Chris was excited. His birthday was coming up in just one day. He had no idea what the hell he was going to do after the show to celebrate, but it didn't stop him from being excited. He jumped down from his bunk and quietly made his way to the back of the bus where he could indulge in some video games before he and the guys hit rehearsals. He wasn't particularly excited about being up so early, but at least there was entertainment to help him get over it. He opened the door and saw that Justin was already ten steps ahead of him.
 "Oh, what the hell? What are you doing up?" Chris asked.

"Playing video games.....Chris?" Justin replied sarcastically.

"Don't be a smart ass, throw me in before the other banshee wakes up," Chris said as he looked for a controller.

"The banshee is already up, you dick, but I'm going back to sleep," JC called from his bunk. Chris just laughed and shook his head.

"I should put his hand in a cup full of water, man that'd be freakin' awesome," Chris teased. He looked up and saw JC's middle finger shoot up from under his blanket and laughed.

"Oh, hey, don't forget you and Lance have to go make that stop before rehearsals today," JC called.

"Holy shit, is that today? Man, the days are starting to run together," Chris said.

Chris felt like what JC said slapped him smooth across the face. He completely forgot about his visit to the hospital today. Someone wrote into the groups' fan club and it got some attention so they were going to go meet the lucky fan. The letter didn't say much about who was in the hospital, but it touched them enough to arrange a special meeting. He placed the controller onto a chair and went to in the bathroom to get ready. He knew that Lance had to be halfway done getting ready. Looking at his watch, he threw the clothes he took off, onto his bunk then grabbed his cellphone.

"Smell you later, losers," Chris bade. He got sarcastic groans in return as he left the bus. Chris could've put two and two together once he realized that the bus was usually moving when he woke up in the morning. Today they made it back to Florida just in time for rehearsals.

Chris saw the limo waiting and he was surprised. He thought it was a bit extravagant just for a visit to the hospital. He thought the idea of a surprise visit was to be as discreet as possible. But apparently, they needed to show up in a limo to a really well-known hospital. If the limo wasn't already there, he would've just asked for something less attention-grabbing.

"Wow, you're ready on time?" Chris turned around and saw Lance standing beside him.

"I'm always ready. I didn't even see you standing there," Chris replied.

"What's with the limo?" Lance asked.

"I was wondering the same thing, but we have no other car so let's go before we're late," Chris replied as he opened the limo door. They were in the parking lot of the arena in Lakeland where they did most of their rehearsals after a few weeks at Johnny's compound. He wasn't sure how much time they had with their guest, but he hoped it was enough. A short visit to the hospital for someone who was eager to meet him and Lance, seemed pretty lame.

Chris took in the surroundings of how beautiful Florida actually was. Sure it was hot and humid, but what Florida had to offer in terms of sight and leisure outweighed the weather. He was informed that they'd be going to Osceola County. He loved going to Osceola, for some reason he felt like no one knew him there and he could roam around by himself. Chris felt the elbow of his best friend jam into his side and he jumped.

"Ouch! What'd I do?" Chris asked.

"I didn't know we were going to a cancer center," Lance replied.

"What?"

Chris moved across to the other side and looked out the window. Osceola Cancer Center. He didn't know they were going to be meeting a cancer patient. Moreover, he really hoped they had a great deal amount of time with her. Cancer, wow. No matter how many times he heard the word, the reaction never got old.

Chris and Lance got out of the limo and made that long walk across the pavement into the cancer center. The sun shone down on a place where, to Chris, it would always be raining. This wasn't new to Chris, visiting hospitals and the like, but he was extremely nervous. Before entering the room, Chris and Lance had to sit in a certain waiting room for close family and friends. Chris bounced his leg up and down, wondering how long it would take to meet this fan.

"Dude, calm down, you're freaking me out!" Lance whispered.

"So you're nervous, too?" Chris asked, trying not to bite his nail.

"Yeah, crazy nervous. I don't even know why, we've done stuff like this before," Lance replied.

"Sorry for buggin' you out bro, but I feel the exact same way," Chris said.

