"Everything I have to give is for you. . ."

Slowly, each member of the Backstreet Boys walked onto the stage singing the introduction to All I Have To Give. As they sat down on a stool, they were barely heard over the screams of their fans. The others waved, smiled, and mouthed hellos. Kevin sought out his wife. Jamie was still standing with Leighanne near the back of the roped area, on the other side from him.

It had been a good idea to start with this song, since Kevin had very little to sing. While Kevin was normally very professional onstage, and always had a "show-must-go-on" mentality, the others had correctly guessed he'd be too preoccupied with Jamie to remember his parts this time around. Howie, who was sitting next to Kevin, had to give him a subtle tap on the back to get Kevin to sing his one solo line. Kevin had started at the tap, then blinked and remembered where and what he was supposed to be doing. He sang, all the while looking at Jamie.

She smiled and wiggled her fingers in a hello. His expression didn't change, but he relaxed his shoulders. She shook her head and mouthed to him.

"I'm fine. Stop worrying."

Kevin subtly shook his head, no. Jamie rolled her eyes. Leighanne, having caught the whole exchange, laughed and leaned in so Jamie could hear her.

"You're not going to get him to relax. Stop trying."

"I know," Jamie sighed. "I just thought that he'd go into 'show' mode and at least act like he's having a good time."

"Part of the problem is that he's sitting and singing. There's no choreography so he has nothing to concentrate on."

"Which leaves him free to watch me, I know," Jamie finished with a groan. "Why can't he sing more? That way he'd deal with that instead. Singing bass apparently doesn't require nearly enough concentration for him to be diverted." They laughed again.

The crowd didn't seem to notice Kevin's preoccupation. They screamed and sang along with the Boys. Kevin rarely took his eyes off Jamie, and the other four shook their heads in resignation. Howie, being the only one next to Kevin, every once in a while tried to divert his attention, but got nowhere. He stopped completely when Kevin's intense gaze shifted from Jamie to Howie. He recognized the look; now was a good time to stop if he expected to survive the show.

Thankfully Nick and AJ deflected attention away from Kevin's end of the stage. They started an impromptu contest to out-diva the other. Nick belted out his line, holding out the note as long as he possibly could; AJ countered by ad-libbing his notes. AJ stood up and walked forward to the crowd; Nick pounded his stool with a loose fist and spun around. The crowd egged them on, screaming louder with each escalation of their antics.

Brian and Howie stayed put, but smiled and whispered ideas to the combatants. Even Kevin finally smiled when Nick outstretched his arms and raised them over his head, reminiscent of Shania Twain's movements during their appearance in her Winter Break concert.

Howie grinned, "All that's missing is the huge sleeves covering his face." Kevin laughed out loud.

"She really hated Nick outsinging her," he remembered. Howie nodded.

By this time the song had finished. Nick still held his pose and the note, AJ was crumpled at the front of the stage holding his.

"Man, you two need to break out of your shells. You are way too shy to perform professionally," joked Brian. The crowd yelled their approval. He turned to face the audience and grinned cheekily, striding up to the heap on the stage that was AJ.

"So you liked the show, huh?" More yells greeted that statement. "You want more?" Cheers again. "So maybe you wanna turn this into a party?"

He turned to face the others. "Whaddaya say, you wanna have a party?"

AJ bounced up and slung his arm around Brian. "Yeah, man, let's have a party!" The music changed as the band began the jazzy version of Let's Have A Party. The fellas moved their stools out of the way, and rolled up the rugs on the stage.

They did a few dance moves as they got into the song. Kevin, finally diverted from Jamie, focused on the song and as he and AJ rapped their verse, they stood back to back and pulled poses.

Nick still wasn't finished. He started the new verse and as he wailed, he hopped down off the stage, grabbed a girl's hand and sang to her:

Look here baby, we ain't doin' no wrong

Everybody come and dance with me. . .

Marcus hunted Nick down and practically tossed him back up on stage. He wagged a finger at Nick as if to say, "Stay!" Nick simply shook his head and laughed more.

Nick's laughter prompted AJ's signature maniacal laugh and launched into That's The Way I Like It. At a dance break, each Boy did a quick solo dance.

"Oh, stop, that's painful!" laughed Jamie as she flinched and watched Kevin freestyle. Leighanne covered her eyes.

"You'd think he'd stop that and learn some different moves."

"Oh, he won't. He does it to torture me, since he knows I hate that. He does it on purpose."

"Good Lord," said Leighanne. "Must be a family thing. Why do you think Brian always sings with one leg in the air?" They shook their heads.

When the song ended, Kevin turned to find Jamie once more. She shook her head and grimaced. He half-grinned and kept his eye on her.

The next song was Larger Than Life. As AJ sang his line, "All of our time spent in flashes of light. . ." the stage lights alternately flared, simulating flashbulbs. Combined with all the real flashes going off in the audience at the same time, the Boys were momentarily blinded.

Kevin shook his head and closed his eyes to clear his vision. The spots in his eyes danced as they faded slowly.

When they were completely faded, Kevin blinked one last time and turned to look at Jamie once again. He only saw Leighanne standing there, singing along with the music.

Kevin quickly glanced around, and for the second time in his life, he felt as if time slowed down and stopped. He looked again at Leighanne, who was now turned around with a bewildered look, and they both stared at the empty spot beside her.

Jamie was gone.