"One more time," Wade called hearing groans come from the five females in front of him. He knew they were tired and worn out, sore and aching but he had to push them because they were losing precious rehearsal time next week. Rachel's tour started back up which meant she couldn't give a full day to him anymore. She was needed to rehearse with her own band and for her own shows. He was lucky the shows starting off this leg of Rachel's Blown Away tour were in California. Having them in California, Rachel was able to squeeze in a few hours to rehearse for the tribute. If her shows had been scheduled in another state, he wasn't sure they would be ready in time.

"You're getting this all on tape right?" Rachel looked over at Megan. When they started rehearsing she assigned Megan with the task of video taping some portions. Everything was kept tightly under wraps and she wasn't allowed talking about it. It proved really hard since she was addicted to Twitter. After catching herself numerous times the first day, she finally started an ongoing note on her phone. (Password protected incase JC decided to snoop.)

Anytime she wanted to tweet, she just wrote it down in her notes instead. She had a fairly long note by now. It's almost turned into a blog post. Aside from the tweets, there were also her thoughts and feelings as she went through the songs special to her and learning the dances. Some posts went a little toward the R-rated side with her language. Wade took no prisoners. After the tribute aired, she would upload the post to her website along with video snippets.

"Every moan, grimace, curse word and eye roll," Megan grinned pausing the tape. "And the occasional middle finger when Wade's back is turned.

"You can edit that out right?" Danielle asked.

"If the price is right..."

"I can't wait to see the video of Meeghan dropping Rachel on her ass," Erin laughed.

"That is not funny." Rachel said as she rubbed her behind even though the incident happened weeks ago. During I Want You Back there was a flip right before JC's verse started. Even though JC's verse was cut out from their medley, the little dance break after the chorus was kept before the song switched to Tearin Up My Heart. For the flip, Rachel and Meeghan (playing JC and Joey) faced each other and gripped hands. Rachel then picked up her right leg and swung it over their joined hands positioning her with her back toward Meeghan and their hands between Rachel's legs. Once there were in that position, Meeghan then pulled on Rachel hand's flipping her in the air. Danielle did the same thing to Whitney while Erin stood between them and had a few seconds to dance by herself while the flips happened.

The very first time they practice the flip, Rachel didn't land on her feet. She landed hard on her butt on the floor, sure she had broken something. Unfortunately Megan had gotten it all on video. The video would certainly get a lot of play once it was posted. It would definitely get a lot of laughs; from JC and Lance as well.

"We'll run through Bye Bye Bye once more," Wade said, gathering the girls.

"Can we pick up with It's Gonna Be Me and hit the transition?" Rachel asked. "It's a little weak I think. It's not as smooth as the others."

Wade nodded. "Alright. We'll do them both." When the girls got into their correct spots, he started the music watching as they immediately went into the dance. He nodded watching them hit the correct moves. Their movements were fluid. His face relaxed into a smile as the chorus finished and Rachel started.

"You got no choice babe, but to move on," she swept her hand out in front of her watching her movements in the mirror. Whenever she heard these songs the dance moves always went through her head. Since she was learning them it's been worse. During the last month and half she'd taken to watching NSYNC videos online only when she knew she wasn't at risk of being seen. She told the other girls to as well so they could pick up some of the guys' mannerisms. They all wanted this to be the best performance. A knowing smile crossed her face as she moved her shoulders. In every video she watched, JC always gave a small smile during that part. "You know there ain't no time to waste. You're just too blind. To see but in the end you know it's gonna be me."

When they got into the short dance break Wade paid close attention. They moved into position and they leaned to the right before moving back to the left then bending over at the waist. Starting with Danielle, they each picked their heads up. He shook his head. "Wait," he called out.

"That's not working." Rachel placed her hands on her hips, staring at Wade in the mirror.

"Why don't we cut out the, 'gonna, gonna, gonna,' part," Whitney suggested. "So it will be like, 'There comes a day when I'll be the one; you'll see...'" she did the lean as she sang the words then dropped her head down. "Bye bye. bye bye." She sang and echoed before straightening. "When we drop down there will be a hard pause. Then the music for Bye Bye Bye picks up, we move into places and go into that dance."

