Chris sat in his car, sipping his tall cup of coffee. It was his third and he still felt pretty dead. He'd stayed out pretty late the night before with Joey and was paying for it now, especially since he'd had a meeting with Johnny scheduled for noon. Normally that would've been a perfectly reasonable time, but not when he'd only gone to bed at six, having gone to breakfast with Joey after they'd been kicked out of the club.

But as tired as he was, he knew it was only part of the reason why he was dreading going into the compound where Johnny was waiting for him. He hated that this meeting was even necessary. They were on a short vacation and he didn't want to deal with this, having experienced enough stress during the constant commotion of the tour. But he had to take care of it before the second leg started up.

With that thought in mind, Chris downed the rest of his coffee and got out of the car, leaving the now empty cup in one of the holders. He walked right in to the compound, heading straight for Johnny's office. The door was open and he knocked briefly on the oak before he walked in.

"Sorry I'm late," Chris said.

"No problem," Johnny replied, gesturing for Chris to take a seat in front of his desk. "I was going over a few things to make sure everything's in order for the next leg."

"And what about Robert? Anything new on that front?"

Johnny leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on the edge of his desk. He looked at Chris intently. "You tell me. Has he approached you again since last Wednesday?"

Chris shook his head. "Not yet anyway. I've gotten some phone calls from him though."

Robert was Chris's biological father. He'd approached Chris a little over a week ago, on the last day of the first leg of the tour. Chris had been completely caught off guard, not having seen him since right before he'd met Lou and got the guys together, and he had barely said two words to him considering how chaotic things had been that night.

But Chris's father hadn't been deterred. He'd caught Chris as he was heading into the club that they'd had the after party at, demanding to talk to him. Chris had sensed that he wouldn't leave him alone until he'd agreed so he'd stood outside for a few minutes, thankful the others had already gone into the club. Then he'd felt nothing but anger as Robert had said he'd deserved a share of Chris's money.

Even for as angry as he'd been - as he was - he hadn't been able to believe what he'd heard. It'd been bad enough that his biological father had reached out to him out of the blue, but to demand money from him? It was insane, and he'd told the man that very thing...along with a few other choice words. He'd then gone into the club and met up with the guys, partying harder than he probably would've otherwise in order to put what'd transpired outside out of his mind.

When Chris had gotten to his apartment the next morning after spending the night in Jacksonville, he hadn't been too surprised to see Robert standing in his hallway. He'd tried to keep things fairly civil, even when Robert had said that he owed him. That'd had Chris seeing red, but he'd done his best to keep control over his anger and he'd written him a check for a couple thousand to reimburse him for the year of college the man had paid for.

"Now we're even," Chris had said as he'd handed Robert the check. But that hadn't pleased Robert who had said he was entitled to much more than that.

Chris had told that was all he was getting and that he should be happy with that because he didn't owe him a thing. Robert had left and Chris had thought that was the end of it, but that'd gone out the window when Robert had threatened to go to the press. It was that moment when he had realized he needed to get Johnny involved because if Robert ever follow through with his threat, it would no doubt impact the group - the guys - in some way.

"Chris," Johnny said, his voice snapping Chris out of his thoughts.

"Sorry," Chris apologized, rubbing at his eyes. "What were you saying?"

"I asked what he's said to you, if anything."

Chris shrugged. "The usual crap. He still wants more money, but I told him he's not getting anything else from me."

"Do you know why he wants the money so badly?"

"No, but there doesn't really need to be a reason, does there? He's obviously just trying to capitalize on knowing me," Chris said. Ever since the lawsuit and the release of No Strings Attached, things had blown up in a big way, and they all had people coming out of woodwork looking for their fifteen minutes or some kind of handout. People they hadn't heard from before. People that'd laughed at them when they left for Germany.

Johnny nodded thoughtfully. "That could be it, but it could just as easily be that he needs to support a habit."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "You think he's a drug addict or something?"

"I'm not saying that," Johnny denied, folding his hands on his desk. "I'm just offering reasons why he won't let this go. You obviously know him better than I do."

"Not much. I've hardly spent any time with him. Even when I was in college and lived with him, I hardly ever saw him," Chris said. "I know he used to smoke pot, but that was a few years ago. Who knows what he's into now."

Johnny was silent for a minute. Then he looked Chris in the eye and asked, "Do you think he's a threat to you? That he'll hurt you?"

"No," Chris shook his head. "He's virtually harmless. He's scrawnier than me."

