idea what had happened, other than the fact that when he opened his eyes, he was looking at the casters of his desk chair. When he attempted to lift himself up off the floor, he was suddenly made aware of a throbbing pain unlike anything he had ever experienced.
He squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a pitiful moan as he pulled his right arm out from under his body, then tentatively reached up to touch his forehead with a shaking right hand, feeling something sticky wet with his fingertips�blood. Opening his eye, he was able to confirm his fear and a small shudder went through him.
Swallowing hard and closing his eyes, he realized that he must have hit his head when he fell.
�Relax�deep breaths�deep breaths,� he inwardly commanded himself before reopening his eyes.
�Help�need�help,� he mumbled to himself as he slightly moved his head so that he could gaze up at the desk to where his phone was. With a small moan, he straightened his legs, closing his eyes as the discomfort of having not moved raced through his shaking, weak limbs.
�Redial�just hit redial�just�hit�it,� he said, opening his eyes once again. Chris had been the last person he had spoken with earlier in the evening. Fighting a wave of dizziness as he slowly raised himself to his hands and knees, then to his feet, bending over, only to lose what little balance he had and fall back painfully to his knees and elbows, his head hitting the carpet igniting a flash of pain.
�I really need�help,� he said with a moan. He remained in that position for several moments, taking short, shallow breaths in an effort to not only work his way through the unimaginable pain but to also remain calm, the situation becoming even that more terrifying as he slowly watched blood drip from his chin to hit the carpet�drop by crimson drop.
With one deep breath and grim determination, he struggled back to his hands and knees, fighting the darkness that was beginning to dim the periphery of his vision. Shakily, he reached out a bloody hand, groping over the edge of the desk, searching for the phone, immediately grasping the phone receiver once his fingers brushed over, then pulled it toward him. He lowered himself back down to his elbows when his knees no longer had the strength to hold him and his balance was no longer trustworthy.
The keypad swam before him as his red, sticky fingers fumbled to hit �talk� then redial. He blinked heavily, trying to stay conscious, the effort become too great for him and, just as his fingers slid across the keys, his vision darkened and he crumpled to the floor in an awkward heap, never knowing if he had been successful.
Across town, Chris had only been in bed asleep for no more than an hour when the ringing of his bedside phone jerked him into semi-wakefulness. Blindly, he reached out and turned on the lamp, squinting his eyes painfully at the invasion of light, then groaned in disbelief when he noted the time on the nearby clock.
�Geez�� he moaned, hiking himself up on one elbow as he grabbed for the phone, almost knocking it off the bedside table in the process.
�Lance?� he said in slight confusion, glancing at the caller id before speaking into the phone.
�What are you still doing up? I thought I told you to get some sleep, Poofoo,� Chris said, half sarcastically.
He had spoken earlier with the young man that afternoon, wanting to know if he wanted to go out to catch a bite to eat, their bodyguards having checked on a new restaurant and declaring it a good, quiet location where they would least likely be recognized or bothered. The blond had bowed out, stating that he had work coming out the wazoo with no end in sight. After telling Lance that the work would be there in the morning and to get some sleep, Chris had hung up the phone and promptly called Justin and the pair had met for dinner. After they had eaten dinner, Justin had followed him back to his house and had only left about two hours ago.
�Lance?� he repeated as he dropped his head back onto his pillow to stare up at the strange shadows that were crossing his bedroom�s ceiling.
He stifled a yawn, waiting for the younger man�s reply, but there was none�only silence.
�Lance�come on, man�this isn�t funny. It�s two in the morning�what do you need?� he said, growing slightly irritated at the resounding silence coming from the other end of the phone.
�Lance�Lance? Getting ready to hang up if you don�t say anything, man.�
Chris�s irritation quickly melted away when he heard a slight, almost nonexistent moan on the other end of the line�then�silence.
�Lance!� Chris nearly shouted into the phone at the sudden realization that something was wrong�terribly wrong.
He sat up in bed, hurriedly pushing the cover off when heard another slight moan.
�Oh, my gosh,� he breathed out as he rushed to his dresser, stumbling over pillows he had thrown haphazardly to the floor before going to bed. Reaching the dresser, he grabbed his cell phone from its charger all the while chanting aloud, �Joe�call Joe�Joey�he�s he closest to Lance.� He quickly punched in the familiar number with his thumb, all the while straining to hear something else from Lance.
Several agonizing seconds later, on the other side of town Joey reached out and snagged his phone while muting the television with his remote. Checking the caller id, he smiled.
�What�s up, Chris?� he asked nonchalantly into the receiver as he tucked it under his chin and against his shoulder, freeing up his hands to continue running through the channels while grabbing his drink with the other.
�Joe�something is wrong over at Lance�s,� Chris�s shaky voice said in a rush, his words running together in his near panic.