Wade was nodding as he listened to Whitney talk. It was a good idea and he told her so. "Let's try that." He moved in front of the girls and slowed the pace of the movements. He sang the lyrics that went with the lean and fell silent, pausing bent over at the waist for a second before he hummed the opening strands of Bye Bye Bye. When he looked at the mirror he saw five nods. "Alright, start at the dance break and then move into Bye Bye Bye."

"What are you doing now?" Danielle asked Rachel as they gathered their things after Wade deemed the rehearsal good and released them.

"To Lance's," Rachel wiped her face with a towel. She looked at the clock on the wall, grimacing seeing that it was already after three. "Supposed to be on his radio show thirty minutes ago."

Erin made a face. "You're late."

"I know. I think I've been late to everything this week. I'm beginning to think I'll never be on time again." She shouldered her bag. Lance was going to have to deal with her smelly and sweaty. She didn't have time to shower.

"Oh no;" Megan shook her head, sending her boss a glare. "You will be on time to everything after this concert is over. Because when you're late, people get angry at me. I don't like it when people get angry with me."

"That's why I pay you the big bucks," Rachel said as they walked out into the California sunshine.

"I've been inside so long, I forgot that it's warm outside," Whitney slipped on her sunglasses. "I need to find some beach time."

"Are we rehearsing this weekend?"

Wade nodded. "Only for a couple hours each day to keep it fresh. Just running through a couple times. Rachel's not going to be here so I won't keep you long."

"A weekend off. We should all be so lucky," Meeghan teased.

"I wish. I'll be in Sacramento tomorrow and San Jose on Sunday," Rachel opened the backseat door on the passenger side, dropping her bag on the seat. "There is no weekend off. Tuesday I have a concert here in LA. Thursday in Bakersfield; Saturday in San Diego and then the tribute concert on Sunday. Don't ask me what's after that because frankly I have absolutely no idea."

"You gonna be able to run through this weekend?" Erin asked.

Rachel shook her head. "JC's gonna be with me. Even if I could get rid of him for an hour, there will always be someone around who will see." She opened the driver's door. "I'll see you ladies on Monday."

~*~

"Welcome back, my little peanuts," Lance said as the advertisements ended. "My sister has finally arrived."

"Yes yes," Rachel spoke as she moved the microphone down. "There was a last minute change and The Warden made us practice."

"Changing something a week before the show?"

"Crazy huh? But it makes the transition between songs so much smoother."

"For our listeners that don't know," Drew, one of the 'peanuts' on the show, spoke. "Rachel is involved in this tribute concert that's airing living next Sunday, honoring some of the big names in music over the years." He named off some of the acts being honored. "NSYNC is one of them."

Lance nodded. "We are. I'm not quite sure what to expect. If only I knew who was performing." He sent a look toward his sister. "Someone won't tell me."

"Someone isn't allowed," Rachel said pointedly. "I really have no idea why they want this surprise factor but I can't say. I literally had to sign paperwork stating I'd keep my mouth shut. I don't even know who the others are performing to. We all know the list of performers slated and the honorees, but it's a guessing game to match them up."

"So what can you tell us?" Drew asked. "Give us some inside scoop."

"I don't know what I can really tell you that won't get me in trouble," Rachel started. "After working the past... well almost two months, I hope everyone will like it. I've never been this tired. In the beginning there were nights I'd go home and literally pass out on the couch. It hurt to walk."

"I think she's doing NSYNC," Lance broke in.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Of course you do. Who knows, I might be doing Backstreet Boys. Oh the storylines..."

"You said transition, so are you doing more than one song?" Lisa, Lance's personal assistant asked. She had been quiet so far letting Rachel talk.

"Damn," Rachel muttered. "I can't discuss the songs. But since I let it slip already. Yes there is more than one song. That's what's really hard about medleys and such. Getting from one song to the next without it sounding like crap."

"Oh yeah," Lance nodded knowingly. "Not only do you have to work out which verses and use but you have you to work the music. It's a pain in the butt to make the music go directly from one song to the other without you really knowing the songs switched. So I hear there was some controversy at the beginning that had you almost quitting. Tell us about that."

"You know all about that; JC couldn't wait to tell you."

"Well I don't," Drew spoke. "What happened? If you can tell us..."

