"Hello!" they heard someone yell as the front door open.

Justin looked at Kat and yelled, "We’re down here."

"We’re, who else is with y.." JC said as he walked in and saw Kat. She looked tired and she was sweating pretty bad.

"Hey." Kat said looking at JC.

"Hey" he replied as he walked over to her and picked her up in his arms and held her tight. "I tried calling you, but no one answered in your room and now I know why."

"Well I wanted some company so I called her and I was giving her the tour and this was out last stop." Justin told him.

"Awesome. So what do you think of the place?" JC asked.

"I could see myself living here that’s for sure." Kat answered.

"Hey. What’s all the commotion?" Joey asked as he walked in. "Hey Kat!" he said as he walked over and gave her a hug.

"Hey Joe." Kat replied.

"Where is Chris and Lance?" Justin asked.

They went home. Joey and I came to play some pool. Do you guys want to join?" JC invited and he placed his hands in Kat’s.

‘Sure, you in Kat?" Justin asked.

"Of course." Kat said and followed the guys upstairs.

The first game Joey and Kat were on a team and they won. Next was Justin and Kat and of course they won. Last was JC and Kat and no doubt about it did they win. Of course JC thought his teammate needed some help every once and a while. They were just goofing off when Kat’s cell phone started to ring and messed up Justin’s shot, "Hey." he complained.

"Hello."

"Kat."

"Yea Joan." she replied sitting down her pool stick.

"Did I interrupt anything?" Joan asked.

"No, what’s wrong?" Kat asked as she walked into another room.

"It’s Whitney." Joan said.

"What?" Kat asked getting scared.

"Kat…she slipped into a coma." Joan said trying not to cry.

"When?" Kat asked fighting back tears herself.

"About an hour ago." Joan said.

"Do they know how long she’ll be in it?" Kat asked.

"They don’t know…Kat…" Joan trailed off.

"Joan, what, tell me please." Kat pleaded.

"They don’t think she’ll make it anymore." Joan said bursting into tears.

"But she was doing dine, I talked to her and everything! What happened?" Kat demanded.

"They don’t know. The doctors don’t know." Joan told her.

"I’m coming home." Kat replied.

"Is that a smart idea?" Joan asked.

"I don’t care. I never should’ve left in the first place. I’m going to be there for her this time." Kat said. "I’ll call you when I get a flight, ok" she finished.

"Ok." Joan said and hung up.

Kat stood there for a second to regain her composure and then went back into the other room. When she walked in Justin asked,

"Everything ok?"

Kat just stared at him and then asked, "Do you have a computer I could use?"

"Yea, it’s in the other room. Are you ok?" Joey asked.

Kat didn’t even answer him; she just walked over and searched for a flight back to California.

LIFE

Kat was so focused on searching for a flight, she didn’t notice Justin had walked in and was looking over her shoulder.

"Why are you looking for a flight back to California?" he asked.

Kat pretended not to hear him and kept searching. She finally found one that left the next night so she went to buy it, it asked for a credit card and Kat realized that she didn’t have it with her.

"I have to go." Kat said getting up.

"Why are you going back to California already?" Justin asked again stepping in front of her, but Kat just pushed pass him and headed into the other room.

"Kat! Answer me!" Justin yelled after her.

"What’s going on?" JC asked as Kat entered the room.

"I have to get back to the hotel." Kat said giving JC a kiss.

"Why?" JC asked.

"Thanks for a great night. I’ll talk to you later." Kat said and headed for the door.

"Kat, wait." JC said running after her. "Why are you running out all of a sudden?"

"JC, I’m really sorry, but I have to go." Kat said kissing him again and ran out.

"What was that all about?" Joey asked when JC walked back into the room.

"I don’t know but she was looking for a plan ticket home and quick." Justin told them.

"She’s leaving?" JC asked as his face fell.

"She’s trying to and fast." Justin said.

"Why?" Joey asked confused.

"I don’t know, but I am going to find out." Justin said and grabbed is jacket and walked out.

Kat ran into her hotel room, turned on her computer and found her credit card. When she clicked on the flight this time though it said it was all sold out.

"NO! It can’t be filled already. I just found it 15 minutes ago!" Kat yelled. So she kept searching, but she found nothing. Kat heard a knock at her door and when she opened the door she was surprised to see Justin standing there.

"I am not leaving until you tell me why you are leaving all of a sudden." he demanded as he pushed pass her.

"I just have to get back Justin." Kat replied.

"What about us?" he cried.

"I’ll do everything I can in California." Kat told him.

"No, Kat. There is no work to be done there. We are right here!" Justin told her.

"I know Justin, but "

"No buts Kat. You promised me you would be here for us and help us." Justin interrupted.

"I will still help and I will be there for you." Kat assured him.

"Yea, you will be THERE, not here! We need you here Kat." Justin yelled.

"I can’t Justin. I have to go back, please understand." Kat said starting to feel tears form.