The door swung open and both Chris and Lance's eyes shot upward, wide open. A male doctor emerged from the inside the room. He was in his early 40's, about 5'10, dark hair, and he wore thinly framed glasses. He was definitely every woman's dream guy.

"You must be Chris and Lance; I'm Dr. Wells. I believe we have a person in here waiting for you. Why don't you come on in?" the doctor said.

Chris stood up and looked at Lance for him to go first. Lance smiled and went inside first. As Chris entered the room, he came into an exuberant atmosphere. The room was filled with tons of sun shining through the white curtains. There were two women inside the room, one sitting down and one laying in bed. The woman sitting down was a bit older than the doctor, late 40's maybe, and she had black hair, cut into a bob. The one on the bed was a young woman, she looked just about 24 years old. She had long, dark brown hair cascading around her face and a bright smile plastered upon her face.

"Surprise Fallyn," said the older woman.

Chris watched as tears streamed down the girl's face, in complete shock as he and Lance stood there. Chris walked over to hug her and Lance followed, both of them formally introducing themselves properly. Chris thought she was quite gorgeous. She had a smile that illuminated him on the inside.

"I'm Fallyn and this is my mother, Felicia. Wow, I can't believe you guys are here."
Chris and Lance greeted her mother and pulled up chairs so they could sit down right at Fallyn's bedside.

"We got your mother's letter through the fan club and we just had to come see you," Lance said.

"I appreciate it, so much, you don't know. Thank you," Fallyn said, finally calming herself down.

"It's no problem, thank you for wanting to see us," Chris joked. Fallyn laughed and Chris' heart warmed.

"Well, I'm gonna let you enjoy your guests, sweetie. I have to go take your brothers and sister to school. Thank you guys for coming, hopefully we'll meet again," said Felicia as she gave her daughter a hug.

"You're very welcome," Chris replied.

After Felicia exited the room, Fallyn sat up in her bed.

"So, let's level with each other. How in the HELL did my mom get you guys here? She didn't beg you or anything did she?" asked Fallyn. Chris looked to his right, Lance smiled and shook his head.

"No, we seriously read the letter. Actually, Lance has it with him, right?" Chris responded, grabbing for the letter and handing it to her. They watched as she read it. It was obvious that she was touched by her mother's gesture.

"Wow....that was....my mom is the best. I know you guys have a show coming up so I'm really sorry if I interrupted a rehearsal or anything," she apologized.

"No, no, it's fine. Trust me if it weren't for the fans we wouldn't even have rehearsals. But enough about us, tell us about you," Chris said.

Chris caught the look Lance was giving him, but he ignored it. He really didn't want to shift the attention away from her. He was curious to know more about her.

"Fallyn Everett. I'm gonna be 25 real soon.....uh, I like apples, I guess?" she smiled. Chris chuckled. She made him laugh.

"How soon?" Lance asked.

"Like on October 17th, tomorrow, soon," Fallyn replied, smiling widely.

"Seriously? You're an honorary member of the awesome club, welcome."

"Oh why thank you, its always been my life dream to be apart of Chris' Awesome Club. Screw Harvard," she laughed.

Chris chuckled softly. "What kind of cancer are you diagnosed with?" Lance nudged him in his side. "If you don't mind me asking," Chris finished, gritting his teeth.

"Oh no, don't worry, I'm fine with answering. I was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. It's a rare case since I'm so young, but it does happen," she replied.

Chris and Lance were both silent. You could hear a piece of thread hit the floor, because it was so quiet. Both Chris and Lance knew exactly what was going on in the other's brain. They were completely taken aback. Breast cancer. She was so young and from just meeting her, a very fun and sweet young woman. Lance cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, Fallyn, it's just.....we....," he began.

"Guys, come on, don't be Sally sad-faces. I'm gonna make it through this, y'all mark my words," she responded, smiling.

Chris smiled back at her. She was being very optimistic. Chris believed she would make it through.