"My sister told the executive producer of the concert to stick the concert up his ass." Lance grinned. "My baby sister is growing up."

"We're twins, dork," Rachel rolled her eyes again.

"You're still younger."

"By two minutes."

"So what happened?"

"I wish I could be here Monday after the concert, then I'd spill all and tell you everything."

"Well that can be arranged."

"I wish. I'll be on tour. Blown Away starts up again tomorrow and goes until September."

"Wow," Drew's eyes widened. "So this concert definitely took all your off time."

"Yes it did. JC's a little put out at times but he understands. There were plenty of times, when after rehearsing and I'd pass out on the couch where I wished I'd have turned down the concert. I've been crazy busy, with rehearsals. Then I was in Vegas for the ACMs. Starting tomorrow I have 5 shows here in California, along with final preparations for the tribute concert next Sunday."

"Wow; that's a crazy schedule. She's busier than you Lance."

"I remember those days well. We never knew where we were, where we were going. We just went were we were told."

"Are we gonna have a NSYNC reunion next week?"

"I have gotten so many tweets..."

"Me too." Rachel said, speaking over Lance. When it was announced NSYNC was one of the honorees, her twitter at blown up with tweets asking if all the members would be in attendance. She couldn't speak for any of them. JC would have been there regardless because she was performing. Though she wondered if NSYNC hadn't been one of the honorees would she have been asked to perform?

"I don't know about Justin or Chris," Lance continued. "I'll be there and Joey sent a text that he was going."

"Obviously JC will be there," Drew said with a look toward Rachel for confirmation.

"He didn't have a choice," Rachel grinned. "He was going anyway."

"Does he go to all your performances?"

Rachel nodded, smiling as she talked about her husband. "For obvious reasons he can't completely go on tour with me. He works out some crazy schedule that makes him ridiculously busy when he's home so he can come with me more often, for longer periods of times. But when there are those special performances, such as the ACMs, Grammy's or what not, he's always there."

"Awww. I introduced them," Lance grinned. "If it wasn't for me JC wouldn't have been part of your life for the last...how many years?"

"Sixteen years at the end of the month."

"Holy crap. You guys haven't been married for sixteen years have you?" Drew asked shocked.

"No; it will be ten years next month." Rachel said. "We've been together for sixteen years. Since 97."

"Wow," Drew shook his head. "Sixteen years. That is unreal. That is unheard of in this industry where we had Kim Kardashian's 72 day marriage to Kris Humphries and Britney Spear's 55 hour marriage."

"What's the secret?" Lance asked, giving his sister a wink.

"We love each other?" Rachel said with a small laugh. "It's really not that big of a secret for a successful marriage. We survived the height of NSYNC and all those groupies that hung out in the hotel lobbies and would show up where the guys were. Wanting to sleep with them, offering to have their babies. Then it was his tour and then mine..."

"So what you're saying is, the way to make a marriage work in the business is to be crazy busy and never see each other?"

The studio filled with laughter. "Definitely not. I'd go crazy if I couldn't see JC. Long distance would never work. One of us would cave and move to where the other one is."

"What's the longest you guys have been apart?" Lisa asked. She loved Rachel and JC. They were in the same category as Lance whereas they were best friends. She was closer to Lance only because of the fact that she worked for him and was with him constantly.

Rachel paused and thought for a moment. "A month. During my Play On Tour. With the way the tour was scheduled and America's Best Dance Crew nothing ever worked out and it was a month before we were finally able to get together. It was a nightmare. Of course we talked on the phone multiple times a day. Texted each other constantly. Video chatted. We did it all. But it wasn't the same as actually being in the same room."

"Well no, you couldn't have sex."

Rachel felt her face flush and groaned. She hated this part of Lance's show. She didn't mind talking about sex or intimate topics; she just preferred to leave hers out of the discussion. "It wasn't even that. I mean that was part of it but..." she sighed trying to get her words in order.

"My sister hates talking about her sex life."

"I do! It's private; between me and JC. I really don't want to invite the world in."

"Not the world. Just our handful of listeners," Drew joked.

"What I was trying to say is that the month apart was really hard. JC and I are really touchy-feely...you can stop thinking about sex now," she rolled her eyes. "I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about kissing and hugging; hand holding, snuggling. We've always been that way. Very seldom will you see us out in town without us holding hands, my arm is through his, or his hand on my back or waist. It's just natural for us."