"I can’t understand it when my so call friends tell me they will be here for me and hour later run from me!" Justin exclaimed. "Fine. Leave…just go. Thanks for nothing." Justin huffed and stormed out.

Kat just stood there until she heard another knock at her door and she swung it open hoping to see Justin, but saw Kam standing there.

"You ok? I heard your…" he started to say, but stopped when Kat burst into tears and he caught her and walked her to the couch. When she started to calm down Kam asked her,

"What happened?"

Kat told him everything that had happened that night and when she was done she saw surprise in Kam’s eyes.

"Why are you leaving?" he asked.

"She’s in a coma now, Whitney is. The doctors missed something and now she; in a coma and they don’t think she will make it." Kat told him.

Kam just pulled her closer. "Why didn’t you just tell Justin then?"

"I didn’t want him feeling sorry for me and I hate telling people what is bothering me. You just happened to be around when I hit my breaking point." Kat said.

When she finally calmed down all the way she told Kam she needed some time alone and after much assurance she would be ok, he left. Kat called Joan to tell her all the flights were filled up, but she would keep trying. Joan said ok and they hung up. Kat spent the rest of the night out on the balcony with the picture of her and Whitney beside her.

The next morning Kat was awaken by a knocking on her door. She rolled out of bed and opened the door and saw Kam.

‘The boss wants to have a meeting in his room in an hour." he informed her.

Kat nodded her head in agreement and shut the door, jumped into a shower and got ready.

She headed over to the room and took a seat after she was let in. She sat down next to Kam who turned around and asked her how she was doing this morning.

"Well, ok so far, but the day has just begun." was her answer.

Kat patted her knee and the meeting began.

Basically it was just about the agenda for that day and the rest of the week. Today they were going to meet with Lou Pearlman himself and his lawyers.

Compound

"Justin, hello. That’s your part." Chris snapped.

"What, oh sorry." Justin replied.

"What’s eating your this morning?" Chris asked.

"Kat and I got in a horrible fight last night." Justin told him.

"What exactly did you say to her?" JC asked.

"Basically if she wasn’t going to be here she couldn’t help at all and to go ahead and go home. Then I think I called her a bad friend." Justin said cringing at the thought of the way the fight ended..

"Oh wow." Chris replied and stepped back into the booth.

"Come on man, we have to get to work." Lance said to Justin as they headed back.

"JC you coming?" Joey asked him.

"Yea, I’ll be there in a second." JC answered. "Why do you want to leave all the sudden girl?" JC asked himself and walked back into the studio.

The minute Kat saw Lou Pearlman she wanted to hurl. Kat already resented the guy and had no respect for him what so ever, but just seeing him face to face she thought she was going to be sick. The time she just glared at him. "You are so lucky this table is between us." she thought to herself. She wanted to tear him apart and give him no mercy for doing this to the guys. The meeting finally ended and they were back at the hotel. After calling Joan to see if anything had changed, Kat decided to try to get some of her schoolwork done. She tried calling Justin, but no one was answering his phone and she didn’t want to leave a message so she grabbed he stuff, changed into her swimsuit and headed to the pool. She spent a good part of the day out there, but decided to head back before she began to fry. When she got up to her room she decided to take a nap, it was only 4:30. She set her alarm for 6:30 and hit the sack.

Kat woke up later and rolled over to see that it was almost 8:00. She jumped out of bed and looked at the alarm to find that she set it for AM not PM.

"I wonder if they are still serving dinner?" She asked herself, but her cell phone ringing broke her thoughts.

"Hello." she answered and a couple seconds later she dropped the phone.

Compound

After a long day of recording Justin decided to go sit on the dock. Before he left he looked at the clock-8:20, "Good, no one will out on the water at this time."

Kat arrived at the compound around 8:25 and hoped Justin was were she thought he was. As she neared the dock she saw him standing there. She took a deep breath and headed his way. When she got to the dock she stopped, he didn’t notice she was there yet so Kat took one more breath before beginning.

"She was my best friend."

Justin was startled by the voice and he turned around to see Kat standing there. "What?"

"She was my best friend, she more than that she was like my sister."

Justin started to walk over to her as she continued,

"She was hit by a drunk driver New Years Eve when she was on her way home from my house. I didn’t find out until the next day and when I saw her lying unconscious in the hospital it brought back so many bad memories, but I stayed by her side for 2 days until her mom made me go home. Then later on that night she called me to tell me Whitney had waken up and was asking for me. So I rushed over there."

By this time Justin was standing right in front of her and he didn’t know why she was telling him this or what the bad memories were she got, but he didn’t care why. She was being open and honest with him and he was going to listen.

"When I got to the hospital and I got to the side, the first thing she said to me was ‘How was your date?’ She had just been through a horrible car accident and all she wanted to know was how my date with JC went. She started to get better each day so I decided to accept when I was asked to come here to Orlando." she continued.

Justin started to get where this was going.

"I talked to her the day I got here and she was great, but last night I got a call saying she had fallen into a coma. That is why I searched for a flight home because I wanted to be there with her, but all the flights were booked." Then Kat just burst into tears, "She’s dead Justin. She died an hour ago." she cried.

