Doctor’s visit complete and a quick stop home to change and make sure they had everything for the night, JC and Colleen found themselves pulling into the back of the Hollywood Palladium. Fans were already lined up around the back entrance, grown women with homemade signs like they were still teenagers. Colleen smiled as they slowly drove by, knowing if she hadn’t been in the car, she’d be right there with them.

“Ok, this is unexpected,” JC chuckled uneasily as he drove slow in case someone jumped out of the crowd. He’d witnessed that go bad too many times before and was a little freaked out he was in the same situation again.

“Josh, the show is sold out. You can’t be that surprised,” Colleen stated.

“I mean, I knew people would be here but not like this,” he looked around wide eyed. He gave a casual wave as Colleen pulled her purse tighter over her stomach. She’d opted for the “big purse” tactic to at least get her around the venue before the show. She knew people would see through it instantly.

Gates closed behind them, they both audibly exhaled as JC parked. “Ok, that was a little intense…but kind of exciting,” Colleen confessed.

“Yeah, I don’t know, kinda feels like when we first started blowing up. It’s crazy and fun but overwhelming,” JC chuckled as he came around to help Colleen out of the car and ushered them inside.

“Oh my God, look at you!” Karly exclaimed to Colleen as she saw her and JC come into the backstage area. 

“Yeah, I think everyone’s gonna be looking at me,” Colleen laughed and gave her a hug.

“No, you can hardly tell,” Karly reassured her. Colleen lowered her purse and turned sideways. “Ok, yeah, I see your point,” Karly corrected herself.

“Hey,” a voice came from behind Karly. “I’m Jess, Justin’s wife. Nice to meet you and congratulations.”

“Thank you, nice to meet you too,” Colleen smiled and shook her hand.

“This dress is really cute,” Jess told her, admiring the beige midi dress with dark blue floral embroidery around the collar and down the center Colleen had selected. 

“Thanks. Of course this morning was the day I realized I can’t fit in my old clothes any longer. This kid certainly chooses key moments to be dramatic,” Colleen chuckled.

“Are we sure the kid isn’t Joey’s then?” Michael joked as he walked over and gave Colleen a hug.

“I can’t even begin to explain how terrible a predicament that would be,” Colleen laughed.

“Matthew would pose as a doctor and steal that baby right out of you,” Sara laughed heartily as she joined the group. 

“That’s frighteningly true,” Colleen confirmed. “Where is Matthew, by the way?”

“Last minute adjustment of Joey’s pants,” Sara explained. Colleen raised an eyebrow at her friend. “No, really. He wanted to see how far he could move and split the seam.”

“Classic Joey,” Michael rolled his eyes then considered the group of women before him. “All five of us are here. Has there ever been all five of us in one place?”

“Well, since we’re all here, let’s get a picture,” Jess offered.

The five huddled together as Michael took out his phone to take a selfie with the group. “Shit, hold on, I gotta hide in the back,” Colleen quickly realized and made Sara switch with her.

“Are we still pretending you aren’t pregnant?” Sara scoffed. 

“Yeah yeah, I know. Just smile,” Colleen brushed her off as they posed.

Meanwhile, down the hall, the five band members crowded around JC’s phone. “Nope, that’s a boy, JC,” Joey insisted.

“How can you even tell? The baby is facing away,” Justin argued.

“Easy, the baby has a big head. Tell tale sign of a boy,” Joey stated.

“My baby does not have a big head,” JC protested. “She’s still forming, you gotta let the rest of her catch up.”

“So you’re having a girl?” Lance asked.

“I mean, technically we don’t know but I just feel like the baby is a girl,” JC smiled as he looked down at the sonogram pictures on his phone once again.

“There’s nothing like the first one,” Chris slapped a hand on JC’s back.

“Second, Chris. Second,” JC said gently.

“Second, sorry,” Chris squeezed his shoulder lovingly.

