It was at last day seven and time for the family to come home! Everything had been finished to perfection and was ready for the Matherson’s to move on in. There was excitement in the air, and the most hyper one of all was Lena.                 

“God, how long does it take to fly from California to Kentucky!?” Lena exclaimed impatiently. “I want them to be here already!”                

“It’s about a twelve hour flight, Kiddo,” Ty spoke up, from where he stood watching her. “That’s with the layovers and everything. I’d know, since I just came from California myself.”                

Lena groaned. “Someone please tell me they’ve already been on the plane for eleven of those twelve hours!”                               

“Relax love, they’ll be here soon,” Ed laughed. “You sure are an impatient one.”                

“You should know that about her by now, Ed,” Ty chuckled. “She doesn’t like to wait long for something she’s excited about.”                

Lena smiled sweetly at the both of them. “Can you blame me?”                

“No, not really,” Ty replied, shaking his head. “I’m just surprised you’re staked out here by the bus and not latched onto one of the Backstreet Boys.”                

“They promised I could latch on later,” Lena stated matter-of-factly. “Besides, I already hugged each one of them – Kevin included – twice today.”                

Ty laughed at her honesty. “Well, the family will probably be here soon anyway. The families usually get on the planes super early, so they can be here in time for the unveiling.”                

“The family’s almost here!” Paul called out then. “The limo driver called to let us know that they’re just around the corner.”                

“Places everyone!” Lena yelled, though really only she had to get into place.                 

The design team and Timbers Construction workers all moved to stand where the crowd was gathered. The Backstreet Boys meanwhile, stayed hidden on the bus, so the family wouldn’t know that they were still there.                

“I’m proud of you, Kiddo,” Ty praised, before leaving Lena’s side to join the crowd as well.                

Lena smiled some, though she felt a tad guilty. She still hadn’t told him about the secret her, Brian, and Nick still shared. She sighed a little, but then perked back up when the limousine came into view.                

The limousine pulled to a stop in front of her and the family eagerly got out, all hugging her tight as they did so. They were thrilled to be back home and couldn’t wait to see their new house!                

“Hello Matherson family!” Lena exclaimed. “How was your vacation?”                

“Great!” Rachel enthused. “We saw Mickey Mouse!”                

“Sounds fun,” Lena replied, trying not to sound too jealous. She’d always wanted to go to Disney World or Disneyland, but had never been. “Are you excited to be home?”                

“Yeah!” The girls all cheered.                

“Move that bus! Move that bus!” The crowd began to chant excitedly. “Move that bus! Move that bus!”                

“You know what to say, so say it with me,” Lena told them. “Bus driver! Move that bus!”                

The bus driver did as instructed, and the Matherson family began to scream hysterically upon seeing their house.                

The front and back of the two story house had been made of light brown brick and had a brown wooden door and white windows with brown wooden shutters. The sides of the house were made of white brick, to give the house a modern look. It had a small front porch with a black railing and brick steps leading up to the porch. There was also a white brick path leading from the driveway up to the front porch. Two gardens with small trees and flowers had also been placed directly in front of the house, with mulch to make the garden look nice and to keep it healthy. The house looked absolutely wonderful tucked back in amongst the trees on their property.                 

“If you like the house, give a big hug to Jim and Sean Timbers from Timbers Construction,” Lena told the family. “They’ve been here all week helping us work on your house.”                

“Thank-you,” Lauren whispered, hugging first Jim, then Sean, tightly. “Thank-you so much!”                

“It was our pleasure,” Jim replied.                

“We’re glad we could help,” Sean added.                

The girls hugged both men then, also thanking them for their brand new house. They couldn’t believe they had such a wonderful new home, and so far they’d only seen the outside of it.                

“And we can’t forget the design team,” Lena piped up. “Paige, Johnny, Ed, Michael, and Paulie.”                

The family hugged the design team, then turned to eye their house longingly.                

“Matherson family, go check out your new house!” Lena ordered with a big smile. “I think you’ll like what you find.”                

The Matherson family all went running for the front door, screaming excitedly upon opening the door and entering their new house.                                

There was a dining room, with a table big enough for ten, in case they had any friends over. The kitchen was large enough for the whole family to stand in, and they had all brand new top of the line appliances from Sears. The living room was set at the front of the house and to your left upon entering the house. It had a flat screen T.V. and two large couches for them to lounge upon and watch television together as a family. All three rooms were nice vibrant colours, with white borders and went together quite well. There was also a laundry room tucked away near the back door, with a brand new washer and dryer, which had also come from Sears. They also had a main floor bathroom that included a shower as well. Then there was the large winding staircase leading up to the second floor, where the bedrooms were.                

