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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry this update took so long! It won't happen again. =)
Kevin couldn't even begin to describe the dark feelings of panic creeping into his soul as he sat numbly in the middle of the convience store while Jimmy was positioned behind the group's isle and Ben and Ernie spoke privately at the front. They seemed to be in a state of panic themselves, not nearly anticipating such low funds for such an expensive robbery and the dead guard in the back adding to the stakes. Stephanie seemed to have upset Ernie with her fericious bite, leaving the man baited for true revenge. They had toyed with Anya like a small mouse on a string, dangling her in front of Stephanie like some toy. It was painful to watch, especially now as Stephanie clasped tightly to her sobbing little sister. She seemed to be whispered softly into Anya's dark blonde curls, but Kevin couldn't overhear what she was saying. In fact, he didn't even want to tempt the group's anger by speaking aloud, knowing if they found out exactly who the boys were, there would be more at stake than one could imagine.

"Shh, you're okay now. I'm not going to let them hurt you again, I promise. We'll get out of this just fine," Stephanie soothed quietly, running her hand up and down Anya's trembling back. A long time ago, Stephanie made a promise that she would never let anyone or anything harm the younger woman and she intended to keep it.

"Denny's dead..." Anya whispered hoarsely as she curled her hands tightly into Stephanie's polo work shirt. Her beautiful face was blotchy, red, and wet as tears continued to rain down. Seeing the man die had profondly affected her in ways that she couldn't verbalize. The sting of pain and fear kept her body in a constantly state of awareness as her heart throbbed wildly within her chest. She feared she might die of a heart attack as she shuddered, feeling the wandering eyes of the gunmen practically burning away the layers of her clothing. She didn't know what he was thinking, but when he toyed with Stephanie and suggested to use Anya to his own advantage, she felt physically ill. "He's just bleeding... All over the floor, Phi. He's dead..."

"I know, Anya... I know... he didn't deserve to die, but God won't allow it to be in vain. There's nothing more we can do for him," Stephanie pressed kisses on the top of Anya's head, just wanting to calm her down. It was hard to believe this was even happening to them. In their town. At the place they work... she had to keep her sister safe, even if she had to die for her.

"I want to go home," Anya demanded softly, almost childlike. "Please, Phi, let's go home. Please? I want to get away from them. From their eyes, please..."

"Honey, if we could go home we would already be there. Nothing is going to happen to you, I promise."

"Don't let them touch me again--"

"Ern, that will never work! Do I have to think of everything?" Ben growled, smacking Ernie upside the head who immediately cowered from the stinging pain.

"It was your bright idea who got us stuck with barely any profits and seven hostages! Along with a dead cop!"

"I told your stupid ass to wait until they locked up permanently. But no, you wanted to give the little girls a real scare and before I could tell you about the damn security guard, you were in the fucking window. I had no choice, so don't even start blaming me or I'll toss your dead body back in that office, too! You hear me?!"

"Yeah, arguing about what the fuck we're going to do is real smart!" Jimmy spoke up with a groan.

"I have no problem killing your ass, too!" Ernie turned and pointed his gun at Jimmy's chest.

"Don't fucking play, Ernie!" Jimmy yelped, stumbling back into a row of canned products. They knocked sharply to the floor, causing the hostages to jerk away with fear. But, Jimmy seemed preoccupied as he gestured toward Ben. "Would you tell him to get the gun the fuck out of my face? It's like he's got a fucking hard-on and he can use it on something else other than me!"

"Ern, come on. Jimmy has the sharpest shot and we might need it in case one of these little yuppies tries to make a run for it," Ben tried to reason with Ernie, who was breathing heavy. "Put the gun down, man."

"This whole plan has gone to shit!" Ernie cursed, wildly waving his gun.

"That doesn't mean we kill each other! Put the damn gun down!"

"Fuck you!" Ernie hissed, throwing Jimmy to the ground. He then stepped into the middle of the isle, directly aiming his gun toward Anya. "Let me start executing them, Ben. Starting with the pretty little blonde. No witnesses and we can high tail it out of here!"

"Oh yeah, that won't make things WORSE! Their bodies will get connected to us by the forensics shit and then we'll really be in deep! You're not killing anyone just yet, Ernie so put the fucking gun away!"

"Then make it worth my while!"

"I can make it worth your while, just give me time to think. Calm down, man. You'll get everything you want as long as no one else dies."