“Just don’t name this one after a Backstreet Boy,” Justin teased as Lance threw a water bottle at him.

The guys were quickly swept away for pre show interviews then went directly to soundcheck. The significant others hung backstage as various VIP guests started to arrive.

“Can you even believe this?!” Sara asked excitedly.

“This…this is a lot of people,” Colleen gulped, pulling her purse into her tighter.

Sara noticed and yanked it out of her hand. “No, we have waited too long for this night. Fans are going to be thrilled when they find out, stop worrying about it and truly enjoy tonight.”

“I’m not worried per say but he’s the one in the spotlight, I don’t want the world to know something private about us without his consent.”

“Colleen, you are pregnant with his child. He’s had months to acknowledge it publicly and he hasn’t. That’s not a knock at him, I’m just saying even if all this wasn’t happening, someone would have spotted you and leaked it. Stop hiding and live.”

Colleen blinked at her friend a few times then smiled. Sara was absolutely right, she was pregnant and happy and no sense trying to hide it. She didn’t need to flaunt it but she certainly couldn’t keep hiding herself away to conceal it. “Thank you,” she told her friend.

“For what?”

“For always making sure I stay true to me.”

The two friends shared a tight hug as another set of arms enveloped them. “Well, you two scooped up all the single men in this band, does O-Town have any available members?” Kyle grinned back at her friends.

“I think Trevor is single?” Colleen thought.

“If APA is, get on that ASAP!” Sara told her.

“Lord, I wouldn’t even know what to do with all that man,” Kyle giggled.

“Yes you would,” the two friends stated simultaneously.

A pair of hands slipped around Colleen from behind. “There’s still four hours before the show and I’m exhausted,” JC kissed her neck.

“Maybe if you weren’t such a bonehead, you could have reunited in your thirties and had more stamina,” Colleen teased.

JC bit her neck which caused her to laugh as Kyle and Sara rolled their eyes at the couple’s antics. “I miss stupid shit like this,” Kyle bemoaned.

“I’m telling you, slip into some boy band DMs,” Sara encouraged her.

“You and Joey like this?” Kyle asked.

“I mean, sometimes. Basically whatever he can do to get a rise out of me.”

“So is it official official?”

“Promoted to girlfriend last week,” Sara confirmed. “I mean, it’s still casual, I guess. He’s going on tour so, I don’t know. Still, it’s good, I’m not complaining.”

“Did you make him sing Girlfriend?” Colleen asked.

“Please, he whipped out that song faster than he does his dick,” Sara joked.

“What can I say? I’m a romantic,” Joey joined the group and gave Sara a kiss.

“Well, I feel horribly out of place now,” Kyle joked.

“Never,” Colleen said and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go find some food and we’ll fill you in on all the good stuff.”

“Did you tell her?” Joey asked JC as the women walked away.

“Not yet.”

“Well we got meet and greet in like twenty minutes so you might want to tell her now what’s up. I still gotta tell Sara.”

“Twenty minutes sounds like the perfect amount of time for a power nap,” JC smiled and stretched. “We’re really doing this again, huh?”

“Yeah,” Joey let the smile spread across his face. “I couldn’t be happier.”

The meet and greets were arranged different than before and JC found himself preferring it. Instead of a long line where he basically could only say hi, sign something and accept a random stuffed animal he’d never see again, they were able to spend a few minutes with a fan or some group of friends. There was lots of crying and hugging and all the guys were beyond appreciative of the support.

“Wow,” Lance said as he exhaled after the last fan left. “I experience some of this on the Pop2000 tour but this was next level.”

“That girl with the flame tattoo down her arm was insane,” Chris commented. 

“That one lady who had all our original headshots…I don’t think I even have those anymore,” JC laughed.

“I didn’t think this would be so meaningful to people,” Justin confessed.

“Dude, if your favorite band got back together after twenty years, you’d lose your shit too,” Joey told him. “What we did meant something. Not just then but…to still have loyal fans after so much time…we owe this to them almost as much as we owe it to ourselves.”

