Kevin and Nick burst through the clearing, drawn by the sound of the gunshot. Carlos and Logan followed closely behind. They pulled up short and stared at the scene in front of them.

"Jamie?" Kevin breathed, hardly believing what he saw. Nick was equally slack-jawed and stunned.

Ashley was lying face down in the dirt, not moving. Jamie was on top of her, one knee digging into Ashley's spine, and holding both of Ashley's hands close together in her own.

"You," she yelled at a nearby policeman, "Will you toss over your cuffs now? C'mon, do I have to do everything around here?" A pair of steel handcuffs flew through the air, landing next to the two women. Jamie picked them up, grinding her knee savagely into Ashley as she tried to wiggle free.

She leaned down and whispered silkily into Ashley's ear, "Oh, I don't think so, bitch." She cuffed Ashley very tightly. "You see, you are the one who isn't going to keep me from Kevin anymore. Your reign of terror is over, my dear."

Making sure the cuffs were in place, Jamie pushed hard with her knees as she straightened and stood up. Ashley let out a soft grunt. The policeman who had tossed over his cuffs pulled Ashley up and began reading her rights. Jamie stood several feet away watching with satisfaction.

Kevin walked over to stand next to his wife. Reaching out with one hand to brush the leaves out of her hair, Kevin closed his eyes in relief. As soon as Jamie felt his touch, she turned to face him and let out a low cry. He opened his eyes, looked at her through unshed tears, and then crushed her to him, hugging her with everything he had.

Ashley looked up when she heard Jamie's cry. Seeing her and Kevin together snapped her out of the almost comatose state she was in. She lunged forward, only to be brought back hard by the policeman who hadn't let go of her arms.

"KEVIN! No!" Ashley wailed as she struggled in vain. "What are you doing? We're supposed to be together, not you and her! Help me!"

Kevin looked over at the now crazed Ashley. Hugging Jamie tightly and dropping a kiss on the top of her head before letting go, he stepped over to Ashley. As he came near, Ashley settled down, a look of supreme happiness and satisfaction on her face.

"I knew you'd rescue me! I knew it, oh, Kevin. . ." Ashley's voice dropped off as Kevin looked at her coldly, his hands fisted at his sides.

"I was taught never to strike a woman, but I'm almost willing to make an exception here. How DARE you! You think you can destroy my family and I'd be happy to have you do it? Let me explain something to you," Kevin stepped closer to Ashley so she could see the barely contained anger in his eyes. She shrank back a step as he got in her face.

"There is no you and me. There never was. Jamie is and always will be my heart, my soul and my destiny. . .not. . .you. Not you, do you understand? Never you. Never! You were a one night thing at best, a huge mistake at worst. If I could do it over, I would have avoided you like the plague. Am I getting through to you?" Tears spilled unchecked down Ashley's face, but he was unsympathetic.

"You have put us all through hell these past few months. I NEVER want to see you, hear from or about you ever again. You don't exist. You never have. Don't you ever come near me or my family again, or I swear to you. . ." He shook his head, then continued, "I swear that I will hunt you down and I will make sure you never hurt anyone ever again. I will forget everything I've ever been taught about being a gentleman, and make you wish you had never been born. God knows I wish you hadn't."

Kevin looked at the policeman, "Get her out of my sight." A broken and distraught Ashley was led away by the officers. They could hear her calling for Kevin as she was taken out of the clearing.

Logan cleared his throat. "As an officer, I do have to warn you that I did hear you threaten her, and that you shouldn't follow up on it if you don't want to join her behind bars. But," he held one hand up to forestall Kevin's angry response, "but as a human being, I understand what you said and realize you needed to say it. I won't say a word about it, and neither will the other officers." Kevin's anger faded slightly, and he nodded curtly to the detective.

Logan faced Jamie who, by this time, was standing in Nick's protective embrace. "You need to be checked out, then come down to the police station to file formal charges. You don't need to be near her, and everything will be waiting for you when you get there. Normally I'd take you over myself, but I have a feeling I'm very superfluous at the moment. Mr. Carter and Mr. Richardson appear to have things under control here. I'll see you later." He turned back around, taking the same path as the officers had, leaving Jamie alone with Nick and Kevin. Carlos faded back into the treeline to allow them some privacy, but still under his watchful eye.

"What happened, Jaim? We heard the shot, and. . ." Nick broke off on a swallowed sob as Jamie gave him a small smile and gingerly reached up to ruffle his hair.