�What?� Joey replied, sitting up straight, the television quickly being forgotten, as was the drink, which he nearly spilled in his state of shock. �How do you know? What do you mean?�
Chris took a deep breath and raked a shaking hand through his hair before reaching down to the floor for the jeans he had just discarded before going to bed, pulling them up awkwardly as he spoke.
�The phone woke me up. The id said it was Lance. He�s not speaking. He�s moaned. Something�s wrong.�
Chris�s clipped phrases caused Joey to immediately turn off the television and grab his cell phone, wallet, and keys from the nearby coffee table.
�Okay�I�m going right now. You�ve still got him on the line?�
�Yes��
�Stay where you are then.�
�No�I�m going to meet you there,� Chris replied in anger, not understanding what Joey was trying to get him to do.
�No. You�re staying, Chris so you can listen to him for me,� Joey said quickly. �I�m hanging up and calling JC and Justin. I�ll call you right back. Use your cell phone to call the police if you don�t hear from us in about 20 or 30 minutes. Bye.� With that said, Joey turned off the phone and tossed it onto the couch before racing for his back door.
Chris�s frantic phone call completely jolted Joey. Horrifying images raced through his mind�memories of past experiences involving Lance and the others collapsing from exhaustion fueled his fear as he raced toward the younger man�s home, one hand on the steering wheel, his knuckles almost white and the other hand tightly grasping his cell phone with Chris on the other end.
�Has he made any sounds, Chris?� he asked, stopping at a red light, glancing both ways to see that no one was coming before moving on through it, daring to drive as fast as he could through the otherwise almost deserted streets.
�No�not since�no�wait a minute,� Chris replied, his voice becoming no more than a whisper. Joey could hear the older man shifting phones about before his voice again filled his ear.
�Lance�Lance�come on, man�wake up��
Joey could hear the pleading tone of Chris�s voice and that made his foot on the accelerator a little heavier especially when he heard Chris gasp in what could be described as a mixture of horror and surprise.
�Joey? Joe�he�s throwing up�I think he�s throwing up or something,� Chris�s voice shouted. �How much further, Joey?�
�I�m almost to the gate, Chris�the guard is stepping out of his shack right now. JC and Justin should be somewhere right behind me.�
Once Joey pulled into Lance�s drive, he breathlessly jumped out of his vehicle and ran up to the expansive front porch, fumbling for the spare key to the front door.
�Listen for my voice, Chris. Lance could be anywhere,� he said into this phone while pushing open the door and stepping into the foyer. He quickly punched a familiar code into the home security system then turned on the lights to the porch and foyer area.
�Alright�I don�t think he�s outside�I don�t hear anything like that in the background. I heard the a/c kick in, but that doesn�t really help, does it?� he asked nervously, knowing that he was close to babbling. He ran his hand over his head and sat down on his bed only to jump back up again, unable to sit or stand still for long.
�Is JC or Justin there yet?�
�Yeah�they both just drove up,� Joey answered, glancing through a window to see two pairs of headlights swinging into the driveway. He opened the front door behind him to reveal a breathless JC who was quickly followed by Justin, who was pale and just as breathless.
�What�s going on? What�s happening?� JC asked Joey in a tight and anxious voice, putting his hand on the larger man�s shoulder. Joey�s frantic phone call more than 20 minutes ago had only given him the scantest of information. All that he had been able to get from the younger man was that Chris had called, Lance was in trouble, and he needed to call Justin and meet Joey over at Lance�s house. In response to JC�s question, Joey just shook his head.
�Where is he?� Justin asked, stepping away from the others to glance into the dimly lit living room.
�Don�t know,� Joey whispered, shrugging his shoulders and walking into the living room with JC and Justin close by his side. At the same time, Chris could hear JC and Justin�s muffled voices, but couldn�t distinguish what was being said.
�Okay�we�re all in the living room, Chris,� Joey said. �Jace is going upstairs. Justin is going to go outside to the pool house and I�m staying downstairs. Listen for us.�
Joey nodded his head at JC and Justin. �Lance is around here somewhere. He still hasn�t said anything but the phone is still on. Go upstairs and outside and start calling for him. If Chris hears us, we�ll know we�re close.�
�Okay�good idea.� Justin turned on his heel and ran toward the French doors that would let him out onto the back patio, while JC stopped long enough to clap Joey on the shoulder before running out of the room and heading for the stairs all the while calling out for Lance.
Joey then began moving about the lower half of Lance�s expansive home, thankful that JC and Justin were there to help since it would speed up things in their search for their friend.
�Lance! Lance! Where are you, man? It�s Joey! Justin and Jace are here, too!� he shouted, being mindful to keep the receiver covered so as not to break Chris�s concentration on listen for their voices.
For several moments, Chris remained silent then�
�Joey�shhh! Joe�I can hear you�you�re kinda far away sounding. Where are you?� Chris asked, his voice slightly elevated in excitement.