"As we go and wonder why we didn't find JC first; well I did, but I graciously let my sister have him," Lance spoke with a smile. "We need to take a break. But when we come back we're gonna play a game and I believe Rachel has tickets to give away. So don't go anywhere."

~*~

"This week can not get over fast enough," JC said as he lay in bed watching his wife get ready. Her movements were slow and he counted four yawns already. When she looked at him, he could see the feint markings beneath her eyes signaling just how much sleep she hadn't gotten. The weekend had been packed. Flying out Saturday morning to Sacramento, Rachel had interviews, meet and greets, and rehearsal before her show that night.

Then on Sunday they flew to San Jose to do it all over again. After the show they flew back to Burbank where they both collapsed in bed in complete exhaustion. JC was exhausted and he hadn't been the one that put on over two hour shows back to back. This week wasn't looking any better for his wife to rest and catch up on sleep. In fact it looked worse.

"I know but it's not like there's going to be any downtime next week," Rachel said as she pulled a plain white t-shirt over her head. Once it was on, she pulled her blonde hair from beneath the shirt. She wasn't in the mood to put an effort into her appearance. Wade and the girls could deal with her white t-shirt and plain grey sweatpants.

"You'll have more than you do now," JC rolled over on his side and leaned up on his elbow as Rachel moved into the bathroom. From his position he could see into the room and he watched her brush her hair out before pulling it back in a simple pony tail. His fingers itched to pull her back to bed, remove the brown rubber band from her hair and run his fingers through the long tresses while her head rested on his chest until they both fell asleep again.

"True," Rachel said before quickly washing her face and brushing her teeth. She was slowly starting to feel human again. When she walked back into the bedroom, she couldn't help but walk toward the bed. She crawled over the empty space; her eyes never leaving her husband's. She gave him a pretty chaste peck on the lips.

"I want to pull you back in this bed with me," he palmed her cheek.

"I wouldn't offer much resistance."

JC groaned at his wife's words. He moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her head where he brought her lips to his. His eyes closed at the contact. This time the kiss wasn't chaste. He moved to his back and pulled Rachel down with him, never once breaking contact. Their lips moved together in a slow, sensual manner; an act so familiar to them both. "How much time do we have?" He whispered against her lips.

"Not enough time to do what you're thinking." Rachel's eyes fluttered open and she stared down at JC; her lips a whisper away from his.

"If I just want to lay here and hold you?"

"Oh," her features softened as her heart expanded. Her love for JC grew each day. "Megan's picking me up so we have until she texts." She allowed JC to pull her down in the comfort of his arms. She curled her body to his side, placing her head on his bare chest. He was still warm from sleep she wanted to crawl beneath the covers and really wrap her body around his but she settled get getting as close as she could on top of the covers. She felt his hand playing with her pony tail and nuzzled her head against his chest. Letting her eyes drift shut she gave a content sigh.

They lay in the quiet neither speaking. JC ran his fingers through her pony tail. His head leaned against hers. His eyes were closed as he took in the feeling of her thumb caressing his cheek, her fingers resting on his neck. It seemed like it was all too soon when Rachel's phone went off signaling their short, intimate time was over.

"Damn," Rachel sighed and tightened her arm around JC, stealing a few more seconds.

"Look on the bright side," JC told her as he sat up, keeping her in his arms. "This week should be pretty easy. You have everything learned it's just running through it a few times a day to keep it fresh."

Rachel hummed, "From your lips," she leaned forward kissing him softly. "I hope so. We're moving to the NOKIA theatre this week for rehearsals. Let's see how closed doors they keep this. I bet by Sunday at least two acts will be found out."

"I hope it's yours," JC murmured against her lips as he kissed her again. "Because this not knowing is killing me."

She smiled at him, cradling his face. "You'll find out Sunday." She kissed him one last time before reluctantly getting off the bed. "If you're right and we only do a few run-throughs, I should be done by lunch; maybe we can go out on one of those things that couples do. You know when they go someplace like out to eat or see a movie..."

JC's lips twisted into a grin. "You mean like a date?"