"Okay, but if things change, I want you to tell me." Johnny paused. "And maybe try talking to him again. It'd be good if we could get this straightened out. You boys will have enough to worry about with second leg without dealing with this on top of it."

"Does the press know about any of this?"

"I haven't seen anything," Johnny said. "But I like I promised you before, I'll keep my eyes open. I don't think we should have a problem keeping it quiet though. As long as he doesn't say anything."

Chris nodded. "Thanks, Johnny." He stood up, knowing they were done there.

"Keep me updated, Chris."

"I will."

Chris left Johnny's office, feeling a little more tired than when he'd entered. He wanted this whole sordid situation to be over, but he didn't particularly want to talk to his father either. There was a reason he hadn't had a lot of contact with him since he'd met Lou and formed Nsync. And it'd seemed like his father had been just as happy with the arrangement, not bothering to reach out to him. Until now anyway.

Sighing, Chris got back into his car and did his best to push the entire mess out of his mind. He'd make an effort to actually see what his father wanted the next time he called. For now, he was seriously considering crawling back into bed and taking a nap for a couple hours. Just the thought of it seemed to relax him.

It was too bad then that all thoughts of a nap disappeared completely when Chris walked into his apartment building and saw his father standing outside his door. He let out a heavy sigh.

"What do you want?" he asked, feeling more weary than angry.

"You already know," Robert replied, curtly.

Chris wanted to snap at him, but he bit his tongue, resisting the urge. He recalled what Johnny had just talked to him about and that was the only thing that prompted him to say, "Why don't you come in and we'll talk."

"No," Robert shook his head, looking firm. "There's nothing to talk about. You just keep trying to weasel your way out of this."

Chris crossed his arms over his chest, feeling his anger bubble to the surface. "Weasel my way out of what? Giving you money you don't deserve?"

"That's where you're wrong."

"Is that so?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow. "And why is that? Because you're my dad?" The sarcasm was thick and heavy on that last word, letting Robert know exactly what he thought of that.

"Because you wouldn't have gotten here without me," Robert said.

"How the hell do you figure that?" Chris demanded. He knew he should move this out of the hall before things really got heated, but the last thing he wanted to do at that moment was invite this asshole into his home.

Robert stepped forward, closing the gap between them. "I let you live with me. I paid for you to go to college. You wouldn't have met the people you did if it wasn't for me."

"If it wasn't for me," Chris corrected, his eyes narrowed. "I would've found a way out of Pennsylvania regardless. I made my future happen. Not you. And I don't owe you a damn thing."

Robert smirked slightly. "That's what you said last night, but you ended up writing me a check. And you'll cave again. I know you will."

"You don't know shit about me," Chris practically growled. "And you're not getting another damn thing."

The smirk just seemed to grow. "We'll see."

Without another word or having to be prompted by Chris, Robert turned and walked away. Chris stared at his retreating back for a moment, wondering what the hell that was about. But he couldn't bring himself to care much right then. He would deal with whatever the hell Robert had up his sleeve when it happened. It maybe wasn't the best way to handle it, but he would handle it when the time came. That much was for damn sure.

But for now, he was going to heat up some leftover pizza for lunch and give Justin a call. Playing some basketball with his best friend was a good way to blow off steam and put this crappy afternoon behind him.

***********

Joey stood in the front of the restaurant, Kelly leaning against him as he talked to Chris and Lance. Justin was sitting on a bench seat across from them with Kim, having his own quiet conversation with her. It'd been Joey's idea to get everyone together for dinner and he'd called them all just a few hours ago, wanting a night to actually celebrate Kelly's pregnancy since he'd been too freaked to do so at first. The only thing that was holding them up from starting their celebratory meal was JC. He was late, but it wasn't like they weren't used to that and could kill time appropriately.

"Wouldn't it be cool if I opened a club in New York?" Lance was saying.

Chris raised an eyebrow. "You're thinking about doing that?"

Lance shrugged and nodded. "It's an idea I've been kicking around, yeah." He frowned slightly at Chris then. "Why? You don't think it'd be good?"

"I don't know. You're the business expert. I just don't want you to take on too much or get yourself into a situation you can't handle."

Joey glanced at Chris. He could see the genuine concern in his eyes and knew without a doubt the situation they'd experienced with JC about a month ago was a major factor. It'd scared them more than they would ever admit, not seeing that side of him before. And if Joey knew Chris, he'd likely made a vow to himself he'd keep an eye out for any signs that things were heading down that road again.

"I for one I think it's a great idea," Joey said. "Think of all the money we'd save. We'd never have to pay cover charges again."