“Wow!” The girls all gasped, as they stood there twirling about in awe, as they tried to take everything in. 

“You like it?” Lena asked, as she entered the house. “Everyone put a whole lot of work into it.”                    

“We love it!” Lauren replied, as she looked around at everything again. “We can never thank-you enough.”                    

Lena tried to stifle her giggles, as the mother hugged her tightly. “Hehe. This is kinda weird. Usually Ty gets all the hugs.”                    

Lauren laughed. “Yes, that he does.”                    

“So, did you see the kitchen?” Lena asked. “You have all brand new, top of the line appliances from Sears!”                    

“It’s the best kitchen I’ve ever seen,” Lauren smiled. “We can bake cookies as a family now, and not in shifts.”                    

“You wanna see more house?” Lena queried, getting a bit excited herself, as she knew Carla and Joanna were going to freak over the room she’d designed  

“Yeah!” They all cheered.

“Matherson family, go check out the rest of your house!” Lena shouted, waving her arms like Ty usually did. She really did look up to the man, whom had taken her in, quite a bit.

The Matherson family all squealed as they went running up the stairs in excitement. Soon loud screams of joy could be heard coming from upstairs.

Rachel and Becca ran into their new room, shrieking upon seeing it. Paige had turned their room into a huge cloud. There were clouds everywhere, along with a huge cloud castle they could play in and sleep in - their beds were the drawbridges. There were also dolls and board games stacked on shelves and tucked into corners. They even had a whole trunk of dress-up clothes, and a mirror to check themselves out in. This room would be fantastic for playing make-believe in! What they liked best though, was the picture of them and their father that had been carefully placed inside one of the clouds on the wall. He truly was looking over them now.

Krystal found her room next, gasping when she saw how much work, thought, and detail Paul had put into it. She had told him she wanted to be a nurse, and he’d run with it. She’d a desk with a laptop upon it, where she could study, as the desk also had nursing books on its shelves. Her bed was circular, and had been hung from the ceiling, so it could sway slightly if she so desired. She’d mentioned how she loved hammocks, so her bed being able to swing slightly like one was awesome in itself. Her walls were a light purple, her absolute favourite colour, and she’d a walk-in closet.  She also loved that he had thoughtfully placed photos of her and her family around the room. Her family was the most important thing in her life – especially after her father had died unexpectedly.

Lauren entered her room next, as she’d been told Carla and Joanna were to find theirs last. Which to her, meant that Lena had done the girls’ room.

“Wow,” she breathed softly, as she took in her room.

It was Italy themed, as she’d mentioned her and George had honeymooned there and had great memories. Her bed had been made to look Italian, and there was a picture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa on the one wall. Two other walls had the streets of Venice, with the water and the gondoliers in the gondolas. It was a beautiful combination of the two places in Italy they had visited. She even had her own bathroom, full with not only a walk-in shower, but a large tub for her to relax in as well.

“So how do you like your room?” Lena asked, as she entered quietly.

“It’s beautiful,” Lauren spoke softly. “It’s absolutely perfect.”

She spotted the wedding photo of her and George on the fourth wall then, and became a little misty-eyed.

“Michael thought you might like a place to not only relax, but to remember George as well,” Lena informed her, shrugging slightly. She wasn’t exactly all that great at dealing with emotions – whether they be her own or not. “Well, there’s still more house to see.”

Lauren nodded, as Lena left the room once more. She knew the young one was excited to show off the room she’d designed, so she didn’t blame her for high-tailing it out of the room.

“Okay girls, I designed your room this week,” Lena told Carla and Joanna. “I felt a connection with you both, and decided to run with it. I hope you like it.”

Carla and Joanna eagerly entered their room, and began screaming hysterically moments later. Every single inch of their room was Backstreet Boys related! The walls had white wallpaper, with lyrics from BSB songs all over them. Their nightstands had been made to look like music notes; one had a photo of Howie, and the other a photo of Brian as the tabletops – Lena’d put garnish and such over the photos to protect them. There was a desk that had CD cases as the legs, and a large autographed photo of BSB as the table part of it, where two laptops sat. The desk chairs were normal like, but had the BSB logo on the backs of them. Also one chair was blue and green and the other purple and yellow. Then there were their beds – both had canopies on them, with BSB song titles carved into the canopy posts. Also, the headboards and footboards had collages of BSB photos on them, and had garnish and such over them for protection. Lena’d also placed a photo of them with their father on each of their nightstands next to some brightly coloured lamps.