Justin quickly brought Kat into his arms and let her cry.

"She’s gone." Kat kept whispering.

When she had calmed down a bit she said, "She was the only family I had left."

Justin just tightened his grip around her and kissed the top of her head. "Only family she had left?"

"Why didn’t you tell us?" he asked.

"I didn’t want your guys sympathy or you guys to know how bad a person I am." Kat answered.

"Why would we think you are a bad person?" Justin asked.

"Because I was the reason she left my house late and caused her to get into the wreck. I killed my best friend, just like everyone else." Kat told him.

Now Justin was really confused about the ‘everyone else’ part, but he concentrated on Kat instead.

"Kat, this wasn’t your fault." Justin tried to assure her.

"Yes it was. If I hadn’t over slept and make Whitney do extra stuff she never would have left my house late and she never would have been in the car accident." Kat told him.

"This was not your fault so stop saying that." Justin told her sternly.

When Kat stopped crying they heard a voice go,

"Justin you there?"

"Yeah JC. We’re here." Justin replied not taking his eyes off Kat.

"KAT!" JC said so happy, but he got worried when he saw her face. "What’s wrong baby?"

Kat just couldn’t take it, first Whitney dying and then just hearing those words come out of JC’s mouth, she let it all out again and fell into JC’s arms.

JC caught her and just held her as she cried. Justin knew that was his cue to leave.

"What happened?" JC asked worried.

"I’ll tell you later, just hold me right now." Kat sobbed and that made JC close his eyes and put his head on top of hers.

When she had stopped JC led her up to the house and they went into the den and sat down on the couch.

"You know what you need?" JC asked.

"What?" Kat replied.

"A back massage, come here." JC said and pulled her closer.

As JC worked his magic Kat told him all about Whitney. She was really happy to get all the way through it without bursting into tears again. When she was done JC wrapped his arms around her and scooted her back to him.

"I’m sorry Kat." he said as he ran his fingers up and down her arm. Kat just laid back in his arms and rested her head on his shoulder and she eventually fell asleep.

JC felt her breath slow down and he could tell she was asleep so he grabbed a blanket on the couch, kissed her forehead, and rested his head on hers and fell asleep.

The next morning Kat woke up and had totally forgot where she was, when she started to sit up someone’s arms pulled her back down, "Just 5 more minutes girl." And she remembered everything.

"Oh why couldn’t that have been a horrible dream?" Kat thought to herself as she laid back down.

A couple minutes later she felt JC moving so she started to tickle his stomach.

"No, no. Not fait." JC squirmed as she reached up and started to tickle Kat back.

Kat is the most ticklish girl so she was going crazy until they both fell of the couch and JC landed on top of her and smiled. He brushed the hair away from her face and traced her features with his fingers. Kat forgot all her problems as she stared into his eyes and she brought her hand to the back of his neck as he came closer and kissed her. Kat didn’t know how he did it, but it felt like the first time every time they kissed.

"Good Morning to you too." Kat said.

JC smiled, "How are we this morning?"

"We are terrific right now, but I have a feeling that is going to change here very soon." Kat replied.

"Maybe if we hide, no one will find us." JC suggested.

"Don’t tempt me. I might just make you do that." Kat told him.

JC smiled and kissed her on the nose.

"Whoa, didn’t mean to interrupt anything." They heard Chris say and they looked up to see him standing in the doorway.

They both laughed and JC helped Kat back on her feet, "What’s up Chris?" JC asked taking Kat’s hand in his.

"Can I open my eyes now?" Chris asked.

"Yes Chris." Kat told him.

"Justin wants to see you in the rehearsal studio." Chris told them.

"Why?" JC asked.

"Not you, Kat." Chris retorted.

"Um…ok. I’ll be right there." Kat said and headed out.

"Is she ok? She doesn’t look to good." Chris remarked walking over to JC.

"She went through hell and back last night so just be ready." JC informed him and left to go change.

LIFE

Kat knocked on the door and heard Justin say come in. When she opened the door she saw Justin and another guy standing there.

"Come over here." Justin said excited.

"What’s up?" Kat asked when she got to him.

"Kat this is Darren, Darren this is Kat." Justin introduced. "Darren has something to ask you." And turned his attention to Darren.

"Well first off I’ve heard a lot about you and it is nice to finally put a face to the name. Justin hasn’t stopped talking about how great of a dancer you are, so I have an offer for you." Darren started.

"An offer?" Kat asked.

"Yes, the guys are performing for one of MTV’s awards show and they are working with back up dancers. Well one of the girls got hurt a practice and we need somebody to taker her place." Darren told her then Justin butted in,

"So we were wondering if you would take her place."

"ME!" Kat exclaimed. "No way. I’m not good enough and I’m out of practice. I can’t" she added.

"Yes, you can Kat. I saw you dance the other night and you were terrific!" Justin said to her.

"I was going to give you give chance before I had to start searching for another replacement." Darren told her.

