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Nick grinned, his bright eyes watching as AJ threw Howie into the pool. A laugh escaped him as Howie grabbed onto AJ, taking the tattooed rebel in with him with a huge splash. Nick shook his head. AJ should have known better. He had seen when Nick had tried that same thing before and Howie had taken him into the water, too.

Nick relaxed back into the long lawn chair, feeling the numbing warmth of Florida’s bright sun upon his arms and legs. A navy tank covered his chest and worn with it were navy and white swimming trunks. Nick was reluctant to ever be without a shirt. He was afraid of how the guys would react to the red scar that marred his chest, of what that reminder would cause.

It had been just over two months since their stay at the hospital and their fight with Lalita had finally ended. Howie, AJ, and Kevin were completely healed from the ordeal. Brian was nearly one hundred percent and he, himself, felt pretty good. Nick would sometimes feel a twinge from his almost completely mended rib that had broken in two places, and he’d feel what the doctor had called a ghost pain in his chest. Meaning, he was just imagining it. Nick shook his head. How long would it be until he was able to finally leave it all in the past?

Nick glanced up as Brian sat down in the chair beside him, laughing at something Alec said. Nick smiled and nodded to the EMT, then watched as Alec dove into the pool. One plus of the whole, horrible situation was the friend they had gained in Alec. He was almost like another member of the group.

“Hey, Nick,” asked Brian, eyes shining, “Ya seen Kevin lately?”

Nick took off his silver sunglasses, sitting up and placing his feet on either side of the chair. He notice Brian always had a shirt on too, he wondered if the reason was the same as his, “He said he was coming out here. He ought to be here any time.”

Brian gave Nick a sincere smile, “It was a good idea, Nick.” Brian elaborated at Nick’s confused look, “All of us gettin’ together like this for a week atleast once a month. Just us and nothin’ else. No work. No fans. No media. Just us havin’ fun with no worries.”

“Yeah,” sighed Nick, then grinned, “I thought if it were a required thing, none of ya’s could weasel out of it. And it’s at your place next time, Frick. Then you get to clean up the mess.”

“Aw,” guffawed Brian with a smirk, “We’re not makin’ that bad a mess.” Brian looked around, a twinkle in his eye, “Course, we haven’t had lunch yet.”

“No food fights!” exclaimed Nick immediately, causing Brian to burst out laughing. Nick ducked his head, a smile turning his lips.

“Yer the one that usually starts ‘em anyways, Nicky,” laughed Brian, ruffling Nick’s spiked hair.

Nick scowled, shoving Brian’s hands away, “Don’t start with the ‘Nicky’ thing and don’t mess with the hair!”

Brian just continued to laugh, his eyes turning to the pool in time to see Alec pulling AJ under the water. Howie burst out laughing from where he sat on the edge, feet dangling in the water. Brian shook his head, “Those guys are nuts.”

Nick gave him a smirk, “Funny as all hell to watch, huh?”

“Yep!” laughed Brian. Then he furrowed his brow, watching as AJ got out of the pool and ran off. Brian looked at Nick, “What’s up with AJ?”

Nick shrugged. He hoped AJ wasn’t in another funk. AJ would go into an angry fit every so often after the deal at the hospital when something sparked his fuse. They all thought it had something to do with O’Rielly. AJ never did seem to forgive the Police Cheif. He still believed the man could have stopped Lalita. But AJ had seemed to work out of it for the past few weeks. Nick sighed, watching as Alec hoisted himself up to sit beside Howie. They talked, then stood and walked over to Nick and Brian. Nick looked up at them, raising a hand to shield the sun from his eyes, “What happened with AJ?”

“Don’t really know,” shrugged Alec, “He just said he had something to show us.”

“Hey, guys!” came AJ’s voice, running up to them with a hauntingly familiar backpack. They knew what was inside and had learned to live with the memory filled item. AJ stopped before them and unzipped the backpack, the hyper little squirrel scrambling out with a squeak to perch on AJ’s shoulder. AJ smiled and reached back into the bag, then looked to the guys, “Ya gotta check out what I taught Squeaker. It’s a riot!”

The guys shared glances, not sure if they really wanted to find out. You never knew about surprises with AJ. Brian then caught a flash of dark green in the corner of his eye and raised a hand in greeting, “Hey, Kev! ‘Bout time you showed up!”

Kevin came to a stop before them, black sunglasses shielding his eyes as he smiled, “Sorry, but I had to pick something up.”

“Well, you’re here,” nodded Nick, “That’s what matters.”

“Okay, AJ,” spoke Howie, eyeing the backpack AJ still had his hand buried in, “What’s the trick?”

“Just watch,” grinned AJ, walking to and then kneeling at the pool’s edge. Squeaker jumped to the ground and watched with anticipation, fuzzy tail flicking about. The five got comfortable and watched as AJ took something from the pack and placed it in the water, then Squeaker disappeared from view on the other side of AJ. Then, AJ stood with a black object in his hands. A buzzing suddenly filled the air and they all burst out laughing.

Squeaker zoomed about the pool, being towed behind a remote control speed boat that AJ directed. AJ smiled, “He loves this! We’d do this for hours at home. He hates getting dumped in the water though, must be a rodent thing. I got the idea from one of those funny home video shows.”

Brian shook his head, able to stop laughing long enough to speak, “That’s hilarious, ‘J. My God, you have way too much free time on yer hands!”

“Hey!” cried AJ, indignant but unable to come up with any better argument.

Kevin spoke up, “You guys, I got somethin’ I want to show ya. I ain’t real sure of it and I want your opinion. Okay?”

They saw the smile Kevin had on his face, but they also heard the serious tone. Howie nodded as AJ drove Squeaker to shore, “Sure, Kev. No problem.”

AJ scooped up Squeaker, then they all followed Kevin to the driveway of Nick’s house. Once they were within sight, they stopped dead at what they saw. Kevin chewed on his lower lip, “So, what do you guys think? I know it’s kinda odd that I do it again, but I’ve just always wanted one and-”

“Whoa,” AJ held up a hand, “Chill, Kev. It’s okay, just surprising. It’s the same make, ain’t it?”

Kevin nodded, his eyes turning to the red Ferrari Spider parked in the driveway, “Yeah, but with a few differences. Personal modifications, I guess you could say.”

“Like what?” asked Nick, intrigued despite of himself.

A nervous smile pulled at Kevin’s mouth, “Like you can be 200 feet away and turn it on.”

“Ah,” understood Nick, a laugh bursting forth, “Good idea.”

“Well,” Alec spoke up, his eyes admiring the sleek sports car. He had a thing for muscle cars, he was saving up for one of his own, “What’re we waiting for?! I got dibs on the first ride!”

Kevin’s face lit up as Alec raced to the car, followed by AJ’s protesting form, “Hey! No fair! We get to go first! After all, the first one got blown sky high before we had the chance!”

Nick had to laugh, his blue eyes glowing as he watched. Maybe, just maybe, he could really start to leave the past in the past and start to live in the present. After all, the future was scarce and he didn’t want to miss a moment of it with his family.


The End... or IS it?