They got to spend almost two full hours with Fallyn and once the ice was broken, they conversed like they knew her and got to know her very well. Chris liked that Fallyn was a strong person and didn't let her situation get to her. He wanted to make sure that she got something special for her birthday, but he wasn't sure what. She explained that she would be at the center for her birthday due to them running so many tests. And even then, she still had a smile across her face.

As they said their goodbye's, Chris and Lance let all the silence from the center to the limo do all the talking. Chris didn't want Lance to snap because of how he asked Fallyn about her diagnosis. But it w--

"I can't believe you just up and asked her like that," Lance said.

It was right on time.

"I was nervous, it kind of spilled out of my mouth before I could catch it," Chris replied.

"Chris you are so not slick and I'm gonna stop you before you hurt her or you get hurt," Lance said.

"Dude, what the hell are you talking about?" Chris asked him. I couldn't have been that obvious for him to try and ruin this for me.

"Chris I'm talking about you getting attached to this girl, emotionally attached. I can't let you do that and you know why," Lance said.

"Lance, I don't know what you're talking about and even if I WAS attached, I hardly think that's any of your business," Chris snapped.

He opened the passenger door and sat up front next to the driver. Chris was angry. He's supposed to back me on this, no matter what the situation is. I was trying to be polite and get to know her. What was wrong with that? Chris thought about it as they made their way back to Lakeland. Chris couldn't deny the instant attraction he had toward her the second he saw her smile. It took him by surprise when she opened up and he realized just how much they had in common. To Chris, what she was diagnosed with didn't dictate her who she was. There was so much more to her he wanted to find out. And he was going to.

--------------

"How was the hospital surprise?" asked Justin.

"It was great, actually. I had fun meeting her," Chris replied.

"Which hospital were you guys at?" JC asked as he walked up the stage.

"Osceola Cancer Center," Lance chimed in.

"Cancer center?" Joey repeated.

"Yep. She has a rare case of breast cancer. She's gonna be 25 on lover boy's birthday," Lance replied. Chris glared at Lance and shook his head.

"Lover boy? .......Do we even wanna know?" asked JC.

"No, you don't," Chris replied as he walked backstage. He was positive that Lance was not too far behind him and the other three were completely clueless as to what was going on.

"Chris! Chris wait up man, come on!" Lance called.

Chris stopped and pivoted toward Lance. "Was it even necessary to do that?"

"Chris, why are you getting so mad for? It was just a joke. You mess with us all the time, I thought you'd understand," Lance responded.

"Well this is nothing to joke about!"

Lance stepped back, in awe. Chris himself, felt the exact same way. He couldn't believe where all this raging emotion was coming from. Chris shifted his weight from foot to foot, unable to look Lance in the eye.
"Dude.....I know you're confused right now, but don't dig a deeper hole. I know that's conflicting with how you're feeling, bu--"

"Lance, I already told you it's nothing," Chris spoke.

"Chris, what if you did start something with her and something terrible happens? Then what, Chris? I'm only trying to save you from doing something that might leave a scar on your heart."

"What am I supposed to do Lance? How am I supposed to tell my heart that it picked the wrong girl?" Chris asked.

Chris sighed heavily and passed his fingers through his hair as he sat down on a step. Chris knew that Lance meant well and didn't want him to get hurt, but it didn't stop Chris from feeling defensive.

"Chris, I know what it's like to want someone that's almost untouchable. Fallyn is a wonderful girl, but be mindful of what you're trying to get yourself into. Come on, let's go get this rehearsing done," Lance said.

Chris stood up and followed Lance back to the stage. Be mindful of what I'm getting into. What AM I getting into? Chris wanted the opportunity to get to know her better. He didn't mention it, but when Lance left the room ahead of him,  they exchanged numbers. It wasn't intended for romantic reasons, but only so Chris could get into direct contact with her once he decided what he'd give her for her birthday. In the meantime, he had to focus on the task at hand. At least his heart was right in choosing music.

Chris was expecting to wake up refreshed and ready to attack the day, but instead found that he got absolutely no kind of sleep and was painfully tired. It was his birthday and Fallyn was all he could think about. Why her? Why did the girl who could almost be perfect for me have a timestamp? Chris was feeling the wrath of falling too fast too soon, which happened before, but it was nowhere near this situation.