Kelly scoffed softly. "Like you pay cover charges now. Everyone lets you guys in free."

"Well, we'd get free drinks then."

"Like Lance could afford that. You guys would drink him into debt," Justin said, his eyes on Joey and Chris.

Joey narrowed his eyes playfully. "I'm going to pretend you did say that. Besides, I don't know why you're acting so innocent. You can drink just as much as us."

"And whose fault is that?" Kim asked. "He's not even legally able to drink. You guys have snuck him drinks, so you shouldn't gripe about his drinking habits since you're enabling it."

"We get you drinks too. I don't hear you complaining then," Joey said.

Kim laughed. "I'm not complaining. I'm just pointing out your faulty logic."

Joey opened his mouth to reply, but it was lost before he could even get a word out as Chris suddenly made an agitated sound. "What the hell is taking him so long?" Chris demanded, immediately drawing their attention to him and sucking the lighthearted atmosphere out of the waiting area.

"He's only five minutes late," Lance said, frowning at Chris.

"But he's always late," Chris replied. "You'd think he could be on time for something."

"C'mon, man. You know this is how JC is," Joey said.

"What's up with you today?" Justin asked. "You were out of it when we were playing basketball earlier."

Chris sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose briefly. "Sorry. It's just been one of those days."

They all looked at him with a bit of their own concern. Chris might be on the lookout for any warning signs of stress, but it went both ways. And it hadn't escaped their attention that he'd been kind of on edge the last couple days. It was lingering beneath the surface and they hadn't really pressed, Chris being just about as open as JC. But Joey wondered if they should rethink that.

But before he could take that thought any further, JC came bursting through the main doors of the restaurant. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized breathlessly. "I got caught up in writing and then got stuck in traffic."

"No sweat," Justin said. "We were just talking."

"I'll let the hostess know we're ready," Lance volunteered. He squeezed JC's shoulder as he passed, obviously telling him to relax. He was there now and that was what mattered.

JC greeted Kim and Kelly, giving them both a friendly hug. Then Lance returned with the hostess who seated them right away at a long rectangular table. Joey and Kelly sat across from Justin and Kim with JC and Chris on their right respectively. Lance was at the other end of the table, the eighth chair empty across from him.

It didn't take too long for the seven of them to put in their orders and receive their drinks. When the waiter left them alone, JC wasted no time in patching together a speech for the occasion. He cleared his throat and held up his wine glass.

"It seems only appropriate to celebrate this occasion and toast the parents-to-be." JC paused. "We're lucky we're able to be together to share in such a big moment in Joey and Kelly's life. There's no doubt in my mind they'll make wonderful parents. To Joey and Kelly. Congrats."

The sentiment was echoed around the table as they all clinked classes. Joey shook his head slightly even as he exchanged a smile with Kelly. Leave it to JC to be cheesy and want to honor her pregnancy with a toast.

"Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?" Lance asked after they all lowered their glasses, looking to the other end of the table at Kelly. "Or don't you have a preference?"

"I'd like to have a girl," Kelly said. "I have two brothers and now you guys. I've been surrounded by guys most of my life so it'd be nice to have another girl to add to the ranks."

Kim laughed and lifted her class in salute to Kelly. "I'll agree with that."

"Well, regardless, that kid is going to be spoiled. You know that, right?" Justin said.

Joey and Kelly shared a laugh. "With you four as uncles, I don't doubt it," Kelly replied.

Chris waved a dismissive hand. "Please. Like you guys are going to be any better about it, especially Joey."

Joey couldn't even object because he knew Chris was probably right. The nervousness and fear of screwing up was still there, but it'd lessened a lot since he'd talked to Kelly earlier and found out she felt the same. It made it feel more like they were taking this on together, and the excitement was quickly beginning to grow. He wasn't sure he'd be able to wait another six or seven months.

"The real question now is when you two are going to have kids of your own," Joey said to Justin and Kim. He immediately got a sharp kick in the shins under the table and a glare from Justin. JC also sent him a sharp look.

"Now Joey you don't want to put pressure on them," JC said, in a tone that clearly told him to drop it. "I'm sure they're a ways off from thinking about kids."

Justin exchanged a look with Kim. "Yeah, it hasn't exactly come up with us," he said.

"You gave everyone at the table a heart attack though," Kim told Joey, laughing slightly as she brushed some of her long red hair away from her face.

"Joey has a gift for saying inappropriate things," Chris said. He looked at him. "You might want to use the next few months to get that under control. Otherwise your kid is going to pick up on your bad habit."