"I don’t know." Kat sighed.

"Please Kat, do this for me." Justin pleaded and gave her the puppy dogface.

"Ok, that is starting to get old." Kat replied

"So is that a yes?" Justin asked smiling.

Kat let out a big sigh and said, "Yes."

"Whoohoo!" Justin screamed jumping up and down and hugged Kat. "Thank you so much. You won’t regret this." He added.

"Anytime." Kat replied not as enthused.

"Ok then. I will work with you to get caught up with everyone else and in a couple of days we will add you to the rest of the dancers." Darren told her. "Can you be here around 4PM?"

"Yea." Kat answered him.

"Well welcome aboard." Darren said and shook her hand and walked out.

"Justin I leave in a couple of days though and I have to be there for Whitney’s funeral." Kat reminded him.

"Right. Don’t worry about it. I will talk to Darren and get back to you." Justin said and ran out.

"Hey Kat what are you doing here so early?" Lance asked her as he walked in.

Kat walked over to the couch and sat down and Lance watched. "I’m one of your back up dancers now I guess." Kat told him.

"That’s awesome Kat. I didn’t know you danced." Lance said.

"Yup." Kat replied not looking up.

"Well don’t look too excited." Lance replied.

"I’m sorry Lance. It’s just I got a lot going on already and I’m trying to figure out how to pull this off without ruining anything for you guys." Kat said.

"Kat, if Justin thought you were going to ruin it for us in anyway, he wouldn’t have asked you." Lance assured her.

"Hey Kat." Justin yelled running back into the room.

"Yea." Kat answered standing up.

"Ok, Darren said to go ahead and come today and he will go over your availability the,/" Justin informed her.

"Ok." Kat replied nodding her head.

"Oh this is gonna be so much fun!" Justin exclaimed while hugging Kat once again.

"It sure will." Kat said hugging him back.

"I gotta tell the rest of the guys!" Justin exclaimed and ran back out.

"Well I better go and let you guys get ready for today." Kat said turning to Lance.

"Kat, you know if you don’t want to do it you don’t have to." Lance said.

Just then Chris, Joey, and JC came running into the room and ran over to her and hugged her.

"This is so cool Kat." Joey exclaimed.

"It’s not really that big of a deal, I’m just a back up dancer." Kat said.

"Yea, but you get to stick around with us some more." Chris said as he hugged her.

"This means we get to spend more time together." JC said to her after Joey and Chris walked away.

"Well I don’t know how much time we will get between practices and your studio work." Kat said until JC put his hand over her mouth,

"I will make time."

Kat looked into his eyes and smiled.

"Maybe I can do this." She said to herself.

Jus then, Justin walked over to Kat, "Hey Kat, you cell phone was ringing so I answered it and its some guy named Ham?" and handed her phone over.

"Ham? No, his name is Kam." Kat replied taking her phone.

"Kam? Who is that?" JC asked once she was out of the room.

"I don’t know, but he sounded really concerned." Justin replied.

"Hey Kam." Kat said.

"Where are you? Are you ok? Do you need me to come pick you up?" He asked frantically.

"No, no Kan. I’m fine. I’m with some friends. I’ll be back in a little bit. How are you?" Kat replied.

"I was scared to death because no one knew where you were and I just now found your cell phone number." Kat told her.

"I’m really sorry Kam>" Kat said.

"As long as you are alright, that’s all that matters." He said.

"Thank you." Kat said.

"Anytime. I will see you when you get back." He said.

"Ok." Kat said and hung up.

When JC noticed Kat had reentered the room he left Justin and Lance talking and walked over to her.

"Is everything ok?" he asked.

"Yup." Kat replied.

"Come with me." JC told her and took her hand. He led her outside and they walked all around the compound, as they walked by some flowers JC stopped and picked a couple for her. He placed one behind her ear and gave the rest to her with a kiss. Kat smiled and took in the smell of the flowers. JC watched her and wondered why she had to go through all this pain.

"Kat." He said.

"Yeah." Kat said looking up.

"I want to go back with you." JC told her.

"You want to see the hotel?" Kat asked confused.

"No, I want to go back to California with you. I want to be there for you are Whitney’s funeral." He corrected.

"Won’t that set you back?" Kat asked.

"There isn’t a single thing that can’t wait." JC assured her.

Kat looked at him and started to say something, but JC placed his hand over her mouth,

"Before you say anything else think about yourself for once and putting other people first."

"Are you sure you want to go?" Kat asked.

"I’ve never been so sure about something." JC replied.

"Ok." Kat said and JC hugged her.

"Why is he doing this for me?" Kat asked herself

"Well I should head back to the hotel." Kat said.

"Do you want me to give you a ride back?" JC asked.

"That would be great." Kat replied, but then they heard Chris yell,

"JC, Darren wants to meet with us right now."

JC turned back to Kat and was going to say something, but Kat shook her head.

"It’s ok. I’ll just take a cab." She assured him.

JC fished around in his pocket for a second and then pulled out his keys.