"She was aiming the gun at me. Honestly? I thought it was over, she was going to shoot me point-blank, and there was nothing I could do. I was kneeling on the ground, and my eyes were closed in prayer. But I had my hands on the ground searching for anything to use, like you taught me, and I found a fallen branch. I grabbed it, and just swung at her with everything I had. I think I hit her just as she fired the gun. It flew out of her hands, and the shot missed me. I guess the momentum of my swing brought me into her and I tackled her. She managed to get up, but I brought her back down again with that flip we practiced. I just sat on her and waited for the police to show up, and I think you saw the rest."

Jamie leaned back up out of Nick's arms and smiled warmly at him. "I owe you a lot, little brother. You saved my life." Nick crushed her to him, his face buried in the top of her head, and tears running down his cheeks. "You're welcome. Anytime."

Kevin cocked his head to the side, confused, "What are you two talking about? Nick didn't do anything, he was with me the whole time."

Jamie broke out of Nick's arms, and reached for her husband. She cradled his face in her hands and explained, "But Nicky did do a great deal. He taught me some self-defense moves so that I could take her down if I ended up all alone with her and without police protection."

He couldn't help it, Kevin started laughing uncontrollably. Nick frowned at him, but the laughter only increased. "I'm sorry, but Nick? He doesn't know any self-defense moves."

"I do too," Nick replied stubbornly. "I know you all think I don't know anything, but I know more than you realize. Jamie is the only one who knows that, and she let me help her so she wouldn't be helpless."

She insisted, "He did, darlin'. If it weren't for Nick, I probably wouldn't be here. Where do you think he and I went all those times in the last couple of weeks? And the bruises you saw. . ."

Kevin tensed up again, "He hurt you? I'm going to kill you, Nickolas." Jamie refused to let Kevin step closer to Nick.

"Stop. Kevin, listen to me! He didn't hurt me, really he didn't. The bruises are mostly from me being clumsy and getting up close and personal with the floor and the walls. You want retribution, go punch some holes in the gym. But don't you dare harm a hair on Nicky's head."

"Yeah, what she said," said Nick, before catching the look in Kevin's eyes and stepping back out of his reach.

"Kevin," she said, retaking his face in her hands and pulling him close, "I was never in any danger until today. But it's over, darlin'. We can move on with our life. Leave Nick alone, and let's just get out of here. Okay? Please? Let's just go." She kissed him sweetly, and Kevin softened into her embrace. He closed his eyes, and savored the feel of his wife in his arms.

Finally, Jamie stepped back from Kevin, rubbing her eyes with the side of her hand and the first knuckle of her index finger. She sighed deeply, and then took each of their hands.

"Okay, my heroes. Let's go back and show the others I'm fine. Weren't you in the middle of a concert?"

Nick's eyes rounded, "Oh yeah, we were! We got Bone and Brian to stall while we came for you."

All three started laughing. "Who knows what they're doing on stage right now! We better get you two back to finish the show." Jamie started walking forward, with the two singers closely behind her.

They reached the backstage area, and Howie rushed up to them. "Thank God! You have no idea what hell this is been waiting. Plus watching Brian and AJ on stage alone. . .after all the bad jokes and impressions they did, I'm surprised anyone is still here."

Jamie listened for a moment, then asked, "It sounds like they're singing now, so that's not too bad, right?"

Howie nodded, "Finally, AJ got the bright idea to reenact his 21st birthday party, and so Brian and Johnny Suede are out there now. I think this is what they sang at that show. So are you alright Jaim? What happened?"

"It's a long story, let's not get into it now. But everything's fine, and Ashley is at this very moment enjoying the fine hospitality of the Orlando PD."

Howie smiled broadly, "Good. That's wonderful. So fellas, I guess then now would be a good time to get back out there and finish this show. We need to celebrate!"

Nick nodded, "Yeah, we do. C'mon, I know how to end this." He bounded onto the stage, followed closely by Howie and Kevin. Jamie slipped around to the front of the stage, and found herself in the middle of a group hug from Leighanne, Amanda and Alissa.

The girls stood in front of the stage, still linked together as Nick cleared his throat into his microphone. "Hi! Did Johnny entertain you all? Sorry about that, there was a minor snafu we had to take care of. But everything's all fixed now, and it's just in time to finish the show." Nick paused as the audience booed and groaned. He held up his hand, "Hey now! Everything's gotta end sometime, and you have to admit, this has been going on for a very long time. We gotta go, but before we do, I think we can fit in one more song, right fellas?"

The other Backstreet Boys crowded around Nick and the one microphone stand he was using. "Ready fellas? A cappella, on my count, one, two, three. . ."

As the five voices blended in perfect harmony, Kevin and Jamie stared at each other. Their gaze never wavered, despite the unshed tears in both sets of eyes.

It's in the silences

. . .with everything I am