Rachel snapped her fingers pointing her finger in the air. "That's the word I was looking for. It's been so long I had forgotten..." Her teasing eyes met his. "Keep your lunch free, Mr. Chasez; you're taking me out." As she stepped into the hallway she paused, placing a hand on the door frame looking over her shoulder. Taking in her husband sitting up in their bed, bare-chested, blankets pooled in his lap, his hair in disarray, looking so delicious, she bit her lip to keep from saying to hell with the rehearsal and jumping back into bed. Instead she sent him a smile. "I love you."

"I love you," He shook his head as his wife wiggled her fingers at him and disappeared from sight. He collapsed back on the bed, smiling wide.

~*~

"You fucking kidding me?"

Wade rubbed his face groaning as he heard the tone in Rachel's voice. This was not happing a week before the concert. 'Why oh why do people with power get bright ideas days before an event?' He thought. Judging by the look on Rachel's face and Mr. Klein's, this was not going to end well. He just wasn't sure for which party.

"This is a brilliant idea!" Mr. Klein stated, sweeping his hand toward the stage where the apparatuses were already put together. "You're already going to be in them anyway; this just adds more to the wow factor."

"This would have been nice to know from the very beginning! And the only part we were going to be in was having the ropes attached to our wrists. There was nothing stated about harnesses and dangling above the stage." She turned her glare from the older man toward the harness hanging from the air. Five of them. All waiting for them to get suited up and be lifted in the air. This was not what she was expecting when she arrived this morning. She expected to be in the ropes to practice the beginning of No Strings Attached. Now a suit had a brilliant idea to add another aspect to an already grueling routine; days before the performance no less.

"Watching some of their videos and seeing them with the Pinocchio song playing," Mr. Klein shook his head. "It was a genius idea. It's something we can easily recreate that will have them talking more then they already will be."

"Why didn't you bring this up earlier, Mr. Klein?" Wade cut in. He sent Rachel a look hoping she'd keep quiet. "We already have the routine down. We're here to practice the few movements with the ropes. We're down to - counting today - six days of rehearsals. And those aren't full days because Rachel has a concert tomorrow, Thursday and Saturday. We can't be adding new things."

"It's a simple addition," Mr. Klein stated. "A few arm movements and you're done. Easy."

"Easy!" Rachel exploded. "You're changing our routine that we spent the last two months working hard to get down! And now you're stepping in at the last minute and changing things?"

"I'm not changing anything, Ms. Chasez," Mr. Klein stated. The happy smile he wore slowly fading. "I'm merely adding a small part to the beginning that will give your performance an extra edge. People will be tuning in on Sunday to see NSYNC reunited after nearly a decade apart. Your performance is huge. It will be the one people will be looking at the most. Not only because they were so popular but because you are the artist performing it - JC's wife."

Rachel clenched her jaw to keep from saying what she wanted to say. She felt like she was already harnessed up and being mastered from above. What could she do? Pull out? Six days before the concert? If she did that, who would fill in? Who would they get to take her place? There was no one that could learn the whole routine in six days no matter how good they were.

"This is nonnegotiable." Mr. Klein stared at Rachel waiting for her to say something. He budged on a lot of things for this one performance trying to keep her happy but this was something he wasn't doing.

"Did it ever occur to you, Mr. Klein during your 'brilliant idea' that one of use might have a fear of heights?" Rachel stated her tone low and even.

"Do any of you have that problem?" Mr. Klein asked looking at each member of the ensemble. When no one voiced a problem he looked back at the leader. "Good. Now, I'll leave you to practice."

Rachel fought the urge to raise her middle finger at the retreating man's back. Instead she looked at Wade. "What the hell are we going to do? Damnit."

"I hate people in charge. They get bright ideas and think they are easy to carry out," Wade muttered. The door closed behind Mr. Klein leaving him along with the five girls plus Megan. "Let's pull up this video and look at what they guys do and go from there."

"This makes me want to go and slap each and every one of them," Rachel grumbled as she took her iPad from Megan. Quickly going to YouTube she searched for the video of the guys dangling from the air. "Well..." she said as they watched the first thirty seconds of the video, "the good news is the first verse they are dangling there doing nothing."

"Their movements don't look coordinated," Erin pointed out. "Look," she rewound the video. "Look at their arms. They each are doing something different. It almost looks like they were told to just do something with their arms."