"Here take my car. I won’t need it and plus you are coming back here later on anyway." JC said handing her the keys.

"You are letting me drive you car?" Kat asked.

"Yea, and you better feel special, I don’t let just anyone drive my baby. You do know how to drive an manual don’t you." He asked.

"I sure do." Kat said and took the keys. "Thank you for everything JC." Kat said and kissed him softly.

"I’ll call you later." JC said and Kat nodded and walked away with JC’s hand sliding down her arm. He watched her walk to his car and get in, "Damn, what is it about that girl that makes me want to die?"

LIFE

Kat knocked on Kam’s door to let him know she was back, when he opened the door he sighed and gave her a hug. Kat really wasn’t expecting that warm of a hello, but she hugged him back.

"We’’ hello to you too." Kat said.

"I was worried about you!" Kam said letting go.

"I’m sorry. I should have called." Kat apologized.

"It’s ok. Oh Mr. Brand wanted to see you when you got back." Kam mentioned.

"Ok thanks." Kat said and headed back to her room.

"Hey Kat, how is Whitney?" Kam asked.

Kat turned around slowly, "She passed away last night."

"Oh Kat, I’m so sorry." He said and started to walk up to her, but she stopped him.

"Not now Kam." Kat said and walked into her room.

Kat took a shower and changed before heading to her boss’s room. She knocked on his door and he let her in.

"Take a seat Kat." He told her.

"Kam said you needed to see me." Kat said as she sat down.

"I heard about your friend Whitney, your softball coach called me." He started. "I started doing some thinking. You shouldn’t be here right now with everything going on." He added.

"What do you mean?" Kat asked.

"Well I know you are emotionally attached to the band and you want to be here for them, but I think you should go ahead and go back to California to be with her family and friends." He finished.

"Are you taking me off this assignment?" Kat asked.

"No. You are one of my best people, you should just be around people who can comfort you right now." He told her. "I got you a plane ticket that leaves tonight back to California." He said handing her the ticket.

Kat took the ticket with disbelief. "How did you get this? I tried all day and got nothing." Kat asked

"I have my ways. Your flight leaves at 9:15. Do you want me to have someone pick you up from here?" he asked.

"No, thank you. I’ll find a ride. Thank you so much sir. This means a lot to me." Kat told him.

"Your welcome." He replied and Kat headed back to her room. She called Joan and told her what was going on and then she tried calling JC, but no answer. She was going to leave a message, but she wasn’t sure when he would get it so she decided to tell him in person. As Kat walked out she ran into Kam.

"Whoa, what’s the big hurry?" Kam asked.

"I’m leaving tonight." Kat yelled as she ran down the hall.

"Tonight?" Kam asked.

"I’ll tell you about it when I get back." Kat yelled as she got on the elevator.

Kat knocked on the door at the compound and to her surprise Darren answered the door.

"Hey, here for your lesson already?" he asked.

"Not yet. Do you know where the guys are?" she asked him back.

"They are at the recording studio." Darren told her.

"Do you know how to get there?" she asked.

"Yea, I’ll just take ya because I pass it on the way." He said and they headed out.

"They are in studio B on the second floor." Darren told her as they pulled in.

Kat looked up at the building, "I’ll just go with ya." Darren added.

Darren opened a door for her and they walked into a room that connected to the studio. Kat saw the guys in the booth singing what seemed like a slow song. Right at that moment JC looked up like he knew she was there and smiled at her. Kat smiled back and she almost forgot why she was there.

"Well I better go. I’ll see ya later on, ok." Darren said

"Ok. Thank you Darren." Kat said.

"Your welcome." He said and walked out.

When she turned around she saw JC still looking at her and it startled her because he was looking at her so intently, like he could see all the way into her soul, no one had ever looked at her like that. Kat turned around and sat down in a chair and when she looked back Chris was talking to JC. JC nodded his head in agreement to whatever it was and all the guys walked out of the booth. As they walked out they waved at Kat and she waved back. JC opened the door she was in and stepped in. The rest of the guys plastered their faces against the glass to listen in so JC shut the blinds.

"This is a pleasant surprise." He said.

Kat smiled and gave him a hug. "Well I have something to tell you."

JC pulled out a chair for her and they sat down, "Fire away."

"When I got back to the hotel today, my boss informed me that he had bought me a plane ticket back to California tonight. I guess my softball coach called him and told him about Whitney and he thought it would be best if I am with friends and family." Kat told him.

As she said this JC’s face fell and he started to look confused. Kat noticed this and continued,

"The thing is I don’t have any family back in California."

At that moment JC took Kat’s hand, "You have me and 4 others guys in the next room."

Kat smiled and said, "I know. That’s why I want you to come with me tonight. I know this is short notice so if you can’t I’ll understand. I just don’t want to go alone."

JC stood up and walked over to the wall and sighed.

"I’m sorry JC, I never should’ve asked you that. I was out of line." Kat said apologetically.

JC turned around and said, "You have nothing to be sorry about, I should be the one apologizing because I can’t go." Then he looked at the floor, "Not even for the funeral."