“Oh my God!” Carla and Joanna both screamed. “Oh my God!"

“We love it!” Carla and Joanna shrieked, tackling Lena in a hug. “It’s so cool!”

Lena blushed some as she returned their hugs. “Thanks. But c’mon! There’s still more to see!”

She led them out to their backyard, where a tree house and a play structure had been set up. There was also a gazebo, and a hammock, and a porch swing. They also had a little barbecue pit, with chairs and pokers, so they could have barbecues and such with family and friends. 

“Awesome!” Rachel and Becca squealed, both running for the play structure.

“Well, have you liked everything so far?” Lena wanted to know, partly wishing she could go and join Becca and Rachel on the play equipment.

“Yes, we have,” Lauren replied, as Krystal nodded her agreement. “Everything has just been lovely.”

“There’s still more to see,” Lena smiled. “Let’s go for a little bus ride.”

She waited a moment, knowing the Backstreet Boys were sneaking off the bus and were going to hide inside the house until they returned. Once she was given the signal, she led the Matherson family out to the bus, where they all climbed aboard and headed for where their shelter was.

The family gasped as they climbed off the bus, quite surprised to find a brand new shelter. 

“Everything has been stocked up, and there’s plenty of rooms and beds, and a large kitchen!” Lena informed them. “Also CVS Pharmacy has stepped up and donated two-hundred thousand dollars, in order to keep your supplies stocked. And Tyson foods has donated a one year supply of frozen dinners!”

“Oh my!” Lauren exclaimed, as her eyed filled with tears. “We can help so many more people now! Thank-you!”

Lena just grinned, as she showed the family around the shelter. “Also, the wood is fire proof, so there’s no way for a fire to start or spread. We used the same wood on your house, so y’all are perfectly safe.”

Lauren hugged their young host tightly in thanks, unable to express her feelings of gratefulness otherwise. “We can never thank any of you enough.”

“It was nothing,” Lena shrugged.

“No, it was something,” Krystal insisted. “More than you could ever know.”  

“Let’s head back to the house for one more surprise!” Lena exclaimed, leading them back onto the bus once more. “Trust me, you’ll love it!” 

They returned to the house, and they all filed off eagerly. They wondered just what their young host had up her sleeve now.

“Now, as you know, the Backstreet Boys were here with us this week,” Lena grinned. “They actually helped us out quite a bit. I even got to hog Brian and Nick – hehe. Anyway, while they were here we held a benefit concert, and raised quite a bit of money for y’all. You’ve enough for food, bills, clothes, Disneyland, everything!”

 “Yay!” Rachel squealed, jumping up and down happily. “I loves Mickey Mouse!”

Just then, the Backstreet Boys – minus Kevin – came running out the front door of the Matherson house. The girls’ eyes went huge as saucers upon spotting them, and their excited shrieks could be heard all the way down the street.

Lena smirked as she watched the five girls go running for the four Backstreet Boys who’d come out to greet them.

“Love it!” The Krystal and Joanna squealed, as they clung tightly to Brian.

“Yeah!” Becca nodded her agreement, as she hugged A.J. “Any song will do!”

“Well, how about I Still?” Howie suggested. “We’ve all got a part in that.”

“But Kevin’s not here to sing, Mom,” Krystal pointed out. “So Howie gets his part.”

“KEVIN!” The Matherson girls screamed, all running for him, as Lena slid off his back and moved aside quickly.

“There was no way I was going to miss out on something as important as this,” he told them. “You can thank my cousin, Brian, for giving me a call.”

Everyone laughed, as Lauren gave them all an innocent smile.

The Backstreet Boys – and Kevin – began to sing I Still then, as it would be in the end credits.

 Who are you now? Are you still the same

Or did you change somehow

 At this very moment when I think of you

And when I’m looking back

How we were young and stupid

Do you remember that?

No matter how I fight

Can’t deny it

Just can’t let you go

I still need you

I still care about you

Though everything’s been said and done

I still feel you

Like I’m right beside you

But still no, word from you

Once they had finished singing, the camera crew wrapped it up, and vacated the premises. The Backstreet Boys and design team stuck around to hang out with the Matherson family for a while though.