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Chapter 91:

Lauren walked carefully into her lawyer's office. Her heart started to beat faster. She had no clue that her marrige would end up here, but it had. She felt sort of sick inside as she gave her name and waited for her lawyer.

The waiting time seemed like forever, but it was only a mere 30 minutes. Finally, a young, quite handsome man in his late 20's, early 30's approached Lauren, dressed in a nice business suit.

" Hi, I'm Jack Taylor. You must be Lauren McLean, the one I talked to on the phone the other day. "

"I believe that is who I am." Lauren replied with a formal nod.

" Great, " Jack answered, offering her a genuiwine smile. " If you would follow me into my office, we'll get to business. "

"That's the only thing I'm here for anyway." Lauren replied as she stood up and followed Jack into his office.

" Well then, " Jack began as he sat down behind his desk. " You're filing for a divorce? "

"Well it's not like I'm going to ask you for a date." Lauren quipped sarcastically. She looked at the surprise in her lawyer's eyes and frowned, "I'm sorry, this has been a total hassel for me. I just have been having the worst time."

" It's quite alright, " Jack replied, pulling out a yellow note pad.

"Thanks." Lauren sighed as she rubbed her temples, "So, yes I am here for divorce papers."

" If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been married? This question is for legal purposes only. "

"Ha, barely a year! It'd be a year in April."

" Reason for divorce? "

"He thought I was cheating on him."

" Oh? "

"I didn't all right? I know that look in your eyes. Lord knows I've seen it enough." Lauren groaned, "But anyway, he threw me out, he doesn't want to see me. So I'm getting on with my life."

" I'm sorry to hear that, " Jack replied as he scribbled some notes on his pad.

"Yeah, thanks."

" Are there any children? "

"One."

" Name? "

"Chase Alexander."

" How old is he? "

"Five."

" Have you thought about what kind of custody you would like to go towards? "

"Joint Custody."

" Alright. Have you discussed this with the father? "

"No. He wants full custody of Chase."

" Ok... " Jack answered, scribbling more notes. " Well, the best idea would be for the two of you to come to an agreement since both of you have different ideas for custody arrangements of the child. "

"In English?"

" Unless you want to go through a long tiring battle for sole custody of the child in court, you need to get him to agree to joint custody. "

"He's not going to agree. "

" Well, talk to him about it if at all possible, and if he still won't agree, we'll go for full custody. "

"He refuses to speak to me, so we might as well go for custody." Lauren answered, agravation creeping into her voice.

" Alright. I'm guessing that your son isn't with you today? "

"No, he's at home with his grandmothers."

" Ok, I'm gonna need you to bring him in with you next time. "

"Can we get the papers out to Mr. McLean as soon as possible though?"

" Yes, I just need a little more information and I'll be able to send the papers out to Mr. McLean shortly after that. "

"Good."

" But I need you to bring your son in with you next time so I can talk to him. "

"About what?"

" It's standard proceedure to talk to the child whenever there is a child or children involved. "

"All right. "

" Alright, if I can have you fill out these papers here, it would be of great help, " Jack stated, and slid some papers across the desk to Lauren.

*****

Nastasia sat down in the arena as Howie, Kevin, Nick, and Brian worked on one of their dance routines. They wanted Nastasia to watch to make sure they had it. She hadn't seen AJ in awhile, which didn't bother her too much.

" Tell gimp man to get the moves right! " Brian joked towards Howie to lighten his spirit.

"Oh, that's REAL mature there Bri-Bear!" Nastasia laughed as Howie frowned, stopping for a moment. "Just because Howie can't dance, doesn't mean you can give him an excuse for it!"

Howie looked out to Nastasia, a bigger frown appearing on him face. " Thanks Stazzie, I love you too, " he sighed.

"Howie, what's the matter now?" Nastasia asked, watching the frown appear on Howie's face.

" Nothing, " Howie grumbled. " Can we get back to dancing? "

"I swear, you guys are such a big bunch of babies." Nastasia called back as Alexandria begged to be picked up. Nastasia leaned back on the pillow behind her and scooped Alexandria up.

" Nah, that's just D, " Nick laughed.

" Watch it Carter, " Howie snapped.

"Howie! What is the malfunction?!" Kevin asked as Nick shrunk backwards. "You and Staz aren't fighting anymore. You seemed quite comfortable with her last night on the tourbus. So, what is it now?"

" I said nothing! "

Just then, the back doors to the arena opened and A.J walked in slowly, looking around nervously. Howie took one look at him and walked off.

"It is so his time of the month." Nastasia sighed as she closed her eyes. Not knowing what was up with her husband. Of course she hadn't seen AJ walk in either.