Kat tried to hide her reaction from JC.

"Kat, say something." JC said.

Kat looked up with her eyes closed to stop tears from forming, "Would you be able to take me to the airport tonight?"

"What time?" JC asked walking back to her.

"9:15." She answered him.

JC took her hands and pulled her up to him and he held her, "Of course." Kat hugged him tight, not wanting to let him go.

"Thank you." She said.

JC ran his hands up and down her back and then asked, "Will you forgive me?"

"Of course JC. This is your life and I would never want to do anything to jeopardize it for you."

"You are the greatest girl in the world." JC said as he brought his face to hers.

"Only because you make me great." She replied and he kissed her.

JC traced her face with his fingers not wanting this moment to end. Kat was the first one to speak,

"You probably need to get back to work."

"What time do you have practice?" he asked.

"4:00" Kat said looking at her watch. "I should probably head back to the hotel and get ready."

"Well you don’t have to be there for an hour, so why don’t you wait here until we finish this last part up, then I will take you to the hotel and back to the compound during lunch." JC suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Kat replied.

JC pulled the blinds back up to show 4 faces glued to the window. Kat couldn’t help but laugh at those faces. JC just shook his head and opened the door for Kat.

Kat took a seat on the side on the couch and she watched them in awe. She saw things about then she never noticed before, not even when they performed live. Lance just kind of laid back and let it flow, Joey put in a comment every once and a while, Chris, well Chris was as serious as he could be, Justin watched the other guys while he sang or he closed his eyes, and JC…JC just had so much love in his voice and in his eyes…it was like something out of a fairy tale.

"He’s the one." Kat recalled Whitney saying after Kat told her about their date. "You’re meant to be…don’t let this one go girl." Whitney’s voice kept coming back to her and all the things she had said.

"How am I going to do it though?" Kat asked herself.

"Just let your hear guide you." Kat nearly jumped as she remembered that voice, it was her mother.

Chris waving his hands in front of her broke Kat’s thoughts.

"Hello. Anyone there?" he asked.

"Oh hey. Are you guys done?" Kat asked.

"Yup… time to eat!" Joey exclaimed.

"You ready?" JC asked coming up behind Chris.

"Sure am." Kat replied and stood up. JC grabbed his jacket and Kat said bye to the guys and they were off.

"Are you ok?" JC asked as they got into his car.

"Yea, why do you ask?" Kat replied.

"Well you zoned out there for a long time, what were you thinking about?" he asked.

"Just stuff." Kat replied looking out the window.

"Sure stuff. It is never just stuff with you girl." JC joked. Kat turned and stuck her tongue out at him and JC laughed.

LIFE

"Why don’t you grab something to eat from the mini bar." Kat suggested as she walked over to her bag and pulled out some clothes and walked into the bathroom. JC grabbed a snack and then sat down on the bed, a couple minutes later Kat walked back in wearing a pair of black sweats and a tank top.

"Who would have known that a workout outfit would look that good on someone." JC commented.

Kat turned and gave him a little smirk, "I am going to pack really quick."

"Do you want some help?" JC asked standing up.

"Um…yea. Could you grab my laptop and put it in this case." Kat said throwing a black bag on the bed.

JC walked over to the nightstand and looked at the picture on her computer. "That must be Whitney, they do look like sisters." JC thought to himself and then out the computer away, "Mission accomplished."

"Thanks." Kat said as she threw a armful of stuff from the bathroom in her bag. "Now where is my backpack?"

JC glanced down and saw it on the floor next to her bed so he bent down and picked it up. "Is this it?" he asked.

"Yes. Thank you." Kat sighed and had to laugh as she watched JC plop it on the bed.

"What is in there, Bricks?" JC asked

Kat smiled, "No, just my whole college life." Kat looked at the bed and counted all her bags. "Well I think I got everything."

"Well you are missing one thing." JC said walking over to her.

"And what would that be?" Kat asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Me." JC said as he knelt down in front of her.

Kat traced his cheekbone with her thumb and then squeezed his hand.

"You know I would come with you if I could, right." JC asked.

"I know JC, thank you." Kat assured him.

JC squeezed her hand back and then kissed her.

"Kat!" Kam yelled down the hall.

JC and Kat turned around to see him running.

"Now what do you mean you are leaving tonight?" Kam asked her not noticing JC was there.

"Mr. Brand thinks its best for me to go back to California early so he bought me a plane ticket back tonight." Kat told him.

"What about the band?" Kam asked.

"He said I could work on it in California." Kat said.

"It’s not going to be the same with you gone." Kam said.

"I’ll see you in a couple of days, it won’t be bad." Kat told him and then remembered JC was there.

"Oh, Kam I want you to meet JC…"

"Her boyfriend." JC finished for her and shook Kam’s hand.

"Oh. It’s nice to meet you." Kam said.

"You too." JC replied.

"Well I have to go, but I will stop by before I leave ok." Kat said to Kam.