Trying not to wake Lance up, Chris found himself in the hotel bathroom, looking down at his phone. To call or not to call: that is the question. When he decided to get over himself and stop being such a wuss, his phone began to go off. Without even bothering to look at who was calling, Chris answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi Chris, this is Fallyn. You remember, the girl you met....almost 24 hours ago?" she said. He heard an embarrassed sigh leave her lips and he smiled.

"Of course I remember. Actually, I was just about to call you and tell you happy birthday, also I think I figured out what my birthday present is to you," Chris said, without ever really knowing what the present was.

"Thank you, happy birthday to you, too. And you have to tell me. I've gotta know," she said.

Chris flipped through his Rolodex of ideas and all that was there were marionette dolls of himself and running across a train, which weren't even ideas. 

"I'm giving you two front row tickets to our concert tonight," Chris spilled out.

I am an idiot.

"Really? Wow that's, that's.....thank you so much!" she exclaimed.

"You're welcome," Chris replied sullenly.

"You don't sound too welcome. If it makes you feel better, I'm actually getting out of the hospital today. I was hoping you could come by and bring the tickets in person, if you're not too busy," she invited.

She was getting out of the hospital? Chris wasn't sure if Fallyn was for real or if she was only saying that to make him not worry. Honestly, she failed. Now he was worrying about not worrying. Chris glanced at his watch. If he got ready now, he could be there in an hour, hour and a half, tops. He looked at the time and quietly snuck back into the room, trying not to make any noise while he set out clothes to wear so he could get right into them after his shower. As he tip-toed back to the bathroom, he felt a pillow smack him in the back of his head.

"What the hell? Is it raining pillows?" Chris asked, looking up.

"Captain Obvious can you please find a quieter way to sneak out, you're disturbing my sleep," Lance said.

"I'm not sneaking, I didn't wanna wake you. I'm considerate," Chris said.
"Well," Lance began. "As you can see, I'm awake, Chris."

"Your fault, go back to sleep."

"Dude, I know where you're going and I'm coming, too, so hurry up," Lance said.

Chris let out a huge groan and went into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. Chris should've known he wouldn't have been able to sneak out of the room without being caught. At least he tried. He didn't get extremely dressy, but he did make sure that at least his socks matched. Chris was in the dining area talking to Johnny while he waited for Lance to get ready. He wanted to let him know the situation in case there was any problem. But of course, Johnny was ten steps ahead and already had tickets waiting. The second Lance was ready, Chris thanked Johnny and they were on their way.

What Chris was expecting when they reached Fallyn's room, was not what was actually going on. The door was closed, and Fallyn's mother was in the waiting room, looking rather worried. Almost brung to tears. Chris didn't know how to feel. He wasn't even sure what to do, he just stood there hoping the door would open, but it didn't.

"Felicia, what's going on?" Chris asked.

"The doctors say she caught a high fever and they don't want to let her go until they can bring it all the way down," she replied.

A high fever? "I just spoke to her less than two hours ago and she sounded fine. How did she get a fever in the two hours I talked to her?" Chris asked.

"She got it last night because of a slit in the window screen and the cool draft mixed in with the air conditioning gave her a sore throat. It just got worse from there since her immune system isn't as strong," Felicia explained.

Chris sat down, tightening his grip on the envelope with the two tickets. The tickets. Fallyn wouldn't be able to go to the show tonight. She didn't tell him the truth because she didn't want him to feel bad about his present. The door to her room opened and Dr. Wells exited the room. Chris quickly stood up, Felicia and Lance not too far behind his action.

"Dr. Wells, how is she doing?" asked Felicia.

She'll be fine, we got her some antibiotics for her throat and brought her temperature down to normal. I want her to stay the night, just in case. I won't hook her up to anything major, we just want to monitor and continue her doses," he replied.

Chris let out a sigh of relief, making his head feel light as he dropped into a chair with his hands burying his face. He felt a tap, causing his eyes to shoot up. It was Dr. Wells.