“You’re getting sentimental in your old age,” Justin smiled and wrapped an arm around Joey’s shoulders.

“Yeah, well, when it used to be your parents coming to support you and now it’s your kids, does something to you,” Joey responded.

“Speaking of, I think they all should be here soon,” Lance smiled.

“Alright, I gotta find Colleen before this all goes down,” JC trotted off to find his girlfriend.

“Well, holy shit, motherfucker,” AJ stood up from the couch he was sharing with Colleen when JC entered the green room. “I guess I owe you two congratulations.”

“Thanks man,” JC embraced his colleague. “It was nice of you to come.”

“Are you kidding? Wouldn’t miss this for the world,” AJ smiled. “Plus anytime I can tease Fatone about Lance’s son being my name sake is a good time.”

“No offense, AJ, but I can definitely assure you this kid will not have any boy band related names that are not *NSYNC affiliated,” Colleen joked.

“I’m not naming our girl Justine,” JC deadpanned.

“Oh God no!” Colleen laughed, “and stop saying we’re having a girl. We don’t know yet.”

“Fine,” JC rolled his eyes and smiled. “Actually, can I grab you for a second?” JC asked Colleen then turned to AJ. “I definitely want to catch up just…”

“I get it, no worries, I’ll be here all night,” AJ told him as they both held out their hands to help Colleen off the couch.

“Hey, so, I need to talk to you about something,” JC said once they found a small nook to chat.

“You aren’t backing out now. You actually have security guards who will stop you from running,” Colleen warned him.

“No, it’s not that,” JC chuckled. “Once management heard us saying Lynn and Diane were bringing all the kids by before the show, they thought it would be a great idea to film it. You know, some kind of “look how far they’ve come/opening night with the family” thing.”

“That sounds really cute.”

“Yeah, it does, but here’s the thing…”

“Oh, you don’t want to do that?” Colleen tried not to let the hurt come through her voice but failed.

“No, wait, not no I don’t, no to…” JC took a second to organize his thoughts. “I very much want to but I want to make sure you are ok with it. I…I get what they are trying to go for but it puts me in a weird position. Well, and Joey.”

“Why Joey?”

“Cuz Sara hasn’t met his kids yet.”

“Oh shit,” Colleen suddenly realized, instantly now more worried for her friend than herself.

“So, you’re ok with this?”

“Yeah, of course. I gotta admit, sneaking around today has been stressful and Sara called me out on it. I get we aren’t hiding it but not addressing it either has been harder than I thought.”

“I’m sorry that you felt that way.” JC grabbed both of Colleen’s hands. “No more hiding. The only thing I asked was that the pictures not be released until after the show. Our news is important but I don’t want it to overshadow the hard work everyone is putting in.”

“Ever the diplomat,” Colleen smiled and kissed JC.

Shortly thereafter, everyone was wrangled into place with the five band members waiting for their families to meet them. “This is weird,” Chris said.

“Not weirder than us being made to fake playing pool at your wedding,” Joey quipped.

“That photo shoot paid for my honeymoon, thank you,” Chris replied.

“Only the honeymoon?” Lance questioned. “Our first pics of the twins put a hefty amount in their college fund.”

“This tour better pay for Kloey. I barely survived Brihana’s tuition,” Joey said.

“Please tell me you got a money manager this time,” Lance chided him.

“Trust me, I’ve learned from my mistakes,” Joey assured him.

Down the hall, the parents, significant others and kids all introduced themselves to each other. “You must be Colleen,” Diane smiled brightly and instantly went in for a hug. “I’m Lance’s mom, Diane. Congratulations to both you and JC on your bundle of joy.”

“Thank you,” Colleen smiled back and peaked down at the miraculously sleeping twins in their double stroller. “We’re freaking out about one, I’m always amazed how Lance and Michael manage two.”