"Bad habit?" Joey repeated. "It's not that bad, right?" He glanced at his girlfriend.

Kelly smiled. "You do tend to say stupid things sometimes." She patted his hand sympathetically. "Sorry, hon."

Joey gave her an affronted look and everyone laughed, but he wasn't really offended. It was all in good fun. Besides it was part of what they did - they all made fun of each other and cracked jokes at one another's expense.

The food arrived shortly after, and Chris all but groaned when he caught sight of what JC was eating. "Only you, Jace," he said, shaking his head.

"What?" JC asked.

"Only you would order fish at a steakhouse."

JC just shrugged. "I was in the mood for seafood."

"Just because you're at a steakhouse doesn't mean you have to order steak," Justin said.

Chris snorted. "As you have clearly demonstrated," he replied, gesturing to the pork chops on Justin's plate. "You need to take some pointers from your girlfriend. She ordered a steak."

Kim smirked slightly and she and Chris started teasing Justin about his dinner choice. Joey watched them with an amused smile, reminded yet again how good Kim was for Justin. She probably brought the least amount of drama of any of Justin's girlfriends, and it was something he'd truly needed in his life to help keep him grounded. They did their best to make sure he didn't get lost in the surreal celebrity life surrounding them, but she was able to reach him in a way the rest of them couldn't.

They eventually moved on the seven of them of them talked while they all finished up their dinners. The waiter came back to give them the dessert menu and they gladly perused it. Too often they were in a rush and unable to enjoy the decadent desserts at the restaurants they ate at and since they had nowhere to be, they were going to take advantage of it. Except for Lance.

"Actually, I have to get going," Lance said, putting his cloth napkin on the table.

Joey groaned. "You're going to do FreeLance stuff, aren't you? God, you're lame, Lance."

"I'm not working. I have a date."

That immediately got everyone's attention and they looked at him in surprise. "You do?" JC said.

Lance nodded. "I met someone when I was out last night and we really hit it off."

"Was it one of the girls you danced with?" Chris asked.

"No. I actually met her outside the club. She was lost and I helped her find her way back to her hotel." Lance looked at JC. "Looks like you were right, C."

"I'm happy for you, Lance," JC said with a smile. But Joey frowned slightly as he recognized it as one of the fake ones he would often give to the press. He glanced around the table briefly and realized that with Lance's admission of a date, JC and Chris were the only ones not involved with anyone. And given JC's recent breakup, he was probably feeling a bit blue.

Chris seemed to sense the same thing because he leaned forward slightly to catch JC's eye. "Looks like we're the only smart ones. Not being controlled by a woman."

"Hey!" Kelly and Kim protested. "We're not controlling."

"And on that note, I think I'll head out," Lance said. He stood up and went around to the other end of the table, kissing Kelly on the cheek and congratulating them both once again. When he tried to offer some money for his share of bill, JC waved him off.

"I'm treating everyone."

"You don't have to do that," Kelly said.

"Yeah, man, really. It was our idea to go out. We were going to treat," Joey added.

"Please," JC said dismissively. "We're celebrating a milestone for you guys. I'm more than happy to treat."

"Better take him up on it, Joe," Chris advised. "Mr. Frugal doesn't make this offer every day."

JC glared at him, though it didn't have much heat to it. He glanced at Lance and said, "Have fun on your date."

"And don't forget about the barbeque at my place tomorrow," Justin said. "You can bring your girl if you want."

Lance nodded, thanking him before walking out of the restaurant. Once he was gone, the women turned their attention back on Chris. "Now what's this about us being controlling," Kim said.

Justin smirked, leaning back in his chair obviously happy to see how this played out - more specifically his girlfriend and Kelly chew out Chris. Joey couldn't deny it was entertaining, and even JC laughed as Chris seemed to just keep digging himself into a bigger hole, his spirits seeming to be lifted a bit. Either that or he was getting better at putting up a front.

Regardless, Joey was going to take a page out of Chris's book and keep an eye on JC. They certainly didn't need a repeat of before.

***********

JC nearly sighed in relief as he walked into his house. It'd been nice to go out to dinner with everyone and celebrate the fact they were going to have a niece or nephew in a few months, but it'd been hard to be around the couples. And then hearing that Lance had met someone...

He was happy for all of them. Of course he was. He loved that Justin had found someone to look past the fame and take him seriously without adding drama to his life, and he would bet money that Joey would be the first of them to get married. And if things worked out with this girl Lance was seeing, that would be great too. He was just a little jealous, especially since it seemed like he'd been in one bad relationship after another. It made him wonder if he would every break the cycle.