"I want that bitch to pay," Ernie seethed, pointing directly at Stephanie. "And I want her little sister, now, Ben."

"What are you going to do to her?"

"Whatever the fuck I want."

"Fine. Just don't kill her," Ben relented, which satisfied Ernie enough to lower his gun away from Anya, who was now clutching even tighter to Stephanie.

"Phi, you promised!" Anya whimpered sharply against her sister, overhearing every word exchanged between the trio. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly when she heard the steady fall of boots approaching. "Phi, please!"

"I'm not letting you go, Ani. He's not taking you!" Stephanie wrapped her arms and pulled Anya as close as she could towards her shivering body.

"Phi, please. I won't give you anymore trouble, I promise. Just, Phi, don't let him--"

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM US!" Stephanie screamed sharply as Ernie snaked a hand around Anya's upper arm. The younger woman seemed to freeze in her sister's arms, causing Stephanie to practically yank her away from Ernie. She screamed as loudly, shrilly, and sharply as she could, planning to continue until the man left her alone. "SHE DIDN'T DO A DAMN THING TO YOU! GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU SICK FUCKING PERVERT! YOU CAN'T HAVE HER! NO! NO! NO!"

"It's because of you that I want her. Now, you can keep her if you want... but then I would have to put a bullet in her head--"

"GET AWAY FROM US! YOU CAN'T HAVE HER!" Stephanie continued.

"Just for that I'm going to give Jimmy a turn, too," Ernie growled, grabbing a fistful of Anya's hair along with the back of her neck, yanking as hard as he possibly could. "And you know Ben is interested. Now let go, you dumb bitch--"

"NO! LET MY ANYA GO! SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU! LET HER GO!" Stephanie scrambled up and began hitting Ernie with her fists, trying everything she could to free her sister.

"GET THE HELL OFF ME!" Ernie barked, throwing Stephanie to the ground as he started to drag the sobbing Anya away. He was grinning madly as Stephanie practically crawled to get toward him, but he kicked her again. He was almost free when she started howling with sharp, piercing cries that caused all the men to cringe.
"She's going to cause a fucking riot, Ernie!" Jimmy howled, covering his ears.

"LET MY SISTER GO, YOU FUCKING BASTARD! LET HER GO! NOW! GIVE ME MY ANYA!"

"Let her go, Ernie!" Ben barked with sheer annoyance, destroying a display of items in search of duct tape to bind Stephanie's mouth.

"You said I could make it worth my fucking while--"

"Not right now! Someone is going to hear her!"

"I don't give a flying fuck!"

"LET MY SISTER GO! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW!"

"You can have the bitch later, NOT RIGHT NOW!"

"GIVE ME ANYA!"

"ERNIE!" Ben barked, grabbing Anya away from Ernie's grasp. Before either could react, Ben threw Anya hard down the isle. Tripping over Nick's long legs, she crashed hard into the shelving, sobbing terribly in shock. And, as Ernie bent to grab the girl, Ben snatched the back of his collar and propelled him toward the back room. "Jimmy, watch them!"

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU BOTH, BITCHES!"

"Holy Hell..." Nick breathed in shock, unable to stop the tears from falling down his face.

"Calm down..." Kevin whispered as the store filled with an awkward barrage of muffled sounds. They could hear things being destroyed in the back room, which offered background nosie to the sobs from Anya and the hoarse screams from Stephanie. Knowing the tension was escalating in the lone intruder, Kevin crept toward Stephanie and eased his hands on her shoulder. "Your sister is okay, but you've got to calm down for me, okay? My friend is going to talk to her, but you have to keep your head. Please."

"H-h-he was going to take her because of me. Because of me! I have to protect my Anya," Stephanie whispered, her throat sore from screaming as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"And we're going to protect your Anya," Kevin promised softly, shooting a hard look toward his four friends, begging for someone to go over and help Anya. "But you have to calm down, otherwise we're all going to be in a lot of trouble."

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Stephanie closed her eyes and tried to control her emotions as AJ crawled over to Anya. "I actually forgot you were all here. I didn't even think... I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Kevin promised as Stephanie actually curled into his arms without thought. It took him by surprise for a moment, but he held her nonetheless. He felt her bury her wet face into his strong chest, releasing the softest sobs. Gently, he rubbed her back, carefully watching AJ. "My friend, AJ, is going to take care of your sister, okay?"