"That is what it looks like," Rachel mused. "This has me worried the rest of the week he's going to be popping in here with new ideas."

"Not really important at the moment," Danielle spoke up. When everyone looked at her she offered a little smile. "But what about our costumes?"

"Son of a bitch," Rachel let a string of curses fly. Last month they had sat down and decided on their clothing and met with the group of women who were designing and creating the clothing. They hadn't heard back. "Megan..." she turned and looked to her personal assistant.

"On it," Megan quickly stood and strode from the room.

"Alright. Let's not worry about all that stuff," Wade spoke. He was beginning to get nervous. He couldn't help but worry if what Rachel said was true. Was Mr. Klein going to keep popping in each day with something else to add? Was he doing this with the other acts as well or were they special? "Let's just practice the Pinocchio bit." He nodded for the lone gentleman standing out of sight on the stage.

"Alright ladies; I'm Jesse. I'm going to be the one in charge of lowering you to the stage," Jesse was in his mid-thirties. He had short brown hair, with dark eyes and a sharp chiseled jaw. Beneath the jeans and tight black t-shirt was the body of a fit man. Four girls immediately fell in love. "I'll show you how to strap yourself in. And then how to get out of the harness."

It took awhile for Jesse to show each girl. Rachel rolled her eyes at their flirting. Wade had offered to help, which he was turned down by everyone except Rachel. But once they were strapped in and secure, Jesse worked the machine and raised them high above the seats.

"Alright," Wade called up to the girls suspended above the floor. "Relax!"

"Easy for you to say! Your feet are firmly on the ground!" Rachel called down. She heard Wade's chuckle.

"Faster you get this the less you'll have to do it. Now when the song starts you guys are hanging there. You're relaxed and not moving. So relax your body. Give it a lifeless look."

"Lifeless is not something I want to hear this high up," Meeghan shouted down, but let her body go limp.

"Good, good," Wade called up as he looked at each individual. Their bodies were limp and relaxed. "Wish we had the music for this..." He hummed what he thought was part of the song. "There are no strings on me... and lower." They didn't have a lot of room to work with compared to what NSYNC had at the stadiums. "About five feet off the ground. Good..." he said when Jesse stopped the girls. "This is where you do the first movements." He pulled out his phone and pulled up the video they had looked at earlier on Rachel's iPad. He turned up the volume as high as he could. "Here's where you're suspended in air.... you're being lowered. And....go" He watched as they moved their arms. The movements were disjointed and rough. This was not what he needed a week out. They were supposed to be polishing movements, making them snap and pop. Not learning new things. "Put 'em on the ground." He called to Jesse.

"Alright ladies; listen to the beat. Find the rhythm. Ignore Pinocchio's voice. He doesn't matter here. Once you find that back beat, that's what you move your arms too. You have to imagine there is actually someone at the top of those ropes on your arms moving them," he rewound the video to the part he wanted. "We'll stay on the floor and work through this."

Frustrations were mounting thirty minutes later when Wade finally called for a break. As the girls got a drink of water, he knew when the break was over he was skipping the puppet scene and going with the releasing of the ropes and running through the performance. At this point he didn't care about some big wigs great idea. The performance is what mattered to him. This was what they worked hard for during those two months. They put in long hours to get it down. Before he could gather them back up, Megan returned.

"What's the verdict?" Rachel asked.

"They have costumes already picked up," Megan spoke. "In an hour you have to be in the dressing room were they'll do fittings."

"Alright," Wade sighed. This was turning into a cluster. "Let's get back at it so you can go do that. After than, if there is still time, we'll hit it again. Forget the Pinocchio stuff for right now. Put the ropes back on your wrists and we'll work this part go from there."

*~*

Rachel grabbed her bag from the chair and tossed it down on the floor then proceeded to curl up, using the bag as a pillow. The weekend was finally catching up with her.

"Are you okay?" Meeghan asked as she passed around the sandwiches that were delivered to them for lunch. Seeing Rachel's eyes closed, she left her sandwich in the bag.