"Ok, see you when you get back." Kam said and headed for his room.

As they walked to the elevator, Kat had to ask,

"What was that about?"

"What are you talking about?" JC asked.

"Her boyfriend. You didn’t even let me finish." Kat said.

"Oh that. I just wanted him to know who I was." JC said.

"A little protective?" Kat smirked as she nudged him in his side.

"I just don’t want him to get any ideas about my girl." JC told her as they stepped into the elevator.

Kat turned to him, "Say that again."

"Say what?" JC asked.

"The last two words you said." Kat told him.

JC smiled and pulled her to him and he whispered, "My girl," To her eyes.

Kat closed her eyes and let the words linger in her mind. Just hearing those words come from his mouth made her feel totally and utterly wonderful.

LIFE

"Hey Kat. You ready to dance?" Darren asked.

"As ready as I’ll ever be." Kat replied.

"I’ll give you a couple minutes to stretch and then we will start." Darren told her.

About 30 minutes into the rehearsal Kat had 1/3 of the dance memorized.

"Justin was right. You are a natural. It took the rest of the dancers at least an hour to memorize just this much." Darren told her.

Kat started to get really excited the more and more she danced, but by 5:30 she was exhausted.

"Ok, break time, you definitely deserve it." Darren said and grabbed Kat a bottle of water.

"Thanks." Kat replied. They sat on the floor and talked for about 20 minutes. Right as they were getting ready to start again Justin walked in.

"Well, how is it going?" he asked.

Kat smiled at the huge grin he had on his face.

"She’s doing great Justin." Darren informed him.

"Can I see?" Justin asked.

"Oh no, you will see it when we get it all done." Darren said pulling Justin over to the side. "Why don’t you go get the rest of the guys and be back here at 7:00 because I think she will have it down by then."

Kat turned to Darren and gave him a ‘what the hell are you saying look’?

"Ok, be back at 7:00" Justin whispered and ran out.

"What did you say to him?" Kat asked.

Darren out his hands on hr shoulder, "Don’t worry about it. You only need to learn the last 1/3 of the song, so let’s get working."

Kat nodded her head and by 7:00 she did have it all memorized. She heard the door open and saw the 5 of them walk in.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kat asked.

Darren walked over to then and said, "They are your first audience."

"Oh no, not them." Kat protested.

"If you can’t do it in front of them, then you won’t be able to do it in front of millions of people watching." Darren told her.

"Ok, but stand on the side so I can’t see you please." Kat asked. "They aren’t there. It’s just you and the music."

All 5 of them watched her in awe. Darren turned to them and mentioned them that she had learned the whole thing in 2 � hours.

"She dances with so much emotion." Chris whispered.

"She’s a natural." Justin inputted.

At the end of the song they all applauded and yelled for her.

"Well thank you, but it wasn’t that good." Kat replied.

"No it wasn’t." JC said.

"See." Kat said.

"It was magnificent." JC smiled.

"Well if you would excuse us for a second we have some business to discuss." Darren said and led Kat over to the couch. They discussed all the practices and worked it out so Kat would come back Wednesday and work with the rest of the back up dancers then Friday the guys will join in. Darren told her he would buy her a plane ticket and a hotel room to stay in so she wouldn’t have to worry about that. She thanked him one more time and then went in search for JC.

"Hey, are you ready?" JC asked when Kat walked up to him.

"Yea." Kat replied.

"You’re leaving already?" Joey asked.

"Yea, but I will be back Joe." Kat assured him and gave him a hug.

"See ya later Kat. You are going to be great." Lance told her.

"Thanks for listening Lance." Kat replied.

"You take care of yourself kid." Chris told her.

"You too old man." Kat joked.

Kat walked over to Justin who was standing in the corner watching all this.

"Come here J." Kat said and reached her arms out.

Justin didn’t wait a second to hug her.

"Thank you Justin." Kat said.

"For what?" he asked.

"For being a friend and for helping me get back what I thought I had lost. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for you, and I mean that in a good way." Kat told him.

Justin just hugged her tighter.

"I will see you in a week, you have my phone number if you need anything. Just give me a call and I will be there ok." Kat assured him.

"Ok." Justin said and pulled back.

"See you later J-man." Kat said.

"See ya Kat." Justin whispered.

LIFE

The drive to the hotel was quiet, mostly because Kat was worn out. When they got all her luggage put in the car she turned to JC, "I have to go say good-bye to some people so I’ll be right back."

"Ok." JC said and watched Kat run back into the hotel.

Her first stop was Mr. Brand’s room. She thanked him again and said good-bye. Next was Kam. The second she knocked on the door it swung open.

"Come on in." Kam told her and stepped back.

"I wanted to thank you for everything, being there for me, helping me, and believing in me, but mostly for caring for me. You are a true friend." Kat said to him.

"Your welcome, thank you for letting me be a good friend." Kam replied and gave her a hug.