"O-Okay. Thank you," Stephanie whispered, forgetting AJ's attitde before they were let in the store. She just wanted someone to be there for Anya until she was collected and calm.

~*~*~*~*~

AJ didn't know what he was thinking as he carefully approached the young girl that was admost the heavy clutter of the collapsed shelving unit. She was curled into a ball, just sobbing quietly as she trembling with obvious terror. He hadn't expected that he would be the one to check on her, his best friend Howie more opt to do so. But, when no one moved, AJ felt it was best for him to take the higher road. Not that he didn't want to talk to her, but he was afraid of looking like a fool. When he had first noticed her in the glass doors dancing, he had been floored. She was mesmerizing with the way her body moved to th fluid beats, her dark blonde curls playfully bouncing as she smiled with amusement. She was gorgeous to say the very least, but her smile had caught him instantly. She was warm and charming, despite the terribly frightful turn of events. And he was convinced that he couldn't live up to what her standards probably were.

"Hey... Anya, Sweetie, calm down. You're okay," AJ replied what he thought was lamely, reaching out to touch her delicate shoulder. "Anya."

"Don't touch me!" Anya sniffled with a sharp jerk, causing more things to crash down around her as she fell backward.

"Anya, it's just me! AJ. I'm not going to hurt you," AJ yelped as a can slammed on his thigh but he merely rubbed the spot as he reached for her again. "Come on, Baby."

"Baby?" she sniffled in disbelief, staring at him with an innocent bewilderment.

"Um... I was just trying to be comforting... you don't like being called that? I'm sorry--"

"No, it's okay..." she trailed with a shaky breath, not wanting to see him jump through so many hoops. She seemed to calm considerably as AJ's raspy voice coiled around her within his minty breath. Though, She continued to shiver despite the warmth of the store, wrapping her arms protectively around herself.

"You're okay now, don't worry. The guys, your sister and I won't let anything happen to you," AJ took a chance and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Such a brave Backstreet Boy," she sniffled with a small, nervous laugh, just staring down at her trembling hands. Ernie had been extremely rough with her, not to mention when Ben sent her body flying across the floor. She had no doubt that she was a map of bruises, but was thankful that she wasn't a map of their sexual conquests instead. She was terrified of them. Too terrified for words.

"I've been working on it," he chuckled, feeling her scoot closer to his embrace without thought. He felt an instant attraction for the young woman and felt the need to protect her as much as her older sister was. "Are you alright?"

"I'm alright..."

"Nothing is going to happen to you. Not with us and your sister here. We'll protect you," AJ began rubbing her right shoulder in an attempt to calm her more.

"Kind of wish you would have just kept on driving past this hell hole, huh?" Anya murmured after a period of uncomfortable silence, unable to concentrate on anything but his nimble hand working gently against her tense muscles. It was awkward to say the least, considering he didn't know a thing about her and he was famous to boot. But, Anya couldn't deny how good it felt nonetheless.

"Part of me does... but then another is glad."

"Are you freaking nuts?" Anya asked incredously, glancing up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"If we hadn't stopped here, I wouldn't have met you or seen you dance."

"Your point?" she asked bluntly.

"I'm glad we stopped."

Anya hiccuped softly within the calming storm of her sobs, continuing to stare out into the dark night. "I think I would have been happier if you had taken me with you..."

"When we get through this, I will," AJ blurted without a second thought, even though he did mean every word.

Anya's hiccups turned into a slight squeak of surprise as she finally caught his dark eyes within the reflection of her blue-green eyes. She study him carefully, obviously baffled. "What?"

"When we get through this... I'll take you with me... that is, if you want--"

"You don't even know me..."

"By the time this is over, I will."

"Aren't you supposed to be some gigantic asshole?"

"Um... wow. You're very bold, aren't you?" AJ raised his own eyebrow in wonder.

"Yeah..." Anya murmured, turning her gaze away from him as she turned her body in the same direction. "Didn't mean to offend you..."

"It's not your fault. I was an asshole a long time ago. When I was using drugs and drinking. I'm not like that anymore," AJ turned her back towards him.

Anya tensed dramatically. "What are you doing?"

"It's hard to talk to your backside instead of face-to-face."

"Most men like staring at my backside..." she trailed with remanents of her impish smile.

"I'm not saying I don't but... I like looking at your face much more," he chuckled, running a hand through her curls.

"You're scared to death, aren't you?"

"Honestly?"

"Yes."

"I am scared... we all are."