But all thoughts quickly flew out of his mind as he stepped further into his house and realized the kitchen light was on. His heart pounded, beating so hard against his chest it was almost painful. He had nothing to protect himself with, but surely a thief wouldn't have turned on a light, right? Not that that thought brought him much comfort considering there was someone in his kitchen.

Doing the only thing he could think to do, JC pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. He punched in 9-1-1 and then put his finger on the send button, hovering on pressing it as he slowly stepped into the kitchen. But as soon as he crossed the threshold, he released the breath he was holding as he recognized the person sitting at his kitchen table. It was his ex-girlfriend.

JC heaved a heavy sigh and snapped his phone closed. "What are you doing here, Emma?"

Emma stood up and moved towards him. "Don't you want me here?"

"We broke up," JC said. "How the hell did you even get in? I thought you left your key."

"I had a spare I forgot about," Emma replied with a shrug. Her eyes raked over his body, noting the slacks and button up shirt he wore. "You look very handsome. Special occasion?"

JC crossed his arms over his chest. "What are you doing here?" he asked again.

"I missed you. Is that a crime?"

JC stared into her emerald eyes, searching for the truth. "Your boyfriend finally found out you cheated on him and booted you out, didn't he?"

Emma shook her head. "Max is out of town on maneuvers." She closed the gap between them, standing so close he could smell her perfume. "I thought we could get together. We had such good chemistry."

She reached out, running a hand slowly up his chest. Her touch used to feel electric to him, sending chills down his spine. But now all he felt was pain, like she was twisting the knife in his heart. He stepped back, breaking the contact.

"I'm not doing this," he said.

She frowned. "Doing what?"

"Letting you fool around with me every time your boyfriend leaves. It's not fair to me or him."

"Why are you being so cold?" Emma asked, her frown deepening.

A bitter laugh fell from JC's lips. "Gee, I wonder," he said sarcastically. "Maybe because you led me on for three months."

He'd met her at one of the many functions they'd been attending ever since the release of No Strings Attached. She was a model just starting out and they'd been introduced by a mutual friend. They'd immediately hit it off, so it hadn't taken him long to get a real attachment to her.

It'd seemed like they'd had a real connection, and he'd finally gotten up the guts to tell her he loved her just a few weeks ago. That was when things had gone south, eventually ending with them breaking up a week after the day he'd said those three fateful words. But it hadn't been completely about him confessing his love for her; she'd told him she had a boyfriend, Max. He was in the military, doing basic training at some base, which he returned from the day after they'd broken up.

"I didn't lead you on," Emma denied.

"You never said anything about having a boyfriend. Not once. And you never had any plans of doing so or leaving him. If that's not deceit, I don't know what is," JC said.

Emma took a step forward, reaching out for him. He jerked away, her fingers skimmed his bicep. "I never thought our relationship was that serious."

Clearly, JC thought. But what he said was, "Then why the hell did you let it go on for three months?"

"Because we were good together. We had fun and got along well."

"So in other words, I was just a placeholder for Max. You were just biding your time with me until he came back."

Emma sighed, a sad, sympathetic expression on her face. "I had no idea you were that invested in our relationship. I didn't know you were looking for anything serious."

JC shook his head. "Girls like you kill me."

"Girls like me?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"You're so fun and eccentric, you think all the emotion in the relationship is wrapped up in you. You never stop to consider that the guy might actually have deeper feelings and actually want to show them."

"I didn't meant to hurt you," Emma said. "And I know you're pissed, but I was hoping we could still be friends."

JC nodded. She'd said the same thing when they'd broken up, giving him the "let's be friends" speech. "And I believe I already said no. Now get out."

"JC," she started, but JC didn't even give her a chance to vocalize whatever pathetic attempt she was going to use to change his mind.

"Leave your key and get out."

A bit of hurt flitted across her face, but it didn't fool JC. She wasn't really sorry. If she had really cared for him, she would've been truthful from the start and not even cheated on her boyfriend.

She held up the key and placed it on the table before walking out. JC stood there for a minute, waiting until he heard her car pull out of the driveway. It was only then that he moved to the front door to lock it. He might get his locks changed. Just for his peace of mind.

JC heaved another deep sigh, this one seeming to come from the depths of his soul. He evening hit an extremely low point, and he knew he wasn't going to get anything else done on his song tonight. So he went upstairs to change into his sweatpants, planning on eating some ice cream while watching bad TV. Maybe he'd even be able to track down his cat and get her to keep him company.