" Sorry I'm late, " A.J said quietly, his voice quite raspy as he walked onto the stage. He didn't expect a reply from any of the guys, he was still shakey around them.

"No problem." Brian called, his voice calmer. Kevin and Nick were still extremely mad at him. "Howie just took a break. So, you missed him."

" Pity me, " A.J mumbled as he stared out at Nastasia. He desperately wanted to talk to her now more than ever, but he was afraid to.

Nastasia caught AJ looking at her. For a split second her eyes locked with his, she jumped. Her heart pounding in her chest. She was afraid of him. She shifted carefully in her seat with her back and averted her gaze back to Alexandria.

" How about we go see Daddy? " Nastasia told Alexandria. Her daughter giggled and said " dada " as Nastasia stood up and rushed off, with her in her arms.

"Why is it she won't talk to me?" AJ groaned to himself as he buried his face in his hands. Watching Nastasia walk off to the back of the arena to find Howie.

" I wonder, " Nick mumbled sarcastically, but became quiet as Kevin glared at him.

"Look, I didn't even mean to hurt her. Now Howie's PMSing around me. Lord knows what else is going on in his head... And Nastasia refuses to even awknowlege my exsistance."

" I don't blame her, " Kevin answered, he was still holding to the words he had told A.J in the hospital.

"God, I'm never going to beat this thing." AJ mumbled, "I'm going off to practice by myself. I'll be here by the time the concerts ready."

" J, wait! " Brian called after him, but he had already slammed out the door.

*****

Nastasia walked back the hallway. She looked at Howie's dressing room and tickled Alexandria's tummy. It still hurt to carry Alexandria, the throbbing continued as she knocked on the door. "Howie? Baby? You in there?"

" Yeah, " came Howie's reply from inside.

Nastasia walked in to find him laying on the couch, his bad hand resting on his stomach, while the other dangled over the side of the couch.

"Are you okay? You left the stage pretty quick." Nastasia answered softly as she set Alexandria on the floor. Alexandria whined at her mother when Nastasia set her down, but then found her blocks and became more intrigued with those.

" Yeah, I'm fine, " Howie answered.

"You're lying...what's the matter? We were only kidding around with you. If I knew you would have been upset I wouldn't have said anything. I hate when you're mad at me." Nastasia pouted.

Howie sat up and looked at Nastasia with surprise. " I'm not mad at you. "

"Then why are you acting so crummy?"

" I guess I'm just PMS'ing like you said, " Howie answered with a hint of sarcasm. He offered a small smile and motioned for her to come sit by him.

"Well I have some pills at the hotel for that if you want me to go grab them." Nastasia shot back as she sat down on the couch with him.

" Ooh, we're funny now, aren't we? "

"No, I was being serious." Nastasia smirked.

" Ok, you're gonna pay for that. Come here, closer. "

"Like I'm going to fall for that gimpy."

" Geez, I was just gonna ask for a kiss, but if you're gonna be like that, " Howie replied in a hurt tone.

"Good, because I don't like kissing you anyway." Nastasia answered, mocking Howie's hurt tone.

" Thanks Stazzie, that made me feel good. "

"I'm sorry."

" Whatever. "

"Fine, if you won't tell me what's wrong...What am I supposed to do Howie? Read your mind?" Nastasia asked as she stood up, irritated with Howie's attitude.

" I told you nothing is wrong. "

"And I say you're lying to me."

" Why does it really matter if I have a problem? I'm just gonna have to deal with it... "

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" Nastasia asked as she stared at him. Alexandria even stopped playing with her blocks to gaze from her mother to her father.

" Nothing really. "

"For once can you just please tell me straight out what you're thinking?" Nastasia sighed.

" Ok, I'm thinking I don't want to do this concert tonight. I'm thinking I don't think I can handle being around him. That's what I'm thinking. Happy? "

"Yes, why couldn't you have told me that in the first place?" Nastasia asked as she sat down again and leaned her head against Howie's shoulder, "I'm sorry you feel that way about AJ. But don't you owe it to your fans?"

" Yeah, but I don't owe them a sight of something happening between me and A.J up on stage. "

"So, what do you want to do about it?"

" I really don't know. "

"Do you just want to tell the guys you need a night off from the concert and for them to do it without you?"

" I don't know... "

"Well, you have a few hours to think about it. Why not give it some thought then tell the guys what you're thinking?"

" I guess I could do that...on one condition only... "

"What's that?"

" I'm feeling kind of deprived of the kisses I love so much... "

"You want me to go get Kevin?" Nastasia teased as a grin spread across her angelic cheeks and a spark lighted in her ocean eyes.

Howie rolled his eyes and pulled her closer to him as he leaned back against the arm rest of the couch, letting Nastasia lean into him as they began to kiss.