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Howie sat his bags down in the empty hallway and waited for the three other men to join him. Ever since Kevin had abruptly left the group, without so much as an explanation, and started a new life with Kristen, Howie had taken over Kevin's unspoken duties of being the one to keep everything together. He was the man that kept everything running smooth, the peacemaker, and the one management went to when they needed to get things done, or to convince the other guys something needed to be done. He had to be the one to relay messages and keep the boys on task, on time, and focused on their responsibilities.

He waited a few moments more before Brian joined him in the hallway. "Hey D," he said softly closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall. He had barely slept at all and could not keep his eyes open for anything. He was so looking forward to collapsing on the bus and sleeping all the way to the next city.

"You ok man? Where's Leigh?" Howie asked looking closely at his younger band mate.

"I'm just tired is all. She already boarded the bus, said she didn't want to be hassled around."

Howie nodded by didn't say anything. Leighanne was beginning to grate on his nerves. He could see the change in her clearly and wasn't sure what was really going on with her. She wasn't the same person anymore. She treated Brian terribly; he just wished his friend could see that. The two men waited for the two remaining band mates but they were beginning to run out of time. Howie glanced down at his watch and realized that they were already twenty minutes late in meeting them. That was not a common thing. They usually called if they were going to be late and he hadn't heard a thing from either of them since the night before.

"I'm going to go see if I can find AJ, will you check Nick's room and see what's keeping him?" Howie glanced over at Brian and waited for him to nod. Brian nodded and walked down the hallway to Nick's abandoned hotel room.

Howie knocked lightly on AJ's door and waited for some type of response. He waited a couple of minutes before knocking again. Still receiving no answer he tried the door handle and found it unlocked. It opened quietly and he stepped inside.

He was prepared to call out for his missing friend but stopped short when his eyes fell to the hotel room bed and he found him, curled upin the arms of their youngest band mate. The missing band mates were fast asleep wrapped tightly around each other. They looked so peaceful, so content, so happy. His heart caught in his throat and he wasn't sure how to continue. It would kill him to wake them, but they had to get moving.

Howie had noticed AJ's mood going from bad to worse over the course of the last couple of weeks and was beginning to grow more and more concerned for his friend. The sight before him gave him hope and broke his heart all at once. He was happy that AJ had finally managed to find some peace; he just wished he would confine in him. The two looked so cute together, stolen away from the world.

Howie reached the bed quietly and gently shook Nick's arm in an attempt not to scare him. He waited until he was sure that Nick was waking up. Nick looked down at AJ snuggled tightly against him and smiled before realizing that the two men were not alone. Nick's glance at AJ did not go unnoticed by Howie who filled the information away to evaluate later. Nick looked startled at Howie and tried to keep his blush at bay. Howie smiled and pointed at the clock.

"You guys overslept. You need to hurry and get your things together. We need to be ready to leave soon. Just get on your buses when you are ready to go." Howie took one last look at the sleeping man still wrapped around the blonde's larger frame. He left the room closing the door softly behind him. He almost ran straight into Brian who was still waiting in the hallway.

"I can't find Nick anywhere. Nick's things are all packed and ready to go but he's nowhere in his room or downstairs."

Howie nodded. "Yeah, I know. He fell asleep in AJ's room. They will be ready to go shortly." Howie did not tell him how he found the two youngest members. He felt somehow that that information should be kept private.

Brian felt his heart contract thinking of AJ with Nick that way. He shrugged it off and tried to push the thoughts from his mind. He didn't care what AJ did or who he did it with. He had Leigh and that was all he needed to be happy.

"We can go on out to the buses." Howie said breaking the silence, "They will just meet us out there once they have all of their stuff together. " Howie gathered his things and took off towards the elevators.

Brain hesitated for a moment staring intently at AJ's hotel room door. He desperately hoped it would open and he could get a good look inside at what was going in. He sighed heavily and gathered his things to follow Howie to the elevators. He needed to get over it and concentrate on his wife. She was the present and the future and he needed to quit thinking of the past.

~*~

Nick smiled happily as AJ continued to snuggle deeper into the covers and closer to him. The smaller man looked so content that Nick hated to be the one to have to wake him up. Nick shook him gently and laughed as AJ continued to snore louder. It took a few moments and a few forceful shakes to get AJ to begin to wake up.

AJ felt warm on the inside for the first time, in a long time, and didn't want to leave this new warm cocoon that he had found. He hugged Nick tighter and breathed in his scent. His cologne filled his senses and made him feel safe. Nick hugged AJ back for a moment. They held each other a little too long both hating to break apart. Nick pulled away first and rested his forehead against AJ's.

"I am always here for you J. I want you to know that. Anytime, day or night, you can talk to me." Nick said breathlessly.

AJ nodded and tried not to look too deeply into Nick's eyes. He could get lost in the pools of blue. Nick hugged him once again and then swung his legs over the side of the bed. "We'd better get our shit together before they send a search party next time. Howie was about ready to blow a gasket."

AJ laughed loudly. "It's still better than having Kevin beating down the door and calling the cell and the hotel room phone every two seconds."

Both boys sat in silence for a moment trying to ignore the pain that came from thinking about Kevin's departure. No one wanted to think about it, let alone talk about it to each other.

Nick pulled his shoes back on and quietly left the hotel room. Out ofeveryone Nick had taken Kevin's leaving the hardest. AJ mentally kicked himself for bringing the whole thing up again. It had taken Nick a long time to come to terms with Kevin's leaving and be able to even smile again. No one brought Kevin up, it just hurt too much.

AJ sat on the bed, slowly gathering his things, and thinking about the way that Nick stepped right in to take care of AJ when he saw that he needed it. He had never been taken care of before the way that Nick had taken care of him. He couldn't believe he'd managed to fall asleep at all, but Nick made him feel safe, warm, and loved all at the same time. He really liked that feeling. He liked not having to fight for Nick's attention.

He quickly picked up his remaining belongings and headed out the door. He glanced in the direction of Nick's room as he left the hallway and saw that Nick had already left to get on the buses. AJ joined his security guard and made his way outside. He hesitated momentarily debating on boarding one of the other guy's buses instead of his own. He didn't really want to be alone, but he knew they would ask way too many questions about way to many things that AJ just wasn't comfortable talking about. He boarded his own bus with a scowl on his face. He really wasn't looking forward to this trip.