�The study�I�m going to the movie room now.� Joey then placed his hand over the receiver before calling out again, all the while moving down the hallway toward Lance�s entertainment room.
�No�stop, Joe. You�re moving away. Go back,� Chris commanded, frustration replacing the excitement that he had just moments ago experienced.
Joey stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath in an effort to remain calm. He could hear the growing frustration in the older man�s voice and he didn�t need to be losing his control. Lance needed him�them. He needed all of them to stay calm.
�Okay, Chris. I�m still in the hallway. I�ll head back toward the kitchen. I�ll go back by the study again and head down that hallway.� As he retraced his steps, Joey suddenly realized where Lance might be and his pace picked up slightly at the realization.
At the same time, it also dawned on Chris where Lance might be.
�Go to the office off the laundry room, Joe. He had work to do this evening. He might be there,� Chris said, frustrated by the fact that he hadn�t thought of that fact already.
Joey�s pace quickened and as he passed by the stairway, JC was making his way back down.
�Nothing, Joey. He has to be down here.�
�Not outside!� Justin�s voice shouted from the living room. �Where are you?�
�Back office! Go to the back office!� Joey shouted out as he and JC ran toward the kitchen, meeting Justin in the process.
�You�re getting closer, Joe,� Chris said, leaping up from his bed. �I can hear all three of you!�
Joey covered the phone receiver.
�Lance!� he bellowed, running down the long hallway toward a closed door with JC and Justin just steps behind him.
Seconds later, Joey stopped at the office door then attempted to push it open only to find that it was impossible.
�It won�t move,� he said when the door remained unyielding, worry creasing his forehead as he looked back at Justin and JC.
�Something�s blocking it?� JC asked, his voice shaking as he stepped up beside Joey and helped him in pushing the door open.
�No�someone,� Joey said through gritted teeth, all the while leaning against the door, his hands slightly shaking as he continued to push against the door. �Don�t want to push too hard...might hurt him��
JC quickly began adding more pressure to the door and, seconds later they could just make out Lance�s figure lying on the floor against the door. As the further pushed open the door, the stench of vomit and blood hit causing them to slightly recoil in its wake and Justin gagged against the odor.
�Oh, geez�call 911, Chris! Hang up your phone! Stay on your cell!� Joey shouted at the phone, recovering from his initial shock, before tossing the phone to Justin, who barely snagged the phone as it sailed toward him since he had brought his hands up to his face. He was almost too numb to do little more than stare at Joey, who continued to push at the door, bit by bit, revealing more and more of Lance�s inert form.
�Justin�get it together!� Joey shouted over his shoulder before turning his attention back to Lance.
Shaking himself out of his stupor, Justin looked down at the phone before bringing up to this ear. �Call 911�he�s hurt pretty bad, Chris.�
Joey and Justin�s words caused a shiver to chill Chris to the bone and for a few seconds, he was totally numb, his concentration centered upon the fearful sounds of Joey and JC�s voices calling out to Lance.
�Chris�� Justin whispered into the phone. �There�s blood�everywhere��
Blood�blood�
Justin�s words caused Chris to snap out of his trance and react. With shaky fingers he severed the connection that he had been using to stay in contact with Lance. Then, he dialed 911.
�911�please state your name and emergency,� a disconnected voice said after two rings.
�My name is Chris Kirkpatrick. My friend called my home but wouldn�t say anything. I got worried and stayed on the line while another three friends went to his house to check on him. He�s been injured��
�You�ll need to give me the address and names of your friends��
From there, the operator took Chris�s information, dispatching an ambulance, as well as police since no one knew exactly what had happened to Lance.
While this was going on, Joey knelt down beside Lance in an effort to tend to him while JC and Justin seemed frozen in place.
�Looks like he hit his head on the way down,� Joey said quietly, noting the streak of blood on the nearby desk. �We need to stop this bleeding,� he said, gently parting Lance�s blood matted hair to reveal a long gash above his right ear. �JC�get something that we can use for this,� he said.
Upon hearing no movement from the older man, Joey glanced up to see JC staring at the blood stained carpet with wide, fearful eyes.
�JC?�
Joey stood up and grabbed JC by the shoulders, shaking him until his eyes blinked heavily and he seemed to realize what was happening.
�I need for you to stay with me,� Joey said, his voice shaking in slight panic. He needed the older man�s help�Lance needed both of them.
�Wha�what?�
�Jace�go to the bathroom�get a couple of towels�one of them wet�now!� Joey said in even tones.
�I�ll do it,� Justin said in a voice an octave or two slightly higher than normal, running down the hallway toward the bathroom, realizing that JC was not going to be of any help. Joey nodded at the retreating figure then pulled JC down to the floor with him. He had to find something that JC could do�something that would make him feel useful.
�Gimme your hand,� he said, grasping the shaking hand that was being offered to him. �Hold his hand, Jace. When he wakes up, he�s going to be scared. Hold his hand and talk to him�okay?