“Everyone always is scared when it’s their first child. You’ll be fine and JC…he’s a fine young man who always second guesses his own skills. I’m sure he’ll be a natural just like he is at everything else,” Diane told her. “I’m sorry his parents couldn’t join tonight.”

“He said it’s getting harder for his dad to travel but they’ll head up to Orlando and meet the Fatones’ to see the show when the band is there.”

“Hmmm, perhaps Jim and I will pop by for that as well. Seems fitting for everyone to gather where it started,” Diane smiled.

“You’re the only one I don’t recognize so you must be the one fucking my dad,” Brihana said as she approached Sara and extended her hand.

“Oh God, I, uh, I mean we’re…” Sara gasped and stuttered as she looked around to see who heard.

“Calm down, I’m just messing with you,” Brihana laughed, “mostly.”

“Well, no doubt you’re Joey’s daughter,” Sara laughed nervously and adjusted her dress.

“Alright, is everyone good?” Melinda came running over. “We ready to do this?”

“What the hell is happening?” Colleen grabbed Sara’s hand tightly. “We should be out there singing songs with fellow fans and flashing our boobs to even attempt to get back here.”

“Well you got more boobs now so it might have worked,” Sara joked. “Stop torturing yourself with why this happened or if you deserve this. It did and you do. I just appreciate you taking me along for the ride.”

“And we’re walking,” Melinda said into her headset but also to get the group moving. 

“Daddy!” Kloey yelled once they’d rounded the corner of the hallway and sprinted the moment she saw Joey. Nash followed suit as he made a beeline towards Chris. Silas waited until he and Jess were closer then leapt into his father’s awaiting arms, Jess, Lynn and Phin in her arms following. Diane navigated the stroller with Michael by her side as Lance ran up to meet them. Karly and Brihana followed next as Sara and Colleen hung back to watch it all unfold. Sara wanted to make sure Joey got that moment solo with his daughters and Colleen wanted to see how JC was reacting.

JC watched from the other side of the hallway as all the different families formed. All were different, two dads, single dad, three generations or just the core family. They always referred to themselves as brothers and would always be a family but they had all gone out and made their own extended families. JC looked up and saw Colleen standing waiting for him and he finally realized he’d made one of his own, something he never dreamed possible.

Without a word, JC headed straight to Colleen and kissed her hard. She was surprised at first then fell into the kiss easily. JC’s hand found Colleen’s stomach as her hand rested on top of his. “Hi Mama,” he whispered as he broke the kiss.

“Hi Fine Ass Daddy,” Colleen giggled.

“I guess now the Daddy part will actually apply.”

“It always did apply, just in a different context,” Colleen laughed, loving how naive he could still be about how attractive he was.

Soon, all the individual families started intermingling, which the cameras captured readily. Nash and Silas were chasing Joey around while Kloey sat with Jess and asked her about the different jewelry she had on. Diane wanted to hear all about Brihana’s life at college and Lynn caught up with Karly and got to know Sara. Phin was now old enough to be fascinated by the twins so Michael held him as Lance picked up Violet for Phin to admire. Immediately noticing his sister was missing, Alexander woke up with a cry and JC scooped him up quickly to comfort him.

“This is something else,” Chris watched as he stood with Colleen and Justin. 

“You guys did all of this,” Colleen reminded them.

“He did all of this,” Justin emphasized towards Chris.

“Me? I’m the one who’s been bugging you all to even do this,” Chris countered. “You and C finally committed to it.”

“I think what he means is that if it wasn’t for your hard work and perseverance, there wouldn’t even be an *NSYNC,” Colleen gently told him. 

“Oh,” Chris realized, looking at the scenes playing out in front of him anew.

“You changed my life, man,” Justin gripped his shoulder. “You changed all our lives. Not just the guys but everyone in this room wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for you.”

