"How is he?" Howie groaned to Leah as she stood in the doorway of the bedroom of the suite Howie had rented after the wedding.

She refused to enter the room. The stench had been so bad last night that she left his bed to sleep on the couch. It didn't help, AJ had gotten there first and she ended up in AJ's room of the suite.

"I think he's dead." She said, standing there with one and a half year old Caroline on her hip, her jean clad hips as slim as the day he met her.

"What?!" Howie gasped, lifting his head just a little too fast. He groaned and dropped his head to the bed again. He tried to open his eyes again, but his vision of her kept swimming before him.

"Well, I bet he wishes he was dead." She sighed.

"Aunt Leah?" Four and a half year old Alex asked, tugging on her shirt. "What's wrong?"

"Daddy and Uncle Howie are hung over." She smiled.

"Leah! Don't tell him that!" Howie snapped.

"Alex, why don't you go in the other room and get your Daddy." She smiled.

"He's in the bathroom."

"No doubt praying to the porcelain god." She smirked.

"Leah!" Howie growled.

"I rented the suite for another day. . ."

"Why did you do that? Check out is only at noon. . ."

"Howie, it's 3 in the afternoon. I wasn't going to carry the two of you downstairs." She said.

"It is?" he groaned.

In the distance, Leah could hear AJ retching in the bathroom. She smiled secretly to herself.

"Why don't you just take the children home. . ." Howie moaned.

"I can't. I promised Leighanne I was going to go shopping with her. You and AJ have to watch the children."

"We're in no condition to take care of the children." He groaned.

"That's hardly my fault. I think you better pull yourself together Howard. I'm leaving in 20 minutes and that's the last diaper change I'm doing on Caroline." She said.

"Leah. . . Leah! Don't you leave me with these children!" he protested to her back.

"I'm leaving in 20 minutes, Howard! And don't call Polly. She's coming with us!"

"Oh, crap." He groaned, trying to roll over.

"Can't you take them with you?" Howie heard AJ holler.

"No. Get up AJ!" Leah hollered back.

"Damnit!" AJ hollered.

"Don't cuss, AJ!" Howie yelled back, covering his own ears.

"Daddy? Are you okay?" Alex asked as AJ propped himself up between the toilet and the tub. What was left of his tux was stained and rumpled. He had no idea where the jacket, shoes and tie were. Only one of his feet had a sock on it.

"I'm fine, little man. Daddy's sick."

"No, Daddy's hung over." Leah said, coming up behind him.

"Leah, don't tell him that." He groaned. She could be a goddess, but right now she was the devil.

"I don't care what's wrong with either one of you. Get cleaned up, I'm leaving in 15 minutes." She said.

"Lee, you can't do this to me. Don't you have any feelings for me at all?" he groaned.

"Actually, no I don't. C'mon Alex, let's go color while Daddy and Uncle Howie take a quick shower." She said as Howie entered the bathroom from the adjoining bedroom. She closed the door with a bang and Howie practically toppled over.

"I'm glad I'm already on the floor." AJ said dryly.

"Move over." Howie said, sinking down.

"We better get up and get a shower." AJ sighed.

"Uh, huh." Howie grunted, but AJ knew Howie was falling back asleep on the cool tile floor. It looked too good, but he fought the urge.

AJ got up and began peeling off his own tux from last night. He sat Howie on the closed toilet and began to undress him.

"You know AJ. You're kinda cute." Howie smirked.

"Shut up, D." AJ grunted as he got Howie to his feet and yanked off his slacks and briefs.

"No, really. That whole little butt thing works for you." Howie chuckled as he flopped over AJ's back. AJ got Howie seated back down and began to run water in the shower.

They were both fully naked when Leah pounded on the door. Howie had gotten in the shower and AJ was trying to shave.

"You guys got 10 minutes!"

"I heard you, woman!" Howie snapped.

"Damn, you two are loud." AJ groaned, slamming the shower door shut on Howie. "Shit!"

"What happened?" Howie asked, opening the door. He saw the blood drip down AJ's cheek.

"I can't freakin' see straight." He moaned.

"I'd start with something that isn't sharp. Like your toothbrush." Howie chuckled.

Ten minutes later, Leah, with Leighanne and Polly standing behind her, opened the bathroom door to see the two of them pulling on their briefs over damp behinds. AJ said that she wasn't married to him so she couldn't see his naked rear end. She said that as the only woman on the planet who hadn't seen it, she shouldn't be denied the privilege of it another day.

Apparently, Polly and Leighanne agreed with her and heralded the event with applause. Luckily for them, Leighanne brought Fatima and Brian to help out. They sat with the children as Howie and AJ got dressed.

"These guys are so cute." Fatima giggled as Alex played trucks with Caroline.

"Don't get any ideas, little lady." Brian said.

"I'd like to have some." She said quietly.

"Someday. In the far future." Brian laughed.

"Do think Rachel or Kimmie are going to have any? What about Maleah? She'll never have kids." Fatima sighed.

"I don't know if they will or not. They all have plenty of time to decide that, just like you." Brian said as he watched his youngest daughter deep in thought. "What's bringing this on?"

She only shrugged her delicate shoulders, blonde curls falling loosely about her.

"You know you can tell me anything. You and me, we're the new Frick and Frack remember?" he smiled. She hesitated and then leaned back on the couch across from him.

"Drew wants to have sex." She said, not looking at him.

It was all he could do not to explode right there. What?! She's only seventeen! How could they be. . . of course they're thinking about it.

"We've discussed this before. You decided to wait until you were married." He said.

"I know. I guess I want to wait." She shrugged.

"Is he putting a lot of pressure on you?"

"Sorta."

"Well. I've told you before, I can't stop you from doing what you want to do. You're just about an adult and I won't always be around to help you get out of trouble." Brian said. "You're a smart girl. You know what you want and you know what you have to do to get it. You know how to be careful about these things."

"I know, I know." She said, color rising in her cheeks but she still wasn't looking at him. "Nick and Lexie had the most beautiful wedding."

"Weddings don't make a marriage. Nick and Lexie really love one another and have made a commitment to one another."

"Do you think they'll make it?"

"Yes. I do." He nodded. "What do you think you'll tell Drew?"

"Probably, 'no'. It's what I've been telling him for the last year." She sighed. "I just don't love him. Not like Nick and Lexie."

"That's the most important part. I know Drew thinks he's a singer and we've talked about my fame. It's going to attract people to you who aren't really interested in you, but who you know." He said. "You have a multi grammy winning artist and a record company owner in that bathroom over there."

"Who are puking their guts out." She joked.

"Well, besides that." Brian laughed with her. "They are two very powerful men in the business. AJ can work with anyone he wants and Howie can make anyone a star."

"I wanted to break up with him anyway. He's getting on my nerves." She said.

"I think you're looking for permission to break up with him, not to have sex with him." Brian smiled. "By all means, leave the jerk."

Fatima laughed at her father's antics. He was really good to her and she could tell him anything.

"Damn." AJ said quietly as he and Howie had their ears to the bathroom door.

"I know." Howie sighed.

"Brian's really good at this parenting thing." AJ said, straightening himself out. "Did Lexie ever talk to you like that?"

"Not about sex." He said. "I guess she always talked to Leah."

"You guess?"

"I don't know."

"You gotta talk to kids about this kinda stuff." AJ said.

"Who the hell are you? Father of The Year?" Howie grumbled.

"I'd talk to my kid about sex."

"He's four and a half."

"He knows about his pee-pee."

"Jesus! You call it that?" Howie gasped.

"He's only four and a half." AJ said.

"He's not the only one." Howie said, rolling his eyes.