"Chris, right?" he inquired. Chris nodded. "Ms. Everett wants to see you."

Chris stood up, shocked. Really? Me? He glanced at Lance and shrugged before going inside the room. Fallyn's face lit up as Chris came closer to her bed.

"You could've told me the truth, you know," Chris said.

"I know, I know. But I didn't want you to feel even more embarrassed," Fallyn said. Her voice was a bit hoarse.

"I still feel stupid, but thanks," Chris said.

Fallyn chuckled softly. "Come on. Don't tell me you're gonna punk out on me, Kirkpatrick."

"No, no way, never. Except if we're on a high building, then you'd have to worry," Chris smiled.
She laughed and turned her attention toward the door as it opened.

"Hey Chris, Johnny needs us to get back," Lance said as he came in to greet Fallyn.

"Aw, well thank you both for coming, I appreciate you being here," Fallyn said.

"It's no problem.....Oh and before I forget, here you go." Chris handed her the envelope with the two tickets and he touched her chin before leaving the room.

----------

Chris could hear the crowd in uproar as he stood offstage. Lance pat him on the back, knowing what was on his mind. He wanted Fallyn to be here. He almost felt like he needed her to be here. He took a couple deep breaths and pushed it out of his mind, tonight he had to have a good show. It was his birthday, he was feeling great, and the sound of the crowd meant he had to be focused.

"Dude, don't worry. I've got your back all the way, like I should've before," Lance said as they were cued to get on-stage.

In a matter of seconds they were running onto the stage and the dream of a few minutes became an instant reality. Nothing could top the feeling of over 100,000 people being in one place to watch you do what you love. Chris felt the adrenaline speed through his veins and he was hyped up, excited to share his birthday with so many people who loved what him and his friends worked so hard at.

Chris was about to get into position until the lights changed color. Chris was confused and thought he screwed up, so he turned to look at his bandmates. They mischievous grins they had on their faces let him know, they were up to something. All of a sudden the spotlight struck onto him and the crowd began to sing happy birthday. Chris looked toward the side and saw a huge cake being rolled out onto the stage. He smiled as he felt his friends pat him on the back.

".......Happy Birthday to you!!!"

The crowd screamed and applauded as Chris went over to make his wish.

"Take your time with this wish. We all want it to come true!" Joey said.

Chris closed his eyes and really thought about his wish. Once he figure out what he wanted, he opened his eyes and blew out all the candles. His friends and fans all cheered.

"Hold on, wait, wait! I have a present to give Chris. Close your eyes," Lance said.

Chris did as he was told and he felt a pair of hands grab and move him around. I swear if I'm at the edge of the stage when I open my eyes, they're all gonna wake-up with something wrong done to them. He felt a hand remove from his face and he let his eyes adjust to the lighting.

"Look," Lance whispered as he pointed out into the crowd.

Once Chris' vision was all clear, he followed Lance's finger out into the crowd. He scanned, not sure of what to look for until it smacked him in the face. His eyes landed on a huge poster board decorated with a large pink ribbon:

Happy Birthday, Chris!!! - Fallyn.

Chris' heart filled as his eyes met hers. Words couldn't explain how happy he was that Fallyn was standing in the audience. There was a feeling that she was doing something she wasn't supposed to, and just from first impression, he could tell that this was true. She smiled at him, erasing everything he was trying to keep hidden. The nervousness he felt backstage, wondering if she was going to be okay, disappeared. Chris had so many questions. What was she doing here? Giving Fallyn a small shrug, she pointed and mouthed "Lance". Lance did this for him. He thought of the words that Lance said before they got onstage and Chris understood.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Chris helped to roll the cake back off the stage, getting a quick taste before running back to his spot. He waved his hand to everyone in the crowd.

"Thank you guys for the cake and of course all you fans for singing!" the crowd screamed. He glanced over at Lance and his best friends. "And thank you guys for making tonight the best birthday I've ever had."

Chris drifted his eyes down to Fallyn as he reached into his pocket to pull out a pink ribbon pin. He fastened it onto the vest pocket placed right over his heart.

"For you, Fallyn."