"I have never been this tired in my entire life," Rachel spoke, her eyes remaining closed. By the time they got out of wardrobe, it was lunch time. Wade had been nice enough to order them a light lunch. After lunch they were going to rehearse more. The new beginning made their day longer, especially since they wouldn't be able to rehearse tomorrow since she had a concert. "Hey guys, I am sorry about the added stuff this week. If it wasn't for my concerts, we'd be done for the day."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Whitney brushed off Rachel's apologies. She took a drink of her water. "We knew the final week would be crazy."

"Yeah, and it would be stupid for us to complain when you're the one that has a million different things going on," Erin said taking a bit of her turkey sandwich. "We just have to worry about this. You got interviews and rehearsals for your own shows."

"So I was thinking," Danielle spoke up a few minutes later after a period of silence while they all started eating. "I don't know if it's a good idea or not..."

"Spit it out girl," Whitney said. "Though if you're going to change or add something to the show, you're liable to get hurt."

Danielle laughed forcefully. "No... well not really. It doesn't have anything to do with dancing or singing. It's just, after seeing what we're wearing Sunday, I thought it would be kind of cool if we did something that would make us sort of their likeness." She saw four sets of confused eyes look at her. She blushed. "What I mean is Whitney, you're Chris. Chris was known for, those goggles and the braided hair. So I thought it would be cool if Whitney got her hair braided. Joey had red hair. So Meeghan could put red streaks in her hair. Justin..."

"Wore the jeweled bandanas," Erin grinned. "I like it. I think that's a good idea. When I get home, I'm gonna do that to a bandana."

"But what will you do?" Whitney asked Danielle. She had no problem getting her hair done in braids for the concert.

"Did Lance really have anything?"

"The frosted tips," Meeghan giggled. She laughed harder when she heard a snort come from Rachel who had stayed quiet during their conversation.

"I don't think Lance really had anything..."

"Don't you ever answer your phone?" Megan interrupted coming up the group. She stood in front of Rachel looking down at her boss.

"Not when I'm trying to rest," Rachel mumbled, opening one eye, peeking up at Megan. "What's wrong now?"

"Your husband is here. So I suggest you go outside and meet him before he comes in here looking for you."

"Don't let him come in here!" Erin shrieked. "We've made it this far without anyone knowing! I'd hate to have the surprise ruined.

"Don't worry," Rachel pushed herself up. She grabbed her sandwich and looked at her watch. They had thirty minutes. She'd take that time with JC. Giving a little wave, she picked up her bottle of water and made her way out of the theatre. She smiled seeing the lone figure leaning against the wall to the right where the ticket window was located; his hands in his pocket. His eyes were hidden behind sunglasses but his smile was bright and wide when he spotted her.

The smile on JC's face faltered slightly seeing the look on his wife's face. Sure she was smiling but he could see just how much it took for her to muster that much. He pushed off the wall and held open his arms and she walked right into them. He hugged her tightly feeling her relax against him. "I take it this morning didn't go as planned?" He murmured into her hair.

Rachel shook her head.

"Come on," he released her from his arms only to take her hand. He led her away from the entrance of the theatre around the side to the building next to it. There were concrete walls built around small trees and flowers. He sat down first, leaning back against the wall and pulled Rachel down to his lap. In front of them was the fifty-plus story JW Marriott Hotel. Very few people walked by and no one bothered them. He held her loosely in his arms, cradled between his legs. "What happened?"

"Oh JC," Rachel sighed. "This week is going to be a nightmare. It's supposed to just be running through to keep it fresh not changing things."

"You're changing things?" JC asked surprised. "What the hell is The Warden thinking? He does know you have your own concerts this week right?"

"It's not him." She picked her head off JC's chest. "Mr. Klein had a 'brilliant idea'," she made the air quotes. "I have a feeling he's going to be popping in every day this week with his brilliant ideas."

"The concert's less than a week away, what is he thinking?"

"I don't know. He has too much time on his hands? You know how people in charge get. They get these ideas and think they can be carried out just like that. And they have all the power so no one's going to tell them no..."

"You told him no," JC pointed out. "And he crawled over backward to get you to reconsider."

"Told him no this time too. Both the Warden and I. Didn't get us very far." She sighed. "And of course it's got us all messed up and frustrated. We barely had time to work through anything this morning because we had to go to wardrobe. Which I had to stand there and get yelled at."