"Fear makes people do odd things..."

"What do you mean?"

"You trying to get close to me, touching me, holding me, telling me you want to take me away with you. That's the fear talking. Almost like a primal need to reproduce before you die..."

"Anya, no. Even if this robbery never happened and we were just shopping here, I would be feeling the same way. It's not the fear."

"And you would have left in ten minutes, just the same--"

"Not without getting your number or convincing you to come with me."

"You are so full of shit it's ridiculous," Anya laughed softly, shaking her head in disbelief at AJ's insistance and perserverance in the issue.

"How am I full of shit when I'm speaking the truth? I'm attracted to you, Anya--"

"It just seems like an odd place and time to be confessing all this," Anya interupted softly as a loud crash followed by an opening door startled her. Without though, she launched herself into AJ's arms, burying her face within his shoulder as if she could disappear.

"All of you! Up! We've got to... redecorate this place to make it more secure," Ben barked as Ernie lingered behind him, his lip swollen and bleeding while Ben merely had a bruise on his cheek.

"You got all the money, why can't you just leave in peace?" Howie questioned calmly, almost too softly to be heard as the group seemed to comply with the man's wishes. Though, Stephanie immediately sought out her little sister, yanking her tightly into her embrace as she stepped into Kevin's arms.

"Don't worry, loudmouth. We're not taking your sister..." Ben trailed off as Jimmy pushed them towards the room that had just been trashed by his partners. "Yet."

"Don't even say anything," Kevin persuaded Stephanie, leading her and Anya toward the security office.
Only, Anya immediately tensed when she realized where they were going. She turned sharply, running straight into Ben with his gun raised. "Not back in there, please!"

"Would you rather be in there or out here with Ernie?" he merely replied, placing the gun to her forehead.

"Denny is in there dead," Anya answered softly as Ben pushed her backward with the gun pressed hard into the center of her forehead. She almost considered staying out in the store with Ernie and Ben, not carrying what they wanted to do with her, because she'd be insane with Denny's dead body staring lifelessly at her.

"Yeah, I know. I killed him. Now get your fucking ass in there," Ben repeated, giving one last push with the gun to propel Anya into the office.

Anya stumbled with the sharp push and slipped against the pooling blood, falling backward over her dead co-worker. She landed with a sickening splash against the floor and a crunch against Denny's stiffening body. Blood splashed against her, seeping deeply into her clothing and coaking her skin in a semi-warm wetness. She cringed in absolute horror, scrambling away from the body as she dry heaved painfully.

"Anya!" Stephanie rushed over to her blood covered sister and brought her into her arms.

"Don't you think you could give these women a damn break?" AJ muttered with disgust as Jimmy started poking the boys in the back with the gun to spur them forward.

"Did I just hear you say something?" Jimmy snapped, quickly hitting AJ with the butt of the gun hard enough to bring stars to his eyes.

"Damnit," Kevin cursed in shock as they were hurriedly piled inside. He went toward AJ, who lay sprawled against the floor in a daze. But, he couldn't allow the remaining words falling from Ben's voice to erase - That'll look good for when we start demanding ransom on these celebrities, Jimmy.

~*~*~*~*~

"AJ? Hey, J, how are you feeling?" Howie murmured as he gingerly shook his younger friend's shoulder, rousing him from an unconcious state. AJ released a sharp groan of pain, immediately reaching back to cup his hand over the bleeding head wound he had recently suffered from. He could barely make out the fuzzy lines of Howie's form, resting a shaky hand on his friend's face to assure he was still there. And, Howie frowned deeply as he glanced to Kevin. They had been placed in the broken security office for several hours as dawn slowly began to break within the cracks of the boarded window. Not much had been heard by way of the intruders, just some ringing telephones, laughter, and an occasional burst of arguments. Somehow, Kevin had managed to drape the odorous body from sight, though Anya stayed in a far corner to avoid all recognition of her and Stephanie's late coworker. Things seemed divided and Howie was at a loss.

"You're all blurry... it's hard to see you. And my head hurts like Hell," AJ lowered his hand from Howie's face and closed his eyes again in hopes to refocus.

"He has a concussion," Anya voiced softly from within her sister's arms, trying to ignore the sensation of drying blood coating her body.

"How did you know that?" Howie asked.

"He has the basic symptoms."

"Anya is going to school to become a doctor," Stephanie explained to the other men.