"Give me a call when you get back in town, ok." Kat said

"Will do." Kam replied and opened the door for her

As Kat walked out of the hotel she saw JC leaning up against his car signing an autograph. When he saw her he stood up and said good-bye to the girls and opened Kat’s door. The minute he started the car Kat grabbed his hand and he squeezed it. Kat looked out the window and watched Orlando go by and then she felt JC kiss her hand. She could have died right there the way he looked at her. Neither one of them had to say a word; they knew what each other were thinking. They arrived at the airport at 8:30, and by the time Kat checked in it was 8:45. JC sat down with his back up against the wall and Kat sat in between his legs with his arms around her tightly.

"It’s only a week." Kat said.

"Then why does it feel like it is going to be an eternity?" JC asked.

Kat nestled her head into JC’s neck. She felt so safe next to his warm body.

JC could feel Kat’s breath on his neck and it sent a chill through is body. She fit so perfectly to his body and he felt so whole with her there. "Could this be what I think it is? Is this what being in love feels like?" He asked himself. He has loved people before, but it never felt as good as it did with Kat. She made him want to give up everything and just hold her. He knew he loved things about her like the way she would sneak her hand into his, her smile, the way she touched him, or the way she felt.

"Kat?" JC whispered.

"Yea." Kat replied softly.

"I…."

"Seats 25-15 may now begin boarding." The over com said.

"Um…that’s you." He sighed.

Kat stood up slowly and JC stood up with her and they stood face to face.

"We are going to be doing this way too much." JC said.

"Yea, but now the roles are reversed." Kat replied

JC barely heard what she said because he was so focused on her face. He leaned in and kissed her slowly, not wanting the kiss to end. Kat was the one to break the kiss, but not without a tear in her eye. JC wiped it away he said, "Kat" again.

"This is the final call for flight 758."

"I’ll miss you." JC said.

"I’ll miss you too." Kat replied and kissed him shortly then whispered, "See you later."

JC didn’t know what was worse, walking away from her or watching her walk away from him, both scenarios tore him to pieces. As she walked down the ramp she kept looking back at him and right before she boarded the plane she waved. JC couldn’t take it anymore, he ran out of the airport and sped back to the compound.

LIFE

The flight home was the felt like the longest flight of Kat’s life. Of course all she could think about JC and it brought tears to her eyes, "Why does it hurt so much to leave him?"

"Are you ok sweetheart?" an elderly lady sitting next to her asked.

"No, but thank you for asking." Kat replied

"You were the one I saw sitting with that young man weren’t you." She asked.

"Yes, that was me." Kat told her.

"You two reminded me so much of my first love and I." The lady told her.

"Really?" Kat asked getting interested.

"Yes, he was in the military and I remember those moments at the airport like they were yesterday." She said

‘Tell me about him, if you don’t mind." Kat asked.

"Your boyfriend reminds me a lot of George. We would sit outside the boarding area until his flight was called then I would watch him walk away. It always tore me up inside. Then he was called to go to the war. That time, before he got on the plane he dropped down to one knee and asked me to marry him. Well of course I said Yes and again he was gone." The lady told Kat with a twinkle in her eye

"Did you guys get married?" Kat asked.

"He was killed a month later in a hand to hand fight. They said he was clutching this picture when they found him." The woman said and handed Kat a picture. It had the lady and the man standing next to a tree looking into each other’s eyes, oblivious that a picture was even being taken, totally in love. Kat started to cry at the picture; one reason was because the couple looked so much like her and JC.

"You two look so in love." Kat told her.

"Yes we were. I noticed that you look at your boyfriend the same way I used to look at George." The woman said.

"Really?" Kat replied. "How do you know when you are in love?" she asked.

"Oh child, I can’t tell you that. Believe me, when it happens, there will be no doubt in your mind that it is love. No one can tell you the feeling of being in love because it is unexplainable, but you will know, believe me." The elderly woman said.

Kat looked at the picture one more time before she handed it back to her.

"I didn’t catch your name or your boyfriends name." She said.

"Oh I’m sorry. My name is Katherine and his name is JC." Kat said.

"Beautiful names. My name is Karen." She said and shook Kat’s hand.

"Nice meeting you Karen." Kat said.

"The pleasure is all mine honey." Karen replied.

For the rest of the flight Kat finally fell asleep. When she woke up the plane had just landed. Kat sat up and turn to talk to Karen, but she wasn’t there, there was a man sitting in her place. Kat looked around and couldn’t find her. Finally Kat noticed something in her lap, it was the picture of Karen and George with a note.

Dear Katherine,

Take this picture to remind you of how you are feeling at this moment. I have one word of advice for you. Don’t let a day go by without telling JC how you feel because you never know when the last time you will see him will be. Take care and remember our conversation.

Karen

Kat smiled at the note and looked up and saw people departing so she put the picture and the note in her pocket at got off.

When Kat got home she headed straight to her room. She searched for a frame to put the picture Karen had given her in. She found one big enough to place the picture and the note in and placed it next to the note Kat had framed of the one the guys wrote her the day they cooked her breakfast. She changed and jumped into bed and fell asleep without any problem.