"What? Why?"

"Because they didn't fit."

JC griped his wife's shoulders and pushed her back as he looked her up and down. "No way they said you were fat. If they did, I'm going to have a word with them..."

"No," Rachel shook her head, a small smile on her face. "They didn't fit because I had lost weight. I shimmied and the pants fell right off."

JC laughed as he pictured his wife's words. "That I would have loved to see."

"There may be a video," Rachel blushed. "Megan's been taking little videos of this whole thing. She just happened to catch that part."

"I have got to see this video!"

"You will...but not until after the concert," she patted his cheek. Leaving her palm on his cheek, she leaned forward kissing him softly. "This wasn't the kind of date I had in mind this morning."

"No," he lifted his hand, placing it over Rachel's on his cheek. "But I'm here and you're here. Nothing else matters." He moved this time, brushing his lips over hers.

"Well, I can't offer much but I'll share my turkey sandwich and bottle of water."

"Maybe you should eat the full sandwich so your pants won't fall off Sunday night," JC teased.

"Oh my God," Rachel stared at JC in horror. "That's not even funny! Don't joke about that!"

JC laughed at his wife's expression. "You're right; that wouldn't be funny. At least not at first."

"Well," Rachel said as JC laughed. "I supposed I'll have to make sure my panties are the sexiest pair I own since everyone is gonna see them. Maybe those tiny red ones you like so much..."

The laughter stopped abruptly as Rachel's words penetrated. JC looked at his wife, who raised her eyebrow at him. He imagined sitting in the audience watching his wife sing and dance on stage. In the middle of the song, her pants slide off her hips to the floor revealing the skimpiest pair of red lace that barely covered anything. He could hear the wolf whistles in his head and see men reaching for the cell phones to take photographs and maybe video as well. "Never mind," he spoke, his voice low. "It wouldn't be funny."

"I'm sure you'd run up on stage to quickly cover me up," Rachel giggled.

"Damn straight," JC nodded. "No one gets to see you like that except me."

"I'll leave the red lace at home just for you," Rachel promised. "I'll make sure I have the most un-sexiest pair I can find."

"You'd make granny panties sexy," JC crossed his arms across her chest, pulling her tightly against his chest. "Incase you haven't noticed, you're incredibly hot." He pressed a kiss against her neck.

Rachel grinned. She hummed feeling JC's lips against her neck and she tilted her head, exposing her neck more. She crossed one of her arms over JC's on her chest, holding them in place. The other, she lifted and cocked it backward, wrapping it around JC's head, burying her fingers in his hair. "Is that why you can't keep your hands off me?"

"Is that what you want me to do with my hands?" JC murmured hotly into her ear. "Keep them off you?"

"Not in a million years. I like your hands on me. But maybe we should curb this before it gets out of hand and we get ourselves arrested," she said even as she turned her head inviting him to kiss her. Which he did. Thoroughly.

"How about tonight you tell me all about how you like my hands on you?"

"Mmm, deal," Rachel said and sat up, breaking the hold JC had on her. She handed JC half her sandwich and they ate in silence, sharing the cold bottle of water. When they were finished eating, she took up her previous position between his legs relaxing against him. "I can't wait until we can do this anytime without worrying about touring, interviews, appearances..."

JC wrapped his arms around Rachel holding her securely against him. "I know. But it won't be just us for very long."

"I hope not," Rachel wrapped her arms over JC's. A couple weeks ago, she went to the doctor and removed her birth control. Now it was just a waiting game to see when they would get pregnant. She was supposed to announce her break this week but after talking with JC, they decided to just wait until they could announce her pregnancy and do it at once. She was glad not to announce it this week; it was crazy enough without that added news. "I'm excited and it hasn't even happened yet."

"It might have," JC said softly in her ear. He gently placed his hands over his wife's stomach where it was possible his baby was already growing. "We could already be expecting and don't know it yet." He moved his fingers over her stomach.

"Could be twins," she spoke just as softly settling her hands on top of JC's, threading her fingers through his.

"Even better," JC murmured. They sat there discussing their future children until JC's phone rang with Megan informing Rachel it was time to get back to work. They walked back hand in hand to the front doors of the Nokia Theatre. JC hugged her tight and kissed her softly before letting her go.