"Now we have a bright whipper snapper in the group, finally," Kevin attempted to joke, though he had never been quite strong in the humor spectrum of his personality. He feigned some sort of forced smile, leaning down to Anya like he might his daughter, if he had a daughter or a wife for that matter. "Can you take a look at him for me?"

"Why?"

"Because the rest of us have a medical background whatsoever. I would appreciate it if you would take a look at him," Kevin explained gently, wiping away the lone tear on her cheek.

"Phi... Let go of me..." Anya whispered.

"Okay..." Stephanie reluctantly let go of Anya and she stood, walking over to where AJ was still sprawled on the floor.

"You're proud of your little sister, aren't you?" Kevin murmured as he studied Stephanie. She had become increasingly pale as the hours passed, obviously drained as she continued to will herself to protect Anya. Even now her eyes were trained on the young girl, refusing to let her stray even a few feet. To say she was protective was an understatement in Kevin's mind.

"Very proud. She's been working so hard to put herself through school by herself. Our parents aren't exactly reliable... I always knew Anya was going to achieve everything she put her mind to."

Kevin smiled, "You always had to protect her because your parents couldn't, huh?"

"Yeah. I promised her I would never let anyone hurt her..."

"Why don't you come with me then, we'll keep everyone together and make it easier to keep your promise?" Kevin gently offered, reaching to fold his hands around hers. Since consoling her in the store's front, to say he felt a deep connection to her was easy. Despite the hysterics, he admired the strength of her convictions when it came to her little sister. That was something he shared when it came to the other four boys. He was the father-figure and desperately in need of a wife and mother-figure for his wayward boys.

"Okay," Stephanie quickly agreed, feeling that spark once more down her spine as their skin touched. He helped her up and they walked hand-in-hand towards the group.

"Phi... I need that mini-flashlight on your keys," Anya softly called, holding her bloody hand out toward her sister. She seemed to be in deep concentration as she straddled AJ's lap so she could better access his body. The wound on the back of his head was bleeding profusely and she worried about a serious contusion or possibility of blood leaking into the cranial cavity. The tip of her tongue stuck out the side of her mouth just a bit as she gestured toward Stephanie again while continuing her assessment.

"Hold on," Stephanie unhooked the keys from her belt loop and handed them to Anya, watching her already act like the doctor she was destined to be.

Anya mumbled a simple thanks to her sister as she reached to cup AJ's face within her hands. Gently, she called out to him as she stroked his fuzzy face. Since the start of their new album, he had grown a full beard, which Anya actually found quite handsome. She brushed those thoughts quickly away though. "AJ... Remember me? I need you to open your eyes for me so I can annoy your ass, okay?"

"Anya," he whispered, painfully opening his eyes and groaning as a light invaded them.

"I know it this is a pain in the ass," she soothed softly, continuing to gently stroke the side of his face as she removed the light source. His pupils were fixed and somewhat sluggish with reaction, signaling what could be a serious head injury. She exhaled softly as she tilted his head to rest on her shoulder, examining the back of his head, which obviously needed several stitches. "Oh, AJ..."

"It hurts, Anya..."

"I know, AJ. It'll be okay," Anya rubbed his back gently.

"I'm tired..."
"You've got to stay awake for me, though," she chided, ripping at the hem of her t-shirt to make a strip of cloth. She needed something to bind his bleeding wound with and she needed him to stay awake. "Ask me some questions or something..."

AJ held back a grunt of pain as she placed slight pressure against his wound. "I can't think of any... why can't I sleep? It makes the pain go away--"

"You might not wake up if you go to sleep," she interrupted gently as she wrapped the clothing around the wound, securing it as tightly as possible. "You've got a concussion to say the least... If not something more serious..."

"I might not wake up?"

"Right, which is why I need you to stay awake. Please."

"Okay..."

"Come on, think of some questions to ask me. If you're going to whisk me away after all this, you need to know things about me."

"Are you single?" AJ meekly attempted to joke as he continued to rest his forehead against her shoulder, inhaling the sweet scent of her favorite perfume. He heard the nervous chuckles of everyone around him and he smirked faintly.

"Just for you," she laughed, continuing to rub his back.

"What about your family? Mother and father?"

"Our father left when I was a baby... Guess he didn't want to have two girls... Mother was never really a mother to begin with... Phi was my mother and still is..."

"So it's just been you and Stephanie?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't have it any other way," Anya looked over at her sister and smiled softly.