Chris tried to blink his tears away but it wasn’t working. “Yeah, well, next time, don’t be such a jerk about remembering it then,” Chris attempted to joke only to be met with a tight embrace from his band mate. “Goddammit,” Chris cursed as the tears started flowing freely. “I hate you,” Chris insisted as he pushed Justin away with a small laugh and covered his face as he left the room.

“Something tells me you meant that but laid it on super thick just to fuck with him,” Colleen smirked.

Justin’s smile dipped as he turned back to Colleen. “I still wish you could come with us,” Justin told her. “I’m with JC, being alone and pregnant is not ideal.”

“It’s not but it’s what’s happening. I can’t take three months off work just to take another three for maternity leave. I’m cranky enough as it is, I don’t want to ride a bus throughout the country and potentially deliver away from home. Plus I have doctor’s visits and…”

“I know I know, just wish there was a better solution.”

The friends stood there silently for a moment. “Just take care of him, ok? Spend some time with him, just the two of you. I know he’d like that.”

“Do I need to let him spoon me so he can go to sleep soundly?”

“If you do, you better take pictures.”

“Call if you need anything. Anything. You want ice cream at 3am, let me know and I’ll make it happen.”

“I hope you pampered your wife like this.”

“She had an on call masseuse and chef.”

“I don’t think we need to go that far but fair warning I may exercise that option.”

“Whatever you need, Colleen. I’m serious.”

“Once again, I feel the need to ask, why are you so invested in our relationship?”

Justin looked over at JC soothing the fussy baby. “Because he convinced himself he couldn’t have this, any of this. I will do whatever I can to keep him this happy. He’s my big brother and I love him.”

“Well, happy to be the collateral that comes with that,” Colleen laughed.

“Oh hush, you know I love you too.”

“Sixteen year old me is a pile of goo.”

“How about forty year old you?”

“Angry I wore heels,” she joked, not giving him the satisfaction of a real answer.

“Guess I’ll have to call that masseuse again.”

Colleen smiled at Justin as the two of them hugged. The friendship they’d formed over their mutual love for JC made them fierce allies and Justin, for his part, was able to come to terms with his little crush on her, especially as he and Jess continued to work through their issues. She really was perfect for JC and Justin could’ve kicked himself for ever feeling otherwise.

Two hours to showtime, everyone headed to a large room that was set up for dinner. “So, have you two come up with a birthing plan?” Lynn asked JC and Colleen as they all ate.

The couple exchanged looks. “Um, yeah,” Colleen spoke up. “I tend to get kind of panicky when things happen that I feel like I can’t do anything about so my, uh, a friend suggested hypnobirthing classes and they’ve been really helpful so far.”

“Well, that’s…unique,” Lynn offered.

“They’re hippies, Mom,” Justin cut in. “Just let them do whatever works for them and don’t ask questions.”

“It’s mostly just relaxation techniques to handle things in case we suddenly have to do a C-section or JC isn’t back yet,” Colleen explained.

“Do not put that thought into the universe,” JC pointed his fork at her.

“Now Justin, that sounds like what you’ve been doing with your therapist,” Lynn turned to her son. “Maybe it’s called something different but don’t be so judgy.”

Colleen and JC slowly turned their heads toward Justin. “Something you wanna share, J?” JC asked.

“Nope,” Justin responded quickly and concentrated on cutting his steak. “When’s your friend Raina coming?”

JC smirked, silently vowing to get out of Justin whatever he was clearly hiding. “Sunday night. She’s bringing her daughter and her friend Piper.”

Justin choked on his bite and quickly grabbed his glass of water. “You’re terrible,” Colleen mouthed to her boyfriend.

“Let him suffer and think it’s true for a little,” JC whispered back.

“Alright, let’s hacky now because God knows how long it’ll take us,” Chris told the guys as they finished up dinner.

“No one let me dive for it if you want me to actually make it onstage,” JC laughed. Twenty minutes later, they finally got a full hacky in and with a hug, retreated to the dressing room to change.